Myth, says Crossan, attempts to mediate opposites, explain mystery, reconcile polarities, to take the randomness of life and weave it into a believable pattern. In myth, bad guys get what they deserve and the good are rewarded. Through myth, there are explanations for the apparent incongruities of life, reasons given by the gods. Well this woman , Pandora, you know how nosey women are, wouldn't stay in her place, opened the mysterious box, and evil and heartache were unleashed on the world. That's why there's evil in the world.
Myth explains, settles, closes the gaps in our consciousness.
Crossan says myth's polar opposite is parable. Parable is meant to change us, not reassure us. Parable is always a somewhat unnerving experience. I don't like it. Crossan argues that myth has as its function the creation of the belief in a possibility of permanent reconciliation between the polarities and contradictions which bedevil us.