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This is alist of mythological places which appear in mythological tales, folklore, and varying religious texts.
Name | Description |
---|---|
Aaru | The heavenlyparadise often referred to as the Field Of Reeds, is an underworld realm whereOsiris rules in ancientEgyptian mythology. |
Akhet | AnEgyptianhieroglyph that represents the sun rising over a mountain. It is translated as "horizon" or "the place in the sky where the sun rises".[1] |
Benben | The mound that arose from the primordial watersNu upon which thecreator deityAtum settled in thecreation myth of theHeliopolitan form ofancient Egyptian religion. |
Duat | The Underworld and abode of the dead inAncient Egyptian religion. |
The Indestructibles | Two bright stars which, at that time, could always be seen circling theNorth Pole by ancient Egyptian astronomers.[2] |
Land of Manu | Western abode of the sun godRa.[3] |
Nun | The primordial waters from which theBenben arose at the beginning of the universe, also considered to be a god Nu. |
Name | Description |
---|---|
Arcadia | A vision of pastoralism and harmony with nature, derived from the Greek province Arkadia which dates to antiquity. |
Asphodel Meadows | The section of the underworld where ordinary souls were sent to live after death. |
Atlantis | The legendary (and almost archetypal) lost continent that was supposed to have sunk into theAtlantic Ocean. |
Cloud cuckoo land | A perfect city between the clouds in the playThe Birds byAristophanes. |
Chryse and Argyre | A pair of legendary islands, located in theIndian Ocean and said to be made of gold (chrysos) and silver (argyros). |
Elysium (Elysian Fields) | InGreek mythology, the final resting place of the souls of the heroic and the virtuous. |
Fortunate Isles (Islands of the Blessed) | Islands in theAtlantic Ocean, variously treated as a simple geographical location and as a winterless earthly paradise inhabited by the heroes ofGreek mythology. |
Garden of the Hesperides | The sacred garden of Hera from where the gods got their immortality. |
Hyperborea | Home of the Hyperboreans in the far north of Greece or southern Europe. |
Laistrygon | Home to a tribe of giant cannibals that Odysseus encountered on his way back home from theTrojan War. |
Meropis | A gigantic island created purely as a parody ofPlato'sAtlantis. |
Mount Olympus | "Olympos" was the name of the home of theTwelve Olympian gods of the ancient Greek world.[4] |
Nysa | A beautiful valley full ofnymphs. |
Okeanos | The cosmic river encircling the Earth in Ancient Greek cosmology, also sometimes depicted as one of the Titan gods. |
Panchaia (Pangaia) | A group of islands South of the Arabian peninsula inhabited by several tribes and rich with scented oils. Assumed by some to be the birthplace of the Olympian gods. |
Tartaros | A pit in the underworld for condemned souls. |
Themiskyra | The capital city of theAmazons inGreek mythology. |
The Underworld | Comprising the realms of The Elysium Fields, The Asphodel Meadows and Tartarus. |
Name | Description |
---|---|
Alfheim | The Land of elves inNorse mythology. |
Asgard | The high placed city of the gods, built byOdin, chief god of the Norse pantheon. |
Biarmaland | A geographical area around theWhite Sea in the northern part of (European)Russia, referred to inNorse sagas. |
Fositesland | The kingdom ofForseti, thegod of Justice. |
Gjöll | A river that separates the living from the dead inNorse mythology. |
Hel (heimr) | The underworld in Norse mythology. |
Hvergelmir | A major spring inNorse mythology. |
Jotunheim | Land of the giants in Norse mythology.[5] |
Kvenland | A geographical area referred to in several medieval texts as well as in Norse sagas. The exact location of Kvenland is unknown, though, with several competing theories placing it in either the northern part of theScandinavian Peninsula or the southwestern part of what is nowFinland. |
Mímisbrunnr | A well associated with the beingMímir, located beneath the world treeYggdrasil. |
Muspelheim | Land of fire in Norse mythology. |
Niflheim | World of cold in Norse mythology. |
Niflhel | Cold underworld in Norse mythology. |
Norumbega | A legendary settlement in northeasternNorth America, connected with attempts to demonstrateViking incursions in New England. |
Svartálfaheimr | The land of theDark Elves inNorse mythology. |
Urðarbrunnr | A well inNorse mythology. |
Valhalla | (from Old Norse Valhöll "hall of the slain") is a majestic, enormous hall located in Asgard, ruled over by the god Odin. |
Vanaheimr | The Land of theVanir, another tribe of gods, according toNorse legends. |
Yggdrasil | An immense and centralsacred tree inNorse cosmology. |
Name | Description |
---|---|
Rarohenga | AMāori spirit world for those who favorPapatūānuku The Earth Mother. |
Toi O Nga Rangi | The Māori spirit world for those who favorRanginui The Sky Father. Sometimes known as the Sky World or the Summit Of The Heavens |
Ao | ThePolynesian realm of light. |
Te Po | Polynesian realm of darkness and ancestors. |
Hawaiki | A mostly universal belief amongOceanian cultures of a realm where all Polynesians descend, particularly theMāori. Not to be confused with the Islands ofHawaii. |
Cape Reinga/Te Rerenga Wairua | Believed by Māori to be the place where spirits are required to journey through to reach the afterlife. |
Name | Description |
---|---|
Agartha | A legendary city located at the earth's core. |
Amaravati | Capital ofSvarga, the abode of the devas, ruled byIndra.[6] |
Ayotha Amirtha Gangai | An important river inAyyavazhi mythology. |
Brahmaloka | The abode ofBrahma, theHindu god of creation. |
Himavanta | A legendary forest that locates at the hill of theHimalayas. |
Jambudvīpa | Name for the terrestrial universe in Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain traditions. |
Kailasha | The celestial abode ofShiva. |
Ketumati | Apure land belonging toMaitreya withinBuddhism.[7] |
Kshira Sagara | A divine ocean of milk in Hindu mythology. |
Manidvipa | The abode of the supreme goddess in Hinduism. |
Mayasabha | A legendary palace located inIndraprastha, as described inMahabharata |
Mount Mandara | A sacred mountain mentioned in thePuranas. |
Mount Meru | The sacred five-peaked mountain of Hindu, Jain, and Buddhist cosmology. It is considered to be the center of all the physical, metaphysical, and spiritual universes. |
Naraka | A realm resembling Hell inIndian religions where souls are temporarily punished beforereincarnation. |
Nirvana | The ultimate state of soteriological release (liberation from repeated rebirth) commonly associated with Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism. |
Patala | The netherworld of Indian religions. |
Pialral | A heaven for great achievers of theMizo Tribes ofNortheast India. |
Samavasarana | Meeting place of thetirthankaras inJainism. |
Sanzu River | A mythological river inJapanese Buddhism. |
Shakadvipa | A land mass west of theUral Mountains inHindu mythology. |
Shambhala | InTibetan Buddhist tradition, a kingdom hidden somewhere in theHimalayas;Theosophists regard it as the home on theetheric plane of the governingdeity of the earth,Sanat Kumara. |
Siddhashila | The place where souls who have escaped the cycle ofreincarnation and attainedmoksha go according to the cosmology ofJainism. |
Svarga | The abode of the devas in Hinduism. |
Tripura | three cities or fortresses, is described in Hindu mythology as being constructed by the great Asura architect Mayasura |
Thuvaraiyam Pathi | InAyyavazhi mythology, it was a sunken island some 240 km (150 miles) off the south coast ofIndia. |
Trāyastriṃśa | An important world of thedevas in theBuddhist cosmology. |
Urdhvaloka | Seven upper worlds mentioned in the Puranas. |
Uttarakuru | Name of a continent (dvipa) in Indian religions. |
Vaikuntha | The celestial abode ofVishnu.[8] |
Vaitarani | River situated in hell mentioned in theGaruda Purana and various otherHindu religious texts. |
Name | Description |
---|---|
Diyu | The realm of the dead orHell inChinese mythology. |
Eight Pillars | A concept fromChinese mythology located in the eight cardinal directions, they are a group of eight mountains or pillars which have been thought to hold up the sky. |
Feather Mountain | One of many important mythological mountains inChinese mythology, particularly associated with theGreat Flood. |
Fusang | A mysterious land to the east in Chinese legends. |
Jade Mountain | A mythological mountain inChinese mythology and the residence ofThe Queen Mother of the West.[9] |
Kunlun Mountain | A place where immortals lived according to Chinese mythology. |
Longmen | A legendary waterfall in Chinese mythology. |
Mount Buzhou | An ancientChinese mythological mountain which, according to old texts, lay to the northwest of theKunlun Mountains, in a location today referred to as thePamir Mountains. |
Mount Penglai | A legendary mountain in Chinese mythology, said to be situated on an island in the Bohai sea, home to Taoist immortals. |
Moving Sands | One of the obstacles the fictional version of the monkXuanzang and companions must cross over on their mission to fetch the Buddhist scriptures from India and return them to Tang China. |
Red River | One of the mythological rivers said to flow fromKunlun, a mythological land, with mountainous features. |
Shangri-La | A mystical, harmonious valley enclosed in the western end of theKunlun Mountains, described in the 1933 novelLost Horizon by English authorJames Hilton. |
Weak River | One of the mythological rivers flowing nearKunlun, home of a Western Paradise. |
Shangdu (Xanadu) | The summer capital ofKublai Khan's Yuan empire became a mythological place and a metaphor for splendor and opulence, popularised by the 1816 poemKubla Khan bySamuel Taylor Coleridge. |
Name | Description |
---|---|
Antillia | An island from an old Iberian legend set during the Muslim conquest of Hispania. The legend says that during this time seven Christian Visigothic bishops, who were fleeing Muslim Conquerors, embarked with their flocks on ships and set sail westwards into the Atlantic Ocean, leading them to an island (Antillia or Isle Of Seven Cities) where they founded seven settlements. |
As-Sirāt | The bridge which every human must pass on theYawm al-Qiyamah ("Day of Resurrection") to enterParadise according toIslam. |
Barzakh | A place separating the living from thehereafter or a phase/"stage" between an individual's death and their resurrection in "the Hereafter".[10][11][12][13][14] |
Bethulia | A city whose deliverance byJudith, when besieged byHolofernes, forms the subject of theBook of Judith. |
Brig of Dread | A bridge toPurgatory that a deadsoul had to cross. |
Garden of Eden | A paradise where humans were first created according toAbrahamic religions and resided until cast out for disobeying God. |
Gog and Magog | Are mentioned in theBible and theQuran both as tribes and as their land. |
Heaven | InAbrahamic religions, the paradise where good people who have died continue to exist. |
Hell | In someAbrahamic religions, a realm in the afterlife in which evil souls are punished after death. |
Hitfun | A great dividing river separating theWorld of Darkness from theWorld of Light inMandaean cosmology.[15] |
Iram of the Pillars | Thelost city mentioned in theQuran. |
Jabulqa and Jabulsa | Two cities mentioned inShi'ihadith. |
Kingdom ofPrester John | Legendary powerful Christian nation just beyond the Muslim world in medieval romantic literature, first located in South Asia, then Central Asia, then East Africa. |
Kolob | An astronomical body (star or planet) said to be near thethrone of God inMormon cosmology. |
Malakut | A proposed invisible realm, featuring inIslamic cosmology. |
Matarta | A "station" or "toll house" that is located between theWorld of Light (alma ḏ-nhūra) fromTibil (Earth) inMandaean cosmology. |
Mount of the Temptation | The legendary location ofJesus Christ'sTemptation, traditionally placed atJebel Quruntul or'Ushsh el-Ghurab nearJericho in theWest Bank |
Nbu | TheMandaic name for the planetMercury. |
Pandæmonium | The capital of Hell in John Milton'sParadise Lost. |
Piriawis | The sacred life-giving river (yardna) of theWorld of Light inMandaean cosmology. |
Pleroma | Abode of the holyaeons inGnosticism. |
Scholomance | A legendary school of black magic run by the Devil himself, located in Hermannstadt (now: Sibiu, Romania). Located in the mountains, south of the city Sibiu, near an unnamed lake. |
Siniawis | A region in theWorld of Darkness orunderworld.[16] |
Yardna | A body of flowingfresh water that is suitable for ritual use as baptismal water inMandaeism.[17] |
Zarahemla | A civilization which was constructed in the ancient Americas, according toMormon belief. |
Zerzura | Saharan city known as the "oasis of little birds" rumored to be full of treasure. |
Name | Description |
---|---|
Annwn | The "otherworld" ofWelsh mythology. |
Avalon | Legendary Island of Apples, believed by some to be the final resting place ofKing Arthur. |
Camelot | The city in which King Arthur reigned. |
Cantre'r Gwaelod | A legendary ancient sunken kingdom said to have occupied a tract of fertile land lying betweenRamsey Island andBardsey Island. |
Celliwig | The earliest named location for the court ofKing Arthur. |
Brasil orHy-Brasil | A mythical island to the west of Ireland. |
Dinas Affaraon/Ffaraon | Legendary home to a branch of theDruids called the Pheryllt, who worked as metallurgists and alchemists. Also known as “The City of Higher Powers,” or the “Ambrosial City”, its rumored location isSnowdonia and is said to be the originalplacename ofDinas Emrys. |
Emain Ablach | A mythical island paradise inIrish mythology. |
Fintan's Grave | A mythological cave on the Irish mountain (now hill)Tul Tuinde[18] |
Four Treasures of the Tuatha Dé Danann (Gorias, Finias, Murias, and Falias) | InIrish Mythology theTuatha Dé Danann get their four magical treasures from four legendary cities: Gorias in the east; Finias, in the south; Murias in the west; and Falias in the north. |
Lyonesse | A country inArthurian legend, which is said to borderCornwall inEngland. |
Mag Mell | A mythical underworld plain in Irish mythology, achievable only through death or glory. Meaning 'plains of joy', Mag Mell was a hedonistic and pleasurable paradise, usually associated with the sea. |
Rocabarraigh | Aphantom island inScottish Gaelic mythology. |
Tech Duinn | A mythological island to the west ofIreland where souls go after death. |
Tír fo Thuinn | ACeltic Otherworld inIrish mythology, a kingdom under the sea. |
Tír na nÓg | TheCeltic Otherworld inIrish mythology. |
Ys | A city located inBrittany,France that was supposedly built below sea level, and demolished when the Devil destroyed the dam protecting it. |
Name | Description |
---|---|
Abya Yala | "saved land", is the name used by the Guna people. |
Adiri | Afterlife inKiwai mythology.[19] |
Adlivun, Adliparmiut, and Qudlivun | Afterlives in CentralInuit mythology. Adlivun and Adliparmiut are described as lands of misery, whereas Qudlivun is a land of happiness.[20] |
Akilineq | Legendary location in Inuit mythology, believed to either be entirely mythical, or possiblyLabrador Peninsula,Baffin Island, or even Iceland. |
Alatyr | A sacred stone, the "father to all stones", the navel of the earth, containing sacred letters and endowed with healing properties inEast Slavic legends. |
Alomkik | A place accessible to theAbenaki peoples' mythological protectorPamola, where he holds those who trespass on Maine'sMount Katahdin. |
Altjira | A legendary era accessible during dreamtime in manyAustralian Aboriginal beliefs. |
al-Wakwak | Island of tree growing little children. |
Axis mundi | The center of the world or the connection betweenHeaven and Earth in various religions and mythologies. |
Aztlán | Legendary original homeland of the Mexica people in Mexica/Aztec mythology. |
Bald Mountain | A location in Slavicfolkmythology related towitchcraft. |
Baltia | An island of amber somewhere innorthern Europe. |
Biringan city | A mythical city that is said to invisibly lie betweenGandara,Tarangnan, andPagsanghan inSamar province of thePhilippines. Biringan means "the black city" or the city of the Unknown in Waray. |
Brittia | A mythical island off the coast ofAustrasia. |
Buyan | A mysterious island with the ability to appear and disappear using tides inRussian mythology. |
Chinvat Bridge | The siftingbridge,[21] which separates the world of the living from the world of the dead inZoroastrianism. |
City of the Caesars | A city between a mountain of gold and another of diamonds supposed to be situated inPatagonia. |
Cockaigne | In medieval mythology,[which?] it is a land of plenty where want does not exist. |
Domdaniel | Cavernous hall at the bottom of the ocean where evil magicians, spirits, and gnomes meet. |
El Dorado | Rumored city of gold inSouth America.[22] |
Empire of Kitara | Legendary ancient empire inWestern Region, Uganda |
Fountain of Youth | A place, detailed in many legends around the world, where one may drink of or bathe in its waters to restore their youth. |
Fiddler's Green | In 19th-century English maritime folklore, it was a kind of after-life for sailors who had served at least fifty years at sea. |
Hara Berezaiti | A legendary mountain around which the stars and planets revolve from the ancientZoroastrian scriptures of theAvesta. |
Hubur | ASumerian term meaning "river", "watercourse" or "netherworld". |
Irkalla | Theunderworld from which there is no return inBabylonian mythology. |
Kalunga line | A watery boundary between the world of the living and the dead in religious traditions of theCongo region. |
Karshvar | Legendary continents according toAvesta. |
Kingdom of Opona | A mythical kingdom inRussian folklore. |
Kingdom of Reynes | A country mentioned in theMiddle English romanceKing Horn. |
Kingdom of Saguenay | According to the French, anIroquoian story of a kingdom of blonde men rich in gold and fur that existed in northernCanada prior to French colonization. |
Kitezh | A legendary city beneath the waters ofLake Svetloyar. |
Kyöpelinvuori | (Finnish for ghosts' mountain), in Finnish mythology, is the place which dead women haunt. |
La Canela | Also known as the Valley of Cinnamon, is a legendary location in South America. |
La Ciudad Blanca | "The White city", a legendary city of Honduras. |
Lake Parime | An enormous lake in northeastern South America, supposedly the site ofEl Dorado. |
Land of Darkness | A mythical land supposedly enshrouded in perpetual darkness. |
Lemuria | A hypothetical "lost land" variously located in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. |
Lintukoto | In Finnish mythology, a paradise-like place where birds migrate every winter; because it was located near the edge of the sky dome, the sky was very close to the ground and therefore its inhabitants were dwarves. |
Lost City of Z | An indigenous city thatCol. Percy Harrison Fawcett believed had existed in the jungle of theMato Grosso state ofBrazil. |
Lukomorye | An ancient region in Russian lands. |
Mahoroba | A far-off land full of bliss and peace, similar toArcadia. |
Mictlan | The afterworld of theMexica. |
Mu | A hypothetical continent that allegedly disappeared at the dawn of human history. |
Nibiru | A mythological planet described by theBabylonians. |
Onigashima | A mythical island ofoni visited by the characterMomotarō inJapanese folklore. |
Paititi | A legendary Inca lost city or utopian rich land said to lie east of the Andes. |
Pohjola | The realm of Louhi inFinnish mythology, literally translated its name means "North". |
Quivira and Cíbola | Two of the legendarySeven Cities of Gold supposed by Spanishconquistadors to have existed in the Americas. |
Ryūgū-jō | The undersea palace of Ryūjin, the dragon kami of the sea. |
Section 37 | Paul Bunyan's legendary camp. So large that it took half a day to walk around, with the kitchen itself being two-mile (3.2 km) long with nine cooks and seventy-five flunkies in its early days.[23] |
Sierra de la Plata | (Spanish: Silver Mountains), was a legendary treasury of silver that was believed to be located in South America. |
Silat Bridge | TheSilat Bridge is a bridge inLalish, Iraq that leads to the most holyYazidi shrine inYazidism. |
Suddene | A country found in theMiddle English romanceKing Horn. |
Summerland | The name given byTheosophists,Wiccans and some earth-basedcontemporary pagan religions to their conceptualization of an (mostly pastoral)afterlife. |
Takama-ga-hara | The dwelling place of theShintokami. |
Thule | An island somewhere in the belt ofScandinavia, northernGreat Britain,Iceland, andGreenland. |
Vineta | A mythical city at the southern coast of theBaltic Sea. |
Vyraj | A mythical place inSlavic mythology, where "birds fly for the winter and souls go after death". |
Westernesse | A country found in theMiddle English romanceKing Horn. |
Xibalba | The underworld inMayan mythology. |
Yomi | The land of the dead according to Shinto mythology, as related in theKojiki. |
Yomotsu Hirasaka | A slope or boundary between this world, where the living live, and the other world, where the dead live (Yomi). |
Zabag | Former kingdom in Southeast Asia. |
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