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Otherworld
In historical Indo-European religion, the concept of an otherworld, also known as an otherside, is reconstructed in comparative mythology. Its name is a calque of ''orbis alius'' (Latin for "other world/side"), a term used by Lucan in his description of the Celtic Otherworld. Comparable religious, mythological or metaphysical concepts, such as a realm of supernatural beings and a realm of the dead, are found in cultures throughout the world.''Gods, goddesses, and mythology'', Volume 11, C. Scott Littleton, Marshall Cavendish, 2005, , . Pp. 1286-1287 Spirits are thought to travel between worlds or layers of existence in such traditions, usually along an axis such as a giant tree, a tent pole, a river, a rope or mountains. Indo-European reconstruction Many Indo-European mythologies show evidence for a belief in some form of "Otherworld". In many cases, such as in Persian, Greek, Germanic, Celtic, Slavic and Indic mythologies, a river had to be crossed to allow entrance to it ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
The Voyage Of Bran
The Voyage of Bran ( [], meaning "The Voyage of Bran [son of Febail]") is a medieval seventh- or eighth-century Irish language narrative. Source The date of composition has been assigned to the late 7th or early 8th century, and the text is known to have been included in the lost 8th century codex ''Cín Dromma Snechtai''. Although the conventional title ''Immram Brain'' identifies the tale-type as an ''immram'' (‘voyage’ tale), some scholars argue the work does not count among the genuine ''immrama'', but should rather be considered an ''echtra'' (‘adventure’ tale) and the title ''Echtrae Brain'' should be adopted, for indeed ''Echtra Bran maic Febail'' is the title (and categorisation) that occurs in the 11th century tale-list.Myles Dillon, Dillon, Myles (1948). ''Early Irish Literature'' p. 107 (pp. 101-130), ''apud'' The constructed title ''Echtrae Brain ocus Tomaidm Locha Febuil'' has also been suggested. The tale may derive from the "Otherworld, otherworldly jou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Celtic Otherworld
In Celtic mythology, the Otherworld is the realm of the Celtic deities, deities and possibly also the dead. In Gaels, Gaelic and Celtic Britons, Brittonic myth it is usually a supernatural realm of everlasting youth, beauty, health, abundance and joy.Koch, John T. ''Celtic Culture: A Historical Encyclopedia''. ABC-CLIO, 2006. p. 1671 It is described either as a parallel world that exists alongside our own, or as a heavenly land beyond the sea or under the earth. The Otherworld is usually elusive, but various mythical heroes visit it either through chance or after being invited by one of its residents. They often reach it by entering ancient burial mounds or caves, or by going under water or across the western sea. Sometimes, they suddenly find themselves in the Otherworld with the appearance of a Féth fíada, magic mist, supernatural beings or unusual animals.MacKillop, James. ''Dictionary of Celtic Mythology''. Oxford University Press, 1998. pp.21, 205, 270, 322–3, 346, 359– ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Immram
An immram (; plural immrama; , 'voyage') is a class of Old Irish tales concerning a hero's sea journey to the Otherworld (see Tír na nÓg and Mag Mell). Written in the Christian era and essentially Christian in aspect, they preserve elements of Irish mythology. The immrama are identifiable by their focus on the exploits of the heroes during their search for the Otherworld, located in these cases in the islands far to the west of Ireland. The hero sets out on his voyage for the sake of adventure or to fulfill his destiny, and generally stops on other fantastic islands before reaching his destination. He may or may not be able to return home again. Definition The immrama are generally confused with a similar Irish genre, the '' echtrae'' or "adventure". Both types of story involve a hero's journey to an "otherworld", whether a Christian paradise, a fairyland, the land of the gods or a utopia. They are distinguished by date; echtrai are older, dating from the 7th century, wh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Apple
An apple is a round, edible fruit produced by an apple tree (''Malus'' spp.). Fruit trees of the orchard or domestic apple (''Malus domestica''), the most widely grown in the genus, are agriculture, cultivated worldwide. The tree originated in Central Asia, where its wild ancestor, ''Malus sieversii'', is still found. Apples have been grown for thousands of years in Eurasia before they were introduced to North America by European colonization of the Americas, European colonists. Apples have cultural significance in many mythological, mythologies (including Norse mythology, Norse and Greek mythology, Greek) and religions (such as Christianity in Europe). Apples grown from seeds tend to be very different from those of their parents, and the resultant fruit frequently lacks desired characteristics. For commercial purposes, including botanical evaluation, apple cultivars are propagated by clonal grafting onto rootstocks. Apple trees grown without rootstocks tend to be larger and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Comparative Mythology
Comparative mythology is the comparison of myths from different cultures in an attempt to identify shared themes and characteristics.Littleton, p. 32 Comparative mythology has served a variety of academic purposes. For example, scholars have used the relationships between different myths to trace the development of religions and cultures, to propose common origins for myths from different cultures, and to support various psychoanalytical theories. The comparative study of mythologies reveals the trans-national motifs that unify spiritual understanding globally. The significance of this study generates a "broad, sympathetic understanding of these 'stories' in human history". The similarities of myths remind humanity of the universality in the human experience. Background Anthropologist C. Scott Littleton defined comparative mythology as "the systematic comparison of myths and mythic themes drawn from a wide variety of cultures". By comparing different cultures' mythologies, scho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Yama
Yama (), also known as Kāla and Dharmarāja, is the Hindu god of death and justice, responsible for the dispensation of law and punishment of sinners in his abode, Naraka. He is often identified with Dharmadeva, the personification of ''Dharma'', though the two deities have different origins and myths. In Vedic tradition, Yama was considered the first mortal who died and espied the way to the celestial abodes; as a result, he became the ruler of the departed. His role, characteristics, and abode have been expounded in texts such as the ''Upanishads'', the ''Ramayana'', the ''Mahabharata'', and the ''Puranas''. Yama is described as the twin of the goddess Yami, and the son of the god Surya (sun) (in earlier traditions Vivasvat) and Sanjna. He judges the souls of the dead and, depending on their deeds, assigns them to the realm of the Pitris (forefathers), Naraka (hell), or to be reborn on the earth. Yama is one of the Lokapalas (guardians of the realms), appointed as the pro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Celtic Mythology
Celtic mythology is the body of myths belonging to the Celtic peoples.Cunliffe, Barry, (1997) ''The Ancient Celts''. Oxford, Oxford University Press , pp. 183 (religion), 202, 204–8. Like other Iron Age Europeans, Celtic peoples followed a polytheistic religion, having many gods and goddesses. The mythologies of continental Celtic peoples, such as the Gauls and Celtiberians, did not survive their conquest by the Roman Empire, the loss of their Celtic languages and their subsequent conversion to Christianity. Only remnants are found in Greco-Roman sources and archaeology. Most surviving Celtic mythology belongs to the Insular Celtic peoples (the Gaels of Ireland and Scotland; the Celtic Britons of western Britain and Brittany). They preserved some of their myths in oral lore, which were eventually written down by Christian scribes in the Middle Ages. Irish mythology has the largest written body of myths, followed by Welsh mythology. The supernatural race called the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Midgard Serpent
In Germanic cosmology, Midgard (an anglicised form of Old Norse ; Old English , Old Saxon , Old High German , and Gothic ''Midjun-gards''; "middle yard", "middle enclosure") is the name for Earth (equivalent in meaning to the Greek term : oikouménē, "inhabited") inhabited by and known to humans in early Germanic cosmology. The Old Norse form plays a notable role in Norse cosmology. Etymology The Old Norse name is cognate with Gothic (attested in the Gospel of Luke as a translation of the Greek ), Old Saxon (in '' Heliand''), Old High German (in '' Muspilli''), and Old English . The latter, which appears in both prose and poetry, was transformed to or ("Middle-earth") in Middle English literature. All these forms stem from Common Germanic , a compound of ("middle") and ("yard, enclosure"). In early Germanic cosmology, it stands alongside the term ''world'' (cf. Old English , Old Saxon , Old High German , Old Frisian , Old Norse ), itself from a Common Germanic comp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Scandinavian Mythology
Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology, is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia as the Nordic folklore of the modern period. The northernmost extension of Germanic mythology and stemming from Proto-Germanic folklore, Norse mythology consists of tales of various deities, beings, and heroes derived from numerous sources from both before and after the pagan period, including medieval manuscripts, archaeological representations, and folk tradition. The source texts mention numerous gods such as the thunder-god Thor, the raven-flanked god Odin, the goddess Freyja, and numerous other deities. Most of the surviving mythology centers on the plights of the gods and their interaction with several other beings, such as humanity and the jötnar, beings who may be friends, lovers, foes, or family members of the gods. The cosmos in Norse mythology consists of Nine Worlds th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Roman Catholic
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions and has played a prominent role in the history and development of Western civilization. O'Collins, p. v (preface). The church consists of 24 ''sui iuris'' (autonomous) churches, including the Latin Church and 23 Eastern Catholic Churches, which comprise almost 3,500 dioceses and eparchies around the world, each overseen by one or more bishops. The pope, who is the bishop of Rome, is the chief pastor of the church. The core beliefs of Catholicism are found in the Nicene Creed. The Catholic Church teaches that it is the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church founded by Jesus Christ in his Great Commission, that its bishops are the successors of Christ's apostles, and that the pope is the successor of Saint Peter, upo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Brendan The Navigator
Brendan of Clonfert (c. AD 484 – c. 577) is one of the early Celtic Christianity, Irish monastic saints and one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland. He is also referred to as Brendan the Navigator, Brendan the Voyager, Brendan the Anchorite, and Brendan the Bold. The Irish translation of his name is or . He is mainly known for his legendary voyage to find the "Isle of the Blessed" which is sometimes referred to as "Saint Brendan’s Island". The written narrative of his journey comes from the immram (Voyage of Saint Brendan the Abbot). Saint Brendan's Calendar of saints, feast day is celebrated on 16 May by Catholic Church, Catholics, Anglican Communion, Anglicans, and Eastern Orthodox Church, Orthodox Christians. Sources There is very little secure information concerning Brendan's life, although at least the approximate dates of his birth and death, and accounts of some events in his life, are found in Irish annals and genealogies. The earliest mention of Brendan is in the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
Sharvara And Shyama
Sharvara (), also rendered Shabala () and Shyama () are two Hindu mythology, Hindu mythological watchdogs associated with Yama (Hinduism), Yama. Sharvara is identified with the constellation Canis Major, and Shyama with Canis Minor; together they guard the gates of the Naraka (Hinduism), underworld, the domain of Yama. Etymology The word ''sharvara'' means variegated or spotted. In older Sanskrit, शर्वर is written as कर्वर (karvara). Shyama is translated as black or dark-coloured. Mythology Sharvara and Shyama are described to be two ferocious, four-eyed dogs that guard the entrance to the palace of Yama. The dead are required to get past these dogs in order to be rendered judgement by their master. They are referred to as ''Mithūdṛśā'', meaning that they are not both capable of sight at the same time. The dogs are first described in the Yamasukta section of the Rigveda. Named as the children of Sarama, Sharama, departed souls are asked to venture bey ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] [Amazon] |
