Authors sometimes put deeper meanings into their stories, but really, it's the reader who decides.
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Articles on Mythology
Displaying 1 - 20 of 32 articles
An ad alluding to the vulva is sparking controversy, but there are few objections to phallic symbols. What explains this difference in treatment?
Our dreams of the afterlife need to challenge the idea that only the appearance of youth is worthy.
The Santa myth tells us more about adults than children.
Enheduanna's name means 'Ornament of Heaven'. She wrote hymns and myths more than 4000 years ago, studied the stars and yet is almost entirely unknown in the present day.
With his beard, trident, and status as Atlantean ruler, the superhero Aquaman borrows many traits from the sea gods of mythology.
All monsters make their mark on the communities they haunt. Some are cheeky and mischievous, some are mysterious, others are downright evil.
How Romans overcame their fear of witches by finding them funny.
An expert argues our connection with these figures is longstanding. They are embedded in our myths and help us explore deeper questions about being human.
Tales of giants can be found around the world - in Wales, in Australia, and the Pacific Islands. They helped people explain the sometimes cataclysmic changes to the environment they saw around them.
Even if mermaids aren't real, they'll likely feature in human stories for many years to come. Very few mythical creatures are found in so many diverse cultures, across so many years without changing.
A monstrous worm that features in English mythology shares remarkable similarities with the watery serpents of Indigenous stories.
Sex was central to life in ancient Mesopotamia. And the authors of Sumerian love poetry, depicting the exploits of divine couples, showed a wealth of practical knowledge about the stages of female sexual arousal.
From the Thirteen-Storey Treehouse to the Magic Faraway Tree, kids loves treehouses. These books tap into a rich tradition of mythology, which takes characters into forests to come to terms with life.
The Superman character has endured and continues to be popular because he is a symbol of renewal and hope.
Superstition holds that Friday 13th is the day to stay in bed and avoid taking risks. But it's all in our heads.
The sun was worshiped as a deity in many cultures – and witnessing it get extinguished could be a particularly terrifying event.
How the idea of a hyper-connected society could quickly go from utopia to dystopia and why neither scenario is likely to last.
James, aged 8, of Sydney wants to know: are zombies real?
Love, it is said, is a battlefield, and it was no more so than for the first goddess of love and war, Ishtar. Her legend has influenced cultural archetypes from Aphrodite to Wonder Woman.
Top contributors
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Honorary Research Associate and Lecturer, University of Sydney
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Professor of Classics, University of Newcastle
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Visiting Researcher in Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies, Cardiff University
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PhD student, University of Newcastle
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Senior Lecturer in English and Writing (children's literature), University of New England
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PhD Candidate - Classics, University of Newcastle
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Professor of Geography, School of Social Sciences, University of the Sunshine Coast
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Director, Centre for Religious Studies, Monash University
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Professor of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Washington
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Doctoral Candidate, University of Cambridge
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Professor and Tutorial Fellow in English, University of Oxford
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Visiting Assistant Professor, Department of English/Film Studies, University of the Pacific
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Head of the Marketing Innovation and Distribution Program at EMLV, Pôle Léonard de Vinci – UGEI
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Emeritus professor of biology, UCL
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Professeur d'histoire ancienne, Université de Lorraine
