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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Prester John (Latin: Presbyter Ioannes) was a legendary Christian patriarch, presbyter, and king. Stories popular in Europe in the 12th to the 17th centuries told of a Church of the East patriarch and king who was said to rule over a Christian nation lost amid the pagans and Muslims in the Orient. The accounts were often embellished with various tropes of medieval popular fantasy, depicting Prester John as a descendant of the Three Magi, ruling a kingdom full of riches, marvels, and strange creatures.

At first, Prester John was imagined to reside in India. Tales of Church of the East Christians' evangelistic success there and of Thomas the Apostle's subcontinental travels as documented in works like the Acts of Thomas probably provided the first seeds of the legend. After the coming of the Mongols to the Western world, accounts placed the king in Central Asia, and eventually Portuguese explorers came to believe that the term was a reference to Ethiopia, by which time it had been an isolated Christian "exclave" distant from any other Christian-ruled territory. (Full article...)

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...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 Ugaritic culture hero Danel may have been a model for the Biblical Daniel of Ezekiel?

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

...that in Greek mythology, Antiope was the only Amazon known to have married?

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The stoor worm, or Mester Stoor Worm, was a gigantic evil sea serpent of Orcadian folklore, capable of contaminating plants and destroying animals and humans with its putrid breath. It is probably an Orkney variant of the Norse Jörmungandr, also known as the Midgard Serpent, or world serpent, and has been described as a sea dragon.

The king of one country threatened by the beast's arrival was advised to offer it a weekly sacrifice of seven virgins. In desperation, the king eventually issued a proclamation offering his kingdom, his daughter's hand in marriage, and a magic sword to anyone who could destroy the monster. Assipattle, the youngest son of a local farmer, defeated the creature; as it died its teeth fell out to become the islands of Orkney, Shetland and the Faroes, and its body became Iceland. (Full article...)

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Vampire Fenrir Ala (demon) Sharabha Ratatoskr Huginn and Muninn Keshi (demon) Nuckelavee Sea Mither Boobrie 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 1The famous sword of Excalibur painted by Howard Pyle (from List of mythological objects)
Image 2The Ash Yggdrasil by Friedrich Wilhelm Heine (from List of mythological objects)
Image 3Hand of God (from List of mythological objects)
Image 4Ahimelech giving the sword of Goliath to David, by Aert de Gelder. (from List of mythological objects)
Image 5The 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 6seven angels with seven trumpets (from List of mythological objects)
Image 71929 Belgian banknote, depicting Ceres, Neptune and caduceus (from Myth)
Image 8Symbolic power: a dragon in the Imperial City, Huế, Vietnam (from Legendary creature)
Image 9Surya on His Celestial Chariot (from List of mythological objects)
Image 10Veronica holding her veil, Hans Memling, c. 1470 (from List of mythological objects)
Image 11Ballads of bravery (1877) part of Arthurian mythology (from Myth)
Image 12The Crown of Immortality, held by the allegorical figure Eterna (Eternity) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 13Shiva with his Trishula (from List of mythological objects)
Image 14Lichas bringing the garment of Nessus to Hercules (from List of mythological objects)
Image 15Adam's Bridge also called as Rama Setu (from List of mythological objects)
Image 16The Dispute of Minerva and Neptune (c. 1689 or 1706) by René-Antoine Houasse, depicting the founding myth of Athens (from National myth)
Image 17Rectangular tablets passed down by the Hand of God in the 10th century Byzantine Leo Bible (from List of mythological objects)
Image 18Yama with his famous Yama Pasha (from List of mythological objects)
Image 19Perillos being forced into the brazen bull that he built for Phalaris (from List of mythological objects)
Image 20Aura, a field of luminous radiation surrounding a person or object (from List of mythological objects)
Image 21The Shrine of the Three Kings in Cologne Cathedral (from List of mythological objects)
Image 22Ancient Sumerian cylinder seal impression showing the god Dumuzid being tortured in the Underworld by galla demons (from Comparative mythology)
Image 23Opening 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 24Dietrich von Bern and Hildebrand fight against dragons (from List of mythological objects)
Image 25Giza pyramids (from List of mythological objects)
Image 26Väinämöinen, 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 27Jacob blesses Joseph and gives him the coat of many colors (from List of mythological objects)
Image 28Riding a Flying Carpet, an 1880 painting by Viktor Vasnetsov (from List of mythological objects)
Image 29The 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 30Fortune Wheel (from List of mythological objects)
Image 31Fig trees often represent talismans with the udumbara (from List of mythological objects)
Image 32Snake and world egg of the inhabitants of Tyre (from List of mythological objects)
Image 33Vishnu with his Panchajanya (from List of mythological objects)
Image 34The 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 35Heracles 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 36The Honest Woodcutter, also known as Mercury and the Woodman and his famous Golden Axe (from List of mythological objects)
Image 37Myths and legends of Babylonia and Assyria (1916) (from Myth)
Image 38The 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 39Artist's impressions of the (unseen) Imperial Regalia of Japan (from List of mythological objects)
Image 40Joan of Arc with her famous sword (from List of mythological objects)
Image 41Jug from Lydian Treasure Usak (from List of mythological objects)
Image 4214th century Goryeo painting of Ksitigarbha holding a cintamani (from List of mythological objects)
Image 43The Argo (c. 1500 – 1530), painting by Lorenzo Costa (from List of mythological objects)
Image 44This 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 45Several mythical creatures from Bilderbuch für Kinder (lit. 'picture book for children') between 1790 and 1822, by Friedrich Justin Bertuch (from Legendary creature)
Image 46The Celestial Chariot, Pushpaka Vimana from Ramayana (from List of mythological objects)
Image 47Hanuman fetches the herb-bearing mountain, in a print from the Ravi Varma Press, 1910's (from List of mythological objects)
Image 48Killing of Ravana Painting by Brahmstra of Arrow of Brahma (from List of mythological objects)
Image 49Azoth, a universal medicine or universal solvent sought in alchemy. (Medieval legend) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 50The sheyd אַשְמְדּאָי (Ašmodai) in bird-like form, with typical rooster feet, as depicted in Compendium rarissimum totius Artis Magicae 1775 (from Comparative mythology)
Image 51Early Hebrew Conception of the Universe (from List of mythological objects)
Image 52Erlang Shen (二郎神), or Erlang is a Chinese God with his spear (from List of mythological objects)
Image 53Lord 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 54Tissot Moses and Joshua in the Tabernacle (from List of mythological objects)
Image 55Greek God Kronos/Saturnus with sickle (from List of mythological objects)
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 58Vishnu holding his legendary sword Nandaka (from List of mythological objects)
Image 59Prometheus (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 60The fall of Icarus (from List of mythological objects)
Image 61Longinus with his famous Spear (from List of mythological objects)
Image 62"Tizona", the sword attributed to El Cid, on exhibit in the Army Museum of Madrid (from List of mythological objects)
Image 63Golden cosmic egg Hiranyagarbha by Manaku (from List of mythological objects)
Image 64Jason returns with Golden fleece (from List of mythological objects)
Image 65Houyi, the God of Archery (from List of mythological objects)
Image 66Fountain of Youth (from List of mythological objects)
Image 67A 19th-century drawing of Sun Wukong featuring his staff (from List of mythological objects)
Image 68Sampo, 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 69Voodoo doll with pins in it, Museum of Witchcraft (from List of mythological objects)
Image 70Goetia seal of solomon (from List of mythological objects)
Image 71The Fall of the Titans (1596–98) by Cornelis Cornelisz van Haarlem (from Comparative mythology)
Image 72Holy Robe in Trier (from List of mythological objects)
Image 73Pied piper (from List of mythological objects)
Image 74Amenonuhoko (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 75Image 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 76Thor kicks Litr onto Baldr's Hringhorni, illustration by Emil Doepler (ca. 1905) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 77Golem and Loew (from List of mythological objects)
Image 78An angel (Camael) expelling Adam and Eve with a flaming sword (from List of mythological objects)
Image 79The Flying Dutchman (from List of mythological objects)
Image 80Claíomh Solais on an Ireland stamp printed in 1922 (from List of mythological objects)
Image 81Edith Hamilton's Mythology has been a major channel for English speakers to learn classical Greek and Roman mythology (from Myth)
Image 82Achilles wearing his armor (from List of mythological objects)
Image 83Shield of Achilles (illustration) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 84"The Fall of Man" by Lucas Cranach the Elder and the Tree of Knowledge is on the right (from List of mythological objects)
Image 85 Odysseus Overcome by Demodocus' Song, by Francesco Hayez, 1813–1815 (from Myth)
Image 86Thor wearing the magic belt Megingjörð (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 88Ancient Roman relief from the Cathedral of Maria Saal showing the infant twins Romulus and Remus being suckled by a she-wolf (from Comparative mythology)