WORLD
Explore Myths, Gods and Legends from Around the World
Stories of gods, heroes, monsters and legendary worlds from every culture
Jumala
Jumala is a Finnish word with two closely connected but historically distinct uses. In traditional Finnish religion, jumala could mean a god, deity, or supernatural power, while Jumala later became the Finnish name for t…
Radgridr
Radgridr, usually written Ráðgríðr in Old Norse, is a named valkyrie in the surviving literature of Norse mythology. She is one of the female figures associated with choosing or serving the fallen warriors who are taken …
Gae Assail
Gáe Assail is a magical spear associated with Lugh, the renowned hero and champion of the Tuatha Dé Danann in Irish mythological literature. It is usually counted among the Four Treasures of the Tuatha Dé Danann, a group…
Lempo
Lempo is a figure of Finnish mythology whose identity changed significantly across time. In older layers of Finnish oral tradition, the name may have been connected with love, sexual attraction, or a powerful spirit of t…
Apate
Apate (Ancient Greek Ἀπάτη, commonly transliterated Apátē) is the Greek personification of deceit, trickery, and deliberate deception. She belongs to the group of abstract powers associated with the darker or more troubl…
Bellifluficus
Bellifluficus is not a securely attested deity, spirit, hero or legendary creature of ancient Roman mythology. The name does not appear as a recognised figure in the standard body of Roman religious evidence, and no reli…
Antiope
Antiope is a name shared by more than one woman in Greek mythology. The best-known Antiope is an Amazon queen associated with Theseus and the birth of Hippolytus, while another Antiope is a Theban princess who became the…
Bacchus
Bacchus is the Roman god associated with wine, ecstatic celebration, fertility, theatre and the loosening of ordinary social boundaries. He is closely identified with the Greek god Dionysus, and Roman writers often use t…
Shango
Shango, written more precisely in Yoruba as Ṣàngó, is one of the most important òrìṣà—sacred powers or deities—in Yoruba religious tradition. He is chiefly associated with thunder, lightning, fire, political authority, c…
Dada
Dada is a figure associated with Yoruba religious tradition, especially with children born with unusually thick, naturally matted or tightly curled hair. In different Yoruba accounts, Dada is described as an òrìṣà connec…
Egungun-oya
Egungun-oya is a name associated with Yoruba ancestral masquerade and with Ọ̀ya, the orisha linked in many Yoruba traditions with wind, storms, change, and the boundary between the living and the dead. The name does not …
Oduduwa
Oduduwa is a major ancestral and sacred figure in Yoruba tradition, especially in the origin traditions of Ilé-Ifẹ̀, the ancient Yoruba religious and cultural centre in present-day southwestern Nigeria. Depending on the …
Gekka-o
Gekka-o is a name sometimes used for the elderly matchmaker spirit known in Japanese as Gekka Rōjin (月下老人), literally “the old person beneath the moon.” The figure is associated with marriage, destined relationships and …
Hachiman
Hachiman is one of the most important kami of Japan. He is associated with warfare, archery, political authority, protection, and the prosperity of communities, but his identity has never been limited to that of a war go…
Hamori
Hamori is not a securely identifiable figure in the best-known surviving sources of Japanese mythology. The name appears occasionally in modern lists, online encyclopaedias and informal discussions of Japanese legendary …
Hannya
Hannya is one of the most recognizable figures in Japanese theatrical tradition: a female demon with sharp horns, metallic eyes, pointed teeth and an expression that can appear furious, grief-stricken or sorrowful depend…A’akuluujjusi
A’akuluujjusi is a creator figure associated with Inuit traditional narratives, especially stories recorded from Inuit communities in the eastern Arctic and Greenlandic cultural region. She is commonly described as a pow…
Akna
Akna is a name associated with fertility, motherhood, and childbirth in some accounts of Inuit mythology. She is often described as a maternal goddess or female supernatural being, and some modern summaries identify her …
Adlivun
Adlivun is a name used in some accounts of Inuit religious tradition for the realm of the dead, often described as lying beneath the sea. It is not a single, universally defined place in all Inuit communities. Inuit peop…
Alignak
Alignak is a name commonly used in modern English-language accounts for an Inuit moon spirit or moon deity. He is often described as a male power associated with the Moon, tides, weather, hunting, and the movement of sou…
Cipactonal
Cipactonal is a primordial figure in Nahua religious tradition, commonly associated with Oxomoco, his female counterpart. He appears in several early colonial accounts as one of the first human or semi-divine beings, an …
Ometecuhtli
Ometecuhtli is a creator figure in Nahua religious thought, especially in accounts associated with the Aztec or Mexica world. His name is usually translated as “Lord Two” or “Two Lord.” He is commonly presented as the ma…
Civatateo
Civatateo is a variant spelling of cihuateteo, the Nahuatl name commonly used for the spirits or deified dead of women who died in childbirth in central Mexican religious tradition. The name is often translated as “divin…
Coatlicue
Coatlicue is a major earth and mother deity in Mexica, often called Aztec, religious tradition. Her name is commonly translated as “She of the Serpent Skirt,” referring to the garment of intertwined snakes associated wit…
Urpay Huachac
Urpay Huachac—also written Urpayhuachac, Urpay Huachac, or with other colonial spelling variations—is a female sacred being recorded in the mythology of the central Andes. She is best known from the Huarochirí Manuscript…
Vichama
Vichama is a culture hero and divine figure associated chiefly with the central coast of Peru, especially the Huaura and Végueta region. Although often placed under the broad label of Inca mythology, his surviving legend…
Babalú Ayé
Babalú Ayé is an Orisha associated with illness, healing, epidemics, and the vulnerable human body in the Yoruba-derived religious traditions of the Caribbean, especially Cuban Lukumí or Regla de Ocha. He is commonly con…
Ibeji
Ibeji refers to the sacred twins of Yoruba religious tradition and, more broadly, to the spiritual importance attached to twins in Yoruba-speaking communities. The name is especially familiar in the Caribbean through Cub…
Pilirin
Pilirin is a name associated in some modern English-language references with Australian Aboriginal mythology. Its identity, cultural origin and traditional meaning are uncertain, however. Unlike figures such as the Rainb…
Tjati
Tjati is a name sometimes listed in English-language collections of Australian Aboriginal mythology, but it does not have a securely established, widely documented identity across Aboriginal traditions. Unlike figures su…
Tjinimin
Tjinimin is a name associated in some modern reference works with an Aboriginal Australian mythological figure, usually described as a trickster, culture hero or ancestral being. The identification is not as securely doc…
Ulanji
Ulanji is a name sometimes presented in modern mythology lists as belonging to an Australian Aboriginal spirit or supernatural being. Its identity, however, is uncertain. Unlike widely documented figures such as the Rain…
St. Peter Chrysologus
St. Peter Chrysologus was a fifth-century Christian bishop, preacher and theologian who served as bishop of Ravenna in northern Italy. Remembered especially for the clarity and brevity of his sermons, he is known by the …
Bath Kol
Bath Kol, also written Bat Qol, Bat Kol, or Bath Qol, is a form of divine communication in Jewish religious tradition. The Hebrew expression is usually translated as “daughter of the voice,” “voice of a voice,” or more n…
St. Peter Claver
St. Peter Claver was a seventeenth-century Jesuit priest best known for his ministry among enslaved Africans brought to Cartagena de Indias, a major Spanish port in present-day Colombia. Catholic tradition remembers him …
St. Katharine Drexel
St. Katharine Drexel (1858–1955) was an American Catholic religious sister, educator, philanthropist and founder of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament. Born into a wealthy Philadelphia family, she devoted her inheritan…
Ipos
Ipos is a demon of early modern European ceremonial magic, best known from the Ars Goetia, the first section of the grimoire commonly called the Lesser Key of Solomon. He is described as a powerful spirit who reveals kno…
Halphas
Halphas is a demon of early modern European grimoire tradition, best known from the Ars Goetia, the first section of the Lesser Key of Solomon. He is described as a great earl who appears as a stock dove, speaks with a h…
Haagenti
Haagenti is a demon described in the early modern grimoire tradition of Western ceremonial magic. In the Ars Goetia, the best-known section of the Lesser Key of Solomon, Haagenti is listed as the forty-eighth spirit. The…
Gusion
Gusion is a demon of European ceremonial magic, best known from the Ars Goetia, the first section of the Lesser Key of Solomon. He is listed as the eleventh spirit in that hierarchy and is described as a powerful duke wh…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.