Izanagi and Izanami are the divine pair who generate islands and kami in Japan’s early court chronicles. Their story moves from creation and marriage to death, pollution, separation, and purification. Izanagi and Izanami in the surviving tradition Standing at the floating bridge of heaven, the pair stir the sea with a jeweled spear, and drops […]
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Cyclopes are one-eyed figures in Greek mythology, but ancient sources do not describe one uniform race with a single history. The divine craftsmen in Hesiod, the pastoral Cyclopes in Homer’s Odyssey, and later builders of massive walls belong to different traditions. Hesiod’s divine craftsmen Hesiod names Brontes, Steropes, and Arges as sons of Gaia and
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The púca is a shape-changing being in Irish folklore, with related forms in other Gaelic and Celtic-language traditions. English spellings include pooka and phouka. Stories make it troublesome, helpful, frightening, or all three. The púca in the surviving tradition The púca often appears as a dark horse and carries a rider on a wild nighttime
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Beowulf is the hero of an Old English epic preserved in a single medieval manuscript. The poem is set in Scandinavia, not England, and combines a pre-Christian heroic past with a Christian narrator’s moral language. Beowulf in the surviving tradition Beowulf, a Geat, crosses the sea to help the Danish king Hrothgar. The monster Grendel
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Nymphs were female divinities of the natural world in Greek religion and mythology. They could be connected with springs, rivers, trees, mountains, caves, meadows, or particular local places. They were divine, but ancient sources did not always treat every nymph as immortal. Many kinds of nymph Naiads belonged to fresh water, Oreads to mountains, and
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Rakshasa is a Sanskrit term for a class of powerful beings in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain literature. English translations often use demon, but the category includes many forms and moral roles and does not map neatly onto the Christian devil. Rakshasas in the surviving tradition The Ramayana makes Ravana, king of Lanka, the best-known rakshasa.
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Prometheus is a Titan in Greek myth associated with foresight, sacrifice, stolen fire, punishment, and human survival. Hesiod and Aeschylus give influential but different portrayals. Prometheus in the surviving tradition In Hesiod, Prometheus tricks Zeus at Mecone by arranging a sacrificial division that makes bones look desirable and conceals meat. Zeus withholds fire from humans,
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Keen on unraveling the myth of Pangu, whose cosmic sacrifice birthed the heavens and earth, and discovering the secrets of creation's balance?
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Pixies are small supernatural beings in the folklore of southwestern England, especially Devon and Cornwall. The Cornish form piskie is common, and stories vary from helpful household encounters to tricks that confuse travelers. Folklore and behavior People said to be pixie-led might lose their way on familiar ground, wander in circles, or become disoriented until
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The pontianak is a female night spirit in Malay and Indonesian traditions, often connected with death during pregnancy or childbirth. Related names and stories include kuntilanak and langsuir, but usage differs by region. Pontianak in the surviving tradition Stories commonly describe a beautiful woman who reveals a corpse-like or predatory form. She may be associated
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