WORLD
Explore Myths, Gods and Legends from Around the World
Stories of gods, heroes, monsters and legendary worlds from every culture
Irusan
Irusan is a legendary cat associated with Irish folklore and with the tradition of the King of the Cats. He is generally described in later retellings as an unusually large or powerful cat who rules over other cats. Unli…
Lemminkäinen
Lemminkäinen is one of the best-known heroes of Finnish mythology, especially through the Kalevala, the nineteenth-century epic compiled by Elias Lönnrot from Finnish and Karelian oral poetry. He is portrayed as handsome…
Rig
Rígr is a figure in Norse mythology who appears chiefly in Rígsþula (“The Lay of Rígr”), a poem preserved among the poems associated with the Poetic Edda. In the poem, Rígr travels through the human world, fathers or est…
Lir
Lir is a figure of Irish mythology best known as the father of the Children of Lir, the four children transformed into swans in one of Ireland’s most famous tragic legends. He is also associated with the sea through the …Ananke
Ananke is the Greek personification of necessity, compulsion and the forces that cannot be avoided. Her name, written Ἀνάγκη in Greek and often transliterated as Anankē, can refer either to an abstract condition—somethin…
Antinous
Antinous was a young man from Bithynia who became the beloved companion of the Roman emperor Hadrian and, after his death, the focus of a widespread religious cult. Unlike most figures classified under Roman mythology, A…
Amymone
Amymone is a figure in Greek mythology, best known as one of the fifty daughters of Danaus and as the mortal woman associated with the spring of Lerna. In the most familiar version of her story, the god Poseidon rescues …
Anna-perenna
Anna Perenna is a Roman goddess associated with the yearly cycle, continued life and the renewal of time. Her festival was celebrated on 15 March, the Ides of March, with outdoor feasting, drinking, songs and prayers for…Obatala
Obatala is a major orisha of the Yoruba religious tradition of West Africa. Often described as an elder among the divine powers, Obatala is associated with creation, moral authority, wisdom, purity, calmness and the shap…
Ochosi
Ochosi—written in Yoruba as Ọ̀ṣọ́ọ̀sì and known by related spellings such as Oshosi or Oxóssi—is an òrìṣà of Yoruba religious tradition. He is especially associated with hunting, the forest, tracking, accuracy and the kn…
Ogun
Ogun (also written Ògún or Ogún) is a major òrìṣà of Yoruba religious tradition. He is especially associated with iron, metalworking, hunting, warfare, clearing paths, labour, technology and the difficult work required t…
Oko
Oko, more fully known as Òrìṣà Oko or Orisha Oko, is a Yoruba deity associated chiefly with farming, cultivated land and the harvest. The name is commonly connected with the Yoruba word oko, “farm” or “farmland,” althoug…Izumo
Izumo is an ancient region of Japan associated with some of the most important narratives in Japanese mythology. Located in what is now eastern Shimane Prefecture along the Sea of Japan, Izumo appears in early chronicles…
Yakusa-no-ikazuchi-no-kami
Yakusa-no-ikazuchi-no-kami is the collective name for the eight thunder deities who appear in the Japanese creation narrative preserved in the Kojiki. They are born from the body of Izanami after her death and later purs…
In
In is not a clearly identifiable, independently attested deity, spirit or legendary creature in the principal traditions of Japanese mythology. As a name written only in Roman letters, “In” is highly ambiguous: it may re…
Inari
Inari is one of the most widely worshipped kami in Japan, associated especially with rice, agriculture, food, prosperity, commerce and the well-being of households. Inari belongs primarily to Japanese Shinto, although ce…Irdlirvirisissong
Irdlirvirisissong is a poorly documented name associated with Inuit mythology and with accounts of a dangerous marine being. Unlike better-known figures such as Sedna, the sea-mother, or the ijiraq, a mysterious wilderne…
Isitoq
Isitoq is a name associated in some modern English-language accounts with an Inuit supernatural figure concerned with justice, moral conduct and punishment. The evidence for Isitoq is limited, however, and the name does …
Nanook
Nanook, more accurately written Nanuq in many Inuit-language contexts, is the polar bear as a powerful being in Inuit religious traditions and oral histories. The name can refer both to the animal itself and to the spiri…
Negafook
Negafook is a name associated with cold weather in some modern accounts of Inuit mythology. He is commonly described as a spirit or deity responsible for severe cold, frost, or winter winds. The name is sometimes written…Ehecatl
Ehecatl is the Nahuatl word for wind and the name of a major wind deity in the religious traditions of central Mexico. In Aztec, or Mexica, religion, Ehecatl was commonly understood as a manifestation or aspect of Quetza…
Macuilxochitl
Macuilxochitl, whose name means “Five Flower” in Classical Nahuatl, is a deity associated with music, dance, flowers, games, pleasure and forms of cultivated enjoyment in central Mexican religious tradition. He belongs t…
Macuilmalinalli
Macuilmalinalli is a relatively obscure figure in the religious traditions of central Mexico. The name is usually translated from Nahuatl as “Five Grass” or “Five Grass-Stalk,” combining macuil, “five,” with malinalli, a…
Macuilcuetzpalin
Macuilcuetzpalin is a calendrical figure in Nahua, commonly called Aztec, religious tradition. The name is usually translated as “Five Lizard”: macuil means “five,” while cuetzpalin refers to a lizard or similar small re…Aluberi
Aluberi is a creator figure associated in modern reference works with the Arawak peoples of northern South America and the Caribbean. The name is usually presented as belonging to a supreme or primordial being responsibl…
Amana
Amana is commonly described in modern references as a rain goddess associated with Indigenous traditions of South America, especially the Tupian cultural world of Brazil and neighbouring regions. The identification is no…
Anatiwa
Anatiwa is a poorly documented name sometimes presented online as belonging to South American mythology. Unlike well-attested figures such as Mama Quilla, Anhangá, or the Mapuche Antu, Anatiwa does not have a securely es…
Anchimallén
Anchimallén is a luminous spirit associated chiefly with Mapuche and, in some accounts, neighbouring southern Chilean traditions. It is usually described as a small, fast-moving light seen at night, although other versio…
Waramurunggundji
Waramurunggundji is an ancestral creator figure associated particularly with Aboriginal traditions of western Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. Her name is also written as Warramurrungundji, Waramurrungundji and in …
Wawalag
Wawalag refers most often to two ancestral sisters in the traditions of Yolngu peoples of north-eastern Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory of Australia. They are also known in English-language sources as the Wawilak o…
Widjingara
Widjingara is a name associated in some modern English-language references with Australian Aboriginal mythology, but its identity is not securely established across the traditional records of any single Aboriginal nation…
Wuluwait
Wuluwait is a name associated in some modern accounts with Australian Aboriginal mythology, particularly with a spirit or supernatural being connected with rain, weather, or the sky. The identification is uncertain, howe…St. Peter Of Alcántara
St. Peter of Alcántara was a sixteenth-century Spanish Franciscan friar, ascetic, writer and reformer of religious life. Born in Alcántara in Extremadura around 1499 and dying at Arenas in 1562, he became known for sever…
Barbiel
Barbiel is an angelic name found chiefly in Renaissance and later occult systems of correspondences. In the best-known tradition associated with the name, Barbiel is the angel assigned to October. The figure does not hav…
St. Peter Of Tarentaise
St. Peter of Tarentaise, also known as Peter II of Tarentaise or Pierre de Tarentaise, was a twelfth-century French Cistercian monk and archbishop. He is remembered within the Christian tradition as a reforming churchman…
Barrattiel
Barrattiel is an obscure angelic name found mainly in later angelological and occult lists. Unlike Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, or other angels with substantial scriptural and liturgical traditions, Barrattiel has no widel…Foras
Foras, also written Forcas in some editions, 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 described as a powerful president…
Focalor
Focalor is a demon described in early modern European demonological literature, most famously in the Ars Goetia, the first section of the Lesser Key of Solomon. He is presented as a powerful duke of Hell associated with …
Flauros
Flauros is a demon listed in early modern European grimoires, most notably the Ars Goetia, the first section of the Lesser Key of Solomon. He is described as a powerful duke who initially appears as a leopard and can tak…
Enepsigos
Enepsigos is a female demon who appears in the Testament of Solomon, a late antique work that presents itself as the account of King Solomon’s dealings with demons. She is associated with changing shape, lunar imagery an…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.