Category Archives: Etymology

Worm Your Way

Posted on May 23, 2018 by

Looking into mythology and fiction involving giant worms is a little tricky because it seems like a lot of early societies thought worms and snakes were variations on the same thing. I guess they didn’t want to investigate all that … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Authors, Cartoons, Etymology, Final Fantasy, Futurama, Greek Mythology, J.R.R. Tolkien, Language, Monsters, Mythology, Science, Television, Video Games, Zelda | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Yale, Yale, the Gang’s All Here

Posted on September 23, 2017 by

Today’s mythical creature is the Yale, which was included in a list of uncommon mythical creatures on Quora, a site I’m always getting e-mails from despite not remembering ever signing up for, but I don’t unsubscribe because there’s interesting stuff … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Etymology, Greek Mythology, Language, Monsters, Mythology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Warrior Women at Work

Posted on June 24, 2017 by

The Dark Prophecy, by Rick Riordan – The follow-up to The Hidden Oracle continues the adventures of Apollo in a mortal body, with only occasional access to his godly powers when he least expects them. The previous volume established the … Continue reading →

Posted in Authors, Book Reviews, Comics, Etymology, Greek Mythology, Humor, Language, Mythology, Poetry, Rick Riordan, Roman, Trials of Apollo | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Real Food

Posted on May 20, 2017 by

I recently received a comment on my post on the Roman goddess Anna Perenna asking whether I knew of any connection between her and the Hindu Annapurna. I have to say I don’t know of any, but the names are … Continue reading →

Posted in Dice, Etymology, Food, Games, Hinduism, Mythology, Names, Philosophy, Religion, Roman | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Counting Kallikantzaroi

Posted on December 3, 2016 by

I found the subject of this post a few months ago while looking for information on fairy lore from the Caucasus (I’m hoping to use it in a story I’m writing, but that could be a long way down the … Continue reading →

Posted in Characters, Christmas, Etymology, Fairy Tales, Greek Mythology, Holidays, Language, Monsters, Mythology, Oz, Slavic | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Harum Scarab

Posted on October 22, 2016 by

The ancient Egyptians seemed to have a god for every kind of animal with which they were familiar, some of which were quite prominent and others more obscure. The scarab beetle was a common symbol in Egypt, used for many … Continue reading →

Posted in Animals, Egyptian, Etymology, Language, Mythology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Friends in Grindylow Places

Posted on October 15, 2016 by

You might remember the Grindylows from their appearance in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, in which they lived in the lake at Hogwarts. They are an actual sort of creature from English folklore, being particularly associated with Yorkshire … Continue reading →

Posted in British, Etymology, Harry Potter, Monsters, Mythology, Slavic | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments