Category Archives: Mythology

March 17, 2025 · 1:20 pm

SAINT PATRICK MEETS CUCHULAINN

St. Patrick’s Day continues with this tale from Ireland’s ancient Book of the Dun Cow (Lebor na hUidre) in which the demigod Cuchulainn helps the saint convert Ireland to Christianity. Interesting blend of Christian and pagan elements. For more from the Book of the Dun Cow click HERE.

cuchulainn chariotTHE PHANTOM CHARIOT OF CUCHULAINN (Siaburchapat Con Culaind) – This tale is dated to around the mid-400s A.D. because of the presence of St. Patrick.

The story goes that St. Patrick pays a visit to the stubborn Loegaire mac Neill, a High King of Ireland, again entreating him to convert to Christianity. Loegaire tells Patrick that he will not believe in the God of Christianity unless that God can raise Cuchulainn from the dead and have him pay a visit to and converse with him (the king). 

God immediately sends an angel to tell King Loegaire and St. Patrick that God will raise Cuchulainn and send him to converse with Loegaire near the ramparts of the fortress at Tam.

cuchulainn ridingThe next day, St. Patrick and King Loegaire are both on hand at the appointed place when Cuchulainn appears, riding in his chariot driven by his usual charioteer Laege. The demigod’s two horses – the Dub Sainglend (black horse of Saingliu) and the Liath Macha (gray horse of Macha) – are pulling the chariot.

Cuchulainn stops to interact with the two living men. To help kill King Loegaire’s skepticism, the demigod performs assorted feats that only a being who was more than human could perform. Continue reading →

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March 13, 2025 · 5:23 pm

TOP GODS AND GODDESSES OF HITTITE MYTHS

It’s been awhile since Balladeer’s Blog visited Hittite myths so here we go.

Hittite empireThe Hittite Empire spread throughout Anatolia, covering a large part of what is now Turkey and Syria as well as some parts far eastward and southward of there (accounts vary). Some of the remains of the texts regarding the deities worshipped by the Hittites are tantalizingly fragmentary but reflect and/or influenced myths from Mesopotamia across the west to ancient Greece and south to Canaanite territory.

ARANZAH – The god of the body of water that bore his name – the Aranzah River. The Aranzah is better known as the Tigris, which begins its journey southward from the Taurus Mountains in what is now eastern Turkey. This deity was a brother of the storm god Tarhun (Teshub to the Hurrians) and like him was born in the belly of the god Kumarbi.

ISTUSTAYA and PAPAYA – The Hittite goddesses of destiny. The two deities sat by the shores of the Black Sea where they would spin the threads that are each mortal’s destiny, taking special care with the fates of kings. The two left their seaside location only for special occasions like conferences of all the gods. Collectively the two were called the Gulses by the Hittites and the Hutena by the Hurrians. The ancient Greeks added a third to their number and called them the Morae (Fates).    Continue reading →

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March 6, 2025 · 10:09 am

“I CLAIM THE WORLD” – BEHOLD!!! THE PROTONG (c1940)

STANISLAV SZUKALSKI (1893-1987) – Just as L. Ron Hubbard went from being a pulp story writer to founder of a nutzoid religion, Stanislav Szukalski went from being a celebrated, even brilliant, artist to founder of an equally irrational belief system.

Stanislav Szukalski the artist was a complicated figure who held a lot of ugly attitudes and he fled Poland after the Nazi invasion despite his own intense antisemitism. The war destroyed most of Szukalski’s artwork and he arrived in the U.S. without a penny. 

By all means check out Struggle, a 2018 Stanislav Szukalski documentary co-produced by Leonardo DiCaprio, whose father was friends with the artist. There’s even a photo of a very young Leo sitting next to Szukalski. 

The topic of this blog post, however, is Zermatism, the insane philosophy that Szukalski founded in 1940. He named it after the city of Zermatt, where he was convinced that survivors of a pre-deluge civilization settled.

Yes, it’s about to get weird, as in Scientology weird or even Yakub/ Tribe of Shabazz weird. And at 39 volumes,  Zermatism would be way too off-putting if not for some of the memorable artwork that Szukalski made to accompany his mad ravings. 

IN THE BEGINNING(ish) – Szukalski argued that all of humanity once dwelt on one huge continent and spoke one language (Protong) which still lives in fragmentary fashion in all modern languages. The Great Flood wiped out most life on Earth with the only survivors being on what is now Easter Island, which was the peak of the highest mountain of the now submerged mother continent. Continue reading →

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January 15, 2025 · 3:47 am

CHINESE MYTHOLOGY: 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.

NOTE: Some readers may find my inserted jokes to be of an adult nature. Continue reading →

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January 12, 2025 · 6:14 pm

CHARLEMAGNE: ROLAND BATTLES MANDRICARDO

These are the legends about Charlemagne and his Paladins, not the actual history, so there will be dragons, monsters and magic. 

FOR MY FIRST CHAPTER ON CHARLEMAGNE’S PALADINS CLICK HERE.

ROLAND BATTLES MANDRICARDO – In our previous installment Charlemagne’s Paladin named Roland saved Princess Isabella of Galicia from the Moroccan corsairs who were holding her for ransom.

Now, Roland and Isabella were riding northward to link up with Emperor Charlemagne’s main army as they fought the ongoing Saracen invasion. As always, the Paladin wielded his sword Durindana.

At length they approached a town where there was much consternation. Several soldiers were making their way through the streets but at this distance Roland could not make out if they were friend or foe.

Our hero had Isabella slip down from their horse and hide behind a tree while Roland met with the approaching soldiers to determine their intentions. He saw that they were conducting a prisoner, bound hand and foot.

Finally, Roland could make out the ensigns of the troops – they were men of the Count Anselm, head of the treacherous House Maganza. That House was ever ready to secretly ally themselves with every foe of Emperor Charlemagne. Continue reading →

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January 7, 2025 · 12:04 am

CHARLEMAGNE: ROLAND BATTLES MOROCCAN CORSAIRS

These are the legends about Charlemagne and his Paladins, not the actual history, so there will be dragons, monsters and magic. 

FOR MY FIRST CHAPTER ON CHARLEMAGNE’S PALADINS CLICK HERE.

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ROLAND BATTLES MOROCCAN CORSAIRS – The Paladins recently freed by Astolpho from the prison of the sorcerer Atlantes all hastened to rejoin Emperor Charlemagne’s army. The war against the Muslim invaders from colonized Spain and North Africa was still raging. 

Roland, the greatest of those Paladins, was so anxious to link up with the forces of his uncle the Emperor that he tried riding his horse up a mountainside as a shortcut. Part way up, Roland spotted light emerging from the entrance of a cave.

Our hero investigated and found a young woman being held against her will by a toothless hag who threatened and abused her repeatedly. Roland entered the furnished cave and asked the captive about her plight. Continue reading →

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January 3, 2025 · 2:39 am

CHARLEMAGNE: ASTOLPHO REUNITES BRADAMANTE AND RUGGIERO

These are the legends about Charlemagne and his Paladins, not the actual history, so there will be dragons, monsters and magic. 

FOR MY FIRST CHAPTER ON CHARLEMAGNE’S PALADINS CLICK HERE.

ASTOLPHO REUNITES BRADAMANTE AND RUGGIERO – The last Paladin to depart the island realm of the good Queen Logestilla was Astolpho, as he and the queen savored each other’s company. Finally, Astolpho announced his departure, knowing his duty was to return to the war raging on the Continent between Emperor Charlemagne’s forces and the Muslim invaders from North Africa and colonized Spain.

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Queen Logestilla provided her swiftest ship and best crew to transport Astolpho from her island west of Ireland back to Charlemagne’s Empire. The good fairy queen gave the Paladin a mystic tome which included instructions on how to overcome all manner of enchantments. 

Her final gift to Astolpho was a magic horn which, when blown, could drive off supernatural creatures and/or shatter the strongest of spells. The ship carried the Paladin to the port city he requested and, astride his horse Rabican, he was soon on his way to rejoining the bulk of Charlemagne’s army.

Along his way our hero clashed with groups of brigands who were taking advantage of the unsettled state of the Empire due to the ongoing war by acting as bandits. Astolpho also overcame a wolfpack and then a giant serpent, which he drove off with a blast from the horn given to him by Queen Logestilla. Continue reading →

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December 31, 2024 · 1:46 am

CHARLEMAGNE: ATLANTES VS RUGGIERO AND BRADAMANTE

These are the legends about Charlemagne and his Paladins, not the actual history, so there will be dragons, monsters and magic. 

FOR MY FIRST CHAPTER ON CHARLEMAGNE’S PALADINS CLICK HERE.

ATLANTES VS RUGGIERO AND BRADAMANTE – We left off with Ruggiero and Princess Angelica resting in Brittany from their long flight on the hippogriff after Ruggiero had saved Angelica from the Orc sea-serpent near the enchanted islands west of Ireland.

Overnight, the selfish Princess Angelica surreptitiously searched among Ruggiero’s belongings and found the mystic ring which the clever dwarf Brunello had stolen from her several installments ago. She put the ring back on her own finger, turning invisible as she did so, then fled eastward.

As soon as Ruggiero noticed that Angelica had vanished, he began searching for her before ultimately giving up. By now far away, the scheming princess used her invisibility to steal food and a horse from a poor shepherd and rode hard toward her father’s distant kingdom in Cathay.  Continue reading →

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December 28, 2024 · 10:37 pm

TALES OF CHARLEMAGNE: RUGGIERO AND PRINCESS ANGELICA MEET

These are the legends about Charlemagne and his Paladins, not the actual history, so there will be dragons, monsters and magic. 

FOR MY FIRST CHAPTER ON CHARLEMAGNE’S PALADINS CLICK HERE.

During the post-Christmas period through at least Twelfth Night in January Balladeer’s Blog covers tales of Charlemagne and his Paladins.

RUGGIERO MEETS PRINCESS ANGELICA – When we last saw Bradamante, the Paladin in White Armor, she was continuing her quest to find her beloved Ruggiero. He was a Muslim warrior who was allied with the Saracens who had invaded the realm of Emperor Charlemagne from colonized Spain. 

Muslim sorcerers had been throwing menaces in their way to keep them separated because of the prophecy that said Ruggiero would convert to Christianity over his love of a woman. That woman was obviously the skilled and courageous Bradamante of the White Armor. 

After having freed many noble fighters held captive by the Sorceress Alcina in our last installment, Ruggiero mounted his winged hippogriff and flew off eastward toward Continental Europe from the island realm of the good Queen Logestilla. Continue reading →

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December 10, 2024 · 12:50 pm

MERINA GODS IN MADAGASCAR

mgnewzz.gif (320×350) Covering the myths and deities of the various peoples of Madagascar is a pretty sizeable job to undertake. I decided to use the same approach I’m using with the Americas and take things on a tribe-by-tribe basis.

First off I’ll be tackling the Merina people. Let me emphasize that for my fellow mythology geeks – this list will be JUST about Merina gods and myths. There are a variety of cultural groups from Madagascar, each with their own pantheon of deities, but plenty of mythological reference books do them the disservice of lumping everything into one big category labeled “Madagascar” or “Malagasy Mythology”.

This causes confusion because it would be like lumping gods from Celtic, Norse, Greco-Roman, Slavic, Etruscan and Hittite mythology in one big puddle called “European Gods” with no attempt to break them into their separate pantheons. So if the following gods either are not in whatever reference books you personally use or if your books list a different figure as “Madagascar’s” patron deity of a certain concept there is no need to jump in with objections. I will eventually hit all the cultural groups. 

ITRIMOBE – The primordial sea-beast who lived on the Earth when it was nothing but endless ocean. For untold years Itrimobe enjoyed its solitary subaquatic existence. Eventually it grew bored and set out to examine the parameters of the world it lived in. It swam down all the way to the bottom of the sea, then swam upward as far as it could go and at last poked its head out into the air and sunlight.

Itrimobe swam east, north, west and south but found no land and no way out of the endless ocean. Curious, the entity dug three holes in the center of the Earth and one hole at each end, allowing much of the water to drain. This drainage caused the formation of the continents, which the now-amphibious Itrimobe explored. Unfortunately the blazing sun overhead eventually dried Itrimobe out to a dangerous degree and blinded it.  The remaining ocean water was nowhere near deep enough for the gigantic creature to submerge itself ever again, causing its body to die. Continue reading →

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