Mythological Systems and the Creative Process: A Structural Framework for Contemporary Creativity

This article advances a structural framework arguing that some mythological systems offer structural models that can illuminate aspects of contemporary creative processes in contexts marked by uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. Rather than proposing mythological belief or practice as a source of creative guidance, the article treats mythology as a cultural archive of cognitive structures that encode recurring patterns in human creativity. Drawing primarily on Hindu and Greek traditions, the analysis demonstrates that mythological configurations—such as the Ganesha–Yama dialectic and the system of the Nine Muses—anticipate and illuminate empirically validated dynamics in modern creativity research, including exploration–exploitation tensions, generative–selective cycles, domain specificity, and cross-domain synthesis. By integrating insights from structural anthropology, sociocultural creativity theory, computational creativity, and innovation studies, the article shows that mythological structures function as meta-procedural frameworks rather than prescriptive methods. These frameworks make visible liminal states, escalating constraints, and meaning-oriented judgment processes that remain undertheorized in contemporary models. The article concludes by arguing that structurally informed dialogue between mythological analysis and creativity research can enrich theoretical understanding without romanticizing or mystifying creative work.