Mythology Stack Exchange
Mythology Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [comparative]

For questions that compare mythology or folklore from multiple cultures.

181 questions
28
votes
3 answers

Are there any myths we can plausibly trace back to a common Proto-Indo-European ancestor?

It is well-known today that many peoples trace their origin back to a group of people known as the Proto-Indo-Europeans, who probably lived c. 4000 BCE. Among them are some of the most mythologically-rich cultures in the world - most of Europe…
senshin
  • 2,962
  • 2
  • 21
  • 39
11
votes
1 answer

Alternative to Tower of Babel explanations for linguistic diversity

What mythological alternatives, if any, are there to explaining the existence of multiple languages than the Tower of Babel or myths that are similar in nature? I once came across a myth at a wildlife park near Melbourne, Australia, about animals…
Golden Cuy
  • 221
  • 1
  • 5
7
votes
2 answers

What are some myths that combine the scatological and the sacred?

A quick warning to all, for obvious reasons this question will be very explicit. But to the point, when Carl Jung was a small boy he had the following thoughts on being overwhelmed by the beauty of a cathedral ... "The world is beautiful and the…
Random
  • 448
  • 2
  • 10
6
votes
4 answers

Which gods have been killed in their myths?

I want to know how different cultures thought a god could be killed. So, I am trying to put together a list of gods who died in their mythology. So far I only have a short list: Baldr Jesus Quetzlcoatl Izanami-no-Mikoto. Can you help me think…
Mark Schwab
  • 77
  • 1
  • 2
5
votes
3 answers

What are some mythological examples of emotionally-charged symbolic acts of grief?

I'm looking for mythological examples of loss leading to intense emotional and symbolic displays of grief, whether spontaneous, performative, ritual or some combination of the above. That is, grief so intense that it inspires madness,…
Random
  • 448
  • 2
  • 10
5
votes
2 answers

Why do several myths portray snakes as good things?

In western culture, being compared to a snake is bad thing. Snakes are portrayed as lying, sneaky animals who are not to be trusted. You can refer to someone as a "snake in the grass" and snakes are not generally positive references. Therefore I am…
SophArch
  • 259
  • 1
  • 5
4
votes
2 answers

Non-Greek myths set in a wedding

There are a many Greek myths that are set in a wedding, like Thetis wedding as the origin of the Trojan War (see also Harmonia's necklace and Orion's earthborn myth). Are there other tales in major mythologies that are set in a wedding? I am looking…
Marduk Trimegistus
  • 565
  • 1
  • 3
  • 16
4
votes
1 answer

What does internet-transmitted folklore reveal about how we generate and spread folkore?

Even before the internet, information was being faithfully replicated through global communication networks like faxes. Then they replicated through email chains, and finally broke free of a specific application thanks to copy and paste…
TZubiri
  • 143
  • 4
4
votes
2 answers

Where Can I Study Parallel Mythologies?

I am very fascinated with the notion that there are significant parallels between mythologies - there may be different reincarnations of the same God? For instance, we know that Hermes is Mercury, but he is also related to Odin/Woden, and Buddha,…
Lady F
  • 743
  • 6
  • 13
3
votes
2 answers

Are there any females who have many consorts but are still celebrated?

Many heroes and gods have many consorts but are still popular and worshipped and good examples of these are Zeus of Greek Mythology and Arjuna of Hindu Mythology. Are there any females similar to them? I am only aware of the heroine Draupadi but I…
user1385
3
votes
1 answer

Uses of encoding and ciphers in Mythology

One of my favorite stories is the Ovid version of Philomel. (She pre-figures the Tarantino heroines in many ways. Note that the elements of other myths section of Wikipedia omits the most direct reference, which is, of course, Atreus' feast for his…
DukeZhou
  • 14,146
  • 4
  • 39
  • 103
3
votes
2 answers

What is the easiest way to become a god?

This is a question across all pantheons and mythologies. Overall what is the easiest way to become a god? It should be an one-time act. But perhaps for simplicity sake we can use immortality as the main attribute of godhood. So we do not count being…
Martin Handrlica
  • 243
  • 2
  • 3
  • 6
3
votes
1 answer

Were there any other "Mythos Transfers", other than the Greek-Roman transfer?

Were there any other Mythos Transfers, other than the Greek-Roman transfer? To clarify, I mean an almost complete copy of another religion/myth system. The greek-roman mythos transfer was basically an adaption of ideas from greek to roman.
bleh
  • 6,719
  • 5
  • 31
  • 74
3
votes
1 answer

Are there any reconstructions of possible early religions like Proto-Indo-European mythology for other cultures?

I was reading the Proto-Indo-European mythology Wikipedia page when I started to wonder if there were any similar reconstructions for other related groups of mythology. I'm particularly curious if there's anything for Aboriginal Australians or…
Washtun
  • 141
  • 5
2
votes
2 answers

What themes can be found throughout most mythologies? (Flood, Apocalypse, etc)

Looking for themes that can be found throughout different mythologies so that I can compare and contrast the story of them. A few themes I have thought about were creation myths, flood myths, and apocalypse myths. However, some of these might not…
T. Yama
  • 21
  • 1
1
2