Good points, Hols. Some religions seek to teach and instruct us through their use of stories. Many others merely reflect life. Just as TV and cinema can be called 'larger than life', the tales of the gods often performed the same function.

And I think you're absolutely right in your connection of Tius and Zeus - which I hadn't really thought about before, but is one of those fascinating little connections that show you how inter-related all our cultures can be. I found an article at the Northvegr site on the subject of the origins of the name of Tiw, Tyr or Tius.

It is interesting how all the different religious cultures of Europe have both grown up apart and mixed together, so that there is a great mix of cultural ideas and stories, some of them shared and some of them unique, though all drawn from our own sense of humanity. I think these mythologies, which are played out on a cosmic stage, and which have supernatural characters, can tell us as much, if not more, than the gritty 'real-life' dramas and stories, which allow little or no scope for the imagination.