Questions tagged [mythology]

For questions about mythology, stories or beliefs about supernatural beings and events held to be true in some culture.

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I'm trying to remember a book I read about 11 years ago. This is a young adult fantasy book set in ancient Egypt

An adult fantasy book with Egyptian mythology. A mute jackal shapeshifter girl who gets her voice back eventually when she kisses a demigod and he was tortured after his parents threw him out. The ...
Sanri's user avatar
  • 101
7 votes
0 answers
141 views

What was the first work to portray the guardian of the Golden Fleece as a many-headed hydra?

At the climax of the mythical tale of Jason and the Argonauts' voyage to Colchis, Jason (with the help of the local priestess-princess Medea) steals the Golden Fleece from a sacred grove, where it ...
Buzz's user avatar
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-2 votes
2 answers
287 views

How can different pantheons coexist in the Marvel Universe? [closed]

In the Marvel Universe there exist Norse gods, Greek gods, and some other pantheons from different civilizations. But how is this possible? The myths of each culture imply the existence of only their ...
Влад Артюх's user avatar
7 votes
3 answers
1k views

What's the first example of fairies being divided into Summer and Winter Courts?

Modern fiction about fairies often describes them as being divided into Summer and Winter Courts, sometimes Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter Courts. A lot of people seem to believe that this is an ...
A. B.'s user avatar
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1 vote
1 answer
120 views

What are these creatures on the cover of Kane Chronicles: The Throne of Fire?

What are these two creatures? I feel that they could be either tjesu heru, Sure enough, Menshikov's staff began to writhe and grow. Great, I thought. Another serpent. But something was wrong with ...
Righter's user avatar
  • 3,111
9 votes
1 answer
609 views

Which of the Eternals were based on mythological characters?

Many of the Eternals have names that are very similar to classic mythological characters. This is even called out and explained directly for a couple of them: Thena was the Greek goddess Athena, and ...
David K's user avatar
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10 votes
2 answers
623 views

Do the Norse gods exist in Star Trek?

An episode of the original Star Trek, Who Mourns for Adonais, establishes that the Greek gods exist in the Star Trek universe. If the Greek gods exist, then that makes me wonder if the Norse gods do ...
Robert Columbia's user avatar
6 votes
1 answer
482 views

What are these creatures in Shang-Chi?

Shang-Chi: Legend of the 10 Rings features a variety of classical Chinese mythical creatures. However I did not recognise the antagonist "soul sucker" creatures. I have no example images, ...
Kitsune's user avatar
  • 1,425
10 votes
1 answer
98 views

Is there any fantasy backing to a viper turning into a magical horse, as shown in King's Quest II?

In the original version of King's Quest II, there's a puzzle that involves throwing a leather bridle onto a viper and turning it into a magical horse, which King Graham then gets a poison-neutralizing ...
GGMG-he-him's user avatar
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10 votes
2 answers
443 views

Science fiction/Mythology story/author that may have been in the back of a Michael Moorcock book

Many many years ago (over 20?) I was standing in a Walden Books and I flipped through this book and found an excerpt from some other book or story. What I can remember is there was a warrior that was ...
Carlos Mendieta's user avatar
2 votes
1 answer
227 views

What was the inspiration for the diminishing of the elves, and separation of their realm from the world?

An important theme in Tolkien lore is the separation of Valinor from Middle-earth, and the subsequent diminishing of the Elves. In more recent novels, these themes appear again, for example, in The ...
kutschkem's user avatar
  • 1,755
6 votes
1 answer
307 views

Is the "I Ya" myth in Xenocide based on a real Chinese myth?

In Xenocide by Orson Scott Card, Jane tells the myth of I Ya to Qing-jao to ask her if she is a slave similar to the character of this myth. "Remember the story of I Ya, the great cook," ...
dlq's user avatar
  • 163
3 votes
1 answer
191 views

Neil Gaiman story: Caves that lead everywhere?

I read a story or a book by Neil Gaiman that I believe was set in Norse mythology but I don't think was his actual book "Norse Mythology," although I could be wrong about this. Whatever it was, he ...
Scott's user avatar
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39 votes
2 answers
9k views

In American Gods, is there another version of the gods in their native lands?

In chapter 6, Wednesday says to the council of old gods, When the people came to America they brought us with them. So what happened to the lands that they left? Do they no longer have gods? Or ...
Vigneswara Prabhu's user avatar
3 votes
0 answers
310 views

Folklore and mythology in The Witcher's bestiary [closed]

The Witcher's world has a very rich bestiarium. For example the arts of a vampire: Higher Vampire Alpor Katakan Moola Bruxa Nosferat Ekimma Fleder Garkain Plumard Or the Necrophages: Abaya ...
Viktor Be's user avatar
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4 votes
0 answers
1k views

What are the Djinn from Clash of the Titans (2010) based on?

I was watching Clash of the Titans (2010) and I really liked the Djinn, I thought the idea of bark skinned desert sorcerers was really cool and wanted to read more about it. I know Djinn is usually ...
user122337's user avatar
15 votes
6 answers
8k views

Is there a real-world mythological counterpart to WoW's "kill your gods for power" theme?

In World of Warcraft, various groups seen trying to kill or sacrifice their own ostensible "gods" to gain power. Generally, this is associated with the trolls and their Loa, which I understand to be ...
kingledion's user avatar
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9 votes
1 answer
446 views

Curator working late discovers the night watchman is the vandal and the Egyptian gods are real

I’d love to identify a short story I read in an anthology that must’ve been printed in the 80s or 90s. The main character is a museum curator and she’s working late studying a statue of an Egyptian ...
user avatar
8 votes
1 answer
270 views

How integral is legend to the Tolkien Legendarium itself?

Is an essential aspect of Tolkien's creation about legends having their own legends? I ask because for me one of the things that makes Arda so compelling and believable as fantasy is that it is a ...
NickM's user avatar
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3 votes
1 answer
138 views

What was the epic poem referenced in An Artificial Night by Seanan McGuire?

Near the end of An Artificial Night, book three in the October Daye series starring October "Toby" Daye, towards the end of the book, she is a prisoner of Blind Michael and the Wild Hunt. The way ...
LemonFire's user avatar
  • 469
1 vote
1 answer
138 views

Why did the author choose 3 min 4 sec to be stolen by the Sídhe?

In Peadar Ó Guilín's the Call series, why did the author choose for the Sídhe to steal teenagers away to the Grey Land for exactly 3 minutes and 4 seconds? Was this length of time, or proportion of a ...
MikeC's user avatar
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22 votes
1 answer
10k views

Japanese Wedding Chant from Ghost in the Shell

What more is known about the Japanese mythical and folk origins of the Wedding Chant in Making of Cyborg and Reincarnation, the main theme songs of Ghost in the Shell? Making of Cyborg is the amazing ...
Johan88's user avatar
  • 333
7 votes
0 answers
5k views

What does the Statue of Extra Liberty represent?

In this interview with show runner Patrick Somerville, we have: In one standout absurdist moment in this wonky New York, a tour guide points out a winged "Statue of Extra Liberty" across the water (...
ThePopMachine's user avatar
18 votes
3 answers
7k views

Why do Marvel prefer Norse Gods and DC the Greek pantheon?

I haven't read a lot of comics but Marvel seems to use only the Norse gods (Thor, Odin, Hel, Loki...) and DC seem to use the Greek gods (Zeus, Hercule, Ares...) I might be wrong in thinking that ...
L. Faros's user avatar
  • 359
9 votes
1 answer
189 views

Literary fantasy epic about a faun who spent quite a long stretch of time as an inanimate statue, the "Stone Faun"?

I'm trying to recall the name of a book I read in the mid-90s. It was probably new at that time. It was a lengthy, literary, philosophical minded fantasy about a faun who spent quite a long stretch ...
Chris Sunami's user avatar
  • 2,172
11 votes
1 answer
513 views

French folklore: giants trying to raise a ladder into Heaven to overthrow God

In Frédéric Mistral's epic poem, Mirèio, is the following short passage (Canto VIII, "La Crau", stanzas 25-28, English translation by Harriet Waters Preston): Then was revealed La Crau, the ...
S.T. Veje's user avatar
  • 440
4 votes
1 answer
630 views

Trying to find name of fantasy book with characters possibly called Max and Daniel [duplicate]

This is my first time asking a question here so sorry if I mess up anything. I've been trying to find the title of a fantasy book that I heard on Audio CD 5-10 years ago, so my memories of it may be ...
royboy64's user avatar
3 votes
1 answer
660 views

What is the first use of "glamour" to describe magic? [closed]

There are a number of stories about magical beings, typically the Fae, that are said to possess "glamour" which gives them a variety of powers. Typically these abilities are somehow illusory but can ...
Forrest Venable's user avatar
5 votes
2 answers
689 views

What are Gog and Magog?

In the Season 13 episode, Good Intentions, Dean and Castiel face off against Gog and Magog. Unlike other biblical figures (Nephilim, Cain etc), the origin of this pair is questionable. They are ...
geewhiz's user avatar
  • 5,191
4 votes
3 answers
11k views

What would you call the child of a god and a demigod?

So if the child of a god and mortal is a demigod, and the children of demigods are called legacies (or demigods), then what would the child of a god and demigod be called? They would be three quarter ...
Jade's user avatar
  • 41
0 votes
1 answer
1k views

What's the difference between Shamballa and Agartha? [closed]

What's the difference between Shamballa and Agartha? I read some articles on the internet about fantasy worlds and I came across these two worlds. I really can't tell the difference between them as ...
Yves LaFayette's user avatar
11 votes
1 answer
3k views

Did wizards of the coast invent aasimars?

I am am having problems finding aasimars mentioned in any other way outside of dungeons and dragons. Did Wizards of the Coast (or TSR whatever) invent them, or are they based on any mythological ...
Andrey's user avatar
  • 1,648
3 votes
1 answer
212 views

Mythological/Fantasy Fiction Young Adult Novel

Read this book about 15 years ago or so but all I can remember about it that it was on a fictional planet. Had a map in the book that was triangular or diamond shape with the top part of the diamond ...
Riley Hall's user avatar
10 votes
1 answer
9k views

Is the monster Godzilla based on an old myth/legend?

In the 1998 Roland Emmerich-directed film Godzilla,* a Japanese sailor who survived an attack by the monster early in the film identifies the creature as "Gojira." Later in the film, news reporter ...
Spar10 Leonidas's user avatar
-6 votes
1 answer
155 views

Where in history do Dryads come from?

I believe it's Norse, but can't seem to find a definite answer on the web. Any help with this would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! P.S: I heard once they are a sister-spirit of Banshees, is there ...
Lord Greatsword's user avatar
9 votes
2 answers
1k views

What we we know about the source of the light in the Two Trees of Valinor?

The sun and the moon were created from the light of the trees of light, Laurelin and Telperion, after they had been destroyed; some parts of them survived the destruction and could thus be used for ...
Cerberus's user avatar
  • 363
1 vote
0 answers
57 views

where in history does the significance to silver come into play as a defense against werewolves and vampires\\ [duplicate]

All myths come from somewhere, so where did the notion that silver affects werewolves come from? Of wolf-based lore coming from France was there anything during that time that could have contributed ...
stepasidemortal's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
76 views

Are these mythological references in Dire: Time?

In Dire: Time, the eponymous Doctor Dire winds up transported through time and, among her adventures, frees the Norse god Loge (or, given he's the father of Fenris, possible this Loge) from ...
FuzzyBoots's user avatar
  • 222k
8 votes
1 answer
887 views

Does Emmet's name imply that he is a golem?

The protagonist of The Lego Movie (2014) is named Emmet Brickowski. Like most of the other characters in the film, Emmet is a Lego figure but seems to be able to move independently, or so we are led ...
tardigrade's user avatar
  • 3,198
20 votes
2 answers
2k views

Why don't Thor's goats appear in the MCU?

If I remember correctly, Thor in Nordic mythology has his hammer and his two flying goats, which can recreate themselves from just a single bone. Why doesn't he have the goats in the Marvel movies? Is ...
Humbalomba's user avatar
11 votes
8 answers
5k views

In the Dresden Files, why does Nicodemus Archleone find Mouse so startling/threatening?

The Setup Nicodemus is a fearless sociopath with millenia of accumulated knowledge, a nearly flawless dueling record, and the support of Anduriel, who can suppress magic at will, gain situational ...
Dana Maher's user avatar
3 votes
0 answers
2k views

Effect of Angels amputating wings? [closed]

In several movies, series and books, Angels living on earth have amputated their wings - or had them amputated: The Hush book-series by Becca Fitzpatrick Lucifer comic-series Lucifer TV-series (...
Baard Kopperud's user avatar
5 votes
1 answer
2k views

Mako Mermaids/H2O Just Add Water: Why do mermaids fear cats?

I've been watching "Mako Mermaids" - a Netflix Original series... a sort-of sequel to "H2O - Just Add Water" (which I believe Disney-channel aired). Anyway, a sort of running joke in the series, is ...
Baard Kopperud's user avatar
24 votes
4 answers
4k views

What is the first known work of fantasy or legend to feature a magic sword?

Where in known fiction entailing magic—including written and oral forms predating the novel—did the concept of a magical sword first appear? Answers should clearly distinguish between any magic of the ...
Lexible's user avatar
  • 21.2k
3 votes
1 answer
1k views

Book series, Reincarnation, Different Gods and Goddess?

I remember reading this novel in high school (around 2010-2014). Chosen kids are transported through time into a post-apocalypse world where humans cannot have babies anymore. Each kid represents a ...
Dense's user avatar
  • 33
7 votes
1 answer
321 views

Olympian Gods in Modern Times

I'm trying to find the title of a book that I read many years ago. It's set in the 1920s (IIRC) and deals with the Olympian gods coming to live in New York. There are also leprechauns. The story is ...
Matthew Baugh's user avatar
20 votes
3 answers
4k views

Was the ending of The Return of the King inspired by some other story?

At the end of Lloyd Alexander's "The Chronicles of Prydain" series, all of the people with magic left Prydain for some other place, leaving the world to be ruled by men. I thought this was ...
BraveFoot's user avatar
  • 341
2 votes
1 answer
490 views

Does Peter Pan have the fountain of youth?

We all know that Peter Pan makes his home in the land where you'll never grow up. However, he probably didn't start there, and he likely won't end there. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, ...
DieFlederMaus's user avatar
19 votes
1 answer
798 views

Does eating a monk really make you immortal?

In Journey to the West demons and evil doers frequently capture the monk Xuanzang with the intent of eating him. They are said to believe that it will grant immortality and/or cleanse you of your most ...
Drew's user avatar
  • 1,351
6 votes
1 answer
2k views

Who is Oberon in the Dresden-verse?

The names Titania and Mab both come to us from Shakespeare, through A Midsummer Night's Dream and Romeo and Juliet, respectively. Both are described as queen of the faeries and the consort of Oberon, ...
Mason Wheeler's user avatar