Many of the stories of the Tanakh are believed to have been based on, influenced by, or inspired by the legendary mythological past of the Near East.

The pediments, metopes and shield of the Parthenos all illustrate the mythological past and as the gods are observing on the east frieze it is natural to reach for a mythological explanation.

This became the characteristic cry of the Caananites, whose members proposed a return to the mythological past, in order to create a Hebrew-speaking nation with an independent identity.

The Norse sagas relate of a number of kings of Nerike who ruled during the mythological past of Scandinavia.

The poems take as their subject-matter the historical and mythological past of the city - Hercules, the Carthaginians etc. - as well as bringing into play the poet's childhood across the bay.

Seong Hwi Park invokes a mythological past by modeling serpents with ears coiled around fat vegetable shapes and painting them by colors.

In such plays, "the poet alludes directly to fifth-century events or developments, but moves them back into the mythological past.

Made of stainless steel, anodized aluminum and canvas, it jettisons the project out of the mythological past into a high-tech future.

Another re-interpretation of the mythological past can be seen on an amphora kept in the Vatican Museums (344).

If the current trend toward basing opera plots on recent events has led you to suspect that composers have exhausted the historical and mythological past, think again.