THIEN LOI – Vietnamese thunder god. The chief deity Ngoc Hoang appointed him as the Divine Judge and put him in charge of punishing criminals, blasphemers, and the seriously immoral. He was also in charge of striking down all those predestined to be struck by lightning, be they human or animal. In addition he often destroyed the Continue reading
Category Archives: Mythology
ILIAD MINOR: THE ANCIENT GREEK EPIC
Previously Balladeer’s Blog examined Cypria and Aethiopis, two of the neglected Greek epics. Cypria recounted the events leading into The Iliad while Aethiopis picked up the tale of the Trojan War after the death and funeral of Hector at the end of The Iliad. The neglected epic I’m examining today is Iliad Minor, the next in line chronologically. The author is speculated to have been either Lesches, Thestorides, Diodoros, Kinaithon or even Homer himself.
ILIAD MINOR – Also called Iliad Mikra and The Little Iliad this neglected epic opens up with the Continue reading
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KOREAN DEITY: TALHAE
TALHAE – Also called Tarhae. The wife of King Hamdalpa of Wan-Ha in Yongsong had been married to him for seven years but had yet to produce an heir to the throne. She prayed to the gods for a child and at length she produced a large egg, from which a handsome boy named Talhae emerged.
King Hamdalpa’s advisors told him a child born unnaturally from an egg was a bad omen and that he should get rid of the child. Hamdalpa had the boy placed in a large floating chest along with seven treasures plus a male and female slave. A red dragon arose from the sea to guard the chest, a red dragon sent by a dragon god who was Talhae’s real father. The chest floated at sea for seven days, during which time Talhae grew to adulthood and stood a full nine feet tall.
Disembarking at Continue reading
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AETHIOPIS: THE ANCIENT GREEK EPIC
Death of Penthesilea
Previously Balladeer’s Blog examined Cypria, the neglected Greek epic myth that dealt with the events leading up to the Trojan War all the way up to Achilles leading the Greek forces in establishing a beachhead at Troy. The Trojan forces were then forced to retreat inside the walls of Troy itself, leaving the outside settlements to be sacked by the Greek forces. This led right into the whole Briseis/Chryseis conflict between Achilles and Agamemnon that opened up The Iliad.
The events of The Iliad are well-known enough that I will skip over a recap of that epic and move on to the very next neglected epic in the cycle: Aethiopis.
AETHIOPIS – This work is often attributed to Arctinus, by some accounts in 776 BCE to coincide with the very first ancient Olympic games. Other sources place it as late as the 740’s BCE. Very little of Aethiopis itself survives, so most of what is known about it comes from Proclus and other – often contradictory – references in ancient writings. The tale begins soon after the death of Hector which marked the end of The Iliad.
Just as the fighting is set to resume following the break in honor of Hector’s funeral the Amazons arrive on the scene to support their allies the Trojans. Needless to say they are very effective in combat and Continue reading
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CYPRIA: THE ANCIENT GREEK EPIC MYTH
Theogony, The Iliad and The Odyssey are a few of the more well-known Greek epics of the distant past. In keeping with the theme of Balladeer’s Blog I will present a look at the neglected Greek epics, many of which cover other aspects of the Trojan War. Yes, for those readers who think The Iliad is the sole epic regarding that conflict there are other tales that chronicle the mythic events from long before the opening passages of The Iliad. Here is one of those neglected works.
CYPRIA – Credited to either Stasinos of Cyprus (my bet), Hegesias or Homer himself. This epic featured the Continue reading
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VIETNAMESE MYTHOLOGY: THE GOD OF FIRE
AH NHI – The Vietnamese god of fire. The child of the sun goddess, he is often depicted holding a burning golden crow similar to the golden roosters that adorn his mother’s palanquin. In other myths about the fire god this Continue reading
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VIETNAMESE MYTHOLOGY: BA CO, THE “SIRENS” OF HALONG BAY
Halong Bay, home of the Ba Co, or Sirens of Vietnam
BA CO – “Three girls.” Water goddesses of Quang Hanh Grotto (9 km west of Cam Pha), often called the tunnel grotto.
Long ago three young ladies, in some versions friends, in others sisters, were journeying around Halong Bay. The Quang Hanh Grotto is accessible by boat or on land but the entrance is only visible when the tide is out.
The Ba Co sought shelter from heavy rainfall by entering the grotto when the tide was out. Entranced by the beauty of the grotto they Continue reading
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VIETNAMESE MYTHOLOGY: THE TRUNG SISTERS
The Trung Sisters, national goddesses of ancient Vietnam, atop their war elephants
THE TRUNG SISTERS – Trung Trac and her sister Trung Nhi occupy a special place in Vietnamese mythology. If you want a glib or simplistic comparison to approach their story with think of them as an ancient Vietnamese version of Lakshmibai of Jhansi in the history of India or Joan of Arc in Western lore. In the early 40’s C.E. Trung Trac led an uprising against the latest Chinese occupiers with
her sister acting in a much smaller capacity according to all accounts but the Trung Sisters are always mentioned as a team and iconography usually depicts them together astride their battle elephant.
Trung Trac’s uprising, consisting largely of former noble families and by all accounts (even on the Chinese side) large numbers of female combatants, succeeded in driving the occupying forces far to the north. She then abolished all the Chinese taxes and restored Continue reading
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IROQUOIS EPIC MYTH: HODADEION PART EIGHT
Iroquois
Part 8: Niagara Falls Death Trap – As part 7 concluded Hodadeion, the Iroquois god of magic, was alarmed to find that the twin enchantresses who were in reality two giant white herons had flown him in a huge basket to a rock at the top of what is now called Niagara Falls. They had stranded him there surrounded by a massive volume of water roaring its way past the small outcropping of rock the demigod was on, ultimately descending in a loud roar of falling liquid.
Hodadeion did not know what fate awaited him in that precarious position, or what dire menace the Heron Maidens expected to assault him in his perilous situation but he Continue reading
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AUGUST 15TH’S RITUAL FOR THE CHINESE MOON GODDESS: THE SENSES-SHATTERING ORIGIN
Yi the Divine Archer
On August 15th the Chinese people offered up gifts to Chang-O, their moon goddess. Balladeer’s Blog presents the story of Chang-O, her husband Yi the Divine Archer, and the origin of that ritual.
I.WHAT’S UP WITH YI? – Yi the Divine Archer from Chinese mythology deserves to be remembered in one breath with some of the other great heroes and monster slayers from belief systems around the world. Most people are only familiar with his feat of shooting down multiple suns that appeared in the sky one day, but this article will provide a light- hearted look at all of his fantastic adventures.
Yi is Continue reading
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