This new series has a great potential! I know It's an obvious one, but I would like to see a video about the "man builds an ark to survive the wrath (in the form of an universal flood) of the gods" story present in Greek, Mesopotamian and Abrahamic Mythology
Please keep doing this! This is a great idea, and you are a great story-teller. Keep up the good work, brother 👍 I knew you weren't the kind to get typecasted And I second the comment above me ☝️
Theres also the Japanese Urashima Tarō and the Irish legend of Tír na nÓg, as reported by the Victorian-era, Greek-Irish Lefcadio Hearn, who helped popularised Japanese culture in the West. Both feature a young man encountering a magical woman who loves him, both are taken to a magical, paradisiacal land, both have the young man missing home after some years in the other world, both are allowed to return as long as they don't break a one rule, both return home only to find out that a few years in the magic world is centuries in the real world, and all their friends and family are dead, both break that one rule, which causes them to physically age like their centuries old (which they are) and die. You gotta wonder how both stories are basically the same only in different settings?
Yeah I remember reading about the land of youth and by the end I was like “wait this is just the Urashima Taro story again”. That was actually what first gave me the idea for this series way back when
@@TheMythologyGuy1 it’s interesting how different cultures have similar stories. Like how multiple cultures have some sort of tempting water creature, like the kelpie in Celtic or sirens in Greek and Roman mythos. Celtic folklore also has silkies which are half human half fish which is similar to nereids who take the mermaid half human half fish shape. Apologies if some of the details are not quite exact, I’m not an expert in any of them by any means but do find mythology in various cultures fascinating
@@TheMythologyGuy1 I think this is just humanity trying to say that they shouldn’t mess with the dead & move on with their lives. But I doubt these idiots ever did.
I've heard a version of Orpheus where he made it to the surface. In joy he looked to his wife only to realize that although he had made it to the surface she did not as she was slightly behind him.
The first Chinese being Pangu and the first Norse Giant Ymir. Both were primordial giants that was what created their universe. Pangu's story however matches more to Atlas where his existence is to hold the heavens and the earth apart. Eventually after his death, his limbs became pillars that hold the heavens above the earth.
Now that you mention it, there’s tales in Aztec and Mesopotamian myth of the world being created from a primordial monster like the world was created from the body of Ymir
Holy freaking shit, seeing your video made me realise a superb connection between games Persona 3 and 4 - the protagonists of those games respectively have Orpheus and Izanagi as their "Personas" (think of them as like Pokemon but for your inner self), and only now did I realise this connection, thank you lmao.
Not only those, but you have Lemuria, Mu, and Atlantis, Excalibur and Kusangi, and Orochi and the Hydra. So many different areas of the world having similar stories, items, and creatures.
I think it is a coincidence. The fact of the matter is that both stories have a similar message, that the dead cannot and should not come back to life. Both situations are also very common in all human societies. A couple is in love, one dies and the other wishes they could do anything to have their love back. These stories are designed to tell people that wishing they could bring back their love one is futile and that they must move on. It's however interesting that these stories are centered around couples in love. You would think that the far more common scenario would be losing a child. I guess the message can be spread easier if it's a couple's story, but it's interesting that neither of these cultures chooses to depict their stories from the perspective of a grieving parent. The coincidence about the pomegranate is very interesting too. Why do both of these underworlds have a rule regarding eating fruits from them? My first instinct would be to put it on the hospitality aspect of Japanese and Greek cultures. You ate a fruit of the underworld therefore you are bound by the rules of hospitality to stay there. I don't know, in my head, it makes sense because of how hospitality plays a role in both cultures.
I think the reason why parents losing their children and wanting their children back is possibly not a common story is because: a) Back then, they didn't have the technology and medicine we have so losing a baby was much more commonplace and might've been easier to come to terms with since it wasn't unheard of. b) Because of point A, people had lots and lots of children. If you lost one child, there were still others. And even if you lose one child, you damn well had it better than those who lost all their children. However, people usually only had one lover that you couldn't always replace. c) There's a certain passion with romance. Sparks fly, there's fire, you get butterflies in your stomach, you get that rush. It's why you treat a lover differently than a friend. I think romance has fallen more to the side than before recently due to recognising aro-ace people and people wanting to focus on their careers and not wanting to have a spouse and children to worry about along with that career.
It should also be noted that in both instances it was a wife that died - I think that probably has something to do with the fact that historically women dying in childbirth was quite common (which even was the actual cause of death in the case of Izanami.) In these instances, the two cultures chose to combine the message of "the dead can't come back to life" with the classic trope of a hero attempting to rescue their lover - albiet unsuccessfully - along with the inevitable fact that a sizable portion of the population would lose female loved ones in their prime to childbirth. Another similar story that comes to mind is the goddess Ishtar, who if I remember correctly also entered the underworld in attempt to ressurect her dead lover, but I don't remember if she succeeded or not. I find that one interesting in that the genders are reversed, but it makes sense as Ishtar was a goddess of love and war, and viewed as a protective figure, so her assuming the role of heroic rescuer makes sense, and it's not like it's unheard of for men to die. Additionally, a lot of cultures do feature grieving parents who lost a child as well, but they tend to feature in the form of spirits rather than a grand heroic role - usually as vengeful spirits trying to avenge the death of a child that was killed, malevolent spirits who want others to suffer the same way they did and attack children as a result, as protective spirits that try to protect children in general, or as just a sad entity without much in the way of concrete goals. This is probably because it was even more common for children to die before reaching adulthood than it was for women to die in childbirth, so I guess that results in a tendency to assign grieving parents a more "common" role if I'm explaining that right? Rather than hero-figure X lost a lover and tried to get them back in this epic queast, we have assorted grieving parents become X, Y, or Z type supernatural beings - because it was even more common, mythologies tend to treat them more as an entire group rather than giving them myths about specific individuals. Again this is just my own personal thoughts on the matter, and my knowledge on the subject is of rather limited scope...
I know their stories are similar. They both lose a love, go to the underworld to get them back, and make a mistake and have to leave them behind. I know this because of Persona. I already knew Orpheus before Persona 3. But I looked into Izanagi while playing Persona 4. I greatly enjoy both mythology and Persona. Helps that Persona has lots of beings from different mythologies.
Some good did come of Izanagi's journey. As he cleaned himself of Yomi's pollutants in a river, from his right eye was born Tsukuyomi the Kami of the Moon. From his left eye was born Amaterasu the Kami of the Sun. And from his nose was born Susanoo the Kami of Storms.
In Finnish mythology there is also Väinämöinen who was a skilled musician and wise sage (or seer), but because Väinämöinen lacked some final words he traveled to the underworld to look for them. There he met matron Tuonettar, Tuone's wife, in the Tuonela's hall and slept with her. On the way to Tuonela, Väinämöinen tricked the ferrywoman, Tuonentytti, and her gatekeeper brother Tuonenpoika, who were guarding that the living did not enter the kingdom of the dead. But when Tuoni found out what Väinämöinen had done, Väinämöinen turned into a fish and escaped from the underworld along the Tuonenjoki river. Väinämöinen left behind a daughter, Kiputyttö or Kivutar, who brings all pain and suffering to people in the world. Some scholars and folklorists say that this myth is a counterpart to the Orpheus myth.
@@kyo0001 No, stuff like Izanagi has nothing to do with the figure as depicted in the folklore/religion lol, and Cerberus is completely different in P5. They just do whatever they want. See: Greek Gods looking nothing like they do in myth
I'm pleasantly surprised at how long I had to scroll until I found a Persona comment Also, basically all of them are completely wrong or amalgamations of several different mythic figures. Or in Lucifer and Satan's case, sometimes two that are the same guy. I mean, the designer for the common Angel literally said he just liked that one famous costume from The Fifth Element. They clearly don't think too hard about it
@@solarsunne4950 religious figures ı mean is like lucifer or other demons and angels. Mytology characters you are talking about and no they have something to do about myth because they share a name.
Yo story time!!! Oh! I have a suggestion! In Native American mythology (I forget which specifically) Coyote steals fire for humanity and in Greek myth Prometheus does the same! Loving this series and I'd just love to hear more myths in general, you're good at storytelling!
I find stuff like this fascinating, the similarities between myths in cultures that - at that time - probably wouldn't have interacted that much! Also the amount of myths that involve taking/eating fruit is interesting too!
There are other tales that are strikingly similar. My favorite ones is the greek story of "Eros and Psyche" and the Norwegian tale "East of Sun, West of Moon"
Izanagi rolls a huge boulder over the entrance of Yomi, closing Izanami inside. She was so angry that she cursed the world they created together, as you said, causing the death of 1000 people every year or something like that, but Izanagi countered the curse by making sure that 1500 or so birthing huts would be ready to welcome more babies, so it all works out. The Kojiki and the Nihon-shoki are wild reads. And while some scholars believe that most of the story is of Japanese origin, the Japanese of that time were also influenced by Korea and China as well. There are a few questionable parts in the Kojiki, like the idea of men before women, were influenced by China rather than being a native Japanese ideal. Japan thousands of years ago was also an international melting pot of other asian and pacific cultures, which most definitely influenced the overall culture of Japan. But, with no documented writing nor very much archeology from that time, Japan's soil is highly acidic, it's hard to say. It is easier to say that the Kojiki and Nihon-shoki were very much influenced by China.
I've always thought that some stories are just that old. We all come from one people, after all. It's nice to think that as far back as we go, we used stories to entertain ourselves, and teach us to accept the real world.
Please keep doing this! This is a great idea, and you are a great story-teller. Keep up the good work, brother 👍 I knew you weren't the kind to get typecasted Also, could you cover Jason and the Argonauts? Maybe as an inaccuracy video
Interesting series, I'd love for you to cover the many similarities between Greek and Hindu Mythology, like Zeus VS Indra, The Trojan War VS The Ramayana, Hades VS Yama, Achilles VS Karna, Poseidon VS Varuna, etc.
In comparative mythology, there is a popular thesis that all Eurasian and North African religions share a common origin in proto-Hinduism, hence the many similarities between myths seemingly continents apart. What's more mysterious, however, is when those same myths appear in the New World as well, far beyond what should have been possible for those peoples to travel at the time... perhaps humanity all shared one religion, once upon a time, which developed into different sects along with the languages and cultural traditions as our species spread across the earth.
There is the biggest similarity I noticed, every mighty warrior's mightiest nemesis is a big snake Examples are Susanoo and Orochi, Heracles and the Hydra, Michael and the Dragon, Thor and the Jormagandr etc
Idk anything about this but it’s a mythology guy video and they always fascinate me. I would get into mythology but I’m unsure were to get well the knowledge on all this. I mean I adored Percy Jackson as a kid heck even read I belive the first 2 books of hero’s of olypmus . Idk I just love mythology
Pretty interesting that two different mythologies can come up with similar myths. Also, I'm probably not the only one that wants to see this, but I think it'd be pretty interesting to see your reactions and your inputs on how Smite did on depicting the playable gods in it. Putting this in just in case you don't know, Smite is a MOBA where you get to play as gods from different mythologies and religions. From the commonly known Greek and Egyptian gods, to the lesser known (by a majority of people) religion and deities with Voodoo's Baron Samedi. Perfectly understandable if you don't, but I just think it'd be pretty cool. Anyway, love the videos and learning about the different kinds of mythology from you, keep up the great work. 👍
History shows a connection between Asians and Greeks did you question anything at all. Attributes of tales matter also mythologies come from sacred rites passed down to kin. Plus we are not separate people we are related. Like to a disgusting amount most Out of Africa folk are like 99 percent related. Jajajaja
You know i just realized something from the story of Orpheus, if he wanted to know if his wife was behind could'nt have just said something like hey if you're behind me gove me a sign like touch my back or asked if she was behind him?
i lost my shit when i heard the line "the underworld is an extremely deadly place that no ordinary being should go to...but is no ordinary being" being repeated
Proto-Indo-European foundational mythology shared by all humans at the start that became distinct and unique as the PIEs spread out across Europe and Asia. After that languages developed independently from one another. Somewhat like the biblical myth of the tower of babel.
Hmm. That was an interesting version of the story about Izanagi and Izanami. I didn't encounter this version before. The version I read was that The Central master of the Universe and another god, both of which are parts of a group of five creator deities, summoned Izanagi and Izanami and tasked them with creating Japan. It was noted that Izanagi and Izanami was the 7th generation of deities that has been summoned, so there were 6 other generations being called before them.
They seem too similar for a coincidence. My best guess is that the story came from a 3rd religion - probably a trading partner somewhere in the middle - that invented the story. And it got syncretized into both, but slightly different.
Or maybe, the Greek myth took the same route Buddhism took from India to Afghanistan to China and finally Japan. Maybe the Greco-Bactrians spread the myth to east Asia. Or maybe these myths are just coincidental.
In my practicum, the kids are doing a whole unit on similar stories Billy beg, Cinderella and Rhodepeius, the girl with the red slippers Thumbelina,Tom Thumb, and Issun Boshi And now they’re doing three stories that are like little red riding hood, with one being from Africa and the other from China
I've always had the thought that maybe every mythology actually comes from the same place, it's just that we all remembered it differently. Like I know it christian but say the tower of babel was real and replace god with gods and who knows? Maybe we tried to build a tower and the gods showed us what's good, made us speak different languages and separated us. Then because everyone remembers it differently, different gods are more important than others. Idk just a thought.
You could talk about the Chaoskampf. The pattern in various cultures of a god, divine being or warrior, many times related to storms and thunder and their fight with a snake-like or dragon-like creature. Susano'o and Orochi, Hercules and the Hydra, Thor and Jormungand, and there are more! Would be interesting.
That's interesting thing about comparative mythology, actually we don't know exactly how Yomi is, in Kiki mythology (Kiki are Kojiki and Nihonshoki) described Yomi like a dark place, BUT some scholars said that probably Yomi isn't dark but only the palace of Izanami is dark. I am studying ancient conception of the underworld in ancient japanese culture. But talking about myth there are so many things that we don't know, for example who are the Kami of Yomi? (In Kiki is plural ) we know that after the escaping of Izanagi, Izanami is called Yomotsu-Ookami which means "The Ookami(supreme kami) of Yomi" . In the Nihonshoki are mentioned different Deities who live in Yomi two created by Izanagi's spit (Haya-Tama-no-Wo and Yomotsu-Koto-Saka-no-Wo) but appear two mysterious Deities as well one of them is Yomotsu-Chimori-Bito who speaks for Izanami, and Kukuri-Hime-no-Kami who is the deification of women who speaks with the death; there are some theories that Kukuri-Hime-no-Kami is a Goddess who rule the Yomi with Izanami but they are theories. When Izanagi saw Izanami, the Goddess was covered by worm thunder Gods called "Yakusa-no-Ikadzuchi". In the Izanami 's curse she didn't said "I Will kill 1000 people in one day" she said "I Will strangulate 1000 head of people from your lovely country" and Izanagi replied to her that in one day he will build 1500 birthing houses. But probably all of this is related to Izanami who was a volcano Goddess. The "no watch me" taboo is not the only one who appears in japanese mythology , for example another example was when the wife of Yama-Sachi-Hiko, Toyo-Tama-Hime must give birth; she says to her husband “I will take the shape of my homeland (my original shape) you don't have to look at me.” however her husband spies on her and she becomes furious with him, returning to the underwater palace and closing the "sea way" forever (preventing people from traveling on the bottom of the sea as they do on the surface). (And happens something similar to these myths, with the princess/priestess Yamato-Hi-Momo-So-Hime with the God of mount Miwa Ō-Mono-Nushi when she look at him in his original form and she screamed and the God leaves her humiliated, the princess will then prick her genitals with the shuttle of the loom and die.)
The Philippines' 🇵🇭 Tagalog origin myth of the coconut narrates that the remains of the gods Galang Kaluluwa [winged god] and Ulilang Kaluluwa [dragon god] were buried by the supreme god Bathalang Maykapal in the same place and later on a coconut sprouted. The leaves reminded him of Galang's wings and the tall, long trunk that of Ulilang's body. This reminds me of the Polynesian origin myth, specifically that of the Cook Islands, New Zealand 🇳🇿 , of the coconut where Maui killed the sea spirit Te Tuna who wanted to sleep with Maui's wife Hina. Maui fights and kills the eel, cuts its head off, and buries it. The first coconut tree then sprouted from its remains. These countries were settled by Austronesian-speaking people though, so hence the similarities, perhaps.
*Ulilang Kaluluwa is a serpentine god, probably a "naga" and he was Bathala's archnemesis. Galang Kaluluwa is Bathala's best friend. Looks like they were roommates lol. The Polynesian Hina/Sina also appears in the Visayan [central islands of the Philippines] myths as Alunsina or Laun-Sina, the goddess of the eastern skies, daughter of the supreme god, Kaptan, and sister to the wind god Lihangin. She's prominently featured in the Visayan epic called HINILAWOD as the mother of the three main heroes. It's strange though cuz her name means “ The One from Foreign skies” and “ One who is Foreign”. These have connotations of her being a foreigner who came from the East before the world came into being. The Polynesian islands are on the easterly direction from the Philippines. I wonder if that's just coincidental.
Good video, I dind't know the history of Izanagi. Now a question of mine: Did you know some history of Brazilian mytology? I would appreciate a video of yours about it and other less know mythologies
If you want to talk about different Cultures having similar stories how about the fact for some reason in Mythology from multiple Countries have their Thunder God fight Serpent Monster Now we all know that Zeus battled Typhon in Greek Mythology and Thor will fight Jormungandr at Ragnarok But not many people talk about how in Slavic Mythology their Thunder God Perun fought a Serpent named Veles or that Vedic took on Vritro another serpent Think I remember hearing that the Aztec Thunder God also fought a Serpent and maybe the Japanese Thunder did as well What do Thunder Gods have against Snakes???
Wait, so his “betrayal” was going to make sure she was ok? Was he really expected to just wait? And what was she doing? Why was she asleep and decomposing? Where was the king? Did he do that to her? Idk man, seems like he was justified for checking on her. Not like Orpheus who knew the consequences of looking back. No one told the Japanese god (not going to attempt to spell it) what was gonna happen.
You say, sword in hand, that thing looks and I’m pretty sure and function more like a shovel; I’d probably be more comfortable, swinging a shovel than I thought.
I think it is a coincidence, albeit one not too unlikely. People love and people die. It is inevitable that there would be stories to tell people not to try to bring their loved ones back from the dead. With as many cultures as there are, it was fairly likely that some of them would be similar.
This is a really good idea. You can help people from other cultures fimiliarise their teachings and stories with those of others. I've got another story idea 💡. The similarities between Thor vs jormangandr, zeus vs typhon and Indra vs Vitra. All three are powerful thunder gods that had to fight and defeat powerful enemies with dragon or serpentine Characteristics.
I think both stories might be so similar, because they deal with coping with the death of a beloved person and both failing to bring them back So even though both were given a technical chance to bring their loved ones back it was just impossible for them Its hard to describe for me
There’s also the similarities between the story between Eros and Psyche and the story of the Dragon King (or Prince) Amewakahiko for the Tanabata festival.
I think one culture influenced the other. Because if we think about it for just a moment, in the past probably the most fun social activity was listening to stories about Gods and powerful beings/mortals. So someone that was there listening passed it to others ears and then someone decided to either copy or changing a version and there you have it. As for similar stories in Jewish stories we have Shimshon who is the counterpart of Heracles in some elements. Mostly about the strength, wisdom, temper and fighting a lion with bare hands.
Well, in OSP Red's video of the underworld, the Babylonian story of Ishtar getting her husband back from the underworld could have been the precursor to these tales, and happened to be reinterpreted in the same way.
I don't know if it has something to do with being mostly waterlocked with mountainous land or there's a tunnel from Greece to Japan, but it's neat two very different cultures have similar stories.
For me, there are two great possibilities for this coincidence: A)Both stories share a common ancestral version, that spread through human expansion around the world, since the core moral is the same: “you can't bring dead back to life”. B)Convergent Development, similar conditions both in cultural values and geographic similarities, lead to two stories with different origins converging in similar structure and value.
I feel bad for Orpheus, I mean he did fail but it wasn't becouse of a lack of love or trust in his wife but hades. Izanagi on the other hand is hard to feel bad for, he says is willing to do literally anything for his wife and kills hundreds of creatuers (its the realm of death so not sure if they are actually dead xD) but whne he realises his wife dosn't look beautiful anymore decides to give up, and leave her xD. also he mourned his love for who knows how long but is not willing to wait several days for her.
Hey Mythology guy! I just wanted to say I'm a fan of the channel and your contents. I also like how even though you have a different religion or beliefs than others, you still find it interesting. But anyway I have a question to ask you(This is probably going to sound stupid) in Greek mythology, can you tell me who is the God of the sun? Because in some versions I read, Helios is the sun deity. But in others its Hyperion.(Then again, Poseidon isn't the only water God). And it's the same with the Moon Goddess. In the stories, Artemis is the Moon Goddess, but in the older tales I read. The moon Goddess is Selene. Can you do me a solid and tell me?(Sorry, I know it's stupid, I can't tell which one is supposed to be the main one.)
Thank you. In Greek mythology, Hyperion is the Titan of light. His children, Helios and Selene, became the gods of the sun and moon. However, they eventually had their jobs taken over by Apollo and Artemis
That picture you chose of Izanagi and Izanami is **chef's kiss** 💋🤌 Idk which is which yet (because I had to stop the story to write this comment) but that girl is THICC, muh boi. I cant say i wouldnt if she was _my_ sister
Trying something new again. Let me know what you guys think. Also, what other shockingly similar stories do you know about?
This new series has a great potential!
I know It's an obvious one, but I would like to see a video about the "man builds an ark to survive the wrath (in the form of an universal flood) of the gods" story present in Greek, Mesopotamian and Abrahamic Mythology
The story of Demeter and Isis are also both incredibly similar
Please keep doing this! This is a great idea, and you are a great story-teller. Keep up the good work, brother 👍 I knew you weren't the kind to get typecasted
And I second the comment above me ☝️
How Greek, Norse and Slavic mythology all each have three goddesses of fate.
I got three:
1. Mu, Atlantis, and Lemuria
2. Excalibur and Kusanagi
3. The Hydra and Orochi
Izanagi's story is like a life lesson but Orpheus's story is just sad
Well, it is called a tragedy for a reason
Fr
Theres also the Japanese Urashima Tarō and the Irish legend of Tír na nÓg, as reported by the Victorian-era, Greek-Irish Lefcadio Hearn, who helped popularised Japanese culture in the West.
Both feature a young man encountering a magical woman who loves him,
both are taken to a magical, paradisiacal land,
both have the young man missing home after some years in the other world,
both are allowed to return as long as they don't break a one rule,
both return home only to find out that a few years in the magic world is centuries in the real world, and all their friends and family are dead,
both break that one rule, which causes them to physically age like their centuries old (which they are) and die.
You gotta wonder how both stories are basically the same only in different settings?
Yeah I remember reading about the land of youth and by the end I was like “wait this is just the Urashima Taro story again”. That was actually what first gave me the idea for this series way back when
@@TheMythologyGuy1 it’s interesting how different cultures have similar stories. Like how multiple cultures have some sort of tempting water creature, like the kelpie in Celtic or sirens in Greek and Roman mythos. Celtic folklore also has silkies which are half human half fish which is similar to nereids who take the mermaid half human half fish shape. Apologies if some of the details are not quite exact, I’m not an expert in any of them by any means but do find mythology in various cultures fascinating
@@TheMythologyGuy1
I think this is just humanity trying to say that they shouldn’t mess with the dead & move on with their lives.
But I doubt these idiots ever did.
I've heard a version of Orpheus where he made it to the surface. In joy he looked to his wife only to realize that although he had made it to the surface she did not as she was slightly behind him.
Talk about unfair.
Damn hitboxes
@@mdsystems4463 NPC walking speed got him.
The first Chinese being Pangu and the first Norse Giant Ymir. Both were primordial giants that was what created their universe. Pangu's story however matches more to Atlas where his existence is to hold the heavens and the earth apart. Eventually after his death, his limbs became pillars that hold the heavens above the earth.
That is until the Water god being a sore loser and ram into one of the pillars cause the sky to fall and world to Tilt eternally
Now that you mention it, there’s tales in Aztec and Mesopotamian myth of the world being created from a primordial monster like the world was created from the body of Ymir
@@SamuelGalvan_ Do you know the specifics of the story? I'm really interested.
Holy freaking shit, seeing your video made me realise a superb connection between games Persona 3 and 4 - the protagonists of those games respectively have Orpheus and Izanagi as their "Personas" (think of them as like Pokemon but for your inner self), and only now did I realise this connection, thank you lmao.
So it's Pokemon meets JoJo?
@@mr.mcnerdo Yeah but for the main character specifically, for other Persona users it's just JoJo.
Not only those, but you have Lemuria, Mu, and Atlantis, Excalibur and Kusangi, and Orochi and the Hydra. So many different areas of the world having similar stories, items, and creatures.
And Kumari Kandam in Tamil myth, in addition to Atlantis, Mu and Lemuria.
@@thegreattotemaster I knew there was a fourth one somewhere.
also China Fuxi Nüwa
I think it is a coincidence. The fact of the matter is that both stories have a similar message, that the dead cannot and should not come back to life. Both situations are also very common in all human societies. A couple is in love, one dies and the other wishes they could do anything to have their love back. These stories are designed to tell people that wishing they could bring back their love one is futile and that they must move on.
It's however interesting that these stories are centered around couples in love. You would think that the far more common scenario would be losing a child. I guess the message can be spread easier if it's a couple's story, but it's interesting that neither of these cultures chooses to depict their stories from the perspective of a grieving parent.
The coincidence about the pomegranate is very interesting too. Why do both of these underworlds have a rule regarding eating fruits from them? My first instinct would be to put it on the hospitality aspect of Japanese and Greek cultures. You ate a fruit of the underworld therefore you are bound by the rules of hospitality to stay there. I don't know, in my head, it makes sense because of how hospitality plays a role in both cultures.
I think the reason why parents losing their children and wanting their children back is possibly not a common story is because:
a) Back then, they didn't have the technology and medicine we have so losing a baby was much more commonplace and might've been easier to come to terms with since it wasn't unheard of.
b) Because of point A, people had lots and lots of children. If you lost one child, there were still others. And even if you lose one child, you damn well had it better than those who lost all their children. However, people usually only had one lover that you couldn't always replace.
c) There's a certain passion with romance. Sparks fly, there's fire, you get butterflies in your stomach, you get that rush. It's why you treat a lover differently than a friend.
I think romance has fallen more to the side than before recently due to recognising aro-ace people and people wanting to focus on their careers and not wanting to have a spouse and children to worry about along with that career.
It should also be noted that in both instances it was a wife that died - I think that probably has something to do with the fact that historically women dying in childbirth was quite common (which even was the actual cause of death in the case of Izanami.) In these instances, the two cultures chose to combine the message of "the dead can't come back to life" with the classic trope of a hero attempting to rescue their lover - albiet unsuccessfully - along with the inevitable fact that a sizable portion of the population would lose female loved ones in their prime to childbirth. Another similar story that comes to mind is the goddess Ishtar, who if I remember correctly also entered the underworld in attempt to ressurect her dead lover, but I don't remember if she succeeded or not. I find that one interesting in that the genders are reversed, but it makes sense as Ishtar was a goddess of love and war, and viewed as a protective figure, so her assuming the role of heroic rescuer makes sense, and it's not like it's unheard of for men to die.
Additionally, a lot of cultures do feature grieving parents who lost a child as well, but they tend to feature in the form of spirits rather than a grand heroic role - usually as vengeful spirits trying to avenge the death of a child that was killed, malevolent spirits who want others to suffer the same way they did and attack children as a result, as protective spirits that try to protect children in general, or as just a sad entity without much in the way of concrete goals. This is probably because it was even more common for children to die before reaching adulthood than it was for women to die in childbirth, so I guess that results in a tendency to assign grieving parents a more "common" role if I'm explaining that right? Rather than hero-figure X lost a lover and tried to get them back in this epic queast, we have assorted grieving parents become X, Y, or Z type supernatural beings - because it was even more common, mythologies tend to treat them more as an entire group rather than giving them myths about specific individuals. Again this is just my own personal thoughts on the matter, and my knowledge on the subject is of rather limited scope...
I know their stories are similar. They both lose a love, go to the underworld to get them back, and make a mistake and have to leave them behind.
I know this because of Persona. I already knew Orpheus before Persona 3. But I looked into Izanagi while playing Persona 4.
I greatly enjoy both mythology and Persona. Helps that Persona has lots of beings from different mythologies.
Same
You should narrate these mythological stories. You did so well with Orpheus and Izanagi.
If Orpheus met Izanagi I think they'd share some sympathy having both lost their wives only one left out of fear and the other's being taken away.
Some good did come of Izanagi's journey. As he cleaned himself of Yomi's pollutants in a river, from his right eye was born Tsukuyomi the Kami of the Moon. From his left eye was born Amaterasu the Kami of the Sun. And from his nose was born Susanoo the Kami of Storms.
In Finnish mythology there is also Väinämöinen who was a skilled musician and wise sage (or seer), but because Väinämöinen lacked some final words he traveled to the underworld to look for them. There he met matron Tuonettar, Tuone's wife, in the Tuonela's hall and slept with her. On the way to Tuonela, Väinämöinen tricked the ferrywoman, Tuonentytti, and her gatekeeper brother Tuonenpoika, who were guarding that the living did not enter the kingdom of the dead. But when Tuoni found out what Väinämöinen had done, Väinämöinen turned into a fish and escaped from the underworld along the Tuonenjoki river. Väinämöinen left behind a daughter, Kiputyttö or Kivutar, who brings all pain and suffering to people in the world. Some scholars and folklorists say that this myth is a counterpart to the Orpheus myth.
You summoned the persona fandom, now you must react to every persona to see how many inaccuracies there are
Most Personas have nothing to do with the myth figures tbh
@@solarsunne4950 yes they are religious figures which are modern mytologies.
@@kyo0001 No, stuff like Izanagi has nothing to do with the figure as depicted in the folklore/religion lol, and Cerberus is completely different in P5. They just do whatever they want. See: Greek Gods looking nothing like they do in myth
I'm pleasantly surprised at how long I had to scroll until I found a Persona comment
Also, basically all of them are completely wrong or amalgamations of several different mythic figures. Or in Lucifer and Satan's case, sometimes two that are the same guy. I mean, the designer for the common Angel literally said he just liked that one famous costume from The Fifth Element. They clearly don't think too hard about it
@@solarsunne4950 religious figures ı mean is like lucifer or other demons and angels. Mytology characters you are talking about and no they have something to do about myth because they share a name.
Yo story time!!!
Oh! I have a suggestion!
In Native American mythology (I forget which specifically) Coyote steals fire for humanity and in Greek myth Prometheus does the same!
Loving this series and I'd just love to hear more myths in general, you're good at storytelling!
This was really interesting to watch. It's like a father reading a story to put his child to sleep...until the story of Izanagi and Izanami.
I find stuff like this fascinating, the similarities between myths in cultures that - at that time - probably wouldn't have interacted that much! Also the amount of myths that involve taking/eating fruit is interesting too!
There are other tales that are strikingly similar. My favorite ones is the greek story of "Eros and Psyche" and the Norwegian tale "East of Sun, West of Moon"
Looks like someone got excited for a certain video game release
Izanagi rolls a huge boulder over the entrance of Yomi, closing Izanami inside. She was so angry that she cursed the world they created together, as you said, causing the death of 1000 people every year or something like that, but Izanagi countered the curse by making sure that 1500 or so birthing huts would be ready to welcome more babies, so it all works out. The Kojiki and the Nihon-shoki are wild reads. And while some scholars believe that most of the story is of Japanese origin, the Japanese of that time were also influenced by Korea and China as well. There are a few questionable parts in the Kojiki, like the idea of men before women, were influenced by China rather than being a native Japanese ideal. Japan thousands of years ago was also an international melting pot of other asian and pacific cultures, which most definitely influenced the overall culture of Japan. But, with no documented writing nor very much archeology from that time, Japan's soil is highly acidic, it's hard to say. It is easier to say that the Kojiki and Nihon-shoki were very much influenced by China.
I've always thought that some stories are just that old. We all come from one people, after all. It's nice to think that as far back as we go, we used stories to entertain ourselves, and teach us to accept the real world.
Please keep doing this! This is a great idea, and you are a great story-teller. Keep up the good work, brother 👍 I knew you weren't the kind to get typecasted
Also, could you cover Jason and the Argonauts? Maybe as an inaccuracy video
Orpheus and Izanagi: *got their wives back* "Anyway, I start lookin"
Shinto mythology doesn't get nearly as much attention as it should. Does anyone else want to see an animated movie based on Shinto mythology?
Oh yes, like the tale of Kaguya or Momotaro but tweaked to make it more interesting.
Interesting series, I'd love for you to cover the many similarities between Greek and Hindu Mythology, like Zeus VS Indra, The Trojan War VS The Ramayana, Hades VS Yama, Achilles VS Karna, Poseidon VS Varuna, etc.
From my understanding Hindu gods stomp Greek one’s. I mean Shiva one day will dance and destroy the universe. Zeus has no feats like that.
There is so much emotion in the tone and music. 🔥
honestly i just love listening to you read myths this is great
Orpheus: Damn my impatience!
Izanagi: Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope Nope
In comparative mythology, there is a popular thesis that all Eurasian and North African religions share a common origin in proto-Hinduism, hence the many similarities between myths seemingly continents apart.
What's more mysterious, however, is when those same myths appear in the New World as well, far beyond what should have been possible for those peoples to travel at the time... perhaps humanity all shared one religion, once upon a time, which developed into different sects along with the languages and cultural traditions as our species spread across the earth.
That's a hard match up, i mean one turns into the literal messiah and the other is just izanagi-no-okami.
Good video btw
One has myriad truths tho
There is the biggest similarity I noticed, every mighty warrior's mightiest nemesis is a big snake
Examples are Susanoo and Orochi, Heracles and the Hydra, Michael and the Dragon, Thor and the Jormagandr etc
My persona brain rot is acting up
same here
I think you should do more of these, they are entertaining to listen.
The short version of Orpheus's story is
Never Look Back.
This was great, thank u!! You're a great storyteller!!
Orpheus forgot that Hades is nicer than he's brother's
I do really like this video and would love to see more of you telling tales of others
I really liked this comparison! It's really interesting to see how similar are both stories
I love this please do more. You and other mythology UA-camrs help so much with personal projects.
I always found it so fascinating how similar stories between very different cultures can be
Amazing, hope this becomes a series
I think about the Thunder god vs Serpent/dragon like creature (Thor vs Jormudang / Zeus vs Typhon / Susanoo vs Orochi)
Idk anything about this but it’s a mythology guy video and they always fascinate me. I would get into mythology but I’m unsure were to get well the knowledge on all this. I mean I adored Percy Jackson as a kid heck even read I belive the first 2 books of hero’s of olypmus . Idk I just love mythology
You skipped the Wedding of Orpheus when the God of Marriage told him that the marriage was not going to last due to the god's torch was snuffed.
THANK YOU FOR THIS!!!!!
It baffles me how I havent found a single video about this silly homework copying stuff... until now, that is :)
4:25 woah cake
Japanese mythology also has a storm god (Susanoo) battling a serpent-like monster (Yamata-no-Orochi), like Thor versus Jormungandr.
I like it when stories are compare and contrast.
Pretty interesting that two different mythologies can come up with similar myths. Also, I'm probably not the only one that wants to see this, but I think it'd be pretty interesting to see your reactions and your inputs on how Smite did on depicting the playable gods in it. Putting this in just in case you don't know, Smite is a MOBA where you get to play as gods from different mythologies and religions. From the commonly known Greek and Egyptian gods, to the lesser known (by a majority of people) religion and deities with Voodoo's Baron Samedi. Perfectly understandable if you don't, but I just think it'd be pretty cool. Anyway, love the videos and learning about the different kinds of mythology from you, keep up the great work. 👍
History shows a connection between Asians and Greeks did you question anything at all. Attributes of tales matter also mythologies come from sacred rites passed down to kin. Plus we are not separate people we are related. Like to a disgusting amount most Out of Africa folk are like 99 percent related. Jajajaja
You know i just realized something from the story of Orpheus, if he wanted to know if his wife was behind could'nt have just said something like hey if you're behind me gove me a sign like touch my back or asked if she was behind him?
i lost my shit when i heard the line "the underworld is an extremely deadly place that no ordinary being should go to...but is no ordinary being" being repeated
Alright, I'll give. That is a WEIRD coincidence!
Proto-Indo-European foundational mythology shared by all humans at the start that became distinct and unique as the PIEs spread out across Europe and Asia. After that languages developed independently from one another. Somewhat like the biblical myth of the tower of babel.
Hmm. That was an interesting version of the story about Izanagi and Izanami. I didn't encounter this version before.
The version I read was that The Central master of the Universe and another god, both of which are parts of a group of five creator deities, summoned Izanagi and Izanami and tasked them with creating Japan. It was noted that Izanagi and Izanami was the 7th generation of deities that has been summoned, so there were 6 other generations being called before them.
I love this man I'd love more story time like this to watch before I sleep,
Ps. I'd love for you to check out anime myths
They seem too similar for a coincidence.
My best guess is that the story came from a 3rd religion - probably a trading partner somewhere in the middle - that invented the story. And it got syncretized into both, but slightly different.
Or maybe, the Greek myth took the same route Buddhism took from India to Afghanistan to China and finally Japan. Maybe the Greco-Bactrians spread the myth to east Asia. Or maybe these myths are just coincidental.
In my practicum, the kids are doing a whole unit on similar stories
Billy beg, Cinderella and Rhodepeius, the girl with the red slippers
Thumbelina,Tom Thumb, and Issun Boshi
And now they’re doing three stories that are like little red riding hood, with one being from Africa and the other from China
You should make a video about the mythological inaccuracies In the Kid Icarus series
I've always had the thought that maybe every mythology actually comes from the same place, it's just that we all remembered it differently. Like I know it christian but say the tower of babel was real and replace god with gods and who knows? Maybe we tried to build a tower and the gods showed us what's good, made us speak different languages and separated us. Then because everyone remembers it differently, different gods are more important than others. Idk just a thought.
Persona 3's main character's persona is Orpheus and Persona 4's main character's persona is Izanagi
This is a fun video to watch, definitely keep it up!
Like the video, I missed it originally because it was buried in my subscriptions.
You could talk about the Chaoskampf. The pattern in various cultures of a god, divine being or warrior, many times related to storms and thunder and their fight with a snake-like or dragon-like creature. Susano'o and Orochi, Hercules and the Hydra, Thor and Jormungand, and there are more! Would be interesting.
Even crazier there are literally HUNDREDS of versions of Cinderella spread across different cultures and time periods
Achilles and Baldur they were both made almost indestructible because their mothers wanted to avoid a prophecy that said they were going to die.
1:23 " Bitten by a venomous rattle snake" - I dont think rattle snakes were found in ancient Greece
I love this you should do this once a week❤
That's interesting thing about comparative mythology, actually we don't know exactly how Yomi is, in Kiki mythology (Kiki are Kojiki and Nihonshoki) described Yomi like a dark place, BUT some scholars said that probably Yomi isn't dark but only the palace of Izanami is dark.
I am studying ancient conception of the underworld in ancient japanese culture. But talking about myth there are so many things that we don't know, for example who are the Kami of Yomi? (In Kiki is plural ) we know that after the escaping of Izanagi, Izanami is called Yomotsu-Ookami which means "The Ookami(supreme kami) of Yomi" .
In the Nihonshoki are mentioned different Deities who live in Yomi two created by Izanagi's spit (Haya-Tama-no-Wo and Yomotsu-Koto-Saka-no-Wo) but appear two mysterious Deities as well one of them is Yomotsu-Chimori-Bito who speaks for Izanami, and Kukuri-Hime-no-Kami who is the deification of women who speaks with the death; there are some theories that Kukuri-Hime-no-Kami is a Goddess who rule the Yomi with Izanami but they are theories.
When Izanagi saw Izanami, the Goddess was covered by worm thunder Gods called "Yakusa-no-Ikadzuchi".
In the Izanami 's curse she didn't said "I Will kill 1000 people in one day" she said "I Will strangulate 1000 head of people from your lovely country" and Izanagi replied to her that in one day he will build 1500 birthing houses.
But probably all of this is related to Izanami who was a volcano Goddess.
The "no watch me" taboo is not the only one who appears in japanese mythology , for example another example was when the wife of Yama-Sachi-Hiko, Toyo-Tama-Hime must give birth; she says to her husband “I will take the shape of my homeland (my original shape) you don't have to look at me.” however her husband spies on her and she becomes furious with him, returning to the underwater palace and closing the "sea way" forever (preventing people from traveling on the bottom of the sea as they do on the surface).
(And happens something similar to these myths, with the princess/priestess Yamato-Hi-Momo-So-Hime with the God of mount Miwa Ō-Mono-Nushi when she look at him in his original form and she screamed and the God leaves her humiliated, the princess will then prick her genitals with the shuttle of the loom and die.)
The Philippines' 🇵🇭 Tagalog origin myth of the coconut narrates that the remains of the gods Galang Kaluluwa [winged god] and Ulilang Kaluluwa [dragon god] were buried by the supreme god Bathalang Maykapal in the same place and later on a coconut sprouted. The leaves reminded him of Galang's wings and the tall, long trunk that of Ulilang's body.
This reminds me of the Polynesian origin myth, specifically that of the Cook Islands, New Zealand 🇳🇿 , of the coconut where Maui killed the sea spirit Te Tuna who wanted to sleep with Maui's wife Hina. Maui fights and kills the eel, cuts its head off, and buries it. The first coconut tree then sprouted from its remains.
These countries were settled by Austronesian-speaking people though, so hence the similarities, perhaps.
*Ulilang Kaluluwa is a serpentine god, probably a "naga" and he was Bathala's archnemesis. Galang Kaluluwa is Bathala's best friend. Looks like they were roommates lol.
The Polynesian Hina/Sina also appears in the Visayan [central islands of the Philippines] myths as Alunsina or Laun-Sina, the goddess of the eastern skies, daughter of the supreme god, Kaptan, and sister to the wind god Lihangin. She's prominently featured in the Visayan epic called HINILAWOD as the mother of the three main heroes.
It's strange though cuz her name means “ The One from Foreign skies” and “ One who is Foreign”. These have connotations of her being a foreigner who came from the East before the world came into being. The Polynesian islands are on the easterly direction from the Philippines. I wonder if that's just coincidental.
Good video, I dind't know the history of Izanagi.
Now a question of mine: Did you know some history of Brazilian mytology? I would appreciate a video of yours about it and other less know mythologies
I’ve actually done a few videos on Brazilian mythical creatures
@@TheMythologyGuy1 Well, then I think I miss those videos
@@TheMythologyGuy1 I know you probably won’t do this, but could you do a video about Proto Indo-European mythology?
Maybe the myths are similar, because they reflect a common human experience? Love, death, loss, impatience and guilt. These are powerful experiences.
If you want to talk about different Cultures having similar stories how about the fact for some reason in Mythology from multiple Countries have their Thunder God fight Serpent Monster
Now we all know that Zeus battled Typhon in Greek Mythology and Thor will fight Jormungandr at Ragnarok
But not many people talk about how in Slavic Mythology their Thunder God Perun fought a Serpent named Veles or that Vedic took on Vritro another serpent
Think I remember hearing that the Aztec Thunder God also fought a Serpent and maybe the Japanese Thunder did as well
What do Thunder Gods have against Snakes???
Manunggul Jar depicts a man ferrying the the dead to the afterlife, similar to Charon in the river styx
Wait, so his “betrayal” was going to make sure she was ok? Was he really expected to just wait? And what was she doing? Why was she asleep and decomposing? Where was the king? Did he do that to her? Idk man, seems like he was justified for checking on her. Not like Orpheus who knew the consequences of looking back. No one told the Japanese god (not going to attempt to spell it) what was gonna happen.
You say, sword in hand, that thing looks and I’m pretty sure and function more like a shovel; I’d probably be more comfortable, swinging a shovel than I thought.
Izanagi didn't just decapitate Kagu-tsuchi, he sliced his body into 8 pieces, and those pieces became the 8 great volcanos of Japan.
I think it is a coincidence, albeit one not too unlikely.
People love and people die. It is inevitable that there would be stories to tell people not to try to bring their loved ones back from the dead.
With as many cultures as there are, it was fairly likely that some of them would be similar.
I liked the derek/brandon fietcher music in the background
Andrew is narrating myths! Glad I don't have to pay for this audiobook
This is a really good idea. You can help people from other cultures fimiliarise their teachings and stories with those of others.
I've got another story idea 💡.
The similarities between Thor vs jormangandr, zeus vs typhon and Indra vs Vitra.
All three are powerful thunder gods that had to fight and defeat powerful enemies with dragon or serpentine Characteristics.
I want more now, more similar myth stories
I always like pointing out how dragon-like creatures keep appearing in different mythologies across the world.
I think both stories might be so similar, because they deal with coping with the death of a beloved person and both failing to bring them back
So even though both were given a technical chance to bring their loved ones back it was just impossible for them
Its hard to describe for me
I always wondered about these guys as I know both Orpheus and izanagi's stories from mythology i mostly know them from the game series persona
I thought that Orpheus was a son of Calliope and Oeagrus not Apollo but I guess there are more versions of that story
Depends on the version.
There’s also the similarities between the story between Eros and Psyche and the story of the Dragon King (or Prince) Amewakahiko for the Tanabata festival.
Orpheus and izanagi sharing their stories mutually
Meanwhile makoto and yu: …
I think one culture influenced the other. Because if we think about it for just a moment, in the past probably the most fun social activity was listening to stories about Gods and powerful beings/mortals. So someone that was there listening passed it to others ears and then someone decided to either copy or changing a version and there you have it. As for similar stories in Jewish stories we have Shimshon who is the counterpart of Heracles in some elements. Mostly about the strength, wisdom, temper and fighting a lion with bare hands.
Well, in OSP Red's video of the underworld, the Babylonian story of Ishtar getting her husband back from the underworld could have been the precursor to these tales, and happened to be reinterpreted in the same way.
Wonderful story we should have more video like this with very simliar story
You forgot the most important similarity, though.
They're the starting Personas for the protagonists of Persona 3 and 4.
Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi (草薙の剣) reminds me of Excalibur. ⚔️
I don't know if it has something to do with being mostly waterlocked with mountainous land or there's a tunnel from Greece to Japan, but it's neat two very different cultures have similar stories.
For me, there are two great possibilities for this coincidence:
A)Both stories share a common ancestral version, that spread through human expansion around the world, since the core moral is the same: “you can't bring dead back to life”.
B)Convergent Development, similar conditions both in cultural values and geographic similarities, lead to two stories with different origins converging in similar structure and value.
Orpheus is lighter on that message.
8:40 I’m confused on this part. In one myth, I thought that Izanami birthed the shinigami, not thunder deities?
i'd love to see a video about the similarities between Thumbelina and Kaguya-Hime
I feel bad for Orpheus, I mean he did fail but it wasn't becouse of a lack of love or trust in his wife but hades. Izanagi on the other hand is hard to feel bad for, he says is willing to do literally anything for his wife and kills hundreds of creatuers (its the realm of death so not sure if they are actually dead xD) but whne he realises his wife dosn't look beautiful anymore decides to give up, and leave her xD. also he mourned his love for who knows how long but is not willing to wait several days for her.
Huh, eating the foods of the underworld traps you there both in Japan and Greece. Do more of these, SSS are interesting.
Yeah, what he said.
Hey Mythology guy! I just wanted to say I'm a fan of the channel and your contents. I also like how even though you have a different religion or beliefs than others, you still find it interesting. But anyway I have a question to ask you(This is probably going to sound stupid) in Greek mythology, can you tell me who is the God of the sun? Because in some versions I read, Helios is the sun deity. But in others its Hyperion.(Then again, Poseidon isn't the only water God). And it's the same with the Moon Goddess. In the stories, Artemis is the Moon Goddess, but in the older tales I read. The moon Goddess is Selene. Can you do me a solid and tell me?(Sorry, I know it's stupid, I can't tell which one is supposed to be the main one.)
Thank you. In Greek mythology, Hyperion is the Titan of light. His children, Helios and Selene, became the gods of the sun and moon. However, they eventually had their jobs taken over by Apollo and Artemis
Thanks
That picture you chose of Izanagi and Izanami is **chef's kiss** 💋🤌
Idk which is which yet (because I had to stop the story to write this comment) but that girl is THICC, muh boi. I cant say i wouldnt if she was _my_ sister