A number of thinkers from widely differing fields have studied and commented on myths and legends. Here is a sampling of their observations:
- A myth is a sacred story from the past. It may explain the origin of the universe and of life, or it may express its culture's moral values. Myths concern the powers that control the human world and the relationship between those powers and human beings. Although myths are religious in their origin and function, they may also be the earliest form of history, science, or philosophy (Rosenberg)
- Myths are public dreams that, like private dreams, emerge from the unconscious mind (Sigmund Freud)
- Myths often reveal the archetypes of the collective unconscious (Carl Jung)
- Myths orient people to the metaphysical dimension, explain the origins and nature of the cosmos, validate social issues, and, on the psychological plane, address themselves to the innermost depths of the psyche (Joseph Campbell)
- Some myths are explanatory, being pre-scientific attempts to interpret the natural world (Frazer)
- Myths are usually functional and are the science of ‘primitive’ peoples (Malinowski)
- Myths are both individual and social in scope, but they are first and foremost stories (Kirk)
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