Difference Between Fable and Myth

Fable vs Myth

Everybody loves stories, narratives of events which are shared through words, sounds, and actions. They are usually enriched and improvised to make them more interesting and inspiring. They are meant to entertain, to educate, and to impart moral values and preserve a people’s culture and heritage.

The early stories were orally handed down from generation to generation and were stories about the world, how it works, and how people should treat each other oftentimes teaching a lesson. These stories are called myths and fables.
The word “myth” comes from the Greek word “mythos” which means “story.” Myths are stories about gods and their powers which are orally passed down from one generation to the next. Each culture has its own story of how the world came to be. They are closely associated with religion and are the basis of customs and taboos in society. They provide an explanation on how the universe was formed and how people must act under certain circumstances.

Myths were developed through the personification of things and natural forces which were worshipped by ancient people. They represented such natural phenomenon as fire as the person of Apollo; water, the person of Poseidon, and feelings of desire, the person of Aphrodite.

While a myth is a category of a story that is considered true, a fable is a category that is considered false or fictional. Fables are stories of animals, things, or natural forces that are given human characteristics which usually give a moral lesson. Like myths, fables can be found in most cultures around the world. The most famous source of fables was Aesop, a slave in ancient Greece.

Fables were used to train students of ancient Greece and Rome in public speaking and literary composition. Popular examples of fables are: “Arabian Nights,” “The Lion and the Mouse,” and “The Tortoise and the Hare.”
The word “fable” comes from the Latin word “fabula” which means “a narrative or tale” which in turn comes from the word “fari” meaning “to speak” and the suffix “ula” meaning “little.” Thus, a fable is a little story that is circulated orally.

Summary:

1.A myth is a story about gods and heroes and how the world came into being while a fable is a story about animals, things, and forces of nature that are meant to give a moral lesson.
2.Myths are closely related to religion and personify things and natural forces which are considered as gods by ancient people while fables are personifications of animals, things, and natural phenomena meant to teach a lesson.
3.Myths are considered true stories while fables are considered false stories.
4.Both are orally handed down from generation to generation; myths being legends of how a certain group of people came to be while fables being examples of how people should act.
5.“Myth” comes from the Greek word “mythos” meaning “story” while “fable” comes from the Latin word “fabula” meaning “a narrative or tale.”

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