  Three years ago, we initiated a programme of research in which ideas and
tools from statistical physics and network theory were applied to the field of
comparative mythology. The eclecticism of the work, together with the
perspectives it delivered, led to widespread media coverage and academic
discussion. Here we review some aspects of the project, contextualised with a
brief history of the long relationship between science and the humanities. We
focus in particular on an Irish epic, summarising some of the outcomes of our
quantitative investigation. We also describe the emergence of a new
sub-discipline and our hopes for its future.
