Essays and Research Papers on World Mythology

This 8 page paper explores the role of female deities within the Nordic Pantheon and relates that to modern Scandinavian society. Bibliography lists 4 sources.

This 15 page paper explores the ancient Egyptian religious beliefs in terms of how it relates to nature and natural forces. Bibliography lists 12 sources.

(6 pp) Anzia Yezierska's novel Bread Givers(1975) is an extensive observation of relationships in an immigrant family of early 20th century America. All the characters fight their own battles to find in their place between the New Worlds struggles, and the Old World's history. The clash is epitomized in the ...

(5 pp) Almost all of us love stories. There is even an old legend that the reason God created humans so that there would be someone to tell him the stories. Generally they are adapted or sanitized depending on the age in which they are told, and sometimes by the storyteller himself. ...

This 4 page report discusses the fact that some of the world’s most fascinating stories and myths are surprisingly similar despite the thousands of miles and years between lands and cultures. They each follow a very similar pattern, although that of the battle between Zeus and Typhon is the most well-delineated and graphically-portrayed of any of them. Bibliography lists 6 sources. ...

(10pp) Since the time that someone rubbed two sticks togetherto make fire, people have loved a good story. It may loosely be called a legend, a story, or a tale, Joseph Campbell links most of them together with a thematic approach called the "hero's adventure." We will test some current fairy tales ...

A 5 page discussion of the meaning of the symbolic representation of the bull and the Virgin Mary in Spanish culture. Contends that the symbology of the Virgin Mary and the Bull could be said to collectively represent the traditional patriarchal hierarchy of Spanish culture, the Virgin Mary representing the ultimate model of womanhood ...

A six page paper which looks at the traditions of Irish folklore, such as the children of Danu, the Sidhe and the sacred thorn, and considers the way in which cultural values and old customs and beliefs have persisted into the present day. Bibliography lists 3 sources.

12 pages in length. The writer discusses three elements of mythology: comparing two stories; treatment of women; and the tragic hero as a popular literary motif. Bibliography lists 10 sources.

10 pages in length. The writer discusses the manner by which women have been treated in such mythological tales as Ovid's Metamorphoses, Euripides' Electra and The Epic of Gilgamesh. Bibliography lists 8 sources.

(5 pp) The term "Boston Brahmin" is associated with -- among other things -- the American premiere of Brahms' Second Symphony. It was performed by the Boston Symphony Orchestra at the historic Orpheum Theatre built in 1852, on Hamilton Place off Tremont Street. Many in the audience walked out, and music reviewers called those ...

(5 pp) No single continent or culture has an exclusive claim on dragons or dragon lore. The animals have survived in time and imagination. Just as an adventurer might claim land for his sovereign, a wise traveler would also know when dragons would be about, and then, even whisper to himself, ...

A 10 page paper which discusses the strengths and weaknesses of several essays which are to be found in "The Romance of Arthur: An Anthology of Medieval Texts in Translation" by James J. Wilhelm. The essays discussed are "Arthur in the Latin Chronicles" by James J. Wilhelm, "Arthur in the Early Welsh Tradition" by John K. Bollard, "Culhwch ...

A six page paper which looks at the concept of fate in Sophocles’ ‘Oedipus the King’ and the Sumerian ‘Epic of Gilgamesh’, in terms of how far free will can be said to be exercised in a universe which is controlled by an omnipotent deity or pantheon of deities, and the way in which apparent ...

This 5 page report discusses the fact that stories and legends of the Goddess abound in virtually every culture throughout the world. Archaeological findings throughout the world have revealed an amazing degree of repetition in terms of symbolic associations between the female form, ritualistic objects, apparent practices, and how all of life is related to and dependent on that which creates ...

A five page paper which looks at the Sumerian hero Gilgamesh and the Greek hero Heracles, in terms of the way in which their narratives fulfill similar cultural roles within their respective societies and the similarities and differences between the tasks which they undergo in their quests for enlightenment.

A five page paper which looks at the journeys of Gilgamesh and Odysseus to the realms of the dead in their respective hero-quests and looks at the similarities between the two depictions of the Otherworld and the motivation behind the heroes’ visits there.

A 6 page discussion of vampires of legend and the threats which those vampires may present even today. Some contend they are simply folklore while other contend that they wander the earth even today as estranged souls, separated from the living by their own immortality. Fiction, fantasy, cultism, or reality? The author ...

This 5 page paper provides an overview of the corn mother myth. The story is analyzed in cultural context. Bibliography lists 1 source.

This 5 page paper looks at Star Wars and the myth it contains. The origin of alien myths are explored. Bibliography lists 2 sources.

This is a 5 page paper discussing the differences found in Brunvand’s “The Vanishing Hitchhiker” and “The Baby Train”. Jan Brunvand’s text “The Vanishing Hitchhiker: American Urban Legends and Their Meanings” (1981) introduced a generation to contemporary American urban legends, their origins, their development, and contained detailed accounts as to the depth of research in ...

A 5 page paper which examines the legends and tales involving Morrigan who is often referred to as the dark aspect of the Celtic Triple Goddess in Celtic mythology. Bibliography lists 4 sources.

An 8 page paper. The focus of this paper is women who become divorced in midlife years and using the concept of the rising phoenix as a spiritual metaphor for their recovery. The paper begins by discussing the myth of the phoenix and its meaning in ancient Egypt and in the early days of Christianity. ...

7 pages in length. Fantastic creatures have existed throughout time as the direct result of man's overactive imagination. From the Loch Ness Monster to Bigfoot, history has never had a shortage of wholly unaccountable, bizarre living things and the people who have sighted them. The fervor and hype surrounding one particularly intriguing ...

7 pages in length. Fantastic creatures have existed throughout time as the direct result of man's overactive imagination. From the Loch Ness Monster to Bigfoot, history has never had a shortage of wholly unaccountable, bizarre living things and the people who have sighted them. The fervor and hype surrounding one particularly intriguing ...