Myth of Osiris and Isis From right to left: Isis, her husband Osiris, and their son Horus, the protagonists of the Osiris myth, in a Twenty-second Dynasty statuette The Osiris myth reached its basic form in or before the 24th century BCE. Many of its elements originated in religious ideas, but the conflict between Horus and Set may have been partly inspired by a regional struggle in Egypt's early history or prehistory. Parts of the myth appear in a wide variety of Egyptian texts, from funerary texts and magical spells to short stories. Sources[edit] The same elements from the myth that appear in the Pyramid Texts recur in funerary texts written in later times, such as the Coffin Texts from the Middle Kingdom (c. 2055–1650 BCE) and the Book of the Dead from the New Kingdom (c. 1550–1070 BCE). Other types of religious texts give evidence for the myth, such as two Middle Kingdom texts, the Dramatic Ramesseum Papyrus, and the Ikhernofret Stela. Rituals in honor of Osiris are another major source of information.
Nuada Airgetlám In Irish mythology, Nuada or Nuadu (modern spelling: Nuadha), known by the epithet Airgetlám (modern spelling: Airgeadlámh, meaning "silver hand/arm"), was the first king of the Tuatha Dé Danann. He is cognate with the Gaulish and British god Nodens. His Welsh equivalent is Nudd or Lludd Llaw Eraint. Description[edit] Nuada was king of the Tuatha Dé Danann for seven years before they came to Ireland. Bres, aided by the Fomorian Balor of the Evil Eye, attempted to retake the kingship by force, and war and continued oppression followed. Nuada's great sword was one of the Four Treasures of the Tuatha Dé Danann, brought from one of their four great cities.[5] Legacy[edit] Mythological parallels[edit] Etymology[edit] The name Nuada probably derives from a Celtic stem *noudont- or *noudent-, which J. References[edit]
Mesopotamian religion The god Marduk and his dragon Mušḫuššu Mesopotamian religion refers to the religious beliefs and practices followed by the Sumerian and East Semitic Akkadian, Assyrian, Babylonian and later migrant Arameans and Chaldeans, living in Mesopotamia (a region encompassing modern Iraq, Kuwait, southeast Turkey and northeast Syria) that dominated the region for a period of 4200 years from the fourth millennium BCE throughout Mesopotamia to approximately the 10th century CE in Assyria.[1] Mesopotamian polytheism was the only religion in ancient Mesopotamia for thousands of years before entering a period of gradual decline beginning between the 1st and 3rd centuries CE. Reconstruction[edit] As with most dead religions, many aspects of the common practices and intricacies of the doctrine have been lost and forgotten over time. History[edit] Overview map of ancient Mesopotamia. Akkadian names first appear in king lists of these states circa 2800 BCE. Religion in the Neo-Assyrian Empire[edit] "Enlil!
Marduk Marduk (Sumerian spelling in Akkadian: AMAR.UTU 𒀫𒌓 "solar calf"; perhaps from MERI.DUG; Biblical Hebrew מְרֹדַךְ Merodach; Greek Μαρδοχαῖος,[1] Mardochaios) was the Babylonian name of a late-generation god from ancient Mesopotamia and patron deity of the city of Babylon, who, when Babylon became the political center of the Euphrates valley in the time of Hammurabi (18th century BCE), started to slowly rise to the position of the head of the Babylonian pantheon, a position he fully acquired by the second half of the second millennium BCE. In the city of Babylon, he resided in the temple Esagila.[2] According to The Encyclopedia of Religion, the name Marduk was probably pronounced Marutuk. In the perfected system of astrology, the planet Jupiter was associated with Marduk by the Hammurabi period.[4] Mythology[edit] Marduk and his dragon Mušḫuššu, from a Babylonian cylinder seal Babylonian[edit] In the case of Ea, the transfer proceeded pacifically and without effacing the older god.
The Dagda Description[edit] Despite his great power and prestige, the Dagda is sometimes depicted as oafish and crude, even comical, wearing a short, rough tunic that barely covers his rump, dragging his great penis on the ground.[1] Such features are thought to be the additions of Christian redactors for comedic purposes. Tellingly, the Middle Irish language Coir Anmann (The Fitness of Names) paints a less clownish picture: "He was a beautiful god of the heathens, for the Tuatha Dé Danann worshipped him: for he was an earth-god to them because of the greatness of his (magical) power."[2] The Dagda had an affair with Bóand, wife of Elcmar. Whilst Aengus was away the Dagda shared out his land among his children, but Aengus returned to discover that nothing had been saved for him. The Dagda was also the father of Bodb Dearg, Cermait, Midir, Aine, and Brigit. Etymology[edit] See also[edit] References[edit] Further reading[edit] Bergin, Osborn (1927).
Gilgamesh Gilgamesh (/ˈɡɪl.ɡə.mɛʃ/; Akkadian cuneiform: 𒄑𒂆𒈦 [𒄑𒂆𒈦], Gilgameš, often given the epithet of the King, also known as Bilgamesh in the Sumerian texts)[1] was the fifth king of Uruk, modern day Iraq (Early Dynastic II, first dynasty of Uruk), placing his reign ca. 2500 BC. According to the Sumerian King List he reigned for 126 years. In the Tummal Inscription,[2] Gilgamesh, and his son Urlugal, rebuilt the sanctuary of the goddess Ninlil, in Tummal, a sacred quarter in her city of Nippur. Gilgamesh is the central character in the Epic of Gilgamesh, the greatest surviving work of early Mesopotamian literature. Cuneiform references[edit] In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh is credited with the building of the legendary walls of Uruk. Fragments of an epic text found in Me-Turan (modern Tell Haddad) relate that at the end of his life Gilgamesh was buried under the river bed. Later (non-cuneiform) references[edit] Theodore Bar Konai (ca. See also[edit] Notes and references[edit]
Fengshen Yanyi Fengshen Yanyi, also known as Fengshen Bang, or translated as The Investiture of the Gods, is a 16th-century Chinese novel and one of the major vernacular Chinese works in the shenmo genre written during the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644).[1] Consisting of 100 chapters, it was first published in book form around the 1550s.[1] Plot[edit] The novel is a romanticised retelling of the overthrow of King Zhou, the last ruler of the Shang Dynasty, by King Wu, who would establish the Zhou Dynasty in place of Shang. The story integrates oral and written tales of many Chinese mythological figures who are involved in the struggle as well. These figures include human heroes, immortals and various spirits (usually represented in avatar form like vixens, and pheasants, and sometimes inanimate objects such as a pipa). Some well-known anecdotes[edit] Nüwa and King Zhou[edit] King Zhou visits the temple of the ancient Chinese goddess Nüwa to worship her. Daji and Boyi Kao[edit] Ji Chang and Jiang Ziya[edit]
Epic of Gilgamesh The Epic of Gilgamesh, an epic poem from Mesopotamia, is considered the world's first truly great work of literature. The literary history of Gilgamesh begins with five Sumerian poems about 'Bilgamesh' (Sumerian for 'Gilgamesh'), king of Uruk. These independent stories were used as source material for a combined epic. The first surviving version of this combined epic, known as the "Old Babylonian" version, dates to the 18th century BC and is titled after its incipit, Shūtur eli sharrī ("Surpassing All Other Kings"). Only a few tablets of it have survived. The later "Standard" version dates from the 13th to the 10th centuries BC and bears the incipit Sha naqba īmuru ("He who Saw the Deep", in modern terms: "He who Sees the Unknown"). The first half of the story discusses Gilgamesh, king of Uruk, and Enkidu, a wild man created by the gods to stop him oppressing the people of Uruk. History[edit] Versions of the epic[edit] Standard Akkadian version[edit] (Based on Andrew George's translation)
Chinese mythology Chinese mythology refers to those myths found in the historical geographic area of China: these include myths in Chinese and other languages, as transmitted by Han Chinese as well as other ethnic groups (of which fifty-six are officially recognized by the current administration of China).[1] Chinese mythology includes creation myths and legends, such as myths concerning the founding of Chinese culture and the Chinese state. As in many cultures' mythologies, Chinese mythology has in the past been believed to be, at least in part, a factual recording of history. Thus, in the study of historical Chinese culture, many of the stories that have been told regarding characters and events which have been written or told of the distant past have a double tradition: one which presents a more historicized and one which presents a more mythological version.[2] Historians have written evidence of Chinese mythological symbolism from the 12th century BC in the Oracle bone script. Major concepts[edit]