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 totally different from the ordinary sense of the term myth, meaning a belief that is not true, as the veracity of a piece of folklore is entirely irrelevant to determining whether it constitutes a myth.

Myths are often endorsed by religious and secular authorities, and may be natural or supernatural in character. 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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In Norse mythology, Njörðr (Old Norse: Njǫrðr) is a god who is a member of the Vanir. He is the father of the deities Freyr and Freyja by his unnamed sister, was in an unhappy marriage with the goddess Skaði, lives in Nóatún and is associated with the sea, seafaring, wind, fishing, wealth, and crop fertility.

Njörðr is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson, in euhemerized form as a beloved mythological early king of Sweden in Heimskringla, also written by Snorri Sturluson in the 13th century, as one of three gods invoked in the 14th century Hauksbók ring oath, and in numerous Scandinavian place names. Veneration of Njörðr survived into the 18th or 19th century Norwegian folk practice, where the god is recorded as Njor and thanked for a bountiful catch of fish. (Full article...)

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... that on every Wednesday and Saturday, the demons of Sri Lanka assemble to give an account of their activities to their king?

... that, in the lives of saints, the appearance of roses (example pictured) sometimes announces the presence or activity of God?

...that Maximón, a saint venerated in the highlands of Guatemala, drinks whiskey, smokes cigarettes and grants prayers for revenge?

... that in Maya mythology, wayob were the powerful spirit forms of lords, priests and gods?

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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 spiraling 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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General images

The following are images from various myth-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Ahimelech giving the sword of Goliath to David, by Aert de Gelder. (from List of mythological objects)
Image 2Ballads of bravery (1877) part of Arthurian mythology (from Myth)
Image 3Yama with his famous Yama Pasha (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 5Dietrich von Bern and Hildebrand fight against dragons (from List of mythological objects)
Image 6Achilles wearing his armor (from List of mythological objects)
Image 7Opening lines of one of the Mabinogi myths from the Red Book of Hergest (written pre-13th century, 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 8Perillos being forced into the brazen bull that he built for Phalaris (from List of mythological objects)
Image 9The Celestial Chariot, Pushpaka Vimana from Ramayana (from List of mythological objects)
Image 10Lord 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 11Jacob blesses Joseph and gives him the coat of many colors (from List of mythological objects)
Image 12Fortune Wheel (from List of mythological objects)
Image 13Myths and legends of Babylonia and Assyria (1916) (from Myth)
Image 14Greek God Kronos/Saturnus with sickle (from List of mythological objects)
Image 15Ancient 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 16Odysseus Overcome by Demodocus' Song, a mythological painting by Francesco Hayez, 1813–1815 (from Myth)
Image 171929 Belgian banknote, depicting Ceres, Neptune and caduceus (from Myth)
Image 18Ancient Sumerian cylinder seal impression showing the god Dumuzid being tortured in the Underworld by galla demons (from Comparative mythology)
Image 19alt=Spiral hieroglyphic inscriptions on the Phaistos Disc (from Comparative mythology)
Image 20Sampo, 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 21The Flying Dutchman (from List of mythological objects)
Image 22Killing of Ravana Painting by Brahmstra of Arrow of Brahma (from List of mythological objects)
Image 23A 19th-century drawing of Sun Wukong featuring his staff (from List of mythological objects)
Image 24An angel (Camael) expelling Adam and Eve with a flaming sword (from List of mythological objects)
Image 25Vishnu holding his legendary sword Nandaka (from List of mythological objects)
Image 26Edith Hamilton's Mythology has been a major channel for English speakers to learn classical Greek and Roman mythology (from Myth)
Image 27The Crown of Immortality, held by the allegorical figure Eterna (Eternity) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 28Joan of Arc with her famous sword (from List of mythological objects)
Image 29Rectangular tablets passed down by the Hand of God in the 10th century Byzantine Leo Bible (from List of mythological objects)
Image 30seven angels with seven trumpets (from List of mythological objects)
Image 31Adam's Bridge also called as Rama Setu (from List of mythological objects)
Image 32The Shrine of the Three Kings in Cologne Cathedral (from List of mythological objects)
Image 33Heracles 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 34Jug from Lydian Treasure Usak (from List of mythological objects)
Image 35The Argo (c. 1500 – 1530), painting by Lorenzo Costa (from List of mythological objects)
Image 36Several legendary creatures from Bilderbuch für Kinder (lit. 'picture book for children') between 1790 and 1822, by Friedrich Justin Bertuch (from Legendary creature)
Image 37Fig trees often represent talismans with the udumbara (from List of mythological objects)
Image 38Jason returns with Golden fleece (from List of mythological objects)
Image 39Hanuman fetches the herb-bearing mountain, in a print from the Ravi Varma Press, 1910's (from List of mythological objects)
Image 40Symbolic power: a dragon in the Imperial City, Huế, Vietnam (from Legendary creature)
Image 41Longinus with his famous Spear (from List of mythological objects)
Image 42Thor wearing the magic belt Megingjörð (from List of mythological objects)
Image 43Azoth, a universal medicine or universal solvent sought in alchemy. (Medieval legend) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 44Veronica holding her veil, Hans Memling, c. 1470 (from List of mythological objects)
Image 45Fountain of Youth (from List of mythological objects)
Image 46Claíomh Solais on an Ireland stamp printed in 1922 (from List of mythological objects)
Image 47Pied piper (from List of mythological objects)
Image 48Thor's Fight with the Giants (1872) by Mårten Eskil Winge. Thor is the god of thunder in Norse mythology. (from Myth)
Image 49Shiva with his Trishula (from List of mythological objects)
Image 5014th century Goryeo painting of Ksitigarbha holding a cintamani (from List of mythological objects)
Image 51Prometheus (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 52The Ash Yggdrasil by Friedrich Wilhelm Heine (from List of mythological objects)
Image 53Golden cosmic egg Hiranyagarbha by Manaku (from List of mythological objects)
Image 54Surya on His Celestial Chariot (from List of mythological objects)
Image 55The Fall of the Titans (1596–98) by Cornelis Cornelisz van Haarlem (from Comparative mythology)
Image 56Thor kicks Litr onto Baldr's Hringhorni, illustration by Emil Doepler (ca. 1905) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 57Voodoo doll with pins in it, Museum of Witchcraft (from List of mythological objects)
Image 58Snake and world egg of the inhabitants of Tyre (from List of mythological objects)
Image 59Golem and Loew (from List of mythological objects)
Image 60Artist's impressions of the (unseen) Imperial Regalia of Japan (from List of mythological objects)
Image 61The 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 62Väinämöinen, 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 63Vishnu with his Panchajanya (from List of mythological objects)
Image 64"Tizona", the sword attributed to El Cid, on exhibit in the Army Museum of Madrid (from List of mythological objects)
Image 65Houyi, the God of Archery (from List of mythological objects)
Image 66"The Fall of Man" by Lucas Cranach the Elder and the Tree of Knowledge is on the right (from List of mythological objects)
Image 67Amenonuhoko (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 68King Svafrlame Secures the Sword Tyrfing (from List of mythological objects)
Image 69Lichas bringing the garment of Nessus to Hercules (from List of mythological objects)
Image 70Giza pyramids (from List of mythological objects)
Image 71Holy Robe in Trier (from List of mythological objects)
Image 72Goetia seal of solomon (from List of mythological objects)
Image 73Erlang Shen (二郎神), or Erlang is a Chinese God with his spear (from List of mythological objects)
Image 74Tissot Moses and Joshua in the Tabernacle (from List of mythological objects)
Image 75Hop-o'-My-Thumb stealing the Seven-league boots from the Ogre, by Gustave Doré (from List of mythological objects)
Image 76Shield of Achilles (illustration) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 77Image 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 78As 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 79This 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 80The 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 81Early Hebrew Conception of the Universe (from List of mythological objects)
Image 82The Dispute of Minerva and Neptune (c. 1689 or 1706) by René-Antoine Houasse, depicting the founding myth of Athens (from National myth)
Image 83Yama advances to smite Ravana with the weapon of death (from List of mythological objects)
Image 84Aura, a field of luminous radiation surrounding a person or object (from List of mythological objects)
Image 85The fall of Icarus (from List of mythological objects)
Image 86The 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 87The Honest Woodcutter, also known as Mercury and the Woodman and his famous Golden Axe (from List of mythological objects)
Image 88Riding a Flying Carpet, an 1880 painting by Viktor Vasnetsov (from List of mythological objects)
Image 89The famous sword of Excalibur painted by Howard Pyle (from List of mythological objects)
Image 90Hand of God (from List of mythological objects)