[Gurthang]

I have always thought of The Hobbit as slightly different from LOTR. It almost seems....simpler. It is a vital part of the tale of the Ring, but is told in a way that it does not come across as overly deep. It is the perfect hook for LOTR. It is basic enough that a beginner to Tolkien would not suddenly be scared away, as they might if they tried to start with The Silmarillion. Yet it holds all the key elements of JRRT's style that keep us so fascinated every time we read it.

I agree that it is a 'kind of' myth. It is, as Son of Numenor pointed out, a small part of a greater myth. Such as a piece in a puzzle. Without that one piece, you can still see what the puzzle looks like, but the puzzle is still not complete without that one piece.

All in all, it is not a myth in itself, but does belong to a myth, and the myth would not be as great without it.