Mythology and Rhetorical Figures

How is a mythological being constructed?

We can identify three basic forms or procedures through which the natural order is altered to give birth to an extraordinary being. Let us examine them:

Figures of Adjunction

This mechanism involves the integration of components from two beings to give rise to a new species. Within adjunction, one may distinguish:

Extension

These are beings whose monstrousness is due to enormity. Indeed, they exaggerate the size or some other attribute of an existing creature. Giants are a good example of this type of being.

They correspond to the rhetorical figure of hyperbole.

Addition

The excess depends not on size but on quantity. The snakes on Medusa’s head would be an example, even though the case also involves a combination (human–serpent).

It corresponds to the rhetorical figure of accumulation.

Figures of Suppression

The extraordinary character is given by the absence of some aspect in comparison with the natural order.

Miniaturization

The mythological being is a reduced version of its worldly referent. Goblins and other small beings, whatever the cause of their smallness, are based on this concept.

It corresponds to the rhetorical figure of litotes.

Mutilation

This involves the suppression of some element that transforms the entity into a monster by being a deviation from normality. The Cyclops, with a single eye, is an example of this type of mythological construction.

It corresponds to the rhetorical figure of Ellipsis.

Fragmentation

The mythological being is only a section of what it should be. Thus, a lone head that survives without its body is a case of fragmentation.

It corresponds to the rhetorical figure of Metonymy.

Combination

Hybrid beings are composed of a combination of attributes from different beings. These impossible beings correspond to the rhetorical figure of paradox. Pegasuses and sirens are examples of this case.