Portal:Myths

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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 Greek mythology, Orion (/əˈraɪən/; Ancient Greek: Ὠρίων or Ὠαρίων; Latin: Orion) was a giant huntsman whom Zeus (or perhaps Artemis) placed among the stars as the constellation of Orion.

Ancient sources told several different stories about Orion; there are two major versions of his birth and several versions of his death. The most important recorded episodes are his birth in Boeotia, his visit to Chios where he met Merope and raped her, being blinded by Merope's father, the recovery of his sight at Lemnos, his hunting with Artemis on Crete, his death by the bow of Artemis or the sting of the giant scorpion which became Scorpius, and his elevation to the heavens. Most ancient sources omit some of these episodes and several tell only one. These various incidents may originally have been independent, unrelated stories, and it is impossible to tell whether the omissions are simple brevity or represent a real disagreement. (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 some modern K'iche' Maya revere rival syncretised forms of the pre-Columbian Moon goddess Awilix that are said to be the lovers of St. James?

... 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 the white horse in mythology is associated with the sun chariot, warrior-heroes, fertility or an end-time saviour?

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The gentle and pensive maiden has the power to tame the unicorn, fresco by Domenichino, c. 1604–1605 (Palazzo Farnese, Rome)

The unicorn is a legendary creature that has been described since antiquity as a beast with a single large, pointed, spiraling horn projecting from its forehead.

In European literature and art, the unicorn has for the last thousand years or so been depicted as a white horse- or goat-like animal with a long straight horn with spiralling grooves, cloven hooves, and sometimes a goat's beard. In the Middle Ages and Renaissance, it was commonly described as an extremely wild woodland creature, a symbol of purity and grace, which could be captured only by a virgin. In encyclopedias, its horn was described as having the power to render poisoned water potable and to heal sickness. In medieval and Renaissance times, the tusk of the narwhal was sometimes sold as a unicorn horn. (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 Serpent (symbolism) Anzû Cerberus

General images

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

Image 1King Svafrlame Secures the Sword Tyrfing (from List of mythological objects)
Image 2Pied piper (from List of mythological objects)
Image 3The 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 4Joan of Arc with her famous sword (from List of mythological objects)
Image 5Voodoo doll with pins in it, Museum of Witchcraft (from List of mythological objects)
Image 6Heracles 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 7"The Fall of Man" by Lucas Cranach the Elder and the Tree of Knowledge is on the right (from List of mythological objects)
Image 8Hand of God (from List of mythological objects)
Image 9Achilles wearing his armor (from List of mythological objects)
Image 10Golden cosmic egg Hiranyagarbha by Manaku (from List of mythological objects)
Image 11Thor wearing the magic belt Megingjörð (from List of mythological objects)
Image 12Ballads of bravery (1877) part of Arthurian mythology (from Myth)
Image 13Opening 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 14Image 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 15Myths and legends of Babylonia and Assyria (1916) (from Myth)
Image 16The Honest Woodcutter, also known as Mercury and the Woodman and his famous Golden Axe (from List of mythological objects)
Image 17Golem and Loew (from List of mythological objects)
Image 18Fig trees often represent talismans with the udumbara (from List of mythological objects)
Image 19"Tizona", the sword attributed to El Cid, on exhibit in the Army Museum of Madrid (from List of mythological objects)
Image 20A 19th-century drawing of Sun Wukong featuring his staff (from List of mythological objects)
Image 21The 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 22Killing of Ravana Painting by Brahmstra of Arrow of Brahma (from List of mythological objects)
Image 23Dietrich von Bern and Hildebrand fight against dragons (from List of mythological objects)
Image 24Snake and world egg of the inhabitants of Tyre (from List of mythological objects)
Image 25The Argo (c. 1500 – 1530), painting by Lorenzo Costa (from List of mythological objects)
Image 26This 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 27The 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 28Adam's Bridge also called as Rama Setu (from List of mythological objects)
Image 29The fall of Icarus (from List of mythological objects)
Image 30Thor kicks Litr onto Baldr's Hringhorni, illustration by Emil Doepler (ca. 1905) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 31Several mythical creatures from Bilderbuch für Kinder (lit. 'picture book for children') between 1790 and 1822, by Friedrich Justin Bertuch (from Legendary creature)
Image 32Jason returns with Golden fleece (from List of mythological objects)
Image 33Riding a Flying Carpet, an 1880 painting by Viktor Vasnetsov (from List of mythological objects)
Image 34Shield of Achilles (illustration) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 35Symbolic power: a dragon in the Imperial City, Huế, Vietnam (from Legendary creature)
Image 36Fortune Wheel (from List of mythological objects)
Image 37Edith Hamilton's Mythology has been a major channel for English speakers to learn classical Greek and Roman mythology (from Myth)
Image 38Erlang Shen (二郎神), or Erlang is a Chinese God with his spear (from List of mythological objects)
Image 39The Flying Dutchman (from List of mythological objects)
Image 40Giza pyramids (from List of mythological objects)
Image 41As 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 42Claíomh Solais on an Ireland stamp printed in 1922 (from List of mythological objects)
Image 43Vishnu with his Panchajanya (from List of mythological objects)
Image 44Houyi, the God of Archery (from List of mythological objects)
Image 45Ancient Sumerian cylinder seal impression showing the god Dumuzid being tortured in the Underworld by galla demons (from Comparative mythology)
Image 46The Dispute of Minerva and Neptune (c. 1689 or 1706) by René-Antoine Houasse, depicting the founding myth of Athens (from National myth)
Image 47Perillos being forced into the brazen bull that he built for Phalaris (from List of mythological objects)
Image 48The 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 49Yama with his famous Yama Pasha (from List of mythological objects)
Image 50Shiva with his Trishula (from List of mythological objects)
Image 51An angel (Camael) expelling Adam and Eve with a flaming sword (from List of mythological objects)
Image 52Aura, a field of luminous radiation surrounding a person or object (from List of mythological objects)
Image 53Azoth, a universal medicine or universal solvent sought in alchemy. (Medieval legend) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 54The Fall of the Titans (1596–98) by Cornelis Cornelisz van Haarlem (from Comparative mythology)
Image 55Early Hebrew Conception of the Universe (from List of mythological objects)
Image 56Artist's impressions of the (unseen) Imperial Regalia of Japan (from List of mythological objects)
Image 57The famous sword of Excalibur painted by Howard Pyle (from List of mythological objects)
Image 58Rectangular tablets passed down by the Hand of God in the 10th century Byzantine Leo Bible (from List of mythological objects)
Image 59Ahimelech giving the sword of Goliath to David, by Aert de Gelder. (from List of mythological objects)
Image 60Longinus with his famous Spear (from List of mythological objects)
Image 61seven angels with seven trumpets (from List of mythological objects)
Image 62Fountain of Youth (from List of mythological objects)
Image 63Holy Robe in Trier (from List of mythological objects)
Image 64Greek God Kronos/Saturnus with sickle (from List of mythological objects)
Image 65The Ash Yggdrasil by Friedrich Wilhelm Heine (from List of mythological objects)
Image 6614th century Goryeo painting of Ksitigarbha holding a cintamani (from List of mythological objects)
Image 67The Shrine of the Three Kings in Cologne Cathedral (from List of mythological objects)
Image 68Väinämöinen, 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 69Ancient 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 70Jug from Lydian Treasure Usak (from List of mythological objects)
Image 71Sampo, 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 721929 Belgian banknote, depicting Ceres, Neptune and caduceus (from Myth)
Image 73Amenonuhoko (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 74The Celestial Chariot, Pushpaka Vimana from Ramayana (from List of mythological objects)
Image 75Lord 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 76Goetia seal of solomon (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 78 Odysseus Overcome by Demodocus' Song, by Francesco Hayez, 1813–1815 (from Myth)
Image 79Tissot Moses and Joshua in the Tabernacle (from List of mythological objects)
Image 80The Crown of Immortality, held by the allegorical figure Eterna (Eternity) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 81Hop-o'-My-Thumb stealing the Seven-league boots from the Ogre, by Gustave Doré (from List of mythological objects)
Image 82Vishnu holding his legendary sword Nandaka (from List of mythological objects)
Image 83Veronica holding her veil, Hans Memling, c. 1470 (from List of mythological objects)
Image 84Surya on His Celestial Chariot (from List of mythological objects)
Image 85Lichas bringing the garment of Nessus to Hercules (from List of mythological objects)
Image 86Jacob blesses Joseph and gives him the coat of many colors (from List of mythological objects)
Image 87Prometheus (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)