History Buffs United discussion

Know anything about mythology? If you do or simply want to know more, post it here!

Two books that I venture to recommend are:

Gods of the Ancient Northmen by Georges Dumezil. Required by a professor of mine that link the mythos of the Vikings and Celts to proto Indo/European myth.

The Lost Gods of England by Brian Branston. That Prof. thought is a little light weight but I thought it interesting.

And, to me, everyone needs to read The White Goddess by Robert Graves.

What do others like?

I am very interested in Viking, Celt, and Greek. Roman is interesting but copies the Greeks. The Romans personalities are different though.

Concur. As usual, the people slid their gods over a notch to match their culture.

I thought it fascinating to compare Mithras and Jesus, the Christian Trinity and the Triple Goddess.

To know a people know their gods and pay attention to how they treat their women.

Actually, I am a Christian

Glad to here it.

I know some friends that are Baptist that would not join these discussions for fear that they would 'learn the way of the heathen'.

So far, my interest in the beliefs of others has not shaken my own spiritually. In fact, I believe it has enriched it. There is Myth that is religion and Myth that is in a way a culture's history. Paul Bunyon is part of a Christian America's mythos. Is my belief damaged when I read of his giant blue ox Babe...?

Oops, I think I'm drifting off topic. Sorry.

Yes,well going back to mythology; whta are your thoughts on Celt mythology?

Good lets go back to mythology.

I teach Tai Chi and study several Chinese martial arts and there is a lot of concentration on opposing opposites and forces. The Yin/Yang, and circling. Strangely enough there is much of that recognition of opposites, and circling back to the return in Celtic symbolisim - note many Celtic knots and crosses.

So much of their mythos is of the better documented Irish myth that I regret the loss of information of the nuances of myth in Celtic Briton and Scotland. I know that many Druids were trained in Briton but so little remains of their stuff... Do I speculate that my Dal Riada Irish ancestors shared the exact same mythos of my Solgovae (Strathclyde British) ancestors.

What do you think of Celtic Mythology? I tend to ramble.

Well Celtic mythology is fascinating to me, but like you said there are few good and accurate books. There is also not many people that know enough about it to carry on a conversation.

What books did you find? Which were the best?

Well, there was one called Celtic Mythology: gods of Ireland or something like that. I read that a long time ago, but found it accurate and enthralling

Yeah, I vaguely remember that. Is that the one that had a section on Celtic story telling such as their fascination with the marriage kidnappings and the wooing of Etain?

I was surprised to find the Celts believed in reincarnation - of a soul waiting to find an new body to be born in after dieing.

I am not sure, it has been a long time since I read it.

How about Roman or Saxon or Viking myth.

I remember the movie 'The 13th Warrior' and one of the Vikings shouting 'Odin' like a fog horn in the fog trying to find the echo.

And, did you read 'I Claudius' and how the Romans practiced their religion?

No, I did not but I have read many books on Viking myth

I have always been fascinated with the Norns apinning out the threads of the lives of men. The Viking heros waiting for one of them to drop a stitch.

Creepy.

Yes very, going back to Saxon myth I know very little, so what do you know?

I know some about one-eyed Odin hanging from the Asgard (sic) tree for wisdom - didn't his swinging body scratch the runic alphabet in the dirt.

I always wondered which God Thor or Odin was most protective of warriors though most wore Thor's hammer.

I sometimes feel the Loki still haunts us when my life is in chaos.

Some others; Freya and sibling that have to do with crops and babies if memory serves.

Well from what I know, I think officers favored Odin while soldiers favored Thor. Also later Odin "died" and Thor was pretty much the only god of war and so many soldiers and officers favored him. So I think Thor was more popular. He is also the most powerful.

I believe you are right.

Though I don't want to let go of wisdom as being close to the equal of power. Of course both were leery of Loki's tricks.

Yes, after Odin "died" and Thor was in charge Loki, went outbof control

William wrote: "I always thought he was eventually tied up by Odin et all under the jaws of a serpent, which was constantly dripping poison onto to him, or at least in those moments when his wife was changing the ..."

Reminds me soooooooo much of my first marriage.

John wrote: "Reminds me soooooooo much of my first marriage."

:-D