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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Basohli miniature, c. 1730. National Museum, New Delhi

Ganesha or Ganesh (Sanskrit: गणेश, IAST: Gaṇeśa, IPA: [ɡɐˈɳeːɕɐ]), also known as Ganapati, Vinayaka and Pillaiyar, is one of the best-known and most worshipped deities in the Hindu pantheon and is the Supreme God in the Ganapatya sect. His depictions are found throughout India. Hindu denominations worship him regardless of affiliations. Devotion to Ganesha is widely diffused and extends to Jains and Buddhists and beyond India.

Although Ganesha has many attributes, he is readily identified by his elephant head and four arms. He is widely revered, more specifically, as the remover of obstacles and bringer of good luck; the patron of arts and sciences; and the deva of intellect and wisdom. As the god of beginnings, he is honoured at the start of rites and ceremonies. Ganesha is also invoked during writing sessions as a patron of letters and learning. Several texts relate anecdotes associated with his birth and exploits. (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 in Hindu mythology, the demoness Putana (pictured, centre) tried to kill the infant-god Krishna by breastfeeding him poisoned milk?

... 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 Xiuhcoatl was a mythological Aztec fire-serpent, viewed as the spirit form of Xiuhtecuhtli, the fire god, and was the lightning-like weapon of the god Huitzilopochtli?

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The nuckelavee ( /nʌklɑːˈviː/) or nuckalavee is a horse-like demon from Orcadian folklore that combines equine and human elements. It resembles a fleshless human head, torso, and arms longer than normal coming out of a fleshless horse's back at the point where a horse rider would usually sit as the horse body also sports one eye and fins on its legs. British folklorist Katharine Briggs called it "the nastiest" of all the demons of Scotland's Northern Isles. The nuckelavee's breath was thought to wilt crops and sicken livestock and the creature was held responsible for droughts and epidemics on land despite being predominantly a sea-dweller.

A graphic description of the nuckelavee as it appears on land was given by an islander who claimed to have had a confrontation with it, but accounts describing the details of the creature's appearance are inconsistent. In common with many other sea monsters, it is unable to tolerate fresh water. Therefore, those it is pursuing have only to cross a river or stream to be rid of it. The nuckelavee is kept in confinement during the summer months by the Mither o' the Sea, an ancient Orcadian spirit, and the only one able to control it. (Full article...)

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Vampire Fenrir Ala (demon) Sharabha Ratatoskr Huginn and Muninn Keshi (demon) 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 1Golem and Loew (from List of mythological objects)
Image 2Edith Hamilton's Mythology has been a major channel for English speakers to learn classical Greek and Roman mythology (from Myth)
Image 3Perillos being forced into the brazen bull that he built for Phalaris (from List of mythological objects)
Image 4"The Fall of Man" by Lucas Cranach the Elder and the Tree of Knowledge is on the right (from List of mythological objects)
Image 5The Ash Yggdrasil by Friedrich Wilhelm Heine (from List of mythological objects)
Image 6Yama with his famous Yama Pasha (from List of mythological objects)
Image 7Early Hebrew Conception of the Universe (from List of mythological objects)
Image 8A 19th-century drawing of Sun Wukong featuring his staff (from List of mythological objects)
Image 914th century Goryeo painting of Ksitigarbha holding a cintamani (from List of mythological objects)
Image 10Opening 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 11Adam's Bridge also called as Rama Setu (from List of mythological objects)
Image 12seven angels with seven trumpets (from List of mythological objects)
Image 13Veronica holding her veil, Hans Memling, c. 1470 (from List of mythological objects)
Image 14The famous sword of Excalibur painted by Howard Pyle (from List of mythological objects)
Image 15Surya on His Celestial Chariot (from List of mythological objects)
Image 16Jug from Lydian Treasure Usak (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 18Erlang Shen (二郎神), or Erlang is a Chinese God with his spear (from List of mythological objects)
Image 19Thor kicks Litr onto Baldr's Hringhorni, illustration by Emil Doepler (ca. 1905) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 20Azoth, a universal medicine or universal solvent sought in alchemy. (Medieval legend) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 21Heracles 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 22Claíomh Solais on an Ireland stamp printed in 1922 (from List of mythological objects)
Image 23Shield of Achilles (illustration) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 24The 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 25King Svafrlame Secures the Sword Tyrfing (from List of mythological objects)
Image 26Vishnu holding his legendary sword Nandaka (from List of mythological objects)
Image 27Lord 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 28Voodoo doll with pins in it, Museum of Witchcraft (from List of mythological objects)
Image 29Greek God Kronos/Saturnus with sickle (from List of mythological objects)
Image 30Thor wearing the magic belt Megingjörð (from List of mythological objects)
Image 31An angel (Camael) expelling Adam and Eve with a flaming sword (from List of mythological objects)
Image 32The Crown of Immortality, held by the allegorical figure Eterna (Eternity) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 33Riding a Flying Carpet, an 1880 painting by Viktor Vasnetsov (from List of mythological objects)
Image 34Hanuman fetches the herb-bearing mountain, in a print from the Ravi Varma Press, 1910's (from List of mythological objects)
Image 35Shiva with his Trishula (from List of mythological objects)
Image 36The Argo (c. 1500 – 1530), painting by Lorenzo Costa (from List of mythological objects)
Image 37Killing of Ravana Painting by Brahmstra of Arrow of Brahma (from List of mythological objects)
Image 38The Shrine of the Three Kings in Cologne Cathedral (from List of mythological objects)
Image 39Dietrich von Bern and Hildebrand fight against dragons (from List of mythological objects)
Image 40Ballads of bravery (1877) part of Arthurian mythology (from Myth)
Image 41Symbolic power: a dragon in the Imperial City, Huế, Vietnam (from Legendary creature)
Image 42Image 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 43Tissot Moses and Joshua in the Tabernacle (from List of mythological objects)
Image 44Artist's impressions of the (unseen) Imperial Regalia of Japan (from List of mythological objects)
Image 45Houyi, the God of Archery (from List of mythological objects)
Image 46Hand of God (from List of mythological objects)
Image 47Ancient 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 48Ahimelech giving the sword of Goliath to David, by Aert de Gelder. (from List of mythological objects)
Image 49Jacob blesses Joseph and gives him the coat of many colors (from List of mythological objects)
Image 50The 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 51Ancient Sumerian cylinder seal impression showing the god Dumuzid being tortured in the Underworld by galla demons (from Comparative mythology)
Image 52The Fall of the Titans (1596–98) by Cornelis Cornelisz van Haarlem (from Comparative mythology)
Image 531929 Belgian banknote, depicting Ceres, Neptune and caduceus (from Myth)
Image 54Lichas bringing the garment of Nessus to Hercules (from List of mythological objects)
Image 55Odysseus Overcome by Demodocus' Song, a mythological painting by Francesco Hayez, 1813–1815 (from Myth)
Image 56Tor's Fight with the Giants (1872) by Mårten Eskil Winge. Thor is the god of thunder in Norse mythology. (from Myth)
Image 57As 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 58Fortune Wheel (from List of mythological objects)
Image 59Snake and world egg of the inhabitants of Tyre (from List of mythological objects)
Image 60Giza pyramids (from List of mythological objects)
Image 61Vishnu with his Panchajanya (from List of mythological objects)
Image 62The Flying Dutchman (from List of mythological objects)
Image 63Rectangular tablets passed down by the Hand of God in the 10th century Byzantine Leo Bible (from List of mythological objects)
Image 64The Honest Woodcutter, also known as Mercury and the Woodman and his famous Golden Axe (from List of mythological objects)
Image 65Longinus with his famous Spear (from List of mythological objects)
Image 66Pied piper (from List of mythological objects)
Image 67Fig trees often represent talismans with the udumbara (from List of mythological objects)
Image 68Amenonuhoko (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 69Several legendary creatures from Bilderbuch für Kinder (lit. 'picture book for children') between 1790 and 1822, by Friedrich Justin Bertuch (from Legendary creature)
Image 70The 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 71Fountain of Youth (from List of mythological objects)
Image 72Achilles wearing his armor (from List of mythological objects)
Image 73Hop-o'-My-Thumb stealing the Seven-league boots from the Ogre, by Gustave Doré (from List of mythological objects)
Image 74Sampo, 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 75This 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 76The Celestial Chariot, Pushpaka Vimana from Ramayana (from List of mythological objects)
Image 77Aura, a field of luminous radiation surrounding a person or object (from List of mythological objects)
Image 78Jason returns with Golden fleece (from List of mythological objects)
Image 79Prometheus (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 80"Tizona", the sword attributed to El Cid, on exhibit in the Army Museum of Madrid (from List of mythological objects)
Image 81Väinämöinen, 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 82Yama advances to smite Ravana with the weapon of death (from List of mythological objects)
Image 83The fall of Icarus (from List of mythological objects)
Image 84Golden cosmic egg Hiranyagarbha by Manaku (from List of mythological objects)
Image 85Joan of Arc with her famous sword (from List of mythological objects)
Image 86Goetia seal of solomon (from List of mythological objects)
Image 87Holy Robe in Trier (from List of mythological objects)
Image 88Myths and legends of Babylonia and Assyria (1916) (from Myth)
Image 89The 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)