DK Eyewitness Mythology (urspr publ 1999; utgåvan 2011)

What is mythology?
The word "myth" comes from the Greek "mythos," meaning a legend or a story. Sometimes it is used to mean something people believe that is not true: "It is a myth that carrots help you see in the dark." But mythology is not a collection of lies; it is a collection of truths. Each human culture makes stories about the creation of the world, the origins of humankind, and the meaning of life. These stories are myths. In one sense, mythology is religion in story form. But while the essence of religious belief is usually very simple, mythology can be highly complex. This is because myths are stories that explore rather than explain. They show the human mind searching to balance the forces of creation and destruction, of life and death.