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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The Eye of Ra or Eye of Re, usually depicted as sun disk or right wedjat-eye (paired with the Eye of Horus, left wedjat-eye), is an entity in ancient Egyptian mythology that functions as an extension of the sun god Ra's power, equated with the disk of the sun, but it often behaves as an independent goddess, a feminine counterpart to Ra and a violent force that subdues his enemies. This goddess, also known with the theonym Wedjat, can be equated with several particular deities, including Hathor, Sekhmet, Bastet, Raet-Tawy, and Mut. The eye goddess acts as mother, sibling, consort, and daughter of the sun god. She is his partner in the creative cycle in which he begets the renewed form of himself that is born at dawn. The eye's violent aspect defends Ra against the agents of disorder that threaten his rule. This dangerous aspect of the eye goddess is often represented by a lioness or by the uraeus, or cobra, a symbol of protection and royal authority. The disastrous fury and rampages of the eye goddess and the efforts of the gods to appease her are a prominent motif in Egyptian mythology.

The Eye of Ra was involved in many areas of ancient Egyptian religion, including in the cults of the many goddesses who are equated with it. Its life-giving power was celebrated in temple rituals, and its dangerous aspect was invoked in the protection of the pharaoh, of sacred places, and of ordinary people and their homes. (Full article...)

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...that according to Hindu mythology, the deity Revanta (pictured) was born from the union of the sun-god Surya and his wife Saranya in the form of horse and mare?

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

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

...that Apaliunas, a Luwian deity of Wilusa (Troy) attested among gods in a treaty inscription, ca. 1280 BCE, is a likely precursor of Apollo of Greek mythology?

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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 Shaiva 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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General images

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

Image 1Perillos being forced into the brazen bull that he built for Phalaris (from List of mythological objects)
Image 2Greek God Kronos/Saturnus with sickle (from List of mythological objects)
Image 3Several mythical creatures from Bilderbuch für Kinder (lit. 'picture book for children') between 1790 and 1822, by Friedrich Justin Bertuch (from Legendary creature)
Image 41929 Belgian banknote, depicting Ceres, Neptune and caduceus (from Myth)
Image 5Killing of Ravana Painting by Brahmstra of Arrow of Brahma (from List of mythological objects)
Image 6The Ash Yggdrasil by Friedrich Wilhelm Heine (from List of mythological objects)
Image 7Erlang Shen (二郎神), or Erlang is a Chinese God with his spear (from List of mythological objects)
Image 8Adam's Bridge also called as Rama Setu (from List of mythological objects)
Image 9Azoth, a universal medicine or universal solvent sought in alchemy. (Medieval legend) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 10Ahimelech giving the sword of Goliath to David, by Aert de Gelder. (from List of mythological objects)
Image 11Thor kicks Litr onto Baldr's Hringhorni, illustration by Emil Doepler (ca. 1905) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 12Jacob blesses Joseph and gives him the coat of many colors (from List of mythological objects)
Image 13Longinus with his famous Spear (from List of mythological objects)
Image 14Pied piper (from List of mythological objects)
Image 15Edith Hamilton's Mythology has been a major channel for English speakers to learn classical Greek and Roman mythology (from Myth)
Image 16Giza pyramids (from List of mythological objects)
Image 17Jug from Lydian Treasure Usak (from List of mythological objects)
Image 18Voodoo doll with pins in it, Museum of Witchcraft (from List of mythological objects)
Image 19This 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 20The 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 21Rectangular tablets passed down by the Hand of God in the 10th century Byzantine Leo Bible (from List of mythological objects)
Image 22Vishnu holding his legendary sword Nandaka (from List of mythological objects)
Image 23Fig trees often represent talismans with the udumbara (from List of mythological objects)
Image 24The fall of Icarus (from List of mythological objects)
Image 25Image 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 26Shield of Achilles (illustration) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 27Vishnu with his Panchajanya (from List of mythological objects)
Image 28The Flying Dutchman (from List of mythological objects)
Image 29Yama with his famous Yama Pasha (from List of mythological objects)
Image 30The Argo (c. 1500 – 1530), painting by Lorenzo Costa (from List of mythological objects)
Image 31Hanuman fetches the herb-bearing mountain, in a print from the Ravi Varma Press, 1910's (from List of mythological objects)
Image 32Hop-o'-My-Thumb stealing the Seven-league boots from the Ogre, by Gustave Doré (from List of mythological objects)
Image 33Jason returns with Golden fleece (from List of mythological objects)
Image 34Lord 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 35The 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 36Amenonuhoko (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 3714th century Goryeo painting of Ksitigarbha holding a cintamani (from List of mythological objects)
Image 38Aura, a field of luminous radiation surrounding a person or object (from List of mythological objects)
Image 39King Svafrlame Secures the Sword Tyrfing (from List of mythological objects)
Image 40Ancient Sumerian cylinder seal impression showing the god Dumuzid being tortured in the Underworld by galla demons (from Comparative mythology)
Image 41Goetia seal of solomon (from List of mythological objects)
Image 42The Fall of the Titans (1596–98) by Cornelis Cornelisz van Haarlem (from Comparative mythology)
Image 43Artist's impressions of the (unseen) Imperial Regalia of Japan (from List of mythological objects)
Image 44Symbolic power: a dragon in the Imperial City, Huế, Vietnam (from Legendary creature)
Image 45Ballads of bravery (1877) part of Arthurian mythology (from Myth)
Image 46A 19th-century drawing of Sun Wukong featuring his staff (from List of mythological objects)
Image 47Ancient 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 48"The Fall of Man" by Lucas Cranach the Elder and the Tree of Knowledge is on the right (from List of mythological objects)
Image 49Hand of God (from List of mythological objects)
Image 50An angel (Camael) expelling Adam and Eve with a flaming sword (from List of mythological objects)
Image 51Thor wearing the magic belt Megingjörð (from List of mythological objects)
Image 52Opening 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 53Surya on His Celestial Chariot (from List of mythological objects)
Image 54The Crown of Immortality, held by the allegorical figure Eterna (Eternity) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 55Prometheus (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 56Dietrich von Bern and Hildebrand fight against dragons (from List of mythological objects)
Image 57Golden cosmic egg Hiranyagarbha by Manaku (from List of mythological objects)
Image 58Snake and world egg of the inhabitants of Tyre (from List of mythological objects)
Image 59Väinämöinen, 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 60seven angels with seven trumpets (from List of mythological objects)
Image 61"Tizona", the sword attributed to El Cid, on exhibit in the Army Museum of Madrid (from List of mythological objects)
Image 62Shiva with his Trishula (from List of mythological objects)
Image 63The Dispute of Minerva and Neptune (c. 1689 or 1706) by René-Antoine Houasse, depicting the founding myth of Athens (from National myth)
Image 64The Celestial Chariot, Pushpaka Vimana from Ramayana (from List of mythological objects)
Image 65Golem and Loew (from List of mythological objects)
Image 66Tissot Moses and Joshua in the Tabernacle (from List of mythological objects)
Image 67Early Hebrew Conception of the Universe (from List of mythological objects)
Image 68Achilles wearing his armor (from List of mythological objects)
Image 69Claíomh Solais on an Ireland stamp printed in 1922 (from List of mythological objects)
Image 70As 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 71Joan of Arc with her famous sword (from List of mythological objects)
Image 72The 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 73The Honest Woodcutter, also known as Mercury and the Woodman and his famous Golden Axe (from List of mythological objects)
Image 74Sampo, 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 75Fortune Wheel (from List of mythological objects)
Image 76 Odysseus Overcome by Demodocus' Song, by Francesco Hayez, 1813–1815 (from Myth)
Image 77Houyi, the God of Archery (from List of mythological objects)
Image 78Riding a Flying Carpet, an 1880 painting by Viktor Vasnetsov (from List of mythological objects)
Image 79The Shrine of the Three Kings in Cologne Cathedral (from List of mythological objects)
Image 80The famous sword of Excalibur painted by Howard Pyle (from List of mythological objects)
Image 81Veronica holding her veil, Hans Memling, c. 1470 (from List of mythological objects)
Image 82The 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 83Myths and legends of Babylonia and Assyria (1916) (from Myth)
Image 84Holy Robe in Trier (from List of mythological objects)
Image 85Lichas bringing the garment of Nessus to Hercules (from List of mythological objects)
Image 86Fountain of Youth (from List of mythological objects)
Image 87Heracles 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)