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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Statuette of Enlil sitting on his throne from the site of Nippur, dated to 1800–1600 BC, now on display in the Iraq Museum

Enlil (Sumerian: 𒀭 𒂗 𒆤 ^dEN-LÍL), later known as Elil and Ellil, is an ancient Mesopotamian god associated with wind, air, earth, and storms.^[1] He is first attested as the chief deity of the Sumerian pantheon,^[2] but he was later worshipped by the Akkadians, Babylonians, Assyrians, and Hurrians. Enlil's primary center of worship was the Ekur temple in the city of Nippur, which was believed to have been built by Enlil himself and was regarded as the "mooring-rope" of heaven and earth. He is also sometimes referred to in Sumerian texts as Nunamnir. According to one Sumerian hymn, Enlil himself was so holy that not even the other gods could look upon him. Enlil rose to prominence during the twenty-fourth century BC with the rise of Nippur. His cult fell into decline after Nippur was sacked by the Elamites in 1230 BC and he was eventually supplanted as the chief god of the Mesopotamian pantheon by the Babylonian national god Marduk.

Enlil plays a vital role in the ancient near eastern cosmology; he separates An (heaven) from Ki (earth), thus making the world habitable for humans. In the Sumerian flood myth Eridu Genesis, Enlil rewards Ziusudra with immortality for having survived the flood and, in the Babylonian flood myth, Enlil is the cause of the flood himself, having sent the flood to exterminate the human race, who made too much noise and prevented him from sleeping; the cuneiform tablets of Atra-Hasis report on this connections in a comparatively well-preserved state. The myth of Enlil and Ninlil is about Enlil's serial seduction of the goddess Ninlil in various guises, resulting in the conception of the moon-god Nanna and the Underworld deities Nergal, Ninazu, and Enbilulu. Enlil was regarded as the inventor of the mattock and the patron of agriculture. Enlil also features prominently in several myths involving his son Ninurta, including Anzû and the Tablet of Destinies and Lugale. (Full article...)

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...that according to Hindu mythology, the deity Revanta (pictured) was born from the union of the sun-god Surya and his wife Saranya in the form of horse and mare?

... that, in the lives of saints, the appearance of roses (example pictured) sometimes announces the presence or activity of God?

... that the origin of the Postclassic K'iche' Maya patron deity Jacawitz has been traced back to a historical event at the city of Seibal?

... that the worshippers of Xipe Totec (pictured), the Aztec god of renewal, wore the flayed skins of their sacrificial victims?

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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 1Claíomh Solais on an Ireland stamp printed in 1922 (from List of mythological objects)
Image 2alt=Spiral hieroglyphic inscriptions on the Phaistos Disc (from Comparative mythology)
Image 3Thor's Fight with the Giants (1872) by Mårten Eskil Winge. Thor is the god of thunder in Norse mythology. (from Myth)
Image 4Myths and legends of Babylonia and Assyria (1916) (from Myth)
Image 5Tissot Moses and Joshua in the Tabernacle (from List of mythological objects)
Image 6Jason returns with Golden fleece (from List of mythological objects)
Image 7Lichas bringing the garment of Nessus to Hercules (from List of mythological objects)
Image 8"Tizona", the sword attributed to El Cid, on exhibit in the Army Museum of Madrid (from List of mythological objects)
Image 9Longinus with his famous Spear (from List of mythological objects)
Image 10Achilles wearing his armor (from List of mythological objects)
Image 11Riding a Flying Carpet, an 1880 painting by Viktor Vasnetsov (from List of mythological objects)
Image 12Ballads of bravery (1877) part of Arthurian mythology (from Myth)
Image 13"The Fall of Man" by Lucas Cranach the Elder and the Tree of Knowledge is on the right (from List of mythological objects)
Image 14Voodoo doll with pins in it, Museum of Witchcraft (from List of mythological objects)
Image 15Jacob blesses Joseph and gives him the coat of many colors (from List of mythological objects)
Image 16Azoth, a universal medicine or universal solvent sought in alchemy. (Medieval legend) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 17The Ash Yggdrasil by Friedrich Wilhelm Heine (from List of mythological objects)
Image 18Early Hebrew Conception of the Universe (from List of mythological objects)
Image 19Artist's impressions of the (unseen) Imperial Regalia of Japan (from List of mythological objects)
Image 20This 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 21Fig trees often represent talismans with the udumbara (from List of mythological objects)
Image 22Heracles 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 23Shield of Achilles (illustration) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 24Goetia seal of solomon (from List of mythological objects)
Image 25Shiva with his Trishula (from List of mythological objects)
Image 26The 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 27Giza pyramids (from List of mythological objects)
Image 28Golden cosmic egg Hiranyagarbha by Manaku (from List of mythological objects)
Image 29Aura, a field of luminous radiation surrounding a person or object (from List of mythological objects)
Image 30Fortune Wheel (from List of mythological objects)
Image 31A 19th-century drawing of Sun Wukong featuring his staff (from List of mythological objects)
Image 32Adam's Bridge also called as Rama Setu (from List of mythological objects)
Image 33Vishnu holding his legendary sword Nandaka (from List of mythological objects)
Image 34The Honest Woodcutter, also known as Mercury and the Woodman and his famous Golden Axe (from List of mythological objects)
Image 35The 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 36The Shrine of the Three Kings in Cologne Cathedral (from List of mythological objects)
Image 37Ahimelech giving the sword of Goliath to David, by Aert de Gelder. (from List of mythological objects)
Image 38Prometheus (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 3914th century Goryeo painting of Ksitigarbha holding a cintamani (from List of mythological objects)
Image 40Perillos being forced into the brazen bull that he built for Phalaris (from List of mythological objects)
Image 41The fall of Icarus (from List of mythological objects)
Image 42Killing of Ravana Painting by Brahmstra of Arrow of Brahma (from List of mythological objects)
Image 43Opening 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 44The 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 45The Dispute of Minerva and Neptune (c. 1689 or 1706) by René-Antoine Houasse, depicting the founding myth of Athens (from National myth)
Image 46The Flying Dutchman (from List of mythological objects)
Image 47Image 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 48Surya on His Celestial Chariot (from List of mythological objects)
Image 49Symbolic power: a dragon in the Imperial City, Huế, Vietnam (from Legendary creature)
Image 501929 Belgian banknote, depicting Ceres, Neptune and caduceus (from Myth)
Image 51Yama with his famous Yama Pasha (from List of mythological objects)
Image 52Ancient 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 53Fountain of Youth (from List of mythological objects)
Image 54As 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 55Rectangular tablets passed down by the Hand of God in the 10th century Byzantine Leo Bible (from List of mythological objects)
Image 56Hop-o'-My-Thumb stealing the Seven-league boots from the Ogre, by Gustave Doré (from List of mythological objects)
Image 57seven angels with seven trumpets (from List of mythological objects)
Image 58Vishnu with his Panchajanya (from List of mythological objects)
Image 59King Svafrlame Secures the Sword Tyrfing (from List of mythological objects)
Image 60Jug from Lydian Treasure Usak (from List of mythological objects)
Image 61Odysseus Overcome by Demodocus' Song, a mythological painting by Francesco Hayez, 1813–1815 (from Myth)
Image 62Snake and world egg of the inhabitants of Tyre (from List of mythological objects)
Image 63Holy Robe in Trier (from List of mythological objects)
Image 64Erlang Shen (二郎神), or Erlang is a Chinese God with his spear (from List of mythological objects)
Image 65Hand of God (from List of mythological objects)
Image 66Pied piper (from List of mythological objects)
Image 67Väinämöinen, 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 68Yama advances to smite Ravana with the weapon of death (from List of mythological objects)
Image 69Lord 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 70The famous sword of Excalibur painted by Howard Pyle (from List of mythological objects)
Image 71The Crown of Immortality, held by the allegorical figure Eterna (Eternity) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 72Thor kicks Litr onto Baldr's Hringhorni, illustration by Emil Doepler (ca. 1905) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 73The 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 74An angel (Camael) expelling Adam and Eve with a flaming sword (from List of mythological objects)
Image 75Houyi, the God of Archery (from List of mythological objects)
Image 76Dietrich von Bern and Hildebrand fight against dragons (from List of mythological objects)
Image 77Veronica holding her veil, Hans Memling, c. 1470 (from List of mythological objects)
Image 78Thor wearing the magic belt Megingjörð (from List of mythological objects)
Image 79Hanuman fetches the herb-bearing mountain, in a print from the Ravi Varma Press, 1910's (from List of mythological objects)
Image 80Several legendary creatures from Bilderbuch für Kinder (lit. 'picture book for children') between 1790 and 1822, by Friedrich Justin Bertuch (from Legendary creature)
Image 81Ancient Sumerian cylinder seal impression showing the god Dumuzid being tortured in the Underworld by galla demons (from Comparative mythology)
Image 82The Fall of the Titans (1596–98) by Cornelis Cornelisz van Haarlem (from Comparative mythology)
Image 83Sampo, 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 84The Argo (c. 1500 – 1530), painting by Lorenzo Costa (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 86Golem and Loew (from List of mythological objects)
Image 87The Celestial Chariot, Pushpaka Vimana from Ramayana (from List of mythological objects)
Image 88Joan of Arc with her famous sword (from List of mythological objects)
Image 89Amenonuhoko (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 90Greek God Kronos/Saturnus with sickle (from List of mythological objects)