A culture hero is a mythological hero specific to some group (cultural, ethnic, racial, religious, etc.) who changes the world through invention or discovery. A typical culture hero might be credited as the discoverer of fire, or agriculture, songs, tradition and religion, and is usually the most important legendary figure of a people, sometimes as the founder of its ruling dynasty. The hero is sometimes said to be still living, but is often instead a star, constellation or purely spiritual in nature. This article is about a system of myths. ... Sir Galahad, a hero of Arthurian legend, detail of a painting by George Frederic Watts From the Greek , in mythology and folklore, a hero (male) or heroine (female) usually fulfills the definitions of what is considered good and noble in the originating culture. ... Culture (from the Latin cultura stemming from colere, meaning to cultivate), generally refers to patterns of human activity and the symbolic structures that give such activity significance. ... // An ethnic group or ethnicity is a population of humans whose members identify with each other, usually on the basis of a presumed common genealogy or ancestry (Smith, 1986). ... The term race serves to distinguish between populations or groups of people based on different sets of characteristics which is commonly determined through social conventions. ... Various Religious symbols, including (first row) Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Bahai, (second row) Islamic, tribal, Taoist, Shinto (third row) Buddhist, Sikh, Hindu, Jain, (fourth row) Ayyavazhi, Triple Goddess, Maltese cross, pre-Christian Slavonic Religion is the adherence to codified beliefs and rituals that generally involve a faith in a spiritual... An invention an object, patent, process, or technique which displays an element of novelty. ... This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... Conflagration redirects here. ... Folk music, in the original sense of the term, is music by and for the common people. ... The word tradition comes from the Latin word traditio which means to hand down or to hand over. ... // For other uses, see Dynasty (disambiguation). ...

In many cultures, particularly Native American, the mythical figure of the trickster and the culture hero are combined. To illustrate, Prometheus, in Greek mythology, stole fire from the gods to give it to humans. He is more of a culture hero than a trickster. In many North American Indian mythologies, the coyote spirit stole fire from the gods (or stars or sun) and is more of a trickster than a culture hero. Natives from the Southeastern United States typically saw a rabbit trickster/culture hero. The Western African trickster spider Ananse is also widely-disseminated. The trickster figure Reynard the Fox as depicted in an 1689 childrens book by Michel Rodange. ... West Africa is the region of western Africa generally considered to include these countries: Benin Burkina Faso Cameroon Côte dIvoire (Ivory Coast) Equatorial Guinea Gabon The Gambia Ghana Guinea Guinea-Bissau Liberia Mali Niger Nigeria Republic of the Congo (Congo-Brazzaville) Senegal Sierra Leone Togo Chad, Mauritania, and... Anansi is one of the most important and famous gods of west African lore. ...

The term is sometimes used to describe great authors or artists in a metaphorical sense (i.e. Mzwakhe Mbuli, a South African poet [1]). Mzwakhe Mbuli, known as the Peoples Poet, is a popular poet and mbaqanga singer in South Africa. ...

Partial list

• American mythology
• Abenaki mythology
  • Bedig-wajo (western)
  • Ktaden (eastern)
  • Glooscap
• Aboriginal mythology
  • Bunjil
  • I'wai
  • Wurrunna
• Abrahamic religions (Islam, Christianity, Judaism)
  • Abraham
  • Isaac
  • Jacob
  • Jesus
  • Noah
  • Mordecai
  • Judah Macabee
  • Moses
  • David
• Ashanti mythology
  • Anansi
• Aztec mythology
  • Quetzalcoatl
• Banks Islander mythology
  • Qat
• Celtic mythology (Irish, Welsh)
  • King Arthur
  • Cúchulainn
  • Lug
  • Fionn mac Cumhail (Finn McCool)
• Chinese mythology
  • Huang Di
  • Yao
  • Shun
  • Fu Hsi
  • Guan Yu
  • Lao Tzu
  • Tamo
  • Zhang Sanfeng
• Egyptian mythology
  • Osiris
  • Thoth
• Etruscan mythology
  • Tarchon
  • Tyrrehenus
• Finnish mythology
  • Ilmarinen
• Greek mythology
  • Cadmus
  • Cecrops
  • Dioscuri
  • Herakles
  • Palamedes
  • Perseus
  • Phoroneus
  • Prometheus
  • Triptolemos
• Indian mythology
  • Rama
  • Lakshman
  • Krishna
  • Balarama
  • Hanuman
  • Arjuna
  • Bhima
  • Yudhishtira
• Inuit mythology
  • Apanuugak
• Lakota mythology
  • Iktomi
• Maori mythology
  • Tangaroa
  • Māui
• Maya mythology
  • Gukumatz
  • Maya Hero Twins
• Meosamerican Myth:
  • Quetzalcoatl, Gukumatz, Kukulkan
• Mesopotamian mythology
  • Gilgamesh
  • Enkidu
• Ohlone mythology
  • Kaknu
• Navaho mythology
  • Changing Woman
  • the Diyin dine
• Ojibwe mythology
  • Nanabush
• Persian mythology
  • Rostam
  • Sohrab
• Polynesian mythology
  • Atonga
• Roman mythology
  • Hercules
  • Janus
  • Romulus/Quirinus
• Solomon Islander mythology
  • To-Kabinana
• Ute mythology
  • Cin-an-ev
• Weenhayek mythology
  • Ahutsetajwaj
  • Tapiatsa
• Zuni mythology
  • Yanauluha

The folklore of the United States, or American folklore, is the folk tradition which has evolved on the North American continent since Europeans arrived in the 16th century. ... The Abenaki (also Wabanaki) are a Native American tribe located in the northeastern United States. ... Glooscap(also spelled Glooskap, Gluskabi, Kluscap, Kloskomba, or Gluskab) is a mythical hero, god, and transformer of the [Inuit peoples, Inuit]] Indigenous peoples. ... The Aborigines of Australia have a polytheistic, animistic religion. ... In Aboriginal mythology, specifically Kulin and Wurundjeri, Bunjil is the supreme god. ... In Australian Aboriginal mythology, Iwai is the culture hero of the Koko Yao. ... In Australian Aboriginal mythology, Wurrunna is a culture hero. ... Map showing the prevalence of Abrahamic (purple), Dharmic (dark yellow), and Taoic (light yellow) religions in each country. ... Islam (Arabic:  ) is a monotheistic religion based upon the teachings of Muhammad, a 7th century Arab religious and political figure. ... Christianity is a monotheistic[1] religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament. ... Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people. ... The angel prevents the sacrifice of Isaac (Rembrandt, 1634) This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... It has been suggested that Ishaq be merged into this article or section. ... Jacob Wrestling with the Angel – Gustave Doré, 1855 Jacob or Yaakov, (Hebrew: יַעֲקֹב, Standard  Tiberian ; Arabic: يعقوب, ; holds the heel), also known as Israel (Hebrew: יִשְׂרָאֵל, Standard  Tiberian ; Arabic: اسرائيل, ; Struggled with God), is the third Biblical patriarch. ... This article is about Jesus of Nazareth. ... Noahs Ark, Französischer Meister (The French Master), Magyar Szépművészeti Múzeum, Budapest. ... Mordecai or Mordechai (מָרְדֳּכַי, Standard Hebrew Mordoḫay, Tiberian Hebrew Mordŏḵay - the son of Jair, of the tribe of Benjamin, is one of the main personalities in the Book of Esther in the Hebrew Bible. ... Judas Maccabeus (or Judah the Maccabee from the Hebrew יהודה המכבי transliteration: Yehudah HaMakabi) was the third son of the Jewish priest Mattathias. ... Moses with the Tablets, 1659, by Rembrandt This article is about the Biblical figure. ... David and Goliath by Caravaggio, c. ... The most important god in the pantheon of the Ashanti of Ghana is Nyame (also Nyankopon), the omniscient, omnipotent sky god. ... Anansi is one of the most important gods of West African lore. ... The Aztec civilization recognized many gods and supernatural creatures. ... Quetzalcoatl in human form, from the Codex Borbonicus Quetzalcoatl (feathered serpent or plumed serpent) is the Nahuatl name for the Feathered-Serpent deity of ancient Mesoamerican culture. ... In the islands of Vanuatu, legend tells of the god Qat, who created the world. ... Celtic mythology is the mythology of Celtic polytheism, apparently the religion of the Iron Age Celts. ... Welsh mythology, the remnants of the mythology of the pre-Christian Britons, has come down to us in much altered form in medieval Welsh manuscripts such as the Red Book of Hergest, the White Book of Rhydderch, the Book of Aneirin and the Book of Taliesin. ... A bronze Arthur in plate armour with visor raised and with jousting shield wearing Kastenbrust armour (early 15th century) by Peter Vischer, typical of later anachronistic depictions of Arthur. ... Young Cúchulainn, 1912 illustration by Stephen Reid. ... Lugh (earlier Lug, modern Irish Lú, pronounced //) is an Irish deity represented in mythological texts as a hero and High King of the distant past. ... Fionn mac Cumhail (earlier Finn or Find mac Cumail or mac Umaill, pronounced roughly Finn mac Cool) was a legendary hunter-warrior of Irish mythology, also known in Scotland and the Isle of Man. ... Chinese mythology is a collection of cultural history, folktales, and religions that have been passed down in oral or written form. ... Yellow Emperor The Yellow Emperor (黄帝 Hu ng D ) is a Chinese mythical character, a culture hero said in legend to be the ancestor of all Chinese people. ... Emperor Yao (Traditional Chinese:å ¯, Simplified Chinese:å°§) (2337 - 2258 BC) was a semi-mythical Chinese ruler, one of the Three August Ones and the Five Emperors. ... Shun (Traditional Chinese: ) was a legendary leader of ancient China, among the Three August Ones and the Five Emperors. ... Fu Hsi or Fuxi (伏羲; pinyin fúxÄ«; aka Paoxi (庖犧 pinyin páoxÄ«)) was the first of the mythical Three Sovereigns (三皇 sānhuáng) of ancient China. ... This is a Chinese name; the family name is Guan (é—œ) Guan Yu (關羽) (160–219) was a military general under the warlord Liu Bei during the late Eastern Han Dynasty and Three Kingdoms period in ancient China. ... Lao Zi (also spelled Laozi, Lao Tzu, or Lao Tse) was a famous Chinese philosopher who is believed to have lived in approximately the 4th century BC, during the Hundred Schools of Thought and Warring States Periods. ... Bodhidharma, woodblock print by Yoshitoshi, 1887. ... Zhang Sanfeng was a semi-mythical Chinese Taoist priest who is believed by some to have achieved immortality, said variously to date from either the late Song dynasty, Yuan dynasty or Ming dynasty. ... Egyptian mythology or Egyptian religion is the succession of tentative beliefs held by the people of Egypt for over three thousand years, prior to major exposure to Christianity and Islam. ... For other uses, see Osiris (disambiguation). ... , or , or [1] Thoth (Ramesseum, Luxor) Thoth, a Greek name derived from the Egyptian * (djih-how-tee) (written by Egyptians as ) was considered one of the most important deities of the Egyptian pantheon. ... The Etruscans were a race of unknown origin from North Italy who were eventually integrated into Rome. ... In Etruscan mythology, Tarchon and his brother, Tyrrhenus were culture heroes who founded the Etruscan Federation of twelve cities. ... Finnish mythology has many features that it shares with other Finnic mythologies, like the Estonian mythology, and also elements similar with non-Finnic neighbours, especially the the Balts and the Scandinavians. ... Seppo Ilmarinen, the Eternal Hammerer, blacksmith and inventor in the Kalevala, is an archetypal artificer from Finnish mythology. ... The bust of Zeus found at Otricoli (Sala Rotonda, Museo Pio-Clementino, Vatican) Greek mythology is the body of stories belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world and their own cult and ritual practices. ... Cadmus Sowing the Dragons teeth, by Maxfield Parrish, 1908 Cadmus, or Kadmos (Greek: Κάδμος), in Greek mythology, was the son of the king of Phoenicia (Currently Lebanon)and brother of Europa. ... The name Cecrops (Greek: ) means face with a tail and it is said that this mythical Greek king, born from the earth itself, had his top half shaped like a man and the bottom half in serpent or fish-tail form. ... Castor (or Kastor) and Polydeuces (sometimes called Pollux), were in Greek mythology the twin sons of Leda and the brothers of Helen of Troy and Clytemnestra. ... For the son of Alexander the Great, see Heracles (Macedon). ... In Greek mythology, Palamedes was the son of Nauplius and Clymene. ... Perseus with the head of Medusa, by Antonio Canova, completed 1801 (Vatican Museums) Perseus, Perseos, or Perseas (Greek: Περσεύς, Περσέως, Περσέας), the legendary founder of Mycenae and of the Perseid dynasty there, was the first of the mythic heroes of Greek mythology whose exploits helped establish the hegemony of Zeus and the Twelve... In Greek mythology, Phoroneus was a culture-hero, son of Inachus and Melia. ... In Greek mythology, Prometheus (Ancient Greek, , forethought) is the Titan chiefly honored for stealing fire from the gods in the stalk of a fennel plant and giving it to mortals for their use. ... Triptolemus (threefold warrior; also Buzyges), in Greek mythology always connected with Demeter of the Eleusinian Mysteries, might be accounted the son of King Celeus of Eleusis in Attica, or, according to Apollodorus (Library I.v. ... Itihasa (Sanskrit: इतिहास -thus verily happened) is the sanskrit word for History. ... RAMA is a first-person adventure game developed and published by Sierra Entertainment in 1996. ... Lakshaman(far left) with Rama(center) and Sita (far right) and Hanuman(kneeling)-Bhaktivedanta Manor, Watford, England Lakshmana was the son of Dasaratha, King of Ayodhya and Sumitra. ... Krishna with Radharani, 18th C Rajasthani painting Krishna (कृष्ण in Devanagari, in IAST ), according to various Hindu traditions, is the eighth avatar of Vishnu. ... Balarama (left) with his brother Krishna Krishna-Balarama Mandir, Vrindavan, India // Introduction In mainstream Hindu tradition, Balarama (phonetically Balarāma - his other names include Baladeva, Balabhadra and Halayudha) is the name of the elder brother of Sri Krishna. ... Hanuman tearing his chest open to reveal that Rama and Sita are literally in his heart Hanuman (Sanskrit: ; nominative singular ), known also as Anjaneya, is one of the most important personalities in the epic, the Ramayana. ... Krishna to Arjuna: Behold My mystic opulence! Arjuna (Sanskrit: अर्जुन, arjuna) is one of the heroes of the Hindu epic Mahabharata. ... A motif depicting Bheema in the battle ready posture. ... Yudhisthira was the son of King Pandu and Queen Kunti. ... Inuit mythology has many similarities to the religions of other polar regions. ... In Inuit mythology, Apanuugak is a culture hero who was sometimes depicted as a error-prone warrior who lives to old age or as a dastardly villain. ... The Lakota (also Sioux, Dakota) are a Native American tribe located in the Great Plains area of the United States. ... In Lakota mythology, Iktomi is a spider-trickster god, and a culture-hero for the Lakota people. ... Polynesia is a triangle of islands in the Pacific Ocean. ... In Polynesian mythology (specifically: Samoa), Tangaroa (or Tagaloa) is the sea god, a son of Rangi and Papa, whom he forcibly separated from each other. ... Māui (with a long a), as opposed to Maui (with a short a) is the proper name of a mythical demigod on several of the Polynesian islands. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... In Maya mythology, Gukumatz (feathered serpent) was a feathered snake god, one of all three groups of gods who created Earth and humanity. ... The Hero Twins feature prominently in Maya mythology. ... Quetzalcoatl in human form, from the Codex Borbonicus Quetzalcoatl (feathered serpent or plumed serpent) is the Nahuatl name for the Feathered-Serpent deity of ancient Mesoamerican culture. ... In Maya mythology, Gukumatz (feathered serpent) was a feathered snake god, one of all three groups of gods who created Earth and humanity. ... Quetzalcoatl (feathered snake, in Nahuatl: Ketsalkoatl, in Spanish: Quetzalcóatl) is the Aztec name for the Feathered-Serpent deity of ancient Mesoamerica, one of the main gods of many Mexican and northern Central American civilizations. ... Mesopotamian mythology is the collective name given to Sumerian, Akkadian, Assyrian, and Babylonian mythologies from the land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Iraq. ... Gilgamesh, according to the Sumerian king list, was the fifth king of Uruk (Early Dynastic II, first dynasty of Uruk), the son of Lugalbanda, ruling circa 2650 BC. Legend has it that his mother was Ninsun, (whom some call Ramat Ninsun), a goddess. ... Enkidu and Gilgamesh, cylinder seal from Ur III Enkidu (𒂗𒆠𒆕 EN.KI.DU3 Enkis creation) appears in Sumerian mythology as a mythical wild-person raised by animals; his beast-like ways are finally tamed by a courtesan named Shamhat. ... The mythology of the Ohlone (Coastanoan) Native American people of North California can be defined as the creation stories as well as other narratives that contain elements of their spiritual, philosophical belief systems and their conception of the world order. ... The mythology of the Ohlone (Costanoan) Native American people of North California can be defined as the creation stories as well as other ancient narratives that contain elements of their spiritual and philosophical belief systems, and their conception of the world order. ... The Navajo are a tribe of Native Americans who live in the southwestern United States. ... For other uses of Chippewa, see Chippewa (disambiguation). ... Nanabush, in Ojibwe mythology, was a magician, teacher and hunter. ... The beliefs and practices of the culturally and linguistically related group of ancient peoples who inhabited the Iranian Plateau and its borderlands, as well as areas of Central Asia from the Black Sea to Khotan (modern Ho-tien, China), form Persian mythology. ... Rostam Slaying the Dragon- A miniature Painting by Master Mahmoud Farshchian. ... Paletin faqiri CHC2D1 Mrs. ... Polynesia (meaning many islands in Greek) is a triangular grouping of Central and South Pacific Ocean island archipelagos settled by seafaring voyagers from the original heartland in Tonga and Samoa. ... In Polynesian mythology (specifically: Samoa), Atonga is a culture hero, half-mortal and half-spirit. ... Roman mythology, the mythological beliefs of the people of Ancient Rome, can be considered as having two parts. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Heracles. ... Roman bust of Janus, Vatican In Roman mythology, Janus was the god of gates, doors, doorways, beginnings, and endings. ... This page describes the ancient heroes that founded the city of Rome. ... In Roman mythology, Quirinus was a mysterious god. ... The Ute are a tribe of Native Americans from the western United States. ... The Ute are a tribe of Native Americans from the western United States. ... The Zuni are a Pueblo people located in the southwest of the United States. ...

External links

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• [3]