reveals an absolute fixed point, a center.

[7]
Where the Sacred intersects our world, it appears in the form of ideal models (e
.g., the actions and commandments of gods or mythical heroes). All things become
truly "real" by imitating these models. Eliade claims: "For archaic man, realit
y is a function of the imitation of a celestial archetype."[8] As evidence for t
his view, in The Myth of the Eternal Return, he cites a belief of the Iranian Zu
rvanites. The Zurvanites believed that each thing on Earth corresponds to a sacr
ed, celestial counterpart: for the physical sky, there is a sacred sky; for the
physical Earth, there is a sacred Earth; actions are virtuous by conforming to a
sacred pattern.[9] These are some other examples Eliade gives:
"According to Mesopotamian beliefs, the Tigris has its model in the star Anunit
and the Euphrates in the star of the Swallow. A Sumerian text tells of the 'plac
e of the creation of the gods,' where 'the [divinity of] the flocks and grains'
is to be found. For the Ural Altaic peoples the mountains, in the same way, have a
n ideal archetype in the sky. In Egypt, places and nomes were named after the ce
lestial 'fields': first the celestial fields were known, then they were identifi
ed in terrestrial geography."[10]
Further, there is profane
yths describe a time that
modern man would consider
be breakthroughs of the
ical age is the time when
ng: "The manifestation of
he mythical age is sacred
.

time, and there is sacred time. According to Eliade, m

is fundamentally different from historical time (what
"normal" time). "In short," says Eliade, "myths descri
sacred (or the supernatural ) into the World".[11] The myth
the Sacred entered our world, giving it form and meani
the sacred ontologically founds the world".[7] Thus, t
time, the only time that has value for traditional man