In Scandinavian mythology, many plots are similar to the more classical and well-known ancient Greek (the theory of ancestral epic explains this well), but Scandinavian myths are closer to me for their northern beauty and the fact that before the influence of Christianity on the texts, everything ended in Ragnarok, final and irrevocable, everyone died, everything was bad , no revivals, only hardcore.
So, in the Elder Edda there are two plots that I like:
1) The plot of Balder. It may seem similar to the story of Achilles, and here it is really difficult not to see the similarities, but there are also differences - the type of activity of the hero and the greater deceit in his death. Balder was the beloved, “spring” son of Odin and Frigg, a kind of singer of happiness: handsome, kind; everyone loved him and everything was wonderful, but he began to have dreams that someone wanted to kill him. Frigga made every pebble, tree, blade of grass and flower promise not to harm Balder, but ignored the harmless mistletoe. Since then, no weapon could harm Balder, and at feasts one of the popular entertainments was the attraction “throw a dangerous weapon at Balder and see how nothing happens.” Meanwhile, the insidious Loki found out that mistletoe was not participating in this parade and incited a blind participant in the feast to throw an arrow from this very mistletoe at Balder. And he disappeared. What a cunning one, huh? Therefore, the second story will be about him.
2) About love. When the aces could no longer tolerate the antics of Loki and his seven-legged and six-grown children, their revenge knew no bounds. Let's leave the details of the cruelty of the captivity, let those interested be rewarded on Wikipedia. He was captured by tying him to a rock and hanging a snake over him, dripping poison right into his face. His wife Sigyn stayed with Loki to hold the cup over his head and collect the poison in it. But, as you might guess, the cup overflows at times, Sigyn (not familiar with the drainage system) moves away to pour out the poison, and at this time Loki is overtaken by pain, suffering, and this causes earthquakes. In this story, I actually like all this sacrifice and attempt to mitigate suffering despite the fact that there is still an all-consuming Ragnarok ahead and it would probably be better to immediately drink in this poison and die, but the desire for life is paradoxical, especially among the Scandinavians, who they wrote such a wonderful epic: everyone knows that everything will end badly, but they continue to live, rejoice if possible and do their job.
The legend of Orpheus and Eurydice - how the poet descends for his beloved into the kingdom of the dead, only to lose her again. What a fool Orpheus looks when he turns around, although he was warned not to do this under any circumstances. And how in love he seems at this very moment, because... well, who wouldn't turn around? The one who didn't love. And Orpheus loved.
And not yet the most famous legend from the corps of Greek myths - about Protesilaus and Laodamia. Pascal Quignard in his book "Charon's Rook" retold it this way:
“It so happened that the deceased Protesilaus received permission to return to earth in order to spend one day with his wife.
And yet he hesitated.
He loved Laodamia. Ovid testifies to this.
The poet Levi wrote that Protesilaus valued life so much that he could not bring himself to be satisfied with just one day.
Catullus wrote that Protesilaus was afraid of the excitement that would inevitably overcome him the moment he opened his arms to Laodamia. It seemed to him that his body would no longer be able to desire her, that his tense member would not be able to penetrate her, and if it did penetrate, it would not retain its strength in her for long, that he would not be able to give his wife the pleasure that she had so rarely experienced in his bed.
For Protesilaus possessed Laodamia for only one day. The next morning after the wedding, he was already standing on the deck of a Greek ship, which, together with other warships, was heading to Troy.
Ultimately, Protesilaus accepted this gift from the gods. He left hell. He rose to the ground. Met with Laodamia. Laodamia stretched out her hands to him. Protesilaus squeezed her hands. The night is short. However, for this short time, Protesilaus's male strength returns to him. And finds its satisfaction in darkness. At the end of the night, the shadows lead him back to the shadow realm.
But after he leaves, Laodamia kills herself: she slept with Protesilaus only twice. Once before he left. The second time before he left again.
The man gave her only the grief of two separations.
Levi gave his tragedy a strange name, which in writing looks like an embrace - “Protesilaodamia”. Catullus loved this legend. Ovid quoted it endlessly."
My favorite is the Japanese myth of Matsue and Tei.
Matsue was the daughter of a fisherman and since childhood she loved to spend time under a large pine tree, watching how the needles smoothly fall to the ground. One day she saw how the waves washed the unconscious body of a young man onto the shore. The girl pulled him out of the water and laid him on a soft carpet of pine needles. When the young man woke up, he began to thank his savior in every possible way. Te, that was the name of the young man, turned out to be a traveler, and he decided to complete his journey here, staying with Matsue and marrying her. The older the spouses became, the stronger their love was. Every night, when the moon rose, they walked hand in hand to their pine tree and remained there until dawn. In old age, their love was as strong as in youth, and the gods allowed the souls of Matsue and Teya to return to the world again, to that very pine tree. On moonlit nights, their souls whisper to each other, sing, laugh and together collect fallen needles to the gentle song of the sea surf.
I really like the myth about how little Hermes stole a herd of cows from Apollo. Hermes, leaving his cradle, went to Pieria and stole fifteen cows that Apollo was herding. To prevent them from being found by their footprints, he tied branches to their feet (optionally, he used sandals) and drove them to Pylos, where he hid them in a cave. Meanwhile, he made a lyre from the shell of a large turtle and from the small intestines of killed cows. Apollo, in search of cows, arrived in Pylos and, having questioned the local residents, learned that a boy had stolen the cows, but no one could find any traces. Having guessed who did it, Apollo came to Maya and accused Hermes of theft. The mother showed him the child lying in swaddling clothes. Then Apollo took him to Zeus, and Hermes, after questioning his father, showed Apollo where the cows were, and he sat down nearby and began to play the lyre. Apollo really liked playing the lyre and he suggested that Hermes exchange the cows for the lyre. Hermes began to graze the cows, playing the pipe. Apollo wanted to have this instrument too, and he offered his staff in exchange for her.
20. Eve ate an apple
The apple is a healthy fruit, although it has had a bad reputation as a forbidden fruit since Eve plucked it from the Tree of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden and deprived us - her descendants - of heavenly life. However, the careful reader should have noticed that nowhere in the Bible was the fruit called an apple. Of course, it could have been an apple. To the same extent as mango, or apricot, or any other fruit. But only the apple received the mark.
19. An apple fell on Newton's head
And again apples - it was this unfortunate fruit that managed to fall on the head of Sir Isaac Newton and inspire him to invent the law of universal gravitation.. A nice fairy tale, but, most likely, it is just a fairy tale. Voltaire first told it publicly in his essay on Newton. The only person who said this before Voltaire's publication was Newton's sister, Catherine Conduit.
18. Walt Disney drew Mickey Mouse
It is believed that the most famous cartoon character, Mickey Mouse, was drawn by Walt Disney himself. But that's not true. Mickey was drawn by Disney's No. 1 animator, Ub Iwerks, who was famous for being incredibly fast at drawing. The first Mickey movie (which required 700 drawings a day) was created in just two weeks. But later, when sound cartoons appeared, Disney was rehabilitated - it was in his voice that Mickey Mouse began to speak.
17. Marie Antoinette said: Let them eat cakes
In 1766, Jean Jacques Rousseau wrote about an event that supposedly happened 25 years earlier. When Marie Antoinette learned that people in the French village did not have enough bread, she suggested they eat cakes. The problem is that in those years Maria was 11 years old and still lived in her homeland in Austria. Most likely, these words were spread by revolutionary propagandists to show how far the people and those who rule them are from each other.
16. The Great Train Robbery was the first feature film
The film was made in 1903, but it was not the first feature film. Its duration is only 10 minutes. The first feature film was the 100-minute Australian film “The Story of the Kelly Gang”, filmed 3 years later. And a lot of films like “The Great Train Robbery” were made back in the late 1890s.
15. Van Gogh cut off his ear
The impoverished great artist Van Gogh (who sold only one canvas in his entire life), shortly before committing suicide, in a quarrel with his friend Gauguin, who was more successful in selling his works, cut off his ear - a piece of his left lobe. It hurts, but not as bad as it might seem.
14. Witches were burned in the city of Salem
In Salem (Massachusetts) in 1692, during the witch trials, 150 people were arrested, 31 people were sentenced, 20 of them to death. Of these 31 people, not all were women, 6 of them were men. At the same time, they were not burned at the stake - witches are not afraid of this; they were first stoned to death, then their bodies were hung on a rope.
13. Napoleon was short
Many are sure that Napoleon's exorbitant ambitions are a kind of compensation for his small stature. In fact, the Little Corporal's height was 5 feet 7 inches (168 cm) - taller than the average Frenchman of those years. So why was he called that? The nickname was a tease for his minor military rank. Napoleon became emperor, but the nickname remained the same.
12. King John the Landless signed the Magna Carta
The Magna Carta limited the power of the king of England and marked the beginning of democracy. Paintings from those times show how reluctantly King John signed the Charter in a meadow near Windsor in 1215. This is funny because John the Landless was most likely illiterate - look in the archives for the four surviving originals of the Charter - they all bear a seal. No signatures.
11. Walter Reilly brought potatoes and tobacco to England
Sir Walter Raleigh is an explorer, ladies' man and one of the most mysterious and mythological figures in English history. Modern portraits depict him as exceptionally handsome, although no real portraits of him have been found. He was considered a ladies' man and supposedly pleased Queen Elizabeth I of England. Is it true that he threw his cloak into a puddle so that the queen could cross it? Not true. It is true that he did not return from his trip to America with the first potatoes and tobacco in English history. Although Reilly is said to have introduced the potato in 1586, the first potato crop was actually harvested in Spain in 1585, after which it quickly spread throughout Europe and even “crossed” the English Channel. Tobacco was brought to France by Jean Nicot in 1560 (nicotine got its name from his last name). So smokers around the world are in vain accusing Sir Walter Reilly of spreading the bad habit.
10. Magellan circumnavigated the world
Everyone knows two things about Magellan: that he traveled around the world, and that during this trip he was killed in the Philippines. One excludes the second. In fact, Magellan went exactly halfway: Juan Sebastian Elcano, his deputy, completed the journey.
9. Emperor Nero played the violin while Rome burned, which he set on fire.
This story is known to everyone: 64 BC. Rome is burning and Nero is playing the violin. But this is impossible. Firstly, the violin was invented 1600 years later. But even if there was a violin, Nero could only play it at a distance of 30 miles from burning Rome, since during the fire he was not in the Eternal City, but in his villa in the suburbs.
8. Captain Cook discovered Australia
Of course, Australians don't even want to think that way. Long before 1770, the Dutchmen Abel Tasman and Dirk Hartog, and the English pirate William Dampier visited here. And this continent was discovered 50,000 years ago by its indigenous inhabitants - the Australians. The only thing for which Cook can be called the “discoverer” of Australia, and even then in quotation marks, is for the discovery of new lands, which later became the reason for the arrival of white settlers here.
7. Shakespeare wrote the story of Hamlet himself.
William Shakespeare is known as the greatest playwright in human history. However, most of his plays were not his own creations - rather, creative adaptations of stories, histories and legends. The play “The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark,” according to historians, was based on an ancient Scandinavian legend.
6. America gained independence on July 4, 1776
This is wrong. Yes, America's Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence on this day. But the war for this independence continued for another 7 years, and only on September 3, 1783, a peace treaty was finally signed between America and the English King George III.
5. Edison invented the light bulb
1093 patents: Edison is a great inventor. But most of his inventions were made by unknown members of his laboratory. And, besides, four decades before Edison was born, electric light was discovered by a certain Davey Humphrey. His lamp could only burn for 12 hours at a time, and Edison just had to find the right filament material to keep the lamp burning continuously. Yes, an achievement, but not a discovery.
4. Columbus proved that the Earth is round
Judging by the book of the American author Irving Washington, this was so. Everyone thought the Earth was flat, but Columbus convinced everyone otherwise. In fact, from the 4th century BC. no one thought that the Earth was like a flat pancake. Columbus could not prove in any way that the Earth was round, since he himself did not believe in it! He believed that the Earth was pear-shaped. He had never been to America, but only got to the Bahamas, which are pear-shaped.
3. Gandhi liberated India
He is the most famous leader of the Indian independence movement. He called on the country to renounce violence. He was 16 years old (in 1885) when the Indian National Congress was formed. But even without Gandhi’s participation, India would have achieved independence by other, more effective methods than non-resistance to violence, and, perhaps, even earlier if it had followed the path indicated by Netahi Chandra Bose.
2. Jesus was born on December 25
December 25 - Christmas. But there is no evidence, in the Bible or anywhere else, that Jesus was born on this day. But why was December 25th made the birthday of Jesus? Maybe because on this day the Hellenes celebrated the day of the god Mitros, born of a virgin, and at the same time it was the Day of the Shepherd?
1. George Washington was the first US President
Everyone knows that George Washington was the first of 43 US presidents. But no! The first was Peyton Randolph - he was the one chosen by the revolutionary Congress. His first step in high office was the creation of the Continental Army to protect against British troops and the appointment of General Washington as commander in chief! Randolph was succeeded in 1781 by John Hanson, who sent a congratulatory letter to George Washington after his victory at the Battle of Yorktown and signed "I, John Hancock, President of America." And Washington became the first popularly elected US president - but the fifteenth in a row.
Sphinx
Experts agreed on only a few facts about the Great Sphinx of Giza: it is one of the largest and most ancient statues in the world, as well as a creature with the body of a lion and the head of a man, similar to an 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 admirers of the Sphinx. The young man was a joy to 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. One day, as usual, while away his leisure time tracking a wild beast, the prince left behind his two servants, sweltering from the heat, and went to pray at the pyramids.
He stopped in front of the Sphinx, known in those days as Harmachis - the god of the rising sun. The massive stone statue was covered in sand up to its shoulders. Thutmose looked at the Sphinx, praying to save him from all his problems. Suddenly the huge statue came to life, and a thunderous voice was heard from its mouth.
The Sphinx asked Thutmose to free him from the sand pulling him down. The eyes of the mythical creature burned so brightly that, looking into them, the prince fell unconscious. When he woke up, the day was approaching sunset. 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 became the next pharaoh. And the young man kept his word.
A fairy tale with a good ending or a true story - Thutmose actually became the next ruler of Egypt, and his problems were left far behind. The story gained popularity only 150 years ago, when archaeologists cleared the sand from the Sphinx and discovered a stone tablet between its paws describing the legend of Prince Thutmose and the oath he swore to the Great Sphinx of Giza.
The great Wall of China
The tale of tragic love is just one of many legends of the Great Wall of China. But the story of Meng Jiangniu - perhaps the saddest of them all - can touch you from the very first lines. It talks about the Meng couple who lived next door to another couple with the surname Jiang. Both families were happy, but childless. So, as usual, years passed until the Maines decided to plant a pumpkin vine in their garden. The plant grew quickly and bore fruit outside the Jiangs' fence.
Being good friends, the neighbors agreed to divide the pumpkin equally. Imagine their surprise when, having cut it open, they saw a baby inside. A tiny, beautiful girl. As before, the two amazed couples decided to share the responsibilities of raising the baby, who was named Meng Jiangniu.
Their daughter grew up to be a very beautiful girl. She married a young man named Fan Xiliang. 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, receiving no news about his health or the progress of construction. One day Fan appeared to 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.
Meng could not contain her grief and cried for three days in a row, causing part of the structure to collapse. The emperor, who heard about this, thought 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. She agreed, but on the condition that the ruler fulfill her three requests. Meng wished to declare mourning for Xiliang (including for the emperor and his servants). A young widow asked for her husband's funeral and expressed her desire to see the sea.
Meng Jiangniu never remarried. After attending Fan's burial ceremony, 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 emerged from the ground. Knowing that her husband lay somewhere below, Meng cut her hand and watched the blood drip onto the bones of the dead. Suddenly, she began to flock around one skeleton, and Meng realized that she had found Silyan. The widow then buried him and committed suicide by jumping into the ocean.
Forbidden City
In the past, an ordinary tourist did not have 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 the only one of its kind. During the reign of the Qing dynasty, it was closed to the public; for more than 500 years, only 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, ruling in the 15th century, once had a vivid dream about his residence. He dreamed of fantastic watchtowers decorating the corners of the fortress. Waking up, the ruler immediately ordered his builders to make the dream come true.
According to legend, after the failed attempts of two groups of workers (and their subsequent execution by beheading), the foreman of the third group of builders was very nervous when starting work. But by modeling the tower after the grasshopper cage he had seen, he managed to make the ruler happy.
He also tried to include the number nine, a symbol of nobility, in the design design in order to further please the emperor. They say the old man who sold the cricket cages that inspired the watchtowers was Lu Ban, the mythological patron of all Chinese carpenters.
Niagara Falls
The legend of the Maiden of the Mist may have provided the idea for the name for the river cruise at Niagara Falls. As with most stories, there are different versions.
The most famous one tells the story of an Indian girl named Lelavala, who was sacrificed to the gods. To appease them, she was thrown from Niagara Falls. The original version of the legend says that Lelawala was floating along 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 the huge snake that lived in the river. Lelavala conveyed the message to her fellow tribesmen, and they declared war on the monster. Many believe that Niagara Falls acquired its present form as a result of subsequent battles between people and the monster.
Incorrectly retold versions of this legend have appeared in print since the 17th century, with many attributing some errors to Robert Cavelier de La Salle, a European explorer of North America. He claimed that he visited the Iroquois tribe and witnessed the sacrifice of a virgin daughter of the leader, and at the very last minute the unfortunate father fell victim to his own conscience and fell into the watery abyss after the girl. So Lelavala was named the Maiden of the Mist.
However, Robert's wife spoke out against her husband and accused him of portraying the Iroquois people as ignorant only in order to appropriate their land for himself.
Devil's Peak and Table Mountain
Devil's Peak is an infamous mountainside in South Africa. He saw a lot, could tell so many things: including a wonderful legend about how fog rises from the ocean and envelops the peak along with Table Mountain. Cape Townians 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 swashbuckling past behind and settled in Cape Town. He got married and built a family nest at the foot of the mountain. Jan loved to smoke a pipe, but his wife hated this habit and drove him out of the house every time he took up tobacco.
Van Hanks got into the habit of going to the mountains to smoke quietly in nature. One completely ordinary day, he climbed the slope as always, but found a stranger in his favorite place. Ian did not see the man’s face, since it was covered by the wide brim of his hat, and he was dressed all in black.
Before the former sailor could say anything, the strange man greeted him by name. Van Hanks sat down next to him and began a conversation that gradually turned to the topic of smoking. Ian often boasted about how much tobacco he could handle, and this conversation was no exception after the stranger asked the pirate for a smoke.
He told van Hanks that he could easily smoke more than him, and they immediately decided to test it - to compete.
Huge clouds of smoke surrounded the men, swallowed the mountains - suddenly the stranger began to cough. The hat fell off 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 to an unknown direction, flashed by a flash of lightning.
Now, every time Devil's Peak and Table Mountain are covered in fog, people say that it is Van Hanks and the Prince of Darkness who have taken their places on the slope again and are competing in smoking.
Volcano Etna
Etna is located on the east coast of Sicily, one of the highest active volcanoes in Europe. The first recorded awakening occurred in 1500 BC. e., and since then he has spat fire at least 200 times. During the 1669 eruption, which lasted four months, lava covered 12 villages and destroyed surrounding areas.
According to Greek legend, the source of the volcanic activity is none other than a 100-headed monster (similar to a dragon) that spews pillars of flame from one of its mouths when it gets angry. Apparently, this huge monster is 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 the mighty creature. The Cyclops tried to pacify the king of Ithaca by throwing huge boulders at him from the top, but the cunning hero managed to reach the giant and defeat him by plunging a spear into his only eye. The defeated big man disappeared into the depths of the mountain. Further, the legend says that the crater of Etna is actually the wounded eye of the Cyclops, and the lava splashing from it is drops of the giant’s blood.
Avenue of the Baobabs
The island of Madagascar resonates with many people around the world, and it's not just about the lemurs. The main local attraction is the delightful Avenue of Baobabs, located on the west coast. "Mother of the Forest" - 25 huge trees lined up on both sides of the dirt road. This is exactly where the indigenous inhabitants of the island are, in all meanings, and the largest representatives of their species! Naturally, their amazing location has given rise to many legends and myths.
One of them says that the baobabs tried to run away 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 this is the reason why baobab trees only bloom and produce leaves for a few weeks each year.
Myth or not, six varieties of these plants are found only in Madagascar. However, deforestation poses a serious threat even against the backdrop of all the activities carried out there and the efforts made to protect and restore forest areas. If more is not done to protect them, the protagonists of these legends may disappear, most likely forever.
Giant's Causeway
Unintentionally creating the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland is what can happen if you get into a fight with a giant. At least that's what the legend convinces us of. While scientists believe that the basalt pillars in the shape of regular hexagons are an accumulation of lava aged 60 million years, the legend of Benandonner, a Scottish giant, sounds a little more intriguing.
It tells the story of Irish big man Finn McCool and his long-standing feud with Scottish big man Benandonner. One fine day, two giants started another squabble across the North Channel - Finn became so angry that he grabbed a handful of earth and threw it at his hated neighbor. The 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 Neagh.
The war was heating up, and Finn McCool decided to build a bridge for Benandonner (the Scottish giant could not swim). In this way they could meet and fight, resolve the old dispute - who is the bigger giant. After building the pavement, tired Finn fell into a deep sleep.
While he was sleeping, his wife heard a deafening roar and realized that it was the sound of Benandonner's approaching footsteps. When he arrived at the couple's house, Finn's wife was horrified - her husband's death had come, because he turned out to be much smaller than his neighbor. Being a resourceful woman, she quickly wrapped a large blanket around McCool and placed the bulkiest cap she could find on his head. Then she opened the front door.
Benandonner shouted into the house for Finn to come out, but the woman shushed him and said he would wake up 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 along 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 of Japanese culture - the theme of many songs, films and, of course, myths and legends. The story of the first eruption is considered the oldest legend in the country.
An elderly bamboo collector was performing his daily task when he came across something very unusual. A tiny baby, the size of a thumb, looked up at him from the trunk of the plant he had just cut. Struck by the beauty of the little one, the elder took her home to raise her with his wife as his own daughter.
Soon after this happened, Taketori (that was the name of the collector) began to make other amazing discoveries while working. Every time he cut a bamboo stalk, he found a gold nugget inside. His family became rich very quickly. The little girl grew up to be a young woman of stunning beauty. Her adoptive parents eventually learned that her name was Kaguya-hime and she was sent to Earth from the Moon to protect her from the war raging there.
Because of her beauty, the girl received several marriage proposals, including from the emperor himself, but rejected them all, as she wanted to return home to the Moon. When her people finally came for her, the ruler of Japan was so unhappy at the imminent separation that he sent his army to fight Kaguya's own family. However, the 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 his servants to climb to the highest mountain peak in Japan and burn it along with the elixir, in the hope that they would reach the moon.
However, the only thing that happened while carrying out the master's order on Fuji was a fire that started that could not be extinguished. So, according to legend, Mount Fuji became a volcano.
Yosemite
Half Dome Rock in the US Yosemite National Park is a real challenge when it comes to climbing, but it is also a favorite among hikers and rock climbers. When Native Americans lived here, they called it Broken Mountain. At some point, as a result of repeated glaciations and thawings of the rock, most of the rock was separated from it - this is how it acquired its present appearance.
The origin of Half Dome was the subject of a wonderful legend, still passed down by word of mouth, all of which are called "The Tales of Tis-sa-ak." The legend also explains the unusual face-shaped silhouette that can be seen on one side of the mountain.
The tale tells of an elderly Indian woman and her husband traveling to the Aouani Valley. Throughout the journey, the lady carried a heavy wicker basket made of reeds, while her husband simply waved 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, the woman named Tis-sa-ak was thirsty, tired of the heavy burden and the scorching sun. Therefore, without wasting a second, she rushed to the water to drink.
When her husband came there, he was horrified to discover that his wife had drained the entire lake. But then everything only got worse: due to the lack of water, drought struck the area, and all the greenery dried up. The man became so angry that he swung his cane at his wife.
Tis-sa-ak burst into tears and started running with the basket in her hands. At one point, she turned around to throw a basket at her husband who was pursuing her. And when they met their gaze, the Great Spirit who lived in the valley turned them both into stone.
Today the couple is known as Half Dome and Washington Column. They say that if you look closely at the mountainside, you can see the face of a woman, along which tears are silently flowing.
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We are sure that many of you still believe in unicorns. It seems wonderful to imagine that they still exist somewhere, and we just haven’t found them yet. However, even the myth about such a magical creature has a very prosaic and even somewhat frightening explanation.
If you feel like website If you are very skeptical and no longer believe in magic, then at the end of the article a real miracle awaits you!
Great Flood
Scientists believe that the legend of the Great Flood is based on the memory of major flood, the epicenter of which was Mesopotamia. At the beginning of the last century, during excavations of the tombs of Ur, a layer of clay was found that separated two cultural layers. Only a catastrophic flood of the Tigris and Euphrates could lead to the appearance of such a phenomenon.
According to other estimates, 10–15 thousand years BC. e. An incredible flood happened in the Caspian Sea, which spilled over an area of about 1 million square meters. km. The version was confirmed after scientists found sea shells in Western Siberia, the closest distribution area of which is in the Caspian Sea. This flood was so powerful that there was a huge waterfall on the Bosphorus, through which approximately 40 cubic meters were poured per day. km of water (200 times the volume of water passing through Niagara Falls). There was a flow of this power for at least 300 days.
This version seems crazy, but in this case, ancient people cannot be accused of exaggerating events!
Giants
In modern Ireland, legends are still told about people of gigantic stature who can create an island simply by throwing a handful of earth into the sea. Endocrinologist Martha Korbonitz came up with the idea that ancient legends could have a scientific basis. Incredibly, the researchers found what they were looking for. A huge number of Irish residents have mutations in the AIP gene. It was these mutations that caused the development of acromegaly and gigantism. If in the UK the mutation carrier is 1 in 2,000 people, then in the province of Mid-Ulster it is every 150th.
One of the famous Irish giants was Charles Byrne (1761–1783), his height was over 230 cm.
Legends, of course, endow giants with enormous power, but in reality, not everything is so rosy. People with acromegaly and gigantism often suffer from cardiovascular diseases, vision problems and frequent joint pain. Without treatment, many giants may not live to see 30 years of age.
Werewolves
The legend about werewolves has several origins. Firstly, people's lives have always been connected with the forest. Rock paintings of hybrids of humans and animals have reached us from ancient times. People wanted to be stronger, they chose a totem animal and wore its skin. These beliefs were also the basis for the narcotic drugs that warriors took before battle and imagined themselves to be invincible wolves.
Secondly, the belief in the existence of werewolves was also supported by the presence in people of such a genetic disease as hypertrichosis- excessive growth of hair on the body and face, which was called “werewolf syndrome.” It was only in 1963 that doctor Lee Illis gave the disease a medical basis. In addition to the genetic disease, there was also a mental disease known as lycanthropy, during attacks of which people lose their minds and lose their human qualities, considering themselves wolves. In addition, there is an exacerbation of the disease during certain lunar phases.
By the way, the wolf from the world famous “Little Red Riding Hood”, according to, was none other than a werewolf. And he didn’t eat the grandmother, but fed it to her granddaughter.
Vampires
The theory about the connection between dinosaur and dragon bones is confirmed in Mongolia. There, the word “dragon” is present in various geographical names. This is due to the fact that in some areas of the Gobi Desert, dinosaur bones can be easily found by anyone because they lie on the surface of the earth's layers. There are many of them even now, so much so that excavations are carried out illegally all the time.
An important detail: in Africa there are no such myths, as well as access to dinosaur remains.
However, why do dragons appear in the human mind as reptiles, with scales and claws? This question is explained by the observant nature of people. The appearance of the skeleton is similar to the bones of modern lizards, snakes, crocodiles. These animals were enlarged many times - and the result was a dragon. And, by the way, it is lizards and snakes that sometimes develop not one, but two heads, just like some fairy-tale dragons.
Centaurs
The image of a centaur was known back in the 2nd millennium BC. e. It supposedly originated in Greece as the fruit of the imagination of representatives of civilized peoples who did not yet know horse riding, who first encountered the horse riders of certain northern nomadic tribes: Scythians, Kassites or Taurians. This explains the ferocious temperament of the centaurs. The nomads actually lived in the saddle, skillfully shot with a bow and rode very quickly. The hyperbolic fear of the farmer, who first saw a man who rode so skillfully in the saddle, could well turn into a story about a hybrid of a man and a horse.
According to ancient Greek legend, under the palace of King Minos there was a huge labyrinth in which a formidable monster, the half-bull, half-man Minotaur, was imprisoned. The thirst for blood torments the monster so much that its roar shakes the earth.
The island of Crete, where the monster lived, is very interesting for its seismic activity. Part of the island is on the continent called Aegean plate, and the other part - on oceanic Nubian plate, which moves directly under the island. This geological phenomenon is called a subduction zone. It is in these areas that there is an increased risk of earthquakes. In Crete, the situation is further aggravated by the fact that the African Plate is pressing on the oceanic Nubian Plate (and just imagine how huge it is), and a phenomenal thing happens: under the interaction of the plates, the island is simply pushed to the surface. Since the emergence of civilization, Crete has experienced several such rises, some of them up to 9 meters. It is not surprising that ancient people thought that a furious monster lived in the depths, because every earthquake was accompanied by terrible destruction.
Cyclops
In ancient Greek mythology, the Cyclops are a group of characters; in different versions they are divine beings (children of Gaia and Uranus) or a separate people. The most prominent representative was Poseidon's son Polyphemus, whom Odysseus deprived of his only eye. The Scythian people of the Arimaspians were also considered one-eyed.
As for the scientific basis for these myths, in 1914, paleontologist Otenio Abel suggested that the ancient finds of dwarf elephant skulls became the reason for the birth of the myth of the Cyclops, since the central nasal opening can easily be mistaken for a giant eye socket. It is curious that these elephants were found precisely on the Mediterranean islands of Cyprus, Malta, and Crete.
Sodom and Gomorrah
We don’t know about you, but we always thought that Sodom and Gomorrah are a very large-scale myth and rather some kind of personification of vicious cities. However, this is quite a historical fact.
For a decade now, excavations of an ancient city have been underway in the town of Tell el-Hammam in Jordan. Archaeologists are confident that they have found the biblical Sodom. The approximate location of the city has always been known - the Bible described the “Sodom Pentate City” in the Jordan Valley. However, its exact location has always raised questions.
In 2006, excavations began, and scientists found a large ancient settlement surrounded by a powerful rampart. According to researchers, people lived here between 3500 and 1540 BC. e. There is no other option for the name of the city, otherwise the mention of such a large settlement would have remained in written sources.
Kraken
The Kraken is a legendary mythical sea monster of gigantic size, a cephalopod, known from descriptions of sailors. The first extensive description was made by Eric Pontoppidan - he wrote that the kraken is an animal “the size of a floating island.” According to him, the monster is capable of grabbing a large ship with its tentacles and dragging it to the bottom, but the whirlpool that occurs when the kraken quickly sinks to the bottom is much more dangerous. It turns out that a sad end is inevitable - both when the monster attacks and when it runs away from you. Really creepy!
The rationale for the myth of the “creepy monster” is simple: Giant squids still exist today and reach 16 meters in length.
When it comes to unicorns, we immediately imagine a graceful creature with a rainbow horn in its forehead. Interestingly, they are found in the legends and myths of many cultures. The very first images were found in India and are over 4,000 years old. Later, the myth spread across the continent and reached Ancient Rome, where they were considered absolutely real animals.
The main “candidate” for the role of the prototype of the unicorn is Elasmotherium - rhinoceroses of the Eurasian steppes that lived during the Ice Age. Elasmotherium somewhat resembled a horse (albeit at a stretch) with an extremely long horn in its forehead. It became extinct at the same time as the main megafauna. However, according to the materials of the Swedish Encyclopedia and the arguments of researcher Willie Ley, individual representatives could have existed for quite a long time to become legendary.
Bonus: Moses' Trail
Surely each of us has heard about the story from the Bible, which tells how the sea parted before Moses. But few people know that such a phenomenon can be seen near Jindo Island in South Korea. Here the waters between the islands part for an hour, revealing a wide and long road! Scientists explain this miracle by the difference in the timing of low and high tides.
Of course, many tourists come there - in addition to simple walks, they have the opportunity to see the marine inhabitants who remained on the opened land. The amazing thing about the Moses Trail is that it leads from the mainland to the island.
Slender Man, or Slenderman
According to legend, the Slender Man is a tall, thin man dressed in a black suit with a white shirt and black tie. He has long thin arms and legs, and his face is completely featureless.
His arms can stretch, and tentacles grow from his back.
When the Slender Man appears, his victim loses memory, experiences insomnia, paranoia, a coughing fit, and blood flows from the nose.
If Slenderman is spotted in the area, it means that children will soon disappear. He lures them into the forest, deprives them of their minds and takes them away with him. Those children who were carried away by the Slender Man were never seen again.
In 1983, 14 children disappeared in Stirling City, USA. Their disappearance was linked to the Slender Man. Later, in the city library they found a photograph taken by an unknown photographer that day, and it allegedly showed a monster.
Both girls ended up in a psychiatric hospital: one for 25 years, the other for 40.
Black Dog of Meriden
The Meriden Black Dog, from the U.S. state of Connecticut, is a small ghost dog that leaves no marks and makes no sounds. According to legend, if you see the Black Dog three times, you will die. It appears silently, leaves no traces (even in the snow), and then just as suddenly disappears.
In the early 1900s, geologist Pynchon explored a Meriden mountain called West Peak. One day he saw a black dog among the trees. As Pynchon turned to head home, the dog disappeared into the trees.
The second time the scientist saw a black dog a few years later in the same place. One of his friends, with whom he was climbing the mountain that day, said that he had already seen the dog twice.
They wandered around and finally came to the top. But the enemy was waiting for them. The black dog stood in front. Pynchon only turned away for a second when he suddenly heard a terrible scream. His friend fell and hit the rocks.
In Meriden, local residents told Pynchon about the legend of the Black Dog, but he did not believe it. Several years passed, the geologist decided to visit the same mountain. He left his apartment at dawn and never returned. His dead body was later found at the bottom of a ravine.
Pisadeira
In Brazil there is a legend about a scary woman named Pisadeira. It comes to men who are afraid, or to those who have eaten a heavy dinner and lie down on their backs - in this position, Pisadeira’s victim is practically unable to escape.
Pisadeira is a bony and thin creature, she has short lower limbs and long dirty hair, a hooked nose, reddish eyes, thin lips, sharp teeth with a greenish coating. Her long fingers have wide yellow nails. But even more frightening is the laughter and mocking giggle of the monster. If a person hears characteristic laughter at night, it means that Pisadeira will soon come to him. It is the creepy laughter that precedes her appearance.
The monster tortures its victim until she suffocates from fright, but Pisadeira can also leave a person, having had enough of fear.
Phantom of Benito Juarez Park in Mexico
In the small Mexican town of Jaral del Progreso there is Benito Juarez Park. This is one of the city's attractions, but the park was laid out on the site of an old cemetery, so a bad reputation has spread about it. The city authorities landscaped the square as best they could. They installed benches and paved paths so that people could enjoy the beauty of nature. However, local residents believed that the authorities had awakened local spirits and a curse was placed on the place.
Every evening in the park someone destroyed the benches and disappeared. Authorities then hired security guards to patrol the area at night.
And then one evening the guard began duty. At first everything was calm. The riots began when the park was covered in thick fog. The security guard heard a woman scream and went to check what had happened. When he reached the place, an elderly woman dressed in a white dress stood in front of him. The watchman followed her, and she began to destroy and throw benches.
When the guard approached her, he saw that the woman had no legs, she was floating in the air. Suddenly the old woman pounced on him and began to beat him furiously. The guard managed to escape, and the next morning he told about what he saw. Shortly after this incident, he fell ill with a mysterious illness and died. The city authorities forbade talking about this story in the media, but the rumor still spread throughout the city; no one else wanted to be on duty at night.
Locals called the ghost the phantom of the park.
Girl from the closet
One day, a 57-year-old Japanese man noticed that someone was rearranging things in his house, food was disappearing from the refrigerator, and strange noises woke him up at night. The man decided that he was going crazy because he lived all alone. Both the windows and doors in his house were always closed.
One day he decided to take action and installed hidden cameras in all the rooms.
The next day he looked at the footage. In the footage, an unknown woman crawled out of the Japanese man's cupboard. The man assumed that she was a robber. But police said no one broke the locks.
After a thorough search, the woman was found in a small locker. As it turned out, she lived in a Japanese man’s house for a year.
Maryland Goat Man
For many residents of the United States, Prince George's County in the American state of Maryland is associated with a bloodthirsty monster called the Goat Man.
According to legend, the monster used to be an ordinary goat breeder. One day his wife became seriously ill, and he had to work tirelessly to help his beloved. But the cruel teenagers decided to play a trick on the poor guy and poisoned all his goats. The family was left without their only source of income, and the woman died.
Grief turned the farmer into a terrible monster, he ran into the forest and began killing everyone who crossed his path.
According to another version, the goat man is a scientific experiment of the mad scientist Dr. Fletcher. Local residents believe that prohibited experiments on animals were carried out at the district's agricultural research center. Once, through an experiment, a scientist created a half-man, half-goat. The researchers decided to keep him alive for study. But the creature grew up and turned into a cruel monster. He killed several scientists and escaped from the center.
Whether this is true or a myth, strange events took place in the area in the 50s of the 20th century. In 1958, residents found a German shepherd dead: the dog had been torn to shreds, but its meat had not been eaten.
In the spring of 1961, two students were found dead in the northeastern Maryland town of Bowie. The girl and the boy went into the forest at night. In the morning, a local hunter found a car with broken windows and many deep scratches on the body. The teenagers' bodies, mutilated beyond recognition, were found in the back seat. The criminal was never found.
In 2011, the American horror film "Deadly Detour" was released, inspired by the Maryland monster.
According to Irish folklore, the banshee is a spirit from the other world. She appears in the form of an ugly woman to the relatives and friends of the one who is about to die. It is believed that if a banshee cried loudly enough before her death, then in the next world her screams will be several times worse.
Banshees look like scary screaming women, old women with flowing gray hair, a scary wrinkled face and skeletal thinness.
The legend of an American girl who took revenge on her lover
In the USA there is a terrible legend about a girl who took revenge on her lover for unrequited love. In the small town of Stahl, Texas, there once stood a small church surrounded by graves. Next to the church there was a cellar, which was very difficult to find, as it was overgrown with grass.
The priest's daughter fell madly in love with a neighbor boy, but he broke her heart by choosing another girl. They got married, his chosen one became pregnant. Soon after the birth of the child, the priest's daughter visited the couple. They greeted her cordially, but the girl herself looked at their child with hatred.
The priest's daughter suddenly attacked her parents and cut both their throats, then she dragged their bodies to the hill where the church stood. She left the dead in the cellar and placed the living child between them.
The priest's daughter closed the door to the cellar and soon died. The bodies in the cellar could not be found for three weeks.
Many believe that the voice of a crying child can still be heard near the church at night.
Corpse house in Mexico
In the Mexican city of Monterey there is a famous legend about an abandoned building called the "corpse house." The strange structure was built in the 1970s, but no one has ever lived in the building.
From the street, the house looks like a structure made of concrete pipes. According to legend, the house was built by a wealthy couple who had a sick, paralyzed daughter. My father wanted to build a special house that would be suitable for people with disabilities. The design of the house included ramps that led from one floor to another.
The family began construction. One day the girl wanted to look at the house. She began to ride on the ramps, her parents were distracted for just a moment, when suddenly her wheelchair flew down the ramp. The girl could not stop, as a result she flew out the window and fell to her death.
Years later, the unfinished building was put up for sale. But no one wanted to buy it for a long time. One day there were clients. They came to see the building with their little son. While the couple were examining the situation, the boy went upstairs, and a few minutes later they heard him scream. On the top floor he was fighting with a little girl. An unknown person grabbed their son and threw him out the window. The boy died, the girl could not be found.
After this story, the authorities fenced off the area.
In 1941, a certain Mary Shaw performed with her Billy doll in one of the theaters in the American city of Ravens Fair. One day one of the spectators - a little boy - called the woman a liar. He saw the woman's lips move as Billy spoke. A few weeks later, the unfortunate critic disappeared.
Residents of the city and the boy's parents blamed the ventriloquist for his disappearance. Mary Shaw was soon found dead. According to local legend, the Eshen family (the boy’s relatives) committed lynching against the woman. They burst into the dressing room, forced Shaw to scream, and then ripped out her tongue.
Before her death, the woman wished that all her dolls be buried with her, there were 101 of them.
After the ventriloquist's funeral, massacres began in Raven's Fair. And the victims of crimes were those people who raised their hands on the Show. They, like Mary, had their tongues pulled out.
