In 2019, NASA announced that the agency’s efforts to return to the Moon would be named the Artemis program. The goddess Artemis was heavily associated with the moon, and she’s also the twin of Apollo, whose name graced NASA’s first lunar missions in the 1960s. But why does NASA choose mythological names in the first place?
How much do you know about Hera, one of the original Olympians, wife of Zeus, goddess of marriage and fertility, and fan of peacocks and cows? There’s a lot more to this goddess than most people think. Check this article out to learn 10 fun facts about Hera that most people probably aren’t familiar with.
You may know a lot about mythology, but is evertying you think you know correct? Mental Floss discusses some of the most common misconceptions people have about Greek and Roman myths.
The imprint of Greek and Roman mythology is all around us, from the names of our shoes (Nike, the goddess of victory) to the names of the planets (Mercury, Venus, Mars, etc). And maybe a certain recent movie series has made you familiar with a little Norse mythology, like Thor and Loki, too. Now a new show is introducing Western audiences to Chinese mythology. Find out how costume designers approached dressing ancient Chinese gods for a modern American audience.
D’Aulnoy helped create the fairytale genre we know and enjoy today. Skim the article to find out some interesting facts about her life and work.
Words like “myth” and “legend” often make you think of stories from thousands of years ago, but new legends are always being created. America is no exception, with a number of popular myths spreading during the 1800s as the country expanded westward. This article provides a high-level summary of nine of the most well-known American frontier legends–some entirely fictional, but some based on exaggerations around real people and events.
There’s a lot of talk in the news these days about advances in robotics and artificial intelligence. But, while the technology is new, the ideas for it are not. Many scholars consider the Greek myth of Talos to be the first representation of a robot in literature and art. Watch this video to learn more about this ancient, and powerful, mechanical man.
Mythology from around the world is full of creatures that are half-animal and half-human. It is the perfect blend of mankind and nature. Here are 10 examples of half-human monsters from mythology and how they originated.
Stories rooted in different traditions, time periods, and experiences appeal to families this holiday season.
Some legends are ancient, but others have risen more recently. Read the history and inspiration of one of America’s first–and most enduring–ghost stories, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow.
Every culture has used myths and legends to explain the natural world around them. Watch this short video on the story early Irish residents used to explain a particularly strange rock formation on the northern coast of the island.
Poe’s death is an unsolved mystery. This article present nine theories for the demise of this famous American writer.
How far did the stories of ancient gods and heroes spread? New evidence suggests that many ancient cultures may have overlapped even more than we realized.
Learn how Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom, is more complex than many think with these facts about her story.
Watch the video and consider what the myth teaches us about science and nature.
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While robots and artificial intelligence may seem like recent concepts, some argue that those ideas originated in ancient Greece.
Historians still aren’t quite certain of vampires’ origins, but they have theories. Read more to find out what they are.
Turns out some of the afflictions in well-known fairy tales can be scientifically explained.
Curious about how the games first came to be? Watch the video to learn more.
