Introduction -- Mythos and logos -- The biblos and the dialectic of the sacred logos -- Scientific rationality and the dialectic of the Enlightenment -- Myth and meaning -- Approaching myth -- Naming the unknown, grounding significance -- Myth and the critique of political reason -- Classical theories of political myth -- Political myth, ideology and utopia -- Myth, historical narratives and the social imaginary -- Myth and identity -- Political myths today : the extraordinary and the banal.