I think one of the biggest problems when talking about mythology is that for many people, the only fantasy based books they have ever read are the HP series. I LOVE Harry Potter, and it was my favorite series when it first came out, but I love reading and I love fantasy. So needless to say I've read many more books that have magic in them! It's all about perspective, you know? And I'm not going to say that J.R.R. Tolkien didn't write fantastic books, but seriously? LOTR was not the first or most epic fantasy book ever, and he's not the ONLY fantasy author. I wish people wouldn't get so bent out of shape regarding "ownership" of themes, creatures, and characters.