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11
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3 answers
Titans as four corners of the Earth?
On Theoi.com and a couple of other Greek myth sites, they say that four of the male Titans (Koios, Hyperion, Krios and Iapetos) symbolized the four corners of the Earth. Does anyone have a source for this or know more about it?
solsdottir
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11
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What is the origin of the worship or deification of cows in India?
Too far back to remember, the deification of cows in India seems to have existed. Are there some possible events in history which would explain this?
Fey Ray
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11
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Why was Europe named after Europa?
I just re-read the story of Zeus and Europa, and in the notes provided by my book, it mentions that the continent of Europe was named after the mythological Europa.
It gave no more explanation, and this confuses me, since Europa was taken to the…
ktm5124
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11
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What humanoid gods have had skin colors other than that of the people who worship them?
I know that the Egyptian (and therefore presumably Roman, since they incorporated those) gods had a rainbow of skin colors; and the Hindus have a really elaborate system of significant colors for gods and their avatars. And various black Madonnas…
DiegoF
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11
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Story of a man who slept in a tree and awoke to a plagued city
When I was a child my grandmother told me a myth of old times. I've read the myth (in a somewhat alternated version) in a book in my teenage years.
It goes like this:
A shepherd goes out to tend to his sheep, but gets tiered when the sun burns down…
Angelo Fuchs
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11
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How do we know that Gilgamesh was a demigod?
The Wikipedia page suggest that in the epic, Gilgamesh is a demigod of superhuman strength.
How do we know he was a demigod? What makes someone a demigod?
Did he possess some special powers that make him a superhuman?
kenorb
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11
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How did the discoveries of the planets Neptune and Uranus affect astrology?
According to what I understand, early astrology recognized seven astral forces: Sun, Moon, Mars, Venus, Mercury, Jupiter, and Saturn. When people later discovered the planets Neptune and Uranus, how did this affect astrology and how they tied the…
Reb Chaim HaQoton
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11
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Did the ancient Greeks believe the Olympians residence on Mt. Olympus to be a metaphor?
Did the ancient Greeks believe that the residence of the main Olympians on the top of Mt. Olympus to be literal? Or is Mt. Olympus used as a metaphor to explain that the gods resided on the highest point on Earth as understood by the Greeks? Do we…
Notaras
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11
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Why is tragedy a goat song?
Tragedy literally means
a goat's song or ode.
Is there any indication in mythology of why a goat song would be sad or dramatic?
As far as I know, Pan, Faunus, Silvanus... all part goat deities are more in tune to celebrating life to the hilt...
Reed -SE is a Fish on Dry Land
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11
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Do we know how Hercules avoided the Hydra's venomous breath?
In most all references to the Lernaean Hydra, it says that the hydra has venomous breath and blood.
Pseudo-Hyginus, Fabulae 30 :
"He [Herakles] killed at the spring of Lerna the nine headed Lernaean Hydra, offspring of Typhon. This monster was so…
Patrick vD
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11
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2 answers
Exactly how did Asclepius cure death?
So, in a myth, Asclepius cheated death because he brought someone back to life from the dead.
So how did he do it?
Clarifications: I mean the method, like
a potion?
a incantation?
anything of the sort?
bleh
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Why are the feet of bhoots facing backwards?
Bhoots are ghosts from Indian folklore, whose feet are facing backwards:
Bhoots are able to alter and assume forms of various animals at will, but are usually seen in human form. However, their feet often reveal them to be ghosts, as they are…
yannis
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11
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Why does the dragon emerge at the dawn of the new world?
The final stanza of the Völuspá - which immediately follows the stanzas describing the beauty of the reborn world - seems a bit out of place, if not outright bizarre:
66. Then comes the gloomy
dragon flying,
serpent from below,
from…
yannis
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11
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How did the Norse ship burial ritual originate from?
The Norse ship burial, according to Wikipedia:
A prominent tradition is that of the ship burial, where the deceased
was laid in a boat, or a stone ship, and given grave offerings in
accordance with his earthly status and profession, sometimes…
Dawny33
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Are there any epics featuring a female protagonist with less explored male characters?
In the Indian epic Ramayana, the women show some great complex characters, behaviours etc but they are much less explored and sometimes sidelined/forgotten(not entirely) by the overshadowing persona of the male characters. In the other Indian epic…
Rajat Bhat
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