Myth

A myth (not to be confused with an "Urban myth" or Urban legend) is a story, lacking in the elements of documentary or scientific proof, which has deep explanatory or symbolic resonance for a culture. The term is sometimes used pejoratively in reference to the beliefs of a religion, to imply that the story is both fanciful and fictional. It is more often used to refer to a story that has been recorded as part of the history of a culture. Most often it refers specifically to ancient tales from very old cultures, such as Greek mythology or Roman mythology. Some myths descended originally as part of an oral tradition and were only later written down, and many of them exist in multiple versions.

All cultures have developed over time their own mythology, consisting of legends of their history, their religions, and their heros. The myths that make up a culture's mythology are stories with deep explanatory or symbolic resonance for a culture, which is the usual explanation for why they remain with the culture sometimes for thousands of years. Myths are therefore to be distinguished from fables, folktales, [fairy tales]?, anecdotes, or simple fiction.

One notable genre of myth is the creation myth, a myth which explains how the Universe we observe was created, usually by a god or gods.

Not all myths are part of a cultural mythology. See Urban myth, for example.

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