Mount Olympus Mythology Palace

I don't know if it counts as mythology, but I've always been fascinated by the story of King Arthur and the stories of his knights. I've never read all of Beuwolf, rather I've read shortened condensed versions of it. I take it it's something I should pick up, Salty?

 

It's really a great story. You should read the whole thing. As far as King Arthur goes, it has been around so long it might as well be a myth. I happen to believe that at least part of the King Arthur legend is true. If I'm not mistaken there was a king who united most of Britian and it occurred around the same time as the King Arthur legend was supposed to take place.

 

Origins of Greek Mythology
Greek Myths are all that?s left of the ancient Greek religion. About 1200 b.c.e., the residents of, what we would call, Greece and Asia Minor shared a common belief in a group of deities that came to be known as The Olympians.

The distillation of the various regional beliefs into a coherent central religion was probably not as tidy and uniform as we would prefer, but it?s fair say that the stories of the Olympians survived because they had the largest number of followers and, most importantly, The Olympians did not forbid or punish the pursuit of knowledge. Beauty, poetry and creative activities are the blessings of The Immortals and are a vital part of the Greek tradition.

The Olympians are descended from the primal, self created gods, begining with Kaos. The Olympians are ruled by Zeus. He is the strongest and, as you will see, without him, the other Olympians would still be held captive inside their devious father, Kronos. The Olympians are only a small part of the family of Immortals that rule the earth and sky. The various rivers, mountains and forces of nature are the ?bodies? of the Immortals and proper respect must always be shown if you wish to have peace at home and safe passage when you travel.

The ancient texts we call Greek Myths are mostly from the period known as Classical Greece, circa 500 b.c.e. The stories behind the myths are from a much earlier time but written versions don?t exist before Classical times.

The oldest myths can be traced to three main sources: Homer, Hesiod and The Homeric Hymns, circa 800 b.c.e. That means that by the time they were written down, these works had survived 400 years of additions, subtractions and mutations to finally become the versions we now call ?authentic?. The Greek Myths are our window into the distant past, a view of a world that existed not only in the mind of the Greek poets but in the hearts of the humble and long suffering natives of ancient Greece.

I thought this was some good information on Greek Mythology.

 

Interesting article, Salty. Thank you for posting it. I found it particularly interesting that while I've always viewed the Illiad, for example, as an ancient text (and it is), the Illiad as we know it was probably edited and changed for many centuries. I wonder what stories from our time will endure for hundreds of years.

And thanks for the info on Beuwolf. I'm taking AP English this year in school and I actually think I have to read it, so that'll be something to look forward to.

There was definately a king Arthur though he was not King Arthur as legend now remembers him. The estimated date of his birth is 470 AD. Historians believe he did become a king of some importance and for a time united the Brits against the Saxons. And many do believe there was a Merlin, though he too is not as legend would have us believe. Rather Merlin, like Homer, was most likely a composite of a group of people; an engineer, a poet, a physcian, etc.

Has anyone read Mary Stewart's Arthur books? That's where I got most of my above information. She takes the little that is known about Arthur and Merlin and writes a very fascinating series that isn't fantasy but rather more historical.

EDIT: I'm going on vacation for a week or so, so I'll see you all later.

 

Oh wow, yeah, I just read the Mary Stewart Arthur books this summer. They're fantastic! I am SUCH a big Arthurian buff, even writing my own Arthurian novel. I like other mythology too, like some Greek, Roman and Norse stuff, but my favorites are Arthurian and Celtic legends. I even founded what I like to call "SPMAL" the Society for the Prevention of Mutilation of the Arthurian Legends, when I got sick of seeing really dicey, lousy treatments of it in films, etc. OK I'm done ranting now.

 

just i case any one wants to know, there's a mythology thread over in the ATOC section. its been getting a lot more action that this one. check it out - good stuff.

 

I loved the Mary Stewart books, all four of them. I especially liked the way she delved into the pre-christian beliefs of the time.

 

I'm a big fan of Mythology, espicaillly Chinese and Norse.

But isn't it true if you enjoy the Myths of a certain country you must enjoy the culture.

Personally, I don't like reading Analysis' of Myths as it takes away the fun and reading pleasure of the Myths.

In English ( face_silly] ) that means it Ruins them

 

Naw, me, I'm the analytical type.....

 

Hmmm...I'm going to have to check out these books by Mary Stewart.

Thanks for the information about the AOTC thread but I think this thread is better suited for this forum.

 

Dierdre and the Sons of Uisnach

When Dierdre was born, Cathbad the Druid predicted she would be the most beautiful woman and that she would marry a foreign king, but that she would bring ruin to Ireland. Conchobar said if she would be so beautiful, he would marry her, and because he isn't foreign, would thus break the prophecy. Her nurse Lavarcham helped keep ker isolated as she grew up to be VERY beautiful. In midwinter, she looks out a window and sees a hired hand who's just killed a calf for dinner. There is blood on the snow. Ravens come down. She says, "I want a man with those three colors. Hair as black as the raven, skin as white as the snow, and lips as red as blood." This is not Conchobar. Lavarcham knows of such a man: Naoise [na EE see], eldest son of Uisnach. The other sons are Ardan and Ainle. She falls in love with Naoise on first sight and he with her. So they flee to Alba. But local kings keep falling in love with Dierdre, so they have to keep moving. Dierdre, Naoise, Ardan, and Ainle sit around a lot and play chess. Conchobar makes a plan. He goes to the heroes (Cuchulinn, Laegaire, and Conall) and asks what they would do if their king broke his word. Their answer was, "Wreak havoc -- king or no king." Conchobar goes to Fergus, his uncle and poses the same question. Fergus responds, "I would stay loyal -- he is the king." So Conchobar tells Fergus that he would like him to bring Dierdre, Naoise, Ardan, and Ainle back because he has forgiven all. Fergus believes him. Conchobar asks Fergus' oath that he will let nothing interfere with his getting them back. Fergus takes his two sons Ilann and Buinne [Ilann the Fair and Buinne the Ruthless Red] with him to Alba. He invites the four back. Dierdre is sure Conchobar is lying. But Fergus says that Conchobar gave his word. The four accede, Dierdre protesting. They sail back. Just after landing, they go through a kingdom and meet a prince who stops them. The prince had gotten a secret letter from Conchobar. He invites Fergus to stay for dinner. Fergus is under a geis that he may NEVER refuse to eat, but he has given an oath to Conchobar that he will bring Dierdre, Naoise, Ardan, and Ainle back directly. So he sends his two sons. Dierdre is suspicious. But they go. All the knights stay in Conchobar's castle. He also has a longhouse called the Red Branch House. They know if he puts them in the Red Branch House, there will be trouble for them. Conchobar sends for Lavarcham, who says that Dierdre is no longer beautiful but actually ugly. A man named Trendhorn says, "Let me go and see. I'll tell you if she's still beautiful." Trendhorn has a grudge against Naoise and his brothers. They won't let him in. He climbs up on the roof (while they're playing chess). He finds a skylight. Naoise sees him and throws a chess piece, knocking out one of Trendhorn's eyes. He says to Conchobar, "I got a glimpse of Dierdre, and it was worth losing my eye." Conchobar wants her. His formidable knights would never think of helping him in this. So he hires mercenaries. They attack in waves. Buinne comes out and is hacking them to bits. The king bribes Buinne, who sells out for a parcel of land (a very sad event). The moment Buinne sells out, that parcel of land becomes sterile. Ilann is mortified and lives in shame forever. Angry, killing right and left, Conchobar's son Fiancha goes into battle and takes Conchobar's magic shield which will scream anytime the bearer is in danger. Ilann engages Fiancha in battle. Ilann is clearly winning. Conall the Victorious hears the king's shield screaming and assumes the king is in danger. He draws his sword and kills Ilann, realizing too late who it is. He wheels around and decapitates Fiancha on the spot. But Ilann is gone. Conchobar recognizes his defeat. He calls Cathbad and asks him to cast a glamour to get Dierdre, Naoise, Ardan, and Ainle out. But he's a good man. Conchobar must give his word he will not harm the four before Cathbad accedes. Everyone inside thinks a flood hit and they make their way out swimming under water. The mercen

 

I just had to post in this because that's where I got my screen name.

We're reading a large book on mythology in my Intro to Comp. class, and I have to learn the 12 gods/goddesses and some of the lesser gods by the end of the weekend. -- Cringe --

At least I like Greek mythology.

 

I_J: But isn't it true if you enjoy the Myths of a certain country you must enjoy the culture.

Not really. I enjoy the myths of Greece, Egypt and Scandinavia very much, but I cannot really say that I enjoy Egyptian culture. In fact, there are times when I simply think that Egyptian culture went overboard.

 

For the time being, I'm studying Roman Mythology. I used to really be into greek myths...which in this case the Romans burrowed many Gods from the Greeks and made them their own. I loved the story of Cupid.

 

I love how a lot of mythologies are connected and if you look closely, you'll see the similarities between the gods of totally different cultures. Well this works 'specially well if they're all Indo-European cultures. Also love how pagan mythological traditions are still with us today, like Halloween or St. Brigid, after Brighid the Irish mother goddess and stuff.

 

Well Valiwok, The Egyptians just prayed to the dead. Once a Pharoh died he or she became a god. There also were some regular gods that were before the pharohs.

 

Some of the Roman Emperors became Gods too.

 

The cool thing about Roman history is that Rome itself was founded by a god.

 

Can anyone reccomend any good sources for ancient German and Austrian myths/religion? That's where the bulk of my ancestors are from so I'd like to learn a little more about the myths from that culture.

 

I'm looking into a similar subject, Auraveda, except I'm searching for French/Gaulic mythology, where most of my ancestors were from. I've tried searching about.com, but I can't find much in particular about mythology other than Greek, Roman, Norse, Egyptian, and Celtic....

 

Auravada: Well the ancient Germanic peoples were, I think, similar to the Norse peoples, so it might be under Norse mythology, which is fascinating, though I'm not exactly sure. I hope I can be of SOME help though.

 

obi-wannabe_1138-
I think you're right that most of the old Germanic myths were similar to the Norse mythology. Has anyone seen 13th Warrior (or read Eaters of the Dead by Crichton)? That's a good intro to Norse mythology.

hmm...Gallic mythology is intriguing...I've never looked into that before.

 

Alan Moore wrote a hilarious story in his TOP 10 comic which is about a police precinct set in a city where everybody has superpowers. The cops are called in to investigate a homicide at a bar called GODS where the Norse God Balder is killed by a metal dart that was magically transformed from mistletoe and his relatives Odin, Freya, Thor and Loki are all questioned! The ending is great.Neil Gaiman wrote a very good version of the Orpheus myth in his SANDMAN comic series. Really tragic.

 

Norse myth is fascinating because their immortals, their gods, aren't really immortal at all. Someday they're going to all kill each other off at Ragnarok and Valhalla will burn. I don't know as much as I'd like to about Norse mythology, but the little I do know about is really cool.

 

The Celtic people inhabited a wide geographic area ranging from the upper reaches of the Danube River in Eastern Europe to France and Spain, and then slowly migrating to England and Ireland (being the last stronghold of Celtic Culture). The Greeks distinguished the oriental Celts (Galatians originally from Gual) and the Celts of Western Europe as the Keltoids. The Romans made a further distinction by naming the French Celts Galli (Guals) and the British Celts Belgae (originally from Belgium) and Britanni (Britons).

Most of the prehistoric European culture was Celtic and during Caesars? rule they became a conquered.