Building a mythology is a way that we can make sense of the world around us. What does a modern mythology look like?
The ancient Greeks used mythology to explain everyday life. The sun, for example, was actually the fiery wheel of a great chariot that Apollo rode across the sky each day.
Any number of gods, demi-gods, and heroes made up this mythology, much of which can still be found today. The labors of Hercules, the infighting of the Greek pantheon of gods, or the story of the Trojan horse live on in today’s society. There are translations of the Iliad and the Odyssey from Homer that are still in print, for instance, or the hugely popular Percy Jackson stories from author Rick Riordon, recently adapted to a Disney TV series.
And it is not just the Greeks, of course. The Romans, which borrowed heavily from the Greeks for their own mythology, were also influential. The names of the planets and satellites in our solar system largely come from these mythological sources. Jupiter, the leader of the Roman gods, is the name given to the largest planet. The red planet is named Mars, after the fiery Roman god of war.
Each culture has their own mythology. Other notable ones from history include the Norse, Egyptians, Japanese, and so on.
So then what makes up our modern mythology? What are the stories that we tell ourselves that allow us to make sense of our current world and the challenges and victories we experience? What in our society will future historians point to as the equivalent to the mythologies of yesteryear?
Related questions: What are the benefits of fiction? What role do sports play in our society? History or current events? What is art? How do you adopt new ideas?