Humans above all else are storytellers, and myths and legends ignite our imaginations. A legend is a very old and popular story that may be true.
While legends are based in history, myths are based on religion or faith belief systems and explain natural phenomenon, rather than tell a historical story. Many cultures have myths describing the same natural occurrences: how the world began, why the seasons change, what causes lightning or why volcanoes erupt.
It is true that most of those ancient myths and legends appear to the scientific world to be fictitious products of vivid imaginations whose goals were purely to explain phenomena beyond their comprehension. Yet is it not arrogant to accuse our ancestors of being uncivilized and ignorant in one breath, then offer them praise and admiration over their monuments, art, ideas, philosophy and political organizations in the next?