noahdd on Mar 29, 2015 wrote:

Hello folks!
I've been thinking about myths, like cerberus and medusa, a lot. I began thinking of one of my favorite myths, rather an epic, the Aeneid. For those of you who haven't read it (I'm sure the magnificent writers in the office have read it) it is the story after the Trojan War. I don't know why, but ancient Greek epics appeal to me. So I've come to ask, what are your favorite myths? Is it the mythical (but possibly real) city of Atlantis? Or is it the contest between Poseidon and Athena for naming a new city (guess who won)? Or is it the story of Set's betrayal to his Brother Osiris? Maybe it might even be the sacrifice Oden made for wisdom enough to rule immortals.
So what is it?

The Aeneid is Roman, written by Virgil. My favorite myth/legend series is the Arthurian stories, including some of the Welsh myths of Merlin and the Irish myths of Lir and his children.

Any legend ever?Well...I guess I'd have to say,Orion hunting down that fox,Odin sacrificing his eye,the creation of Mjolnir,the endless battle between Perun and Veles,the labors of Hercules,Obatala creating the world,Erlik doing kinda the same thing,Cerridwen the sorceress...this is really a long list.

This is another one of those threads I'm gonna get back to when I have the time to make a full list and write it out.

My favorites are the Iliad and the Odyssey. Both are riveting once you get into them, and they showcase the struggles of mortals, and the quarrels of the gods.

The world is full of so many wonderful myths & legends, it is hard to pick out my favorites. I love so very many of them. But let me see... my favorite Greek myth is that of Perseus: it has everything -- mistreated daughter and her innocent baby, adventures of a virtuous hero (and truly great adventures they are!), a brave and virtuous heroine from an exotic land, tales set into the stars -- and unlike every other Greek hero story, Perseus and Andromeda get to live happily ever after.

Another favorite is the Chinese legend of the sisters in the moon, who were so embarrassed by the people on earth gazing at their beauty and their exquisite works of embroidery, that they switched places with their brother in the sun, so people couldn't look at them any more. Or the Japanese legend of Tokoyo, the daughter of an exiled samurai who seeks to clear her father's name, and in so doing kills an evil sea monster and lifts the curse on a town. Or the Algonquin tale of 'Little Scarred One' -- when ever I see aspen trees trembling in the breeze, I recall the ending of the story where the wicked sisters are changed into aspen trees which shake when they see their sister's bridegroom, Strong Wind, for they know he knows how they cruelly treated their sister.

Or sometimes I just love a story that has an excellent song to sing, like the Medieval legend of Mary & Joseph and the cherry tree (The Cherry Tree Carol) or a story to make me laugh (like Anansi the Spider and his hat-shaking dance or the Norse tale of Thor disguising himself as a bride to get back his hammer from the Frost Giants). Our lives are greatly enriched by all these stories from diverse peoples and times that make us think, view the natural world with fresh eyes, fill us with wonder and imagination, satisfy our sense of justice, or just make us laugh.