Mythical mythology

Mythology is one of my favourite subjects which I enjoy reading and discussing. Indian culture is filled with zillions of mythological stories. I was (and still am) confused about what exactly is qualifies as mythology. It is not History else it will be called History (intelligent conclusion.. right?), it is not fiction as people believe in it, it is not science. I mean, it definitely is different than other categories of facts. I remember having a discussion few years back with one of my seniors. We were discussing something about Ramayan and I said that I feel that all the mythological stories about Ramayan are true. To which he said, it can not be because it is mythology. That raised the question what is mythology. He said people believe in it but there is no proof of it hence it is mythology. Well, there was a point. I have never given a thought to 'what defines mythology?'.

So what provoked this writing? Today I was reading a book by Mark Tully, 'India's Unending Journey - Finding balance in a time of change'. It is an interesting read as is with other writings of Mark Tully. Another reason why I enjoy Mark Tully's works is his pro-Indian views. Which I admire a lot. Coming back to point. In this book author is discussing about the contrasts that you see in India, Indian Culture and religions. At one point he quotes Bede Griffiths' words from "The Marriage of East and West"  ..

"The East must learn the use of reason, in science, in politics, in industry and I would say above all in moral life..... But the west has to recover its lost imagination..."

Which is very interesting thought. He the goes on to say that Bede Griffiths regards myth as "symbolic expression of reality in terms of human imagination". That is a beautifully chosen definition. Myth is a 'Reality' which is presented symbolically using imagination. So while exact words may not be true but the underlying concept or source behind a mythology is true. While "the 'Ram Setu' was built by Nal-Neel using floating stones" might be imaginative but Setu itself is true. So with that definition, can it be said that mythology is history written in a imaginative way?

Other views may differ, but I really liked this way of looking at mythology. May be it is just my bias towards mythology as I always believed that mythology is true.