Mythology and Myths
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Mythology
The term " mythology " can refer either to the study of myths (e.g., comparative mythology ), or to a body or collection of myths (a mythos , e.g., Inca mythology ). [ 1 ] In folkloristics , a myth is a sacred narrative usually explaining how the world or humankind came to be in its present form, [ 2 ] although, in a very broad sense, the word can refer to any traditional story . [ 3 ] Bruce Lincoln defines myth as "ideology in narrative form". [ 4 ] Myths typically involve supernatural characters and are endorsed by rulers or priests. They may arise as either truthful depictions or overelaborated accounts of historical events, as allegory for or personification of natural phenomena, or as an explanation of ritual . They are transmitted to convey religious or idealized experience, to establish behavioral models, and to teach .
Mythology
Chinese mythology
Chinese mythology refers to those myths found in the historical geographic area of China : these include myths in Chinese and other languages, as transmitted by Han Chinese as well as other ethnic groups (of which fifty-six are officially recognized by the current administration of China). [ 1 ] Chinese mythology includes creation myths and legends, such as myths concerning the founding of Chinese culture and the Chinese state. As in many cultures' mythologies, Chinese mythology has in the past been believed to be, at least in part, a factual recording of history. Thus, in the study of historical Chinese culture, many of the stories that have been told regarding characters and events which have been written or told of the distant past have a double tradition: one which presents a more historicized and one which presents a more mythological version. [ 2 ]
Mesopotamian religion
Mesopotamian religion refers to the religious beliefs and practices followed by the Sumerian and Akkadian ( Assyrian / Babylonian ) peoples living in Mesopotamia (around the area of modern Iraq ) that dominated the region for a period of 4200 years from the fourth millennium BC to proximately the 3rd century AD. [ 1 ] Polytheism was the only religion in ancient mesopotamia for thousands of years before entering a period of gradual decline; which continued for approximately three centuries, until much of the original religious traditions of the area died out.
Ancient Egyptian religion
Nun , the embodiment of the primordial waters, lifts the barque of the sun god Ra into the sky at the moment of creation. Egyptian mythology is the collection of myths from ancient Egypt , which describe the actions of the Egyptian gods as a means of understanding the world. The beliefs that these myths express are an important part of ancient Egyptian religion . Myths appear frequently in Egyptian writings and art , particularly in short stories and in religious material such as hymns, ritual texts, funerary texts , and temple decoration. These sources rarely contain a complete account of a myth and often describe only brief fragments.
Celtic mythology is the mythology of Celtic polytheism , the religion of the Iron Age Celts . [ 1 ] Like other Iron Age Europeans, the early Celts maintained a polytheistic mythology and religious structure. Among Celts in close contact with Ancient Rome , such as the Gauls and Celtiberians , their mythology did not survive the Roman empire , their subsequent conversion to Christianity , and the loss of their Celtic languages . It is mostly through contemporary Roman and Christian sources that their mythology has been preserved.
Celtic mythology
Créatures mythologiques
This list of fictional extraterrestrial species is subsidiary to the lists of fictional species and is a collection of various notable extraterrestrial species that appear in various works of fiction. It is limited to well-referenced examples from literature , film , television , comics , animation and video games . This list excludes cases in which only a single member of a species is shown, such as E.T. the Extraterrestrial . [ edit ] Literature This section deals with notable species from published works, including short-stories, novels, novellas and poems.
List of fictional extraterrestrials
Jewish mysticism
Mystic Traditions