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 religious (when they are closely linked to religion or spirituality) and secular authorities. 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 Hinduism, Pūtanā (lit. 'putrefaction') is a rakshasi (demoness), who was killed by the infant-god Krishna. Putana disguises as a young, beautiful woman and tries to kill the god by breast-feeding poisoned milk; however Krishna sucks her milk as well as her life via her breasts. Putana is also considered as a foster-mother of Krishna as she breast-fed him. By offering her milk, Putana had performed "the supreme act of maternal devotion", in the shadow of her evil motives. The legend is told and retold in Hindu scriptures and some Indian books, which portray her variously as an evil hag or a demoness who surrendered herself to Krishna, though she initially came with evil motives.

Putana is interpreted as an infantile disease or bird, symbolizing danger to an infant or desire respectively, and even as a symbolic bad mother. She is included in a group of malevolent Hindu mother goddesses called the Matrikas and also in the group of Yoginis and Grahinis (Seizers). Ancient Indian medical texts prescribe her worship to protect children from diseases. A group of multiple Putanas is mentioned in ancient Indian texts. (Full article...)

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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 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 in Hopi mythology, the Kachina Nataska enforces good behavior among children?

... 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?

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The serpent, or snake, is one of the oldest and most widespread mythological symbols. The word is derived from Latin serpens, a crawling animal or snake. Snakes have been associated with some of the oldest rituals known to humankind and represent dual expression of good and evil.

In some cultures, snakes were fertility symbols. For example, the Hopi people of North America performed an annual snake dance to celebrate the union of Snake Youth (a Sky spirit) and Snake Girl (an Underworld spirit) and to renew the fertility of Nature. During the dance, live snakes were handled, and at the end of the dance the snakes were released into the fields to guarantee good crops. "The snake dance is a prayer to the spirits of the clouds, the thunder and the lightning, that the rain may fall on the growing crops." To the Hopi, snakes symbolized the umbilical cord, joining all humans to Mother Earth. The Great Goddess often had snakes as her familiars—sometimes twining around her sacred staff, as in ancient Crete—and they were worshiped as guardians of her mysteries of birth and regeneration. (Full article...)

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Vampire Fenrir Ala (demon) Sharabha Ratatoskr Huginn and Muninn Keshi (demon) Nuckelavee Sea Mither Boobrie Stoor worm Mermaid Dragon Siren (mythology) Hippocampus (mythology) Phoenix (mythology) Centaur Unicorn Anzû Cerberus

General images

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

Image 1Fortune Wheel (from List of mythological objects)
Image 2Ancient Sumerian cylinder seal impression showing the god Dumuzid being tortured in the Underworld by galla demons (from Comparative mythology)
Image 3Prometheus (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 4Achilles wearing his armor (from List of mythological objects)
Image 5Symbolic power: a dragon in the Imperial City, Huế, Vietnam (from Legendary creature)
Image 6Jacob blesses Joseph and gives him the coat of many colors (from List of mythological objects)
Image 7"Tizona", the sword attributed to El Cid, on exhibit in the Army Museum of Madrid (from List of mythological objects)
Image 8Erlang Shen (二郎神), or Erlang is a Chinese God with his spear (from List of mythological objects)
Image 9Claíomh Solais on an Ireland stamp printed in 1922 (from List of mythological objects)
Image 10Odysseus Overcome by Demodocus' Song, a mythological painting by Francesco Hayez, 1813–1815 (from Myth)
Image 11A 19th-century drawing of Sun Wukong featuring his staff (from List of mythological objects)
Image 12Fountain of Youth (from List of mythological objects)
Image 13Voodoo doll with pins in it, Museum of Witchcraft (from List of mythological objects)
Image 14Opening 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 15The Crown of Immortality, held by the allegorical figure Eterna (Eternity) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 16King Svafrlame Secures the Sword Tyrfing (from List of mythological objects)
Image 17Vishnu with his Panchajanya (from List of mythological objects)
Image 18The Fall of the Titans (1596–98) by Cornelis Cornelisz van Haarlem (from Comparative mythology)
Image 19Riding a Flying Carpet, an 1880 painting by Viktor Vasnetsov (from List of mythological objects)
Image 20Surya on His Celestial Chariot (from List of mythological objects)
Image 21Holy Robe in Trier (from List of mythological objects)
Image 22Thor kicks Litr onto Baldr's Hringhorni, illustration by Emil Doepler (ca. 1905) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 23The 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 24Lichas bringing the garment of Nessus to Hercules (from List of mythological objects)
Image 25Golem and Loew (from List of mythological objects)
Image 26Shield of Achilles (illustration) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 27The 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 28"The Fall of Man" by Lucas Cranach the Elder and the Tree of Knowledge is on the right (from List of mythological objects)
Image 29Ballads of bravery (1877) part of Arthurian mythology (from Myth)
Image 30Jug from Lydian Treasure Usak (from List of mythological objects)
Image 31Aura, a field of luminous radiation surrounding a person or object (from List of mythological objects)
Image 32An angel (Camael) expelling Adam and Eve with a flaming sword (from List of mythological objects)
Image 33Killing of Ravana Painting by Brahmstra of Arrow of Brahma (from List of mythological objects)
Image 34Yama advances to smite Ravana with the weapon of death (from List of mythological objects)
Image 35Joan of Arc with her famous sword (from List of mythological objects)
Image 36Sampo, 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 37Rectangular tablets passed down by the Hand of God in the 10th century Byzantine Leo Bible (from List of mythological objects)
Image 381929 Belgian banknote, depicting Ceres, Neptune and caduceus (from Myth)
Image 39Hanuman fetches the herb-bearing mountain, in a print from the Ravi Varma Press, 1910's (from List of mythological objects)
Image 40Myths and legends of Babylonia and Assyria (1916) (from Myth)
Image 41Amenonuhoko (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 42The Dispute of Minerva and Neptune (c. 1689 or 1706) by René-Antoine Houasse, depicting the founding myth of Athens (from National myth)
Image 43Heracles 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 44As 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 45Hand of God (from List of mythological objects)
Image 46The famous sword of Excalibur painted by Howard Pyle (from List of mythological objects)
Image 47Hop-o'-My-Thumb stealing the Seven-league boots from the Ogre, by Gustave Doré (from List of mythological objects)
Image 48Snake and world egg of the inhabitants of Tyre (from List of mythological objects)
Image 49Fig trees often represent talismans with the udumbara (from List of mythological objects)
Image 50Giza pyramids (from List of mythological objects)
Image 51Tissot Moses and Joshua in the Tabernacle (from List of mythological objects)
Image 52Golden cosmic egg Hiranyagarbha by Manaku (from List of mythological objects)
Image 53The 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 54Ancient 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 55Houyi, the God of Archery (from List of mythological objects)
Image 56Yama with his famous Yama Pasha (from List of mythological objects)
Image 5714th century Goryeo painting of Ksitigarbha holding a cintamani (from List of mythological objects)
Image 58Lord 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 59The 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 60The Honest Woodcutter, also known as Mercury and the Woodman and his famous Golden Axe (from List of mythological objects)
Image 61The Flying Dutchman (from List of mythological objects)
Image 62The Celestial Chariot, Pushpaka Vimana from Ramayana (from List of mythological objects)
Image 63Perillos being forced into the brazen bull that he built for Phalaris (from List of mythological objects)
Image 64seven angels with seven trumpets (from List of mythological objects)
Image 65Artist's impressions of the (unseen) Imperial Regalia of Japan (from List of mythological objects)
Image 66Longinus with his famous Spear (from List of mythological objects)
Image 67Thor wearing the magic belt Megingjörð (from List of mythological objects)
Image 68Edith Hamilton's Mythology has been a major channel for English speakers to learn classical Greek and Roman mythology (from Myth)
Image 69Veronica holding her veil, Hans Memling, c. 1470 (from List of mythological objects)
Image 70Goetia seal of solomon (from List of mythological objects)
Image 71Pied piper (from List of mythological objects)
Image 72Adam's Bridge also called as Rama Setu (from List of mythological objects)
Image 73Vishnu holding his legendary sword Nandaka (from List of mythological objects)
Image 74Early Hebrew Conception of the Universe (from List of mythological objects)
Image 75Several mythical creatures from Bilderbuch für Kinder (lit. 'picture book for children') between 1790 and 1822, by Friedrich Justin Bertuch (from Legendary creature)
Image 76Jason returns with Golden fleece (from List of mythological objects)
Image 77Azoth, a universal medicine or universal solvent sought in alchemy. (Medieval legend) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 78Tor's Fight with the Giants (1872) by Mårten Eskil Winge. Thor is the god of thunder in Norse mythology. (from Myth)
Image 79Dietrich von Bern and Hildebrand fight against dragons (from List of mythological objects)
Image 80Image 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 81The Ash Yggdrasil by Friedrich Wilhelm Heine (from List of mythological objects)
Image 82Shiva with his Trishula (from List of mythological objects)
Image 83Greek God Kronos/Saturnus with sickle (from List of mythological objects)
Image 84Väinämöinen, 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 85The Argo (c. 1500 – 1530), painting by Lorenzo Costa (from List of mythological objects)
Image 86The Shrine of the Three Kings in Cologne Cathedral (from List of mythological objects)
Image 87The fall of Icarus (from List of mythological objects)
Image 88This 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 89Ahimelech giving the sword of Goliath to David, by Aert de Gelder. (from List of mythological objects)