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11
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What is the source for this legend about baking virgin's blood into breads?
Rabbi Solomon ibn Verga writes the following in his work Shevet Yehuda (Ch. 7):
A temple of Lucifer/Venus had a statue with a phallic device which was used to deflower virgins brought in for that purpose. The priests would then gather the blood of…
Reb Chaim HaQoton
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11
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How does one search for patterns/motifs in folklore or mythology?
I'm currently attempting to research how often a specific type of story (i.e. a motif) occurs in the global corpus of folklore (mythology). For instance, I might be interested in whether there are examples of powerful figures loosing an eye (other…
user62
11
votes
2 answers
Why does Gilgamesh kill Urshanabi's stone men?
In Tablet X of The Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh smashes the stone men that crew Ur-shanabi's boat.
They took fright, the Stone [Ones, who crewed] the boat,
who were not [harmed by the Waters] of Death .
. . . . . . . . . the wide…
user62
11
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2 answers
Why is Echidna at Arima?
In Hesiod's Theogony, he writes
And there she has a cave deep down under a hollow rock far from the deathless gods and mortal men. There, then, did the gods appoint her a glorious house to dwell in: and she keeps guard in Arima beneath the earth,…
HDE 226868
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11
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Is there any explanation in greek mythology for the creation of Uranus and Gaea?
I was just wondering because there never seems to be a beginning. Greek mythology always seems to start with just there being Uranus and Gaea with no events before that. Is there a beginning before the beginning?
awesomepi
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11
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3 answers
Are there any other mythological beings that got a replacement metal arm, other than Nuada, Lugh Llaw Ereint, and Sigurd?
Are there any other mythological beings that got a replacement metal arm, other than Nuada, Lugh Llaw Ereint, and Sigurd?
I found these three from the Mythology section in TV Tropes:
The Battle of Magh Tuireadh relates how Nuada, king of the…
Malady
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11
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Who is the mother of Freyr and Freyja?
Skadi seems to marry Njord after Freyja and Freyr are born. The only other figure I can find is Nerthus, though information on her seems scarce.
Shaymin Gratitude
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11
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When did "Herm" images appear in Greece?
The Greek god Hermes is sometimes depicted as a plain column with a carved head at the top, and an erect phallus (a "Herm"). What's the earliest estimate on when these statues appeared?
How does that date compare with ithyphalic representations in…
Helmsman Of-Inepu
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11
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How did the importance attached to the number seven originate?
I was reading Why 7? on SFF, and it got me thinking. I know that there are plenty of occurrences of the number 7 (see for example Wikipedia), some for quite a long time, for example the seven deadly sins of Christianity.
In popular (western)…
clem steredenn
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11
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Where did the myth about the sword in the stone originate?
Where did the story/myth of the sword in the stone originate?There have been theories of it originating in Rome and England. It is also said to be just a story, but I think otherwise. There is a theory that the book written by
T.H. White was…
anonymous
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What is the context behind Gilgamesh's rejection of Ishtar?
In Tablet VI of the Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh rejects Ishtar's advances after describing the harm she has caused to her previous lovers (e.g. she turned a shepard into a wolf).
I have a few questions about that part of the story:
Why does…
user62
10
votes
1 answer
Are Liberty and Columbia the same Goddess?
It is hard to miss the resemblance:
Liberty (example: the Statue of Liberty)
Columbia (example: the Columbia Pictures logo)
Both are seen as female personifications of the United States (similar to Britannia, of the UK). They both seem to…
femtoRgon
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10
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According to the myth of the indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest, how did people get fire?
Many systems of myth have a mythological explanation for how mankind came to possess fire (the most famous, at least in Western Civilization, is probably that of how Prometheus stole fire).
How does the mythology of the Native Americans of the…
senshin
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10
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Symbolism of three characters leading Mayday ritual in The Wicker Man
In The Wicker Man (1973), the Mayday procession is headed by three masked characters:
Their cast includes many alarming characters:
A man-animal, or hobbyhorse,
who canters at the head of the
procession charging at the girls;
A man-woman, the…
amphibient
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10
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Are Fenrir and Jormungandr Jötnar?
I though Jötnar were humanoid in appearance, and yet Loki and Angrboda produced a serpent and a wolf as offspring.
I know that Loki and Angrboda are Jötnar, so how did they give birth to monsters in the form of animals when they themselves are more…
Amortal Demon
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