Mythology myths and legends

Search by title and refine by origin, characters, tags, and sort order.

The Punishment of Sisyphus in Tartarus

🏛️ Greek MythologyAcrocorinthSisyphus • Zeus • Thanatos

Sisyphus, the clever and hubristic King of Corinth, was condemned by the gods for outsmarting death and betraying divine secrets. His eternal punishment in Tartarus involves pushing a massive boulder up a steep hill, only for it to roll back down just as it reaches the summit. This myth explores themes of mortality, the consequences of trickery, and the eternal struggle against the inevitable.

Ame-no-Tajikarao Throwing the Cave Door Across Japan Using His Immense Strength

⛩️ Japanese MythologyMount Togakushi, Nagano, JapanAme-no-Tajikarao • Amaterasu-Omikami • Ame-no-Uzume

When the sun goddess Amaterasu hid inside the Heavenly Rock Cave, plunging the entire universe into absolute darkness, the heavenly deities devised a plan to lure her out. The physically strongest kami, Ame-no-Tajikarao, stood concealed by the cavern's entrance, waiting for the perfect opportunity to act. When Amaterasu peeked out in curiosity, Tajikarao grabbed her hand, hauled her out, and...

Yu the Great Cleaving the Sanmenxia Gorge

🐉 Chinese MythologySanmenxia Gorge, Henan, ChinaYu the Great • The Divine Dragon • Gun

Yu the Great combats a catastrophic flood by redirecting the Yellow River. With the help of a divine dragon, he cleaves through the rocky Sanmenxia Gorge to allow the waters to flow freely to the sea.

Theseus’ Slaying of the Crommyonian Sow

🏛️ Greek MythologyCrommyon, Corinthia, GreeceTheseus • Phaea • Crommyonian Sow

During his heroic journey from Troezen to Athens, the young Theseus encountered the Crommyonian Sow, a monstrous wild boar that ravaged the countryside of Corinthia. This beast, often associated with an old woman named Phaea, represented one of the many deadly obstacles Theseus cleared to make the roads safe for travelers. By defeating the sow with his bare hands and sword, Theseus proved his...

The Hundred-Eyed Demon Lord Trapping Wukong with Blinding Golden Light

🐉 Chinese MythologyHuanghua Pavilion Proxy, Shaanxi, ChinaSun Wukong • Tang Sanzang • Zhu Bajie

While journeying to the West, the monk Tang Sanzang and his disciples are poisoned by a deceptive Daoist master who is actually the Hundred-Eyed Demon Lord. Sun Wukong engages the demon in a fierce battle, only to be trapped by a terrifying canopy of blinding golden light emitted from the demon's many eyes. It is only through the intervention of the Bodhisattva Pilanpo and a divine needle...

Kvasir’s Blood Brewed into Mead by the Malicious Dwarves

🪓 Norse MythologyVästergötland Caves, SwedenKvasir • Fjalar • Galar

After the divine war between the Æsir and the Vanir, the two groups of gods created the wise being Kvasir from their collective saliva as a symbol of peace. Kvasir traveled the world sharing his peerless knowledge until he was murdered by the treacherous dwarves Fjalar and Galar. The dwarves mixed Kvasir's blood with honey to brew the legendary Mead of Poetry, an elixir that grants the gift...

Sun Wukong Bravely Leaping Through the Waterfall to Find the Water Curtain Cave

🐉 Chinese MythologyMount Huaguo, Jiangsu, ChinaSun Wukong (The Stone Monkey) • The Monkey Tribe • The Jade Emperor

In the early days of his life on Mount Huaguo, the Stone Monkey accepts a challenge from his tribe to leap through a massive waterfall to discover its source. Behind the thundering cascade, he finds a mystical, fully-furnished cave that provides a perfect sanctuary for the monkey clan. By successfully returning and leading his people to this new home, he is crowned the Handsome Monkey King,...

The Chest Washing Ashore and Growing into a Massive Tamarisk Tree

🏺 Egyptian MythologyByblos PortOsiris • Isis • Set

After Osiris was trapped in a chest and cast into the sea by his brother Set, the chest washed ashore at Byblos and was encased within a giant tamarisk tree. Queen Astarte and King Malcander used the tree as a pillar in their palace, until Isis discovered it while searching for her husband. This pivotal moment in Egyptian mythology marks the transition of Osiris from an earthly king to the...

Ghatotkacha's Final Expansion

🕉️ Hindu MythologyKurukshetra, Haryana, IndiaGhatotkacha • Bhima • Hidimbi

During the fourteenth night of the Kurukshetra War, the half-Rakshasa warrior Ghatotkacha wreaked havoc on the Kaurava forces using his magical powers. Faced with total destruction, Karna used his ultimate weapon, the Vasavi Shakti, to kill him. In his final moments, Ghatotkacha expanded his body to a massive size, ensuring that his falling corpse would crush a vast portion of the enemy army.

The Monk Fahai Kidnapping Xu Xian and Hiding Him in the Jinshan Temple

🐉 Chinese MythologyJinshan Temple, Zhenjiang, ChinaXu Xian • Bai Suzhen • Fahai

Driven by a rigid belief that spirits and humans must never coexist, the powerful Buddhist monk Fahai abducts the young scholar Xu Xian and imprisons him within the Jinshan Temple. This act of spiritual interference forces Xu Xian's wife, the White Snake spirit Bai Suzhen, to wage a catastrophic war against the monastery. The ensuing battle between divine Buddhist magic and the elemental...