The vivid world of classical mythology is far more than the mere fables and fantasy of an ancient era. These legends, and the gods and heroes who inhabit them, have been the inspiration for artists, philosophers, writers and leaders from ancient times to the present. By assigning gods to natural phenomena and human emotions, and creating myths about their interaction with mortals, the ancients were not only attempting to understand and control the world around them, they were illuminating the central problems of human life.