Myth

The term myth comes from the ancient Greek word mýthos „fable, word, speech, legend, tale“ and has a strongly symbolic meaning (cf. Duden 2015, 1113).
A definition of myth that is satisfactory for all disciplines is hard to find, since myth is not defined by the object of its message, but by the way it expresses it. There are formal limits to a myth, but no limits to its content. The original myth, passed on through oral narratives, links elementary experiences of one’s own existence, society, and nature into a fictional, emotional, symbolic world structure (cf. Brandt 2004, 10 f.).
The myth is a system of communication, a message. As a result, myth cannot be an object, concept, or idea. Rather, it is a way of meaning, a form (cf. Barthes 2010, 251). Through the system of communication, anything that enters into a discourse can become a myth. In this respect, the myth is not determined by its message, but by the way it is expressed (cf. Barthes 2010, 251). On the one hand, myth is understood as a fictional text that depicts the truth, and on the other hand, as a fictional and implausible narrative that communicates the knowledge and stories of early humanity in an encoded way (cf. Barthes 2010, 252). Myths reveal foundations of culture and are usually polysemous or polyfunctional. They explain and influence the world by addressing the central stages of human life and disseminating theological and political statements. In addition to incantations, tales, and legends, myths are still found in rites and festivals. In scientific discourses, however, the everyday language use of the term myth is avoided (cf. Waechter 2010).
The modern myth
In modernity, everything can become a myth. The Metzler Lexikon moderner Mythen names and characterizes myths generated in modernity. The mythical is understood as a subjective perception of individual meaning in terms of cultural memory, e.g.:
– historical persons (e.g. Willy Brandt, Marilyn Monroe)
– fictional characters (e.g. Asterix, Don Quixote)
– events (e.g. 68er movement, sinking of the Titanic)
– places (e.g. Alps, Dresden)
– Ideas/concepts (e.g. freedom, eternal youth)
– Institutions (e.g., secret services, Mafia)
An example of the modern myth is, for example, Pippi Longstocking. This character stands for the eternal child and has the function of a bearer of hope. The myth of paradise is associated with Pippi, as Pippi Longstocking lives in a paradise-like state, free from constraints and determined by friendship, lust, happiness, and fantasy (cf. Wodianka, Ebert 2014, 296-297).
Quotes
„Myths are stories that people of all times and cultures tell each other in the face of seemingly inexplicable phenomena that are at the same time as frightening as they are seductive. [the] mythic narrative banishes the frightening strangeness of its subject, but for the most part preserves the fascinating ambivalence inherent in the inexplicable.“ (Münker and Roesler 1997, 8)
„Myth hides nothing and puts nothing on display. It deforms. Myth is neither a lie nor a confession. It is a deformation.“ (Roland Barthes, 1957)
„The study of myth has become the point of contact of manifold branches of scholarship: […] historians and sociologists, literary scholars and grammarians, Germanists and Romance scholars, Celticists and Slavists, they all talk about it, each among themselves. Nor is mythology safe from logicians and psychologists, from metaphysicians and epistemologists – to say nothing of the guests, the theosophists, the present-day astrologers, or the scientists.“ (Malinowski, 1926)

Literature
Barthes, Roland (2010): Myths of everyday life. Berlin: Suhrkamp.
Brandt, Reinhard (2014): Myth and mythology. In: Brandt, Schmidt (eds.): Myth and Mythology. Berlin: Akademie.
Duden (2015): German universal dictionary. 8th ed. Berlin: Duden.
Malinowski, Bronislaw (1926): The role of myth in life. In: ders. (ed.): Writings on anthropology. Frankfurt am Main.
Münker, Stefan/ Roesler, Alexander (1997): Preface. In: Münker, Stefan/ Roesler, Alexander (eds.): Mythos Internet. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp.
Waechter, Matthias (2010): Myth. In: Docupedia-Zeitgeschichte, Center for Contemporary History Potsdam. https://zeitgeschichte-digital.de/doks/frontdoor/deliver/index/docId/581/file/docupedia_waechter_mythos_v1_de_2010.pdf [09.05.19].
Wodianka, Stephanie/ Ebert, Juliane (2014): Metzler Lexikon moderner Mythen: Figuren, Konzepte, Ereignisse. Stuttgart: J. B. Metzler.