Portal:Myths

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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 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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Statue of Shiva, Murudeshwara Temple, 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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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 the lives of saints, the appearance of roses (example pictured) sometimes announces the presence or activity of God?

... 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 white horse in mythology is associated with the sun chariot, warrior-heroes, fertility or an end-time saviour?

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Centauress, by John La Farge

A centaur (/ˈsɛntɔːr, ˈsɛntɑːr/ SEN-tor, SEN-tar; Ancient Greek: κένταυρος, romanized: kéntauros; Latin: centaurus), occasionally hippocentaur, also called Ixionidae (Ancient Greek: Ἰξιονίδαι, romanized: Ixionídai, lit. 'sons of Ixion'), is a creature from Greek mythology with the upper body of a human and the lower body and legs of a horse that was said to live in the mountains of Thessaly. In one version of the myth, the centaurs were named after Centaurus, and, through his brother Lapithes, were kin to the legendary tribe of the Lapiths.

Centaurs are thought of in many Greek myths as being as wild as untamed horses, and were said to have inhabited the region of Magnesia and Mount Pelion in Thessaly, the Foloi oak forest in Elis, and the Malean peninsula in southern Laconia. Centaurs are subsequently featured in Roman mythology, and were familiar figures in the medieval bestiary. They remain a staple of modern fantastic literature. (Full article...)

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

General images

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

Image 1"The Fall of Man" by Lucas Cranach the Elder and the Tree of Knowledge is on the right (from List of mythological objects)
Image 2Ahimelech giving the sword of Goliath to David, by Aert de Gelder. (from List of mythological objects)
Image 3seven angels with seven trumpets (from List of mythological objects)
Image 4This 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 5The Crown of Immortality, held by the allegorical figure Eterna (Eternity) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 6Ancient Sumerian cylinder seal impression showing the god Dumuzid being tortured in the Underworld by galla demons (from Comparative mythology)
Image 7Veronica holding her veil, Hans Memling, c. 1470 (from List of mythological objects)
Image 8Goetia seal of solomon (from List of mythological objects)
Image 9The Ash Yggdrasil by Friedrich Wilhelm Heine (from List of mythological objects)
Image 10Greek God Kronos/Saturnus with sickle (from List of mythological objects)
Image 11Snake and world egg of the inhabitants of Tyre (from List of mythological objects)
Image 12Heracles 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 13Adam's Bridge also called as Rama Setu (from List of mythological objects)
Image 14Shiva with his Trishula (from List of mythological objects)
Image 151929 Belgian banknote, depicting Ceres, Neptune and caduceus (from Myth)
Image 16Ancient 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 17Lord 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 18Fountain of Youth (from List of mythological objects)
Image 19Early Hebrew Conception of the Universe (from List of mythological objects)
Image 2014th century Goryeo painting of Ksitigarbha holding a cintamani (from List of mythological objects)
Image 21The Honest Woodcutter, also known as Mercury and the Woodman and his famous Golden Axe (from List of mythological objects)
Image 22The 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 23Ballads of bravery (1877) part of Arthurian mythology (from Myth)
Image 24An angel (Camael) expelling Adam and Eve with a flaming sword (from List of mythological objects)
Image 25Surya on His Celestial Chariot (from List of mythological objects)
Image 26The Fall of the Titans (1596–98) by Cornelis Cornelisz van Haarlem (from Comparative mythology)
Image 27Thor kicks Litr onto Baldr's Hringhorni, illustration by Emil Doepler (ca. 1905) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 28Golden cosmic egg Hiranyagarbha by Manaku (from List of mythological objects)
Image 29Voodoo doll with pins in it, Museum of Witchcraft (from List of mythological objects)
Image 30Thor wearing the magic belt Megingjörð (from List of mythological objects)
Image 31Riding a Flying Carpet, an 1880 painting by Viktor Vasnetsov (from List of mythological objects)
Image 32Rectangular tablets passed down by the Hand of God in the 10th century Byzantine Leo Bible (from List of mythological objects)
Image 33Image 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 34Several mythical creatures from Bilderbuch für Kinder (lit. 'picture book for children') between 1790 and 1822, by Friedrich Justin Bertuch (from Legendary creature)
Image 35Vishnu holding his legendary sword Nandaka (from List of mythological objects)
Image 36Hand of God (from List of mythological objects)
Image 37The 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 38Fortune Wheel (from List of mythological objects)
Image 39The Shrine of the Three Kings in Cologne Cathedral (from List of mythological objects)
Image 40Achilles wearing his armor (from List of mythological objects)
Image 41The Flying Dutchman (from List of mythological objects)
Image 42"Tizona", the sword attributed to El Cid, on exhibit in the Army Museum of Madrid (from List of mythological objects)
Image 43Lichas bringing the garment of Nessus to Hercules (from List of mythological objects)
Image 44Jacob blesses Joseph and gives him the coat of many colors (from List of mythological objects)
Image 45The famous sword of Excalibur painted by Howard Pyle (from List of mythological objects)
Image 46Myths and legends of Babylonia and Assyria (1916) (from Myth)
Image 47The fall of Icarus (from List of mythological objects)
Image 48King Svafrlame Secures the Sword Tyrfing (from List of mythological objects)
Image 49The Dispute of Minerva and Neptune (c. 1689 or 1706) by René-Antoine Houasse, depicting the founding myth of Athens (from National myth)
Image 50Opening 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 51Houyi, the God of Archery (from List of mythological objects)
Image 52Azoth, a universal medicine or universal solvent sought in alchemy. (Medieval legend) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 53 Odysseus Overcome by Demodocus' Song, by Francesco Hayez, 1813–1815 (from Myth)
Image 54Killing of Ravana Painting by Brahmstra of Arrow of Brahma (from List of mythological objects)
Image 55Fig trees often represent talismans with the udumbara (from List of mythological objects)
Image 56Sampo, 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 57The Celestial Chariot, Pushpaka Vimana from Ramayana (from List of mythological objects)
Image 58The Argo (c. 1500 – 1530), painting by Lorenzo Costa (from List of mythological objects)
Image 59Hanuman fetches the herb-bearing mountain, in a print from the Ravi Varma Press, 1910's (from List of mythological objects)
Image 60Claíomh Solais on an Ireland stamp printed in 1922 (from List of mythological objects)
Image 61As 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 62The sheyd אַשְמְדּאָי (Ašmodai) in bird-like form, with typical rooster feet, as depicted in Compendium rarissimum totius Artis Magicae 1775 (from Comparative mythology)
Image 63Hop-o'-My-Thumb stealing the Seven-league boots from the Ogre, by Gustave Doré (from List of mythological objects)
Image 64Prometheus (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 65Edith Hamilton's Mythology has been a major channel for English speakers to learn classical Greek and Roman mythology (from Myth)
Image 66Longinus with his famous Spear (from List of mythological objects)
Image 67Jason returns with Golden fleece (from List of mythological objects)
Image 68Dietrich von Bern and Hildebrand fight against dragons (from List of mythological objects)
Image 69Aura, a field of luminous radiation surrounding a person or object (from List of mythological objects)
Image 70Väinämöinen, 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 71The 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 72Yama with his famous Yama Pasha (from List of mythological objects)
Image 73Golem and Loew (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 75The 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 76Joan of Arc with her famous sword (from List of mythological objects)
Image 77A 19th-century drawing of Sun Wukong featuring his staff (from List of mythological objects)
Image 78Tissot Moses and Joshua in the Tabernacle (from List of mythological objects)
Image 79Giza pyramids (from List of mythological objects)
Image 80Perillos being forced into the brazen bull that he built for Phalaris (from List of mythological objects)
Image 81Symbolic power: a dragon in the Imperial City, Huế, Vietnam (from Legendary creature)
Image 82Vishnu with his Panchajanya (from List of mythological objects)
Image 83Holy Robe in Trier (from List of mythological objects)
Image 84Jug from Lydian Treasure Usak (from List of mythological objects)
Image 85Pied piper (from List of mythological objects)
Image 86Shield of Achilles (illustration) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 87Artist's impressions of the (unseen) Imperial Regalia of Japan (from List of mythological objects)
Image 88Erlang Shen (二郎神), or Erlang is a Chinese God with his spear (from List of mythological objects)