Myths Collection

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

Endymion’s Eternal Sleep and the Obsessive Love of Selene

OriginGreek Mythology

This myth tells of the profound and haunting love between Selene, the Titan personification of the Moon, and a mortal shepherd named Endymion. To preserve his youth and beauty forever, Selene persuaded Zeus to place Endymion into an eternal, ageless slumber within a cave on Mount Latmus. There, she visits him every night, watching over his sleeping form as she traverses the night sky in her...

The Transformation of Glaucus of Anthedon

OriginGreek Mythology

Glaucus, a humble fisherman from the Boeotian city of Anthedon, discovered a magical herb that restored life to his catch. Driven by curiosity, he consumed the herb and was immediately seized by a divine transformation that compelled him to leap into the sea. After being purified by the elder deities Oceanus and Tethys, he was transformed into an immortal sea god with prophetic powers.

King Aun Sacrificing Nine of His Sons to Odin to Prolong His Life

OriginNorse Mythology

King Aun of Sweden, a ruler of the legendary Yngling dynasty, sought to evade the inevitability of death by striking a grim bargain with the god Odin. For every ten years of additional life granted to him, Aun sacrificed one of his ten sons to the All-Father, eventually living for two hundred years. By the time he prepared to sacrifice his last remaining son, he was so physically diminished...

Idunn Handing Out the Golden Apples of Immortality to the Gods

OriginNorse Mythology

Idunn is the Norse goddess who guards the golden apples of immortality, which keep the gods of Asgard eternally young. When the trickster Loki is forced to help the giant Thjazi kidnap her, the gods begin to age rapidly, losing their strength and vitality. Loki is eventually compelled to rescue her from the giant's realm of Jotunheim, restoring youth to the Aesir and securing their place as...

Thor Wrestling the Old Woman Elli, the Personification of Old Age

OriginNorse Mythology

Thor, the god of thunder, travels to the hall of the giant Utgard-Loki, where he is subjected to several impossible trials of strength and skill. The most humiliating of these challenges involves Thor wrestling an elderly nurse named Elli, only to find himself unable to defeat her. It is later revealed that Elli was the personification of Old Age, a force that no living thing, even a god, can...

Idunn and Her Apples of Youth Stolen by the Giant Thjazi

OriginNorse Mythology

When the trickster Loki is captured by the giant Thjazi, he bargains for his life by promising to deliver the goddess Idunn and her apples of immortality. This betrayal causes the gods of Asgard to age rapidly, forcing Loki to embark on a dangerous rescue mission to restore youth to the heavens. The myth highlights the vulnerability of the divine and the cunning nature of the Norse trickster.

Tithonus Granted Immortality but Transformed into a Cicada

OriginGreek Mythology

Tithonus, a handsome Trojan prince, was loved by Eos, the goddess of the dawn, who obtained for him the gift of immortality from Zeus. However, Eos forgot to ask for eternal youth, leading Tithonus to age indefinitely until his body withered away. Ultimately, he was transformed into a cicada, doomed to chirp eternally for the morning light.