For everyone and everything. Famous myths, legends and hoaxes

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A modern person is unlikely to believe in myths and legends. However, despite the many reliable facts available, the legends still do not lose their popularity. Each guide uses the brightest stories to grab the listeners' attention. After all, legends evoke a feeling of surprise and admiration, especially when the topic concerns unique and unlikely places.

Giants Causeway, Northern Ireland

Giants Causeway, Northern Ireland Despite the fact that scientists claim that the Giant's Causeway was formed as a result of an ancient volcanic eruption, there is a legend about the Celtic hero Finn McCool, who decided to fight the one-eyed giant Goll. To do this, he drove many columns into the bottom of the Irish Sea, from which a kind of bridge turned out. Having worked wonderfully well, the hero lay down to rest, and in the meantime, Goll himself crossed the bridge to Ireland. Finn's wife, sensing danger, ran out to meet the giant and assured the monster that the sleeping Finn was a baby. Then she treated the uninvited guest with cakes, in which the frying pans were hidden, and her husband - with ordinary ones. The first one broke his teeth, and the second one ate his portion without even grimacing. The frightened Goll, seeing the power of such a child, imagined his father and fled the country, breaking the bridge behind him.

Palace Complex Forbidden City in Beijing

This palace complex is considered the largest of its kind - 720 thousand square meters. Going back to the past, you could not get inside without losing your head. Today, everyone has the opportunity to visit here and learn the legends that surround this place. One of the most popular is that Emperor Zhu Di dreamed of four watchtowers never seen before. Waking up, he ordered to erect structures taken away in a dream in the corners of the walls of the Forbidden City in three months. In case of failure to comply with the order, the builders were threatened the death penalty... After a month, the chief architect was unable to develop a construction plan. Out of despair, he went for a walk around the city, during which he came across a seller of cages with grasshoppers. For fun, he bought one of the cages and was amazed. It was her design that was the ideal model for the towers. The Emperor was more than ever pleased with the result; the old man who sold grasshoppers turned out to be the god of carpenters Lu Ban.

Avenue of the baobabs, Madagascar

Avenue of the baobabs, Madagascar. The island is famous not only for lemurs, but also for giant trees. The baobab alley is located in its western part. According to one of the legends, once the god was in a bad mood and a baobab fell under his arm. Spilling out his anger, he uprooted the tree and inserted it back into the ground, crown down.

Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls. The facility is located on the border between the United States and Canada. The most beloved legend of the guides says about the Maiden of the Mist; According to one version, the daughter of a Seneca tribe leader named Lelavala was chosen as a sacrifice to the god who lived in the depths of the waterfall. Thus, the inhabitants of the tribe wanted to appease the angry god who poisoned the water. The selfless girl voluntarily went in a canoe to meet death, but she was saved by the god Khan, who told about the terrible serpent that settled in the river and was the cause of all troubles. Lelavala returned to the village and told her father about the monster. Gathering the warriors, the leader entered into battle with the serpent and defeated him.

Great Sphinx, Egypt

The sculpture, towering over the Giza plateau, is considered one of the oldest surviving to this day. She is a figure lying on the sand with the body of a lion and the head of a man. The history of the Great Sphinx is shrouded in many legends and speculations. One of the most popular is the legend of Crown Prince Thutmose, son of Pharaoh Amenhotep III and Queen Tiyya. Once, while hunting in the desert, Thutmose recalled his guards to pray alone at the pyramids. Tired of the midday sun, he lay down to rest in the shade of the Sphinx, which in those days was covered with sand up to his shoulders. However, the statue came to life and spoke to the man. She told Thutmose about the future reign and ordered them to clear their paws from the sand. Then she looked at the prince with huge bright eyes and he lost consciousness. When he woke up, the heir took an oath to fulfill the request. Becoming Pharaoh Thutmose IV, he ordered the excavation of the statue and the installation of a granite stele.

the great Wall of China

One of the most romantic and heartbreaking legends about the construction of the Great Wall of China is the legend of Meng Jiang Nu. There were two married couples named Meng and Jiang who had no children living in the neighborhood. One day, Jiang's wife planted a lagenaria, who threw her vine through the wall to the neighbors. Over time, the plant yielded in the form of a huge pumpkin. Friendly neighbors decided to divide it in half. Having cut the fruit, they found a child inside. The girl was named Meng Jiang Nu and was raised together. She grew up to be a real beauty, whom the world had never seen; she married Fan Xilian, who was hiding from the government, which forced all young people to build the Great Wall of China. The happiness of the young did not last long; Fanya Silyan was found and forcibly sent to a construction site. The girl was waiting for her beloved whole year without receiving any news. Then she went in search of him, but they were in vain. No one knew where her husband was, and later it was discovered that he died of exhaustion and was buried in the wall. Meng Jiang Nu, unable to relieve her pain, cried for three days and three nights. The part of the wall she was on collapsed. For the damage, the emperor intended to punish the widow, but when he saw her beautiful face, he offered to marry. Meng Jiang Nu agreed, but on condition to bury her ex-husband properly. The emperor complied with the demand, but after that Meng Jiang Nu committed suicide by drowning in the sea.

Mount Etna, Sicily

Mount Etna, Sicily. The volcano is one of the highest and most active in Europe. In its entire history, it has erupted more than 200 times. In 1669, the eruption of Etna lasted four months, destroying 12 villages. According to legend, this eruption was caused by nothing more than the hundred-headed monster Typhon (the son of Gaia), which was imprisoned by Zeus inside Etna. Every time Typhon was angry, there was an earthquake and an eruption.

Mount Fuji on Honshu Island, Japan

The mountain is considered one of the most recognizable natural attractions in the country. The object is a popular theme in Japanese art; it can be found in songs, movies, and, of course, legends and myths. One of the legends says about married couple who lived near Mount Fujiyama. The husband was a bamboo gatherer. Once, while cutting raw materials, he found a girl in bamboo the size of thumb arms. Delighted, the spouses took the child up for themselves, since they did not have their own children. Then, continuing to work, the man found an ingot of gold in the bamboo. Suddenly, the wealthy family healed happily. The girl, who was named Kaguya-hime, grew up to be a beautiful girl. Many tried to get her hand, even the emperor himself, but the beauty refused everyone, wanting to return to where she came from - to the moon. One full moon, the subjects of the moon finally came to Kaguya-hime to take her home. The girl left the emperor a gift in the form of an elixir of life and a letter. He, in turn, ordered the gifts to be taken to the mountain and burned, since he did not want to live forever without love. So the flame of the elixir and the letters made Mount Fujiyama a volcano.

Sometimes the truth is more incredible than fiction. But people seem to gravitate more towards myths and mysteries than truth. Legends are amazing and fascinating, especially when it comes to famous places or personalities. This article will tell you about ten popular sights and amazing legends associated with them.

Sphinx

Experts agreed on only a few facts about the Great Sphinx of Giza: it is one of the largest and oldest statues in the world, as well as a creature with the body of a lion and the head of a man similar to egyptian pharaoh... The rest comes down to speculation and beliefs.

The legend about the prince of Egypt Thutmose, the grandson of Thutmose III, a descendant of Queen Hatshepsut, is a favorite story of the admirers of the Sphinx. The young man was the joy of his father, which aroused the jealousy of his relatives. Someone even plotted to kill him.

Due to family troubles, Thutmose spent more and more time away from home - in Upper Egypt and the desert. He was a strong and agile guy and enjoyed hunting and archery. Once, as usual, while he was away his leisure time, hunting down a wild beast, the prince left behind two of his servants, languishing from the heat, and went to pray to the pyramids.

He stopped in front of the Sphinx, in those days known as Harmahis - god rising sun... A massive stone statue up to its shoulders was covered with sand. Thutmose looked at the Sphinx, begging to relieve him of all his problems. Suddenly, the huge statue came to life, and a thunderous voice came from its mouth.

The Sphinx asked Thutmose to free him from the sand pulling down. Eyes mythical creature burned so brightly that, looking into them, the prince fell unconscious. When he woke up, the day was drawing to a close. Thutmose slowly rose to his feet in front of the Sphinx and swore an oath to him. He promised that he would cleanse the statue of the sand covering it and immortalize the memory of this incident in stone if he becomes the next pharaoh. And the young man kept his word.

Fairy tale with a good ending or true - Thutmose actually became the next ruler of Egypt, and his problems were far behind. The story gained popularity only 150 years ago, when archaeologists cleared the sand from the Sphinx and found a stone tablet between its paws describing the legend of Prince Thutmose and his oath to the Great Sphinx of Giza.

The great Wall of China

Story about tragic love is just one of the many legends of the Great Wall of China. But Meng Jiannyu's story - perhaps the saddest of them all - is capable of moving from the very first lines. It talks about the Meng spouses who lived next door to another couple named Jiang. Both families were happy but childless. So, as usual, the years passed until the Maines decided to plant a pumpkin vine in their garden. The plant grew rapidly and bore fruit outside the Jiang fence.

Being good friends, the neighbors agreed to share the pumpkin equally. Imagine their surprise when, having cut it, they saw a baby inside. A tiny, lovely girl. As before, the two amazed couples decided to share the responsibilities of raising a baby named Meng Jiannyu.

Their daughter has grown very beautiful girl... She married young man named Fan Xilyan. However, the young man was hiding from the authorities, who tried to force him to join the construction of the Great Wall. And, unfortunately, he could not hide forever: just three days after their wedding, Silyan was forced to join other workers.

For a whole year, Meng waited for her husband's return, without receiving any news of his health or the progress of construction. One day Fan dreamed of her in a disturbing dream, and the girl, unable to bear the silence any longer, went in search of him. She traveled a long way, crossing rivers, hills and mountains, and reached the wall, only to hear that Silyan had died of exhaustion and was resting at its foot.

Maine could not contain her grief and cried for three days in a row, because of which part of the structure collapsed. The emperor, who heard about this, considered that the girl should be punished, but as soon as he saw her beautiful face, he immediately changed his anger to mercy and asked for her hand in marriage. She agreed, but on condition that the ruler would fulfill her three requests. Maine wished to declare mourning for Silyan (including for the emperor and his servants). The young widow asked for her husband's funeral and expressed her need to see the sea.

Meng Jiannyu never remarried. After attending the funeral ceremony for Fan, she committed suicide by throwing herself into the depths of the sea.

Another version of the legend says that the grieving girl cried until the wall collapsed and the remains of the dead workers appeared from the ground. Knowing that somewhere below her husband was lying, Meng cut her hand and watched as the blood dripped on the bones of the dead. Suddenly, she began to flock around one skeleton, and Meng realized that she had found Silyan. Then the widow buried him and took his own life by jumping into the ocean.

Forbidden City

In the past, the average tourist never had a chance to get to the Forbidden City. And if he could penetrate the walls, he would leave their heads. Literally. This ancient palace complex is the largest in the world and one of a kind. During the reign of the Qing dynasty, it was closed to the public, for more than 500 years, only the emperors and their entourage saw the city from the inside.

At least today, guests are allowed to explore the site and listen to the legends associated with it. One of them tells that the four watchtowers of the Forbidden City appeared in a dream.

Allegedly, during the Ming dynasty, the city was surrounded only by high walls, without a hint of towers. Emperor Yongle, who reigned in the 15th century, once had a vivid dream about his residence. He dreamed of the fantastic watchtowers that adorn the fortress in the corners. Having woken up, the sovereign immediately ordered his builders to make the dream come true.

According to legend, after the failed attempts of two detachments of workers (and their subsequent execution by beheading), the foreman of the third group of builders was very nervous, getting to work. But having modeled the tower on the model of the cage for grasshoppers he had seen, he managed to make Vladyka happy.

He also tried to include the number nine, the symbol of the nobility, in the design to please the emperor even more. They say the old man who sold the cricket cages that inspired the watchtowers was Lu Ban, the mythological patron saint of all Chinese carpenters.

Niagara Falls

The Maiden of the Mist legend may have inspired the name for the Niagara Falls river cruise. As with most legends, there are different versions of it.

The most famous - tells about an Indian girl named Lelavala, sacrificed to the gods. To appease them, she was thrown from Niagara Falls. The original version of the legend says that Lelavala sailed down the river in a canoe, and she was accidentally carried away downstream.

The girl was saved from certain death by Hinum, the god of thunder, who finally taught her how to defeat a huge snake that lived in the river. Lelavala conveyed a message to her tribesmen, and they declared war on the monster. Many believe that Niagara Falls acquired its present form as a result of subsequent battles between humans and the monster.

Incorrectly retold versions of this legend have appeared in print since 17th century, many attributed some errors to Robert Cavelier de La Salle, a European researcher North America... He claimed that he had visited the Iroquois tribe and witnessed the sacrifice of a virgin - the daughter of the leader, and in the very last minute unhappy father fell victim own conscience and fell into the abyss of water after the girl. So Lelavala was named the Lady of the Mist.

However, Robert's wife opposed her own spouse and accused him of portraying the Iroquois people so ignorant only in order to appropriate their land.

Devil's Peak and Table Mountain

Devil's Peak is an infamous mountainside in South Africa. He saw a lot, he could tell so much: including the wonderful legend of how fog rises from the ocean and envelops the summit along with Table Mountain. Cape Towns and other South Africans still tell this tale to their children and grandchildren.

In the 1700s, a pirate named Jan van Hanks decided to leave his dashing past behind and settled in Cape Town. He got married and twisted family nest at the foot of the mountain. Jan loved to smoke a pipe, but his wife hated this habit and chased him out of the house whenever he took up tobacco.

Van Hanks got into the habit of going to the mountains to smoke quietly in nature. One perfectly ordinary day, as always, he climbed the slope, but found a stranger in his favorite place. Jan did not see the man's face, since he was covered with wide hat brims, and he was dressed in all black.

Before the former sailor could say anything, a strange man greeted him by name. Van Hanks sat down next to him and began a conversation that fluently turned to the topic of smoking. Jan often bragged about how much tobacco he could handle, and this conversation was no exception after a stranger asked the pirate to smoke.

He told van Hanks that he could easily smoke more than him, and they immediately decided to check it out - to compete.

Huge puffs of smoke surrounded the men, swallowed the mountains - suddenly the stranger began to cough. The hat fell from his head and Ian gasped. Before him was Satan himself. Angry that a mere mortal had exposed him, the devil was transported along with van Hanks in an unknown direction, flashing a flash of lightning.

Now, every time Devil's Peak and Table Mountain are covered with fog, people say that it is Van Hanks and the Prince of Darkness who have taken their places on the slope again and compete in smoking.

Mount Etna

Etna - Located on the east coast of Sicily, one of the highest active volcanoes in Europe. The first recorded revival took place in 1500 BC. e., and since then he has spat fire at least 200 times. During the eruption of 1669, which lasted four whole months, lava covered 12 villages and destroyed the surrounding areas.

According to Greek legend, the source of volcanic activity is none other than a 100-headed monster (dragon-like) that spews columns of flame from one of its mouths when angry. Apparently, this is a huge monster - Typhon, the son of Gaia, the goddess of the Earth. He was a rather naughty child, and Zeus sent him to live under Mount Etna. Therefore, from time to time, Typhon's wrath takes the form of boiling magma shooting straight into the heavens.

Another version tells about the terrible one-eyed giant Cyclops, who lived inside the mountain. One day Odysseus arrived at its foot to fight with a mighty creature. Cyclops tried to pacify the king of Ithaca, throwing huge boulders from the top, but the cunning hero managed to get to the giant and win by thrusting a spear into his only eye. The defeated big man disappeared into the bowels of the mountain. Further, the legend says that the crater of Etna is in reality the wounded eye of the Cyclops, and the lava splashing out of it is a drop of the giant's blood.

Alley of baobabs

The island of Madagascar resonates with many people around the world, and it's not just lemurs. The main local attraction is the delightful Avenue of the Baobabs, located on west coast... "Mother of the Forest" - 25 huge trees lined on both sides of the dirt road. This is exactly where the indigenous inhabitants of the island are, in all respects, and the largest representatives of your kind! Naturally, their amazing location has given rise to many legends and myths.

One of them says that the baobabs tried to escape while God was creating them, so he decided to plant the plants upside down. This might explain their root-like branches. Others tell a completely different story. Allegedly, the trees were originally unusually beautiful. But they became proud and began to boast of their superiority, for which God immediately turned them upside down so that only their roots became visible. It is said that it is for this reason that baobabs bloom and release leaves for only a few weeks a year.

Myth or not, six varieties of these plants are found only in Madagascar. However, deforestation poses a serious threat even against the background of all the activities and efforts being made there, aimed at protecting and restoring forests. If more is not done to protect them, the protagonists of these legends may disappear, most likely forever.

Giant's trail

The unintentional creation of the Giant's Causeway, located in Northern Ireland, is what can happen if you get involved in a fight with a giant. At least, the legend convinces us of this. While scientists believe that the basalt pillars in the form of regular hexagons are a 60 million year old lava accumulation, the legend of Benandonner, the Scottish giant, sounds a little more intriguing.

It tells about the Irish brute Finn McCool and his long-standing feud with the Scottish big guy Benandonner. One fine day, two giants started another squabble across the North Strait - Finn got so angry that he grabbed a handful of earth and threw it at his hated neighbor. A lump of mud landed in the water and is now known as the Isle of Man, and the place where McCool rests is called Lough Nei.

The war flared up, and Finn McCool decided to build a bridge for Benandonner (the Scottish giant could not swim). Thus, they could meet and fight, solve the old dispute - who is the bigger giant. After the pavement was built, tired Finn fell asleep soundly.

While he was sleeping, his wife heard a deafening rumble and realized that it was the sound of the footsteps of the approaching Benandonner. When he arrived at the couple's house, Finn's wife was horrified - her husband's death came, because he turned out to be much smaller than his neighbor. A resourceful woman, she quickly wrapped a large blanket around McCool and slipped the largest cap she could find over his head. Then she opened the front door.

Benandonner shouted into the house for Finn to come out, but the woman hissed and said that he would wake her "baby". Legend has it that when the Scotsman saw the size of the "child", he did not wait for his father to appear. The giant immediately ran back home, destroying the passage through the strait on the way so that no one could follow him.

Mount fuji

Mount Fuji is a huge volcano in Japan. It is not only a major attraction, but also an important part Japanese culture- the theme of many songs, movies and, of course, myths and legends. The story of the first eruption is believed to be the oldest legend country.

An elderly bamboo gatherer was carrying out his daily task when he came across something very unusual. A tiny baby the size of a thumb was staring at him from the trunk of a plant he had just cut. Struck by the beauty of the baby, the old man took her home to raise her with his wife as his own daughter.

Soon after the incident, Taketi (that was the name of the collector) began to make other surprising discoveries while working. Every time he cut a bamboo stem, he found a gold nugget inside. His family became rich very quickly. The little girl has grown into a young woman of stunning beauty. The adoptive parents eventually learned that her name was Kaguya-hime and she was sent to Earth from the Moon to protect against the raging war there.

Because of her beauty, the girl received several marriage proposals, including from the emperor himself, but rejected them all, as she sought to return home to the moon. When her people finally arrived for her, the ruler of Japan was so miserable at the early parting that he sent his army to fight with own family Kaguya. However bright Moonlight blinded them.

As a parting gift, Kaguya-hime (which means "moon princess") sent the emperor a letter and an elixir of immortality, which he did not accept. In turn, he wrote her a letter and ordered the servants to climb the highest mountain peak in Japan and burn it along with the elixir, in the hope that they will reach the moon.

However, the only thing that happened during the execution of the order of the sovereign on Fujiyama was a fire that could not be extinguished. So, according to legend, Mount Fuji became a volcano.

Yosemite

Half Dome's Rock national park USA Yosemite is a real challenge when it comes about the ascent, but at the same time the place is considered a favorite among hikers and climbers. When the Native Americans lived here, they called it Broken Mountain. At some point, as a result of repeated glaciation and thawing, the rock separated from it most of breed - this is how it acquired its present appearance.

The origin of the Half Dome has become the subject of a wonderful legend, still passed on by word of mouth, and they are all called "Tales of Tis-sa-ak." Tradition also explains the unusual face-shaped silhouette that can be seen on one side of the mountain.

The legend tells of an elderly Indian woman and her wife who traveled to the Auani Valley. All the way, the lady carried a heavy wicker basket of reeds, while her husband simply brandished his cane. This was the custom in those days, and no one would have thought it strange that a man was in no hurry to help his wife.

By the time they reached the mountain lake, a woman named Tis-sa-ak was thirsty, tired of her heavy burden and the scorching sun. Therefore, without wasting a second, she rushed to the water to get drunk.

When her husband came there, he was horrified to find that his wife had drained the whole lake. But then everything only worsened: due to the lack of water, a drought hit the area, and all the greenery dried up. The man got so angry that he swung his cane at his wife.

Tis-sa-ak burst into tears and ran with a basket in her hands. At some point, she turned around to throw a basket at her husband who was pursuing her. And when their gaze met, the Great Spirit who lived in the valley turned both of them to stone.

Today the couple are known as Half Dome and Washington Colum. They say that if you look closely at the slope of the mountain, you can see a woman's face, on which tears silently flow.

Who doesn't love entertaining stories? When the world is in a state of excitement, it is good to have a little distraction with fiction, cinematography, or video games. However, it is worth remembering that many fantastic stories were actually a reflection of very real events.

Even some myths and legends, oddly enough, turned out to be true, and in many cases the reality, completely provable by scientific means, managed to surpass fantastic stories.

In the south of France there is ancient cave Chauvet-Pont D "Arc), where our ancestors lived 37 thousand years ago. At that time, mankind did not yet have advanced technologies and did not exist highly developed civilizations... The ancients were mostly nomads, hunters and gatherers who had just lost their close relatives and neighbors, the Neanderthals.

The Chauvet Cave Walls are a treasure trove for archaeologists and anthropologists. The pigmented works of prehistoric art that adorn the walls of the cave depict a variety of wildlife, from giant deer and bears to lions and even fur-covered rhinos. These animals are surrounded by images Everyday life people.

Due to the amazing rock painting Chauvet cave is called the cave of forgotten dreams.

In 1994, on one of the walls, quite unusual picture, similar to jets rising into the sky and overlapping images of animals.

For several decades, most scientists considered this an abstract image, which in itself is extremely unusual, because all the drawings in the cave mostly depicted quite literal things.

Explanation

Asking the question: “what if a volcanic eruption is depicted on the cave wall?”, Scientists traced volcanic activity in the region during the creation of rock paintings.

It turned out that only 35 kilometers from Chauvet were found the remains of powerful eruption... Surely an eruption large volcano that happened in the immediate vicinity of people's homes, led them to the idea that such an incident should be captured for future generations.

The inhabitants of the Solomon Islands willingly share the legend of an ancient leader named Roraimenu, whose wife decided to secretly escape with another man and settle with him on the island of Theonimanu.

In anger, the leader sought out the curse and went to Theonimana in his canoe, decorated with the image of sea waves.

He brought three taro plants to the island, planted two on the island, and kept one with him. According to the rules of the curse, as soon as his plant begins to grow, the place where the other two were planted will disappear from the face of the earth.

The curse worked. Standing on top of the mountain, Roraimenu watched as the neighboring island was swallowed up by huge waves of the sea.

In the reality

Theonimanu island really existed in reality and really disappeared as a result of seismic activity. The only thing that scientists cannot say for sure is when exactly a strong earthquake destroyed the underwater foot of this volcanic island and forced it to sink under water.

The strong waves that the leader observed from the top of the mountain turned out to be not so much the reason for the disappearance of the island, but the result.

At that time, the peninsula was not divided into two states and was home to a developed empire with excellent science.

On that spring night in 1437, several astronomers recorded a noticeable flash in the dark sky. According to them, this outbreak did not go out for two weeks. Someone considered this phenomenon a divine sign, and someone - the birth of a new star.

Scientific explanation

In 2017, a team of researchers uncovered the secret. Scientists have linked this event to activity in the constellation Scorpio. It turned out that the outbreak did not indicate the birth of a star, but rather a death dance, called Nova in astronomy.

The nova is the result of the interaction of a white dwarf - the dead core of an ancient star and a companion star. The dwarf's dense core steals its partner's hydrogen gas until it reaches a critical mass. After that, the dwarf collapses under the influence of gravity. It is this explosion that can be seen on the surface of the Earth.

Indigenous tribes have a rich oral tradition, passing down the history of peoples from generation to generation. One such story has been passed down through 230 generations of the indigenous people of the Australian Gugu Badhun tribe. This fascinating history is seven thousand years old and older than most of the world's civilizations.

An audio recording from the 1970s captured the tribal chief talking about a huge explosion that shook the Earth and created a huge crater. Thick dust rose into the sky, and people who had gone into this darkness never returned. The air was unbearably hot, and the water in the rivers and seas boiled and blazed.

The research team subsequently discovered the now extinct but once powerful Kinrara volcano in northeastern Australia. About seven thousand years ago, this volcano erupted, which could well have been accompanied by the described consequences.

Initially, the Chinese dragon played the role of an antagonist in Japanese folklore. However, in the 18th century, this role went to the giant sea catfish Namaz - a mythical monster of enormous size that lived in sea ​​waters and capable of causing violent earth shaking simply by slapping its tail along the bottom. Only the god Kashima could immobilize Namaz, but as soon as the god turned away, the catfish took up the old and shook the earth.

In 1855, Edo (today Tokyo) was almost completely destroyed by a 7-point earthquake that killed ten thousand people. At that time, people blamed Namazu for the disaster.

In reality, the earthquake was caused by a sudden rupture along the junction of the Eurasian and Filipino tectonic plates. Scientists predict such an earthquake may happen again, but now we have scientific evidence of the causes of such disasters and it would never occur to anyone to blame the sea monster for the movement of tectonic plates.

Pele is the name of the Hawaiian goddess of volcanic fire. It is said that she decided to choose Hawaii as a refuge from her older sister. She hid under each island until she found her place in the depths of the main island, forming the Kilauea volcano.

This is why the legends say that Kilauea is the fiery heart of Hawaii. And this is scientifically confirmed: at least on the surface of the islands, Kilauea is the volcanic center of the archipelago.

The legend also says that Pele's tears and hair can often be found around the volcano. However, the presence of frozen "tears" and "hair" is easily explained by physics.

When lava cools quickly, especially in water or cold air, it turns into volcanic glass. When lava cools while in motion, its splashes sometimes form tear-shaped droplets; in other cases, the jets freeze to form thin, hair-like glass tubes.

That is why those passing by active volcano people can easily find the petrified tears and hair of the ancient fire goddess who dwells in the bowels of Kilauea.

The content of the section is legends and sagas, epics and epics, canons and apocrypha of religions from all over the world.

Myth(Greek μῦθος - legend, legend) - a story, an archaic story about gods, spirits (later about heroes). The myth is historically the first form of culture, compensating for the inadequacy of practical mastery of nature through semantic interrelationship with it.

Added approx. 2006-2007

Mesopotamia (Mesopotamia) ancient Greek geographers called the plain area between the Tigris and the Euphrates. The self-name of this area is Shinar. Development center the most ancient civilization was in Babylonia ...

The Hittite religion, like the entire Hittite culture, developed through the interaction of cultures different nations... During the period of the unification of the disparate city-states of Anatolia into a single kingdom, local traditions and cults, apparently, were preserved ...

The main monuments reflecting the mythological ideas of the Egyptians are various religious texts: hymns and prayers to the gods, records of funeral rites on the walls of tombs ...

The earliest mentions of Ugarit were found in Egyptian documents of the 2nd millennium BC. Two huge royal palaces were excavated, which amazed contemporaries with their luxury, temples of the gods Balu, Dagana and, possibly, Ilu, houses, workshops, a necropolis. An archive of the XIV century was also found. BC, including magical and religious texts ...

The myths of Ancient Greece - their essence becomes clear only when taking into account the peculiarities of the primitive communal system of the Greeks, who perceived the world as the life of one huge tribal community and in the myth generalized all the diversity of human relations and natural phenomena ...

Northern mythology represents an independent and richly developed branch of Germanic mythology, which, in its turn, basically goes back to the most ancient Proto-Indo-European history ...

Vedic mythology - a set of mythological representations of the Vedic Aryans; Usually, Vedic mythology is understood as the mythological representations of the Aryans of the period of the creation of the Vedas, and sometimes of the period of the creation of the Brahmins ...

Buddhist mythology, a complex of mythological images, characters, symbols associated with the religious and philosophical system of Buddhism, which arose in the 6-5 centuries. BC. in India, during the period of the centralized state, and widely spread in the South, Southeast and Central Asia and in the Far East ...

Unlike ancient mythology well known for fiction and works of art, as well as mythologies of the countries of the East, the texts of the myths of the Slavs have not reached our time, because at that distant time, when the myths were created, they did not yet know the written language ...

Why is this on a site that was originally designed for myths and various religious and anti-religious? - There is simply no desire to replenish myths now. Did not hear? - Ukraine was attacked. And the chaos in the heads from Sikelev is more terrible than the religious one. About myths later.

March 7, 2019

Orthodox have the day of the holy Martyr Eugenia

321 BC- by the decree of the Roman emperor Constantine, Sunday was declared a day off

1274 BC- died Thomas Aquinas, philosopher and theologian, saint

1530 g.- The Pope denied the English king Henry VIII the right to divorce, which prompted the king to create an Anglican church

1693 g.- Pope Clement XIII (Carlo della Tore Rezzonico) was born

1724 g.- Pope Innocent XIII (Michelangelo dei Conti) died

1768 g.- according to the agreement between Russia and Poland, Orthodox and Catholics are equal in rights on the territory of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth

1965 g.- for the first time in Canada in catholic churches divine services were performed in English

1984 year- Polish students staged a sit-in at Stanislav Staszek College in Metna, demanding the re-installation of crucifixes in the classrooms

Random Joke

Holy father? I have sex with my fiancee 15 times a day ... Is that a sin?
- Yes, my son, a lie is a great sin.

The Creator sat on the throne and meditated. Behind Him stretched the boundless firmament of heaven, bathed in the splendor of light and colors, the black night of Space stood before Him as a wall. He rose to the very zenith, like a majestic steep mountain, and His divine head shone in the sky like a distant sun ...

Sabbath day. As usual, no one observes it. Nobody but our family. Sinners everywhere gather in crowds and indulge in merriment. Men, women, girls, boys - they all drink wine, fight, dance, play gambling, they laugh, shout, sing. And they are engaged in all sorts of other abominations ...

Received the Mad Prophet today. He is a good man, and in my opinion, his mind is much better than his reputation. He received this nickname a very long time ago and completely undeservedly, since he simply makes predictions, and does not prophesy. He doesn't pretend to be. He makes his predictions based on history and statistics ...

First day of the fourth month of the year 747 from the beginning of the world. Today I am 60 years old, for I was born in the year 687 from the beginning of the world. My relatives came to me and begged me to marry, so that our family would not be cut short. I am still young to take on such concerns, although I know that my father Enoch, and my grandfather Jared, and my great-grandfather Maleleil, and my great-great-grandfather Cainan, all got married at the age that I reached this day ...

Another discovery. Somehow I noticed that William McKinley looks quite sick. This is the very first lion, and from the very beginning I became very attached to him. I examined the poor man, looking for the cause of his ailment, and found that an unchewed head of cabbage was stuck in his throat. I couldn't get it out, so I took a broomstick and pushed it inside ...

... Love, peace, peace, endless quiet joy - this is how we knew life in the Garden of Eden. It was a pleasure to live. The passing time left no traces - neither suffering nor decrepitude; sickness, sorrow, worries had no place in Eden. They lurked behind its fence, but they could not penetrate it ...

I am almost one day old. I showed up yesterday. So, in any case, it seems to me. And, probably, this is exactly so, because if it was the day before yesterday, I did not exist then, otherwise I would have remembered it. It is possible, however, that I simply did not notice when it was the day before yesterday, although it was ...

This is a new creature with long hair it bothers me very much. It sticks out in front of my eyes all the time and follows me on my heels. I don’t like it at all: I’m not used to society. Would go to other animals ...

Dagestanis is a term for nationalities originally living in Dagestan. In Dagestan, there are about 30 peoples and ethnographic groups... In addition to Russians, Azerbaijanis and Chechens, who make up a considerable share of the population of the republic, these are Avars, Dargins, Kumti, Lezgins, Laks, Tabasaran, Nogais, Rutuls, Aguls, Tats, etc.

The Circassians (self-named - Adyge) are a people in Karachay-Cherkessia. In Turkey and other countries of Western Asia, all immigrants from the North are also called Circassians. Caucasus. The believers are Sunni Muslims. The Kabardino-Circassian language belongs to the Caucasian (Iberian-Caucasian) languages ​​(Abkhazian-Adyghe group). Writing system based on the Russian alphabet.

English traditions warn travelers against traveling alone in mountainous areas at dusk. If you believe, the surroundings of Cornwell, which is considered the birthplace of King Arthur, Celtic traditions and ... giants, are especially dangerous!

In the middle of the 18th century, the inhabitants of the Cornwell Peninsula were seriously afraid of meeting their giant neighbors. Many ancient myths and legends tell of the sad fate of those who happened to face the giants.

There is a legend about a simple woman named Emma May, the wife of farmer Richard May. One day, without waiting for her husband for dinner at the usual time, she decided to go in search of him, left the house and fell into a thick fog. Since then, she has not been seen again, and although the villagers repeatedly went in search, Emma Mae seemed to sink into the ground. The peasants believed that the giants had kidnapped her, that according to rumors they lived in the surrounding caves and killed the late travelers or took them into slavery.

What secrets are kept by the seas and oceans

There are many ancient myths and legends about the sad fate of sailors who were swallowed up by the deep sea. Almost everyone has heard the chilling stories of sirens calling ships to reefs. The exuberant imagination of sailors gave rise to many superstitions, which over time were transformed into indestructible customs. In the countries of Southeast Asia, sailors still bring gifts to the gods in order to safely return from a trip. However, there was one captain (his name, alas, history has not preserved), who neglected the sacred traditions ...

... The elements were raging, the ship's crew was tired of fighting the elements, and nothing boded successful outcome... Standing near the helm, through the curtain of rain, the captain saw a black figure emerging from him along right hand... The stranger asked what the captain was willing to give him in exchange for his salvation? The captain replied that he was ready to give up all his gold, just to be back in port. The black man laughed and said: “You did not want to bring gifts to the gods, but you are ready to give everything to the demon. You will be saved, but terrible curse you will carry it as long as you live. "

Legend tells that the captain returned safely from the voyage. But as soon as he crossed the threshold of his house, his wife died, who had been lying in bed for two months with a serious illness. The captain went to his acquaintances, and a day later their house burned to the ground. Wherever the captain appeared, death followed him everywhere. Tired of such a life, a year later he put a bullet in his forehead.

The dark underworld of Hades

Since we are talking about otherworldly demons dooming a person who has stumbled to eternal torment, then one cannot but recall Aida - the ruler of the underworld of darkness and horror. The river Styx flows through the bottomless abyss, taking the souls of the dead deeper and deeper into the ground, and Hades looks at all this from his golden throne.

Hades is not alone in his underworld, the gods of dreams also live there, sending people both terrible nightmares and joyful dreams. In ancient myths and legends, it is said that the monstrous Lamia, a ghost with donkey legs, wanders in the kingdom of Hades. Lamia kidnaps newborns so that if the house in which the mother and baby live is cursed by a wicked person.

At the throne of Hades stands the young and beautiful god of sleep, Hypnos, whose power no one can resist. On its wings, it flies silently above the ground and pours its sleeping pill from the golden horn. Hypnos is capable of sending sweet visions, but it can also plunge into eternal sleep.

Pharaoh who violated the will of the gods

As the ancient myths and legends tell, Egypt suffered disasters during the reign of the pharaohs Khafre and Khufu - slaves worked day and night, all temples were closed, free citizens were also persecuted. But then Pharaoh Menkaure came to replace them and he decided to free the exhausted people. The inhabitants of Egypt began to work in their fields, the temples began to work again, the living conditions of the people improved. Everyone praised the good and just Pharaoh.

Time passed, and Menkauru was struck by terrible blows of fate - his beloved daughter died and Vladyka was predicted that he had only seven years to live. Pharaoh wondered why his grandfather and father, who oppressed the people and did not honor the gods, lived to a ripe old age, and he should die? Finally, Pharaoh decided to send a messenger to the famous oracle. An ancient myth - the legend of Pharaoh Menkaur - tells about the answer given to the ruler.

“The life of Pharaoh Menkaura was shortened only because he did not understand his purpose. One hundred and fifty years was destined for Egypt to endure disasters, Khafra and Khufu understood this, but Menkaura did not. " And the gods kept their word, on the appointed day Pharaoh left the sublunary world.

Almost all ancient myths and legends (however, like many legends new formation) contain a rational kernel. An inquisitive mind will always be able to penetrate the veil of allegories and discern the meaning hidden in, at first glance, fantastic stories. And how to use the acquired knowledge is a personal matter for everyone.