Pantheon A pantheon (literally “(a temple) of all gods”, “of or common to all gods”) is the particular set of all gods of any polytheistic religion, mythology, or tradition. Significance A pantheon of gods is a common element of polytheistic societies, although not all polytheists have such a pantheon, and not...
Greek Mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks and a genre of Ancient Greek folklore. These stories concern the origin and the nature of the world, the lives and activities of deities, heroes, and mythological creatures, and the origins and significance of the...
Myth Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives or stories that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. The main characters in myths are usually gods, demigods or supernatural humans. Stories of everyday human beings, although often of leaders of some type,...
Australian Aboriginal Religion And Mythology Australian Aboriginal religion and mythology are the beliefs represented in the stories performed by Aboriginal Australians within each of the language groups across Australia in their ceremonies. Aboriginal spirituality includes Dreamtime (the Dreaming), songlines, and Aboriginal oral literature. Aboriginal spirituality often conveys descriptions of each group’s local cultural landscape, adding meaning to...
Comparative Mythology Comparative mythology is the comparison of myths from different cultures in an attempt to identify shared themes and characteristics. 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...
![In illustrations of the Book of Genesis, Pomors often[quantify] depicted sirins as birds sitting in paradise trees. 1710](https://slife.org/wp-content/uploads/Sirin_Sunduk_1710-520x327.jpg)
Christian Mythology Christian mythology is the body of myths associated with Christianity. The term encompasses a broad variety of legends and stories, especially those considered sacred narratives. Mythological themes and elements occur throughout Christian literature, including recurring myths such as ascending to a mountain, the axis mundi, myths of combat, descent into the Underworld,...
Roman Mythology Roman mythology is the body of traditional stories pertaining to ancient Rome’s legendary origins and religious system, as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans. “Roman mythology” may also refer to the modern study of these representations, and to the subject matter as represented in the literature and art of other cultures in...
Classical Mythology Classical mythology, Classical Greco-Roman mythology, Greek and Roman mythology, or Greco-Roman mythology is both the body of and the study of myths from the ancient Greeks and Romans as they are used or transformed by cultural reception. Along with philosophy and political thought, mythology represents one of the major survivals of...
Cosmogony Cosmogony (from κόσμος “cosmos, the world”) and the root of γί (γ)νομαι / γέγονα (“come into a new state of being“) is any model concerning the origin of either the cosmos or the universe. Overview Scientific theories In astronomy, cosmogony refers to the study of the origin of particular astrophysical...
Islamic Mythology Islamic mythology is the body of myths associated with Islam and the Quran. Islam is a religion that is more concerned with social order and law than with religious myths. The Oxford Companion to World Mythology identifies a number of traditional narratives as “Islamic myths“. These include a creation myth and a vision of afterlife, which Islam shares to some extent...
Religion And Mythology This article covers the relationship between religion and mythology. Mythology is the main component of Religion. It refers to systems of concepts that are of high importance to a certain community, making statements concerning the supernatural or sacred. Religion is the broader term, besides the mythological system, it includes rituals. Given mythology...
Why Are Folktales Important? This article covers the answer to the question: “Why Are Folktales Important?“ Folktales can be used to help children develop strong reading skills, study other cultures, model positive character traits, and discover a love of stories. Our collection of folktales was developed to immerse children in...
What are Folktales and What is Their Function in Society? Folktales, including other forms of mythological tales which were the precursor of folktales, were and are essentially moral stories initially told by word of mouth from parents/elders to children for the purpose of educating and entertaining the next generation (ie....
Folktale A folktale or folk tale is a folklore genre that typically consists of a story passed down from generation to generation orally, and may refer to: Categories of stories Folkloric tale from oral tradition Fable (written form of the above) Fairy tales Folklore in general Old wives’ tale Storytelling Perform Folktales are generally passed down from one generation...
Storytelling Storytelling describes the social and cultural activity of sharing stories, sometimes with improvisation, theatrics, or embellishment. Every culture has its own stories or narratives, which are shared as a means of entertainment, education, cultural preservation or instilling moral values. Crucial elements of stories and storytelling include plot, characters and narrative point of view. The term “storytelling” can...
Evolutionary Origin Of Religions The evolutionary origin of religions and religious behavior is a field of study related to evolutionary psychology, the origin of language and mythology, and cross-cultural comparison of the anthropology of religion. Some subjects of interest include Neolithic religion, evidence for spirituality or cultic behavior in the...
Jewish Mythology Jewish mythology is a major literary element of the body of folklore found in the sacred texts and in traditional narratives that help explain and symbolize Jewish culture and Judaism. Elements of Jewish mythology have had a profound influence on Christian mythology and on Islamic mythology, as well...
Mythology The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece. In the field of folkloristics,...
Jesus In Comparative Mythology The study of Jesus in comparative mythology is the examination of the narratives of the life of Jesus in the Christian gospels, traditions, and theology, as they relate to Christianity and other religions. Although virtually all New Testament scholars and historians of the ancient Near East...