The concept of an archetype is found in areas relating to behavior, modern psychological theory, and literary analysis. An archetype can be:

1. a statement, pattern of behavior, or prototype which other statements, patterns of behavior, and objects copy or emulate;
2. a Platonic philosophical idea referring to pure forms which embody the fundamental characteristics of a thing;
3. a collectively-inherited unconscious idea, pattern of thought, image, etc., that is universally present in individual psyches, as in Jungian psychology;
4. or a constantly recurring symbol or motif in literature, painting, or mythology (this usage of the term draws from both comparative anthropology and Jungian archetypal theory).