Discussion Paper

Our understanding of ancient mythology is far from perfect, not only because evidence is scanty and incomplete but also because mythologies by their very nature describe the universe in magical and metaphorical terms. They are pre-rational, nonlinear, and embrace mutually contradictory narratives, some of which apply at some moments but not others. But all mythological systems are codes that signify human beings' experiences of the vast and frightening world in which they find themselves. Typically, the primal gods and goddesses represent the sky, land, and ocean; often, they are seen as the progenitors of families in conflict, families in which ...