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Mythology


Mythology



2 subcategories
Monsters

MONSTERS

Mythological Animals

MYTHOLOGICAL ANIMALS

2,473 photos
The Odyssey Landscape Frescoes: Messengers of Odysseus investigating the island of the Laestrygonians talk to the daughter of King Antiphates. (The Laestrygonians were a mythological tribe of gigantic cannibals who devoured some of Ulysses companions). Roman wall painting; 1st century CE.
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The Odyssey Landscape Frescoes: Messengers of Odysseus investigating the island...

Gilt bronze and silver figure of the enshrined Buddha, Sri Lanka, 18th century. The image of Buddha stands in a 31 cm-high silver arched shrine. The Buddha's right hand faces palm outwards with thumb and forefinger touching, a gesture indicating argument or discussion. The decoration of the arch spews from the mouths of two mythical aquatic monsters. OA 1905.6-16.83
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Gilt bronze and silver figure of the enshrined Buddha, Sri Lanka, 18th century...

Earthenware tile with a monster mask (kwimyun) design, from Korea, Unified Silla dynasty, 7th-9th CE. The concept of using tiles decorated with monster masks to ward off evil spirits originated from China. The tiles were placed in each of the four cardinal directions on top of the roof of royal buildings and Buddhist temples. OA 1992.6-15.24
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Earthenware tile with a monster mask (kwimyun) design, from Korea, Unified Sill...

A pair of fragments of silk, 3rd - 5th CE. These two fragments might once have formed part of a banner headpiece. When discovered by Sir Aurel Stein (1862-1943), they were stitched together to form a larger triangle backed with plain silk and bordered with red tape. The distinctive motif of paired dragons and winged birds is unlike any other textile found there. OA MAS 926a,b.
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A pair of fragments of silk, 3rd - 5th CE. These two fragments might once have f...

Earthenware tile, from the Red Pagoda at Mount Quingliang, Henan Province, China, around 627-650 CE. It came from the topmost row of tiles, just under the eaves of the pagoda. OA 1982.7-25.1
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Earthenware tile, from the Red Pagoda at Mount Quingliang, Henan Province, China...

Pottery jar with dragon handles, chinese, 4th-3rd BCE. This funerary jar of the late Zhou or early Han dynasty is made of grey earthenware. It was clearly intended to imitate a bronze vessel, more expensive and carrying greater status. Pottery placed in burials that imitated bronze and laquer came into use during the Easter Zhou period (771-221 BCE). The handles of the jar are in the shape of dragons. OA 1933.10-25.1
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Pottery jar with dragon handles, chinese, 4th-3rd BCE. This funerary jar of the...

Archaistic jade ring in the form of a dragon and a boy, Ming dynasty, 15th-16th century. The Ming dynasty (1368-1644) had re-established Chinese rule, taking over from the Mongols (Yuan dynasty,1279-1368). Chinese traditions and styles were revived in all things. Many ceramics and jades were modelled on ancient forms. OA 1885.12-27.93
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Archaistic jade ring in the form of a dragon and a boy, Ming dynasty, 15th-16th...

The saga of the hero Rustam: his red horse Rakhsh lies in the pit dug by his brother Shaghhad, but Rustam, also dying, shoots his brother with his final arrow. From a Shahnama manuscript, produced at the end of the Khanid dynasty of Persia in the 1330s.
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The saga of the hero Rustam: his red horse Rakhsh lies in the pit dug by his bro...

Bahram hunting. From the "Five poems of Nizam",1539-1543 ID: Or 2265 fol f 202 verso
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Bahram hunting. From the "Five poems of Nizam",1539-1543 ID: Or 2265 fol f 202...

Battle between Babhruvahana, son of Arjuna the archer in Hinduism, fights against the snakes of the nether regions. Peacocks and other birds attack the snakes, some of which are hooded cobras. The men stand in chariots or ride horses with decorated cparisons, some use bows and arrows. From the Persian version of the "Mahabharata", parvans XIV - XVIII. Authorship is traditionally ascribed to the sage Vyasa. ID: Or 12076
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Battle between Babhruvahana, son of Arjuna the archer in Hinduism, fights agains...

Majnun visited in the desert by his mother and Salim, 1595. Majnun's mother touches him on the shoulder. The ematiated Majnun,wearing a loincloth, rests one hand on the head of a tiger. From the story Layla and Majnun by the poet Nizami. ID: Or 12208, fol. 150 verso.
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Majnun visited in the desert by his mother and Salim, 1595. Majnun's mother tou...

Salim tells Majnun of his mother's death, 1595. The ematiated Majnun,wearing a loincloth, is surrounded by the beasts of the forest. From the story Layla and Majnun by the poet Nizami. ID: Or 12208, fol. 153 verso.
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Salim tells Majnun of his mother's death, 1595. The ematiated Majnun,wearing a l...