Europe's rediscovery of its classical heritage, of Greece and Rome, from its Christian interlude, though filled with wonder was not without its warts. All that did not fit the Biblical naïveté got slotted into mythology. So all the rich tapestry of wonder, mystery and the sacred that was Greek/Roman life and culture got labelled as 'mythology'...much as the Hindu/Indian spirituality would be during the latter's colonisation.
So what is it about Greek 'mythology' that deserves study and contemplation? Take for instance the Illiad..and one of its heroes, Achilles..the classic western archetype of the doomed hero, who battles against men and gods in his quest for fame and immortal glory. Which soldier arrayed in battle has not looked up to this benchmark, has not manifested in heights and depths that fury against which the gods and demons shrink bank?
Or take Cassandra, that archetype of caution against too deep a curiosity towards all that is occult and which should remain hidden behind the curtain of time, all that should not be seen. And that classic curse, 'you will see the future but none shall believe'. That anguish of knowing in advance the terrible doom that awaits her kin and yet her prophetic wails would be like offerings to implacable and mute gods.
Odysseus' journey home is the touchstone by which we gain our bearings during our wanderings through time, space and relationships.
Or the much misunderstood Oediepus, whose infamy is mostly due to the excursions into sub-conscious realms by Freud, and his daughters. Who cast into circumstances of deceit, treachery by fates has not looked to heavens in helplessness? Who like his daughters has not defied kings and men, to stand for a dead kin?
Also consider Prometheus, Paris, Medusa and so many more.
These are not myths. A myth is life behind and beyond the senses and reason. Life is more than the consumption or material acquisition or the little emotional bits revealed through common spirituality popularly practised by religions.
Life is possibility. An ever expanding set of possibilities of becoming for man. What he can make of it, how he can make it, what dangers and powers lurk behind to lay claim on his being, what joys of search and discovery lie hidden beyond common hands, hearts and minds are the sorts of concerns that these 'myths' deal with.
Whether rendered as epic poems, dramatic forms, as stories, parables...these articulations are our inner individual and collective realities...and like the Delphic Oracles, not always understandable to common reason...but they enrich us and throw their searching lights upon our path forward. A well rounded inner life would take these Greek myths seriously and not treat them with carelessness and cluelessness as the those with lesser spiritual vision always do of inner realities.