Mythical place
Encyclopedia
Places which appear in mythology, folklore or religious texts or tradition, but which are not probably genuine places, include:
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Agartha Agartha Agartha is a legendary city that is said to reside in the earth's core. It is related to the belief in a hollow earth and is a popular subject in esotericism.... |
A legendary city at the Earth's core. |
| Annwn Annwn Annwn or Annwfn was the Otherworld in Welsh mythology. Ruled by Arawn, or much later by Gwyn ap Nudd, it was essentially a world of delights and eternal youth where disease is absent and food is ever-abundant. It later became Christianised and identified with the land of souls that had departed... |
The "otherworld" of Welsh mythology. |
| Asgard Asgard In Norse religion, Asgard is one of the Nine Worlds and is the country or capital city of the Norse Gods surrounded by an incomplete wall attributed to a Hrimthurs riding the stallion Svadilfari, according to Gylfaginning. Valhalla is located within Asgard... |
The high placed city of the gods, built by Odin Odin Odin is a major god in Norse mythology and the ruler of Asgard. Homologous with the Anglo-Saxon "Wōden" and the Old High German "Wotan", the name is descended from Proto-Germanic "*Wodanaz" or "*Wōđanaz".... , in Norse mythology. There the hall called Valhalla Valhalla In Norse mythology, Valhalla is a majestic, enormous hall located in Asgard, ruled over by the god Odin. Chosen by Odin, half of those that die in combat travel to Valhalla upon death, led by valkyries, while the other half go to the goddess Freyja's field Fólkvangr... (see lower in this list) was part of it. |
| Asphodel Meadows Asphodel Meadows The Asphodel Meadows is a section of the Ancient Greek underworld where indifferent and ordinary souls were sent to live after death.-Geography:... |
In Greek mythology, the section of the underworld where ordinary souls were sent to live after death. |
| Atlantis Atlantis Atlantis is a legendary island first mentioned in Plato's dialogues Timaeus and Critias, written about 360 BC.... |
The legendary (and almost archetypal) lost continent that was supposed to have sunk into the Atlantic Ocean Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area... ; there are many differing opinions on what and where Atlantis was. |
| Avalon Avalon Avalon is a legendary island featured in the Arthurian legend. It first appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's 1136 pseudohistorical account Historia Regum Britanniae as the place where King Arthur's sword Excalibur was forged and later where Arthur was... |
Legendary Island of Apples, believed by some to be the final resting place of King Arthur King Arthur King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and... . |
| Ayotha Amirtha Gangai Ayotha Amirtha Gangai This Ayotha Amirtha Gangai is a mythical river found in Akilattirattu Ammanai the source of Ayyavazhi mythology.It was located in Ayotha Amirtha Vanam the place where, Thirumal through the instrumentality of the Seven Virgins give birth to the Santror Makkal. ... |
An important river in 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... . |
| Biarmaland | A mighty kingdom described in Norse saga Norse saga The sagas are stories about ancient Scandinavian and Germanic history, about early Viking voyages, the battles that took place during the voyages, about migration to Iceland and of feuds between Icelandic families... s which lies to the north of Russia Russia Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects... . |
| Camelot Camelot Camelot is a castle and court associated with the legendary King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and eventually came to be described as the fantastic capital of Arthur's realm and a symbol of the Arthurian world... |
The city which King Arthur reigned. |
| City of the Caesars City of the Caesars The City of the Caesars , also variously known as City of the Patagonia, Wandering City, Trapalanda or Trapananda, Lin Lin or Elelín, is a mythical city of South America. It is supposedly located somewhere in Patagonia, in some valley of the Andes between Chile and Argentina... |
A city between a mountain of gold and another of diamonds supposed to be situated in Patagonia Patagonia Patagonia is a region located in Argentina and Chile, integrating the southernmost section of the Andes mountains to the southwest towards the Pacific ocean and from the east of the cordillera to the valleys it follows south through Colorado River towards Carmen de Patagones in the Atlantic Ocean... . |
| Cloud cuckoo land Cloud cuckoo land Cloud Cuckoo Land refers to an unrealistically idealistic state where everything is perfect. It hints that the person referred to is naïve, unaware of reality or deranged in holding such an optimistic belief.... |
A perfect city between the clouds in the play The Birds The Birds (play) The Birds is a comedy by the Ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes. It was performed in 414 BCE at the City Dionysia where it won second prize. It has been acclaimed by modern critics as a perfectly realized fantasy remarkable for its mimicry of birds and for the gaiety of its songs... by Aristophanes Aristophanes Aristophanes , son of Philippus, of the deme Cydathenaus, was a comic playwright of ancient Athens. Eleven of his forty plays survive virtually complete... . |
| Cockaigne Cockaigne Cockaigne or Cockayne is a medieval mythical land of plenty, an imaginary place of extreme luxury and ease where physical comforts and pleasures are always immediately at hand and where the harshness of medieval peasant life does not exist... |
In medieval mythology, it is a land of plenty where want does not exist. |
| Dinas Affaraon | A magical Druid city hidden among the hills of Snowdonia. |
| El Dorado | Rumored city of gold in South America South America South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east... . |
| Elysian Fields Elysium Elysium is a conception of the afterlife that evolved over time and was maintained by certain Greek religious and philosophical sects, and cults. Initially separate from Hades, admission was initially reserved for mortals related to the gods and other heroes... |
In Greek mythology, the final resting place of the souls of the heroic and the virtuous. |
| Garden of the Hesperides | In Greek mythology, the sacred garden of Hera from where the gods got their immortality. |
| Hawaiki Hawaiki In Māori mythology, Hawaiki is the homeland of the Māori, the original home of the Māori, before they travelled across the sea to New Zealand... |
The ancestral island of the Polynesia Polynesia Polynesia is a subregion of Oceania, made up of over 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are termed Polynesians and they share many similar traits including language, culture and beliefs... ns, particularly the Māori. |
| Heaven Heaven Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit... |
Heaven is a realm, either physical or transcendental in which people who have died continue to exist in an afterlife. Heaven Heaven Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit... is often described as the holiest place, accessible by people according to various standards of divinity, goodness, piety, faith or other virtues. |
| Hyperborea | A land to the north in Greek mythology. |
| Islands of the Blessed | In Greek mythology, a paradise reserved for the souls of the great heroes. |
| Reynes King Horn King Horn is a Middle English chivalric romance dating back to the middle of the thirteenth century. It survives in three manuscripts: MS. Harleian 2253 at the British Museum, London; MS. Laud. Misc 108 at the Bodleian Library, Oxford; and MS. Gg. iv. 27. 2 at the Cambridge University Library. It... |
A country mentioned in the Middle English romance Middle English literature The term Middle English literature refers to the literature written in the form of the English language known as Middle English, from the 12th century until the 1470s, when the Chancery Standard, a form of London-based English, became widespread and the printing press regularized the language... King Horn King Horn King Horn is a Middle English chivalric romance dating back to the middle of the thirteenth century. It survives in three manuscripts: MS. Harleian 2253 at the British Museum, London; MS. Laud. Misc 108 at the Bodleian Library, Oxford; and MS. Gg. iv. 27. 2 at the Cambridge University Library. It... . |
| Kingdom of Saguenay Kingdom of Saguenay The name "Kingdom of Saguenay" supposedly has its origin in an Iroquoian legend, as recorded by the French during French colonisation in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries... |
According to the French, supposedly an Iroquoian Iroquois The Iroquois , also known as the Haudenosaunee or the "People of the Longhouse", are an association of several tribes of indigenous people of North America... Indian story of a kingdom of blonde men rich in gold and fur that existed in north Canada Canada Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean... prior to the French colonization of the landmass. |
| Kvenland | Land next to Sweden at the northern shores of Baltic sea, probably ancient Finland Finland Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside... or some of its parts. |
| Kyöpelinvuori Kyöpelinvuori Kyöpelinvuori , in Finnish mythology, is the place which dead women haunt. It is rumoured that virgins who die young gather there after their death at the start of their afterlife... |
(Finnish for ghosts' mountain), in Finnish mythology, is the place which dead women haunt. |
| Lemuria Lemuria (continent) Lemuria is the name of a hypothetical "lost land" variously located in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The concept's 19th century origins lie in attempts to account for discontinuities in biogeography; however, the concept of Lemuria has been rendered obsolete by modern theories of plate tectonics... |
a hypothetical "lost land" variously located in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. |
| Lyonesse Lyonesse Lyonesse is a country in Arthurian legend, particularly in the story of Tristan and Iseult. Said to border Cornwall, it is most notable as the home of the hero Tristan, whose father was king... |
A country in Arthurian legend, which is said to border Cornwall Cornwall Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of... in England England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental... . |
| Mag Mell Mag Mell In Irish mythology, Mag Mell was a mythical realm achievable through death and/or glory... or Tir na nÓg Tír na nÓg Tír na nÓg is the most popular of the Otherworlds in Irish mythology. It is perhaps best known from the story of Oisín, one of the few mortals who lived there, who was said to have been brought there by Niamh of the Golden Hair. It was where the Tuatha Dé Danann settled when they left Ireland's... |
The afterworld of Irish mythology; it is similar in many respects to the Norse 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... Valhalla Valhalla In Norse mythology, Valhalla is a majestic, enormous hall located in Asgard, ruled over by the god Odin. Chosen by Odin, half of those that die in combat travel to Valhalla upon death, led by valkyries, while the other half go to the goddess Freyja's field Fólkvangr... . |
| Meropis Meropis Meropis is a fictional island mentioned by ancient Greek writer Theopompus of Chios in his work "Philippica", which is only fragmentarily maintained via Aelian.- Background :... |
A gigantic island created purely as a parody of Plato Plato Plato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the... 's Atlantis Atlantis Atlantis is a legendary island first mentioned in Plato's dialogues Timaeus and Critias, written about 360 BC.... . |
| Mount Olympus Mount Olympus Mount Olympus is the highest mountain in Greece, located on the border between Thessaly and Macedonia, about 100 kilometres away from Thessaloniki, Greece's second largest city. Mount Olympus has 52 peaks. The highest peak Mytikas, meaning "nose", rises to 2,917 metres... |
In Greek mythology the mountain is referred to as "home of the gods", specifically the Twelve Olympians. |
| Mu Mu (lost continent) Mu is the name of a hypothetical continent that allegedly existed in one of Earth's oceans, but disappeared at the dawn of human history.The concept and the name were proposed by 19th century traveler and writer Augustus Le Plongeon, who claimed that several ancient civilizations, such as those of... |
a hypothetical continent that allegedly disappeared at the dawn of human history. |
| Nibiru | A mythological planet described by the Babylonia Babylonia Babylonia was an ancient cultural region in central-southern Mesopotamia , with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged as a major power when Hammurabi Babylonia was an ancient cultural region in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq), with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged as... ns. |
| Nysa Nysa (mythology) In Greek mythology, the mountainous district of Nysa, variously associated with Ethiopia, Libya, Tribalia, India or Arabia by Greek mythographers, was the traditional place where the rain nymphs, the Hyades, raised the infant god Dionysus, the "Zeus of Nysa"... |
A beautiful valley full of nymphs in Greek mythology. |
| Purgatory Purgatory Purgatory is the condition or process of purification or temporary punishment in which, it is believed, the souls of those who die in a state of grace are made ready for Heaven... |
According to many religions, it is the condition or process of purification in which the souls of those who die in a state of grace are made ready for Heaven Heaven Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit... . |
| Quivira and Cíbola Quivira and Cíbola Quivira is a place first mentioned by Francisco Vazquez de Coronado in 1541, who visited it during his searches for the mythical "Seven Cities of Gold". The location and identity of the "Quivirans" has been much debated over a wide area, including Kansas, Nebraska, and Missouri... |
Two of the legendary Seven Cities of Gold supposed by Spanish conquistador Conquistador Conquistadors were Spanish soldiers, explorers, and adventurers who brought much of the Americas under the control of Spain in the 15th to 16th centuries, following Europe's discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus in 1492... s to have existed in the Americas. |
| Shambhala Shambhala In Tibetan Buddhist tradition, Shambhala or Shangri-la is a mythical kingdom hidden somewhere in Inner Asia... |
In Tibetan Buddhist tradition, this kingdom is hidden somewhere in the Himalayas Himalayas The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau... ; Theosophists Theosophy Theosophy, in its modern presentation, is a spiritual philosophy developed since the late 19th century. Its major themes were originally described mainly by Helena Blavatsky , co-founder of the Theosophical Society... regard it as being on the etheric plane Etheric plane The etheric plane is a term introduced into Theosophy by Charles Webster Leadbeater and Annie Besant to represent one of the planes of existence in neo-Theosophical and Rosicrucian cosmology. It represents the fourth[higher] subplane of the physical plane , the lower three being the states of... above the Gobi Desert Gobi Desert The Gobi is a large desert region in Asia. It covers parts of northern and northwestern China, and of southern Mongolia. The desert basins of the Gobi are bounded by the Altai Mountains and the grasslands and steppes of Mongolia on the north, by the Hexi Corridor and Tibetan Plateau to the... and as being the home of the governing deity Deity A deity is a recognized preternatural or supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as holy, divine, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by believers.... of our planet Sanat Kumara Sanat Kumara According to the post-1900 publications of Theosophy, i.e. the writings of C. W. Leadbeater, Alice A. Bailey, and Benjamin Creme, as well as the Ascended Master Teachings of Guy Ballard, Elizabeth Clare Prophet, Geraldine Innocente, Joshua David Stone, and other Ascended Master Teachings teachers,... . |
| Shangri-La Shangri-La Shangri-La is a fictional place described in the 1933 novel Lost Horizon by British author James Hilton. Hilton describes Shangri-La as a mystical, harmonious valley, gently guided from a lamasery, enclosed in the western end of the Kunlun Mountains... |
A mystical, harmonious valley enclosed in the western end of the Kunlun Mountains Kunlun Mountains The Kunlun Mountains are one of the longest mountain chains in Asia, extending more than 3,000 km. In the broadest sense, it forms the northern edge of the Tibetan Plateau south of the Tarim Basin and the Gansu Corridor and continues east south of the Wei River to end at the North China Plain.The... . A permanently happy land, isolated from the outside world; a fictional utopian lamasery high in the mountains of Tibet. It was originated in the 1933 novel Lost Horizon by James Hilton James Hilton James Hilton was an English novelist who wrote several best-sellers, including Lost Horizon and Goodbye, Mr. Chips.-Biography:... . |
| Suddene | A country found in the Middle English romance Middle English literature The term Middle English literature refers to the literature written in the form of the English language known as Middle English, from the 12th century until the 1470s, when the Chancery Standard, a form of London-based English, became widespread and the printing press regularized the language... King Horn King Horn King Horn is a Middle English chivalric romance dating back to the middle of the thirteenth century. It survives in three manuscripts: MS. Harleian 2253 at the British Museum, London; MS. Laud. Misc 108 at the Bodleian Library, Oxford; and MS. Gg. iv. 27. 2 at the Cambridge University Library. It... . |
| Tartarus Tartarus In classic mythology, below Uranus , Gaia , and Pontus is Tartarus, or Tartaros . It is a deep, gloomy place, a pit, or an abyss used as a dungeon of torment and suffering that resides beneath the underworld. In the Gorgias, Plato In classic mythology, below Uranus (sky), Gaia (earth), and Pontus... |
in Greek mythology, a pit in the underworld for condemned souls. |
| Themiscyra | the capital city of the Amazons Amazons The Amazons are a nation of all-female warriors in Greek mythology and Classical antiquity. Herodotus placed them in a region bordering Scythia in Sarmatia... in 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... . |
| Thule Thule Thule Greek: Θούλη, Thoulē), also spelled Thula, Thila, or Thyïlea, is, in classical European literature and maps, a region in the far north. Though often considered to be an island in antiquity, modern interpretations of what was meant by Thule often identify it as Norway. Other interpretations... |
An island that was supposed to have existed somewhere in the belt of Scandinavia Scandinavia Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,... , northern Great Britain Great Britain Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles... , Iceland Iceland Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population... , and Greenland Greenland Greenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for... . |
| Thuvaraiyam Pathi Thuvaraiyam Pathi Thuvaraiyam Pathi is described in Ayyavazhi mythology. The Akilattirattu Ammanai, the holy text of Ayyavazhi, tells about a sunken land at about 152 miles either south or south-east to Kanyakumari, with 16008 streets.... |
In 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... , it was a sunken island some 150 miles off the south coast of India India India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world... . |
| Utopia Utopia (book) Utopia is a work of fiction by Thomas More published in 1516... |
The mythical island described in Thomas More's book, where everything is perfect. |
| Valhalla Valhalla In Norse mythology, Valhalla is a majestic, enormous hall located in Asgard, ruled over by the god Odin. Chosen by Odin, half of those that die in combat travel to Valhalla upon death, led by valkyries, while the other half go to the goddess Freyja's field Fólkvangr... |
(from Old Norse Valhöll "hall of the slain") is a majestic, enormous hall located in Asgard, ruled over by the god Odin. |
| Westernesse Westernesse Westernesse is a fictional kingdom in the Middle English romance of King Horn. It has been associated with various regions in the British Isles, among which the Wirral District in Cheshire... |
A country found in the Middle English romance Middle English literature The term Middle English literature refers to the literature written in the form of the English language known as Middle English, from the 12th century until the 1470s, when the Chancery Standard, a form of London-based English, became widespread and the printing press regularized the language... King Horn King Horn King Horn is a Middle English chivalric romance dating back to the middle of the thirteenth century. It survives in three manuscripts: MS. Harleian 2253 at the British Museum, London; MS. Laud. Misc 108 at the Bodleian Library, Oxford; and MS. Gg. iv. 27. 2 at the Cambridge University Library. It... . |
| Ys Ys Ys , also spelled Is or Kêr-Is in Breton, and Ker-Ys in French , is a mythical city that was built on the coast of Brittany and later swallowed by the ocean... |
A city located in Brittany Brittany Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain... , France France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France... that was supposedly built below sea level, protected by a dam, and eventually destroyed when the Devil released the water held back by the dam. |