Edmond Dantès
Dantès the White
The adventures and misadventures of such figures of myth have fascinated us throughout the Ages and continue to do so.
The three titular figures detailed
Achilles: The primary hero of the Iliad. His father was Peleus of the Myrmidones in Thessaly. His mother, Thetis, was of divine origin who had been raised by Hera. In his youth, Achilles was tutored by Phoenix and the great Centaur Chiron. Thetis attempted to make her son immortal by dipping him into the river Styx, but as she held the child by his right heel, that part of his body remained vulnerable. Thetis realised early on that Achilles would either live a long and uneventful life or die young as a glorious hero. His heroic qualities were evident even in his childhood and after an escapade in Scyros, he finally joined the Great War.
Achilles, fiery by nature, quickly distinguished himself as warrior and became a crucial element of the Greek forces before the walls of Troy. His importance to the campaign became evident when Agamemnon made the mistake of wrongly taking possession of Achilles mistress, Briseis, a woman won in a peripheral battle in the Trojan territories. Insulted and humiliated, Achilles withdrew to his tent and refused to continue fighting. Without their greatest warrior the Greeks faltered and were forced to beg the sulking hero to return to battle. Achilles refused, but allowed his dearest friend, Patraklos, to lead the Myrmidones into battle. Partaklos was duly killed and Achilles reentered the fray, driven by a combination of rage and deep sorrow and newly armed by the smith god Hephaistos. He put the Trojans to rout and killed their greatest hero Hector, desecrating his body by dragging it three times around the walls of Troy. Following an exchange between himself and the Trojan King Priam, Achilles is finally slain by an arrow shot by Paris - assisted by the deity Apollo which pierced his vulnerable right heel. Achilles, the embodiment of invincibility toppled by a single weakness.
Beowulf: The hero of the Anglo-Saxon epic poem named for him, represents a combination of the Christian values of the monks who compiled the epic and the older Germanic mythology from which the story springs.
The young Beowulf, with several Geat followers arrives in Denmark to support King Hrothgar in his struggle against the monster Grendel, who periodically comes at night into the kings meade-hall to eat his men. In a terrifying battle Beowulf succeeds in killing Grendel, only to be faced with the task of the defeating the monsters mother in her underwater lair.
In later years Beowulf, now king of the Geats, has to defend his own kingdom from a dragon. In the final battle, the king and his loyal friend Wiglaf succeed in killing the dragon, but Beowulf dies as a result of his heroic effort.
Cúchulainn: In Ireland it is sometimes difficult to distinguish heroes from gods. But out of the Ulster or Red Branch Cycle, dominated by the Tain Bo Cuailnge, one great hero emerges in the person of Cúchulainn. The miraculous circumstances of whose birth, initiation and other aspects of life place him in the company of the multitude of archetypal heroes of the mono-myth, including the likes of, Achilles, Herakles and Theseus. Known as Setanta as a child. His prodigious strength was noticed by the King Conchobhar and Setanta was invited to a feast given by the smith, Culann. At the feast a great dog attacked the child, who proceeded to jam his ball in the beasts mouth and smash its head against a rock, killing it instantly. Culann was furious that Setanta killed his favourite watchdog, but the child promised to find a replacement for the dog and until then to serve in its place as the Hound of Culann, thus the name Cúchulainn. Later, the seven year old Setanta overheard a druid predict that anyone who took arms on that day would become the greatest of heroes but would be condemned to a short life. Cúchulainn, like the similarly doomed Achilles, immediately demanded arms of Conchobhar and went off to defeat three magical warriors who had plagued the kingdom. Thus the young hero joined the community of mythic children whose extraordinary boyhood deeds indicated their heroic nature.
Still a boy, Cúchulainn fell in love with the beautiful Emer, who would have nothing to do with him before he could prove himself a true hero by accomplishing certain feats. Emers father placed many more barriers before the young hero and overcoming those barriers became his Heraklean labours. With the help of the warrior queen, Scathach, Cúchulainn grew in strength and prowess and finally returned to Ireland and after overcoming Forgall, married Emer. In the tradition of many heroes, he had a famous sword (Caladin) and a magic spear (Gael-Bolg).
Many heroic and tragic events filled the rest of his short life. Like other great heroes, he traveled in the Otherworld. He lost women he loved, quarreled with Emer and found himself in a position in which he became the killer of his own son and then his best friend. The central events of his adult life are those of the great war of the Cattle Raid, in which he is the champion of Conchobhars Ulstermen against the Connacht armies of Queen Medb. He is so admired even by his enemies, that the war goddess Morrigan herself desires him. But like Gilgamesh he refuses the love of the goddess and suffers for his refusal. His reputation as a hero is fully established by his defeating of Medbs warriors almost single-handedly, but alas, there is no escape from the druids prophecy. Cúchulainn in his final battle is slain at the famous Pillar Stone, to which the hero bound himself so that he might die standing and as an otter drinks his blood, Morrigan sits on his shoulder in the form of a raven, finally is possession of the man she desired.
A list of selected mythological figures and mythologies
Aztec mythology
Celtic (Gaelic, Brythonic) mythology
Chinese mythology
Egyptian mythology
English (Anglo-Saxon) mythology/folklore
Greek mythology
Inca mythology
Japanese (Shinto) mythology
Maya mythology
Mesopotamian mythology
Native North American (Hopi, Sioux, Ojibwa, Acoma, Navajo etc.) mythology
Norse mythology
Persian (Iranian, Zoroastrian) mythology
Slavic mythology
Spotlight on Osiris
Osiris whose domain is Duat, the Egyptian Underworld. He is normally depicted in human form; his body is portrayed as wrapped in mummy bandages from which his arms emerge to hold the sceptres of kingship the crook and the flail. The Atef (his distinctive crown) comprises of rams horns at its base and a tall conical centerpiece sporting a plume on each side. The plinth that he stands on is the symbol of law, truth etc.
Papyrus from the Book of the Dead of Nakht. From Thebes, Egypt. Late 18th Dynasty, 1350-1300 BC
In the above image from left to right; the goddess of the West receiving into her hands the disk of the setting sun. The goddess Maat, Queen of the two Lands, the daughter of Ra supporting Osiris. Osiris himself, wearing the White Crown with plumes and horns, and holding the symbols of sovereignty and rule, seated on his throne in his kingdom of Amentet. A pool in the Garden of Osiris in the Other World, on the sides of which grown vines, date-palms, fruit trees and spice bearing shrubs, etc. The pool is symbolic of rebirth and resurrection. The veritable royal scribe and inspector of soldiers, Nakht. Next to him, his beloved wife, the singing woman of Amen, Tjuiu. A date and fruit tree, standing on each side of the steps leading to the door of the house. Finally, a house on a raised platform, with windows high up in the walls, and projections from the flat roof, opening towards the north to admit the wind.
His origins are much debated. From the symbols of the eye and the throne, Osiris has been given roots both east and west of the Nile, e.g. in Mesopotamia as the god Marduk, and in Libya as an alleged corn god bearing a Berber name which means the old one. Other scholars have split up his name to mean he who occupies the throne or he who copulates with Isis. It has also been suggested that behind Osiris lurks an original mother goddess whose name might be interpreted as she who belongs in the womb. One of the more likely theories seems to be the simplest. Osiris name is connected with the word woser which would give the sense of Mighty One.
A genealogy for Osiris exists in the texts carved on the walls of the pyramids from the end of the fifth Dynasty onwards. It has been theorised that this pedigree was clearly an attempt by the priests of the sun god at Heliopolis to incorporate Osiris into their theology, thus cleverly subordinating him by two generations to their own principal deity. As his cult extended, Osiris assumed the forms of the gods of the dead of the districts through which it passed, and this explains why he is so closely associated with Ptah and Seker of Memphis and with Khenti-Amenti of Abydos.
The Ennead of Heliopolis:
Atum
Shu and Tefnut
Geb and Nut
Osiris, Isis, Seth and Nephthys
The titles used to describe Osiris are of great value in trying to elucidate his nature although for the most part they titles seem to be drawn to Osiris from other deities. This is an indication of Osiris as a universal god, capable of absorbing different divinities into his own personality.
A selection of his epithets:
Thus arrive Horus and Thoth, who raise Osiris up onto his side a vivification reminiscent of the two gods pouring symbols of life over a pharaoh depicted on numerous temple walls. The embalmment ritual is then carried out at Abydos. It is at this stage that Osiris disappears from the struggle for the throne of Egypt (which this myth cycle is seen to represent) and becomes the Underworld ruler, leaving his sister Isis and the gods Horus and Seth as the key protagonists.
The fear of the possible gloom pervading the Underworld led the Egyptians to interpret Osiris as a counterpart of the sun god below the earth. Consequently, Duat would always have a share of solar light. Osiris and Ra embrace one another to become the Twin Souls. In an effort to link the sun deity to the Osiris myth cycle, Ra supervises Osiris' funeral ceremonies, but there is however a rivalry between the two gods. In a public exchange, Osiris stresses his own importance as an agricultural deity producing emmer wheat and barley which keep alive both gods and men. Ra's only and petulant reply is that the crops exist regardless of Osiris. Osiris however, gives the final self righteous rejoinder. He states that Ra's government allows the unjust to thrive but in the domain of Osiris there are fearless messengers that bring the hearts of the wicked to the Hall of Judgment for punishment. These agents respect no status so that both gods and humans are under Osiris' rule.
The ruler of the Underworld naturally ensures that the souls of the wicked and undesirable do not survive to live in his realm. In the law court Osiris sits on the throne holding his sceptres and supervises the judgment of the new applicants for paradise. Osiris in a judicial connection, or at least as upholder of honesty and upright behaviour is attested as early as the Pyramid Era where he is called Lord of Maat, i.e. the goddess of cosmic order who later represents the truth against which all answers must be weighed in the interrogation of the dead persons soul. In the iconography of Osiris, the god is frequently depicted standing on a plinth tapering to a point which is the hieroglyph for truth. Osiris' nine agents will it is said cut to pieces the souls of criminals. In private funerary papyri the examination of souls and condemnation of those unfit for an Afterlife in Duat is carried out on Osiris behalf by the Assessor Gods (the tribunal of assessor gods is frequently depicted in the illustrations accompanying Chapter 125 of the Book of the Dead). Successful candidates are then led into the presence of an enthroned Osiris by his son Horus.
Food for thought indeed and thus we move on. As per title; who are your personal favourites, whether divine or not?
Discussion of the mythologies in general is more than welcome.
The three titular figures detailed
Achilles: The primary hero of the Iliad. His father was Peleus of the Myrmidones in Thessaly. His mother, Thetis, was of divine origin who had been raised by Hera. In his youth, Achilles was tutored by Phoenix and the great Centaur Chiron. Thetis attempted to make her son immortal by dipping him into the river Styx, but as she held the child by his right heel, that part of his body remained vulnerable. Thetis realised early on that Achilles would either live a long and uneventful life or die young as a glorious hero. His heroic qualities were evident even in his childhood and after an escapade in Scyros, he finally joined the Great War.
Achilles, fiery by nature, quickly distinguished himself as warrior and became a crucial element of the Greek forces before the walls of Troy. His importance to the campaign became evident when Agamemnon made the mistake of wrongly taking possession of Achilles mistress, Briseis, a woman won in a peripheral battle in the Trojan territories. Insulted and humiliated, Achilles withdrew to his tent and refused to continue fighting. Without their greatest warrior the Greeks faltered and were forced to beg the sulking hero to return to battle. Achilles refused, but allowed his dearest friend, Patraklos, to lead the Myrmidones into battle. Partaklos was duly killed and Achilles reentered the fray, driven by a combination of rage and deep sorrow and newly armed by the smith god Hephaistos. He put the Trojans to rout and killed their greatest hero Hector, desecrating his body by dragging it three times around the walls of Troy. Following an exchange between himself and the Trojan King Priam, Achilles is finally slain by an arrow shot by Paris - assisted by the deity Apollo which pierced his vulnerable right heel. Achilles, the embodiment of invincibility toppled by a single weakness.
Beowulf: The hero of the Anglo-Saxon epic poem named for him, represents a combination of the Christian values of the monks who compiled the epic and the older Germanic mythology from which the story springs.
The young Beowulf, with several Geat followers arrives in Denmark to support King Hrothgar in his struggle against the monster Grendel, who periodically comes at night into the kings meade-hall to eat his men. In a terrifying battle Beowulf succeeds in killing Grendel, only to be faced with the task of the defeating the monsters mother in her underwater lair.
In later years Beowulf, now king of the Geats, has to defend his own kingdom from a dragon. In the final battle, the king and his loyal friend Wiglaf succeed in killing the dragon, but Beowulf dies as a result of his heroic effort.
Cúchulainn: In Ireland it is sometimes difficult to distinguish heroes from gods. But out of the Ulster or Red Branch Cycle, dominated by the Tain Bo Cuailnge, one great hero emerges in the person of Cúchulainn. The miraculous circumstances of whose birth, initiation and other aspects of life place him in the company of the multitude of archetypal heroes of the mono-myth, including the likes of, Achilles, Herakles and Theseus. Known as Setanta as a child. His prodigious strength was noticed by the King Conchobhar and Setanta was invited to a feast given by the smith, Culann. At the feast a great dog attacked the child, who proceeded to jam his ball in the beasts mouth and smash its head against a rock, killing it instantly. Culann was furious that Setanta killed his favourite watchdog, but the child promised to find a replacement for the dog and until then to serve in its place as the Hound of Culann, thus the name Cúchulainn. Later, the seven year old Setanta overheard a druid predict that anyone who took arms on that day would become the greatest of heroes but would be condemned to a short life. Cúchulainn, like the similarly doomed Achilles, immediately demanded arms of Conchobhar and went off to defeat three magical warriors who had plagued the kingdom. Thus the young hero joined the community of mythic children whose extraordinary boyhood deeds indicated their heroic nature.
Still a boy, Cúchulainn fell in love with the beautiful Emer, who would have nothing to do with him before he could prove himself a true hero by accomplishing certain feats. Emers father placed many more barriers before the young hero and overcoming those barriers became his Heraklean labours. With the help of the warrior queen, Scathach, Cúchulainn grew in strength and prowess and finally returned to Ireland and after overcoming Forgall, married Emer. In the tradition of many heroes, he had a famous sword (Caladin) and a magic spear (Gael-Bolg).
Many heroic and tragic events filled the rest of his short life. Like other great heroes, he traveled in the Otherworld. He lost women he loved, quarreled with Emer and found himself in a position in which he became the killer of his own son and then his best friend. The central events of his adult life are those of the great war of the Cattle Raid, in which he is the champion of Conchobhars Ulstermen against the Connacht armies of Queen Medb. He is so admired even by his enemies, that the war goddess Morrigan herself desires him. But like Gilgamesh he refuses the love of the goddess and suffers for his refusal. His reputation as a hero is fully established by his defeating of Medbs warriors almost single-handedly, but alas, there is no escape from the druids prophecy. Cúchulainn in his final battle is slain at the famous Pillar Stone, to which the hero bound himself so that he might die standing and as an otter drinks his blood, Morrigan sits on his shoulder in the form of a raven, finally is possession of the man she desired.
A list of selected mythological figures and mythologies
Aztec mythology
- Tonacatecuhtli
- Tonacacihuatl
- Huitzilopochtli
- Quetzalcoatl
- Tezcatlipoca
- Xipe-Totec
- Tlaloc
- Chalchihuitlicue
- Xiuhtecuhtli
Celtic (Gaelic, Brythonic) mythology
- King Arthur
- Cúchulainn
- Lug
- Finn McCool
- Tuatha Dé Danann
- Fithir
- Fithel
- Máel Dúin
- Morrígan
- The Fisher King
- Rhiannon
- Gwydion
- Arianrhod
- Math fab Mathonwy
- Bran the Blessed
- Efnysien
- Olwen
- Culhwch
- Tristan
- Gawain
- Arawn
- Pwyll
- Ceridwen
Chinese mythology
- Fu Xi
- Suiren
- Mazu
- Shujun
- Fubao
- Nuwa
- Pangu
- Guanyin
- Yinglong
- Ao Kuang, Dragon King of the East Sea
- Ao Qin, Dragon King of the South Sea
- Ao Run, Dragon King of the West Sea
- Ao Shun, Dragon King of the South Sea
Egyptian mythology
- Osiris
- Isis
- Thoth
- Horus
- Ra
- Anubis
- Set
- Hathor
- Nephthys
- Sobek
- Bez
- Hapi
- Atum
- Shu
- Tefnut
- Geb
- Nut
- Apep
- Mut
- Nu
- Naunet
- Amun
- Amaunet
- Kuk
- Kauket
- Huh
- Hauhet
- Sinuhe
English (Anglo-Saxon) mythology/folklore
- Sceafa
- Horsa
- Hengest
- Lud son of Heli
- Robin Hood
- Beowulf
- Boggarts
- Brownies
- The Green Man
- Lubberkins
- Puck
- Will-o'-the-wisp
- Brutus of Troy
Greek mythology
- Achilles
- Cadmus
- Hektor
- Diomedes
- Herakles
- Odysseus
- Perseus
- Prometheus
- Theseus
- Daedalus
- Titans
- Twelve Olympians
- Erinyes
- Moirai
- Hecatoncheires
- Typhoeus
- Chimaera
- Sirens
- Gorgons
- Nereids
Inca mythology
- Viracocha
- Mamacocha
- Inti
- Mamaoello
- Pachacamac
- Mamapacha
- Kon
- Mama Killa
Japanese (Shinto) mythology
- Izanagi
- Izanami
- Owadatsumi
- Oyamatsumi
- Amaterasu
- Susanoo
- Takagi-no-Kami
- Ame-no-Oshihomimi
- Toyo-Akitsu
- Iwanaga
- Kohohana
- Ninigi
- Toyotma
- Hoori
- Hoderi
- Hosuseri
- Tamayori
- Ugayafukiaezu
- Oinari
Maya mythology
- Tzakol
- Bitol
- Alom
- Oaholom
- Tepeu
- Gukumatz
- Cabaguil
- Chirakan-Ixmucane
- Hunahpu
- Ixbalaque
- Chaac
- Itzamna
- Kinich Ahau
- Ix Chel
- Ix Ch'up
Mesopotamian mythology
- Tiamat
- Mammu
- Anshar
- Kishar
- Anu
- Antu
- Enlil
- Ninlil
- Ea
- Damkina
- Marduk
- Sin
- Shamash
- Erishkigal
- Ishtar
- Gilgamesh
- Enkidu
- Bel
- Ziusudra
- Adapa
- Lugalbanda
- Alû
- Gallu
- Mukīl rē lemutti
- Pazuzu
- Rabisu
- Anzû
Native North American (Hopi, Sioux, Ojibwa, Acoma, Navajo etc.) mythology
- Wunzh
- Iatiku and Nautsiti
- Nayenezgani and Tobadzhistshini
- Kachina
- Wakan Tanka
- Katoyis
- Iktomi
- Spider Grandmother
Norse mythology
- Sigurd Fafnersbane
- Bödvar Bjarki
- Starkad
- Gudrun
- Völsung
- Ymir
- The Æsir
- The Vanir
- The jötnar
- The Svartálfar and Ljósálfar
- Fenrir
- Valkyries
- Völundr
- Dagr and Nótt
- Sleipnir
Persian (Iranian, Zoroastrian) mythology
- Rostam
- Sohrab
- Yima
- Ahura Mazda
- Angra Mainyu
- Kāveh the blacksmith
- Zahhak
- Vivahant
- Hoama
- Anahita
- Mithra
- Vayu
- Verethraghna
Slavic mythology
- Perun
- Dabog
- Svantovit
- Rugievit
- Kresnik
- Zorya
- Jarilo
- Svarog
- Veles
- Baba Yaga
Spotlight on Osiris
Osiris whose domain is Duat, the Egyptian Underworld. He is normally depicted in human form; his body is portrayed as wrapped in mummy bandages from which his arms emerge to hold the sceptres of kingship the crook and the flail. The Atef (his distinctive crown) comprises of rams horns at its base and a tall conical centerpiece sporting a plume on each side. The plinth that he stands on is the symbol of law, truth etc.
Papyrus from the Book of the Dead of Nakht. From Thebes, Egypt. Late 18th Dynasty, 1350-1300 BC
In the above image from left to right; the goddess of the West receiving into her hands the disk of the setting sun. The goddess Maat, Queen of the two Lands, the daughter of Ra supporting Osiris. Osiris himself, wearing the White Crown with plumes and horns, and holding the symbols of sovereignty and rule, seated on his throne in his kingdom of Amentet. A pool in the Garden of Osiris in the Other World, on the sides of which grown vines, date-palms, fruit trees and spice bearing shrubs, etc. The pool is symbolic of rebirth and resurrection. The veritable royal scribe and inspector of soldiers, Nakht. Next to him, his beloved wife, the singing woman of Amen, Tjuiu. A date and fruit tree, standing on each side of the steps leading to the door of the house. Finally, a house on a raised platform, with windows high up in the walls, and projections from the flat roof, opening towards the north to admit the wind.
His origins are much debated. From the symbols of the eye and the throne, Osiris has been given roots both east and west of the Nile, e.g. in Mesopotamia as the god Marduk, and in Libya as an alleged corn god bearing a Berber name which means the old one. Other scholars have split up his name to mean he who occupies the throne or he who copulates with Isis. It has also been suggested that behind Osiris lurks an original mother goddess whose name might be interpreted as she who belongs in the womb. One of the more likely theories seems to be the simplest. Osiris name is connected with the word woser which would give the sense of Mighty One.
A genealogy for Osiris exists in the texts carved on the walls of the pyramids from the end of the fifth Dynasty onwards. It has been theorised that this pedigree was clearly an attempt by the priests of the sun god at Heliopolis to incorporate Osiris into their theology, thus cleverly subordinating him by two generations to their own principal deity. As his cult extended, Osiris assumed the forms of the gods of the dead of the districts through which it passed, and this explains why he is so closely associated with Ptah and Seker of Memphis and with Khenti-Amenti of Abydos.
The Ennead of Heliopolis:
Atum
Shu and Tefnut
Geb and Nut
Osiris, Isis, Seth and Nephthys
The titles used to describe Osiris are of great value in trying to elucidate his nature although for the most part they titles seem to be drawn to Osiris from other deities. This is an indication of Osiris as a universal god, capable of absorbing different divinities into his own personality.
A selection of his epithets:
- Foremost of the Westerners
- He who dwells in Andjet
- He who dwells in Heliopolis
- He who dwells in Orion with a season in the sky and a season on Earth
- He who dwells in the House of Serket
- He who is in gods tent
- The Delta sites of Letopolis and Helioplis
- Memphis
- Herakleopolis
- Hermopolis
- Djedu
- Ibdju
- Biga
Thus arrive Horus and Thoth, who raise Osiris up onto his side a vivification reminiscent of the two gods pouring symbols of life over a pharaoh depicted on numerous temple walls. The embalmment ritual is then carried out at Abydos. It is at this stage that Osiris disappears from the struggle for the throne of Egypt (which this myth cycle is seen to represent) and becomes the Underworld ruler, leaving his sister Isis and the gods Horus and Seth as the key protagonists.
The fear of the possible gloom pervading the Underworld led the Egyptians to interpret Osiris as a counterpart of the sun god below the earth. Consequently, Duat would always have a share of solar light. Osiris and Ra embrace one another to become the Twin Souls. In an effort to link the sun deity to the Osiris myth cycle, Ra supervises Osiris' funeral ceremonies, but there is however a rivalry between the two gods. In a public exchange, Osiris stresses his own importance as an agricultural deity producing emmer wheat and barley which keep alive both gods and men. Ra's only and petulant reply is that the crops exist regardless of Osiris. Osiris however, gives the final self righteous rejoinder. He states that Ra's government allows the unjust to thrive but in the domain of Osiris there are fearless messengers that bring the hearts of the wicked to the Hall of Judgment for punishment. These agents respect no status so that both gods and humans are under Osiris' rule.
The ruler of the Underworld naturally ensures that the souls of the wicked and undesirable do not survive to live in his realm. In the law court Osiris sits on the throne holding his sceptres and supervises the judgment of the new applicants for paradise. Osiris in a judicial connection, or at least as upholder of honesty and upright behaviour is attested as early as the Pyramid Era where he is called Lord of Maat, i.e. the goddess of cosmic order who later represents the truth against which all answers must be weighed in the interrogation of the dead persons soul. In the iconography of Osiris, the god is frequently depicted standing on a plinth tapering to a point which is the hieroglyph for truth. Osiris' nine agents will it is said cut to pieces the souls of criminals. In private funerary papyri the examination of souls and condemnation of those unfit for an Afterlife in Duat is carried out on Osiris behalf by the Assessor Gods (the tribunal of assessor gods is frequently depicted in the illustrations accompanying Chapter 125 of the Book of the Dead). Successful candidates are then led into the presence of an enthroned Osiris by his son Horus.
Food for thought indeed and thus we move on. As per title; who are your personal favourites, whether divine or not?
Discussion of the mythologies in general is more than welcome.
