Myths here and now

Why should we take an interest in mythology today? Beyond its literary, aesthetic, or even playful aspects, mythology is a symbolic tool, a universal allegory with no expiration date. Many mythological stories can therefore serve as an interesting starting point for addressing themes such as values education, self-knowledge, and social relationships, because they can foster climates of reflection in the most diverse settings.

Go to Myths for Reflection

Memorable myths and legends

Love and passion

Abelard and Héloïse The medieval story of an impossible love.

Limay, Neuquén and Raihué A tragic love story leaves its mark on the geography of Patagonia.

Tristan and Iseult An irreversible passion as the consequence of a magic potion drunk by mistake. Sensual love, adultery and magic: the legacy of the Celtic tradition.

Diarmuid and Gráinne "Shame upon you if you do not take me with you tonight".... with this forceful spell, a story of irresistible passion will begin.

Cupid and Psyche The envy of Aphrodite in a story from the Roman tradition.

Orpheus and Eurydice When insecurity destroys everything.

Echo and Narcissus Unrequited love.

Aphrodite and Ares The lovers discovered.

Apparitions and other supernatural beings

La Llorona Wandering in white.

Creation of the world

Kóoch and the creation of the cosmos Cosmogony of Patagonia according to the Mapuche tradition.

The Popol Vuh of the Maya "Popol" is a Maya word meaning gathering, community. And "Vuh" refers to a tree whose bark was used to make paper. By this name we know the sacred text of Maya culture, which gathers significant elements of the biblical tradition.

The cosmic serpent The African serpent upon which the world rests.

The Dreamtime "Altjeringa," or the time in which the world was created, according to the Australian natives.

Pan Gu The creation of the world in the Chinese tradition.

The creation of the Chukchi The creation of the world according to the Eskimo tradition.

The cycles of creation The cyclical cosmogony of the Hindu tradition.

The afterlife, the Other World

The eight immortals Venerated by Taoism because they have attained eternal life. They have nothing in common except the gift of otherworldly immortality.

The Book of the Dead The spells necessary for life in the afterlife according to ancient Egyptian traditions.

The end of times

Saoshyant, the saviour The Persian tradition: a new world, immortal, eternal and free from evil.

The Battle of Ragnarök Or the twilight of the gods.

Heroes

Superman and El Cid, two versions of the superhero

Hercules The twelve labours. Version for children.

King Arthur The legendary monarch and the knights of the round table.

Cú Chulainn A civilising demigod.

Theseus A precocious hero.

Ulysses (Odysseus) The protagonist of an incredible journey.

Beowulf The Norse hero.

Heroines

Antigone and Wonder Woman

Isis Mother, wife and sorceress. The feminine role and the Egyptian mythological legacy.

Ariadne The thread that saved Theseus.

The Valkyries The supernatural women of the golden palace of Valhalla.

Secret identities

Lohengrin The legend of the Knight of the Swan.

Melusine The serpent fairy.

Immortality

The elixir of immortality The gods of India churn the ocean.

Gilgamesh In search of the secret of eternal youth

Magical and sacred objects

Excalibur The story of a magic sword.

The Holy Grail A Christian legend of pagan origin.

Mount Fuji The legend of the sacred mountain.

Yggdrasil The Lay of Grímnir: a cosmic tree.

Revenge

Siegfried Odin's favourite and the cursed ring.

Lumaluma The day the Arnhem Land people lost their patience.

Books on Myths and Legends

What is mythology?

It was the first desert. Two arms hurled a great stone. There was no cry. There was blood. There was for the first time death. I no longer remember whether I was Abel or Cain. JLB, Trece Monedas, El oro de los tigres

mythology is a complex universe of collective construction that translates the questions a people asks itself at a particular moment in history. From this point of view, a myth, reflecting its sociological, philosophical or aesthetic aspects, can be approached from different perspectives such as anthropology, art or religion.

The fascination that these kinds of stories arouse today survives intact: one need only look at the products of the cultural industry inspired by Celtic traditions, such as the film sagas of "The Lord of the Rings," "The Chronicles of Narnia," or the blockbuster "Harry Potter"; the superpowered heroes like Superman or Batman, who recall the incredible feats of certain protagonists of Greco-Roman mythology; or even certain products of Eastern tradition such as the sophisticated gallery of fantastic characters that tends to predominate in Japanese anime.

Myth and legend thus survive, through their different masks, as a window onto the symbolic — a kind of necessary bridge connecting reason and intuition.

Symbols and legends; heroes and gods configure universes on the sinuous frontier where the sacred and the profane blur together, emanating the mysterious energy of those who imagined them and still dream them today.

Echoes of mythological archetypes reverberate across the entire planet, beyond space and time. In these pages we will attempt to trace the diverse perspectives that these ancestral stories inspire, whose relevance survives even today, transformed and enriched, defying even the accelerated exchange between cultures that were once distant and remote.

Mythologies by geographic area Myths and legends American Mythology African Mythology Australian Mythology Caribbean Mythology Celtic Mythology Chinese Mythology Egyptian Mythology Eskimo Mythology Greek and Roman Mythology Indian Mythology Iranian (Persian) Mythology Japanese Mythology Norse Mythology Sumerian Mythology Polynesian Mythology

Previous suggestionsTriskel: the sacred symbolism of the Celtic spiral La Salamanca The myth of the witches' sabbath in the traditions of the American indigenous peoples. Halloween: Origins of a Celtic tradition alive in a globalised age Jewish Easter, Christian Easter, Pagan Easter What is the meaning of Easter? Mythological legends (versions for children) The Greek gods (versions for children) Mythological beings (versions for children) Mythical places (versions for children) The legend as a pedagogical tool: Argentine Legends