A
mythMythology is the study of myths and or of a body of myths. For example, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece. The term "myth" is often used colloquially to refer to a false story;...
ological place (also called "mythical place") is a place that a particular culture describes in their
mythologyMythology is the study of myths and or of a body of myths. For example, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece. The term "myth" is often used colloquially to refer to a false story;...
and
folkloreFolklore is the body of expressive culture, including stories, music, dance, legends, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, customs, and so forth within a particular population comprising the traditions of that culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which...
as existent, that might have existed in earlier times but its actual location is now lost. Unlike fictional places, which are only used in
fictionFiction is a branch of literature which deals, in part or in whole, with temporally contrafactual events...
al writings, mythological places are often considered un(re)discovered places in the real world. While they may appear in fictional stories, there is often some scientific, historical or archeological evidence, as well as myths and legends that indicate such places may have existed or are awaiting discovery, rediscovery or at least explanation about their location.
"Mythical" can also refer to a state of religious influence.
Some examples of
mythological places are:
- Agartha
Agartha is a legendary city that is said to reside in the Earth's core. It is related to the belief in a Hollow Earth and is a popular subject in Esotericism....
- A legendary city that supposedly resides in the Earth's core.
- Annwn
Annwn or Annwfn was the Otherworld in Welsh mythology. Ruled by Arawn, or much later by Gwyn ap Nudd, it was essentially a world of delights and eternal youth where disease is absent and food is ever-abundant...
- The "afterworld" of Welsh mythology.
- Atlantis
Atlantis is a legendary island first mentioned in Plato's dialogues Timaeus and Critias.In Plato's account, Atlantis was a naval power lying "in front of the Pillars of Hercules" that conquered many parts of Western Europe and Africa 9,000 years before the time of Solon, or approximately 9600 BC...
- The legendary (and almost archetypal) lost continent that was supposed to have sunk into the Atlantic OceanThe Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about 106.4 million square kilometres , it covers approximately one-fifth of the Earth's surface and about one-quarter of its water surface area. The first part of its name refers to the Atlas of Greek...
; there are many differing opinions on what and where Atlantis was.
- Avalon
Avalon is a legendary island featured in the Arthurian legend, famous for its beautiful apples...
- Legendary Island of Apples in the British IslesThe British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include Great Britain, Ireland and numerous smaller islands. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and Ireland...
.
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A
mythMythology is the study of myths and or of a body of myths. For example, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece. The term "myth" is often used colloquially to refer to a false story;...
ological place (also called "mythical place") is a place that a particular culture describes in their
mythologyMythology is the study of myths and or of a body of myths. For example, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece. The term "myth" is often used colloquially to refer to a false story;...
and
folkloreFolklore is the body of expressive culture, including stories, music, dance, legends, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, customs, and so forth within a particular population comprising the traditions of that culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which...
as existent, that might have existed in earlier times but its actual location is now lost. Unlike fictional places, which are only used in
fictionFiction is a branch of literature which deals, in part or in whole, with temporally contrafactual events...
al writings, mythological places are often considered un(re)discovered places in the real world. While they may appear in fictional stories, there is often some scientific, historical or archeological evidence, as well as myths and legends that indicate such places may have existed or are awaiting discovery, rediscovery or at least explanation about their location.
"Mythical" can also refer to a state of religious influence.
Some examples of
mythological places are:
- Agartha
Agartha is a legendary city that is said to reside in the Earth's core. It is related to the belief in a Hollow Earth and is a popular subject in Esotericism....
- A legendary city that supposedly resides in the Earth's core.
- Annwn
Annwn or Annwfn was the Otherworld in Welsh mythology. Ruled by Arawn, or much later by Gwyn ap Nudd, it was essentially a world of delights and eternal youth where disease is absent and food is ever-abundant...
- The "afterworld" of Welsh mythology.
- Atlantis
Atlantis is a legendary island first mentioned in Plato's dialogues Timaeus and Critias.In Plato's account, Atlantis was a naval power lying "in front of the Pillars of Hercules" that conquered many parts of Western Europe and Africa 9,000 years before the time of Solon, or approximately 9600 BC...
- The legendary (and almost archetypal) lost continent that was supposed to have sunk into the Atlantic OceanThe Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about 106.4 million square kilometres , it covers approximately one-fifth of the Earth's surface and about one-quarter of its water surface area. The first part of its name refers to the Atlas of Greek...
; there are many differing opinions on what and where Atlantis was.
- Avalon
Avalon is a legendary island featured in the Arthurian legend, famous for its beautiful apples...
- Legendary Island of Apples in the British IslesThe British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include Great Britain, Ireland and numerous smaller islands. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and Ireland...
. It is believed by some to be the final resting place of King ArthurKing Arthur is a legendary British leader who, according to medieval histories and romances, led the defense of Britain against the Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and his historical existence is debated...
.
- Ayotha Amirtha Gangai
This Ayotha Amirtha Gangai is a mythical river found in Akilattirattu Ammanai the source of Ayyavazhi mythology.It was located in Ayotha Amirtha Vanam the place where, Thirumal through the instrumentality of the Seven Virgins give birth to the Santror Makkal. ...
- An instrumental river in Ayyavazhi mythologyAyyavazhi mythology is the mythology of the growing South Indian religious faith and a sect of Hinduism known as Ayyavazhi. The main source of Ayyavazhi mythology is the Ayyavazhi scripture, Akilattirattu Ammanai, and its supplement, Arul Nool. The Akilattirattu Ammanai is a recitation by Mayon to...
.
- Biarmaland - A mighty kingdom described in Norse saga
The sagas , are stories about ancient Scandinavian and Germanic history, about early Viking voyages, about migration to Iceland, and of feuds between Icelandic families...
s as lying to the north of RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
- Camelot
Camelot is the most famous castle and court associated with the legendary King Arthur. Absent in the early Arthurian material, Camelot first appeared in 12th-century French romances and eventually came to be described as the fantastic capital of Arthur's realm and a symbol of the fabulous Arthurian...
- Supposedly the city from which King Arthur reigned.
- City of the Caesars
The City of the Caesars , also variously known as City of the Patagonia, Wandering City, Trapalanda or Trapananda, Lin Lin or Elelín, is a mythical city of South America. It is supposedly located somewhere in Patagonia, in some valley of the Andes between Chile and Argentina...
- A city between a mountain of gold and another of diamonds supposed to be situated in PatagoniaPatagonia is a geographic region containing the southernmost portion of South America. Located in Argentina and Chile, it comprises the southernmost portion of the Andes mountains to the west and south, and plateaux and low plains to the east. The name Patagonia comes from the word patagón used by...
.
- Cockaigne
Cockaigne or Cockayne is a medieval mythical land of plenty, an imaginary place of extreme luxury and ease where physical comforts and pleasures are always immediately at hand and where the harshness of medieval peasant life does not exist...
- In medieval mythology, it is a land of plenty where want does not exist.
- Garden of Eden
The Garden of Eden is a location described in the Book of Genesis as being the place where the first man, Adam, and his wife, Eve, lived after they were created by God. Literally, the Bible speaks about a garden in Eden...
- The original birthplace and home of humanity according to Abrahamic religions. The first humans were banished from it after disobeying God and it was destroyed in a DelugeA deluge myth or flood myth is a mythical story of a great flood sent by a deity or deities to destroy civilization as an act of divine retribution...
.
- El Dorado - Rumored city of gold in South America
South America is the southern continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere...
.
- Hawaiki
The Māori name Hawaiki refers to the mythical land to which some Polynesian cultures trace their origins. It may also refer to an underworld in many Māori stories, and in Mangaia in the Cook Islands. Tregear records that the Cook Islands Maori word Avaiki means "underworld"...
- The ancestral island of the PolynesiaPolynesia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising a large grouping of over 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean.-Definition:...
ns, particularly the MāoriThe Māori are the indigenous Polynesian people of New Zealand . The group probably arrived in southwestern Polynesia in several waves at some time before 1300...
.
- Heaven
Heaven may refer to the physical heavens, the sky or the seemingly endless expanse of the universe beyond. This is the traditional literal meaning of the term in English...
- According to many religions, the place in which noble souls reside.
- Hell
In many religious traditions, Hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife, often in the underworld. Religions with a linear divine history often depict Hell as endless...
- According to many religions, the place in which evil souls reside.
- Kyöpelinvuori
Kyöpelinvuori , in Finnish mythology, is the place which dead women haunt. It is rumoured that virgins who die young gather there after their death at the start of their afterlife...
- (Finnish for ghosts' mountain), in Finnish mythology, is the place which dead women haunt.
- Lemuria
Lemuria is the name of a hypothetical "lost land" variously located in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The concept's 19th century origins lie in attempts to account for discontinuities in biogeography -- however, the scientific concept of Lemuria has been rendered obsolete by modern understanding...
- A supposed "lost land" that was found in either the IndianThe Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering about 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by South Asia ; on the west by Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and Australia; and on the south by the Southern Ocean...
or Pacific OceanThe Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Tepre Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan. It extends from the Arctic in the north to Antarctica in the south, bounded by Asia and...
.
- Lyonesse
Lyonesse is a country in Arthurian legend, particularly in the story of Tristan and Iseult. Said to border Cornwall, it is most notable as the home of the hero Tristan, whose father was king...
- A fingerlike spit of land that many believe once branched off the southwestern coast of CornwallCornwall is a county of England in the United Kingdom, forming the tip of the south-western peninsula of Great Britain. It is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic Ocean, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Taken with the...
in EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
- Mag Mell
In Irish mythology, Mag Mell was a mythical realm achievable through death and/or glory . Unlike the underworld in some mythologies, Mag Mell was a pleasurable paradise, identified as either an island far to the west of Ireland or a kingdom beneath the ocean...
or Tir na nÓg - The afterworld of Irish mythology; it is similar in many respects to the NorseNorse, North Germanic, or Scandinavian mythology comprises the myths of North Germanic pre-Christian religion.Most of the written sources for Norse mythology were assembled in medieval Iceland in Old Norse, notably as the Edda....
ValhallaIn Norse mythology, Valhalla is a majestic, enormous hall located in Asgard, ruled over by the god Odin. Chosen by Odin, half of those that die in combat travel to Valhalla upon death, led by valkyries, while the other half go to the goddess Freyja's field Fólkvangr...
.
- Meropis
Meropis is a fictional island mentioned by ancient Greek writer Theopompus of Chios in his work "Philippica", which is only fragmentarily maintained via Aelian.- Background :...
- A gigantic island created purely as a parody of PlatoPlato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world...
's AtlantisAtlantis is a legendary island first mentioned in Plato's dialogues Timaeus and Critias.In Plato's account, Atlantis was a naval power lying "in front of the Pillars of Hercules" that conquered many parts of Western Europe and Africa 9,000 years before the time of Solon, or approximately 9600 BC...
.
- Mu
Mu is the name of a hypothetical continent that allegedly existed in one of Earth's oceans, but disappeared at the dawn of human history.The concept and the name were proposed by 19th century traveler and writer Augustus Le Plongeon, who claimed that several ancient civilizations, such as those of...
- It is believed to be a sunken continent in the Pacific Ocean. It is often confused with Lemuria.
- Nibiru
Nibiru may refer to:*Nibiru : a celestial object in the Babylonian poem Enuma Elish, associated with the god Marduk, generally accepted to be the planet Jupiter....
- A mythological planet described by the BabyloniaBabylonia was a civilization in Lower Mesopotamia , with Babylon as its capital. Babylonia emerged when Hammurabi created an empire out of the territories of the former kingdoms of Sumer and Akkad...
ns.
- Phaeton
Phaeton is the name of a hypothetical planet posited to once have existed between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter whose destruction supposedly led to the formation of the asteroid belt...
- A hypothetical planet between Mars and Jupiter that was suggested by Heinrich Wilhelm Matthäus OlbersHeinrich Wilhelm Matthäus Olbers was a German physician and astronomer.-Life and career:Olbers was born in Arbergen, near Bremen, and studied to be a physician at Göttingen. After his graduation in 1780, he began practicing medicine in Bremen, Germany...
. He supposed that the planet's destruction formed the Asteroid BeltThe asteroid belt is the region of the Solar System located roughly between the orbits of the planets Mars and Jupiter. It is occupied by numerous irregularly shaped bodies called asteroids or minor planets...
. Some scientists refer to this proposed planet as Tiamat.
- Purgatory
Purgatory is the condition or process of purification in which the souls of those who die in a state of grace are made ready for Heaven. This is an idea that has ancient roots and is well-attested in early Christian literature, while the conception of purgatory as a geographically situated place is...
- According to many religions, it is the condition or process of purification in which the souls of those who die in a state of grace are made ready for Heaven.
- Quivira and Cíbola
Quivira and Cíbola are two places visited by Francisco Vazquez de Coronado while in search of the Seven Cities of Gold existing only in a myth that originated around the year 1150 when the Moors conquered Mérida, Spain. According to the legend, seven bishops fled the city — not only to save...
- Two of the legendary Seven Cities of Gold supposed by Spanish conquistadorConquistador is the term widely used to refer to the Spanish soldiers, explorers, and adventurers who brought much of the Americas under the control of Spain in the 15th through the 17th centuries following Europe's discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus in 1492...
s to have existed in the Americas.
- Kingdom of Saguenay
The name "Kingdom of Saguenay" supposedly has its origin in an Algonquin legend, as recorded by the French during French colonisation in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries...
- According to the French, supposedly an AlgonquinThe Algonquins are aboriginal/First Nations inhabitants of North American who speak Algonquin. Culturally and linguistically, they are closely related to the Odawa and Ojibwe, with whom they form the larger Anicinàpe grouping...
Indian story of a kingdom of blonde men rich in gold and fur that existed in north CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
prior to the French colonization of the landmass.
- Kvenland - Land next to Sweden at the northern shores of Baltic sea, probably ancient Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland
, is a Nordic country and democracy situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. It borders Sweden on the west, Russia on the east, and Norway on the north, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland...
or some of its parts
- Shambhala
In Tibetan Buddhist tradition, Shambhala is a mythical kingdom hidden somewhere in Inner Asia. It is mentioned in various ancient texts, including the Kalachakra Tantra and the ancient texts of the Zhang Zhung culture which predated Tibetan Buddhism in western Tibet...
- In Tibetan Buddhist tradition, this kingdom is hidden somewhere in the HimalayasThe Himalaya Range or Himalayas for short , meaning "abode of snow", is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
; TheosophistsTheosophy is a doctrine of religious philosophy and metaphysics. Theosophy holds that all religions are attempts by the "Spiritual Hierarchy" to help humanity in evolving to greater perfection, and that each religion therefore has a portion of the truth...
regard it as being on the etheric planeThe etheric plane is a term introduced into Theosophy by Charles Webster Leadbeater and Annie Besant to represent one of the planes of existence in neo-Theosophical and Rosicrucian cosmology. It represents the fourth[higher] subplane of the physical plane , the lower three being the states of...
above the Gobi DesertThe Gobi is the largest desert region in Asia. It covers parts of northern and northwestern China, and of southern Mongolia...
and as being the home of the governing deityA deity is a postulated preternatural or supernatural immortal being, who may be thought of as holy, divine, or sacred, held in high regard, and respected by believers....
of our planet Sanat KumaraAccording to the post-1900 publications of Theosophy, i.e. the writings of C. W. Leadbeater, Alice A. Bailey, and Benjamin Creme, as well as the Ascended Master Teachings of Guy Ballard, Elizabeth Clare Prophet, Geraldine Innocente and other Ascended Master Teachings teachers, Sanat Kumara is an...
.
- Shangri-La
Shangri-La is a fictional place described in the 1933 novel Lost Horizon by British author James Hilton. In the book, "Shangri-La" is a mystical, harmonious valley, gently guided from a lamasery, enclosed in the western end of the Kunlun Mountains...
- A peaceful, isolated land in the Himalayas suggested by British author James HiltonJames Hilton was an Oscar-winning English novelist, and author of several best-sellers including Lost Horizon and Goodbye Mr. Chips.-Biography:...
.
- Terra Australis Incognita
Terra Australis was a hypothetical continent appearing on European maps from the 15th to the 18th centuries. Other names for the continent include Terra Australis Incognita , Magallanica or Magellanica , La Australia del Espiritu Santo , and...
- The great unknown southern land that cartographers believed occupied most of the southern hemisphere until Captain James CookCaptain James Cook, FRS RN , was a British explorer, navigator and cartographer, ultimately rising to the rank of Captain in the Royal Navy...
discovered and circumnavigated AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
, New ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous smaller islands, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands. The indigenous Māori named New Zealand Aotearoa, commonly translated as The Land of the Long White Cloud...
, and Antarctica| style="border-top:solid 1px #ccd2d9; padding:0.4em 1em 0.4em 0; vertical-align:top;" | 14,000,000 km
2 280,000 km
2 13,720,000 km
2 |-! style="border-top: solid 1px #ccd2d9; padding: 0.4em 1em 0.4em 0; vertical-align: top;...
.
- Thule
Thule is, in classical literature, a place, usually an island...
- An island that was supposed to have existed somewhere in the belt of ScandinaviaScandinavia is a geographical region in northern Europe that includes, and is named after, the Scanian Province. It consists of the kingdoms of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark...
, northern Great BritainGreat Britain is an island lying to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island. With a population of about 59.6 million people, it is the third most populated island on Earth. Great Britain is surrounded by over 1000 smaller...
, IcelandThe Republic of Iceland is a European island country located in the North Atlantic Ocean. It has a population of about 320,000 and a total area of 103,000 km². Its capital and largest city is Reykjavík, whose surrounding area is home to approximately two thirds of the national population...
, and GreenlandGreenland is an autonomous constituent country within the Kingdom of Denmark located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago...
.
- Thuvaraiyam Pathi
Thuvaraiyam Pathi is described in Ayyavazhi mythology. The Akilattirattu Ammanai, the holy text of Ayyavazhi, tells about a sunken land at about 152 miles either south or south-east to Kanyakumari, with 16008 streets....
- In Ayyavazhi mythologyAyyavazhi mythology is the mythology of the growing South Indian religious faith and a sect of Hinduism known as Ayyavazhi. The main source of Ayyavazhi mythology is the Ayyavazhi scripture, Akilattirattu Ammanai, and its supplement, Arul Nool. The Akilattirattu Ammanai is a recitation by Mayon to...
, it was a sunken island some 150 miles off the south coast of IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
.
- Valhalla
In Norse mythology, Valhalla is a majestic, enormous hall located in Asgard, ruled over by the god Odin. Chosen by Odin, half of those that die in combat travel to Valhalla upon death, led by valkyries, while the other half go to the goddess Freyja's field Fólkvangr...
- (from Old Norse Valhöll "hall of the slain") is a majestic, enormous hall located in Asgard, ruled over by the god Odin.
- Ys
Ys, also spelled Is or Ker-Is in Breton, and Ker-Ys in French , is a mythical city that was built on the coast of Brittany and later swallowed by the ocean...
- A city located in BrittanyBrittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Brittany was previously a kingdom and then as a duchy it was a fief of the Kingdom of France. It was at one time called Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
, FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
that was supposedly built below sea level, protected by a dam, and eventually destroyed when the Devil released the water held back by the dam.