One reason for taking mythology seriously is that a society cannot be understood in isolation from its myths. Another is the light which myths cast not only on other people’s minds but on our own. If mythology is a way of thinking common to human beings in general, then a study of it is a study of ourselves.
Similarities and parallels among myths from different societies suggest that myths embody common patterns of thought. Along with the parallels there are numerous important differences, but the same patterns often occur. These indicate that human minds tend to supply similar answers to the same basic questions. Some examples are the feeling of living in a world dominated by mysterious, non-human agents, gods and spirits, and supernatural entities, myths of origin, myths about death and catastrophe, and so on.
For today’s students, myths offer magnificent literature. They are enjoyable reading. Classical mythology formed the basis of a humanistic education throughout the ancient world and from the late Middle Ages3 down to the twentieth century. This is clearly seen in Western literature. Furthermore, the art, sculpture, and architecture of the ancient world abounds in mythological themes. The art and sculpture from the Renaissance4 to Picasso5 cannot be fully grasped without an understanding of mythology.
Other fields, as diverse as psychology, medicine, botany, astronomy, and space technology borrow some of their terminology from myths. The anthropologist and the archeologist study the myths of a people as a means of grasping the culture.
Myths can show us the marvels that existed long before the age of scientific reasoning shed its progressive light on our perceptions. They free us from the narrow world of our own immediate concerns.