Myths are “the science of a pre-scientific age.” They explain the creation of man, cosmology, natural phenomena, and even constellations. Its sole purpose was to make sense of the world.

What we call “mythology” now, was the ancestors’ religion, it served them just as how holy scriptures do for people today: they explained, comforted, and directed them in their spiritual lives. It meant more than just the literal details of the story, it was its nuance and essence that was significant.

Myths were the product of their commitment to finding order in the world.

“You can’t take mythology at face value.”

Indiana Jones

But what’s the true origin of myths? And how does it relate to history?

Modern historians believe that all myths were based on some sort of truth: that some myths describe some actual historical events having actually occurred in a previous age, but have been exaggerated, overstated, and refashioned by various storytellers over time, generation upon generation, each one vamping it up a little,  so it becomes unattainable to know what actually happened and so, by the action of glorifying the acts of brave men, you got a mythological god, or even just a demigod, which is something we can simply believe since, well, you know how stories can change in our present day from one person to another.

It’s all about perspectives. That’s the way history and myth collide.

“Myth and history are generally considered antithetical modes of explanation”

Peter Heehs

Accordingly, historians of our modern era consider that their efforts are best spent eliminating all elements of myth from the ancient historical record.

They have become aware that an abundance of the alleged factual history is intertwined with unanticipated myths; that what we call history is at least partially “Mythistory”.

Some even suggest that there can be no real distinction between the discourses of myth and history: between fact and fiction.

But how similar are the world’s mythology?

Every culture in the world has had and still has, some type of mythology: Norse, Greek, Roman (although it’s just a weak version of the Greek myths, we’re counting it anyway) Egyptian, Indian, Aztec, Chinese, Polynesian.

Often the very same story can be found in myths from different parts of the world. and it came up in all these people’s faiths and beliefs before any of them had a chance to collide and affect the other.

The story of the Great Flood can be found in the mythology of virtually every culture on earth. With Noah’s counterpart in the Greek myth being named Deucalion.
The tale of the fire-bringer and teacher of humanity: as in the Polynesian Māui is echoed in the Chinese tale of Fuxi and in the Greek Prometheus.

The creation story where a great god speaks existence into creation is quite similar to creation stories from ancient Egypt and China.

Whether the traces left of mythology in our modern life were just the idioms, lessons, art, or even modernized fiction, and films, one thing is certain: it did leave a lot to admire, and since we love its type of storytelling, writers have taken it upon themselves to create modern day mythology, and it’s not nation-specific, it’s really just the popular fiction that writers come up with.

If you think about it a little, what’s the most popular “new” fiction that isn’t based on mythology? Well, you could easily guess it: it’s superheroes and even robot wars, but not just them. They are modern mythology in that they are the modern man’s method of explaining the world around them through the fantastical.

Do you like Mythology? And do you think it is still relevant today? Tell us which mythology you like best, and which myth is your favorite.