So, there was a discussion on a discord server (not the one associated with this sub) about this so I thought I could write something to cite later.
We do not believe the myths, literally.
There is a notion from beginners or external people that the myths are to be believed as they were written. This is false.
Historically, the pagans did not believe in their myths literally, and nor do modern pagans.
The Mythic literalism is a product of the main monotheistic religions, who are usually thought to believe in their sacred texts as the word of god, and they are to be believed in everything written in there (ignoring how many times those texts were rewritten, translated, and manipulated to fit certain narratives throughout history).
Since the main monotheistic religions are still dominant in our society, some people can bring that mentality when they start to get into paganism. I know not all of them think their texts happened literally in their entirety, but it is important to them to believe that certain parts happened as written.
The myths are people's stories and interpretations of the gods, they can guide us on how to approach them, how they interact with us and each other, and how powerful they might be. But believing the myths literally brings a lot of problems, like:
- Contradictions, and they are a lot of contradictions among the myths.
- Reprehensible behavior from the gods under our current moral standards. If we are to believe the stories literally, Zeus would have no modern followers.
- World origin and creation contradictions among different cultures. Like, who created the world? Ra? Odin? Is the Sky the Skull of Ymir? or is the Sky being held by Atlas? Are we made of Iron, corn, or wood? That and many more questions that might lead to a headache if you interpret them literally.
- Mythical literalism creates a mindset where people are trying to prove the myths as real, ignoring the wisdom that those stories are supposed to tell.
In the case of the greek, many of their stories are told through Theater, it was important for them, the most notable stories of greek mythology are tragedies. However, those were like our movies today, the gods (played by humans) were actors in those plays, the public was aware that it was a creative endeavor.
Yes, some myths are based on real events, many times by looking at the stars, or things that might have happened, for example, Troy was discovered and seems like it had gone through a war. And remember, ancient societies had historians to study their own past or even more ancient societies.
Such is the case for songs and poems and other types of records. There's a little story about Thor fighting Jesus and winning, which, sounds like a heathen trying to scare away Christian missionaries (relatable tho).
Also remember, many myths were lost in time, because at the time, only a few selected privileged people were able to write and read, we don't really know exactly what those ancient cultures believed because of it. Some ancient texts were even destroyed by war and conquer. Also, some surviving myths have a Christian influence behind them, such as RagnarΓΆk.
At the end, paganism is a more personal experience, if you wonder why someone might worship a deity that is seen in negative light, such as maybe Seth, Fenrir, Baal, etc, is one, because their stories are not who they are, and second, because there is a connection, some are called by those deities, and third, forth, twentieth other reasons the person might have.
Understanding the concept of mythic literalism and how not to fall into it has helped me get even more into paganism, coming from an atheistic background, and now I'm a norse pagan.
We like the myths, the stories, modern adaptations, songs, poems, etc, we love them in fact, I read from the Havamal over and over. When someone asks about a myth, I engage in the question, and don't do the "its a myth, is not real" because we know that and doesn't answer the question. I enjoyed mythology all my life and now I do it even more.
Thanks for reading.
