The Gang of Five
Beyond the Mysterious Beyond => The Party Room => Brain Food => Topic started by: Saft on January 18, 2011, 02:48:10 PM
-
Thought it was about time for a worldwide mythology based trivia quiz since mythology is just awesome and that due to the factor that before writing stories had to be passed around by oral language than the written language and even then only a minority could read and write thus mythological based art was intended to portray in a physical way for stories to be understood to the majority. Now, it has been stressed to me by the lecturer that there are many versions of the one mythology aspect, doesn't make them wrong just that there are different versions. So with that in view, questions and the acceptance of answers should in theory be based on the more common version.
Since this is also world wide mythology, any aspect can be asked as a question.
So here is the first question:
Because the Greek titan Kronos had betrayed his father Oranos and killed him, he feared that any offspring that he had would do the same to him and displace his rule. What did he do to combat this and what did his sister-wife Rhea do to prevent him from combatting her last child (Zeus)?
-
Gross as it must sound, Kronos devoured his children as soon as they were born. Rhea secretly gave birth to Zeus in Crete, giving Kronos a stone that was wrapped up to be swallowed instead, and Kronos was fooled. I took mythology in high school and absolutely loved it.
-
Right. And then Zeus and his siblings rose up and defeated the titans. One has to feel sorry in a way for Kronos but as metnioned, he did murder his father...
(I only chose the Greek myth since it's one that I know more about, but anyone can ask whatever myth base they desire).
-
There was a goddess who was hired as a nursemaid for a young prince. This goddess grew fond of the boy and decided to bestow immortality on him, done through a ritual over fire. Who was the goddess, and what caused the ritual to fail?
-
Not sure if you are referring to Achill, but if you do there are several possibilities about the what and why. If Achill is the one you mean Thetis would be the mother. As for the ritual some texts have her bathe Achill in the river Styx (the border of the realm to the death) to make him invulnerable (not immortal) according to that story his heel remained vulnerable because she held him by the heel when submerging him into the water.
The other (somewhat more sensible) version has her hold Achill over a special fire that would make his skin impenetrable. But while doing so Achill's father Peleus entered and reacted in the manner we would assume Daddy to react when he returns home to find Mummy roasting the dear lad over a fire, thereby preventing Thetis from finishing the job on Achill's heel.
(Not sure though if the answer is correct as I think Thetis was actually Achill's real mom rather than a nursemaid).
-
That is a really good answer, but this scenario literally was about gaining immortality, not the invulnerability that was the case with Achilles. To be more specific, this goddess was Egyptian. She was not recognized as a goddess and hired as a nursemaid for the baby. Though odd, she accepted the job. After the ritual was ruined, she revealed herself as the deity she was.
-
Will hazard a guess here and say it's Isis who was the nursemaid. She sailed to Phoenica in the search for her husband (body parts) and met the Queen there (who's name I don't know) who hired her as a nursemaid over her son. Isis was fond of the child and decided to bestow immortality on him. From what I can remember, the queen entered during the ritual and saw that Isis was holding her child over fire and rushed in to grab him, thus ending the spell that would have granted him immortality.
(Although maybe it should be noted for future questions to be a little bit more specific and say In Greek/Latin/Celtic etc mythology....to avoid confusion).
-
Yes, that is absolutely correct on both parts. It's your turn now.
(Although maybe it should be noted for future questions to be a little bit more specific and say In Greek/Latin/Celtic etc mythology....to avoid confusion).
Ah, my apologies. That's a good point. I will do that in my future posts in this thread.
-
YES! I love hazard guessing.
Anyway we all know the story of the twelve labours of Herakles(note it's Greek mythology), so I know that this is relatively easy but can you name all tweleve in some sort of detail?
-
One of them was to bring the skin of an invulnerable lion which terrorized the hills around Nemea.
Another was to kill the Lernean Hydra wich lived in the murky waters near a place called Lerna.
Another was to bring the Hind of Ceryneia. Ceryneia was a town in Greece and a Hind is a female, red dear.
Another was to bring the Erymanthian boar alive. He was called that because he lived on the mountain of Erymanththus.
Another was to clean up after the king’s cattle, but that wasn’t the hard part. He was expected to do it all- in a single day.
Another was to drive away an enormous flock of birds which gathered at a lake near the town of Stymphalos.
Another was to capture the savage Cretan Bull, which had extraordinary strength and ferocity.
Another was to get the man-eating mares of Diomedes which were called Bistones.
Another was to get the belt of Hippolyte, which was easier said than done. She was the queen of the Amazons, no ordinary warrior.
Another was to bring the cattle of the monster Geryon, who lived at the end of the world.
Another was to bring the golden apples that belonged to Zeus, king of the gods.
Finally, he was charged with going into the Underworld and kidnapping the beast called Cerberus (or Kerberos).
I hope that that is enough detail for each labor. I can expound if necessary.
-
I would be dubbed 'evil' if I said I wanted an expanded version but you've answered my question. So you can go ahead.
-
In Greek mythology, who was abducted by Hades, much to the dismay of the victim's mother?
-
Persephone, daughter of Demeter. When Hades abducted her Demeter was so grieved that she turned to whole world into a cold place covered with snow. Finally a compromise was arranged and Perephone would visit her mother seasonally (her absence from her mother being winter time).
-
Yeppers. The floor is now yours to do with as you please.
-
Darn you Malte! *shakes fist* you got there first.:p
Ah well next time....muahaha *head back into mist*
Edit..oh yeah..and just to make it clear I was joking ^. Unfortuantley my humour doesn't come across that often.
-
Which hero of Germanic/Nordic mythology became invulnerable through which action and where was his "Achilles heel" for which reason?
-
Sigurd, a man of German/Norse mythology, was advised by Odin disguised as an old man to dig trenches to drain the blood of a dragon named Fafnir. Bathing in the substance would allow invulnerability. Sigurd does so and gains the power of it. However, the blood missed a section of his shoulder where a leaf was stuck- his Achilles heal.
Too slow again, Saft. :p
-
That's right. In the Nordic Sagas he is referred to as Sigurd while in the Germanic Saga (the Niebelungenlied) his name is Siegfried. After slaying the dragon he bathes into the blood but hadn't realized that the leaf of a lime tree had fallen between his shoulders and kept that spot vulnerable.
Your turn :yes
-
In Greek mythology, there was a god known as the father of the winds. Who did this god take pleasure in and give a bag to that contained unfavorable winds?
-
The God is Aeolus and he gave that bag of unfavorable winds to Odysseus to allow for him to return safely to Ithaca. Unfortunately Odysseus' men opened that bag of winds so all the unfavorable winds blew them far away from Ithaca. When Odysseus asked Aeolus for help a second time he refused.
-
Yes, that is exactly right. The next question belongs to you.
-
Okay, here comes one a little more difficult but hopefully manageable. Several Germanic (not to be confused with Nordic) sagas mention the "Rabenschlacht". Quite literally this would translate to "Raven-battle". Many Germanic sagas tend to pick some historical elements mix them together, add a lot of fictional elements etc. So there is a historic basis for the "Rabenschlacht" though it differed much from the saga. In fact there are three historical elements parts of which can be found in the saga text. However, all three are tricky to find so I'm just looking for one historical basis for the legendary "Rabenschlacht". One hint, the name "Raben..." (Schlacht means battle) does not refer to the bird raven (though this adds a stylish double meaning to the word) but to the place where the battle supposedly took place.
-
^
Unfortuantely my internet died, so hence why I couldn't answer the previous question, besides..I should provide people with a sporting chance. So :p.
Now as to Malte's historically based mythological question, I could be entirely wrong with this since I only came across it once but is it in regards to the Dietrich legend? That the battle that you are asking took place at Ravenna? In which Dietrich or Theodore of Italy fought with Attilla's sons/brothers in order to win back his kingdom.
That's all I got...
Edited for spelling... :bang :bang
-
And that's all you needed to get :yes
Your turn Katie.
-
(Egyptian mythology)
In the days when Ra was stll ruling the earth, he knew that if the Goddess Nut had children one would thus then end his reign....
Question:
What did Ra do to prevent Nut from having children? What did Nut do to avert it? Which children did she bear?
-
He attempted to stop her child bearing by forbidding her from having any children on any of the three-hundred and sixty days of the year. Nut was determined to have her children born, so she gambled with the Khons, using moonlight she had won to create five new days, in which she could then give birth. The children born to her were: Osiris, Isis, Horus, Set, and Nephthys.
-
Indeed.
Ra really cared about being in power on the land of Egypt.
-
Three goddesses sought to learn which of them were the most beautiful. Zeus was questioned, but did not want to get in the middle of such a debate. Who did Zeus appoint to judge who the most beautiful was, what did the three goddesses each do to win his favor, and who did he pick? This is greek mythology, by the way.
-
Greek mythology? Really? .:p
Anyway, to your question..I presume it is what set off the Trojan war.
Zeus picked Paris, Prince of Troy because of Eris, goddess of discord and chaos threw a apple into the marriage celebrations of Pelus and Thetis. Hera, Athena and Aprodite claimed the apple, asked zeus which one was more beautfiul, he didn't want to get involved and as I said, picked Paris. Because obviously by picking a mortal, the mortal would suffer the consequences if he didn't pick the right one (after all, Hera was a jealous woman). Anyway, Athena offered wisdom and for paris to be an able warrior, Aphrodite offered the love of the most beautiful woman in the 'world' and Hera offered him to be king of Europe and Asia. He choose Aprodite and by doing so he received Helen but also doomed Troy by incuring the wrath of Hera and Athena who were offended and thus they helped the Greeks to win Troy.
I believe that i have answered your question.:p
-
Greek mythology? Really? :p
Sorry, heh heh. I don't know much mythology outside of Greek. :bang I'll try to diversify next time.
And I believe that you are correct.
-
^
That is not what I meant. What I meant was in reaction to your post after saying 'this is greek mythology by the way.' Considering that it was put there as an apparent after thought and thus seemed to me as though if the people didn't get 'Zeus' and associate it with greek mythology, then that's pretty bad of them in the first place since EVERYONE knows about Zeus even if they don't do mythology. See what I meant? So it's not a beration of you, it was something that I noticed and found amusing.
Anyway, 'TY' (I'm sure you know that from playing WoW).
My question is as follows and is Greek mythology based. Who was condemened for all eternity to roll a large boulder/rock (whatever you want to call it) up a steep hill, only for it to roll back down every tme it nearly reached the top? And what did he do to deserve it?
-
It was king Sisyphus. He had to roll the rock for punishment for his trickery. He had tricked death into being bound by a chain so no one could die, and he even believed that his cleverness outweighed that of Zeus.
-
Sisyphus king of Corinth. He cheated dead not once but twice. First making dead drunk and chaining him up in his cellar, and second time, before death was released from his dungeon Sisyphus prohibited his folks to bury him or sacrifice anything to Hades and act like he was still alive which annoyed Hades so much he sent Sisyphus back again. When Zeus saw this he was so angry at Sisyphus (who for being disrespectful about them wasn't in the good books for the gods anyway) that he condemned him to this stone rolling sisyphean task after his final death.
I need to write less verbose ;)
You beat me to it Michael.
-
Indeed.
Quite funny really, as I was telling Malte just now, Sisyphus was in my exam for classics and popular culture. If you are familiar with the English Prme-minster (Tony Blair) he was voted in twice (from what I an remember) anyway, during my exam there is a 'punch' cartoon extract of 2001-2007 in which Sisyphus - Tony Blair is rolling the rock up the hill, the rock is labelled 'labour's promises'...by 2007, it is rolling DOWN the hill, symbolising the broken promises that labour broke to get into office. Quite fitting really. And is quite a bit of useless informtation for you.:)
Better luck next time Malte.:)
-
And is quite a bit of useless informtation for you.
Well, that was pretty interesting. Sometimes a good purpose can be soully to entertain, which you did.
Okay, now for some Roman mythology. What god had his temple doors open during wars and closed during peace?
-
Sorry Malte, I have to beat you to this one. It is Roman Mythology after all.
Well to your question, it is Janus. An example of when it was closed was in 29BC by Augustus, an act symbolising to the World that Rome was at peace but this was very far from the truth.
-
Yep, it was him alright. Go ahead at your earliest convinience.
-
Easy question I know but in Egyptian Mythology how did Seth kill his brother Osiris?
-
Yikes, the answer is pretty intense. Seth had a box built that fit Osiris perfectly. At a party, he said that anyone who could fit into the box could have it. Naturally, Osiris did, but when he got in, Seth's band of conspirators sealed it shut with molten lead and threw it into the Nile river, where his life came to an end.
-
Intense? Not really....but you are right anyway.
-
What time is it? Egyptian mythology time! I am going to post a bit of information. The answer I am looking for is where I leave the blank spot. "After Set murdered Osiris, dismembered him, and strewed his body parts throughout Egypt, _______ helped his wife Isis search for the pieces."
-
a number of gods helped her look for it. Nepyhtys, Anubis and thoth, all helped. so the question is Micheal which answer you were looking for.
-
I see that the article I read was not very detailed. It had only one name in that blank spot. It was the goddess Nephthys, which you listed, so it's your turn.
-
what famous myth tells the story of the flood hundreds of years before the bible?
-
There are plenty. Among other it is mentioned in the Gilgamesh epos (the oldest we have) and also in the Greek Deucalion myth (not quite sure if that one preceded the old testament texts). I think there is another Mesopotamian text that includes the story, but I do not remember the name of that one (I think it was by the Sumerians though).
-
gilgamesh is the oone i was looking for. your turn malte. :)
-
Okay, here is something from Greek mythology, but it is neither from the Illiad, nor from the Odyssey.
Who was killed by having a discus thrown at his head (an accident though)?
-
It was Acrisius. Perseus killed him by accident. It's ironic that Perseus felt absolutely no hatred towards Acrisius, although it was Acrisius who locked him (when he was a baby) and his mother in a chest and threw them into the sea.
-
Very good jansenov :yes
Acrisius had received a prophecy according to which his grandson would kill him (that's why he cast him into the sea in that box). That unfortunate prophecy was fulfilled when Perseus' discus happened to hit the king who had hidden among the crowd of watchers.
If there is one dead certain way to ensure in mythology that someone is going to live it is the attempt of their parents or other relatives to kill them because of a prophecy the events of which are usually triggered by the attempt to prevent it from turning true (Oedipus, Paris, Perseus, Romulus & Remus... the list goes on).
Your turn jansenov.
-
OK, this one is from Indian (Indo-Aryan) mythology.
When he witnessed the destructive power of the atomic bomb in New Mexico, physicist Oppenheimer quoted a famous passage from a great work of Indian litterature. What work is it, whom did Oppenheimer quote, and what global mythical event does this quote refer to?
P.S. Optional question. There is a quote of similar fame in Norse mythology refering the same type of event. If you can find this quote, who said it, and from what work does it come, you will get a bunch of virtual candy :birthday (and maybe something more concrete, if conditions permit).
-
"Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds."
respectively:
"I am become Time, the destroyer of worlds."
The quote is from the Hinduist text "Bhagavad Gita" and the words are spoken by Krishna. The reference I think is to the mythological revealing of a form of the deity Krishna during the battle of Kurukshetra (it is contested whether or not there was a historical battle or if the battle is to be understood as an allegory).
As for Norse mythology, I think there are many quotes which may be interpreted in similar fashions, especially in the context of Ragnarˆk, the final battle. I don't know if there is a quote referring to an individual as something along the lines of a destroyer of worlds, but there is a passage in which a Vˆlva (sort of a female shaman or seer) makes a prophecy to Odin in which the event Ragnarˆk (actually Ragnarˆk is a series of events that cannot really be summarized as simply a battle) is described as what one might roughly translate to:
It satisfies itself [its hunger / thirst for blood] through the life-blood of doomed men, paints red the homes of power with crimson gore. The sunbeams become black in the following summers, weathers will be all treacherous.
Not sure if this is what you meant though as I'm sure there are many other fitting passages.
-
Bravo, Malte! I didn't even ask for the specific part of Mahabharata. Krishna revealed himself as the Universal Being during this battle of apocalyptic proportions. Allegedly millions of soldiers fought in the battle. It could be possible that such a battle (more likely a war) was fought in India, since China, a country of similar size (in terms of population), could also muster millions of soldiers during the Warring States period. India was actually even wealthier than China in ancient times, I think. As for the Norse passage, you quoted the right work, but not the exact passage I had in mind. There are many such gruesome passages in that work. I though of the last line in this work, "I sink now". It was quite an abrupt end to this prophecy, so it had an effect on me. But here's your virtual candy. :celebrate You'll get a drawing or poem from me soon (relatively soon, that is).
Your turn, Malte.
-
Thank you very much :lol:
With regard to the trinity test I can't help adding the fact that another scientist at the location, Kenneth Bainbridge, commented in a somewhat less poetic but more down to earth manner on the first nuclear bomb. His comment was: "Now we are all sons of bitches!"
Anyway, here is the next question (I'll not immediately add which field of mythology it comes from since I fear this might make it too easy, but I will add the field of mythology in case it turns out to be more difficult than I think). We already had mention of a king who dumped his grandson Perseus into the ocean in a wooden box. Kings in mythology seem to have made kind of a habit of such actions.
Which king, in an attempt to kill his own son, ordered all the noble babies born at the time his son would have been born to be brought on a leaky ship to be send to the sea where they were supposed to drown (of course one baby survived and it is easy enough to guess who that one would be ;)).
-
It must be something Celtic this time. Out of Indo-European mythologies, we had questions asked about Germanic, Greek, and Indo-Iranian ones. These are, of course, the best known and best preserved ones in the family.
I'd bet with Mordred. He was born out of an incestous relationship between Arthur and his sister, and there was the prophecy that the king would be killed by a baby born on May Day. Arthur rounded up all the noble babies born in May and sent them out to the sea. Quite a bastard Arthur was.
-
arthur was lkiterrally a bastard being fathered by uthan on the lady of caldwell thanks to merlins magic according to most interpretations of the legends
-
Right answer jansenov :yes
However, this act of children mass-murder doesn't seem to have had a large effect on Arthur's reputation or caused somewhat more understanding for Mordred's aversion against his father ;)
Your turn.
-
I won't mention the exact mythology this time. I'll just say it's Indo-European. In a Byzantine treaty with a certain foreign power it is said that the Byzantine delegation made an oath by swearing to God, and the representatives of the foreign power swore to two gods. One of these gods punishes oath-breakers with death by disease, the other with death in battle. What are the names of these two gods, and what is the important myth they are involved in?
P.S. Optional question. These two gods are also involved in another myth. If you discover what this myth is about, you get a lot more virtual candy.
-
Concerning the last question, the mythology is Slavic.
-
The names of the gods asked for in the last question are Perun and Veles. Perun was the Slavic god of thunder, also god of warriors and peasants. He was conected with the hawk and the oak. Veles was the god of cattle, magic, pastoralists, and the underworld. Veles would steal Perun's cattle or Perun's wife, causing drought, after which Perun would scour the entire land searching for Veles. Veles would change forms, but once Perun found him, he would strike him with his axe (the source of thunder bolts), made of stone or gold, and Veles would burst into rain, bringing life to the land. Later on, Veles would reincarnate in the underworld and plot revenge on Perun.
Once Veles kidnapped Perun's son, Yarilo, the god of spring, and raised him in the underworld. But Perun discovered this and forced Veles to let Yarilo spend half a year in the upper world. The time when Yarilo is in the upper world is known as spring and summer, while during the winter he has to spend time with Veles in the underworld. During this time the upper world would be ruled by Morana, Yarilo's sister and Perun's daughter, the goddess of winter.
These two gods were mentioned in a treaty the Byzantines made with Russians. The Russian envoys raised their weapons and summoned these two gods to be their witnesses. Later on under Vladimir the Great the Russians offficially converted to Orthodox Christianity, although the old faith persisted at least until the 15th century. Aside from Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, signs of worship of these gods can be found in Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia, Macedonia and Bulgaria.
OK, so let me ask a new question. Priests of which Germanic god determined whether to go to war or not by observing the behaviour of a stallion walking over a row of spears? I think Tacitus mentioned this tradition. This tradition was also taken over by Abodrites, a Slavic tribe that lived in northeastern Germany.
-
I'm guessing this one, not using wikipedia. Was it Odin/Wotan?
Was I allowed to just jump in? I just got here.
-
Yes, it is! Now it's your turn to ask a question.
-
Alright! Thanks for letting me into this game! I guess I go now, so here's one:
What was the name of the Greek God of death? It may not be what you think it is.
-
Is it Death (Tanathos)?
-
It is spelled "Thanatos" in the English translation, but you got it!
Your turn, I think.
-
What are the names of two monsters that dwelt near rocks of the same names in Greek mythology?
-
Scylla & Charybdis?
-
Da, Mirumoto! Your turn.
-
Here's a quick one:
Name two types of fruit involved in a number of different mythological cultures.
I.E. Both of these fruits have been debated to be from the Tree of Knowledge in the Book of Creation.
-
One of the two fruits would be the apple. Apart from being debated to be the fruit of the tree of knowledge you can find it in Greek mythology (the golden apples of the Hesperides which Hercules has to get, the golden apple of discord which ultimately sets of the Trojan war), as well as in more recent mythology from central Europe (the one that Guillaume Tell shots from his son's head (a motif that can also be found in the likely older song of Wieland the Smith whose brother has to do the exact same thing), the poisoned apple that Snow White eats). I'm pretty sure that apples are mentioned on more ocassions.
I am harder pressed for the other fruit. I know that figs are another fruit thought of as the fruit from the tree of knowledge (with their leaves being considered particularly suited to hide certain parts of the human body :lol), but I admit that I now will have to check out about its other mythological contexts so what follows know I looked up...
...aparently Buddha's bodhi tree is supposed to have been a fig tree. Muhammad apparently stated: "If I had to mention a fruit that descended from paradise, I would say this is it because the paradisiacal fruits do not have pits...eat from these fruits for they prevent hemorrhoids, prevent piles and help gout." In Greek mythology, the god Apollo sends a crow to collect water from a stream for him. The crow sees a fig tree and waits for the figs to ripen, tempted by the fruit. He knows that he is late and that his tardiness will be punished, so he gets a snake from the stream and collects the water. He presents Apollo with the water and uses the snake as an excuse. Apollo sees through the crow's lie and throws the crow, goblet, and snake into the sky where they form the constellations Hydra, Crater, and Corvus.
-
You got the apple, and since I didn't look up on the fig, I'll give you that too. The other fruit I was looking for was the pomegranate. It's been known a lot in different mythologies, and there were theories that it too was the supposed fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. It's known better in the Greek mythology, especially the one where Demeter's daughter ate part of a pomegranate, for which she must stay with Hades for six months, thus starting the seasons.
Your turn, Malte!
-
Not to make this question too difficult I will tell you right away that this question refers to the Nibelungenlied. Which character in this saga was, apart from being a fighter also known as a bard / gleeman (full name please)?
The town refered to in his "surname" to this day has a vielle (medieval fiddle) in its coat of arms in reference to this hero of the saga.
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/09/Alzey.jpg)
-
Thank god for Old Norse myths....
Might have gotten it confused....but is it Volker Von Alzey?
-
Absolutely right :yes
Volker von Alzey the gleeman and best friend of Hagen von Tronje.
Your turn Katie :)
-
In the Anglo-Saxon epic poem of Beowulf, what was the name of the sword given to the hero by the thegn Unferth?
-
Hrunting was the sword given to Beowulf by Unferth.
-------------------------------------------------------------
In Greek mytholgy, how was the mythological horse; Pegasus created?
-
He was born from the blood flowing out of Medusa's neck after Perseus beheaded her.
Since Saft no longer visits the forum, and I want to continue his game, I ask of any member with knowledge of mythology to say whether my answer is correct or not, so we can move on.
-
Yep,medusa's blood gave birth to Pegasus along with Chrysaor,and this is one thing that fuels the
ancient gods were aliens and machines theoryes.
-
Since you didn't ask a question I might as well:
What are the names of the first two deities that were born in Greek Myth?(said goddess and god are often overlooked in some versions)
-
Erebus and Nix were born from Chaos ("vast empty space") according to Hesiod. But the myth about Ouranos and Gaia being the primordial gods is definitely older and was still popular among Greeks in Hesiod's time.
-
I have no idea about Erebus and Nix,but Ouranos and Gaia is definitely correct.
Now correct me,if I'm wrong,but I think it's jansenov's time to ask a question,since I only confirmed his answer.
-
St Brigit is an Irish saint whose hagiographies contain a number of legendary events, some of them from the pre-Christian beliefs of Ireland.
For example, St Brigit's birth is said to have occured at sunrise, her mother giving birth over the threshold with one foot inside the house and the other outside. Her father was Dagda ("the shining god") or Dubthach ("dark"). Brigit would only drink the milk of a white cow with red ears, and she filled the house with a shine that reached heaven. The neighbours thought the house was on fire, but by the time they arrived to put it out they saw it had vanished.
The question is: what time of the day is this goddess a personification of?
And an optional question: what does the reddish cow symbolise?
And another optional question: There's a diety in a major Eurasian mythological tradition which also performs the same function and is also connected with reddish cows. What's the name of the deity and in what way is she related to the Celtic Brigit?
-
OK, there's nothing actually trivial about this. My mistake.
Here's the answer. The discription of St Brigit's birth is the Christianised version of the birth of Dawn. The sunrise, the birth over the house's threshold that symbolises separation of day and night, and the fire rising to heaven can leave no doubt about the function of this deity.
In Indo-European (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indo-European_languages) cultures, the cow was the most revered animal, a symbol of wealth, of all that is good. The cow with red ears is a symbol of the reddish light of the sky at dawn.
Another deity that is connected with red cows is Ushas, the dawn goddess from the Rigveda, India's most ancient religious text, who releases red cows out of the (heavenly) pen at the beginning of every day. Here the red cow has the same meaning as in the Irish myth.
How are these two godesses connected? They stem from two cultures, Celtic and Indo-Aryan, who speak languages belonging to the Indo-European family of languages, and when analysing mythologies of other Indo-European cultures, such as Greek culture, we find Eos, which is also a dawn goddess, and like Brigit and Ushas she is also connected with red light (Eos is called rhododaktylos Eos, "rose-fingered Dawn" in Greek), and Eos and Ushas in particular share many attributes, such as a golden attire, being white-armed, and a golden chariot pulled by two white stallions. Not only that, but the words Eos and Ushas, both meaning "dawn", stem from the same proto-Indo-European (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proto-Indo-European_language) word, Heusos (where H is a glottal stop (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmS0zjuYkzs)).
So, the two godesses, Brigit and Ushas, are the local versions of the ancient Indo-European goddess Heusos, or "Dawn", daughter of Dyeus, the Indo-European god of the clear sky and supreme deity. At the beginning of each day she opened the gates of heaven so that the Sun can rise, releasing the red light of dawn, and then yoking her stallions to the chariot and then riding out across the sky, the shining, burning spectacle of her appearance and of her horses and chariot heralding to the entire world the start of the long-awaited day.
I think it would be good now for somebody else to restart this game.
-
Roger. Here's a new question.
What mythical hero tied himself to a post while critically injured so that he died standing up, causing an entire enemy army to hold back for fear he was still alive? (Bonus point if you identify the nationality of the myth and hero)
-
It reminds me of the Spanish legend of El Cid Campeador, but I think I may be mistaken there for El Cid I think was tied not on a post but onto his horse after he was already dead to lead his army into battle during the siege of his town Valencia. Legend has it that the sight of the presumed death "living legend" El Cid so disturbed his enemies that they ended the siege.
El Cid by the way is a historical figure of the name Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar who lived in 11th century Spain. Still not sure if he is the one you have in mind.
-
It reminds me of the Spanish legend of El Cid Campeador, but I think I may be mistaken there for El Cid I think was tied not on a post but onto his horse after he was already dead to lead his army into battle during the siege of his town Valencia. Legend has it that the sight of the presumed death "living legend" El Cid so disturbed his enemies that they ended the siege.
El Cid by the way is a historical figure of the name Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar who lived in 11th century Spain. Still not sure if he is the one you have in mind.
Not that the myth of "hero ties himself to a post" is unique by any stance, but that is not the myth I'm thinking of. Here's a hint; the hero is from Celtic mythology.
-
Is it Cu Chulainn?
-
Is it Cu Chulainn?
Bingo! One of the most badass mythical heros I've ever read (we read "The Myth of the Bull" in class)
-
Thor is a typical Indo-European storm god. An Indo-European storm god has the following traits:
-he is the son of the sky god and is the greatest among his brothers and sisters
-unlike his father, who is either disinterested in the everyday running of the world or is a god of elite members of society, he is the god of the common people, ensuring rain to water the fields
-he is depicted as a middle-aged man, with reddish beard and hair
-he is easily angered, and very violent
-he consumes enormous amounts of food and drink, particularly a divine substance that is the cause of the gods' immortality
-he is the physically strongest of the gods
-he drives a chariot or wagon, pulled by either horses or goats
-he has a specially crafted solid (never energetic) weapon that either returns or a new weapon is crafted for him each time
-oaks are dedicated to him, and worship and sacrifices can be perfomed at or near an oak tree
-he slays many demons, giants or other monsters, but the greatest monster is a giant serpent that causes drought by blocking the flow of waters, or guards a spring or is connected to water in some other way, usually lives on a mountain, and is killed by smashing its head and its dead body is usually covered by water
However, Thor also shows some traits that he doesn't share with the other Indo-European storm gods. For example, he will die in his battle with the serpent, and there is also one being who is physically stronger than Thor.
The question is, who?
-
His son Magni? If I remember correctly he was the only other one who could wield Mjˆlnir, but I am not quite certain about this one.
-
Correct! Not only that, but he was also the only god who could lift the stone giant Hrungnir's foot off Thor.
-
Your turn, Malte. :yes
-
Sorry, I had utterly forgotten.
Which sea is named after a father who committed suicide by jumping into that sea from a high cliff? Whose father is it and why did he commit that suicide according to the legend?
-
It was Aegeus, who killed himself because his son Theseus forgot his father's instructions to hoist white sails upon returning from killing the Minotaur, so his father, assuming Theseus dead, threw himself into the sea that later became known as the Aegean.