Portal:Myths

Portal topics: Activities; Culture; Geography; Health; History; Mathematics; Nature; People; Philosophy; Religion; Society; Technology; Random portal

The Myths Portal

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...)

Refresh with new selections below (purge)

Selected article - show another

Ahalya by Raja Ravi Varma (1848–1906)

In Hinduism, Ahalya (Sanskrit: अहल्या, IAST: Ahalyā) also spelt as Ahilya, is the wife of the sage Gautama Maharishi. Many Hindu scriptures describe her legend of seduction by the king of the gods Indra, her husband's curse for her infidelity, and her liberation from the curse by the god Rama.

Created by the god Brahma as the most beautiful woman, Ahalya was married to the much older Gautama. In the earliest full narrative, when Indra comes disguised as her husband, Ahalya sees through his disguise but nevertheless accepts his advances. Later sources often absolve her of all guilt, describing how she falls prey to Indra's trickery. In all narratives, Ahalya and Indra are cursed by Gautama. The curse varies from text to text, but almost all versions describe Rama as the eventual agent of her liberation and redemption. Although early texts describe how Ahalya must atone by undergoing severe penance while remaining invisible to the world and how she is purified by offering Rama hospitality, in the popular retelling developed over time, Ahalya is cursed to become a stone and regains her human form after she is brushed by Rama's foot. (Full article...)

List of selected articles

Did you know? - show different entries

... that on every Wednesday and Saturday, the demons of Sri Lanka assemble to give an account of their activities to their king?

... that in Chinese mythology, Wu Gang had to chop down a tree on the moon that always healed itself, forcing him to keep trying forever?

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

... that in classical mythology, Cerberus (pictured) is a monstrous dog with multiple heads that guards the gates to the underworld?

More did you know facts

Recognised content

Featured Articles: Ahalya, Ancient Egyptian literature, King Arthur, Ganesha, Iravan, Orion (mythology), Vampire, Vithoba

Featured Lists: List of valkyrie names in Norse mythology

Good Articles: 2012 phenomenon, Æsir–Vanir War, Ala (demon), Anu, Aphrodite, Athena, Ardhanarishvara, Battle of Barry, Bhikshatana, Catalogue of Women, Chamunda, Chhinnamasta, Consorts of Ganesha, Cú Chulainn, Dhumavati, Dumuzid, Einherjar, Eir, Enlil, Fairy Flag, Fenrir, Gerðr, Hel (being), Huginn and Muninn, Iðunn, Ila (Hinduism), Inanna, Kabandha, Kali, Kamadhenu, Kangiten, Keshi (demon), Khandoba, Kratos (mythology) Krishna, Kubera, LGBT themes in Hindu mythology, Manasa, Mandodari, Matangi, Matrikas, Maya Sita, Mohini, Myrrha, Mythology of Carnivàle, Naraka (Hinduism), Ninurta, Prester John, Prithu, Putana, Rati, Ratatoskr, Revanta, Satyavati, Satyr, Sharabha, Shashthi, Shiva, Sif, Tara (Ramayana), Troilus, Tuisto, Valhalla, Valkyrie, Vampire folklore by region, Varaha, Varahi, Veðrfölnir and eagle Zduhać

...Recognised content on Wikipedia

Wikiversity

Mythology portal on Wikiversity

Selected creature - show another

To farmers of eastern Europe, the ala was a demon who led hail and thunderstorms over their fields, ruining their crops.

An ala or hala (plural: ale or hali) is a female mythological creature recorded in the folklore of Bulgarians, Macedonians, and Serbs. Ale are considered demons of bad weather whose main purpose is to lead hail-producing thunderclouds in the direction of fields, vineyards, or orchards to destroy the crops, or loot and take them away. Extremely voracious, ale particularly like to eat children, though their gluttony is not limited to Earth. It is believed they sometimes try devouring the Sun or the Moon, causing eclipses, and that it would mean the end of the world should they succeed. When people encounter an ala, their mental or physical health, or even life, are in peril; however, her favor can be gained by approaching her with respect and trust. Being in a good relationship with an ala is very beneficial, because she makes her favorites rich and saves their lives in times of trouble.

The appearance of an ala is diversely and often vaguely described in folklore. A given ala may look like a black wind, a gigantic creature of indistinct form, a huge-mouthed, humanlike, or snakelike monster, a female dragon, or a raven. An ala may also assume various human or animal shapes, and can even possess a person's body. It is believed that the diversity of appearances described is due to the ala's being a synthesis of a Slavic demon of bad weather and a similar demon of the central Balkans pre-Slavic population. In folk tales with a humanlike ala, her personality is similar to that of the Russian Baba Yaga. Ale are said to live in the clouds, or in a lake, spring, hidden remote place, forest, inhospitable mountain, cave, or gigantic tree. While ale are usually hostile towards humans, they do have other powerful enemies that can defeat them, like dragons. In Christianized tales, St. Elijah takes the dragons' role, but in some cases the saint and the dragons fight ale together. Eagles are also regarded as defenders against ale, chasing them away from fields and thus preventing them from bringing hail clouds overhead. (Full article...)

List of selected creatures
Vampire Fenrir Sharabha 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 1Goetia seal of solomon (from List of mythological objects)
Image 214th century Goryeo painting of Ksitigarbha holding a cintamani (from List of mythological objects)
Image 3Sampo, 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 4The fall of Icarus (from List of mythological objects)
Image 5Longinus with his famous Spear (from List of mythological objects)
Image 6The Dispute of Minerva and Neptune (c. 1689 or 1706) by René-Antoine Houasse, depicting the founding myth of Athens (from National myth)
Image 7Yama with his famous Yama Pasha (from List of mythological objects)
Image 8Hand of God (from List of mythological objects)
Image 9The Shrine of the Three Kings in Cologne Cathedral (from List of mythological objects)
Image 10"Tizona", the sword attributed to El Cid, on exhibit in the Army Museum of Madrid (from List of mythological objects)
Image 11The famous sword of Excalibur painted by Howard Pyle (from List of mythological objects)
Image 12Holy Robe in Trier (from List of mythological objects)
Image 13Thor kicks Litr onto Baldr's Hringhorni, illustration by Emil Doepler (ca. 1905) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 14Ancient Sumerian cylinder seal impression showing the god Dumuzid being tortured in the Underworld by galla demons (from Comparative mythology)
Image 15The 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 16Golden cosmic egg Hiranyagarbha by Manaku (from List of mythological objects)
Image 17King Svafrlame Secures the Sword Tyrfing (from List of mythological objects)
Image 18The Honest Woodcutter, also known as Mercury and the Woodman and his famous Golden Axe (from List of mythological objects)
Image 19Hanuman fetches the herb-bearing mountain, in a print from the Ravi Varma Press, 1910's (from List of mythological objects)
Image 20The 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 21The sheyd אַשְמְדּאָי (Ašmodai) in bird-like form, with typical rooster feet, as depicted in Compendium rarissimum totius Artis Magicae 1775 (from Comparative mythology)
Image 22The Crown of Immortality, held by the allegorical figure Eterna (Eternity) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 23Image 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 24Achilles wearing his armor (from List of mythological objects)
Image 25Jug from Lydian Treasure Usak (from List of mythological objects)
Image 26Veronica holding her veil, Hans Memling, c. 1470 (from List of mythological objects)
Image 27Houyi, the God of Archery (from List of mythological objects)
Image 28Shield of Achilles (illustration) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 29Fountain of Youth (from List of mythological objects)
Image 301929 Belgian banknote, depicting Ceres, Neptune and caduceus (from Myth)
Image 31Early Hebrew Conception of the Universe (from List of mythological objects)
Image 32Shiva with his Trishula (from List of mythological objects)
Image 33Dietrich von Bern and Hildebrand fight against dragons (from List of mythological objects)
Image 34Riding a Flying Carpet, an 1880 painting by Viktor Vasnetsov (from List of mythological objects)
Image 35Symbolic power: a dragon in the Imperial City, Huế, Vietnam (from Legendary creature)
Image 36Väinämöinen, 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 37Jason returns with Golden fleece (from List of mythological objects)
Image 38Prometheus (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 39The Ash Yggdrasil by Friedrich Wilhelm Heine (from List of mythological objects)
Image 40Thor wearing the magic belt Megingjörð (from List of mythological objects)
Image 41Voodoo doll with pins in it, Museum of Witchcraft (from List of mythological objects)
Image 42Opening 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 43As 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 44Aura, a field of luminous radiation surrounding a person or object (from List of mythological objects)
Image 45Edith Hamilton's Mythology has been a major channel for English speakers to learn classical Greek and Roman mythology (from Myth)
Image 46Claíomh Solais on an Ireland stamp printed in 1922 (from List of mythological objects)
Image 47The Celestial Chariot, Pushpaka Vimana from Ramayana (from List of mythological objects)
Image 48Ahimelech giving the sword of Goliath to David, by Aert de Gelder. (from List of mythological objects)
Image 49Golem and Loew (from List of mythological objects)
Image 50Vishnu holding his legendary sword Nandaka (from List of mythological objects)
Image 51Rectangular tablets passed down by the Hand of God in the 10th century Byzantine Leo Bible (from List of mythological objects)
Image 52Hop-o'-My-Thumb stealing the Seven-league boots from the Ogre, by Gustave Doré (from List of mythological objects)
Image 53Lord 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 54Myths and legends of Babylonia and Assyria (1916) (from Myth)
Image 55Vishnu with his Panchajanya (from List of mythological objects)
Image 56The Argo (c. 1500 – 1530), painting by Lorenzo Costa (from List of mythological objects)
Image 57Several mythical creatures from Bilderbuch für Kinder (lit. 'picture book for children') between 1790 and 1822, by Friedrich Justin Bertuch (from Legendary creature)
Image 58The 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 59Amenonuhoko (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 60This 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 61Heracles 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 62Jacob blesses Joseph and gives him the coat of many colors (from List of mythological objects)
Image 63Artist's impressions of the (unseen) Imperial Regalia of Japan (from List of mythological objects)
Image 64The 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 65Tissot Moses and Joshua in the Tabernacle (from List of mythological objects)
Image 66seven angels with seven trumpets (from List of mythological objects)
Image 67Fortune Wheel (from List of mythological objects)
Image 68Perillos being forced into the brazen bull that he built for Phalaris (from List of mythological objects)
Image 69Lichas bringing the garment of Nessus to Hercules (from List of mythological objects)
Image 70An angel (Camael) expelling Adam and Eve with a flaming sword (from List of mythological objects)
Image 71Pied piper (from List of mythological objects)
Image 72Snake and world egg of the inhabitants of Tyre (from List of mythological objects)
Image 73Ballads of bravery (1877) part of Arthurian mythology (from Myth)
Image 74The Flying Dutchman (from List of mythological objects)
Image 75A 19th-century drawing of Sun Wukong featuring his staff (from List of mythological objects)
Image 76Ancient 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 77Joan of Arc with her famous sword (from List of mythological objects)
Image 78Fig trees often represent talismans with the udumbara (from List of mythological objects)
Image 79Azoth, a universal medicine or universal solvent sought in alchemy. (Medieval legend) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 80Adam's Bridge also called as Rama Setu (from List of mythological objects)
Image 81Giza pyramids (from List of mythological objects)
Image 82Surya on His Celestial Chariot (from List of mythological objects)
Image 83 Odysseus Overcome by Demodocus' Song, by Francesco Hayez, 1813–1815 (from Myth)
Image 84Erlang Shen (二郎神), or Erlang is a Chinese God with his spear (from List of mythological objects)
Image 85Killing of Ravana Painting by Brahmstra of Arrow of Brahma (from List of mythological objects)
Image 86"The Fall of Man" by Lucas Cranach the Elder and the Tree of Knowledge is on the right (from List of mythological objects)
Image 87The Fall of the Titans (1596–98) by Cornelis Cornelisz van Haarlem (from Comparative mythology)
Image 88Greek God Kronos/Saturnus with sickle (from List of mythological objects)