Portal:Myths

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Myth is a genre of folklore or theology consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that simply refers to something that is not true. Instead, the truth value 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 true accounts of their remote past. In particular, creation myths take place in a primordial age when the world had not achieved its later form. Other myths explain how a society's customs, institutions, and taboos were established and sanctified. There is a complex relationship between recital of myths and the enactment of rituals. (Full article...)

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Attic red-figure plate from Vulci, Etruria, dated c. 520–500 BC, showing an ithyphallic satyr holding an aulos, a kind of ancient Greek woodwind instrument.

In Greek mythology, a satyr (Greek: σάτυρος, translit. sátyros, pronounced [sátyros]), also known as a silenus or silenos (Greek: σειληνός, translit. seilēnós [seːlɛːnós]), and sileni (plural), is a male nature spirit with ears and a tail resembling those of a horse, as well as a permanent, exaggerated erection. Early artistic representations sometimes include horse-like legs, but, by the sixth century BC, they were more often represented with human legs. Comically hideous, they have mane-like hair, bestial faces, and snub noses and they always are shown naked. Satyrs were characterized by their ribaldry and were known as lovers of wine, music, dancing, and women. They were companions of the god Dionysus and were believed to inhabit remote locales, such as woodlands, mountains, and pastures. They often attempted to seduce or rape nymphs and mortal women alike, usually with little success. They are sometimes shown masturbating or engaging in bestiality.

In classical Athens, satyrs made up the chorus in a genre of play known as a "satyr play", which was a parody of tragedy and known for its bawdy and obscene humor. The only complete surviving play of this genre is Cyclops by Euripides, although a significant portion of Sophocles's Ichneutae has also survived. In mythology, the satyr Marsyas is said to have challenged the god Apollo to a musical contest and been flayed alive for his hubris. Although superficially ridiculous, satyrs were also thought to possess useful knowledge, if they could be coaxed into revealing it. The satyr Silenus was the tutor of the young Dionysus and a story from Ionia told of a silenos who gave sound advice when captured. (Full article...)

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... that the self-decapitated Hindu goddess Chhinnamasta (pictured) standing on a copulating couple signifies that life, death and sex are interdependent?

...that the most popular deity worshipped by the Duala peoples of Cameroon is a mermaid called a jengu?

... 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 the Ancient Greeks credited Broteas, the ugly son of Tantalus, with an ancient rock-cut cliff-face carving of the Great Mother of the Gods in modern Turkey?

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The stoor worm, or Mester Stoor Worm, was a gigantic evil sea serpent of Orcadian folklore, capable of contaminating plants and destroying animals and humans with its putrid breath. It is probably an Orkney variant of the Norse Jörmungandr, also known as the Midgard Serpent, or world serpent, and has been described as a sea dragon.

The king of one country threatened by the beast's arrival was advised to offer it a weekly sacrifice of seven virgins. In desperation, the king eventually issued a proclamation offering his kingdom, his daughter's hand in marriage, and a magic sword to anyone who could destroy the monster. Assipattle, the youngest son of a local farmer, defeated the creature; as it died its teeth fell out to become the islands of Orkney, Shetland and the Faroes, and its body became Iceland. (Full article...)

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Vampire Fenrir Ala (demon) Sharabha Ratatoskr Huginn and Muninn Keshi (demon) Nuckelavee Sea Mither Boobrie 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 1Ancient Sumerian cylinder seal impression showing the god Dumuzid being tortured in the Underworld by galla demons (from Comparative mythology)
Image 2An angel (Camael) expelling Adam and Eve with a flaming sword (from List of mythological objects)
Image 3Opening 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 4Fortune Wheel (from List of mythological objects)
Image 5Erlang Shen (二郎神), or Erlang is a Chinese God with his spear (from List of mythological objects)
Image 6Hop-o'-My-Thumb stealing the Seven-league boots from the Ogre, by Gustave Doré (from List of mythological objects)
Image 7Golden cosmic egg Hiranyagarbha by Manaku (from List of mythological objects)
Image 8Shield of Achilles (illustration) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 9"Tizona", the sword attributed to El Cid, on exhibit in the Army Museum of Madrid (from List of mythological objects)
Image 10Jug from Lydian Treasure Usak (from List of mythological objects)
Image 11Longinus with his famous Spear (from List of mythological objects)
Image 12The Flying Dutchman (from List of mythological objects)
Image 13Thor wearing the magic belt Megingjörð (from List of mythological objects)
Image 14Killing of Ravana Painting by Brahmstra of Arrow of Brahma (from List of mythological objects)
Image 15The 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 16Surya on His Celestial Chariot (from List of mythological objects)
Image 17Tissot Moses and Joshua in the Tabernacle (from List of mythological objects)
Image 18Vishnu holding his legendary sword Nandaka (from List of mythological objects)
Image 19Prometheus (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 20Shiva with his Trishula (from List of mythological objects)
Image 21The Dispute of Minerva and Neptune (c. 1689 or 1706) by René-Antoine Houasse, depicting the founding myth of Athens (from National myth)
Image 22Holy Robe in Trier (from List of mythological objects)
Image 23Lord 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 24 Odysseus Overcome by Demodocus' Song, by Francesco Hayez, 1813–1815 (from Myth)
Image 25The famous sword of Excalibur painted by Howard Pyle (from List of mythological objects)
Image 26Pied piper (from List of mythological objects)
Image 27The fall of Icarus (from List of mythological objects)
Image 28Artist's impressions of the (unseen) Imperial Regalia of Japan (from List of mythological objects)
Image 29Adam's Bridge also called as Rama Setu (from List of mythological objects)
Image 30Aura, a field of luminous radiation surrounding a person or object (from List of mythological objects)
Image 31Sampo, 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 32The Crown of Immortality, held by the allegorical figure Eterna (Eternity) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 33Fountain of Youth (from List of mythological objects)
Image 34Lichas bringing the garment of Nessus to Hercules (from List of mythological objects)
Image 35Hand of God (from List of mythological objects)
Image 36Greek God Kronos/Saturnus with sickle (from List of mythological objects)
Image 37The 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 38Snake and world egg of the inhabitants of Tyre (from List of mythological objects)
Image 39Väinämöinen, 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 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 42The Shrine of the Three Kings in Cologne Cathedral (from List of mythological objects)
Image 43Azoth, a universal medicine or universal solvent sought in alchemy. (Medieval legend) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 44The 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 45Golem and Loew (from List of mythological objects)
Image 46Riding a Flying Carpet, an 1880 painting by Viktor Vasnetsov (from List of mythological objects)
Image 47Early Hebrew Conception of the Universe (from List of mythological objects)
Image 48The Ash Yggdrasil by Friedrich Wilhelm Heine (from List of mythological objects)
Image 49Claíomh Solais on an Ireland stamp printed in 1922 (from List of mythological objects)
Image 50The 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 51This 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 52Several mythical creatures from Bilderbuch für Kinder (lit. 'picture book for children') between 1790 and 1822, by Friedrich Justin Bertuch (from Legendary creature)
Image 53Heracles 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 54The Honest Woodcutter, also known as Mercury and the Woodman and his famous Golden Axe (from List of mythological objects)
Image 55Vishnu with his Panchajanya (from List of mythological objects)
Image 56King Svafrlame Secures the Sword Tyrfing (from List of mythological objects)
Image 57Amenonuhoko (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 58Houyi, the God of Archery (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 60Perillos being forced into the brazen bull that he built for Phalaris (from List of mythological objects)
Image 611929 Belgian banknote, depicting Ceres, Neptune and caduceus (from Myth)
Image 62A 19th-century drawing of Sun Wukong featuring his staff (from List of mythological objects)
Image 63"The Fall of Man" by Lucas Cranach the Elder and the Tree of Knowledge is on the right (from List of mythological objects)
Image 64The Celestial Chariot, Pushpaka Vimana from Ramayana (from List of mythological objects)
Image 65Fig trees often represent talismans with the udumbara (from List of mythological objects)
Image 66Goetia seal of solomon (from List of mythological objects)
Image 67Achilles wearing his armor (from List of mythological objects)
Image 68Image 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 69Thor kicks Litr onto Baldr's Hringhorni, illustration by Emil Doepler (ca. 1905) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 70Ahimelech giving the sword of Goliath to David, by Aert de Gelder. (from List of mythological objects)
Image 71As 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 72Ancient 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 73Dietrich von Bern and Hildebrand fight against dragons (from List of mythological objects)
Image 74The Fall of the Titans (1596–98) by Cornelis Cornelisz van Haarlem (from Comparative mythology)
Image 7514th century Goryeo painting of Ksitigarbha holding a cintamani (from List of mythological objects)
Image 76Myths and legends of Babylonia and Assyria (1916) (from Myth)
Image 77seven angels with seven trumpets (from List of mythological objects)
Image 78The Argo (c. 1500 – 1530), painting by Lorenzo Costa (from List of mythological objects)
Image 79Yama with his famous Yama Pasha (from List of mythological objects)
Image 80Jason returns with Golden fleece (from List of mythological objects)
Image 81Giza pyramids (from List of mythological objects)
Image 82Voodoo doll with pins in it, Museum of Witchcraft (from List of mythological objects)
Image 83Hanuman fetches the herb-bearing mountain, in a print from the Ravi Varma Press, 1910's (from List of mythological objects)
Image 84Jacob blesses Joseph and gives him the coat of many colors (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 86Joan of Arc with her famous sword (from List of mythological objects)
Image 87Veronica holding her veil, Hans Memling, c. 1470 (from List of mythological objects)