mythographers
Writers of myths
Mythographers are writers who collect, record, or systematically study myths.
The term applies both to ancient compilers who gathered traditional stories—Greek and Roman scholars who preserved tales of gods and heroes—and to modern scholars who analyze mythology academically.
The mythographers of antiquity are our primary sources for many lost epics.
Scholars of antiquity
- antiquariansSeekers of old artifacts
- philologistsStudents of linguistic development
- historiansScholars of the past
- academicsProfessional researchers and teachers
researchers · ethnologists · archaeologists · folklorists · structuralists · anthropologists · Jung · Campbell
Accounts of events
- epicsLong heroic narratives
- sagasExtended heroic narratives
- fablesDidactic animal stories
- allegoriesSymbolic narrative works
parables · mythos · retellings · chronicles · cosmologies · genealogies · Mahabharata · Theogony
All gods of a religion
- deitiesWorshipped supernatural beings
- cosmogonyStudy of universal origins
- titansDominant powerful figures
- underworldRealm of the departed
heroes · monsters · theogony · metamorphoses · apotheosis · demigods · nymphs · oracles
Those who record events
- compilersPrograms converting source code
- interpretersOral language mediators
- commentatorsThose who analyze publicly
- translatorsLanguage conversion specialists
anthologists · encyclopedists · systematizers · cataloguers · redactors · scribes · codifiers · Ovid
Traditional oral narratives
- legendsTraditional stories or icons
- traditionsLong-established customs passed down
- customsTraditional practices or import taxes
- ritesFormal ceremonial acts
rituals · superstitions · proverbs · ballads · lore · oral-history · ethnomusicology · animism
classicists
Scholars of antiquity
- antiquariansSeekers of old artifacts
- philologistsStudents of linguistic development
- historiansScholars of the past
academics · researchers · ethnologists · archaeologists · folklorists · structuralists · anthropologists · Jung · Campbell · Frazer
narratives
Accounts of events
allegories · parables · mythos · retellings · chronicles · cosmologies · genealogies · Mahabharata · Theogony · Metamorphoses
pantheon
All gods of a religion
- deitiesWorshipped supernatural beings
- cosmogonyStudy of universal origins
- titansDominant powerful figures
underworld · heroes · monsters · theogony · metamorphoses · apotheosis · demigods · nymphs · oracles · prophecy
chroniclers
Those who record events
- compilersPrograms converting source code
- interpretersOral language mediators
- commentatorsThose who analyze publicly
translators · anthologists · encyclopedists · systematizers · cataloguers · redactors · scribes · codifiers · Ovid
folktales
Traditional oral narratives
- legendsTraditional stories or icons
- traditionsLong-established customs passed down
- customsTraditional practices or import taxes
rites · rituals · superstitions · proverbs · ballads · lore · oral-history · ethnomusicology · animism · shamanism
mythographershistorians
Scholars of the past
historiographers · chroniclers · annalists · documentarians · fact-checkers
mythographersdebunkers
Those who discredit falsities
rationalists · skeptics · iconoclasts · empiricists · critics