Do you think about myth as the way we were or the way we are?

When I first look at myths I would group them all together and say that was the way we were. Every thing that is in a myth took place a long time ago and so nothing of it could be relevant today. This is what I tend to see if you would look at some of these stories as just face value. But then I think if all of these stories are not relevant to us then why do we continue to read and retell them. The stories contain values that even people today want to have. I think people look at these stories and want to strive to have some of the values that the myths embody. This is why I would look at myths rather as the way we are.