Please note that, due to copyright restrictions, many of the translations listed below are quite old, and often no longer reliable. They may, however, be used as approximations, for a brief overview of and introduction into the respective traditions.. References to up-to-date translations will be added in due course.
 
 

* Harvard Courses web sites  (in part, accessible only with Harvard ID). Please inform M.Witzel about your web sites!
 

-  Akkadian 142. Akkadian Hymns and Prayers: Paul-Alain Beaulieu

                       http://www.courses.fas.harvard.edu/~ane100/                                             Maya Scribe
 

-  Early Iranian Civilizations 102.Old Iranian Religion:  P. Oktor Skjaervo 

                        http://www.courses.fas.harvard.edu/~ircv102/

introduction; texts (1), texts (2); bibliography

- Indian Studies 206: Old Indian and Eurasian creation myths :  M. Witzel

                      (see: background information)
                      http://www.courses.fas.harvard.edu/~indst206/
 

-  Folklore and  mythology @ Harvard: Full list, incl. crossreferenced courses
 

* Bibliographies

Mesopotamia, by Paul-Alain Beaulieu

Old Iran, by O. Skjaervo

Archaic India (Vedic)                                                                                                               Egyptian scribe

ABZU: The Ancient Near East on the web

Mythome: Mythology references in print

(more to come)
 
 

* General mythology pages

                    https://www.courses.fas.harvard.edu:443/~indst206/admin/mod_perl/index.cgi?ref=1066395713&feature=wwwlinks

Texts from M.Eliade: >From Primitives to Zen (republished as:  Essential Sacred Writings from Around the World)

G. Frazer: The Golden Bough

Sacred Books of the East (ed. M. Müller: Indian, Chinese, Iranian, Arabic texts)

University of Virginia e-texts (incl. Icelandic, Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Tibetan, Chinese, Japanese, Apache, etc.)

Folklore and Mythology. Electronic Texts  edited and/or translated by D. L. Ashliman, U. Pittsburgh, 1996-2003

Sacred Texts

Project Gutenberg

Herodotus: Histories

Indo-European and Greco-Roman mythology (in French)

Encylopedia Mythica

Mything Links

Metareligion: Ancient Religions and Myths

Ophiolatreia, snake cults from around the world

Folktales and Myths of Trees from around the world
 

USEFUL  LINKS:  C.B Siren ,   K. Jenks,  Mythologie Pagina  (Dutch)
 
 

* General Collections of Myth, by topic

Creation myths (collections: (a)  (b)  (c))

Flood Myths  (creationist, but collection contains c.100 myths)
 
 

Palaeolithic paintings: new find in France; -- Lascaux; -- Altamira; -- Sahara, W.Sahara, Fezzan, Lybia; South Africa; general; more;Bushmen (& links, more; discussion & guide; image data base, RARI   -- Bhimbetka (Central India);  Australia, oldest; dating; new find; rock paintings in Finland
 

Shamanism:  Siberian ; other Siberian traditions,  Mongol (Buryat); Cherokee, etc., more to come

           Nature worship in Siberian Shamanism (Mihaly Hoppal)
 
 
 
 
 

*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***

* Individual Cultures, roughly, from west to east:

Mesopotamia:

Collection of texts on the Near East (sacred texts)

General collection(transl. Kramer, Jacobson, etc.) (click  on "myths and knowledge");
Babylonian Legends of Creation (Smith 1876); "The Religion of Babylonia and Assyria"
(Pinches 1906)

The Babylonian Story of the Deluge as Told by Assyrian Tablets from Nineveh (Budge)

Babylonian creation myth

Flood stories predating the Noah story

Mesopotamian archive

       Enuma Elish (transl. Speiser, transl. Temple (click  on "myths and knowledge", then on
        "classic ancient texts")

          Mesopotamian traditions of the flood

          Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (UCLA/Max Planck)

The Electronic Text Corpus of Sumerian Literature, The Oriental Institutte, University of
Oxford

Large collection of Sumerian texts

Sumerian mythology; collection of various Sumerian myths

 

       Hittite: creation myths ("Kingship in Heaven", "Song of Ullikummi")

       Hittitemythology Hittite/Hurrian mythology (Christopher Siren)

         Gods and  goddesseses of Anatolia (Hittite and Armenian)

Caucasus:

          Conceptions of East Asia Minor and the Caucasus in Ancient Mythologies; and Soma among the Armenians                     (Robert Bedrosian)

         Nart Sagas of the Caucasus; survey of Nart Sagas; and more Nart Saga tales

         Scythian mythology; Scythian geneological legend; Scythians as depicted by Herodotus

         Scythian geneaological legend in Rustamiada

        The Scythians (according to the Greeks)
 

Levant:

Ugarit: Myth of Ba'al

Phoenecian creation myth, and theology

Hebrew Bible: Creation myth; legends of the Jews; creation stories from Genesis (and discussion of other cosmogonies)

Adam and Eve

Mythology of Lilith (various links)

Canaanite mythology

Canaanite (Phoenician) mythology

Deities of Ugaritic mythology

Cosmic mysteries of Mithras (Ulansey)

Egypt:

Legends of the Gods (Budge 1912)

          Egyptology resources from Cambridge University

          The Book of the Dead (translated by E.A. Wallis Budge)

          large collection of material and links concerning ancient Egypt

          articles on Egyptian mythology (C. Seawright)

          The goddess Neith, and her role in creation (Griffis-Greenberg 1999)

Mythology of Hathor (a) (b)

Genesis of Egyptian mythology, with creation myth

Brief discussion of Egyptian mythology and creationmyth

Egyptian mythology, pantheon, and creationmyth

Egyptian pantheon (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) (h - goddesses) (i)

The Theban Triad: Amen, Mut, Khons; Egyptian mythology

Amen and Amen-Ra

Osiris, Isis, Horus and Seth; Hor; Isis; Osiris (a) (b)
 

North and East Africa:

Berber: Creation myth

Classical:

       Mythography, Classical myth, Archaeological material, archive of classic texts
          Sacred texts archive

       seasonal festivals of the Greeks and Romans
 

Greece:

Hesiod's Theogony(Evelyn-White 1914)

Perseus project, collection of Greek texts

The Eleusinian mysteries; and more material on the subject

Greek mythology, with discussion of creationmyths

Phoenecian influence on Greek mythology

Herakles

Images from Homeric myth

Greek mythology and pantheon

Greek mythology, with creation myth

Olympian gods (texts and pictures)

Rome:

          Ovid's Metamorphoses (beginning with creation myth)

          Mythological tradition of Urania

          Roman mythology and pantheon (a) (b) (c)
 

Basque:

            Basque creationmyth

            Basque culture, mythology; Olentzero
 

Asturian:

           Asturian myths

           Asturian history and culture
 

Celtic:

          Collection of Celtic texts (from sacred texts)

          Myths and Legends of the Celtic Race (Rolleston 1911)

          The second battle of Mag Tuired (Gray)

          Celtic mythology; survey of Celtic myth with pictures; and another site on Celtic mythology

          Celtic gods and myths, encylopedia, and the Celtic calendar from Celtic Heart

          Cycles of Celtic mythology

          Celtic creationmyth

          Irish and Welsh mythology

          Animal symbolism in Celtic mythology

          Irish texts archive; containing the Book of Invasions, and The Boyhood Deeds of Cu Chulainn

          Overview of Celtic mythology, includes interesting images

          Family tree of Celtic gods, Tuatha De Danaan

          Pagan survivals in Spain up to the Fall of the Visigothic Kingdom (Celtic and other)

          Celtic origins of Arthurian legend
 

Germanic:

Iceland: Poetic Edda (Bellows 1936); Prose Edda (Brodeur 1916)

Collection of the Eddas and Sagas

Guide to Norse mythology

Glossary of Norse mythology

Geneology of Norse gods

Norse gods and myths (including creation myth)

Norse creationmyth

Volsunga Saga (Morris, Magnusson)

Germanic mythology from D.L. Ashliman

Germanic goddesses

Cult of Othin

Masks of Odin (Theosophical)

The Sons of Odin

Religion of the Northmen

The Religion of Ancient Scandinavia

Religious beliefs of the Swedes

Grimm's Teutonic Mythology; Rydberg's Teutonic Mythology

Tjatsi site on Norse Mythology

Angliad, legendary history of the Anglo-Saxon people

Sigurd the Dragon Slayer

Finno-Ugric:

       Komi:(in Russian)

Hungarian myths and legends; creation myth

Siberian cultures and myths, including creation myth

Mordvin mythology (Tatiana Deviatkina), from the journal Folklore

The Origin of the Finns; Finish culture, history, and mythology

The Kalevala of the Finns (Crawford 1888)

The Sampo (Finnish)

Light to Darkness Myths

Slavic & Baltic:

Lithuanian: from P. Dunduliene,Senoves lietuviu mitologija ir religija" ("Ancient Lithuanian Mythology and Religion")

Latvian mythology

Cosmology of the Ancient Balts

Lithuanian culture and mythology; overview of Lithuanian mythology

Lithuanian tales and myths

Dazhdbog in Russian mythology; Russian pantheon

Russian mythology (Russian/English)

Brief overview of aspects of Slavic mythology (includes creation myth)

Slavic mythology in Indo-European context (Zaroff 1995)

Slavic pantheon and mythology

Short list of Russian gods

Slavic deities

Slavic pagan festivals

Various Indo-European mythologies, including Balto-Slavic, Thraco-Dacian, etc.

Scythian geneaological legend in Rustamiada

Iran:

Zoroastrian texts: dated transl. by Darmesteter (1880-1887)   http://www.sacred-texts.com/zor/

Zoroastrian archives

Achaemenid royal inscriptions (from the University of Chicago)

Overview of Zoroastrianism

India:

Rgveda (dated transl. by Griffith, with search facility)     http://www.intratext.com/y\ENG0039.HTM

Rgveda Transl. by Geldner, reprint in Harvard Oriental Series 63;   pdf of books 1-4 available soon

Atharvaveda(Bloomfield),  Black Yajurveda (Taittiriya, tr. Keith)

Samaveda (Griffith, nearly all = Rgveda hymns)

Electronic Journal of Vedic Studies

Indo-Aryan mythology

Indian Myth and Legend (Mackenzie 1913)

Naga mythology

Looking for the Heavenly Casket (Witzel)

Animals of Hindu mythology

Central Asia:

Kyrgyz: The Manas Epic (more)  Excerpts

Mongols: Buryat:  The Gesar Epic, 1st part..(sqq.); Nishan Shamaness

North Asia:

       Altai:  myths from the Altai (retold, creation myth) after:Yener, Gülten. The Creation and the
          Procreation: The Turkish Epic in English

          Unpublished MA thesis, Emporia State University, 1965.

Turkish mythology (in Turkish and English)

Tree worship in Turkish mythology as evidenced in Turkish rugs (pdf) (Serkina)

Old Turkic deities

Creation myths of Central Asia

Tibet:

Origin of the Tibetanpeople

Wrathfuldeities of Tibetan Buddhism

        Dragons in Tibetan mythology

Siberia:

texts on Siberian mythology (from sacred texts)

         Bear myth in Northeast Asia (pdf)

         Chukchee Mythology (Bogoras 1910)

         The Eskimo of Siberia (Bogoras 1913)
 

China:

Collection of well known myths(with sources); Retellings of some myths;  "Religions of Ancient China" (Giles)

Sacred Books of China (Legge, 1879)

The Texts of Taoism (Legge, 1891, pt. 1, pt. 2)
Tao-te Ching  (Legge 1891)

Shi Jing (Chin. text)

Miao : Creation myth

Deities worshipped by Chinese farmers

Chinese mythology, with survey of pantheon and creation myth (accompanied by music!)

Chinese folktales

Chinese myths and stories

Korea:

           Myths of Silla

           Myths and history of Korea

           Article on the creation myths of Korea and Japan

           Korean beliefs and religion

           Legend of Pak Hyokkose, founder of Silla

           Korean mythology
 

Japan:

Kojiki, Nihongi, Engishiki: dated translations by Chamberlain, Aston

Shinto: Kokugakin: Pubicationsl:  On Kami, in:  Shinto Jiten (Encyclopedia of Shinto  1994); Kami, by Inoue Nobutaka, IJCC, 1998); Basic terms of Shinto (1958/88);  Matsuri  (Festivals; 1988); Shinto; Overview of Shinto

Manyoshu (Jpn. text); other Jpn. texts

Japanese gods and goddesses

          Several stories from Japanese mythology, with a family tree of the gods
 

South East Asia:
 

Philipines: some myths retold ; creation myth

Philippine Folklore, with creation myth

A Study in Tinguian Folklore (Cole 1915)

The Bontoc Igorot of the Philipines, with discussion of creation god Lumawig

The Pagan Tribes of Borneo (Ch. Hose & W. McDougall 1912)
Borneo religions
Bugis religion (S. Sulawesi)
Toraja religion (Sulawesi)
Batak religion (Sumatra)

Indonesian mythology, with creation myth (Dixon 1916)

Bali religion

Timor: aspects of early ethnology and mythology

Vietnam origin myths; Vietnamese history with discussion of  origins

Vietnamese dragon mythology

Vietnamese festivals

Micronesian mythology: Kiribati (creation); Marshall Islands

Micronesia, with creation myth (Dixon 1916)

Polynesia:

collection of texts on Pacific Islands (sacred texts)

Oceanic mythology (Dixon 1916): Polynesia (with creation myth)

Maori: myths; by the Maori themselves (creation myth); Shortland (1882)   Grey (1854: creation myth)

Maori religious teachings (in Maori, following Whare Wananga (House of Learning) tradition, by Nepia Pohuhu, 1863)

Samoa: The Samoan myth of creation (Fraser 1891)

          Hawaiian creation story; the legend of Kamapua'a; Pele, goddess of fire; Pele and Poliahu (Coffee Times)

          Legends of Maui (Westervelt 1910)

          Voyaging traditions of the Pacific Islands

          Guam: Chamorro creation myth(Cunningham 1992)

        Melanesian mythology: Solomon Islands; Papua New Guinea; Trobriand Islands; New Caledonia
        Vanatu; Fiji

        Polynesian mythology (includes creation myth): Easter Island; Hawaii; Maori (creation); Tahiti;
        Tuvalu
 

Americas:

        Native American religions (Amerindian);general overview of texts; other modern texts
        and collections: (a); (b); (c)

Indian Why Stories (Linderman 1915)

Collection of N.American creation myths;  more N. Amer. creation myths; Sun myth (Lowell 1920)

Creation Myths of Primitive America (Curtin 1898)

Iroquois (Haudenosaunee) creation myths; Seneca: creation myth

Sioux (Lakota)  (coll. McLaughlin 1916); Oglala division of Teton Dakota: Sun Dance, Hunka and Buffalo ceremonies; some narratives (Walker 1916)
 

Wichita (Dorsey 1904) creation myth

Pawnee (Dorsey 1906) creation myth

Blackfoot (Wissler & Duvall 1995) creation myth

Sacred songs of the Yurok, Hupa, and Karok Indians (Keeling 1992)

Navajo: NoqÌlpi, the Gambler (Mathews 1989); The Mountain Chant (Mathews 1887); The Dîné: Origin myths (O'Bryan 1956); Navaho Myths, Prayers, and Songs (Mathews 1906)

Apache: Chiricahua & Mescalero texts, creation myth;  general  (also bilingual);  Jicarilla Genesis (Mooney 1898)

Pueblo:  Acoma (Keresan Pueblo) myths (Stirling 1942); creation myth; Hopi:  Traditions of the Hopi (Voth 1905)

California:  Californian religion: (discussion by  Kroeber 1907);  South Central California (Maidu,Wintu, etc.; Kroeber 1907);  California & Southwest (K.B. Judson)

Mexico: (Spence1908);  Aztec hymns (Brinton 1890)

Quetzalcoatl; the myth of Quetzalcoatl

        Aztec and Mayan pantheon

       Inca: (Spence 1908)

        Stories of the Penobscot, Passamaquoddy, and Mimac Indian, with interesting creation myth                    (Alger 1850)

Arakmbut (Amazonian Peru, Gray 1996 )

About the Tierra del Fuego Indios  (Cook 1900)
 
 

*** *** ***

Australia:

        collection of texts on aborigines (sacred texts)

        'Oceanic Mythology' (Dixon, 1916)

         Creation myth

         Aboriginal myths, includes creation myth

            Australian and New Zealand mythology, with Maori creation myth

            Legends of the Gagudju

            Dreamtime stories

            Mythology of Dreamtime, includes creation myth

           Goddesses of Australia and New Zealand

Melanesia:

        Baloma spirits of theTrobriands (Malinowski 1916)

Melanesian mythology, with creation myth (Dixon 1916)
 

Khoi San (Bushmen):

            Specimens of Bushman Folklore (Bleek and Lloyd 1911)

          Creation myth
 

Africa:
        general collection of African myth (sacred texts)

            Frobenius Institute: Archive of African myths and fairy tales (AAMFT)

            African mythology, includes discussion of creation (from Yale)

            Gods and goddesses of Africa (a) (b) (c)

            Some African creation myths  (scroll down!)

            Another collection of African creation myths

            Shilluk: creation myth

          Ife: creation myths:The myths of  Ífè  (Wyndham 1921)

            West Africa: Ashanti, Yoruba, Ewe, Igbo

            Yoruba creationmyth

          Yoruba mythology and woodcarving

         Mande, Yoruba creation myths

          Death and the afterlife in Yoruban mythology

          African traditional religion (web-site with many links)

          Myths and Legends of the Bantu (Werner 1993); with discussion of the origin of man

            Wapangwa (Tanzania)

            Bashongo creation myth

creation myths from various peoples (Dogon to Zulu)

            Vha Venda (S.Africa)

            some adaptations (Mali, Nigeria, Congo, Tanzania) from "The Origin of Life and Death: African Creation Myths".             London 1966

            paper: CREATION IN AFRICAN THOUGHT   (culled from: http:/ / www.escape.ca/ ~iritchie/                                     ATSC.Chapter3.htm)

            African mythology, includes creation myth

            "In the Shadow of the Bush" (Talbot 1912) about the Ekoi of western Africa

            Mythology of the African and Asian Leopard (W. van Binsbergen)  pdf
 
 

Overview of language families (following Greenberg)

Genetics (to come), cf. materials at: http://www.courses.fas.harvard.edu/~indst206/

Geographical  Background: Africa in the last 150 K