Pseudo-mythology

It has been suggested that this article be merged into Invented tradition. (Discuss) Proposed since November 2024.

You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in German. (November 2024) Click [show] for important translation instructions. Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Consider adding a topic to this template: there are already 2,064 articles in the main category, and specifying|topic= will aid in categorization. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing German Wikipedia article at [[:de:Pseudogottheit]]; see its history for attribution. You may also add the template {{Translated|de|Pseudogottheit}} to the talk page. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

You can help expand this article with text translated from the corresponding article in Russian. (November 2024) Click [show] for important translation instructions. Machine translation, like DeepL or Google Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Consider adding a topic to this template: there are already 986 articles in the main category, and specifying|topic= will aid in categorization. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. You must provide copyright attribution in the edit summary accompanying your translation by providing an interlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary is Content in this edit is translated from the existing Russian Wikipedia article at [[:ru:Кабинетная мифология]]; see its history for attribution. You may also add the template {{Translated|ru|Кабинетная мифология}} to the talk page. For more guidance, see Wikipedia:Translation.

Pseudo-mythology (Russian: кабинетная мифология or kabinetnaya mifologiya, "office mythology", literally "cabinet mythology") are myths and deities which are not properly attested in traditional mythology and folklore or their existence is doubtful or disproved. It may be created by researchers who liberally interpret scarce sources.^[1][2]

Pseudo-mythology should not be confused with the term "false mythology" in the derogatory meanings of "false beliefs" or "false/fabricated stories". The term is also not applicable to mythological elements in literary works invented for artistic reasons.

Philosopher Vincent Descombes maintains that "a myth is what is told as a myth and what is transmitted as a myth". Therefore, in his opinion, the correct term would be "poor mythology" or "insipid mythology", rather than "pseudo-mythology".^[3]