Interview with Randy Smith

The following is an interview with Randy Smith, a student in Florida who has spent a great deal of time researching and studying mythology out of interest. I was able to interview him about his thoughts on Egyptian Mythology.

 

Q: How long have you studied mythology? 

A: I've done independent reading and research ever since the fifth grade, when I was 10. That would put me at 12 years.

Q: What other Mythologies have you studied?  

A: Greek, Roman, Norse, Slavic, Australian, African, Hindu, Native American, etc. Whatever mythology I can get my hands on, really. The stories are all fascinating.

Q: How do you think Egyptian Mythology differs from other mythologies you’ve studied?

A: Egyptian  Mythology seems, at least from my experience, much less protracted. The myths are much shorter. Though, this may simply be due to the fact that I have yet to read a body of Egyptian myth so interconnected as Hesiod's Theogony for the Greeks. Egyptian myths depict the gods' personality and significance, you know what to expect from each, but there isn't much in-between without a little extra-added on by translators. Also, I haven't seen any mortal heroes to speak of. All of their tales seem to deal directly with the gods themselves.

Q: What are some of your personal views on Egyptian mythology as a whole? 

A: It's fascinating. Very fun stuff to delve into. Less filler than many other myths I've read, so you get down to what seems to be the real purpose of the myth in the first place; to explain certain natural and social phenomena in the world. My only complaint is my difficulty with finding more of the stories to collect; I've read up on certain deities, spirits and creatures aside from the main ones (such as the creature Sak, with the head of a falcon, the body of a leopard and a tail ending in a lotus bloom), but not many of them besides the gods themselves actually show up with significant functions in any surviving myths I've found to date.

Q: Egyptian myths are notoriously confusing due to differing accounts throughout their history. What is your opinion on the often varied and competing versions of Egyptian myths? 

A: Every mythology, cult and surviving religious belief system seems to have variations on what they believe is true. Different parts of Greece placed heavier emphasis on different gods, and likewise different parts of Egypt interpreted stories in different ways. It happens, and it shouldn't disconcerting or confusing; rather, as a fan of the sci-fi and fantasy genres, I find the idea of alternate realities intriguing.

Q: Do you believe that myths are an effective means of storytelling? Why? 

A: Of course. In creating a myth, you introduce a character or a set of characters, and cast them into some prodigious situation--freeing the sword from the stone, navigating the labyrinth, slaying the rakshasas, etc. You may not be able to relate directly to their struggles (for, certainly, you've never had to face a Gorgon in your life), but sometimes you can relate to the feelings that such tasks evoke, whether that feeling be the exultation of adventure, or trepidation at the daunting task that lies ahead. And even if you can't relate, everybody likes a role model to look up to, enjoys the villain who takes the overconfident hero down a peg, and fancies the trickster who bests far stronger opponents with his wit instead of his muscle. Not only is mythology an effective means of telling a story... I would be hard-pressed to find a more effective means of storytelling than mythology.

Q: In your own opinion, do you believe that people today can learn from mythology and how?  

A: Definitely. People through the ages have very broad wants, needs, concerns and interests that ring true throughout the ages. They wonder about their place in the world. They wonder if what they're doing is right. They wonder where to find people who are like-minded, to whom they can relate. They wonder how to deal with people who are different from them, or how to deal with situations that seem impossible to handle. All these issues and more are addressed by mythology, in a way that plain-out lecturing or pep talks simply don't accomplish.

Q: Do you have a favorite myth or God from Egyptian mythology? Why? 

A: I have to say, from what I've read, I like Thoth the best. He's clever and wise, and those are always the makings of an adventure right there. And as a writer myself, his mythical invention of writing certainly bumps him up on my list. Not to mention, he's not particularly good or evil, only balanced. This puts him into a moral grey area that is very versatile for a story. He is a philosopher, but also a politician; a scientist, but also a magician; an astronomer, but also an astrologer. His combination of the good and the bad, the rhetorical and the lyrical, the mundane and the supernatural, makes him undoubtedly among the most interesting of all.