WORLD
Explore Myths, Gods and Legends from Around the World
Stories of gods, heroes, monsters and legendary worlds from every culture
Ajatar
Ajatar is a threatening female spirit associated with forests in Finnish mythology and folklore. She is commonly described as a demonic or dangerous woodland being, sometimes connected with snakes, disease and the hostil…
Nibelungs
The Nibelungs are a legendary Germanic dynasty and heroic people associated with the famous story of the cursed treasure, the dragon Fáfnir, and the doomed relationship between Sigurd and Gudrun. They belong to the wider…
Fand
Fand is a woman of the Irish Otherworld who appears most prominently in the medieval tale Serglige Con Culainn, usually translated as The Wasting Sickness of Cú Chulainn. She is best known as the lover of the Ulster hero…
Aino
Aino is a tragic young woman in the Kalevala, the nineteenth-century Finnish epic compiled by Elias Lönnrot from Finnish and Karelian oral poetry. She is best understood not as an independently documented ancient goddess…
Ate
Ate (Ancient Greek Ἄτη, commonly transliterated Atē or Até) is a figure of Greek mythology associated with delusion, reckless judgment, moral blindness and ruin. She is not simply a goddess of punishment or an embodiment…
Concordia
Concordia was the Roman goddess and personification of agreement, harmony, and civic unity. Her name expressed the ideal of people being “of one heart,” especially when members of a community set aside conflict and act t…
Atalanta
Atalanta is a celebrated heroine of Greek mythology, renowned for her speed, hunting skill and refusal to accept the restricted domestic role expected of women in many Greek legends. She is not a goddess, although her ex…
Cloacina
Cloacina was a Roman deity or divine epithet associated with the cleansing and maintenance of Rome’s drainage system. She is most often known as Venus Cloacina, “Venus of the Cloaca,” and was connected with the Cloaca Ma…
Bukulu
Bukulu is a creator figure associated in some published accounts with the Luba peoples of Central Africa, especially the cultural region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and neighbouring areas. He is generally des…
Buk
Buk is a name associated in some modern accounts with the traditional religious world of the Dinka people of South Sudan. She is usually described as a female spirit or goddess connected with rivers, water, fertility and…
Bomazi
Bomazi is a name associated in some modern reference works with an African deity or spirit of death and the underworld. The figure is usually described as belonging to “Bantu mythology,” but that label is extremely broad…
Banga
Banga is an obscure and uncertain name in modern discussions of African mythology. It is sometimes presented as a water-associated spirit or supernatural being, but the name does not identify one universally recognised f…
As-iga
As-iga is a little-known supernatural figure associated in modern reference works with the mythology of the Sakha, or Yakut, people of northeastern Siberia. It is generally described as a dangerous or malevolent spirit r…
Buga
Buga is a name associated chiefly with the supreme or highest divine power in the traditional religious world of the Evenki and, in some accounts, other Tungusic-speaking peoples of Siberia. The name is also used as a wo…
Erlik
Erlik, often called Erlik Khan, is a powerful underworld figure in the traditional religious world of several Turkic-speaking peoples of Inner Asia, especially the Altai peoples of southern Siberia. He is commonly descri…
Irkuiem
Irkuiem is the name given in modern accounts to an alleged bear-like creature associated with the remote regions of Chukotka and northeastern Siberia. It is often presented as a monster, an unknown animal, or a surviving…
Quaoar
Quaoar is a creator figure associated with the Tongva people of Southern California, a Native American nation whose traditional territory included the Los Angeles Basin, the southern Channel Islands and surrounding coast…
Rhpisunt
Rhpisunt is a little-documented name associated in modern reference works with Native American mythology, especially with the Blackfoot peoples of the North American Plains. It is usually described as a dangerous water b…
Shakuru
Shakuru is a name associated in some English-language accounts with the Sun in the religious traditions of the Pawnee, an Indigenous people of the central Great Plains of North America. The identification is not complete…
Sanopi
Sanopi is a name sometimes presented in online lists of Native American mythological beings, but its identity is uncertain. There is no broadly recognized, well-documented figure called Sanopi in the major published trad…
Mdi
Mdi is a name associated in some modern compilations with death or the underworld in Zapotec mythology. Its status is uncertain, however. Unlike better-attested Zapotec figures such as Cocijo, the rain and lightning deit…
Ndozin
Ndozin is a name associated in some modern accounts with Zapotec mythology, especially with earthquakes or forces beneath the earth. Its status is uncertain, however. Unlike better-attested Zapotec figures such as Cocijo…
Mse
Mse is a figure associated in some modern accounts with Zapotec mythology and identified as a deity or supernatural power connected with earthquakes. The surviving evidence for Mse is limited, however, and the name does …
Ndan
Ndan is a name associated in some modern accounts with Zapotec concepts of the earth, fertility and agricultural abundance. The identification is not fully secure, however. Unlike better-documented Zapotec deities such a…
Ayar Uchu
Ayar Uchu is a culture hero and ancestral figure in traditions associated with the Inca origins of Cusco. He is usually described as one of four brothers who emerged from the sacred place of Pacaritambo before the foundi…
Catequil
Catequil was a powerful Andean deity associated with thunder, lightning, rain and divination. His principal cult belonged to the Huamachuco region of northern Peru, rather than to the Inca heartland alone. Colonial accou…
Pacariqtambo
Pacariqtambo is a place of origin in Inca mythology, associated with the emergence of the ancestors who founded the Inca royal dynasty and, ultimately, Cusco. It is not generally described as a god, spirit, or independen…
Cavillaca
Cavillaca is a female huaca who appears in the Huarochirí traditions of the central Andes. Her best-known story concerns an extraordinary pregnancy, the powerful creator figure Cuniraya Viracocha, and her flight with her…
Goanna
Goanna is a broad Australian term for several kinds of monitor lizard, and it does not identify one single god, hero or universally recognised creature in Aboriginal mythology. Goannas appear in the traditional knowledge…
Kultana
Kultana is a name associated in some modern listings with Australian Aboriginal mythology, but its traditional identity is uncertain. There is no clear evidence that Kultana was a universally recognised Aboriginal god or…
Kunapipi
Kunapipi is an ancestral mother and ceremonial tradition associated with several Aboriginal peoples of Arnhem Land in northern Australia. The name may refer both to a powerful ancestral being and to the large body of rit…
Gurumukas
Gurumukas is a name associated in some English-language reference works with a supernatural being, or group of beings, from Australian Aboriginal mythology. The identification is uncertain, however. Unlike widely documen…
St. Paschal Baylón
St. Paschal Baylón was a Spanish Franciscan lay brother whose life became closely associated with humility, charitable service and devotion to the Eucharist. He lived in the sixteenth century, during a period of Catholic…
Domiel
Domiel is an obscure angelic name found in some later Jewish and Christian angelological catalogues. Unlike Michael, Gabriel, Raphael or Uriel, Domiel has no substantial narrative role in the Bible and is not the subject…
St. Paschal I
St. Paschal I was a ninth-century pope and Christian saint who led the Roman Church from 817 until his death in 824. He lived during a period when the papacy was closely connected with the Carolingian Empire, while Rome …
Diniel
Diniel is an obscure and uncertain angelic name found chiefly in later angelological, occult and folklore-oriented compilations. Unlike Michael, Gabriel, Raphael or Uriel, Diniel does not have a widely established identi…
Vapula
Vapula is a demon of early modern European ceremonial magic, best known from the Ars Goetia, the first section of the Lemegeton, or Key of Solomon the Lesser. In that grimoire, Vapula is listed as the sixtieth spirit and…
Valefor
Valefor is a demon in the early modern grimoire tradition commonly associated with the Ars Goetia, the first section of the Lemegeton, or Lesser Key of Solomon. In that system, Valefor is described as a powerful duke who…
Valac
Valac is a demon described in the Solomonic grimoire tradition, especially in versions of The Lesser Key of Solomon. He is listed among the 72 spirits of the Ars Goetia, where he is identified as a powerful president of …
Sitri
Sitri is a demon of European grimoire tradition, best known from the Ars Goetia, the first section of the Lemegeton or Lesser Key of Solomon. In that text, Sitri is described as a powerful prince who first appears with a…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.