The Epic of Gilgamesh. Hades and Persephone. Beowulf. One Thousand and One Arabian Nights. What do they have in common?

Now consider:

The Lord of the Rings. The Chronicles of Narnia. A Song of Ice and Fire. What do they have in common?

The former list is all folklore and mythology, the latter list fantasy. They all fall under the large umbrella that is fiction, but while there is some overlap between the two it is important to know the distinctions. Especially if you want to review or write fantasy or put a new take on an old myth.

FANTASY V.S. MYTHOLOGY DEFINED

If you look at the second list again, you can probably name each of the authors involved without much thinking (Tolkein, Lewis, Martin). Who wrote the first list? If you’re drawing a blank, good! It is the most fundamental, easily accessible difference between fantasy stories and myths. Fantasy stories are able to be traced to an author (or a named group of them, generally speaking). Mythologies are stories that predate our fantasy genre. Myths are often allegorical, can be foundational to cultures and religions, and rarely have only one single author. Most have many variations depending on the size of the culture or region they’re from.

WHY DEFINE THE DIFFERENCE? DOES IT MATTER?

The short answer is that it matters, and should be defined, for the same reasons we define what a “dragon” is versus what a “dinosaur”. One of these is completely fantastical. The other is real but has had many different theories about them (remember when the mighty t-rex was drawn with its tail on the ground and no feathers?). It isn’t a perfect metaphor…