Mythology is defined in two ways: a collection of myths, especially those belonging to a particular religious or cultural tradition (Oxford Dictionary), and as the study of myths (Oxford Dictionary). Myths are stories that are based on tradition and have meaning for a culture. They are sacred tales that explain the world and a person's experience. Some myths may have real origins, while others may have imaginary origins that explain religion or natural phenomena. Many philosophers and scientists around the world have tried to answer questions that really cannot be answered: what is the universe and how did it begin, who am I, where do I come from and why am I here? Myths and mythology seek to provide people with heroic figures such as gods and goddesses - representing a person, place, or thing in a past, present, or future event - to help explain natural phenomena and control civilization by giving people an understanding of some kind of reality. Myths have existed long before writing, philosophy, science, and literature were invented. Its original purpose was to help humans understand the world around them. For example, Greek, Roman, Babylonian, and Sumerian myths use a similar goddess of fertility to explain when food and fruit grow and die during seasonal changes. For example, Pomona, a Roman goddess, represents fruit trees and Demeter, a Greek goddess, represents the harvest. Even myths were before religion. Every religion uses universal mythical themes. The story of Creation, the first Man and Woman, and Heaven and Earth are some of the most important stories that have been told using myths. After the invention of writing, myths became part of written literature. Even works like Moby Dick, Noah's Ark, and Jonah and the Whale are vile... middle of paper... more due to jealousy issues. They did not want to be punished due to jealousy, so they worshiped the gods equally. They had temples for each god and had a priest who took care of the maintenance of the temple. Most temples contained an altar where animals and food were sacrificed as offerings. They also had oracles who made important decisions by asking the gods for things the Greeks wanted to know. Although people feared the gods and their punishments, there were meanings in making them exist. For example, people fear death because death is unknown. Thanatos was created to provide a person with a sense of comfort in the idea that there is someone who knows about the afterlife and that one would not be alone on the journey to the afterlife. The Greeks believed that the gods controlled everything and that their goal as a Greek culture was to make them happy.