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 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...)
Selected article -
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...)Did you know? -
- ... that Reeri Yakseya, who is believed to be the most cruel and powerful demon in Sinhalese folklore, can assume 18 different apparitions?
- ... 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 Maximón, a saint venerated in the highlands of Guatemala, drinks whiskey, smokes cigarettes and grants prayers for revenge?
- ...that according to Greek mythology, Adonis was slain by a boar at the foot of the waterfall in Apheca in modern-day Lebanon?
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
Wikiversity
Selected creature -
General images
- Ahimelech giving the sword of
-
Mabinogi myths from the Red Book of Hergest (written pre-13c, incorporating pre-Roman myths of Celtic gods):Opening lines of one of the
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) - The Flying Dutchman (from
- The Argo (c. 1500 – 1530), painting by
- Tissot Moses and Joshua in the Tabernacle (from
- Fortune Wheel (from
- Artist's impressions of the (unseen) Imperial Regalia of Japan (from
- Pied piper (from
-
Shinto used to raise the primordial land-mass, Onogoro-shima, from the sea (from List of mythological objects)Amenonuhoko (天沼矛 or 天之瓊矛 or 天瓊戈, "heavenly jeweled spear") is the name given to the spear in
- The famous sword of Excalibur painted by
- Jacob blesses Joseph and gives him the coat of many colors (from
-
Väinämöinen, 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)
- Jug from Lydian Treasure Usak (from
- Longinus with his famous Spear (from
- seven angels with seven trumpets (from
- 1929
- Voodoo doll with pins in it, Museum of Witchcraft (from
-
Arthurian mythology (from Myth)Ballads of bravery (1877) part of
- Claíomh Solais on an Ireland stamp printed in 1922 (from
- Golem and Loew (from
-
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)As is usual in
- Dietrich von Bern and Hildebrand fight against dragons (from
-
cylinder seal impression showing the god Dumuzid being tortured in the Underworld by galla demons (from Comparative mythology)Ancient Sumerian
- Lord 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
-
Edith Hamilton's Mythology has been a major channel for English speakers to learn classical Greek and Roman mythology (from Myth)
-
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 showing the sacred tree to the right of the temple, from
-
Minerva and Neptune (c. 1689 or 1706) by René-Antoine Houasse, depicting the founding myth of Athens (from National myth)The Dispute of
-
Sampo, 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)
- The Stone of Destiny (Lia Fáil) at the Hill of Tara, once used as a coronation stone for the High Kings of Ireland (from
- Heracles would use arrows dipped in the Hydra's poisonous blood to kill other foes during his
- Myths and legends of
- Perillos being forced into the brazen bull that he built for Phalaris (from
- Achilles wearing his armor (from
- Yama with his famous Yama Pasha (from
- The fall of Icarus (from
-
Hop-o'-My-Thumb stealing the Seven-league boots from the Ogre, by Gustave Doré (from List of mythological objects)
- Greek God Kronos/Saturnus with sickle (from
- King Svafrlame Secures the Sword Tyrfing (from
- Riding a Flying Carpet, an 1880 painting by
- Symbolic power: a
- Hand of God (from
-
Matthias Gerung, c. 1531 (from List of mythological objects)The Giving of the Seven Bowls of Wrath / The First Six Plagues, Revelation 16:1–16.
- 14th century
-
Chinese God with his spear (from List of mythological objects)Erlang Shen (二郎神), or Erlang is a
- Joan of Arc with her famous sword (from
-
Myth)Odysseus Overcome by Demodocus' Song, by Francesco Hayez, 1813–1815 (from
-
Hans Memling, c. 1470 (from List of mythological objects)Veronica holding her veil,
- Holy Robe in Trier (from
- Aura, a field of luminous radiation surrounding a person or object (from
-
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)This panel by
- Killing of Ravana Painting by Brahmstra of Arrow of Brahma (from
-
Ašmodai) in bird-like form, with typical rooster feet, as depicted in Compendium rarissimum totius Artis Magicae 1775 (from Comparative mythology)The sheyd אַשְמְדּאָי (
- Shiva with his Trishula (from
- An angel (Camael) expelling Adam and Eve with a flaming sword (from
- Early Hebrew Conception of the Universe (from
-
Azoth, a universal medicine or universal solvent sought in alchemy. (Medieval legend) (from List of mythological objects)
-
allegorical figure Eterna (Eternity) (from List of mythological objects)The Crown of Immortality, held by the
- The Ash Yggdrasil by Friedrich Wilhelm Heine (from
- Goetia seal of solomon (from
- Thor wearing the magic belt Megingjörð (from
-
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)The Deluge, frontispiece to
- Snake and world egg of the inhabitants of Tyre (from
- Golden cosmic egg Hiranyagarbha by Manaku (from
- Shield of Achilles (illustration) (from
- The Celestial Chariot, Pushpaka Vimana from Ramayana (from
-
Prometheus (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)
-
Elmer Boyd Smith and the ring Draupnir is visible among other creations by the Sons of Ivaldi (from List of mythological objects)The third gift — an enormous hammer (1902) by
- "Tizona", the sword attributed to El Cid, on exhibit in the Army Museum of Madrid (from
-
Cathedral of Maria Saal showing the infant twins Romulus and Remus being suckled by a she-wolf (from Comparative mythology)Ancient Roman relief from the
- A 19th-century drawing of Sun Wukong featuring his staff (from
- Vishnu with his Panchajanya (from
- Hanuman fetches the herb-bearing mountain, in a print from the Ravi Varma Press, 1910's (from
- Fountain of Youth (from
-
Litr onto Baldr's Hringhorni, illustration by Emil Doepler (ca. 1905) (from List of mythological objects)Thor kicks
- Houyi, the God of Archery (from
- Surya on His Celestial Chariot (from
-
Lucas Cranach the Elder and the Tree of Knowledge is on the right (from List of mythological objects)"The Fall of Man" by
- The Shrine of the Three Kings in
- Jason returns with Golden fleece (from
- Vishnu holding his legendary sword Nandaka (from
- Adam's Bridge also called as Rama Setu (from
- Rectangular tablets passed down by the
- Lichas bringing the garment of Nessus to Hercules (from
- Fig trees often represent talismans with the udumbara (from
- The Honest Woodcutter, also known as Mercury and the Woodman and his famous Golden Axe (from
-
Bilderbuch für Kinder (lit. 'picture book for children') between 1790 and 1822, by Friedrich Justin Bertuch (from Legendary creature)Several mythical creatures from
- Giza pyramids (from
Subcategories
WikiProjects
Things you can do
- Help with the myth and folklore missing articles project.
- Help create requested articles.
- Help assessment at Wikipedia:WikiProject Mythology/Assessment.
- Place the project banner {{WikiProject Mythology}} on the talk pages of all relevant articles.
- Check the recent changes for recent improvements, vandalism, and other changes.
- Answer requests for mythology articles needing attention: Category:Mythology articles needing attention
- Answer requests for mythology articles needing expert attention: Category:Mythology articles needing expert attention
- Expand articles tagged as mythology stubs: Category:Mythology stubs
- Assist mythology subprojects.
- Add requested photographs of mythology subjects: Category:Wikipedia requested photographs of mythology subjects
Associated Wikimedia
The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:
-
Commons
Free media repository -
Wikibooks
Free textbooks and manuals -
Wikidata
Free knowledge base -
Wikinews
Free-content news -
Wikiquote
Collection of quotations -
Wikisource
Free-content library -
Wikiversity
Free learning tools -
Wiktionary
Dictionary and thesaurus