Questions tagged [comparative]
For questions that compare mythology or folklore from multiple cultures.
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Are there any myths of rulers who have built and destroyed their own domains?
I have looked into many historical leaders who have, as a defensive tactic, or by the repercussions of their indulgent or careless actions, factored into some downfall of their nation or empire, such ...
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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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If there is a preponderance of seductive water nymphs in mythology, then why is that so?
Is there a preponderance of seductive water nymphs in mythology? That is, among the more sexually inclined maidens in mythology, are they more likely to embody or be connected to water than other ...
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How is 𐌂𐌀𐌕𐌌𐌉𐌕𐌄, a.k.a Catamite, the Etruscan form of Gadymedes?
It's obvious why 𐌂𐌀𐌕𐌌𐌉𐌕𐌄 is catamite, but not how the Etruscans got it from "Gadymedes".
Is it just "We know they're the same character / name, but we dunno how the Etruscans got ...
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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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Was there a Mythological Being Who had His Eyes Removed and Separated?
WARNING! Spoilers ahead for Blue Exorcist and The 8th Night
So, I recently watched a recap of a Korean Mystery-Thriller film called "The 8th Night". The basic premise is that a young monk ...
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Why was Baal Hammon identified with Cronus/Saturn?
Greeks identified the Carthaginian Baal Hammon with Cronus, and Romans, in turn, with Saturn.
Why was that? Did Baal Hammon share any attributes with Cronus/Saturn?
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Parallels between Hecate and the Devil?
Hecate was associated with crossroads, just as the devil was.
Do the similarities end there? Could Hecate qualify as a devil figure?
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Do Mithras, Osiris, Adonis, and Dionysus share a December 25 birthday?
In The Da Vinci Code Dan Brown claims that Mithras, Osiris, Adonis, and Dionysus were born on December 25:
Teabing groaned. 'Don’t get a symbologist started on Christian icons. Nothing in ...
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Non-Greek myths set in a wedding
There are a many Greek myths that are set in a wedding, like Thetis wedding as the origin of the Trojan War (see also Harmonia's necklace and Orion's earthborn myth). Are there other tales in major ...
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Is there a connection between Odin or Zeus and the Christian God?
Could the Norse Odin or the Greek Zeus be Christianity's "The Creator" and father of Jesus?
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What mythological figures/creatures are defined as immortal observers of humanity?
I am looking for a variety of answers. Some mythological figures, such as the Watchers in 1 Enoch, are entities that chose to descend to the mortal world to copulate with humans and teach humans (in ...
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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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Mother Earth or Father Earth?
To explain my title, we humans call the earth 'Mother Earth'. I can trace this back to Gaia, the Greek goddess of the earth, Demeter, the Greek goddess of agriculture and others. But, I remembered ...
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Are Krishna and Hermes related?
Both gods have legends involving extraordinary powers as children.
This link discusses the infant Krishna, as an incarnation of Vishnu, instructing his father Vasudeva on how to escape the wrath of ...
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Why do snake (serpent) and bull often come together as symbols of deities?
The Celtic Cernunnos, the Greek Dionysus, the Slavic Veles and Vedic Shiva have snake and bull among their symbols.
Why do these two symbols tend to come together?
It looks to me as though these ...
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What are some mythological examples of emotionally-charged symbolic acts of grief?
I'm looking for mythological examples of loss leading to intense emotional and symbolic displays of grief, whether spontaneous, performative, ritual or some combination of the above. That is, grief so ...
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When was a pair of Greek and Roman gods first identified?
There is a canonical correspondence between some Greek and Roman gods and goddesses, for example Ares and Mars.
However, these two were originally different deities and quite different in nature.
My ...
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What is a reptile with many heads meant to symbolize?
I'm from Romania, a country where you fill like you are in a trash can in urban zones, but feels like a fairy tale in rural zones. In school we learn about fairy tales (which is a species of very ...
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Are there analogues of Chaos in mythologies other than Greek?
By Chaos I mean the primordial, undifferentiated substance from which everything begins in Hesiod's Theogony:
First it was Chaos, and next broad-bosomed Earth, ever secure seat of all the immortals, ...
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Why was phoenician Melqart identified with Heracles?
From the Wikipedia article on Melkart:
To the Greeks and the Romans, who identified Melqart with Hercules, he was often distinguished as the Tyrian Hercules.
What attributes did they share for this ...
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Odin's Counterpart
I have always wondered are:
Odin,
Mercury,
Hermes,
Thoth
the same person?
If so, why they are celebrated by different cultures and praised by different myths?
I am in love with these deities...
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Differences in the Greek and Roman portrayals of Cronos/Saturn
I just read a blog post that talks about the Roman feast of Saturnalia:
During the time of the Republic, gambling was prohibited except during the festival of the Saturnalia which was held in ...
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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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Which cultures worship boars?
I'm searching for a list of cultures/regions which worshiped/revered boars.
I only know of Hinduism of the Indian Subcontinent, where an avatar of Lord Vishnu, Varaha is worshiped.
Further, I'm ...
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Is there any Norse mythological figure associated with victory?
Is there an equivalent in Norse mythology to the goddesses Nike of the Greeks or Victoria of the Romans?
Any god or mythological being in Norse cult associated mainly with victory?
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Does every culture have a deluge myth?
A deluge myth is a story of a big flood that kills everyone. A few examples:
Noah's Ark
The story of Deucalion
The flood in the epic of Gilgamesh
The story of Bergelmir
... and so on. Is there a ...
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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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Are there any cultures with no known interactions that have notable similarities in their creation myths?
Roman and Greek mythologies and religions are intertwined because of the occupation of Greece by the Roman empire.
But are there any occurrence of two different cultures having similarities in their ...
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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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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 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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How are Norse and Celtic mythology related?
I was in a charms shop a while back and they had a section laid out for Celtic Mythology charms and their meanings. I had a look and found Thor's hammer. I ask my mom and she said the Mythologies are ...
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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 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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Is there a connection between Adam and Eve, and Ask and Embla?
The creation myths of the Abrahamic religions declares humanity's protoplasts to be Adam and Eve. Norse lore declares them to be Ask and Embla.
Linguistically, these seem to be fairly similar names. ...
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Does the phrase "Zeus Pater" appear in ancient Greek sources?
The Wikipedia article "Sky Father" includes the following passage:
"Sky Father" is a direct translation of the Vedic Dyaus Pita, etymologically descended from the same Proto-Indo-European deity ...
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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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Prevalence of Underwater Panther
I was researching my tribe's clan history and came across something interesting. Osages, like most American Indian tribes, name their clans after either mythological creatures, or common animals (...
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Why is Diana a Huntress?
Everyone knows that Diana, as well as her Greek parallel Artemis, are hunter goddesses, but few seem to know why. From where does this association originate?
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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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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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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 the Anunnaki mentioned in the Bible?
The following Bible passages mention “Anakim” and “Anak”:
Num 13:22; 13:28; 13:33
Deut 1:28; 2:10-11; 2:21, 9:2
Josh 11:21-22; 14:12; 14:15; 15:13-14; 21:11
Judg 1:20.
They sound similar.
Is there ...
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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/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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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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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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