Your favourite Myth (legend)

[Amarantine]

I wonder what is your favourite myth? If this or similar thread was before, please delete it.

I like mythology and one of my favourite is Myth about Argonauts and quest for the Golden Fleece.

I will not post all the myth just a link, becouse you probably all know the legend.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argonauts#Story

[Beorn]

Absolutely love the tales of Jason and the Argonauts, and have always adored reading the tales from the Greeks and the Romans, whether it be the great Achilles or the valiant Horatio Cocles, or my favourite to ensure I slept with one eye open as a child; the Minotaur and the labyrinth.

I loved to read the tales of the Celts, Norse and the Anglo-Saxons, with the near God like antics of Cú Chulainn or how the mighty Thor would roam and kill giants and cast down his great hammer, and also the tale of Beowulf who slayed the great Grendel and his mother, but all of these paled into nothing compared to the great tales of King Arthur.

The whole tales from the moment Arthur is conceived to the moment he dies are all tales I could read and read till the day I die and never tire of them, but my exceptional favourites are Gawain and the Green Giant and Tristan and Iseult.

[Amarantine]

Oh King Arthur is one of my favourite, too.

King Arthur was the son of Uther Pendragon and Igraine. Igraine was the wife to Duke Gorlois of Cornwall when she conceived Arthur. Through Merlin's magic, Uther was transformed to look exactly like her husband. Uther made love to Igraine. When Gorlois was killed, Uther immediately married Igraine.

According to Geoffrey, Uther and Igraine were parents of King Arthur and a daughter named Anna, who married King Lot of Orkney. Chretien de Troyes' introduces Morgan le Fay as the sister of King Arthur.

In Gerald of Wales Tour of Wales (1188), he has Morgan as Arthur's cousin.

Malory credits King Arthur with three half-sisters: Morgawse, Elaine (Blasine) and Morgan le Fay. Morgawse had married King Lot of Orkney, Elaine (Blasine) was married to King Nentres of Garlot, and Morgan was wife of King Urien of Gorre, brother of Lot.

Most souces do not ascribe any children to King Arthur and his wife Guinevere. But Chretien de Troyes' gives a son Lohot (or Loholt) fathered by King Arthur, but the mother being Lisanor. Lohot was one of the Knights of the Round Table. Lohot was also one of the knights captured by the lord of Dolorous Guard.

What kind of language was in 12th century in Wales and England? What do you think?

[Beorn]

What kind of language was in 12th century in Wales and England? What do you think?

The Welsh were speaking Welsh and the English were speaking English. You must also remember that Cornwall and the Cornish were still predominately speaking their own language, Kernowek, at this point also.

Quite clearly the tales of King Arthur descend from the culture of the Welsh and Cornish Celts although some may say, (rightly or wrongly) that the Western English have just as much claim to their rightful king ;)

[Lyfing]

Balder's myths (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baldr) are my favorite.

http://i39.tinypic.com/300woxy.jpg

Later,
-Lyfing

[Óttar]

The buffalo-asura (malevolent spirit) Mahisa has been granted many powers by the gods due to his spiritual austerities. He becomes so powerful that he threatens to destroy the world. The gods go to the goddess Durga begging Her to defeat him so that the world can be saved. The goddess Durga has all the powers of the gods combined, so she is depicted with many arms each holding one of the gods' weapons, i.e. the discus of Vishnu, the trident of Shiva, the noose of Ganesh, Indra's mace etc.

She manifests an army of goddesses including the dark goddess Kali from her third eye. Durga, with Her lion mount, strikes and slashes the buffalo demon Mahisa. As Mahisa is about to die, he looks up at the goddess, and before he perishes, She tells him that She will grant him a request before he dies. Mahisa then says "Verily, I ask that I may never be seperated from thee.", and so Durga grants him this request, telling him that he shall never be seperated from Her, and that many times when people see an image of the goddess Durga, there they shall see Mahisa under Her feet.

There is an analogous idea in Catholicism. There is a verse in Genesis where God curses the serpent, saying "And He shall put enmity between you and the woman, and she shall crush your head, and you her heal."

^ When the bible was being translated out of Greek and Hebrew into Latin the word "she" was originally "he", but due to the Latin word ipsa the original was mistranslated as "she." Due to the Roman Church's excessive love of the Virgin (along with the fact that having a feminine object of veneration in the church is an absolute necessity, and the fact that ancient goddess cults were HUGE sources of revenue cleverly co-opted by the Church) the verse has never been clarified and corrected.

Both allegories to me represent the dissolution of the imperfect and mortal ego in ultimate Union with the Divine Essence.

Verily, I am a serpent, and I eagerly await my Mistress' heel.

[Cato]

To name a few:

The Saga of Hrolf Kraki.
The Illiad and the Odyssey.
The Aeneid.
Posthomerica.
Hesiod's Theogony.
The Epic of Gilgamesh.
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight.
The Death of Arthur.
Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
Enuma Elish.

[Brynhild]

To name but a few:

Death of Baldur
Brynhild and Sigurd
Cu Chullain and the feast of Bricriu
Dierdre and the sons of Usnach
Tristan and Isolt
The seven deeds of the sons of Tuireann
anything with Lugh and the Morrigan
The Iliad and Odyssey
Jason and the Argonauts
Death of Osiris
Any tale of Thor and Loki, as they had a lot of adventures! (My favourite is how Thor dressed as Freyja in order to fool the giant Thrym and win back his hammer)

There are tons of them. I remember as a kid in school learning of the Greek and Egyptian tales and acquired a lifelong passion for myths ever since.

[Cato]

Any tale of Thor and Loki, as they had a lot of adventures! (My favourite is how Thor dressed as Freyja in order to fool the giant Thrym and win back his hammer)


The tale where the two visit Utgard-Loki is very enjoyable. :D

[Thorum]

Santa Klaus

http://www.dogpile.com/clickserver/_iceUrlFlag=1?rawURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwzuy1.ask.com%2F r%3Ft%3Dp%26d%3Dsynus%26s%3Difs3%26c%3Dif3i%26l%3D dir%26o%3D0%26sv%3D0a5c4325%26ip%3D47b091a6%26id%3 DF688B6C05783FB7EDA1209E8384B8582%26q%3Dsanta%2Bcl aus%26p%3D1%26qs%3D121%26ac%3D3%26g%3D001dLQfc3d2q WH%26en%3Dpi%26io%3D1%26b%3Dimg%26tp%3Dd%26ec%3D16 %26pt%3D%26ex%3D%26url%3D%26u%3Dhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.b nr-art.com%2Fsanta%2Fimages%2Fsantaclaus.jpg&0=&1=0&4=67.63.50.146&5=71.176.145.166&9=06b1b02afab04eb08de8bab82bf6c901&10=1&11=info.dogpl&13=search&14=239125&15=main-title&17=1&18=2&19=0&20=0&21=1&22=FPTnxJoA3E4%3D&23=0&40=X2vUfBj01INLvxQOM6s%2BLQ%3D%3D&_IceUrl=true


Tomten (Jultomten)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/63/Julbocken_1912.jpg/490px-Julbocken_1912.jpg (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/Julbocken_1912.jpg)


Great Pumpkin (Halloween)

http://www.dogpile.com/clickserver/_iceUrlFlag=1?rawURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebsqart.com% 2FArt%2F125%2F13823%2FTheGreatPumpkin_275_275.jpg&0=&1=0&4=67.63.50.146&5=71.176.145.166&9=3cb02beac8da46b68d6cbab82bf6c901&10=1&11=info.dogpl&13=search&14=372380&15=main-title&17=19&18=10&19=0&20=0&21=19&22=JzBTphK5E4M%3D&23=0&40=sy7XDl8ky1E6fCayLaQ0hQ%3D%3D&_IceUrl=true

Shows you how far advanced my intellect is, no? :)

[Laudanum]

I love The Saga of the Volsungs. :)

[Cato]

I also like the legendary yarns in Livy's History of Rome, especially the stories about Lars Porsena and Horatio Cocles:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lars_Porsenna

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Horatius_Cocles

The biblical stories of Samson make for good and amusing heroism too, especially the bit where he kills 1,000 Philistines with the jackbone of a donkey.

[Amarantine]

I love The Saga of the Volsungs. :)

The link is here>http://omacl.org/Volsunga/

[Treffie]

Anything from the Mabinogion :thumb001:

http://www.britainexpress.com/Myths/Mabinogion.htm

[Elveon]

The Iliad (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iliad)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b4/Head_Odysseus_MAR_Sperlonga.jpg/177px-Head_Odysseus_MAR_Sperlonga.jpg


Hyperborea (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyperborea)


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f4/PeriplusAncientMap.jpg/300px-PeriplusAncientMap.jpg

[Tabiti]

A local fairytale:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/6749816/The-Three-Brothers-and-the-Golden-Apple

[Laudanum]

The link is here>http://omacl.org/Volsunga/

I have the book.:)

[Groenewolf]

I love The Saga of the Volsungs. :)

Do you have the translation done by Otten?

[Laudanum]

Do you have the translation done by Otten?

No, mine is by Jesse L. Byock.

[Groenewolf]

No, mine is by Jesse L. Byock.

Dutch or English? And the saga of the Volsungen is one of my favorite big Saga's as well.

[Laudanum]

Dutch or English? And the saga of the Volsungen is one of my favorite big Saga's as well.

It's in English. In which language do you have it? Dutch?

[Groenewolf]

It's in English. In which language do you have it? Dutch?

Yes, the translation (http://www.bol.com/nl/p/boeken/de-saga-van-de-volsungen/666763726/index.html) I have is a Dutch one.

[Laudanum]

Yes, the translation (http://www.bol.com/nl/p/boeken/de-saga-van-de-volsungen/666763726/index.html) I have is a Dutch one.

I'm not really such a fan of hardcover books, however, that doesn't really matter. As long as the text inside is good it's fine.;)

I have this one : http://www.bol.com/nl/p/boeken-engels/the-saga-of-the-volsungs/1001004000928916/index.html

[Osweo]

The Physicians of Myddfai is a favourite of mine, along with its North Welsh parallels involving a similar Lake-Bride.

http://www.hiraeth.com/alan/misc/gott-nov97/myddfai.html

I guess the idea of beautiful fairy maidens bewitching deserving young men appeals to me, somehow... ;):P

[qwero]

My favorite legend is about Rose of Turaida

Nowadays many newly-married couples visit the grave of Turaida’s Rose and lay flowers there to honour her true love and show respect to her fidelity. Turaida’s Rose has become a symbol of all lovers.

Full legend You can read here (http://qwerto.com/ring-with-rose-p-42.html)

[Piparskeggr]

I'd have to say my favorites are the social myths, which bind us into communities...everyone being equal, in example.

But for something in the realm of Fictional-Factual Myth and Legend; anything Robin Hood.

[Cato]

Beowulf, Iliad, Odyssey, Aeneid, Gilgamesh, Hrolf Kraki, the yarns in the Bible.

[Liffrea]

Beowulf, I enjoy the scholarship as much as the work itself, its pre-Christian elements have been recognised for a long time now but I suspect there are hidden depths yet to it. I like to compare the concept of the Germanic hero in Beowulf and the Norse texts with the Greek hero, similar but subtly different.

From the Icelandic-Norse material all of the primarily Odinic poems. Odin’s rune song particularly as well as his winning of the mead from Suttung. The theme of both Odin’s and Loki’s tests of the various powers, their similar methods yet different aims and agendas is enthralling despite the probable fact that Modern English is clumsy when translating the Old Icelandic. Grimnir’s Sayings stands out the most representing the often harsh reality of inviting Odin into your mind.

From the Greek, the Promethean has to take it. Aeschylus’ Prometheus Bound is an intriguing play, both for his defiance of Zeus and aid of humanity but also the might have been of Achilles that is hinted at. Prometheus is a figure I have devoted some time to studying (and still do).

I’m not overly familiar with Celtic myth but I do have an interest in Lugh and the Sons of Tuirenn stands out from works I’m acquainted with in being far from the hippy-dippy tree hugger nonsense that is often ascribed to things Celtic, this work could pass into Old Norse or Old English literature without to much trouble.

Sir Gawain and The Green Knight is about as far as I go into Arthurian myth before I develop a stomach pain, doesn't sit with me well at all.

[Vasconcelos]

As a southerner I've had mostly contact (via-school) with greek mythology* and legends, so my vote goes for the Iliad and Odyssey. I'll also add Phaethon for personal** and morality reasons.


* -and being a Philhellenist
**-my first name

[Pallantides]

The story of Harald Fairhair and the Saami woman Snøfrid, it illustrates the Nordic man's love for Lappish poontang.:D



They also had children who supposedly ruled in parts of south Norway, wich might be an indicator that there were infact Norse/Saami mixed Jarls and Vikings.

[Liffrea]

How could I have forgotten our modern mythographer J.R.R. Tolkien.

[MrsNglund]

My favourite myth's are Greek one's. The one I like the most is Prometheus (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prometheus).

[Caeruleus]

The myth of Sisyphus. I also like the legend of Siegfried and the myth of Perun and Veles.

[Logan]

http://wwwdelivery.superstock.com/WI/223/1746/PreviewComp/SuperStock_1746-1158.jpg

http://www.artmagick.com/images/content/cowper/hi/cowper15.jpg

[Thunderkin]

I would say the one where Thor dresses as Freyja to get Mjolnir back.
Because the idea of Thor in a dress and murderering everyone at a Jotnar wedding is one of the most hilarious thing I can imagine from the Ancient World.

[Arminus]

you and I should talk about germanic and hindu myth together

[Rudel]

Besides the tales of Rome and Greece that I learned like everybody else, I'm myself much in love with French mythology, that is the sum of the literary gests (the Song of Roland, the Four Sons of Aymon, the Gest of Garin etc. echoing Merovingian and Carolingian times), the local folk tales that mix ancient (not necessaraly pagan, not everything has to be religious) and Christian references, the fairy tales known by all, and all the sprinkled pieces of the past that have been mythologized here and there.
Even the works of Rabelais fit the bill.

I'm widly indifferent to the world Germanic tales and sagas or the Irish ones. It's not my civilization, it doesn't appeal to me.
I grew up where such rock was broken by the hoof of Charlemagne's horse, where such saint had his head cut off then carried by an eagle, where such wood harbored some wimsical or cruel beast, where such giant was defeated by a great knight etc.
The mythologic figures of my childhood, due to my birth, were Charlemagne, Joan of Arc and Saint Nicolas. Not bloody Thor.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/4filsAymon-XIVe.jpg

[Rædwald]

Death of Baldr

[Mortimer]

Nibelungen

[StonyArabia]

Bedouin mythology

[Prisoner Of Ice]

Existence of nordicists as an explanation for anything greeks don't like.

[gültekin]

i like the Nord Caucasians Nart Myth. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nart_saga http://iccs.synthasite.com/nart-epos.php
Greeks have some characters here taken, and mixed them with homosexuality ,incesty and created their own mythology

[Rudel]

i like the Nord Caucasians Nart Myth. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nart_saga http://iccs.synthasite.com/nart-epos.php
Greeks have some characters here taken, and mixed them with homosexuality ,incesty and created their own mythology

Those are shared Indo-European references, they were not "taken" by the Greeks.

[Also]

The Phoenix (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phoenix_(mythology)). I like the parallel between the reborn of the phoenix and the ressurection of Christ Jesus.

[gültekin]

Those are shared Indo-European references, they were not "taken" by the Greeks.
Nart myth is older then Greek mythology. yes, and they taken like Prometheus - Nesren or Nesrenjake, Zeus- Shible etc. make a research budy

[Rudel]

Nart myth is older then Greek mythology. yes, and they taken like Prometheus - Nesren or Nesrenjake, Zeus- Shible etc. make a research budy
1. The written Greek corpus is much older than the Ossetian one, as it's been collected very recently.
2. Those are shared motives that most likely origined within the same group, there's not one that took to the other. It doesn't work like this.
3. I've actually red Dumézil, who happens to be referenced in the wiki article you linked and who mostly founded comparative mythology.

[gültekin]

1. The written Greek corpus is much older than the Ossetian one, as it's been collected very recently.
2. Those are shared motives that most likely origined within the same group, there's not one that took to the other. It doesn't work like this.
3. I've actually red Dumézil, who happens to be referenced in the wiki article you linked and who mostly founded comparative mythology.

1. im not talking about only frome Ossetians. Circassians are much older folk as than. greeks texts is older, but that's not mean storys is greek origin
2. internet have not much result about that. the best way , buy the books and do something effortless and visit the librarys.

besides, explain this to me, for Prometheus story,

Where are the big high cruel terribly rugged mountains in Greece, and great eagles can fly over it?

1. Greek colonization in Nord Caucasia its on 5th century BC.
1. Greek traveler Heredotes talking about Circassians as SUCHA on 5th century BC.
1. Aiskhylos has writing Prometheus story on 5th century BC

[Hithaeglir]

Orpheus and Evridiki.

[Linebacker]

Legend of Hercules.

[Kalimtari]

(organized) religions

[TheBlondeSalad]

I love the myth of Cupid and Psyche :)