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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Goddess Ishtar on an Akkadian Empire seal, 2350–2150 BCE. She is equipped with weapons on her back, has a horned helmet, places her foot in a dominant posture upon a lion secured by a leash and is accompanied by the star of Shamash.

Inanna is the ancient Mesopotamian goddess of love, war, and fertility. She is also associated with sensuality, procreation, divine law, and political power. Originally worshipped in Sumer, she was known by the Akkadian Empire, Babylonians, and Assyrians as Ishtar (and occasionally the logogram 𒌋𒁯). Her primary title is "the Queen of Heaven".

She was the patron goddess of the Eanna temple at the city of Uruk, her early main cult center. In archaic Uruk she was worshipped in three forms: morning Inanna (Inana-UD/hud), evening Inanna (Inanna sig) and princely Inanna (Inanna NUN), the former two reflecting the phases of her associated planet Venus. Her most prominent symbols include the lion and the eight-pointed star. Her husband is the god Dumuzid (later known as Tammuz), and her sukkal (attendant) is the goddess Ninshubur, later conflated with the male deities Ilabrat and Papsukkal. (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 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 Maximón, a saint venerated in the highlands of Guatemala, drinks whiskey, smokes cigarettes and grants prayers for revenge?

...that in Ovid's Metamorphoses, the love between Acis and Galatea ended when a jealous suitor named Polyphemus killed Acis with a boulder?

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In Norse mythology, Huginn (Old Norse "thought") and Muninn (Old Norse "memory" or "mind") are a pair of ravens that fly all over the world, Midgard, and bring information to the god Odin. Huginn and Muninn are attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in the 13th century from earlier traditional sources: the Prose Edda and Heimskringla; in the Third Grammatical Treatise, compiled in the 13th century by Óláfr Þórðarson; and in the poetry of skalds. The names of the ravens are sometimes anglicized as Hugin and Munin, the same spelling as used in modern Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish.

In the Poetic Edda, a disguised Odin expresses that he fears the ravens may not return from their daily flights. The Prose Edda explains that Odin is referred to as Hrafnaguð (O.N.: [ˈhrɑvnɑˌɡuð]; "raven-god") due to his association with Huginn and Muninn. In the Prose Edda and the Third Grammatical Treatise, the two ravens are described as perching on Odin's shoulders. Heimskringla details that Odin gave Huginn and Muninn the ability to speak. (Full article...)

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Vampire Fenrir Ala (demon) Sharabha Ratatoskr 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 1Jason returns with Golden fleece (from List of mythological objects)
Image 2Thor wearing the magic belt Megingjörð (from List of mythological objects)
Image 3Lord 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 4Heracles 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 5Ballads of bravery (1877) part of Arthurian mythology (from Myth)
Image 6Longinus with his famous Spear (from List of mythological objects)
Image 7Veronica holding her veil, Hans Memling, c. 1470 (from List of mythological objects)
Image 8Hop-o'-My-Thumb stealing the Seven-league boots from the Ogre, by Gustave Doré (from List of mythological objects)
Image 9Jacob blesses Joseph and gives him the coat of many colors (from List of mythological objects)
Image 10Voodoo doll with pins in it, Museum of Witchcraft (from List of mythological objects)
Image 11Hand of God (from List of mythological objects)
Image 12Riding a Flying Carpet, an 1880 painting by Viktor Vasnetsov (from List of mythological objects)
Image 13The Crown of Immortality, held by the allegorical figure Eterna (Eternity) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 14A 19th-century drawing of Sun Wukong featuring his staff (from List of mythological objects)
Image 15Prometheus (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 16Shiva with his Trishula (from List of mythological objects)
Image 17The Honest Woodcutter, also known as Mercury and the Woodman and his famous Golden Axe (from List of mythological objects)
Image 18Erlang Shen (二郎神), or Erlang is a Chinese God with his spear (from List of mythological objects)
Image 19Perillos being forced into the brazen bull that he built for Phalaris (from List of mythological objects)
Image 20Claíomh Solais on an Ireland stamp printed in 1922 (from List of mythological objects)
Image 21Dietrich von Bern and Hildebrand fight against dragons (from List of mythological objects)
Image 22The 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 23Early Hebrew Conception of the Universe (from List of mythological objects)
Image 24Image 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 25Aura, a field of luminous radiation surrounding a person or object (from List of mythological objects)
Image 26Hanuman fetches the herb-bearing mountain, in a print from the Ravi Varma Press, 1910's (from List of mythological objects)
Image 27The famous sword of Excalibur painted by Howard Pyle (from List of mythological objects)
Image 28Vishnu with his Panchajanya (from List of mythological objects)
Image 29seven angels with seven trumpets (from List of mythological objects)
Image 30The Celestial Chariot, Pushpaka Vimana from Ramayana (from List of mythological objects)
Image 31Snake and world egg of the inhabitants of Tyre (from List of mythological objects)
Image 32Fig trees often represent talismans with the udumbara (from List of mythological objects)
Image 33Opening 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 34The Ash Yggdrasil by Friedrich Wilhelm Heine (from List of mythological objects)
Image 35Azoth, a universal medicine or universal solvent sought in alchemy. (Medieval legend) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 36Ancient Sumerian cylinder seal impression showing the god Dumuzid being tortured in the Underworld by galla demons (from Comparative mythology)
Image 37Amenonuhoko (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 38Joan of Arc with her famous sword (from List of mythological objects)
Image 39The fall of Icarus (from List of mythological objects)
Image 40The Fall of the Titans (1596–98) by Cornelis Cornelisz van Haarlem (from Comparative mythology)
Image 41The Flying Dutchman (from List of mythological objects)
Image 42An angel (Camael) expelling Adam and Eve with a flaming sword (from List of mythological objects)
Image 43King Svafrlame Secures the Sword Tyrfing (from List of mythological objects)
Image 44Fortune Wheel (from List of mythological objects)
Image 45Ancient 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 46"The Fall of Man" by Lucas Cranach the Elder and the Tree of Knowledge is on the right (from List of mythological objects)
Image 47Golem and Loew (from List of mythological objects)
Image 48Golden cosmic egg Hiranyagarbha by Manaku (from List of mythological objects)
Image 49Sampo, 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 50Symbolic power: a dragon in the Imperial City, Huế, Vietnam (from Legendary creature)
Image 51Jug from Lydian Treasure Usak (from List of mythological objects)
Image 52Artist's impressions of the (unseen) Imperial Regalia of Japan (from List of mythological objects)
Image 53The Argo (c. 1500 – 1530), painting by Lorenzo Costa (from List of mythological objects)
Image 54As 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 55Shield of Achilles (illustration) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 5614th century Goryeo painting of Ksitigarbha holding a cintamani (from List of mythological objects)
Image 57Väinämöinen, 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 58Achilles wearing his armor (from List of mythological objects)
Image 59The Shrine of the Three Kings in Cologne Cathedral (from List of mythological objects)
Image 60Yama with his famous Yama Pasha (from List of mythological objects)
Image 61The 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 62Tissot Moses and Joshua in the Tabernacle (from List of mythological objects)
Image 63This 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 64Greek God Kronos/Saturnus with sickle (from List of mythological objects)
Image 65Several mythical creatures from Bilderbuch für Kinder (lit. 'picture book for children') between 1790 and 1822, by Friedrich Justin Bertuch (from Legendary creature)
Image 66The 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 67Surya on His Celestial Chariot (from List of mythological objects)
Image 68Houyi, the God of Archery (from List of mythological objects)
Image 69Ahimelech giving the sword of Goliath to David, by Aert de Gelder. (from List of mythological objects)
Image 70 Odysseus Overcome by Demodocus' Song, by Francesco Hayez, 1813–1815 (from Myth)
Image 71Goetia seal of solomon (from List of mythological objects)
Image 72Killing of Ravana Painting by Brahmstra of Arrow of Brahma (from List of mythological objects)
Image 73Edith Hamilton's Mythology has been a major channel for English speakers to learn classical Greek and Roman mythology (from Myth)
Image 74Fountain of Youth (from List of mythological objects)
Image 75"Tizona", the sword attributed to El Cid, on exhibit in the Army Museum of Madrid (from List of mythological objects)
Image 76The sheyd אַשְמְדּאָי (Ašmodai) in bird-like form, with typical rooster feet, as depicted in Compendium rarissimum totius Artis Magicae 1775 (from Comparative mythology)
Image 771929 Belgian banknote, depicting Ceres, Neptune and caduceus (from Myth)
Image 78The 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 79Lichas bringing the garment of Nessus to Hercules (from List of mythological objects)
Image 80The Dispute of Minerva and Neptune (c. 1689 or 1706) by René-Antoine Houasse, depicting the founding myth of Athens (from National myth)
Image 81Rectangular tablets passed down by the Hand of God in the 10th century Byzantine Leo Bible (from List of mythological objects)
Image 82Adam's Bridge also called as Rama Setu (from List of mythological objects)
Image 83Vishnu holding his legendary sword Nandaka (from List of mythological objects)
Image 84Pied piper (from List of mythological objects)
Image 85Holy Robe in Trier (from List of mythological objects)
Image 86Myths and legends of Babylonia and Assyria (1916) (from Myth)
Image 87Giza pyramids (from List of mythological objects)
Image 88Thor kicks Litr onto Baldr's Hringhorni, illustration by Emil Doepler (ca. 1905) (from List of mythological objects)