Akhtamar (Armenian legend).
Long ago, in ancient times, King Artashez had a beautiful daughter named Tamar. Tamar's eyes shone like stars in the night, and her skin turned white like snow on the mountains. Her laughter gurgled and rang like water from a spring. The fame of her beauty went everywhere. And the king of Media sent matchmakers to the king Artashez, and the king of Syria, and many kings and princes. And King Artashez began to fear that someone would come for the beauty with the war, or the evil vishap would kidnap the girl before he decided who to give his daughter as a wife.
And then the king ordered to build a golden palace for his daughter on an island in the middle of Lake Van, which has long been called the "Nairi Sea", so great it is. And he gave her only women and girls as servants, so that no one would disturb the peace of the beauty. But the king did not know, just as other fathers before him did not know, and other fathers after him would not know, that Tamar's heart was no longer free. And she gave it not to the king and not to the prince, but to the poor Azat, who had nothing in the world except beauty, strength and courage. Who remembers now what his name was? And Tamar managed to exchange with the young man a look and a word, an oath and a kiss.
But now the waters of Van lie between the lovers.
Tamar knew that, by order of her father, guards were watching day and night to see if a boat was sailing from the shore to the forbidden island. Her lover knew this too. And one evening, wandering in anguish along the coast of Van, he saw a distant fire on the island. Small as a spark, he trembled in the darkness, as if trying to say something. And looking into the distance, the young man whispered:
Distant bonfire, do you send me your light?
Aren't you the beauties dear hello?
And the light, as if answering him, flared brighter.
Then the young man realized that his beloved was calling him. If you swim across the lake at nightfall, not a single guard will notice the swimmer. The fire on the shore will serve as a beacon so as not to stray in the dark.
And the lover threw himself into the water and swam into the distant light, to where the beautiful Tamar was waiting for him.
For a long time he swam in the cold dark waters, but the scarlet flower of fire inspired courage in his heart.
And only the bashful sister of the sun Lusin, looking out from behind the clouds from the dark sky, was a witness to the meeting of lovers.
They spent the night together, and in the morning the young man again set off on his return journey.
So they began to meet every night. In the evening, Tamar made a fire on the shore so that her lover could see where to swim. And the light of the flame served the young man as a talisman against the dark waters that open at night the gates to the underworlds inhabited by water spirits hostile to man.
Who remembers now how long or short the lovers managed to keep their secret?
But one day the royal servant saw the young man in the morning returning from the lake. His wet hair was matted and water dripped from it, and his happy face looked tired. And the servant suspected the truth.
And that same evening, shortly before dusk, the servant hid behind a rock on the shore and waited. And he saw how a distant fire was lit on the island, and heard a slight splash with which a swimmer entered the water.
The servant looked out for everything and hurried to the king in the morning.
King Artashez was furiously angry. The king was angry that his daughter dared to fall in love, and even more angry that she fell in love not with one of the powerful kings who asked for her hand, but with a poor Azat!
And the king ordered his servants to be ready at the shore with a fast boat. And when the darkness began to fall, the king's people swam to the island. When they sailed more than half the way, a red fire flower bloomed on the island. And the servants of the king leaned on the oars, in a hurry.
Coming ashore, they saw the beautiful Tamar, dressed in clothes embroidered with gold, smeared with fragrant oils. From under her multi-coloured cap, curls as black as agate fell to her shoulders. The girl sat on a carpet spread on the shore, and fed the fire from her hands with sprigs of magic juniper. And in her smiling eyes, as in the dark waters of Van, small fires burned.
Seeing the uninvited guests, the girl jumped to her feet in fright and exclaimed:
You servants of the father! Kill me!
I pray for one thing - do not put out the fire!
And the royal servants were glad to take pity on the beauty, but they feared the wrath of Artashez. Roughly they seized the girl and dragged her away from the fire, into the golden palace. But first they let her see how the fire, trampled and scattered by coarse boots, perished.
Tamar wept bitterly, escaping from the hands of the guards, and the death of fire seemed to her the death of her beloved.
So it was. There was a young man in the middle of the path when the light that had beckoned him went out. And the dark waters pulled him into the depths, filling his soul with cold and fear. Before him lay darkness and he did not know where to swim in the darkness.
For a long time he struggled with the black will of the water spirits. Every time the head of an exhausted swimmer emerged from the water, his gaze pleadingly searched for a red firefly in the darkness. But he did not find it, and again he swam at random, and the water spirits circled him, leading him astray. And finally the young man was exhausted.
"Ah, Tamar!" he whispered, emerging from the water for the last time. Why didn't you save the fire of our love? Did it really happen to me to sink into the dark water, and not fall on the battlefield, as it should be for a warrior!? Ah, Tamar, what an unkind death! He wanted to say that, but he couldn't. Only one thing he had the strength to exclaim: "Ah, Tamar!"
"Ah, Tamar!" - echoed - the voice of the kaji, the spirits of the wind, and carried over the waters of Van. "Ah, Tamar!"
And the king ordered the beautiful Tamar to be imprisoned forever in her palace.
In grief and sorrow, until the end of her days, she mourned her beloved, without removing the black scarf from her loose hair.
Many years have passed since then - everyone remembers their bitter love.
And the island on Lake Van has been called Akhtamar ever since.
Oh, interesting legends and parables!
One day, little Rybka heard from someone a story that there is an Ocean, a beautiful, majestic, powerful, fantastic place, and she became so eager to go there, to see everything with her own eyes, that this actually became the goal, the meaning of her life. And only The fish grew up, immediately started to swim, to look for the same Ocean. For a long, long time, the Fish swam, until finally, to the question: “How far is it to the Ocean?” They answered her: “Darling, you are in it. Here it is around you! “
“Fu, nonsense,” Rybka grimaced, “there’s only water around me, and I’m looking for the Ocean ...
Moral: sometimes in pursuit of some "ideals" we do not notice the obvious things!!!
And do you believe?
Believer Baby: No, no! I don’t know exactly what our life will look like after giving birth, but in any case, we will see mom and she will take care of us.
Unbelieving baby: Mom? Do you believe in mom? And where is she?
Believing baby: She is everywhere around us, we abide in her and thanks to her we move and live, without her we simply cannot exist.
Unbelieving baby: Complete nonsense! I didn't see any mother, and therefore it is obvious that she simply does not exist.
Believer Child: I can't agree with you. After all, sometimes, when everything around is quiet, you can hear how she sings, and feel how she strokes our world. I firmly believe that our real life will begin only after childbirth. And do you believe?
And do you believe?
Two babies are talking in the belly of a pregnant woman. One of them is a believer, the other is a non-believer Unbelieving baby: Do you believe in life after childbirth?
Believer Baby: Yes, of course. Everyone understands that life after childbirth exists. We are here to become strong enough and ready for what comes next.
Unbelieving Baby: That's stupid! There can be no life after childbirth! Can you imagine what such a life could look like?
Believer Baby: I don't know all the details, but I believe that there will be more light and that we may be able to walk and eat with our own mouths.
Unbelieving baby: What nonsense! It is impossible to walk and eat with your mouth! It's totally funny! We have an umbilical cord that feeds us. You know, I want to tell you: it is impossible for there to be life after childbirth, because our life - the umbilical cord - is already too short.
Believing baby: I'm sure it's possible. Everything will just be a little different. It can be imagined.
Unbelieving baby: But no one has ever returned from there! Life just ends with childbirth. And in general, life is one big suffering in the dark.
THE PRICE OF TIME
The story is actually with subtext: instead of dad, there can be mom, and instead of work, the Internet, and the phone, and .... everyone has their own!
Let's not repeat the mistakes of others
Once a man came home late from work, tired and shaky as always, and saw that his five-year-old son was waiting for him at the door.
- Dad, can I ask you something?
- Of course, what happened?
- Dad, how much do you get?
- It's none of your business! - the father was indignant. - And then, why do you need it?
- I just want to know. Please, tell me, how much do you get per hour?
- Well, actually, 500. And what?
- Dad, - the son looked at him from the bottom up with very serious eyes. - Dad, can you borrow 300 for me?
"You only asked so I could give you money for some stupid toy?" he shouted. - Immediately march to your room and go to bed! .. You can’t be such an egoist! I work all day, I'm terribly tired, and you're acting so stupid.
The kid quietly went to his room and closed the door behind him. And his father continued to stand at the door and get angry at the requests of his son. How dare he ask me about my salary, then to ask for money?
But after some time, he calmed down and began to reason sensibly: Maybe he really needs to buy something very important. To hell with them, with three hundred, after all, he has never asked me for money at all. When he entered the nursery, his son was already in bed.
Are you awake, son? - he asked.
- No, dad. I'm just lying down, - the boy answered.
“I think I answered you too rudely,” said the father. - I had a hard day, and I just broke. I'm sorry. Here, keep the money you asked for.
The boy sat up in bed and smiled.
- Oh, daddy, thanks! he exclaimed happily.
Then he reached under the pillow and pulled out a few more crumpled banknotes. His father, seeing that the child already had money, got angry again. And the kid put all the money together and carefully counted the bills, and then looked at his father again.
Why did you ask for money if you already have it? he muttered.
Because I didn't have enough. But now I just have enough, - answered the child.
- Dad, there are exactly five hundred. Can I buy one hour of your time? Please come home from work early tomorrow, I want you to have dinner with us.
BE A MOM
We were having lunch when my daughter casually mentioned that she and her husband were thinking about "starting a full-fledged family."
"We're doing an opinion poll here," she said jokingly. - Do you think I should have a baby?
"This will change your life," I said, trying not to let my emotions show.
“I know,” she replied. - And you won’t sleep on weekends, and you won’t really go on vacation.
But that was not at all what I had in mind. I looked at my daughter, trying to formulate my words more clearly. I wanted her to understand something that no prenatal class would teach her.
I wanted to tell her that the physical wounds of childbirth would heal very quickly, but motherhood would give her such a bleeding emotional wound that would never heal. I wanted to warn her that from now on she would never be able to read a newspaper again without asking herself: “What if this happened to my child?” That every plane crash, every fire will haunt her. That when she looks at photographs of children dying of hunger, she will think that there is nothing worse in the world than the death of your child.
I looked at her manicured nails and stylish suit and thought that no matter how exquisite she was, motherhood would lower her to the primitive level of a she-bear protecting her cub. That the alarmed cry of "Mom!" will make her give up everything without regret - from a soufflé to the best crystal glass.
I felt like I should warn her that no matter how many years she spent on her job, her career would suffer significantly after the birth of a child. She can hire a nanny, but one day she will go to a business important meeting, but she will think about the sweet smell of a child's head. And it will take all her willpower not to run home just to find out that her baby is all right.
I wanted my daughter to know that the trivial everyday problems would never be trivial to her again. That a five-year-old boy's desire to go to the men's room at McDonald's would be a huge dilemma. That there, among rattling trays and screaming children, issues of independence and gender will stand on one side of the scale, and the fear that there, in the toilet, there may be a rapist of minors, on the other.
Looking at my attractive daughter, I wanted to tell her that she can lose the weight she gained during pregnancy, but she will never be able to shed motherhood and become the same. That her life, so important to her now, will no longer be so important after the birth of a child. That she will forget about herself at the moment when her offspring must be saved, and that she will learn to hope for fulfillment - oh no! not your dream! - the dreams of their children.
I wanted her to know that a c-section scar or stretch marks would be her badge of honor. That her relationship with her husband would change and not at all in the way she thinks. I would like her to understand how much you can love a man who carefully sprinkles powder on your child and who never refuses to play with him. I think she will learn what it is like to fall in love again for a reason that now seems to her completely unromantic.
I wanted my daughter to be able to feel the connection between all the women on earth who have tried to stop wars, crime and drunk driving.
I wanted to describe to my daughter the excitement a mother gets when she sees her child learning to ride a bike. I wanted to capture for her the laughter of a baby touching the soft fur of a puppy or kitten for the first time. I wanted her to feel a joy so intense that it could hurt.
My daughter's surprised look let me know that tears welled up in my eyes.
"You will never regret this," I said at last. Then I reached across the table to her, squeezed her hand, and mentally prayed for her, for myself, and for all mortal women who dedicate themselves to this most wonderful of callings.
According to statistics from the British Royal Society of Ghosts, on average, at least 3 ghosts live on every square meter of the inhabited surface of the Earth. We managed to photograph some of them, and even talked to some of them. We present the most famous myths and legends.
10th place: Argonauts. The myth of the Argonauts and the Golden Fleece is very old. The very first recorded version of this myth is already its processing, very far from the original story. Argonauts (lit. "sailing on the Argo") - participants in the voyage on the ship "Argo" for the Golden Fleece to the country of Colchis. The journey of the Argonauts is described in most detail in the poem of Apollonius of Rhodes "Argonautica".
9th place: Beowulf. The only existing manuscript of Beowulf dates from around 1000. But the epic itself belongs, according to most experts, to the end of the 7th or the first third of the 8th century. Beowulf, a young knight from the people of the Gauts, having learned about the attack of the monster Grendel on the king of the Danes Hygelak, goes to the aid of the king.
8th place: The legend of the fern flower. According to an ancient folk legend, whoever finds a fern flower on the night of Ivan Kupala will find happiness. By the way, this myth exists not only in Russia. The legend of the fern flower was also believed in Lithuania and Estonia.
7th place: Legend of King Arthur. Italian explorer Mario Moiraghi claims that the legendary sword of King Arthur really exists and is located in a rock in the Abbey of San Galgano in Italy. By the way, in his book, Moiragi states that the legend of King Arthur is Italian, although it was traditionally assumed that King Arthur and the Holy Grail were invented in northern Europe or in France.
6th place: Poltergeist. Some argue that the poltergeist ("noisy spirit" in German) terrorized our ancestors for thousands of years. In the case of a poltergeist, objects can appear and disappear from nowhere, for example, a fire can pour or start fire directly “out of thin air”, pipes burst, corks burn out, dishes break, etc. Events of this kind usually last about 2-3 months, and only sometimes for several years.
5th place: Loch Ness monster. The first mention of Nessie begins in 565. A monster is described that looks like a giant toad, "only it was not a toad." In the Latin chronicles of Nessie of the seventh century, the appearance of the dragon "cum agenti fremitu", which means "strongly shaking", was noted.
4th place: Bigfoot hasn't really been seen yet either, but the Nepalese hill tribes still believe in the existence of the fearsome Mi-Go or "Abominable Bigfoot" lurking in the midst of ice and mountain spiers.
3rd place: Flying Dutchmen. Legend has it that the Dutch captain Van der Decken once lived. He was a drunkard and a blasphemer. And then one day, near the Cape of Good Hope, his ship got into a violent storm. The navigator advised him to take refuge in one of the bays, but instead of heeding the advice, Van der Decken shot the navigator. This act angered God, and since then Van der Decken's ship has been wandering the seas. With a rotten hull, it nevertheless holds up well on the waves. The damned captain recruits his team from the drowned, and the more vile and vile their deeds in life were, the better.
2nd place: Bermuda Triangle. In the literature on the Bermuda Triangle, 50 cases of disappearances of ships and aircraft are described in detail. In almost all cases, ships and planes disappeared without a trace, along with their crews. By the way, about 140 thousand people were still rescued from the crash of ships in the Bermuda Triangle area by the US security service.
1 place: Aliens. At the moment, about 1-0 thousand evidence of UFO sightings and communication with aliens has been recorded in various organizations. The myth of aliens is especially widespread throughout the world: aliens from outer space who visited the earth a long time ago. To aliens, some include the ancient Egyptians and Maya Indians. By the way, the image of a green man with big eyes and in silver clothes was recognized as the most common representation of aliens on Earth. The drawing of the "green man" was soldered into one of the "time capsules", which should be opened in three thousand years.
Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. But it seems that people gravitate more towards myths and mysteries than towards truth. Legends are amazing and enchanting, especially when they are about famous places or personalities. This article will tell you about ten popular attractions and the amazing stories associated with them.
Sphinx
The experts agreed on only a few facts about the Great Sphinx of Giza: it is one of the largest and most ancient statues in the world, as well as a creature with a lion's body and the head of a man similar to the Egyptian pharaoh. The rest comes down to conjecture and belief.
The legend of the prince of Egypt Thutmose, the grandson of Thutmose III, a descendant of Queen Hatshepsut, is a favorite story of the admirers of the Sphinx. The young man was the joy of his father, which caused the jealousy of his relatives. Someone even plotted to kill him.
Due to family troubles, Thutmose spent more and more time away from home - in Upper Egypt and the desert. He was a strong and agile fellow and amused himself by hunting and archery. One day, while spending his leisure time as usual, hunting down a wild beast, the prince left behind his two servants, languishing from the heat, and went to pray to the pyramids.
He stopped in front of the Sphinx, known in those days as Harmachis, the god of the rising sun. The massive stone statue up to the shoulders was covered with sand. Thutmose looked at the Sphinx, begging to save him from all problems. Suddenly, the huge statue came to life, and a thunderous voice was heard from its mouth.
The Sphinx asked Thutmose to free him from the sand that was dragging him down. The eyes of the mythical creature burned so brightly that, looking into them, the prince fell unconscious. When he woke up, the day was drawing to a close. Thutmose slowly rose to his feet before the Sphinx and swore an oath to him. He promised that he would clean the statue of the sand that covered it and immortalize the memory of this incident in stone if he became the next pharaoh. And the young man kept his word.
A fairy tale with a good ending or a true story - Thutmose actually became the next ruler of Egypt, and his problems were left far behind. The story gained popularity only 150 years ago, when archaeologists cleared the Sphinx of sand and discovered a stone tablet between its paws describing the legend of Prince Thutmose and the oath given by him to the Great Sphinx of Giza.
The great Wall of China
The tale of tragic love is just one of the many legends of the Great Wall of China. But the story of Meng Jianniu - perhaps the saddest of them all - is capable of touching from the very first lines. It talks about the Mengs who lived next door to another couple named Jiang. Both families were happy, but childless. So, as usual, the years went by until the Maines decided to plant a pumpkin vine in their garden. The plant quickly grew and bore fruit outside the Jiang fence.
Being good friends, the neighbors agreed to share the pumpkin equally. Imagine their surprise when, having cut it open, they saw a baby inside. Tiny, beautiful girl. As before, the two bewildered couples decided to share the responsibility of raising the little girl, who was named Meng Jianniu.
Their daughter grew up to be a very beautiful girl. She married a young man named Fang Xilian. However, the young man was hiding from the authorities, who tried to force him to join the construction of the Great Wall. And, unfortunately, he could not hide forever: just three days after their wedding, Silyan was forced to join other workers.
For a whole year, Meng waited for her husband's return without receiving any news of his health or construction progress. Once Fang appeared to her in a disturbing dream, and the girl, unable to endure the silence any longer, went in search of him. She traveled a long way, crossing rivers, hills and mountains, and reached the wall, only to hear that Silyan had died of exhaustion and was resting at its foot.
Meng could not contain her grief and cried for three days in a row, which caused part of the structure to collapse. The emperor, who heard about this, considered that the girl should be punished, but as soon as he saw her beautiful face, he immediately changed his anger to mercy and asked for her hand. She agreed, but on the condition that the ruler fulfill her three requests. Meng wished to declare mourning for Silyan (including for the emperor and his servants). The young widow asked for her husband's funeral and expressed her need to see the sea.
Meng Jianniu never remarried. After attending Fang's funeral, she committed suicide by throwing herself into the deep sea.
Another version of the legend says that the grieving girl cried until the wall collapsed and the remains of the dead workers appeared from the ground. Knowing that her husband was lying somewhere below, Meng cut her hand and watched the blood drip onto the bones of the dead. Suddenly, she began to flock around one skeleton, and Meng realized that she had found Silyan. The widow then buried him and took her own life by jumping into the ocean.
forbidden city
In the past, there was no chance for an ordinary tourist to get into the Forbidden City. And if he could penetrate the walls, he would leave their heads. Literally. This is an ancient palace complex - the largest in the world and the only one of its kind. During the reign of the Qing Dynasty, it was closed to the public, for more than 500 years only the emperors and their entourage saw the city from the inside.
At least today, guests are allowed to explore the site and listen to the legends associated with it. One of them tells that the four watchtowers of the Forbidden City appeared in a dream.
Allegedly, during the Ming Dynasty, the city was surrounded only by high walls, without a hint of towers. The Yongle Emperor, ruling in the 15th century, once had a vivid dream about his residence. He dreamed of fantastic watchtowers decorating the corners of the fortress. Waking up, the ruler immediately ordered his builders to make the dream a reality.
According to legend, after the failed attempts of two groups of workers (and their subsequent execution by decapitation), the master of the third group of builders was very nervous when he got to work. But by modeling the tower on the model of a cage for grasshoppers he saw, he managed to make the lord happy.
He also tried to include the number nine - a symbol of the nobility, in the design of the structure, in order to further please the emperor. It is said that the old man who sold the cricket cages that inspired the watchtowers was Lu Ban, the mythological patron of all Chinese carpenters.
Niagara Falls
The legend of the Maiden of the Mist may have inspired the name idea for the Niagara Falls river cruise. As is the case with most legends, there are various versions of it.
The most famous - tells about an Indian girl named Lelavala, who was sacrificed to the gods. To appease them, she was thrown from Niagara Falls. The original version of the legend says that Lelavala was sailing down the river in a canoe, and she was accidentally carried away downstream.
The girl was saved from certain death by Hinum, the god of thunder, who finally taught her how to defeat the huge snake that lived in the river. Lelavala conveyed the message to her fellow tribesmen, and they declared war on the monster. Many believe that Niagara Falls took on its current form as a result of subsequent battles between humans and the monster.
Misrepresented versions of this legend have appeared in print since the 17th century, with many attributing some of the errors to Robert Cavelier de La Salle, a European explorer of North America. He claimed that he visited the Iroquois tribe and witnessed the sacrifice of a virgin - the daughter of the leader, and at the very last minute the unfortunate father fell victim to his own conscience and collapsed into the abyss of water after the girl. So Lelavala was called Maid of the Mist.
However, Robert's wife opposed her own husband and accused him of portraying the Iroquois people so ignorant only in order to appropriate their land.
Devil's Peak and Table Mountain
Devil's Peak is an infamous mountain slope in South Africa. He saw a lot, could tell so much: including the wonderful legend of how fog rises from the ocean and envelops the peak along with Table Mountain. Cape Towns and other South Africans still tell this tale to their children and grandchildren.
In the 1700s, a pirate named Jan van Hancks decided to leave his turbulent past behind him and settled in Cape Town. He got married and built a family nest at the foot of the mountain. Yang liked to smoke a pipe, but his wife hated this habit and drove him out of the house whenever he took up tobacco.
Van Hanks got into the habit of going to the mountains to smoke in peace in nature. One very ordinary day, he climbed the slope as always, only to find a stranger in his favorite place. Jan did not see the man's face, as he was covered by wide brim hats, and he was dressed in all black.
Before the ex-navigator could say anything, the strange man greeted him by name. Van Hunks sat down next to him and started a conversation that moved smoothly to the topic of smoking. Yang often boasted about how much tobacco he could handle, and this conversation was no exception after the stranger asked the pirate for a cigarette.
He told Van Hanks that he could easily smoke more than him, and they immediately decided to test it - to compete.
Huge clouds of smoke surrounded the men, swallowed the mountains - suddenly the stranger went into a cough. The hat fell off his head and Jan gasped. Before him was Satan himself. Angry that a mere mortal had unmasked him, the devil was transported along with van Hanks in an unknown direction, flashing like a flash of lightning.
Now, every time the fog covers Devil's Peak and Table Mountain, people say it's Van Hanks and the Prince of Darkness again taking their places on the slope and competing in smoking.
Mount Etna
Etna - located on the east coast of Sicily, one of the highest active volcanoes in Europe. The first recorded awakening occurred in 1500 BC. e., and since then he has spat fire at least 200 times. During the 1669 eruption, which lasted for four whole months, lava covered 12 villages and destroyed the surrounding areas.
According to Greek legend, the source of volcanic activity is none other than a 100-headed monster (looks like a dragon) that spits out pillars of flame from one of its mouths when angry. Apparently, this huge monster is Typhon, the son of Gaia, the goddess of the Earth. He was a rather naughty child, and Zeus sent him to live under Mount Etna. Therefore, from time to time, Typhon's wrath takes the form of boiling magma shooting straight into the heavens.
Another version tells of the terrible one-eyed giant Cyclops, who lived inside the mountain. One day, Odysseus arrived at its foot to fight a powerful creature. The Cyclops tried to pacify the king of Ithaca by throwing him from the top with huge boulders, but the cunning hero managed to get to the giant and win by thrusting a spear into his only eye. The defeated big man disappeared into the bowels of the mountain. Further, the legend says that the crater of Etna is in fact the wounded eye of the Cyclops, and the lava splashing from it is drops of the giant's blood.
Alley of baobabs
The island of Madagascar resonates with many people around the world, and it's not just the lemurs. The main local attraction is the delightful Avenue of the Baobabs, located on the west coast. "Mother of the Forest" - 25 huge trees lined up on both sides of a dirt road. That's where exactly the indigenous inhabitants of the island, in all meanings, and the largest representatives of their species! Naturally, their amazing location gave rise to many legends and myths.
One of them says that the baobabs tried to escape while God was creating them, so he decided to plant the plants upside down. This could explain their root-like branches. Others tell a completely different story. Allegedly, initially the trees were unusually beautiful. But they became proud and began to boast of their superiority, for which God immediately turned them upside down so that only their roots became visible. It is said that this is the reason why baobabs bloom and release leaves only for a few weeks of the year.
Myth or not, six varieties of these plants are found only in Madagascar. However, deforestation poses a serious threat even against the background of all the activities carried out there and the efforts made to protect and restore forest areas. Unless more is done to protect them, the protagonists of these legends may disappear, most likely forever.
Giant's path
The unintentional creation of the Giant's Road, located in Northern Ireland, is what can happen if you get into a fight with a giant. At least that's what the legend tells us. While scientists believe the hexagonal basalt pillars are a 60-million-year-old accumulation of lava, the legend of Benandonner, the Scottish giant, sounds a little more intriguing.
It tells about the Irish giant Finn McCool and his long-standing feud with the Scottish big man Benandonner. One fine day, two giants started another squabble across the North Strait - Finn got so angry that he grabbed a handful of earth and threw it at his hated neighbor. The lump of mud landed in the water and is now known as the Isle of Man, and the place where McCool lies is called Lough Neagh.
The war flared up, and Finn McCool decided to build a bridge for Benandonner (the Scottish giant could not swim). That way they could meet and fight, settle the old dispute over who was the bigger giant. After the construction of the pavement, the tired Finn fell into a deep sleep.
While he was sleeping, his wife heard a deafening roar and realized that it was the sound of Benandonner approaching. When he arrived at the couple's house, Finn's wife was horrified - her husband's death came, because he turned out to be much smaller than his neighbor. Being a resourceful woman, she quickly wrapped a large blanket around McCool and put the biggest cap she could find on his head. Then she opened the front door.
Benandonner yelled into the house for Finn to come out, but the woman hissed and said he would wake her "baby". The legend says that when the Scot saw the size of the "child", he did not wait for the appearance of his father. The giant immediately ran back home, destroying the passage through the strait along the way so that no one could follow him.
Mount Fuji
Mount Fuji is a huge volcano in Japan. This is not only a major attraction, but also an important part of Japanese culture - the subject of many songs, movies and, of course, myths and legends. The story of the first eruption is considered the most ancient legend of the country.
An elderly bamboo gatherer was doing his daily task when he stumbled upon something very unusual. A tiny baby the size of a thumb looked out at him from the trunk of a plant he had just cut. Struck by the beauty of the baby, the old man took her home to raise her with his wife as his own daughter.
Soon after the incident, Taketori (that was the name of the collector) began to make other amazing discoveries while working. Every time he cut a bamboo stalk, he found a gold nugget inside. His family got rich very quickly. The little girl has grown into a young woman of stunning beauty. The foster parents eventually learned that her name was Kaguya-hime and she was sent to Earth from the moon to protect her from the war raging there.
Because of her beauty, the girl received several marriage proposals, including from the emperor himself, but rejected them all, as she longed to return home to the moon. When her people finally arrived for her, the ruler of Japan was so unhappy due to the imminent parting that he sent his army to fight against Kaguya's own family. However, the bright moonlight blinded them.
As a parting gift, Kaguya-hime (meaning "moon princess") sent the emperor a letter and an elixir of immortality, which he did not accept. In return, he wrote her a letter and ordered his servants to climb the highest mountain peak in Japan and burn it along with the elixir, in the hope that they would reach the moon.
However, the only thing that happened during the fulfillment of the order of the master on Fujiyama was a fire that could not be extinguished. So, according to legend, Mount Fuji became a volcano.
Yosemite
Half Dome in the US Yosemite National Park is a real challenge when it comes to climbing, but is also considered a favorite among hikers and rock climbers. When the Native Americans lived here, they called it Split Mountain. At some point, as a result of repeated glaciation and thawing of the rock, most of the rock separated from it - this is how it acquired its current appearance.
The origin of the Half Dome became the subject of a wondrous legend still passed down by word of mouth, and they are all called "Tales of Tees-sa-ak." The legend also explains the unusual silhouette in the shape of a face, which is visible on one side of the mountain.
The legend tells of an elderly Indian woman and her wife who traveled to the Auani Valley. Throughout the journey, the lady carried a heavy wicker cane basket while her husband simply waved the cane. Such was the custom in those days, and no one would think it strange that a man was in no hurry to help his wife.
By the time they reached the mountain lake, a woman named Tis-sa-ak was thirsty, tired of a heavy burden and a scorching sun. Therefore, without wasting a second, she rushed to the water to get drunk.
When her husband came there, he was horrified to find that his wife had drained the whole lake. But then everything only got worse: due to lack of water, drought hit the area, and all the greenery withered. The man was so angry that he swung his cane at his wife.
Tis-sa-ak burst into tears and rushed to run with a basket in her hands. At some point, she turned around to throw a basket at her husband who was chasing her. And when their eyes met, the Great Spirit that dwelt in the valley turned them both into stone.
Today the couple are known as Half Dome and Washington Column. They say that if you carefully look at the side of the mountain, you can see the face of a woman, on which tears silently flow.
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, nothing can 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.
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 span 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.
