Introduction. Conclusion : I have called the collection "Orpheus," naming it after the minstrel who, according to the poet of the Argonautica, sang "how the earth, the heaven, and the sea once mingled together in one form, after deadly strife were separated each from the other; and how the stars and the moon and the paths...
Central American And Mexican. Quetzalcoatl's Enemy : QUETZALCOATL'S ENEMY Quetzalcoatl's enemy did not leave Tollan. Naked he went into the market-place and stayed there; where he sat was under the palace of the king. The king had but one daughter, and this girl, looking out p. 301 upon the market-place, saw Tezcatlipoca. He pretended to be selling...
Welsh. Pwyll, Prince Of Dyfed And His Visit : Arawn and Havgan WELSH PWYLL, PRINCE OF DYFED AND HIS VISIT TO ANNWFN, THE REALM OF FARIE It is told of Pwyll, Prince of Dyfed, that once he went hunting in Glyn Cuch, and that having loosed his hounds in the wood and sounded his horn, he found that his companions were no longer with him, and th...
Introduction. Peruvian : PERUVIAN The two great civilizations of America, the Middle American and the South American, appear to have had their rise about the same time, and in each a period of decadence seems to have set in just before the advent of the European conquerors. We have much less informati...
Introduction. Polynesian : p. xxiii POLYNESIAN The widely spread Kanaka or Maori people have a rich and remarkably homogeneous mythology: the same divine beings figure in stories told in most of the islands of the Pacific Ocean. "We find," writes Miss Martha Warren Beckwith, "the same story told in New Zealand and Hawaii...
Babylonian. Ishtar's Descent Into The World Below : ISHTAR'S DESCENT INTO THE WORLD BELOW A time came when the Lady of the Gods, even Ishtar, thought upon the spouse of her youth, upon Tammuz; her heart inclined her to go down into the realm of Irkalla, into the Place of Darkness where Tammuz had gone. So, in all the magnificence of her apparel...
Japanese. The First People : THE FIRST PEOPLE There were clouds and mists; there were divine generations who came and who passed away, leaving only him who was The-Lord-in-the-centre-of-the-Heavens and the august God and Goddess who stood each side of him. And then were produced Izana-gi and Izana-mi, the p. 249 m...
Icelandic. Ragna Rok, The Fate Of The Gods : RAGNA RK, THE FATE OF THE GODS Snow fell on the four quarters of the world; icy winds blew from every side; the sun and the moon were hidden by storms. It was the Fimbul winter: no spring came and no summer; no autumn brought harvest or fruit; winter grew into winter again. There was three years'...
Central American And Mexican. The Gods : THE GODS OF THE AZTECA Quetzalcoatl told the people about the Gods and about the creation of men and women.... At first there was Citlalatonac and Citlalicue, the Sky-father and the Earth-mother. Then Citlalicue gave birth to a knife of flint, and when this knife of flint was flung down it became...
Greek. In The Beginning : p. 61 Eros GREEK IN THE BEGINNING: PROMETHEUS: PANDORA: DEMETER: ORPHEUS: DIONYSOS: APOLLO: HERAKLES IN THE BEGINNING In the beginning Nyx, who is Night, hovered in the darkness. An egg was laid by Nyx, the black-winged bird. From the upper shell of that egg was formed Ouranos, who is Heaven...
Introduction. Jewish. Post Christian Period : JEWISH: POST-CHRISTIAN PERIOD The Jewish stories that have come down to us in the Haggadah are more akin to the Persian than they are to any other stories. Their monotheism seems to be nominal, veiling a real dualism. Thus, God creates the Angels on the second day "lest man believe that the Angels...
Irish. The Death Of Conaire M'or, The King : THE DEATH OF CONAIRE MR, THE KING OF IRELAND II Conaire Mr was the most splendid, noble, and beautiful king that ever was in Ireland, and of the kings of the world he was the mildest and gentlest. There was no defect in him whether in form, shape, or vesture; in vision, skill, or eloquence;...
Introduction. Central American And Mexican : CENTRAL AMERICAN AND MEXICAN In regarding Central America and Mexico as a single cultural area, I accept the authority of Eduard Seler, who, grouping Guatemala, Yucatan, and the area that includes Mexico City together, writes: The unity of this entire region of ancient civilization is most clearly...
Icelandic. In The Beginning : p. 187 Loki's Punishment ICELANDIC IN THE BEGINNING: THE BUILDING OF THE WALL: MIMIR: BALDR: LOKI'S PUNISHMENT: THE CHILDREN OF LOKI: RAGNA RK, THE FATE OF THE GODS IN THE BEGINNING In the beginning was Yawning Gap: to one side of it was the Place of Fog and Mist; to the other side was the Place...
Egyptian. Osiris And Isis : p. 3 Osiris and Isis EGYPTIAN OSIRIS AND ISIS: R, HIS GOING-DOWN AND UPRISING OSIRIS AND ISIS When Osiris reigned death was not in the land. Arms were not in men's hands; there were not any wars. From end to end of the land music sounded; men and women spoke so sweetly and out of such depth...
Polynesian. In The Beginning : p. 253 Ma-ui POLYNESIAN NEW ZEALAND--IN THE BEGINNING. NEW ZEALAND AND HAWAII--MA-UI THE FIRE-BRINGER: HOW MA-UI STROVE TO WIN IMMORTALITY FOR ALL CREATURES: PE-LE, HAWAII'S GODDESS OF VOLCANIC FIRE IN THE BEGINNING The Gods were born of the Sky and the Earth--of Rangi the Sky and Papa-tu-a-nuku...
Irish. The Voyage Of Bran To The L : THE VOYAGE OF BRAN TO THE LAND OF THE IMMORTALS Prince Bran sat in his royal house. The ramparts were closed around and no more could anyone enter it. There was a gathering of the nobles and notables of the countryside, and Prince Bran feasted them in his hall. A woman came and stood in the doorway...
Welsh. Math, The Son Of Mathonwy. Part I : MATH, THE SON OF MATHONWY I. THE TREACHERY OF GWYDION AND GILVAETHWY To Pryderi, the son of Pwyll, the King of Annwfn sent as gift a drove of swine. Pryderi then had rule in the South, and Math, the son of Mathonwy, had rule in the North. To Math, the son of Mathonwy, went Gwydion. "Lord," said...
Epic. Savitri And The Lord Of The Dead : SVITR AND THE LORD OF THE DEAD In the Madras in the old days there lived a princess who was noted for her loveliness and her devotion to her every duty. Svitr was her name. As she grew into maidenhood her father, King Ashvapati, was troubled because she remained unwedded: all his hopes...
Introduction. Indian : INDIAN India's is the most heavily "mythologized" of civilizations; the mythology revealed in its literature is threefold. There is, first of all, that of Aryan India which has connections with the mythologies of Persia, Greece, and Italy: because we know it through the Vedic Hymns (shaped between...
Greek. Orpheus : ORPHEUS Many were the minstrels who, in the early days of the world, went amongst men, telling them stories of the Gods, of their wars and their births, and of the beginning of things. Of all these minstrels none was so famous as Orpheus; none could tell truer things about the Gods; he himself w...
Chinese. The Weaver Maiden And The Herdsman : THE WEAVER MAIDEN AND THE HERDSMAN Her august father, the Sun, would have the accomplished Chih N turn her footsteps towards his bright gardens or appear in his celestial halls. But Chih N would not leave her loom. All day and every day the maiden sat by the River of Heaven weaving webs that were...
Irish. The Death Of Conaire M'or, The King. Part 02 : THE DEATH OF CONAIRE MR, THE KING OF IRELAND I When Eterscel, the king, died, a bull was slain; then one who was a diviner drank of the broth and ate of the flesh of the bull and went into a slumber, and truth-compelling spells were chanted over him. All this was done so that it might be shown...
Greek. Prometheus : PROMETHEUS The Gods upon Olympos more than once made a race of men. The first was the Golden Race. Very close to the Gods was the Golden Race; the men of that race lived justly, although there were no laws to compel them. In the time of the Golden Race the Earth knew only one season; that se...
Babylonian. Gilgamish : GILGAMISH Into the Temple where his mother dwelt Gilgamish went, and when she saw by the look upon his face that he was bent upon going on some strange journey or upon doing some terrifying deed, his mother cried out to Shamash, the Sun God, asking him why he had given her son a heart that could...
Polynesian. Pe Le, Hawaii's Goddess Of Volcanic. Part 03 : PE-LE, HAWAII'S GODDESS OF VOLCANIC FIRE I Pe-le, the Goddess, came up out of her pit in Ki-lau-ea. No longer would she sit on the lava-hearth below, with skin rugged and blackened, with hair the colour of cinders, and with reddened eyes; no p. 262 longer would she seem a hag whom no man would turn...
Central American And Mexican. The Azteca : THE AZTECA Many times since the Azteca came into the valley had the years been tied into bundles, each bundle being fifty-two years. And many times at the Tying of the Years had the fires been quenched and a new fire lighted on the breast of a sacrificed man. Many times had that festival come round...
Roman. The Children Of Mars, Part Ii : THE CHILDREN OF MARS II In this war the Sabine people did not have greed for their motive; they warred in what they thought was a just cause and they were able to inflict defeat upon the Romans. They captured the citadel, and in the fight they made they drove the Romans through the ancient gate...
Introduction. The Significance Of Mythology : p. vii THE SIGNIFICANCE OF MYTHOLOGY Not until late centuries did reflective minds see in mythology any of the significance that we have come to see in it. The Italian philosopher of the seventeenth century, Vico, knew that the heroes of myth--Hercules, whose arms could rend the mountains...
Welsh. Math, The Son Of Mathonwy. Part Iv : MATH, THE SON OF MATHONWY IV. THE MAIDEN MADE OF FLOWERS So Gwydion, taking the youth with him, went to Math, the son of Mathonwy, and complained to him most bitterly of Arianrhod "Well," said Math to Gwydion, "we will seek, I and thou, to form a wife for him out of flowers. He has now come...
Introduction. Babylonian : BABYLONIAN The Babylonian religion was on a higher level than the Egyptian, which, according to Maspero, one of the greatest of Egyptologists, was close to the animism and fetichism of the African tribes. Yet the Sumerians and Babylonians, compared with the Egyptians, had a very faint concepti...
Introduction. Zuni : ZUI The pueblo-dwelling Indians, of whom the Zui are the chief representatives, belong to a stage of culture that the great civilizations of Middle and South America had come directly out of. And as in Middle and South America, the whole form of Zui culture, the whole trend of Zui religious thought...
Greek. Apollo : APOLLO Of Apollo the swan sings as he alights upon the banks of the eddying River Peneios; with clear voice and to the beating of his wings the swan sings of him. And of Apollo, the minstrel, holding the lyre in his hands, sings first and last. He and Artemis, his sister, were the children of Le...
Babylonian. In The Beginning : p. 17 Marduk BABYLONIAN IN THE BEGINNING: GILGAMISH: THE STORY OF UTA-NAPISHTIM AND OF THE DELUGE THAT DESTROYED ALL THAT WAS ON THE EARTH: ISHTAR'S DESCENT INTO THE WORLD BELOW IN THE BEGINNING In the beginning there was Apsu the Primeval, and Timat, who is Chaos. There were no other beings...
Polynesian. Pe Le, Hawaii's Goddess Of Volcanic : PE-LE, HAWAII'S GODDESS OF VOLCANIC FIRE III Then Pe-le commanded her sisters to put on their robes of fire, and go forth and destroy Lo-hi-au. In their robes of fire they went to where he was; when they came to him they threw cinders upon his feet and went away again. But Pe-le knew that they had...
Greek. Pandora : PANDORA Prometheus the Forethinker had a brother who was named Epimetheus the Afterthinker. He was slow-witted and scatter-brained. His wise brother once sent him a message bidding him beware of the gifts that Zeus might send him. Epimetheus heard, but he did not heed the warning; thereby he...
Vedic. The Heavenly Nymph And Her Mortal Husband : p. 215 Agni INDIAN VEDIC--THE HEAVENLY NYMPH AND HER MORTAL HUSBAND. EPIC--THE CHURNING OF THE OCEAN: THE BIRTH OF THE GANGES: SVITR AND THE LORD OF THE DEAD: DAMAYANT'S CHOICE. BUDDHIST--GOTAMA'S ATTAINMENT "VEDIC" THE HEAVENLY NYMPH AND HER MORTAL HUSBAND To Agni who is Fire, King Purravas made...
Welsh. Math, The Son Of Mathonwy. Part Iii : MATH, THE SON OF MATHONWY III. GWYDION AND ARIANRHOD A day came when Math, the son of Mathonwy, said to Gwydion, his councillor, "What maiden shall I seek that my feet may be in her lap? Lord," said Gwydion, "it is easy to give thee counsel in this matter; seek Arianrhod, the daughter of Don, thy...
Introduction. Persian : PERSIAN At the time when the Assyrian kings of the neo-Babylonian epoch were publishing the Babylonian mythological cycles, and when Egyptian and Greek mythologies were flourishing, the original Persian or Iranian mythology was being stopped in its growth; afterwards nearly all records of it were...
Babylonian. The Story Of Uta Napishtim : THE STORY OF UTA-NAPISHTIM AND OF THE DELUGE THAT DESTROYED ALL THAT WAS ON THE EARTH Now in the Temple there were tables on which were inscribed the history of Uta-Napishtim the Remote, of him whom the Gods had made immortal. These tables had the very words of Uta-Napishtim upon them. And these...
Introduction. Egyptian Mythology : EGYPTIAN MYTHOLOGY It is natural to begin with things Egyptian. But the stories that we have from the mythology of that great civilization are all fragmentary; for the most famous of them we have to go to a Greek work--to Plutarch's treatise on Isis and Osiris. In the story as given here...
Epic. The Churning Of The Ocean : "EPIC" THE CHURNING OF THE OCEAN The Asuras were older than their half-brothers the Gods. They acquired great possessions in the three worlds, but because they did not sacrifice to each other, because they did not visit holy places, they did not acquire great powers within themselves. But the Gods...
Graeco Roman. Cupid And Psyche. Part I : p. 125 Cupid and Psyche GRCO-ROMAN CUPID AND PSYCHE I In a far country there was a king and queen who had three daughters: each of the maidens was beautiful; the youngest of them, how. ever, had such shape and lineaments that all words said in praise of beauty seemed but poor and empty when used...
Polynesian. How Ma Ui Strove To Win Immortality : HOW MA-UI STROVE TO WIN IMMORTALITY FOR ALL CREATURES A time came when Ma-ui, returning to his home, said to his father, "Who now can vanquish me? I have won fire for men; I have made the sun go more slowly across the heavens; I have fished up the islands from the bottom of the sea. What thing...
Japanese. The Sun Goddess And The Storm God : p. 245 Ama-terasu and the Storm God JAPANESE THE SUN GODDESS AND THE STORM GOD AND THE STRIFE THERE WAS BETWEEN THEM: THE FIRST PEOPLE THE SUN GODDESS AND THE STORM GOD AND THE STRIFE THERE WAS BETWEEN THEM That lady, the resplendent Sun Goddess, was born out of the left eye of the august Father...
Introduction. Japanese : JAPANESE In distinction to Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism, Shintoism is the primitive body of beliefs of the Japanese people. The two cosmological myths given here are from Shinto sources. The triumph of the Sun Goddess over darkness and disorder is identified with the triumph of the Imperial...
Introduction. Finnish : FINNISH The mythology out of which the Finnish stories come belonged to the Finno-Ugric stock which includes the Finns and their near relations the Esthonians, and the more remotely related Lapps and Hungarians. p. xix [paragraph continues] We know this mythology through the folk-epic of Finl...
Central American And Mexican. In The Beginning : p. 285 Mictlantecutli CENTRAL AMERICAN AND MEXICAN IN THE BEGINNING: THE TWIN HEROES AND THE LORDS OF XIBALBA: QUETZALCOATL: QUETZALCOATL'S ENEMY: THE GODS OF THE AZTECA: THE AZTECA IN THE BEGINNING Alone was Tepeu, alone was Gucumatz, alone and wrapped in the green and the azure. All was silence...
Buddhist. Gotama's Attainment : Gotama's Attainment BUDDHIST GOTAMA'S ATTAINMENT Gotama was born into a royal family; the maiden whom be married was a princess, and there were many who thought that he himself would become a world-ruler. And so Prince Siddhrtha (for that was his name in his father's palace) grew up with every...
Finnish. Lemminkainen, His Destructi : p. 179 Lemminkainen's Resurrection FINNISH LEMMINKAINEN, HIS DESTRUCTION AND HIS RESTORATION TO LIFE Into the forest went Lemminkainen. As he went he chanted his Magic Song, "O Tapio, Lord of the Forest, aid me: lead me where I may take my quarry! Nyyrikki, O thou son of the Forest's Lord...
Icelandic. The Children Of Loki : THE CHILDREN OF LOKI Before all these things came to be, Loki, leaving Asgarth, went to live in Jarnvid, the Ironwood. There dwelt witches who were the most foul of all witches. And they had a queen over them who was p. 205 the mother of sons who took upon themselves the shapes of wolves. Two...
Greek. Dionysos : DIONYSOS A ship lay in a harbour; on a headland that overlooked the harbour a youth appeared. He wore a purple cloak; his hair was rich, dark, and flowing; his face was beautiful. The sailors on the ship thought that he must be a king's son, or a young king's brother. They were Tyrrheni...
Jewish Post Christian Period. The Angels : p. 53 Adam and Eve JEWISH POST-CHRISTIAN PERIOD THE ANGELS AND THE CREATION AND FALL OF MAN: THE CONFOUNDING OF THE ANGEL OF DEATH THE ANGELS AND THE CREATION AND FALL OF MAN When the Holy One, the Almighty (blessed be His name!) would create the world, the twenty-two that are the letters...
Greek. Demeter : DEMETER Once when Demeter, daughter of Kronos and Rhea, was going through the world, making men's fields fertile, she heard a cry that came to her from across high mountains and mounted up to her from the sea. Demeter's heart shook when she heard that cry, for she knew that it came to her from her...
Introduction. Graeco Roman : GRAECO-ROMAN The story of Cupid and Psyche is a literary production; however, it is given in this collection of stories from the mythologies because it became something of a sacred story--a focus for religious thought. And, besides, the literary production was based on an old Greek folktale th...
Untitled : This is a survey of world mythology by Padraic Column. Originally titled 'Orpheus, Myths of the World', later editions were retitled simply 'Myths of the World'. Colum was a prolific writer on this subject, and although best known for his adaptations of Celtic tales, particularly for younger...
Welsh. Math, The Son Of Mathonwy. Part Ii : MATH, THE SON OF MATHONWY II. THE TRANSFORMATIONS OF GWYDION AND GILVAETHWY He took his magic wand, and he struck Gilvaethwy, so that he became a deer, and he seized upon Gwydion hastily lest he should escape from him. He struck him with the same magic wand, and he became a deer also. "Since now ye...
Peruvian. Viracocha : p. 275 PERUVIAN VIRACOCHA: THE LLAMA-HERDER AND THE VIRGIN OF THE SUN VIRACOCHA In other days we who are of the race of the Incas worshipped the Sun; we held that he was the greatest and most benignant of all beings, and we named ourselves the children of the Sun. We had traditions that told...
Graeco Roman. Cupid And Psyche, Part Ii : CUPID AND PSYCHE II Her sisters, coming to the place where Psyche was left, sought for traces of her. Finding none they wept, lifting up their voices. Zephyrus came; he raised them up; he bore them down from that mountain-top. He bore them to the lawn that was before the house where Psyche had her...
Epic. Damayanti's Choice : DAMAYANT'S CHOICE In the Middle Country there lived a king's daughter who had such loveliness that the people said of her, "She cannot be the child of a mortal pair." Damayant the maiden was named. And, ruling over the mountain tribes near by, there was a king named Nala who had such beauty...
Irish. Midir And Etain : p. 141 The Voyage of Bran CELTIC IRISH--MIDIR AND ETAIN: THE DEATH OF CONAIRE MR, THE KING OF IRELAND: THE VOYAGE OF BRAN TO THE LAND OF THE IMMORTALS. WELSH--PWYLL, PRINCE OF DYFED AND HIS VISIT TO ANNWFN, THE REALM OF FARIE: MATH THE SON OF MATHONWY "IRISH" MIDIR AND ETAIN A comb of silver w...
Icelandic. Loki's Punishment : LOKI'S PUNISHMENT The crow went flying towards the North, croaking as she flew, "Let Hel keep what she holds. Let Hel keep what she holds." That crow was the hag Thokk transformed, and the hag Thokk was Loki. p. 203 He flew to the North and he came to the wastes of Jotunheim. As a crow he lived...
Zuni. Pa'iyatuma And The Maidens Of The Corn : p. 311 The Maidens of the Corn ZUI PAYATUMA AND THE MAIDENS OF THE CORN Whence came they, the Maidens who are told of in the stories and sung of in the songs of our Fathers, the seven Maidens with their magic wands and plumes who were lovelier than the seven bright stars that are above us now...
Introduction. Celtic : CELTIC Celtic mythology is known to us only in the fragments that have come down to us through Irish (Gaelic) and Welsh (Brythonic) romances. Of the mythology of the Continental Celts we know nothing: p. xvii On the Continent the Celtic tribes came in contact with the rich and highly organised...
Icelandic. The Building Of The Wall : THE BUILDING OF THE WALL Before the peace between the Aesir and the Wanes was made, and before the seats of the Gods had been built up again, a strange being came before the assembly of the Gods. "I know what is in the mind of Oithin," he said. "He would make strong and splendid his city here. I...
Roman. The Children Of Mars, Part I : p. 107 ROMAN THE CHILDREN OF MARS: NUMA THE LAW-GIVER: THE SIBYL: POMONA AND VERTUMNUS THE CHILDREN OF MARS I In the ancient Latin land there was a city which, because it stretched out along a ridge, was called Alba Longa. In the old days Silvius reigned there: he was called by that name because...
Greek. Herakles, Part I : Herakles HERAKLES I Herakles, born of Alkmene, a mortal woman, was the son of Zeus. Hera, the spouse of Zeus, bore ill-will towards Alkmene and her hero-son, and when Herakles was still an infant in the cradle she sent two great serpents to destroy him. But the child took the serpents and strangled...
Introduction. Greek : GREEK The myths given are mainly from Hesiod's Theogony and the Homeric Hymns, works composed between the eighth and the sixth century B.C. Little remains to be said on the subject of Greek mythology. But it is worth while repeating some sentences written by Miss Jane Harrison: All men, in virtue...
Jewish Post Christian Period. The Confounding : THE CONFOUNDING OF THE ANGEL OF DEATH When it came to pass that Moses was about to die, Samael, the angel who is filled with enmity towards man, came before the throne of the Most Holy One and said, "Give me permission to take his soul from Moses." But God said to that angel who is named Severity...
Roman. The Sibyl : THE SIBYL An old woman came before where Tarquin the Proud sat, and demanded that she be brought before him, the king. Now Tarquin had had a dream in which an old woman appeared, and when he heard that there was such a one near he let her be brought before him. So she came and she stood before...
Greek. Herakles, Part Ii : HERAKLES II It was then that Herakles was given arms by the Gods--the sword of Hermes, the bow of Apollo, the shield made by Hephstos; it was then that Herakles, coming to the Caucasus, slew the vulture that preyed upon Prometheus's liver, and, at the will of Zeus, liberated the Titan from his...
Epic. The Birth Of The Ganges : THE BIRTH OF THE GANGES There came a sage whose name was Bhagratha: he stayed in a forest of Himalaya practising terrible austerities. For a thousand years he remained with arms upraised, with four fires burning around, and with the sun blazing upon him. At last Brahma had compassion upon him...
Icelandic. Baldr : BALDR In Asgarth there were two places that meant strength and joy to the Aesir and the Wanes: one was the garden where grew the apples that Ithun gathered--the apples that gave youthfulness to those who ate p. 196 them, and the other was the Peace Stead, where, in a hall called Breithablik, Baldr...
Polynesian. Pe Le, Hawaii's Goddess Of Volcanic. Part 02 : PE-LE, HAWAII'S GODDESS OF VOLCANIC FIRE II Far did Hi-i-aka and her woman-companion journey, long were they upon the way, many dangers did they face and overcome, and at last they came to the village that had Lo-hi-au for its lord. "Why have you come?" said the people who entertained the worn...
Chinese. In The Beginning : p. 237 The Weaver Maiden and the Herdsman CHINESE IN THE BEGINNING. THE WEAVER MAIDEN AND THE HERDSMAN IN THE BEGINNING In the beginning there was "Yang-yin" which is light-darkness, heat-cold, dryness-moisture. Then that which was subtle went upward, and that which was gross tended downward;...
Introduction. Latin : LATIN It is important to separate the Greek and Latin mythologies: Iuppiter, though akin to, is not the same as Zeus; Iuno is not the same as Hera. Minerva is not the same as Athena, Neptune is not the same as Poseidon. "The Romans worshipped not gods, not "dei"," writes Miss Jane Harrison, "but...
Icelandic. Mimir : MIMIR Oithin went to Mimir to get a draught from the Well of Wisdom--the well that Mimir guarded. He knew well what price Mimir would ask for a draught from his well--he would ask for Oithin's right eye. It was a terrible price; very troubled was All-Father when the price that Mimir would ask w...
Introduction. Chinese : CHINESE There is not in China, as there is in India and there was in Greece, any dramatization of divine activities--at least, not in literature; there is no Chinese Hesiod, nor Homer, nor Vlmki. The Chinese people seem to have had no curiosity about their origin which could be thought...
Central American And Mexican. The Twin Heroes : THE TWIN HEROES AND THE LORDS OF XIBALBA In Xibalba, the land that the sun goes down into, the land whose Lords are the Lords of the Dead, there grew a tree which was a forbidden tree--none were permitted to approach it. The leaves of that tree were wide and dark; the fruits of it were round...
Roman. Numa The Law Giver : NUMA THE LAW-GIVER One who was born on the day on which the building of the city was begun was chosen to be king after Romulus. Numa was his name. At the time when the Romans and the Sabines took him to be king over them Numa had no mortal wife--a Goddess was his companion. By a spring of clear...
Persian. Jamshid The Resplendent : p. 41 Jamshd the Resplendent PERSIAN JAMSHD THE RESPLENDENT A time there was when the works of Angra Mainyu, the Evil One, no longer disturbed the world, and when pain and death were not known amongst men. That time lasted for a thousand years. It was while Jamshd the Resplendent sat up...
Roman. Pomona And Vertumnus : POMONA AND VERTUMNUS Once, when the kings of the Silvian House reigned over the Latin people, there lived a nymph whose name was Pomona. She never went near the springs, or lakes, or rivers, nor near the wild woods; she cared only for places where grew trees that were laden with fruits. She was no...
Egyptian. Re, His Going Down And Uprising : R, HIS GOING-DOWN AND UPRISING There were two brothers each of whom possessed an overmastering strength: the name of the first brother was Edfu, and the name of the second was Nefer-ka. Edfu was a soldier, and his strength was in his arms, and Nefer-ka was a scribe; he knew of spells that are...
Title Page : ORPHEUS MYTHS OF THE WORLD BY PADRAIC COLUM Illustrations By Boris Artzybasheff The Macmillan Company, New York [1930] Scanned , August 2004. John Bruno Hare, Redactor. This Text Is In The Public Domain Because It Was Not Renewed At The US Copyright Office In A Timely Manner As Required By Law...
Peruvian. The Llama Herder And The Virg : THE LLAMA-HERDER AND THE VIRGIN OF THE SUN There was a llama-herder, a young man who played a flute as he tended his flock; white llamas were in his flock, and many of them had their tender young lambs beside them. Near where he herded was the House of the Virgins of the Sun. Often those who were...
Introduction. Icelandic : ICELANDIC When we realize that in France, Britain, and Ireland, Christianity had been established for six hundred years before it was introduced into Iceland and the Scandinavian countries, we are aware of what a long lifetime the mythology of northern Europe had in comparison, let us say, with...
Central American And Mexican. Quetzalcoatl : QUETZALCOATL In Tollan dwelt Quetzalcoatl. And in Tollan all the arts and crafts that we know of were first practised, for Quetzalcoatl taught them to the people there. He taught them the smelting of silver and the clearing and setting of precious stones; he taught the craft of building with...
