One evening an old Cherokee Indian talked to his grandson about the inner battle in the soul of the people.
He said "My son, the battle is between two...
Myths & Legends of People
Did you know that the tradition of decorating the Christmas tree has its roots in an ancient Persian tradition that is all but forgotten today? Ancient Iranians used to decorate a cedar tree very...
Once upon a time long ago, a monkey, a rabbit, and a fox lived together as friends. During the day they frolicked on the mountain; at night they went back to the forest. This went on for some...
Tangata Manu is the half human half bird man that is a representative of the ruler deity of the bird man cult. Make Make in oceanic mythology, is the creator of man and the earth, who is also the...
In the wild, koi are cold water fish who gain strength by swimming against currents. It seems they have captured the imagination of fish fanciers for centuries. Many years ago, in a time before...
Demeter, the goddess of the crops and harvest, and Zeus, the king of the gods, had a daughter, Persephone. One day while Persephone was gathering wild flowers she was abducted by Hades, the god of...
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Before the world grew cynical and forgot the tales that tell the truth, three young sisters walked the wood. They soon came upon a large drab bird painfully gasping his last breaths, his long neck...
Once upon a time in the country of Japan there lived two frogs, one of whom made his home in a ditch near the town of Osaka, on the sea coast, while the other dwelt in a clear little stream which...
Atlas was one of the second-generation Titans. He personified the quality of endurance (atlaô). In one tradition, Atlas led the Titanes in a rebellion against Zeus and was condemned to...
For centuries, sailors around the world have told the legend of a cursed ghost ship, named The Flying Dutchman. The ship is cursed, and as such can never return to port. Since it has no place to...
According to legend, the Spanish heard of the Fountain of Youth in Bimini from the Arawaks in Hispaniola, Cuba, and Puerto Rico. The Caribbean islanders described a mythical land of Beimeni or...
The origins of El Dorado lie deep in South America. And like all enduring legends, the tale of El Dorado contains some scraps of truth. When Spanish explorers reached South America in the early...
The earliest surviving source for the legend of Lady Godiva is the Chronica of Roger of Wendover for the year 1057. He wrote that Godiva pleaded with her husband, Leofric, the Earl of Mercer and...
The Ravens in the Tower of London have an important part to play in England’s history. The legend of the Ravens in the Tower of London is so important to the people of England that a number of...
Pandora was given a box or a jar, called “pithos” in Greek. Gods told her that the box contained special gifts from them but she was not allowed to open the box ever. Then Hermes took her to...
According to the folk ballad of the acritic songs family, 45 masons and 60 apprentices, under the leadership of the Head Builder, were building a bridge, but its foundations would collapse each...
The most popular myth about the Mermaid is connected with Alexander the Great. According to the Alexander romance, a collection of legends concerning his exploits, composed in the 3rd century but...
Romulus and Remus were twin brothers. They were abandoned by their parents as babies and put into a basket that was then placed into the River Tiber. The basket ran aground and the twins were...
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In Nepal, some people believe in a legendary creature known as the Yeti. It lives high up on the glaciers of the Himalaya Mountains. Stories about this creature date back thousands of years. The...
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Bigfoot has been described as a large ape-like, hairy man beast standing 7-10ft tall in rural North America since the mid-19th century. However the legend seems to transcend this with native...
The Norse god Balder was the best loved of all the gods. His mother was Frigga, goddess of love and beauty. She loved her son so much that she wanted to make sure no harm would come to him. So she...
The first documented sighting of Nessie was in the year 565 when Saint Columba saved a swimmer from becoming its dinner. For nearly 1500 years following, the Loch Ness Monster had appeared in...
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Arthur was the first born son of King Uther Pendragon and heir to the throne. However these were very troubled times and Merlin, a wise magician, advised that the baby Arthur should be raised in a...
It was said that Quehualliu was the most handsome Indian of the tribe. He was always picking up flowers for Pasancana, the beautiful daughter of the chief. Together they learned how to walk and to play. They played in the most beautiful places of the mountain. One day when they were older, they fell in love. But P...
It was not often that the tortoise and the eagle met, for the one spent his days in the clouds and the other in the under a bush. However, when the eagle heard what a warm-hearted little fellow the tortoise was, he went to pay a call on him. The tortoise family showed such pleasure in his company and fed him so la...
When God created the horse he said to the magnificent creature: I have made thee as no other. All the treasures of the earth lie between thy eyes. Thou shalt carry my friends upon thy back. Thy saddle shall be the seat of prayers to me. And thou shalt fly without wings, and conquer without any sword. -The Koran. The Ar...
Once when a Lion was asleep a little Mouse began running up and down upon him; this soon wakened the Lion, who placed his huge paw upon him, and opened his big jaws to swallow him."Pardon, O King," cried the little Mouse: "forgive me this time, I shall never forget it: who knows but what I may be able to do you a...
In the United States and Canada, children traditionally leave Santa a glass of milk and a plate of cookies; in Britain and Australia, he is sometimes given sherry and mince pies instead. In Sweden, children leave rice porridge. In Ireland i...
God made the world, the trees, and the creeping things first, then he made one man and one woman, forming their bodies out of clay. Every night, after God completed his work and went to sleep, a great snake emerged and devoured the two images. This happened several times more. God was at his witÕs end. He wa...
The legend of Babbo Natale (Santa Claus) has existed in Italy mostly since the days of World War II. However, there is even a more ancient (and popular) Italian Christmas tradition that has its origins traced back to the 13th century: the legend of “La Befana”...Deriving from the word Epiphany (G...
Huang Di, the ancient Yellow Emperor, stood bravely at the head of his army of gods, bears, tigers, and leopards. At the other end of the battlefield loomed the oxen-horned giant Chi You, backed by his army of demons.Huang Di came to defend his imperial throne; Chi You came to demand it. Chi You sneezed loudly and a th...
Quetzalcoatl was striking to look at. He was tall and fair-skinned. His eyes were deep and his voice carried over many miles. He was the beloved, plumed serpent god, the god who had brought people learning, laws, and the ancient calendar, by which all might be revealed or ordained.Quetzalcoatl was the spirit of l...
One morning while at play, Hamut and his sister, Nekatu, two Egyptian children, found a baby crocodile. Each day they fed him and swam with him in the Nile River. One day Nekatu and Hamut spied a boat. They climbed aboard and hid themselves from the crew. By the next morning they were hundreds by miles fro...
The mother of the Aztec creation story was called "Coatlique", the Lady of the Skirt of Snakes. She was created in the image of the unknown, decorated with skulls, snakes, and lacerated hands. There are no cracks in her body and she is a perfect monolith (a totality of intensity and self-containment, yet her feat...
Sometimes the young and beautiful nymph Echo would distract and amuse Zeus' wife, Hera, with long and entertaining stories while Zeus took advantage of the moment to ravish the other mountain nymphs. When Hera discovered the trickery, she was so annoyed she punished the talkative Echo by taking away her voice, exce...
Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca represent the bright and dark aspects of the Creator. The earth herself is the nourisher of life; but she is also the burial ground of the dead. One purpose of this myth is to validate the Aztec custom of sacrificing live human hearts. The gods Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca brou...
Once upon a time, away up in the corner of the mountains, in a little cave, lived a tiger and her baby cub. She had brought for this baby, one day when she was out hunting, a little fox to be his playmate. The fox had a happy time and an easy one, for he didn't have to work or hunt, but played all day and the mother ti...
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