r/mythology

What cultural or symbolic origins might explain why the broom became associated with their image instead of another everyday object?

Saturnalia is, from my understanding, is like temporary return to conditions of the Golden Age that Saturn reigned over, which seems even more fitting if he is also the lord of the Isles of the Blessed.

Probably a total noob question, I know...

Did the average Joe who heard the story back then believe that the events actually took place? It's hard to imagine people thinking Beowulf could hold his breath for that long underwater, but maybe I just don't understand the minds of 8th-century folks. What context did people hear this story in? And how seriously did they take it?

Can I have some examples of humans being in romantic and sexual relationships with monsters in mythology? On the top of my head I can think of Zhu Bajie and his human wife from Journey to the west; Bajie is a ten foot tall pig monster while his wife is a human maiden he intended to marry, and his in-laws would've approved had they not learned that he's a pig monster. With his human wife he had a son, born after a 14 year long pregnancy.

I started writing a dark fantasy story about multiple pantheons coexisting in the same world, and I wanted recommendations for reliable sources to study. My idea is that the story will include the following mythologies: Greek, Egyptian, Norse, Celtic, and Japanese. In this case, the main antagonists of the story will be the Olympians. My idea is to start in the United States, showing how the Olympians are presented to the public: Aphrodite as an Instagram influencer, Ares as the owner of gym franchises, Hermes as the CEO of a delivery company, and so on, while deities like Hephaestus, Hecate, and Hestia remained faithful to their myths and traditions. After the story introduces the Olympians, the protagonist will take a trip to Greece to get some, let's say, allies to fight alongside her against the Olympians. For this, I wanted recommendations for reliable sources to read and choose who will be the protagonist's allies, who will be like an anti-heroine.

Note: In addition to Zeus being the main antagonist, I plan for Odin to have a role in this story alongside Thor. Furthermore, the protagonist will be a somewhat adolescent immortal who has already had contact with several important figures from various pantheons, which will allow for the inclusion of lesser-known pantheons like the Aztecs.

My enjoyment of movies and modern literature increases whenever I identify a connection to ancient literature. Has anyone else noticed similarities between Gilgamesh and Project Hail Mary, with regard to character archetypes, storyline, and general themes?

Without spoiling too much, this is a sample of what I saw:

• >!Stratt = powerful goddess figure, Inanna!<
• >!Grace = Gilgamesh seeking wisdom!<
• >!Rocky = the "wild man" Enkidu!<
• >!Petrova Line = serpent that must be slain!<
• >!Themes of friendship, courage, facing the unknown!<

I'd love to know what else you noticed!

I’m doing a school project and I need a perspective from someone who thinks she’s real and someone who thinks she isnt. thanks to anyone who responds!!!

Himiko governed through spiritual authority — hidden from public view, communicating through a single male intermediary, ruling a coalition that no male king before her could hold together.

She sounds mythological. She was real — documented by Chinese historians in 248 AD with a level of detail that suggests direct diplomatic contact.

What's stranger: Japan's own mythology seems to have absorbed and disguised her. Some scholars believe Yamato Totohimomoso Hime in the Kojiki is a fictionalized echo — a way of keeping her story while stripping her of her actual historical identity.

The victors wrote the history. The mythology kept the shape, but changed the name.

I made a video on this — the erasure, the evidence, and what the oldest chronicles couldn't quite hide.

Has anyone else noticed how many ancient cultures used the same technique — absorbing a defeated ruler's mythology while erasing their political identity?