Every nation has beautiful and amazing legends. They are diverse in subject matter: legends about the exploits of heroes, stories about the origin of the names of geographical objects, scary stories about supernatural beings and novelistic tales about lovers.
Definition of the term
A legend is an unreliable account of an event. It is very similar to myth and can be considered its approximate analogue. But legend and myth still cannot be called completely identical concepts. If we are talking about a myth, then there are fictional characters that have nothing to do with reality. The legend, on the other hand, allows for real events at its core, later supplemented or embellished. Since many fictional facts are added to them, scientists do not accept legends as reliable.
If we take the classical meaning of the word as a basis, then a legend is a legend set forth in an artistic form. Such legends exist in almost all nations.
The best legends of the world - they will be discussed in the article.
Types of legends
1. Oral legends are the most ancient kind. They spread through wandering storytellers.
2. Written traditions - recorded oral stories.
3. Religious legends - stories about events and persons from church history.
4. Social legends - all other legends that are not related to religion.
5. Toponymic - explaining the origin of the names of geographical objects (rivers, lakes, cities).
6. Urban legends are the newest type that has become widespread these days.
In addition, there are many more varieties of legends, depending on what plot underlies them - zootropomorphic, cosmogonic, etiological, eschatonic and heroic. There are very short legends and long narratives. The latter are usually associated with a story about the heroic deeds of a person. For example, the legend about or hero Ilya Muromets.
How did the legends originate?
From the Latin language legenda is translated as "what should be read." The history of legends goes into the deep past and has the same roots as the myth. having no idea about the causes of many natural phenomena occurring around him, he composed myths. Through them, he tried to explain his vision of the world. Later, amazing and interesting legends about heroes, gods and supernatural phenomena began to appear on the basis of mythology. Many of them have been preserved in the traditions of the peoples of the world.
Atlantis - the legend of the lost paradise
The best legends that arose in antiquity have survived to this day. Many of them still captivate the imagination of adventurers with their beauty and realism. The story of Atlantis suggests that in ancient times there was an island whose inhabitants reached incredible heights in many sciences. But then it was destroyed by a strong earthquake and sank along with the Atlanteans - its inhabitants.
It is necessary to express gratitude to the great ancient Greek philosopher Plato and the equally revered historian Herodotus for the story of Atlantis. An interesting legend excited the minds during the lifetime of these outstanding scientists of ancient Greece. It has not lost its relevance even today. A wonderful island that sank thousands of years ago is still being searched for.
If the legend of Atlantis turns out to be true, this event will be among the greatest discoveries of the century. After all, there was an equally interesting legend about the mythical Troy, in the existence of which Heinrich Schliemann sincerely believed. In the end, he managed to find this city and prove that there is some truth in ancient legends.
Founding of Rome
This interesting legend is one of the most famous in the world. The city of Rome arose in antiquity on the banks of the Tiber. The proximity of the sea made it possible to engage in trade, and at the same time, the city was well protected from a sudden attack by sea robbers. According to legend, Rome was founded by the brothers Romulus and Remus, fed by a she-wolf. By order of the ruler, they were to be killed, but a negligent servant threw the basket with the children into the Tiber, hoping that it would drown. She was picked up by a shepherd and became a foster father for the twins. Having matured and learned about their origin, they rebelled against a relative and took away his power. The brothers decided to found their city, but during the construction they quarreled, and Romulus killed Remus.
He named the city he built after himself. The legend of the origin of Rome belongs to toponymic legends.
The Legend of the Golden Dragon - The Path to the Heavenly Temple
Among the legends, stories about dragons are very popular. Many peoples have them, but traditionally this is one of the favorite topics of Chinese folklore.
The legend of the golden dragon says that there is a bridge between heaven and earth that leads to the Heavenly Temple. It belongs to the Lord of the World. Only pure souls can enter it. Two golden dragons stand guard over the shrine. They sense an unworthy soul and can tear it apart when they try to enter the temple. Once one of the dragons angered the Lord, and he expelled him. The dragon descended to earth, met other creatures, and dragons of various stripes were born from him. The Lord was angry when he saw them, and destroyed them all, except for those who had not yet been born. When they were born, they hid for a long time. But the Lord of the World did not destroy the new dragons, but left them on earth as their deputies.
Hoards and treasures
Legends of gold are not the last in the list of popular legends. One of the most famous and beautiful myths of ancient Greece tells about the search for the Golden Fleece by the Argonauts. For a long time, the legend of the treasure was considered just a legend until Heinrich Schliemann found a treasure of pure gold at the excavation site of Mycenae, the capital of the legendary king.
Kolchak's gold is another famous legend. During the years of the Civil War, a large part of Russia's gold reserves, about seven hundred tons of gold, turned out to be in their hands. It was transported in several trains. What happened to one echelon is known to historians. It was captured by the rebellious Czechoslovak Corps and given to the authorities (Bolsheviks). But the fate of the remaining two is unknown to this day. The precious cargo could have been dumped into a mine, hidden or buried in the ground in the vast territory between Irkutsk and Krasnoyarsk. All the excavations that have been carried out so far (starting with the Chekists) have not yielded any results.
Well to hell and the library of Ivan the Terrible
Russia also has its interesting legends. One of them, which appeared relatively recently, is one of the so-called urban legends. This is a story about a well to hell. This name was given to one of the deepest man-made wells in the world - Kola. Its drilling began in 1970. The length is 12,262 meters. The well was created solely for scientific purposes. Now it is mothballed, since there are no funds to maintain it in working condition. The legend about appeared in 1989, when a story was heard on American television that sensors lowered to the very depths of the well recorded sounds similar to the groans and cries of people.
Another interesting legend, which may well turn out to be true, speaks of a library of books, scrolls and manuscripts. The last owner of the precious collection was Ivan IV. It is believed that she was part of the dowry of the niece of the Byzantine emperor Constantine.
Fearing that the precious books in wooden Moscow might burn in a fire, she ordered the library to be placed in the cellars near the Kremlin. According to the seekers of the famous Liberia, it may contain 800 volumes of priceless works of ancient and medieval authors. Now there are about 60 versions of where the mysterious library can be stored.
Disputes between supporters of the theory of creationism and evolutionary theory do not subside to this day. However, unlike the theory of evolution, creationism includes not one, but hundreds of different theories (if not more).
The myth of Pan-gu
The Chinese have their own ideas about how the world came into being. The most popular myth can be called the myth of Pan-gu, a giant man. The plot is as follows: at the dawn of time, Heaven and Earth were so close to each other that they merged into a single black mass.
According to legend, this mass was an egg, and Pan-gu lived inside it, and he lived for a long time - many millions of years. But one day he got tired of such a life, and, waving a heavy ax, Pan-gu got out of his egg, splitting it into two parts. These parts later became Heaven and Earth. He was unimaginably tall - about fifty kilometers long, which, by the standards of the ancient Chinese, was the distance between Heaven and Earth.
Unfortunately for Pan-gu, and fortunately for us, the colossus was mortal and, like all mortals, died. And then Pan-gu decomposed. But not the way we do it. Pan-gu was decomposing really cool: his voice turned into thunder, his skin and bones became the firmament of the earth, and his head became Cosmos. So, his death gave life to our world.
Chernobog and Belobog
This is one of the most significant myths of the Slavs. He tells about the confrontation between Good and Evil - the White and Black gods. It all started like this: when there was only one solid sea around, Belobog decided to create land by sending his shadow - Chernobog - to do all the dirty work. Chernobog did everything as expected, however, having a selfish and proud nature, he did not want to share power over the firmament with Belobog, deciding to drown the latter.
Belobog got out of this situation, did not allow himself to be killed, and even blessed the land erected by Chernobog. However, with the advent of land, one small problem arose: its area grew exponentially, threatening to swallow everything around.
Then Belobog sent his delegation to Earth in order to find out from Chernobog how to stop this business. Well, Chernobog sat on a goat and went to negotiations. The delegates, seeing Chernobog galloping towards them on a goat, were imbued with the comedy of this spectacle and burst into wild laughter. Chernobog did not understand humor, was very offended and flatly refused to talk to them.
Meanwhile, Belobog, still wanting to save the Earth from dehydration, decided to spy on Chernobog, making a bee for this purpose. The insect coped with the task successfully and found out the secret, which was as follows: in order to stop the growth of land, it is necessary to draw a cross on it and say the cherished word - “enough”. What Belobog did.
To say that Chernobog was not happy is to say nothing. Wanting to take revenge, he cursed Belobog, and cursed him in a very original way: for his meanness, Belobog was now supposed to eat bee feces all his life. However, Belobog did not lose his head and made bee stools sweet like sugar, and this is how honey appeared. For some reason, the Slavs did not think about how people appeared ... The main thing is that there is honey.
Armenian duality
Armenian myths are reminiscent of Slavic ones and also tell us about the existence of two opposite principles - this time male and female. Unfortunately, the myth does not answer the question of how our world was created, it only explains how everything around is arranged. But that doesn't make it any less interesting.
So, here is a summary: Heaven and Earth are husband and wife separated by the ocean; The sky is a city, and the Earth is a piece of rock, which is held on its huge horns by an equally huge bull - when he shakes his horns, the earth bursts at the seams from earthquakes. That, in fact, is all - this is how the Armenians imagined the Earth.
There is also an alternative myth where the Earth is in the middle of the sea, and Leviathan swims around it, trying to grab onto its own tail, and constant earthquakes were also explained by its flopping. When Leviathan finally bites his own tail, life on Earth will end and the apocalypse will come. Have a nice day.
Norse myth of the ice giant
It would seem that there is nothing in common between the Chinese and the Scandinavians - but no, the Vikings also had their own giant - the origin of everything, only his name was Ymir, and he was icy and with a club. Before his appearance, the world was divided into Muspelheim and Niflheim - the realms of fire and ice, respectively. And between them stretched Ginnungagap, symbolizing absolute chaos, and there, from the merger of two opposite elements, Ymir was born. And now closer to us, to the people. When Ymir began to sweat, a man and a woman emerged from his right armpit along with the sweat. It's strange, yes, we understand this - well, that's how they are, harsh Vikings, there's nothing to be done. But back to the point. The man's name was Buri, he had a son Bor, and Bor had three sons - Odin, Vili and Ve. The three brothers were gods and ruled Asgard. This seemed not enough to them, and they decided to kill Ymir's great-grandfather, making the world out of him.
Ymir was not happy, but no one asked him. In the process, he shed a lot of blood - enough to fill the seas and oceans with it; from the skull of the unfortunate brothers created the vault of heaven, they broke his bones, making mountains and cobblestones out of them, and they made clouds out of the torn brains of poor Ymir.
Odin and the company immediately decided to populate this new world: so they found two beautiful trees on the seashore - ash and alder, making a man out of ash, and a woman out of alder, thereby giving rise to the human race.
Greek myth of balls
Like many other peoples, the ancient Greeks believed that before our world appeared, there was only continuous Chaos around. There was no sun, no moon - everything was dumped into one big heap, where things were inseparable from each other.
But then a certain god came, looked at the chaos reigning around, thought and decided that all this was not good, and set to work: he separated the cold from the heat, the foggy morning from the clear day, and all that sort of thing.
Then he set about the Earth, rolling it into a ball and dividing this ball into five parts: it was very hot at the equator, extremely cold at the poles, but between the poles and the equator - just right, you can’t imagine more comfortable. Further, from the seed of an unknown god, most likely Zeus, known to the Romans as Jupiter, the first man was created - two-faced and also in the shape of a ball.
And then they tore it in two, making a man and a woman out of it - the future of us.
Among the main gods, the Egyptians especially singled out a married couple - Osiris and Isis. Osiris was revered because he taught the Egyptians various crafts, healing, showed how to build cities and houses, grow cereals and grapes. Isis was the goddess of fertility. Women approached her with help ...
In all the myths known to us, it is said that the earth was created by some kind of creator. In some countries, the creator was considered a god, in others - some kind of animal. In the myths of many Asian peoples, for example in Indian myths, the earth is created by a celestial being that descended from the sky. She per...
When God created heaven and earth, far to the east, he planted a wonderful garden of Eden. And I named him Eden. Orange trees, apple trees, grapes, dates, bananas grew in Eden. And there were many more amazing trees and flowers. There was eternal spring in Eden. Roses bloomed, the river murmured in them ...
Gilgamesh is a real historical person who lived at the end of the 27th - beginning of the 26th centuries. BC e. Gilgamesh was the ruler of the city of Uruk in Sumer. He was considered a deity only after his death. It was claimed that he was two-thirds god, only one-third man, and ruled for almost 126 years. Sleep ...
The beautiful daughters of Sultan Salim were orphaned early. The eldest became the ruler - the impregnable Mahiman Bano, and the people regretted that the throne did not go to the youngest, whom the people called Shirin, which means Sweet. Only one circumstance reconciled the people with the rule ...
Heracles was the son of the god Zeus and the mortal woman Alcmene. Hera, the wife of Zeus, could not come to terms with the birth of Hercules. Once she sent two terrible snakes to the cradle of Hercules, but an unusual child strangled them. Hercules grew strong and dexterous, but was distinguished by a wayward nature. To o...
The Carpathians are a protected region, a kingdom of pristine nature. Under the canopy of centuries-old beech forests, plants and animals have found refuge, which have long become rare and disappearing. One of the most picturesque corners of the Carpathian nature is the alpine lake Synevyr. The blue expanse of water, steep banks, overgrown with...
It was so long ago that no one remembers when it was. They say, however, that in those days all people spoke the same language and understood each other. And people wanted to leave a memory of themselves forever and ever. Let's all get together and build a tall tower!...
When people settled the earth, they first learned to sow bread, and then they began to grow grapes and make wine from it. And when they drank wine, they became stupid and evil, offended the weak, praised themselves and deceived each other. God looked at the people, and he was...
In the Middle Ages, Western Europe was Christian, but its legends are still connected with the myths of pagan times. In the legends, information about real historical events has come down to us, but these events have been changed and embellished. The legend is sometimes based on myth, but more often it includes...
In ancient times, people did not know about fire, lived in caves, hunted with the help of clubs and stones, and ate everything raw ... At that time, life on Olympus proceeded to the fullest using fire. Once Prometheus stole a spark of sacred fire from Mount Olympus and gave it to people. The fire lit in se...
The world arose from Chaos. Chaos in translation from Greek - “yawn”, “empty length”. According to one version of the myth, Gaia (mother earth) emerged from Chaos. She created Uranus (the sky). Uranus and Gaia became husband and wife, and the titans were born to them. One of the Titans, Kronos, the moods of other...
One of the most terrible monsters of the mythology of Ancient Egypt was Apep (APEP) - a giant underground serpent. Every night he entered into battle with the sun god Ra. Every day, Ra sailed over the world across the firmament in a boat called the Boat of Millions of Years. Ra illuminated Egypt - a country that ...
English lore warns travelers against traveling alone in mountainous areas at dusk. If you believe, then the surroundings of Cornwall, which is considered the birthplace of King Arthur, Celtic traditions and ... giants, are especially dangerous!
In the middle of the 18th century, the inhabitants of the Cornish peninsula were seriously afraid of meeting with giant neighbors. Many ancient myths and legends tell about the sad fate of those who had a chance to face the giants.
There is a legend about a simple woman named Emma May, the wife of the farmer Richard May. One day, not waiting for her husband for dinner at the usual time, she decided to go in search of him, left the house and found herself in a dense fog. Since then, she has not been seen again, and although the villagers have repeatedly gone looking for her, Emma Mae seemed to have sunk into the ground. The peasants believed that she was kidnapped by giants, who, according to rumors, lived in the surrounding caves and killed late travelers or took them into slavery.
What secrets are kept by the seas and oceans
Many ancient myths and legends are composed about the sad fate of sailors who were swallowed up by the deep sea. Almost everyone has heard chilling stories about sirens calling ships to the reefs. The wild imagination of sailors gave rise to many superstitions, which eventually transformed into indestructible customs. In the countries of Southeast Asia, sailors still bring gifts to the gods in order to safely return from a journey. However, there was one captain (his name, alas, history has not preserved), who neglected the sacred traditions ...
... The elements raged, the crew of the ship was tired of fighting the elements, and nothing foreshadowed a successful outcome. Standing near the helm, through the veil of rain, the captain saw a black figure appearing on his right hand. The stranger asked what the captain was willing to give him in exchange for his salvation? The captain replied that he was ready to give all his gold, just to be in the port again. The black man laughed and said: “You did not want to bring gifts to the gods, but you are ready to give everything to the demon. You will be saved, but you will bear a terrible curse as long as you live.
The legend tells that the captain returned safely from the voyage. But as soon as he crossed the threshold of his house, his wife died, who had been in bed for two months with a serious illness. The captain went to his friends, and a day later their house burned to the ground. Wherever the captain appeared, death pursued him everywhere. Tired of such a life, a year later he put a bullet in his forehead.
The dark underworld of Hades
Since we are talking about otherworldly demons dooming a stumbled person to eternal torment, one cannot help but recall Hades, the ruler of the underworld of darkness and horror. The River Styx flows through the bottomless abyss, taking the souls of the dead deeper and deeper into the earth, and Hades looks at all this from his golden throne.
Hades is not alone in his underworld, the gods of dreams live there, sending people both terrible nightmares and joyful dreams. In ancient myths and legends, it is said that the monstrous Lamia, a ghost with donkey legs, wanders in the kingdom of Hades. Lamia kidnaps newborns so that if the house in which the mother and the baby lives is cursed by an unholy person.
At the throne of Hades stands the young and beautiful god of sleep, Hypnos, whose power no one can resist. On his wings, he silently hovers above the ground and pours his sleeping pill from a golden horn. Hypnos can send sweet visions, but it can also send you into eternal sleep.
The pharaoh who violated the will of the gods
As ancient myths and legends tell, Egypt underwent disasters during the reign of the pharaohs Khafre and Khufu - slaves worked day and night, all temples were closed, free citizens were also persecuted. But here they were replaced by the pharaoh Menkaura and he decided to free the exhausted people. The inhabitants of Egypt began to work in their fields, the temples began to work again, the living conditions of the people improved. Everyone glorified the good and just pharaoh.
Time passed, and Menkaure was struck by terrible blows of fate - his beloved daughter died and the lord was predicted that he had only seven years left to live. Pharaoh was perplexed - why did his grandfather and father, who oppressed the people and did not honor the gods, live to a ripe old age, and he must die? Finally, the pharaoh decided to send a messenger to the famous oracle. An ancient myth - the legend of Pharaoh Menkaur - tells about the answer given to the ruler.
“The life of Pharaoh Menkaure was shortened only because he did not understand his destiny. One hundred and fifty years Egypt was destined to suffer disasters, Khafre and Khufu understood this, but Menkaure did not. And the gods kept their word, on the appointed day the pharaoh left the sublunar world.
Almost all ancient myths and legends (however, like many legends of the new formation) contain a rational grain. An inquisitive mind will always be able to penetrate the veil of allegories and discern the meaning hidden in seemingly fantastic stories. And how to use the acquired knowledge is already a personal matter for everyone.
Do you know why a Chow Chow dog has a blue tongue? If such a question had been asked to a resident of ancient China, he would not have hesitated to answer. There is an interesting Chinese legend that says: “In very ancient times, when God had already created the Earth and populated it with animals, birds, insects, fish, he was engaged in the distribution of stars in the sky. During this work, quite by accident, a piece of the sky fell off from him and fell to the Earth. All the animals and birds, in horror, fled to the sides and hid in secluded places. And only the most courageous Chow-Chow dog was not afraid to approach the fragment of the sky, sniff it and lightly lick it with its tongue. Since then, the Chow Chow dog, and all of its descendants, has had a blue tongue." Thanks to this beautiful legend, Chow Chow, and today, is called "the dog that licked the sky."
The Austrian city of Salzburg is known not only for its picturesque surroundings, famous resorts, but also for many historical sights. And, perhaps, the main one is the Mirabell Palace with a complex of fabulous gardens. The pink stone from which the palace is built gives it lightness and airiness. Of course, this is a wonderful creation of architecture, but it is not considered the main highlight, but, namely, the Mirabell Gardens. Fountains, a garden of dwarfs, stone lions, trees and flower beds - very bizarre forms, elegant balustrades, a theater with hedges - it's impossible to describe everything. This must be seen. The real pride of Austria.
Venice - a city shrouded in a light haze, seems almost ephemeral and exists only in our imagination. But still, you can see it not only in pictures and in the movies, it actually exists with all its squares, canals, bridges, cathedrals. I think that everyone who has not been there dreams of making a romantic trip to Venice to capture the mysterious and mysterious essence of this unusual and magnificent city. One of the main symbols of the city is considered to be a gondola. Perhaps someone noticed that they are all the same color and, like black swans, cut through the waters of the canals of Venice. There is a legend that answers the question: Why are all the Venetian gondolas in the "city of love" black?
Salzburg is one of the most beautiful and unusual cities in Austria. Located at the very foot of the Alps, literally 5 kilometers from the border with Germany. The very name of the city is associated with a nearby salt deposit. It has been mined since time immemorial. According to legend, the fortress was built here to control the export of salt. So the name Salzburg, which means Salt Fortress, appeared.
If someone has ever been to Krakow, they will never forget the charming atmosphere of this city. Complex history, unique culture, unique architecture make Krakow a real paradise for poets, musicians, artists and just for any person. The city covered with legends gladly reveals its secrets to everyone who visits it. If you were not lucky enough to visit there, then I strongly advise you to read the book by N.G. Frolova "Old Krakow". One of the parts of this book is called "Characters of the City Spectacle". Whoever does not participate in this eternal Krakow performance: musicians, poets, warriors, kings, artists, adventurers...
For the first time this monument appeared in St. Petersburg in 1999 on Malaya Sadovaya Street 3. The work of the sculptor V.A. Sivakov. The exact name is "Monument to the Stray Dog Gavryusha". But as soon as he was not called a monument to a good dog, and Gavryusha, and even just Nyusha. After sitting there for 8 years, the dog gave birth to either a rumor or a legend. Teenagers really liked the dog. And so they came up with the idea that if you write a wish to a dog, then it will definitely come true. Since then, the courtyard on Malaya Sadovaya, where the dog stood, has become a place of pilgrimage for tourists and residents of the city.
Saint John of Nepomuk is one of the most revered Czech saints in Prague. Considered the patron saint of Prague and the entire Czech Republic. He lived in the XIV century, during the reign of King Wenceslas IV and was a priest. What Jan of Nepomuk did wrong to the king is not exactly known, but one of the most plausible assumptions is as follows. Being the queen's confessor, he refused to reveal the secret of his wife's confession to Wenceslas IV. For what, after long tortures and torments. the king ordered his execution. The priest was put in a sack and thrown from the Charles Bridge into the Vltava.
Charles Bridge is one of the main attractions of Prague. It was built by order of King Charles IV in 1357. For five centuries it was the only bridge across the Vltava. Later, in the 17th century, they began to decorate it with sculptures, the number of which reached 30. So the bridge turned into a real open-air art gallery. Nowadays, the bridge is pedestrian and it has been chosen by artists, souvenir sellers, street musicians and, of course, tourists. Many legends of Old Prague are connected with the Charles Bridge. Here is one of them.
