6. Account for a society’s rites and customs

Back to History 8 Fifth Mountain Readings Example of how myth accounts for a society's rites+customs

Example 1

In Akbar's attempted execution of Elijah, Elijah is condemned to walk up the Fifth Mountain and see if the gods will carry out punishment on him there, and if not, walk back down the mountain to be executed so that he will not go to heaven. This myth of the Gods of the Fifth Mountain burning people who come up to it with fire is crucial for this law.

Example 2

Why is the Fifth Mountain sacred and people cannot go up there? Well, a myth in the book states that the people of Akbar believe that "only the Fifth Mountain existed" and "men and gods had lived together"; however, humans sinned and the gods expelled them and created the earth below the mountain to make them live there in a place "far inferior to that of the dwellers of the Fifth Mountain".

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