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The Myths Portal

Myth is a genre of folklore or theology consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. For folklorists, historians, philosophers or theologians this is very different from the use of "myth" simply indicating that something is not true. Instead, the truth value 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 true accounts of their remote past. In particular, creation myths take place in a primordial age when the world had not achieved its later form. Other myths explain how a society's customs, institutions, and taboos were established and sanctified. There is a complex relationship between recital of myths and the enactment of rituals. (Full article...)

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According to Tacitus's Germania (AD 98), Tuisto (or Tuisco) is the legendary divine ancestor of the Germanic peoples. The figure remains the subject of some scholarly discussion, largely focused upon etymological connections and comparisons to figures in later (particularly Norse) Germanic mythology. (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 Ewale a Mbedi may have been the first Duala leader to trade with Europeans in Cameroon?

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

...that the Ancient Greeks credited Broteas, the ugly son of Tantalus, with an ancient rock-cut cliff-face carving of the Great Mother of the Gods in modern Turkey?

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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 1Voodoo doll with pins in it, Museum of Witchcraft (from List of mythological objects)
Image 2Houyi, the God of Archery (from List of mythological objects)
Image 3Veronica holding her veil, Hans Memling, c. 1470 (from List of mythological objects)
Image 4Golden cosmic egg Hiranyagarbha by Manaku (from List of mythological objects)
Image 5Holy Robe in Trier (from List of mythological objects)
Image 6The Celestial Chariot, Pushpaka Vimana from Ramayana (from List of mythological objects)
Image 7Aura, a field of luminous radiation surrounding a person or object (from List of mythological objects)
Image 8Shield of Achilles (illustration) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 9seven angels with seven trumpets (from List of mythological objects)
Image 10Perillos being forced into the brazen bull that he built for Phalaris (from List of mythological objects)
Image 11Killing of Ravana Painting by Brahmstra of Arrow of Brahma (from List of mythological objects)
Image 12The famous sword of Excalibur painted by Howard Pyle (from List of mythological objects)
Image 13The Flying Dutchman (from List of mythological objects)
Image 14An angel (Camael) expelling Adam and Eve with a flaming sword (from List of mythological objects)
Image 15Early Hebrew Conception of the Universe (from List of mythological objects)
Image 16The 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 17Vishnu holding his legendary sword Nandaka (from List of mythological objects)
Image 18Thor wearing the magic belt Megingjörð (from List of mythological objects)
Image 19Thor kicks Litr onto Baldr's Hringhorni, illustration by Emil Doepler (ca. 1905) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 20Azoth, a universal medicine or universal solvent sought in alchemy. (Medieval legend) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 21Lord 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 22Hand of God (from List of mythological objects)
Image 23As 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 24The Dispute of Minerva and Neptune (c. 1689 or 1706) by René-Antoine Houasse, depicting the founding myth of Athens (from National myth)
Image 25Hop-o'-My-Thumb stealing the Seven-league boots from the Ogre, by Gustave Doré (from List of mythological objects)
Image 26Dietrich von Bern and Hildebrand fight against dragons (from List of mythological objects)
Image 27Greek God Kronos/Saturnus with sickle (from List of mythological objects)
Image 281929 Belgian banknote, depicting Ceres, Neptune and caduceus (from Myth)
Image 29Riding a Flying Carpet, an 1880 painting by Viktor Vasnetsov (from List of mythological objects)
Image 30Image 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 31Myths and legends of Babylonia and Assyria (1916) (from Myth)
Image 32The 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 33A 19th-century drawing of Sun Wukong featuring his staff (from List of mythological objects)
Image 34Opening 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 35The Shrine of the Three Kings in Cologne Cathedral (from List of mythological objects)
Image 36Golem and Loew (from List of mythological objects)
Image 37Heracles 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 38Achilles wearing his armor (from List of mythological objects)
Image 39Yama with his famous Yama Pasha (from List of mythological objects)
Image 40Adam's Bridge also called as Rama Setu (from List of mythological objects)
Image 41Claíomh Solais on an Ireland stamp printed in 1922 (from List of mythological objects)
Image 42Amenonuhoko (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 43Lichas bringing the garment of Nessus to Hercules (from List of mythological objects)
Image 44"The Fall of Man" by Lucas Cranach the Elder and the Tree of Knowledge is on the right (from List of mythological objects)
Image 45Ancient Sumerian cylinder seal impression showing the god Dumuzid being tortured in the Underworld by galla demons (from Comparative mythology)
Image 46Prometheus (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 47King Svafrlame Secures the Sword Tyrfing (from List of mythological objects)
Image 48Sampo, 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 49Surya on His Celestial Chariot (from List of mythological objects)
Image 50The 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 51Rectangular tablets passed down by the Hand of God in the 10th century Byzantine Leo Bible (from List of mythological objects)
Image 52Fountain of Youth (from List of mythological objects)
Image 53Jacob blesses Joseph and gives him the coat of many colors (from List of mythological objects)
Image 54Jug from Lydian Treasure Usak (from List of mythological objects)
Image 55Symbolic power: a dragon in the Imperial City, Huế, Vietnam (from Legendary creature)
Image 56Longinus with his famous Spear (from List of mythological objects)
Image 57Goetia seal of solomon (from List of mythological objects)
Image 58Ballads of bravery (1877) part of Arthurian mythology (from Myth)
Image 59Hanuman fetches the herb-bearing mountain, in a print from the Ravi Varma Press, 1910's (from List of mythological objects)
Image 6014th century Goryeo painting of Ksitigarbha holding a cintamani (from List of mythological objects)
Image 61The Fall of the Titans (1596–98) by Cornelis Cornelisz van Haarlem (from Comparative mythology)
Image 62Ancient 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 63The Argo (c. 1500 – 1530), painting by Lorenzo Costa (from List of mythological objects)
Image 64The Crown of Immortality, held by the allegorical figure Eterna (Eternity) (from List of mythological objects)
Image 65Ahimelech giving the sword of Goliath to David, by Aert de Gelder. (from List of mythological objects)
Image 66Fortune Wheel (from List of mythological objects)
Image 67Pied piper (from List of mythological objects)
Image 68The fall of Icarus (from List of mythological objects)
Image 69"Tizona", the sword attributed to El Cid, on exhibit in the Army Museum of Madrid (from List of mythological objects)
Image 70Giza pyramids (from List of mythological objects)
Image 71Shiva with his Trishula (from List of mythological objects)
Image 72Väinämöinen, 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 73The Ash Yggdrasil by Friedrich Wilhelm Heine (from List of mythological objects)
Image 74Vishnu with his Panchajanya (from List of mythological objects)
Image 75Jason returns with Golden fleece (from List of mythological objects)
Image 76The Honest Woodcutter, also known as Mercury and the Woodman and his famous Golden Axe (from List of mythological objects)
Image 77Several mythical creatures from Bilderbuch für Kinder (lit. 'picture book for children') between 1790 and 1822, by Friedrich Justin Bertuch (from Legendary creature)
Image 78Artist's impressions of the (unseen) Imperial Regalia of Japan (from List of mythological objects)
Image 79Tissot Moses and Joshua in the Tabernacle (from List of mythological objects)
Image 80Erlang Shen (二郎神), or Erlang is a Chinese God with his spear (from List of mythological objects)
Image 81Fig trees often represent talismans with the udumbara (from List of mythological objects)
Image 82The 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 83Edith Hamilton's Mythology has been a major channel for English speakers to learn classical Greek and Roman mythology (from Myth)
Image 84This 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 85Joan of Arc with her famous sword (from List of mythological objects)
Image 86Snake and world egg of the inhabitants of Tyre (from List of mythological objects)
Image 87 Odysseus Overcome by Demodocus' Song, by Francesco Hayez, 1813–1815 (from Myth)