Mythology |
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Comparative mythology is the comparison of myths from different cultures in an attempt to identify shared themes and characteristics. [1] Comparative mythology has served a variety of academic purposes. For example, scholars have used the relationships between different myths to trace the development of religions and cultures, to propose common origins for myths from different cultures, and to support various psychoanalytical theories.
The comparative study of mythologies reveals the trans-national motifs that unify spiritual understanding globally. The significance of this study generates a "broad, sympathetic understanding of these 'stories' in human history". [2] The similarities of myths remind humanity of the universality in the human experience. [2]
Anthropologist C. Scott Littleton defined comparative mythology as "the systematic comparison of myths and mythic themes drawn from a wide variety of cultures". [1] By comparing different cultures' mythologies, scholars try to identify underlying similarities and/or to reconstruct a "protomythology" from which those mythologies developed. [1] To an extent, all theories about mythology follow a comparative approach—as scholar of religion Robert Segal notes, "by definition, all theorists seek similarities among myths". [3] However, scholars of mythology can be roughly divided into particularists, who emphasize the differences between myths, and comparativists, who emphasize the similarities. Particularists tend to "maintain that the similarities deciphered by comparativists are vague and superficial", while comparativists tend to "contend that the differences etched by particularists are trivial and incidental". [4]
Comparative approaches to mythology held great popularity among eighteenth- and nineteenth-century scholars. Many of these scholars believed that all myths showed signs of having evolved from a thought which interpreted nearly all myths as poetic descriptions of the sun's behavior. According to this theory, these poetic descriptions had become distorted over time into seemingly diverse stories about gods and heroes. [5] However, modern-day scholars lean more toward particularism, feeling suspicious of broad statements about myths. [6] A recent exception is the historical approach followed in E.J. Michael Witzel's reconstruction of many subsequent layers of older myths. [7] [ non-primary source needed ]
Comparative mythologists come from various fields, including folklore, literature, history, linguistics, and religious studies, and they have used a variety of methods to compare myths.
Some scholars look at the linguistic relationships between the myths of different cultures. For example, the similarities between the names of gods in different cultures. One particularly successful example of this approach is the study of Indo-European mythology. Scholars have found striking similarities between the mythological and religious terms used in different cultures of Europe and India. For example, the Greek sky-god Zeus Pater, the Roman sky-god Jupiter, and the Indian (Vedic) sky-god Dyauṣ Pitṛ have linguistically identical names.
This suggests that the Greeks, Romans, and Indians originated from a common ancestral culture, and that the names Zeus, Jupiter, Dyaus and the Germanic Tiu (cf. English Tues-day) evolved from an older name, *Dyēus ph2ter, which referred to the sky-god or, to give an English cognate, the divine father in a Proto-Indo-European religion. [8] An approach which is both historical and comparative was recently proposed by E.J. Michael Witzel. [7] He compares collections of mythologies and reconstructs increasingly older levels, parallel to but not necessarily dependent on language families. The most prominent common feature is a storyline that extends from the creation of the world and of humans to their end. This feature is found in the northern mythologies of Eurasia and the Americas ("Laurasia") while it is missing in the southern mythologies of Subsaharan Africa, New Guinea and Australia ("Gondwanaland").
Mythological phylogenies also are a potentially powerful way to test hypotheses about cross-cultural relationships among folktales. [9]
Some scholars look for underlying structures shared by different myths. The folklorist Vladimir Propp proposed that many Russian fairy tales have a common plot structure, in which certain events happen in a predictable order. [10] In contrast, the anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss examined the structure of a myth in terms of the abstract relationships between its elements, rather than their order in the plot. In particular, Lévi-Strauss believed that the elements of a myth could be organized into binary oppositions (raw vs. cooked, nature vs. culture, etc.). He thought that the myth's purpose was to "mediate" these oppositions, thereby resolving basic tensions or contradictions found in human life or culture. [11]
Some scholars propose that myths from different cultures reveal the same, or similar, psychoanalytic forces at work in those cultures. Some Freudian thinkers have identified stories similar to the Greek story of Oedipus in many different cultures. They argue that these stories reflect the different expressions of the Oedipus complex in those cultures. [12] Likewise, Jungians have identified images, themes, and patterns that appear in the myths of many different cultures. They believe that these similarities result from archetypes present in the unconscious levels of every person's mind. [13]
A creation myth (or cosmogonic myth) is a symbolic narrative of how the world began and how people first came to inhabit it. While in popular usage the term myth often refers to false or fanciful stories, members of cultures often ascribe varying degrees of truth to their creation myths. In the society in which it is told, a creation myth is usually regarded as conveying profound truths – metaphorically, symbolically, historically, or literally. They are commonly, although not always, considered cosmogonical myths – that is, they describe the ordering of the cosmos from a state of chaos or amorphousness.
Creation myths often share a number of features. They often are considered sacred accounts and can be found in nearly all known religious traditions. They are all stories with a plot and characters who are either deities, human-like figures, or animals, who often speak and transform easily. They are often set in a dim and nonspecific past that historian of religion Mircea Eliade termed in illo tempore ('at that time'). Creation myths address questions deeply meaningful to the society that shares them, revealing their central worldview and the framework for the self-identity of the culture and individual in a universal context.
Creation myths develop in oral traditions and therefore typically have multiple versions; found throughout human culture, they are the most common form of myth.
Chaos (Ancient Greek: χάος, romanized: kháos) (aka Primordial Chaos, Primordial Void) is the mythological void state preceding the creation of the universe (the cosmos) in Greek creation myths. In Christian theology, the same term is used to refer to the gap or the abyss created by the separation of heaven and earth. In Norse mythology, Ginnungagap (old Norse: [ˈɡinːoŋɡɑˌɡɑp]; "gaping abyss", "yawning void") is the primordial void mentioned in the Gylfaginning, the Eddaic text recording Norse cosmogony.
The creation of man from clay is a theme that recurs throughout numerous world religions and mythologies.
In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Enkidu is created by the goddess Aruru out of clay. In Greek mythology, Prometheus molded men out of water and earth. Per the Hebrew Bible, (Genesis 2:7) "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul". In Hindu mythology, the mother of Ganesh, Parvati, made Ganesh from her skin. In Chinese mythology (see Chu Ci and Imperial Readings of the Taiping Era), Nüwa molded figures from the yellow earth, giving them life and the ability to bear children.
A protoplast, from ancient Greek πρωτόπλαστος (prōtóplastos, "first-formed"), in a religious context initially referred to the first human or, more generally, to the first organized body of progenitors of mankind in a creation myth.
Numerous examples exist throughout history of a human couple being the progenitors of the entire human species. This would include, but not limited to Adam and Eve of Abrahamism, Ask and Embla of Norse mythology, and Fuxi and Nüwa from Chinese mythos.
In Hindu mythology, Manu refers to the archetypal man. In Sanskrit the term for 'human', मानव (IAST: mānava) means 'of Manu' or 'children of Manu'. The Manusmriti is an ancient legal text and constitution among the many Dharmaśāstras of Hinduism and is believed to be a discourse given by Manu.
The theft of fire for the benefit of humanity is a theme that recurs in many world mythologies. A few examples include: in Greek mythology, according to Hesiod, the Titan Prometheus steals the heavenly fire for humanity, enabling the progress of civilization. In the Book of Enoch, the fallen angels and Azazel teach early humanity use of tools and fire. Per the ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns, the Rigveda (3:9.5), speaks of a hero Mātariśvan who recovered fire which had been hidden from humanity.
Cultures around the world tell stories about a great flood. [14] In many cases, the flood leaves only one survivor or group of survivors. For example, both the Babylonian Epic of Gilgamesh and the Hebrew Bible tell of a global flood that wiped out humanity and of a man who saved the Earth's species by taking them aboard a boat. [15] Similar stories of a single flood survivor appear in Hindu mythology where Manu saves the Earth from the deluge by building an ark [16] as well as Greek, Norse mythology, Inca mythology and Aztec mythology. [17] The flood narratives, spanning across different traditions such as Mesopotamian, Hebrew, Islamic, and Hindu, reveal striking similarities in their core elements, including divine warnings, ark construction, and the preservation of righteousness, highlighting the universal themes that thread through diverse religious beliefs. [18]
Many myths feature a god who dies and who often returns to life. [19] Such myths are particularly common in Near Eastern mythologies. [20] The anthropologist Sir James Frazer compared these dying god myths in his multi-volume work The Golden Bough . The Egyptian god Osiris and the Mesopotamian god Tammuz are examples of the dying god, while the Greek myths of Adonis (though a mortal) has often been compared to Osiris and the myths of Zagreus and Dionysos also feature both death and rebirth. [21] Some scholars have noted similarities between polytheistic stories of dying gods and the Christian story of Jesus of Nazareth. [22]
Many cultures have stories about divine figures whose death creates an essential part of reality. [23] [24] These myths seem especially common among cultures that grow crops, particularly tubers. [25] One such myth from the Wemale people of Seram Island, Indonesia, tells of a miraculously conceived girl named Hainuwele, whose murdered corpse sprouts into the people's staple food crops. [26] The Chinese myth of Pangu, [27] the Indian Vedic myth of Purusha, [28] and the Norse myth of Ymir all tell of a cosmic giant who is killed to create the world. [23]
Many mythological beliefs mention a place that sits at the center of the world and acts as a point of contact between different levels of the universe. [29] This axis mundi is often marked by a sacred tree or other mythical object. For example, many myths describe a great tree or pillar joining heaven, earth, and the underworld. [30] Vedic India, ancient China, Mayans, Incas and the Germanic peoples all had myths featuring a Cosmic Tree whose branches reach heaven and whose roots reach hell. [31] The ancient Greeks believed in the centre of the universe - Delphi, where a prophetic oracle lived. The story goes that Zeus, king of gods released two birds in opposite directions to fly around the world. The place they met was Delphi.
Many cultures believe in a celestial supreme being who has cut off contact with humanity. Historian Mircea Eliade calls this supreme being a deus otiosus (an "idle god"), [32] although this term is also used more broadly, to refer to any god who does not interact regularly with humans. In many myths, the Supreme Being withdraws into the heavens after the creation of the world. [33] Baluba mythology features such a story, in which the supreme god withdraws from the earth, leaving man to search for him. [34] Similarly, the mythology of the Hereros tells of a sky god who has abandoned mankind to lesser divinities. [35] In the mythologies of highly complex cultures, the supreme being tends to disappear completely, replaced by a strong polytheistic belief system. [36] In Greek mythology, "Chaos", the creator of the universe, disappears after creating primordial deities such as Gaea (Earth), Uranus (Sky), Pontus (Water) and Tartarus (Hell), among others.
Many cultures have a creation myth in which a group of younger, more civilized gods conquers and/or struggles against a group of older gods.
In Hindu mythology, the younger devas (gods) battle the older asuras (demons). [37]
In the Greek myth of the Titanomachy, the Olympian gods defeat the Titans, an older and more primitive divine race, and establish cosmic order. [37] [38]
In Norse mythology, the Aesir and Vanir are two distinct groups of gods who initially waged a war against each other, but eventually reconciled and formed a united pantheon
In various mythologies, a group of "anti-gods" or adversarial beings oppose the main pantheon of gods, They embody chaos, destruction, or primal forces and are often considered demons or evil gods/divinities due to their opposition to divine order, symbolizing a struggle between cosmic order and chaos, good and evil. [39] [40]
In particular, The Gigantomachy is a motif found in Greek mythology where the Olympian gods battle the Giants, often depicted as a cataclysmic struggle between order and chaos. This motif has parallels in various mythologies, especially within the Indo-European mythology family. Unlike the typical English notion of giants as gigantic humans, "giants" in Greek mythology are not merely oversized humanoid figures but monstrous beings embodying chaos and disorder. Giants are usually depicted as beings with human appearance, but of prodigious size (though not always so) and great strength common in the mythology and legends of many different cultures.
In various Indo-European mythologies, a group of anti-gods are usually featured as primeval, even malevolent beings associated with chaos, evil, and the wild nature. These are frequently portrayed as enemies of the gods, be they Greek (Giants), Celtic (Fomorians), Hindu (Asuras), Norse (Jötnar) or Persian (Daevas). [41] [42]
The Mesopotamian myth of The Enuma Elish describes the conflict between the gods led by Marduk and the chaotic sea goddess Tiamat, who is often represented with monstrous forms. In Egyptian mythology, Ra's nightly journey through the underworld involves a fierce struggle against Apep, the serpent of chaos, whose attempts to devour the sun god represent the ongoing battle between order and disorder.
Giants also often play similar roles in the mythologies and folklore of other, non Indo-European peoples, such as in the Nartian traditions, along with the Quinametzin of Aztec mythology.
In Chinese mythology, the Battle of Zhuolu was a decisive clash between the Yellow Emperor Huangdi and the tribal leader Chiyou, usually considered a demon god, marking the establishment of a unified Chinese state.
In Japanese mythology, the conflict between gods and evil forces is highlighted by Izanagi’s struggle against the malevolent goddess Izanami in the underworld, culminating in his escape and the birth of Amaterasu, the sun goddess, who symbolizes the restoration of cosmic order.
In Abrahamic traditions, the War in Heaven refers to the celestial conflict described in Christian and Islamic texts, where the archangel Michael leads the faithful angels in a rebellion against Satan and his followers, who sought to overthrow God's divine authority. This epic battle, depicted in Revelation 12:7-9 and alluded to in Islamic tradition, results in the expulsion of Satan and his demons from Heaven, reinforcing the ultimate triumph of divine order over chaos and evil.
There are also accounts of giants in the Hebrew Bible. Some of these are called Nephilim, a word often translated as giant although this translation is not universally accepted. They include Og King of Bashan, the Nephilim, the Anakim, and the giants of Egypt mentioned in 1 Chronicles 11:23. The first mention of the Nephilim is found in Genesis 6:4; attributed to them are extraordinary strength and physical proportions. Further, Goliath was a Philistine giant in the Book of Samuel. Descriptions of Goliath's immense stature vary among biblical sources, with various texts describing him as either 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) or 9 ft 9 in (2.97 m) tall.
Usually large to gigantic, serpent-like legendary creatures that appear in the folklore of many cultures around the world. Beliefs about dragons vary drastically by region, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as winged, horned, four-legged, and capable of breathing fire, whereas dragons in eastern cultures are usually depicted as wingless, four-legged, serpentine creatures with above-average intelligence.
Part of a Mythology series on |
Chaoskampf or Drachenkampf |
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Comparative mythology of sea serpents, dragons and dragonslayers. |
One on one epic battles between these beasts are noted throughout many cultures. Typically they consist of a hero or god battling a single to polycephalic dragon. The motif of Chaoskampf (German: [ˈkaːɔsˌkampf] ; lit. 'struggle against chaos') is ubiquitous in myth and legend, depicting a battle of a culture hero deity with a chaos monster, often in the shape of a sea serpent or dragon. A few notable examples include: Zeus vs. Typhon and Hercules vs. the Lernaean Hydra, both of which are from Greek mythology, Thor vs. Jörmungandr of Norse mythology, Indra vs. Vritra of Indian mythology, Ra vs. Apep of Egyptian mythology, Yahweh vs. Leviathan of Judeo-Christian mythology, and Yu the Great vs. Xiangliu of Chinese mythology. Many other examples exist worldwide.
Originating in ancient Egyptian iconography, the Ouroboros or uroborus is an ancient symbol depicting a serpent or dragon eating its own tail. The Ouroboros entered western tradition via Greek magical tradition.
In Norse mythology, the Ouroboros appears as the serpent Jörmungandr, one of the three children of Loki and Angrboda, which grew so large that it could encircle the world and grasp its tail in its teeth.
In the Aitareya Brahmana, a Vedic text of the early 1st millennium BCE, the nature of the Vedic rituals is compared to "a snake biting its own tail."
It is a common belief among indigenous people of the tropical lowlands of South America that waters at the edge of the world-disc are encircled by a snake, often an anaconda, biting its own tail.
Many cultures have myths describing the origin of their customs, rituals, and identity. In fact, ancient and traditional societies have often justified their customs by claiming that their gods or mythical heroes established those customs. [43] [44] For example, according to the myths of the Australian Karajarri, the mythical Bagadjimbiri brothers established all of the Karadjeri's customs, including the position in which they stand while urinating. [45] In the Old Testament, the Israelites have a founding myth of their ancestors escaping enslavement from Egypt.
Folklorists such as Antti Aarne (Aarne-Thompson classification systems), Joseph Campbell (monomyth) and Georges Polti (The Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations) have created structured reference systems to identify connections between myths from different cultures and regions. Some comparative mythologists look for similarities only among hero stories within a specific geographical or ethnic range. For example, the Austrian scholar Johann Georg von Hahn tried to identify a common structure underlying Aryan hero stories. [46]
Human cannibalism features in the myths, folklore, and legends of many cultures and is most often attributed to evil characters or as extreme retribution for some wrongdoing. Examples include Lamia of Greek mythology, a woman who became a child-eating monster after her children were destroyed by Hera, upon learning of her husband Zeus' trysts. In Zuni mythology and religion, Átahsaia is a giant cannibalistic demon, feeding on fellow demons and humans alike. He is depicted as having unblinking bulging eyes, long talons, and yellow tusks that protruded past his lips. The myth of Baxbaxwalanuksiwe, in Hamatsa society of the Kwakwaka'wakw indigenous tribe, tells of a man-eating giant, who lives in a strange house with red smoke emanating from its roof.
Most human civilizations - India, China, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Maya, and Inca, among others - based their culture on complex systems of astrology, which provided a link between the cosmos with the conditions and events on earth. For these, the astrological practice was not mere divination because it also served as the foundation for their spiritual culture and knowledge-systems used for practical purposes such as the calendar (see Mesoamerican calendric shamans) and medicine (e.g. I Ching).
Closely tying in with Astrology, various zodiac systems and constellations have existed since antiquity. For the zodiac, the Mazzaroth, Chinese Zodiac, Hindu Zodiac and Dendera zodiac (Egyptian) are examples. The origins of the earliest constellations likely go back to prehistory. People used them to relate stories of their beliefs, experiences, creation, or mythology. Different cultures and countries adopted their own constellations, some of which lasted into the early 20th century before today's constellations were internationally recognized.
The concept of an otherworld in historical Indo-European religion is reconstructed in comparative mythology. Its name is a calque of orbis alius (Latin for "other Earth/world"), a term used by Lucan in his description of the Celtic Otherworld.
Comparable religious, mythological or metaphysical concepts, such as a realm of supernatural beings and a realm of the dead, are found in cultures throughout the world. Spirits are thought to travel between worlds, or layers of existence in such traditions, usually along an axis such as a giant tree, a tent pole, a river, a rope or mountains. In Greek mythology, after death, people either go to Tartarus or Elysium while the Norse believed in going to either Valhalla, Folkvangr, or Helheim.
The underworld is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld.
The concept of an underworld is found in almost every civilization and "may be as old as humanity itself". Common features of underworld myths are accounts of living people making journeys to the underworld, often for some heroic purpose. Other myths reinforce traditions that entrance of souls to the underworld requires a proper observation of ceremony, such as the ancient Greek story of the recently dead Patroclus haunting Achilles until his body could be properly buried for this purpose. Persons having social status were dressed and equipped in order to better navigate the underworld.
In esoteric cosmology, a plane is conceived as a subtle state, level, or region of reality, each plane corresponding to some type, kind, or category of being. Also known as a plane or realm of existence.
The concept may be found in religious and esoteric teachings—e.g. Vedanta (Advaita Vedanta), Ayyavazhi, shamanism, Hermeticism, Neoplatonism, Gnosticism, Kashmir Shaivism, Sant Mat/Surat Shabd Yoga, Sufism, Druze, Kabbalah, Theosophy, Anthroposophy, Rosicrucianism (Esoteric Christian), Eckankar, Ascended Master Teachings, etc.—which propound the idea of a whole series of subtle planes or worlds or dimensions which, from a center, interpenetrate themselves and the physical planet in which we live, the solar systems, and all the physical structures of the universe. This interpenetration of planes culminates in the universe itself as a physical structured, dynamic and evolutive expression emanated through a series of steadily denser stages, becoming progressively more material and embodied.
Norse cosmology encompasses concepts from Norse mythology, such as notions of time and space, cosmogony, personifications, anthropogeny, and eschatology. Topics include Yggdrasil, an immense and central sacred tree along with the nine worlds, including Asgard, Jötunheimr and Midgard to name a few.
The happy hunting ground is a concept of the afterlife associated with Native Americans in the United States. [1] The phrase possibly originated with Anglo-Saxon settlers interpretation of their respective description.
In numerous mythologies and religions, and thus tying within the Orbis Alius motif proper is the concept of an afterlife, wherein a purported existence by which the essential part of an individual's identity or their stream of consciousness continues to exist after the death of their physical body.
Many myths mention an "End of the world (civilization)" event, wherein a final battle between good and evil takes place to create a new world, and/or a total cataclysmic event will usher an end to humanity (see Extinction event, aka ELE). Ragnarök shows the end of the world in Norse mythology. In Hindu mythology, the end of the Kali yug predicts the end of the world when the final avatar of Vishnu comes to cleanse the Earth. Armageddon, the site of the final battle as accorded by the Book of Revelation.
The 2012 phenomenon was a range of eschatological beliefs that cataclysmic or transformative events would occur on or around 21 December 2012, pursuant to the end-date of a 5,126-year-long cycle in the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar (aka Mayan calendar).
Specific motifs:
A creation myth or cosmogonic myth is a type of cosmogony, a symbolic narrative of how the world began and how people first came to inhabit it. While in popular usage the term myth often refers to false or fanciful stories, members of cultures often ascribe varying degrees of truth to their creation myths. In the society in which it is told, a creation myth is usually regarded as conveying profound truths – metaphorically, symbolically, historically, or literally. They are commonly, although not always, considered cosmogonical myths – that is, they describe the ordering of the cosmos from a state of chaos or amorphousness.
Christian mythology is the body of myths associated with Christianity. The term encompasses a broad variety of legends and narratives, especially those considered sacred narratives. Mythological themes and elements occur throughout Christian literature, including recurring myths such as ascending a mountain, the axis mundi, myths of combat, descent into the Underworld, accounts of a dying-and-rising god, a flood myth, stories about the founding of a tribe or city, and myths about great heroes of the past, paradises, and self-sacrifice.
Religion and mythology differ in scope but have overlapping aspects. Both are systems of concepts that are of high importance to a certain community, making statements concerning the supernatural or sacred. Generally, mythology is considered one component or aspect of religion. Religion is the broader term: besides mythological aspects, it includes aspects of ritual, morality, theology, and mystical experience. A given mythology is almost always associated with a certain religion such as Greek mythology with Ancient Greek religion. Disconnected from its religious system, a myth may lose its immediate relevance to the community and evolve—away from sacred importance—into a legend or folktale.
In Norse mythology, Jörmungandr, also known as the Midgard Serpent or World Serpent, is an unfathomably large and monstrous sea serpent or worm who dwells in the world sea, encircling the Earth (Midgard) and biting its own tail, an example of an ouroboros. As a result of his surrounding Midgard, the beast is referred to as the World Serpent. Jörmungandr releasing his tail is one of the signs of the beginning of Ragnarök.
A dying-and-rising god, life–death–rebirth deity, or resurrection deity is a religious motif in which a god or goddess dies and is resurrected. Examples of gods who die and later return to life are most often cited from the religions of the ancient Near East. The traditions influenced by them include the Greco-Roman mythology. The concept of a dying-and-rising god was first proposed in comparative mythology by James Frazer's seminal The Golden Bough (1890). Frazer associated the motif with fertility rites surrounding the yearly cycle of vegetation. Frazer cited the examples of Osiris, Tammuz, Adonis and Attis, Zagreus, Dionysus, and Jesus.
Proto-Indo-European mythology is the body of myths and deities associated with the Proto-Indo-Europeans, speakers of the hypothesized Proto-Indo-European language. Although the mythological motifs are not directly attested – since Proto-Indo-European speakers lived in preliterate societies – scholars of comparative mythology have reconstructed details from inherited similarities found among Indo-European languages, based on the assumption that parts of the Proto-Indo-Europeans' original belief systems survived in the daughter traditions.
The trifunctional hypothesis of prehistoric Proto-Indo-European society postulates a tripartite ideology reflected in the existence of three classes or castes—priests, warriors, and commoners —corresponding to the three functions of the sacral, the martial and the economic, respectively. The trifunctional thesis is primarily associated with the French mythographer Georges Dumézil, who proposed it in 1929 in the book Flamen-Brahman, and later in Mitra-Varuna.
In astronomy, axis mundi is the Latin term for the axis of Earth between the celestial poles. In a geocentric coordinate system, this is the axis of rotation of the celestial sphere. Consequently, in ancient Greco-Roman astronomy, the axis mundi is the axis of rotation of the planetary spheres within the classical geocentric model of the cosmos.
Snakes are a common occurrence in myths for a multitude of cultures. The Hopi people of North America viewed snakes as symbols of healing, transformation, and fertility. Snakes in Mexican folk culture tell about the fear of the snake to the pregnant women where the snake attacks the umbilical cord. The Great Goddess often had snakes as her familiars, sometimes twining around her sacred staff, as in ancient Crete, and they were worshipped as guardians of her mysteries of birth and regeneration. Although not entirely a snake, the plumed serpent, Quetzalcoatl, in Mesoamerican cultures, particularly Mayan and Aztec, held a multitude of roles as a deity. He was viewed as a twin entity which embodied that of god and man and equally man and serpent, yet was closely associated with fertility. In ancient Aztec mythology, Quetzalcoatl was the son of the fertility earth goddess, Cihuacoatl, and cloud serpent and hunting god, Mixcoatl. His roles took the form of everything from bringer of morning winds and bright daylight for healthy crops, to a sea god capable of bringing on great floods. As shown in the images there are images of the sky serpent with its tail in its mouth, it is believed to be a reverence to the sun, for which Quetzalcoatl was also closely linked.
In Greek mythology, the primordial deities are the first generation of gods and goddesses. These deities represented the fundamental forces and physical foundations of the world and were generally not actively worshipped, as they, for the most part, were not given human characteristics; they were instead personifications of places or abstract concepts.
Hungarian mythology includes the myths, legends, folk tales, fairy tales and gods of the Hungarians.
The genesis of modern understanding of Greek mythology is regarded by some scholars as a double reaction at the end of the 18th century against "the traditional attitude of Christian animosity mixed with disdain, which had prevailed for centuries", in which the Christian reinterpretation of myth as a "lie" or fable had been retained. In Germany, by about 1795, there was a growing interest in Homer and Greek mythology. In Göttingen Johann Matthias Gesner began to revive Greek studies and a new humanistic spirit. His successor, Christian Gottlob Heyne, worked with Johann Joachim Winckelmann, and laid the foundations for mythological research both in Germany and elsewhere. Heyne approached the myth as a philologist and shaped the educated Germans' conception of antiquity for nearly half a century, during which ancient Greece exerted an intense influence on intellectual life in Germany.
Jewish mythology is the body of myths associated with Judaism. Elements of Jewish mythology have had a profound influence on Christian mythology and on Islamic mythology, as well as on Abrahamic culture in general. Christian mythology directly inherited many of the narratives from the Jewish people, sharing in common the narratives from the Old Testament. Islamic mythology also shares many of the same stories; for instance, a creation-account spaced out over six periods, the legend of Abraham, the stories of Moses and the Israelites, and many more.
An origin myth is a type of myth that explains the beginnings of a natural or social aspect of the world. Creation myths are a type of origin myth narrating the formation of the universe. However, numerous cultures have stories that take place after the initial origin. These stories aim to explain the origins of natural phenomena or human institutions within an already existing world. In Greco-Roman scholarship, the terms founding myth or etiological myth are occasionally used to describe a myth that clarifies an origin, particularly how an object or custom came into existence.
Egyptian mythology is the collection of myths from ancient Egypt, which describe the actions of the Egyptian gods as a means of understanding the world around them. The beliefs that these myths express are an important part of ancient Egyptian religion. Myths appear frequently in Egyptian writings and art, particularly in short stories and in religious material such as hymns, ritual texts, funerary texts, and temple decoration. These sources rarely contain a complete account of a myth and often describe only brief fragments.
Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories concern the ancient Greek religion's view of the origin and nature of the world; the lives and activities of deities, heroes, and mythological creatures; and the origins and significance of the ancient Greeks' cult and ritual practices. Modern scholars study the myths to shed light on the religious and political institutions of ancient Greece, and to better understand the nature of mythmaking itself.
Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology, is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia as the Nordic folklore of the modern period. The northernmost extension of Germanic mythology and stemming from Proto-Germanic folklore, Norse mythology consists of tales of various deities, beings, and heroes derived from numerous sources from both before and after the pagan period, including medieval manuscripts, archaeological representations, and folk tradition. The source texts mention numerous gods such as the thunder-god Thor, the raven-flanked god Odin, the goddess Freyja, and numerous other deities.
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.
A vegetation deity is a nature deity whose disappearance and reappearance, or life, death and rebirth, embodies the growth cycle of plants. In nature worship, the deity can be a god or goddess with the ability to regenerate itself. A vegetation deity is often a fertility deity. The deity typically undergoes dismemberment, scattering, and reintegration, as narrated in a myth or reenacted by a religious ritual. The cyclical pattern is given theological significance on themes such as immortality, resurrection, and reincarnation. Vegetation myths have structural resemblances to certain creation myths in which parts of a primordial being's body generate aspects of the cosmos, such as the Norse myth of Ymir.
*Trito is a significant figure in Proto-Indo-European mythology, representing the first warrior and acting as a culture hero. He is connected to other prominent characters, such as Manu and Yemo, and is recognized as the protagonist of the myth of the warrior function, establishing the model for all later men of arms. In the legend, Trito is offered cattle as a divine gift by celestial gods, which is later stolen by a three-headed serpent named *H₂n̥gʷʰis ('serpent'). Despite initial defeat, Trito, fortified by an intoxicating drink and aided by the Sky-Father, or alternatively the Storm-God or *H₂nḗr, 'Man', together they go to a cave or a mountain, and the hero overcomes the monster and returns the recovered cattle to a priest for it to be properly sacrificed. He is now the first warrior, maintaining through his heroic deeds the cycle of mutual giving between gods and mortals. Scholars have interpreted the story of Trito either as a cosmic conflict between the heavenly hero and the earthly serpent or as an Indo-European victory over non-Indo-European people, with the monster symbolizing the aboriginal thief or usurper. Trito's character served as a model for later cattle-raiding epic myths and was seen as providing moral justification for cattle raiding. The legend of Trito is generally accepted among scholars and is recognized as an essential part of Proto-Indo-European mythology, although not to the level of Manu and Yemo.
Journals about comparative mythology: