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Explore all published articles about mythology, folklore, gods, heroes, spirits and legendary creatures.
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Nanautzin
Nanautzin—more commonly written Nanahuatzin in modern renderings of Nahuatl—is a deity of central Mexican tradition best known for becoming the Sun in the creation story of the Fifth Sun. He appears as a poor, humble, an…
Kwikwilyaqa
Kwikwilyaqa is a Hopi katsina associated in many English-language descriptions with the butterfly. The name is often translated or explained as “Butterfly Maiden,” although translations of Hopi religious names are not al…
Momotaro
Momotaro (桃太郎, “Peach Boy”) is one of Japan’s best-known folktale heroes. He is a boy who emerges from a giant peach, grows into a capable young warrior, and travels to Onigashima, the “Island of Oni,” to defeat its inha…
Obambou
Obambou is a name associated with a frightening spirit or revenant in traditions linked to Gabon and the wider region of Central Africa. Accounts in English-language folklore collections often describe the Obambou as a b…
Aequitas
Aequitas was the Roman personification of fairness, equity, and balanced dealing. Her name comes from the Latin word aequitas, meaning fairness, impartiality, or a just adjustment between people and circumstances. Unlike…
Sigyn
Sigyn is a goddess or divine woman associated with Loki in Norse mythology. She is best known for remaining beside him after the gods punish him for his role in the death of Baldr. While Loki lies bound beneath a venomou…
Asmodeus
Asmodeus is one of the best-known demonic figures in Jewish, Christian and later Western demonological traditions. His identity is not completely uniform across those traditions. In the Book of Tobit, he is a destructive…
Astanphaeus
Astanphaeus is a name associated with the archontic beings of certain Gnostic creation myths, especially traditions related to the Apocryphon of John and other texts from the Nag Hammadi library. The name appears in seve…
Hikule’o
Hikuleʻo is a major figure in traditional Tongan mythology, especially in stories concerning Pulotu, the realm of the dead and the dwelling place of powerful supernatural beings. His name is also written Hikule’o, Hikule…
Nguruvilu
Nguruvilu is a water being associated with Mapuche tradition and with the folklore of southern Chile, especially the island of Chiloé. Its name is commonly explained through Mapudungun elements meaning “fox” and “snake,”…
Tlaloc
Tlaloc is a major rain and storm deity of central Mexican, especially Nahua and Mexica (Aztec), religious tradition. He was associated with rain, fertility, springs, mountain water, lightning and the forces that could ei…