The Barbary Coast of North Africa was named after the Berbers, the nomadic people who inhabited the region west of the Nile Valley in north Africa. Called the Amazigh or Imazighen in antiquity (...
Hermes was an important god in the Greek pantheon and one of the Twelve Olympians . He is best known for being the herald or messenger of the gods and is portrayed in many myths as such. In addition...
St Brigid is one of the patron saints of Ireland. But the virgin nun has roots that go back to the days when the land’s pagan deities received prayers instead. It seems the Celtic goddess Brigid...
Although Croatia is a small European country, its history is rich with mythology. Some, like the story of the first vampire Jure Grando , are more known, but there are others that are in threat of...
Étaín is a character from Irish mythology with an extraordinary life story. Her immense physical and spiritual beauty enthralled a member of the fairy folk and made her the heroine of the tale ‘The...
One of the three children of Loki by a giantess (jötunn ) named Angrboða, Fenrir plays an imperative, though short, role in Norse mythology. A wolf of remarkable size and strength, Fenrir has one...
The Milesians are a legendary race of people mentioned in the Lebor Gabála Érenn (‘ The Book of the Taking of Ireland ’). According to this work, which attained its current structure during the 11 th...
Manannan mac Lir is likely the most prominent sea deity of Irish mythology and literature. With his sea-borne chariot, affiliation with horses and cloak of invisibility, he guards the otherworld and...
Scáthach, meaning “The Shadowy One” in Gaelic, was a mythical Celtic warrior and martial arts trainer. Her school of warriors turned out some of the top Celtic heroes. Her most famous student was Cú...
Irish and Celtic symbols reflect ancient beliefs and traditions and were believed to influence lives. The meanings of symbols such as the Claddagh, Crann Bethadh, Triquetra, and Triskelion have lived...
Ancient Greek mythology is filled with heroes, gods, and epic adventures. The stories told in the myths are interesting and engaging enough that most of us will be familiar with at least a few, and...
A common motif in British folklore is that of an otherworldly female, who is somehow captured or charmed by a mortal man to be his bride. The females are often therianthropes, that is shape-shifters...
The 19th century gave us some of the best work on mythology, but much of it has been ignored over time. Since around the 1960s, when excitement was at its peak regarding space travel and the moon...
Today, the thought of infanticide – the intentional killing of infants – fills us with horror, but in many ancient societies, not only was this practice permitted, it was considered a regular fact of...
More so than females, the male Norse explorers who took residence in Iceland more than 1,000 years were buried with their horses and new DNA evidence proves that the horses slaughtered to accompany...
The Romans possessed a rich mythology that exerted (and continues to exert) a significant influence on Western culture. Many Roman myths, specifically those concerning the gods, have their equivalent...