So I'm a complete mythology nut. I love creation myths and gods of all cultures, I love digging through old stories and wondering how they came about, and I love imagining what those gods would be up to today. What does it look like to be an ancient river god in the twenty-first century? Probably not all that fun.
Anyway, I love mythology (if you couldn't tell that already), and I wanted to see if anyone else around here is similarly inclined. My writing is heavily influenced by mythology. I've been doing research all morning trying to find information on an specific and very obscure South American jaguar god. There are lots of South American jaguar gods, and I think there's nothing quite as satisfying as finding a search result (finally) with the name of the god you're looking for. Also there's nothing as disappointing as clicking on the link and finding that your particular god is only mentioned in two sentences.
*Sigh*
How about you guys? Do you have a favorite pantheon? Greek gods, Aztec gods, Indian gods? The Norse gods and their myths are my personal favorites, and consequently in order to enjoy Marvel movies I have to grit my teeth and remind myself that the comics just weren't written to be accurate.
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Some of my personal favorite mythos are from Native American tribes. I'm especially fond of pretty much any story that has to do with Coyote, in all of his various interpretations.
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I have written two stories inspired by Welsh mythology 
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I love Mythology. I listen to a lot of Joseph Campbell lectures. There's a lot more to his work than the Hero's Journey. That's basically just one of his lectures.
Native American, Indigenous American, and some lesser known European mythologies (Celtic, Welsh, etc.) are definitely a breath of fresh air for any mythology nut tired of the more widely covered pantheons.
I still have a soft spot for Greek myths however. My favorite is probably the 12 labours of Heracles, which I don't think has been covered nearly enough in any medium (maybe mostly in sculpture?). The 2014 Hercules movie barely dedicated it two minutes ? .
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I wrote 1 story heavily based on celtic mythology. It has a sacred animals, cycles of 3, spirits, and all sorts of Celtic mythology fixtures. It was published in an anthology. People who like mythology like it a lot. Those not into mythology are like "meh." They don't get it.
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I wrote 1 story heavily based on celtic mythology. It has a sacred animals, cycles of 3, spirits, and all sorts of Celtic mythology fixtures. It was published in an anthology. People who like mythology like it a lot. Those not into mythology are like "meh." They don't get it.
Nice. I took greek and norse mythology as part of my classic civ classes back in college and loved it. Always been that sword and sorcery kind of guy. Not to mention I have a dragon tattoo, demon, angel, tree, harley, US/Canadian flag, and Didi (for you neil gaiman fans). Maybe I have a tattoo obsession. Well, it has been a few years since I've gotten a new one. Guess I should make an appointment. haha
I'm working on a mythology piece now. A bit dry in the first draft, but it's coming along.
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Coming in late on this thread, but I cannot encourage learning mythology enough for storytelling, especially non-Western myths. Most Western literature assumes you have some familiarity with European myth, mostly of the Greco-Roman and Judeo-Christian variety. Fantasy has also taken a lot from European folklore (fairies, anyone?), but there is a wide world that if brimming with stories you haven’t heard of. Studying another culture’s stories is a way to not only spark ideas, but give you an appreciation for the storytelling traditions of the world.
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Is there a short version? Or a movie? I feel I am incredibly lacking in this department, but I can't go reading the ancient texts, much as I'm sure I'd love what's in them.
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@tj_knight honestly this material is so rich, and so old, there's literally no shortage of source material/re-works. if you want documentary style which is probably the most time efficient there are several on amazon prime, if you subscribe
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Oh, I literally hadn't thought of that. At the very least a documentary or two would be good primers or overviews. TV, who knew? 😊
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@tj_knight Movies and TV tend to favor Western stuff, like Greek and Roman myth, because that's what their target audiences are more familiar with. But CrashCourse on YouTube has a fun series that gives quick overviews of some world myths.
2024 Golden Pen Winner for "Son, Spirit, Snake"
Vol. 40: Q1 - P, Q2 - SF, Q3 - HM, Q4 - First Place + Grand Prize
X (Twitter): @jnashstories
Writing advice: Substack.com/@jacknashstories
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"Ideas are like rabbits. You get a couple and learn how to handle them, and pretty soon you have a dozen." ― John Steinbeck
Youtube! I'll check Crashcourse out.
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My current WIPs are based on a mix of mythology and paleocontact theory. I even use demons to mark my research pages... 😉
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