Stories that are based on tradition are myths. Some may have historical roots, while others are purely fictional. But myths are more than mere tales, and in ancient and modern cultures they serve a more profound role. Myths are sacred tales which explain the experience of the world and man. Myths today are just as important to us as they were to the ancients. Myths answer timeless questions and represent each generation as a compass. The myths of lost paradise, for instance, give people hope that they will gain a better life in the afterlife by leading a virtuous life. The Golden Age myths give people hope that there are great leaders who can make their lives easier. The hero's journey, as they embrace adult obligations, is a blueprint for young men and women to pursue. Some myths, such as myths that describe natural phenomena as the acts of gods rather than random occurrences of nature, are simply comforting.
Throughout history, the subjects of myths reflect humanity's basic concerns: birth, death, the afterlife, the origin of man and the cosmos, good and evil and the essence of man himself. A myth taps into the common wisdom of man, a universal cultural narrative. An excellent example of the universality of these themes is that myths that are strikingly comparable are produced by so many people who have had no interaction with each other. Cultures around the world, from the Middle East to the remote mountains of South America, for instance, have stories of great earthquakes, virgin births, and the afterlife.
Myths are not necessarily hopeful, unlike fairy tales. The meaning of myths, true to the nature of life, is such that they are as often warnings as promises; as often lamentations as celebrations. Many myths, including cultural taboos such as incest, fratricide, and greed, are instructive and serve as a guide to social norms.
In the arts and ads, misconceptions are still prevalent, for a very simple reason. Advertising uses visual metaphors to talk to us from movies to cars to perfume. Although myths are reinterpreted by artists of every age, for thousands of years, the same basic trends have shown up in mythology. To those who have absorbed these mythic tales since birth, a name, word, or picture based on a common myth may speak volumes. When we hear the word, "Beware of Greeks bearing gifts" or when we see a TV advertisement featuring a wooden horse full of soldiers, we understand the reference to Odysseus, who in this way tricked the Trojans into accepting an army into their town.
We understand that when Jacqueline Kennedy referred to her husband's time as a new Camelot, she meant it was a golden age, like King Arthur's. When the Greek government dubbed "Operation Golden Fleece," a movement to liberate ethnic Greeks from behind the walls of the Iron Curtain, we realized that they were invoking an ancient name to express that these people belonged to them. Another layer of truth and fiction is introduced to the myths by each generation of storytellers, so that the concepts and characters of myths remain timeless and continually applicable as they are reinvented and reapplied to the lives of each new generation.