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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According to Tacitus's Germania (AD 98), Tuisto (or Tuisco) is the legendary divine ancestor of the Germanic peoples. The figure remains the subject of some scholarly discussion, largely focused upon etymological connections and comparisons to figures in later (particularly Norse) Germanic mythology. (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 the most popular deity worshipped by the Duala peoples of Cameroon is a mermaid called a jengu?

...that Maximón, a saint venerated in the highlands of Guatemala, drinks whiskey, smokes cigarettes and grants prayers for revenge?

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

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A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead humanoid creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mischief or deaths in the neighbourhoods which they inhabited while they were alive. They wore shrouds and were often described as bloated and of ruddy or dark countenance, markedly different from today's gaunt, pale vampire which dates from the early 19th century.

Vampiric entities have been recorded in cultures around the world, but the term vampire was first popularized in Western Europe following reports of an 18th-century mass hysteria drawing on a pre-existing folk belief in Southeastern and Eastern Europe. This delusion led, in certain cases, not only to individuals being accused of vampirism, but also to the corpses of such suspected vampires being pierced with stakes. Local variants in Southeastern Europe were also known by different names, such as shtriga in Albania, vrykolakas in Greece and strigoi in Romania, cognate with Italian strega, meaning 'witch'. (Full article...)

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General images

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

Image 1Giza pyramids (from List of mythological objects)
Image 2Thor kicks Litr onto Baldr's Hringhorni, illustration by Emil Doepler (ca. 1905) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 3Golem and Loew (from List of mythological objects)
Image 4Jacob blesses Joseph and gives him the coat of many colors (from List of mythological objects)
Image 5As 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 6An angel (Camael) expelling Adam and Eve with a flaming sword (from List of mythological objects)
Image 7Jug from Lydian Treasure Usak (from List of mythological objects)
Image 8"The Fall of Man" by Lucas Cranach the Elder and the Tree of Knowledge is on the right (from List of mythological objects)
Image 9Artist's impressions of the (unseen) Imperial Regalia of Japan (from List of mythological objects)
Image 10Tissot Moses and Joshua in the Tabernacle (from List of mythological objects)
Image 11Golden cosmic egg Hiranyagarbha by Manaku (from List of mythological objects)
Image 12Early Hebrew Conception of the Universe (from List of mythological objects)
Image 13A 19th-century drawing of Sun Wukong featuring his staff (from List of mythological objects)
Image 14The 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 15Aura, a field of luminous radiation surrounding a person or object (from List of mythological objects)
Image 16Hop-o'-My-Thumb stealing the Seven-league boots from the Ogre, by Gustave Doré (from List of mythological objects)
Image 17The Dispute of Minerva and Neptune (c. 1689 or 1706) by René-Antoine Houasse, depicting the founding myth of Athens (from National myth)
Image 18Vishnu holding his legendary sword Nandaka (from List of mythological objects)
Image 19Adam's Bridge also called as Rama Setu (from List of mythological objects)
Image 20alt=Spiral hieroglyphic inscriptions on the Phaistos Disc (from Comparative mythology)
Image 21Houyi, the God of Archery (from List of mythological objects)
Image 22Longinus with his famous Spear (from List of mythological objects)
Image 23Claíomh Solais on an Ireland stamp printed in 1922 (from List of mythological objects)
Image 24This 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 25Ahimelech giving the sword of Goliath to David, by Aert de Gelder. (from List of mythological objects)
Image 26Achilles wearing his armor (from List of mythological objects)
Image 27Killing of Ravana Painting by Brahmstra of Arrow of Brahma (from List of mythological objects)
Image 28King Svafrlame Secures the Sword Tyrfing (from List of mythological objects)
Image 29Jason returns with Golden fleece (from List of mythological objects)
Image 30Joan of Arc with her famous sword (from List of mythological objects)
Image 31Riding a Flying Carpet, an 1880 painting by Viktor Vasnetsov (from List of mythological objects)
Image 32The famous sword of Excalibur painted by Howard Pyle (from List of mythological objects)
Image 33Symbolic power: a dragon in the Imperial City, Huế, Vietnam (from Legendary creature)
Image 34The Ash Yggdrasil by Friedrich Wilhelm Heine (from List of mythological objects)
Image 35The Celestial Chariot, Pushpaka Vimana from Ramayana (from List of mythological objects)
Image 36Thor's Fight with the Giants (1872) by Mårten Eskil Winge. Thor is the god of thunder in Norse mythology. (from Myth)
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 38Fountain of Youth (from List of mythological objects)
Image 39Greek God Kronos/Saturnus with sickle (from List of mythological objects)
Image 40Ancient Sumerian cylinder seal impression showing the god Dumuzid being tortured in the Underworld by galla demons (from Comparative mythology)
Image 411929 Belgian banknote, depicting Ceres, Neptune and caduceus (from Myth)
Image 42Prometheus (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 43The 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 44Pied piper (from List of mythological objects)
Image 45Lord 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 46Odysseus Overcome by Demodocus' Song, a mythological painting by Francesco Hayez, 1813–1815 (from Myth)
Image 47Sampo, 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 48Surya on His Celestial Chariot (from List of mythological objects)
Image 49The Honest Woodcutter, also known as Mercury and the Woodman and his famous Golden Axe (from List of mythological objects)
Image 50The Flying Dutchman (from List of mythological objects)
Image 51The Crown of Immortality, held by the allegorical figure Eterna (Eternity) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 52Hand of God (from List of mythological objects)
Image 53Ancient 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 54Holy Robe in Trier (from List of mythological objects)
Image 5514th century Goryeo painting of Ksitigarbha holding a cintamani (from List of mythological objects)
Image 56Vishnu with his Panchajanya (from List of mythological objects)
Image 57"Tizona", the sword attributed to El Cid, on exhibit in the Army Museum of Madrid (from List of mythological objects)
Image 58Goetia seal of solomon (from List of mythological objects)
Image 59Myths and legends of Babylonia and Assyria (1916) (from Myth)
Image 60Veronica holding her veil, Hans Memling, c. 1470 (from List of mythological objects)
Image 61Opening 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 62Perillos being forced into the brazen bull that he built for Phalaris (from List of mythological objects)
Image 63Thor wearing the magic belt Megingjörð (from List of mythological objects)
Image 64Snake and world egg of the inhabitants of Tyre (from List of mythological objects)
Image 65Dietrich von Bern and Hildebrand fight against dragons (from List of mythological objects)
Image 66Lichas bringing the garment of Nessus to Hercules (from List of mythological objects)
Image 67Image 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 68Shiva with his Trishula (from List of mythological objects)
Image 69Fortune Wheel (from List of mythological objects)
Image 70The Argo (c. 1500 – 1530), painting by Lorenzo Costa (from List of mythological objects)
Image 71Shield of Achilles (illustration) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 72Voodoo doll with pins in it, Museum of Witchcraft (from List of mythological objects)
Image 73Väinämöinen, 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 74seven angels with seven trumpets (from List of mythological objects)
Image 75Heracles 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 76The fall of Icarus (from List of mythological objects)
Image 77Azoth, a universal medicine or universal solvent sought in alchemy. (Medieval legend) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 78Rectangular tablets passed down by the Hand of God in the 10th century Byzantine Leo Bible (from List of mythological objects)
Image 79Ballads of bravery (1877) part of Arthurian mythology (from Myth)
Image 80The Fall of the Titans (1596–98) by Cornelis Cornelisz van Haarlem (from Comparative mythology)
Image 81Hanuman fetches the herb-bearing mountain, in a print from the Ravi Varma Press, 1910's (from List of mythological objects)
Image 82The 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 83Yama with his famous Yama Pasha (from List of mythological objects)
Image 84The Shrine of the Three Kings in Cologne Cathedral (from List of mythological objects)
Image 85Edith Hamilton's Mythology has been a major channel for English speakers to learn classical Greek and Roman mythology (from Myth)
Image 86Fig trees often represent talismans with the udumbara (from List of mythological objects)
Image 87Amenonuhoko (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 88Erlang Shen (二郎神), or Erlang is a Chinese God with his spear (from List of mythological objects)
Image 89Yama advances to smite Ravana with the weapon of death (from List of mythological objects)
Image 90Several legendary creatures from Bilderbuch für Kinder (lit. 'picture book for children') between 1790 and 1822, by Friedrich Justin Bertuch (from Legendary creature)