Portal:Myths

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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...)

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A statue of Shiva in Bengaluru, Karnataka

Shiva (/ˈʃɪvə/; Sanskrit: शिव, lit. 'The Auspicious One', IAST: Śiva [ɕɪʋɐ]), also known as Mahadeva (/məˈhɑː ˈdeɪvə/; Sanskrit: महादेव:, lit. 'The Great God', IAST: Mahādevaḥ, (Full article...)

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... that the self-decapitated Hindu goddess Chhinnamasta (pictured) standing on a copulating couple signifies that life, death and sex are interdependent?

... that some modern K'iche' Maya revere rival syncretised forms of the pre-Columbian Moon goddess Awilix that are said to be the lovers of St. James?

... that in Mesoamerican folklore, it is believed that a dog (mythical dog pictured) carries the newly deceased across a body of water into the afterlife?

... that the worshippers of Xipe Totec (pictured), the Aztec god of renewal, wore the flayed skins of their sacrificial victims?

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calm seas — The seas of Orkney are calm during the periods of Sea Mither's reign.

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...)

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Vampire Fenrir Ala (demon) Sharabha Ratatoskr Huginn and Muninn Keshi (demon) Nuckelavee Boobrie Stoor worm Mermaid Dragon Siren (mythology) Hippocampus (mythology) Phoenix (mythology) Centaur Unicorn Serpent (symbolism) Anzû Cerberus

General images

The following are images from various myth-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1As 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 2The 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 3Golem and Loew (from List of mythological objects)
Image 4Fortune Wheel (from List of mythological objects)
Image 5Thor wearing the magic belt Megingjörð (from List of mythological objects)
Image 6Väinämöinen, 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 7Ancient 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 8Perillos being forced into the brazen bull that he built for Phalaris (from List of mythological objects)
Image 9The Celestial Chariot, Pushpaka Vimana from Ramayana (from List of mythological objects)
Image 10Jason returns with Golden fleece (from List of mythological objects)
Image 11Symbolic power: a dragon in the Imperial City, Huế, Vietnam (from Legendary creature)
Image 12Giza pyramids (from List of mythological objects)
Image 13Edith Hamilton's Mythology has been a major channel for English speakers to learn classical Greek and Roman mythology (from Myth)
Image 141929 Belgian banknote, depicting Ceres, Neptune and caduceus (from Myth)
Image 15Dietrich von Bern and Hildebrand fight against dragons (from List of mythological objects)
Image 16"Tizona", the sword attributed to El Cid, on exhibit in the Army Museum of Madrid (from List of mythological objects)
Image 17Pied piper (from List of mythological objects)
Image 18Joan of Arc with her famous sword (from List of mythological objects)
Image 19King Svafrlame Secures the Sword Tyrfing (from List of mythological objects)
Image 20Erlang Shen (二郎神), or Erlang is a Chinese God with his spear (from List of mythological objects)
Image 21Ahimelech giving the sword of Goliath to David, by Aert de Gelder. (from List of mythological objects)
Image 22Hanuman fetches the herb-bearing mountain, in a print from the Ravi Varma Press, 1910's (from List of mythological objects)
Image 23This 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 24Lichas bringing the garment of Nessus to Hercules (from List of mythological objects)
Image 25The Crown of Immortality, held by the allegorical figure Eterna (Eternity) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 26Myths and legends of Babylonia and Assyria (1916) (from Myth)
Image 27An angel (Camael) expelling Adam and Eve with a flaming sword (from List of mythological objects)
Image 2814th century Goryeo painting of Ksitigarbha holding a cintamani (from List of mythological objects)
Image 29Opening 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 30The Fall of the Titans (1596–98) by Cornelis Cornelisz van Haarlem (from Comparative mythology)
Image 31A 19th-century drawing of Sun Wukong featuring his staff (from List of mythological objects)
Image 32Tissot Moses and Joshua in the Tabernacle (from List of mythological objects)
Image 33Houyi, the God of Archery (from List of mythological objects)
Image 34Jug from Lydian Treasure Usak (from List of mythological objects)
Image 35Snake and world egg of the inhabitants of Tyre (from List of mythological objects)
Image 36Adam's Bridge also called as Rama Setu (from List of mythological objects)
Image 37The 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 38Ancient Sumerian cylinder seal impression showing the god Dumuzid being tortured in the Underworld by galla demons (from Comparative mythology)
Image 39Vishnu holding his legendary sword Nandaka (from List of mythological objects)
Image 40The fall of Icarus (from List of mythological objects)
Image 41Image 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 42Jacob blesses Joseph and gives him the coat of many colors (from List of mythological objects)
Image 43Vishnu with his Panchajanya (from List of mythological objects)
Image 44The Ash Yggdrasil by Friedrich Wilhelm Heine (from List of mythological objects)
Image 45Early Hebrew Conception of the Universe (from List of mythological objects)
Image 46Greek God Kronos/Saturnus with sickle (from List of mythological objects)
Image 47The famous sword of Excalibur painted by Howard Pyle (from List of mythological objects)
Image 48Claíomh Solais on an Ireland stamp printed in 1922 (from List of mythological objects)
Image 49Artist's impressions of the (unseen) Imperial Regalia of Japan (from List of mythological objects)
Image 50 Odysseus Overcome by Demodocus' Song, by Francesco Hayez, 1813–1815 (from Myth)
Image 51Yama with his famous Yama Pasha (from List of mythological objects)
Image 52Thor kicks Litr onto Baldr's Hringhorni, illustration by Emil Doepler (ca. 1905) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 53The Honest Woodcutter, also known as Mercury and the Woodman and his famous Golden Axe (from List of mythological objects)
Image 54Several mythical creatures from Bilderbuch für Kinder (lit. 'picture book for children') between 1790 and 1822, by Friedrich Justin Bertuch (from Legendary creature)
Image 55Lord 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 56Longinus with his famous Spear (from List of mythological objects)
Image 57Prometheus (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 58Golden cosmic egg Hiranyagarbha by Manaku (from List of mythological objects)
Image 59The Shrine of the Three Kings in Cologne Cathedral (from List of mythological objects)
Image 60Shiva with his Trishula (from List of mythological objects)
Image 61"The Fall of Man" by Lucas Cranach the Elder and the Tree of Knowledge is on the right (from List of mythological objects)
Image 62Aura, a field of luminous radiation surrounding a person or object (from List of mythological objects)
Image 63Ballads of bravery (1877) part of Arthurian mythology (from Myth)
Image 64Fountain of Youth (from List of mythological objects)
Image 65Killing of Ravana Painting by Brahmstra of Arrow of Brahma (from List of mythological objects)
Image 66The sheyd אַשְמְדּאָי (Ašmodai) in bird-like form, with typical rooster feet, as depicted in Compendium rarissimum totius Artis Magicae 1775 (from Comparative mythology)
Image 67The 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 68Hand of God (from List of mythological objects)
Image 69The Flying Dutchman (from List of mythological objects)
Image 70Holy Robe in Trier (from List of mythological objects)
Image 71Goetia seal of solomon (from List of mythological objects)
Image 72seven angels with seven trumpets (from List of mythological objects)
Image 73Sampo, 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 74Shield of Achilles (illustration) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 75Azoth, a universal medicine or universal solvent sought in alchemy. (Medieval legend) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 76Hop-o'-My-Thumb stealing the Seven-league boots from the Ogre, by Gustave Doré (from List of mythological objects)
Image 77Voodoo doll with pins in it, Museum of Witchcraft (from List of mythological objects)
Image 78Fig trees often represent talismans with the udumbara (from List of mythological objects)
Image 79The Dispute of Minerva and Neptune (c. 1689 or 1706) by René-Antoine Houasse, depicting the founding myth of Athens (from National myth)
Image 80Achilles wearing his armor (from List of mythological objects)
Image 81Surya on His Celestial Chariot (from List of mythological objects)
Image 82The Argo (c. 1500 – 1530), painting by Lorenzo Costa (from List of mythological objects)
Image 83Riding a Flying Carpet, an 1880 painting by Viktor Vasnetsov (from List of mythological objects)
Image 84Heracles 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 85The 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 86Amenonuhoko (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 87Veronica holding her veil, Hans Memling, c. 1470 (from List of mythological objects)
Image 88Rectangular tablets passed down by the Hand of God in the 10th century Byzantine Leo Bible (from List of mythological objects)