The phenomenon of creating, spreading, maintaining and disappearing of myths has been the subject of a great many philosophical and scientific researches. In modern science and philosophy, the myth is one of the central problems. New layers and dimensions of man's mythical attitude towards reality have been clarified. Though modern science of myths has been dominated by the papers dealing with traditional forms of myths, there is a growing interest in contemporary myths. Contemporary mythical thought is not equivalent to the primeval, original mythical thought. It is, according to myth explorers, a pseudo-mythical thought. The myths of the 20th century are not 'real' but 'false' myths, since the object of the mythical faith is not transcending, non-existing, ideal beings, but specific aspects of social reality. Processes of myth-creation in our century are present in all areas of social life. However, the greatest importance is paid to myths created and living in the political sphere. To explain creating and maintaining political myths, scientists and philosophers start with the premise that they represent the content of the social awareness, and that political myth-creating as a form of secular religiousness, by analogy to classical religiousness, is an ideological process unknown to those imputing godly attributes to different aspects of political reality. Political myths are collective creations, a consequence of the collective unconsciousness and represent a spontaneous answer to social conditions on the part of members of a community. However, myth explorers also emphasize that the modern political myth is a complex and paradoxical social phenomenon. Political myths are complex and contradictory within themselves for they represent a result of a spontaneous ideological process, on one side, and they make up the essential content of particular political ideologies, on the other. Therefore, they should be comprehended as an artificial creation of individuals or small social (political) groups, with an emphasize their instrumental and manipulative role. Political myths are the myths created according to a plan with an aim to deliberately arouse religious feelings towards the chosen aspects in the political sphere. This moment is sometimes overemphasized while neglecting the other dimension of political myth-creating - spontaneous character of creating political myths.

myth; traditional myth; political myth; political myth-creating; ideology; secular religiousness