One of the most well-known and revered gods in the Hindu pantheon, Lord Ganesha is also known by the names Ganapati, Vinayaka, and Pillaiyar. He is also the Supreme God according to the Ganapatya sect. India is covered in images of him. He is worshipped by all Hindu sects, regardless of affiliation. Ganesha worship is widespread and spreads outside of India to Jains and Buddhists. Although Ganesha has various characteristics, his elephant head makes him easy to recognize. He is commonly regarded as the creator of knowledge and wisdom, the patron of the arts and sciences, and the remover of impediments. He is also considered to bring good fortune. He is honored at the beginning of rituals and ceremonies since He is the God of Beginnings. During writing sessions, Ganesha is frequently referred to as the patron of learning and the written word. Several texts include anecdotes about his birth and accomplishments. He is described in Hindu literature as the son of Parvati and Shiva in the Shivaist tradition, although he is a pan-Hindu god that can be found in all of the different traditions of the religion. Ganesha is regarded as the Supreme Being in the Ganapatya doctrine of Hinduism. The Ganesha Purana, Mudgala Purana, and Ganapati Atharvasirsha are three of the main works about Ganesha
[Information and Image Credit : Ganesha, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganesha ]
[Image : A 13th-century statue of Ganesha, Hoysala-style, Karnataka]
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The goddess of untamed nature, forests, hunting, and the moon revered by the Western Slavs is Devana, Zevana, and less frequently Zievonya. Her reference in the sources dates back to the 15th century, when Jan Dugosz linked her to the Roman goddess Diana. She occasionally performs with Morana in folk rites. Verbascum, which is used to treat respiratory issues and for skin care, is also known as dziewanna in Polish. The closest Slavic analogs to nymphs, who serve as helpers of Artemis in Greek mythology, are boginki, which are indigenous to Western Slavs, primarily in Poland. Young females known as boginki live at the edges of reservoirs, forests, and caverns where they emerge at night, particularly on nights with the summer moon. They are mostly naked or clad in white. While caring for wild creatures, they frequently displayed hostility against people, particularly men. Their behavior was controlled by the moon, which was their deity. Boginki were also expected to use a bow for shooting. These characteristics of boginki nymphs could link them to Devana-Artemis, the moon and forest goddess. A few legends may refer to Devana, yet she does not actually appear in folklore outside of the sources indicated above. The tale of Łysa Góra, which was portrayed in Polish culture as the Polish Olympus, may be an allusion to Devana. Local lore claims that there was once a Gord or a castle on Łysa Góra before the monastery was constructed there. According to the folktale, the Proud Lady, who served the castle as her seat, and giants were supposed to build the castle. The Proud Lady, who would go on to defeat Alexander the Great, erred by being self-centered and claiming to be Diana. God could not take it and used lightning to level the castle. Sometimes Devana is identified as The Proud Lady
[Information and Image Credit : Devana, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devana ]
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#Mythology
In modern Hinduism, Vishvakarma, also known as Vishvakarman, is an artisan deity and the divine architect of the Devas. The name Vishvakarma was initially employed as an epithet for any supreme god and as an attribute of Lord Indra and the Sun. The craftsman deity was known as Tvastar in the early writings. The tenth book of the Rigveda contains five occurrences of the name Visvakarman. The two Rigvedic hymns describe Visvakarman as all-seeing, having eyes, faces, limbs, and feet on all four sides in addition to possessing wings. He is similar to the four-armed, four-faced god of creation Lord Brahma in these ways. He is shown as the origin of all prosperity, quick to think, and given titles like seer, priest, and ruler of speech. In several passages of the Rigveda, Vishvakarma is described as the embodiment of ultimate reality, the abstract creative force innate in deities, living things, and inanimate objects. He is regarded as the fifth monotheistic god notion since He is the architect of Universe and divine engineer from before the beginning of time. Vishvakarma, however, came to be known as the name of the craftsman god in many later traditions. All of the chariots of the Devas and their weapons, including the Vajra of the God Indra, were made by Vishvakarma. Through his daughter Samjna, the Sun deity Surya was linked to Vishvakarma. The story goes that when energy of Surya caused Samjna to leave her home, Vishvakarma diminished it and used it to make a variety of different weapons. Along with various cities, Vishvakarma also constructed capitals like Indraprastha, Dvaraka, and Lanka. The epic Ramayana claims that the Vanara (forest man or monkey) Nala and Nile were the sons of Vishvakarma and was made to help incarnation of Lord Rama
[Information and Image Credit : Vishvakarma, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vishvakarma ]
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#Mythology
Caer Ibormeith, a mythological figure from Irish mythology, was the daughter of Prince Ethal Anbuail of Sid Uamuin of Connacht. Caer Ibormeith stood by bed of Óengus in his long-lasting, i.e. almost a year-long dream, but whenever he reached out to touch her, she would vanish. Every other Samhain, she would assume human form for one day, starting at dusk, before returning to her original animal form, a swan, where she would stay for a year before assuming human form once more the following Samhain. At the lake of the Dragons Mouth, Óengus went in pursuit of the girl from his dreams and discovered 150 girls tied together in pairs, including his own Caer Ibormeith. If Óengus could recognize Caer in her swan form, he would be allowed to marry her. Óengus transformed into a swan after he made the right decision, and the two flew to his longtime abode, the Brú na Bóinne/palace on the River Boyne near Slane. The two performed wonderful songs along the way, for three days and nights, that sent all listeners in Ireland to sleep. Caer would get wedded to Óengus of the Tuatha de Dannan and, among other things, take on the role of foster mother of Diarmuid. Because swans and the related cranes are revered in Irish mythology due to, particularly in the case of the latter, being equally at home in flight, on land, and in water, which made it an especially magical creature able to travel to other worlds, the tale of Fionnuala and the other children of Lir shares the motif of transformation into swans. In addition, because the towering Crane stands straight on land, it was connected to changing back into human form
[Information Credit : Caer_Ibormeith, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caer_Ibormeith ]
[AI Generated Image of Goddess Caer Ibormeith]
#Mythology
In Roman and Hellenistic religion, Diana is a goddess who is principally revered as the protector of the countryside, hunters, crossroads, and the Moon. Despite having an independent Italian origin, she is often compared to the Greek goddess Artemis and adopted much of the mythology of Artemis early in Roman history. She was born on the island of Delos to parents Jupiter and Latona and had a twin brother named Apollo. Diana is revered as a virgin goddess and a maternity protector. Diana once shared a trio of roles with the water nymph Egeria, who served as her attendant and assisting midwife, and the woodland god Virbius. Many contemporary neopagan cults, such as Roman neopaganism and Stregheria, honor Diana. Diana has been seen as a triple divinity throughout history, merging with a goddess of the moon, such as Luna or Selene, and the underworld, which is typically associated with Hecate. Persona of Diana is intricate and includes a number of antiquated elements. Diana was once thought of as a goddess of the wild and of the hunt, which was an important sport in both Roman and Greek culture. Diana was principally honored as a huntress and protector of hunters in early Roman inscriptions. Later, throughout the Hellenistic era, Diana came to be equally or even more venerated as a goddess of the tame countryside, or Villa Rustica, as opposed to the wild woods, which was often idealized in Greek thinking and poetry. The Greek goddess Artemis was the first to assume this dual role as the goddess of both civilization and the wild, and consequently of the civilized countryside. By the third century CE, when Greek culture had a significant impact on Roman religion, Diana had nearly completely merged with Artemis and had adopted many of her characteristics, both in terms of her spiritual realms and how she was described physically
[Information and Image Credit : Diana_(mythology), Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diana_(mythology) ]
[Image : Diana Hunting, Guillaume Seignac]
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[License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en ]
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#Mythology
Dola represents personification of fate and destiny in human form and is historically connected to the Slavic words for division and part. Dola is a companion who is allotted to a person at birth and remains with him throughout life. It might have come from forefathers. Although usually unseen, it has occasionally taken on human or animal shape. Nedola, the personification of bad luck, stood in contrast to Dola, who was thought of as good fortune. Particularly invisible spirits or deities of fate in Slavic pre-Christian religion included the rozhanitsy, narecnitsy and sudzhenitsy. They are frequently mentioned alongside Rod and have to do with pregnancy, motherhood, marriage, and female ancestors. Typically, there were three of them together, but there were as many as nine, one of whom was a Queen or Singular. They have a connection to Dola, but it is unclear how. They were revered as zorze or auroras in Poland. Dolya, whose name denotes division, participation, and bad luck like in Nedolya, was thus also known as the personification of fortune among the Eastern Slavs. On the other hand, Sreća, whose name means Luck, is among the Serbs and Croats. Other characters, such as Boginki in Lesser Poland and Kraśniki in Pomerania, served as rozhanitsy in some parts of Poland. The Mothers of God or saintly women took the place of the rozhanitsy with the spread of Christianity. Parascheva, Anastasia, and Barbara are referenced in the Russian folktale charms of a maturing boy, as well as Mother of God in Bulgarian folklore. The roles of rozhanitsy were also taken over by angels or perhaps sometimes by Christ himself. Old Russian texts occasionally refer to Rod and Rodzanica as a pair, while Rozhanitsa is also mentioned as a single person. One such source is the Gesta regum Anglorum of the 12th century, which mentions the worship of Svetovid among the Slavs of the Elbe and compares him to the Roman Fortuna and the Greek Týchē. Fortuna is rendered as Rozhanitsa in the 13th-century Russian translation of this chronicle. In Southern Slavic folklore, rozhanitsy are either described as lovely young women or as kind-hearted old ladies. They may also appear as three ladies of varying ages, such as a young girl, an adult, and an elderly woman. They were regarded as having lovely faces with round, white cheeks by Southern Slavs. They were reported to be wearing all-white clothing, sporting white hats or mob caps, and wearing silver and gold jewelry. It was claimed that they held lit candles in their palms, which allowed moonlight to clearly see their outlines. They were referred to as old women or white-dressed virgins by the Czechs. They were reported to be tall and transparent, with pale cheeks, eyes that sparkled and charmed others, and exquisite stone-adorned hair. They were said to wear white bonnets or veils, just like the southern Slavs. According to legend, the Rozhanitsy looked after expectant mothers and decided the future of the child once it was born. Three days after the birth of the child, at midnight, the rozhanitsy came at its cradle, where they were meant to predict the future success or failure of the child. After deciding the fate of the child, it was preserved as an irremovable mark on the forehead. The views of the rozhanitsy about the destiny of the child were frequently in conflict. Hence the oldest parent made the final decision. The thread of life is spun by the first and youngest rozhanitsa, measured by the second, and severed by the third; the longer the thread, the longer is the life. Among southern Slavs, rozhanitsy and sudzhenitsy—who were supposed to manifest before death and at pivotal moments in life—were occasionally distinguished. Rozhanitsy were occasionally requested to shield the household from diseases as well
[Information Credit : Deities_and_fairies_of_fate_in_Slavic_mythology, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deities_and_fairies_of_fate_in_Slavic_mythology ]
[Information Credit : List_of_Slavic_deities, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Slavic_deities ]
[Image-Credit : List_of_Slavic_deities, Wikipedia]
[Image : Srecha-Udacha (Luck) by Andrey Shishkin]
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[Wikipedia-Image-Source-Link :
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Abundantia, also known as Abundita or Copia, was a deity who represented wealth and abundance in the religion of the ancient Romans. Abundantia is Latin for plenty or wealth. This name is appropriate since Abundantia was a goddess of wealth, abundance, luck, fortune, valuables, and success. She would aid in safeguarding your investments and savings. Abundantia would even help with significant purchases. She was one of the religious depictions of virtue that portrayed the emperor as ensuring Golden Age conditions. Thus, Abundantia appears in literature, worship, and art but has little actual mythology. She might have survived in some capacity in medieval France and Roman Gaul. Thus, Abundantia appears in literature, worship, and art but has little actual mythology. She might have survived in some capacity in medieval France and Roman Gaul. Abundantia would go with a cornucopia loaded with grain and money. She occasionally left some of her grain or cash as a gift at home of someone. In the legend of Acheloüs, the river deity, whose horn Hercules tore from his forehead, the Augustan poet Ovid gives Abundantia a role. The Naiads took the horn and turned it into the cornucopia they gave to Abundantia. She was equated with Annona, who represented the grain supply, and Ceres on Neronian currency. Different aetiological myths offer diverse theories for the origin of the cornucopia. Abundantia was a virtue in action in places like the waterfront, where grain entered the city, similar to Annona. She is shown on Roman coins either holding the cornucopia or emptying it of the richness of its contents. On rare occasions, she is shown standing on a ship or holding a stalk of wheat. What her presence on ships denotes is uncertain. This can represent the wealth that the Roman Empire gained via its conquests. The deity is seen sitting and holding a cornucopia as a representation of the affluence that stems from act of Mithras in Mithraic imagery on a vase from Lezoux in the Roman province of Gallia Aquitania. A Pompeii fountain also included an image of Abundantia. Numerous medals of emperors feature Abundantia as those of Trajan, Antoninus Pius, Caracalla, Elagabalus, Severus Alexander, Gordian, Decius, Gallienus, Tetricus, Probus, Numerian, Carinus, Carus, Diocletian and Galerius, to name a few
[Information and Image Credit : Abundantia, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abundantia ]
[Image : A painting of Abundantia made by Peter Paul Rubens] [The Work (Image) is a faithful photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional, public domain work of art. The author died in 1640, so this work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the life of author plus 100 years or fewer. The Work (Image) is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1928. (Please Relate to Individual Image URLs for More Usage Property)]
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#Mythology
In the Ulster Cycle of Irish mythology, Medb—later written Meadhbh, Méabh, and Méibh—and frequently anglicized as Maeve—is the queen of Connacht. Although she had a number of spouses prior to Ailill mac Máta who were also rulers of Connacht, he is the man she is married to in the central stories of the cycle. She had authority at Cruachan, which is modern-day Rathcroghan in the County of Roscommon. She was the rival of Conchobar mac Nessa and also his previous spouse. She is most remembered for initiating the Táin Bó Cúailnge to seize the prized stud bull Donn Cailnge of Ulster. The classic warrior queen, Medb was strong-willed, ambitious, clever, and promiscuous. Some people think she is a manifestation of the goddess of sovereignty. The Tara sovereignty goddess Medb Lethderg and Medb of Connacht are likely the same person, and there may also be a connection to the Morrígan. Táin Bó Cúailnge - meaning the driving-off of the cows of Cooley, often known as The Táin or less frequently as The Cattle Raid of Cooley, is an epic from Irish mythology. The Táin is frequently referred to as The Irish Iliad, despite the fact that it is written in prosimetrum, or prose with sporadic inserts of verse written by the characters, like the majority of other early Irish literature. The Táin describes a war that Queen Medb of Connacht and her husband King Ailill plan to wage against Ulster in order to take the stud bull Donn Cuailnge. Only the child demigod Cú Chulainn is able to repel the invaders because of a curse placed upon the king and Ulster warriors. The Táin, the main text of a collection of tales known as the Ulster Cycle, is customarily set in the first century, during a pagan heroic age. In manuscripts from the 12th century and later, it can be found in three written forms or recensions: the first is a collection that was primarily written in Old Irish, the second is a more coherent work written in Middle Irish, and the third is an Early Modern Irish version. Irish literature and culture have benefited from The Táin. It is frequently referred to as national epic of Ireland. The Táin is preceded by a number of remscéla, or pre-tales, that give the backdrop on the primary characters and explain things like why certain Ulster characters are in the Connacht camp, why the remaining Ulstermen are temporarily unable to fight due to a curse, and how the bulls Donn Cuailnge and Finnbhennach got their magical origins. There are numerous more stories that have been referred to as remscéla to the Táin, some of which are only distantly related to it. Ailill and Medb are seen gathering their army in Cruachan at the start of the first recension; the reason for this military build-up is assumed for granted. In the second revision, a prologue is added in which Ailill and Medb compare their wealth and discover that the only thing that sets them apart is that Ailill owns the extraordinarily fertile bull Finnbhennach, who was born into the herd of Medb but despised being owned by a woman and chose to move to that of Ailill. To match the wealth of her husband, Medb resolves to obtain the similarly potent Donn Cuailnge from Cooley. She is able to work out a one-year rental agreement with the owner of the bull, Dáire mac Fiachna. However, Medb intends to take the bull by force if she is not allowed to borrow him, as her inebriated messengers reveal. When the agreement falls through, Medb gathers an army, including exiles from Ulster led by Fergus mac Róich, and sets out to seize Donn Cuailnge. The ces nonden, which is literally translated as debility of nine (days), is a disease that appears to be afflicting the men of Ulster but actually lasts for several months. According to a different story, this is the result of the curse of Goddess Macha, which she placed after being made to race against a chariot when heavily pregnant by the king of Ulster. Only seventeen-year-old Cú Chulainn is qualified to protect Ulster, but he lets the army surprise Ulster by going out on a tryst instead of keeping an eye on the border. With the help of his charioteer Láeg, Cú Chulainn engages in a guerilla war against the oncoming army before stopping it at fords by using the right of single combat and taking out champion after champion in a standoff that lasted months. He is powerless to stop Medb from catching the bull, though. The magical characters of the Tuatha Dé Danann both help and hinder Cú Chulainn. Before a battle, the goddess of war, Morrígan, appears to Cú Chulainn in the appearance of a lovely young woman and professes her love. However, Cú Chulainn rejects her. She then makes herself known and makes a threat to become involved in his upcoming fight. She performs this three times, first as an eel that trips him in the ford, then as a wolf who stampedes livestock through the ford, and finally as a cow leading the stampede. However, in each of these appearances, Cú Chulainn injures her. When he wins the battle, the Morrígan reappears to him as an elderly woman milking a cow with wounds that are an exact replica of those that Cú Chulainn inflicted on her in her animal incarnations. She extends to him three milk sips. He blesses her with each cup, and the blessings mend her wounds. Cú Chulainn claims to the Morrígan that he would not have rejected her if he had known her true identity. Cú Chulain is visited by Lug, another otherworldly being, who reveals himself to be father of Cú Chulainn, after a particularly taxing battle. For three days, Lug puts Cú Chulainn to sleep so that he can receive his recovery. The Ulster youth corps come to help of Cú Chulainn while he is sleeping, but they are all killed. When Cú Chulainn wakes up, he experiences a stunning ríastrad or distortion, during which his body twists in its skin and he transforms into an unrecognisable creature that has no concept of friend or foe. Cú Chulainn attacks the Connacht camp viciously and exacts sixfold retribution for the slaughter of the young corps. The series of single combats resumes after this exceptional episode, though Medb repeatedly violates the agreement by sending more warriors against Cú Chulainn at once. When his foster father Fergus is dispatched to battle him, Cú Chulainn consents to submit to him on the condition that Fergus submits to him the following time they encounter each other. Finally, Medb calls Ferdiad, the foster brother of Cú Chulainn, into the fight, promising him the hand of her daughter Finnabair and her own friendly thighs in exchange. Chulainn begs Ferdiad to end the conflict because he does not want to kill his foster brother. The hero and his foster brother engage in a three-day battle that is both physically and mentally taxing. Ferdiad is eventually defeated by Cú Chulainn, who uses the fabled Gáe Bolga spear to kill him. Cú Chulainn, who has been severely wounded and is unable to continue fighting, is carried away by the healers of his clan. The paralysed Ulstermen begin to stir, first one by one and then collectively. King Conchobar mac Nessa swears that he will return every cow to its stall and every kidnapped woman to her house as long as the sky is above and the Earth is beneath. The crucial conflict gets going. Cú Chulainn initially observes the battle while healing from his wounds. Fergus now had Conchobar at his mercy, but Cormac Cond Longas, son of Conchobar and foster-son of Fergus, stops him from killing him. Enraged, Fergus then uses his sword to sever the tops of three hills. Chulainn pushes his injuries aside, enters the conflict, and confronts Fergus, compelling him to fulfill his word and submit to him. Fergus leaves the area and removes all of his troops. The rest of friends of Connacht flee in fear, forcing Medb to withdraw. When Medb was apparently having her period, Cú Chulainn now appeared before her (Is and drecgais a fal fola for Meidb, i.e. Then Medb began to experience the blood issue.). Chulainn however spares her because of her cries for life and also watches over her escape. Now Donn Cuailnge was returned to Connacht by Medb, where the bull confronts Finnbhennach there. The bull defeats him, but is severely wounded. He then wanders over Ireland, dropping parts of Finnbhennach from his horns and giving those locations their names. Finally, the bull returns home and eventually passes away from fatigue [Information Credit : Medb, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medb ]
[Information Credit : Táin_Bó_Cúailnge, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T%C3%A1in_B%C3%B3_C%C3%BAailnge ]
[Image Credit : Medb, Wikipedia] [Image : Queen Maev by J. C. Leyendecker]
[The Work (Image) is a faithful photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional, public domain work of art. The author died in 1951, so this work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is th life of author plus 70 years or fewer. The Work (Image) is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1928]
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[Wikipedia-Source-Image-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Maev.jpg ] #Mythology
In the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, Queen Mab—the midwife of fairies—is mentioned as a fairy. Later, she makes appearances in other works of poetry and fiction as well as in drama and film under various guises. In the play, she is a tiny creature who plays nighttime pranks on sleeping people, as described in a famous monologue by Mercutio that was originally written in prose and frequently modified into iambic pentameter. She rides her chariot over their noses while being propelled by a team of atoms, bringing the imaginations of sleeping men. She is also referred to as a midwife who assists those who are sleeping in giving birth to their dreams. She has generally been represented in later works as the Fairy Queen. Shakespeare may have taken the name Mab from tradition, but this is debatable and there are many hypotheses as to where it came from. According to a well-liked hypothesis, Mab is descended from Medb, a legendary queen from Irish poetry from the 12th century. The little dream-bringer Mab, however, stands in stark contrast to the powerful warrior Medb. Other writers, like Wirt Sikes, asserted that Mab is derived from the Welsh word mab, which means son or child, although detractors criticized this claim for lacking evidence. A link to Habundia, also known as Dame Habonde, a goddess occasionally referred to as a queen in medieval times and associated with witches, is also postulated
[Information Credit : Queen_Mab, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queen_Mab ]
[Image : Queen Mab, illustration by Arthur Rackham (1906)]
[The work (Image) is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the life of Author plus 70 years or fewer. The work (Image) is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1928. (Please Relate to Individual Image URL for More Usage Property)] [Wikipedia-Source-Image-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:110_Queen_Mab,_who_rules_in_the_Gardens.jpg ]
#Mythology
The name Abnoba refers to a Gaulish deity who was revered in the Black Forest and its environs. It also has geographical significance. About nine epigraphic inscriptions have been used to identify Abnoba, who is thought to be a goddess of the forest and rivers. She is referred to as Diana, the Roman goddess of the hunt, on an altar at the Badenweiler Roman Baths in Germany and another at Mühlenbach. A mountain range made up of the Odenwald, Spessart, and Baar mountains has often been referred to as Abnoba, which is also occasionally spelled Arnoba or Arbona. Depending on the region it is travelling through, this composite range, which stretches from the Rhine to the Neckar, is known to by one of the several names listed. As the Celtic Goddess of the Hunt, Abnoba was deeply venerated. She was specifically venerated in the Black Forest region as a Gaulish/Brythonic Goddess along riverbanks, in Her shrines, and atop the mountain-forests. She has received honors as the patroness of all waterways, the Celtic Goddess of the Black Forest, a Forest and River Goddess, the Goddess of the Abnoba Mountain of the Black Forest, and the Goddess of Childbirth. She thus serves as the Guardian of the Forests, Springs, Rivers, and Wild Animals. Abnoba was known by a variety of names, just like many other ancient Gods and Goddesses. She is known as Abnoba/Abnova from Alprisbach, Cannstatt, Pforzhein, and Valdmossingen of Germany. Also She shares the same name as the Roman Goddess Diana and is well-known in the German cities of Baldweiler, Muhlburg, Muhlenbach, and Stettfeld. The Altar at the Badenweiler Roman Baths refers to Her as Dianae Abnobae, which is another way of saying Abnovas the Dianas. Latin usage of several forms suggests that She may have been regarded as several different goddesses
[Information Credit : Abnoba , Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abnoba ]
[Information-Credit-Link :
https://discover.hubpages.com/religion-philosophy/Celtic-Goddesses-Abnoba ] [Image Created by AI]
#Mythology
In ancient Slavic mythology, Vesna was the goddess of spring and fertility. She was responsible for the birth of spring, morning, and all living things. She is also known as Zhiva, Diva, and among the Poles, Devana. Goddess Vesna is always smiling, beautiful and painted barefoot. She has long hair, almost up to her knees, and various flowers are adorned in her hair. She is often depicted with an apple in the right hand and a bunch of grapes in the left hand; sometimes with a swallow, which is a symbol of spring, in the index finger of the right hand, and a bouquet in the left hand, symbolizing marriage. She had a scent of spring wherever she went, and all the scents of spring were believed to be a sign that she had passed through it. The Goddess makes this kind of appearance in Chronicle of Helmold of Bozov. He discussed how the pagan cult grew more powerful during rule of Niklot. It claims that various idol worship was strengthened across Slavia. Because Prone, the deity of Oldenburg country, Siwa, the goddess of the Polabians, and Redigast, the god of Obotrite land, were the most significant and dominant gods in addition to the household deities and sacred forests that were common in both the countryside and cities. Živa, Zhiva (Latin Siwa) thus had been a goddess of the Obodritic tribe of the Polabian Slavs
[Image : Zhiva by Andrey Shishkin, 2016 , Wikipedia-Image-Link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Zhiva_by_Andrey_Shishkin.jpg ] [Information Credit: https://meettheslavs.com/slavic-goddesses/ and Živa_(mythology) , Wikipedia ] [Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%BDiva_(mythology) ] [Image Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported] [Image-License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en ] #Mythology
A druid belonged to the elite priestly class in prehistoric Celtic nations. Druids were respected members of the clergy who also served as judges, jurists, lorekeepers, healers, and political advisers. Druids left no records in writing. Although they are thought to have been literate, dogma is thought to have stopped them from writing down their knowledge. Their contemporaneous people from other cultures, such the Romans and the Greeks, have provided some detail about their beliefs and practices. The druids are first mentioned in texts from the fourth century BCE. The first complete account is found in Commentarii de Bello Gallico by Julius Caesar, written in 50 BCE. Other Roman authors including Cicero, Tacitus, and Pliny the Elder described them. Following the Roman invasion of Gaul, the druid orders were suppressed by the Roman government under the emperors Tiberius and Claudius in the first century CE, and by the second century, they had vanished from written records. Fraternal and neopagan organizations were created in the aftermath of the Celtic renaissance in the 18th and 19th centuries, and this development is known as Neo-Druidism. Popular beliefs about druids that were based on misinformation from 18th-century historians have mostly been replaced by more modern research. The druids had a significant role in Celtic civilization, according to both Greco-Roman and indigenous Irish sources. They are considered to have been one of the two most significant social classes in the area, together with the equites, or nobility, and were in charge of setting up rituals and sacrifices, divination, and judicial processes in Gallic, British, and Irish communities. Caesar stated that the study of druidic lore could take up to twenty years because it involved memorizing a huge number of lines. Although Caesar claims that the Gauls had a written language in which they used Greek characters, all education was delivered verbally. He likely draws inspiration from previous authors because by the reign of Caesar, Gaulish inscriptions had switched from Greek to Latin writing. Caesar thought that the oral tradition of information transmission and hostility to writing down ideas sprang from two goals: first, a desire to prevent the knowledge from spreading and, second, a desire to strengthen their memory
[Information and Image Credit : Druid, Wikipedia] [Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Druid ]
[Image: Two Druids, 19th-century engraving based on a 1719 illustration by Bernard de Montfaucon] [The work (Image) is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the life of Author plus 100 years or fewer. The work (Image) is believed to be in Public Domain I the United States as well. (Please Relate to Individual Image URL for More Usage Property)] [Wikipedia-Source-Image-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Two_Druids.PNG ]
#Mythology#History
Myths, tales, and folklores of numerous cultures all involve dogs in some way. Dogs frequently act as pets or watchdogs in mythology. Dog guarding the gates of the afterlife tales are common in Indo-European myths and may have their roots in Proto-Indo-European religion. Some of these have to do with the relationship between dogs and the star Sirius, the union of humans and dogs, and the gatekeeping mentioned above in Indo-European mythology. There is evidence to support a relationship between the genetic and prehistoric records of dog domestication and the mythical heritage of many societies. For the Aztec people of central Mexico, dogs held significant religious and symbolic meaning. The Aztec god of death, Xolotl, was shown as a monster with head of a dog. One of the 12 animals revered in Chinese astrology is the dog. Chinese people frequently remember to treat dogs nicely on the second day of the Chinese New Year since it is believed that all dogs celebrate their birthdays on that day. Dogs are revered in China, Korea, and Japan as loving protectors. A dragon-dog named Panhu changed into a man and wed a princess. Yama, the Hindu god of death, is the owner of two four-eyed watchdogs. They are reported to keep watch over gates of Naraka (Hell). The Vahana, or mount, of Hindu god Bhairava is a dog. Many Hindus have the widespread notion that caring for or adopting dogs can also open the door to paradise because Yudhishthira in Mahabharata had traveled to heaven with his dog, Yama, who was the god himself. Dogs are discovered to have a sacred significance and figure as an essential symbol in religious imagery, but the Ancient Egyptians are more frequently connected with cats in the form of Bastet. Anubis, the jackal-headed god of the underworld, was associated with dogs. Dogs were occasionally interred in the Anubieion tombs at Saqqara during their time in use. Anput was the wife of Anubis, and she was frequently shown as a jackal carrying a child, breastfeeding a baby, or brandishing a weapon. In the classical era, Hecate was strongly related to dogs. For Artemis and Ares, dogs were sacrosanct. The three-headed, dragon-tailed watchdog Cerberus stands guard at the entrances to Hades. In Greek myth, a dog named Laelaps existed. The protection of Zeus was entrusted to a dog known only as the Golden Hound when he was a little child. In Christianity, dogs stand for loyalty. Specifically within Roman Catholicism, the iconography of Saint Dominic has a dog since the mother of the saint dreamed of a dog emerging from her womb and soon thereafter became pregnant. The patron saint of dogs according to the Roman Catholic Church is Saint Roch, who lived in France in the early 14th century. The dog is revered in Zoroastrianism as a particularly good, pure, and virtuous creature that has to be fed and cared for. The dog is commended for the helpful tasks it completes around the house, but it is also thought to possess unique spiritual qualities. Similar to Hinduism, dogs are associated with Yama, who uses them to guard the gates of the afterlife
[Information Credit : Dogs_in_religion, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogs_in_religion ]
[Image : AI Generated Image of Dogs as Angels] #Mythology
One of the Tuatha Dé Danann in Irish mythology, Aengus or Óengus was presumably initially a god connected with youth, love, summer, and creative inspiration. Aengus, the son of The Dagda and Boann, is also known as Macan Óc, which is Welsh for the Young Boy or Young Son, and is related to the Celtic god Maponos. He is a major character in five Irish myths. The Dagda and Boann were biological parents of Aengus, and Elcmar or Midir was alternatively his foster father. He was supposed to have resided at Newgrange on the River Boyne, where he fostered Curcog, the daughter of Manannán, who had blonde hair. According to Scottish legend, Angus is the husband of Brigid and the child of Beira, the Fairy Queen of Winter. Aed, Cermait, Bodb Derg, and Brigid are among his siblings. Aengus is the guardian and foster father of Diarmuid Ua Duibhne of the Fianna. During the pursuit of Diarmuid and Gráinne by Fianna, he saves them. When Diarmuid dies, Aengus returns his body to the Brú na Bóinne and gives it life when he needs to communicate with Diarmuid. Death Tales of the Tuatha de Danann claim that Aengus kills Elcmar, his stepfather, as retribution for killing Midir. The Battle of Ventry makes mention of Nemhannach, the son of Aengus
[Information and Image Credit : Aengus, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aengus ]
[Image : Aengus, illustration by Beatrice Elvery of Heroes of the Dawn (1914) by Violet Russell]
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[Wikipedia-Source-Image-URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Heroes_of_the_dawn_(1914)_(14566173909).jpg ] #Mythology
An idea of the afterlife known as Elysium, also referred to as the Elysian Fields or Elysian Plains, evolved over time and was upheld by several Greek religious and philosophical sects and cults. It was once cut off from domain of Hades, the underworld of the Greeks. Only mortals who were linked to the gods and other heroes were permitted to cross the Styx River. Later, those selected by the gods, the pious, and the brave were added to the list of people who could enter. After passing away, individuals would stay at the Elysian Fields to live a blissful and happy afterlife and partake in whatever pleasures they had loved in life. Homer claimed that the Elysian Fields were situated by the Okeanos stream at the westernmost point of the planet. Elysium was also referred to as the Fortunate Isles or the Isles of the Blessed, and it was thought to be located in the western ocean at the edge of the earth during the time of the Greek poet Hesiod. The Theban poet Pindar would condense the Isles of the Blessed to a single island, describing it as having shady parks and people who enjoyed sports and music as their hobbies. The name of the monarch of Elysium differs depending on the author: Rhadamanthus with fair hair is said to live there by Homer in the Odyssey, while Pindar and Hesiod identify Cronus as the ruler
[Information and Image Credit : Elysium, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elysium ]
[Image : Depiction of Ankunft im Elysium of Goethe by Franz Nadorp ]
[The Work (Image) is a faithful photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional, public domain work of art. The work (Image) is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the life of author plus 100 years or fewer. The work (Image) is in public domain in the United States as well. ]
[Wikipedia-Image-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Goethe_Elysium_crop.jpg ]
#Mythology
The Hyperboreans were a legendary race described in Greek mythology as existing in the far north of the known world. Their name appears to have been derived from the Greek phrase ὑπέρ Βορέᾱ that means Beyond Boreas, also known as the God of the North Wind. However, other academics favor borrowing from a different Greek term - ὑπερφέρω, with a similar meaning. The Hyperboreans were thought to reside in a realm that was sunny, temperate, and blessed by the Gods, despite being in a region of the earth that was generally cold. They were depicted in several stories as residing north of the Riphean Mountains, which protected them from the chilly North Wind. The earliest tales describe them as favorite people of Apollo, and some ancient Greek writers believed the Hyperboreans to be the founders of the mythological temples of Apollo at Delos and Delphi. Later authors had different ideas about the existence and location of the Hyperboreans; some believed they were myths, while others made connections between them and actual people and locations in northern Eurasia, such as Britain, Scandinavia, or Siberia. The Hyperboreans came to represent remoteness and exoticism in literature from the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. According to contemporary researchers, the Hyperborean myth is a synthesis of old utopian concepts such as legends about the edge of the earth, the cult of Apollo, and extravagant accounts of northern European events, such as the Arctic Midnight Sun. According to Pausanias, who called the area -- The Land of the Hyperboreans, Men living beyond the Home of Boreas, the Hyperboreans were thought to reside beyond the snow-covered Riphean Mountains
[Information and Image Credit : Hyperborea, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperborea ]
[Image: An Arctic Continent on the Gerardus Mercator map of 1595. ]
[The work (Image) is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the life of Author plus 100 years or fewer. The work (Image) is in public domain in the United States as well. ]
[Wikipedia-Image-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mercator_Septentrionalium_Terrarum_descriptio.jpg ] #Mythology
Taranis, the thunder deity of Celtic mythology, was revered especially in Ireland, Gaul, Hispania and Britain, as well as in the Rhineland and Danube regions, among other places. The Roman poet Lucan listed Taranis, along with Esus and Toutatis, as a Celtic deity to whom sacrifices were made in his epic poem Pharsalia. In Greek mythology, Taranis and the Cyclops Brontes, sometimes known as Thunder, were both connected to the wheel. Many images of a bearded god holding a wheel in one hand and a thunderbolt in the other have been discovered in Gaul, where it appears that this deity became syncretized with Jupiter. An important emblem in historical Celtic polytheism was the wheel, notably the chariot wheel with six or eight spokes. This god was known as the wheel-god and was recognised as the sky-sun or thunder-god, whose name is documented as Taranis by Lucan. A wheel like this is also shown on many Celtic coins. Eight spokes can also be seen on the half-wheel depicted in the Gundestrup cauldron broken wheel panel. Since the Middle Bronze Age, figurative votive wheels have been donated at shrines, such as those in Alesia, cast in rivers, such the Seine, buried in tombs, or worn as amulets. These four-spoked wheel pendants from the Bronze Age are frequently recognised as solar symbols or sun crosses. The so-called Zierscheiben are items that can be compared to Celtic votive wheels or wheel-pendants. There are parallels between the association of the Sun with a wheel or chariot in Germanic, Greek, and Vedic mythology
[Information and Image Credit : Taranis , Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taranis ]
[Image : Taranis (Jupiter with wheel and thunderbolt), Le Chatelet, Gourzon, Haute-Marne, France ]
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#Mythology
The ancient Inca sun god is called Inti. He is regarded as the national patron of the Inca state. Although most people think of Inti as the sun god, the Inca separated his identity into the phases of the sun, thus it is more accurate to think of him as a collection of solar attributes. Pachacuti, who is revered as the patron deity of the Inca Empire, is frequently connected to the beginning and growth of the Inca Sun Cult. The most widely held notion was that Viracocha, who held a number of titles, foremost among them being the God of Creation, was the mother of Inti. The term Inti is not a Quechua word; rather, it is a Puquina loanword. It is understandable why historically dissimilar languages like Quechua, Aymara, and Mapuche have words for the Sun that are similar thanks to borrowing from Puquina. Similarities exist not just linguistically but also symbolically, as the Sun i.e. Inti/Antu and the Moon i.e. Quilla/Cuyen are partners in Mapuche and Central Andean cosmology. Inti and Mama Quilla, the Moon deity, were often regarded as benign deities. After that, she became pregnant with his twins. Venus, the Pleiades, the Rainbow, and other celestial bodies all attend to their court. The founding Inca progenitor Manco Cápac was believed to be son of Inti. Inti is said to have taught Manco Cápac and his daughter Mama Ocllo the civilizational skills. Manco Cápac, however, is described in another tale as being the son of Viracocha. Inti is the son of the sky god and the Earth goddess Pachamama, according to a separate tale. Where a holy golden bar or wedge that they took with them entered the earth was where Inti instructed his descendants to construct the Inca capital. The Incas thought that Cusco is where it took place. The Inca emperor was regarded as living representative of Inti. Pachacuti is frequently mentioned in relation to the development of the Inca Sun Cult
[Information and Image Credit : Inti, Wikipedia] [Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inti ] [Image: The Sun-God Inti] [The work (Image) is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the life of Author plus 70 years or fewer. The work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1928.]
[Wikipedia Image-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sol_de_Mayo-Bandera_de_Argentina.svg ] #Mythology
Étaín, also known as Édain, of Irish mythology is best known as the protagonist of Tochmarc Étaíne, also known as The Wooing of Étaín, one of the oldest and most elaborate tales in the Mythological Cycle. The rejected first wife Fúamnach of Midir of the Tuatha Dé Danann becomes envious and performs a number of spells on Étaín when Midir falls in love with her and marries her. Fúamnach first transforms Étaín into a pool of water, then a worm or a snake, and lastly a stunning crimson fly. The fly becomes regular companion of Midir despite the fact that he is unaware that it is Étaín and has no interest in females. The fly is then driven away by a wind that Fúamnach summons, and for the next seven years it can only land on the rocks of seas.
Eventually it settles on garments of Óengus, and he recognises it as Étaín. However, because he is at war with Midir, he is unable to bring her back to him. To allow her to come and leave, he builds her a tiny chamber with windows, which he takes with him everywhere he goes. However, when Fúamnach learns of this, he summons a new wind, which carries her away from him for an additional seven years. The fly eventually lands in a wine glass. The wife of Étar, an Ulster lord, swallows the wine and the fly during the reign of Conchobar mac Nessa. One thousand and twelve years after her first birth Étain is reborn again, as the wife of Étar now becomes pregnant. It seems obvious that the creature she had transformed into is a fly given that both butterflies and dragonflies may be found in Ireland and that there are distinct Irish words for both.
Étaín weds Eochaid Airem, the High King, when she is an adult again. Ailill Angubae, the brother of Eochaid, falls in love with her and deteriorates quickly. He finally tells Étaín that he is dying of love for her, and she consents to have a sexual encounter with him in order to save his life. They make plans to meet, but Midir performs a magic to have Ailill lose consciousness and miss the appointment. However, Étaín encounters a man who resembles Ailill in appearance and speech, but she does not sleep with him because she knows it is not really him. After three instances of this, the man who appears to be Ailill confesses that he is actually Midir and informs her about her prior existence as his wife. She refuses to go anywhere with him until her spouse provides the go-ahead. She then goes back to Ailill and discovers him recovered.
Then Midir approaches Eochaid in his actual form and requests to play the board game fidchell with him. He bets fifty horses, loses, and hands Eochaid the promised horses. Midir continues to lose when he dares him to more games with larger stakes. Eochaid assigns him a number of chores, after being informed by his foster father that Midir is a powerful entity, including constructing a causeway over Móin Lámrige, which he does grudgingly. He then challenges Eochaid to one last round of fidchell, with the winner choosing the stake. Midir triumphs this time and requests an embrace and kiss from Étaín. Eochaid consents that he can take it if he comes back in a month. Midir comes back a month later. He then encircles Étaín and transform into swans and take off.
Eochaid and his men start excavating at the Brí Léith mound, which is the home of Midir. They see Midir, who promises Eochaid that the next day, his wife would be returned to him. The old hag instructs Eochaid to choose which of fifty ladies who all resemble Étain to take as his wife the following day. He selects one, but Midir later discloses that the female he has selected is actually daughter of Étaín, because Étaín was expecting at the time he had abducted her. Because he accidentally had an affair with his own daughter, who was later pregnant with a girl, Eochaid now was horrified. The girl Eochaid is exposed when she is born, but a herdsman and his wife find her and raises her. Later on, she gives birth to the High King Conaire Mor.
[Information and Image Credit : Étaín, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89ta%C3%ADn ]
[Image : Étaín and Midir, illustration by Stephen Reid in The High Deeds of Finn (1910) by T. W. Rolleston]
[The media file (Image) is in the public domain in the United States. This applies to U.S. works where the copyright has expired, often because its first publication occurred prior to January 1, 1928, and if not then due to lack of notice or renewal.(Kindly relate to soucre Image-URL for image usage information.]
[Wikipedia-Source-Image-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:9_They_rose_up_in_the_air.jpg ] #Mythology
One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World mentioned by Hellenic culture was the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. They were described as an amazing work of architecture, a vast green mountain made of mud bricks, with a rising succession of tiered gardens filled with a variety of trees, shrubs, and vines. It was said to have been constructed in the ancient Iraqi city of Babylon, close to the present-day town of Hillah. The term The Hanging Gardens comes from the Greek word κρεμαστό, which has a more expansive definition than the word -- hanging -- in modern English and refers to trees being planted on a higher structure like a terrace. The Neo-Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar II, who ruled between 605 and 562 BC, is said to have constructed the Hanging Gardens alongside the enormous palace known as The Marvel of Mankind for his Median bride, Queen Amytis, who supposedly missed the lush hills and valleys of her native country. One of the Seven Wonders whose location has not been determined with certainty is the Hanging Gardens. The gardens are not mentioned in any extant Babylonian writings, and no unambiguous archaeological evidence has been discovered in Babylon. First, that they were entirely fictitious and that the depictions recorded in ancient Greek and Roman sources conveyed a romantic ideal of an eastern garden. They were also present in Babylon, but they were destroyed sometime in the first century AD. Third, the narrative alludes to a well-known garden that the Assyrian king Sennacherib (704-681 BC), who ruled from Nineveh on the Tigris River not far from the modern city of Mosul, constructed [Information and Image Credit : Hanging_Gardens_of_Babylon , Wikipedia] [Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hanging_Gardens_of_Babylon ] [Image : A hand-colored engraving depicting the famous Hanging Gardens with the Tower of Babel in the background was likely created in the 19th century, following the first excavations in the Assyrian capitals.] [The Work (Image) is is a faithful photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional, public domain work of art. The Work (Image) is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the life of Author plus 100 years or fewer. (Please Relate to Individual Image URLs for More Usage Property)] [Wikipedia-Source-Image-URL : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hanging_Gardens_of_Babylon.jpg ] #Mythology
In Finnish mythology, Ukko, a counterpart to Uku in Estonian mythology, is the deity of the sky, weather, harvest, and thunder. The short form of the name Ukko is Ukkonen, which is the Finnish word for thunder. It is contested by academics whether status of Ukko as the most important god in Finnish mythology is due to subsequent other religious influence. He is also referred to as the Supreme God, or Ylijumala, in folk ballads and prayers. This is likely a reference to his role as the most revered god and, on the other hand, his traditional sphere of influence in the skies. Some think that Ukko sprang from the Finnic sky deity Ilmari, but that influence of Ukko from the Indo-European sky god, particularly in the guise of Thor, was highly substantial but also far from total. Others assert that Baltic Perkūnas was original name of Ukko. Although active in myth, Ukko only makes appearances in legend based completely on natural happenings when he is invoked. Some academics contend that rather than designating a single god, the word Ukko was occasionally used as a collective noun or generalised epithet for a number of deities
[Information and Image Credit : Ukko, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukko ]
[Painting by Robert Ekman in 1867 called Lemminkäinen tulisella järvellä where Lemminkäinen asks help from Ukko ylijumala with crossing the lake in fire on his route to the wedding at Pohjola.]
[The Work (Image) is a faithful photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional, public domain work of art. The work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the life of Author plus 100 years or fewer. The Work is believed to bein Public Domain in the United States as well]
[Wikipedia-Image-Source-Link : https://bit.ly/3W65kDL ]
#Mythology
Táin Bó Cúailnge - meaning the driving-off of the cows of Cooley, often known as The Táin or less frequently as The Cattle Raid of Cooley, is an epic from Irish mythology. The Táin is frequently referred to as The Irish Iliad, despite the fact that it is written in prosimetrum, or prose with sporadic inserts of verse written by the characters, like the majority of other early Irish literature. The Táin describes a war that Queen Medb of Connacht and her husband King Ailill plan to wage against Ulster in order to take the stud bull Donn Cuailnge. Only the child demigod Cú Chulainn is able to repel the invaders because of a curse placed upon the king and Ulster warriors. The Táin, the main text of a collection of tales known as the Ulster Cycle, is customarily set in the first century, during a pagan heroic age. In manuscripts from the 12th century and later, it can be found in three written forms or recensions: the first is a collection that was primarily written in Old Irish, the second is a more coherent work written in Middle Irish, and the third is an Early Modern Irish version. Irish literature and culture have benefited from The Táin. It is frequently referred to as national epic of Ireland. The Táin is preceded by a number of remscéla, or pre-tales, that give the backdrop on the primary characters and explain things like why certain Ulster characters are in the Connacht camp, why the remaining Ulstermen are temporarily unable to fight due to a curse, and how the bulls Donn Cuailnge and Finnbhennach got their magical origins. There are numerous more stories that have been referred to as remscéla to the Táin, some of which are only distantly related to it. Ailill and Medb are seen gathering their army in Cruachan at the start of the first recension; the reason for this military build-up is assumed for granted. In the second revision, a prologue is added in which Ailill and Medb compare their wealth and discover that the only thing that sets them apart is that Ailill owns the extraordinarily fertile bull Finnbhennach, who was born into the herd of Medb but despised being owned by a woman and chose to move to that of Ailill. To match the wealth of her husband, Medb resolves to obtain the similarly potent Donn Cuailnge from Cooley. She is able to work out a one-year rental agreement with the owner of the bull, Dáire mac Fiachna. However, Medb intends to take the bull by force if she is not allowed to borrow him, as her inebriated messengers reveal. When the agreement falls through, Medb gathers an army, including exiles from Ulster led by Fergus mac Róich, and sets out to seize Donn Cuailnge. The ces nonden, which is literally translated as debility of nine (days), is a disease that appears to be afflicting the men of Ulster but actually lasts for several months. According to a different story, this is the result of the curse of Goddess Macha, which she placed after being made to race against a chariot when heavily pregnant by the king of Ulster. Only seventeen-year-old Cú Chulainn is qualified to protect Ulster, but he lets the army surprise Ulster by going out on a tryst instead of keeping an eye on the border. With the help of his charioteer Láeg, Cú Chulainn engages in a guerilla war against the oncoming army before stopping it at fords by using the right of single combat and taking out champion after champion in a standoff that lasted months. He is powerless to stop Medb from catching the bull, though. The magical characters of the Tuatha Dé Danann both help and hinder Cú Chulainn. Before a battle, the goddess of war, Morrígan, appears to Cú Chulainn in the appearance of a lovely young woman and professes her love. However, Cú Chulainn rejects her. She then makes herself known and makes a threat to become involved in his upcoming fight. She performs this three times, first as an eel that trips him in the ford, then as a wolf who stampedes livestock through the ford, and finally as a cow leading the stampede. However, in each of these appearances, Cú Chulainn injures her. When he wins the battle, the Morrígan reappears to him as an elderly woman milking a cow with wounds that are an exact replica of those that Cú Chulainn inflicted on her in her animal incarnations. She extends to him three milk sips. He blesses her with each cup, and the blessings mend her wounds. Cú Chulainn claims to the Morrígan that he would not have rejected her if he had known her true identity. Cú Chulain is visited by Lug, another otherworldly being, who reveals himself to be father of Cú Chulainn, after a particularly taxing battle. For three days, Lug puts Cú Chulainn to sleep so that he can receive his recovery. The Ulster youth corps come to help of Cú Chulainn while he is sleeping, but they are all killed. When Cú Chulainn wakes up, he experiences a stunning ríastrad or distortion, during which his body twists in its skin and he transforms into an unrecognisable creature that has no concept of friend or foe. Cú Chulainn attacks the Connacht camp viciously and exacts sixfold retribution for the slaughter of the young corps. The series of single combats resumes after this exceptional episode, though Medb repeatedly violates the agreement by sending more warriors against Cú Chulainn at once. When his foster father Fergus is dispatched to battle him, Cú Chulainn consents to submit to him on the condition that Fergus submits to him the following time they encounter each other. Finally, Medb calls Ferdiad, the foster brother of Cú Chulainn, into the fight, promising him the hand of her daughter Finnabair and her own friendly thighs in exchange. Chulainn begs Ferdiad to end the conflict because he does not want to kill his foster brother. The hero and his foster brother engage in a three-day battle that is both physically and mentally taxing. Ferdiad is eventually defeated by Cú Chulainn, who uses the fabled Gáe Bolga spear to kill him. Cú Chulainn, who has been severely wounded and is unable to continue fighting, is carried away by the healers of his clan. The paralysed Ulstermen begin to stir, first one by one and then collectively. King Conchobar mac Nessa swears that he will return every cow to its stall and every kidnapped woman to her house as long as the sky is above and the Earth is beneath. The crucial conflict gets going. Cú Chulainn initially observes the battle while healing from his wounds. Fergus now had Conchobar at his mercy, but Cormac Cond Longas, son of Conchobar and foster-son of Fergus, stops him from killing him. Enraged, Fergus then uses his sword to sever the tops of three hills. Chulainn pushes his injuries aside, enters the conflict, and confronts Fergus, compelling him to fulfill his word and submit to him. Fergus leaves the area and removes all of his troops. The rest of friends of Connacht flee in fear, forcing Medb to withdraw. When Medb was apparently having her period, Cú Chulainn now appeared before her (Is and drecgais a fal fola for Meidb, i.e. Then Medb began to experience the blood issue.). Chulainn however spares her because if her cries for life and also watches over her escape. Now Donn Cuailnge was returned to Connacht by Medb, where the bull confronts Finnbhennach there. The bull defeats him, but is severely wounded. He then wanders over Ireland, dropping parts of Finnbhennach from his horns and giving those locations their names. Finally, the bull returns home and eventually passes away from fatigue
[Information and Image Credit : Táin_Bó_Cúailnge, Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T%C3%A1in_B%C3%B3_C%C3%BAailnge ]
[Image : From 1911 book Myths & Legends of the Celtic Race by T. W. Rolleston, with an image by J. C. Leyendecker, C. Chulainn in combat] [The Work (Image) is a faithful photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional, public domain work of art. The author died in 1951, so this work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the life of author plus 70 years or fewer. This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1928.]
[Wikipedia-Source-Image-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cuinbattle.jpg ] #Mythology
Vesta is the virgin goddess of the hearth, home, and family in Roman religion. Rarely did she appear in human form; instead, the flames of her temple in the Forum Romanum more frequently served as representations of her. Only the Vestal Virgins, who served as her priestesses and guarded specific precious things within her temple, prepared flour and sacred salt, or Mola Salsa, for official sacrifices, and maintained sacred fire of Vesta at the temple hearth, were allowed access to it. The Vestalia, which took place from June 7–15, was celebrated in honour of Vesta, who was revered as the protector of the Roman populace. Privilege matrons travelled barefoot through the city to the temple during the Vestalia, where they offered food sacrifices. A phallus that materialised in the flames of the sacred fire miraculously impregnated a virgin priestess, according to one of the few myths about Vesta and her priestesses. This was a manifestation of the goddess paired with a masculine supernatural entity. Romulus and Remus, as well as the kind-hearted king Servius Tullius, were conceived in this manner, according to various Roman legends. Vesta was one of the twelve most revered gods in the Roman pantheon, the Dii Consentes. She was the sister of Jupiter, Neptune, Pluto, Juno, and Ceres and the daughter of Saturn and Ops. Hestia is her equivalent in Greek. Vesta was an unclear deity at times because of her conflicting link with the phallus, despite being portrayed as a well-mannered divinity who never got involved in the disputes of other gods. She is regarded as the incarnation of Phallic Mother. She was not only the purest and most virginal of all the gods, but she also gave fertility blessings and was referred to as mother. The only story associated with Vesta, according to mythographers, was that she was one of the earliest gods and hence entitled to preferential devotion and sacrifices over all other gods. Vesta was rarely directly represented, unlike most gods, but she was nevertheless represented by her flame, the flaming stick, and a ceremonial phallus. Even though Vesta was the flame itself, the meaning of phallus in fertility cults and its association with the fire stick that ignited the sacred flame suggest that it may also represent the goddess herself. She was sometimes viewed as the embodiment of the fire stick, which was rotated phallically into a hollow piece of wood to kindle her flame
[Information and Image Credit : Vesta_(mythology), Wikipedia]
Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vesta_(mythology) ]
[image : A rare depiction of Goddess Vesta in human form, as the central figure from the Lararium of a bakery at Pompeii, 1st century A.D. ]
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[Wikipedia-Source Image URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Fresco_of_Vesta-Hestia_from_Pompeii.jpg ] #Mythology
A particular deity from Irish mythology is referred to as Lugh or Lug. Lugh, a supernatural creature who belongs to the Tuatha Dé Danann, is described as a warrior, a ruler, a skilled craftsman, and a saviour. He is known for his talent and competence in several fields, including the arts. In addition, Lugh is linked to oaths, truth, and the law, and as a result, to legitimate kingship. The harvest festival of Lughnasadh, which carries his name, is associated with Lugh. His most frequent nicknames are Samildánach, which means equally proficient in various arts, and Lámfada, which means long hand or long arm, presumably in reference to his prowess with a spear or his abilities as a monarch. Lugh is the mythological offspring of Cian and Ethniu. In the Battle of Mag Tuired, Lugh kills the Fomorian tyrant Balor, whose maternal grandson he is. Heroic Cú Chulainn, who is said to be a manifestation of Lugh, is also recognised as son of Lugh. Lugh possesses a number of magical items. He possesses a sling stone, an unstoppable fiery spear, and a hound by the name of Failinis. Fidchell, ball games and horse racing are credited to have been invented by him. He is the Welsh equivalent of the pan-Celtic god Lugus, who is also known as Lleu Llaw Gyffes in Welsh. He has been compared to Mercury as well. Most people think of Lugh as a young warrior. In the concise description of Baile in Scáil, Lugh is portrayed as a spear-wielding horseman who is also exceedingly huge and gorgeous in the little narrative. Lugh is characterised as a tall young guy with red cheeks, white sides, a bronze face, and blood-colored hair in other places. Finally, looks of Lugh is frequently compared to the sun in The Fate of the Children of Turenn
[Information Credit : Lugh , Wikipedia;
Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lugh ]
[Image : Relief of a three-faced god from northeastern Gaul believed to be Lugus, the Gaulish equivalent of Lugh]
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[License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en ] #Mythology
The Gaelic May Day festival is known as Beltane. It is customarily celebrated on the first of May, which falls around halfway between the spring equinox and summer solstice of northern hemisphere. In Gaelic Ireland, the name of the festival is interchangeable with the month that ushers in summer. In the past, it was frequently observed on the Isle of Man, Scotland, and Ireland. The celebration day is known as Lá Bealtaine in Irish. Early Irish literature makes reference to Beltane, which is connected to significant moments in Irish mythology. Cattle were driven to the summer pastures at the start of the season, also known as Cétshamhain, or -- First of Summer. Rituals were carried out to promote growth and to safeguard livestock, people, and crops. It was customary to start special bonfires whose flames, smoke, and ashes were believed to have protective properties. The people and their animals would pass by bonfires or walk around them, occasionally leaping over the embers or flames. The Beltane bonfire would be used to relight all home fires after they had been extinguished. A feast would accompany these reunions, and some of the food and beverages would be offered to the Aos Sí. Yellow May flowers would be used to adorn doors, windows, byres, and livestock—possibly because they represent fire. A May Bush is often a thorny shrub or limb that has been decorated with flowers, ribbons, brilliant shells, and rushlights in some regions of Ireland. While Beltane dew was believed to bring beauty and preserve youth, holy wells were also frequented. In some regions of Great Britain and Europe, many of these traditions were a part of May Day or Midsummer festivals [Information Credit : Beltane, Wikipedia; Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beltane ] [Image : Artistic Imagination of Beltane Festival] #Mythology
Laelaps of Greek mythology was a canine hunter who was always successful. In a particular version of the legend surrounding Laelaps, it was a present given to Europa by Zeus. The hound was given to King Minos, who later gave it to the Athenian princess Procris as a reward. In a different telling of her tale, the Goddess Artemis gave her the animal as a gift. Cephalus, spouse of Procris, made the decision to use the dog to pursue the Teumessian fox, a fox that was impossible to capture. A dog who consistently got its prey and a fox that was elusive presented a conundrum. Zeus, bewildered by their disparate fates, hurled them both into the stars as the constellations Canis Major, or Laelaps, and Canis Minor, or the Teumessian fox, after continuing the pursuit
[Information and Image Credit : Laelaps_(mythology) , Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laelaps_(mythology) ]
[Image : Laelaps, a depiction from Death of Procris in detail]
[The Work (Image) is a faithful photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional, public domain work of art. The Work (Image) is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the life of author plus 100 years or fewer. The photographic reproduction is also considered to be in the public domain in the United States. (Kindly Relate to Individual Image URL for More Usage Property)] [Wikipedia Source Image URL : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Piero_di_cosimo,_morte_di_procri_03.jpg ] #Mythology
In Greek mythology, Europa was the mother of King Minos of Crete and a Phoenician princess of Argive Greek descent. She may have inspired the name of the continent of Europe herself. It is thought that the legend of her kidnapping by Zeus in the form of a bull is a Cretan tale. Europa first appears in literature in the Iliad, which is generally regarded as having been written in the eighth century BCE. Another early mention of her can be found in a section of the Oxyrhynchus-found Hesiodic Catalogue of Women. According to the Dictionary of Classical Mythology, Zeus decided to seduce Europa because he was in love with her. He became a friendly white bull and blended in with the herds of her father. Europa saw the bull as she and her companions were collecting flowers, stroked his flanks, and eventually climbed up onto his back. Zeus seized the chance, dashed into the water, and swam to the island of Crete while carrying her on his back. Europa became the first queen of Crete after Zeus disclosed his actual identity. She received gifts from Zeus which included a necklace created by Hephaestus, the Greek God of Blacksmiths, a bronze robot guard named Talos, a javelin which never missed and a hound named Laelaps who never failed to catch his quarry. Later, Zeus reshaped the white bull into what is now known as the constellation Taurus in the heavens. The Raptus myth, also known as The Seduction of Europa and The Abduction of Europa, was incorporated into Roman mythology, although Zeus was replaced there with Jupiter!
[Information and Image Credit : Europa_(consort_of_Zeus), Wikipedia;
Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Europa_(consort_of_Zeus) ]
[Image : The Abduction of Europa by Rembrandt, 1632]
[The Work (Image) is a faithful photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional, public domain work of art. The author died in 1669, so this work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the life of Author plus 100 years or fewer. The work (Image) is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1928. (Please Relate to Individual Image URL for More Usage Property)]
[Wikipedia Source Image URL :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rembrandt_Harmensz._van_Rijn_-_The_Abduction_of_Europa_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg ] #Mythology
Roman Goddess Minerva is the patroness of the arts, commerce, and strategy as well as the giver of knowledge, justice, victory and the law. Unlike Mars, who is a patron of violence, Minerva is a supporter of calculated conflict. She was compared to the Greek goddess Athena by the Romans beginning in the second century BCE. Along with Jupiter and Juno, Minerva is one of the three Roman divinities that make up the Capitoline Triad. She was the virgin Goddess of weaving, crafts, music, poetry, medicine, and knowledge. She is typically seen with her sacred animal, an owl known as the Owl of Minerva, which represents her link with knowledge and wisdom. Occasionally, however, she is also pictured with the snake and the olive tree. Typical representations of Minerva include her being tall, having an athletic build, and wielding a spear in addition to donning armour. She is greatly recognized, venerated, and revered as the foremost Roman deity. According to the Greek tales surrounding Athena, she was born of Metis, who had been ingested by Jupiter, and emerged fully armed and armoured from the head of her father. The titaness Metis attempted to turn into another form in order to get away from Jupiter after they had intercourse. Then, Jupiter recalled the prophecy that stated his own kid would usurp him, just as he had Saturn and Caelus before him. Jupiter swallowed Metis whole after deceiving her into transforming into a fly out of fear that their kid would be male, would grow stronger than he was, and would govern the Heavens in his place. According to certain versions of the narrative, wisdom of Metis survived in a place where he still resided—i.e. mind of Jupiter. Others contend that she served only as a birthing vessel for Minerva. Jupiter was in excruciating pain because of the continuous ringing and thumping. After Vulcan split the head of Jupiter in to two with a hammer to ease the pain, Minerva emerged from the cleft, whole, as an adult and wearing full combat gear
[Information and Image Credit : Minerva, Wikipedia;
Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minerva ; ]
[Image: Painting of Minerva paying visit to the Muses]
[The Work (Image) is a faithful photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional, public domain work of art. The author died in 1642, so this work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the life of author plus 100 years or fewer. The Work (Image) is believed to be in Public Domain in the United States as well] #Mythology
[Wikipedia-Source Image-Link :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Johann_K%C3%B6nig_-_Minerva_Visiting_the_Muses_on_Mount_Helicon.jpg ]
In Eastern Baltic mythology or Yotvingian mithology, the Latvian Lauma, Lithuanian Laumė, or Yotvingian Łauma is a fairy-like woodlands spirit and the protector spirit of orphans. Her empathy for human misery led her to come to earth to experience our fate after being a sky spirit in the past. The oldest deities in Lithuanian mythology are called Laumės. These goddesses-representation may have developed during the Mesolithic era, which succeeded the Ice Age. Laumės could take the appearance of mares, female goats, bears, or dogs, among other animals. Later, took on an anthropomorphic aspect, typically having bird claws for feet and looking like ladies with a head of goat or lower body. Additional variations included half-mare, like centaurs, or half-dog or like half-humans. Laumės frequently possessed just one eye, like cyclops. They also possessed huge breasts with stone nipples, which were known as nipples of Laumės because pieces of belemnitida were often found on the ground. They were like the Lamia of Greek mythology in that they could tickle or tweak people to death and then devour their corpses. The Lithuanian legend also said that maintained enormous cows that anyone could milk. Pieces of belemnitida were thought to be the remains of udders of cows until they perished in extremely cold temperatures. Iron tools were feared by the Laumės. One could indeed think of Laumės as atmospheric deities. It is also stated that Laumės was a lovely goddess with a diamond throne who resided in the clouds. According to some tales, Laumės was the bride of thunder god Perkūnas, but their union was never consummated because Laumės fell in love with the Moon, who was regarded as a male god in Lithuania
[Information Credit : Lauma, Wikipedia;
Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lauma ]
[Image : Artistic Imagination of Lauma and consequent Derivative Art] #Mythology
Volkhv or Volhv (translated as Sage, Sorcerer, Magus, Shaman, Wizard, Gothi) was a priest in the religion of ancient Slavs as well as in the indigenous beliefs of modern Slavs i.e. Rodnovery. In modern Slavic Native Faith, the Volkhv is responsible for performing rituals of worship of the gods and for conducting major communities and religious festivals. Volkhv is the upper rank of the hierarchy of the priests, and the lower rank is that of the Zhrets. The function of the latter is merely to hold sacrifices and are not necessarily Shamans. The Proto-Slavic *žьrti is cognate of Slavic words for -- Offering. Consequently, the purpose of the Zhrets are merely to hold sacrifices. Though the majority of priests are men, but most groups do not exclude women from the priesthood. Therefore, the parallel female priesthood consists of two classes, zhritsa and vedunya (female seers). However, the religious authoity, dignity and prestiege of female priests are as highly regarded as that of the male priests. There is common criteria for priesthood and ordination process for being appointed as priest. Volkhv has been historically attested among the early Rus people. Volkhvs were believed to have mysterious powers, especially the ability to predict the future. The name of the Old-Russian divination book –Volkhovnik-- comes from the term -- Volkhv [Information and Image Credit: Volkhv, Wikipedia] [Image: 2. Modern artistic vision of Volkhv by Russian artist Andrey Shishkin] [Images Availed Under Creative Commions Attribution 3.0 Unported; (Kindly Relate to Individual Source Image URL for More Usage Properties)] [License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en ] [Wikipedia Source Image URL : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Volkhv_by_Andrey_Shishkin.jpg ] #Mythology
The Temple of Diana, often referred to as the Temple of Artemis or Artemision, was a Greek temple devoted to a prehistoric, regional form of the goddess Artemis. It could be found in Ephesus. The Ionic immigration occurred several years after the earliest iteration of the temple, a Bronze Age temenos. About 550 BC, Chersiphron and his son Metagenes, a Cretan architect, began to rebuild it in a grander style. Croesus of Lydia provided the funding, and it took ten years to finish the project. An arsonist destroyed this rendition of the temple in 356 BC. According to the list of Antipater of Sidon, the Seven Wonders of the World, the next, greatest, and last iteration of the temple was financed by the Ephesians themselves. It is thought to be older than the Didyma oracular shrine to Apollo. Leleges and Lydians are thought to have lived in the city prior to the Ionic period. The first temenos at Ephesus was credited by the ancient Greek poet and scholar Callimachus to the Amazons, legendary warrior-women whose religious practises, in his imagination, already revolved on an image or bretas of Artemis, their matron goddess. According to Pausanias, the temple existed even before the Amazons. The peripteral temple at Ephesus is the earliest example of its kind on coast of Asia Minor and may be the oldest Greek temple ever to be encircled by colonnades. A flood in the seventh century BC wrecked the temple and covered the original clay floor with more than half a metre of sand and flotsam. The remains of an ivory plaque depicting a griffin and the Tree of Life, as well as few drilled tear-shaped amber drops, were found among the flood wreckage. Croesus, who established empire of Lydia and ruled Ephesus, was at least partially responsible for funding the construction of the second great temple. It began to be planned and built in 550 BC. The temple burned down in 356 BC. According to a number of traditions, Herostratus committed this heinous crime of arson in an effort to gain glory at all costs. This is how the term — Herostratic Fame — came to be used to define his desire for recognition. The Ephesians condemned the offender to death for this crime and barred anybody from mentioning his name ever. According to Greek and Roman legacy, Alexander the Great was born about the time the temple was destroyed. Plutarch says that Goddess Artemis was too busy with birth of Alexander to put out the fire in her temple, but he does not say what caused it. The Ephesians politely declined offer of Alexander to pay for the reconstruction of the temple, arguing that it would be wrong for one god to construct a temple for another, and they ultimately reconstructed it after his death at their own expense. Construction began around 323 BC and lasted for a long time. The third temple, which was 450 feet long, 225 feet wide, and 60 feet high with more than 127 columns, was bigger than the second temple. In early Christian records of Ephesus, this new restoration is mentioned several times and had endured for 600 years. The Temple was eventually demolished or destroyed by 401 AD [Information and Image Credit :: Temple_of_Artemis, Wikipedia; Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_of_Artemis ] [Image : The imagined representation of the Temple of Artemis in a 16th-century hand-colored engraving by Martin Heemskerck shows how well-known it was throughout the Renaissance Period] [The Work (Image) is a faithful photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional, public domain work of art. The Work (Image) is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the life of Author plus 100 years or fewer. The Image is believed to be in Public Domain in the United States as well] Wikipedia-Source-Image URL : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Temple_of_Artemis.jpg ] #Mythology
About 435 BC, the Greek sculptor Phidias created the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, a huge sitting statue that was around 41 feet tall. It was placed in the Temple of Zeus at Olympia. Zeus, who reigns as monarch of the Gods of Mount Olympus, is the sky and thunder deity of classical Greek native religion. The statue was an ivory and gold chryselephantine sculpture mounted on a wooden base. Zeus occupied a painted cedarwood throne that was adorned with ebony, ivory, precious stones, and gold. It belonged to the list of the seven ancient world wonders. There are contradictory reports of the date and circumstances of the loss of statue and destruction before the end of the fifth century AD. Only accounts and depictions of it on ancient Greek coins provide information about its form. In the latter half of the fifth century BC, the Eleans, guardians of the Olympic Games, commissioned the statue of Zeus for their recently built Temple of Zeus. The Eleans hired sculptor Phidias, who had previously created the enormous statue of Athena Parthenos at the Parthenon, in an effort to surpass their rival Athenian society. The statue took up half of the aisle in the temple that was created to hold it. The sculpture of Zeus was chryselephantine, or composed of ivory and gold panels above a wooden framework. Although there are recognisable but only roughly accurate copies on coins from the adjacent city of Elis, on Roman coins, and on engraved jewels is there. No replica in marble or bronze has survived. The figure wore a gilded glass robe decorated with carved animals and lilies and was capped with a wreath of olive sprays. Its left hand held a sceptre inlaid with numerous metals, supporting an eagle, while its right hand held a tiny chryselephantine statue of the crowned Nike, Goddess of Triumph. The throne was embellished with gold, precious stones, ebony, and ivory and had painted figures and wrought images. The golden sandals of Zeus were propped up on a footstool that was relief-carved with an Amazonomachy. Painted screens blocked the entrance beneath the throne
[Information Credit : Statue_of_Zeus_at_Olympia, Wikipedia ;
Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statue_of_Zeus_at_Olympia ]
[Image: Olympian Zeus in the sculptured antique art of Quatremère de Quincy (1815) ]
[Image The Work (Image) is a faithful photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional, public domain work of art. The Work (Image) is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the life of Author plus 100 years or fewer. The work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1928. (Please Relate to Individual Image URL for More Usage Property)]
[Wikipedia Source Image URL :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Le_Jupiter_Olympien_ou_l%27art_de_la_sculpture_antique.jpg ] #Mythology
The Colossus of Rhodes was a sculpture of the Greek Sun God Helios that Chares of Lindos erected in the city of Rhodes on the same-named Greek island around 280 BC. It was built to commemorate the successful defence of Rhodes City against an attack by Demetrius Poliorcetes, who had sieged the city for a year with a sizable army and navy. It is considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The Colossus was the highest statue in the ancient world, standing roughly 70 cubits, or 108 feet high, or about the height of the modern Statue of Liberty from foot to crown, according to most contemporaneous sources. Parts of it were still surviving after the earthquake in 226 BC, but it ultimately fell. The Rhodians did not rebuild it once more in line with a specific oracle. The Rhodians were referred to as Colossaeans because they built the statue on the island, according to the Suda, a Byzantine encyclopaedia of the ancient Mediterranean world published in the 10th century. Early in the fourth century BC, Antigonus I Monophthalmus, an opponent of Ptolemy I of Egypt, launched a huge invasion, which Rhodes, along with Ptolemy I of Egypt, stopped. Demetrius, son of Antigonus, and his army withdrew the siege in 304 BC after a relief force of ships sent by Ptolemy arrived, leaving most of their siege equipment behind. The Rhodians decided to construct a massive statue of their patron god, Helios, with the 300 talents they received from the sale of the equipment they left behind as a token of their victory. Chares, a native of Lindos on Rhodes who had experience with large-scale statues, was given the task of overseeing the construction. Around 292 BC, construction commenced. According to ancient stories, which vary somewhat, the building was constructed using iron tie rods to which brass plates were attached to form the skin. The different weapons that army of Demetrius left behind were used to reforge a large portion of the iron and bronze, and it is possible that the second siege tower, which had been abandoned, was used as scaffolding around the lower floors during building [Information and Image Credit :: Colossus_of_Rhodes , Wikipedia] [Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colossus_of_Rhodes ] [Image : The Colossus as depicted in a Martin Heemskerck engraving from the 16th century, one of the Seven Wonders of the World.] [The Work (Image) is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the life of Author plus 100 years or fewer. The photographic reproduction is also considered to be in the public domain in the United States. (Kindly Also Relate to Individual Image URL for More Usage Property)] [Wikipedia-Source-Image-URL :: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Colossus_of_Rhodes.jpg ] #Mythology
According to Norse mythology, the evil dwarves Fjalar and his brother Galar assassinated the very knowledgeable Kvasir and transformed his blood into poetry mead, which served as an inspiration to poets. Kvasir was created from the saliva of the Æsir and the Vanir. Kvasir travelled much over the globe, imparting his great knowledge to people and enlightening them. Over time, Kvasir was invited to the home of two dwarfs, Fjalar and Galar, for a private discussion. The two dwarves killed Kvasir when he arrived and poured his blood into three things. The first two items were pots with the names Són and Boðn, while the third was a pot with the name Óðrerir. The blood was combined with honey and used to make mead by Fjalar and Galar. Anyone who drank from it would develop into a poet or academic. The Mead of Poetry had thus been created from blood of Kvasir. Skáldskaparmál makes reference to Fjalar and Galar. A Jötunn named Gilling and his wife were further assasinated by Fjalar and Galar. Suttungr, their son, went in search of his parents murderers and threatened the dwarven brothers, who gave him the magical mead in return for sparing their life. Suttungr grabbed it and concealed it in the heart of the mountain while his daughter Gunnlöð kept watch. Odin ultimately made the decision to acquire the mead. He spent the entire summer working for Baugi, brother of Suttungr, before requesting a tiny taste of the mead. Odin transformed into a snake and wriggled inside after Baugi bored a hole through the mountain. Gunnlöð was guarding the mead inside, but Odin charmed her into giving him three sips, after which he drank the entire mead, transformed into an eagle, and fled. It is proposed that there are striking similarities between the Sanskrit and Old Norse stories of the theft of Soma, the beverage of the Gods, by the God Indra, and that these similarities point to a shared Proto-Indo-European origin. In the Old Norse story, Odin, in the form of an eagle, thus steals the Mead of Poetry! [Information and Image Credit : Fjalar_and_Galar, Wikipedia; Kvasir, Wikipedia; Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fjalar_and_Galar Wikipedia-Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kvasir ] [Image: Giant Suttung and the dwarfs by Louis Huard. The dwarves bartered for their lives by offering Suttungr the mead of poetry after he had placed them on a rock that was about to be drowned.] [The Work (Image) is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the life of author plus 100 years or fewer. The Work (Image) is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1928. (Kindly Also Relate to Individual Image URL for More Usage Property)] [Wikipedia-Source-Image-URL : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Louis_Huard_-_Giant_Suttung_and_the_Dwarfs.jpg ] #Mythology
In the myths of Lithuania and Latvia, Saulė is the ubiquitous Baltic solar goddess. The traditional term for the Sun in the Lithuanian and Latvian languages is Saulė/Saule. One of the most potent gods, Saulė is the sun goddess who gave birth to all life on Earth. She is the patron goddess of the downtrodden, particularly orphans. One of the earliest documented accounts of Lithuanian mythology makes reference to Saulė. Saulė and Mėnuo, the Moon, were a married couple. Mėnuo fell in love with Aušrinė, often known as Venus or the morning star. The Thunder God, Perkūnas, chastised Mėnuo for his adultery. Various versions of this penalty exist. According to one story, Mėnuo was punished by being split in half, but he failed to learn from his faults, therefore the punishment is now repeated every month. According to a different account, Mėnuo and Saulė were divorced yet both still desired to see their daughter Žemyna or Earth. Because of this, the Moon only appears at night and the Sun shines during the day. According to a third story, either the Dievas, the Supreme God, or Saulė defaced face of Mėnuo. Aušrinė is portrayed as daughter of Saulė and servant in other stories. Fire of Saulė is lit by Aušrinė, who also gets her ready for another day of flying. Bed of Saulė is made in the evening by Vakarinė, the evening star. According to Lithuanian mythology, Saulė was mother of other planets: Indraja i.e. Jupiter, Sėlija i.e. Saturn, Žiezdrė i.e. Mars and Vaivora i.e. Mercury. Summer solstice was the time of feast of Saulė. Making wreaths, searching for the fabled fern flower, building bonfires, dancing around and jumping over them, and wishing the Sun a happy rise the following morning at 4 am were all part of the Lithuanian Rasos and Latvian Līgo celebrations. The most happy traditional holiday is this celebration. Return of Saulė is commemorated as the winter solstice [Information and Image Credit: Saulė, Wikipedia; Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saul%C4%97 ] [Image: A circa 1912 painting by Janis Rozentāls depicting the daughters of Saule (Saules meitas)] [The Work (Image) is a faithful photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional, public domain work of art. The author died in 1916, so this work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the life of Author plus 100 years or fewer. The Work (Image) is believed to be in Public Domain in the United States as well. (Please Relate to Individual Image URLs for More Usage Property)] [Wikipedia-Source-Image-URL : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rozentals_Saules_meitas.jpg ] #Mythology
The Witte Wieven, often spelled Wittewijven, are spirits of enlightened women or alternatively, elven beings, according to Dutch mythology and tradition. The legend was well-known in the present-day Dutch, Belgium and French territories and dates at least as far back as the Pagan era of the seventh century. They were sometimes referred to as Juffers, Joffers i.e. Ladies or Dames Blanches meaning White Ladies, in French. In the past, the Witte Wieven were regarded as sage female herbalists and healers who treated physical and mental illnesses of patients. They were rumoured to be gifted with the ability to predict the future. As a result of their high position in the community, memorial services were held at their graves when they passed away. According to tradition, their souls stayed on earth and evolved into elves or living spirits that either aided or impeded those who came into contact with them. They typically lived in graveyards or other holy locations. People would bring sacrifices and ask for assistance because it was believed that the mist on a gravehill was the spirit of the wise woman making an appearance. The mythology of Witte Wieven is thought to have developed from the Germanic belief in Disen, Land Wights, and/or Alven (Dutch for Elves) for a number of reasons. Honoring Disen, Land Wights, and Alfen in Germanic paganism involves delivering offerings to their graves and making requests for assistance. Moreover, the mythical Witte Wieven were sometimes referred to as Alfen or Alven directly. It is possible that the association of knowledgeable women with the colour white was made accidentally during translation or as a representative colour association, however opinions on this point are divided
[Information and Image Credit : Witte_Wieven, Wikipedia;
Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Witte_Wieven ]
[Image: 1660 etching depicting Witte Wieven living in Tumuli]
[The Work (Image) is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the life of Author plus 70 years or fewer. The Work (Image) is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1928. (Please Relate to Individual Image URLs for More Usage Property)]
[Wikipedia-Source-Image-URL : https://bit.ly/3YnZD3z ] #Mythology
In South and West Slavic folktales, there are woodland fairies or nymphs known as Samodiva. The Indo-European roots of the words Samodiva and Samovila translate as divinity, rave, wildness, or rage. Samodivas are frequently portrayed as ethereal young women with long, flowy hair, and occasionally wings. They usually wear flowing, feathery white dresses that give them the ability to fly. The stereotype of a Samodiva is that she is a blonde, tall, slim woman with bright, pale skin and fire eyes. Samodivas are said to inhabit trees, deserted shacks, dark tunnels, and areas close to streams, pools, and wells. Vitosha, Belasitsa, Pirin, Rila, the Rhodopes, the Balkan Mountains in Bulgaria, and the Rudina Mountains are mountains connected to the Samodivas. Nonetheless, their preferred location is the mountain Pirin. Samodivas arrive in the human realm in the spring and stay until the autumn. They spend the colder months in the mythological village of Zmajkovo. In Macedonian legend, they were also reported to reside in willow and oak trees and to reside in the remote village of Patelevo [Information Credit : Samodiva_(folklore), Wikipedia; Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samodiva_(folklore) ] [Image: Vila by Andy Paciorek] [image Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported ; (Please Relate to Individual Image URLs for More Usage Property)] [License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en ] [Wikipedia-Source-Image-URL : https://bit.ly/3IK6r5I ] #Mythology
A Vila, sometimes known as a Víla, is a feminine Slavic fairy with long blonde hair who resembles a nymph. Although West Slavic mythology also contains certain variations of the Vila, South Slavs are the ones who are most familiar with it. The Czech word Víla refers to a woods spirit from the fifteenth century, and old place names like Vilice near Tábor, Vilov near Domažlice, and Vilín near Sedlčanyseem to suggest that she was also well-known there. The Vilas are female nature spirits who have conflicting feelings towards people. In fairy tales, they may be cruel to the population—killing people and destroying crops—but they may also be helpful, providing the hero with mounts and magical items. They might even exhibit warrior-like traits. There is still debate as to whether the Vile were actually a part of Russian folklore and not just a literary feature even if they are referenced in the eleventh century. The Vile and the Rusalki share several characteristics. Vile are depicted among South Slavs as gorgeous women with long blonde hair. There are three different types: land and forest-dwelling nymphs, water nymphs, and cloud or air nymphs. The cloud nymphs take the form of wolves, horses, falcons, swans, or falcons. They prowl the sky at night, making a dreadful racket with pipes and drums. Everyone who calls them stiffens and can only move slowly. He gets sick and passes away in a year or two. Vile enjoy riding horses or stags, going hunting, dancing in a circle, and seeking the affection of attractive, powerful men and will help them fight off their adversaries. They have a distinct fighting style in Slavic mythology that is evocative of the Teutonic Valkyrie. They are skilled in the healing arts and have superhuman abilities. They construct magnificent castles at the edge of clouds. Their arrows mislead the spirits of men. Children are abducted by them, and Changelings are used in their place. In Slovakia, it is said that dead restless spirits of girls tempt young men into a deadly circle dance. Every hero in the epic poetry of Serbia has a Vila, who may be a blood sister or an elective. Ravijojl is the most popular Serbo-Croatian figure. Females may ask their Vile blood sisters to enhance their beauty or to defend a faraway boyfriend if they have them. Despite their propensity for being outgoing, the Vile can exact terrible revenge on those who offend them, disobey their commands, or enter their circle dance without permission. They differ from the Rusalki in that they are generally friendly. People honoured them by setting offerings of food, flowers, and drink in front of the caves where they were thought to have resided. Víly frequently prove harmful in the Czech culture unless they are respected and avoided. They are described as lovely women with long flowing hair who mostly reside in forests, marches, or clearings in the woods. They allegedly make an effort to entice guys who stray into their territory with their attractive appearances and lovely vocals. Víly are also claimed to reside in groups and enjoy dancing in circles, which was another strategy to trap people because it was thought that if you joined them, one would not be able to go home again [Information and Image Credit : Vila_(fairy), Wikipedia; Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vila_(fairy) ] [Image: AI-Based Artisitic Imagination Vila and Consequent Derivative Art] #Mythology
Swedish artist August Malmström (1829–1901) created a painting titled Dancing Fairies (Swedish: Älvalek). In the moonlit scene of the picture, fairies can be seen dancing above the water. One of the fairies bends over the river to catch a glimpse of herself as the others dance in the meadow in the lovely dusk. The morning mist transforms into fairies in this surreal painting, which shows the spirits of primeval nature. Elves are frequently depicted as having fair hair and wearing white clothing in Romantic art and literature. In its native Sweden, Dancing Fairies by August Malmström is a well-known piece of work of art. One of the Swedish artists who aimed to develop a distinct national Swedish art was Malmström, a professor at the Royal Swedish Academy of Arts. He used elements from both Norse mythology and folklore, and many of his paintings featured fairies and other natural spirits
[Information Credit : Dancing_Fairies, Wikipedia;
Wikipedia-Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dancing_Fairies ]
[The Work (Image) is a faithful photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional, public domain work of art. The author died in 1901, so this work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the life of author plus 100 years or fewer. The Work (Image) is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1928. (Please Relate to Individual Image URLs for More Usage Property)]
[Wikipedia-Source-Image-URL :: https://bit.ly/3YlI3gD ] #Art#Mythology
The Weiße Frauen or White Women, or elven-like spirits, are said to have originated from Germanic paganism in the shape of tales about light elves in German mythology. The Dutch term Wit, which also means White, explains the mistranslation of the original Dutch Witte Wieven or Wise Women into White Ladies, which dates back to at least the seventh century. When they arrive at midday, they are said to be stunning and enchanting beings that can be seen sitting in the sunshine brushing their hair or taking a bath in a stream. They can be protecting buried riches or haunting fortresses. They beg mortals to end their enchantment, but this never works. The mythology was well-known in what is now Germany and dated at least to the Middle Ages. Scholars believe that the original Old Norse and Teutonic mythology of the alven, or elves, is the source of the relationship with the colour white and their appearance in sunshine. During the rule of the fertility deity Freyr, these Light Elves lived in Álfheim. Elves, however, no longer lived in Álfheim but rather on earth in the natural world as mythology developed. The White Women may also be a representation of elder native goddesses and nature spirits, or of ancient ancestor spirits. The Weiße Frauen might have originated from the Germanic belief in Disen or Land Wights and Alven because of their name similarity to the Witte Wieven of Dutch mythology [Information and Image Credit: Weiße_Frauen , Wikipedia; Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wei%C3%9Fe_Frauen ] [Image: The ghost of Barbara Radziwiłł, oil on canvas, 281 x 189 cm. National Museum in Poznań, Date 1886.] [The Work (Image) is a faithful photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional, public domain work of art. The Work (Image) is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the life of author plus 100 years or fewer. The Work (Image) is in Public Domain in the United States as well. (Please Relate to Individual Image URLs for More Usage Property)]] [Wikipedia-Source-Image-URL :: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wojciech_Gerson_-_Zjawa_Barbary_Radziwi%C5%82%C5%82%C3%B3wny.jpg ] #Mythology
The lindworm, also known by the spellings lindwyrm or lindwurm, is a mythological entity from Northern and Central European folklore that dwells deep within the forest and typically resembles a gigantic serpent monster. It could be compared to a dragon. Legend has it that everything beneath the lindworm will grow as it matures, giving birth to stories of dragons ruminating over riches to increase their wealth. According to legend, there are two types of lindworms: a good one that brings good fortune and is frequently a cursed prince who has been changed into another beast, and a bad one that is a terrible man-eater that will attack humans at first sight. A lindworm may consume its own tail and transform into a rolling wheel in order to chase after humans who are running away. The sixteenth-century Lindworm monument at Lindwurm Fountain in Klagenfurt, Austria, was inspired by a woolly rhinoceros skull discovered in an adjacent quarry in 1335. The earliest recreation of an extinct animal has been attributed to it. In Swedish folklore, lindworms are typically depicted as enormous, limbless forest serpents that dwell among the rocks deep within the forest. They are described as having a brighter bottom and a dark tint on top. It has dorsal fins that resemble fish or the mane of a horse along its spine, earning it the nickname -- Mane Snake -- at times. Lindworm eggs are placed beneath the bark of Tilia cordata trees, and after hatching, the larvae slither off and settle in a rock pile. They have the potential to grow very long when completely mature. In order to combat this, when hunting, they swallow their own tail, transforming it into a wheel, and then roll at incredibly high speeds to chase its prey. Because to this, they have earned the moniker — Wheel Snake
[Information and Image Credit : Lindworm, Wikipedia, Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lindworm ]
[Image: Swedish lindworm drawn by Swedish illustrator John Bauer, 1911. The Swedish lindworm lacks wings and limbs.]
[The Work (Image) is a faithful photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional, public domain work of art. The author died in 1918, so this work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the life of Author plus 100 years or fewer. The Work (Image) is in Public Domain in the United States as well. (Please Relate to Individual Image URLs for More Usage Property)]]
[Wikipedia-Source-Image-URL : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:John_Bauer,_1911_(cropped,_no_signature).jpg ] #Mythology
In Baltic mythology, Kriwe Kriwaito, also known as just Kriwe, served as the top priest. During the era of romantic nationalism, the idea of Kriwe gained popularity. The Romuva movement in Lithuania have now adopted the name. The chronicle Chronicon terrae Prussiae, completed in 1326 A.D., mentions the Kriwe. It claims that Kriwe, who resided in Romuva, enjoyed the same level of esteem as that of the Catholic pope among other Baltic tribes in addition to Old Prussians. His delegations were revered by both aristocrats and commoners alike and carried a particular rod or other emblem. The Kriwe had the ability to view the dead and describe them to their loved ones. it was also mentioned, the sacred perpetual flame was maintained by Kriwe, who was also known as the highest judge. The most thorough depiction of the pagan priest was given in a later story, which also added the dual name Kriwe Kriwaito or Criwo Cyrwaito. From the first Bruteno, who was regarded as one of the most famous kings of Prussia along with his brother Widewuto, to Alleps, their names were all listed. The Kriwe, as per the story, was the focal point of Prussian political and religious life; for instance, he had the power to launch or halt wars. An elderly Kriwe was also expected to offer himself to the gods by setting himself on fire, even if this rarely occurred. Priests and prophets of lower ranks would then choose a new Kriwe. In other later tales, a bent and twisted wooden stick named Krywule was depicted and described as an example. Village elders used the stick to summon neighbours to a meeting so they could talk about issues they had in common. In the nineteenth century, the practise continued, and ethnographers gathered a few Krywule artefacts for various museums. The very idea of a Pagan Pope rose to prominence in the era of romantic nationalism
[Information Credit : Kriwe, Wikipedia; Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kriwe ]
[Image: AI-Based Artistic-Imagination of Kriwe and Further Derivative Art of the Same] #Mythology
The Turul is a mythological bird of prey that is frequently represented as a falcon in both Turkic and Hungarian culture. It is also the national symbol of Hungary. The Turul is most likely modelled after a big falcon. The name Turul in the Hungarian language, which denoted a particular species of falcon, is currently believed to have Turkic roots. The Turul is described in the legend of Emese, which is described in the Gesta Hungarorum and the Chronicon Pictum, as happening to Emese in a dream while she was already pregnant. This was regarded as impregnation in earlier literature, although the text is explicit. The Turul plays the part of a protector spirit, guarding the defenceless newborn Álmos from harm. This theme is strikingly similar to the function of Simurgh in the Iranian epic Shahnameh. The chief of the Hungarian tribes had a second dream in which eagles struck their horses and a Turul intervened to save them. The Norse Vedfolnir, who also was perched on the tree of life like it, shares similarities with the Turul in terms of appearance and function. According to legend, the Huns also made use of the eagle as a sign of the leader. In Saka-Scythian culture, the representation of a raptor was very prevalent. More generally, this image was prevalent among Central Asian nomads. The coupling of a falcon and a woman is strongly rooted in a shamanic religious and mythical understanding of cosmos, as opposed to being associated with a specific ethnic background, and it was common throughout the steppe. The eyes of falcons are thought to ward off devils who assault pregnant women at childbirth in some regions of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, where Kazakhs and Kyrgyz keep falcons within the yurt during birthing [Information and Image Credit : Turul , Wikipedia; Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turul ] [Image: Turul bird on the Royal Castle, Budapest, Hungary] [Image Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic; Peter Brown, from Dublin, Ireland (Kindly Relate to Individual Source Image URLs for More Usage Properties)] [License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en ] [Wikipedia-Source Image URL : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Turul_buda_castle1.jpg ] #Mythology
In the Alemannic region of Switzerland, Austria, and southern Germany, the word Gguggenmusik is frequently used to describe both a Carnival marching band and the music it performs. This musical style has its roots in the folk practise of driving away the winter spirits with the blowing of cow-horns, which was first clearly stated in the sixteenth century A.D. To do this, the music during carnival festivities also needed to be loud enough, bizarre, and frightful. Whistles, cow bells, drums, tin pails, rattles, and drums were used. Towels and used rags were initially used to create creative masks and outfits to scare away the winter ghosts. For the very first time, a brass marching band participated in Fasnacht festival of Basel in 1874. During the Swabian-Alemannic carnival season of Fasnacht, also known as the Basler Fasnacht, Luzerner Fasnacht, Eis-zwei-Geissebei in Rapperswil, and many more names, Guggenmusik is played. The term Gugge is most frequently attributed to the Alemannic noun Tüte, which means Bag. Hence, a group of people that play loud music while often donning coordinated costumes and masks is referred to as a Guggemusik Band. It is a fiercely rhythmic, distinctively styled music performed on brass, pipe, and drum instruments. While melodies are still easily discernible, they are occasionally played purposely and quite successfully off-key. The music is twisting and exhilarating, very danceable, and ideal for impromptu street performances during the Wild Days of Carnival. It is driven by a strong rhythm portion. There are numerous genres of Guggenmusik available nowadays to motivate carnival revellers. In addition to well-known pop songs, bands frequently perform folk music and kid-friendly songs. Because that many geographic areas have their unique carnival customs, it is difficult to come up with a singular description of Guggenmusik. Today, nearly any additional Loud instrument may be used, in addition to the conventional brass instruments like the trumpet, tuba, trombone, and/or sousaphone, as well as the drums: steel drums, bagpipes, piccolos, clarinets, saxophones, etc [Information and Image Credit : Guggenmusik , Wikipedia ; Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guggenmusik ] [Image : Morgenstreich being celebrated at Basler Fasnacht (1843)] [The Work (Image) is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the life of Author plus 70 years or fewer. The Work (Image) is in Public Domain in the United States as well; (Kindly Relate to Individual Source Image URLs for More Usage Properties)] [Wikipedia-Source Image URL : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hess_Morgenstreich_1843.jpg ] #Mythology
According to German folktales, Saint Nicholas has a companion named Knecht Ruprecht. After Der Weihnachtsmann, Christkindl, and Saint Nicholas, he is the most well-known special present figure in Germany, but he is hardly known outside. This figure was compared by Jacob Grimm in Deutsche Mythologie to a pre-Christian home spirit called a kobold or an elf that may be good or bad. He initially appears in writing in the seventeenth century as a participant in a Christmas parade in Nuremberg. A similar collection of individuals known as Companions of Saint Nicholas travel with him in nations that were historically part of the Holy Roman Empire or those that it had a significant cultural impact. By threatening to beat or kidnap misbehaving children, these figures serve as a counterbalance to the generous Christmas gift-giver. Ruprecht is additionally depicted as donning a black or brown robe with a pointed hood, occasionally walking with a limp due to a childhood accident, carrying a long staff and a sack of ashes, and on rare occasions donning small bells on his clothing. Occasionally, he travels on a white horse, and other times, he is accompanied by fairies or men with blackened faces who are costumed as elderly women. Knecht Ruprecht generally inquires about the ability of children to pray. They get apples, almonds, and gingerbread if they can. If they are unable, he strikes the kids with his ash bag. In other variations of the tale, Knecht Ruprecht rewards misbehaving kids with coal, sticks, and stones, while Saint Nicholas rewards good kids with candy. In keeping with German custom, it is also said that he places a switch i.e. a stick in the shoes of misbehaving kids so that their parents can spank them instead of giving them candy, fruit, or nuts. In associated folk traditions, the Knecht Ruprecht figure serves as associate of Saint Nicholas rather than the main performer in the early December rites, maintaining a close eye on the kind-hearted saint during his journey. These traditions are more frequently affiliated with particular geographic areas in the High Alps, especially the snowy villages south and west of Salzburg in Austria
[Information and Image Credit : Knecht_Ruprecht, Wikipedia; Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knecht_Ruprecht ]
[Image: Depiction of Knecht Ruprecht] [Image Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International License. (Please Relate to Source Image-URL for More Image Usage Property and License)] [License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en ]
[Wikipedia-Source-Image-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Knecht_Ruprecht.jpg ] #Mythology
In the folk traditions of the Alpine region of south-central Europe, the Tatzelwurm or Stollenwurm or Stollwurm is a serpent-like entity with four short legs or two forelegs, a face resembling a cat, and a body resembling a snake. The supposed beast can sometimes be described as hissing or making a high-pitched sound, being venomous, or attacking with poisonous breath. Several places in Europe, including that of Austrian, Bavarian, French, Italian, and Swiss Alps, have accounts of meetings with the beast or short documented legends about it. Other local names for it include Bergstutz, Springwurm, Praatzelwurm, and Arassas in French. A 1680 account of dragon sightings in Switzerland was later reproduced in 1723 with copperplate depictions of the creatures. Hans Fuchs, a farmer, had a run-in with the Tatzelwurm, according to a tradition from 1779. The legend has it that he spotted two of these animals right in front of him while in the highlands. He rushed to his house out of fear for his life and passed away from a heart attack as a result. He allegedly told his family about the encounter before he passed away, characterizing it as a 5- to 7-foot-long creature with a serpent-like body, two clawed front legs, and a big feline-like head. Karl Wilhelm von Dalla Torre, a naturalist, claimed in 1887 book of — History of Dragons of the Alps — that these entities could all be classified as lizard or snake species while blithely ignoring the cat-like traits. Together with the folklore surrounding them, Dalla Torre believed that these ancient huge creatures had vanished by the time of his day, but that the reputation of Tatzelwurm as a Phantom of these fabled giants persisted in his time [Information and Image Credit : Tatzelwurm , Wikipedia; Wikipedia-Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tatzelwurm ] [Image: Depiction of the cat-faced Mountain Dragon of the Swiss Alps claimed to have been encountered in Sarganserland, c. 1660.] [The Work (Image) is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the life of Author plus 100 years or fewer. The Work (Image) is probably also in Public Domain in the United States as well. (Please Relate to Source Image-URL for More Image Usage Property and License) Wikipedia-Image-Source-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Houghton_Swi_607.23_-_Ouresipho%C3%ADtes_helveticus,_fig_X.jpg ] #Mythology
The Slavic traditional goddess Morana is connected to seasonal rituals centred on the concept of the rebirth and death of nature. She is a legendary deity connected to the death, rebirth, and dreams of winter. The Goddess Kostroma, Lada, or Vesna, who symbolises the arrival of Spring, is said to take the place of the Goddess Marzanna who dies at the end of winter in ancient Slavic celebrations. The rituals connected to Marzanna in contemporary times have shed their spiritual nature and have become a hobby—a chance to have fun and mark the start of spring. The custom is typically observed near the spring equinox. Typically, local folklore communities, other citizens, and kids all take part in the festivities. Handcrafted Marzanna is carried by a parade of men, women, and kids to the closest river, lake, or pond. Traditional songs are sung while Marzanna effigies are thrown into the river by the attendees. On occasion, the garments of the effigies are torn or they are initially lit on fire. As we return to the village, our attention is drawn to the copses that are festooned with ribbons and broken eggshells. The procession makes its way back to the village while singing. The arrival of spring is then marked with a feast in various places
[Information and Image Credit : Morana_(goddess) , Wikipedia;
Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morana_(goddess) ]
[Image: Marzanna Mother of Poland: modern imagination of goddess by Marek Hapon] [Image Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International ; (Please Relate to Source Image-URL for More Image Usage Property)] [License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en ]
[Wikipedia-Source-Image URL : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Marzanna_Matka_Polski.jpg ]
#Mythology
The feminine morning star deity Aušrinė i.e. relative to Dawning, is comparable to Venus in Lithuanian mythology. She is an opposite reflection of Vakarinė, the evening star. Her worship is linked to that of the Vedic Ushas, the Latvian Auseklis, the Greek Eos, the Roman Aurora, and the Indo-European morning goddess Hausōs. The Goddess of elegance, romance, and youthfulness, Aušrinė is associated with health, resurrection, and fresh starts. As per tradition, Aušrinė and her attendant Tarnaitis, who is most likely Mercury, prepare Carefully the path of Sun every morning. In the evening, Vakarinė gets the bed of Saulė the Sun ready. The relationship between Saulė and Aušrinė is complicated. In some cases Saulė is described as the mother of Aušrinė, Vakarinė and other planets like Indraja i.e. Jupiter , Sėlija i.e. Saturn, Žiezdrė i.e. Mars, Vaivora i.e. Mercury and even Žemyna i.e. Earth. Her name is the solution to a conundrum concerning dew in a traditional Latvian folktale. The Moon notices the lost keys of a girl or spreads-out her pearl necklace in this puzzle, but the Sun takes them. A well-known legend relates how Mėnulis, the Moon, fell in love with the lovely Aušrinė, cheated on his wife Saulė, and was punished by Perkūnas, the Thunder-God. The competition between Saulė and Aušrinė is also depicted in various stories, with Saulė being envious of the beauty and brilliance of Aušrinė. Despite the infidelity or antagonism, Aušrinė continues to be devoted to Saulė and provide morning assistance. In some tales, Aušrinė is referred to as Karaliūnė and Dangaus Kariūnė, or Queen of Heaven [Information Credit : Aušrinė, Wikipedia; Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Au%C5%A1rin%C4%97 ] [Image: AI-Based Artistic Imagination of Aušrinė and consequent Derivative Art] #Mythology
In Norse mythology, Ratatoskr is a squirrel that travels up and down the world tree Yggdrasil to relay information to the serpent Níðhöggr, who resides beneath one of the three roots of the trees. Both the Prose Edda, authored by Snorri Sturluson in the 13th century, and the Poetic Edda, which were assembled in the 13th century from previous conventional sources, mentions Ratatoskr. It is thought that the squirrel is most likely just a decorative element in the legendary representation of the world-ash. The world tree is supposed to be being nibbled at by the squirrel, promoting a never-ending cycle of ruination and regeneration, and it is said that the tree represents a constantly changing existence. It is possible that Ratatosk derived its purpose from the European tree squirrel, Sciurus vulgaris, which makes a yelling alert call when it senses danger.
[Information Credit : Ratatoskr, Wikipedia] [Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ratatoskr ]
[Image: Squirrel on Tree Branch ; Credit : Tetyana Kovyrina , Pexels; (Please Relate to Source Image-URL for More Image Usage Property and License)
Image-Source-Link : https://www.pexels.com/photo/squirrel-on-tree-branch-3572838/ ] #Mythology
The most revered god in the Baltic religion after Dievas was Perkūnas, the depicts the thunder god. He is described as the deity of the sky, thunder, lightning, storms, rain, fire, war, law, order, fertility, mountains, and oak trees in both Lithuanian and Latvian mythology. The majority of the knowledge we have about Perkūnas comes from traditional songs, mythology, and fairy tales. They only depict a small portion of the entire mythology because the majority were only amassed in the latter half of the nineteenth century. The God of Lightning, Thunder, and Storms is Perkūnas. Whereas Potrimpo is associated with the seas, ground, crops, and cereals, and Velnias/Patulas is associated with hell and death, Perkūnas, represents the creative powers, including growth, boldness, triumph, the top of the globe, the sky, rain, thunder, and celestial elements. Perkūnas, a celestial or atmospheric divinity, is ostensibly aide of Dievas and enforcer of his will. Nonetheless, because he can really be seen and has clearly defined mythical roles, Perkūnas, frequently surpasses Dievas, Deus Otiosus. Pērkons and Dievs roles occasionally overlap in the Latvian Dainas. Perkūnas is depicted as a middle-aged man, wielding an axe and arrows, and driving a two-wheeled chariot pulled by goats, much like Celtic Taranis or Thor. Some versions depict the thunder deity atop a fiery horse or guiding a blazing chariot drawn by quick horses across the skies
[Information and Image Credit : Perkūnas , Wikipedia]
[Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perk%C5%ABnas ] [Image: The Hand of Perkūnas by Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis]
[The Work (Image) is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the life of Author plus 100 years or fewer. ; (Kindly Relate to Individual Source Image URLs for More Usage Properties)] [Wikipedia-Source Image URL :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mikalojus_Konstantinas_Ciurlionis_-_PERKUNAS_(THOR)_-_1909.jpg ] #Mythology
The -World Tree- is a motif present in several religions and mythologies, particularly Indo-European religions and certainly in Norse, Iranian and Indian religions. The world tree is represented as a colossal tree which supports the heavens, thereby connecting the heavens, the terrestrial world, and, through its roots, the underworld. In Norse mythology, Yggdrasil is the world tree. Yggdrasil is attested in the Poetic Edda, compiled in 13th century and the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century. In both sources, Yggdrasil is an immense ash tree that is central and considered very holy. The Æsir go to Yggdrasil daily to hold their courts. The branches of Yggdrasil extend far into the heavens, and the tree is supported by three roots that extend far away into other locations: one to the well Urðarbrunnr in the heavens, one to the spring Hvergelmir, and another to the well Mímisbrunnr. In Persian mythology, the legendary bird Simurgh or alternatively, Saēna bird; Sēnmurw and Senmurv, perches atop a tree located in the center of the sea Vourukasa. This tree is described as having all-healing properties and many seeds. In another account, the tree is the very same tree of the White Hōm i.e. Haōma. Gaokerena or white Haoma is a tree whose vivacity ensures continued life in the universe, and grants immortality to -- All Who Eat From It. Kalpavriksha i.e. Wish-Fulfilling Tree and Ashvattha tree of the Indian religions is also similar example. The Ashvattha tree i.e. Keeper of Horses is described as a sacred fig and corresponds to --The Most Typical Representation of the World Tree in India, upon whose branches the celestial bodies rest. Likewise, the Kalpavriksha is also equated with a fig tree and said to possess wish-granting abilities. Kalpavriksha i.e. Wish-Fulfilling Tree and Ashvattha tree of the Indian religions is also similar example. The Ashvattha tree i.e. Keeper of Horses is described as a sacred fig and corresponds to --The Most Typical Representation of the World Tree in India, upon whose branches the celestial bodies rest. Likewise, the Kalpavriksha is also equated with a fig tree and said to possess wish-granting abilities.
[Information-Credit: World_tree, Wikipedia; Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_tree ]
[Image: Artistic Depiction of World Tree] #Mythology
In Lithuanian mythology, the fire-spirit is known as Gabija or Gabieta. She guards the family and the household. Her name is a translation of Gaubti. Gabija could assume the zoomorphic shapes of a cat, stork, rooster, or a woman dressed in crimson. Gabija was treated with the utmost respect and compassion. People would give Gabija salt and bread to feed her. Every evening, women would wrap the charcoal with ashes to put the fire to bed so it would not roam. Mother of the home was the guardian of fire, much as Gabija was for the home. The fireplace would occasionally have a bowl of clean water left there so Gabija could cleanse herself. Gabija would take a walk while burning the house if she was enraged. Folklore frequently tells of the terrible destiny of individuals who stomped, spit, or peed on Gabija in order to anger her. The Lithuanian goddess Matka Gabia is the protector of the home and hearth. Most probably she is derived from Gabija.
[Information Credit : Gabija, Wikipedia; Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabija ]
[Image: A Derivative Art of -- Gabija as Protector of the Fire by gpalmer on DeviantArt]
#Mythology
Ilmatar was a virgin soul and the goddess of the air in the Kalevala, the Finnish national epic. The Finnish term Ilma, which means - Air, and the feminine suffix -Tar, which is equivalent to the English -Ress, are the sources of the name Ilmatar. he was also additionally alluded to as Luonnotar in the Kalevala, which is Finnish for — Female Spirit of Nature. For soprano and orchestra, Jean Sibelius wrote the tone poem Luonnotar in 1913. In this piece, the rocky lyrics from the fabled account of the Kalevala regarding the birth of the land and sky are transformed into an overwhelming Sibelian metaphor for the unstoppable force—even the terror—of all creation, including that of the artist. It moves back and forth between two musical concepts and is one of the most captivating pieces of the composer. These are the dazzling rumblings of ever-expanding possibilities, which are accompanied by the even more invocatory, pained screams of the nature spirit herself, carrying a child, and discordant, unvarying harp strokes. In 2000 album Ilmatar by the Finnish group Värttinä was published. The Goddess origin narrative of the Kalevala as well as related Finnish folklore and magic served as inspiration for the topic of the book. The Goddess is also commemorated by the designation of the Main Belt asteroid 385 Ilmatar!
[Information and Image Credit : Ilmatar , Wikipedia; Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ilmatar ]
[Image: Ilmatar by Robert Wilhelm Ekman, 1860] [The Work (Image) is a faithful photographic reproduction of an original two-dimensional work of art. The author died in 1873, so this work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the life of author plus 100 years or fewer. The work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1928. (Kindly Relate to Individual Source Image URL for More Usage Properties)] [Wikipedia-Source-Image URL :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Robert_Wilhelm_Ekman_-_Ilmatar_-_A_II_1256_-_Finnish_National_Gallery.jpg ]
#Mythology
Nerthus, a Divinity in Germanic paganism, is connected to ritual wagon parade. In his ethnographic research Germania from the first century AD, the Roman historian Tacitus mentions Nerthus. Tacitus mentions a special group of Germanic people in Germania who stood out for their devotion to the Goddess. Tacitus gives a thorough account of the wagon procession: The location of Nerthus-Cart in the Ocean on an Island is unknown, but it is stored in a sacred grove and covered with white fabric. It can only be handled by a priest. The cart is being pulled by heifers when the priest notices Nerthus by it. Everywhere it passes, Cart of Nerthus is greeted with joy and peace; no one engages in hostilities, and all iron things are hidden away. The priest eventually returns the cart to the Temple of the Goddess, where the men in service perform a ritual washing of the Goddess, Her Cart, and the Cloth in a Isolated Lake, when the Goddess has had enough of human association. The popular culture has been somewhat influenced by the described Nerthus by Tacitus, particularly the now generally discredited manuscript reading of Hertha in Germany. The Old Norse god Njörðr, a male deity who is similarly associated with waggons and water in Norse mythology, shares etymological roots with the goddess Nerthus. The three make up the godly family known as the Vanir, along with their offspring Freyja and Freyr. Scholars have matched three accounts from the Old Norse record that describe religious wagon processions to Tacitus-account of Nerthus wagon procession. The Germanic Iron Age Dejbjerg waggon in Denmark and the Viking Age Oseberg ship burial wgon in Norway are two examples of ceremonial wagons that scholars have related account of Tacitus to!
[Information and Image Credit : Nerthus, Wikipedia] [Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nerthus ]
[Image : Nerthus by Emil Doepler, 1905] [The Work (Image) is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the life of Author plus 70 years or fewer. The Work (Image) is probably in the public domain in the United States as well. (Please Relate to Individual Image URL for More Usage Property)] [Wikipedia Source Image-Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Nerthus_by_Emil_Doepler.jpg ] #Mythology
The ancient Greek goddess Athena or Athene, often known by the appellation Pallas, was an assumption with the Roman goddess Minerva and is known for her associations with knowledge, war, and craftsmanship. Athena was revered as the protector and benefactor of many Greek cities, especially Athens, from where she most certainly derived her name. She is honoured with the Parthenon on the Acropolis of Athens. She frequently uses owls, olive trees, snakes, and the Gorgoneion as her emblems. She is typically shown carrying a spear and wearing a headgear in artwork. From her beginnings as an Aegean palace goddess, Athena had a strong connection to the metropolis. She went by the names Polias and Poliouchos, both of which are derived from the Greek word Polis, which means city-state. Her temples were often found atop the fortified acropolis in the middle of the city. She is honoured with various temples and monuments, including the Parthenon on the Acropolis in Athens. Athena was also known as Ergane, the goddess of weaving and craft. She was a goddess of war as well and was thought to have led warriors into battle under the name Athena Promachos. The Panathenaia, which was observed in midsummer during the month of Hekatombaion and was the most significant celebration on the Athenian calendar, was her primary festival in Athens. According to Greek mythology, Athena was said to have been conceived from the brow of her father Zeus. In some interpretations of the narrative, Athena is born from the brow of Zeus through parthenogenesis without a mother. She actively participates in the Iliad, helping the Achaeans, and she serves as the divine advisor of Odysseus in the Odyssey. Athena is claimed to have participated in a weaving contest with the mortal Arachne in later texts by the Roman poet Ovid, after which Athena changed Arachne into the first spider. Athena has frequently served as a motif of liberty and democracy employed by Western painters and allegorists!
[Information and Image Credit : Athena , Wikipedia; Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athena ]
[Image : Statue of Pallas Athena in front of the Austrian Parliament Building. Athena has been used throughout Western history as a symbol of freedom and democracy. Wikipedia-Image-Author : Gryffindor] [The copyright holder of the work, released the work into the public domain. This applies worldwide. The copyright holder of this work allows anyone to use it for any purpose including unrestricted redistribution, commercial use, and modification. Kindly Relate to Individual Source Image URLs for More Usage Properties)]
[Wikipedia-Source-Image-URL : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Austria_Parlament_Athena_bw.jpg ]
#Mythology
The Vedic Goddess of Speech, Music, Art, Learning, and Wisdom is known as Saraswati. She is one of the three goddesses that make up the Tridevi, or trinity, together with Goddesses Lakshmi and Parvati. The Rigveda has the first recorded reference of Saraswati as a Goddess. She has continued to be an important deity from the Vedic era to the present day of Indian religions. She is typically depicted as having four arms and holding a book, a rosary, a water pitcher, and a Veenaa musical instrument. In Hinduism, each of these objects has a symbolic value. In various parts of India, Hindus honour Goddess Saraswati by celebrating Vasant Panchami, or the fifth day of spring, also known as Saraswati Puja and Saraswati Jayanti. On that day, it is customary to assist young children in learning how to write the alphabet. Along with some Buddhist sects, followers of the Jain religion from west and central India also hold the Goddess in high regard! [Information-Credit : Saraswati, Wikipedia] [Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saraswati ] [Image-Credit : Ms Sarah Welch, Wikipedia] [The file (Image) is made available under the Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication. The person who associated a work with this deed has dedicated the work to the public domain by waiving all of their rights to the work worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law. You can copy, modify, distribute and perform the work, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. (Please Relate to Individual Image URL for More Usage Property)] [License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en ] [Original Source Image URL : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:1150_CE_Hoysaleswara_temple_Halebidu_Karnataka,_Dancing_Saraswati.jpg ] [Image : Three panels of the Hoysaleswara temple in Halebid, Karnataka, feature a dancing Sarasvati with eight hands (above) (c. 1150 CE). One of them is displayed above. She is holding a pen, a palm leaf manuscript, a musical instrument, and other objects used in the main arts in one of her eight hands as she assumes a traditional Indian dance position. She was therefore portrayed by the Shilpins as the goddess of all learning and the arts] #Art#Mythology
In Norse mythology, Forseti is the God of justice and reconciliation. He is frequently compared to the Frisian god Fosite. In Old Norse Forseti means — The Presiding One. In the Prose Edda, Snorri Sturluson claims that Forseti is the child of Baldr and Nanna. His is the best court; everyone who appears before him leaves amicably. In contrast to his brother God Týr, who himself is a non-reconciler of men. this indicates skill in mediation. One source claims that an island between Frisia and Denmark was devoted to the Fosite God and was known as Fositesland after Him. Water had to be fetched silently from a sacred spring because it was so revered. A cow was eventually killed there, defiling the spring. The beginnings of written Frisian law are also the subject of a late-medieval mythology. Charlemagne called twelve members of the Frisian people, the Āsegas- the Law-Speakers - and required they recite the laws of their country in order to compile documented law-codes for his entire subject. He gave them the option to choose between death, enslavement, or being abandoned in a boat without a rudder when they were unable to deliver after several days. The last option was chosen by the members, and after they prayed for assistance, a thirteenth man with a golden axe on his shoulder emerged to help them. A spring appeared where the golden axe landed after the Thirteenth Man used it to direct the boat towards shore. He gave the members a lesson in law before vanishing. Fosite and the holy spring of Fositesland have customarily been linked to the stranger and the spring, respectively! [Information and Image Credit : Forseti, Wikipedia; Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forseti ] [Image: Forseti Seated in Judgment (1881) by Carl Emil Doepler , AI-Colorized] [Original Work (Image) is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the life of author plus 70 years or fewer. (Please Relate to Source Image-URL for More Image Usage Property and License) Original Wikipedia-Image-Source-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Forseti_zu_Gericht_sitzend.jpg ] #Mythology
Greek mythology describes Cassandra, also known as Kassandra or Alexandra, as a Trojan priestess who served the God Apollo and was doomed by Him to make prophesies that came true but were never believed. Her name is sometimes used rhetorically now to denote someone whose accurate predictions—often of imminent disaster—are not taken seriously. Cassandra was the child of King Priam of Troy and Queen Hecuba. Hector, a Greek-Trojan battle hero, was her older brother. She was admired by the deity Apollo, who tried to win her affection by using His gift of prophecy, according to the earlier and more popular versions of the narrative. She promised Him favours, according to Aeschylus, but withdrew her word after accepting the present. Being frustrated by his inability to withdraw a supernatural power, Apollo added the curse that no one would take her forecasts seriously. According to various authors, like Hyginus and Pseudo-Apollodorus, Cassandra did not break her pledge to Apollo; rather, the gift of foresight was intended to tempt her into a romantic relationship; the curse was only added when the desired outcome of the God was not achieved. Later tales, on the other hand, have her dozing off at a temple where she was given the ability to hear the future by snakes licking or whispering into her ears
[Information-Credit : Cassandra, Wikipedia: Wikipedia-Link::
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cassandra ]
[Image: Cassandra by Evelyn De Morgan (1898, London); the Image shows Cassandra in front of a flaming Troy, her disordered hair signifying the insanity the Trojans attributed to her.] [The author died in 1919, so this work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the life of Author plus 100 years or fewer. The Work (Image) is believed to be in Public Domain in the United States as well. (Please Relate to Source Image-URL for More Image Usage Property and License) Image-Source-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cassandra1.jpeg ] #Mythology
The Floralia was a celebration held in old Roman religious tradition on April 27 during the Republican era or April 28 in the Julian calendar in honour of the goddess Flora. The Games of Flora, known as Ludi Florae, were a part of the festival and took place over the course of six days. The ambiance of the festival was one of liberal free delight. The Flora sports were plebeian in spirit, in comparison to many celebrations that had an aristocratic vibe. One of the earliest Roman divinities, Flora had her own flamen Florialis high priest, one of the fifteen gods who each had a state-sponsored high priest. In the holy grove of the Arval Brothers, an ancient priesthood, she accepted sacrifices i.e. piacula as a goddess of flowers, greenery, and fertility. According to tradition, the quasi-legendary Regal era Sabine king Titus Tatius built her altar in Rome. The month Flusalis according to Sabine calendar, which is semantically comparable to Floralia, had Flora among its deities, according to Varro. Following a drought that lasted from 241-238 BCE, the Sibylline Books were consulted at Rome before the Temple of Flora was constructed. The temple was situated close to the Circus Maximus on the lower slope of the Aventine Hill, an area known for being popular with plebeians of Rome. Games were established for the founding day of the temple i.e. April 28), but they were only sporadically held until continued crop loss made them an annual event starting in 173 BCE. Flora Rustica i.e. Rural Flora had a second temple on Quirinal Hill called the Temple of Flora Rustica, which could have been where Tatius had built the altar. According to the Roman poet Ovid, as part of the celebrations, hares and goats—animals regarded as prolific and salacious—were ceremoniously unleashed. According to Persius, the throng was doused with vetches, beans, and lupins, which are also fertility emblems. Contrary to the Cerealia, where white clothing was the norm, multicoloured attire was the norm. Since texts mention actions made to illuminate the path after the theatrical shows, there may have been nighttime celebrations [Information and Image Credit : Floralia, Wikipedia; Wikipedia-Link:: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floralia ] [Image: Triumph of Flora by Tiepolo (ca. 1743), a scene based on description of the Floralia by Ovid] [The work (Image) is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the life of author plus 100 years or fewer. The work (Image) is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1928. (Please Relate to Source Image-URL for More Image Usage Property and License)] [Wikipedia-Image-Link :: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Giovanni_Battista_Tiepolo_090.jpg ] #Mythology
Old Norse literature describes berserkers as people who battled in a trance-like rage; this trait later gave origin to the contemporary English word -Berserk - meaning ferociously violent or uncontrollable. Numerous Old Norse sources mention berserkers. The word was Berserkr in Old Norse, plural Berserkir. It most likely means Bear-Shirt, meaning -- One who wears a Bear-Skin coat, when compared to the Middle English term Serk, meaning Shirt. The term was originally interpreted by historian Snorri Sturluson in the thirteenth century to mean Bare-Shirt, which meant that the warriors engaged in combat without armour. However, this interpretation has since largely been disproved. Some writers argue that hunting sorcery is where the northern warrior culture got its start. The bear, wolf, and wild boar arose as the three principal animal rituals. Scenes from Conquest of Dacia by Trajan in 101–106 AD are depicted in the bas relief carvings on the column of the same name in Rome. His Roman soldiers are seen in the pictures together with auxiliary troops and allies from the frontier areas of Rome, including tribal combatants from both sides of the Rhine. There are warriors affiliated with the Germani who are shown to be barefoot, bare-chested, and carrying weapons and helmets. Some of these soldiers are depicted in Scene 36 of the column standing together, some wearing wolfhoods and others bearhoods. Germanic bear warriors and wolf warriors were never seen fighting alongside one another in history until the account of the Battle of Hafrsfjord in 872 AD by Thórbiörn Hornklofi, when they did so in support of Norwegian King Harald Fairhair. Four cast-bronze dies, known as the Torslunda plates, were discovered in a mound on the grounds of farm No. 5 Björnhovda in Torslunda parish, Land, Sweden, in the spring of 1870, one of them depicting what looks to be a Berserker rite. Some sources assert that the Berserkers were followers of the ancient bear worship, which was once quite popular throughout the northern hemisphere, and that they derived their strength from bears. Notwithstanding their superior fighting skills, the berserkers kept to their religious traditions. The Svarfdaela epic recounts a one on one duel that a berserker delayed until three days after Yule. Before their funeral rites, the deceased bodies of the Berserkers were spread out in bearskins. The bearskin caps that the guards of Danish monarchs wear today still have the bear-warrior image. The berserkers experienced bouts of rage during combat. They would froth at the mouth, howl like untamed animals, and gnaw the rims of their shields. t is said that they were resistant to fire and steel during these outbursts and wreaked havoc among the enemy. They were frail and subdued after the fever subsided. There are accounts about this in the sagas
[Information Credit : Berserker, Wikipedia; Wikipedia-Link :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berserker ]
[Image :
Painting by Nicholas K. Roerich – Sorcerers -- In which Ulfheðnar is shown conducting a ritual (1905) ; The Work (Image) is a faithful photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional, public domain work of art. The Work (Image) is in the public domain in Russia according to article 1281 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. The work was originally published before January 1, 1928. The work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1928. (Please Relate to Source Image-URL for More Image Usage Property and License) Wikipedia-Image-Source-Link :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Sorcerers-1905.jpg ] #Mythology
The Baltic Goddess of Fate is known as Laima. She was a benefactor of expectant mothers and was connected to delivery, matrimony, and death. Comparable to the Norse Norns or the Greek Moirai, Laima and her sisters, Kārta and Dēkla, were a triad of destiny goddesses in Latvian mythology. Laima, who is far more well-liked, decides the destiny of a person in the end. Although they all performed similar duties, Laima is the Goddess of fortune and is more associated with women and childbearing, Dēkla is in custody of the children, and Kārta has control over the life of an adult. Deity Dalia, also related to Fate, and Giltin, The Reaper, are two further similar deities. Lakshmi, the Hindu Goddess, shares similarities with Laima in her roles. The above mentioned Three Goddesses are together defined as three Laimas in contemporary Dievturi, signifying that they are the same divinity in three separate manifestations. Ritual offerings of hens, sheep, towels or other woven items to Laima were part of the birth rites at the end of the nineteenth century. The rite, which was carried out in a Sauna (a kind of room or building), was only open to female participants. Laima shared a connection with Gegutė, or the cuckoo, which the Greimas believed to be a different deity. Others believe she is also a manifestation of Laima. Time and the progression of the seasons were under the control of Gegut. The frequency of her calls was thought to indicate how long someone was left to live with. She also prophesize how an individual would spend the rest of the year in the spring; for instance, a person would be impoverished for the rest of the year if he had no money on him when he heard the cuckoo. The linden tree is a revered symbolic tree associated with Goddess Laima.
[Information-Credit : Laima , Wikipedia] [Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laima ]
[Image: An Artistic Depiction of Goddess Laima] #Mythology
The Divine Manifestation of Light and Spring, the very embodiment of fertility, and the guardian protector of horses and bees in Latvian Mythology is known as Ūsiņš. Among Latvian deities it is one of the few Deities for which historical evidences can be inferred that is essentially reliable testimony. Summer is officially heralded with Ūsiņš Day as they gift verdant fields and trees with green leaves. The first time that men drove horses to Piegula was on Ūsiņi. The ornamental sign for Ūsiņš resembles two letter E placed with their backs to one another. The most popular glove adornment is this symbol. According to a myth, these gloves, known as Atslēgaiņi, bring their wearer good fortune on the road. A foal is the most significant representation of Ūsiņš Day, which has multiple meanings. Because sexual power is equivalent to energy to procreate, it is both a representation of power of Dievas and human energy. A yellow foal is a symbolic representation of the energy of the sun. With Ūsiņš it is also connected to another image: the golden grass snake. A snake is a metaphor for the movement of energy. It is proposed that Ūsiņš is a typological member of the class of heavenly deities, and that because of certain characteristics, he can be identified as the deity of light. He is a morning and evening star-related cosmic deity, if this perception of him is accurate. The Greek Dioskouri or Sons of Zeus, who also transport the Sun like Ūsiņš, are comparable to Ūsiņš because they share traits with the Indian deity Ashvini. Another similarity is that both Asvins are referred to as Divo napata, or Sons of Dyaus, and Ūsiņš is also known as Son of Dievs. Farmers fully entrust him with custody of their horses, giving them to him. Folk ballads state that Ūsiņš personally has horses and takes excellent care of them. Ūsiņš is the God of Light, hence horses were used to deliver the Sun. On the day of the horse market, when they were bought and sold, Ūsiņš Day was observed. Ūsiņš Day was greeted by a rumbling and a lot of noise, which is consistent with the springtime thundering character! [Information Credit : Ūsiņš , Wikipedia] [Wikipedia-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%AAsi%C5%86%C5%A1 ] [Image: Artistic Depiction of Horses Release for the First Pieguļa after Winter on the Ūsiņš Day] #Mythology
Gondolin was a secret citadel of the Elves in about the centre of Beleriand, a region of Middle-earth. Turgon the Wise, an early First Age ruler of the Ñoldorin, is credited with founding it. Among all of the Ñoldorin realms in banishment, it survived the longest, enduring over four centuries during the Years of the Sun. The Lord of Waters, Vala Ulmo, gave the Ñoldorin Lord Turgon the whereabouts of the Vale of Tumladen in a dream, according to The Silmarillion. Turgon journeyed from his dominion in Nevrast and established the vale thanks to this heavenly direction. A circular, leveled meadow with steep walls on all sides and a ravine and tunnel heading out to the southwest, known as the Hidden Way, was located within the Encircling Mountains just west of Dorthonion and east of the river Sirion. Amon Gwareth was the name of a inclined hill that was in the midst of the valley. Turgon made the decision to construct a magnificent settlement there, one that would be hidden from the Dark Lord Morgoth and shielded by the mountains. Turgon and his followers secretly created Gondolin for about 75 years. After it was finished, he took roughly a third of the Ñoldor and nearly three quarters of the northern Sindar with him to live in the hidden city. He also took his whole people in Nevrast. Although it was prohibited to leave Gondolin, Turgon sent out couriers, like as Voronwë, to appeal to the Valar for support in the wars against Morgoth. Later in the Nírnaeth Arnoediad, Turgon commanded his troops to the rescue of his brother Fingon and, thanks to the sacrifice of Húrin and Huor, was able to survive the subsequent setback with his army. Years later, Tuor, son of Huor, arrived in Gondolin bearing an admonition from Ulmo to evacuate the city before it was annihilated. Turgon disregarded the advice because he felt safe within his fortified walls of his city. The city lasted for almost 400 years until Maeglin, nephew of Turgon, betrayed him to Morgoth, after which the troops of the Dark Lord devastated the city! [Information Credit : https://lotr.fandom.com/wiki/Gondolin ] #Mythology
The Grandest of the Eagles of Manwë, monarch of the Valar, was Thorondor, the Lord of the Eagles. Thorondor reputedly possessed a thirty-fathom span of wings. The Eagles also served the purpose couriers for messages. Among them were also the Great Eagles, enormous birds that could even speak and were sentient beings. They frequently aided mankind, elves, and wizards in their fight against evil. They were created by Manwë Súlimo, King of the Valar, and were frequently referred to as the Manwë Eagles. They were dispatched from Valinor to Middle-Earth to keep tabs on the banished Ñoldor once they had landed in Beleriand as well as on their enemy, the wicked Vala Morgoth. Thorondor first came into contact with the Eldar when he assisted Fingon in freeing Maedhros from custody of Thangorodrim. Following that, Thorondor and the other Eagles made their way to the Crissaegrim. When Gondolin was constructed, Thorondor took on the role of the constant watchful keeper of the city. After Morgoth slew Fingolfin, Thorondor saved his body from being violated, leaving the Dark Lord scarred on his face. When Angband became aroused, Thorondor and two of his vassals, Gwaihir and Landroval, saved Beren and Lúthien. Thorondor saved the surviving citizens when Gondolin was destroyed. Thorondor and Eärendil, who may have fought against Ancalagon the Black, commanded the Eagles in combat with the Dragons during the War of Wrath. After the War of Wrath, Thorondor is not recorded again, but his successors were involved in some Third Age episodes!
[Information Credit : https://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Thorondor ; https://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Eagles ] #Mythology#LOTR
Ancalagon the Black, the most powerful winged fire-dragon ever to dwell, was the deadliest of the dragons of Morgoth. The Valar engaged in their last conflict with Morgoth during the War of Wrath. With the majority of the Balrogs of the Dark Lord and other warriors decimated, their victory was imminent. However, Morgoth released the winged dragons that he had been keeping hidden in Angband in the year 587. They attacked the ranks of the Host of the Valar, who had come with thunderbolts and fire storms, and Ancalagon was among them. The vast Birds of Heaven, led by Thorondor, were assembled about Vingilot when Eärendil, who shone with white flame, arrived, and there was air combat all day long and during a night of uncertainty. Ancalagon the Black, the strongest of the dragon host, was killed by Eärendil before the sun rose. He then hurled him from the sky, where he crashed into the Towers of Thangorodrim, shattering them in the process. Gandalf made A reference to Ancalagon by the end of the Third Age, stating that not even his flames could destroy the One Ring. The Quenta Noldorinwa of1930s contains the earliest appearance of Ancalagon in the mythological tales of Tolkien and provides a much more condensed account of the War of Wrath than that provided in the above section, even if the plot is the same as that of subsequent editions! [Information Credit : https://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Ancalagon ] #Mythology#LOTR
The God of Light and Spring, the embodiment of fertility, and the protector of horses and bees in Latvian Mythology is known as Ūsiņš. It is one of the few Latvian deities from which historical evidence can be inferred that is essentially reliable testimony. Summer officially starts with Ūsiņš Day as they gift verdant fields and trees with green leaves. The first time that men drove horses to Piegula was on Ūsiņi. The ornamental sign for Ūsiņš resembles two letter E placed with their backs to one another. The most popular glove adornment is this symbol. According to a myth, these gloves, known as Atslēgaiņi, bring their wearer good fortune on the road. The most significant representation of Ūsiņš Day is a foal, which has multiple meanings. Because sexual power is equivalent to creative energy, it is both a representation of power of Dievas and human energy. A yellow foal represents the energy of the sun.. With Ūsiņš it is also connected to another image: the golden grass snake. A snake is a metaphor for the movement of energy. It is proposed that Ūsiņš is a typological member of the class of heavenly deities, and that because of certain characteristics, he can be identified as the deity of light. He is a morning and evening star-related cosmic deity, if this perception of him is accurate. The Greek Dioskouri or Sons of Zeus, who also transport the Sun like Ūsiņš, are comparable to Ūsiņš because they share traits with the Indian deity Ashvini. Another similarity is that both Asvins are referred to as Divo napata, or Sons of Dyaus, and Ūsiņš is also known as Son of Dievs. Farmers fully entrust him with custody of their horses, giving them to him. Folk ballads state that Ūsiņš personally has horses and takes excellent care of them. Ūsiņš is the God of Light, hence horses were used to deliver the Sun. On the day of the horse market, when they were bought and sold, Ūsiņš Day was observed. Ūsiņš Day was greeted by a rumbling and a lot of noise, which is consistent with the springtime thundering character. [Information and Image Credit : Ūsiņš , Wikipedia] [Image : On Ūsiņš Day horses are released for the first Pieguļa after Winter] [Image Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic ; Wikipedia-Image-Author : böhringer friedrich ; (Please Relate to Individual Image URL for More Usage Property)] [License-Link :
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5/deed.en ]
[Wikipedia Source Image URL : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pferde01.JPG ]
According to Norse mythology, Svaðilfari, a stallion, and Loki, in the shape of a mare, were the parents of the eight-legged horse Sleipnir. The masked and unidentified Jötunn who constructed walls of Asgard owned Svaðilfari. An unidentified architect offered to construct a stronghold for the Gods that would keep away intruders in exchange for Freyja, the Sun, and the Moon, according to chapter 42 of the Prose Edda book, during the beginning of the habitation of the Gods, when the Gods had created Midgard and erected Valhalla. The Gods eventually consented to this, but they imposed a number of conditions on the architect, including that he finish the project in a single season. The only thing the architect asked for was the ability to use his steed Svaðilfari as assistance, and thanks to Loki, this was granted. To the surprise of the Gods, the stallion Svaðilfari accomplished feats of strength twice as great as that of the builder and lifted massive rocks. With the help of Svaðilfari, the builder advanced the wall quickly; three days before the Summer Solstice, the entrance of the fortification was almost finished. The Gods met and decided that Loki was to blame for the most of the problems. The Gods warned Loki that if he did not devise a plan to have the architect renounce his fee, he would suffer severe consequences. Loki, who was terrified, vowed that he would plan a strategy to isolate the architect at whatever cost. A gorgeous mare in disguise — Loki — ran out of the trees and into the clearing as the architect and Svaðilfari were driving out to get stones that evening. Svaðilfari became enraged, neighed, tore his tack apart and rushed at the mare as the mare advanced and neighed at him. The mare abruptly turned and galloped away from the stallion towards the woods. The builder started to chase after Svaðilfari as he started to follow the mare. The building project was put on hold for the entire night because the two horses kept running around. The builder became enraged and revealed that he was a Bergrisi or Jötunn when he realised that the wall would not be built in time. The Gods (Æsir) broke their prior pledges with the architect when they learned that he was a Jötunn. They then called for Thor, who arrived right away and killed the architect with Mjöllnir. Due to his encounter with Svaðilfari, Loki became impregnated and later gave birth to the renowned horse Sleipnir, a grey colt with eight legs!
[Information and Image Credit : Svaðilfari , Wikipedia] [Original-Image : Loki and Svadilfari (1909) by Dorothy Hardy ; Current-Image : Colorized using AI Colorizer] [The work (Image) is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the life of author plus 70 years or fewer. The Work (Image) is also believed to be in Public Domain in the United States as well; (Please Relate to Individual Image URL for More Usage Property)] [Original Wikipedia Source-Image-URL : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Loki_and_Svadilfari_by_Hardy.jpg ]
#Mythology
Víðarr, also known as the Wide Ruler or Vidar in English, is one of the Sir and is a deity of retribution in Norse mythology. According to legend, Víðarr is the son of Odin and the Jötunn Gríðr. He is prophesied to kill the wolf Fenrir at Ragnarök to exact revenge for the murder of his father. Víðarr is mentioned in the Prose Edda, which was composed in the thirteenth century by Snorri Sturluson, and the Poetic Edda, which was assembled in the thirteenth century from earlier conventional documents. It is believed that Víðarr is pictured beside Fenrir on the Gosforth Cross. The figure is the subject of several ideas, including those involving possible ritual stillness and a Proto-Indo-European origin. At the beginning of the poem, according to Lokasenna, Loki chastises the Gods for failing to properly welcome him to the feast at the hall of Æsir. Odin finally complies with the etiquette laws in verse 10, asking Víðarr to stand and serve the argumentative visitor a drink. Víðarr carries out his directives. Loki gives the Æsir a toast before starting his flyting i.e. a contest of exchanging insults between two parties, often conducted in verse. According to a theory, Víðarr depicts a cosmic figure based on a Proto-Indo-European motif. Further evidence suggests that he was affiliated with both horizontal and vertical space because of his vast step and sturdy shoe, as well as with the lower and upper jaws of the wolf. This means that by killing the wolf, Víðarr prevents the wolf from annihilating the cosmos, allowing the cosmos to be rebuilt after the obliteration of Ragnarök. [Information and Image Credit : Víðarr , Wikipedia ] [Image : A depiction of Víðarr stabbing Fenrir while holding his jaws apart by W. G. Collingwood, 1908, inspired by the Gosforth Cross] [The Original Work (Image) work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the life of Author plus 70 years or fewer; The Original Work (Image) is in Public Domain in the United States because the book was published before 1923. Also in the public domain in Britain. The Current Work is a AI-Based Colorized Version of the Original; (Kindly Relate to Individual Image URL for More Usage Property)] [Wikipedia-Source Image-URL :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Vidar_by_Collingwood.jpg ] #Mythology
A particular legendary character from the Middle-earth fantasy genre is named Beorn. He makes an appearance in The Hobbit as a — Skin-changer, a person with the ability to transform into a large Black Bear. His successors or clansmen, a group of Men known as the Beornings, resided in the upper Vales of Anduin, halfway between Mirkwood and the Misty Mountains, and they are included among the Free People of Middle-Earth who fought against the armies of Sauron during the War of the Ring. Located between the Misty Mountains and Mirkwood, to the east of the Anduin, dwelt Beorn in a wooden home on his grassland. He kept an entourage of animals in his home, including horses, dogs, sheep and cows, among others. Gandalf also claimed that Beorn did not consume his cattle or engage in wild animal hunting. He raised a lot of clover for his bees as well. Beorn was either a progeny of the bears that had lived in the Misty Mountains before the giants arrived, or he was a descendant of the men who had inhabited the area before the advent of the dragons or the Orcs from the north, according to Gandalf. When transformed into a bear, Beorn maintained his enormous size and strength. In both of his appearances, he had black hair and a full black beard and strong shoulders in human incarnations. Despite not being a true giant, human form of Beorn was so enormous that Bilbo, who is three and a half feet tall, believed he could have easily stepped between his legs without coming in contact with his body. Along with giving the enormous rock beside the Anduin the name Carrock, a translation of the Welsh word Carreg, Beorn also built the steps that led from the flat top of the rock to its foundation. Beorn helped the 13 Dwarves, Gandalf, Bilbo Baggins from The Hobbit on their journey to recover their homeland beneath the Lonely Mountain. After verifying their account of coming into the Goblins of the Misty Mountains and the killing of their Great Goblin leader by Gandalf, he was persuaded of their reliability. Beorn provided the group with much-required groceries and housing as well as provided them with crucial guidance on the best route through Mirkwood. Later, after learning that a sizable number of Goblins were on the march, Beorn made it to the Lonely Mountain in time to deliver the deciding blow in the Battle of Five Armies. He killed Bolg, the Head Goblin, and his bodyguards while he was in bear shape. The goblin army became dispersed and easy prey for the other armies of men, elves, dwarves, and eagles because they lacked leadership. For reasons that are never fully revealed, Beorn frequently spend hours or days away from his home during the storyline of the The Hobbit. It is claimed in a later chapter of The Hobbit that Beorn did, in fact, rise to prominence in those areas and rule a vast area bounded by mountains and forests. It is also claimed that for many generations, men of his line had the ability to assume bear form, and while some were gruesome and evil, the majority were, at heart, like Beorn, even if smaller and weaker. [Information and Image Credit : Beorn, Wikipedia] [Image : Beorn, by J. M. Kilpatrick, 2013] [Images Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International ; (Kindly Relate to Individual Image URL for More Usage Property)]
[License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en ]
[Wikipedia-Source Image URL : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Beorn_by_JMKilpatrick.jpg ] #Mythology
Sigyn is a divine figure from Norse mythology. She is mentioned in the Prose Edda, which Snorri Sturluson wrote in the 13th century, as well as the Poetic Edda, which was assembled in the 13th century from older traditional sources. Little is said about Sigyn in the Poetic Edda other how she helped her husband Loki when he was imprisoned. She occurs in several kennings, her assistance in assisting Loki through his time in enslavement is emphasised, and she is twice referred to as a Goddess in the Prose Edda. Sigyn might be shown on the Gosforth Cross and has been the focus of numerous theories and cultural allusions. A völva tells Odin in stanza 35 of the Poetic Edda poem Völuspá that she witnesses Sigyn seated extremely unhappy with her chained husband, Loki, under a — Grove of Hot Springs, among several other things. In the concluding prose part of the poem Lokasenna , Sigyn is addressed once more. In the narrative, Loki is shown as having been shackled by the Gods with theguts of his son Nari; his son Váli is said to have been transformed into a wolf; and the goddess Skaði has a poisonous serpent fastened over the face of Loki, dripping venom. Under the dripping poison, Sigyn is supporting a basin. As the basin fills up, she takes it away, at which point Loki is stung with venom, writhing so frantically that tremors rock the entire planet. It has been suggested that the Gosforth Cross in Cumbria, England, which dates to the middle of the eleventh century, contains a number of Norse mythological characters. A long-haired prostrate woman holding something over another tied, is shown near the bottom half of the west side of the cross. A tangled serpent is above them and to the left of them. This has been understood as Sigyn comforting the restrained Loki. [Information and Image Credit : Sigyn, Wikipedia] [Image : Loki and Sigyn by Mårten Eskil Winge (1863)] [The Work (Image) is a faithful photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional, Public Domain Work of Art. The work (Image) is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the life of Author plus 100 years or fewer. (Please Relate to Individual Image URLs for More Usage Property)]
[Source-Image-URL ::
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Loki,_by_M%C3%A5rten_Eskil_Winge_1890.jpg ] #Mythology
1. Leif Erikson was the first Viking to explore the land of Vinland–part of North America, which was most possibly near the modern-day Newfoundland! 2. Erik the Red (Father of Leif Erikson) was the first permanent European settler of Greenland and popularly credited with discovery of Greenland as well. Apparently the name “Greenland” was coined by him, supposedly in the hope that the pleasant name would attract settlers! 3. Naddodd (Great, Great, Great Grand-Uncle of Leif Erikson), the discoverer of Iceland! Family Tree- Leif Erikson son of Erik the Red, son of Thorvald Ásvaldsson, son of Ásvald Ulfsson, son of Ulf Oxen-Thorisson, son of Oxen-Thorir (brother of Naddodd). One Family – Generational contribution for three different landmasses – Iceland, Greenland and Vinland (America). [Information Credit : Naddodd; Thorvald_Asvaldsson; Erik_the_Red; Leif_Erikson; Wikipedia] [image Credit : Leif_Erikson; Wikipedia] [Image : The Landing of the Vikings by Arthur C. Michael (1919)] [The work (Image) is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the life of author plus 70 years or fewer. The Image is expected to be in Public Domain in the United States as well. (Kindly Relate to Individual Source Image URLs for More Usage Properties)] [Source Image URL : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_landing_of_Vikings_on_America.jpg ] #Mythology
Nótt is the representation of night in Norse mythology. Nótt is described as the daughter of a character by the moniker of Nörvi and is affiliated with the horse Hrímfaxi in both the Poetic Edda, assembled in the 13th century from earlier conventional records, and the Prose Edda, written in the 13th century. The Prose Edda also includes details about lineage of Nótt, which include her three marriages. Even though some document versions mention Jörð as wife of Dellingr and mother of Dagr instead, the third marriage of Nótt was to the deity Dellingr, and their son Dagr, the personification of day, was the outcome. The word Nótt emerges in Old Norse literature as a proper noun. In both the Prose and Poetic Edda, Nótt is personified. Nótt is the daughter of a Jötunn from Jötunheimr by the designation of Norfi or Narfi, according to the exalted figure of High in chapter 10 of the Prose Edda. Nótt, who is characterised as Dark and Swarthy, has been married three times. Her first marriage to Naglfari resulted in the birth of a son named Auðr. The consequence of second marriage of Nótt to Annar was their daughter Jörð, who represents the earth. Finally, Nótt marries the god Dellingr, and the couple has a son named Dagr who is brilliant and fair like his People of His Father. Odin placed Nótt and her son Dagr into the sky with a chariot and a horse each, and they travel around the world every 24 hours. Nótt comes before Dagr, and foam from her horse bit of Hrímfaxi sprays the earth! [Information and Image Credit :: Nótt, Wikipedia] [Image : Nótt rides her horse in this 19th-century picture by Peter Nicolai Arbo] [The Work (Image) is a faithful photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional, public domain work of art. The Work (Image) is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the life of author plus 100 years or fewer. The Work is in Public Domain in the United States as well. (Please Relate to Wikipedia Source Image URL for More Usage Properties)] [Wikipedia-Source-Image-URL :: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Peter_Nicolai_Arbo_-_Natten_-_Nasjonalmuseet_-_NG.M.03666.jpg ] #Mythology
In Norse mythology, Bragi is the skaldic deity of poetry. The masculine term Bragr, which in Old Norse can be interpreted as Poetry or as The First, Noblest, is likely the source of the theonym Bragi. It is unclear if the theonym linguistically corresponds to the first or second meaning. Old Norse and Old Swedish records frequently use the private name Bragi, which might possibly allude to the auxiliary aspect of the name of the God. The Old Norse Bragarfull, a cup drank on solemn occasions when oaths are taken, has also been linked to the phrase. The second meaning of Bragr is typically assumed to be the semantic antecedent of the word. It is made quite obvious in Skáldskaparmál that Bragi is son of Odin. Some specific lists of sons of Odin also include this information as well. Many stanzas credited to Bragi Boddason the Old, a Norwegian royal poet who served numerous Swedish kings, including Ragnar Lodbrok, Östen Beli and Björn at Hauge who ruled in the first half of the 9th century, are quoted by Snorri Sturluson in the Prose Edda. This Bragi was regarded as the first skaldic poet and is unquestionably the first known skaldic poet whose verse has survived in remembrance. Only in the Skjáldskaparmál is Bragi son of Hálfdan the Old attested. King Hálfdan the Old fathered this Bragi on Alvig the Wise, a daughter of King Eymund of Hólmgard, making him the sixth of the second of two groups of nine sons. Bragi, the ancestors of the Bragnings, are race of Hálfdan the Generous. [Information and Image Credit :: Bragi, Wikipedia] [Image: The subject of this 19th-century picture by Nils Blommér is Bragi, who is joined by his wife Iðunn and is holding a harp.] [The Work (Image) is a faithful photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional, public domain work of art. The author died in 1853, so this work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the life of author plus 100 years or fewer (Please Relate to Wikipedia Source Image URL for More Usage Properties)]
[Source-Image-URL :: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Idunn_and_Bragi_by_Blommer.jpg ]
#Mythology
In Norse mythology, Dagr represents the heavenly embodiment of the day. He is mentioned in the Prose Edda, which Snorri Sturluson wrote in the 13th century, as well as the Poetic Edda, which was assembled in the 13th century from older traditional sources. According to both traditions, Dagr is the son of the deity Dellingr and is linked to the day-bringer Skinfaxi, a horse with a dazzling mane. The Prose Edda adds that Dagr is either son of Dellingr by Nótt, the personification of darkness, or Jörð, the personification of Earth, depending on textual alteration. Elsewhere, Dagr emerges in Old Norse writings as a generic term that simply means Day. There have been suggestions that Dagr and other entities with similar names in Germanic mythology are related. In lines 12 and 25 of the poem Vafþrúðnismál, Dagr is mentioned. Gylfaginning, a Prose Edda work, personifies Dagr once more. The hero Svipdagr, who is mentioned in several writings, is thought to be linked to Dagr. This figure can be found, among other places, in two poems that were combined and are referred to as Svipdagsmál in the Poetic Edda, the Prologue to the Prose Edda! [Information and Image Credit : Dagr, Wikipedia] [Image : Dagr (1874) by Peter Nicolai Arbo] [The Work (Image) is a faithful photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional, public domain work of art. The Work (Image) is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the life of Author plus 100 years or fewer. The Image is believed to be in Public Domain in United States as well] [Source Image-URL :: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dagr_by_Arbo.jpg ] #Mythology
Sinthgunt is a figure in Germanic mythology, attested solely in the Old High German 9th- or 10th-century Merseburg Incantation. In the incantation, Sinthgunt is referred to as the sister of the personified sun, Sunna and the two sisters are cited as both producing charms to heal horse of Phol, a figure also otherwise unattested. The two are then followed by Friia and Uolla, also alliterative and stated as sisters. As Sinthgunt is otherwise unattested, her significance is otherwise unknown, but some scholarly theories exist about her role in Germanic mythology based on proposed etymologies, and the potential significance of her placement within the incantation. As a result of the pairing with Sunna, the personified sun, this etymology has been interpreted as a reference to the moon. However, this reading has yielded problems; the moon in Germanic mythology is considered masculine, exemplified in the personification of the moon in Norse mythology, Máni, a male figure. Sinhtgunt was also grouped as a valkyrie in the 19th century. The figures Fulla and Frigg are attested together in later Old Norse sources (though not as sisters), and theories have been proposed that the Fulla may at one time have been an aspect of Frigg. This notion has resulted in a theory that a similar situation may have existed between the figures of Sinthgunt and Sól, in that the two may have been understood as aspects of one another rather than entirely separate figures.
[Information Credit : Sinthgunt, Wikipedia] [Image : A scene from one of the Merseburg Incantations: gods Wodan and Balder stand before the goddesses Sunna, Sinthgunt, Volla, and Friia (Emil Doepler, 1905) ]
[The Work (Image) is a Faithful Photographic Reproduction of a two-dimensional, Public Domain Work of Art. The author died in 1922, so this work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the life of Author plus 95 years or fewer. This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1927 ] [Source-Image-URL :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wodan_heilt_Balders_Pferd_by_Emil_Doepler.jpg ]
#Mythology
Puck, also referred as Robin Goodfellow in English folklore, is a household and natural sprite, supernatural entity or fairy. The word Puca, from the Old English language, predates the contemporary English word. Later versions in Old Norse, Old Swedish, as well as the Celtic languages also have similar terms. Robin Goodfellow or Hobgoblin are other names for Puck, with Hob standing in for Rob or Robin. The name Robin is Middle English in origin and is a pet version of Robert that originated in Old French. It expressed some hopeful belief and an effort to placate the fairies, acknowledging their love of adulation despite their prankish character, comparable to the application of the phrase — the good folk -- to describe fairies. Puck might perform rapid fine needlework, butter churning or little housework, all of which could be quickly wrecked by his cunning pranks if he were to become enraged. He was a household ghost who helped housewives with their work in exchange for a gift of milk and white bread. He would grab what he thought was due if this was ignored. Pucks are also well recognised for being naturally solitary entities. [Information and Image Credit : Puck_(folklore), Wikipedia] [Image : Puck and Fairies, by Joseph Noel Paton ][The Work (Image) is a faithful photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional, public domain work of art. The author died in 1901, so this work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the life of Author plus 100 years or fewer. This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1927. ; (Please Relate to Individual Image URLs for More Usage Property)]
[Source Image-URL ::
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Joseph_Noel_Paton_-_Puck_and_Fairies,_from_%22A_Midsummer_Night%27s_Dream%22_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg ] #Mythology
The Kazakh and Kyrgyz myths regard Gun Ana, the traditional Turkic solar deity, as a goddess. In Turkic dialects, Gün Ana or Kün Ana denotes the Sun-Mother. Among the most potent deities, Gün Ana is the divinity of comfort, wellness, vitality and reproduction. She is the patron goddess of the downtrodden, particularly orphans. The seventh floor of the sky is where she resides. Gun Ana participated in the creation of World since Tengri used sunlight to construct it. Sunlight is also seen to be a — String — that connects the souls of people, animals and plants to the Sun. While praying, Turks who adore Gun Ana face the rising Sun. One of the earliest documented accounts of Turkic mythology makes reference to Gün Ana. Turkic legends claim that the Sun was created by the mighty god Kayra and launched into the heavens. Ay Ata i.e. the Moon and Gün Ana were married. Khagan and his wife are supposedly the offspring of the Sky and the Yer i.e. the Land, as per Turkic mythology. They are represented in the sky by Ay Ata, who resides on the sixth floor and Gün Ana, who resides on the seventh floor. [Information and Image Credit : Gun_Ana, Wikipedia] [Image : Gun Ana : Goddess of the Sun, Life, Fertility, Warmth and Health] [Image Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International ; Wikipedia-Image-Author : Bartu Bölükbaşı ; (Please Relate to Individual Image URLs for More Usage Property)] [License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en ]
[Source Image-URL : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:G%C3%BCn_Ana.jpg ] #Mythology
A Dís is a feminine divinity, apparition or spirit connected to Fate in Norse mythology who may be friendly or hostile toward people. Dísir could serve as the guardian spirits of Norse clans. Their reverence may have originated from the worship of the dead, but it is also probable that they served as fertility goddesses who were the focus of both personal and public worship, known as Dísablót. The Dísir are invariably referred to combinedly in existing sources, just as the Valkyries, Norns and Vaettir. Some historians assume that the West Germanic Idisi and the North Germanic Dísir are connected because of linguistic and mythical commonalities; nevertheless, there is little concrete evidence linking Anglo-Saxon and Continental German mythology. Some scholars have argued that the term Dísir is a general one that encompasses the other entities since the Dísir performs duties in Norse literature that are similar to those of Fylgjur, Valkyries, and Norns. The Dísir and the West Germanic Idisi have been compared by scholars, who believe that the beginning I- was deleted early in Old or Proto-Norse. Although the likeness clearly had an impact on Old Norse poetic use, other researchers do not believe the words to be directly connected. Other academics classify all female divinities and spirits connected to conflict under the headings of Idis, Dís, Valkyrie and other names, such as Sigewif i.e. Victory-Women, associated by the Anglo-Saxons with a Swarm of Bees and find the similarities in language as well as in surviving myths and magical enchantments to be adequate justification for putting all differences on this topic from various Germanic cultural contexts together. [Information and Image Credit : Dís, Wikipedia] [Image: Idise (1905) by Emil Doepler] [The Work (Image) is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the life of author plus 70 years or fewer. The Work (Image) is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1927. (Kindly Relate to Individual Source Image URL for More Usage Properties)] [Source Image URL ::
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Idise_by_Emil_Doepler.jpg ] #Mythology
In the Hindu system of four life stages known as Ashramas, Sannyasa, which is also occasionally spelled Sanyasa, refers to the life of renunciation of the individual. The first three Ashramas are Brahmacharya i.e. of bachelor studentship, Grihastha i.e the family-man and Vanaprastha i.e. the forest dweller or who has retired from family-life. However, young Brahmacharis have the option to forego the householder and retiree phases, forsake earthly and material pursuits and dedicate their lives to spiritual activities. Sannyasa is typically thought to be for men or women in their later stages of life. Sannyasa is a type of asceticism with the aim of devoting the life in tranquil, spiritual activities. It is characterised by the renunciation of earthly pleasures and biases, which is symbolized by a state of apathy and dissociation from material life. In Hinduism, a person participating in Sanyasa is referred to as a Sannyasi for man or Sannyasini for woman. In the early Vedic literature, a Muni is described as having traits similar to those of later Sannyasins and Sannyasinis. The principles underlying the Sannyasa notion as well as the antiquated Brahmacharya philosophy were certainly inspired by these Munis, their way of life and their quest of spirituality as bachelor studentship i.e. Bramhacharya. A Sannyasin leads a straightforward life that is usually detachment, nomadic and involves wandering from place to place without any material belongings or emotional ties. They frequently dress in yellow, saffron, orange, ochr, or soil-colored clothing and may carry a strolling stick, a book, a container or jug for food and drink. They are typically vegetarians and they could have long hair and look disorderly. In Indian religions, sannyasa has traditionally been a stage of renouncing, Ahimsa i.e. non-violence, a tranquil and modest existence, and spiritual inquiry. However at the face of alien religious invasions in Indian Sub-Continent and criminal bigotry, that the ascetics manifested itself into a military order, where they pioneered guerilla warfare techniques, military tactics and martial arts to save and protect the Inidc Religion and Civilization. [Information and Image Credit : Sannyasa, Wikipedia] [Image : Adi Shankara (788-820 A.D.), founder of Advaita Vedanta, with disciples)] [The Work (Image) is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the life of author plus 70 years or fewer. The Work (Image) is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1927. (Kindly Relate to Individual Source Image URL for More Usage Properties)] [Source Image URL :
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Shankara-Disciples-River.jpg ] #Mythology
In the north-western White Mountains of Middle-Earth, Helms Deep is a particular valley. Some of the Rohirrim army, led by King Théoden, seek refuge at Helms Deep with its castle the Hornburg from an attack by army of Saruman. Tolkien premised it on the Cheddar Gorge, a limestone gorge around 400 ft deep in the Mendip Hills, with a sizable cave complex network that he toured on his honeymoon in 1916 and returned to in 1940. Tolkien recognised this cave complex as the inspiration for the Glittering Caves of Aglarond at the head of Helms Deep, which lay behind the fortress Hornburg. The Deeping-coomb is a broader valley with Helms Deep being a narrow gorge or ravine at its head. However, the term is often used to refer to the defences at the mouth of the gorge and the larger valley beneath it. The Glittering Caves of Aglarond are a vast network of magnificent speleothems that are located deep within the White Mountains at the foot of the Thrihyrne peak. The battle-hardened Deeping Wall, which was 20 feet tall and wide enough for four soldiers to stand shoulder to shoulder, blocked the Helm-Gate, the entrance of the gorge and it had a culvert for the Deeping-stream, which trickled down into the valley. A steep staircase led to the back gate of the Hornburg castle and a large causeway descended in front of the main gate at one end of the wall. An outlying ditch and rampart known as Helm-Dike was constructed directly across the Deeping-coomb about two furlongs past the gate. The defences were sketched out in great detail by Tolkien. When King Helm Hammerhand of Rohan and his people fled from the pursuing Dunlendings led by Wulf during the winter of Third Age, the valley was given his name. [Information Credit : Battle of Helm’s Deep, Wikipedia] [image: Artistic Imagination of Helm’s Deep] #Mythology
Saturnalia, a celebration and holiday celebrated in ancient Rome in honour of the deity Saturn, began on December 17 and later extended through December 23. The festival was marked by a sacrifice at the Temple of Saturn in the Roman Forum, a public banquet, followed by private gift-giving, nonstop partying and a carnival-like ambience that defied Roman social standards: gambling was allowed and masters served their servants at the table because it was regarded as a period of liberty for both servants and freedmen. In Roman mythology, Saturn was a deity of agriculture who was thought to have ruled the globe during the Golden Age, when people relished natural richness of the earth in a carefree condition. The celebrations of Saturnalia were meant to represent the circumstances of the long-gone mythological era. The Kronia, which fell between mid-July and mid-August on the Attic calendar, was the Greek counterpart and was observed on the twelfth day of the month of Hekatombaion. A typical practise was the nomination of a — King of the Saturnalia, who would issue directives to be obeyed and oversee the revelry. Typically, funny presents or tiny wax or porcelain figurines called Sigillaria served as the gifts that were given and received. The freedom linked with Saturnalia, according to the Neoplatonist philosopher Porphyry, represented the — Freeing of Souls into Immortality. Saturnalia may well have impacted a number of the customs connected to subsequent midwinter holidays in western Europe, especially those connected to Christmas, the Feast of the Holy Innocents and Epiphany. According to one of the explanations of the work of Macrobius, Saturnalia is a festival of light preceding the winter solstice, with the numerous lights present signifying the pursuit of knowledge and truth. The Dies Natalis Solis Invicti or the —Birthday of the Unconquerable Sun, was observed on December 25 in the later Roman Empire as a celebration of the return of light and the beginning of a new year. [Information and Image Credit : Saturnalia, Wikipedia] [Image: Saturnalia (1783) by Antoine Callet] [Image Availed Under : Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication (Please Relate to Source-Image URL for more Usage Property)] [License-Link :
https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en ]
[Source-Image-URL : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Saturnalia_by_Antoine_Callet.jpg ] #Mythology
The Iranian Winter Solstice event known as Yaldā Night or Chelle Night is observed on the longest and darkest night of the year. This corresponds to the evening of December 20/21 in the Gregorian calendar. The celebration is observed throughout Iran and other areas that have traditionally been impacted by the Persian Empire, such as Tajikistan, Azerbaijan and Afghanistan. Family and friends come together on this longest and darkest night of the year to eat, drink and recite poetry ands well the Shahnameh till well beyond midnight. The practises of what are now regarded as Shab-e Chelleh/Yalda were initially norms meant to safeguard the public from evil throughout that long night, at which period the evil forces of Ahriman were believed to be at their strongest. In Zoroastrian tradition, the longest and darkest night of the year was in particular an inauspicious day. People would assemble in the security of gatherings of friends and family, exchange the final surviving summer fruits, and seek methods for passing the long night in pleasant company. People were urged to stay up for the majority of the night to avoid bad things happening to them. Therefore, Yalda Night was one of the sacred nights in ancient Iran and was inserted as a part of the official calendar of the Iranians dating since 502 BC under Darius I. This night is traditionally celebrated with events that date back centuries. Because of previous experiences, ancient people were used to the changing of the seasons and the inconsistencies that occured throughout the year. They carried out their activities and duties as the seasons and altitudes changed and the sun rotated. The latter days of autumn and the first night of winter are when the days are the shortest, were known to the ancient Indo-Europeans. Thereafter, the days and nights gradually get longer and shorter respectively. In order to mark the start of the year, they thus gave this night the name — The Night of the Suns Birth i.e. Mehr. Pomegranates and watermelons are especially significant fruits and nuts to be taken on this night. The scarlet colours of these fruits stand in for the crimson hues of dawn and the life-giving radiance. [Information and Image Credit : Yaldā_Night, Wikipedia] [Image: Table of Chelle Night] [Image Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported ; Wikipedia-Image-Author : PersianDutchNetwork]
[License-Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en ]
[Source-Image-URL: : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Yalda_Night_Table_Amsterdam_2011_Photo_by_Pejman_Akbarzadeh_Persian_Dutch_Network.jpg ] #Mythology
Alban Arthan, which occurs around the Winter Solstice, is a seasonal event in the Druidic calendar. The documentations of the radical poet Iolo Morganwg, from the nineteenth century, are where the name originates. There has lately been speculation that Druids would congregate by the oldest Mistletoe-Clad Oak on the solstice date. While other Druids below held an opened sheet to collect the mistletoe, ensuring that none of it struck the ground, the Chief Druid worked his way to the mistletoe to be cut. The Chief Druid would slice off the mistletoe to be caught below with his golden sickle in a single motion. Pliny, dating between 24–79 CE, described this practise in his Natural History (16.24), but not as a component of a seasonal celebration but rather in the framework of a sacrifice of two white bulls to seek the blessings of the Gods on prosperity. The holiday is celebrated in a way that honours the passing of the Holly King at the hands of his son and successor, the Robin Redbreast Oak King (personification of Summer), which represents the new year and the rising sun. The Holly King i.e. the personification of Winter, is represented by the wren bird, which represents the past year and the shortened sun time. Both open and closed rituals recreated the Battle of the Holly King and Oak King. Although most of the confrontations or battles are verbal, there have been few sword fights to reenact the feud. [Information Credit :: Alban_Arthan, Wikipedia] [Image 1. Druid ; 2. Mistletoe-Clad Oak] #Mythology
The Germanic people have traditionally celebrated Yule. Researchers have linked the first Yule festivities to the Wild Hunt, the God Odin, and the paganic Anglo-Saxon Mōdraniht i.e. Mothers Night. Yule-related words are still used to depict Christmas and other holiday period in English and the Scandinavian languages, in addition to Finnish and Estonian. The Yule log, Yule goat, Yule boar, Yule singing and other rituals and customs associated with Christmas today may have ties to earlier pagan Yule festivities. The current equivalent of the Old Norse words Jól and Jólnir for Odin is Yule. The Germanic people also commemorate Yule, a native winter holiday. The Yule-tide phase extends roughly two months, occurring at the conclusion of the modern-day calendar year during what is now mid-November and early January, and was first mentioned in epithet of month names. The etymology of the word is still unknown, despite various hypothetical efforts to locate Indo-European cognates outside of the Germanic linguistic family. Early in the history of the Germanic people, Yule is mentioned; in a Gothic language calendar from the fifth to sixth centuries, it has been referred to as Fruma Jiuleis. In the eighth century, the English historian Bede stated that the Anglo-Saxon calendar contained the months of Geola or Giuli, which correlate to either the current month of December or the months of December and January both. According to scholars, the Yule season, the Wild Hunt, the God Odin and an upsurge in paranormal activity are all related to this month-event. The celebration of Mōdraniht, a combined female-being-focused festival, which Bede attested to have taken place among the pagan Anglo-Saxons on what is now Christmas Eve, has been further viewed as more proof of a fertility event during the Yule season. Most people believe that the festivities surrounding Yule revolved around Midwinter with practises like feasting, drinking and sacrifice i.e. Blót.
[Information Credit : Yule, Wikipedia] #Mythology
Traditional Russian Byliny or country poems, feature an epic bandit named Nightingale the Robber or Solovei the Brigand. In 1845 and 1847, Pavel Ivanovich Melnikov, the editor of the Russian journal Nizhegorodskie Gubernskie Vedomosti, issued a version of the Solovei myth that he had unearthed in a handwritten compilation of tales from the seventeenth century. As one of the most well-known Ruthenian epics, the Bylina about Nightingale the Robber has been documented 132 occasions. The monstrous Solovey had traits of both humans and birds, could fly; lived in a nest with a human family and also drank via his hands. He was reported to reside in a forest and would perch in a tree while blowing a loud whistle to startle passersby. According to folklore, Ilya Muromets escaped the whistle despite Nightingale razing half of the nearby forest. Ilya Muromets injured Nightingale the Robber by shooting him in the eye and temple with arrows before dragging the beaten foe in front of Vladimir, the Kievan Prince. Nightingale the Robber, however, refused the request of Vladimir to whistle because he pretended to be too hurt in front of him. To make his wounds go away, Nightingale the Robber would request to drink wine and then whistle for the prince. But all of the palaces of Vladimir were demolished and filled with dead people when he whistled, after drinking wine. So Ilya Muromets then brought Nightingale the Robber into a field where he had his head severed. [Information and Image Credit : Nightingale_the_Robber, Wikipedia] [Image : Ilya Muromets and Nightingale the Robber, by Ivan Bilibin] [The Work (Image) is a faithful photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional, public domain work of art. The Work (Image) is in the public domain in Russia according to article 1281 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, articles 5 and 6 of Law No. 231-FZ of the Russian Federation of December 18, 2006 (the Implementation Act for Book IV of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation); (Please Relate to Individual Image URLs for More Usage Property)] [Source Image-Link : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Solovej.jpg ] #Mythology
One of the most well-known Bogatyrs or legendary warriors in Russian mythology is Dobrynya Nikitich. Although made up, this figure is based on Dobrynya, a historical warrior who commanded the forces of Svyatoslav the Great and educated his son Vladimir the Great. Dobrynya accomplishing the tasks given to him by prince Vladimir is the focus of many byliny. Dobrynya is frequently presented as conducting delicate and delicate missions while being intimate to the ruling household. Dobrynya appears to be a dignitary who represents the noble class of soldiers. He competes in wrestling, swimming and archery professionally. He is renowned for his politeness and shrewdness and performs the gusli and tafl. The bylina begins with mother of Dobrynya admonishing her son to stay away from the Saracen Mountains, not step on young dragons, refrain from freeing Russian prisoners and refrain from taking a dip in the Puchai River. Dobrynya accomplished all tasks against the will of his mother. He met a dragon with twelve trunks while taking a swim in the Puchai River. Dobrynya, who was without arms, helpless and in need, found a hat from the Greek land and used it to slay the dragon. The dragon, who appeared to be a female, begged Dobrynya not to slaughter her and the two agreed to refrain from attacking one another. Right after this, the dragon violated her word and went to Kiev, where she kidnapped Zabava Putyatishna, the niece of Prince Vladimir. Dobrynya came to Kiev and Prince Vladimir gave him orders to save his niece. Dobrynya stomped on the dragon babies while freeing several prisoners, although one of them bit into the leg of his horse and rendered it incapacitated. Dobrynya recalled the miracle whip, whose lashes gave the horse new life and allowed him to run free. The dragon now came out indignant about the deaths of her young and she was not going to give Zabava up easily. For three days, Dobrynya battled the dragon in the Saracen Mountains. He was ready to give up and depart on the third day, but a revelation from heaven encouraged him to continue fighting for three more hours. Dobrynya spent three days wallowing in the pool since the blood of the dragon did not permeate the soil. He was eventually instructed to pierce his spear and utter an invocation by a voice from Heaven. Zabava was now saved since the ground eventually ingested the blood. [Information and Image Credit : Dobrynya_Nikitich, Wikipedia] [Image : Dobrynya Nikitich rescues Zabava Putyatishna from the dragon Gorynych] [The Work (Image) is in the public domain in Russia according to article 1281 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, articles 5 and 6 of Law No. 231-FZ of the Russian Federation of December 18, 2006 (the Implementation Act for Book IV of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation); (Kindly Relate to Individual Source Image URL for more usage Property) [Source Image URL :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Dobrynya_Nikitich_rescues_Zabava_from_the_Gorynych,_1941.jpg ] #Mythology
A popular class of female warriors from Scandinavian mythology was known as a shield-maiden. Many sagas, including the Hervarar saga ok Heiðreks and the Gesta Danorum, make reference to shield-maidens. They also show up in tales of Goths, Cimbri, and Marcomanni, three more Germanic ethnic groups. Such shield-maidens might well have served as the inspiration for the mythological Valkyries. The historical authenticity of the Shield-Maidens has however been contested. Yet that they were real, is suggested according to the most recent study, which includes work of archaeologist Neil Price. Some academics have though claimed a dearth of proof for skilled or professional female fighters, including professor Judith Jesch. Women have been believed to participate in fighting throughout the Viking Age, according to historical evidence. Women participated in combat when Sviatoslav I of Kiev battled the Byzantines in Bulgaria in 971, according to the Byzantine historian John Skylitzes. When the Varangians were decimated during the Siege of Dorostolon, the victorious army was shocked to see armed women among the dead soldiers. In certain interpretations of the Hervarar saga, there are depictions of two shieldmaidens. The earliest of these Hervors is believed to have adopted stereotypically masculine behaviours early in her upbringing and frequently preyed on travellers in the woods while costumed as a man. Later in life, she stole the cursed blade Tyrfing from the location of final resting place of her father and turned into a seagoing raider. After some time, she got married. Hervor, another granddaughter of hers, led troops against invading Huns. [Information and Image Credit :: Shield-maiden, Wikipedia] [Image : Hervor dying after the Battle of the Goths and Huns, by Peter Nicolai Arbo ] [The work (Image) is a faithful photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional, Public Domain Work of Art. The work (Image) is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the life of author plus 100 years or fewer. The work (Image) is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1927] [Source-Image URL :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Peter_Nicolai_Arbo-Hervors_d%C3%B8d.jpg ] #Mythology
Various old Swedish history sources mention about the Geatish kings. The majority of them are though not regarded as historical now. This list adheres to the commonly accepted etymological, literary, and traditional identity of the names Götar in modern Swedish, Gautar in Old Norse and Geatas in Old English. It does not, however, associate this tribe with the Goths, in contrast to some interpretations. Old English and Old Norse sources clearly distinguish between the Geats and the Goths while yet showing their close kinship. The Swedish kings since the Middle Ages to1974, claimed to be King of Sweden and the Geats/Goths or Rex Sweorum et Gothorum. From 1362 until 1972, King of the Goths was a similar title used by the Danish kings. Some of the names of the Geatish Kingscan be found in Germanic legend and Norse mythology and in at least one instance, such as Hygelac, they were likely historical figures. However, it is unsure which of the names comes first. The Battle of Bråvalla, which took place according to the legends in a spot between West and East Gothenland, is chronologically designated to the eighth century but is only weakly attested historically. It was battled between Harald Wartooth, King of Denmark, whose domain is believed to have included Ostrogothians, and Sigurd Hring, King of Sweden, who is believed to have controlled Westrogothians.
[Information Credit : King_of_the_Geats , Wikipedia] [Image-Credit : Hlöðskviða, Wikipedia] [Image :
Geatish King Gizur challenging the Huns according to the Hlöðskviða, by Peter Nicolai Arbo, 1886] [The Work (Image) was a faithful Photographic Reproduction of a two-dimensional, Public Domain Work of Art. The work (Image) is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the life of author plus 70 years or fewer. The work (Image) is in the public domain in the United States as well]
[Source Image URL :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Peter_Nicolai_Arbo_%E2%80%93_Gizur_challenges_the_Huns.png ] #Mythology
The Völsunga saga, which is based on Norse mythology, tells the tale of the hero Sigmund. He is the brother of Signý and the son of Völsung and Hljod. Although story of Sigurð has absolutely no parallels to the Völsung cycle other than the fact that he was a dragonslayer, Sigmund is most known for fathering Sigurð, the dragon-slayer. The king of Gautland, Siggeir, is married to Signý in the Völsunga saga. Völsung and Sigmund were present at the wedding banquet when Odin, posing as a beggar, stabs the living tree Barnstokk, around which the hall of Völsung is constructed, with the sword Gram. The masked Odin declared that the sword will be given as a gift to the one who can take it out. The sword could only be freed from the tree by Sigmund. Jealousy and a longing for the sword gripped Siggeir. When he tries to purchase the sword, Sigmund rejected him. Three months after the wedding, Siggeir extends an invitation to Sigmund, his father Völsung, and the nine brothers of Sigmund to come and meet him in Gautland. The Gauts assaulted the Völsung clan when they arrived, killing King Völsung and capturing his sons. Signý pleads with her husband to hold her brothers in stocks rather than executing them. Siggeir agrees to that, considering the fact that the brothers should be tormented before being executed. Then, each night, he permits his shape-shifting mother to transform into a wolf and consume each of the brothers one by one. Signý attempted a number of ploys over that time to save her brothers but was unsuccessful and eventually it was only Sigmund who was left. The she-wolf showed up on the ninth night, but instead started licking the honey off of the face of Sigmund which was applied over his face by a servant at the orders of Signý. As the she-wolf pushed her tongue inside the mouth of Sigmund, he bit her tongue off and thus killed her. Then Sigmund broke free of his chains and ran away into the woods! [Part 1] [Information and Image-Credit : Sigmund, Wikipedia] [Image : Am Imagination of Sigmund by Arthur Rackham, 1910] [The work (Image) is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the life of Author plus 70 years or fewer. The work (Image) is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1927. (Please Relate to Individual Image URLs for More Usage Property)][Original Source Image URL : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ring21.jpg ] #Mythology
Late Anglo-Saxon noblewoman Lady Godiva, also known in Old English as Godgifu, was a benefactor of numerous monasteries and places of worship and is fairly well recorded as the spouse of Leofric, Earl of Mercia. She is most widely recognised today for a narrative that dates to at least thirteenth century, according to which she rode through the roads of Coventry naked, exposing only her long hair, in an effort to have her husband, Leofric, remove the heavy taxes he had imposed on his subjects. Newer versions of this legend claimed that a man named Thomas saw her ride and was either stricken blind or killed, giving rise to the term -- Peeping Tom -- for a voyeur. Leofric, the Earl of Mercia, was married to Godiva. Together they parented nine children, one of whom was Ælfgar. There are other contemporary individuals with the same name today because Godiva was a well-known name in its day. The Flores Historiarum and its reconstruction by Roger of Wendover, both dates back to the 13th century, when the tradition of the naked riding originally appeared. The traditional interpretation of the tale claims that Lady Godiva felt pity for the Coventrians who were suffering excruciatingly as a result of the onerous taxation of her husband. Lady Godiva often begged her husband to cut the taxes, but he stubbornly refused. Finally, tired of her pleading, he offered to grant her wish if she would disrobe and ride a horse through the streets of the town. Lady Godiva accepted him at his word and rode through the town wearing nothing but her long hair after announcing that everyone should stay inside and close their windows. The only one who disregarded her order was a tailor who later became known as —Peeping Tom — and is the most famous example of voyeurism. According to some historians the Godiva tale contained aspects of ancient pagan fertility rituals, in which a youthful May Queen was escorted to the hallowed Cofas tree, probably to rejoice the rebirth of spring. [Information and Image Credit : Lady_Godiva, Wikipedia] [Image: Edmund Blair Leighton portrays the decisive moment of Lady Godiva (1892)] [The worl (Image) is a faithful photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional, public domain work of art. The author died in 1922, so this work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the life of Author plus 95 years or fewer. The work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1927] [Source Image URL :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Leighton-Lady_Godiva.jpg ]
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Selene is the goddess and embodiment of the Moon in the mythological culture and worship of ancient Greece. She is also referred to as Mene and is regarded as the sister of the sun god Helios and the dawn goddess Eos, as well as the daughter of the Titans Hyperion and Theia. She traverses the heavens on her moon chariot. In various tales, she is said to have had a number of lovers, including Zeus, Pan and the mortal Endymion. Similar to how her brother Helios was associated with Apollo in post-classical periods, Selene was frequently associated with Artemis. All three i.e. Selene, Hecate and Artemis were considered moon and lunar goddesses, although only Selene was thought to be the embodiment of the Moon itself. Both Selene and Artemis were thus identified with Hecate. Luna would be her Roman equal. Mene was another name for Selene. The moon and the lunar month were denoted by the Greek word mene. The Phrygian moon deity Men was the male version of Mene. Selene and Men, according to the Greek Stoic philosopher Chrysippus, were the female and male facets of the same deity. Similar to how Helios is referred to as Phoebus or Bright, due to his affiliation with Apollo, Selene is also referred to as Phoebe in feminine form due to her identification with Artemis.
[Information and Image Credit : Selene, Wikipedia] [Image : Selene in a flying chariot drawn by two white horses from Flora, seu florum..., Ferrari 1646] [Image Availed Under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (Kindly Also Relate to Individual Image URL for More Usage Property)] [License Link : https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en ]
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Between 29 and 19 BC, Virgil penned the Latin epic poetry known as The Aeneid, which recounts the narrative of Aeneas, a Trojan who fled the collapse of Troy and made his way to Italy, where he eventually settled and became the ancestor of the Romans. It has 9,896 dactylic hexameter lines. The first six of the twelve books of the poem describe the wanderings of Aeneas from Troy to Italy. The second part of the poem describes the eventually successful fight of the Trojans against the Latins and under name of Aeneas the Trojan followers are bound to be absorbed. Due to his appearance in the Iliad, the hero Aeneas was already well-known in both Greek and Roman myths and legends. The fragmented accounts of wanderings of Aeneas, his hazy connection to the establishment of Rome and his explanation as a figure of no fixed character-traits other than a scrupulous pietas, were used by Virgil to create the Aeneid, a persuasive foundational tale or national epic that linked Rome to Trojan legends, justified the Punic Wars, extolled conventional Roman virtues and established the Julio-Claudian monarchy as legitimate successors of the Champions, Founders and Gods of both Rome and Troy. One of the best pieces of Latin literature and largely recognised as masterpiece of Virgil is thus The Aeneid. [Information and Image Credit : Aeneid, Wikipedia] [Image : Aeneas Flees Burning Troy, by Federico Barocci (1598). Galleria Borghese, Rome, Italy] [ The Work (Image) is faithful photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional, Public Domain Work of Art; The work is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the life of Author plus 100 years or fewer. The Image is in Public Domain as well in the United States] [Original Source Image URL :
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Ents of Middle-Earth are a race of creatures that mimic trees and are led by Treebeard of the Fangorn forest. The word for Giant in Old English is the source of their name. The Ents are depicted in The Lord of the Rings as ancient woodland caretakers and friends of free inhabitants of the Middle-Earth during the War of the Ring. Treebeard, who is reasonably referred to as the oldest creature in Middle-Earth, is the Ent that is featured most significantly in the book. Due to the loss of the Entwives or female Ents, there are no youthful Ents or Entings any more during the War of the Ring. Huorns, who Treebeard defines as either a vibrant form of trees in changeover or, alternatively, as Ents who evolve over time to become more — Treelike, are similar to Ents. The term Ent is derived from the Old English word Ent or Eoten, which means Giant. Tolkien took the term from the Anglo-Saxon poem The Ruin and Maxims II, which uses the phrase Oranc Enta Geweorc or Shrewd Work of Giants namely to describe Roman ruins. The name for Ent in Sindarin, one of imagined Elvish languages by Tolkien, is Onod i.e. plural Enyd. The Ents are referred to as a race in Sindarin Onodrim. [Information Credit : Ent, Wikipedia] [Image: A Fantasy Description of Ents] #Mythology
In the Matter of Britain, the corpus of mediaeval literature and mythology connected with the legend of King Arthur, the term or title — Lady of the Lake —is referred to a number of spell casters who are either fairies or fairy-like but mortal. They had important parts in several stories, such as giving Arthur the Excalibur sword, slaying Merlin, raising Lancelot after the passing away of his father and assisting in getting the dying Arthur to Avalon. Since at least the Post-Vulgate Cycle, various sorceresses identified as the Lady of the Lake have made simultaneous appearances as distinct personalities in some accounts of the mythology. The Lady of the Lake is better known now as Nimue or one of the many scribal spellings for Ninianne and Viviane. Different varieties of the latter were generated by mediaeval writers and copyists. In one of the many origin stories, an unidentified Lady of the Lake makes an appearance in the Post-Vulgate narrative to present Arthur with the legendary Excalibur magic sword from Avalon. She is portrayed as a shady early benefactor who gave King Arthur Excalibur and its unique scabbard after his primary, unidentified sword is damaged during the battle with King Pellinore. King Arthur is guided and led to her by Merlin. This occurs while Merlin is still by the side of Arthur and before Viviane is introduced in the same narrative. This Lady of the Lake is however abruptly executed in the court of King Arthur by Sir Balin as a consequence of a family dispute between them, later in the Post-Vulgate Suite du Merlin. However, contemporary renditions frequently make her the very same individual as Viviane and typically leave out that incident. [Information Credit : Lady_of_the_Lake, Wikipedia] [Image: A Fantasy Description of the Lady of the Lake] #Mythology
In order to obstruct Oromë, a member of the Valar who frequently roamed across Middle-earth in search of hunting purpose, the Dark Lord Melkor raised the Misty Mountains during the First Age. Underneath the centre of the mountainous region, the Dwarf-realm of Moria was constructed in the First Age. The High Pass or Pass of Imladris near Rivendell, having a steeper and a lesser route, and the year-round Redhorn Pass farther south near Moria, were the two main routes across the mountains. Caradhras, Celebdil, Fanuidhol, Mount Gundabad and Methedras were the noteworthy peaks of the nountain ranges. The High Pass and the Redhorn Pass were the most significant passes. The origin of Gladden river also had a pass. Mount Gundabad, the highest northern point in the Misty Mountains, is where Durin, the eldest of the Seven Fathers of the Dwarves, is said to have awakened in tradition. However, it later became an Orc stronghold and home. Khazad-dûm, afterwards known as Moria, the largest dwarven dominion in Middle-earth, was situated in the centre of the Misty Mountains. Khazad-dûm consisted of the three peaks Caradhras i. e. Redhorn, Celebdil i.e. Silvertine and Fanuidhol i.e. Cloudyhead. The Endless Stair was constructed by the Dwarves inside Celebdil, from the base of the mountains to its summit. Methedras, which meant the Last Peak, was the southern highest point in the Misty Mountains. A section of the Teleri, later became known as the Nandor, became terrified and headed southwards down the Great River when the Elves on their Great Journey to Valinor saw their dreadful height. Later, beneath Mount Gundabad, the Dwarves of Durin awoke, and they later founded the Khazad-dûm kingdom. The Oldor returned to Middle-earth thousands of years later and built magnificent kingdoms in Beleriand and the highlands, but they never traversed the Misty Mountains or built any worlds near to them. [Information-Credit : Geography_of_Middle-earth , Wikipedia ;
https://lotr.fandom.com/wiki/Misty_Mountains ] [Image : Fantasy Description of Misty Mountains] #Mythology
A wizard is an individual who employs or practises magic drawn from supernatural, occult or esoteric sources. Other names for wizards include magician, enchanter/enchantress, mage or magic-user, archmage or sorcerer/sorceress, spell-caster, warlock a or witch. Magicians have a rich heritage in mythology, folk-stories, fiction and folklore as a result of which they are frequently depicted in works of fiction, such as fantasy literature and role-playing games. Merlin from the King Arthur legends is a perfect illustration of a wizard who frequently assumes the role of a wise old man and serves as a mentor in mediaeval knightly romance. The character of the wizard is commonly incorporated as a protagonist in contemporary fantasy. Contemporary fantasy has expanded on this motif, frequently featuring wizards as heroes on independent missions. Such heroes might also have a wizard as a guru. Wizards can be compared to the forgetful professor in that they are both stupid and prone to making mistakes. They have the capacity for powerful magic, both good and bad. Wizards are frequently portrayed as elderly men with white hair and long, impressive beards that can occasionally house nocturnal forest entities. Due to its origins in the conventional picture of wizards like Merlin, this representation predates the contemporary fantasy genre. Grimoires are old books with magical potential that are typically used by magicians to learn spells. Enchanters frequently use a sort of magic that has no tangible impact on things or people but instead deceives the viewer or target by creating illusions. Particularly enchantresses use this kind of magic frequently for seduction. When a magician is being discussed is a relatively malevolent one, the term sorcerer is more usually employed. This may be a result of its application in Sword and Sorcery, where the hero would be the one wielding the blade while leaving the wizardry to his adversary. The capacity to wield magic is either innate and frequently rare or acquired via extensive study and practise, which is a prevalent theme in almost all novels. [Information and Image Credit : Magician_(fantasy), Wikipedia] [Image: A Magician uses magic to survive in — The Enchanted Garden of Messer Ansaldo from 1889 by Marie Spartali Stillman] [The Work (Image) is a faithful photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional, Public Domain work of Art. The author died in 1927, so the Image Work is in the Public Domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the Life of Author plus 80 years or fewer. The Image work is in the Public Domain in the United States because it was published (or registered with the U.S. Copyright Office) before January 1, 1927. (Please Relate to Individual Image URLs for More Usage Property)] [Source Image URL : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:The_Enchanted_Garden_of_Messer_Ansaldo_by_Marie_Spartali_Stillman_(1889).jpg ] #Mythology
The Cailleach is a heavenly hag and ancestor who is connected to the formation of the landscape and the weather, particularly storms and winter, in Gaelic mythology, which is spoken in Irish, Scottish, and Manx. The name literally means Old Lady, or Hag and is used to refer to a variety of mythological and folkloric entities in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man. It also has similar meaning in modern Irish and Scottish Gaelic. She is also referred to as The Hag of Beara in contemporary Irish folklore research and Beira, Queen of Winter in Scottish tradition. She is credited with creating several mountains and significant hills in Scotland, where she is also renowned as Beira, Queen of Winter. It is stated that when she was marching across the landscape, she unintentionally spilled pebbles from her creel or wicker basket. In other instances, it is claimed that she purposefully constructed the mountains as her stepping stones. She is believed to be the Mother of all Goddesses and Gods and carries a hammer for sculpting the hills and valleys. Beira was a Giantess with one eye, white hair, dark blue skin and rust-colored fangs, according to Mackenzie. The Cailleach exhibits a number of characteristics appropriate for the personification of winter, like herding deer, battling spring and freezing the earth with her staff. The Cailleach is regarded as a periodic divinity or entity who works in tandem with the Goddess Brìghde. Brìghde governs the summer between Bealltainn and Samhainn and the Cailleach rules the winter between Samhainn and Bealltainn. According to certain explanations, the Cailleach and Brghde are two manifestations of the same Goddess, whereas according to other accounts, the Cailleach turns to stone on Bealltainn before resuming her human figure on Samhainn to rule the winter season. [Information and Image Credit : Cailleach, Wikipedia] [Illustration of Cailleach by John Duncan in Wonder Tales from Scottish Myth and Legend (1917)] [The Image was originally posted to Flickr by Internet Archive Book Images. It was reviewed on 3 October 2015 by FlickreviewR and was confirmed to be licensed under the terms of the No known copyright restrictions] [Source Image URL : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wonder_tales_from_Scottish_myth_and_legend_(1917)_(14566397697).jpg ] #Mythology
The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent, a collection of 34 essays and small tales by American author Washington Irving, include the gothic tale The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow was initially released in 1819 and was written while Irving was a foreign resident of Birmingham. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, along with companion work of Irving i.e. Rip Van Winkle, is one of the earliest works of American literature that has maintained iconic status, particularly around Halloween because of a figure known as the Headless Horseman who was thought to be a Hessian soldier whose head was severed by a cannonball during combat. The story took place in 1790 in a remote valley known as Sleepy Hollow, in the countryside near the Dutch hamlet of Tarry Town i.e. the actual Tarrytown, New York. Sleepy Hollow was well known for its ghosts and the eerie ambiance that captures both its residents and imaginations of the guests. Some locals thought that the village was cursed when the Dutch first settled there, while others assert that an ageing Native American chief was to blame for the eerie atmosphere. The citizens of the town appeared to experience a variety of eerie and paranormal phenomena. They frequently experienced eerie sights, music and voices right from the thin air as well as trance-like visuals. Due to the strange incidents and eerie ambiance in Sleepy Hollow, the locals were attracted by local folklore, haunted sites and nightfall superstitions. The Headless Horseman served as the most notorious ghost in the Hollow and suggestively the commander-in-chief of all the powers of the air. According to legend, He was the restless ghost of a Hessian soldier whose head was amputated by an errant cannonball during some unidentified battle of the American Revolution and who rode forth to the place of battle-site in nightly pursuit of his severed head. [Information and Image Credit : The_Legend_of_Sleepy_Hollow, Wikipedia] [Image: The Headless Horseman Pursuing Ichabod Crane (1858) by John Quidor] [The Work (Image) is a Faithful Photographic Reproduction of a Two-Dimensional, Public Domain Work of Art. The author died in 1881, so the work (Image) is in the public domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the life of Author plus 100 years or fewer; (Please Relate to Individual Image URLs for More Usage Property)] [Source Image-Link :
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The fox is a symbol of cleverness, shrewedness or as an acquainted animal with magical abilities that is occasionally linked with metamorphosis in the folklore of many civilizations, but mainly those of Europe and East Asia. From Russian and Bulgarian folklore, Kuma Lisa is a female fox that frequently assumes the role of the trickster. Another figure known as Kumcho Vulcho, a wolf that is opposite of Kuma Lisa and frequently falls victim to her antics, is confronted by Kuma Lisa. The majority of the foxes in Russian folktales are female since the word лиca i.e. Lisa in Russian has a feminine grammatical gender, in contrast to Western European folk stories where words connected to foxes, such as French —Renard, have a masculine grammatical gender. In Scotland, the trickster fox or Tod as is called in traditional Scottish, was portrayed as Lowrence, as in Morall Fabillis by . The fox is typically portrayed as a crafty trickster, but rarely as an evil creature, in Finnish mythology. Even though it is weaker, the fox ultimately outwits both the vicious and nasty wolf and the powerful but not particularly intelligent bear. It stands for the triumph of reason over both malice and physical force. The fox is one of the holy animals of the goddess Ninhursag in early Mesopotamian mythology. In a way, Her messenger is the fox. Foxes are strong spirits that are well-known for their exceedingly clever and mischievous disposition in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean folktales. They frequently assume the guise of female humans to entice males. According to African Dogon mythology, the fox is either a messenger for the gods or the trickster deity of the desert who personifies chaos. The ancient Peruvian Moche people revered animals and frequently portrayed the fox in their artwork. The Moche people thought that the fox was a warrior who would fight with his mind. The fox thus would only utilise mental attacks; never physical ones. Consequently, the folkloric image and reputation of foxes are frequently reflected in such forms in literature, cinema, television, games, music and other forms of cultural expression. [Information Credit : Foxes_in_popular_culture,_films_and_literature, Wikipedia] #Mythology
In Germanic and Slavic folk-legends, a Mare is an evil spirit who mounts on chests of people while they are sleeping and causes them to see nightmares. The Old English feminine noun Maere is where the word Mare first originated. They were worn out and drenched in sweat by dawn, and the Mare was thought to ride horses. She could also twist the hair of a sleeping human or animal, creating Marelocks. The word may actually have etymological origin from Proto-Germanic *marōn. Surprisingly the terms for Nightmare in Norwegian and Danish are Mareritt and Mareridt, respectively, which might be rendered as — Mare-Ride. The theory of Marelocks most likely developed as an account for the hair illness known as the Polish plait syndrome. Branches of Trees were also thought to get entwined since it was believed that the Mare even rode even trees. The undersized, twisted pine trees that grow on damp grounds and coastal rocks are referred to as Martallar or Mare-Pines in Sweden or Alptraum-Kiefer i.e. Nightmare Pine in German. It has also been proposed that ilk of Mares even comprised of witches who assumed animal forms when their spirits wandered free and when they were tranced. Frogs, cats, horses, hares, dogs, oxen, birds and even frequently bees and wasps were among these creatures whose animal forms were taken by these Mare-witches. The Norse Ynglinga saga from the thirteenth century has one of the earliest known mentions of the Mare in Scandinivia. Here, the Finnish witch Huld or Hulda, hired by the abandoned wife Drífa of the King, produced a nightmare i.e. Mara that killed King Vanlandi Sveigisson of Uppsala. These entities were also referred to as Mara, Mahr or Mare in Germany. [Information and Image Credit : Mare_(folklore), Wikipedia] [Image: The Nightmare, by Henry Fuseli, 1781] [The Work (Image) is faithful photographic reproduction of a two-dimensional, Public Domain Work of Art. The Work (Image) is in the Public Domain in its country of origin and other countries and areas where the copyright term is the life of Author plus 100 years or fewer. The work is in the public domain in the United States as well; (Kindly Relate to Individual Source Image URLs for More Usage Properties)] [Source Image URL :
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:John_Henry_Fuseli_-_The_NightmareFXD.jpg ] #Mythology
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