MYTHOLOGY

is the name of all the old legends which usher in historic times, and which embody the conviction of all primitive peoples about the world around them. The interpretation of them is threefold. First, ethical—that wise men invented stories about gods and punishments allegorical—that as a means of governing; second, physical or the stories contain primitive explanations of natural phenomena, c.g. sunrise, earthquakes, etc. thirdly, historical— that the old gods were men of bye-gone; ages.