Mityczni bogowie a ludzie

Abstract

The inspiration for the author’s reflection on the mutual relation of mythical deities and people was a book by Wiesław Juszczak entitled Pani na Żurawiach. This article assumes that the world known to people is a visible manifestation, but also part of mythical reality. The foundations of the latter arise as a result of the activity of spiritual powers, especially personal ones which we call gods. Gods are, like humans, an integral part of mythical reality. We situate them in the supernatural sphere, because they do not have their own characters, i.e. they do not reveal themselves directly – either to people or to each other. The character is a sensual manifestation of spiritual activity. The world is the manifestation of such activity – first of all, the activity of gods. Man is a ghost with his own character. His character, like all the rest of the sensual sphere, is a manifestation of the activity of gods. Man becomes a ghost when his character gains autonomy among others, which means that he becomes an instrument of his conscious, purposeful action. In the final part of the article, the author reflects on the mutual position of the two ways in which Wiesław Juszczak differentiated our communing with the myth and its two meanings or dimensions: the first would be the source and absolute one, the second – anthropological.