ABSTRACT
Most people have developed, either through the imagination of one or a few dreamers and poets, or through the cumulative efforts of many, some theory of the formation of the world, and of the gods that govern this world. The explanations in regard to the formation of the world are spoken of as “cosmogonies,” while the beliefs in regard to supernatural or non-human beings (gods, goddesses, demons, devils, etc.) are called “mythologies;” or, if a religious worship of any kind is inculcated in connection therewith, they are called “religions.” There is a difference, however, between mythology and religion; only those gods or goddesses, or other supernatural beings who are actually worshipped, have a religious significance. All those about whom the fables are told, but who are not worshipped or propitiated with sacrifices, belong merely to mythology.
