The Winged Demoness of Death: Vanth and the Etruscan Underworld
On the walls of a 300 BCE Etruscan tomb, Vanth, a winged demoness of dark and stern gaze, flanks a door to the Great Unknown.
Was it Really East of the Sun and West of the Moon?
The Norwegian folktale, “East of the Sun and West of the Moon,” in which a white bear comes to take a poor girl away, is loved by people the world over. It is also part of a huge cycle of folklore and myth that has spanned Eurasia in the last 2500 years.
Psychopomps: Tour Guides to the Afterlife
Psychopomps — beings who guide the soul to the afterlife — have long been part of mythology and folklore, ranging from Hermes to Anubis to birds, bees and even children’s story characters.
Five Reasons Fig Trees Are Folklore Royalty
No plants feature so often in folklore, in so many places, as fig trees. There’s a biological basis to many of these stories.
Finnish Folklore: Louhi, Witch of the North
Do you know the stories of The Kalevala? If you do you are in select company like J.R.R. Tolkien who loved the stories and drew on them for his own writing.