World Mythologies

29 traditions from across human history

Aboriginal Australian Mythology

Australia

50000 BCE → present

Oldest continuous culture to present (still practiced)

Dreamtime traditionsVarious language group traditions

Sumerian Mythology

Southern Mesopotamia

4000 BCE – 1800 BCE

Earliest civilization to Babylonian absorption

Temple cults of Uruk, Ur, EriduEarly cuneiform tradition

Mesopotamian Mythology

Mesopotamia (modern Iraq)

3500 BCE – 500 BCE

Sumerian through Neo-Babylonian

SumerianAkkadianBabylonianAssyrian

Egyptian Mythology

Ancient Egypt

3100 BCE – 400 CE

Predynastic through Roman Egypt

HeliopolitanMemphiteThebanHermopolitan

Canaanite Mythology

Levant (Lebanon, Syria, Israel, Jordan)

3000 BCE – 300 BCE

Bronze Age through Hellenistic period

UgariticPhoenicianPunic

Chinese Mythology

China, East Asia

2000 BCE → present

Shang Dynasty to present (still practiced)

Folk religionTaoistBuddhist-influencedConfucian

Inuit Mythology

Arctic (Alaska, Canada, Greenland)

2000 BCE → present

Thule culture to present (some traditions still practiced)

InupiatYupikInuktitutGreenlandic

Korean Mythology

Korean Peninsula

2000 BCE → present

Bronze Age to present (shamanism still practiced)

Shamanic (Muism)Buddhist-influencedConfucian-influenced

Maya Mythology

Mesoamerica (Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras)

2000 BCE – 1500 CE

Preclassic through Postclassic periods

Classic MayaK'iche' (Popol Vuh)Yucatec

Baltic Mythology

Baltic region (Lithuania, Latvia, Prussia)

1500 BCE – 1400 CE

Bronze Age through late Christianization

LithuanianLatvianOld Prussian

Hindu Mythology

Indian Subcontinent

1500 BCE → present

Vedic period to present (still practiced)

VedicPuranicShaivaVaishnavaShakta

Persian Mythology

Iran, Central Asia

1500 BCE – 651 CE

Ancient Iran through Sasanian Empire

ZoroastrianPre-Zoroastrian IranianMithraic

Hebrew/Jewish Mythology

Levant, later Diaspora

1200 BCE → present

Israelite period to present (still practiced)

BiblicalTalmudicKabbalisticMidrashic

Finnish Mythology

Finland, Karelia

1000 BCE – 1300 CE

Iron Age through Christianization

Kalevala traditionKarelianSami-influenced

Mongolian Mythology

Mongolia, Central Asian steppes

1000 BCE → present

Hunnic period to present (Tengrism reviving)

TengriismShamanicBuddhist-influenced

Polynesian Mythology

Pacific Ocean (Hawaii, New Zealand, Tahiti, Samoa, Tonga)

1000 BCE → present

Lapita expansion to present (some traditions still practiced)

HawaiianMāoriSamoanTahitianTongan

Greek Mythology

Ancient Greece

800 BCE – 600 CE

Classical Antiquity

OlympianChthonicMystery cults

Roman Mythology

Ancient Rome

753 BCE – 476 CE

Kingdom through Western Empire

State religionImperial cultHousehold gods (Lares and Penates)

Buddhist Mythology

Asia (India, Tibet, China, Japan, Southeast Asia)

500 BCE → present

From Buddha's lifetime to present (still practiced)

TheravadaMahayanaVajrayana (Tibetan)Zen

Celtic Mythology

British Isles, Gaul, Iberia

500 BCE – 1200 CE

Iron Age through Medieval period

Irish (Gaelic)Welsh (Brythonic)GaulishBreton

Germanic Mythology

Northern Europe (Germany, Netherlands, England, Scandinavia)

500 BCE – 1000 CE

Iron Age through Christianization

Continental GermanicAnglo-SaxonProto-Norse

Tibetan Mythology

Tibet, Himalayan region

500 BCE → present

Bön origins to present (still practiced)

Bön (pre-Buddhist)Vajrayana BuddhistFolk traditions

Yoruba Mythology

West Africa (Nigeria, Benin, Togo)

500 BCE → present

Ancient origins to present (still practiced)

Traditional Yoruba religionIfá divination system

Japanese Mythology

Japan

300 BCE → present

Yayoi period to present (Shinto still practiced)

ShintoBuddhist-influencedFolk (Minzoku)

Slavic Mythology

Eastern Europe (Russia, Poland, Ukraine, Balkans)

500 CE – 1200 CE

Pre-Christian Slavic period

East SlavicWest SlavicSouth Slavic

Norse Mythology

Scandinavia

800 CE – 1100 CE

Viking Age

Æsir worshipVanir worshipJötunn lore

Inca Mythology

Andes (Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Chile)

1200 CE – 1533 CE

Inca Empire until Spanish conquest

Imperial Inca religionAndean folk traditions

Aztec Mythology

Central Mexico

1300 CE – 1521 CE

Aztec Empire until Spanish conquest

Mexica state religionNahua folk traditions

Navajo Mythology

American Southwest (Arizona, New Mexico, Utah)

1400 CE → present

Athabaskan migration to present (still practiced)

Diné Bahaneʼ (creation story)Healing ceremonies