Many societal ideals find their roots one way or another, in the very depths of mythology. It would be interesting to imagine the outcome of society today, if mythology had rejoiced in the ways of the tricksters such as Loki and Coyote, and those who dabbled in the black arts. But lo, they did not. The society we live in today has had the very concepts of good and evil from much of mythology, in which they were based on the gods and their archenemies, the demons. With this concept, many others follow, forming the broad basis on which ideal characteristics of human beings today are built on.

One less obvious ideal in society today that came from the days of yore is that of masculinity and femininity. Today, the general model of femininity would probably be the centrefolds of fashion magazines, on which beautiful and well-endowed women are captured in moments of grace, when not of titillation. The male models have images of well-built men with huge biceps, with a six-pack for a stomach, sweating in the middle of an exercise routine.

The very image of the Greek goddess, Aphrodite, rising from the sea and being greeted by the nymphs, perhaps very aptly describes the model of femininity, which so many women try to imitate today. Aphrodite became the Greek goddess of fertility and love, along with many other cultures, which had fertility goddesses who were the hallmark of a woman.

Even in the sea nymphs, all things female and likeable were good examples of femininity in the ancient myths, and conversely, the females whom had grown in age, or were plagued by unfeminine characteristics, were largely despised in mythology, such as that of hags, witches and even in goddesses such as that of Hera, who was filled with vengeance and jealousy.

Similarly, that of Chinese mythology such as the tale of Chang E and Houyi, and how the former later floated to the moon with her grace and majesty, reflects the ideals of the female in Chinese society even till today. It is so often that females are associated with heavenly bodies such as the moon and the sun, like in Japanese mythology where the sun goddess was the famous Amaterasu, and Norse mythology, where the sun was in fact a goddess riding her chariot across the sky while being chased by a wolf. The mysterious and yet beautiful appearance of the heavenly bodies are yet another notion, exclusively feminine.

The self-sacrificing ideal of motherhood can also be seen in a myth from Egyptian mythology, where the goddess Isis was the model of a perfect mother. When her child, Horus, was bitten by a scorpion and was dying, she was so upset that her cries of grief stopped Ra's journey in the sky, and he attended to the problem immediately, thus saving her child. Thus, many of these ideals still live on very much, today.

The opposite is of masculinity, and it best can be observed in the idea of heroism. Traditionally, heroes today are viewed under the same light and with the same reverence as that of heroes in the past. The general characteristics of heroes are almost always courage, strength and integrity, as they perform deeds that are of enough magnitude to be considered heroic.

The famous Greek heroes such as Hercules (his Roman name calls him), and Perseus, along with the Chinese hero, Houyi, who shot down nine suns to avert calamity, and even the Norse god Thor, who often saved the Aesir from the giants were all heroes of their own pantheons. For the Vikings for example, the tale of how the Valkyries would choose the best of the warriors to go to Odin's hall, Vallhala, to await the day of Ragnarok was an important reason why the warriors fought so hard in battle. It has also promoted the important idea of heroism in the countries that were under its influence. In Celtic mythology, King Arthur and his knights were the epitome of heroism, as the knights perform tales of valour, which has become the inspiration for many images of male masculinity.

These all are evidence of the pervading image of masculinity from the past that has survived till today. It has continued to undermine other forms of heroism such as that of true courage and loyalty, like that of the Chinese poet Qu Yuan. He was once favoured by the emperor for his loyalty, but was later obscured by jealous colleagues, who managed to convince the emperor that Qu Yuan was in fact a traitor. The hero killed himself by drowning, when he was discharged from the imperial service, due to his overwhelming disappointment in the country, and the misplacement of his loyalty.

As much as society has accepted these ideals unquestioningly, the actual effect of mythology on such a view becomes evident when new tribes are discovered in the jungles in places such as the Amazon basin. Such tribes have had no contact with human civilization before, and have developed their own culture and way of life.

In one particular tribe, the concept of femininity was in having a long attractive neck, in which the females of the tribe wore rings about their neck in an attempt to lengthen it, making themselves more attractive to the men. A large part of this was endowed upon by mythology, showing the civilised people, us, how mythology has bequeathed upon us many societal ideals that we take for granted.

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