Korwin Briggs - Gods and Heroes: Mythology Around the World

Mythology around the world

GODS
AND
HEROES

korwin briggs

workman publishing new york

Contents

INTRODUCTION

W elcome to Gods and Heroes! You hold in your hands hundreds of myths and stories from across history and around the world. Inside this book youll find earthshaking battles, daring adventures, loves gained, lost, and kidnapped, great gods, fearsome monsters, the worlds heaviest cat, and the truth about Medusa (spoiler: Its sad).

If youd like to skip right to the myths, feel free to flip ahead to page 1. But if you want to know more about what mythology is, keep reading here.

What Are Myths?

Myths are the traditional stories of a culture. Some are sacred tales that teach people about their gods. Some explain the unexplainable, like how the world began and what happens when we die. Some tell the histories of peoples and nations. And some offer guidance on whats good, whats evil, and how to live.

Why Do Myths Matter?

In myths, we can see reflections of the people who wrote themwhat they thought of the world and themselves, how they were different from us, and how they were the same.

As you read the myths in this book, it might be helpful to keep this question in mind: Why might this culture have thought it was important to continue telling this tale, year after year, generation after generation? If you keep an open mind, you might learn something you didnt expect.

Where Do Myths Come From?

No one knows who told the first myths, or when, or why. One timeworn theory says that myths were originally stories of actual historical events, made more magical by thousands of years of retellings, like a giant, ancient game of telephone. Others say myths started as answers to tough questions (Whats the sun? Its a god!). Yet another theory claims that myths come from the deep, unconscious parts of our minds, which is why so many civilizations have similar stories of gods and monsters and floods and heroes, despite never having met each other.

As societies evolved, so did their myths. They changed with the times, the places, and the people telling them. Local myths mixed with foreign myths; tribal myths were retold as the myths of towns, cities, and countries. Some myths spread across entire continents, while others disappeared entirely.

What We Dont Know and Why We Dont Know It

For most of human history, there was no such thing as writing. If you wanted to know about a legend, you had to listen to someone who could tell you about it. Some people dedicated their lives to memorizing hours and hours of stories, word for word, just to keep the tales alive. More often people would memorize what they thought was most important and fill in the rest as best they could. When the storyteller died, so did the myth (or at least, their version of it).

The result is that most of the worlds myths are lost forever. All we have are the ones that someone happened to write down. And we cant always be sure about those, either. Just because something is written doesnt make it right. Sometimes people make mistakes, or make things up. When there are enough sources, we can compare what they have in common and tease out the truth, but often we have to do our best with just one or two.

A Disclaimer

While this book tries to keep the tone light and upbeat, some of these myths contain violence and cruelty. If you run into any that offend you, it might help to remember that the original authors of these stories died centuries before anyone had ever heard of PG.

Legend

Throughout this book, you will see many different kinds of banners. Each banner represents a different culture.