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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Mattei Athena at Louvre. Roman copy from the 1st century BC/AD after the Greek original Piraeus Athena of the 4th century BC attributed to Cephisodotos or Euphranor.

Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of various cities across Greece, particularly the city of Athens, from which she most likely received her name.^[1] The Parthenon on the Acropolis of Athens is dedicated to her. Her major symbols include owls, olive trees, snakes, and the Gorgoneion. In art, she is generally depicted wearing a helmet and holding a spear.

From her origin as an Aegean palace goddess, Athena was closely associated with the city. She was known as Polias and Poliouchos (both derived from polis, meaning "city-state"), and her temples were usually located atop the fortified acropolis in the central part of the city. The Parthenon on the Athenian Acropolis is dedicated to her, along with numerous other temples and monuments. As the patron of craft and weaving, Athena was known as Ergane. She was also a warrior goddess, and was believed to lead soldiers into battle as Athena Promachos. Her main festival in Athens was the Panathenaia, which was celebrated during the month of Hekatombaion in midsummer and was the most important festival on the Athenian calendar. (Full article...)

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...that Chamunda (pictured), a fearsome aspect of the Hindu Divine Mother, was worshipped by ritual human and animal sacrifices along with offerings of wine?

...that Ugaritic culture hero Danel may have been a model for the Biblical Daniel of Ezekiel?

... 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 Xiuhtecuhtli (mask pictured), the Aztec god of fire, was one of the nine Lords of the Night even though he was a solar deity?

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17th-century woodcut depiction of a unicorn

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 1Azoth, a universal medicine or universal solvent sought in alchemy. (Medieval legend) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 21929 Belgian banknote, depicting Ceres, Neptune and caduceus (from Myth)
Image 3Fig trees often represent talismans with the udumbara (from List of mythological objects)
Image 4Vishnu with his Panchajanya (from List of mythological objects)
Image 5Ancient 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 6The 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 7Jacob blesses Joseph and gives him the coat of many colors (from List of mythological objects)
Image 8Killing of Ravana Painting by Brahmstra of Arrow of Brahma (from List of mythological objects)
Image 9The Argo (c. 1500 – 1530), painting by Lorenzo Costa (from List of mythological objects)
Image 10The Ash Yggdrasil by Friedrich Wilhelm Heine (from List of mythological objects)
Image 11Heracles 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 12Joan of Arc with her famous sword (from List of mythological objects)
Image 13"Tizona", the sword attributed to El Cid, on exhibit in the Army Museum of Madrid (from List of mythological objects)
Image 14Väinämöinen, 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 15Lichas bringing the garment of Nessus to Hercules (from List of mythological objects)
Image 16The Crown of Immortality, held by the allegorical figure Eterna (Eternity) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 17Shield of Achilles (illustration) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 18Edith Hamilton's Mythology has been a major channel for English speakers to learn classical Greek and Roman mythology (from Myth)
Image 19Giza pyramids (from List of mythological objects)
Image 20Several mythical creatures from Bilderbuch für Kinder (lit. 'picture book for children') between 1790 and 1822, by Friedrich Justin Bertuch (from Legendary creature)
Image 21Yama with his famous Yama Pasha (from List of mythological objects)
Image 22The fall of Icarus (from List of mythological objects)
Image 23Thor kicks Litr onto Baldr's Hringhorni, illustration by Emil Doepler (ca. 1905) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 24Amenonuhoko (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 25An angel (Camael) expelling Adam and Eve with a flaming sword (from List of mythological objects)
Image 26The famous sword of Excalibur painted by Howard Pyle (from List of mythological objects)
Image 27The 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 28Voodoo doll with pins in it, Museum of Witchcraft (from List of mythological objects)
Image 29Hand of God (from List of mythological objects)
Image 30The Flying Dutchman (from List of mythological objects)
Image 31This 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 32Pied piper (from List of mythological objects)
Image 33Thor wearing the magic belt Megingjörð (from List of mythological objects)
Image 34Fountain of Youth (from List of mythological objects)
Image 35Sampo, 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 36Opening 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 37The Shrine of the Three Kings in Cologne Cathedral (from List of mythological objects)
Image 38Fortune Wheel (from List of mythological objects)
Image 39The 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 40Holy Robe in Trier (from List of mythological objects)
Image 41Adam's Bridge also called as Rama Setu (from List of mythological objects)
Image 42Achilles wearing his armor (from List of mythological objects)
Image 43Lord 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 44The Honest Woodcutter, also known as Mercury and the Woodman and his famous Golden Axe (from List of mythological objects)
Image 45Jason returns with Golden fleece (from List of mythological objects)
Image 46Jug from Lydian Treasure Usak (from List of mythological objects)
Image 47The sheyd אַשְמְדּאָי (Ašmodai) in bird-like form, with typical rooster feet, as depicted in Compendium rarissimum totius Artis Magicae 1775 (from Comparative mythology)
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 49Claíomh Solais on an Ireland stamp printed in 1922 (from List of mythological objects)
Image 50Ahimelech giving the sword of Goliath to David, by Aert de Gelder. (from List of mythological objects)
Image 51Hop-o'-My-Thumb stealing the Seven-league boots from the Ogre, by Gustave Doré (from List of mythological objects)
Image 52Snake and world egg of the inhabitants of Tyre (from List of mythological objects)
Image 53Image 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 54Dietrich von Bern and Hildebrand fight against dragons (from List of mythological objects)
Image 55The Dispute of Minerva and Neptune (c. 1689 or 1706) by René-Antoine Houasse, depicting the founding myth of Athens (from National myth)
Image 56Vishnu holding his legendary sword Nandaka (from List of mythological objects)
Image 57King Svafrlame Secures the Sword Tyrfing (from List of mythological objects)
Image 58Shiva with his Trishula (from List of mythological objects)
Image 59Goetia seal of solomon (from List of mythological objects)
Image 60The Celestial Chariot, Pushpaka Vimana from Ramayana (from List of mythological objects)
Image 61Rectangular tablets passed down by the Hand of God in the 10th century Byzantine Leo Bible (from List of mythological objects)
Image 62A 19th-century drawing of Sun Wukong featuring his staff (from List of mythological objects)
Image 63The 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 64Aura, a field of luminous radiation surrounding a person or object (from List of mythological objects)
Image 65Hanuman fetches the herb-bearing mountain, in a print from the Ravi Varma Press, 1910's (from List of mythological objects)
Image 66Surya on His Celestial Chariot (from List of mythological objects)
Image 67Myths and legends of Babylonia and Assyria (1916) (from Myth)
Image 68Golem and Loew (from List of mythological objects)
Image 69Ballads of bravery (1877) part of Arthurian mythology (from Myth)
Image 70Symbolic power: a dragon in the Imperial City, Huế, Vietnam (from Legendary creature)
Image 71Ancient Sumerian cylinder seal impression showing the god Dumuzid being tortured in the Underworld by galla demons (from Comparative mythology)
Image 7214th century Goryeo painting of Ksitigarbha holding a cintamani (from List of mythological objects)
Image 73Tissot Moses and Joshua in the Tabernacle (from List of mythological objects)
Image 74Golden cosmic egg Hiranyagarbha by Manaku (from List of mythological objects)
Image 75Longinus with his famous Spear (from List of mythological objects)
Image 76Greek God Kronos/Saturnus with sickle (from List of mythological objects)
Image 77The Fall of the Titans (1596–98) by Cornelis Cornelisz van Haarlem (from Comparative mythology)
Image 78Veronica holding her veil, Hans Memling, c. 1470 (from List of mythological objects)
Image 79 Odysseus Overcome by Demodocus' Song, by Francesco Hayez, 1813–1815 (from Myth)
Image 80Erlang Shen (二郎神), or Erlang is a Chinese God with his spear (from List of mythological objects)
Image 81"The Fall of Man" by Lucas Cranach the Elder and the Tree of Knowledge is on the right (from List of mythological objects)
Image 82Houyi, the God of Archery (from List of mythological objects)
Image 83Early Hebrew Conception of the Universe (from List of mythological objects)
Image 84Artist's impressions of the (unseen) Imperial Regalia of Japan (from List of mythological objects)
Image 85Perillos being forced into the brazen bull that he built for Phalaris (from List of mythological objects)
Image 86seven angels with seven trumpets (from List of mythological objects)
Image 87As 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 88Riding a Flying Carpet, an 1880 painting by Viktor Vasnetsov (from List of mythological objects)