Portal:Myths

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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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Symbols of various deities, including Anu (bottom right corner) on a kudurru of Ritti-Marduk, from Sippar, Iraq, 1125–1104 BCE

Anu (Akkadian: 𒀭𒀭 ANU, from 𒀭 an "Sky", "Heaven") or Anum, originally An (Sumerian: 𒀭 An), was the divine personification of the sky, king of the gods, and ancestor of many of the deities in ancient Mesopotamian religion. He was regarded as a source of both divine and human kingship, and opens the enumerations of deities in many Mesopotamian texts. At the same time, his role was largely passive, and he was not commonly worshipped. It is sometimes proposed that the Eanna temple located in Uruk originally belonged to him, rather than Inanna, but while he is well attested as one of its divine inhabitants, there is no evidence that the main deity of the temple ever changed, and Inanna was already associated with it in the earliest sources. After it declined, a new theological system developed in the same city under Seleucid rule, resulting in Anu being redefined as an active deity. As a result he was actively worshipped by inhabitants of the city in the final centuries of the history of ancient Mesopotamia.

Multiple traditions regarding the identity of Anu's spouse existed, though three of them—Ki, Urash, and Antu—were at various points in time equated with each other, and all three represented earth, similar to how he represented heaven. In a fourth tradition, more sparsely attested, his wife was the goddess Nammu instead. In addition to listing his spouses and children, god lists also often enumerated his various ancestors, such as Anshar or Alala. A variant of one such family tree formed the basis of the Enūma Eliš. (Full article...)

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... that Reeri Yakseya, who is believed to be the most cruel and powerful demon in Sinhalese folklore, can assume 18 different apparitions?

... that the supreme god of the southern African Bushmen is Cagn, a trickster who shapeshifts into a praying mantis?

...that according to Muisca mythology, Bochica (statue pictured) saved his people from a flood by creating the Tequendama Falls with a strike from his staff?

...that according to Greek mythology, Adonis was slain by a boar at the foot of the waterfall in Apheca in modern-day Lebanon?

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The boobrie is a mythological shapeshifting entity inhabiting the lochs of the west coast of Scotland. It commonly adopts the appearance of a gigantic water bird resembling a cormorant or great northern diver, but it can also materialise in the form of various other mythological creatures such as a water bull.

A generally malevolent entity, the boobrie typically preys on livestock being transported on ships, but it is also fond of otters, of which it consumes a considerable number. In its manifestation as a water horse the creature is able to gallop across the top of lochs as if on solid ground. During the summer months it is seen infrequently as a large insect, sucking the blood of horses. (Full article...)

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Vampire Fenrir Ala (demon) Sharabha Ratatoskr Huginn and Muninn Keshi (demon) Nuckelavee Sea Mither 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 1Edith Hamilton's Mythology has been a major channel for English speakers to learn classical Greek and Roman mythology (from Myth)
Image 2The Fall of the Titans (1596–98) by Cornelis Cornelisz van Haarlem (from Comparative mythology)
Image 3Claíomh Solais on an Ireland stamp printed in 1922 (from List of mythological objects)
Image 4Veronica holding her veil, Hans Memling, c. 1470 (from List of mythological objects)
Image 5Yama with his famous Yama Pasha (from List of mythological objects)
Image 6Joan of Arc with her famous sword (from List of mythological objects)
Image 7Erlang Shen (二郎神), or Erlang is a Chinese God with his spear (from List of mythological objects)
Image 8Goetia seal of solomon (from List of mythological objects)
Image 9Golem and Loew (from List of mythological objects)
Image 10 Odysseus Overcome by Demodocus' Song, by Francesco Hayez, 1813–1815 (from Myth)
Image 11Pied piper (from List of mythological objects)
Image 12Snake and world egg of the inhabitants of Tyre (from List of mythological objects)
Image 13The famous sword of Excalibur painted by Howard Pyle (from List of mythological objects)
Image 14The 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 15Heracles 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 16Amenonuhoko (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 17Ancient 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 18An angel (Camael) expelling Adam and Eve with a flaming sword (from List of mythological objects)
Image 19This 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 20Achilles wearing his armor (from List of mythological objects)
Image 21A 19th-century drawing of Sun Wukong featuring his staff (from List of mythological objects)
Image 22Lord 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 23Aura, a field of luminous radiation surrounding a person or object (from List of mythological objects)
Image 24Ancient Sumerian cylinder seal impression showing the god Dumuzid being tortured in the Underworld by galla demons (from Comparative mythology)
Image 25Vishnu with his Panchajanya (from List of mythological objects)
Image 26Ahimelech giving the sword of Goliath to David, by Aert de Gelder. (from List of mythological objects)
Image 27Perillos being forced into the brazen bull that he built for Phalaris (from List of mythological objects)
Image 28Jacob blesses Joseph and gives him the coat of many colors (from List of mythological objects)
Image 29The Celestial Chariot, Pushpaka Vimana from Ramayana (from List of mythological objects)
Image 30Image 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 31Fountain of Youth (from List of mythological objects)
Image 32Tissot Moses and Joshua in the Tabernacle (from List of mythological objects)
Image 33The fall of Icarus (from List of mythological objects)
Image 34Surya on His Celestial Chariot (from List of mythological objects)
Image 35Väinämöinen, 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 36Golden cosmic egg Hiranyagarbha by Manaku (from List of mythological objects)
Image 37Rectangular tablets passed down by the Hand of God in the 10th century Byzantine Leo Bible (from List of mythological objects)
Image 38Azoth, a universal medicine or universal solvent sought in alchemy. (Medieval legend) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 39Hand of God (from List of mythological objects)
Image 40Sampo, 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 41Thor wearing the magic belt Megingjörð (from List of mythological objects)
Image 42Early Hebrew Conception of the Universe (from List of mythological objects)
Image 43Hanuman fetches the herb-bearing mountain, in a print from the Ravi Varma Press, 1910's (from List of mythological objects)
Image 44The Ash Yggdrasil by Friedrich Wilhelm Heine (from List of mythological objects)
Image 45Vishnu holding his legendary sword Nandaka (from List of mythological objects)
Image 46Houyi, the God of Archery (from List of mythological objects)
Image 47"Tizona", the sword attributed to El Cid, on exhibit in the Army Museum of Madrid (from List of mythological objects)
Image 48Fig trees often represent talismans with the udumbara (from List of mythological objects)
Image 49Artist's impressions of the (unseen) Imperial Regalia of Japan (from List of mythological objects)
Image 50Lichas bringing the garment of Nessus to Hercules (from List of mythological objects)
Image 51Riding a Flying Carpet, an 1880 painting by Viktor Vasnetsov (from List of mythological objects)
Image 52Holy Robe in Trier (from List of mythological objects)
Image 53The Flying Dutchman (from List of mythological objects)
Image 54Jason returns with Golden fleece (from List of mythological objects)
Image 55Several mythical creatures from Bilderbuch für Kinder (lit. 'picture book for children') between 1790 and 1822, by Friedrich Justin Bertuch (from Legendary creature)
Image 56King Svafrlame Secures the Sword Tyrfing (from List of mythological objects)
Image 57As 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 58Shiva with his Trishula (from List of mythological objects)
Image 59The Argo (c. 1500 – 1530), painting by Lorenzo Costa (from List of mythological objects)
Image 60Adam's Bridge also called as Rama Setu (from List of mythological objects)
Image 61Dietrich von Bern and Hildebrand fight against dragons (from List of mythological objects)
Image 62Ballads of bravery (1877) part of Arthurian mythology (from Myth)
Image 63Jug from Lydian Treasure Usak (from List of mythological objects)
Image 64Symbolic power: a dragon in the Imperial City, Huế, Vietnam (from Legendary creature)
Image 65The 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 66Greek God Kronos/Saturnus with sickle (from List of mythological objects)
Image 67Opening 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 68seven angels with seven trumpets (from List of mythological objects)
Image 691929 Belgian banknote, depicting Ceres, Neptune and caduceus (from Myth)
Image 70The 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 71The Dispute of Minerva and Neptune (c. 1689 or 1706) by René-Antoine Houasse, depicting the founding myth of Athens (from National myth)
Image 72Longinus with his famous Spear (from List of mythological objects)
Image 73Thor kicks Litr onto Baldr's Hringhorni, illustration by Emil Doepler (ca. 1905) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 74The Honest Woodcutter, also known as Mercury and the Woodman and his famous Golden Axe (from List of mythological objects)
Image 75The Shrine of the Three Kings in Cologne Cathedral (from List of mythological objects)
Image 76The 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 77Killing of Ravana Painting by Brahmstra of Arrow of Brahma (from List of mythological objects)
Image 78Hop-o'-My-Thumb stealing the Seven-league boots from the Ogre, by Gustave Doré (from List of mythological objects)
Image 79Voodoo doll with pins in it, Museum of Witchcraft (from List of mythological objects)
Image 80Shield of Achilles (illustration) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 81Fortune Wheel (from List of mythological objects)
Image 82"The Fall of Man" by Lucas Cranach the Elder and the Tree of Knowledge is on the right (from List of mythological objects)
Image 83The Crown of Immortality, held by the allegorical figure Eterna (Eternity) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 84Myths and legends of Babylonia and Assyria (1916) (from Myth)
Image 8514th century Goryeo painting of Ksitigarbha holding a cintamani (from List of mythological objects)
Image 86Prometheus (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 87Giza pyramids (from List of mythological objects)