1. Concept and phenomenon
In Greco-Roman antiquity, the Greek term múthos adopted into all European languages (German Mythos, French mythe) denoted a semantic field ranging from “word” and “factual statement” to “invented narrative.” Beginning with Plato, its meaning became confined to “story of the gods and heroes” [13. 181]. Accordingly, “mythology” throughout the early modern period was almost invariably taken to mean …