mythologization
Creating sacred stories
Mythologization is the process of turning something into myth—elevating a person, event, or idea to legendary status.
History becomes simplified, embellished, or imbued with symbolic meaning: the mythologization of the American frontier, the mythologization of celebrity culture.
The term often carries skepticism, suggesting distortion of fact in service of narrative.
Official declaration of sainthood
- ritualizationFormalizing into repeated ceremony
- sacralizationImbuing with holiness
- deificationElevation to divine status
- apotheosisPeak or deification
sanctification · elevation · veneration · eternalization · transfiguration · consecration · enshrinement · immortalization
Overstating beyond reality
- hyperboleRhetorical extreme exaggeration
- fabricationDeliberately untrue statement
- apocryphalUnverified and probably untrue
- embroideredOrnamented with sewn designs
amplification · overstatement · dramatization · romanticized · glorification · idealization · colorful · fanciful
Account of events
- folkloreInherited cultural narratives
- fablesDidactic animal stories
- legendsTraditional stories or icons
- talesSpoken or written narratives
myths · sagas · epics · lore · oral tradition · parables · allegories · chronicles
All gods of a religion
- deitiesWorshipped supernatural beings
- cosmogonyStudy of universal origins
- theogonyNarrative of gods' origins
- polytheismBelief in multiple deities
monotheism · animism · totemism · paganism · eschatology · divination · oracle · sacrifice
Inherited cultural legacy
- traditionsLong-established customs passed down
- customsTraditional practices or import taxes
- ancestryFamily line of descent
- ethnologyComparative study of peoples
artifacts · totems · symbols · ceremonies · rites · indigenous · origin stories · cultural identity
canonization
Official declaration of sainthood
- ritualizationFormalizing into repeated ceremony
- sacralizationImbuing with holiness
- deificationElevation to divine status
apotheosis · sanctification · elevation · veneration · eternalization · transfiguration · consecration · enshrinement · immortalization · iconization
exaggeration
Overstating beyond reality
- hyperboleRhetorical extreme exaggeration
- fabricationDeliberately untrue statement
- apocryphalUnverified and probably untrue
embroidered · amplification · overstatement · dramatization · romanticized · glorification · idealization · colorful · fanciful · ornate
narrative
Account of events
- folkloreInherited cultural narratives
- fablesDidactic animal stories
- legendsTraditional stories or icons
tales · myths · sagas · epics · lore · oral tradition · parables · allegories · chronicles · mythmaker
pantheon
All gods of a religion
- deitiesWorshipped supernatural beings
- cosmogonyStudy of universal origins
- theogonyNarrative of gods' origins
polytheism · monotheism · animism · totemism · paganism · eschatology · divination · oracle · sacrifice · priesthood
heritage
Inherited cultural legacy
- traditionsLong-established customs passed down
- customsTraditional practices or import taxes
- ancestryFamily line of descent
ethnology · artifacts · totems · symbols · ceremonies · rites · indigenous · origin stories · cultural identity · ancestral
mythologizationdocumentation
Written proof or instructions
fact-checking · verification · substantiation · demystification · authentication
mythologizationdemythologization
Removing supernatural from narratives
debunking · deconstruction · demystification · humanization · delegitimization
myth, mythology, mythological, mythologies, mythologize, mythologic, mythologized, mythologizing, mythologizes