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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In Hindu mythology, there are deities or heroes whose attributes or behavior can be interpreted as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBTQ) or have elements of gender variance and non-heterosexual sexuality. Traditional Hindu literary sources do not speak of homosexuality directly, but changes of sex, homoerotic encounters, and intersex or third gender characters are often found both in traditional religious narratives such as the Vedas, Mahabharata, Ramayana and Puranas as well as in regional folklore.

Hindu mythology has many examples of deities changing gender, manifesting as different genders at different times, or combining to form androgynous or hermaphroditic beings. Gods change sex or manifest as an avatar of the opposite sex in order to facilitate sexual congress. Non-divine beings also undergo sex-changes through the actions of the gods, as the result of curses or blessings, or as the natural outcome of reincarnation. (Full article...)

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... that Tamil Hindu parents dedicate their one-month-old children to the goddess Periyachi (pictured), who is depicted ripping a woman's womb?

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

... 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 in Ovid's Metamorphoses, the love between Acis and Galatea ended when a jealous suitor named Polyphemus killed Acis with a boulder?

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In Norse mythology, Ratatoskr (Old Norse, generally considered to mean "drill-tooth" or "bore-tooth") is a squirrel who runs up and down the world tree Yggdrasil to carry messages between the eagles perched atop it and the serpent Níðhöggr who dwells beneath one of the three roots of the tree. Ratatoskr is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson. (Full article...)

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Vampire Fenrir Ala (demon) Sharabha Huginn and Muninn Keshi (demon) Nuckelavee Sea Mither Boobrie Stoor worm Mermaid Dragon 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 1Azoth, a universal medicine or universal solvent sought in alchemy. (Medieval legend) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 2Early Hebrew Conception of the Universe (from List of mythological objects)
Image 3Holy Robe in Trier (from List of mythological objects)
Image 4An angel (Camael) expelling Adam and Eve with a flaming sword (from List of mythological objects)
Image 5Fountain of Youth (from List of mythological objects)
Image 6Claíomh Solais on an Ireland stamp printed in 1922 (from List of mythological objects)
Image 7Hand of God (from List of mythological objects)
Image 8Ballads of bravery (1877) part of Arthurian mythology (from Myth)
Image 9Hanuman fetches the herb-bearing mountain, in a print from the Ravi Varma Press, 1910's (from List of mythological objects)
Image 10seven angels with seven trumpets (from List of mythological objects)
Image 11Tissot Moses and Joshua in the Tabernacle (from List of mythological objects)
Image 12The Dispute of Minerva and Neptune (c. 1689 or 1706) by René-Antoine Houasse, depicting the founding myth of Athens (from National myth)
Image 13Väinämöinen, 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 14Shiva with his Trishula (from List of mythological objects)
Image 15"Tizona", the sword attributed to El Cid, on exhibit in the Army Museum of Madrid (from List of mythological objects)
Image 16The fall of Icarus (from List of mythological objects)
Image 17Yama with his famous Yama Pasha (from List of mythological objects)
Image 18Aura, a field of luminous radiation surrounding a person or object (from List of mythological objects)
Image 19Greek God Kronos/Saturnus with sickle (from List of mythological objects)
Image 2014th century Goryeo painting of Ksitigarbha holding a cintamani (from List of mythological objects)
Image 21The 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 22Jacob blesses Joseph and gives him the coat of many colors (from List of mythological objects)
Image 23"The Fall of Man" by Lucas Cranach the Elder and the Tree of Knowledge is on the right (from List of mythological objects)
Image 24The Honest Woodcutter, also known as Mercury and the Woodman and his famous Golden Axe (from List of mythological objects)
Image 25The 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 26Goetia seal of solomon (from List of mythological objects)
Image 27Riding a Flying Carpet, an 1880 painting by Viktor Vasnetsov (from List of mythological objects)
Image 28Hop-o'-My-Thumb stealing the Seven-league boots from the Ogre, by Gustave Doré (from List of mythological objects)
Image 29Dietrich von Bern and Hildebrand fight against dragons (from List of mythological objects)
Image 30The Argo (c. 1500 – 1530), painting by Lorenzo Costa (from List of mythological objects)
Image 31Vishnu holding his legendary sword Nandaka (from List of mythological objects)
Image 32Joan of Arc with her famous sword (from List of mythological objects)
Image 33The Crown of Immortality, held by the allegorical figure Eterna (Eternity) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 34The Ash Yggdrasil by Friedrich Wilhelm Heine (from List of mythological objects)
Image 35As 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 36Jason returns with Golden fleece (from List of mythological objects)
Image 37Several mythical creatures from Bilderbuch für Kinder (lit. 'picture book for children') between 1790 and 1822, by Friedrich Justin Bertuch (from Legendary creature)
Image 38Ancient Sumerian cylinder seal impression showing the god Dumuzid being tortured in the Underworld by galla demons (from Comparative mythology)
Image 39Amenonuhoko (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 40Fortune Wheel (from List of mythological objects)
Image 41Longinus with his famous Spear (from List of mythological objects)
Image 42Edith Hamilton's Mythology has been a major channel for English speakers to learn classical Greek and Roman mythology (from Myth)
Image 43This 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 44Achilles wearing his armor (from List of mythological objects)
Image 45Perillos being forced into the brazen bull that he built for Phalaris (from List of mythological objects)
Image 46The famous sword of Excalibur painted by Howard Pyle (from List of mythological objects)
Image 47Killing of Ravana Painting by Brahmstra of Arrow of Brahma (from List of mythological objects)
Image 48Prometheus (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 49Heracles 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 50King Svafrlame Secures the Sword Tyrfing (from List of mythological objects)
Image 51Opening 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 52Rectangular tablets passed down by the Hand of God in the 10th century Byzantine Leo Bible (from List of mythological objects)
Image 53Golem and Loew (from List of mythological objects)
Image 54The sheyd אַשְמְדּאָי (Ašmodai) in bird-like form, with typical rooster feet, as depicted in Compendium rarissimum totius Artis Magicae 1775 (from Comparative mythology)
Image 55 Odysseus Overcome by Demodocus' Song, by Francesco Hayez, 1813–1815 (from Myth)
Image 56Surya on His Celestial Chariot (from List of mythological objects)
Image 57Ahimelech giving the sword of Goliath to David, by Aert de Gelder. (from List of mythological objects)
Image 58The Flying Dutchman (from List of mythological objects)
Image 59Giza pyramids (from List of mythological objects)
Image 60Shield of Achilles (illustration) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 61Myths and legends of Babylonia and Assyria (1916) (from Myth)
Image 62Voodoo doll with pins in it, Museum of Witchcraft (from List of mythological objects)
Image 63Pied piper (from List of mythological objects)
Image 64Golden cosmic egg Hiranyagarbha by Manaku (from List of mythological objects)
Image 65The 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 66The 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 67Thor kicks Litr onto Baldr's Hringhorni, illustration by Emil Doepler (ca. 1905) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 68Jug from Lydian Treasure Usak (from List of mythological objects)
Image 691929 Belgian banknote, depicting Ceres, Neptune and caduceus (from Myth)
Image 70Veronica holding her veil, Hans Memling, c. 1470 (from List of mythological objects)
Image 71Vishnu with his Panchajanya (from List of mythological objects)
Image 72Image 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 73The Fall of the Titans (1596–98) by Cornelis Cornelisz van Haarlem (from Comparative mythology)
Image 74Artist's impressions of the (unseen) Imperial Regalia of Japan (from List of mythological objects)
Image 75Houyi, the God of Archery (from List of mythological objects)
Image 76The Shrine of the Three Kings in Cologne Cathedral (from List of mythological objects)
Image 77Snake and world egg of the inhabitants of Tyre (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 79Adam's Bridge also called as Rama Setu (from List of mythological objects)
Image 80A 19th-century drawing of Sun Wukong featuring his staff (from List of mythological objects)
Image 81Erlang Shen (二郎神), or Erlang is a Chinese God with his spear (from List of mythological objects)
Image 82Symbolic power: a dragon in the Imperial City, Huế, Vietnam (from Legendary creature)
Image 83Thor wearing the magic belt Megingjörð (from List of mythological objects)
Image 84Lord 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 85Ancient 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 86The Celestial Chariot, Pushpaka Vimana from Ramayana (from List of mythological objects)
Image 87Fig trees often represent talismans with the udumbara (from List of mythological objects)
Image 88Lichas bringing the garment of Nessus to Hercules (from List of mythological objects)