Top Ten Best Types of Mythology
The amount of detail that is unknown to many people is astonishing. For example, the names of the men trying to marry Penelope, Odysseus' wife, each had a specific meaning. Consider Antinoos - Anti-noos - "Against thinking" - basically the one who will try to fool you so you think differently. Odysseus killed him with an arrow through his larynx - our vocal organ, so as to silence him. Such unknown details are endless. There is a hidden meaning in almost everything you read about.
The Greek gods can be very scummy and sometimes act immorally, but they made Greece popular as hell! Demigods, epics, war, and divine intervention from the gods - let's not forget Iliad and Odyssey by Homer! There are so many mini-stories in Greek mythology, which makes it super fun to learn!
Easily the most interesting. On one hand, there are so few sources, but on the other hand, the ones we have tend to be more consistent, though not always. But most of them were written by Christians, of course, as well as Arabic people, since the Old Norse people did not tend to be well-versed in written languages before the Christianization of the nations.
It has amazing, epic, but also surreal tales of a creature having their feet breed with one another and birthing beings out of his armpits, and has all the trappings of modern, or 1950s, fantasy literature. Even today's fantasy literature. But only it still feels fresh and its own. The idea of a world tree with many different worlds planted on it is very fascinating to me as well. We have had mountains, humanoid bodies, and many other kinds of cosmologies across the world, but I love my ancestors' idea of a giant tree the most.
Then there are the people of our nations themselves. They were big believers in honor, winning honor and riches by deeds, but of course, some were unhealthily fascinated with plundering, murdering, and raping women, especially women of foreign countries. The vikings, however, were pirates, not at all the main populations. That is what the definition of a viking is, by the way - a pirate, a plunderer.
Despite seeming insane by today's standards, the idea of going to Valhalla to live the good life when you die in battle is cool-sounding, but of course mostly in a historical, or maybe more literary, mindset. People would not do such a thing today or think it as honorable. But it is fascinating to read sagas, as well as modern interpretations of Old Norse life, where this may be a strong theme.
A little bit on the Old Norse people themselves:
Despite their infamy as violent savages, society in the Old Norse nations was more tolerable and equal than people give it credit for. Most of the above thoughts stemmed from the fact that my ancestors were not... more
Dude, this mythology should be in the top 3. They had very powerful hero gods and villain gods. For instance, Set was strong enough to move stars with his bare hands and could potentially be an ancient description of a planet buster by modern comic standards.
Egyptian gods have gone through some of the craziest back-and-forth battles. Horus had infinite stamina and could fight Set for three days straight, no food, no water. Amun Ra is basically the living tribunal then. There's Sekhmet, who almost made mankind extinct when Ra was pissed off. There were even villain magicians who could match Thoth's wisdom as a result of practicing heka (magic) to its fullest. Egypt also had some dope mythologies. They should be far up from where they are now.
Chinese mythology is one of the oldest. The novel Journey to the West is a great example.
I think it is very unique, and it has very cool myths, stories, and unique perspectives.
Kinda complicated and hard but yeah, super cool and fun to learn!
I like reading up on 1400s mythology.
I love learning about Celtic mythology. I'm surprised it's so low.
Celtic is awesome. It should be way higher.
Cyclopes are my favorite creatures, and there are a lot of those. Also, the gods are cool.
Japanese mythology is so diverse! The yokai can be minuscule or enormous. Sometimes they might live in the underworld. Some roam ours. They have so many different powers, intellects, and looks. They can have completely different personalities despite being a species. Some are kind of ridiculous, but some are terrifying.
Then when you look at the gods, you don't even know where to start because they have over 8 million. Personally, Japanese mythology will always be my favorite.
Japanese mythology is by far my favorite. The yokai are terrifying and bone-chilling, which makes it so, so good. Though it isn't as popular or huge as Greek or Norse mythology, the creatures and legends it has deserve all the credit. It should definitely be higher on this list.
In my opinion, Hindu mythology is the BEST! Hey, this might be because I'm Hindu and I may be biased. Well, I try not to be. I was searching about mythology for a project and I stumbled past this website. This got me thinking about this.
Hindu mythology is the base of moral values. Hindu mythology has its own gods, its own events, its own amazing qualities. Everyone seems to be so calm, so just. Ranging from the EPIC Mahabharata to the simple daily lives of the gods, what's there not to like? I've learned to appreciate these stories and events. I guess that's it. There is so much more to say that by the time I finish, my fingers would have decayed. This is just my opinion, and I have no intention of disrespecting any other religions or mythologies.
I rest my case!
I love these myths too. It's cool and less violent, but my favorite part about it is that these Roman gods have triads that focus on something, like the Capitoline Triad.
The Roman mythology is like the other side to Greek mythology.
Just Greek mythology flipped over but still fun. More military-like.
Elamite, Persian, and Iranian mythologies comprise the longest continual body of world mythology.
The Newcomers
Ananse stories originally began as tales of the anti-hero, Kweku Anansi, and evolved with a very large addition of characters. What sets Ananse stories apart from other mythologies is the maturity these stories carry. Let's face it: Greek mythology and others are so old they barely resonate when we read them. They're just classic. Ananse stories, on the other hand, are well-thought-out stories, from their structure to their content.
In the Ashanti Empire, children would gather around the storyteller as they enlightened everyone. What makes it interesting is that for a civilization that did not have a widespread writing system, their stories sound much more mature and realistic in our modern age, although they are pretty old.
Korean mythology is pretty hard to pronounce, but the stories are so good! I love it!
I, for one, think that Aztec mythology is beautiful. I believe it should be much higher.
Almost as gruesome and barbaric as the others, it's put nice and orderly in one book. It stole a bit of mythology from earlier sources (such as the flood from Gilgamesh, creation, Yahweh killing a great sea serpent with a sword, turning water into wine from the Greek god of wine, etc.). However, it does so less than others and keeps itself mostly grounded in reality post-Exodus.
Pretty good storytelling, but a bit inconsistent at times. It often features outdated ideology, like gay sex being a sin.
Probably the least gruesome mythos of all of these, less action but more good vibes.
The father of all mythologies. It inspired Greek mythology and others and should be in the top 5.
I love how the first mythology ever recorded really influenced generations to come.
They are so interesting, not just their mythology, but as people. I like to think that mythology is a reflection of who created it.
Great stories that fit into history!