mythology

Illustration and text of the tale of Issun Bōshi from Otogi-zōshi, published in circa 1725. The original Japanese prose narratives were written primarily in the Muromachi period (1392–1573).

Japanese Folklore And Mythology

Japanese Folklore And Mythology This article covers Japanese Folklore And Mythology in detail. Japanese folklore is heavily influenced by the two primary religions of Japan, Shinto, and Buddhism. Japanese mythology is a complex system of beliefs that also embraces Shinto and Buddhist traditions as well as agriculture-based folk religion. The Shinto pantheon alone boasts an uncountable...

The Golden Pectoral from Tovsta Mohyla. In the upper frieze: Scythians tending to their domesticated animals In the lower frieze: griffins, lions, and cheetahs attacking horses, deer, and pigs

Scythian Religion

Scythian Religion Scythian religion refers to the mythology, ritual practices and beliefs of the Scythian cultures, a collection of closely related ancient Iranian peoples who inhabited Central Asia and the Pontic–Caspian steppe in Eastern Europe throughout Classical Antiquity, spoke the Scythian language (itself a member of the Eastern Iranian language family), and which...

Reconstructed hipped-roofed Slavic temple at Groß Raden Museum

Slavic Paganism

Slavic Paganism Slavic paganism or Slavic religion is the religious beliefs, myths, and ritual practices of the Slavs before Christianisation, which occurred at various stages between the 8th and the 13th century. The South Slavs, who likely settled in the Balkan Peninsula during the 6th–7th centuries AD, bordering with the Byzantine Empire to the south, came under the sphere of influence of Eastern Christianity, beginning...

Uyghur Princes from the Bezeklik murals

Turkic Mythology

Turkic Mythology Turkic mythology contains myths and legends told by the Turkic people. It features Tengrist and Shamanist strata of belief along with many other social and cultural constructs related to the nomadic and warrior way of life of Turkic and Mongol peoples in ancient times. Turkic mythology shares numerous points in common with Mongol mythology. Turkic mythology has also been influenced...

Chameleon Vintage Line Art colorful prismatic

Bantu Mythology

Bantu Mythology Bantu mythology is the system of beliefs and legends of the Bantu people of Africa. Although Bantu peoples account for several hundred different ethnic groups, there is a high degree of homogeneity in Bantu cultures and customs, just as in Bantu languages. The phrase “Bantu mythology” usually refers to the common, recurring themes that...

The Tjängvide image stone with illustrations from Norse mythology.

Norse Mythology

Norse Mythology Norse mythology or Scandinavian mythology is the body of myths of the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Norse paganism and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia, and into the Scandinavian 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...

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Australian Aboriginal Culture

Australian Aboriginal Culture Australian Aboriginal culture includes a number of practices and ceremonies centered on a belief in the Dreamtime and other mythology. Reverence and respect for the land and oral traditions are emphasised. Over 300 Languages and other groupings have developed a wide range of individual cultures. Due the colonization of Australia under terra nullius concept these...

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Native American Legends

Native American Legends We have collected and put the best Native American Legends. Enjoy reading these insights and feel free to share this page on your social media to inspire others. There are thousands of Native American stories, legends, and mythology. We have collected some samples of these stories from...

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Biblical Studies

Biblical Studies Biblical studies is the academic application of a set of diverse disciplines to the study of the Bible (the Tanakh and the New Testament). For its theory and methods, the field draws on disciplines ranging from archaeology, ancient history, cultural anthropology, textual criticism, literary criticism, historical backgrounds, mythology, and comparative religion. Many secular as well as religious universities and colleges offer courses...

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Animals

Animals Animals (Metazoa) are multicellular eukaryotic organisms that form the biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and grow from a hollow sphere of cells, the blastula, during embryonic development. Over 1.5 million living animal species have been...

Ancient Egyptian funerary masks in the Ägyptisches Museum Berlin

Outline Of Historical Religions

Outline Of Historical Religions This article is the Outline of Historical Religions. Enjoy…! Historical religions of the ancient world shared many of the same patterns with each other even though the cultures may never have had any contact with each other. Such as Prehistoric religion, Ancient Egyptian Religion, Ancient Mesopotamian Religion, Brahmanism, Religion in pre-Islamic Arabia, Inca...

A wallpainting in a Laotian temple, depicting the Bodhisattva Gautama (Buddha-to-be) undertaking extreme ascetic practices before his enlightenment. A god is overseeing his striving, and providing some spiritual protection.

Buddhist Mythology

Buddhist Mythology Buddhist mythology is centered around the life of the Buddha. This is told in relatively realistic terms in the earliest texts, and was soon elaborated into a complex literary mythology. The chief motif of this story, and the most distinctive feature of Buddhist myth, is the Buddha’s renunciation: leaving his home...

The Hindu Trimurti — Shiva, Vishnu, Brahma (from left to right)

Triple Deity

Triple Deity A triple deity (sometimes referred to as threefold, tripled, triplicate, tripartite, triune or triadic, or as a trinity) is three deities that are worshipped as one. Such deities are common throughout world mythology; the number three has a long history of mythical associations. Carl Jung considered the arrangement of deities into triplets...

Kwakwaka'wakw Cedar sisiutl mask.

Mythologies Of The Indigenous Peoples Of The Americas

Mythologies Of The Indigenous Peoples Of The Americas This article covers the Mythologies of The Indigenous Peoples of The Americas in detail. The indigenous peoples of the Americas comprise numerous different cultures. Each has its own mythologies. Some are quite distinct, but certain themes are shared across the cultural boundaries. North America There...

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Vampire

Vampire The modern day term, Vampire (derivative of the German vampir), usually refers to mythological or folkloric beings that subsist on the life force of a human being and/or animal. In most cases, vampires are represented as reanimated corpses who feed by draining and consuming the blood of living beings. The word “vampire” is mentioned in Babylonian demonology, and the even more...

The sun rises over the circular mound of creation as goddesses pour out the primeval waters around it

Egyptian Mythology

Egyptian Mythology 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...

Side view of the Temple of Garni.

Armenian Mythology

Armenian Mythology Armenian mythology originated in ancient Indo-European traditions, specifically Proto-Armenian, and gradually incorporated Anatolian, Hurro-Urartian, Mesopotamian, Iranian, and Greek beliefs and deities. Formation of Armenian mythology The pantheon of Armenian gods, initially worshipped by Proto-Armenians, inherited their essential elements from the religious beliefs and mythologies of the Proto-Indo-Europeans and peoples of the Armenian Highlands. Historians distinguish a significant body of Indo-European...

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Inca Mythology

Inca Mythology Inca mythologyincludes many stories and legends that attempt to explain or symbolize Inca beliefs. The Incas tailored their mythology to glorify their own culture and to reinforce the idea that they were a superior people destined to rule others. The Inca civilization flourished in the Andes mountains of South...

Mountain of Gods, Nemrut- turkey

Historical Religions

Historical Religions Historical religions of the ancient world shared many of the same patterns with each other even though the cultures may never have had any contact with each other. Such as Prehistoric religion, Ancient Egyptian Religion, Ancient Mesopotamian Religion, Brahmanism, Religion in pre-Islamic Arabia, Inca mythology, ancient Greece and Rome, and their Hellenistic descendants. Religious history begins...

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Myth And Ritual

Myth And Ritual Myth and ritual are two central components of religious practice. Although myth and ritual are commonly united as parts of religion, the exact relationship between them has been a matter of controversy among scholars. One of the approaches to this problem is “the myth and ritual, or myth-ritualist, theory,”...