Questions tagged [comparative]
For questions that compare mythology or folklore from multiple cultures.
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A formal script language for myths
I have been wondering if there exists a formal language that can be used to describe the most abstract dynamical content of various stable narratives. If so, is there a reasonably compact ...
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Why is syncretism mostly described through an "interpretatio graeca", rather than any other polytheism?
It is well known that ancient Greeks such as Herodotus thought other culture's gods (e.g. Egyptian) are actually same deities as theirs, just having different names.
For example, Plutarch said
Not ...
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Is there a name for the generational overthrow of gods/titans/giants?
There is a common pattern in various mythologies - particularly in the Indo-European "big family" set - of gods overthrowing monsters and sometimes being overthrown in turn by a new ...
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Where did the Red Thread of Fate originate?
My mum used to tell me about the Red Thread of Fate from Chinese mythology, but due to popular culture it is often mistaken for Japanese mythology... What are the variations of the Red Thread of Fate, ...
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Is there any creature or being with the role of keeping good and evil balanced?
Is there any creature or being in either mythology or folklore that serves as a form of "negotiator" between good and evil, with the role of keep order and balance between them
(whether it's ...
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Are myths related to and comparable to Draupadi found in other culture's myths also?
The myth of Draupadi is found in the famous Hinduism mythological epic poem Mahabharat where she is disrobed by her brother in law in front of her five powerful husbands, in the King's Court full of ...
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Why isn’t Lúgh Lámhfhada considered a sun-god?
A frequent talking point about Irish mythology that I see peddled in many neo-pagan and academic circles is the deity Lúgh Lámhfhada is no longer deemed a sun god but rather a light god or storm-god.
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Are the Yoruba and Japanese pantheons the only ones to have an infinite increasing number of gods?
I know that the Yoruba and Japanese gods have basically an infinite number of gods since their pantheons continue to grow all the time but are there any other pantheons that do this?
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Are there other Gardens of Eden?
Outside the Abrahamic religions and mythology are there any equivalents to the Garden of Eden? More specifically:
A garden, orchard, or similarly cultivated or designed space distinct from wilderness ...
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Are there major differences between Continental Germanic and Scandinavian mythology?
Continental Germanic and Scandinavian/Norse mythologies are often grouped together under Germanic mythology, usually a few deity names change but keeping the same roots, unlike Roman/Greek mythology. ...
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Are there any reconstructions of possible early religions like Proto-Indo-European mythology for other cultures?
I was reading the Proto-Indo-European mythology Wikipedia page when I started to wonder if there were any similar reconstructions for other related groups of mythology. I'm particularly curious if ...
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Has divine prowess always been considered a factor in determining the outcome of wars?
In reading both fiction and nonfiction materials over the years, involving Egyptian, Roman, Persian, Greek, and Jewish cultures, I have seen statements to the effect that the locals believed their war ...
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Do any Mediterranean mythologies depict souls escaping from the Underworld without the help of a living rescuer?
Persephone was rescued from the Underworld (for a little while) by Hermes, who brought her back to Demeter.
Eurydice was (almost) rescued from the Underworld by Orpheus.
Semele was rescued from the ...
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Are there any beings from Norse Mythology that could be mistaken for a Kitsune (fox-person spirit)?
I'm starting a new Roleplaying campaign soon, and my character is norse/icelandic themed.
One of the other character is inspired by Kitsune.
I want to find out what, if anything, might my character ...
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Are/were there are any culutures where darkness is good and light is bad?
We have an association of light=good and dark=bad, to the point where we even use them as synonyms. There are a lot of pretty obvious historical bases for these metaphors:
Sunlight is the ultimate ...
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Sources which explore traditional mythologies and their relevance to modern times
I'm interested in finding suggestions for sources who write about exploring traditional mythologies and their relevance to modern times. This would be a book that contains analysis, interpretation, ...
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Which world mythologies depict humans directly harming or killing gods in combat?
In The Iliad, the Greek warrior Diomedes directly attacks and wounds both Aphrodite and Ares in a single day. He does so with the blessing of Athena, but the story makes it clear that it is Diomedes ...
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Why does the Greek Silenus and the Egyptian Bes look similar?
Today I was going through an old book on Greek sculpture and I notice that a number of pre-classical Greek statues feature Silenus and form in which he is depicted, full frontal nudity with tongue ...
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What high school subject would mythology & creation myth be covered in?
Not sure if this is the best site to ask this question, but what high school subjects would generally cover mythology and creation myth? I have heard that possibly ancient history or literature in ...
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Did any cultures worship an actively malevolent being as their primary deity?
Every culture I've ever heard of has primarily worshipped a being that deserved to rule the universe. Whether the sole figure in a monotheistic religion like the Christian God, or the primary god in a ...
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Why Mahabharata or Ramayana did not considered as earlier civilisation than IVC?
As we all know IVC is the first civilisation in India between 3300 to 1300 BCE. But Mahabharata and Ramayana should dated before this period based on Yuga cycle. Then we haven’t considered these are ...
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Is there any folklore in non-European culture that may be an attempt to "explain" similar to changeling myths in Western Europe and Scandinavia?
It has been suggested by some authors that stories of changelings in Scandinavia and western Europe are an attempt by ancient peoples used to try and explain developmental abnormalities in children, ...
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Besides the Chinese and Western Zodiacs, are there other folk traditions with a different set of creatures? [closed]
I'm a writer working in a book and I need a set of creatures for a fantasy book. To give you an idea of what I intend I already use the animal signs of the Chinese Zodiac in an idea with each one ...
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Perception of echoes and myths concerning its nature in Northern America
I was recently listening to a song from the movie "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs", this song to be more precise. Anyway, at some point as you can see in the video, the voice of the singer ...
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How did dasavataras end?
We know the stories of Narasimha (man with lion head), Rama and Krishna.
I am seeking answers for how other incarnations of lord Vishnu was ended.
Let’s take an example of incarnation ended.
Lord ...
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Mythological figure for self-motivated seeking of unprejudiced knowledge
I am looking for the name of a mythological person, god, spirit etc. or narrative which stands for the unbiased search for knowledge or naive learning. I am not so much looking for famous examples for ...
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Other names for Drákaines?
The greek Drákaines (Δράκαινες) is a race or group of serpent-like creatures with human features, generally female. Basically what the Medusa from the original 80's Clash of the Titans, minus the ...
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Non-Greek myths related to weddings
There are a few Greek myths that are tied to weddings, like Thetis wedding as the origin of the Trojan war. Are there other tales in major mythologies that include weddings? I am looking for myths ...
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Are there any gods or similar beings other than Nemesis that laid eggs?
Castor and Pollux, Helen and Clytemnestra are considered twins, and may or may not have hatched from eggs laid by Nemesis after being impregnated by her father Zeus as swans https://www.theoi.com/...
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Tubal-cain (תּוּבַל קַיִן) and Vulcan
In Hebrew, "B" and "V" are the same letter (ב), so without the "Tu", Tubalcain (תּוּבַל קַיִן) and Vulcan are very similar names.
The French spelling is "Vulcain&...
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Are there any examples of gods or people boasting of their ability to engage in multiple acts of sex in succession?
Are there any examples in mythologies of gods or people boasting about their ability to engage in multiple acts of sex (multi-orgasmic) in succession? I am looking for examples in which they specify ...
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Could ancient myths of “giants” hint to contact with other species of homini?
Many mythologies mention some form of "giants". Those giants may or may not be described as greater in height, but are always described as greater in strength and are portraied as violent. Examples ...
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Why did Snorri Sturlson link the Norse Gods to the Trojans?
In the Prologue to the Prose Edda, he seems to develop a genealogy of the Norse Gods being descendants of the Trojans. Starting with the Trojan king Priam, he develops connections, like for example ...
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What are the similarities and differences between Greek gods and Roman gods?
I've seen that sometimes gods in Greek mythology have different names than the gods in Roman mythology. I've also seen that they are basically the same god just with a different name. What makes Greek ...
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What does internet-transmitted folklore reveal about how we generate and spread folkore?
Even before the internet, information was being faithfully replicated through global communication networks like faxes. Then they replicated through email chains, and finally broke free of a specific ...
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Is Hebe related to the concept of Xenia?
Does anyone knows if theres classical reference for relating the Goddess Hebe with Xenia or Theoxenia (receiving well the guests)?
I found relations of Hebe with marriage and pardoning supplicants, ...
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Are there any older cases of exorcism in other mythology than the Abrahamic religions?
In the Gospel of luke, Jesus exorcises a multitude of demons who call themselves Legion into a herd of pigs which he then drove into a lake.
26 They sailed to the region of the Gerasenes, which is ...
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Examples of castration myths besides Ouranos
I'd like to know of other castration myths besides the one with Gea, Cronos and that poor guy Ouranos.
I didn't find much with a quick Google search, and the only other case that comes to mind is ...
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What succession myths exist other than the Greek one?
Where the gods are killed/overthrown. Ragnarok sort of applies, though there's no replacement of the previous gods.
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How was Mongol religion influenced by Christianity?
One story stands out to me in particular. Erlik, a deity in Mongol mythology, was either the brother of or created as the first human by the supreme god Ülgen. I read that Erlik wanted to become equal ...
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How have ignorance and wisdom been represented in mythology?
Wisdom and Ignorance is a common dichotomy across many religions, and I was wondering if there are any specific examples of personifications or deities of wisdom and/or ignorance in mythological ...
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Does anyone know any good sources/books regarding ancient Armenian mythology?
I have been trying to find sources online about Armenian mythology but since the culture is so old and the Church burned so many texts about their paganism, I have difficulty finding anything. Most ...
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What Christian influences are there in the Prose Edda, besides the prologue?
I've often read that there are Christian influences in the Prose Edda:
Snorri’s Edda was later nicknamed the 'Younger Edda' because much of it derives from older sources. What those sources were ...
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Where are these ancient texts online in Unicode format? [closed]
I am looking for some potentially lesser well-known texts from these languages:
Korea
Georgia
Kannada
Bengali
Persian (Avesta)
Gujarati
Amharic
Urdu
Cyrillic
etc.
Agama (Sufi)
Tantra
Thai
Telugu
...
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The Great Bear and Dragon encircling the Tree of Life
In "Yeats Poems" by W. B. Yeats, pg. 522, (in notes to his poem 'The Poet pleads with the Elemental Powers') it is written,
Yeats commented that the Great Bear and the constellation of the Dragon '...
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Are there any examples of human sacrifice in tribal societies?
Specifically, I mean human sacrifices of their own members (not outside members or prisoners). After watching a chilling movie related to the topic I started thinking more about human sacrifice and ...
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Why are Gods in the Greek pantheon portrayed as performing unsavory & amoral acts?
I was perusing the series 'Crash-course: Mythology' by John Green (Great Show) about pantheons. When it arrived on the Hellenic Pantheon, Its a web of confusing genealogy rivaled only by the Egyptian ...
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What is the relevant book for comparative mythology nowadays?
Since i am not in the field of mythology & folklore scholar but a reader.
I have interested some of topic in comparative mythology especially:
The diffusions of mythology across the world.
The ...
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Are there any Demigods who became gods of their own power?
The only "demigod" I know who would apply would be Dionysus in Greek mythology who had to prove his divinity but didn't need other gods to raise him up to godhood. Are there any others like him in any ...
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Do Modern Cults Create Their own Myths?
I would define a "modern" cult as being in the age of the internet. This is fair to me; a cult relies upon spreading its message and the internet has changed that. So the earliest cults were in the ...
