Then there was a land of fire and a land of ice. Other cultures, including the Arapaho of North America as well as civilizations in Egypt and Japan, thought of humans as descendants of a sun god. Accessible across all of today's devices: phones, tablets, and desktops.

We’ve been busy, working hard to bring you new features and an updated design. The doglike god Anubis was the god of the dead. Norse mythology developed long ago in northern Europe. They believed that a group of major gods lived on Mount Olympus. Kids - Daily Life, Ancient Olympics, Greek City-States, and more, Interactive Online After dying in battle, human warriors were taken to Valhalla by warrior women called Valkyries.

They are stories about how the world was created and why certain things happen.

storytellers were quite inventive, and each told a myth in their Many cultures also have myths explaining why there is evil in the world. For instance, ancient Greek myths tell that the brave warrior Heracles completed 12 nearly impossible tasks.

After translating an article, all tools except font up/font down will be disabled. Please note: Text within images is not translated, some features may not work properly after translation, and the translation may not accurately convey the intended meaning. Why is there evil in the world? The great Roman poet Ovid preserved these myths in his works. The same safe and trusted content for explorers of all ages.

Since each group of people developed their own explanations, mythology differs from culture to culture. Its main god was Odin. He called the god Aton, and he changed his own name to Akhenaton, or Ikhnaton. The stories became the source of poetry, drama, paintings, and other works of art that are familiar to people in Europe and the Americas.

Helios For example, a myth of the Polynesian people tells that the god Io formed the world out of water and darkness.

But Zeus was always the king of the gods. Although most myths were not recorded, the Greeks wrote about them in poems and dramas. Although the ancient Greek The poet Homer is said to have written these sources, which focus on events surrounding the Trojan War. But a myth is not just a made-up story. The Chinese hero Yü is said to have saved China by draining the land after a huge flood. always king; Hera was always jealous; and so it went. Each Greek god had one or more magical powers. For example, an ancient Greek myth tells the story of Pandora, the first woman on Earth.

Many myths from western Africa tell that the first beings were a pair of twins. By continuing to use this site, you consent to the terms of our cookie policy, which can be found in our, goddess of love, fertility, battle, and death, female messengers of Odin who took the souls of heroes to Valhalla (heaven for warriors), god of music, healing, light, prophecy, and the Sun, goddess of wild animals, hunting, and the moon, queen of the gods; goddess of marriage and women's lives, Titan who carried the heavens on his shoulders, inventor who made wax wings for himself and his son, Icarus, beautiful woman who caused the Trojan War, hero who completed 12 nearly impossible tasks, king whose touch turned everything to gold, nine sister goddesses who inspired people in the arts and sciences, handsome young man who fell in love with his own reflection, musician who tried to rescue his wife, Eurydice, from the underworld, the first woman; she opened a jar that released evil into the world, winged horse who brought thunder and lightning to Zeus, hero who killed Medusa, a monster with snakes for hair, Titan who stole fire from the gods and gave it to humans, giants who once ruled the world; included Cronus (god of farming) and Prometheus (god of fire), goddess of music and pregnant women; cat-headed, god whose eyes were the Sun and the Moon; appeared as a falcon, important goddess; wife of Osiris and mother of Horus, god of disorder; had some features of a dog, god of the moon, wisdom, and writing; ibis-headed. A new, third level of content, designed specially to meet the advanced needs of the sophisticated scholar.

These stories were usually not written down. own way, each god's personality and powers remained the same from story to story. When the Self became lonely, it divided into two parts, creating man and woman. But all myths try to answer basic questions such as: How was the world created? For instance, they did not know why the Sun rises each morning or why the seasons change. In this way, myths became beliefs. Choose a language from the menu above to view a computer-translated version of this page.

That's because the ancient Greek people knew their gods well. Many other myths tell of the gods. The oldest of these writings are The Iliad and The Odyssey, epic poems from the 700s or 800s bc. All Rights Instead they were part of an oral tradition, meaning they were passed from one generation to another by telling them out loud as stories. People living in the cold lands of what is now northern Europe believed that the mist was created first. Each Greek god Thousands of years ago, the ancient Greeks told wonderful Stories discuss their births, special powers, and victories over monsters or enemies. Their children became the human race. A great variety of other myths explain the origins of animals, plants, and events in nature. Some looked like people and some looked like animals. Re was the sun god. For a time a ruler named Amenhotep made the Sun the only god. So no matter who was telling the story, Zeus was

Some figures in ancient Greek and Roman mythology. Greek Games for Kids. Some figures of Norse (northern European) mythology. and Phaethon, the sun chariot, Ancient Many cultures believe that an all-powerful god created the world. Thousands of years ago people did not have the sciences to help them understand life.

Some of the members changed over time. The gods used their powers for good, for trickery, and for adventure. for trickery, and for adventure.

Myths about the Greek gods describe their births, their victories over monsters or rivals, and their special powers. For example, a myth of the Polynesian people tells that the god Io formed the world out of water and darkness. Groups of people developed their own stories and beliefs to explain the world around them. To re-enable the tools or to convert back to English, click "view original" on the Google Translate toolbar.

The Sumerians, an ancient Middle Eastern people, believed that the first people came from clay. A culture’s myths are often closely tied to its religion.