List of mythologies
Encyclopedia
This is a list of Mythologies
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...

of the world, by culture and region.

West Africa

  • Akan mythology
  • Ashanti mythology
    Ashanti mythology
    The Ashanti people of Ghana in West Africa are known for their colorful folktales and mythology. But they are mostly Christians Now.The supreme being in the pantheon of the Ashanti is Nyame , the omniscient, omnipotent sky god. His wife is Asase Ya and they have two children, Bia and Tano. Asase...

     (Ghana)
  • Dahomey (Fon) mythology
    Dahomey mythology
    The Dahomey are a nation located in Benin, Africa. The mythology of the Dahomey includes an entire pantheon of thunder gods; for example,*Xevioso is the god of thunder in the So region....

  • Edo mythology (Nigeria, Benin) *(Also connected to Edo Mysteries)
  • Efik mythology
    Efik mythology
    In Efik mythology, Abassi is considered to be the creator god. His wife, Atai, is known as the mediator. It is believed that Atai convinced Abassi to allow two humans , also known as their children, to live on Earth, but forbade them to work or reproduce. The children were required to return to...

     (Nigeria, Cameroon)
  • Igbo mythology
    Igbo mythology
    Ọdinani, also Ọdinala, Omenala,Omenana, Odinana or Ọmenani is the traditional cultural beliefs and practises of the Igbo people of West Africa...

     (Nigeria, Cameroon)
  • Isoko mythology (Nigeria)
  • Yoruba mythology
    Yoruba mythology
    The Yorùbá religion comprises the original religious beliefs and practices of the Yoruba people. Its homeland is in Southwestern Nigeria and the adjoining parts of Benin and Togo, a region that has come to be known as Yorubaland...

     (Nigeria, Benin)

  • see shared West African Mythology
    West African Mythology
    Shared West African mythology refers to myths found across the region of West Africa. Some of these myths traveled across the Atlantic during the period of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade to become part of Caribbean, Cuban or Brazilian mythology, with some endemic changes.Features of West African...

     (Togo, Cameroun, Ghana, Nigeria, Benin, Gambia, Mali, Senegal,Cote d'Ivoire, Sierra Leone)


Central Africa

  • Bushongo mythology
    Bushongo mythology
    The Bushongo are an ethnic group from the Congo River and surrounding areas. The creation god in Bushongo mythology is called Bumba. The god Bumba is said to have vomited forth the sun, moon, earth, plants and animals, and then humanity...

     (Congo)
  • Baluba mythology
    Baluba mythology
    The Baluba are one of the Bantu peoples of Central Africa. Their creation deity's name is Kabezya-Mpungu.-Creation myth of Kabezya-Mpungu:The Baluba creation story makes a connection between God's invisibility or unavailability, and the endowment of humans with a soul or divine component longing...

  • Bambuti (Pygmy) mythology
    Bambuti mythology
    Mbuti mythology is the mythology of the African Mbuti Pygmies of Congo.The most important god of the Bambuti pantheon is Khonvoum , a god of the hunt who wields a bow made from two snakes that together appear to humans as a rainbow...

     (Congo)
  • Lugbara mythology
    Lugbara mythology
    The Lugbara live in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. In Lugbara mythology, Adroa appeared in both good and evil aspects; he was the creator god and appeared on Earth as a human who was near death. He was depicted as a very tall white man with only one half of a body, missing one...

     (Congo)

East Africa

  • Akamba mythology (East Kenya)
  • Dinka mythology
    Dinka mythology
    The Dinka, or Jieng/Muonyjang, are a Nilotic ethnic group in South Sudan.In Dinka mythology, the supreme, creator god is Nhialic . He is believed to be present in all of creation, and to control the destiny of every human, plant and animal on Earth...

     (Sudan)
  • Lotuko mythology
    Lotuko mythology
    The Lotuko are an ethnic group from South Sudan.The chief god of the Lotuko is called Ajok; he is generally seen as kind and benevolent, but can be angered. He once reportedly answered a woman's prayer for the resurrection of her son. Her husband, however, was angry and re-killed the child...

     (Sudan)
  • Masai mythology
    Masai mythology
    The Maasai mythology involves several beliefs of the Maasai people, an ethnic group living in Kenya and Tanzania.-Neiterkob:According to some sources Neiterkob/Naiteru-kop may also be a reference to Enkai...

     (Kenya, Tanzania)
  • Somali Mythology
    Somali Mythology
    Somali mythology covers the beliefs, the myths, the legends and folk tales circulating in Somali society that were passed down to new generations in a timeline spanning several millennia...

     (Horn of Africa)

Southern Africa

  • Khoikhoi mythology
    Khoikhoi mythology
    This is a summary of some of the gods, heroes and monsters that appear in the beliefs of the Khoikhoi, an ethnic group from southern Africa.- Gods and heroes :...

  • Lozi mythology
    Lozi mythology
    The main function of Lozi mythology is to show that the original Lozi people were dwellers on the Barotse Floodplain of the upper Zambezi River and that they are, therefore, entitled to claim unchallenged title to that homeland...

     (Zambia)
  • Malagasy mythology
    Malagasy mythology
    Malagasy mythology is rooted in oral history and has been transmitted by storytelling , notably the Andriambahoaka epic, including the Ibonia cycle....

  • Tumbuka mythology
    Tumbuka mythology
    The Tumbuka are an ethnic group living in Malawi, Zambia and Tanzania. In Tumbuka mythology, Chiuta is the chief deity; he is all-powerful, omniscient and self-created. Chiuta literally means Great Bow and is symbolised in the sky by the rainbow. He is also a god of rain and fertility.Tumbuka,...

     (Malawi)
  • Zulu mythology
    Zulu mythology
    Zulu mythology contains numerous deities, commonly associated with animals or general classes of natural phenomena.Unkulunkulu is the highest God and is the creator of humanity. Unkulunkulu was created in Uhlanga , a huge swamp of reeds, before he came to Earth...

     (South Africa)

Arctic

overlaps with North Asia, Northern Europe and North America.
  • Finnish mythology
    Finnish mythology
    Finnish mythology is the mythology that went with Finnish paganism which was practised by the Finnish people prior to Christianisation. It has many features shared with fellow Finnic Estonian mythology and its non-Finnic neighbours, the Balts and the Scandinavians...

  • Inuit mythology
    Inuit mythology
    Inuit mythology has many similarities to the religions of other polar regions. Inuit traditional religious practices could be very briefly summarised as a form of shamanism based on animist principles....

  • Norse mythology
    Norse mythology
    Norse mythology, a subset of Germanic mythology, is the overall term for the myths, legends and beliefs about supernatural beings of Norse pagans. It flourished prior to the Christianization of Scandinavia, during the Early Middle Ages, and passed into Nordic folklore, with some aspects surviving...

  • Sami mythology

Southwestern Asia

Middle East, Persia, Anatolia, Caucasus.

Ancient
  • Sumerian religion
    Sumerian religion
    Sumerian religion refers to the mythology, pantheon, rites and cosmology of the Sumerian civilization. The Sumerian religion influenced Mesopotamian mythology as a whole, surviving in the mythologies and religions of the Hurrians, Akkadians, Babylonians, Assyrians, and other culture...

  • Mesopotamian mythology (Sumerian, Assyro-Babylonian)*
  • Persian mythology
    Persian mythology
    Persian mythology are traditional tales and stories of ancient origin, some involving extraordinary or supernatural beings. Drawn from the legendary past of the Iranian cultural continent which especially consists of the state of Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Central Asia, they reflect the...

  • Semitic mythology
    • Babylonian mythology
    • Arabian mythology
      Arabian mythology
      Arabian mythology comprises the ancient, pre-Islamic beliefs of the Arabs. Prior to Islam the Kaaba of Mecca was covered in symbols representing the myriad demons, djinn, demigods, or simply tribal gods and other assorted deities which represented the polytheistic culture of pre-Islamic Arabia...

    • Canaanite mythology
  • Hittite mythology
    Hittite mythology
    Most of the narratives embodying Hittite mythology are lost, and the elements that would give a balanced view of Hittite religion are lacking among the tablets recovered at the Hittite capital Hattusa and other Hittite sites: "there are no canonical scriptures, no theological disquisitions or...

  • Hurrian mythology
  • Scythian mythology


Medieval to Modern
  • Armenian mythology
    Armenian mythology
    Very little is known about pre-Christian Armenian mythology, the oldest source being the legends of Xorenatsi's History of Armenia.Armenian mythology was strongly influenced by Zoroastrianism, with deities such as Aramazd, Mihr or Anahit, as well as Assyrian traditions, such as Barsamin, but there...

  • Ossetian mythology
    Ossetian mythology
    The mythology of the Ossetian people of the Caucasus region contains several gods and supernatural beings. The religion itself is believed to be of Sarmatian origin, but contains many later elements from Christianity, and the Ossetian gods are often identified with Christian saints. The gods play a...

  • Arabian mythology
    Arabian mythology
    Arabian mythology comprises the ancient, pre-Islamic beliefs of the Arabs. Prior to Islam the Kaaba of Mecca was covered in symbols representing the myriad demons, djinn, demigods, or simply tribal gods and other assorted deities which represented the polytheistic culture of pre-Islamic Arabia...

  • Islamic mythology
    Islamic mythology
    Islamic mythology is the body of traditional narratives associated with Islam from a mythographical perspective. Many Muslims believe that these narratives are historical and sacred and contain profound truths...

  • Kurdish mythology
    Kurdish mythology
    Kurdish mythology is the collective term for the beliefs and practices of the culturally, ethnically or linguistically related group of ancient peoples who inhabited the Kurdistan mountains of Taurus and Western Zagros in northern Mesopotamia....

  • Persian mythology
    Persian mythology
    Persian mythology are traditional tales and stories of ancient origin, some involving extraordinary or supernatural beings. Drawn from the legendary past of the Iranian cultural continent which especially consists of the state of Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Central Asia, they reflect the...


South Asia

  • Ayyavazhi mythology
    Ayyavazhi mythology
    Ayyavazhi mythology is the mythology of the growing South Indian religious faith and a sect of Hinduism known as Ayyavazhi. The main source of Ayyavazhi mythology is the Ayyavazhi scripture, Akilattirattu Ammanai, and its supplement, Arul Nool. The Akilattirattu Ammanai is a recitation by Mayon to...

  • Hindu mythology
    Hindu mythology
    Hindu religious literature is the large body of traditional narratives related to Hinduism, notably as contained in Sanskrit literature, such as the Sanskrit epics and the Puranas. As such, it is a subset of Nepali and Indian culture...

  • Tamil mythology
    Tamil mythology
    Tamil mythology means the stories and sacred narratives belonging to the Tamil people. This body of mythology is a mix of elements from the Southern Hindu peoples and Indus Valley cultures with Vedic and orthodox Hindu aspects of the Sanskritic tradition....

  • Buddhist mythology
    Buddhist mythology
    Buddhist mythology operates within the Buddhist belief system. It is a relatively broad mythology, as it was adopted and influenced by several diverse cultures such as Gandhara which was the capital of Bactria. Later on, it also came to incorporate aspects from countries such as China and Japan...


Central and Northern Asia

(overlaps with Eastern and Northern Europe)
  • Altaic mythology
    Altaic mythology
    The mythologies of the Turkic and Mongol peoples are related and have exerted strong influence on one another. Both groups of peoples qualify as Eurasian nomads and have been in close contact throughout history, especially in the context of the medieval Turco-Mongol empire.The oldest mythological...

  • Scythian mythology
  • Mongolian mythology
  • Finnic mythology
    Finnic mythology
    Finnic mythologies are any of the various mythologies of the Finnic peoples , such as the Volga Finns, Baltic Finns, Permians, and Sami.The mythologies of the Finno-Lappic speakers have some common aspects; the Sami people are deeply shamanistic and these traits are present also in Finnish-Karelian...


Australia and Oceania

  • Australian Aboriginal mythology
    Australian Aboriginal mythology
    Australian Aboriginal myths are the stories traditionally performed by Aboriginal peoples within each of the language groups across Australia....

  • Hawaiian mythology
    Hawaiian mythology
    Hawaiian mythology refers to the legends, historical tales and sayings of the ancient Hawaiian people. It is considered a variant of a more general Polynesian mythology, developing its own unique character for several centuries before about 1800. It is associated with the Hawaiian religion...

  • Kaluli creation myth
    Kaluli creation myth
    The Kaluli creation myth is a traditional creation story of the Kaluli people of Papua New Guinea. In the version as was recorded by anthropologist and ethnographer Edward L. Shieffelin whose first contact with them took place in the late 1960s...

  • Maori mythology
    Maori mythology
    Māori mythology and Māori traditions are the two major categories into which the legends of the Māori of New Zealand may usefully be divided...

  • Melanesian mythology
    Melanesian mythology
    Melanesian mythology is a European way of referring to the custom stories of the world area known since the 19th century as "Melanesia", an umbrella term used for the archipelagos of New Guinea, the Torres Strait Islands, the Admiralty Islands, Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, Vanuatu...

  • Micronesian mythology
    Micronesian mythology
    Micronesian mythology refers to the traditional belief systems of the people of Micronesia.-See also:* Anagumang* Anulap* Areop-Enap* Auriaria* Gadao* Kai-n-Tiku-Aba* Nei Tituaabine* Uekera* Nauruan indigenous religion-Sources:*...

  • Papuan mythology
    Papuan mythology
    The Papuans are one of four major cultural groups of Papua New Guinea. The majority of the population lives in rural areas. In isolated areas there still remains a handful of the giant communal structures that previously housed the whole male population, with a circling cluster of huts for the...

  • Polynesian mythology
    Polynesian mythology
    Polynesian mythology is the oral traditions of the people of Polynesia, a grouping of Central and South Pacific Ocean island archipelagos in the Polynesian triangle together with the scattered cultures known as the Polynesian outliers...

  • Rapa Nui mythology
    Rapa Nui mythology
    The Rapa Nui mythology, also known as Pascuense mythology or Easter Island mythology, is the name given to the myths, legends and beliefs of the native Rapanui people of the island of Rapa Nui , located in the south eastern Pacific Ocean, almost four thousand kilometers from continental...


Classical Antiquity

  • Greek mythology
    Greek mythology
    Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...

  • Roman mythology
    Roman mythology
    Roman mythology is the body of traditional stories pertaining to ancient Rome's legendary origins and religious system, as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans...

  • Etruscan mythology
    Etruscan mythology
    The Etruscans were a diachronically continuous population, with a distinct language and culture during the period of earliest European writing, in the Mediterranean Iron Age in the second half of the first millennium BC...

  • Paleo-Balkans mythology
  • Lusitanian mythology
    Lusitanian mythology
    Lusitanian mythology is the mythology of the Lusitanians, the Indo-European people of western Iberia, in the territory comprising most of modern Portugal, Extremadura and a small part of Salamanca....


Northern Europe

  • Germanic paganism
    Germanic paganism
    Germanic paganism refers to the theology and religious practices of the Germanic peoples of north-western Europe from the Iron Age until their Christianization during the Medieval period...

  • Norse mythology
    Norse mythology
    Norse mythology, a subset of Germanic mythology, is the overall term for the myths, legends and beliefs about supernatural beings of Norse pagans. It flourished prior to the Christianization of Scandinavia, during the Early Middle Ages, and passed into Nordic folklore, with some aspects surviving...

  • Finnic mythology
    Finnic mythology
    Finnic mythologies are any of the various mythologies of the Finnic peoples , such as the Volga Finns, Baltic Finns, Permians, and Sami.The mythologies of the Finno-Lappic speakers have some common aspects; the Sami people are deeply shamanistic and these traits are present also in Finnish-Karelian...

    • Estonian mythology
      Estonian mythology
      Estonian mythology is a complex of myths belonging the Estonian folk heritage and literary mythology.Information about the pre-Christian and medieval Estonian mythology is scattered in historical chronicles, travellers' accounts and in ecclesiastical registers...

    • Finnish mythology
      Finnish mythology
      Finnish mythology is the mythology that went with Finnish paganism which was practised by the Finnish people prior to Christianisation. It has many features shared with fellow Finnic Estonian mythology and its non-Finnic neighbours, the Balts and the Scandinavians...

    • Sami mythology
  • Slavic mythology
    Slavic mythology
    Slavic mythology is the mythological aspect of the polytheistic religion that was practised by the Slavs before Christianisation.The religion possesses many common traits with other religions descended from the Proto-Indo-European religion....

    • Baltic mythology
      Baltic mythology
      Baltic mythology generally covers the pre-Christian mythology of the Latvians, Lithuanians and Old Prussians, which are thought to have at least some common roots....

      • Latvian mythology
        Latvian mythology
        Latvian culture, along with Lithuanian, is among the oldest surviving Indo-European cultures. Much of its symbolism is ancient. Its seasons, festivals, and numerous deities reflect the essential agrarian nature of Latvian tribal life...

      • Lithuanian mythology
        Lithuanian mythology
        Lithuanian mythology is an example of Baltic mythology, developed by Lithuanians throughout the centuries.-History of scholarship:Surviving information about Baltic paganism in general is very sketchy and incomplete. As with most ancient Indo-European cultures Lithuanian mythology is an example of...

      • Polish mythology
        Polish mythology
        Polish mythology comprises beliefs and myths of ancient Poland, including witchcraft and elements of Paganism.An early Polish settlement featuring an allocated place of pagan worship, which is located near the ancient complex of Poganowo not far from the Polish coast of the Baltic Sea, was...

      • Prussian mythology
        Prussian mythology
        The Prussian mythology was a polytheistic religion of the Old Prussians, indigenous peoples of Prussia before the Prussian Crusade waged by the Teutonic Knights. It was closely related to other Baltic faiths, the Lithuanian and Latvian mythologies. Its myths and legends did not survive as Prussians...


Eastern Europe

  • Hungarian mythology
    Hungarian mythology
    Hungarian mythology includes the myths, legends, folk tales, fairy tales and gods of the Hungarians. Many parts of it are thought to be lost, i.e. only some texts remained which can be classified as a myth. However, a significant amount of Hungarian mythology was successfully recovered in the last...

  • Roma (Gypsy) mythology
    Roma (Gypsy) mythology
    Romani mythology is the myth, folklore, religion, traditions, and legends of the Romani people . The Romanies are a nomadic culture which originated in India during the Middle Ages. They migrated widely, particularly to Europe...

  • Slavic mythology
    Slavic mythology
    Slavic mythology is the mythological aspect of the polytheistic religion that was practised by the Slavs before Christianisation.The religion possesses many common traits with other religions descended from the Proto-Indo-European religion....

  • Romanian mythology
  • Tatar mythology

Southern Europe

  • Albanian mythology
  • Catalan mythology
    Catalan myths and legends
    Catalan myths and legends are the traditional myths and legends of the Catalan-speaking world, especially Catalonia itself, passed down for generations as part of that region's popular culture.Among the figures of Catalan mythology are:*Aloja...

  • Greek mythology
    Greek mythology
    Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...

  • Lusitanian mythology
    Lusitanian mythology
    Lusitanian mythology is the mythology of the Lusitanians, the Indo-European people of western Iberia, in the territory comprising most of modern Portugal, Extremadura and a small part of Salamanca....

  • Maltese mythology
    Maltese mythology
    Maltese mythology involves myths and various stories from Malta, concerning mysterious creatures and supernatural occurrences. These were most comprehensively compiled by the scholar Manwel Magri in his core criticism "Ħrejjef Missirijietna"...

  • Spanish mythology
    Spanish mythology
    Spanish mythology would encompass all the sacred myths of the cultures in the region of Spain. They include Galician mythology, Asturian mythology, Cantabrian mythology, Catalan mythology and Basque mythology...

  • Turkish mythology

Western Europe

  • Alpine mythology
  • Basque mythology
    Basque mythology
    The mythology of the ancient Basques largely did not survive the, albeit late, arrival of Christianity in the Basque Country between the 4th and 12th century AD...

  • Frankish mythology
    Frankish mythology
    Frankish mythology comprises the mythology of the Germanic tribe of the Franks, from its roots in polytheistic Germanic paganism through the inclusion of Greco-Roman components in the Early Middle Ages. This mythology flourished among the Franks until the conversion of the Merovingian king Clovis I...

  • French mythology
    French mythology
    The mythologies in present-day France encompass the mythology of the Gauls, Franks, Normans, Bretons, and other peoples living in France, those ancient stories about divine or heroic beings that these particular cultures believed to be true and that often use supernatural events or characters to...


North Caucasus

  • Nart saga
    Nart saga
    The Nart sagas are a series of tales originating from the North Caucasus. They form the basic mythology of the tribes in the area, including Abazin, Abkhaz, Circassian, Ossetian, Karachay-Balkar and Chechen-Ingush folklore....

     (Covers Abazin, Abkhaz, Circassian, Ossetian, Karachay-Balkar and Chechen-Ingush mythologies)
  • Ossetian mythology
    Ossetian mythology
    The mythology of the Ossetian people of the Caucasus region contains several gods and supernatural beings. The religion itself is believed to be of Sarmatian origin, but contains many later elements from Christianity, and the Ossetian gods are often identified with Christian saints. The gods play a...

  • Vainakh mythology
    Vainakh mythology
    The Vainakh people of the North Caucasus include the modern Chechens and Ingush, who are today predominantly Muslim in religion. Nevertheless, their folklore has preserved a substantial amount of information about their pre-Islamic pagan beliefs...

     (Covers Chechen and Ingush mythology)

British Isles

  • Celtic mythology
    Celtic mythology
    Celtic mythology is the mythology of Celtic polytheism, apparently the religion of the Iron Age Celts. Like other Iron Age Europeans, the early Celts maintained a polytheistic mythology and religious structure...

  • English mythology
  • Irish mythology
    Irish mythology
    The mythology of pre-Christian Ireland did not entirely survive the conversion to Christianity, but much of it was preserved, shorn of its religious meanings, in medieval Irish literature, which represents the most extensive and best preserved of all the branch and the Historical Cycle. There are...

  • Scottish mythology
    Scottish mythology
    Scottish mythology may refer to any of the mythologies of Scotland.Myths have emerged for various purposes throughout the history of Scotland, sometimes being elaborated upon by successive generations, and at other times being completely rejected and replaced by other explanatory narratives.-...

  • Welsh mythology
    Welsh mythology
    Welsh mythology, the remnants of the mythology of the pre-Christian Britons, has come down to us in much altered form in medieval Welsh manuscripts such as the Red Book of Hergest, the White Book of Rhydderch, the Book of Aneirin and the Book of Taliesin....


North America

Algonquian (northeastern US, Great Lakes)
  • Abenaki mythology
    Abenaki mythology
    The Abenaki people are an indigenous peoples of the Americas located in the northeastern United States and Eastern Canada. Religious ceremonies are led by medicine keepers, called Medeoulin or Mdawinno.-Three ages:...

  • Anishinaabe traditional beliefs
  • Leni Lenape mythology
    Lenape mythology
    Lenape mythology is based on polytheism.Kishelemukong is the creator god, not involved in the daily affairs of the Lenape. Instead, he directed the manitowak, the life-spirits of all living things, which were created by Kishelemukong...



Plains Indians
Plains Indians
The Plains Indians are the Indigenous peoples who live on the plains and rolling hills of the Great Plains of North America. Their colorful equestrian culture and resistance to White domination have made the Plains Indians an archetype in literature and art for American Indians everywhere.Plains...

  • Blackfoot mythology
    Blackfoot mythology
    The Blackfoot are a tribe of Native Americans who currently live in Montana and Alberta. They lived north and west of the Great Lakes and came to participate in Plains Indian culture.-Cosmology:...

  • Crow mythology
    Crow mythology
    Crow religion is the indigenous religion of the Crow tribe, Native Americans of the Great Plains area of the United States.The medicine people of the tribe are known as Akbaalia ....

  • Lakota mythology
    Lakota mythology
    Here is a list of articles pertaining to Lakota mythology, a Native American people of North and South Dakota:#Anog Ite#Anoliy#Anpao#Canotila#Capa#Cetan#Haokah#Ictinike #Inyan#Iya#Ptehehincalasanwin #Skan#Tate...

  • Pawnee mythology
    Pawnee mythology
    Pawnee mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the Pawnee concerning their gods and heroes. The Pawnee are a federally recognized tribe of Native Americans, originally located on the Great Plains along tributaries of the Missouri River. They spoke a Caddoan language.-Beliefs and...



Muskogean (southern US) and Iroquois (Eastern US)
  • Iroquois mythology
    Iroquois mythology
    Much of the mythology of the Iroquois has been lost. Some of their religious stories have been preserved, including creation stories and some folktales....

     (Five Nations
    Five Civilized Tribes
    The Five Civilized Tribes were the five Native American nations—the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek, and Seminole—that were considered civilized by Anglo-European settlers during the colonial and early federal period because they adopted many of the colonists' customs and had generally good...

    )
  • Choctaw mythology
    Choctaw mythology
    Choctaw mythology is related to Choctaws who are a Native American people originally from the Southeastern United States . In the 19th century, Choctaws were known as one of the "Five Civilized Tribes" because they had integrated numerous cultural and technological practices of their European...

  • Creek mythology
    Creek mythology
    The Creek mythology is related to an American Indian Creek people who are originally from the southeastern United States, also known by their original name Muscogee , the name they use to identify themselves today. Mvskoke is their name in traditional spelling. Modern Muscogees live primarily in...

  • Ho-Chunk mythology
    Ho-Chunk mythology
    The Hocągara or Hocąks are a Siouan-speaking Indian Nation originally from Wisconsin and northern Illinois, but due to forced emigration, they are also found in Nebraska, where about half the nation now lives...

  • Huron mythology
    Wyandot mythology
    The Wyandot are a First Nations/Native American people originally from Ontario, Canada, and surrounding areas.The shamans of a Wyandot tribe were called Arendiwane ....

  • Seneca mythology
    Seneca mythology
    The Seneca tribe was is one of the six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy from the northeastern United States. Some important figures in Seneca Mythology were:*Eagentci, whose name translates as "ancient-bodied one" is the Earth-mother, or First Mother....



Alaska and Arctic Canada
  • Haida mythology
    Haida mythology
    The Haida are one of the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America. Their national territories lie along the west coast of Canada and include parts of south east Alaska....

  • Inuit mythology
    Inuit mythology
    Inuit mythology has many similarities to the religions of other polar regions. Inuit traditional religious practices could be very briefly summarised as a form of shamanism based on animist principles....



Pacific Northwest
Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast
The Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of the Pacific Northwest Coast, their descendants, and many ethnic groups who identify with those historical peoples. They are now situated within the Canadian Province of British Columbia and the U.S...

  • Kwakiutl mythology
    Kwakwaka'wakw mythology
    This article is about the spiritual beliefs, histories and practices in Kwakwaka'wakw mythology. The Kwakwaka'wakw are a group of Indigenous nations, numbering about 5,500, who live in the central coast of British Columbia on northern Vancouver Island and the mainland...

  • Nootka mythology
    Nuu-chah-nulth mythology
    Nuu-chah-nulth mythology is the historical oral history of the Nuu-chah-nulth, an Indigenous nation living on Vancouver Island in British Columbia....



Uto-Aztecan (Great Basin to Mexico)
  • Hopi mythology
    Hopi mythology
    The Hopi maintain a complex religious and mythological tradition stretching back over centuries. However, it is difficult to definitively state what all Hopis as a group believe. Like the oral traditions of many other societies, Hopi mythology is not always told consistently and each Hopi mesa, or...

  • Miwok mythology
    Miwok mythology
    The mythology of the Miwok Native Americans are myths of their world order, their creation stories and 'how things came to be' created. Miwok myths suggest their spiritual and philosophical world view...

  • Ohlone mythology
    Ohlone mythology
    The mythology of the Ohlone Native American people of Northern California include creation myths as well as other ancient narratives that contain elements of their spiritual and philosophical belief systems, and their conception of the world order...

  • Ute mythology
    Ute mythology
    The Ute mythology, is the mythology of the Ute Tribe, a tribe of Native Americans from the western United States.-Folk Tales:* Pokoh, the Old Man* Blood Clot* Porcupine Hunts Buffalo* Puma and the Bear* Two Fawns and a Rabbit* Two Grandsons*...

  • Salish mythology
    Salish mythology
    The Salish are a linguistic and cultural grouping of First Nations originally from British Columbia, Canada and Washington, USA.-Elements of Salish mythology:...

  • Tsimshian mythology
    Tsimshian mythology
    Tsimshian mythology is the mythology of the Tsimshian, a First Nations Native American people in Canada and the United States. The majority of Tsimshian people live in British Columbia, while others live in Alaska....



other southwestern US
  • Diné Bahaneʼ (Navajo
    Navajo people
    The Navajo of the Southwestern United States are the largest single federally recognized tribe of the United States of America. The Navajo Nation has 300,048 enrolled tribal members. The Navajo Nation constitutes an independent governmental body which manages the Navajo Indian reservation in the...

    )
  • Pomo mythology
    Pomo mythology
    The indigenous religion of the Pomo people, Native Americans from Northwestern California, centered on belief in the powerful entities of the 'Kunula', a Coyote, and 'Guksu', a spirit healer from the south.-Creation stories:...

  • Zuni mythology
    Zuni mythology
    Zuni mythology is the oral history, cosmology, and religion of the Zuni people. The Zuni are a Pueblo people located in New Mexico. Their religion is integrated into their daily lives and respects ancestors, nature, and animals. Due to a history of religious persecution by non-native peoples, they...



Post-Columbian
  • American folklore

South America

  • Chilota mythology
    Chilota mythology
    The Chilote mythology or Chilota mythology is formed by the myths, legends and beliefs of the people who live in the Chiloé Archipelago, in the south of Chile...

  • Inca mythology
    Inca mythology
    Inca mythology includes many stories and legends that are mythological and helps to explain or symbolizes Inca beliefs.All those that followed the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire by Francisco Pizarro burned the records of the Inca culture...

  • Guaraní mythology
    Guaraní mythology
    The Guaraní people live in south-central part of South America, especially in Paraguay and parts of the surrounding areas of Argentina, Brazil, and Bolivia.-Overview:There exist no written records of the ancient myths and legends associated with the Guaraní people...

  • Mapuche mythology
    Mapuche mythology
    The beliefs of the Mapuche and their mythology, stories about to the world and creatures born of the extensive and old religious beliefs, next to a series of common legend and myths that belong to the different groups that compose the Mapuche ethnic group .-Description:In the mythology and beliefs...


African diasporic

  • Hoodoo
  • Vodou
  • Santería
    Santería
    Santería is a syncretic religion of West African and Caribbean origin influenced by Roman Catholic Christianity, also known as Regla de Ocha, La Regla Lucumi, or Lukumi. Its liturgical language, a dialect of Yoruba, is also known as Lucumi....

  • Obeah
    Obeah
    Obeah is a term used in the West Indies to refer to folk magic, sorcery, and religious practices derived from West African, and specifically Igbo origin. Obeah is similar to other African derived religions including Palo, Voodoo, Santería, rootwork, and most of all hoodoo...

  • Kumina
    Kumina
    Kumina or Cumina is a cultural form indigenous to Jamaica. It is a religion, music and dance practiced by, in large part, Jamaicans who reside in the eastern parish on St. Thomas on the island. These people have retained the drumming and dancing of the Akan people. Like the Kongo practitioners...

  • Palo
    Palo (religion)
    Palo, or Las Reglas de Congo are a group of closely related religions or denominations, which developed in the Spanish colonies of the Caribbean amongst Central African slaves of mostly Bantu ancestry...

  • Candomblé
    Candomblé
    Candomblé is an African-originated or Afro-Brazilian religion, practised chiefly in Brazil by the "povo de santo" . It originated in the cities of Salvador, the capital of Bahia and Cachoeira, at the time one of the main commercial crossroads for the distribution of products and slave trade to...

  • Umbanda
    Umbanda
    Umbanda is an Afro-Brazilian religion that blends African religions with Catholicism, Spiritism and Kardecism, and considerable indigenous lore....

  • Quimbanda
    Quimbanda
    Quimbanda is an Afro-Brazilian religion practiced primarily in the urban city centers of Brazil. Quimbanda practices are typically associated with magic, rituals involving animal sacrifice and marginal locations, orishas, exus, and pomba gira spirits. Quimbanda was originally contained under the...


Mythologies by religion

  • Christian mythology
    Christian mythology
    Christian mythology is the body of myths associated with Christianity. In the study of mythology, the term "myth" refers to a traditional story, often one which is regarded as sacred and which explains how the world and its inhabitants came to have their present form.Classicist G.S. Kirk defines a...

  • Buddhist mythology
    Buddhist mythology
    Buddhist mythology operates within the Buddhist belief system. It is a relatively broad mythology, as it was adopted and influenced by several diverse cultures such as Gandhara which was the capital of Bactria. Later on, it also came to incorporate aspects from countries such as China and Japan...

  • Hindu mythology
    Hindu mythology
    Hindu religious literature is the large body of traditional narratives related to Hinduism, notably as contained in Sanskrit literature, such as the Sanskrit epics and the Puranas. As such, it is a subset of Nepali and Indian culture...

  • Islamic mythology
    Islamic mythology
    Islamic mythology is the body of traditional narratives associated with Islam from a mythographical perspective. Many Muslims believe that these narratives are historical and sacred and contain profound truths...

  • Jewish mythology
    Jewish mythology
    Jewish mythology is generally the sacred and traditional narratives that help explain and symbolize the Jewish religion, whereas Jewish folklore consists of the folk tales and legends that existed in the general Jewish culture. There is very little early folklore distinct from the aggadah literature...


Mythologies by time period

Ancient mythologies by period of first attestation.

Bronze Age
  • Proto-Indo-European mythology (reconstructed)
    • Proto-Indo-Iranian mythology (reconstructed)
  • Mesopotamian mythology (Sumerian, Akkadian)
  • Egyptian mythology
    Egyptian mythology
    Ancient Egyptian religion was a complex system of polytheistic beliefs and rituals which were an integral part of ancient Egyptian society. It centered on the Egyptians' interaction with a multitude of deities who were believed to be present in, and in control of, the forces and elements of nature...

  • Persian mythology
    Persian mythology
    Persian mythology are traditional tales and stories of ancient origin, some involving extraordinary or supernatural beings. Drawn from the legendary past of the Iranian cultural continent which especially consists of the state of Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and Central Asia, they reflect the...

  • Canaanite mythology
  • Hittite mythology
    Hittite mythology
    Most of the narratives embodying Hittite mythology are lost, and the elements that would give a balanced view of Hittite religion are lacking among the tablets recovered at the Hittite capital Hattusa and other Hittite sites: "there are no canonical scriptures, no theological disquisitions or...

  • Hurrian mythology
  • Rigvedic mythology
  • Chinese mythology
    Chinese mythology
    Chinese mythology is a collection of cultural history, folktales, and religions that have been passed down in oral or written tradition. These include creation myths and legends and myths concerning the founding of Chinese culture and the Chinese state...


Iron Age
  • Classical mythology
    Classical mythology
    Classical mythology or Greco-Roman mythology is the cultural reception of myths from the ancient Greeks and Romans. Along with philosophy and political thought, mythology represents one of the major survivals of classical antiquity throughout later Western culture.Classical mythology has provided...

    • Greek mythology
      Greek mythology
      Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...

    • Roman mythology
      Roman mythology
      Roman mythology is the body of traditional stories pertaining to ancient Rome's legendary origins and religious system, as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans...

  • Etruscan mythology
    Etruscan mythology
    The Etruscans were a diachronically continuous population, with a distinct language and culture during the period of earliest European writing, in the Mediterranean Iron Age in the second half of the first millennium BC...

  • Celtic mythology
    Celtic mythology
    Celtic mythology is the mythology of Celtic polytheism, apparently the religion of the Iron Age Celts. Like other Iron Age Europeans, the early Celts maintained a polytheistic mythology and religious structure...



Late Antiquity
  • Altaic mythology
    Altaic mythology
    The mythologies of the Turkic and Mongol peoples are related and have exerted strong influence on one another. Both groups of peoples qualify as Eurasian nomads and have been in close contact throughout history, especially in the context of the medieval Turco-Mongol empire.The oldest mythological...

  • Slavic mythology
    Slavic mythology
    Slavic mythology is the mythological aspect of the polytheistic religion that was practised by the Slavs before Christianisation.The religion possesses many common traits with other religions descended from the Proto-Indo-European religion....

  • Arabian mythology
    Arabian mythology
    Arabian mythology comprises the ancient, pre-Islamic beliefs of the Arabs. Prior to Islam the Kaaba of Mecca was covered in symbols representing the myriad demons, djinn, demigods, or simply tribal gods and other assorted deities which represented the polytheistic culture of pre-Islamic Arabia...


See also

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