Questions tagged [motifs]
For questions pertaining to reoccurring elements in Mythology, folklore or art.
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Why were metamorphoses so popular with ancient writers?
A brief search revealed five books by Greek and Roman writers on the subject of metamorphosis myths:
"Metamorphoses" by Ovid
"Metamorphoseon Synagoge" by Antoninus Liberalis
"Metamorphoses (aka The ...
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Are there any stories or fables in mythology that have an anarchist message?
Most mythologies that I read are used to justify the power structures in society.
Are there any that instead preach democracy, anti-authority, pro-education, or free love?
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How did so many cultures come up with their own swastika?
Before two and a half hours ago, I thought the swastika was only in India and World War II. Then my art teacher put on a video about ancient Greek and Roman mosaics. In this video, I saw what was ...
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Why is the trickster such a popular motif?
The trickster appears to be one of the more popular archetypal motifs in mythology. The Greek Hermes and Dionysus, the Egyptian Set, the Norse Loki, the Hindu Krishna, the Native American Coyote, the ...
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What concepts exist to describe how motifs change from time and place
In the question How to search for patterns/motifs in folklore or mythology, I introduced the concept of motifs/tale-types, which are essentially the folkloristic equivalent of tropes (an example of a ...
user62
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How does one search for patterns/motifs in folklore or mythology?
I'm currently attempting to research how often a specific type of story (i.e. a motif) occurs in the global corpus of folklore (mythology). For instance, I might be interested in whether there are ...
user62