Category Archives: Mythology

April 1, 2012 · 8:34 pm

THE TOP SIX ALTERNATE GOSPELS AND SCRIPTURES PART 2

 As promised, here is the second part of Balladeer’s Blog’s look at the top six apocryphal gospels, meaning the rejected and obscure gospels outside of the four accepted by mainstream Christianity as “authentic”  (snicker).

Those four are, of course, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. There were dozens of others and I’ve selected the six that provide the best opportunities for comparative mythology.

And remember, this is NOT an April Fool’s Day joke.

3. THE GOSPEL OF THE SAVIOR – The narrative of this gospel centers around dialogues between Jesus and his apostles in the last few days before his arrest and crucifixion. Some of the material is similar to the Gospels of John and Matthew, but  some is Gnostic, with references to Continue reading →

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April 1, 2012 · 1:31 am

THE TOP SIX ALTERNATE GOSPELS AND SCRIPTURES

 Everyone but the most sheltered Christians have known for centuries about the alternate, or apocryphal gospels. The gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John were the four canonical or “official” gospels that were accepted by the mainstream church but there were dozens of other gospels with wildly varying versions of the story of Jesus.

With my love of mythology I first got into those other gospels when I was 18 and that was long before Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code fouled the territory by attracting countless conspiracy kooks to the subject of these obscure writings. It complicates conversations now because when  many people hear you discussing the apocryphal gospels they think you’re a paranoid crackpot looking for the  descendants of Jesus and Mary Magdalene around every corner. 

At any rate it’s fun to wonder what form Easter celebrations would have taken if the following rejected gospels had been accepted as “official.” And remember, this is NOT an April Fool’s Day joke.

6. THE ACTS OF THECLA – Since the Gospel of Mary has gotten so much attention following the success of Dan Brown’s writings and their screen adaptations I decided to throw a spotlight on the neglected woman named Thecla instead. Thecla supposedly became a follower of Continue reading →

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March 27, 2012 · 9:10 pm

INUIT MYTHS: KIVIOQ

 For more of my entries on Inuit myths click here: https://glitternight.com/inuit-myth/

KIVIOQ – The greatest hero and monster- slayer of Inuit mythology. The exact structure of Kivioq’s saga varies wildly from region to region, some of them with a fully Continue reading →

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March 24, 2012 · 4:34 pm

BALLADEER’S BLOG INTERVIEWS PHILIP LEE MCCALL II, AUTHOR OF ING THE VIKING

 Balladeer’s Blog recently got to interview Philip Lee McCall II, best-selling author, reviewer, publisher and imaginist about his latest book, Ing The Viking. McCall’s previous works include The Imaginist and Poisonous Prose: A Limited Collection of Dark Rhymes (2  volumes). 

All of those books are available at Amazon.com, plus McCall has The Imaginist II coming out in just over two months. The time seemed right to try to ride Mr McCall’s coattails to some more blog hits for myself (I’m kidding!) so I sent my private jet to pick him up and fly him to my spacious villa overlooking Japan’s Inland Sea. 

We passed the time trying to spot one of the thousand dragons of the Shinto god Kotohira swimming in the waters below while “PLMII” as he’s called, graciously answered my interview questions. 

Balladeer’s Blog: For the uninitiated could you provide an overview of Ing the Viking’s setting and raison d’etre? 

PLMII: Ing the Viking is an anthology which collects the stories of a fabled Viking’s adventures. I worked with a group of fantasy artists to render art for each tale. I was honored to have the great Larry Elmore not only excited about the project but also provide two images for the book.  This book was definitely a labor of love and homage to both Norse mythology and the Pulp fiction era. There are Continue reading →

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March 21, 2012 · 10:36 pm

SHINTO DEITY: AMATERASU

 This sun goddess was the chief deity of the Shinto pantheon. In the Nihongi she is the daughter of both Izanagi and Izanami but in the Kojiki she springs from Izanagi’s left eye. During one of the conflicts with her brother Susanowo the storm god she withdrew to a cave in protest of the storm god’s incessant belligerence. Susanowo had been overstepping his bounds by Continue reading →

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March 17, 2012 · 6:34 pm

MYTHOLOGY: THE NEGLECTED EPIC MYTH OF YI THE DIVINE ARCHER

 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.  Continue reading →

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March 16, 2012 · 3:11 am

SHINTO DEITY: KUYEBIKO

 Kuyebiko was the Shinto scarecrow god. Originally he functioned as the protector of the rice fields, a task assigned him by his father Inari the rice god. He was considered to be incarnate in all scarecrows and eventually came to be  considered as a divinitory deity who knew everything that transpired under the heavens.

The leap from being the god of scarecrows to divinitory deity came about because of Continue reading →

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March 5, 2012 · 2:30 pm

SHINTO DEITY: JUROJIN

For more of the Shinto deities I’ve covered here at Balladeer’s Blog click here: http://www.makethelist.net/the-top-10-deities-in-shinto-mythology/ 

JUROJIN – The god of longevity who granted a long life and watched over the elderly. He was depicted as a Continue reading →

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February 24, 2012 · 9:32 pm

SHINTO DEITY: KOTOHIRA

For other Shinto deities I’ve covered here at Balladeer’s Blog click here: http://www.makethelist.net/the-top-10-deities-in-shinto-mythology/ 

 KOTOHIRA – The god of the Inland Sea, the location of which is indicated on the map to your right. (the rough translation of the words above the arrow would be “Here’s the Inland Sea … assholes”. ) This deity guarded over the entire Inland Sea and commanded Continue reading →

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October 11, 2011 · 12:08 am

MYTHOLOGY: INTER-CULTURAL INFLUENCE

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Recently one of my favorite bloggers, Sara from Midaeval Maiden and Life With 4 Cats, asked me a question about Egyptian mythology being influenced by other cultures. I provided an answer where the words just flowed along nicely and so, since I get occassional e-mails asking me similar questions I figured I would post my answer to Sara in the spirit of a FAQ. All in all, it saves me from coming up with a totally new post today     …     I think you’ll agree.

My Answer:  This sort of inter-cultural influence is pretty standard in mythology. No belief system springs from a vacuum. It springs from previous belief systems in the region and also from appropriating elements of belief systems of other cultures they come into contact with. The process is called syncretism.

Even the big three religions have done it. Zoroastrianism predates Christianity, Islam and Judaism and all three of those Continue reading →

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