Portal:Myths
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The Myths Portal
Myth is a genre of folklore or theology consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. For folklorists, historians, philosophers or theologians this is very different from the use of "myth" simply indicating that something is not true. Instead, the truth value 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 true accounts of their remote past. In particular, creation myths take place in a primordial age when the world had not achieved its later form. Other myths explain how a society's customs, institutions, and taboos were established and sanctified. There is a complex relationship between recital of myths and the enactment of rituals. (Full article...)
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The Trojan War was a legendary conflict in Greek mythology that took place around the 12th or 13th century BCE. The war was waged by the Achaeans (Greeks) against the city of Troy after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology, and it has been narrated through many works of Greek literature, most notably Homer's Iliad. The core of the Iliad (Books II – XXIII) describes a period of four days and two nights in the tenth year of the decade-long siege of Troy; the Odyssey describes the journey home of Odysseus, one of the war's heroes. Other parts of the war are described in a cycle of epic poems, which have survived through fragments. Episodes from the war provided material for Greek tragedy and other works of Greek literature, and for Roman poets including Virgil and Ovid.
The ancient Greeks believed that Troy was located near the Dardanelles and that the Trojan War was a historical event of the 13th or 12th century BC. By the mid-19th century AD, both the war and the city were widely seen as non-historical, but in 1868, the German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann met Frank Calvert, who convinced Schliemann that Troy was at what is now Hisarlık in modern day Turkey. On the basis of excavations conducted by Schliemann and others, this claim is now accepted by most scholars. (Full article...)Did you know? - show different entries
- ... that Reeri Yakseya, who is believed to be the most cruel and powerful demon in Sinhalese folklore, can assume 18 different apparitions?
- ... that in Hindu mythology, the demoness Putana (pictured, centre) tried to kill the infant-god Krishna by breastfeeding him poisoned milk?
- ...that Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli (pictured) was the god of the planet Venus in Aztec belief?
- ...that Apaliunas, a Luwian deity of Wilusa (Troy) attested among gods in a treaty inscription, ca. 1280 BCE, is a likely precursor of Apollo of Greek mythology?
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Featured Articles: Ahalya, Ancient Egyptian literature, King Arthur, Ganesha, Iravan, Orion (mythology), Vampire, Vithoba
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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
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The unicorn is a legendary creature that has been described since antiquity as a beast with a single large, pointed, spiraling horn projecting from its forehead.
In European literature and art, the unicorn has for the last thousand years or so been depicted as a white horse-like or goat-like animal with a long straight horn with spiralling grooves, cloven hooves, and sometimes a goat's beard. In the Middle Ages and Renaissance, it was commonly described as an extremely wild woodland creature, a symbol of purity and grace, which could be captured only by a virgin. In encyclopedias, its horn was described as having the power to render poisoned water potable and to heal sickness. In medieval and Renaissance times, the tusk of the narwhal was sometimes sold as a unicorn horn. (Full article...)General images
- Image 1Surya on His Celestial Chariot (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 3"The Fall of Man" by Lucas Cranach the Elder and the Tree of Knowledge is on the right (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 4The 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 5Snake and world egg of the inhabitants of Tyre (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 6Golem and Loew (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 714th century Goryeo painting of Ksitigarbha holding a cintamani (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 8Amenonuhoko (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 9Vishnu with his Panchajanya (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 10Edith Hamilton's Mythology has been a major channel for English speakers to learn classical Greek and Roman mythology (from Myth)
- Image 11seven angels with seven trumpets (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 12The Fall of the Titans (1596–98) by Cornelis Cornelisz van Haarlem (from Comparative mythology)
- Image 13Longinus with his famous Spear (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 14King Svafrlame Secures the Sword Tyrfing (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 15Jacob blesses Joseph and gives him the coat of many colors (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 16Yama with his famous Yama Pasha (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 18Riding a Flying Carpet, an 1880 painting by Viktor Vasnetsov (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 19The 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 20Voodoo doll with pins in it, Museum of Witchcraft (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 22Väinämöinen, 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 23Sampo, 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 24An angel (Camael) expelling Adam and Eve with a flaming sword (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 25Ancient Sumerian cylinder seal impression showing the god Dumuzid being tortured in the Underworld by galla demons (from Comparative mythology)
- Image 26Thor kicks Litr onto Baldr's Hringhorni, illustration by Emil Doepler (ca. 1905) (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 27Prometheus (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 28A 19th-century drawing of Sun Wukong featuring his staff (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 29Early Hebrew Conception of the Universe (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 30Killing of Ravana Painting by Brahmstra of Arrow of Brahma (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 31Greek God Kronos/Saturnus with sickle (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 32Ahimelech giving the sword of Goliath to David, by Aert de Gelder. (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 33Jug from Lydian Treasure Usak (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 34Fig trees often represent talismans with the udumbara (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 35Claíomh Solais on an Ireland stamp printed in 1922 (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 36Holy Robe in Trier (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 37Fortune Wheel (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 39Lord 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 40The Honest Woodcutter, also known as Mercury and the Woodman and his famous Golden Axe (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 41The 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 42Adam's Bridge also called as Rama Setu (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 43Perillos being forced into the brazen bull that he built for Phalaris (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 44The Crown of Immortality, held by the allegorical figure Eterna (Eternity) (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 45 Odysseus Overcome by Demodocus' Song, by Francesco Hayez, 1813–1815 (from Myth)
- Image 46Giza pyramids (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 47Shield of Achilles (illustration) (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 48"Tizona", the sword attributed to El Cid, on exhibit in the Army Museum of Madrid (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 49Opening 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 50Houyi, the God of Archery (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 51Several mythical creatures from Bilderbuch für Kinder (lit. 'picture book for children') between 1790 and 1822, by Friedrich Justin Bertuch (from Legendary creature)
- Image 53The Dispute of Minerva and Neptune (c. 1689 or 1706) by René-Antoine Houasse, depicting the founding myth of Athens (from National myth)
- Image 54The 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 55Tissot Moses and Joshua in the Tabernacle (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 56Erlang Shen (二郎神), or Erlang is a Chinese God with his spear (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 57Lichas bringing the garment of Nessus to Hercules (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 58Hop-o'-My-Thumb stealing the Seven-league boots from the Ogre, by Gustave Doré (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 59The Flying Dutchman (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 60Goetia seal of solomon (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 61Heracles 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 62Shiva with his Trishula (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 63Pied piper (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 64Thor wearing the magic belt Megingjörð (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 65The fall of Icarus (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 66The Celestial Chariot, Pushpaka Vimana from Ramayana (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 67Image 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 68Achilles wearing his armor (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 70Joan of Arc with her famous sword (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 71Vishnu holding his legendary sword Nandaka (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 72Golden cosmic egg Hiranyagarbha by Manaku (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 73Hand of God (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 74Artist's impressions of the (unseen) Imperial Regalia of Japan (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 76Ancient 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 77Dietrich von Bern and Hildebrand fight against dragons (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 78This 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 79Aura, a field of luminous radiation surrounding a person or object (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 80Rectangular tablets passed down by the Hand of God in the 10th century Byzantine Leo Bible (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 82As 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 83Fountain of Youth (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 84Jason returns with Golden fleece (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 85Azoth, a universal medicine or universal solvent sought in alchemy. (Medieval legend) (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 86The Ash Yggdrasil by Friedrich Wilhelm Heine (from List of mythological objects)
- Image 87Hanuman fetches the herb-bearing mountain, in a print from the Ravi Varma Press, 1910's (from List of mythological objects)
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