Questions tagged [comparative]

For questions that compare mythology or folklore from multiple cultures.

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7 votes
2 answers
195 views

What are the oldest extant influential mythology inspired books (mainly Eastern)?

Sorry if the question sounds confusing, not sure how to ask my question but I was reading an article about how Western literature is built in part on Greek and Roman mythology, on works like Homer's ...
3 votes
2 answers
275 views

Are there any females who have many consorts but are still celebrated?

Many heroes and gods have many consorts but are still popular and worshipped and good examples of these are Zeus of Greek Mythology and Arjuna of Hindu Mythology. Are there any females similar to them?...
6 votes
1 answer
199 views

Are there any stories which are about a species that is neither human nor divine?

I am aware that some mythologies/religions include species apart from humans and gods (e.g. Islam and Norse mythology). However, are there any stories which are written about them? My definition for "...
3 votes
1 answer
318 views

Uses of encoding and ciphers in Mythology

One of my favorite stories is the Ovid version of Philomel. (She pre-figures the Tarantino heroines in many ways. Note that the elements of other myths section of Wikipedia omits the most direct ...
11 votes
2 answers
402 views

Common theme that humans had longer lifespans before the flood?

Several pre-flood myths seem to mention humans being able to live for extremely long periods of time. IIRC, the Sumerians had a list of kings that lived for thousands of years pre-flood, and post-...
7 votes
1 answer
265 views

What was the earliest werewolf myth?

So, the earliest werewolf I can find is in Greek times. But, was there ever an earlier werewolf myth?
6 votes
2 answers
739 views

Are there any instances where non-Greco-Roman goddesses fall in love with mortals?

However, I will not be taking into account the Greco-Roman and Mesopotamian stories as they are the only stories that I know of in which a goddess loves a human.
9 votes
1 answer
4k views

What are the differences between the Greek Hestia and the Roman Vesta with regards to both mythology and worship?

I recall reading about Vesta, and I believe that, like Mars and Saturn, she was more important to the Roman pantheon than the Greek. I'd like to know what the differences were between Vesta and Hestia....
12 votes
1 answer
400 views

Are there parallels between Ymir/Auðumbla and Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox besides the obvious?

It's something I've been thinking about for many years now and I figured I might as well ask, as there seems to be an exceptional Norse mythology braintrust on this site. By "obvious" parallels, I am ...
11 votes
2 answers
304 views

How did the importance attached to the number seven originate?

I was reading Why 7? on SFF, and it got me thinking. I know that there are plenty of occurrences of the number 7 (see for example Wikipedia), some for quite a long time, for example the seven deadly ...
6 votes
1 answer
166 views

Flood myth = Maritime Voyages & Colonization Interpretation?

I am currently studying various flood myths from all around the world. I interprete this whole story as a maritime voyage & colonization story: The ark is simply a ship (bigger than a cockleshell;...
5 votes
4 answers
307 views

What would be an efficient data structure for cataloging deities?

I'm ready to begin building a databased-website that will provide cataloged details about the various gods, goddesses and pantheons. I'm looking for the most efficient structure for cataloging them. ...
3 votes
2 answers
11k views

What is the easiest way to become a god? [closed]

This is a question across all pantheons and mythologies. Overall what is the easiest way to become a god? It should be an one-time act. But perhaps for simplicity sake we can use immortality as the ...
7 votes
1 answer
210 views

Are there any studies of the historic phenomenon of the chief god of a pantheon being replaced by the storm god?

We find in at least two instances the chief god of a pantheon being replaced by the younger storm god of that pantheon. For example, in Canaanite mythology, the supreme god El is replaced with the ...
4 votes
2 answers
285 views

Where Can I Study Parallel Mythologies?

I am very fascinated with the notion that there are significant parallels between mythologies - there may be different reincarnations of the same God? For instance, we know that Hermes is Mercury, ...
58 votes
3 answers
7k views

When and how did the Greek mythos transfer to the Romans?

It seems that there are a great many similarities between Roman and Greek Mythology. In fact, many people consider them synonymous and only really differ in the names. For example: Greek ⇄ Roman Zeus ...
23 votes
1 answer
777 views

Were any Buddhist narratives ever folded into the myths of the Greeks, or vice versa?

The cultural exchange between the Greeks (under Alexander, at first) and the Buddhists of northwestern India is known to have had impacts on both parties. I'm aware of some theological influences, at ...
6 votes
1 answer
634 views

What is the earliest myth of the three Fates?

A triple pantheon of goddesses governing fate appears in a variety of European (and perhaps other) mythologies. The Greek Moirai, the Roman Fatae, the Norse Norns. Often they are associated with ...
9 votes
2 answers
1k views

What are the differences between fauns and satyrs?

From what I've gathered fauns and satyrs are pretty much the same thing; they're all male, hircine from the waist down. They like wine, women, and song. They walk around naked all the time and have an ...
28 votes
3 answers
2k views

Are there any myths we can plausibly trace back to a common Proto-Indo-European ancestor?

It is well-known today that many peoples trace their origin back to a group of people known as the Proto-Indo-Europeans, who probably lived c. 4000 BCE. Among them are some of the most mythologically-...
3 votes
1 answer
148 views

Were there any other "Mythos Transfers", other than the Greek-Roman transfer?

Were there any other Mythos Transfers, other than the Greek-Roman transfer? To clarify, I mean an almost complete copy of another religion/myth system. The greek-roman mythos transfer was basically ...
6 votes
2 answers
168 views

Did ancient myths center on deities because individualism was not valued?

Are there any books/essays/discussions about the idea that ancient cultures didn't value individualism (for a variety of reasons) like we do today, and so poetry, literature, and art were primarily ...
14 votes
2 answers
5k views

Are there any relations between Norse elves and Celtic fairies, or their home realms?

A lot of, if not most, modern fantasy tends to have 'Elven' races that seem to be largely inspired by the Norse Elves, likely by way of Tolkien. There also seems to be a large amount of Celtic ...
11 votes
1 answer
3k views

Are there any epics featuring a female protagonist with less explored male characters?

In the Indian epic Ramayana, the women show some great complex characters, behaviours etc but they are much less explored and sometimes sidelined/forgotten(not entirely) by the overshadowing persona ...
7 votes
1 answer
516 views

Did any ancient cultures or scholars recognize the Hero's Journey monomyth?

In The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell talked about the monomyth, and the overarching structure of the Hero's Journey: the hero is called on an adventure, may have a helper, goes through ...
6 votes
1 answer
252 views

Were the Olympians unique in everyone being descended from single parentage?

In most sources, Olympian gods were (nearly?) all directly descended from Chaos. Were they unique in this (having a shared ancestor deity, not too far up the family tree), or was it a common thing ...
5 votes
2 answers
1k views

Why do several myths portray snakes as good things?

In western culture, being compared to a snake is bad thing. Snakes are portrayed as lying, sneaky animals who are not to be trusted. You can refer to someone as a "snake in the grass" and snakes are ...
11 votes
1 answer
3k views

Did different Greek mythology sources ever explicitly acknowledge the contradictions between themselves?

Greek mythology is full of different accounts of the same exact facts, based on which source you use. As a random example, here's the assorted sourced details on Prometheus' parentage from Wikipedia: ...
8 votes
2 answers
183 views

What cultures have myths related to the origin of aurora phenomena?

Basically, which nations have stories explaining either the Northern or Southern Lights?
15 votes
1 answer
371 views

Does Roman folklore feature an account of The Dream of Macsen Wledig?

The Dream of Macsen Wledig is a Welsh tale that may be loosely based on Emperor Magnus Maximus, of Rome. The story tracks his search for a fair maiden he sees in a dream, eventually bringing him to ...
17 votes
2 answers
8k views

Are there any apocalypse myths other than Ragnarok in which some people survive to repopulate the world?

In the story of Ragnarok, Lif and Lifthrasir survive by hiding in Yggdrasil, and presumably they go on to repopulate the world after all the fighting is over. Are there any other cultures whose end-...
9 votes
1 answer
723 views

Which myth says that Eve wasn't the first wife of Adam, but Lilith?

According to the Hebrew Bible and Islamic tradition, Eve is known as Adam's wife. However some other works suggested something opposite. Which myths suggest that Biblical Eve wasn't the first wife ...
14 votes
1 answer
379 views

What parallels are there beween the myths of Atlantis and Mu?

Atlantis is a mythic civilisation lost underwater according to European mythology. The Continent of Mu is a mythic civilisation lost underwater according to pre-columbian South American mythology. ...

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