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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Dagr (Old Norse 'day') is the divine personification of the day in Norse mythology. He appears in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources, and the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century by Snorri Sturluson. In both sources, Dagr is stated to be the son of the god Dellingr and is associated with the bright-maned horse Skinfaxi, who "draw[s] day to mankind". Depending on manuscript variation, the Prose Edda adds that Dagr is either Dellingr's son by Nótt, the personified night, or Jörð, the personified Earth. Otherwise, Dagr appears as a common noun simply meaning "day" throughout Old Norse works. Connections have been proposed between Dagr and other similarly named figures in Germanic mythology. (Full article...)

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... that the self-decapitated Hindu goddess Chhinnamasta (pictured) standing on a copulating couple signifies that life, death and sex are interdependent?

... that the supreme god of the southern African Bushmen is Cagn, a trickster who shapeshifts into a praying mantis?

...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 according to Greek mythology, Adonis was slain by a boar at the foot of the waterfall in Apheca in modern-day Lebanon?

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Sharabha (Sanskrit: शरभ, Śarabha) or Sarabha is an eight-legged part-lion and part-bird deity in Hindu religion, who is described as more powerful than a lion or an elephant, possessing the ability to clear a valley in one jump in Sanskrit literature. In later literature, Sharabha is described as an eight-legged deer.

The Shiva scriptures narrate that the deity Shiva assumed the form of Sharabha to pacify Narasimha - the fierce man-lion avatar of Vishnu worshipped by the Vaishnava sect. This form is popularly known as Sharabheshvara ("Lord Sharabha") or Sharabheshvaramurti. Vaishnavas refute the portrayal of Narasimha as being destroyed by Shiva-Sharabha, and regard Sharabha as a name of Vishnu. Some Vaishnava scriptures such as the Narasimha Purana suggest that Vishnu assumed the form of the ferocious two-headed bird Gandabherunda, who in turn defeated Sharabha. (Full article...)

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Vampire Fenrir Ala (demon) Ratatoskr Huginn and Muninn Keshi (demon) Nuckelavee Sea Mither Boobrie Stoor worm Mermaid 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 1An angel (Camael) expelling Adam and Eve with a flaming sword (from List of mythological objects)
Image 2Longinus with his famous Spear (from List of mythological objects)
Image 3Tissot Moses and Joshua in the Tabernacle (from List of mythological objects)
Image 4Golem and Loew (from List of mythological objects)
Image 5Snake and world egg of the inhabitants of Tyre (from List of mythological objects)
Image 6Odysseus Overcome by Demodocus' Song, a mythological painting by Francesco Hayez, 1813–1815 (from Myth)
Image 7Väinämöinen, 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 8Jug from Lydian Treasure Usak (from List of mythological objects)
Image 9Prometheus (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 10"Tizona", the sword attributed to El Cid, on exhibit in the Army Museum of Madrid (from List of mythological objects)
Image 11"The Fall of Man" by Lucas Cranach the Elder and the Tree of Knowledge is on the right (from List of mythological objects)
Image 12The 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 13Golden cosmic egg Hiranyagarbha by Manaku (from List of mythological objects)
Image 14Rectangular tablets passed down by the Hand of God in the 10th century Byzantine Leo Bible (from List of mythological objects)
Image 15The 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 16The Honest Woodcutter, also known as Mercury and the Woodman and his famous Golden Axe (from List of mythological objects)
Image 17Surya on His Celestial Chariot (from List of mythological objects)
Image 18Holy Robe in Trier (from List of mythological objects)
Image 19Hop-o'-My-Thumb stealing the Seven-league boots from the Ogre, by Gustave Doré (from List of mythological objects)
Image 20Ancient 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 21The Celestial Chariot, Pushpaka Vimana from Ramayana (from List of mythological objects)
Image 221929 Belgian banknote, depicting Ceres, Neptune and caduceus (from Myth)
Image 23Claíomh Solais on an Ireland stamp printed in 1922 (from List of mythological objects)
Image 24The fall of Icarus (from List of mythological objects)
Image 25Aura, a field of luminous radiation surrounding a person or object (from List of mythological objects)
Image 26Houyi, the God of Archery (from List of mythological objects)
Image 27Hanuman fetches the herb-bearing mountain, in a print from the Ravi Varma Press, 1910's (from List of mythological objects)
Image 28Ancient Sumerian cylinder seal impression showing the god Dumuzid being tortured in the Underworld by galla demons (from Comparative mythology)
Image 29Fortune Wheel (from List of mythological objects)
Image 30The Ash Yggdrasil by Friedrich Wilhelm Heine (from List of mythological objects)
Image 31Achilles wearing his armor (from List of mythological objects)
Image 32Killing of Ravana Painting by Brahmstra of Arrow of Brahma (from List of mythological objects)
Image 33The Shrine of the Three Kings in Cologne Cathedral (from List of mythological objects)
Image 34Greek God Kronos/Saturnus with sickle (from List of mythological objects)
Image 35Several mythical creatures from Bilderbuch für Kinder (lit. 'picture book for children') between 1790 and 1822, by Friedrich Justin Bertuch (from Legendary creature)
Image 36Yama advances to smite Ravana with the weapon of death (from List of mythological objects)
Image 37Tor's Fight with the Giants (1872) by Mårten Eskil Winge. Thor is the god of thunder in Norse mythology. (from Myth)
Image 38Lichas bringing the garment of Nessus to Hercules (from List of mythological objects)
Image 39As 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 40Jacob blesses Joseph and gives him the coat of many colors (from List of mythological objects)
Image 41Pied piper (from List of mythological objects)
Image 42seven angels with seven trumpets (from List of mythological objects)
Image 43Dietrich von Bern and Hildebrand fight against dragons (from List of mythological objects)
Image 44The Dispute of Minerva and Neptune (c. 1689 or 1706) by René-Antoine Houasse, depicting the founding myth of Athens (from National myth)
Image 45Fountain of Youth (from List of mythological objects)
Image 46Vishnu with his Panchajanya (from List of mythological objects)
Image 47Adam's Bridge also called as Rama Setu (from List of mythological objects)
Image 48Thor kicks Litr onto Baldr's Hringhorni, illustration by Emil Doepler (ca. 1905) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 49Opening 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 50The famous sword of Excalibur painted by Howard Pyle (from List of mythological objects)
Image 51This 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 52Amenonuhoko (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 53Perillos being forced into the brazen bull that he built for Phalaris (from List of mythological objects)
Image 54Hand of God (from List of mythological objects)
Image 55Early Hebrew Conception of the Universe (from List of mythological objects)
Image 56Artist's impressions of the (unseen) Imperial Regalia of Japan (from List of mythological objects)
Image 57Goetia seal of solomon (from List of mythological objects)
Image 58King Svafrlame Secures the Sword Tyrfing (from List of mythological objects)
Image 59Fig trees often represent talismans with the udumbara (from List of mythological objects)
Image 60Giza pyramids (from List of mythological objects)
Image 61Yama with his famous Yama Pasha (from List of mythological objects)
Image 62Symbolic power: a dragon in the Imperial City, Huế, Vietnam (from Legendary creature)
Image 63Joan of Arc with her famous sword (from List of mythological objects)
Image 64Lord 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 65Myths and legends of Babylonia and Assyria (1916) (from Myth)
Image 66A 19th-century drawing of Sun Wukong featuring his staff (from List of mythological objects)
Image 67The Fall of the Titans (1596–98) by Cornelis Cornelisz van Haarlem (from Comparative mythology)
Image 68Ballads of bravery (1877) part of Arthurian mythology (from Myth)
Image 69Riding a Flying Carpet, an 1880 painting by Viktor Vasnetsov (from List of mythological objects)
Image 70The Crown of Immortality, held by the allegorical figure Eterna (Eternity) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 71Erlang Shen (二郎神), or Erlang is a Chinese God with his spear (from List of mythological objects)
Image 72The Flying Dutchman (from List of mythological objects)
Image 73Vishnu holding his legendary sword Nandaka (from List of mythological objects)
Image 74Ahimelech giving the sword of Goliath to David, by Aert de Gelder. (from List of mythological objects)
Image 7514th century Goryeo painting of Ksitigarbha holding a cintamani (from List of mythological objects)
Image 76Azoth, a universal medicine or universal solvent sought in alchemy. (Medieval legend) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 77Jason returns with Golden fleece (from List of mythological objects)
Image 78Veronica holding her veil, Hans Memling, c. 1470 (from List of mythological objects)
Image 79Voodoo doll with pins in it, Museum of Witchcraft (from List of mythological objects)
Image 80Thor wearing the magic belt Megingjörð (from List of mythological objects)
Image 81Edith Hamilton's Mythology has been a major channel for English speakers to learn classical Greek and Roman mythology (from Myth)
Image 82Sampo, 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 83The Argo (c. 1500 – 1530), painting by Lorenzo Costa (from List of mythological objects)
Image 84Heracles 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 85The 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 86Shield of Achilles (illustration) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 87Image 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 88Shiva with his Trishula (from List of mythological objects)
Image 89The Giving of the Seven Bowls of Wrath / The First Six Plagues, Revelation 16:1–16. Matthias Gerung, c. 1531 (from List of mythological objects)