WORLD
Explore Myths, Gods and Legends from Around the World
Stories of gods, heroes, monsters and legendary worlds from every culture
Kyllikki
Kyllikki is a human heroine of the Finnish and Karelian oral-poetry tradition, best known as the wife of Lemminkäinen in the Kalevala. She is not a goddess, spirit or supernatural creature. Her story belongs to the cycle…
Sigurd
Sigurd is one of the greatest heroes of Norse and wider Germanic legend. Known as Sigurðr in Old Norse and as Siegfried in medieval German tradition, he is celebrated for killing the dragon Fáfnir, acquiring a hoard of c…
Manannán Mac Lir
Manannán Mac Lir is one of the most prominent supernatural figures in Irish mythology. His name is commonly translated as “Manannán, son of Lir,” and he is strongly associated with the sea, the Isle of Man, and the other…
Louhi
Louhi is one of the most important supernatural figures in the Kalevala, the nineteenth-century Finnish epic compiled from older oral poetry. She is chiefly portrayed as the powerful mistress of Pohjola, a mysterious nor…
Aloadae
The Aloadae were Otus and Ephialtes, gigantic twin brothers in Greek mythology. Their name means the “sons of Aloeus,” although several ancient traditions identify Poseidon rather than Aloeus as their biological father. …
Agnostos-theos
Agnostos-theos is the Greek expression for “the unknown god” or “an unknown god.” It is associated chiefly with ancient Athens and with the religious and intellectual world of the Greek-speaking Mediterranean under Roman…
Cassandra
Cassandra is a Trojan princess and prophetess in Greek mythology, best known for foreseeing catastrophe while being unable to persuade anyone to believe her. Daughter of King Priam of Troy, she belongs to the cycle of st…
Africus
Africus was the Roman personification and name of the south-west wind. In Roman geographical and literary usage, Africus could simply mean “African,” but as a wind-name it referred to a current blowing from the south-wes…
Nyambe
Nyambe is the supreme creator figure in the traditional religious thought of the Lozi people of western Zambia, especially in the cultural region historically known as Barotseland. He is generally described as the maker …
Nyame
Nyame is the supreme creator and sky deity in many Akan religious traditions of West Africa, especially among Akan-speaking peoples in present-day Ghana and parts of Côte d’Ivoire. Akan religion is not based on one unive…
Nyami Nyami
Nyami Nyami is a powerful river spirit associated with the Zambezi River and with the BaTonga people of southern Zambia and northern Zimbabwe. In English-language writing, the figure is often called the “Zambezi River Go…
Nyankopon
Nyankopon is a name for the supreme divine power in Akan religious traditions of West Africa, especially among Akan-speaking peoples in present-day Ghana and parts of Côte d’Ivoire. The name is also written Nyankɔpon or,…
Kitsune
Kitsune are foxes in Japanese mythology, folklore and religious tradition. The word kitsune normally means “fox” in Japanese, but in stories it often refers to a fox with exceptional intelligence, supernatural powers and…
Kojin
Kojin, more accurately romanised as Kōjin, is a Japanese kami associated chiefly with fire, the hearth, cooking, household protection and the productive life of the community. The name is usually written 荒神, meaning some…
Konohanasakuya-hime
Konohanasakuya-hime is a prominent kami in Japanese mythology, best known as the beautiful daughter of the mountain deity Ōyamatsumi and the wife of Ninigi-no-Mikoto, the heavenly descendant sent to rule the Japanese isl…
Kukunochi
Kukunochi, also called Kukunochi-no-kami, is a kami associated with trees and wood in Japanese mythology. The deity appears in early accounts of the creation of the Japanese world, especially the Kojiki and the Nihon Sho…Kachinas
Kachinas, more accurately written katsinam in many Hopi contexts, are sacred spirit beings, ceremonial identities, and masked dancers in the religious traditions of the Hopi people of northeastern Arizona. The English wo…
Kokyangwuti
Kokyangwuti, commonly known in English as Spider Grandmother or Spider Woman, is an important female figure in Hopi sacred narrative. She is associated with creation, emergence, wisdom, protection and the guidance of hum…
Karwan
Karwan is a name associated in some English-language accounts with Hopi mythology, where it is sometimes described as a warlike spirit or a figure connected with warfare. The identification is not secure, however. Karwan…
Koshare
Koshare is a sacred clown figure associated with Hopi ceremonial life in northern Arizona. The name is often applied to a clown character or to ritual performers who appear in certain Hopi dances and public ceremonies. K…Metzli
Metzli is a name associated with the Moon in Aztec, or Mexica, religious tradition. The name is more securely documented as the Classical Nahuatl word for “moon” than as the title of a single, clearly defined deity. For …
Mexitl
Mexitl is a name associated in colonial-era Nahuatl traditions with Huitzilopochtli, the patron deity of the Mexica and one of the most important gods of the Aztec Empire. The name also appears in accounts of the Mexica …
Mictecacihuatl
Mictecacihuatl is a female deity associated with the dead in Mexica, commonly called Aztec, religious tradition. Her name is usually translated as “Lady of the Dead” or “Lady of the Place of the Dead.” She is closely con…
Mictlan
Mictlan is the realm of the dead in the religious traditions of the Mexica, often called the Aztecs, and in related Nahua traditions of central Mexico. It was generally understood as a distant underworld ruled by Mictlan…Colo Colo
Colo Colo is a frightening being associated with the mythology and rural folklore of Chile, especially traditions connected with the Mapuche cultural area. Its description is not uniform: in some accounts it resembles a …
Cuchavira
Cuchavira is a figure associated with the rainbow in the religious traditions of the Muisca, also called the Muysca, an Indigenous people of the Andean highlands of present-day Colombia. She is commonly described as a fe…
El Dorado
El Dorado is one of the most famous legends associated with South America, but it was not originally the name of a golden city. The earliest form of the story concerned a “gilded man” or ruler connected with the Muisca p…
El-lal
El-lal, also written Elal or with other spelling variations, is a major mythic figure in the traditions of the Tehuelche peoples of Patagonia. He is especially associated with the Aónikenk, the southern Tehuelche-speakin…Atea
Atea is a name associated with primordial beings and creator figures in several eastern Polynesian traditions, especially those of the Marquesas and Mangareva. The name is not a single, universally defined Polynesian god…
Tangata-manu
Tangata-manu is the Rapa Nui name commonly translated as “bird-man” or “bird person”. It refers primarily to the winner of an important ritual competition held on Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island, rather than to a s…
Eitumatupua
Eitumatupua is a name associated with the mythology of Mangaia, an island in the southern Cook Islands. In the limited English-language material in which the name appears, Eitumatupua is generally described as a deity or…
Fa’ahotu
Fa’ahotu is a female figure associated chiefly with the traditional mythology of Tahiti and the Society Islands in eastern Polynesia. She is generally described as the consort of Atea, a primordial being connected with t…
St. Zachary
St. Zachary is a name used for more than one Christian saint, and the identity intended depends on the religious, historical, or liturgical context. The most widely recognized figure is Zachary the priest, the father of …
Ayil
Ayil is an uncertain angelic name found mainly in later esoteric and angelological lists rather than in a clearly defined ancient religious tradition. Unlike Michael, Gabriel, Raphael or Uriel, Ayil has no widely recogni…
St. Porphyrius
St. Porphyrius, usually identified as Porphyrius of Gaza, was a Christian bishop and ascetic who played an important part in the Christianisation of Gaza in the late fourth and early fifth centuries. He is remembered esp…
Atrugiel
Atrugiel is an obscure angelic name whose identity and traditional setting are uncertain. It does not belong to the best-known groups of angels described in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, the Qur’an, or widely tran…
Behemoth
Behemoth is a colossal creature described in the Hebrew Bible, chiefly in the divine speeches of the Book of Job. Its name and nature have been debated for centuries. In the biblical passage, Behemoth is not presented as…
Beelzebub
Beelzebub is a name associated with both an ancient deity of the Philistine city of Ekron and, in later Jewish and Christian tradition, a powerful demon. The figure’s identity changed substantially over time. In the Hebr…
Bathin
Bathin is a demon of early modern European grimoire tradition, best known from the Ars Goetia, the first part of the Lesser Key of Solomon. He is usually listed as the eighteenth spirit and classified as a Duke. His stan…
Barbatos
Barbatos is a demon of European ceremonial demonology, best known as the eighth spirit in the Ars Goetia, the first section of the seventeenth-century grimoire commonly called The Lesser Key of Solomon. In that tradition…Mythology and the Stories of Ancient Civilizations
Mythology is the collection of stories, beliefs and traditions that ancient cultures used to explain the world around them. Long before modern science, myths offered answers to fundamental questions about the creation of the universe, natural phenomena, human existence, death and the forces believed to govern destiny.
Every civilization developed its own mythological tradition. Greek mythology tells of powerful Olympian gods, heroic warriors and terrifying monsters. Norse mythology describes a universe of interconnected worlds inhabited by gods, giants, elves and legendary creatures. Egyptian mythology revolves around divine kingship, the journey into the afterlife and the eternal struggle between order and chaos.
Beyond the most familiar traditions, thousands of myths emerged across Asia, Africa, the Americas, Oceania and the ancient Middle East. Hindu mythology contains vast cycles of gods, avatars and cosmic events. Japanese folklore is filled with kami, spirits and mysterious beings, while Celtic traditions preserve stories of warriors, magical lands and supernatural powers.
Although these traditions developed independently, many share recurring themes. Creation myths, great floods, journeys to the underworld, divine battles and heroic quests appear in cultures separated by enormous distances.
Gods and goddesses often represented the forces that shaped everyday life. Some ruled over storms, oceans, war or agriculture, while others protected families, cities or the dead.
Mythical creatures also played an essential role in these stories. Dragons, giants, spirits, shapeshifters, demons and hybrid beasts could act as enemies, guardians, warnings or symbols of forces beyond human control.
Myths were not simply invented as entertainment. They were connected to religious rituals, social customs, political power and cultural identity.
Many mythological stories survive today through literature, art, cinema, television and video games. However, modern adaptations often differ considerably from the original traditions.
At WorldMythos, you will find articles organised by mythology, culture and subject. Our aim is to present legendary stories in a clear and engaging way while distinguishing between ancient sources, folklore, historical interpretation and modern popular culture.