Romanian myths

1. Romanian myths General presentation

2. The spiritual heritage of every national culture has its foundation in the folk creation. The ancestral antiquity and the complexity of the content make the Romanian myths and legends – a unique universe. In the folk creation the myths are considered legends or allegorical stories about magical times, heroes and the history of mankind knows them only intuitively. The Greek- Latin mythology with its Gods and heroes, whit centaurs, nymphs and other fabulous creatures, joins in the old European culture the Romanian mythology, too.

3. George Calinescu, Romanian critic, classifies the Romanian myths: • The Myth of the Flying Man – the erotic myth • Traian and Dochia myth- the myth of the Romanian ethno genesis • The Craftsman Manole myth - the esthetic myth • The pastoral Existence Myth – Miorita

4. 1 The myth of the Flying Man is present in the entire universal literature. The God of Love, Eros from the Greek mythology is in our belief a supernatural creature, a night creature who steals the sleep of the unmarried girls. The anxiety, the nostalgia, the erotic wish – which are human experiences - determined by the Flying Man from the Romanian fairy tales, can be found in the cultural creations such as: “The Flying Man” By I.H. Radulescu, “Calin (file din poveste)” and the poem “ Luceafarul” by MihaiEminescu.

6. 2. The myth of the Romanian origin is “Traian and Dochia”. Decebal`s daughter is transformed in a stone by Zamolxe, the God of the dacs and even if she was like this, he still love her. In the mythical literature of MihaiEminescu we meet the poems ”Rugaciuneaunuidac (The Prayer of a Dac)”, or ”PovesteaDochiei (Dochia’sStory)” and “Ursitoarele”. In the novel “ Creanga de Aur” (The Golden Branch) by MihailSadoveanu it is presented the old period of Dacia in the VIII th century, after the formation of Romanian people had come to an end.

7. Dochia was the beautiful daughter of king Decebal himself and after Traian conquered Dacia, he fell in love with the girl and wanted to marry her, to give an example of blending Dacs and Romans. But the girl was very proud and insulted by the Roman king, so she run away in the mountains where she turned into a stone along with her sheep. You can even see the stone on magic mountain of Moldavia, Ceahlau.

10. 3. The esthetic myth of Craftsman Manolewas spread in the South Eastern European Space , in the center of Europe but also in Caucaz. MirceaEliade underlines the unique value of the folk, Romanian legend having deep esthetic dimensions. The pride, the humiliation and the heroism are fundamental parts of the creative genius. The immortality is possible only through sacrifice, the creation is born only by suffering. At Lucian Blaga the “Craftsman Manole” drama, the main character is also a church builder whose life goes through his masterpiece. Being eager to“ give life to new beauties”. In the poem “The Craftsman Manole” by NicolaeLabis it’s underlined the idea that the poetry is an expression of love for the country, the poem, sacrificing his heart, his personal dreams, for his work.

11. ,, The Legend of the Craftsman Manole”, the legendary ballad the Arges Monastery, a masterpiece of the Romanian folk culture, is connected to the famous Monastery Curtea de Arges, which was built by NeagoeBasarab, in the 16th century. The Craftsman Manole sacrifices his wife in order to build a church. For him, his success means more than a human life, the creation becomes an illness and the divine intervention represents the conviction of the orthodox spirit, the craftsman being just a messenger who was given a unique vocation-to offer people role models.

13. Over the years, the legend has become one of our fundamental myths, the myth of dying for the creation, its message being that nothing can resist in time if it is not made with a sacrifice. It went beyond the border of our country and it gathers foreigners from all over the world who are eager to see the famous wall where the craftsman ‘s wife was caught forever. Another aspect which assures the singleness of this legend is that Ana , the craftsman’s wife accepts with serenity her building, like in a game (she doesn’t protest, she doesn’t fight). She is thus one of the most luminous figures of our literature. The sacrificed flight of the craftsman is also present, but only in Romanian variants. The Monastery and the spring (the fountain) can be interpreted as a metaphor, of the two souls (Manole and Ana) tied, through death , in the eternity.

15. 4. The pastoral Existence Myth-“ Miorita” is the most generously interpreted in the literature and also by critics. The pastoral myth symbolizes the brotherhood with nature, the understanding of its rhythms and also the conviction of the human existence role in fulfilling the destiny. From the culture phylosophs to the novel writers and poets the theme of life in the eternal nature rhythms was written by MihailSadoveanu in “Baltagul”, by MihaiEminescu in “ Mai am un singurdor” and “ Revedere”

16. The subject of the ballad is simple. In the mountains, in the Moldavian Carpathians there are three shepherds. Two of them are some strangers. Because they are evil-minded and envious they want to kill the third one in order to have his sheep. The exceptional value of ,,Miorita” ballad is that long before the Moldavian State was formed it lead to the proof of its ethnical name: Moldavian people. As it has appeared in a certain historical moment, Miorita” hasn’t lost its spirituality and artistical value, its ethnical truth kept over the years.

18. The following generations of anonymous creators and writers who belong to the cultural literature have made myths and legends of this old landscape giving this way a stamp of originality and medieval culture.

19. Thank you ! • Made by: • Maria Aiordachioaie, • EvelinaMarusac • Mariana Chirila