Related Pages.

 

Catastrophism.

St. Michael.

Giants.

 

Index of Ancient Sites.

Homepage.

 

Share/Bookmark

Homepage.

About Us.

A-Z Site Index.

Gift Shop.

Contact Us

 

        Mythology: (Fact or Fiction)

The tradition of story-telling has roots that can be traced deep into humanities distant past. Even today, the art of oration continues to play a part in the continuity of cultural preservation around the world. Certain of these stories have perpetuated themselves into the mythological psyche of humanity.

The age and importance of these surviving cultural relics is further enhanced by the fact that in certain cases they appear to have transcended cultural borders, i.e. the flood myth (see below). While it has long been declared that myths are largely fictitious, there is a school of thought that argues otherwise.

 

 

 

   Featured Myths:

 

The Flood myth - With over a hundred independent world-wide accounts of the 'Great Flood', this is the classic archetypal myth.  In addition to having been recorded globally, a number of isolated versions of the myth carry numerous specific details in common. there is little doubt that we are forced to consider that at the very least, people witnessed catastrophic flood events in the past. Is it possible that the 'great flood' myths may have their origins in the flood events following the end of the last ice-age?.

(More about the Flood Myth)    

 

 

Giants - Giants were recorded in ancient text and archaeological discovery supports the idea that races of 'Giants' may have once existed. Even today, the genetic variation of our species includes a percentage with gigantism, suggesting that stories of giants cannot be so easily refuted. But beware the fakes...

(More about Giants)

 

 

 

'Feathered Serpents' (Dragons, Comets?) - This curious combination of symbols appears in mythologies from around the ancient world, but what are their origins and how are we to explain the fact that so many apparently unrelated cultures adopted these two strikingly contrary symbols independently of each other? Examples include the South American 'God' Quetzalcoatl and the Cult of the feathered serpent, the Egyptian culture which includes several surprisingly similar examples, Chinese dragons and much more.

(More about Feathered Serpents)

 

 

The World mountain - From the Greek Olympus to the Indian 'Mount Mashu', the belief in  the concept of a World mountain is found in myths around the ancient world.

There is speculation that the world mountain may refer to the Great pyramid. Passages in the Egyptian 'Book of the Dead' are suggested to refer to it.

 

 

The day the sun stood still - A look at the fascinating set of myths from around the world that appear to record the same astronomical event.

Immaculate conception - The idea of a 'virgin birth' is frequently associated to the birth of a person of historical importance.

 

 

 

   Mythology as a Historical Narrative:

It was long believed that the city of Troy was an imaginary city from Homer's 'Illiad'. However, in 1871 Dr Heindrich Schlieman used the text in order to discover its location. Troy is an example of the way in which facts become 'mythologised' over time.

Discoveries such as the city of Troy (Illium) demonstrates the fact that myth's can be based on fact. We cannot however conclude from this that all myths are based on fact. It is equally likely that some myths may have become embellished over time from a 'seed' of truth, which can no longer be separated from the sheath of fictitious narrative, for example although we now know Troy to have been a real city:

In Homers 'Iliad' (17. 426 pp), concerning the fall of Troy, he writes that:

"The horses of Aiakides (Akhilleus, Achilles) standing apart from the battle wept, as they had done since they heard how their charioteer (Patroklos) had fallen in the dust at the hands of murderous Hektor".

Such a description certainly evokes the misery felt at the loss of the commanding officer, an event which may indeed have occurred, but when we are informed that Hector's horses also wept at his passing, we pass the point where fact separates from fiction.

As previously mentioned, it has been observed that certain 'universal' myths have been repeated within apparently unrelated cultures from around the world. The following reasonable arguments are put forward to explain this:

1. - That they are descriptions of events which were witnessed simultaneously around the world.
 
2. - That they are stories that have originated from a single ancient common source.
 
3. - That humanity possesses a collective conscious (termed the 'z-factor' by biologists).
 
 

The following story is an example of a Folk-tale which led to an archaeological discovery:

'Sometimes local tradition, which is wonderfully long-lived, helps the archaeologist in his discoveries. An old man told an antiquary that a certain barrow in his parish was haunted by the ghost of a soldier who wore golden armour. The antiquary determined to investigate and dug into the barrow, and there found the body of a man with a gold or bronze breastplate. I am not sure whether the armour was gold or bronze. Now here is an amazing instance of folk-memory. The chieftain was buried probably in Anglo-Saxon times, or possibly earlier. During thirteen hundred years, at least, the memory of that burial has been handed down from father to son until the present day. It almost seems incredible' (2).

 

 

 

   The Flood Myth:

Easily the most common global myth is that of a great deluge which almost eliminated life on Earth. Variations of this story occur from all round the world, many of which contain similar details. For example, in almost all versions the survivor/s are forewarned of the deluge. They are given instructions to build a craft, to store a selection of life on board, they use birds to find land, and are the progenitors of the species from that time on. In fact, there are well over 50 similar flood myths world-wide. Some of the better known versions follow:

Hindu - 'Manu, a hero, finds a fish, rears it and then releases it into the Ganges. As a reward the fish announces it will save him from a purification of the world. It gives him instructions to build a ship with stores and everything is destroyed except Manu and the seven 'Rishis' he had taken. The fish guides the boat until they reach a mountain top, whereupon it reveals itself as 'Prajapati' (or Vishnu in versions), the supreme god who helps Manu recreate life on earth.

Aztec - ('Na-Hui-Atl' - The age of water). After the world had existed for 1716 years the flood came. All mankind was lost and drowned and found themselves changed to fish. In a single day all was lost. Only 'Nata' and his wife 'Nana' were saved, having been warned by the god 'Titlacahuan' to make a boat from a Cyprus tree.

Maori - Mankind once became so disrespectful of the great God 'Tane' who had created them that there were only two prophets left who preached the truth. Insulted by men, they built a house on a huge raft, stocked it with food and dogs, and brought down heavy rain by incantation to demonstrate the powers of 'Tane'. The waters rose and the prophets embarked with a few others. After six months the flood began to subside and they settled on dry land, to discover the whole world and its inhabitants had been destroyed.

Greek mythology refers to three floods. The flood of Ogyges, the flood of Deucalion and the flood of Dardanus, two of which ended two 'Ages of Man': the Ogygian Deluge ended the Silver Age, and the flood of Deucalion ended the First Bronze Age.

Zeus sent a flood to destroy the men of the Bronze Age. Prometheus advised his son Deucalion to build a chest. All other men perished except for a few who escaped to high mountains. The mountains in Thessaly were parted, and all the world beyond the Isthmus and Peloponnese was overwhelmed. Deucalion and his wife Pyrrha (daughter of Epimetheus and Pandora), after floating in the chest for nine days and nights, landed on Parnassus. When the rains ceased, he sacrificed to Zeus, the God of Escape. At the bidding of Zeus, he threw stones over his head; they became men, and the stones which Pyrrha threw became women. That is why people are called laoi, from laas, "a stone." [Apollodorus, 1.7.2]

'The first race of people was completely destroyed because they were exceedingly wicked. The fountains of the deep opened, the rain fell in torrents, and the rivers and seas rose to cover the earth, killing all of them. Deucalion survived due to his prudence and piety and linked the first and second race of men. Onto a great ark he loaded his wives and children and all animals. The animals came to him, and by God's help, remained friendly for the duration of the flood. The flood waters escaped down a chasm opened in Hierapolis'. [Frazer, pp. 153-154]

'An earlier flood was reported to have occurred in the time of Ogyges, founder and king of Thebes. The flood covered the whole world and was so devastating that the country remained without kings until the reign of Cecrops'. [Gaster, p. 87]

'Nannacus, king of Phrygia, lived before the time of Deucalion and foresaw that he and all people would perish in a coming flood. He and the Phrygians lamented bitterly, hence the old proverb about "weeping like (or for) Nannacus." After the deluge had destroyed all humanity, Zeus commanded Prometheus and Athena to fashion mud images, and Zeus summoned winds to breathe life into them. The place where they were made is called Iconium after these images'. [Frazer, p. 155] 

"Many great deluges have taken place during the nine thousand years" since Athens and Atlantis were preeminent. Destruction by fire and other catastrophes was also common. In these floods, water rose from below, destroying city dwellers but not mountain people. The floods, especially the third great flood before Deucalion, washed away most of Athens' fertile soil. [Plato, "Timaeus" 22, "Critias" 111-112]

We are left with a clear record of flood-events from around the ancient world. The most recent known mega-flood events were a result of the end of the last great Ice-age, which occurred over three main flood periods following the Ice-age, it is very likely that the global flood-myths are testimony of these events.

 

Textual References to a Mega-Flood:

Assyrian: An inscription on a tablet in the British museum (K3050, K2964), bears testament by the Assyrian king Ashurbanipal to the following:

'I have read the artistic script of the Sumer and the dark script of the Akadian and now I take great pleasure in the reading of the stone inscriptions from before the flood'.

In 1922, the Weld-Blundell expedition excavating at Sumerian Larsa discovered the 'Weld Prism', now in the Ashmolean museum, Oxford. The prism contains a history written by a scribe called 'Nur-Ninsubur' in approx 2100 BC. In his account he records the list of ten pre-flood kings (a legendary era of 241,200 years), and ends his writing with the words, 'and the Flood overthrew the land'. Enki warns the king of Sippar 'Ziasudra', who escapes. (9)

 

225 A.H. (836 AD) - Papyrus of Abou Hormeis:

'In this manner were the pyramids built. Upon the walls were written the mysteries of science, astronomy, geometry, physics, and much useful knowledge, which any person, who understands our writing, can read. The deluge was to take place when the heart of the lion entered the first minute of the head of cancer, at the declining of the star. The other indications were the sun and moon entering into the first minute of the head of Aries and Saturn, in the first degree and twenty eight minutes of Aries; and Jupiter, in the twenty-ninth degree twenty-eight minutes of Pisces; and Hermes, i.e. Mercury, in the fifth degree and three minutes of the Lion.'

(Note- This particular account was translated from the Coptic into Arabic c. 225 A.H., supposed to be four thousand three hundred and twenty-one years after the construction of the pyramids (836AD = 4321 - 836 = 3,485 BC) an account of the appearance of the heavens when the waters subsided, is also included).

 

2,400 BC - The Canons of the Chinese Emperor:

'In the lifetime of Yao, the sun did not set for ten full days and the entire land was flooded by an immense wave, that reached the sky'.

(Examples of Underwater Archaeology)

 

 

 

   The Feathered Serpent:

The America's.

The Aztec god Quetzalcoatl is represented as a 'feathered serpent'. Also known as Kukulcan to the Mayans, the feathered serpent features heavily in south American iconography.

The Maya called the plumed dragon Cuculcan or Cucumatz, the Zuñi Kolowissi. As far South as Venezuela we hear of the snake Huiio who crowned herself with the scattered feathers of the ancestral birds, as the Makiritare people report.

El Castillo - The temple of Kukulcan, Chichen Itza, Mexico.

Each face of the pyramid has a stairway with ninety-one steps, which together with the shared step of the platform at the top, add up to 365 (full-days in the solar year). The stairs also divided into nine terraces of each side of the pyramid into eighteen segments, representing the eighteen months of the Mayan calendar.

During the Equinoxes, the sun causes a shadow of a serpent on the northern steps of the pyramid. In the spring, it appears to ascend, and in the autumn it descends again (1)

 

The Pyramid of the feathered serpent is located at Teotihuacán. Located in the Ciudadela at the southern end of the Avenue of the Dead.

This pyramid was built over existing structures, and has been built over since by the 'Adosada', which was integrated into the design of the original temple, archaeology has re-exposed the original temple of the feathered serpent,  upon which can be seen the numerous 'feathered serpents' heads carved into the temples facade and stairwell.

 

Egyptian feathered serpents:

There are several striking similarities between Mesoamerican feathered serpents and those from ancient Egypt.

Temple of Hatshepsut: Of particular interest is the Temple of Hatshepsut, which is entered by passing up a long sloping ramp, with stairs up the centre and stone banisters with a serpent running from top to bottom, ending at the bottom in a birds body.

 

The Royal insignia on all of Tutankhamun's (1336-1327 BC) coffin masks and head-dresses have both the serpent and the snake on them. (The Nekhbet-vulture and Buto-uraeus), demonstrating the importance of these symbols to the Egyptians.

From left to Right; Tutankhamun's headband, his funerary mask, The funerary casket and second funerary casket.

 

 Greek Feathered Serpents:

 

The Caduceus. (Rod of Hermes)

According to mythology, Hermes threw his magic wand at two fighting snakes. The snakes became entwined as they stopped fighting. The actual origin of the Caduceus is from two sources. The first was from the Babylonia god Ningizzida and the second was from a shepherd's crook that was forked on top.

 

 

Typhon. (Typhaon, Typhoeus, Typhus) was the last son of Gaia. Typhon's father was tartarus. He is described as having a hundred serpent heads. With Echidna Typhon's children were Cerberus, the Lernaean hydra, and the Chimaera. Typhon is mentioned by Hesiod, Pindar, Aeschylus, and the Homeric Hymn to Apollo. Later writers identified him with the Egyptian god Seth.

In Greek mythology, the heaven-spanning giant Typhon had serpents for legs and a body "all winged" or feathered, as Apollodorus reported.

On the right is an Etruscan Mural from the Tomb of Orcus, in which we can see Typhöeus, whose legs are serpents, bracing himself beneath the land. His constant struggle causes Mt. Etna to roar.

 

 

Winged Serpents (Dragons) in Myth:

Babylonian - Apep, the Seven-Headed Dragon of Egypt has been identified with Tiamat, the Great Dragon of Sumeria, slain by Marduk. This primordial goddess is the prototype of the biblical monster Leviathan. It is little known that in the Book of Revelation this same Dragon makes an anonymous guest appearance.

Britain- St. George, St Margaret and St Michael are the three traditional British Dragon slayers of fable. Many of the locations dedicated to St. Michael have been determined to have a secondary astronomical association and placed in alignments, The St. Michael's lay runs across Britain from Cornwall to Norfolk. 

(More about St. Michael)

Chinese - Dragon gods and living dragon culture. 'Dragon-lines' of feng-shui.

 

 

 

   The Day the Sun Stood Still:

 The following remarkable set of myths from around the ancient world appears to confirm the occurrence of an astronomical phenomena.

Joshua - '...As they fled from before Israel the Lord cast down great stones from heaven unto Azekah, and they died : they were more which died with hail stones (stones of barad) than they whom the children of Israel slew with the sword ...And he said in the sight of Israel, Sun, stand thou still upon Gideon; and thou, Moon, in the valley of Ajalon. And the Sun stood still, and the moon stayed, until the people had avenged themselves upon their enemies. Is it not written in the book of Jasher? So the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hastened not to go down about a whole day. And there was no day like that before it or after it...'       

(Ref: Joshua (10:11-14), compiled from the more ancient book of Jasher).

 

The 'Midrashim', the books on ancient traditions which are not embodied in the scriptures, relates that the sun and the moon stood still for thirty six 'Itim', or eighteen hours, and thus from sunrise to sunset the day lasted about thirty hours. (22).

 

Although these myth-stories could be argued to have originated from an original source, the same cannot be said so easily of the following accounts, which originate from other apparently independent cultures from the ancient world.

 

Sahagun - The Spanish savant who came to America a generation Columbus and gathered the traditions of the natives, wrote that at the time of one cosmic catastrophe the sun rose only a little way over the horizon and remained there without moving: the moon also stood still. (22).

The Andeans record a myth-story that the sun stayed away for twenty hours. This event is said to have occurred under the reign of Yupanqui Pachacuti II, the fifteenth ruler of the old time.

In the Mexican 'Annals of Cuauhtitlan' or 'Codex Chimpalpopoca' - the history of the empire in Culhuacan and Mexico, written in Nahua-Indian in the sixteenth century - it is related that during a cosmic catastrophe that occurred in the remote past, the night did not end for an extended period of time. (22).

 

And from Asia - The canons of the Chinese emperor. (2,400 BC ?) - 'In the lifetime of Yao, the sun did not set for ten full days and the entire land was flooded (by an immense wave), that reached the sky'.

 

It is important to recognise that all these stories were recorded from different locations on earth. On one side of the Earth people record that the Sun stayed in the sky, while on the other side, the stores are that the Sun stayed away.

 

The most logical cause of the appearance of the Sun, Moon and stars stopping in their paths, is that in fact, we stopped turning on ours. But what could cause a temporary cessation of the rotation of our globe? It has been suggested that a possibility could have been that something large affected our ordered symmetry momentarily (Such as a large celestial object)

It is possible that earths rotation has been affected more than once before in the past. Velikovsky concluded that the earth was hit twice with a gap of 52 years between events. This is supported by Mayan tradition. The number off times, duration or cause of these incidents remains undetermined.

As Earths rotation has reduced in recent years by an average of one second every 500 days (leap second), our Earth will, if the deceleration rate remains constant, show no self rotation around its axis within less than 120,000 years, (8).

 

We are reminded also of the story of Phaethon, in which the 'sun chariot roamed'

Phaethon/Phaeton - 'The blazing one' - The best known version of this Greek legend is that of the Latin poet, Ovid, who wrote that Pheathon, who claimed parentage from the sun, tried to drive the chariot of the sun but was unable to make his way 'against the whirling poles,' and 'their swift axis' swept him away. The chariot of the sun moved 'no longer in the same course as before.' The horses 'break loose from their course' and 'rush aimlessly, knocking against the stars set deep in the sky and snatching the chariot along through uncharted ways. The constellations of the cold Bears tried to plunge into the forbidden sea, and the suns chariot roamed...as a useless ship driven before the headlong blast, whose pilot has let the rudder go and abandoned the ship to the gods..'. Ovid then continues to describe how 'The earth burst into flame...' and catastrophe ensued. He ends the story with the phrase,  'she (the earth).....sank back a little lower than her wanton place'.

(Ref: Ovid. Metamorphoses).

Solon - On his visit to Egypt, questioned the priests on early history and lore was told '....in truth, the story that is told in your country as well as ours, how once upon a time Phaethon, son of Helios, yoked his fathers chariot, and, because he was unable to drive it along the course taken by his father, burnt up all that was upon the earth and himself perished in a thunderbolt - that story, as it is told, has the fashion of a legend, but the truth of it lies in the occurrence of a shifting of the bodies in the heavens which move around the earth, and a destruction of things on the earth...'.

 (Ref: Plato. Timaeus)

 

 

 

   The World Mountain:

Gilgamesh reaches Mount 'Mashi' or 'Sunset hill',..which divided the land of living with dead. A Dark tunnel pierces it. He enters through a door and follows the suns road for 12 leagues (12 hours = the Amduat), to its rising through the mountain (p177 Babylonian myths)

'Mashu' (Machu?) which means 'Twins' in Akkadian. It was a mountain with twin peaks into which the sun descends at nightfall.

The name of Enlils temple at Nippur has been translated as 'Mountain House' or 'Like a mountain'. These Babylonian 'Temple towers' were symbols of the 'world-hill' - (Babylonian myths)

The 'Pyramid texts' state that the goal of a pharaoh after death is 'The duat'. In the land of the mountain gods. He has to enter the 'house of two truths', 'the house of fire'. Reachable by entering a mountain and going down hidden paths and secret doors etc. 'At the gate of the duat the folding doors of the mountain of light are opened to thee'.

The Chinese have a sacred/world mountain called 'Hua Shan' of the West.

The Babylonian 'Temple Towers' were symbols of the world hill.

The Great pyramid has been referred to as the 'Bible in Stone', by a number of people. The most seemingly appropriate references from the bible are: 'Isaiah. Ch 19: 19, 20. 'In that day shall there be an alter to the lord in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar at the border thereof to the lord, and it shall be a sign and for a witness unto the lord of hosts in the land of Egypt'. Seiss (15), notes that the word 'Alter' in Hebrew, translates as 'The lion of God'. Ezekiel describes an alter as 'The mountain of God'.

Sumerian texts refer to the E.KUR, meaning 'House which is like a Mountain'. They depicted the E.kur on clay tablets by a square-based pyramid with wings, sometimes with a spherical glowing apex, sometimes even accompanied by a lion-shaped statue.

 

 

 

   Virgin Births: The Immaculate Conception:

There are several examples of the myth of immaculate conception in religious literature:

 

Egypt - Luxor temple. Representation of Queen Hatshepsut.

Adonis - Babylonian god born of the virgin Ishtar.

Zoaraster - Born of a virgin 1500-1200 BC

Krishna - Born of the virgin Devaki around 1200 BC.

Indra - Born of a virgin in Tibet around 700 BC.

Buddha - Born of the virgin Maya around 600 BC.

Mithra - Born of a virgin in a stable on 25 December around 600 BC.

Dionysus - Greek god, born of a virgin in a stable, also turned water into wine.

Attis - Born of the virgin Nama in Phrygia around 200 BC.

Quirrnus - An early Roman saviour, born of a virgin.

Christ - From the virgin Mary in Bethlehem.

 

 

References:

1). A. Collins. Gods of Eden. 1998. Headline press.
2). http://www.gutenberg.org/files/14742/14742-h/14742-h.htm
8). Hans J. Zillmer. Darwin's Mistake, Adventures unlimited press, 1998.
9). Rene Noorbergen. Secrets of the Lost Races. New English Library. 1977.
22). I. Velikovsky. Worlds in Collision. Book Club Associates. 1973.

 

About Us Homepage  |  A-Z Site Index  |  Gift Shop  |  Contact-Us