WORLD
Explore Myths, Gods and Legends from Around the World
Stories of gods, heroes, monsters and legendary worlds from every culture
Akka
Akka is a name used in Finnish mythology and folk belief for a female power associated especially with the earth, fertility and the generative forces of nature. She is often described in modern summaries as the consort o…
Nidhogg
Nidhogg—Old Norse Níðhöggr—is a powerful serpent or dragon in Norse mythology. He lives beneath Yggdrasil, the great ash tree that connects the worlds, where he gnaws at one of its roots. Nidhogg is also associated with …
Fer Doirich
Fer Doirich is a shadowy and relatively minor figure associated with the Irish heroic tradition, especially stories connected with Fionn mac Cumhaill and the Fenian cycle. He is generally presented as a druid, magician o…
Antero Vipunen
Antero Vipunen is a mysterious giant and ancient keeper of magical knowledge in Finnish mythology, best known from the Kalevala, Finland’s national epic. He is usually described as a being who has been dead for a very lo…
Astraea
Astraea is a figure from Greek myth associated with justice, moral order and the lost ideal of a righteous human age. In later tradition she became linked with the constellation Virgo and with the scales of Libra. Her st…
Ceres
Ceres is the Roman goddess of cultivated grain, agriculture and the nourishment that makes settled life possible. She belongs to the religious traditions of ancient Rome, where farming was both an economic necessity and …
Asteria
Asteria is a Titaness in Greek mythology, best known as the daughter of the Titans Coeus and Phoebe, the sister of Leto, and the mother of Hecate. Her name is connected with stars and the night sky, although the earliest…
Carmenta
Carmenta was a Roman goddess associated with prophecy, childbirth and the legendary beginnings of Rome. Roman tradition also presented her as a prophetess from Arcadia and the mother of Evander, the Greek-speaking ruler …
Atai
Atai is a female divine figure associated chiefly with Efik and Ibibio religious traditions of the Cross River region of southeastern Nigeria and adjoining parts of Cameroon. She is often described as a goddess of the ea…
Asa
Asa is an uncertain name in material labelled “African mythology.” Unlike figures such as Anansi, Mami Wata, or the Yoruba òrìṣà, Asa does not identify one widely documented being shared across African traditions. The na…
Anotchi
Anotchi is a name sometimes presented in modern lists of African mythological beings, but its traditional identity is not securely established. There is no widely recognised pan-African deity, spirit or legendary creatur…
Ndriananahary
Ndriananahary is a name associated with the supreme creator in the traditional religious ideas of Madagascar. Malagasy religious traditions are diverse, however, and the name is not used with exactly the same meaning in …
Nga
Nga is a name associated chiefly with the lower world, death and harmful spiritual forces in accounts of traditional Nenets religion, a religious tradition of the Samoyedic peoples of the Russian Arctic. Nenets communiti…
Otshirvani
Otshirvani is a name used in Buryat and wider Mongolian religious traditions for a powerful Buddhist protector associated with the vajra, the ritual thunderbolt or diamond weapon. The figure is generally identified with …
Ulgan
Ulgan, more commonly written Ülgen or Ölgen, is a powerful creator and sky-associated figure in the traditional religious culture of several Turkic-speaking peoples of the Altai region of southern Siberia. He is especial…
Adachigahara
Adachigahara is a haunted place in Japanese folklore, best known as the home of an onibaba, or demon hag, who preys upon travellers. The name refers to the Adachi plain or moor in what is now Fukushima Prefecture, in nor…
Senx
Senx is a name sometimes presented in modern lists of Native American mythological beings, but its identity and cultural origin are uncertain. Unlike well-documented figures such as the Ojibwe Mishipeshu or the Algonquia…
Sint Holo
Sint Holo is a name associated with a giant serpent in Choctaw traditional narratives of the southeastern United States. It is commonly described in modern reference works as a dangerous or supernatural snake, and someti…
Sisiutl
Sisiutl is a powerful supernatural being best known from the traditions of the Kwakwaka'wakw peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast. It is commonly represented as a double-headed serpent, with a head at each end of a lon…
Skan
Skan is a powerful being associated with the sky in Lakota and Dakota religious traditions. The name is commonly translated as “sky,” “the heavens,” or “that which is above,” although English translations do not capture …
Pichana Gobeche
Pichana Gobeche is a name associated in some modern lists with Zapotec mythology, but its identity is uncertain. Unlike better-documented Zapotec figures such as Cocijo, Pitao Cozobi, or Pitao Pezelao, Pichana Gobeche do…
Pichanto
Pichanto is a poorly documented figure associated in some modern references with Zapotec mythology, the diverse body of religious traditions belonging to Zapotec-speaking peoples of Oaxaca, Mexico. Unlike better-attested…
Quiabelagayo
Quiabelagayo is a name associated with Zapotec mythology and is commonly identified in modern reference works as a deity or supernatural power connected with earthquakes. The identification is not equally secure across a…
Acolmiztli
Acolmiztli was the personal name of the ruler, poet, and philosopher better known as Nezahualcoyotl of Texcoco. He belonged to the Acolhua-speaking Nahua tradition of central Mexico and lived during the fifteenth century…
Chas
Chas is an uncertain name in accounts of Inca mythology. A distinct, widely attested Inca deity called exactly “Chas” is not securely established in the surviving historical sources. The name is most plausibly a shortene…
Coca-mama
Coca-mama, also written Coca Mama or Mama Coca, is a figure associated in some accounts with the sacred coca plant of the Andes. She is often described as a feminine spirit, goddess, or personification of coca, but her s…
Kon
Kon, also written Con in some colonial records, is a deity associated chiefly with the ancient cultures of Peru’s Pacific coast. He is often described as a creator or culture-bearing power connected with the making of hu…
Coniraya
Coniraya is a powerful huaca, creator figure and trickster from the religious traditions of the central Andes. He is best known from the Huarochirí Manuscript, a Quechua account of local myths and sacred traditions recor…
Julana
Julana is an obscure and uncertain name associated in some modern lists with Australian Aboriginal mythology. Unlike widely documented figures such as the Rainbow Serpent, Baiame, Bunjil or Tiddalik, Julana does not have…
Julunggul
Julunggul is a major ancestral being in the traditions of Yolngu peoples of north-eastern Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia. Often described in English as a Rainbow Serpent, Julunggul is associated with …
Junkgowa Sisters
The Junkgowa Sisters are a pair of female ancestral figures associated with Australian Aboriginal mythology, although the name and the stories connected with it are not consistently recorded. “Junkgowa” appears mainly in…
Jurawadbad
Jurawadbad is a name associated in some modern reference works with an Australian Aboriginal water being or serpent. The figure is not, however, documented as a single, universally recognised character across Aboriginal …
Dardariel
Dardariel is an obscure angelic name found chiefly in later angelological and occult name-lists associated with Jewish and Christian esoteric traditions. Unlike Michael, Gabriel, Raphael or other widely attested angels, …
St. Paul
St. Paul, also known as Paul the Apostle or Saint Paul of Tarsus, is one of the most influential figures in Christianity. He was a first-century Jewish follower of Jesus who became a leading missionary among non-Jewish p…
Damabiath
Damabiath is an uncertain angelic name found in some modern and esoteric lists of angels. It is not a clearly identified angel in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament, or the principal bodies of early Jewish and Christian…
St. Paul I
St. Paul I was the pope of Rome from 757 until his death in 767 and is venerated as a saint in the Catholic tradition. He belonged to the turbulent period when the papacy was becoming an important territorial and diploma…Stolas
Stolas, also called Stolos in some versions, is a spirit of early modern European demonology. He is best known from the Ars Goetia, the first section of the Lesser Key of Solomon, where he is listed as the thirty-sixth s…
Shax
Shax is a demon listed in the Ars Goetia, the first section of the seventeenth-century grimoire commonly known as the Lesser Key of Solomon. He is usually described as a marquis of Hell who commands thirty legions of spi…
Seere
Seere is a demon of early modern European ceremonial magic, best known as the seventieth spirit in the Ars Goetia, the first section of the grimoire commonly called the Lesser Key of Solomon. His name also appears in var…
Sallos
Sallos, also written Saleos or in some versions Zaleos, is a demon described in the early modern grimoire tradition known as the Ars Goetia, the first section of the Lesser Key of Solomon. He is ranked as a duke and is s…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.