Explore mythology’s roots and etymology through the resources below. Flowing together as these legends often do, some say that Shangri-La or Shambala is actually its capital. Of all the enchanting places on this list, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon’s existence is the one in which humans have put the most stock. In conjunction with its revered ruler, the stories of his court and the chivalrous men populating it have become timeless. For those with an interest in Greek mythology or simply a love of historical sites a visit […] The most popular Greek Mythology figures include Greek Gods like Zeus , Poseidon & Apollo , Greek Goddesses like Aphrodite , Hera & Athena and Titans like Atlas . Greek Mythology is the set of stories about the gods, goddesses, heroes and rituals of Ancient Greeks. Considered a stand-in for the actual cities of. Oh, how European gold rushers have salivated over and pined after El Dorado. H. P. Lovecraft, The Call of Cthulhu (1928). Atlantis. First written about by Plato around 360 BCE, Atlantis is the mythical island that is believed to have existed in the Atlantic Ocean west of Gibraltar before it sank deep into the sea. A mythic world connected to Buddhist belief and hiding in the core of the earth instead of on its roof, Agartha is supposed to house a superb, wise civilisation. The Romans based many of their deities on Greek gods. Greek mythology is a body of famous stories of gods, heroes and mythical beasts. Mythology: Origins, Etymology, and Genre The only work of its kind to survive from classical antiquity, the Library of Apollodorus is a unique guide to Greek mythology, from the origins of the universe to the Trojan War. While immoral souls were sent to perish in Hades’ underworld, the most virtuous and heroic of mankind – the so-called ‘deserving dead’ – were selected to live in a land where ‘there falls not rain, nor hail, nor snow’ (Homer in the Odyssey), and where idyllic meadows provided eternal hunting joy and plump, golden fruits. In a well-known Japanese folktale, a young fisherman rescues a turtle from a group of mean-spirited kids, and his reward for his brave act is a trip to the underwater Dragon Palace, or Ryūgū-jō. Greek mythology is full of interesting creatures, the most common of which include: Chimera (also spelled Chimaera) In Greek mythology, this was a monstrous creature formed as a hybrid between a lion, a goat, and a snake. These better worlds are the stuff of communal daydreams, and we’ve gathered up 15 of them to fantasise about. Arcadia. Theories of different possible access points to this tranquil, subterranean continent abound, from the South and North Poles to Kentucky’s Mammoth Cave or the Himalayan mountains. The elusive dwelling, full of palm trees, wells, treasure and a sleeping king and queen, is guarded by giants in some accounts and boasts a gate with a striking bird carved into it by others. The archetype of a mythical lost world, the sunken City of Atlantis was conjured up by none … It explores the traditions and culture of the time and place but most prominently it gives insight to the human condition. Minos, instead of sacrificing it, kept it alive; Poseidon as a It was the offspring of Pasiphae, the wife of Minos, and a snow-white bull sent to Minos by the god Poseidon for sacrifice. In Greek mythology, a halcyon was a legendary bird that made a nest on the ocean. Merriam-Webster defines Shangri-La as a synonym of Utopia: ‘a remote beautiful imaginary place where life approaches perfection’. Viriconium is a city/state which exists in the far future. To get a glimpse of the aquatic splendour that the Ryūgū-jō holds, the Japanese believe that one has to find a rare Rumphius’ slit shell and observe its pearly interior. First popping up in writing in a 1250 medieval text and 12th-century oral accounts before that, the abundance of life in whimsical Cockaigne – where various types of cheese rain from the sky and wine flows in streams down an idyllic land – hasn’t been forgotten. Facts, quizzes and trivia about Fictional Places in Literature, 27A Wimpole Street, George Bernard Shaw, Abame, Chinua Achebe and more. Magee runs around and lives in a couple parts of this racially divided town. The book coined the term "Utopia", meaning an ideal city or civilization. The world is so called after the country of Narnia, in which much of the action of the Chronicles takes place. The Emerald City. An earlier mention of St. Mary Mead exists in the Poirot novel. Historians haven’t given up the fight just yet, considering other locations and other forms the gardens might have taken (for example, a collection of gorgeous rooftop gardens), but until these theories are grounded in evidence, the Hanging Gardens will float somewhere between fable and fiction. No wonder its inhabitants never feel sad. After first extracting his sword Excalibur on the island as a young lad, this is where King Arthur was nourished back to health after his near-lethal battle with Mordred. She had the power to calm the rough winds and waves. A small resort on the South West coast of, "somewhere in the debased and deteriorating Midlands", This page was last edited on 6 December 2020, at 13:06. For as long as human beings existed, there have been stories of monsters, legendary beasts and unimaginable, supernatural beings. Imaginings of this paradise have changed plenty over the ages, with the current depiction by Marvel showing a slightly futuristic, blue-watered wonderland. The mythical city of Brigadoon, a Scottish village that appears once every hundred years was essentially the invention of Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe who wrote a play in 1947. From the ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs to the oral tradition of Inuits and urban legends of the present day, mythical creatures are an integral part of any folklore or mythological account. Atlantis. Although there is a considerable element of fiction, the myths they have inspired have continued to influence the art and literature we recognise today. Greek mythology, oral and literary traditions of the ancient Greeks concerning their gods and heroes and the nature of the cosmos. The ancient Greeks wrote about invisible gods they believe created and controlled the world, such as Zeus. The story of Orpheus and Eurydice is one of the most romantic (and heartbreaking) stories from Greek mythology.. You've probably heard this mythical … By holding onto the turtle’s back, he reaches a royal mansion made either of red and white coral or crystal (depending on who is telling the story). Described in medieval texts as a land of abundance in every way, its inhabitants are more powerful and talented than any other. Though thought to be the birthplace of Vishnu’s final reincarnation by Hindus, legends and mentions of this joyful paradise in the form of a Himalayan valley separated from the known world were around long before this organised religion. The following table offers historical highlights from 3,000 years before the common era to the eve of the 20th century. The nightmare corpse-city of R'lyeh…was built in measureless eons behind history by the vast, loathsome shapes that seeped down from the dark stars. Vampire Though their portrayals will vary across culture — from brooding sexy ones in Twilight and … In modern language, the term chimera … In the realm of Arthurian legend and Celtic myth, Avalon (‘Isle of Apples’) was considered the ultimate safe haven. Roman conquerors allowed the incorporation of existing Greek mythological figures such as Zeus into their coinage in places like Phrygia, in order to "augment the fame" of the locality, while "creating a stronger civil identity" without "advertising" the imposition of Roman culture.. The home of the Dragon King and the beautiful Dragon Princess has a different season on each side, with springtime cherry blossoms visible from the east windows and summertime sunflowers from the south. Neil Gaiman's top 10 mythical characters. Fictional populated places (cities, towns, etc.) Athena, also spelled Athene, in Greek religion, the city protectress, goddess of war, handicraft, and practical reason, identified by the Romans with Minerva.She was essentially urban and civilized, the antithesis in many respects of Artemis, goddess of the outdoors.Athena was probably a pre-Hellenic goddess and was later taken over by the Greeks. Atlantis. When its people got a tad too hubristic, the ocean swallowed the land whole, though that doesn’t prevent it from having a prominent hold over mankind’s imagination to this day. Mythology is a category of human expression that defies uncomplicated definitions. Filled with jovial jousting tournaments on its grassy hills, happy kids scampering around, wealthy merchants, grand architecture and a hint of mysticism, the lavish castle city has captivated the imaginations of romantic souls everywhere since its glorious descriptions in (mainly French) Middle Ages prose. Plato also described the nation’s downfall. Ruled over by Odin and his Queen Frigg, it’s connected to the land of mortal humans, Midgard, via a rainbow bridge. Molvanîa: A Land Untouched by Modern Dentistry, "Bryan Gruley's Northern Michigan: {...} Gruley sets his dark novels in a fictional Northern Michigan town called Starvation Lake", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_fictional_towns_in_literature&oldid=992661683, Articles with unsourced statements from August 2020, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, The principle setting for most of the novels of the series, it is viewed as being the foremost city on the, A quaint, picturesque town on an island in. The word gained popularity from its use in the late 17th century by Charles Perrault, the author of Contes de ma mère l’oye (Tales of Mother Goose). Even with our lives now hundreds of times more comfortable than that of a medieval peasant (who you can imagine could do with a little daydreaming of a land like Cockaigne while ploughing through muddy fields), we still know about the most widespread idea of Utopia eight centuries ago. Most recently seen as Gal Gadot’s lush paradise home in 2017’s Wonder Woman, the legend of the Amazons’ island nation has been around a lot longer than she has. You’ll need their invitation to live with them in Tír na nÓg and drink from their crystal glasses and listen to the plucking of golden harps. The name Atlantis comes from the Greek literally meaning "daughter of Atlas." The ancient Greeks’ version of heaven was deemed by Homer as ‘a place of perfect happiness’, sitting on the edge of the earth with a soft breeze blowing over from mythic river Oceanus. Some even mocked him for the grandiosity he attributed to the Bronze Age continent (one of his contemporaries, Theopompus, even thought up another fictional island, Meropis, as a parody of Atlantis). Has many (and often ridiculous) rules, with a penalty of being burned at stake for breaking these rules, the most important of which is no harming crows. 10 Mythical Places That Really Exist Jamie Moore Jamie Moore was the seatbelt-less '70s kid whose wanderlust began while fighting with siblings in the back of a roadtripping van. In the earliest sources, it’s described as a land of plenty, where wild apple trees and vineyards grow of their own accord no matter what the season and British knights gather around their king to live in peace. According to Norse mythology, Álfheimr is where the light-elves live, way up in the highest echelons of the world. Sheriff and other government agencies here. Itzpapalotl, whose name means either 'obsidian butterfly' or 'clawed butterfly', was a fearsome skeletal warrior goddess, who ruled over the world of Tamoanchan, which is the paradise of victims of infant mortality and the place identified as where humans were created, one of the many worlds in Aztec mythology. With its possible location off of Ireland’s west coast, this place – where five days equal three earthly years – is only ever seen by a lucky few. Imagine the thrill of taking the yellow brick road … The author of Coraline and The Graveyard Book shares the characters from myths that haunt him, from Loki and Lilith to Coyote. Atlas was the Greek Titan condemned by Zeus to hold the celestial spheres on his shoulders. If Avalon is King Arthur’s pastoral sojourn, Camelot was his dynamic masterpiece. Atlantis is probably the first thing that comes into most people’s minds when they think … Minotaur, in Greek mythology, a fabulous monster of Crete that had the body of a man and the head of a bull. Behind its towering stone walls lies not just Valhalla, Odin’s fabulous hall where the greatest warriors gather, but several other gold and silver mansions for each God and Goddess to call their own. 11. However, endless digs around its suspected location near the royal palace of Babylon have left archaeologists empty-handed time and again, sowing doubt about whether the most mythical of all World Wonders was anything more than a beautiful vintage story perpetuated by the Greeks and Romans. The Greek philosopher and expert on the human condition sketched a highly sophisticated civilisation made up of several concentric islands, founded by demigods and rich in exotic fauna and flora. While Plato told Greeks of the superior lost city of Atlantis, medieval farmers thought up places where gourmet cheese rains from the sky and naps make you money. Orpheus and Eurydice. List of fictional towns and villages; List of fictional towns in comics; List of fictional towns in television; List of fictional towns in film; List of fictional towns in animation; List of fictional towns in literature; List of fictional bars … Its name comes from the Greek titan … In their stories, the gods were controlled by their passions, like humans, and fought with each other. In Narnia, some animals can talk, mythical beasts abound, and magic is common. This is a list of fictional towns in literature. Starvation Lake is a small town in the fake Pine County. After all, Herodotus categorised it as one of his classic Seven Wonders of the World, and multiple Classical authors have painted a picture of an awe-inducing oasis of splendid height boasting floating terraces, cascading streams and lush exotic greenery everywhere. Ogre, a hideous giant represented in fairy tales and folklore as feeding on human beings. It’s part of the ‘Nine Worlds’ that give sense to the universe. Greek and Roman myths, though not originally published in English, still influenced English literature. From the mind of Brit James Hilton, the term first entered public consciousness in his novel Lost Horizon as a reimagining of an ancient fictional paradise: Tibet’s Shambala Kingdom. Works of literature are generally understood as being timeless with a superior artistic merit. Over the course of millennia, mankind has dreamt up hundreds of beguiling places, shrouded in mystery and lost in time. Somewhere in the vast Libyan desert to the west of Egypt’s Nile River, in one of the world’s driest, most unforgiving parts, there’s said to be a ‘Shining City’. The archetype of a mythical lost world, the sunken City of Atlantis was conjured up by none other than Plato himself in two of his dialogues. a fictional city, made of buildings from past world's fairs, and located near the North Pole, on Ellesmere Island. Zerzura, a white-washed oasis in the mode of the ancient Egyptian cities, formed an especially alluring subject of conversation among Arabians during the first decades of the previous century when even nomads had no clear image of how every part of the Sahara fit together. The heavens and hells of the world's religions and the "far, far away" legends cannot be seen or visited, but they remain an integral part of culture and history. In Greek mythology, a pit in the underworld for condemned souls. a fictional mysterious, sleepy, small town in the fictional county of Rose County in the fictional state of North Washtington. A couple of hundred years before Plato's time, the Ancient Greeks imagined a place called … A small resort on the South West coast of England, where the murder in the novel takes place. Greek Mythology was part of the religion in Ancient Greece. Narnia is a fantasy world created by C. S. Lewis as the primary location for his series of seven fantasy novels for children, The Chronicles of Narnia. A particularly alluring vision in Celtic mythology is the supernatural land of Tír na nÓg (‘The Land of Ever Young’). The myth of this solid gold city rumoured to be hidden somewhere deep in South America drove many 16th- and 17th-century explorers, including Elisabeth I devotee Sir Walter Raleigh, to one unfruitful expedition after the next. Heliotrope. Reliably an enchanted city-state and mostly man-free zone, Themyscira is a nation of fierce female warriors, visited in Greek mythology by Heracles, Theseus and Zeus, among others. Greek mythology is used in the ancient times to … Several of Grisham's other novels also take place, in whole or in part, in Clanton. The Secret of the Nagas (Shiva Trilogy #2) by Amish Tripathi (Goodreads Author) (shelved 60 times … Hilton’s book popularised the myth in the West by having the hero of his tale find ultimate joy and fulfilment among the wise, immortal beings of Shangri-La. 10 Real People Who Died Searching For Mythical Places Mark Heidelberger Tales of mythical lands, lost cities, and hidden treasures have regaled generations of eager listeners in nearly every society on the planet throughout the course of history. Only the cream of the crop makes it into Elysium or the Elysian Fields (later also referred to as the Fortunate Isles, or the Isles of the Blessed). capital of the Galactic Empire, at its height the city of Trantor covers the entire surface of its planet. There lay great Cthulhu and his hordes, hidden in green slimy vaults. It was also where sexual freedom outdid the 70s, and sleeping was a well-paid job. It’s in many ways the Norse equivalent to the Greeks’ Mount Olympus, with both deity populations frequently getting rowdy on honey-based spirits (mead and ambrosia respectively). A direct neighbour to Álfheimr up in the heavens and another one of the ‘Nine Worlds’ is Asgard, home of the warrior gods or Aesir. From The Wonderful World of Oz. Apollodorus’ Library has been used as a source book by classicists from the time of its compilation in the 1st-2nd century BC to the present, influencing writers from antiquity to Robert Graves. Gods from both cultures symbolized a particular idea, such as Ja… The narratives influenced the arts of later centuries so that such stories as the abduction of Persephone and those from Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey remained popular in … Fictitious county seat for fictitious Slokey County Alabama. In the city, a great river flows under a thousand … It was a place where geese roasted themselves, and roofs were made of bacon. Since then, ogres have appeared in many works, including It is notorious for a terrible curse that plagues this small Mexican town. Arcadia: A vision of pastoralism and harmony with nature, derived from the Greek province of the … While some are burning hot places overflowing with lava or permanently clouded in mist, Álfheimr is a fertile place filled with the light and warmth of the elves, gracious demigods who are ‘fairer to look upon than the sun’ – as described by a 12th-century prose poet. 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But most prominently it gives insight to the human condition covers the surface! Narnia, some say that Shangri-La or Shambala is actually its capital a river... Camelot was his dynamic masterpiece of beguiling places, shrouded in mystery and lost in time mythical.... There lay great Cthulhu and his hordes, hidden in green slimy vaults of Utopia: ‘ a remote imaginary. Roots and etymology through the resources below synonym of Utopia: ‘ a remote beautiful imaginary place where life perfection! Worlds are the stuff of communal daydreams, and Genre works of literature are understood! Takes place that defies uncomplicated definitions s pastoral sojourn, Camelot was his masterpiece. Part, in which much of the Galactic Empire, at its height the city, made of buildings past..., made of bacon coast of England, where the light-elves live, way up in Poirot... The gods, goddesses, heroes and rituals of ancient Greeks, from Loki and to... 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