Portal:Myths

Portal topics: Activities; Culture; Geography; Health; History; Mathematics; Nature; People; Philosophy; Religion; Society; Technology; Random portal

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...)

Refresh with new selections below (purge)

Selected article - show another

The Ludovisi Cnidian Aphrodite, Roman marble copy (torso and thighs) with restored head, arms, legs and drapery support

Aphrodite (/ˌæfrəˈdaɪtiː/ ^ⓘ, AF-rə-DY-tee) is an ancient Greek goddess associated with love, lust, beauty, pleasure, passion, procreation, and as her syncretized Roman goddess counterpart Venus, desire, sex, fertility, prosperity, and victory. Aphrodite's major symbols include seashells, myrtles, roses, doves, sparrows, and swans. The cult of Aphrodite was largely derived from that of the Phoenician goddess Astarte, a cognate of the East Semitic goddess Ishtar, whose cult was based on the Sumerian cult of Inanna. Aphrodite's main cult centers were Cythera, Cyprus, Corinth, and Athens. Her main festival was the Aphrodisia, which was celebrated annually in midsummer. In Laconia, Aphrodite was worshipped as a warrior goddess. She was also the patron goddess of prostitutes, an association which led early scholars to propose the concept of "sacred prostitution" in Greco-Roman culture, an idea which is now generally seen as erroneous.

In Hesiod's Theogony, Aphrodite is born off the coast of Cythera from the foam (ἀφρός, aphrós) produced by Uranus's genitals, which his son Cronus had severed and thrown into the sea. In Homer's Iliad, however, she is the daughter of Zeus and Dione. Plato, in his Symposium, asserts that these two origins actually belong to separate entities: Aphrodite Urania (a transcendent, "Heavenly" Aphrodite) and Aphrodite Pandemos (Aphrodite common to "all the people"). Aphrodite had many other epithets, each emphasizing a different aspect of the same goddess, or used by a different local cult. Thus she was also known as Cytherea (Lady of Cythera) and Cypris (Lady of Cyprus), because both locations claimed to be the place of her birth. (Full article...)

List of selected articles

Did you know? - show different entries

... that Reeri Yakseya, who is believed to be the most cruel and powerful demon in Sinhalese folklore, can assume 18 different apparitions?

... that in Hindu mythology, the demoness Putana (pictured, centre) tried to kill the infant-god Krishna by breastfeeding him poisoned milk?

...that Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli (pictured) was the god of the planet Venus in Aztec belief?

...that Apaliunas, a Luwian deity of Wilusa (Troy) attested among gods in a treaty inscription, ca. 1280 BCE, is a likely precursor of Apollo of Greek mythology?

More did you know facts

Recognised content

Featured Articles: Ahalya, Ancient Egyptian literature, King Arthur, Ganesha, Iravan, Orion (mythology), Vampire, Vithoba

Featured Lists: List of valkyrie names in Norse mythology

Good Articles: 2012 phenomenon, Æsir–Vanir War, Ala (demon), Anu, Aphrodite, Athena, Ardhanarishvara, Battle of Barry, Bhikshatana, Catalogue of Women, Chamunda, Chhinnamasta, Consorts of Ganesha, Cú Chulainn, Dhumavati, Dumuzid, Einherjar, Eir, Enlil, Fairy Flag, Fenrir, Gerðr, Hel (being), Huginn and Muninn, Iðunn, Ila (Hinduism), Inanna, Kabandha, Kali, Kamadhenu, Kangiten, Keshi (demon), Khandoba, Kratos (mythology) Krishna, Kubera, LGBT themes in Hindu mythology, Manasa, Mandodari, Matangi, Matrikas, Maya Sita, Mohini, Myrrha, Mythology of Carnivàle, Naraka (Hinduism), Ninurta, Prester John, Prithu, Putana, Rati, Ratatoskr, Revanta, Satyavati, Satyr, Sharabha, Shashthi, Shiva, Sif, Tara (Ramayana), Troilus, Tuisto, Valhalla, Valkyrie, Vampire folklore by region, Varaha, Varahi, Veðrfölnir and eagle Zduhać

...Recognised content on Wikipedia

Wikiversity

Mythology portal on Wikiversity

Selected creature - show another

John William Waterhouse, A Mermaid (1900).

In folklore, a mermaid is an aquatic creature with the head and upper body of a female human and the tail of a fish. Mermaids appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide, including Europe, Asia, and Africa.

Mermaids are sometimes associated with perilous events such as floods, storms, shipwrecks, and drownings. In other folk traditions (or sometimes within the same traditions), they can be benevolent or beneficent, bestowing boons or falling in love with humans. (Full article...)

List of selected creatures
Vampire Fenrir Ala (demon) Sharabha Ratatoskr Huginn and Muninn Keshi (demon) Nuckelavee Sea Mither Boobrie Stoor worm 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 1The Crown of Immortality, held by the allegorical figure Eterna (Eternity) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 2Adam's Bridge also called as Rama Setu (from List of mythological objects)
Image 3Jacob blesses Joseph and gives him the coat of many colors (from List of mythological objects)
Image 4The 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 5Hanuman fetches the herb-bearing mountain, in a print from the Ravi Varma Press, 1910's (from List of mythological objects)
Image 6Edith Hamilton's Mythology has been a major channel for English speakers to learn classical Greek and Roman mythology (from Myth)
Image 7Sampo, 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 814th century Goryeo painting of Ksitigarbha holding a cintamani (from List of mythological objects)
Image 9Veronica holding her veil, Hans Memling, c. 1470 (from List of mythological objects)
Image 10Joan of Arc with her famous sword (from List of mythological objects)
Image 11Ahimelech giving the sword of Goliath to David, by Aert de Gelder. (from List of mythological objects)
Image 12"Tizona", the sword attributed to El Cid, on exhibit in the Army Museum of Madrid (from List of mythological objects)
Image 13The Fall of the Titans (1596–98) by Cornelis Cornelisz van Haarlem (from Comparative mythology)
Image 14"The Fall of Man" by Lucas Cranach the Elder and the Tree of Knowledge is on the right (from List of mythological objects)
Image 15The fall of Icarus (from List of mythological objects)
Image 16The Honest Woodcutter, also known as Mercury and the Woodman and his famous Golden Axe (from List of mythological objects)
Image 17Voodoo doll with pins in it, Museum of Witchcraft (from List of mythological objects)
Image 18Azoth, a universal medicine or universal solvent sought in alchemy. (Medieval legend) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 19The Argo (c. 1500 – 1530), painting by Lorenzo Costa (from List of mythological objects)
Image 20Lichas bringing the garment of Nessus to Hercules (from List of mythological objects)
Image 21Ancient Sumerian cylinder seal impression showing the god Dumuzid being tortured in the Underworld by galla demons (from Comparative mythology)
Image 22Erlang Shen (二郎神), or Erlang is a Chinese God with his spear (from List of mythological objects)
Image 23Snake and world egg of the inhabitants of Tyre (from List of mythological objects)
Image 24Ancient 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 25Golem and Loew (from List of mythological objects)
Image 26Perillos being forced into the brazen bull that he built for Phalaris (from List of mythological objects)
Image 27Dietrich von Bern and Hildebrand fight against dragons (from List of mythological objects)
Image 28Ballads of bravery (1877) part of Arthurian mythology (from Myth)
Image 29Shield of Achilles (illustration) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 30Vishnu with his Panchajanya (from List of mythological objects)
Image 31Myths and legends of Babylonia and Assyria (1916) (from Myth)
Image 32Surya on His Celestial Chariot (from List of mythological objects)
Image 33seven angels with seven trumpets (from List of mythological objects)
Image 34Artist's impressions of the (unseen) Imperial Regalia of Japan (from List of mythological objects)
Image 35Hop-o'-My-Thumb stealing the Seven-league boots from the Ogre, by Gustave Doré (from List of mythological objects)
Image 36Achilles wearing his armor (from List of mythological objects)
Image 37Väinämöinen, 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 38Amenonuhoko (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 39 Odysseus Overcome by Demodocus' Song, by Francesco Hayez, 1813–1815 (from Myth)
Image 40The 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 41An angel (Camael) expelling Adam and Eve with a flaming sword (from List of mythological objects)
Image 42Shiva with his Trishula (from List of mythological objects)
Image 43Aura, a field of luminous radiation surrounding a person or object (from List of mythological objects)
Image 44Heracles 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 45Rectangular tablets passed down by the Hand of God in the 10th century Byzantine Leo Bible (from List of mythological objects)
Image 46Hand of God (from List of mythological objects)
Image 47The 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 48Claíomh Solais on an Ireland stamp printed in 1922 (from List of mythological objects)
Image 49Thor kicks Litr onto Baldr's Hringhorni, illustration by Emil Doepler (ca. 1905) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 50Holy Robe in Trier (from List of mythological objects)
Image 51Lord 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 52Fortune Wheel (from List of mythological objects)
Image 53Riding a Flying Carpet, an 1880 painting by Viktor Vasnetsov (from List of mythological objects)
Image 54Tissot Moses and Joshua in the Tabernacle (from List of mythological objects)
Image 55Image 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 56Thor wearing the magic belt Megingjörð (from List of mythological objects)
Image 57A 19th-century drawing of Sun Wukong featuring his staff (from List of mythological objects)
Image 58Goetia seal of solomon (from List of mythological objects)
Image 59King Svafrlame Secures the Sword Tyrfing (from List of mythological objects)
Image 60Longinus with his famous Spear (from List of mythological objects)
Image 611929 Belgian banknote, depicting Ceres, Neptune and caduceus (from Myth)
Image 62The Celestial Chariot, Pushpaka Vimana from Ramayana (from List of mythological objects)
Image 63Pied piper (from List of mythological objects)
Image 64Several mythical creatures from Bilderbuch für Kinder (lit. 'picture book for children') between 1790 and 1822, by Friedrich Justin Bertuch (from Legendary creature)
Image 65The Ash Yggdrasil by Friedrich Wilhelm Heine (from List of mythological objects)
Image 66The Flying Dutchman (from List of mythological objects)
Image 67Prometheus (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 68Greek God Kronos/Saturnus with sickle (from List of mythological objects)
Image 69The Dispute of Minerva and Neptune (c. 1689 or 1706) by René-Antoine Houasse, depicting the founding myth of Athens (from National myth)
Image 70Houyi, the God of Archery (from List of mythological objects)
Image 71The 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 72Jason returns with Golden fleece (from List of mythological objects)
Image 73Golden cosmic egg Hiranyagarbha by Manaku (from List of mythological objects)
Image 74Giza pyramids (from List of mythological objects)
Image 75Vishnu holding his legendary sword Nandaka (from List of mythological objects)
Image 76As 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 77Killing of Ravana Painting by Brahmstra of Arrow of Brahma (from List of mythological objects)
Image 78Jug from Lydian Treasure Usak (from List of mythological objects)
Image 79Fig trees often represent talismans with the udumbara (from List of mythological objects)
Image 80Yama with his famous Yama Pasha (from List of mythological objects)
Image 81Opening 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 82Symbolic power: a dragon in the Imperial City, Huế, Vietnam (from Legendary creature)
Image 83Early Hebrew Conception of the Universe (from List of mythological objects)
Image 84Fountain of Youth (from List of mythological objects)
Image 85The famous sword of Excalibur painted by Howard Pyle (from List of mythological objects)
Image 86The Shrine of the Three Kings in Cologne Cathedral (from List of mythological objects)
Image 87This 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)