Myth

Malinowski, 1926
Myth as it exists in a savage community, that is, in its living primitive form, is not merely a story told but a reality lived. It is not of the nature of fiction, such as we read today in a novel, but it is a living reality, believed to have once happened in primeval times, and continuing ever since to influence the world and human destinies. . . . Studied alive, myth is not symbolic, but a direct expression of its subject-matter; it is not an exploration in satisfaction of a scientific interest, but a narrative resurrection of a primeval reality, told in satisfaction of deep religious wants, moral cravings, social submissions, assertions, even practical requirements.

Malinowski, Bronislaw “Myth in Primitive Psychology,” in Magic, Science and Religion, and Other Essays 1926

Levi-Strauss, 1956
A logical model capable of overcoming a contradiction.

Levi-Strauss, Claude 'The structural study of myth' Journal of American Folklore 68: 428-444. 1955:443