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Is there a specific term in Norse mythology for Odin's self-sacrifice? Norse mythology knows some terms for quite complex concepts, such as "Ragnarök". Is there a term for Odin's nine-day self-sacrifice?

**Nope.** The story is known only through Hávamál, a piece of poetry from the poetic Edda, in which it takes up two stanzas. The relevant here is stanza 138: > Veit ek, at ek hekk > vindga meiði á > nætr allar níu, > geiri undaðr > ok gefinn Óðni, > sjalfr sjalfum mér, > á þeim meiði, > er manngi veit > hvers af rótum renn. > Hávamál, stanza 138, from Heimskringla.no English translation: > I know that I hung > upon a windy tree > for nine whole nights, > wounded with a spear > and given to Odin, > myself to myself for me; > on that tree > I knew nothing > of what kind of roots it came from. > Source The relevant word here is "gefinn". This appears to be a normal verb, the Old Norse equivalent of "given". So no, there was no specific term for this sacrifice, at least none that we know of.

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A rock on a beach I've heard of a story in greek mythology, but I am missing a lot of details. Can you help me recover the place where, supposedly, everything happened ? A guy goes alone to a village to steal wine and gold. When the villagers find out, they chase him. He decides to flee by the sea, with a boat. And when the villagers get to the beach, someone giant arrives, and throws a rock on the villagers. The rock has stayed here since then. This should have happened on the West coast of Greece.

I'm sorry, the story had been completely deformed by the person who told it to me. It was supposed to be the story of Ulysses and Polyphemus the cyclops.

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Are there Evil Sybils or Diviners in Greco-Roman Tradition? In the Judeo-Christian tradition there are people of Divine Insight who do evil, such as the Diviner Balaam. I'm wondering if there are Greco-Roman examples like this, especially regarding the Sibyls?

Absolutely! The most famous one is the necromancer Erictho, who originated in Lucan's epic _Pharsalia_ (about the civil war between Caesar and Pompey). In book five, Appius Claudius goes to the oracle at Delphi hoping to find out how the war will end; Apollo possesses the oracle's body and gives a prediction through her. In book six, on the other hand, Pompey's son Sextus wants something different—he seeks out Erictho, the infamous necromancer, and asks her to give him a better prophecy. Instead of praying and deferring to the gods, she threatens them, and gets results: she pulls a ghost back into the world and forces it into a recently-vacated corpse, making it use the corpse's mouth to describe what it saw in the Underworld (where time isn't linear). About half the book is devoted to describing how monstrous Erictho is, in too much detail to copy here—but she definitely fits the "evil necromancer" trope, and is clearly meant as a foil to the Oracle at Delphi earlier in the epic.

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Original Celtic, Old English, Old Norse, or Gothic Texts Online Wondering if there are any original-ish documents in the original Celtic, Old English, Old Norse, or Gothic (or other related languages), telling of any of the myths or fairy tales or stories that could be along the lines of Ovid's Metamorphosis, or the Bibliotheca, or the Bible, or perhaps short stories of different sorts, such as The Little Red RidingHood (or other European stories in Old Norse, Gothic, etc.). Wondering if they can be found online anywhere such as archive.org. Looking for the stories written in the original language, rather than in English. Basically the earliest sources, even if that means in Latin or Greek too, which is maybe more likely (though Beowulf seems to be written in Old English which is more what I'm looking for). If there aren't any, would be helpful to know if they were just not written down or if they are just not transferred from say old books into PDFs.

## Old Norse For Old Norse, heimskringla.no has a lot of material, including different editions (also in modern Nordic languages). The site itself is mostly in Norwegian, so it can be tricky to navigate if you don't speak a Nordic language. There are two obvious books to start with: * Snorri's _Edda_. This is usually the preferable starting point, as it is a treatise on poetics, which gives the background needed to understand and write poetry in the Old Norse style, including the myths that underlie the poetic language. There are also a lot of examples of poetry. * _The Poetic Edda_. This is a collection of poetry with mythological or legendary subject matter. There is of course a lot of other material there as well, but those are the ones you really should check out first. ## Gothic There is very little surviving material of the Gothic language(s) at all. What exists are mainly manuscripts of Wulfila's Bible translation. These are available through the Wulfila project.

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How did you survive my 100-step punch? I remember from long ago a story about a martial artist, The Bully, who was renowned for his "100-step punch": if he lands the blow, you will die after taking 100 steps. One day another martial artist, The Hero, gets into a fight with The Bully, and is hit by the 100-step punch. The Hero staggers away, and The Bully believes he has won. Later, The Hero returns to defeat The Bully. Surprised, The Bully asks, "How did you survive my 100-step punch?" The Hero replies, "I only took 99 steps!" If this sounds familiar to you... Where did this story come from, and is there a better rendition of it than my paltry summary?

This reminded me of the unique "Kill Bill" (Vols. I & II) movies. Found the following on Pinterest: > Pai Mei played by Kung Fu movie legend Gordon Liu in Kill Bill - character is based off of the villain White Lotus with Gordon Liu as the hero. It was a 1980 Shaw Brothers Kung Fu film called Fist of the White Lotus. In that movie after delivering the version of Kill Bill's "Five-Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique", a man would die after 100 steps. "See, my Kung Fu is better than yours. I only took 99 steps!" ~ Gordon Liu.

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What is the historical origin of Medusa? I read a short paragraph on Medusa's wikipedia page about the myth representing a historical event. > A number of early classics scholars interpreted the myth of the Medusa as a quasi-historical - "based on or reconstructed from an event, custom, style, etc., in the past", or "sublimated" memory of an actual invasion. As I understood it, a Joseph Campbell suggests a temple with priestesses wearing gorgon masks, essentially, was invaded by King Perseus' Hellenes around 13th century BC, which would have been Mycenaean Greece I guess. Is there any more info of this? Is anything known about these ancient snake priestesses/godesses/religions? How far back could this go? Proto-Indo-European, even? Or was she just based on a very early greek goddess/cult that was discarded?

The Gorgoneion is a likely origin for the priestess masks. The practice of these amulets as aspects of the Mother Goddess dates back to the Neolithic Age. The oldest Gorgon mask is from Greek Sesklo culture before 6000 BC, but they have been excavated in many places from Etruskia to the Black sea coast.

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Where to find myths about the origin of civilization? Is there a particular book (from a trustworthy source of course) I can see/buy or website(s) (preferably academic, that legally allow(s) non-academics access to this information)? Edit: Initially, I had in mind myths about ways through which humanity is taught civilization (e.g. a deity teaching humans laws, and how to live by laying the foundation of city-living in general) but I guess I'll also accept the additional information this question seems to ask for.

A few suggestions: The Structural Study of Myth (Levi-Strauss, 1955) Patterns in Comparative Folklore (Eliade, 1948) Sacred Narrative: Readings in the Theory of Myth (University of California Press, 1984) Creation Myths of the World (Encyclopedia, Two Volume)

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How can I find the meanings of certain words of the Inuit language? I have been reading the Inuit and Chukchee mythology on Sacred Texts. There are many words here that appear to be transliteration rather than translations. Is there an Inuit/Chukchee language dictionary? Or even research available for me to consult to get a better idea of what they mean according to the English language during the late 19/20 century ideas? (Or even today?) I have copied and pasted these words into a search and all I get is the text I am currently reading or nothing, but not a translation of what it may mean in English.

You have this dictionary: < I would like to notice the problem when reading such old books made by pioneers is that the lack of any norms makes it difficult to follow them. The way they were writing names, and the fact that due to the time they were writing a creature could be named X by tribe 1, and Z by tribe 2. Hence it is good to have a dictionary of that time. The one building those faced those exact problems.

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Who is the Queen of Heaven in the The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl? In the The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl classic of ancient China, who exactly is the Queen of Heaven? Is it Doumu or The Queen Mother of the West or Wusheng Laomu?

To answer my own question: the Weaver girl is the daughter of the Jade Emperor therefore his wife must be the Jade Empress, the Queen Mother of the West, even though it's not stated in the story itself.

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Image of God of Time In the Time for Chronos, I wrote some code that uses the chrono library to measure the time needed for an image of God of time Chronos to be displayed in ASCII art. However, I am not sure about the image. Poseidon holds the trident, Zeus the lighting and so on. Does Chronos have any distinctive "item" or anything on his pose that would distinguish him from the others?

Under the post of God of Time, I was told that he usually holds a Zodiac Wheel and/or a Scythe (reminds me of a modern Hades with this one).

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Are there any instances of defying a prophecy? In Greek mythology, there are many prophecies. Usually, in spite of someone's effort to prevent it, what is prophesized still happens. As far as I'm aware, the only one to successfully avoid a prophecy was Zeus. He swallowed Metis and their son was never born, therefore he couldn't overthrow Zeus. Are there any instances in Greek mythology of successfully defying a prophecy?

In the Odyssey, Alcinous, who according to Homer was king of the Phaeacians, receives a prophecy that if he were to sail home from Troy with Odysseus (which he did), his kingdom would come to fall by the wrath of Poseidon. Homer never mentioned the fall of the kingdom. In addition, that particular part of the Odyssey was later edited by Aristophanes of Byzantium to say that Zeus intervened to stop the prophecy.

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Does Thor use an axe and/or sword in the Myths? I know Marvel's Thor uses an axe (Jarnbjorn) and sword (Odinsword) in the comics, but an acquaintance of mine insists that the Thor of the norse Mythology also used them. I couldn't find any source that explicitly mentions Thor using such weapons. Is there a source claiming Thor used an axe and/or sword in the Norse Mythology?

No, those weapons are inventions of the comics. We do have a couple of stories in which Thor can not use Mjölnir. In Þrymskviða, the hammer has been stolen by the giant Thrym who demands the hand of Freya in order to give it back. Thor is dressed up in bridal clothing to retrieve his hammer, so it is difficult to say whether the apparent lack of other weapons is part of his disguise or due to lack of options. In the story of Þórsdrápa, also told, with variantions, by Snorri in Skáldskaparmál, Loki tricks Thor into going on a journey to defeat the giant Geirröðr without the help of Mjölnir or his belt of strength. Apparently, he has no alternatives, because we are told that Thor meets the friendly giantess Grid, who gives him good advice and lends him her belt of strength, a pair of iron gloves, and a staff called _Gríðarvölr_. He uses both the staff and the gloves to defeat enemies he meets. So, no, Thor does, afaik, not use either sword nor axe.

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Did the ancient Egyptians worship Cats and Dogs deities at the same period? Did Egyptians worship feline and canine gods at the same period in history?

Dog and Cat deities were worshiped together as early as the Second Dynasty (2890 BCE) in the forms of Anubis and Bastet, but the recorded worship of Anubis dates back to even the First Dynasty (3100 BCE). Bastet's worship centered around the city of Bubastis, while Anubis took a central role in the afterlife as ruler of the underworld until this reign was passed to Osiris the evolving mythology of the Middle Kingdom.

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What is that on Athena's chest? ![enter image description here]( In this statue there is something what looks like a face on Athena's chest. I have seen it on some other statues of Athena. What is it? Is there a myth behind it?

It's not clear from your picture, but the face is most probably a Gorgoneion, a recurring element of Athena's iconography: > In Ancient Greece, the Gorgoneion (Greek: Γοργόνειον) was a special apotropaic amulet showing the Gorgon head, used most famously by the Olympian deities Athena and Zeus: both are said to have worn the gorgoneion as a protective pendant. It was assumed, among other godlike attributes, as a royal aegis to imply divine birth or protection, by rulers of the Hellenistic age, as shown, for instance, on the Alexander Mosaic and the Gonzaga Cameo. > > Source: Wikipedia contributors. (2018, June 16). Gorgoneion. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 21:22, February 5, 2019, from The ever-so-helpful theoi.com has tons of information on the mythology of the Gorgons, if you wish to know more about them. We also happen to host some very interesting questions about Medusa and her sisters on this site.

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Are the Nephilim the demi-gods of the bible? The Nephilim were not aliens, angels, “Watchers,” or rock monsters; they were literal, physical beings produced from the union of the sons of God and the daughters of men. > When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose. Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not abide in man forever, for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years.” The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown.Genesis 6:1–4 Looking at how this is written it reminds me a lot of the demi-gods in especially the Greek mythology. My question is are the Nephilim the demi-gods of the bible?

It depends what you mean by "demi-god". They are of somewhat divine origin, by most understandings of "sons of God" (ancient Hebrew sources identify them with angels of some description). They were men of great renown. That much is in common with the Greek tradition of heroes of divine heritage. However, the Greek heroes (not all of whom were demi-gods in the sense of divine parentage) are the focus of many key stories of myth and actually a focus of religious practice in their cultures - the hero cults. The same cannot be said of the Nephilim in Christianity or Judaism.

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When did chicken become a synonym of cowardice? Chicken is often used to mean someone is a coward. This is exemplified in the game of chicken). When did chicken first become a synonym of cowardice?

According to this Quora answer on the exact same topic: > The primary uses, however, remain those that suggest weakness. Thus the early use to mean a girl or woman, which would become the more recent chick. Such chickens also suggest the 'cuteness' and 'fluffiness' of the creature. > > The first example we have of chicken meaning a coward comes in 1600. It runs thus: > >> 1600 W. Kemp Nine Days’ Wonder: It did him good to have ill words of a hoddy doddy! a hebber de hoy!, a chicken! a squib.

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Standard references on meanings of colors I was wondering about the physics of color, and now am interested in finding out if there are any _standard_ resources on the meanings or appearances of colors. For example, color associations in mythology or folklore of the rainbow. I know in the zodiac there are colors mapped to the specific stones, that would be an example like I am looking for. What google brings about however is a bunch of stuff on the psychology of color saying 'red is for danger or vibrance' etc., but there is no reference on where they are getting these features/observations from. I would like to find religious/mythological/folkloric references mentioning specific colors, like how earth/wind/fire/water are a thing of 4, or the 5 colors in China, that type of thing.

Ellen Conroy _The Symbolism of Color_ (1921) is a popular book on the topic and has been reissued. A more serious approach would be Marshall Sahlins (1976) _Colors and Cultures_ , Semiotica, Vol.16, p.1–22. This leads into the contemporary debate about naming/distinguishing colors which has a long history. In a nutshell: it is culturally relativistic, so only 'field studies' or concrete sources can present the variants of color symbolism. Michel_Pastoureau, a medievist, has a number of books on colors in the (medieval) Western world, some of them available only in French. I just saw (in google books) another book with the title _The Symbolism of Color_ by Faber Birren (1988). I think the topic fascinating when you step beyond a naive universalism.

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Why mythical god-like figures share common attributes like wings or lion body parts in different mythologies/cultures I know some of this mythological depictions are supposed to represent many things like nature forces, and I know Jung's Archetypes theory about symbols founded on the unconscious mind. However I want to know if there is any interpretation or theory on why all these gods had wings and in some cases body parts from animals like horses or lions.

A recent study in psychology found considerable evidence suggesting that applying human-like traits to non-human entities, like animals, shapes, and supernatural beings, may constitute an innate cognitive bias, a bias that is common among all human minds. This behavior is therefore not considered to be primarily dependent on culture (and consequentially the need for similarities in cultures).

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Are there any examples of human sacrifice in tribal societies? Specifically, I mean human sacrifices of their own members (not outside members or prisoners). After watching a chilling movie related to the topic I started thinking more about human sacrifice and after looking around for a good bit I could only find examples of human sacrifice being practiced in settled societies. Is it possible that ideologies of human sacrifice only develop in larger settlements or are there examples of foraging/hunter-gatherer societies that practice it as well?

To start with your second question, there are some indications that stone age humans were carrying out human sacrifice, though not entirely conclusive. In contrast, a lot of evidence of human sacrifice has been found for the neolithic era, at the beginning phase of human settling. This predates larger settlements but is generally found for human groups that had abaondoned their hunter-gathering in favor of agriculture. What changed when settlements turned into larger, organized societies is that human sacrifice became a way to legitimize (religious) authority and class systems. The study in the link provides an analysis of the connection between the rise of organized religions and human sacrifice in particular.

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What happens when gods become forgotten? I heard from somewhere that gods maintain their power from the people worshiping them. The more people pray, the stronger they get. I also heard that If their home/environment is destroyed (eg. Posideon's waters being polluted) then they will lose some of their power. What I would like to know is... 1. Is this true? 2. Can they be killed if no one cares about them?

I don't know about how true it is -- really, how can we? But it is an ancient idea, first put forth by Plutarch, who posited that Pan had died because people no longer believed him to be more than a story (In "The Obsolescence of Oracles"): > The power of the spirit does not affect all persons nor the same persons always in the same way, but it only supplies an enkindling and an inception, as has been said for them that are in a proper state to be affected and to undergo the change. The power comes from the gods and demigods, but, for all that, it is not unfailing nor imperishable nor ageless, lasting into that infinite time by which all things between earth and moon become wearied out, according to our reasoning. And there are some who assert that the things above the moon also do not abide, but give out as they confront the everlasting and infinite, and undergo continual transmutations and rebirths."(section 51) (That idea becomes a subplot in The Percy Jackson series).

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How much of real Greek Mythology does the writer Rick Riordan use? So I've noticed that there is this on going book series done by Rick Riordan. Well, he actually has many. Percy Jackson, Apollo, and the Lost Hero. And it got me thinking a bit. How much of mentioned monsters, gods, etc. is actually true, or it it just to enhance his story?

So after some researching about the writer, I've got this answer. It turns out that all of the mentioned gods, titans, monsters, and historic heroes are real. That's right. Any name (except from the modern demigods and Camp Halfblood) is taken from real Greek Mythology. But there's a catch. Rick Riordan may have revived or slightly altered some of the monsters or titans. For example, Typhon was trapped under a mountain in Greek Mythology, but he comes back in Percy Jackson. So does Cronus and many other monsters. So the answer is yes, all of the characters come from the Greek canon, but the things that they do, and the timelines that they exist in aren't part of the historical canon. I suggest reading Rick Riordan's guide to Greek gods and heroes, as they provide tons of information on true mythological events.

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How were the days of the week named? Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. How did these get their names? Was it from one religion, or did multiple religions adopt and change them? I know that the Norse named some of these dates after their Gods, but which ones, and how were they altered through time?

In English (and most germanic languages) the days of the week come mainly from gods from the Germanic faiths. 1. Monday = Day of the moon 2. Tuesday = Day of Tyr 3. Wednesday = Day of Wodan/Odin 4. Thursday = Day of Thor 5. Friday = Day of Freya (or perhaps Freyr) 6. Saturday = Day of Saturn (Roman influence) 7. Sunday = Day of the Sun

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In the Mabinogion does “black man” mean black haired? Many of the tales in my translation from Welsh by Jones and Jones use the phrase “black man”. Is this referring to someone with black hair or someone of African origin?

If we look at the Red Book of Hergest we can see that it is not clearer in the original text > A gỽr du maỽr a|wely ympenn yr orsed. Literally "You will see a big black man atop the mound" According to Will Parker, who has published his own translations of the Mabinogi tales < > NB: When a person is described as ‘black’ in medieval Welsh literature, it usually denotes someone with black hair, and has no particular racial connotations.

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A monster made of many insects The concept of a monster that presents as a single entity, but is composed of a multitude of worms, bugs, or insects can be found in many media. Examples of this type of monster include _The Nightmare Before Christmas_ 's Oogie Boogie, _Buffy the Vampire Slayer_ 's Worm Guy, and the character Arclo in Brandon Sanderson's _Edgedancer_. Swarms and hive minds may act as one, but do not pretend to be a singular entity. "Colony organism" comes close, but this term from biology lacks the villainous air of a monster. The term I'm looking for would specifically describe an assemblage of simple (usually disgusting) lifeforms that are guided by a (mostly) singular intelligence and intentionally masquerade as something more complex, usually with evil intent. Is there a specific mythological name for such a creature?

Perhaps a bit tenuous, but **The Worm That Walks** might be the closest to what you're seeking. I am not aware of a similar equivalent term from classical mythology, but you could argue this to be inspired by the Cthulhu Mythos. One interpretation of the ending to HP Lovecraft's _The Festival_ is a monster composed of maggots: > Wisely did Ibn Schacabac say, that happy is the tomb where no wizard hath lain, and happy the town at night whose wizards are all ashes. For it is of old rumour that the soul of the devil-bought hastes not from his charnel clay, but fats and instructs the very worm that gnaws; till out of corruption horrid life springs, and the dull scavengers of earth wax crafty to vex it and swell monstrous to plague it. Great holes secretly are digged where earth's pores ought to suffice, and things have learnt to walk that ought to crawl. The concept of "the worm that walks" has since inspired a slew of such monsters, and lends its name to the associated trope.

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How was the Old Norse Edda likely formatted? If you look at version of it online, it's all broken down into verses and stanzas, all numbered. But I wonder if this is how it was originally written down, or if the verses weren't ever marked.

The Elder or Poetic Edda is known entirely from the **_Codex Regius_** , a 13th-century collection of Norse poems written on 45 vellum pages. The general form of the text is what we would today call a "wall of text": !Codex Regius (Source: Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain asserted) (Here's a website that shows pictures of the individual pages a little more closely.) The poems' textual representation of grouped and numbered lines is done by modern scholars. However this does **not** imply that the poems have no structure. Their stanzas and lines are naturally deduced from the inherent alliterative verse structure of the words themselves. Before the poems were written down, of course, they were recited from memory.

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Does Loki grow old and infirm while chained beneath the serpent? Once Loki is chained in the cave with a serpent dripping venom over him, he is destined to remain there trough the ages until the day of Ragnarok. But in other parts of Norse myth, it's made clear that the gods must eat Idun's apples from time to time or they grow old and weak. How does Loki survive through the ages without eating those apples? And when Ragnarok finally comes, how is he fit enough to go into battle and kill other gods like Heimdall?

In the Poetic Edda, it's clear that Loki is different from the Aesir. He descended from Ymir, whereas the Aesir did not. It's possible that his rules are different from the Aesir's, too. For example, he shape shifted into the female gender on several different occasions; whereas, the Aesir were never known to do that. It seemed likely that he went for several years without eating an apple and he couldn't care less.

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What is the meaning of the inscriptions on Baphomet arms? I refer to Latin words **SOLVE** and **COAGULA** on his arms. I understand literal translation of these words but it doesn't throw any light of the real designation and sacred meaning of them. All the explanations I found of the web are incoherent, fragmentary and lack credibility, their authors are not confident. Not to mention that all the knowledge about Baphomet himself and history of his emergence in historical sources is very contradictory, even the Wikipedia article is not very trustworthy.

"Solve et coagula" is the principle underlying alchemy: _dissolve_ materials to their constituents and re- _assemble_ these into something else. Fulcanelli writes of this quote: > If you know how to dissolve the fixed, > > And to make the dissolved fly, > > Then to fix the flying in powder, > > You have something to console yourself with.

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Do European folklore creatures, like ogres, brownies, fairies,goblins etc. have characteristics attributed to anti-semitism? These creatures mentioned in the title have characteristics (any, such as traits, costumes, behavior, etc.) attributed to anti-semitism by antisemitic people (or have their origins rooted in this)?

# Possible You don't mention any specific characteristics, specific dates or specific references so it's impossible to determine any real connexion between folkloristic iconography and some real instance(s) of antisemitism. That said, one can speculate. From the 21st century perspective, we could say: "Well, Dwarves love gold and the Jews run the banking system, so naturally, Dwarves are a caricature of Jews." The premise falls apart once we realise that mythological Dwarves, while they do seem to be into gold and gems, come to us from prechristian times out of the far north. Unlikely, it seems to me, that pagan Norsemen would be so perturbed by Jews that they would invent a whole race for the simple purpose of denigration. Does that mean later antisemites couldn't take those characteristics of Dwarves and turn them to evil? Of course it's possible! Tolkien fell afoul of this accusation. I think at best the answer to your query is both yes and no.

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How crazy are the Maenads from Greek Mythology? I have read about the Maenads, how they were insane followers of the god Dionysus, that their names literally meant "the raving ones" and that they were frequently in a state of ecstatic intoxication. Are there any tales about them doing activities that are exceptionally insane and what lead to the Maenads being such crazy followers of the god of wine and parties?

They weren't just insane followers, they were supposedly nurses too. They were mad because of alcohols and drugs, and showed the "dark" side of the party. Sometimes, drinking too much cause violence, sometimes violence cause death. "Real" followers of Dyonisos tried to emulate their madness with mushrooms and other psychotropes. For some reason, this is cited in the french wiki article but not in the english one (aforementioned french menead article) About their most crazy acts in myths, they're very rare actually. Some greek hero had to chase them and they moved weirdly, bending unnaturaly etc, but I sadly doubt any tales is centered about them. The wikipedia articles are kinda well documented, this could be a good start even though it's not perfect

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Native American (possibly) apocalyptic prophecy about inanimate objects coming to life I am in search of a difficult-to-Google fact. I once saw a Discovery Channel-esque documentary about an apocalyptic prophecy that all of the tools and other man-made objects would at some point take on a life of their own and turn on humankind. I'm pretty sure it was from a Native American culture (I thought Mayan but that didn't turn up anything useful online so maybe not). Does anyone know whether this is/was a genuinely held cultural belief somewhere, if so what culture, and where I can find out more?

You may be referring to a legend in the Huarochirí Manuscript mentioned in this book: Colonial Spanish America. Animate objects in this text are linked to a beginning-of-the-world event, the first sunrise, set in ancient times (which can of course also be considered an end-of-the-world event for the mythical time before the first sunrise). An exhaustive study of this can be found in Linda Brown's When Pre-Sunrise Beings Inhabit a Post-Sunrise World: Time, Animate Objects, and Contemporary Tz'utujil Maya Ritual Practitioners

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Since when does Valhalla exist in Norse mythology? Since when does Valhalla exist in Norse mythology ? Like (almost) all **Indo-Europeans** the Vikings believed in a cycle of _life_ , _death_ and _rebirth_. Valhalla contradicts this fundamental content of Norse mythology a bit. So was Valhalla introduced in a late 'stratum' of mythology or how did the concept of Valhalla develop ?

No one knows specifically when Valhalla became a part of Norse mythology, but it was -as far as we know- first recorded in the stanzas of a 10th century poem commemorating the Eric Bloodaxe known as Eiríksmál. This skaldic poem as compiled in Fagrskinna, a latter work written in 1220 that is know as one of the kings' sagas, a series of old Norse tales and the story that codified Valhalla for many Norse and non-Norse peoples.

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How does the concept of monism apply to Aztec philosophy and myths? Aztec mythology is polytheistic, yet I read in class that Aztec philosophy was monist - a philosophy based around oneness, that all things are connected to one item or source, sometimes represented as a single metaphysical being. Is it true that Aztec beliefs were monist. If it is true, how did the Aztecs hold monist beliefs while still believing in multiple different natural forces/gods and are there any Aztec mythological stories that have monism as a core theme?

According to Wikipedia: > Aztec priests had a panentheistic view of religion but the popular Aztec religion maintained polytheism. Priests saw the different gods as aspects of the singular and transcendent unity of Teotl but the masses were allowed to practice polytheism without understanding the true, unified nature of their Aztec gods. This is not an exception in the evolution of polytheistic cultures. Judaism was originally polytheistic as well but evolved into monotheism, though many OT texts still echo polytheism. Arguably, the only surviving religion that regressed from monism into esoteric polytheism is Christianity, through the concept of the trinity.

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Horse-headed human -> Ipotane? There was a question on English SE about _the name of horse-headed human_ (opposite of Centaur), I wrote **Ipotane** in an answer. When I searched up 'Ipotane' on Google, it gave me the following image: 

I don't think it would be Hippotane: _ιππότης_ (hippotes) in Ancient Greek just means "soldier" or something close to our word "knight". If you want to derive from Greek, then Wikipedia suggests _ιππότης λεώς_ (hippotes leous), but that literally means "horse people", so that's not exactly it either. Some versions of the Perseus myth mention a horse-headed man, based on the cave-cult of the horse-headed Demeter, but gives this creature no specific name: . _με άλογο_ means horse-headed, adding an "n" to rhyme with "gorgon", but this has no historical basis.

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What is the fable character of a tiger? In beast fables, the animals are very fixed in character to convey the meaning -- foxes and ravens are crafty, bears are strong but stupid, wolves are fierce, and lions are commanding frequently to the point of being tyrannical. In regions where tigers are common, what sort of character are they depicted as in fables?

In Indian folklore, a popular tale is "The Brahman, the Tiger, and the Six Judges". Another popular one is "The tiger, the fox and the hunters". Here's a few more tales from Malaya & Pakistan. In most, the tiger is deceitful and not too bright.

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Is there an English translation of the Inuit story "Mother of the Dog Children"? I'm trying to find the translation to the Inuit story "Mother of the Dog Children", viewable here -- < Any resources that may help translate this text are helpful! Or even if there's another source with this text at all.

The text on that page seems to come from this collection of stories. The text is attributed to a Neil Christopher. The year at the end of the text (ᕘᐊᔅ, **1901** , ᒪᑉᐱᒐᑦ 163-165) also appears in the References page at the end of the collection. I believe the reference is to the collected notes on Inuits by George Comer, James S. Mutch, and E.J. Peck. On pages 165 and 327 (pages 167 and 329 of the PDF) there are two versions of the story.

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What symbol is on the staff of The Sorceress by Georges Merle? ![TheSorceress-GeorgesMerle]( This painting depicts a number of symbols from various cultures. It was shown at a Paris exhibition in 1883, and I suspect the painting is more imagination than an accurate depiction of any sorceress. That said, the subject holds a staff with a symbol on top. The closest I have found is a "Pagan symbol of Summer" shown on this site, which grouped it among other symbols that appear to be western European. ![enter image description here]( ![enter image description here]( Is that the symbol used in the painting? If so, why did the artist use a Pagan symbol, if he wanted to affect a non-European vibe?

In modern Wicca, this staff is called "The Stang". In its simplest form, a forked staff, Witches use the Stang in various ways including representing the Horned One, aiding in spirit flight, and directing energy. ![enter image description here](

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Why did Pittheus trick Aegeus? The story of Theseus' birth has already been covered in this forum. My question is about Pittheus' _motivation_ behind getting Aegeus drunk and offering him his daughter Aethra. In Euripedes' _Medea_ , Aegeus describes Pittheus as 'closest of all my allies'. So why did Pittheus, who understood the Pythia's prophesy, deliberately trick Aegeus into not following the prophesy and thus cause Aegeus' death (albeit quite some time later)? What did Pittheus have to gain by this? Influence in Athens?

A grandson. Since his purpose was to get him to sleep with his daughter, he must have deduced that the resulting son would be something special, and special enough to risk angering Aegeus. At least, on the face of it. There are no myths that go into what he was thinking.

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Hall of Two Truths: Ancient Egypt Does anyone know what the proper ancient Egyptian name for the Hall of Truth, Hall of Two Truths, or Hall of Judgement is? This is the hall where a soul is weighed on a scale against the feather of Ma'at. I've tried several google searches to no avail. Ma'at means truth, and the words wADyt and iwynt both mean a specific type of columned hall. The word wpt means judgement. I am just uncertain of the order they would go in, or which one is historically accurate. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

It is "Hall of Two Truths", or "Dual Truth" ![enter image description here]( Note that this hall is also sometimes called "Double Ma'at", inferring Isis and Nephtys.

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Examples of non-Homeric invisibility as clouds Homer uses the trope of clouds of mist rendering a god or person unseen (even to people right next to them, in the daylight) a number of times throughout the _Iliad_ and _Odyssey_. For example, in the Iliad this is performed by Minerva in Book I, Venus in Book III, and at least four different gods in Book V. Minerva does it again in Odyssey Book VII, when she hides Odysseus with a "thick cloud of darkness" that lets him wander through the city of the Phaeacians undetected. I'm wondering if there are other examples of this trope (invisibility as clouds) in other mythological sources? I have a sense of having seen a similar example in Sumerian or Babylonian works, but I can't put my finger on it anymore. I've scanned all through my copy of Innana and other online sources to no avail. Are there other examples?

Yes! The primary example that I am familiar with is the féth fíada of Irish mythology, magical mist that the most prominent clan of Irish deities, the Tuatha Dé Danann, employ to hide themselves from the eyes of mortals. From Oxford Reference: > A magic mist or veil that usually renders those under it invisible; sometimes those under it may take animal form. Also known as ceó druídecta, ceo draoidheachte [druid's fog]. Féth fíada is usually thought to be a power of druids and the Tuatha Dé Danann, given them by Manannán mac Lir after their defeat by the Milesians. Unfortunately, that is the only named example I am aware of that fits your criteria. It is, however, the best example of what you're looking for. I am certain that other cultures had some ideas of this concept as well, for if both Irish and Greek cultures exhibit these similar notions, there is likely an Indo-European root to them. That's only speculation, though! Hope this helps, and have a great day.

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Is there a myth about someone who constantly creates their own demise? Since this is certainly a common theme, I'm wondering if there is a myth about someone who ignorantly walks themselves repeatedly into ill-fate or their own misery. It would be like Sisyphus, but instead of being cursed to move the boulder, he did it on his own will and just repeatedly crushes himself with the boulder. It can be really from any origin, I'm just convinced there has to be some myth that fits this theme, considering how much it plays out in modern life, and how accurate many myths were at describing things that... well, often play out in life. I know this question is super broad but something tells me there has to be something pretty accurate out there. Thank you!

**Epimetheus:** His name literally means afterthought. < The brother of Prometheus, he never thought about the consequences of his actions, but instead reacted to things as they occurred. He and Prometheus were entrusted with the box containing all the evils of the world, and Epimetheus was warned by his brother not to accept gifts from the gods, who wanted to punish mankind for their crimes. Yet when the gods offered Pandora as a gift, he readily accepted (and we all know how that turned out.) Epimetheus was not really evil, he just didn't think and got in endless trouble because of it.

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What is the name of Ancient Egyptian "water jousting" I have come across a form of combat from ancient Egypt called 'water jousting'. Does anyone know the actual Egyptian term for this, or any other ancient Egyptian terms for things like wrestling, which the greeks called pale (πάλη)?

Archeologists call it "Egyptian Fisherman Jousting", an aquatic combat sport practiced in ancient Egypt. Modern knowledge of this sport comes from studying ancient Egyptian tomb reliefs. , the can mean both "to row" and "to fight", the indicates a plural of (fisherman)

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Why Does the Devil Have a Silver Nose I recently heard an Italian fairy-tale from a friend, in which a girl rescues her sisters from the Devil's basement. I've identified the tale as _How the Devil Married Three Sisters_ (sometimes _Silver Nose_ or _The Devil's Silver Nose_ ). No matter the title, in the story the Devil has a nose made out of silver. Is there a traditional explanation for this, or even other tales where it is mentioned? A peremptory google search and search of this Stack Exchange didn't find me anything besides various tellings and re-tellings of the same story.

Italo Calvino mentioned in his _Italian Folktales_ that the silver nose was rare even in Italian tales. But a silver nose was sometimes used as a prosthetic, when you lost a nose to syphilis. Hence, a silver nose is a sign of loose living.

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Were the Nekomata bipedal? The Japanese monster Nekōmata (), which means "forked cat", was supposedly a two-tailed cat creature that lived in the mountains, but was originally a horribly mistreated house cat. I have read that they eat human flesh, and can perform necromantic feats, such as raising the dead. I have seen pictures of cats wearing Kimono and performing human acts, such as playing musical instruments. Are these creatures bipeds, capable of human acts? Any information that can give a more concrete description of this creature would be greatly appreciated

From what I've read, it seems that they often do walk around on their hind legs. On Wikipedia, it says, " The less experienced cat has difficulty standing on its hind legs while the older cat is able to do so." The website yokai.com seems to agree, saying that they are "most likely seen walking around on their hind legs and speaking human languages." So, to answer your question, it seems that nekomata often did engage in human acts, such as walking on two legs. Also, in this image![enter image description here]( a nekomata, it is shown wearing human clothes and playing a shamisen.

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How much time is a generation in the odyssey and Iliad? Prompted by the question How old was Nestor is there any reference to how much Homer considered a generation to be? I cannot seem to find any good reference that is reliable and sourced correctly, most sites in my search results have varying numbers but no specific sources or pages to consult on whether their interpretation is the correct one.

Since Homer wrote primarily from a male perspective, we can roughly equate a generation with the average age of marriage for males in Ancient Greece, which would be around 30 years. From the female perspective, it would be 15 years. For the wife to be fully accepted into the groom’s family, a child had to be conceived from their union as soon as possible after marriage. The only exception would be Sparta, where men married around 20 years of age, but would spend most of their time in the barracks until they reached the age of 30.

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Why was Poseidon an Olympian but not Hades? To justify Hades not being an Olympian people have said that it was because he was the God of the Underworld, therefore, in order to rule it he needed to live over there instead of Mount Olympus. What about Poseidon? He was also the God of sea, so why did he not live underwater rather than on Mount Olympus?

Poseidon does actually live underwater. From the _Iliad_ : > Forthwith then he went down from the rugged mount, striding forth with swift footsteps, and the high mountains trembled and the woodland beneath the immortal feet of Poseidon as he went. Thrice he strode in his course, and with the fourth stride he reached his goal, even Aegae, where was **his famous palace builded in the depths of the mere** , golden and gleaming, imperishable for ever. > > Hom. Il. 13.21-22 Poseidon's inclusion on the list Twelve Opympians is rather more due to him being a major deity, and a much more significant target of worship, than Hades. Poseidon was the patron god of several cities including Corinth, and held to be second only to Athena even in Athens. Meanwhile, Hades have very few cults, and in fact, some considered Hades no more than an aspect of Zeus or Dionysus.

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Greco-Roman stories of a mother losing her daughter? I am looking for Greco-Roman stories of a mother losing her young daughter and the grief that takes place as a consequence of such. I am writing a play where a similar thing occurs and would like to make an allusion to classical mythology. (the story could be from anything classical, even folklore is fine, although stories which are too obscure might defeat the purpose of making an allusion. Any insight would be humbly and greatly appreciated.

Some famous stories: * Demeter and Persephone, as already mentioned by Malady * Clytaemnestra and Iphigenia (Euripides' _Iphigenia in Aulis_) * Hecuba and Polyxena (Euripides' _Hecuba_))

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English transliteration of the Persian word for werewolf? I have found that the Persian word for werewolf is (گرگینه) which the closest English transliteration I can find is "grgynh". Does anyone know of better transliteration, that lends itself to being pronounced more easily? Or an older term for werewolf from this region, like Avestian? I have found varka as Avestian for wolf.

This may seem odd, but I'm answering my own question. The transliteration answer for (گرگینه) is gorgine. I found the answer here: < and the audio pronunciation here: <

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Is this stylized version of the world turtle part of any known lore? We found this stylized world turtle flag and are wondering if it is anything "real" or just a modern artist version of the world turtle. Any ideas? ![Flag with turtle motif](

This seems like a modern reinterpretation of the Lo Shu Square using symbols from western alchemy. The Lo Shu Square is a magic 3x3 square of numbers which according to a Chinese legend appeared on the back of a turtle. See this picture for comparison with the one you posted: ![enter image description here]( According to the "Earlier Heaven" Taoist Bagua, one can associate the numbers 1,3,7 and 9 appearing on the turtle's back to the elements Earth, Fire, Water and Sky. In the flag you posted the triangles are Alchemical Symbols for the same elements (with the correspondence Sky=Air), although not in the same order. I have no clue regarding the middle symbol, though. One guess, but this is just speculation, is that it could be a stylized Yellow Dragon, associated with the center of the cosmos, and quintessence (the fifth element).

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What makes rooster laying eggs? In the myth of the Basilisk, the monster was born from the egg layed by a rooster. And there were medieval processes, where a rooster was condemned to the death for laying an egg. But how it was believed that rooster layed the egg? Was it the result of a sodomy? Or there is other explanation?

According to E.V. Walter's article "Nature on Trial: The Case of the Rooster That Laid an Egg", such medieval animal trials where very similar in spirit to witch trials: the guilty animals were often believed to be possessed by evil spirits, demons, or the Devil himself. In "Legal Lore: Curiosities of Law and Lawyers", William Andrews writes about a particularly famous trial agains a cock which laid eggs: > ... Satan employed witches to hatch such eggs, from which proceeded winged serpents most dangerous to mankind and > The poor cock was convicted, and condemned to death, not as a cock, however, but as a sorcerer, or perhaps a devil, in the form of a cock... Therefore, it seems that there was no attempt at explaining in a rational or concrete way the acts against the natural order for which the animals were punished. They were simply the supernatural results of sorcery, or the work of Satan himself.

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What would a Roman want to achieve with writing inscriptions and magical signs on bronze nails? I was strolling through the Wikipedia page on bronze and found a picture of bronze nails from Roman times. Under the picture is a text saying > Roman bronze nails with magical signs and inscriptions, 3rd-4th century AD What would a Roman want to achieve with these writings? I know they sometimes used nails on a curse tablet, is there a source describing these practices and their reasoning? The Wikipedia page on Curse Tablets only makes mentions of nails being used to pierce said tablets but not that they themselves are used like a tablet.

I suggest you take a look at Nails for the dead: a polysemic account of an ancient funerary practice by Silvia Alfayé. The paper focuses on the use of nails in Roman funerary practices, but in section 3 she offers a nice overview on the ritual/magical uses of nails in general, including the inscribed bronze nails you are asking about, which she describes as: > These are the so-called _chiodi magici_ , which are 10–20cm long, made of bronze or iron, decorated with geometrical patterns, sigla and/or _charakteres_ , and show no signs of wear. She then lists various possible uses which have been suggested for them: as tools of divination, as votive objects, as amulets. It is even suggested that some of them were used to cure epilepsy, using a technique cited by Pliny, or that they were just more sophisticated versions of simpler, non-inscribed funerary nails.

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Is there an introductory scholarly study guide, involving primary works being discussed, for ancient greek mythology? I am searching for a study guide, as described in the question, giving comprehensive primary sources (e.g. ideally stating all discovered theogonies) and discussing each primary source. It would be helpful if such a study guide gives the details of multiple (ideally all) versions of the myth (if there are multiple versions). It would also be helpful if the study guide put the works in internal chronology as well, e.g. Cypria before Iliad. Thank you

There are literally hundreds of books on the topic, but the best one for serious work is Timothy Gantz's _Early Greek Myth_. This book goes through the earliest sources for the myths and chronicles their development over time. He even covers artistic representations. I would not necessarily call it an "introduction," as it is a proper academic resource, but if you want to get to the original sources fast, this is your best bet. Incidentally, the book is somewhat internally chronological, i.e. Perseus is covered before Heracles' labors, but the chapters will cover lineages as a whole, so if you read it front-to-back (instead of using it as a source book), you'll read about the Seven Against Thebes before reading about Tantalus. There are excellent genealogical tables in the back though to help guide you to what came first.

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Hang up cadavers Some time ago, I read the story about Jason. During his trip, he and the crew met a people used to hang up dead bodies on trees' branch. Who are they?

They are the Colchians, i.e. the inhabitants of Colchis, a region on the eastern coast of the Black Sea, and the mythical destination of Jason and the Argonauts in their search for the Golden Fleece. Here's the passage in Apollonius Rhodius's "Argonautica" (translation by E. V. Rieu) that details the funerary practice you are referring to: > Here osiers and willows stand in rows, with corpses dangling on ropes from their highest branches. To this day the Colchians would think it sacrilege to burn the bodies of their men. They never bury them or raise a mound above them, but wrap them in untanned oxhide and hang them up on trees at a distance from the town. Thus, since it is their custom to bury women. earth and air play equal parts in the disposal of their dead.

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Was the Argo sentient and capable of conversation, or was its speech more like Siri or the USS Enterprise computer? The Argo was built with a branch from the Dodona oak which, according to numerous sources, could speak. I’m wondering about the nature of this ability: did this “speech” make the Argo a fully developed character with opinions and desires of its own, or was it more like the magical equivalent of Siri, a voice-interface only capable of limited statements, answers to specific questions, and occasional prophecies?

I would say Argo was not self aware. Instead, Zeus “... _spoke through the wood taken from one of his Dodonian oaks, as stated in the first book of the Argonautica (Apollonius of Rhodes, 2009), when a talking beam that Athena had made from a Dodonian oak and fitted in the middle of Argo’s keel, spoke with a terrible voice that frightened the Argonauts._ ” - Oracle Trees in the Ancient Hellenic World

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Skagganauk abyss? In Roger Zelazney's Creatures of Light and Darkness, he imagines the Egyptian Typhon, brother of Set, as a void that often takes the form of a stallion. He calls this entity "Skagganauk Abyss", which I always took to be a form of Ginnungagap, the primordial void of Norse mythology. This modern interpretation is resonant, so I'm wondering about its mythical roots. * What is the possible meaning of "Skagganauk"? Was it purely invented, or does it come from somewhere?

As stated here: "Typhon appears as a black horse-shadow, without a horse to cast it. He contains within himself something called Skagganauk Abyss, **which resembles a black hole** , not a term in common use at the time" So perhaps composed form Old Norse words with little regard for grammar: * _skaði_ \- death, harm * _ganga_ \- to go (into), to reside in * _auka_ \- increase, augment; add; exceed, surpass; as in "the abyss, going into it exceeds death", which would be a very poetic description for a black hole.

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Word to mean unwise/foolish coming from the idea of being untravelled? I remember reading somewhere that there is a word in old Norse for unwise/foolish that etymologically refers to someone who's not travelled or left home. Any ideas?

You are probably thinking of Icelandic _heimskur_ "stupid, foolish", which comes from Old Norse _heimskr_ "foolish, silly; who has never been from home" (from ON _heima_ "home"). It appears frequently in Norse sagas, sometimes in the intensive form _allheimskr_ "very stupid". A famous instance of this is the saying _" Engi er allheimskr, ef þegja má"_ ("No one is a total fool, if one knows when to be silent") in the _Saga of Grettir the Strong_. I am not aware of an opposite word relating wisdom with being well-travelled, though.

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What high school subject would mythology & creation myth be covered in? Not sure if this is the best site to ask this question, but what high school subjects would generally cover mythology and creation myth? I have heard that possibly ancient history or literature in English might do, any suggestions on this? I understand that while studying a specific foreign language some mythology may be included for that specific culture, but I mean mythology from multiple cultures to potentially look at similarities and differences.

It depends. In high school, I took a Humanities course that covered Graeco-Roman and Norse mythologies. I don't know how common that type of course is, though. You'll also see some mythology covered in literature classes, such as when they cover works that have mythology in them. Finally, foreign language courses will often touch upon cultural aspects of the people who speak the language in question. Latin (and if the school is lucky enough, ancient Greek) for sure would cover mythological aspects. Maybe some teacher of Japanese somewhere covers Japanese mythology, too?

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What country is related to a phenomenon which is related to Cronus? We were given this puzzle in class and i have no idea, any help would be appreciated

Cronus (Saturn) and Jupiter merge, causing the Bethlehem star phenomenon. That said, Bethlehem is in Palestine. This is probably the answer. <

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Which version of Little Gold Star or the Three Fairies involved a donkey tail? I'm trying to find a version of The Three Fairies (or it may have been a retelling of Cinderella) in which an evil sister gets a donkey tail placed on her forehead. By contrast, the kind protagonist gets a star on her forehead instead. There are versions involving donkey ears and other body parts, but the one I read specifically had a tail coming down from the sky to land on the evil sister's head, and it may have involved more than one sibling. Does anyone know of this particular version, and where it came from?

This occurs in the Italian Colony of Cats, except for the specific detail of the sky: > The little maid, having gratefully kissed the white paw of the old cat, set off for home; but just as she got near her mother’s house the cock crowed, and quickly she turned towards it. Immediately a beautiful golden star appeared on her forehead, crowning her glossy black hair > She was within sight of her mother’s house when she heard in the meadow on the right, the voice of a donkey loudly braying. Quickly she turned her head towards it, and at the same time put her hand up to her forehead, where, waving like a plume, was a donkey’s tail.

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Was there meant to be a connection or comparison between Poseidon's trident and Hades's bident? In Greek mythology, Poseidon carries a three-pronged spear known as a trident, while his brother Hades carries a two-pronged spear known as a bident. For that matter, the third brother Zeus carries the lightning bolt, which is often represented as a single-pronged spear or javelin. To the ancient Greeks, was there meant to be a connection or a comparison in these weapons? The 1-2-3 pattern seems deliberate, but in a world where everyone used spears maybe this is just like three action heroes all carrying guns, without any implied connections between them?

According to Wikipedia > The Romans drew on Etruscan traditions for the interpretation of these signs. A tile found at Urbs Salvia in Picenum depicts an unusual composite Jove, "fairly bristling with weapons": a lightning bolt, a bident, and a trident, uniting the realms of sky, earth, and sea, and representing the three degrees of ominous lightning (see also Summanus).

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Are there any references in mythology/folklore to a concept similar to teleportation? The earliest mention of teleportation that I can find is a mention of "matter transfer" in 1877, but I'm wondering if there's a concept similar to it in folklore. I found something about pukwudgies being able to appear/disappear at will, but couldn't find any actual myths relating to this. Can anyone help?

In Japanese mythology there is the term _shukuchi_ , composed of: * : to contract, to shorten * : earth, location, distance Shukichi is a collective term for various mythical techniques of rapid movement. The term is used in mythology, but can also be found in texts on Daoism and Buddhism. It is also a popular ability in several manga and anime. The related term _suōdìmài_ denotes the power of teleportation attributed to some xians). Those possessing this ability were believed to be capable of moving vast distances in a single step.

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What is the ancient Egyptian word for crocodiles? I am doing research on the ancient Egyptian (Kemetic) gods, and am currently working on Sobek (Sbk). This made me wonder what the word for crocodile is in ancient Egyptian. I have found db or dbj, and msha as the words for crocodile. Now I need to know what the plural forms are. Based on sites I have found online, [here| the possible plural for db would be db-w and msha would be msha-w. I am not well versed in ancient Egyptian, so this is just guess-work at this point. Can anyone confirm this if it is correct, or if it isn't, what is the right answer?

There's two "plurals" to consider: collective nouns and quantitative plurals **Collective nouns:** . However, it is also common to find the determinative or logogram repeated three times. The single consonant sounds “w” and “u” also indicate that a noun is plural in hieroglyphs (while in english “boy” becomes “boys”, in hieroglyphs “sn” becomes “sn-w”). However, the sign is often omitted to save space. ![enter image description here]( You can apply the plural as indicated in the examples above to: ![enter image description here]( ![enter image description here]( ![enter image description here]( Note: all this is Middle-Egyptian

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Which world mythologies depict humans directly harming or killing gods in combat? In _The Iliad_ , the Greek warrior Diomedes directly attacks and wounds both Aphrodite and Ares in a single day. He does so with the blessing of Athena, but the story makes it clear that it is Diomedes himself delivering the blows, not Athena on his behalf: divine assistance notwithstanding, this is direct human-on-god violence. And the blows, while not life-threatening, are serious enough to immediately drive both gods from the battlefield in distress to go seek healing on Olympus. I’m sure that world mythologies are full of stories about humans fighting minor sprites and magical creatures, but Aphrodite and Ares are Olympians, the A-List deities of their pantheon. Do any other mythologies depict their top-tier gods as vulnerable (even through the aid of other gods) to direct violence from mortal humans?

Examples spring to mind from Hindu and Christian traditions: > Krishna himself departed as he had prophesied. . . . a hunter from a distance mistook the soles of his feet for a bird, and shot an arrow, thus ending the tenure of the eighth avatar of Vishnu on earth. R. K. Narayan. _The Mahabharata: A Shortened Modern Prose Version of the Indian Epic._ Chicago: U of Chicago P, 2000. Pp. 178-79. The Passion of Christ is also represented as human-inflicted.

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Is there any evidence of the Ancient Greeks worshipping Zeus's daughter Helen? Is there any evidence of the Ancient Greeks worshipping Zeus's daughter Helen? For example, did they build any shrines in her honor or did they offer sacrifices to her?

> We first a crown of low-growing lotus > > having woven will place it on a shady plane-tree. > > First from a silver oil-flask soft oil > > drawing we will let it drip beneath the shady plane-tree. > > Letters will be carved in the bark, so that someone passing by > > may read in Doric: **" Reverence me. I am Helen's tree."** _Theocritus' epithalamium commemorating the marriage of Helen and Menelaus_ Helen was worshipped and had a festival at Therapnae in Laconia; she also had a temple at Rhodes, where she was worshipped as Helen Dendritis (Helen of the Trees, Έλένα Δενδρῖτις); she was a vegetation or a fertility goddess(the tree goddess). Like her brothers, the Dioscuri, she was a patron deity of sailors. Her name is pre-Hellenic and the cult may go back to the pre-Greek periods.

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The structure of the Fae courts I'm looking for the structure of the Fairy (Fae) courts which are defined by Seelie or Unseelie alignments. There is a lot of fiction written but the problem is that they twist it to their own purposes and add things not in the original mythologies. Can anyone point to a definitive taxonomy (Scottish, Welsh, Irish) that covers this? Regards

Sanderson, Stewart F (December 1957). "The Present State of Folklore Studies in Scotland", may answer your question. The one thing I believe is universal in the two courts is matriarchal leaders, Banrionacha, or “Queens”. Otherwise. I can only think of fictional literary works referencing any structure of their “courts”, if any exist at all in scholarly works.

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Are there any beings from Norse Mythology that could be mistaken for a Kitsune (fox-person spirit)? I'm starting a new Roleplaying campaign soon, and my character is norse/icelandic themed. One of the other character is inspired by Kitsune. I want to find out what, if anything, might my character mistake this character for? I've done some limited research, and it seems like either Fylgja or Hamingja ..? But I'm not clear if that's just because I've misread the wikipedia pages.

## A huldra Huldra (Norway) or "skogsrå" (Sweden) are creatures from folklore who mostly look like young, friendly human women, but have something that marks them as inhuman: a back that is "hollow" or covered with bark, hooves, or a tail, sometimes a fox-tail. They lived in forest. In some stories, they tried to seduce lonely men who then could either disappear or lose their soul, unless they noticed the tail or back, or they could act as protectors of animals. Other stories depicted them as grateful and helpful if treated with respect.

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Are there any accounts of English folklore concerning walking willow trees? > "In English folklore, a willow tree is believed to be quite sinister, capable of uprooting itself and stalking travellers." On the Wikipedia page for willow it has this single sentence under the culture tab about English beliefs, with no reference. I was wondering if there is actually any backing to this, as anything I've tried googling has just come up with basically this same sentence on a bunch of different sites and nothing else relevant. Any confirmation that these beliefs existed and any sources or stories about walking or even otherwise sinister willows would be very appreciated thanks

This is not an account per se, but it _is_ a source that proves such a belief existed in English folklore. Katharine Mary Briggs documents a Somerset rhyme that goes: > Ellum do grieve, > Oak he do hate, > Willow to walk, > If yew travels late Dr. Briggs explains that the folksong embodies traditional beliefs that: > . . . if one elm tree is cut down, the one next him will die of grief, but if oaks are cut they will revenge themselves if they can. The lively way in which shoots spring from the roots of felled oaks probably contributes to this belief. A coppice of this kind is a dangerous place for humans to pass through at night. **Willow is the worst of all, for he walks behind belated travellers muttering.** Source: Briggs, Katharine Mary. _The fairies in tradition and literature._ Psychology Press, 2002.

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How does Glaucus know Patroclus killed Sarpedon? I'm reading the Loeb Iliad so I have the original Greek text alongside English and am confused when reading verse _Il. 16-543_ : > τὸν δ᾽ ὑπὸ Πατρόκλῳ δάμασ᾽ ἔγχεϊ χάλκεος Ἄρης. > ... Him [Sarpedon] has brazen Ares laid low beneath the spear of Patroclus. ... This comes from a speech by Glaucus to Hector as he reproaches him for not defending his allies. Note the English text probably doesn't correspond exactly to that line, I can't read Ancient Greek and the book doesn't align the translations verse-by-verse. So, at the beginning of Book 16, Achilles tells Patroclus to don his armour and fight back the Trojans, so that they may fear it is Achilles who attacks them, rather than Patroclus in disguise. Yet at this point, Patroclus' identity has not been revealed (I think), so how can Glaucus know it is Patroclus who killed Sarpedon moments earlier? My translation is certainly not at fault, because `Πατρόκλῳ` is mentioned by name.

The Greek you presented is the right line, and you're right that it's not clear what is going on. Because the text doesn't actually say, it's anyone's guess why Homer might have had Glaucus name Patroclus. For one, there might have been a missing section that named him first, or maybe they're different traditions, or perhaps it's just Homer "nodding." But from the text on its own terms, it isn't so strange that Glaucus knows. Maybe it is that Glaucus is near enough to Sarpedon (since he heard his voice) that he recognizes Patroclus in the armor. Homer here doesn't make that explicit, but it's plausible enough, especially since Glaucus straightaway prays to Apollo and then names Patroclus. It was also the purpose of Sarpedon's duel to find out who he was fighting: > For I myself will meet this man so that I may know who this person is who so prevails. (16.423-424). Perhaps this is Homer's way of drawing the dots but allowing us to connect them.

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Are vampires vulnerable to crucifixes because of the crucifixion of Jesus? I wanted to know if the legends of vampires being vulnerable to a crucifix or a cross exist because of what happened to Jesus. Is this so?

This question might be of interest. If it's correct that modern vampire folklore largely derives from Stoker, then most likely the answer to your question is yes. Vampire literature only seems to predate Dracula by a century and a half, so it doesn't appear that we're really looking at any kind of deep lore here. Whether in legend or real life, the crucifix is a very powerful sign indeed.

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Name of Greek mythology about someone killing their parents I remember reading a story about someone who killed their parents because they thought their parents was their lover with someone else. The parents visited them and slept in their bed. But they didn't know that their parents came. They only realized after they killed their parents. I think it was Greek mythology. Anyone knows who is it about?

This is the legend attached to Julian the Hospitaller, who may, himself, be legendary. It is not Greek myth. _The Golden Legend_ recounts that witches cursed him to kill his parents at his birth, and his father heard them. His mother prevented the father from killing him, but when he heard the story, he left to prevent it. He married, his wife offered a traveling couple hospitality and her own bed for the night, and he returned, found them in it, and killed them.

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What norse mythology books do you recommend for young children? My children have norse names due to my and my partner's interest in norse mythology. My oldest child (6) is becoming more and more interested in the origins of his name and about Odin, specifically. Are there any books that would be age appropriate to help him better understand the history here.

I found _D'Aulaires' Book of Norse Myths_ quite effective at that age.

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Why was phoenician Melqart identified with Heracles? From the Wikipedia article on Melkart: > To the Greeks and the Romans, **who identified Melqart with Hercules** , he was often distinguished as the Tyrian Hercules. What attributes did they share for this identification? Or was it instead a "random" identification?

Actual reasons why are never clearly stated, but Corinne Bonnet offers the best theory that it was the lion iconography that led to their identification. From her article in the Encyclopedia of Religion (vol. 9): > In many Cypriot cult sites, a Heraklean iconography, similar to that present on the Syrian coast (Amirth) since the sixth to fifth centuries BCE, is present. It may allude to Melqart, but probably also alludes to other cults, including Reshef /Apollo and some anonym Cypriot god, as if the Heraklean shape were a standard male god iconography. **Cyprus was thus a crucial place for the iconographical assimilation between Melqart, the royal god, perhaps associated with the lion (as in the Eastern iconography of the smiting king or god), and the Greek Herakles, who became the god with the leonte, the bow and the club.** The Idalion cup (eighth century BCE) is the best illustration of this assimilation process.

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Commonness of casual phrases like "あたし" and "ちっちゃい" I came across a Japanese girl in Germany who talked using words like instead of , or instead of . When I asked her, she said that these words or usages of words are more common in Japan. * Is this true? * How does the majority of Japanese people judge this? * Shall learners pay attention to such details or avoid this topic entirely?

Atashi is for females. Chicchai can be seen as more emphatic "tiny". They are both quite common. Remember that in most textbooks for any language the most ideal form of the language (often judged so by prescriptive grammarians) is taught. As you familiarize yourself with real world usage (through travel, friends, and media) you will discover all sorts of words you were never taught because they seemed "too casual". DO pay attention because casual speech is appropriate for casual situations; nothing sets you apart as a gaijin more than using polite speech in every single conversation you have.

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Origin of the circle in ぬ, ね, and る When looking at the hiragana ( _nu_ ), ( _ne_ ), and ( _ru_ ) one notices a small circle in the symbols. In fact that circle is the only difference when comparing them with the hiragana ( _me_ ), ( _re_ ) and ( _ro_ ). In the history of hiragana, is there any special reason that lead to this. And while I could see the relation of / and / (given that they sound similar), why are and so different in their pronunciation? !“Mahoraba” by Kojima Akira (Image was taken, and slightly adjusted, from the manga “Mahoraba” by Kojima Akira)

They all originate from the cursive versions of kanji with the same/similar pronunciation as the hiragana. Here's a picture from Wikipedia to illustrate: !origin of the hiragana To answer your question - there is no deep connection between the kana with circles. The kanji they came from just happened to have a circle when written in cursive. And just to be complete, Wikipedia also has a picture on the origin of katakana. They're a bit more obvious because they're taken from the "plain" forms of the kanji.

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What should I look for in a dictionary to help me study? As per the title, what should I look for in a dictionary to help me study Japanese? Are there certain things that I should look for in the dictionary or are they all pretty much the same? To elaborate a bit, what should one be looking for when they are at the following stages? * Casual traveler who is visiting Japan and wants to be able to communicate but does not wish to learn the language. * Student who is just starting to learn the language. * Student who is looking to move to being fluent in the language. * Individual who is already fluent in conversational Japanese but is looking for more specialized knowledge (e.g. computers, engineering, medical, etc).

You will want: * No romaji. Romaji hurts your pronunciation and is a crutch. Get something with furigana, or even better, hiragana in parentheses. * Lots of example sentences. Context is invaluable in learning new words. * Electronic is better. It's faster and can be used mid conversation much more easily. Plus you can write in unknown characters with a stylus. Plus if you get a good one you might never need to replace it. * Once you are at a high enough level you will want to make use of a (Japanese dictionary in Japanese). They are often more thorough, and some stuff is just hard to explain in English.

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What does っす at the end of a sentence mean? I saw a sentence like: > {} **** and none of my dictionaries have an entry for just "". Is it a verb form, gobi, or something else?

It's a contraction of . It's not quite as polite as that though - it's always sounded a bit like "thinking that one needs to be polite but not bothering to do it properly" to me. I guess it comes somewhere between teineigo-level polite and casual in the politeness spectrum.

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What's the proper way to use 先 versus 前に or 以前? I'm trying to understand why is not the best choice to use in these sentences. Is it wrong to use it in this way? × ×

I'm going to assume you mean as in . It's usually written in hiragana to avoid confusion. I think the first sentences are just fine. The × one sounds like spoken language and one sounds more like written language. In the second × sentence, though, would not work because it's used for things that happened "just now" and ten years ago is not "just now". Also, the there is not correct, it's only used when is used to modify a noun or a noun-phrase. You could say e.g. for "an e-mail [I] wrote just now" though.

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When should one add さん at the end of a name? I've heard some names pronounced with added to them (such as ) and some without it. I believe it is related to respect or the age of the person named. What would be the guidelines or general principles to follow regarding ?

"-" is an honorific suffix added to give respect. It can be used either with _males_ and _females_ , and also with given names and family names, **not** to your own name, though. It can be even used attached to the name of the occupation and titles. It's ok to use it with people that you are familiar with, but it's kind of mandatory when you are talking to people you aren't familiar with or people that are not close. Finally, as stated in this page about the "Proper use of "-san"", don't drop the - suffix unless you're being specifically invited to. You can see further info in that link I just gave you.

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Can 何で mean "how"? Looking at this, it seems that when the word is used with the particle, it roughly translates into "by means of what" or "in what context." Personally, that sounds like asking "how". Is this assumption correct? Or can it change based on situation? Also, would it be appropriate to add / / to the end of sentences that use this combination (since it seems that an explanation is being asked.) Would a sentence like this be correct?: (How did you become a doctor?) Thanks!

I agree overall with the other three answers, but I feel there is a difference depending on how it is read. * []{} 'why' * []{} 'by what' Therefore, `` has different meanings depending on how it is read. > []{} > 'Why did you become a doctor?' > > []{} > 'By what did you become a doctor?' > Possible answer: [Supposing (counterfactually) that there are several other routes for becoming a doctor] 'By passing the medical license test'

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Particles: に vs. で I have progressed pretty far in Japanese, but when I construct Japanese sentences, I still get these two particles mixed up. For example, when talking about being inside something, I don't know when to use "" and when to use "." Likewise, when speaking about being next to something, I sometimes don't know if I should use "" or "." How do you know which one to use in a sentence? Which of these is correct? > **** or > ****

In general, is where an action is performed and is the "direction" toward/to/into which the result of an action happens. > * → I'm crying in the room / "The place where I'm at while I'm crying is in the room" > * → I'm crying into the room (meaning like, your tears are flowing from your face into the room). This doesn't make sense unless you happen to be talking about where your tears flow when you cry. In the case of the English saying "crying in my beer", **would** make sense, although that's an idiom that you probably wouldn't directly translate. > The other example > * → I'm in the room ("My existence results in something being in the room (namely, me)" -- ??) > * → "The place where I am doing my existence is the room" - Since existing is not really a (one-time) "performable" action, this doesn't make sense. >

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Questions with ~か or without: how to choose? Studying Japanese on my own, I've learned that in order to make a question, you usually add the particle "~", like this: > It's also true that a question can be asked without it, using the rising tone of voice. But then I found out that in certain contexts, the use of "~" can be seen as sarcastic. My questions are: 1. Is this actually true? 2. And how do we decide when to choose which alternative? Reference sites are appreciated.

You may want to look here and here. Outside of polite language, should be used with care. Generally, it has a very masculine and rough sounding atmosphere. Generally, in informal language, it only used when being very direct or sarcastic. Here's a good example taken from the second link: (Do you think (I) would have that kind of thing!?) Either way, it doesn't have a really "happy" tone to it. Hope I helped :)

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Why is 二十歳 pronounced はたち? is a (to me) bizarre exception to the usual number+ rule for discussing age. Is this rooted in 20 being the Japanese age of majority? _Added:_ To be more specific: why _isn't_ it pronounced like the rest of the words for age?

The there is part of the same series of Japanese readings for numbers as and so on. Where the comes from - that I do not know. It also makes an appearance in some other common words, such as , although in a slightly mangled form. There are readings for the tens after that as well - for instance makes an appearance in words such as and . The rest of the tens are formed by adding to the corresponding "ones" stem: . Although rarely used these days, the old way of counting was quite flexible. Here's a Chiebukuro question that explains the old way pretty nicely - including how to count hundreds, thousands and tens of thousands!

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What is the difference in nuance and usage of the two kanji forms for なおす (naosu), 直す and 治す? Stolen _directly_ from Grigory M's question in the definition phase: <

They both mean "to fix"/"to repair"/"to correct", but is used in the sense of "to heal or cure" ("to fix a disease"). "" is used for fixing, not healing. EDIT: As per Tsuyoshi Ito's correction (confirmed with a bit of googling), I've removed a misleading bit about the object of these verbs.

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How should I select what first-person pronoun to use? I've always had trouble choosing which first person pronoun to use - (watashi), (boku), or (). What kind of factors should I keep in mind when choosing between these? Is it common to vary one's choice by the social context, or do people tend to select one and stick with it all the time?

It depends a lot on the situation. I try to keep it simple and only use three most practical forms of the pronoun: (boku) :: I use it whenever I am not at work (ore) :: Almost never use unless most people around me are already using , too informal. (watashi) :: What I always use at work. Never ever use _boku_ at work, or in an email, since somebody could consider that you are being rude and not too formal. (Happened to me a couple of times when I was a new graduate at a Japanese company).

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When going somewhere, is there any difference between e (へ) and ni (に)? Can you use and interchangeably, as in: > **** and > **** ? Are there any subtle differences in the use of these two?

* emphasizes the location * emphasizes the direction * emphasizes the process or journey

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At work, when is it not ok to finish an email with どうぞよろしくお願いします? Whenever I communicate with my Japanese coworkers, I always finish my emails with I guess in the context of an email in English it could be akin to saying "Cheers" "Regards", so I unless I write , I will be worrying that I was being too informal to that person. When writing an email in Japanese, is there an scenario when finishing with would be considered as being out of place or context?

Your question is "is there a scenario when finishing with [] would be considered out of place or context?". As you noted, is similar to "Cheers" or "Regards", but the main difference is that neither of the latter are calls to action, whereas the former has more of a feeling of asking something. Accordingly, among coworkers, it's fine to use when you're asking for something clearly scope of Things You're Allowed To Ask. I understand that may sound subjective, but that's part of the nature of the Japanese workplace: understanding your position. On the other hand, if you're asking your boss to do something for you personally, it may be too direct as it implies you think that the other side will comply with your asking. In those more sensitive contexts, it may be better to say [/][], literally translating as "if you did indeed do that, I'd be happy" without asking for it so directly.

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What does よろしくおねがいします mean when departing? When on business in Japan last year, a Japanese colleague said to me as the group were leaving after dinner. I'm aware of its usage in initial greetings, as is usually taught in textbooks, but what is its English meaning in this context?

can mean many things in different contexts. The phrase is often first learned as a component of introductions, and thus may be translated as "pleased to meet you" or "how do you do?" but its literal translation is "please [treat me] well/favorably." Outside of introductions you'll often hear it: * When starting a new project with someone: "Please be a good teammate to me." * When you've agreed to help someone or do them a favor: "Thanks, and please help me like you promised." * When you're about to start playing a game with someone: "Please don't cheat." :) Did you agree to help your colleague with something during dinner? That might account for it.

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Why were ゐ and ゑ eliminated? Sometime in the early 20th century, usage of the now-historical kana and (and their katakana equivalents) dropped off, being replaced with and in modern Japanese. What exactly happened here and why?

Because the pronunciation was lost. "Wi" and "we" are still in some dialects, but standard Japanese does not have those sounds. These characters were just spelling. Similarly in English, we pronounce "through" as "thru" because the "gh" sound is long gone and "thru" is now a common variant spelling used in the US (I.E. Drive Thru) After World War II there was a massive language overhaul, and they changed/standardized spelling and also made the Toyo (revised to Joyo) kanji list.

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How rude is it to say 寝ぼけてるんじゃねぇよ！ I've heard this used (also as ) in informal situations with nothing but smiles all around. But when I tried to use it in an informal situation with a colleague, I got the distinct feeling I'd just insulted him. I know it's tough (for me, at least) always to accurately gauge just how "friendly/informal" to be, and I try to err on the side of politeness always, but this one just stumped me. How friendly do you have to be with someone before you can use this expression?

Trust yourself. If you have to apologize for being too casual, that's fine. That's just how you learn what's appropriate. Everyone here is just guessing at what they would do, etc. You're the only one who was there and really felt the atmosphere. Also, it may be hard to tell if he was insulted or if he was just surprised that you would use that phrase. Maybe he's insulted that you're getting better and more confident in Japanese and don't fit into his impression of you anymore. (totally speculating)

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What differences should I look out for between male vs female speech? I was told a story where a male westerner learnt Japanese from his girlfriend and ended up speaking more like a female. The storyteller thought this was hilarious. What important differences should I look for between male and female speech?

There are almost too many to list, but the simple (grammatical) ones are: 1. Men should never use at the end of a sentence in place of . If you're REALLY good at Japanese as a man, you can get away with only when you're saying something to yourself aloud, such as in passing, right before you decide to leave work, et al. 2. Women can end sentences with the nominalizer (). Men can informally (e.g. with their partners, family), but really should avoid it for the most part. 3. Young men sometimes transform into (it's a sound change, nothing grammatical - basically anything ending in "ai", such as "nai", "tai" can become "nee" or "tee"). I've never heard a woman do this. Word selection is also important, but most dictionaries indicate this.

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Do machine transliteration websites exist? Are there web sites that transliterate Japanese text (katakana, hiragana and kanji) into romaji characters without translating the words into the English language? (Note to moderators: I'm merely asking a yes/no question, not asking what someone's favorite transliterator is)

You can try Google Translate's 'read phonetically' or 'listen' options. If you need/want an offline tool as well mecab can do this, among other things. For example, if I enter , it can produce: ,,*,*,,,* ,,*,*,,,* ,,*,*,*,*,* ,,*,*,,,* ,,*,*,,,: ,,*,*,,,: ,,*,*,,,* ,,*,*,,,: ,*,,,,,* EOS With the right command-line flags it will produce raw hiragana. It can, however, be quite confused if it comes across words not in its dictionary.

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What is the difference between 〜となる and 〜になる? Is it a nuance difference? Is it formality? **EDIT** For example: > > > I just made that example up, but for some reason, my gut tells me it's the first one, even though I don't see anything grammatically wrong with the second, either. Is it formality level only?

Pretty finely nuanced, I'd say. is a quotative particle, but is also used to described the manner in which something is done, often figurative. can be used to mean "become like a ~" while is literally "become a ~".

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When do you use 下さい　as opposed to ください I've noticed that there seems to be different usage for and . Is this purely a personal preferences or is there an actual difference their usage? This was actually a question the Japanese people at my work had a discussion about, but couldn't come to a consensus.

There is a usage difference when writing. * "" is supposed to used when you request an item (Please give me the apple) * "" is supposed to used when you ask to do something (Please help/teach me, etc..)

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外来語 (gairaigo) replaced by Japanese word? Are there cases where gairaigo used in every day speech (``, ``, etc...) have been ousted by native Japanese words?

I can't think of any cases where this is the case. However, there is a current trend, particularly in business, to use _waseigo_ or _gairaigo_ to appear more "educated". So going forward, one could assume that there are going to be more words replaced by their _waseigo_ or _gairaigo_ equivalent. There are cases where there is a _gairaigo_ , but the Chinese word is what is used in Japanese, like "baseball". Though I'm not sure what the timeline is for being replaced by .

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What is the correct usage of 承知しました, 了解です and かしこまりました, the more formal forms of 分かる? At work, it is wrong to simply say to say that you understand something. In what situation should I opt to use one of the previously mentioned forms?

is by far the most formal, and is a humble form (). It says that you are inferior to the listener. Most specifically this should be used to interface with customers (hence why wait staff at a restaurant may say it). is polite (), but not humble. It is also appropriate to use with customers or superiors. is also polite in form, and is not humble, but has a certain curt feeling to it (this could be from its usage by the armed services as "Roger"). Informally friends and family often say/text (without the ) in a context where they want to say "Yep, got it". The difference between the latter 2 is nuance, I suppose. Both seem to translate as "I acknowledge and understand". My gut feeling having worked in a Japanese office is that , while polite, isn't formal enough for customers. is better for customers or superiors.

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Is there a general rule for deriving xasu→xaseru intransitives such as 死なせる from 死なす? There are a number of verbs where there is a xasu → xaseru transformation to produce an transitive verb from an intransitive, eg: * → * → * → Is this some kind of generalized rule? (perhaps a classical conjugation?) Or is it something that must be handled on a case-by-case basis?

There is another base form before ~asu, and yes, there is rules for that. - (die) ⇒(let ~ die) ⇒ (make ~ die) - (live) ⇒(let ~ live) ⇒ (make ~ live) - (drink) ⇒(let ~ drink) ⇒(make ~ drink)

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Which is correct: こんばんわ or こんばんは? I've seen both and used; which is correct here? If we interpret the as the topic particle, would seem correct, but it seems that is used quite frequently anyway...

is correct, according to that page in Japanese. My gut feeling is the same - -> . That said, a cursory Google of yielded 13M hits, whereas yielded 26M.

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Where does なう on Twitter come from? If you follow any Japanese speakers on Twitter, you'll almost certainly see them use at the end of a sentence, to say "I am in this place/doing this thing **now** ". Where does this use come from? Who started it? Is it anything to do with the (e.g. bus) announcements that say ""?

It's not clear exactly who or what started it on twitter, but does indeed come from the English "now". It became popular in 2009, shortly after the release of twitter (according to this site). Here are some Japanese articles exploring the usage: * < * < * <

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What is the meaning of all those "w"s in email and SNSs? You see a lot of w and ww and even www in Twitter and casual chat. What does it mean? I've always thought it was but never found out. How is it pronounced? Here's an example from Twitter > ww

They derive from (). They're the Japanese equivalent of "LOL".

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Does "させ" comes from the verb 刺す or just する ? Recently I came across this sentence in a computing-related technical document: > some software some feature I get the meaning (after having integrated some product, we will customize some feature), but my question is: In this sentence, does come from the verb or just ?

--or to be more precise, . It is one way to abbreviate when used in the middle of a sentence (more commonly you would see ).

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Which part of speech is the 「ぞ」 in 「神のみぞ知るセカイ」? {}{} is the title of a manga/anime series but I'm not asking about the anime. I'm just curious about the part in the title. I know there is a particle that is similar to , such that {} is similar to . But I have never encountered nor in the middle of a sentence/clause before, so this made me curious. Which part of speech is that ? What connotation does it bring and how do we use it in a sentence? p/s: I know the is not a part of because when I entered in my Japanese dictionary software it only returned = “only" so I deduced that the is a separate word.

If you look at koujien's entry for there are several uses (mostly outdated), but I think the one which applies here is: In other words, it places emphasis on something specific. So in reguards to this light novel/anime series title I think it places emphasis on the fact that the/a world which ONLY GOD knows about. Also, this reminded me of a famous quote of Sakamoto Ryouma something like "No matter what society says, I know the meaning to my own actions" basically, screw what society says, because I know the path I want to go down. I believe he's emphasizing that what matters is that HE knows what he should be doing.

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