The scientific approach of mythology

The proper nature of a human being pushes him to try to understand everything he can see, touch or even feel. May it be the heat produced by the rising Sun, the circular movements of the Earth, the continuous flow of Rivers, the water that falls from the Sky, or yet the origin of the Seasons ... since the beginning of time primitive cultures have been trying to explain things in a way they could possibly comprehend. These early civilizations had great knowledge-barriers that were gradually eroded with the passing centuries, early barriers which left them with no choice but to strongly rely on religion as a source for giving explanations to their surroundings: stories involving spirits, magic, gods and goddesses appear as true statements for natural phenomena.

Explanations could not be found or discovered, but nevertheless explanations had to be given:

Why is their a moving light during daytime ? What about the moon ? A god named "Helios" wakes up very early, jumps into his magic-horse-powered-chariot and drives it across the sky carrying the Sun itself to the opposite point bringing light and heat to the Earth below. In that final moment, the goddess Selene starts a similar journey, but this time her passenger is the Moon. (read more)

Why can a whirlpool suddenly appear in the middle of the Ocean ? A huge and ugly monster residing down the water moves his head towards the sky and swallows all the fluid he can get pass through his gigantic mouth. (read more)

How does the Earth stand still ? The Titan god Atlas is carrying the Globe on his shoulders, a punishment made by Zeus after having defeated him in the Titanomachy. (read more)

Why do mountains erupt ? The Olympian Hephaestus (r. Vulcan), god of Fire and Blacksmith of heroes and deities, is working hard inside the volcanic mountain forging new metal armour.

Why are there four seasons ? The goddess Persephone (r. Proserpine) was abducted by Hades (r. Pluto), god of the Underworld, and forced to live in his gloomy kingdom. Her mother Demeter (r. Ceres), goddess of the harvest, became depressed causing life on earth to come to a standstill. Seeing the Earth nearly devastated, Zeus commands that Persephone would live half of the year with her mother and the other half below the surface. While mother and daughter are together, Demeter is happy and grains grow (spring + summer). During the six months of separation plants fade (autumn + winter).

Scientific knowledge has been developing since the first man came into being, and with it the enrichment of every possible explanation to a phenomenon. The more the science advances, the less need for religion to appear and explain what can now be rationally understood. Stories of god and goddesses have changed shape, but nevertheless they are still there: science hasn't caused the extinction of mythology, but forced it to morph. What was first written as science-myths (true beliefs) later turned into fantasy stories that gained a new and totally different purpose: entertain. What was first the source of science, had now become the starting point of fantasy and ecstasy.

It's impossible to place that point in time when these men morphed from true-believers to true-entertainers, but what we know for certain is that when society started to leave their animistic conception of the world (the belief that spirits reside in phenomenon such as "The Sun") to an anthropomorphic one, their new journey had just begun. The animistic Sun can't be treated by men, it just stays on top of the Sky and gives heat and light to the World as is. But the anthropomorphic Helios is much like humans, and if we pay him high tributes, maybe we can influence the way he behaves and get extra hours of light for our own plants. The latter approach is more optimistic, fun and absurd ... and they will probably catch your attention with their peculiar and queer way of describing phenomena.

Give it a try: start reading Hesiod's Creation Myth (Theogony - 8th century BC) and then pass on to Ovid's Metamorphoses (1st century AD). Guess you will be able to clearly identify these two really different approaches to the same topic: while Hesiod was a true believer of his words, Ovid takes all that Hesiod had previously written down and turns it into an entertaining masterpiece.