 Spiral pictographs on thePhaistos Disc illustrate Bronze AgeCrete ritual storytelling | |
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| Purpose | Analyze recurring mythic motifs, narrative structures, and ritual linkages across cultures to map transmission, divergence, and shared human concerns. |
| Mythology |
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Comparative mythology studies myths from multiple cultures to identify recurring structures, symbols, and functions.[1] Scholars use cross-cultural parallels to trace the development ofreligions and societies, to reconstruct ancestral narratives, and to evaluate psychological interpretations of myth.[1][2] Comparative catalogs map recurring motifs such as world-egg cosmogonies, flood cataclysms, dying-and-reborn deities, and creative sacrifice narratives across disparate regional traditions.[3][4][5][6]
The field expanded during eighteenth and nineteenth century comparativism, though twentieth century researchers increasingly favored particularist critiques of sweeping generalizations, while contemporary work blends linguistic, historical, and structural approaches, includingE. J. Michael Witzel's efforts to model successive layers of global mythic traditions.[7][8][9]
Comparative cataloging shows that motifs spancreation narratives,flood cataclysms,hero quests,dying-and-rising gods,trickster bargains,shapeshifting culture heroes,initiatory underworld descents, andcosmic animal hunts that encode social law, subsistence practices, and astronomical observation across continents, allowing researchers to trace how ritual economies and storytelling networks moved together.[10][11]
AnthropologistC. Scott Littleton defined comparative mythology as "the systematic comparison of myths and mythic themes drawn from a wide variety of cultures".[1] By comparing different cultures' mythologies, scholars try to identify underlying similarities and/or to reconstruct a "protomythology" from which those mythologies developed.[1] To an extent, all theories about mythology follow a comparative approach—as scholar of religion Robert Segal notes, "by definition, all theorists seek similarities among myths".[12] However, scholars of mythology can be roughly divided into particularists, who emphasize the differences between myths, and comparativists, who emphasize the similarities. Particularists tend to "maintain that the similarities deciphered by comparativists are vague and superficial", while comparativists tend to "contend that the differences etched by particularists are trivial and incidental".[13]
Comparative approaches to mythology held great popularity among eighteenth- and nineteenth-century scholars. Many of these scholars believed that all myths showed signs of having evolved from a thought which interpreted nearly all myths as poetic descriptions of the sun's behavior. According to this theory, these poetic descriptions had become distorted over time into seemingly diverse stories about gods and heroes.[7] However, modern-day scholars lean more toward particularism, feeling suspicious of broad statements about myths.[8] A recent exception is the historical approach followed in E.J.Michael Witzel's reconstruction of many subsequent layers of older myths.[9][non-primary source needed]
Comparative mythologists come from various fields, includingfolklore,literature,history,linguistics, andreligious studies, and they have used a variety of methods to compare myths.
Some scholars look at the linguistic relationships between the myths of different cultures. For example, the similarities between the names of gods in different cultures. One particularly successful example of this approach is the study ofIndo-European mythology. Scholars have found striking similarities between the mythological and religious terms used in different cultures of Europe and India. For example, theGreek sky-godZeus Pater, the Roman sky-godJupiter, and the Indian (Vedic) sky-godDyauṣ Pitṛ have linguistically identical names.
This suggests that the Greeks, Romans, and Indians originated from a common ancestral culture, and that the namesZeus,Jupiter,Dyaus and the GermanicTiu (cf. English Tues-day) evolved from an older name,*Dyēus ph2ter, which referred to the sky-god or, to give an English cognate, thedivine father in aProto-Indo-European religion.[14] An approach which is both historical and comparative was recently proposed by E.J.Michael Witzel.[9] He compares collections of mythologies and reconstructs increasingly older levels, parallel to but not necessarily dependent on language families. The most prominent common feature is a storyline that extends from the creation of the world and of humans to their end. This feature is found in the northern mythologies of Eurasia and the Americas ("Laurasia") while it is missing in the southern mythologies of Subsaharan Africa, New Guinea and Australia ("Gondwanaland").
Mythological phylogenies also are a potentially powerful way to test hypotheses about cross-cultural relationships amongfolktales.[15]
Some scholars look for underlying structures shared by different myths. The folkloristVladimir Propp proposed that manyRussianfairy tales have a common plot structure, in which certain events happen in a predictable order.[16] In contrast, the anthropologistClaude Lévi-Strauss examined the structure of a myth in terms of the abstract relationships between its elements, rather than their order in the plot. In particular, Lévi-Strauss believed that the elements of a myth could be organized into binary oppositions (raw vs. cooked, nature vs. culture, etc.). He thought that the myth's purpose was to "mediate" these oppositions, thereby resolving basic tensions or contradictions found in human life or culture.[17]
Comparativists use theRank-Raglan mythotype to integrateOtto Rank's psychoanalytic sequence of royal birth, threatened infancy, rescue, and recognition withLord Raglan's twenty-two trait ritual pattern, producing a checklist that tracks a hero from ominous conception to extraordinary death across traditions.[18][19][20] Scholars score figures such asOedipus,Romulus,Moses,Jesus, andKing Arthur against the combined pattern to chart recurring narrative incidents and to evaluate how far biographies align with mythic motifs.[21][22]
Robert A. Segal's anthologyIn Quest of the Hero circulated Rank's analysis, Raglan's scale, andAlan Dundes's folkloristic update together, making the framework a standard teaching tool in comparative hero studies.[20] Alan Dundes operationalized the checklist to frame biblical and classical narratives as traditional schema rather than precise biographies, asserting that higher scores signal mythic elaboration.[21] Subsequent comparativists such asN. J. Allen,Michael Witzel,Robert M. Price, andRichard Carrier reworked the sequence for structural anthropology, global macro traditions, and historicity debates about Jesus.[23][24][25][26]
Some scholars propose that myths from different cultures reveal the same, or similar, psychoanalytic forces at work in those cultures. SomeFreudian thinkers have identified stories similar to the Greek story ofOedipus in many different cultures. They argue that these stories reflect the different expressions of theOedipus complex in those cultures.[27] Likewise,Jungians have identified images, themes, and patterns that appear in the myths of many different cultures. They believe that these similarities result fromarchetypes present in theunconscious levels of every person's mind.[28]
A creation myth (or cosmogonic myth) is a symbolic narrative of how the world began and how people first came to inhabit it. While in popular usage the term myth often refers to false or fanciful stories, members of cultures often ascribe varying degrees of truth to their creation myths. In the society in which it is told, a creation myth is usually regarded as conveying profound truths – metaphorically, symbolically, historically, or literally. They are commonly, although not always, considered cosmogonical myths – that is, they describe the ordering of the cosmos from a state of chaos or amorphousness.
Creation myths often share a number of features. They often are considered sacred accounts and can be found in nearly all known religious traditions. They are all stories with a plot and characters who are either deities, human-like figures, or animals, who often speak and transform easily. They are often set in a dim and nonspecific past that historian of religion Mircea Eliade termed in illo tempore ('at that time'). Creation myths address questions deeply meaningful to the society that shares them, revealing their central worldview and the framework for the self-identity of the culture and individual in a universal context.
Creation myths develop in oral traditions and therefore typically have multiple versions; found throughout human culture, they are the most common form of myth.
The cosmic egg is a mythological motif found in thecosmogonies of many cultures and civilizations, including inProto-Indo-European mythology.[3] Typically, there is an egg which, upon "hatching", either gives rise to the universe itself or gives rise to a primordial being who, in turn, creates the universe. The egg is sometimes lain on theprimordial waters of the Earth.[29] Typically, the upper half of the egg, or its outer shell, becomes theheaven (firmament) and the lower half, or the inner yolk, becomes the Earth.[30] The motif likely stems from simple elements of an egg, including its ability to offer nourishment and give rise to new life, as is reflected by theLatin proverbomne vivum ex ovo ('all life comes from an egg').[31]
Chaos (Ancient Greek: χάος, romanized: kháos) (aka Primordial Chaos, Primordial Void) is the mythological void state preceding the creation of the universe (the cosmos) in Greek creation myths. In Christian theology, the same term is used to refer to the gap or the abyss created by the separation of heaven and earth. In Norse mythology, Ginnungagap (old Norse: [ˈɡinːoŋɡɑˌɡɑp]; "gaping abyss", "yawning void") is the primordial void mentioned in the Gylfaginning, the Eddaic text recording Norse cosmogony. In Chinese mythology, the state of existence before the creation of the universe is often referred to asHundun (混沌), which translates to "primordial chaos" - essentially a formless, undifferentiated state where everything was mixed together before the creation deity,Pangu, separated heaven and earth.
The creation of man from clay is a theme that recurs throughout numerous world religions and mythologies.
In theEpic of Gilgamesh,Enkidu is created by the goddessAruru out ofclay. In Greek mythology,Prometheus molded men out of water and earth. Per theHebrew Bible, (Genesis 2:7) "And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul". InHindu mythology, the mother ofGanesh,Parvati, made Ganesh from her skin. InChinese mythology (seeChu Ci andImperial Readings of the Taiping Era),Nüwa molded figures from the yellow earth, giving them life and the ability to bear children.
A protoplast, from ancient Greek πρωτόπλαστος (prōtóplastos, "first-formed"), in a religious context initially referred to the first human or, more generally, to the first organized body of progenitors of mankind in a creation myth.
Numerous examples exist throughout history of a human couple being the progenitors of the entire human species. This would include, but not limited toAdam and Eve ofAbrahamism,Ask and Embla of Norse mythology, andFuxi andNüwa from Chinese mythos.
In Hindu mythology,Manu refers to the archetypal man. In Sanskrit the term for 'human', मानव (IAST: mānava) means 'of Manu' or 'children of Manu'. The Manusmriti is an ancient legal text and constitution among the manyDharmaśāstras ofHinduism and is believed to be a discourse given by Manu.
The theft of fire for the benefit of humanity is a theme that recurs in many world mythologies. A few examples include: in Greek mythology, according to Hesiod, the TitanPrometheus steals the heavenly fire for humanity, enabling the progress of civilization. In theBook of Enoch, the fallen angels andAzazel teach early humanity use of tools and fire. Per theancient Indian collection ofVedic Sanskrit hymns, theRigveda (3:9.5), speaks of a heroMātariśvan who recovered fire which had been hidden from humanity.
Cultures around the world tell stories about a great flood.[32] In many cases, the flood leaves only one survivor or group of survivors. For example, both the BabylonianEpic of Gilgamesh and theHebrew Bible tell of aglobal flood that wiped out humanity and of a man who saved the Earth's species by taking them aboard a boat.[33] Similar stories of a single flood survivor appear inHindu mythology where Manu saves the Earth from the deluge by building an ark[34] as well asGreek,Norse mythology,Inca mythology andAztec mythology.[35] The flood narratives, spanning across different traditions such asMesopotamian,Hebrew,Islamic, andHindu, reveal striking similarities in their core elements, including divine warnings, ark construction, and the preservation of righteousness, highlighting the universal themes that thread through diverse religious beliefs.[4]
Many myths feature a god who dies and who often returns to life.[5][36] Such myths are particularly common inNear Eastern mythologies.[37] The anthropologistSir James Frazer compared these dying god myths in his multi-volume workThe Golden Bough. TheEgyptian godOsiris and theMesopotamian godTammuz are examples of the dying god, while the Greek myths ofAdonis (though a mortal) has often been compared to Osiris and the myths ofZagreus andDionysos also feature both death and rebirth.[5] Some scholars have noted similarities between polytheistic stories of dying gods and theChristian story ofJesus of Nazareth.[38]
Many cultures have stories about divine figures whose death creates an essential part of reality.[6][39] These myths seem especially common among cultures that grow crops, particularlytubers.[40] One such myth from theWemale people ofSeram Island,Indonesia, tells of a miraculously conceived girl namedHainuwele, whose murdered corpse sprouts into the people's staple food crops.[41] TheChinese myth ofPangu,[42] theIndianVedic myth ofPurusha,[43] and theNorse myth ofYmir all tell of a cosmic giant who is killed to create the world.[6]
Many mythological beliefs mention a place that sits at the center of the world and acts as a point of contact between different levels of the universe.[44] Thisaxis mundi is often marked by asacred tree or other mythical object. For example, many myths describe a great tree or pillar joining heaven, earth, and the underworld.[45]VedicIndia, ancientChina,Mayans,Incas and theGermanic peoples all had myths featuring a Cosmic Tree whose branches reach heaven and whose roots reach hell.[46] Theancient Greeks believed in the centre of the universe -Delphi, where a prophetic oracle lived. The story goes thatZeus, king of gods released two birds in opposite directions to fly around the world. The place they met was Delphi.
Many cultures believe in a celestialsupreme being who has cut off contact with humanity. HistorianMircea Eliade calls this supreme being adeus otiosus (an "idle god"),[47] although this term is also used more broadly, to refer to any god who does not interact regularly with humans. In many myths, the Supreme Being withdraws into the heavens after the creation of the world.[48]Baluba mythology features such a story, in which the supreme god withdraws from the earth, leaving man to search for him.[49] Similarly, the mythology of theHereros tells of a sky god who has abandoned mankind to lesser divinities.[50] In the mythologies of highly complex cultures, the supreme being tends to disappear completely, replaced by a strongpolytheistic belief system.[51] In Greek mythology, "Chaos", the creator of the universe, disappears after creating primordial deities such asGaea (Earth),Uranus (Sky),Pontus (Water) andTartarus (Hell), among others.
Many cultures have acreation myth in which a group of younger, more civilized gods conquers and/or struggles against a group of older gods.
InHindu mythology, the youngerdevas (gods) battle the olderasuras (demons).[52]
In theGreek myth of theTitanomachy, theOlympian gods defeat theTitans, an older and more primitive divine race, and establish cosmic order.[52][53]
InNorse mythology, theAesir andVanir are two distinct groups of gods who initially waged a war against each other, but eventually reconciled and formed a united pantheon
In various mythologies, a group of "anti-gods" or adversarial beings oppose the main pantheon of gods, They embody chaos, destruction, or primal forces and are often considered demons or evil gods/divinities due to their opposition to divine order, symbolizing a struggle between cosmic order and chaos, good and evil.[54][55]
In particular, TheGigantomachy is a motif found inGreek mythology where theOlympian gods battle the Giants, often depicted as a cataclysmic struggle between order and chaos. This motif has parallels in various mythologies, especially within theIndo-European mythology family. Unlike the typical English notion of giants as gigantic humans, "giants" in Greek mythology are not merely oversized humanoid figures but monstrous beings embodying chaos and disorder. Giants are usually depicted as beings with human appearance, but of prodigious size (though not always so) and great strength common in the mythology and legends of many different cultures.
In various Indo-European mythologies, a group of anti-gods are usually featured as primeval, even malevolent beings associated with chaos, evil, and the wild nature. These are frequently portrayed as enemies of the gods, be they Greek (Giants), Celtic (Fomorians), Hindu (Asuras), Norse (Jötnar) or Persian (Daevas).[56][57]
TheMesopotamian myth ofThe Enuma Elish describes the conflict between the gods led byMarduk and the chaotic sea goddessTiamat, who is often represented with monstrous forms. InEgyptian mythology,Ra's nightly journey through the underworld involves a fierce struggle againstApep, the serpent of chaos, whose attempts to devour the sun god represent the ongoing battle between order and disorder.
Giants also often play similar roles in the mythologies and folklore of other, non Indo-European peoples, such as in theNartian traditions, along with theQuinametzin ofAztec mythology.
InChinese mythology, theBattle of Zhuolu was a decisive clash between theYellow Emperor Huangdi and the tribal leaderChiyou, usually considered a demon god, marking the establishment of a unified Chinese state.
InJapanese mythology, the conflict between gods and evil forces is highlighted byIzanagi’s struggle against the malevolent goddessIzanami in theunderworld, culminating in his escape and the birth ofAmaterasu, the sun goddess, who symbolizes the restoration of cosmic order.
InAbrahamic traditions, theWar in Heaven refers to the celestial conflict described in Christian and Islamic texts, where thearchangel Michael leads the faithful angels in a rebellion againstSatan and his followers, who sought to overthrow God's divine authority. This epic battle, depicted inRevelation 12:7-9 and alluded to inIslamic tradition, results in the expulsion of Satan and his demons fromHeaven, reinforcing the ultimate triumph of divine order over chaos and evil.
There are also accounts of giants in the Hebrew Bible. Some of these are calledNephilim, a word often translated as giant although this translation is not universally accepted. They includeOg King of Bashan, the Nephilim, the Anakim, and the giants of Egypt mentioned in 1 Chronicles 11:23. The first mention of the Nephilim is found in Genesis 6:4; attributed to them are extraordinary strength and physical proportions. Further,Goliath was a Philistine giant in theBook of Samuel. Descriptions of Goliath's immense stature vary among biblical sources, with various texts describing him as either 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) or 9 ft 9 in (2.97 m) tall.
Usually large to gigantic, serpent-like legendary creatures that appear in the folklore of many cultures around the world. Beliefs about dragons vary drastically by region, but dragons in western cultures since the High Middle Ages have often been depicted as winged, horned, four-legged, and capable of breathing fire, whereas dragons in eastern cultures are usually depicted as wingless, four-legged, serpentine creatures with above-average intelligence.
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Myths
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One on one epic battles between these beasts are noted throughout many cultures. Typically they consist of a hero or god battling a single topolycephalic dragon. The motif ofChaoskampf (German:[ˈkaːɔsˌkampf];lit. 'struggle against chaos') is ubiquitous in myth and legend, depicting a battle of a culture hero deity with a chaos monster, often in the shape of asea serpent or dragon. A few notable examples include:Zeus vs.Typhon andHercules vs. theLernaean Hydra, both of which are from Greek mythology,Thor vs.Jörmungandr of Norse mythology,Indra vs.Vritra of Indian mythology,Ra vs.Apep of Egyptian mythology,Yahweh vs.Leviathan ofJudeo-Christian mythology, andYu the Great vs.Xiangliu of Chinese mythology. Many other examples exist worldwide.
Originating in ancient Egyptian iconography, theOuroboros or uroborus is an ancient symbol depicting a serpent or dragon eating its own tail. The Ouroboros entered western tradition via Greek magical tradition.
In Norse mythology, the Ouroboros appears as the serpentJörmungandr, one of the three children of Loki and Angrboda, which grew so large that it could encircle the world and grasp its tail in its teeth.
In the Aitareya Brahmana, a Vedic text of the early 1st millennium BCE, the nature of the Vedic rituals is compared to "a snake biting its own tail."
It is a common belief among indigenous people of the tropical lowlands of South America that waters at the edge of the world-disc are encircled by a snake, often an anaconda, biting its own tail.
Many cultures have myths describing the origin of their customs, rituals, andidentity. In fact, ancient and traditional societies have often justified their customs by claiming that their gods or mythical heroes established those customs.[58][59] For example, according to the myths of theAustralianKarajarri, the mythicalBagadjimbiri brothers established all of the Karadjeri's customs, including the position in which they stand while urinating.[60] In theOld Testament, the Israelites have afounding myth of their ancestors escaping enslavement from Egypt.
Hero myths are stories of legendary figures who embody cultural values and perform extraordinary feats. These narratives appear across cultures worldwide and often follow similar patterns, featuring protagonists who overcome great challenges through courage, cunning, or divine assistance.[61]
Hero myths appear across many cultures, from Mesopotamian rulers likeSargon of Akkad and Persian leaders likeCyrus the Great, to Greco-Roman heroes such asPerseus andHercules, and Germanic figures likeSiegfried.[62] The Rank-Raglan mythotype framework later revealed common patterns in how these diverse cultures told their heroes' life stories.[63]
Heroes in mythology typically fall into several categories: culture heroes who bring civilization and knowledge (likePrometheus), warrior heroes who defeat monsters (such asPerseus), tragic heroes whose fatal flaws lead to their downfall (likeAchilles), and divine or semi-divine heroes born of the union between gods and mortals (such asHeracles).[64]
Common themes in hero myths include:
These mythological heroes often serve as role models, embodying the highest virtues and ideals of their respective cultures. Their stories frequently contain moral lessons and reflect the values, fears, and aspirations of the societies that created them.[65]
Folklorists such asAntti Aarne (Aarne-Thompson classification systems),Joseph Campbell (monomyth) andGeorges Polti (The Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations) have created structured reference systems to identify connections between myths from different cultures and regions. Some comparative mythologists look for similarities only among hero stories within a specific geographical or ethnic range. For example, theAustrian scholarJohann Georg von Hahn tried to identify a common structure underlyingAryan hero stories.[66]
Human cannibalism features in the myths, folklore, and legends of many cultures and is most often attributed to evil characters or as extreme retribution for some wrongdoing. Examples includeLamia of Greek mythology, a woman who became a child-eating monster after her children were destroyed by Hera, upon learning of her husband Zeus' trysts. InZuni mythology and religion,Átahsaia is a giant cannibalistic demon, feeding on fellow demons and humans alike. He is depicted as having unblinking bulging eyes, long talons, and yellow tusks that protruded past his lips.The myth of Baxbaxwalanuksiwe, in Hamatsa society of theKwakwaka'wakw indigenous tribe, tells of a man-eating giant, who lives in a strange house with red smoke emanating from its roof.
Most human civilizations - India, China, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Maya, and Inca, among others - based their culture on complex systems ofastrology, which provided a link between the cosmos with the conditions and events on earth. For these, the astrological practice was not mere divination because it also served as the foundation for their spiritual culture and knowledge-systems used for practical purposes such as the calendar (see Mesoamerican calendric shamans) and medicine (e.g.I Ching).
Closely tying in with Astrology, variouszodiac systems andconstellations have existed since antiquity. For the zodiac, theMazzaroth,Chinese Zodiac,Hindu Zodiac andDendera zodiac (Egyptian) are examples. The origins of the earliest constellations likely go back to prehistory. People used them to relate stories of their beliefs, experiences, creation, or mythology. Different cultures and countries adopted their own constellations, some of which lasted into the early 20th century before today's constellations were internationally recognized.
The concept of an otherworld in historical Indo-European religion is reconstructed in comparative mythology. Its name is a calque of orbis alius (Latin for "other Earth/world"), a term used by Lucan in his description of the Celtic Otherworld.
Comparable religious, mythological or metaphysical concepts, such as a realm of supernatural beings and arealm of the dead, are found in cultures throughout the world. Spirits are thought to travel between worlds, or layers of existence in such traditions, usually along an axis such as a giant tree, a tent pole, a river, a rope or mountains. In Greek mythology, after death, people either go to Tartarus orElysium while the Norse believed in going to either Valhalla,Folkvangr, orHelheim.
The underworld is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld.
The concept of an underworld is found in almost every civilization and "may be as old as humanity itself". Common features of underworld myths are accounts of living people making journeys to the underworld, often for some heroic purpose. Other myths reinforce traditions that entrance of souls to the underworld requires a proper observation of ceremony, such as the ancient Greek story of the recently dead Patroclus haunting Achilles until his body could be properly buried for this purpose. Persons having social status were dressed and equipped in order to better navigate the underworld.
Inesoteric cosmology, a plane is conceived as a subtle state, level, or region of reality, each plane corresponding to some type, kind, or category of being. Also known as a plane or realm of existence.
The concept may be found in religious and esoteric teachings—e.g. Vedanta (Advaita Vedanta), Ayyavazhi, shamanism, Hermeticism, Neoplatonism, Gnosticism, Kashmir Shaivism, Sant Mat/Surat Shabd Yoga, Sufism, Druze, Kabbalah, Theosophy, Anthroposophy, Rosicrucianism (Esoteric Christian), Eckankar, Ascended Master Teachings, etc.—which propound the idea of a whole series of subtle planes or worlds or dimensions which, from a center, interpenetrate themselves and the physical planet in which we live, the solar systems, and all the physical structures of the universe. This interpenetration of planes culminates in the universe itself as a physical structured, dynamic and evolutive expression emanated through a series of steadily denser stages, becoming progressively more material and embodied.
Norse cosmology encompasses concepts fromNorse mythology, such as notions oftime and space,cosmogony,personifications,anthropogeny, andeschatology. Topics include Yggdrasil, an immense and central sacred tree along with thenine worlds, includingAsgard,Jötunheimr andMidgard to name a few.
Thehappy hunting ground is a concept of theafterlife associated withNative Americans in theUnited States.[1] The phrase possibly originated withAnglo-Saxon settlers interpretation of their respective description.
In numerous mythologies and religions, and thus tying within the Orbis Alius motif proper is the concept of an afterlife, wherein a purported existence by which the essential part of an individual's identity or theirstream of consciousness continues to exist after thedeath of their physical body.
Many myths mention an "End of the world (civilization)" event, wherein a final battle between good and evil takes place to create a new world, and/or a total cataclysmic event will usher an end to humanity (seeExtinction event, aka ELE).Ragnarök shows the end of the world inNorse mythology. InHindu mythology, the end of theKali yug predicts the end of the world when the final avatar of Vishnu comes to cleanse the Earth.Armageddon, the site of the final battle as accorded by the Book of Revelation.
The2012 phenomenon was a range of eschatological beliefs that cataclysmic or transformative events would occur on or around 21 December 2012, pursuant to the end-date of a 5,126-year-long cycle in theMesoamerican Long Count calendar (aka Mayan calendar).
Specific motifs:
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)Journals about comparative mythology:
