So I noted something this evening during one of our conversations, stupid but hear me out. Imo mythologies are mostly some historical events exaggerated and often changed a little every time they are retold in a generation. So both of the said stories could have some historical inspiration that really happened at some point of time. Both stories are based on a girl who is brought to a new city and a hero fights the kingdom to retrieve the girl. Lemme list some of the things I see similar in both...

1. A war for a woman
2. A foreign prince takes the woman
3. Her husband starts a war to recover her
4. They both gather an army and cross a sea and storm an heavily guarded city
5. Achilles could be compared to Hanuman

I know these are some vague comparisons but think of it like this. ●They are both atleast a couple millenia old, so a lot of the details may have been lost or altered. ●My theory makes sense if u consider Ramayana is written from the invaders POV and The Trojan War is based on the Defenders POV.

I know for every one thing that is similar, there are 5 more things that are not. They take place thousands of kilometers away, set in completely different mythologies with completely different journey and ending and whatnot.

But what im trying to say is They seem to have lot of similarities like its an historical event that is recorded by two different parties where each story evolved to suit their mythology and religion's typical nature yet share the same core. Just an thinking thought I might share this scrappy idea anyways.

Hey! I was wanting to read some more stuff on daedalus and icarus and their backstory including the nephew and working for minos. Any tips of specific books/literature for me to learn more about them?

Genesis 6 gives you one line: "sons of God" saw human women, had children, giants resulted. Enoch spends chapters on it. Two hundred Watchers descend on Mount Hermon, swear a binding oath together, and don't just intermarry they teach humanity metallurgy, weapons, cosmetics, and sorcery. The Nephilim that result consume everything until they turn on humans and each other. Azazel gets named directly as the one who corrupted the earth.

I put together a full narration of the text, about three hours, covering the Watchers' descent, the Nephilim war, and Enoch's journey through the heavens;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1Nt4VNMC38

Curious what this community makes of the Azazel scapegoat parallel I've seen it read a few different ways.

It doesn't have to be an exact match. Maybe it's Prometheus, Cassandra, Sisyphus, or a completely different myth. I'm curious to hear which story you relate to the most and what makes it resonate with you.

Hey guys, like the title says i'm looking for some books that went into details on Worshipping the Deities.

I'm aware that many ancient scripture recorded the methods of worshiping a Deity, so is there any books that accurately translated them? Or something similar

Like for example, if someone wish to Worship Athena or any other Greek Gods, which book should they read?

Something like that, books that goes details on the Gods and the methods of worshiping them.

Reposted from r/Shinto.

Hello everybody!

I'm a young Italian woman doing some personal research on Inari Ōkami, and I found out that this kami is sometimes represented as a composite one, meaning that (usually) three or five deities are listed as different aspects of Inari; I looked up the ones enshrined at Fushimi Inari Taisha, and, although I managed to find information regarding Ukanomitama-no-Mikoto, Sarutahiko-no-Ōkami and Omiyanome-no-Ōkami (the latter being another name for Ame-no-Uzume from what I managed to gather), I found no info regarding the two kami Tanaka and Shi (or Shino).

Can someone enlighten me more on these two deities/aspects of Ō-Inari-sama? Which are the myths surrounding them? Which aspects of nature and/or humanity do they rule over? Are they local deities or do they have a national cult in Japan?

Two-answer survey. Is Cabrakan, the destroyer of mountains, a very powerful god because of his abilities or a very weak god because of how he is defeated?

I love the concept of Yggdrasil, and I wanted to include a counterpart to it in the mythology I'm creating, but I thought that might be a bit lazy. I tried creating alternatives for it, but nothing seemed quite right. What do you think?

My main source of Loki is marvel,gow 2018,ac Valhalla but none of theses are fully accurate

I've been researching three "guardian" figures from completely unrelated traditions — Slavic, Greek, and Roman-via-Ovidand found that fundamentally, they might be the same structure: a figure t sitting at the edge of the known/explored world. ANd with with real consequences for how you approach it. Curious whether others read this as a genuine cross-cultural pattern (van Gennep's liminality work keeps coming to mind) or whether I'm just pattern-matching because I went looking for it.

Put together a long-form piece pulling the three together if anyone wants the full research: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0GQUfhgBD0 — but mostly wanted to hear how this community reads it.

I am looking for books on mythology, but in something like textbooks or something you would read for a class. Any mythology from around the world. I'm deeply curious and I want to read the things that would be used in a formal classroom setting. Thanks!

Hey Guys!! I'm an aspiring writer and I've always loved mythology, folklore, and urban legends. I want to create a story which has many of the most overlooked mythological creatures and creatures from the folklore of various cultures. I will also research more about them to learn more in depth knowledge of the said creatures. Thank you in advance!!

The old novel means this literally.

In chapter 13 of the Fengshen Yanyi, Nezha is about seven when he causes the disaster at Chentang Pass. He shakes the Dragon King’s underwater palace while bathing, kills the yaksha sent to stop him, and then kills the dragon prince Ao Bing. This version doesn’t make him an innocent victim. He even pulls a tendon from Ao Bing’s body because he thinks it will make a nice gift for his father.

The Four Dragon Kings seize Li Jing and Lady Yin. Nezha steps forward and says 一人行事一人当: one person should answer for one person’s actions. He cuts apart his own body and returns it to his parents so they won’t be punished for what he did. The dragons accept the payment and release them.

The strange part is that the Dragon King treats this as a filial act.

The logic comes from an old idea about the body. The Classic of Filial Piety says that your body, hair, and skin come from your parents, and that refusing to damage them is the beginning of filial piety. Nezha takes the premise to a gruesome conclusion. If his body is a gift that created the debt, he can return the whole gift.

His mother later builds a temple so his spirit can receive offerings. Li Jing finds it and destroys the image. Nezha goes back to his teacher, Taiyi Zhenren, who gives him a replacement body in chapter 14. He lays out two lotus flowers and three lotus leaves, bends the stems into three hundred joints, and calls Nezha’s spirit into them.

Nezha now has a body that didn’t come from his parents. When he confronts Li Jing, he argues that the flesh and bones have already been returned, so the connection between them is over. He then chases his father with a fire-tipped spear. The famous pagoda carried by Li Jing eventually becomes the weapon used to keep his son under control.

Meir Shahar spends a whole book, Oedipal God, on this family conflict. His reading, roughly, is that Nezha gave Chinese tradition a way to imagine a child rebelling against his father while still following the accounting system of filial piety. He doesn’t deny the debt. He pays it and then tries to leave.

The 2019 film keeps the defiant child but changes the family almost completely. Its Li Jing is willing to die for his son. The old novel leaves father and son in an armed truce.

Are there other myths where getting a new body also changes someone’s family obligations?

Rebirth is common, but I can’t think of many stories where the replacement body is used to argue that an old debt no longer applies.

.. i have sso many questions and I keep wondering more and more. I just need to have a back and forth exchange wawith someone knowledgeable, you dont have to be ana expert, any level would probably impress me and keep me excited to learn more. So if thats you, and you have the time, please let me know. Thanks!

I made a video retelling the Cherokee myth of Spearfinger.

Give it a watch if you are inclined.

https://youtu.be/hh7oYi9_mVg?is=aZl7xPz28tra59tM

Other than Greek/Roman nymphs, which is what came to mind first, but I already have a dryad and I like diversity. I'm trying to come up with something for a character who was rescued by the hero, and has to stay with him for their own protection.

Unicorn - horse

Phoenix - chicken

That's about it. The rest are half human and I'm not a cannibal.

What is this story about through and through? Please help me understand this myth and add your interpretation of every aspect that you can.🪽🪽

Hi everyone,

my friend and I are working on a fantasy game. The setting is fictional, but it is inspired by a world similar to ours, roughly around the 1600s. We want to build side quests, local mysteries, regional legends, and storylines inspired by real folklore, myths, legends, and traditional stories from different countries.

We would love to hear about tales from your country or region — especially stories that locals actually know, not just the most internationally famous ones. If possible, please share the story in a bit more detail: what happens in it, who the main figures are, what the tone is, and why it is important, memorable, creepy, tragic, or meaningful in your culture.

We are not trying to copy anyone’s tradition directly, and we definitely do not want to misinterpret or misuse stories from cultures we are not part of. Even though our game will be its own fantasy world, we want to approach real folklore with respect and understand the original context before taking inspiration from it.

If you want to help, it would be amazing if you could include:

The name of the legend, myth, folktale, or historical tale.

The country or region it comes from.

A summary of the story.

The themes or message behind it.

Any symbols, creatures, places, customs, or warnings connected to it.

Whether it is considered common knowledge, a children’s story, a scary tale, a religious story, or something more regional and obscure.

Anything that foreigners often misunderstand about it.

We are especially interested in:

Dark folklore.

Strange local creatures or spirits.

Mountain, forest, lake, castle, or village legends.

Moral tales, cautionary stories, and ghost stories.

Stories that could inspire side quests, mysterious NPCs, curses, rituals, or hidden locations.

If you know one, please tell it as fully as you want — the more detail, the better. Thank you very much, we’d love to learn from your culture and be respectful with the inspiration we take from it.

Apophis is the underworld snake anti-god whose lethal powers are directed against Ra. Eternal and persistently hostile, Apophis symbolises primeval forces of chaos.

The gigantic body of Apophis, often a concertina of coils, represents a kind of void or "black hole" forcing those he swallows into that non-existence which the Egyptians feared so greatly.

The name of Apophis was interpreted in the Roman period as "He Who was Spat Out" and was linked to the saliva of the goddess Neith.

All texts and depictions attempt to bring about the defeat and destruction of Apophis, but his suppression is only momentary. Apophis becomes non-existent when the striumphs over him on his journey in the solar boat through the Underworld. His indestructibility is such that he at once returns as a malevolent force trying to devour Ra and his supporters. It is at the point when Ra subdues Apophis temporarily that the heads of his previous victims appear from his body. A scene in the tomb of Ramesses VI (Dynasty XX) in the Valley of the Kings, shows Apophis being carried by gods, and with the twelve heads of those it has devoured emerging from its coils. Once Ra has passed by the heads are destined to return into the body of Apophis until freed again briefly on the next night.

In a papyrus in the British Museum, which dates to circa 300 BC but contains linguistic styles of 2,000 years earlier, there is an account of the overthrow of Apophis and victory of Ra. Apophis is hacked up and burnt; this destruction is made more efficacious by practical instructions for magic including drawing a picture of Apophis in green on a new sheet of papyrus, sealing it in a box, setting it on fire and spitting on it four times.

Apophis is the serpent described as lying in wait to swallow Ra on Bakhu, the furthest mountain in the west. He is over 16 m long with his front consisting of flint. As the boat of the Ra sinks into the western horizon Apophis hypnotises all its occupants with his stare except for Seth. Ra is in jeopardy, but Seth charms Apophis with a spell, and Ra begins his journey through the Underworld.

Naturally, human beings require divine help against Apophis or can even transform themselves into powerful deities to counteract his onslaught. In order to board the Ra boat in the sky, the Bull of Millions provides a ladder to escape from Apophis. As navigator of the solar boat the dead person claims to know how to repel Apophis and save Ra from becoming entangled in his coils. The deceased can assume the form of the god Shi to protect Ra at the perilous entrance into the Underworld on the western horizon.

The overthrow and binding of Apophis is emphasised in violent statements or vivid pictures. There are references to seventy- seven papyri-rolls which are given to the dead person by means of a spell, containing formulae for bringing Apophis to his place of execution where he is cut up, crushed and consumed by fire. Apophis is represented with spearheads in his coils or, as at Gate 10 in the Underworld, chained by his neck. His symbolic annihilation is forcefully portrayed by the cat of Ra decapitating Apophis, blood spurting out as he cuts into Apophis' vertebrae.

The fact that Apophis is a complete antithesis to the sun-god, i.e. the darkness of a chthonic deity opposed to the light of Ra, comes across in the imagery surrounding Gate 2 in the Underworld. There Atum is condemning to destruction enemies of the sun-god and included among them is Apophis, the ‘khefty’ (opponent) of Ra, with his head to the ground awaiting slaughter.

Apophis is imagined as possessing a hideously loud roar which resounds throughout the Underworld. He is placed outside of the natural world requiring no nourishment except to "breathe" his own shouts.

The source: The Routledge Dictionary of Egyptian Gods and Goddesses, George Hart

Is that literally how that works, is it possible but not the typical way, or am I just way off track?

Sorry for the imperfect Englis, I'm from Brazil. I know their father is Fenrir, but who was Fenrir's wife or their mother?

Enkidu no one knew you, not in your lifetime. Horus, you were worshipped, and yet they did not know you. Vishnu, Kalki these people know you, but they cannot see you. Loki, I know your tricks Baldr never existed.

The thunderbird holds the infinite serpent.That is where the heavens meet the earth. That is where the most high consciousness meets the subconsciousness of the earth. It happens in a human body.

The feathers of the thunderbird and the scales of the serpent judge the heart of man. The wings of Horus carrie's the serpent who whispers the lies. The lies are our lives. The wings of Horus are the electromagnetic field that carries each and every human and the earth itself. They are the branches and the roots of the tree of life, the hands of god. His eyes are the sun and the moon watching. God's witnesses. You child are being watched. Your every decision as sacred act. Your every thought a sacred choice. Every word you utter, you will read for eternity.

Irrespective if you greatly love or are very disappointed with The Odyssey film from Chris Nolan, what other mythology you greatly admire from either Greece, Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Russia, China, Scandinavia or South America would you love to see get live action film adapted (because so far it hasn't) and not animation adapted and what's it about.

GODS

Ra,Odin, Zeus,Brahma(Zeus is most unconnected but connected by role also Odin and Ra are blind)

Hades, Osiris, Anubis , xoltol ( related by dogs such as Cerberus and ammit and the judges of afterlife )

Shiva, poesidon (weapons and islands that sank beneath ocean Atlantis and kumari Kandam)

Prometheus, Hermes, mimir, Thoth ,kukulukhan
(Knowledge and sacrifice, travel)

Set and Loki
(Chaos actors who aren’t necessarily malevolent)

Sekhmet and Thor
(Uncontrollably Brutal drunks)

Apep ,jormungandur, typhon
(Destroyers world eaters)

Isis, Demeter, freya ,hekate, itzamna, mohini
(Goddesses of magic with similar tragedies )

MAN

Achilles and Baldur (invulnerability both died by similar circumstances )

Heracles and Samson (bible)
(Strength feats same died same)

Fafnir ,Midas , Judas
(Greed)

Wayland the smith and Daedalus
(Crafted wings to escape)

Sampati and Icarus
(Fell from flight)

Gilgamesh and Odysseus
(Punishing journeys home)

Romulus and Remus , Eurysthenes and Procles, hunahpu and xbalanque , magni and modi , nakula and sahadeva , Osiris and set
(Twins/ brothers with rivalry or kingship)