Culture hero

A culture hero is a mythological hero specific to some group (cultural, ethnic, religious, etc.) who changes the world through invention or discovery. Although many culture heroes help with the creation of the world, most culture heroes are important because of their effect on the world after creation. A typical culture hero might be credited as the discoverer of fire, agriculture, songs, tradition, law, or religion, and is usually the most important legendary figure of a people, sometimes as the founder of its ruling dynasty. The term "culture hero" was originated by historian Kurt Breysig, who used the German word heilbringer, which translates to savior. Over the years, "culture hero" has been interpreted in many ways. Older interpretations by Breysig, Paul Ehrenreich, and Wilhelm Schmidt thought that the journeys of culture heroes were ways in which humans could attempt to understand things in nature, such as the rising and setting of the sun, or the movement of the stars and constellations. Eventually, their interpretations were rejected and replaced with newer interpretations by scholars such as Hermann Baumann, Adolf E. Jensen, Mircea Eliade, Otto Zerries, Raffaele Pettazzoni, and Harry Tegnaeus, which evolved as a result of having more access to ethnological data, creating the present version of the culture hero. Culture heroes can perform unbelievable tasks in life because they are different from normal people. Typically, a culture hero's power originates from birth, an event that rarely occurs regularly. When their mothers conceive, it is generally not by her husband but by the wind, or a drop of water. Newborn culture heroes are either very powerful babies or full-grown men, an attribute highlighting their exceptional nature. A culture hero generally goes on an adventure (often called the hero's journey) that does one of the following: Saves humankind from a dangerous monster Shapes the world (rivers, mountains, etc...