myth n. 1.a. A traditional, typically ancient story dealing with supernatural beings, ancestors, or heroes that serves as a fundamental type in the world view of a people, as by explaining aspects of the natural world or delineating the psychology, customs, or ideals of society. b. Such stories considered as a group. 2. A story, a theme, an object, or a character regarded as embodying an aspect of a culture. 3. A fiction or half-truth, especially one that forms part of an ideology. 4. A fictitious story, person, or thing.
In ancient times, humanity was often baffled by natural events. Winds, the seas, storms, and fire were all far beyond common understanding. At times it almost felt as though these elements were actively trying to destroy humanity, and at other times to help. As is our nature when the unfamiliar is encountered, the ancients went to great lengths to explain these phenomena. People began to see natural events as the manifestations of supreme beings. Soon everyone was doing his best to stay on the favorable sides of these beings. It was not until people began to live in settlements that they first began to give these beings form. Each area in nature soon took on a human form. This personification increased until an entire divine social structure had been created in the minds of men, serving only to justify nature's actions.
It was the Greeks who first developed the idea. The head of their divine world was Zeus, the god of thunder. All of the divinities were interwoven in an outrageous family structure that would make any unworldly man queasy. On the other hand, the Romans were slower in their development of a divine world. In fact it was not until they made contact with their Greek neighbors that they adopted the concept. The Romans immediately made the Greek gods their own, changing their names for originality's sake.
The Stories of Creation (work in progress)