"In
general one may say: 葉hat myth, such as it is lived by archaic societies, constitutes the story of the deeds
of Supernatural Beings;
葉hat the story is considered absolutely true (because it refers to realities) and sacred
(because it is the work of
Supernatural Beings); 葉hat myth always concerns a 'creation'; it tells how something has come into
existence, or how a way
of behaviour, an institution, a way of working, were established; this is why myths constitute paradigms for
every meaningful human act;
葉hat in knowing the myth one knows the
'origin' of things and is thus able to master things and manipulate them at will; this is not an
'external", 'abstract' knowledge,
but a knowledge that one 'lives' ritually, either by reciting the myth ceremonially, or by carrying out the
ritual for which it serves as
justification; 葉hat in one way or another one 'lives' the myth, gripped by the sacred, exalting power
of the events one is
rememorializing and reactualizing."
Definition of Myth: Eliade