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1500 questions
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Is there a myth of someone living in the sun?
Is there a Greek myth of some sort of a god, human, or other creature living in the sun?
user3797758
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Onokentauroi and Centaur- origin of both?
Theoi has an interesting mythical creature here
THE ONOKENTAUROS (or Onocentaur) was an African animal with the hybrid form of a man and an ass.
The Greeks and Romans later applied the name to a type of ape, possibly the chimpanzee.
And a centaur,…
bleh
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Twice a bridesmaid, never a bride?
I was reading Lafcadio Hearn's New Orleans Superstitions, when I came upon this proverb:
There are many superstitions about marriage, which seem to have a European origin, but are not less interesting on that account. "Twice a bridesmaid, never a…
yannis
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Why did Theseus betray Ariadne?
Quoting Theoi,
In one, Ariadne, the daughter of King Minos of Krete, assisted Theseus in his quest to slay the Minotaur, and then fled with him aboard his ship. However, when they landed on the island of Naxos, Theseus abandoned her as she was…
bleh
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4
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Why was the blood of Ouranos so powerful?
The blood of Ouranos gave birth to-
Aphrodite
three seasons
three Erinyes
the Gigantes
And that is quite a list for someone to give birth to when he is dead.
Is this just a given? A powerful god will have powerful blood? Something having to do…
bleh
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What is the name of the Mahabharata version told from the point of view of Sahadeva?
I found this blog about an article in the newspaper The Hindu, which has and excerpt from a retelling of the Mahabharata from the point of view of Sahadeva.
I searched for the book but could not find it. Can you identify it?
This is the excerpt…
Rajat Bhat
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What is the meaning or significance of the following Joseph Campbell quote?
And where we had thought to find an abomination we shall find a God.
Where we had thought to slay another we shall slay ourselves.
Where we had thought to travel outward we shall come to the center of our own existence.
And where we had thought…
Guest
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How much did Greek mythology vary throughout different regions of Greece?
I have picked this question up from the sample questions in the definition phase of this site. I found this question very interesting.
How different is the mythology across various regions of Greece, and are they connected to each other in some way…
Dawny33
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Why were baboons famous in Egypt?
Why were baboons famous in Egypt? They were sometimes kept as pets, had a god named for them, but did they have any significance?
ANOTHER EXAMPLE--Sun-worshipping baboons rise early to catch the African sunrise - and race each other to the top for…
bleh
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Why did Beowulf's men carry weapons?
In Part VII of Beowulf, Beowulf tells Hrothgar
I shall manage the matter, with the monster of evil,
The giant, decide it. Thee I would therefore
Beg of thy bounty, Bright-Danish chieftain,
Lord of the Scyldings, this single petition:
Not to…
HDE 226868
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Is Emily Wilson's 2018 translation of Homer's Odyssey correct to say the sorceress Circe had nymphs as 'slaves' (Book 10 line 349)?
'10.349 Meanwhile, four slaves, her house girls, were at work around the palace. They were nymphs, the daughters of fountains and of groves and holy rivers'
Nymphs were semi-divine, usually immortal, female beings associated with water or woods. Are…
Timothy
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Is Medea secretly the old woman and the Talking Oaken Image in Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Tanglewood Tales: The Golden Fleece"?
Medea, the enchantress, said to Jason:
I could tell you, if I pleased, who was the old woman with the
peacock, the pomegranate, and the cuckoo staff, whom you carried over
the river; and, likewise, who it is that speaks through the lips of
the…
Lyds
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Is there a name for the generational overthrow of gods/titans/giants?
There is a common pattern in various mythologies - particularly in the Indo-European "big family" set - of gods overthrowing monsters and sometimes being overthrown in turn by a new generation of deities. Does this trope of divine succession have a…
glenatron
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Can mermaids shapeshift and grow human legs to walk on land?
I've seen movies and tv shows that feature mermaids shapeshifting to grow legs (Pirates of the Caribbean) and I'm wondering if this has any ancient myths behind them?
Orionixe
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4
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Name of the tale in which a traveler inherits a boatman's curse after accepting to relay him
I have a vague recollection of a tale but get no hits from traditional search engines.
In my memory, this is an old and famous tale, that goes as follow:
A young man travels across a foreign land. After some time they reach a river, but the bridge…
AlexisPrel
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