By the Gods!

This is a question that we get asked constantly, and it’s a difficult one to answer.

First and foremost, a myth is a story. People are obsessed with defining the word in terms of true/untrue, but we shouldn’t start there. A myth is all about cultural tradition. It represents the values and perspective of a group of people at a given time.

Myth is more specifically defined (technically) as a sacred narrative that explains the origins of the world and universe in a unique cultural voice. That definition jives with a lot of the myths we discuss here concerning creation and the first men and women who crept out of the ocean/dust/space/heaven/flower, but it doesn’t fit as nicely when we consider heroic sagas, cautionary tales steeped in magic, and local or environmental stories.

Myth has become a very broad term, and I choose to allocate it to any story that is representative of a group of people. The use of myth as a substitute for lie isn’t particularly helpful or insightful; an old story isn’t necessarily false, just as a story that can’t be technically disproven isn’t necessarily true.

When an the truth of a story is dismissed as “only a myth,” the word isn’t being used properly. Is it “only a traditional cultural story,” or is it “not true”? Choose your words carefully! Respect the myth, yo.