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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Bhikshatana, Annamalaiyar Temple, Thiruvannamalai

Bhikshatana (Sanskrit: भिक्षाटन; Bhikṣāṭana; literally, "wandering about for alms, mendicancy") or Bhikshatana-murti (Bhikṣāṭanamūrti) is an aspect of the Hindu god Shiva as the "Supreme mendicant" or the "Supreme Beggar". Bhikshtana is depicted as a nude four-armed man adorned with ornaments who holds a begging bowl in his hand and is followed by demonic attendants and love-sick women.

Bhikshatana is considered a gentler form of Shiva's fierce aspect Bhairava and a gentle phase between Bhairava's two gruesome forms, one of which decapitates one head of the four headed god Brahma and the other of which kills the god Vishnu's gatekeeper. Bhikshatana is the form of Bhairava that Shiva assumes to atone for his sin of severing Brahma's fifth head. He wanders the universe in the form of a naked Kapali mendicant, begging for alms with Brahma's kapala (skullcup) as his begging bowl, until his sin is expiated upon reaching the holy city of Varanasi. (Full article...)

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...that the tiyanak is an infant-like creature from Philippine mythology that is said to attack tourists with its fangs and claws?

... 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 Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli (pictured) was the god of the planet Venus in Aztec belief?

...that the Deluge or "flood myth" is a widespread theme in religion and mythology, with examples such as the story of Noah in the Torah or Gilgamesh flood myth?

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Illustration of a winged, fire-breathing dragon by Friedrich Justin Bertuch from 1806

A dragon is a magical legendary creature that appears in the folklore of multiple cultures worldwide. Beliefs about dragons vary considerably through regions, but dragons in Western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as winged, horned, and capable of breathing fire. Dragons in eastern cultures are usually depicted as wingless, four-legged, serpentine creatures with above-average intelligence. Commonalities between dragons' traits are often a hybridization of feline, reptilian, mammalian, and avian features. Some scholars believe large extinct or migrating crocodiles bear the closest resemblance, especially when encountered in forested or swampy areas, and are most likely the template of modern Asian dragon imagery. (Full article...)

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Vampire Fenrir Ala (demon) Sharabha Ratatoskr Huginn and Muninn Keshi (demon) Nuckelavee Sea Mither Boobrie Stoor worm Mermaid 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 1Pied piper (from List of mythological objects)
Image 2Yama with his famous Yama Pasha (from List of mythological objects)
Image 3Riding a Flying Carpet, an 1880 painting by Viktor Vasnetsov (from List of mythological objects)
Image 4Shield of Achilles (illustration) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 5Heracles 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 6Golden cosmic egg Hiranyagarbha by Manaku (from List of mythological objects)
Image 7The 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 8Adam's Bridge also called as Rama Setu (from List of mythological objects)
Image 9Veronica holding her veil, Hans Memling, c. 1470 (from List of mythological objects)
Image 10Greek God Kronos/Saturnus with sickle (from List of mythological objects)
Image 11Surya on His Celestial Chariot (from List of mythological objects)
Image 12Jacob blesses Joseph and gives him the coat of many colors (from List of mythological objects)
Image 13Tissot Moses and Joshua in the Tabernacle (from List of mythological objects)
Image 14Erlang Shen (二郎神), or Erlang is a Chinese God with his spear (from List of mythological objects)
Image 15The fall of Icarus (from List of mythological objects)
Image 16The Argo (c. 1500 – 1530), painting by Lorenzo Costa (from List of mythological objects)
Image 17Rectangular tablets passed down by the Hand of God in the 10th century Byzantine Leo Bible (from List of mythological objects)
Image 18Jug from Lydian Treasure Usak (from List of mythological objects)
Image 19Goetia seal of solomon (from List of mythological objects)
Image 20Artist's impressions of the (unseen) Imperial Regalia of Japan (from List of mythological objects)
Image 21Ancient 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 22Sampo, 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 23Ahimelech giving the sword of Goliath to David, by Aert de Gelder. (from List of mythological objects)
Image 24Shiva with his Trishula (from List of mythological objects)
Image 25Holy Robe in Trier (from List of mythological objects)
Image 26The 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 27Hop-o'-My-Thumb stealing the Seven-league boots from the Ogre, by Gustave Doré (from List of mythological objects)
Image 2814th century Goryeo painting of Ksitigarbha holding a cintamani (from List of mythological objects)
Image 29Thor kicks Litr onto Baldr's Hringhorni, illustration by Emil Doepler (ca. 1905) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 30Lichas bringing the garment of Nessus to Hercules (from List of mythological objects)
Image 31Killing of Ravana Painting by Brahmstra of Arrow of Brahma (from List of mythological objects)
Image 32The Shrine of the Three Kings in Cologne Cathedral (from List of mythological objects)
Image 33An angel (Camael) expelling Adam and Eve with a flaming sword (from List of mythological objects)
Image 34A 19th-century drawing of Sun Wukong featuring his staff (from List of mythological objects)
Image 35The Fall of the Titans (1596–98) by Cornelis Cornelisz van Haarlem (from Comparative mythology)
Image 36The Ash Yggdrasil by Friedrich Wilhelm Heine (from List of mythological objects)
Image 37Edith Hamilton's Mythology has been a major channel for English speakers to learn classical Greek and Roman mythology (from Myth)
Image 38Amenonuhoko (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 39This 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 40Ballads of bravery (1877) part of Arthurian mythology (from Myth)
Image 41Vishnu with his Panchajanya (from List of mythological objects)
Image 42The Honest Woodcutter, also known as Mercury and the Woodman and his famous Golden Axe (from List of mythological objects)
Image 43The Flying Dutchman (from List of mythological objects)
Image 44Thor wearing the magic belt Megingjörð (from List of mythological objects)
Image 45Fountain of Youth (from List of mythological objects)
Image 46seven angels with seven trumpets (from List of mythological objects)
Image 471929 Belgian banknote, depicting Ceres, Neptune and caduceus (from Myth)
Image 48Early Hebrew Conception of the Universe (from List of mythological objects)
Image 49Ancient Sumerian cylinder seal impression showing the god Dumuzid being tortured in the Underworld by galla demons (from Comparative mythology)
Image 50Golem and Loew (from List of mythological objects)
Image 51Lord 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 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 53The 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 54Hanuman fetches the herb-bearing mountain, in a print from the Ravi Varma Press, 1910's (from List of mythological objects)
Image 55Claíomh Solais on an Ireland stamp printed in 1922 (from List of mythological objects)
Image 56Longinus with his famous Spear (from List of mythological objects)
Image 57"The Fall of Man" by Lucas Cranach the Elder and the Tree of Knowledge is on the right (from List of mythological objects)
Image 58Hand of God (from List of mythological objects)
Image 59Joan of Arc with her famous sword (from List of mythological objects)
Image 60Myths and legends of Babylonia and Assyria (1916) (from Myth)
Image 61Image 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 62Giza pyramids (from List of mythological objects)
Image 63 Odysseus Overcome by Demodocus' Song, by Francesco Hayez, 1813–1815 (from Myth)
Image 64Symbolic power: a dragon in the Imperial City, Huế, Vietnam (from Legendary creature)
Image 65Dietrich von Bern and Hildebrand fight against dragons (from List of mythological objects)
Image 66Achilles wearing his armor (from List of mythological objects)
Image 67As 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 68Fortune Wheel (from List of mythological objects)
Image 69Voodoo doll with pins in it, Museum of Witchcraft (from List of mythological objects)
Image 70The 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 71Aura, a field of luminous radiation surrounding a person or object (from List of mythological objects)
Image 72Prometheus (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 73"Tizona", the sword attributed to El Cid, on exhibit in the Army Museum of Madrid (from List of mythological objects)
Image 74King Svafrlame Secures the Sword Tyrfing (from List of mythological objects)
Image 75The Dispute of Minerva and Neptune (c. 1689 or 1706) by René-Antoine Houasse, depicting the founding myth of Athens (from National myth)
Image 76The famous sword of Excalibur painted by Howard Pyle (from List of mythological objects)
Image 77The Crown of Immortality, held by the allegorical figure Eterna (Eternity) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 78Perillos being forced into the brazen bull that he built for Phalaris (from List of mythological objects)
Image 79Jason returns with Golden fleece (from List of mythological objects)
Image 80Snake and world egg of the inhabitants of Tyre (from List of mythological objects)
Image 81Azoth, a universal medicine or universal solvent sought in alchemy. (Medieval legend) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 82Houyi, the God of Archery (from List of mythological objects)
Image 83The Celestial Chariot, Pushpaka Vimana from Ramayana (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 85Fig trees often represent talismans with the udumbara (from List of mythological objects)
Image 86Several mythical creatures from Bilderbuch für Kinder (lit. 'picture book for children') between 1790 and 1822, by Friedrich Justin Bertuch (from Legendary creature)
Image 87Vishnu holding his legendary sword Nandaka (from List of mythological objects)