Archetypes in Mythology: Unlock the Secrets of Your Subconscious

An archetype, put simply, is a symbolic pattern. Put not so simply, Archetypes (introduced by psychiatrist Carl Jung) are universal models of behaviors, people and personalities that play a role in human behavior. They're patterns we find in myths, stories and art both ancient and modern.

Archetypes in mythology are plentiful, and they provide some of the most ancient evidence of these patterns.

What are archetypes in mythology?

Ever wondered why archetypes in mythology of one country are repeated in others? For example, the Egyptians told stories of the god Osiris dying and being reborn--a pattern we can also find in the stories of the Greek god Adonis and Babylonian god Tammuz.

The answer is that people around the world were drawn to archetypes. There are heroes, villains, orphans and adventurers. Similar characters are woven throughout the tapestry of ancient mythology worldwide.

Why? Because these mythological archetypes are ingrained into human consciousness. In other words, they’re part of us, and we all have them in common.

Psychologist Carl Jung believed that archetypes are encoded into the brains of all humans. Since he believed that understanding these patterns help us understand ourselves better, he organized archetypes into 12 tidy little categories:

Explorer
Sage
Innocent
Hero
Outlaw
Magician
Jester
Creator
Caregiver
Ruler
Everyperson
Lover

Greek mythology holds excellent examples of these 12 archetypes, which we’ll outline in this video. Enjoy!