Portal:Myths

The Myths Portal

Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is totally different from the ordinary sense of the term myth, meaning a belief that is not true, as the veracity of a piece of folklore is entirely irrelevant to determining whether it constitutes a myth.

Myths are often endorsed by religious and secular authorities, and may be natural or supernatural in character. 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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Dali (also Daal or Dæl; Georgian: დალი) is a goddess from the mythology of the Georgian people of the Caucasus region. She is a hunting goddess who serves as the patron of hoofed wild mountain animals such as ibexes and deer. Hunters who obeyed her numerous taboos would be assured of success in the hunt; conversely, she would harshly punish any who violated them. She is most prominently attested in the stories of the Svan ethnic subgroup in northwestern Georgia. Other groups in western Georgia had similar figures considered equivalent to Dali, such as the Mingrelian goddess Tkashi-Mapa (Mingrelian: ტყაში-მაფა).

She was usually described as a beautiful nude woman with golden hair and glowing skin, although she sometimes took on the form of her favored animals, usually with some marking to differentiate her from the herd. She was said to reside in a cavern high in the mountains, where she kept watch over the hoofed game animals who live on the cliffs. Dali was styled with a variety of regional epithets reflecting her different roles and associations. (Full article...)

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... that the demon Maha Sohona, whose head has been replaced with that of a bear, haunts graveyards and feasts on human flesh?

... that in Hindu mythology, the demoness Putana (pictured, centre) tried to kill the infant-god Krishna by breastfeeding him poisoned milk?

... that the pre-Columbian Zapotec storm god Cocijo was said to have created the world from his breath?

... that Xiuhtecuhtli (mask pictured), the Aztec god of fire, was one of the nine Lords of the Night even though he was a solar deity?

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A depiction of a phoenix by Friedrich Justin Bertuch (1806)

The phoenix is a legendary immortal bird that cyclically regenerates or is otherwise born again. Originating in Greek mythology, it has analogues in many cultures, such as Egyptian and Persian mythology. Associated with the Sun, a phoenix obtains new life by rising from the ashes of its predecessor. Some legends say it dies in a show of flames and combustion, while others say that it simply burns to death and decomposes before being born again. In the Motif-Index of Folk-Literature, a tool used by folklorists, the phoenix is classified as motif B32.

The origin of the phoenix has been attributed to Ancient Egypt by Herodotus and later 19th-century scholars, but other scholars think the Egyptian texts may have been influenced by classical folklore. Over time, the phoenix motif spread and gained a variety of new associations; Herodotus, Lucan, Pliny the Elder, Pope Clement I, Lactantius, Ovid, and Isidore of Seville are among those who have contributed to the retelling and transmission of the phoenix motif. Over time, extending beyond its origins, the phoenix could variously "symbolise renewal in general as well as the sun, time, the Roman Empire, metempsychosis, consecration, resurrection, life in the heavenly paradise, Christ, Mary, virginity, the exceptional man, and certain aspects of Christian life". Some scholars have claimed that the poem De ave phoenice may present the mythological phoenix motif as a symbol of Christ's resurrection. (Full article...)

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General images

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

Image 1Thor wearing the magic belt Megingjörð (from List of mythological objects)
Image 2Holy Robe in Trier (from List of mythological objects)
Image 3Aura, a field of luminous radiation surrounding a person or object (from List of mythological objects)
Image 4Houyi, the God of Archery (from List of mythological objects)
Image 5Amenonuhoko (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 6Vishnu with his Panchajanya (from List of mythological objects)
Image 7Image 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 8Jason returns with Golden fleece (from List of mythological objects)
Image 9Artist's impressions of the (unseen) Imperial Regalia of Japan (from List of mythological objects)
Image 10The Dispute of Minerva and Neptune (c. 1689 or 1706) by René-Antoine Houasse, depicting the founding myth of Athens (from National myth)
Image 11Shiva with his Trishula (from List of mythological objects)
Image 12The 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 131929 Belgian banknote, depicting Ceres, Neptune and caduceus (from Myth)
Image 14Surya on His Celestial Chariot (from List of mythological objects)
Image 15The Ash Yggdrasil by Friedrich Wilhelm Heine (from List of mythological objects)
Image 16Sampo, 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 17Giza pyramids (from List of mythological objects)
Image 18Joan of Arc with her famous sword (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 20The Celestial Chariot, Pushpaka Vimana from Ramayana (from List of mythological objects)
Image 21Fortune Wheel (from List of mythological objects)
Image 22Hop-o'-My-Thumb stealing the Seven-league boots from the Ogre, by Gustave Doré (from List of mythological objects)
Image 23Adam's Bridge also called as Rama Setu (from List of mythological objects)
Image 24Hanuman fetches the herb-bearing mountain, in a print from the Ravi Varma Press, 1910's (from List of mythological objects)
Image 25Vishnu holding his legendary sword Nandaka (from List of mythological objects)
Image 26The Fall of the Titans (1596–98) by Cornelis Cornelisz van Haarlem (from Comparative mythology)
Image 27Pied piper (from List of mythological objects)
Image 28Yama advances to smite Ravana with the weapon of death (from List of mythological objects)
Image 29seven angels with seven trumpets (from List of mythological objects)
Image 30Heracles 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 31This 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 32Odysseus Overcome by Demodocus' Song, a mythological painting by Francesco Hayez, 1813–1815 (from Myth)
Image 33A 19th-century drawing of Sun Wukong featuring his staff (from List of mythological objects)
Image 34Goetia seal of solomon (from List of mythological objects)
Image 35Opening lines of one of the Mabinogi myths from the Red Book of Hergest (written pre-13th century, 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 36Greek God Kronos/Saturnus with sickle (from List of mythological objects)
Image 37Fig trees often represent talismans with the udumbara (from List of mythological objects)
Image 38Symbolic power: a dragon in the Imperial City, Huế, Vietnam (from Legendary creature)
Image 39The Shrine of the Three Kings in Cologne Cathedral (from List of mythological objects)
Image 40The Flying Dutchman (from List of mythological objects)
Image 41Fountain of Youth (from List of mythological objects)
Image 42Several legendary creatures from Bilderbuch für Kinder (lit. 'picture book for children') between 1790 and 1822, by Friedrich Justin Bertuch (from Legendary creature)
Image 43Prometheus (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 44"Tizona", the sword attributed to El Cid, on exhibit in the Army Museum of Madrid (from List of mythological objects)
Image 45Achilles wearing his armor (from List of mythological objects)
Image 46Perillos being forced into the brazen bull that he built for Phalaris (from List of mythological objects)
Image 47Ahimelech giving the sword of Goliath to David, by Aert de Gelder. (from List of mythological objects)
Image 48Killing of Ravana Painting by Brahmstra of Arrow of Brahma (from List of mythological objects)
Image 49Dietrich von Bern and Hildebrand fight against dragons (from List of mythological objects)
Image 50Longinus with his famous Spear (from List of mythological objects)