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Why did Odysseus pretend to be Helen's suitor if he wanted to win Penelope?
An important point in the story of the Iliad is that Odysseus (hoping to win the hand of Penelope, King Tyndareus niece), proposes an "Oath of Tyndareus", which binds all the suitors of Helen to join one another if one of the suitors abducts her…
DVK
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Who were the twelve princes of Gaul?
In Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae, Brutus wanders about western Europe, stopping in, amongst other places, Aquitane and Gaul. He vanquished Goffarius, king of the Pictavians at Aquitane, with the help of Corineus, the leader of the…
HDE 226868
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13
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Bendigeidfran's head was one of the Three Fortunate concealments; what are the other two?
Bendigeidfran's head was one of the Three Fortunate concealments (emphasis mine):
'Shame on my beard,' said he 'if I don't open the door and find out whether it is true what is said about it. [So] he opened the door, and looked out to Cornwall and…
yannis
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Juno and one of the Fabian laws
In Robert Graves' translation of Apuleius's The Golden Ass, when Psyche asks Juno for help, Juno says she can't help because of one of the Fabian laws.
What is a Fabian law?
codroe
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13
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1 answer
What happened to the flamines minores?
From the early Roman kings on*, fifteen gods were each given an officially appointed priest, the flamen, to take care of its cult in Rome.
The three main priests (flamines maiores) were in charge of the cult of Jupiter, Mars and Quirinus, while 12…
plannapus
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13
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Why isn't Loeg disabled by Macha's curse?
In the Táin Bó Cúailnge, the men of Ulster are disabled by a curse placed upon them by Macha to feel her labor pains in their hour of greatest need, thus disabling them when the army of Connacht attacks.
Cúchulainn is immune to this curse. As I…
femtoRgon
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13
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Why did the Lli and Archen rivers flood, separating Ireland and Britain?
In the second branch of the Mabinogion, King Bendigeidfran and his men travel from Britain ("the Island of the Mighty", or Ynys Y Kedeirn), intent on avenging the punishment of his sister, Branwen, at the hands of the Irish (which takes place…
HDE 226868
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2 answers
Metis' unborn son
In the myth of Athena's birth it is mentioned that Metis' second child would overthrow Zeus. When Zeus swallowed Metis, he prevented the prophecy's fulfillment and Metis never had a son. But what if her son would have been born? Is there any…
Lymaba
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Why doesn't Mukiti want Mwindo to visit his aunt?
In the african folklore epic Muwindo, Muwindo goes to see his aunt Iyangura after his father attempts to murder him. However, the husband of Iyangury, Mukiti, does not want Muwindo to do so and blocks Muwindo's way to his aunt.
"Mukiti refused to…
user62
13
votes
4 answers
What kind of dog breed would Cerberus be?
There are countless depictions of Cerberus with various number of heads or additional parts such as snake heads or tails. Some even say that Cerberus did not refer to a dog or hound at all, but rather a snake.
The most iconic modern interpretation…
Diglett Dig
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13
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3 answers
What are the origins of the snowman?
In many countries where snow falls there is a folk tradition of building snowmen. Almost always male, these temporary statues are usually human in scale, standing 0.5 to 2 metres tall, and made from a base of two or three large rolled-up snowballs.…
user1618
13
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2 answers
Was the moon god Libulan resurrected?
Libulan is a moon God of the Visayan pantheon. His story is roughly something like this:
Kaptan is said to be the father of Lihangin, the god of the wind, while Magwayen sired the goddess of the sea, Lidagat.
With the permission of their…
user1385
13
votes
2 answers
Are Noah and Ziusudra the same person?
There are similarities between the stories of Noah from the Bible and Ziusudra hero of the Sumerian flood epic.
Both stories describe a flood myth.
Based on what kind of information/similarities we can say that both stories describe the same flood…
kenorb
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Are there any elf like creatures in non-European folklore?
I know that the elves didn't survive the transatlantic crossing but are there any stories of elves or similar creatures in other world mythologies?
Jordan Williams
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6 answers
Cows adapted to life on a steep hillside
I'm trying to remember the details of a legend I read years ago - and I don't even remember which body of folklore it came from - about a hero with a herd of cows, all of whom had legs on one side longer than the other so that they could graze on…
MT_Head
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