MYTHOLOGICAL IDEAS AND CONTACTS AMONG THE RELIGIONS OF ANCIENT CULTURES

Mitologije so v znanosti navadno razdeljene na različne skupine in predstavljene kot samosvoje. Neposreden prenos mitoloških idej je kvečjemu pripisovan rimskemu prevzemu grškega panteona. Namen magistrske naloge je v razširjanju razumevanja prenosa mitoloških idej in predstaviti vpliv stika med kulturami na ta proces. To zahteva predstavitev mitologij, mitoloških idej in kultur ter iskanje podobnosti oz. neposrednih vplivov. Čeprav je izvirno mitologijo, iz katere bi izhajale vse ostale, nemogoče najti, je namen magistrskega dela prav ta. Z iskanjem nekakšne skupne mitološke osnove bi laže odkrili, kaj je staro in kaj novo. Primer te osnove so indoevropska ljudstva s svojimi verskimi značilnostmi, ki segajo v čas pred njihovo selitvijo. Mitologije so več kot samo prijetne zgodbe, so podoba nekega časa in vir zgodovinskih podatkov. S primerjalno mitologijo je mogoče ugotoviti, kje vse so se naselili Indoevropejci – njihova pot in vpliv sta se ustalila vse od Irske pa do Indije in zahoda Kitajske, kar je razvidno iz jezikov, obredov in mitoloških idej, ki so se ohranili v takšni ali drugačni obliki. Vse indoevropsko je bilo namreč spremenjeno oz. se je spremenilo skupaj z območjem, na katero je prišlo. Skoraj vse kulture, omenjene v magistrski nalogi, so prišle v stik z indoevropskimi elementi, jih nekaj prevzele, ali pa bile popolnoma spremenjene. Tako so ljudstva iz enega geografskega centra na vzhodu Evrope oz. zahodu Azije pustila močan pečat, ki ga ne preseže nobena kultura. Zahodna Kitajska in minojska Kreta sta dve civilizaciji, ki sta v večji meri ohranili svoje neindoevropske elemente. Sicer pa so bili Grčija, Mala Azija, Bližnji Vzhod, Perzija, Egipt in nasploh vzhodni del Mediterana prava talilnica mitoloških verskih predstav, saj so se zgodbe prenašale z enega konca v drugega, kar kaže na bogato komunikacijo in stike med civilizacijami. Dva pomembna verska centra Bližnjega vzhoda sta bila sumerska in egipčanska civilizacija, saj so manj razvite kulture črpale njune mitološke predstave, a niti njiju omenjeno ni naredilo imunih za vplive taistih kultur. Tudi dokaj izolirana in unikatna Kreta je prevzela določene ideje, ki so se med civilizacijami nasploh širile s trgovino in vojno. Kar je pri tej analizi najpomembnejše, je ugotovitev, da so se nekatere ideje s povezovanjem med kulturami okrepile in razvile ter so še danes prisotne v predstavah ljudi. Primer tega je ideja mesije, ki ni originalna ideja abrahamskih religij, temveč perzijske mitologije. Mitologije in antični stiki med kulturami so tako še danes pomembni elementi v družbah.In science mythologies are usually separated into different groups and presented as individual. The direct transfer of mythological ideas is at most ascribed to the Roman take-over of the Greek pantheon. The goal of this master\u27s thesis is in expanding the understanding of these transfers of mythological ideas and how contacts between cultures influenced this process. As such the presentations of mythologies, mythological ideas and cultures are needed, as well as the search for similarities and direct influences. Although it is impossible to find the original mythology, from which all others would hail, this thesis aims to find it. Searching for and finding a common mythological basis would aid in discovering old and new mythological ideas. An example of such a basis are Indo-European people with religious features that extend far before their migrations that influenced most ancient cultures. Mythologies are more than just pleasant stories, but also presentations of a zeitgeist and a source of historical information. Comparative mythology can help identify the regions Indo-Europeans had settled – they had migrated to and influenced lands from Ireland to the west and to India and western China to the east, which is evident when analysing languages, rituals and mythological ideas, which have been preserved in one way or another. Everything Indo-European was changed, transformed when it came into contact with other cultures. Most of the cultures mentioned in the master thesis came into contact with Indo-European elements, adopted some, or were completely transformed. These people from one geographic center in eastern Europe and western Asia left a mark so significant no other culture can come close to. China and Minoan Crete are two civilizations that mostly retained their non-Indo-European elements. The areas of Greece, Anatolia, the Middle East, Persia and Egypt, and especially the eastern Mediterranean were melting pots of mythological ideas, as the latter traveled from one culture to another, which is an indication of rich communication and contact between civilizations. Two important religious centers that greatly influenced other civilizations in the Middle East and the surroundings were the Sumerian and Egyptian civilizations, yet this did not make them immune from absorbing religious elements from such minor civilizations. The well isolated and unique Crete also absorbed some ideas, which usually traveled between cultures via trading and war. One of the most important discoveries made in this analysis is that through connections between cultures some ideas developed and became strengthened and are even today present in various religious and non-religious societies. An example of this is the idea of a messiah, which is not an original Abrahamic religious idea, but Persian