Is the Talmud influenced by external mythologies?

Hello Joseph. You asked a question that requires a great deal of time to answer. As a general rule, it is certain that sages were influenced by their environment (just as sages in our generation are influenced by the perceptions and information of their environment). Therefore, if misconceptions were prevalent then, there is no reason to assume that they did not appear among the sages, just like the sages of other generations. The sages were not prophets. Therefore, my principled view is that there is no obligation or authority for the words of a legend, but only for their laws and interpretation. Of course, wisdom and conceptual depth can be found in the legends of the Sages, but the scientific and factual descriptions there do not have to be precise. Incidentally, the Sages themselves did not necessarily intend a factual description. See several articles on this subject in the introduction to Ein Yaakov, as well as the words of the Maimonides in his introduction to the Piyamash on three sects regarding the obligatory attitude towards the legends of the Sages (the fools who interpret them all literally – as a factual description. The wicked who interpret them literally and laugh at them. The wise – who understand that some of them are parables intended to express an idea). As for the concepts that underlie Halacha, the situation is more difficult. It is likely that the inferiority of women in Halacha is also based on the concept that was prevalent at the time. When the Sages come to teach the Torah, they use basic assumptions and concepts that are drawn from their world. On the other hand, the Talmud has binding authority in the field of Halacha. There are various tools to operate here, and I cannot detail them here because it would require a great deal of elaboration (I will go into more detail in the book I am currently writing). In any case, when the Sanhedrin has authority, it will of course be able to change anything it sees fit. Part of our tragedy is the lack of an effective Halacha authority that can adapt Halacha to the time and circumstances, as was the case in ancient times. And yet it is important to understand that the fact that ideas are conveyed through a medium that is imprinted with the stamp of the period does not mean that these ideas have no depth and that they are devoid of foundation. Absolutely not. Sometimes what is needed is a different and contemporary application of that same conceptual layer. Thus, tort law was written about bulls and idiots, while today the medium is completely different. But the ideas of tort law can be completely relevant even today. These are the same ideas in a different medium.