what is mythology?

Answer 1

Mythology relates to something imaginary or fictitious and is normally associated witha culture, ie. Greek Mythology which tells the tales of Zeus, Athena and Hera and how they influenced their culture.

Answer 2

A very Good Question Indeed.
In Religious Scriptures through out the world, there are descriptions of great sages who deriving the power from God, perform unbelievable feats. There is also mention of God himself performing what we say as Miracles creating many planet and life.
But Scientists, being not able to explain how these are performed, as they have no instruments to prove God, they consider all these Scriptures as Mythology or The study of myth or false traditional stories.

Just like if some one told to the scientist around 200 years back that
“In Future willing to take revenge of against an army who flew concealed to the land of America and destroyed the major Harbor, The kingdom will send Soldiers, who will fly over the seas to the land of Japan with 2 very powerful fire weapons. Each weapon would destroy a whole city and will even be the cause of death of many for many decades to come”.

This would be put as Mythology as the scientist with their small brain would not be able to understand it. Hence Mythology basically means what the Scientists of Today are not able to understand for what ever “reason” they may have.

Answer 3

Mythology is the study of stories that are or were truly believed, like stories that children believe until they grow up or stories that people believe in as a culture, but which take place long before anyone can actually remember.
Myths are not exactly fiction, but some obviously have imaginary things in them. In the library mythology, even fairy tales, are found in the non-fiction section. They are more like a religious art form from another culture, than literature which is written to be fictional.

Answer 4

Mythology is any collection of stories or tales (which may be true, untrue or a mix of both) which have played an important role in the formation of route taken by a culture. These stories often allow the creation or veneration of heroes or the justification of some religion.

Not all myths are pure fiction, for instance, some call the Bible story of Joseph a myth even though there is much historical evidence for its setting and the general thrust of the tale. On the other hand, the Viking stories of Thor are probably fiction.

Answer 5

It's the total of all the stories that explain mysteries like the creation of the world/sun/stars/humans etc, the history and deeds of the gods and heroes, and sometimes the end of the world in any culture.
Thats why we speak about Greek/Roman/Japanese mythology.

Answer 6

Myths are stories from the past that have been exagerated to God-like proportions. Most myths have some element of truth to them, if you dig deep enough. For example, there are such things as dragons [komodo dragon], and there were dragon slayers, but the dragons couldn't breathe fire. Probably had bad breath though!
Mythology is the study of these myths

Answer 7

I like Jonathon D's answer. Each culture has its own myth stories which express that culture's values and where it has come from.

Myths tend to come from the poorer members of a culture and are transmitted by word-of-mouth. A religion like Judaism or Christanity or Islam is a top-down ideology and can be used as social control.

Myths are rich.

Answer 8

I'm with the others, its the study of tales, legends and beliefs across cultures with elements of fact built in to give credence. Sometimes linked to known religions and cults for repression, fear or motivation of the populace. Have a look at 'Larrouse' book on myths its a good read. Ikey alias Zeus!

Answer 9

It is a mixture of ancestral memory, star knowledge (combining astronomy with astrology), smithcrafts (eg. metallurgy), records of seasons and events or often also cultural traditions which often relate to the standards of the royalty who ruled at the time when the myth refers to. The characters of myth are often historical people, although often such characters are the deified form of a person when they passed on, especially royals such as kings, queens and so.

Answer 10

Mystic Guru