ABSTRACT
In ancient Greece, what we consider today to be a myth in fact corresponds to a poetical “fiction” in the etymological meaning of the term. This fiction is both referential and pragmatic. Through a mimetic poetics in the Aristotelian sense, and through a sung and danced performance, the mythical narrative corresponds to a ritual act. To this extent, it belongs to the domain of religion: it is part of a “regime” of belief implied by the polytheistic system specific to each Greek polis.
