Humans, the world over, are mythmakers and, as many of us have observed, America is among the most mythic of nations. In time and range, symbol and story, experience and opinion, American Myth is a vast subject, one that has been in the process of unfolding for many centuries. What is Myth? Myth ( mythos --speech or tale in ancient Greek), by any definition, is universal and contains an imaginative variety. It is something special or sacred, the extraordinary amidst the regular motions of life. Myth is like a familiar tune, replaying the past, helping to unfold the present. Perhaps myth is not something we can touch so much as what touches us – an invisible presence. Although each of
