World Folklore

The gods of Olympus are the most colorful characters of Greek civilization: even in antiquity, they were said to be cruel, oversexed, mad, or just plain silly. Yet for all their foibles and flaws, they proved to be tough survivors, far outlasting classical Greece itself. In Egypt, the Olympian gods claimed to have given birth to pharaohs; in Rome, they led respectable citizens into orgiastic rituals of drink and sex.

What if the shadows held more than just stories? Beneath the dense forests, over misty lakes, and beyond the edges of the known world lurk creatures whispered about in folklore and reported by eyewitnesses for centuries. In this richly illustrated guide, veterinarian and educator Karen E. Mueller, DVM delves into thirty of the world’s most haunting cryptids—mysterious beings that challenge science, spark imagination, and endure in cultural memory.

Valkyries: the female supernatural beings that choose who dies and who lives on the battlefield. They protect some, but guide spears, arrows, and sword blades into the bodies of others. Viking myths about valkyries attempt to elevate the banality of war - to make the pain and suffering, the lost limbs and deformities, the piles of lifeless bodies of young men, glorious and worthwhile. Rather than their death being futile, it is their destiny and good fortune, determined by divine beings.

Through the lens of archaeology, history, and comparative mythology, we strive to shed light on the legacy of the Anunnaki. We examine their representation in popular culture, their impact on language, and their place in contemporary beliefs and spiritual movements.

Did you know that a hippogriff is supposedly the offspring of a horse and a griffin? Or that a Greek sphinx generally has a male face, whereas an Egyptian one has a female visage? Where does the skunk ape roam, and how can you spot a kitsune in human form? Is Slenderman the most frightening mythical creature, or is that honor bestowed on the fearsome gashadokuro? This fantastic book introduces the listener to more than 100 mythical beasts and legendary creatures.

All over the world, people have reported encounters with a race of tiny people who are neither human nor deity. This book reclaims that lost, rich heritage of working with faery folk that our Pagan ancestors took for granted. Edain McCoy teaches how to work with faeries in a mutually beneficial way. Practice rituals and spells in which faeries can participate, and discover tips to help facilitate faery contact.

Spanning several centuries of history in the Pacific, The Legends and Myths of Hawaiʻi: Fables and Folk-Lore of a Strange People is a collection of Hawaiian stories that were preserved through the ages by oral tradition and documented for posterity by King David Kalākaua in 1887. This massive tome recalls the tales of chiefs and kings, explorers and pirates, prophets, sorceresses, and renegades. This is the first in a series of 22 parts.

From internationally renowned medium, spiritual teacher and bestselling author Gordon Smith comes a captivating tale about finding your way through death, grief and loss.'Nothing that lives can truly die,' said the stag, 'but we must all experience a winter in our lives, otherwise we haven't...

According to the Australian government’s website, at the time of first contact with Europeans, there were some 500 distinct Indigenous nations, speaking different languages and following their own religious and cultural practices. As with all human societies, that of the Indigenous Australians is abounding in stories. Stories of how the world came to be the way it is, stories of heroism and perfidy, stories about animals and birds, and stories about love and hate all have parts to play in the wide array of myths, legends, and tales created by Indigenous Australians.

A landmark anthology of queer Greek and Roman love stories that reclaim and celebrate homosexual love and sensuality, from artist Luke Edward Hall and award-winning poet Seán Hewitt. For centuries, evidence of queer love in the ancient world has either been ignored or suppressed. Even today...

Count yourself lucky (in a Chinese kind of way), because you just bumped into a book of three documents that have been combined to give you the greatest value for your money. These are: Book 1: The sociology and mythology of the Chinese culture has a long, extended history, and the creatures and superpowers in them have often been neglected by western culture. But not for long!

From the author of The Last Dragon of the East comes a sweeping fantasy adventure with a dash of romance between a nine-tailed fox and the demon-hunter who captures her, banished to the underworld together and forced to form a reluctant alliance in order to escape the circles of Hell. Yue may be...

In #1 New York Times bestseller Allison Saft’s enthralling new romantic fantasy, a chess grandmaster will go to any length to save the person she loves the most. Six years ago, Shea Fury’s sister was whisked away by the High King of the Otherworld, the ruler of the treacherous land of fae...

This book contains the other sections of World Mythology Lite that didn't make it into the first book. There are descriptions of ancient deities and heroes in this book.

বহুকাল ধরে মানুষের সভ্যতা গড়ে উঠেছে নদীকে কেন্দ্র করে. নদীর প্রবাহের সাথে গড়ে উঠা জনমানবের জীবনের গল্প — মহানদী। এই অনবদ্য বইটির জন্যে অনিতা অগ্নিহোত্রী চিরকাল স্মরণীয় হয়ে থাকবে পাঠকের কাছে. নদীর প্রবাহের সাথে সাথে সেই সকল অঞ্চলের লোক-কথা, সংস্কৃতি, অর্থনীতি, ঐতিহ্য, এই সকল জীবনের প্রতিফলন এই গল্পগুলিতে। একদিকে এটি যেমন একটি গবেষণা গ্রন্থ, আরেকভাবে এক অসাধারণ ঐতিহাসিক প্রবন্ধ যা বাংলা সাহিত্যের এক অবিচ্ছেদ্য অঙ্গ হয়ে উঠেছে।

Would you try listening to this book today to see world history the way I do in a way that liberates me from the frustrating limitations I learned in school and places me in a world with a deep sense of where I come from and what my purpose today is? My total dissatisfaction with the mainstream version of history many of us are given started in anthropology class when I was a student in college.

It's been nearly a century since Thomas Rimor last battled Yvag knights. In that time his wife and daughter have grown old and died, and he discovered that he ages not at all. The elven world believes him dead. In his grief, he has retreated to the depths of Sherwood and Barnsdale Forests and become a hermit. But when a dying outlaw arrives on his doorstep with items stolen from an Yvag skinwalker, it sets in motion events that thrust Thomas back into the world and force him into combat with Queen Nicnevin's soldiers.

Australia has always been a land of mysteries. Some are ancient, some are historical and many continue to perplex us today—and will probably continue to do so tomorrow. More often than most of us would like to think, things simply vanish and people disappear without explanation, leaving a trail of heartbreak across generations. Australia also has its fair share of buried loot and fabulous riches gone missing—somewhere. Master storyteller Graham Seal has gathered mysteries from around Australia.

A poignant and evocative novel of one Greek woman’s story of her own—and her nation’s—epic struggle in the aftermath of World War II. Aliki is one of the last of her kind, a lamenter who mourns and celebrates the passing of life. She is part of an evolving Greece, one moving steadily...

Step into ancient China and immerse yourself in a realm where gods, celestial beings, and legendary beasts shape the destiny of mortals. Whether you're new to these timeless tales or a mythology enthusiast, Chinese Mythology Unleashed offers a fascinating journey into a culture rich with wisdom, adventure, and wonder.