THE TERM ‘MYTHOLOGIZATION’ means the process of something becoming a myth. The term ‘myth’ is a polyseme, a word with multiple meanings and connotations. I will first review various meanings given to ‘myth’ before reaching a definition for our purposes which includes several strands of meaning. As a starting consideration it should be said that myths may be about the past, present or future; in our case we are only dealing with the past. Myths are related to memory in two ways: they may constitute the shape in which past events and persons are remembered, and they also relate to memory as being conceptual entities which are handed down through the generations.

Myths are often conceived as narratives. Indeed, some myth theorists such as Flood consider narrative to be an essential characteristic of myth. The term ‘myth’ referring to the stories of ancient and traditional societies is familiar; these are typically fictions involving supernatural beings or events, such as Greek myths, or Australian aboriginal myths. The definition of ‘myth’ referring to modern or contemporary society is more problematic. Generally in this context it refers to a narrative with some verifiable historical actuality, a story based on a famous event or situation which takes on ‘larger than life’ features such as great fame, symbolism or possibly exaggeration. ‘Legend’ has a related sense: a well-known traditional story sometimes popularly regarded as historical, but not authenticated.