1. a body of traditional stories (myths) associated with the early history of a particular culture. Such stories generally involve supernatural beings and events and often seek to explain particular natural or cultural phenomena (e.g., the cycle of the seasons, a specific custom) in terms of their supposed origins. Myths are often distinguished from legends as having little or no basis in historical events.

2. the study of myths. Sigmund Freud compared myths to dreams, which contain hidden meanings, and believed they throw unique light on the cultures from which they stem, and in some instances, as in the myth of Oedipus, on human nature in general.

3. in Carl Jung’s analytic psychology, primordial images, or archetypes, that are stored in the collective unconscious. —mythological adj.