Portal:Myths

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Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that simply refers to a belief that 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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The Trojan War was a legendary conflict in Greek mythology that took place around the 12th or 13th century BCE. The war was waged by the Achaeans (Greeks) against the city of Troy after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology, and it has been narrated through many works of Greek literature, most notably Homer's Iliad. The core of the Iliad (Books II – XXIII) describes a period of four days and two nights in the tenth year of the decade-long siege of Troy; the Odyssey describes the journey home of Odysseus, one of the war's heroes. Other parts of the war are described in a cycle of epic poems, which have survived through fragments. Episodes from the war provided material for Greek tragedy and other works of Greek literature, and for Roman poets including Virgil and Ovid.

The ancient Greeks believed that Troy was located near the Dardanelles and that the Trojan War was a historical event of the or . By the mid-19th century AD, both the war and the city were widely seen as non-historical, but in 1868, the German archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann met Frank Calvert, who convinced Schliemann that Troy was at what is now Hisarlık in modern day Turkey. On the basis of excavations conducted by Schliemann and others, this claim is now accepted by most scholars. (Full article...)

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... that the legend of Sumbha and Nisumbha, demons from Hindu mythology, is used as a warning against the dangers of seduction in Shashi Tharoor's novel The Great Indian Novel?

...that Ewale a Mbedi may have been the first Duala leader to trade with Europeans in Cameroon?

...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 in Greek mythology, Arion (or Areion) was an extremely swift immortal horse that could talk?

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Illustration of a winged, fire-breathing dragon by Friedrich Justin Bertuch from 1806

A dragon is a magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in Western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as winged, horned, and capable of breathing fire. Dragons in eastern cultures are usually depicted as wingless, four-legged, serpentine creatures with above-average intelligence. Commonalities between dragons' traits are often a hybridization of feline, reptilian, mammalian, and avian features. Some scholars believe large extinct or migrating crocodiles bear the closest resemblance, especially when encountered in forested or swampy areas, and are most likely the template of modern Asian dragon imagery. (Full article...)

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Vampire Fenrir Ala (demon) Sharabha Ratatoskr Huginn and Muninn Keshi (demon) Nuckelavee Sea Mither Boobrie Stoor worm Mermaid 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 1Longinus with his famous Spear (from List of mythological objects)
Image 2Goetia seal of solomon (from List of mythological objects)
Image 3Amenonuhoko (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 4The Honest Woodcutter, also known as Mercury and the Woodman and his famous Golden Axe (from List of mythological objects)
Image 5Myths and legends of Babylonia and Assyria (1916) (from Myth)
Image 6Vishnu holding his legendary sword Nandaka (from List of mythological objects)
Image 71929 Belgian banknote, depicting Ceres, Neptune and caduceus (from Myth)
Image 8A 19th-century drawing of Sun Wukong featuring his staff (from List of mythological objects)
Image 9"The Fall of Man" by Lucas Cranach the Elder and the Tree of Knowledge is on the right (from List of mythological objects)
Image 1014th century Goryeo painting of Ksitigarbha holding a cintamani (from List of mythological objects)
Image 11The 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 12Aura, a field of luminous radiation surrounding a person or object (from List of mythological objects)
Image 13Shield of Achilles (illustration) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 14Thor kicks Litr onto Baldr's Hringhorni, illustration by Emil Doepler (ca. 1905) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 15The Fall of the Titans (1596–98) by Cornelis Cornelisz van Haarlem (from Comparative mythology)
Image 16Ancient Sumerian cylinder seal impression showing the god Dumuzid being tortured in the Underworld by galla demons (from Comparative mythology)
Image 17Riding a Flying Carpet, an 1880 painting by Viktor Vasnetsov (from List of mythological objects)
Image 18Image 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 19Voodoo doll with pins in it, Museum of Witchcraft (from List of mythological objects)
Image 20Jug from Lydian Treasure Usak (from List of mythological objects)
Image 21Giza pyramids (from List of mythological objects)
Image 22Thor wearing the magic belt Megingjörð (from List of mythological objects)
Image 23The Celestial Chariot, Pushpaka Vimana from Ramayana (from List of mythological objects)
Image 24Surya on His Celestial Chariot (from List of mythological objects)
Image 25Prometheus (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 26Claíomh Solais on an Ireland stamp printed in 1922 (from List of mythological objects)
Image 27The Dispute of Minerva and Neptune (c. 1689 or 1706) by René-Antoine Houasse, depicting the founding myth of Athens (from National myth)
Image 28Early Hebrew Conception of the Universe (from List of mythological objects)
Image 29Killing of Ravana Painting by Brahmstra of Arrow of Brahma (from List of mythological objects)
Image 30Fortune Wheel (from List of mythological objects)
Image 31Erlang Shen (二郎神), or Erlang is a Chinese God with his spear (from List of mythological objects)
Image 32Golden cosmic egg Hiranyagarbha by Manaku (from List of mythological objects)
Image 33The famous sword of Excalibur painted by Howard Pyle (from List of mythological objects)
Image 34The Crown of Immortality, held by the allegorical figure Eterna (Eternity) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 35The Argo (c. 1500 – 1530), painting by Lorenzo Costa (from List of mythological objects)
Image 36Ancient 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 37Holy Robe in Trier (from List of mythological objects)
Image 38Several mythical creatures from Bilderbuch für Kinder (lit. 'picture book for children') between 1790 and 1822, by Friedrich Justin Bertuch (from Legendary creature)
Image 39As 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 40The Flying Dutchman (from List of mythological objects)
Image 41Pied piper (from List of mythological objects)
Image 42King Svafrlame Secures the Sword Tyrfing (from List of mythological objects)
Image 43Opening 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 44Ballads of bravery (1877) part of Arthurian mythology (from Myth)
Image 45Fig trees often represent talismans with the udumbara (from List of mythological objects)
Image 46Golem and Loew (from List of mythological objects)
Image 47Veronica holding her veil, Hans Memling, c. 1470 (from List of mythological objects)
Image 48Hop-o'-My-Thumb stealing the Seven-league boots from the Ogre, by Gustave Doré (from List of mythological objects)
Image 49Adam's Bridge also called as Rama Setu (from List of mythological objects)
Image 50The Ash Yggdrasil by Friedrich Wilhelm Heine (from List of mythological objects)
Image 51"Tizona", the sword attributed to El Cid, on exhibit in the Army Museum of Madrid (from List of mythological objects)
Image 52Vishnu with his Panchajanya (from List of mythological objects)
Image 53Artist's impressions of the (unseen) Imperial Regalia of Japan (from List of mythological objects)
Image 54Fountain of Youth (from List of mythological objects)
Image 55Ahimelech giving the sword of Goliath to David, by Aert de Gelder. (from List of mythological objects)
Image 56Tissot Moses and Joshua in the Tabernacle (from List of mythological objects)
Image 57The 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 58The Shrine of the Three Kings in Cologne Cathedral (from List of mythological objects)
Image 59Greek God Kronos/Saturnus with sickle (from List of mythological objects)
Image 60Lichas bringing the garment of Nessus to Hercules (from List of mythological objects)
Image 61Jason returns with Golden fleece (from List of mythological objects)
Image 62The fall of Icarus (from List of mythological objects)
Image 63Väinämöinen, 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 64 Odysseus Overcome by Demodocus' Song, by Francesco Hayez, 1813–1815 (from Myth)
Image 65This 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 66Yama with his famous Yama Pasha (from List of mythological objects)
Image 67Symbolic power: a dragon in the Imperial City, Huế, Vietnam (from Legendary creature)
Image 68Rectangular tablets passed down by the Hand of God in the 10th century Byzantine Leo Bible (from List of mythological objects)
Image 69The 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 70An angel (Camael) expelling Adam and Eve with a flaming sword (from List of mythological objects)
Image 71Jacob blesses Joseph and gives him the coat of many colors (from List of mythological objects)
Image 72Edith Hamilton's Mythology has been a major channel for English speakers to learn classical Greek and Roman mythology (from Myth)
Image 73Houyi, the God of Archery (from List of mythological objects)
Image 74Perillos being forced into the brazen bull that he built for Phalaris (from List of mythological objects)
Image 75Hand of God (from List of mythological objects)
Image 76Lord 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 77Hanuman fetches the herb-bearing mountain, in a print from the Ravi Varma Press, 1910's (from List of mythological objects)
Image 78Sampo, 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 79The 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 80Achilles wearing his armor (from List of mythological objects)
Image 81seven angels with seven trumpets (from List of mythological objects)
Image 82Shiva with his Trishula (from List of mythological objects)
Image 83Dietrich von Bern and Hildebrand fight against dragons (from List of mythological objects)
Image 84Joan of Arc with her famous sword (from List of mythological objects)
Image 85Snake and world egg of the inhabitants of Tyre (from List of mythological objects)
Image 86Heracles 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 87Azoth, a universal medicine or universal solvent sought in alchemy. (Medieval legend) (from List of mythological objects)