a traditional story accepted as history; serves to explain the world view of a people
"The elders gathered around the fire to recount the ancient myth that explained how their mountains were formed by the giant's fallen axe."
A traditional story which embodies a belief regarding some fact or phenomenon of experience, and in which often the forces of nature and of the soul are personified; a sacred narrative regarding a god, a hero, the origin of the world or of a people, etc.
"The ancient Greeks told myths about Zeus to explain why thunder rumbles when his chariot crashes through the clouds."