Portal:Myths
Wikipedia portal for content related to Myths / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
![]() | Portal maintenance status: (June 2018)
|
List of selected creatures |
---|
The Myths Portal
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/14/10%2C000_Belgian_francs_of_1929_edited.jpg/640px-10%2C000_Belgian_francs_of_1929_edited.jpg)
Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the veracity of a myth is not a defining criterion.
Myths are often endorsed by secular and religious authorities and are closely linked to religion or spirituality. Many societies group their myths, legends, and history together, considering myths and legends to be factual accounts of their remote past. In particular, creation myths take place in a primordial age when the world had not achieved its later form. Origin myths explain how a society's customs, institutions, and taboos were established and sanctified. National myths are narratives about a nation's past that symbolize the nation's values. There is a complex relationship between recital of myths and the enactment of rituals. (Full article...)
Selected article - show another
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e0/Odin%2C_Lodur%2C_Hoenir_skabe_Ask_og_Embla_by_Fr%C3%B8lich.jpg/640px-Odin%2C_Lodur%2C_Hoenir_skabe_Ask_og_Embla_by_Fr%C3%B8lich.jpg)
Did you know? - show different entries
- ...that Chamunda (pictured), a fearsome aspect of the Hindu Divine Mother, was worshipped by ritual human and animal sacrifices along with offerings of wine?
- ...that the most popular deity worshipped by the Duala peoples of Cameroon is a mermaid called a jengu?
- ...that Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli (pictured) was the god of the planet Venus in Aztec belief?
- ... that in classical mythology, Cerberus (pictured) is a monstrous dog with multiple heads that guards the gates to the underworld?
Recognised content
Featured Articles:
Ahalya,
Ancient Egyptian literature,
King Arthur,
Ganesha,
Iravan,
Orion (mythology),
Vampire,
Vithoba
Featured Lists:
List of valkyrie names in Norse mythology
Good Articles:
2012 phenomenon,
Æsir–Vanir War,
Ala (demon),
Anu,
Aphrodite,
Athena,
Ardhanarishvara,
Battle of Barry,
Bhikshatana,
Catalogue of Women,
Chamunda,
Chhinnamasta,
Consorts of Ganesha,
Cú Chulainn,
Dhumavati,
Dumuzid,
Einherjar,
Eir,
Enlil,
Fairy Flag,
Fenrir,
Gerðr,
Hel (being),
Huginn and Muninn,
Iðunn,
Ila (Hinduism),
Inanna,
Kabandha,
Kali,
Kamadhenu,
Kangiten,
Keshi (demon),
Khandoba,
Kratos (mythology)
Krishna,
Kubera,
LGBT themes in Hindu mythology,
Manasa,
Mandodari,
Matangi,
Matrikas,
Maya Sita,
Mohini,
Myrrha,
Mythology of Carnivàle,
Naraka (Hinduism),
Ninurta,
Prester John,
Prithu,
Putana,
Rati,
Ratatoskr,
Revanta,
Satyavati,
Satyr,
Sharabha,
Shashthi,
Shiva,
Sif,
Tara (Ramayana),
Troilus,
Tuisto,
Valhalla,
Valkyrie,
Vampire folklore by region,
Varaha,
Varahi,
Veðrfölnir and eagle
Zduhać
Wikiversity
Selected creature - show another
![calm seas](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d9/PicVat.jpg/320px-PicVat.jpg)
Sea Mither, or Mither of the Sea, is a mythical being of Orcadian folklore that lives in the sea during summer, when she confines the demonic nuckelavee to the ocean depths. Each spring she battles with her arch-enemy Teran, another spirit of Orcadian legend capable of causing severe winter storms, to gain control of the seas and the weather. Eventually Sea Mither overcomes Teran and sends him to the depths of the ocean, but the effort of keeping him confined there along with her other benevolent labours during the summer exhaust her, until in the autumn Teran takes advantage of her weakness to wrest control from her once again.
Stories of the Sea Mither and Teran are among Orkney's oldest legends, perhaps invented to explain the vagaries of weather and other naturally occurring events. In Shetland, fishermen petition Sea Mither to afford them protection from the Devil. (Full article...)General images
- Image 1Vishnu with his Panchajanya (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 2Fig trees often represent talismans with the udumbara (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 3Vishnu holding his legendary sword Nandaka (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 4Aura, a field of luminous radiation surrounding a person or object (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 5The Crown of Immortality, held by the allegorical figure Eterna (Eternity) (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 7Riding a Flying Carpet, an 1880 painting by Viktor Vasnetsov (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 8Artist's impressions of the (unseen) Imperial Regalia of Japan (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 9Shield of Achilles (illustration) (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 10Goetia seal of solomon (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 11Joan of Arc with her famous sword (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 12Jason returns with Golden fleece (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 13As is usual in bestiaries, the lynx in this late 13th-century English manuscript is shown urinating, the urine turning to the mythical stone Lyngurium (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 14Golden cosmic egg Hiranyagarbha by Manaku (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 15Opening lines of one of the Mabinogi myths from the Red Book of Hergest (written pre-13c, incorporating pre-Roman myths of Celtic gods):
Gereint vab Erbin. Arthur a deuodes dala llys yg Caerllion ar Wysc...
(Geraint the son of Erbin. Arthur was accustomed to hold his Court at Caerlleon upon Usk...) (from Myth) - Image 16The Deluge, frontispiece to Gustave Doré's illustrated edition of the Bible. Based on the story of Noah's Ark, this engraving shows humans and a tiger doomed by the flood futilely attempting to save their children and cubs. (from Comparative mythology)
- Image 17The sheyd אַשְמְדּאָי (Ašmodai) in bird-like form, with typical rooster feet, as depicted in Compendium rarissimum totius Artis Magicae 1775 (from Comparative mythology)
- Image 18Holy Robe in Trier (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 19Yama with his famous Yama Pasha (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 20Golem and Loew (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 21Tissot Moses and Joshua in the Tabernacle (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 22The Flying Dutchman (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 23The Stone of Destiny (Lia Fáil) at the Hill of Tara, once used as a coronation stone for the High Kings of Ireland (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 24The Celestial Chariot, Pushpaka Vimana from Ramayana (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 25 Odysseus Overcome by Demodocus' Song, by Francesco Hayez, 1813–1815 (from Myth)
- Image 26Prometheus (1868) by Gustave Moreau. In the mythos of Hesiodus and possibly Aeschylus (the Greek trilogy Prometheus Bound, Prometheus Unbound and Prometheus Pyrphoros), Prometheus is bound and tortured for giving fire to humanity. (from Myth)
- Image 28Pied piper (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 29Several mythical creatures from Bilderbuch für Kinder (lit. 'picture book for children') between 1790 and 1822, by Friedrich Justin Bertuch (from Legendary creature)
- Image 30This panel by Bartolomeo di Giovanni relates the second half of the Metamorphoses. In the upper left, Jupiter emerges from clouds to order Mercury to rescue Io. (from Myth)
- Image 31Giza pyramids (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 32Sampo, a magical artifact of indeterminate type constructed by Ilmarinen that brought riches and good fortune to its holder, in the Finnish epic poetry Kalevala (The Forging of the Sampo, Joseph Alanen, 1911) (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 33The Dispute of Minerva and Neptune (c. 1689 or 1706) by René-Antoine Houasse, depicting the founding myth of Athens (from National myth)
- Image 34The third gift — an enormous hammer (1902) by Elmer Boyd Smith and the ring Draupnir is visible among other creations by the Sons of Ivaldi (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 35Perillos being forced into the brazen bull that he built for Phalaris (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 36Lord Vishnu took the form of Beauty Mohini and distributed the Amrita (Ambrosia, Elixir) to Devas. When Rahu (snake dragon) tried to steal the Amrita, his head was cut off (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 37Amenonuhoko (天沼矛 or 天之瓊矛 or 天瓊戈, "heavenly jeweled spear") is the name given to the spear in Shinto used to raise the primordial land-mass, Onogoro-shima, from the sea (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 38Voodoo doll with pins in it, Museum of Witchcraft (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 40Surya on His Celestial Chariot (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 41Longinus with his famous Spear (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 42Image showing the sacred tree to the right of the temple, from Olaus Magnus' Historia de Gentibus Septentrionalibus (1555). To the right of the tree is a depiction of a man being sacrificed in the spring (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 43Achilles wearing his armor (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 44Fortune Wheel (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 46Jacob blesses Joseph and gives him the coat of many colors (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 47A 19th-century drawing of Sun Wukong featuring his staff (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 48Houyi, the God of Archery (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 49The Honest Woodcutter, also known as Mercury and the Woodman and his famous Golden Axe (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 50Shiva with his Trishula (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 51Lichas bringing the garment of Nessus to Hercules (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 52Thor wearing the magic belt Megingjörð (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 53Ahimelech giving the sword of Goliath to David, by Aert de Gelder. (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 5414th century Goryeo painting of Ksitigarbha holding a cintamani (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 55Dietrich von Bern and Hildebrand fight against dragons (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 57An angel (Camael) expelling Adam and Eve with a flaming sword (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 58Snake and world egg of the inhabitants of Tyre (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 59Edith Hamilton's Mythology has been a major channel for English speakers to learn classical Greek and Roman mythology (from Myth)
- Image 60Jug from Lydian Treasure Usak (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 61Claíomh Solais on an Ireland stamp printed in 1922 (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 62"The Fall of Man" by Lucas Cranach the Elder and the Tree of Knowledge is on the right (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 63Early Hebrew Conception of the Universe (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 64Ancient Roman relief from the Cathedral of Maria Saal showing the infant twins Romulus and Remus being suckled by a she-wolf (from Comparative mythology)
- Image 68Greek God Kronos/Saturnus with sickle (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 69Fountain of Youth (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 70Thor kicks Litr onto Baldr's Hringhorni, illustration by Emil Doepler (ca. 1905) (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 71The fall of Icarus (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 72"Tizona", the sword attributed to El Cid, on exhibit in the Army Museum of Madrid (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 73seven angels with seven trumpets (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 74Azoth, a universal medicine or universal solvent sought in alchemy. (Medieval legend) (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 75Heracles would use arrows dipped in the Hydra's poisonous blood to kill other foes during his Labours, such as Stymphalian birds and the giant (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 76Hanuman fetches the herb-bearing mountain, in a print from the Ravi Varma Press, 1910's (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 77The Giving of the Seven Bowls of Wrath / The First Six Plagues, Revelation 16:1–16. Matthias Gerung, c. 1531 (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 78King Svafrlame Secures the Sword Tyrfing (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 79Hand of God (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 80Ancient Sumerian cylinder seal impression showing the god Dumuzid being tortured in the Underworld by galla demons (from Comparative mythology)
- Image 81Rectangular tablets passed down by the Hand of God in the 10th century Byzantine Leo Bible (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 82Adam's Bridge also called as Rama Setu (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 83The Fall of the Titans (1596–98) by Cornelis Cornelisz van Haarlem (from Comparative mythology)
- Image 84The Ash Yggdrasil by Friedrich Wilhelm Heine (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 85Väinämöinen, the wise demigod and one of the significant characters of Finnish mythological 19th-century epic poetry, The Kalevala (Väinämöinen's Play, Robert Wilhelm Ekman, 1866) (from Myth)
- Image 86Killing of Ravana Painting by Brahmstra of Arrow of Brahma (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 87Hop-o'-My-Thumb stealing the Seven-league boots from the Ogre, by Gustave Doré (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 88Erlang Shen (二郎神), or Erlang is a Chinese God with his spear (from List of mythological objects)
Subcategories
WikiProjects
Things you can do
- Help with the myth and folklore missing articles project.
- Help create requested articles.
- Help assessment at Wikipedia:WikiProject Mythology/Assessment.
- Place the project banner {{WikiProject Mythology}} on the talk pages of all relevant articles.
- Check the recent changes for recent improvements, vandalism, and other changes.
- Answer requests for mythology articles needing attention: Category:Mythology articles needing attention
- Answer requests for mythology articles needing expert attention: Category:Mythology articles needing expert attention
- Expand articles tagged as mythology stubs: Category:Mythology stubs
- Assist mythology subprojects.
- Add requested photographs of mythology subjects: Category:Wikipedia requested photographs of mythology subjects
Associated Wikimedia
The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:
-
Commons
Free media repository -
Wikibooks
Free textbooks and manuals -
Wikidata
Free knowledge base -
Wikinews
Free-content news -
Wikiquote
Collection of quotations -
Wikisource
Free-content library -
Wikiversity
Free learning tools -
Wiktionary
Dictionary and thesaurus