This paper explores the notion that Elvis Presley is becoming semi-divine by comparing his life story with those of legendary and mythical heroes, and other archetypal beings. Presley appears to fit more than one archetypal pattern of the mythical hero/king/god. His features even resemble some of the ancient ones, as depicted by statues.

We live in exciting times. We may well be witnessing a beloved idol on the way to becoming sem-divine. Elvis Presley is already a saint-like figure to many, as witnessed by the prevalence of "Elvis shrines" and the pilgrimage to Graceland. The myth is growing. Myths and legends are based on archetypes. These are frequently used by authors writing modern fantasy fiction of epic proportions. But "mythic structure" is more than the underlying archetype of a good story: myth teaches people how to discern good and bad, right from wrong, and how to order their lives - that is, it is a moral story. This is why the accepted myth of Elvis as a pop star who rose too high too fast and had a mighty fall is so prevalent and acceptable. His is a cautionary tale about the pitfalls of fame and fortune. There are various archetypes based on the "myth of the hero": they include Central Asian and Roman and Greek kings and heroes; British heroes such as King Arthur; the fairytale prince; and, more recently, superhero models. While some may think it is far-fetched to compare a pop singer to heroic archetypes, it is undeniable that a myth is developing around Elvis Presley. There may be some powerful psychological reasons why some people are elevating him to god-like status. The world needs larger-than-life heroes, and Presley appears to meet that need. We shall compare the Elvis Presley story to several archetypes to see how he fits the pattern.

Archetypes are universally understood pattern of behaviour which recur in myths and legends, linking them across time. Definitions of other terms used in this paper can be found in Appendix 1.

There are archetypes for human thought and deeds, as well as for faces and figures. In this paper we will look at the theories of psychologist Carl Jung and anthropologist Joseph Campbell regarding archetypes and myths. While Jung's theories are not universally accepted, we will nevertheless explore his ideas in the hope that they may provide fresh insight into the Elvis Presley phenomenon.

Jung identified many different archetypal patternings of human thought. These represent ways of thinking and behaving that humans adopt, many times without being fully conscious of the pattern they emulate.

As already suggested, there are myths with common themes across cultures and civilisations. These universal myths cover such topics as life, death, the creation of the world, the end of the world, and exploits of men and women (mainly men). Among them is the "myth of the hero". The general myth concerns a young man, usually a king's son, who is abandoned but saved from death. He suffers various trials and ordeals. By overcoming them he transcends the human condition, after which he belongs to a class of semi-divine beings. Examples of such heroes are Siegfried, King Arthur and Robin Hood. The physical journey through life is a metaphor for inner development. Trials and quests are obstacles to be overcome, and are the means by which the hero achieves self-integration, balance, wisdom and spiritual health (Eliot, c1976, p.?). Similarly, John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress, written in the 17th century, is an allegory of the pilgrim's journey to salvation, representing his spiritual development. Tolkien believed that the point of myth is to portray a hero figuring out the difference between right and wrong, which prepares the reader to make the same heroic journey in their own life.

The earliest recorded myths embodied divinity as a pantheon of gods, and evil as disobeying the will of the gods. Often the embodiment of disobedience was the father-god's ugly, handicapped or otherwise disadvantaged younger son, who rebelled out of jealousy of the older, handsomer, more capable son who would one day rule the gods. (Of course, such attitudes towards disability and disadvantage are now considered unacceptable and discriminatory.)

Hero myths tend to stem from times of trouble, especially invasion. The Arthurian myth became prevalent in the Middle Ages, based on events in the 5th or 6th century when post-Roman Britons were attempting to stave off conquest from continental invaders. Arthur was a Roman-Briton fighting the Angles, Saxons and Jutes. The Robin Hood myth places Robin in the early 13th century at the time of King John, although he was, in fact, late 14th century. Hereward the Wake was another hero who fought for the Saxons against their new masters, the Normans, after their invasion of Britain. These "popular hero versus the oppressors" myths brings hope in troubled times (Steele, 1998.).

While some heroes emerge to combat a specific threat, such as Arthur, Robin Hood or Beowulf, others were more generalized images of the better qualities of humanity: Heracles (Roman 'Hercules') and his legendary labours were both the actions of a hero in combating monsters and acts of redemption: Heracles accepted the labours to redeem himself after killing his family in a fit of divine-inspired madness. If he could become a hero after so heinous an act, then ordinary man could also be saved (Steele, 1998.).

We find that many heroes were flawed, and their heroism, despite their faults, was often a theme of their myths. For example, the Babylonian Gilgamesh myths have King Gilgamesh beginning as a tyrant. The Gods send Enkidu, a wild man, to destroy Gilgamesh but the two become friends and share adventures until Enkidu's death (Steele, 1998.).

Madeleine Wilson compares Elvis to the Biblical Samson, a Nazirite and judge renouned for his physical strength (Wilson, M., 2002, p. 29). He destroyed God's enemies, but because of moral weakness, he lost his strength, was captured, blinded, and reduced to being mocked in front of his enemies. Through his death, however, he destroyed more of God's enemies than when he was alive.

There are a couple of king archetypes which we can use for comparison with Elvis Presley. Some of them echo the "flawed hero" theme.

King Arthur is the obvious example of a legendary king with mystical healing powers. The Arthurian/Celtic cycle provides a classic example of the shadow archetype (explained in Appendix 2) as a reflection of the hero and dark side of humanity. Mordred is a reflection of his uncle (in some variants of the myth, father) Arthur and represents directly Arthur's dark side. When Arthur kills Mordred, and is in turn fatally wounded, he is not only good defeating evil, but also a good man defeating his own dark thoughts and dark actions (Steele, 1998.).

The Wounded King

The "Elvis ~ A Lighted Candle" web site proposes that Elvis's greater overall archetypal role is that of the "Wounded" or "Lame" King, also based on King Arthur. The wounded king is generally considered to be the guardian of the "Holy Grail consciousness", but is not adequately empowered to carry out the job. The Wounded King must be healed, but this not possible until the rightful recipient of the "Grail consciousness" comes along and claims the Grail. This is Perceval, who asks the right questions about the king's wound, the bleeding lance and the grail, at which the king is cured. Perceval succeeds the old king, takes on his powers, and becomes King of the Grail.

Here is another, related, quote:

"Elvis, like a giant mirror, reflects our own struggles with forces of good and evil, and creation and destruction. In a real way, when we see Elvis we see ourselves. Symbolizing the battle between the true and false selves in us all, Elvis's huge appeal lies in his power as an archetype – his epic rise and fall captures what is in all of us. Through understanding the Tao of Elvis, we can come to better understand ourselves."

The tendency to deify Elvis (along with George Washington) reveals the operation of the saviour archetype, a seemingly innate psychological disposition to attribute divine attributes and powers to great religious leaders or other prominent figures ("Saviour Archetype", nd).