Biblical Hebrew Forum

[George Athas <George.Athas AT moore.edu.au>]

My definitions of the genres are:

Myth: A story that takes place without any real time markers, and so can be 
deemed 'timeless' or 'primordial'. The characters are, therefore, almost 
always gods.

Legend: A story located within time with predominantly human protagonists. It 
possibly derives from an actual historical event, but need not do so. In any 
case, the story has accumulated many extra features throughout its 
transmission so that the narrative becomes 'larger than life' as it were. 
These features include such things as supernatural events, superhuman feats, 
subplots, etc.

Oh, and Kevin, you make a very good point.

GEORGE ATHAS
Moore Theological College (Sydney, Australia)
www.moore.edu.au