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 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 religious (when they are closely linked to religion or spirituality) and secular authorities. 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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Carnivàle is an American television series set in the United States during the Great Depression. The series traces the disparate storylines of a young carnival worker named Ben Hawkins and Brother Justin Crowe, a preacher in California. The overarching story is built around a good and evil theme, which serves as a human-scaled metaphor within a complex structure of myth and allegory. Samson, who is a dwarf and manages the carnival, sets up the show's mythology with a prologue in the pilot episode, talking of "a creature of light and a creature of darkness" being born "to each generation" preparing for a final battle.

Most mythological elements in Carnivàle relate to so-called Avatars (or Creatures of Light and Darkness), fictional human-like beings with supernatural powers who embody good and evil. In its first season Carnivàle does not reveal its characters as Avatars beyond insinuation, and makes the nature of suggested Avatars a central question. By the second season it is established that Ben is a Creature of Light and Brother Justin a Creature of Darkness. Other than through the characters, the show's good-and-evil theme manifests in the series' contemporary religion, the Christian military order Knights Templar, tarot divination, and in historical events like the Dustbowl and humankind's first nuclear test. Show creator Daniel Knauf did not respond to questions about the mythology but did provide hints about the mythological structure to online fandom both during and after the two-season run of Carnivàle. Nevertheless, many of the intended clues remained unnoticed by viewers. Knauf left fans a production summary of Carnivàle's first season two years after cancellation. This so-called Pitch Document, originally written to give HBO and Knauf's co-writers an overview of the intended storyline, backed up and expanded upon the assumed mythological rules. (Full article...)

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... that on every Wednesday and Saturday, the demons of Sri Lanka assemble to give an account of their activities to their king?

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

... that human sacrifices to the K'iche' Maya patron deity Tohil had their severed heads placed on a rack in front of the temple?

... that in classical mythology, Cerberus (pictured) is a monstrous dog with multiple heads that guards the gates to the underworld?

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The serpent, or snake, is one of the oldest and most widespread mythological symbols. The word is derived from Latin serpens, a crawling animal or snake. Snakes have been associated with some of the oldest rituals known to humankind and represent dual expression of good and evil. The historian of religions Mircea Eliade observed in The Myth of the Eternal Return, "the serpent symbolizes chaos, the formless and nonmanifested." In The Symbolism of the Cross, Traditionalist René Guénon contended that "the serpent will depict the series of the cycles of universal manifestation," "the indefinitude of universal Existence," and "the being's attachment to the indefinite series of cycles of manifestation." Recent academic book length treatments of serpent symbolism include James H. Charlesworth's The Good and Evil Serpent (2010) and Charles William Dailey's The Serpent Symbol in Tradition (2022). (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) Centaur Unicorn Anzû Cerberus

General images

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

Image 1Erlang Shen (二郎神), or Erlang is a Chinese God with his spear (from List of mythological objects)
Image 2"Tizona", the sword attributed to El Cid, on exhibit in the Army Museum of Madrid (from List of mythological objects)
Image 3Hand of God (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 5Perillos being forced into the brazen bull that he built for Phalaris (from List of mythological objects)
Image 6Thor kicks Litr onto Baldr's Hringhorni, illustration by Emil Doepler (ca. 1905) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 7Greek God Kronos/Saturnus with sickle (from List of mythological objects)
Image 8The fall of Icarus (from List of mythological objects)
Image 9Achilles wearing his armor (from List of mythological objects)
Image 10Riding a Flying Carpet, an 1880 painting by Viktor Vasnetsov (from List of mythological objects)
Image 11The Dispute of Minerva and Neptune (c. 1689 or 1706) by René-Antoine Houasse, depicting the founding myth of Athens (from National myth)
Image 12The 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 13Prometheus (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 14Early Hebrew Conception of the Universe (from List of mythological objects)
Image 15Edith Hamilton's Mythology has been a major channel for English speakers to learn classical Greek and Roman mythology (from Myth)
Image 16Joan of Arc with her famous sword (from List of mythological objects)
Image 17Vishnu holding his legendary sword Nandaka (from List of mythological objects)
Image 18Adam's Bridge also called as Rama Setu (from List of mythological objects)
Image 19Voodoo doll with pins in it, Museum of Witchcraft (from List of mythological objects)
Image 20Thor wearing the magic belt Megingjörð (from List of mythological objects)
Image 21Aura, a field of luminous radiation surrounding a person or object (from List of mythological objects)
Image 22Image 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 23Fig trees often represent talismans with the udumbara (from List of mythological objects)
Image 24Odysseus Overcome by Demodocus' Song, a mythological painting by Francesco Hayez, 1813–1815 (from Myth)
Image 25The Ash Yggdrasil by Friedrich Wilhelm Heine (from List of mythological objects)
Image 26Hanuman fetches the herb-bearing mountain, in a print from the Ravi Varma Press, 1910's (from List of mythological objects)
Image 27Hop-o'-My-Thumb stealing the Seven-league boots from the Ogre, by Gustave Doré (from List of mythological objects)
Image 28King Svafrlame Secures the Sword Tyrfing (from List of mythological objects)
Image 29The Celestial Chariot, Pushpaka Vimana from Ramayana (from List of mythological objects)
Image 30Tissot Moses and Joshua in the Tabernacle (from List of mythological objects)
Image 3114th century Goryeo painting of Ksitigarbha holding a cintamani (from List of mythological objects)
Image 32The Honest Woodcutter, also known as Mercury and the Woodman and his famous Golden Axe (from List of mythological objects)
Image 33Ancient Sumerian cylinder seal impression showing the god Dumuzid being tortured in the Underworld by galla demons (from Comparative mythology)
Image 34Goetia seal of solomon (from List of mythological objects)
Image 35The Fall of the Titans (1596–98) by Cornelis Cornelisz van Haarlem (from Comparative mythology)
Image 36Opening 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 37Symbolic power: a dragon in the Imperial City, Huế, Vietnam (from Legendary creature)
Image 38Veronica holding her veil, Hans Memling, c. 1470 (from List of mythological objects)
Image 39Ahimelech giving the sword of Goliath to David, by Aert de Gelder. (from List of mythological objects)
Image 40seven angels with seven trumpets (from List of mythological objects)
Image 41Artist's impressions of the (unseen) Imperial Regalia of Japan (from List of mythological objects)
Image 42The famous sword of Excalibur painted by Howard Pyle (from List of mythological objects)
Image 43The 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 44Jacob blesses Joseph and gives him the coat of many colors (from List of mythological objects)
Image 45Heracles 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 46Myths and legends of Babylonia and Assyria (1916) (from Myth)
Image 47Vishnu with his Panchajanya (from List of mythological objects)
Image 48A 19th-century drawing of Sun Wukong featuring his staff (from List of mythological objects)
Image 49Fortune Wheel (from List of mythological objects)
Image 50Sampo, 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 51Holy Robe in Trier (from List of mythological objects)
Image 52Tor's Fight with the Giants (1872) by Mårten Eskil Winge. Thor is the god of thunder in Norse mythology. (from Myth)
Image 53Jug from Lydian Treasure Usak (from List of mythological objects)
Image 54Pied piper (from List of mythological objects)
Image 55Yama with his famous Yama Pasha (from List of mythological objects)
Image 56Snake and world egg of the inhabitants of Tyre (from List of mythological objects)
Image 57Azoth, a universal medicine or universal solvent sought in alchemy. (Medieval legend) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 58Killing of Ravana Painting by Brahmstra of Arrow of Brahma (from List of mythological objects)
Image 59Rectangular tablets passed down by the Hand of God in the 10th century Byzantine Leo Bible (from List of mythological objects)
Image 60Jason returns with Golden fleece (from List of mythological objects)
Image 611929 Belgian banknote, depicting Ceres, Neptune and caduceus (from Myth)
Image 62Lord 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 63Yama advances to smite Ravana with the weapon of death (from List of mythological objects)
Image 64Ballads of bravery (1877) part of Arthurian mythology (from Myth)
Image 65Amenonuhoko (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 66Shield of Achilles (illustration) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 67Claíomh Solais on an Ireland stamp printed in 1922 (from List of mythological objects)
Image 68The Argo (c. 1500 – 1530), painting by Lorenzo Costa (from List of mythological objects)
Image 69Shiva with his Trishula (from List of mythological objects)
Image 70The 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 71Golem and Loew (from List of mythological objects)
Image 72Giza pyramids (from List of mythological objects)
Image 73Dietrich von Bern and Hildebrand fight against dragons (from List of mythological objects)
Image 74The Shrine of the Three Kings in Cologne Cathedral (from List of mythological objects)
Image 75Surya on His Celestial Chariot (from List of mythological objects)
Image 76Golden cosmic egg Hiranyagarbha by Manaku (from List of mythological objects)
Image 77Lichas bringing the garment of Nessus to Hercules (from List of mythological objects)
Image 78Fountain of Youth (from List of mythological objects)
Image 79An angel (Camael) expelling Adam and Eve with a flaming sword (from List of mythological objects)
Image 80"The Fall of Man" by Lucas Cranach the Elder and the Tree of Knowledge is on the right (from List of mythological objects)
Image 81As 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 82The 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 83Houyi, the God of Archery (from List of mythological objects)
Image 84Longinus with his famous Spear (from List of mythological objects)
Image 85Several mythical creatures from Bilderbuch für Kinder (lit. 'picture book for children') between 1790 and 1822, by Friedrich Justin Bertuch (from Legendary creature)
Image 86Väinämöinen, 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 87Ancient 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 88The Crown of Immortality, held by the allegorical figure Eterna (Eternity) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 89The Flying Dutchman (from List of mythological objects)