Portal:Myths/Did you know
- ... that the demon Maha Sohona, whose head has been replaced with that of a bear, haunts graveyards and feasts on human flesh?
- ...that Ewale a Mbedi may have been the first Duala leader to trade with Europeans in Cameroon?
- ... that in Hopi mythology, the Kachina Nataska enforces good behavior among children?
- ... 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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Archive
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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 the self-decapitated Hindu goddess Chhinnamasta (pictured) standing on a copulating couple signifies that life, death and sex are interdependent?
- ... that on every Wednesday and Saturday, the demons of Sri Lanka assemble to give an account of their activities to their king?
- ... that the legend of Sumbha and Nisumbha, demons from Hindu mythology, is used as a warning against the dangers of seduction in Shashi Tharoor's novel The Great Indian Novel?
- ...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 the demon Maha Sohona, whose head has been replaced with that of a bear, haunts graveyards and feasts on human flesh?
- ... that Reeri Yakseya, who is believed to be the most cruel and powerful demon in Sinhalese folklore, can assume 18 different apparitions?
- ...that according to Hindu mythology, the deity Revanta (pictured) was born from the union of the sun-god Surya and his wife Saranya in the form of horse and mare?
- ... that the Engkanto, a Philippine mythical creature, might be based on early encounters with European friars?
- ...that the Tigmamanukan, a Philippine mythological bird, can be a good or bad omen depending on the direction of its flight?
- ...that the tiyanak is an infant-like creature from Philippine mythology that is said to attack tourists with its fangs and claws?
- ... that in Chinese mythology, Wu Gang had to chop down a tree on the moon that always healed itself, forcing him to keep trying forever?
- ... that the supreme god of the southern African Bushmen is Cagn, a trickster who shapeshifts into a praying mantis?
- ...that Ewale a Mbedi may have been the first Duala leader to trade with Europeans in Cameroon?
- ...that the most popular deity worshipped by the Duala peoples of Cameroon is a mermaid called a jengu?
- ...that the Two Ladies was a euphemism used for the Ancient Egyptian deities Wadjet and Nekhbet, represented on the royal crowns of the merged Upper and Lower Egypt as a cobra and a vulture, respectively?
- ... that according to Hindu mythology, the "first king" Prithu chased the Earth in the form of a cow (pictured), who eventually agreed to yield her milk as all the world's grain and vegetation?
- ... that in Hindu mythology, the demoness Putana (pictured, centre) tried to kill the infant-god Krishna by breastfeeding him poisoned milk?
- ...that Ugaritic culture hero Danel may have been a model for the Biblical Daniel of Ezekiel?
- ... that, in the lives of saints, the appearance of roses (example pictured) sometimes announces the presence or activity of God?
- ... that in Inuit mythology, an Angakkuq, or shaman, is told to be able to fly with the assistance of a spirit companion, or tuurngaq?
- ... 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 according to Muisca mythology, Bochica (statue pictured) saved his people from a flood by creating the Tequendama Falls with a strike from his staff?
- ... that the pre-Columbian Zapotec storm god Cocijo was said to have created the world from his breath?
- ...that in Colombian folklore the legendary Alligatorman (Hombre Caiman) is said to be a fisherman converted by the spirit of the Magdalena River into an alligator, that returns every year on St. Sebastian´s Day to hunt human victims?
- ... 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 origin of the Postclassic K'iche' Maya patron deity Jacawitz has been traced back to a historical event at the city of Seibal?
- ... that the cult of Kukulkan, the Yucatec Maya feathered serpent deity, was the first Mesoamerican religion to transcend earlier linguistic and ethnic divisions?
- ...that according to Inca mythology, lunar eclipses are caused by animals attacking Mama Quilla, the goddess of the moon?
- ...that Maximón, a saint venerated in the highlands of Guatemala, drinks whiskey, smokes cigarettes and grants prayers for revenge?
- ... that in Hopi mythology, the Kachina Nataska enforces good behavior among children?
- ...that Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli (pictured) was the god of the planet Venus in Aztec belief?
- ... 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 worshippers of Xipe Totec (pictured), the Aztec god of renewal, wore the flayed skins of their sacrificial victims?
- ... 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?
- ... 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?
- ...that the Deluge or "flood myth" is a widespread theme in religion and mythology, with examples such as the story of Noah in the Torah or Gilgamesh flood myth?
- ... that the white horse in mythology is associated with the sun chariot, warrior-heroes, fertility or an end-time saviour?
- ...that in Ovid's Metamorphoses, the love between Acis and Galatea ended when a jealous suitor named Polyphemus killed Acis with a boulder?
- ...that in Greek mythology, Antiope was the only Amazon known to have married?
- ...that in Greek mythology, Arion (or Areion) was an extremely swift immortal horse that could talk?
- ...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?
- ... that in classical mythology, Cerberus (pictured) is a monstrous dog with multiple heads that guards the gates to the underworld?
- ...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?
- ...that according to Greek mythology, Adonis was slain by a boar at the foot of the waterfall in Apheca in modern-day Lebanon?
Nominations
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