"Mythology" is a word loaded with a lot of argumentative baggage. Many people think of "untrue stories" when they talk about myths and mythologies. That is not necessarily the case. If you search for the definition of "mythology" on the Internet you'll find definitions like these:
- A collection of myths, especially one belonging to a particular religious or cultural tradition.
- The study of myths.
- A set of stories or beliefs about a particular person, institution, or situation, especially when exaggerated or fictitious.
As we can see, the element of fiction or exaggeration is accepted as one possible meaning for "mythology". We have a similar set of definitions for "myth".
- A traditional story, especially one concerning the early history of a people or explaining some natural or social phenomenon, and typically involving supernatural beings or events.
- A widely held but false belief or idea
The word "myth" is ultimately derived from Greek "mythos", meaning "speech, thought, story, myth, anything delivered by word of mouth," of unknown origin. The association with falsehood is believed only to have begun in the early 1840s.
Modern uses for "myth" extend beyond casual conversation. A psychologist, for example, may speak of your "personal mythology", which the way you view and interpret the world around you. That mythology is not necessarily untrue or false, although it may not agree with everyone else's personal mythologies.
As scholars we should not approach myths as stories that are inherently false. Instead, we should interpret them as stories that are meant to explain or teach some important principles. There may real physical events behind some myths but as stories were passed on from person to person or generation to generation they became embellished either by faulty memories or by deliberate exaggeration or substitution.
The great myths of Greek mythology are often preserved in epic poems and other ancient stories which we know were embellished because they were used as entertainment. It was a similar process to the way modern books, poems, and movies embellish real historical events.
We should not discount the old myths completely, even if they sound absurd by today's standards (and science). These stories meant something to the people who composed them and they had reasons for passing them on.
A good example is the story of Europa and Zeus. In Greek mythology she was a maiden with whom Zeus fell in love. To hide her from Hera he disguised himself as a beautiful bull and when Europa approached the bull it took her to a far away land.
There Zeus ravished Europa and she bore him three sons (Minos, Rhadamanthus, and Sarpedon). Their descendants named the land "Europe" in her honor.
Minos is remembered as the King of Crete and the story of Zeus and Europa comes from Crete. The Cretans preserved a special ritual in their artwork, bull leaping. Their athletes practiced this skill. We are sure there is a strong connection between the bull leaping and the Europa myth.
Regardless of how the story came to take its modern form, there must have been a time when it meant something more to people than just a tale about Zeus. They preserved a story about how the continent of Europe was named for a Phoenician woman. Even before any religious significance the story may have assumed, the name had a special meaning for the Cretans. The original source of the myth has been lost, and we don't know how it evolved to its current form.
Even though we have no reason to believe today that Zeus really captured a girl and took her to a faraway land that was later named for her, we know this story was meant to preserve something important to the people who made it. It isn't simply "a fictional account" made up for entertainment.