The importance of mythology is not something those of us in the post-modern era, or most of us, can truly claim to understand. Joseph Campbell is perhaps the greatest recent mind on relating mythology to everyday human life, most known for his discourse on The Monomyth, also known as The Hero's Journey,
A basic definition would be helpful to us all. Mythology is a very broad spectrum of legends and stories, often entwined with religious beliefs, that explain reality around us. It can range from religious texts to "fairy tales" and folklore, and in each case the intent of prophets and shamans and storytellers is to explain reality around us. Such lessons can be on everyday life and common sense, or deep moral statements that exhort the reader to be better than they were when they woke up that morning.
Some would say that the time for such "stories", they say with disdain, is long past - science holds the seat of explaining reality and all other explanations are delusions of grandeur. Those such as myself disagree because there is value in mythology - parables and fables.
The aforementioned scholar of these studies, Mr. Campbell, approaches this topic from both the "mythology geek" (I certainly am one) view and that of an anthropologist, student of culture and history. In The Masks of God: Creative Mythology he lays out the function of mythology: awakening a sense of awe before the mystery of being, explaining the universe's shape, validating and supporting the existing social order, and guiding human beings through the stages of life.
This is not the absolute approach I will present to you all, but Mr. Campbell certainly has laid the groundwork to bring mythology into the appropriate light for the modern and post-modern era.
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