Preparing the World for the Incarnation

I have been collecting "stories that I tell"--complete with voices, colorful imagery, repetition, etc. These posts talk more about that. For various reasons, my stories are all retellings of ancient myths. I have polished "Demeter and Persephone" and "Psyche and Eros." I am working on The Epic of Gilgamesh and perhaps then the Egyptian myth of Osiris and Isis.

Now here is my current project: as I gather ancient myths, I'll examine this question. How much did people want immortality, love, to draw near the gods, etc., how much did people want beforehand what Christ came to offer? I know He satisfied our deepest human need, but it would be interesting to see how well the myths reflected this need. I am in full agreement with Chesterton's The Everlasting Man that the world was temporally, culturally, philosophically, physically prepared for the coming of Christ. It might have been prepared in desire, too.