OU Mythology and Folklore Fall 2018 - Daegan Layman

In Canto XVII of Inferno, Dante explicitly attacked then Pope Boniface VIII with this passage: “As the Sicilian bull, that rightfully his cries first echoed who had shaped its mould did so rebellow with the voice of him tormented. That the brazen monster seemed pierced through with pain; thus, while no way they found nor avenue immediate through the flame into its language turned the dismal words: But as soon as they had won their passage forth, up from the point, which vibrating obeyed their motion at the tongue, these sounds were heard: ‘O thou, to whom I now direct my voice, that lately didst exclaim Lombard phase, ‘Depart though; I solicit thee no more.” His anger resounded throughout excerpts of Inferno, dwelling on his hatred of Boniface VIII. Alighieri opposed the reign of Boniface heavily, grudgingly manifesting his fury at being expelled from Florence by him, thinking him unworthy of ruling because of his widespread corruption and apparent incompetency. Dante wrote letters an

Author's Note: I really enjoy creation stories and the somber tale of Izanagi and Izanami's love lost is a neat way to establish the beginnings of the Japanese mythos. I rewrote their story with them dying together in a less sad way. Source:  Romance of Old Japan, Part I: Mythology and Legend by E.W. and F. Champney. Izanagi and Izanami. Picture source . Silence Becomes Before the beginning, there hid in the darkest gaps of nothingness a spatial eminence gurgling with activity. Over time, its energy became thunderous and as it shook, the gallant Sun and its companion, the Moon, emerged. As the chaotic blur of the void was illuminated, another powerful pair came to be. Izanagi and Izanami stood an arm's length apart from one another. Basking in the presence of the Moon, the ultramarine lace adorning Izanami's garb gleamed hypnotically. The mighty Sun paled in comparison to the fire that arose in Izanagi's heart at the sight of her. Her passion burned just as b

Author's Note: Arthur Ryder's translation of Vetālapañcaviṃśati ,  or Twenty-Two Goblins. The story of the Twenty-Two Goblins, as translated by Arthur Ryder, details a king's quest to deliver a body to a monk. The body is possessed by a goblin, which asks the king riddles. If he can answer them correctly, the goblin jumps back to the sissoo tree and the king must go and retrieve him once more. For this story, I'll be adding another riddle to the collection. Sweat dripped heavily from the king's brows. Over one of his shoulders, he carried the body tirelessly back to the sissoo tree. The goblin sat on one of the branches, ephemerally phasing his fingers through the evergreen leaves of the tree. He sat up urgently at the sight of the king, quickly whirling in a mist towards the body. Through the mouth he entered, like a soul. He spoke in a multitude of tones, as if himself a congregation of spirits. "Good to see you again, my king. Where were we?" The king

Source: Romance of Old Japan, Part I: Mythology and Legend  by E.W. and F. Champney. Izanagi and Izanami : Before the beginning, there was nothing but chaos. Out of that chaos there became space, which like a flower bloomed, giving rise to the Sun and Moon. From this as well there spawned a plethora of gods. In a poem at the beginning of this reading, it tells that the lovemaking of The God Izanagi and his wife, the Goddess Izanami, gave rise to the other gods, men, mammals, the sea, the earth, and countless other things. In the actual reading it is this mercurial blooming of the space born from chaos that divines these things. Izanagi and Izanami lived on the isle of Onogoro and eventually became surrounded by the eight islands called Yamato, Tsukushi, Iyo, Tsushima, Ahaji, Shikoku, Oki, and Lado. They then gave birth to a son and daughter, Susa-no-wo-no-mikoto and the Amaterasu-omikami (who is really well represented by a white dog with a paint brush in a game called Okami that in

Author's Note: I am basing this story off of the Tale of Two Brothers  in Part B of the Ancient Egypt stories. Instead of following Anpu and Bata, this story begins with the creation of Bata's divine wife and gives context to her side of the story from then on forward (with some major alterations). Women are not named in the Tale of Two Brothers , and the only two significant women in the story are murdered by their husbands (along with the pretty woman that convinces Bata's wife to come live with Egypt's king). While the wives are portrayed as lustful and treacherous in the story, I am not approaching this story that way. Kamilah Khnum wiped the sweat from his brow and admired his work. From his potter's wheel there became a woman of intense beauty and sincerity. Her movement was ethereal and synchronous with the breeze of the winds. As she ebbed and flowed towards Bata who was wide-eyed and perched upon a strong acacia branch, Khnum uprooted a flax plant an

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