Musical Themes : Myths

Irish Goddess Macha

Macha (Irish pronunciation: [ˈmaxə]) is a goddess of ancient Ireland, associated
with war, horses, sovereignty, and the sites of Armagh and Eamhain Mhacha in County Armagh,
which are named after her. A number of figures called Macha appear in Irish mythology, legend
and historical tradition, all believed to derive from the same deity. The name is presumably
derived from Proto-Celtic *makajā denoting “a plain” (genitive *makajās “of the plain”). rea more on Wiki

APOTHEOSES – Angels of Mons :

During World War One there was a widespread belief
in Britain that some form of supernatural intervention saved allied troops during
the retreat from Mons. Since the war this event, generally known as the “Angel of Mons”
has been variously used as evidence of supernatural intervention in combat, an example
of a collective hallucination or as an urban myth unwittingly originated by a piece of fiction.
The most prosaic explanation is that the Angel was no more than a misinterpretation of odd cloud
formations seen by weary troops. The only thing that most theories agree on is that something strange
happened during the retreat from Mons in August 1914 and that this was witnessed by British
(and possibly German) troops. However, a re-reading of the evidence puts even this most basic point of
convergence in doubt and raises the possibility that the story of the Angel owes more to military expedience
than divine providence. Read more

Thomas the Rhymer Steele Eye Span

Do you believe in fairies? The inhabitants of the Borders at the time of the Border ballads did …

 Thomas of Ercildoune lived in the Borders hundreds of years ago. One day, as he sat beneath the Eildon Tree near Melrose,

he heard the tinkling of silver bells and the sound of a horse’s hooves. The beautiful Queen of Elfland rode by on a white horse.

Thomas fell under her spell and journeyed deep within the hollow Eildon Hills to the ‘Fairy Otherworld’. There, Thomas was given

the gift of prophesy.

When he returned to the mortal world he found that he had certain gifts: he was unable to tell a lie and became known as

‘True Thomas’; he could foresee the future and foretold the death of King Alexander III;

some even say that Thomas became immortal and still lives gathering horses for the sleeping knights that rest deep within the hollow hills.

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Donovan Atlantis

Atlantis (Ancient Greek: Ἀτλαντὶς νῆσος, “island of Atlas“) is a legendary island first mentioned in Plato‘s dialogues Timaeus and Critias, written in c. 360 BC. According to Plato, Atlantis was a naval power lying “across the Pillars of Hercules” that conquered many parts of Western Europe and Africa 9,000 years before the time of the legendary Athenian lawgiver Solon, i.e. in the 10th millennium BC. After a failed attempt to invade Athens, Atlantis sank into the ocean “in a single day and night of misfortune.”

The possible existence of Atlantis was discussed throughout classical antiquity, but it was usually rejected and occasionally parodied by later authors. Alan Cameron wrote: “It is only in modern times that people have taken the Atlantis story seriously; no one did so in antiquity”.^[1] The Timaeus remained known in a Latinrendition by Calcidius through the Middle Ages, and the allegorical aspect of Atlantis was taken up byHumanists in utopian works of several Renaissance writers, such as Bacon‘s New Atlantis and More‘s Utopia. In the United States, Donnelly‘s 1882 publication Atlantis: the Antediluvian World unleashed widespread interests from pseudo-scientists. As a theme, Atlantis inspires today’s light fiction, from science fiction to comic books to films. Its name has become a byword for any and all supposed advanced prehistoric lost civilizations.

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Unicorn The Irish Rovers

The unicorn is a legendary animal that has been described since antiquity as a beast with a large, pointed, spiraling horn

projecting from its forehead. The unicorn was depicted in ancient seals of the Indus Valley Civilization and was mentioned

by theancient Greeks in accounts of natural history by various writers, including Ctesias, Strabo, Pliny the Younger, and Aelian.

TheBible also describes an animal, the re’em, which some translations have rendered with the word unicorn.

In European folklore, the unicorn is often depicted as a white horselike or goatlike animal with a long horn and cloven hooves

(sometimes a goat’s beard). In the Middle Ages and Renaissance, it was commonly described as an extremely wild woodland creature,

a symbol of purity and grace, which could only be captured by a virgin. In the encyclopedias its horn was said to have the power to render

poisoned water potable and to heal sickness. In medieval and Renaissance times, the horn of the narwhal was sometimes sold as unicorn horn.

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David Arkenstone The Dragons breath

A dragon is a legendary creature, typically with serpentine or reptilian traits, that features in the myths of many cultures.

There are two distinct cultural traditions of dragons: the European dragon, derived from European folk traditions and ultimately

related to Greek and Middle Eastern mythologies, and the Chinese dragon, with counterparts in Japan, Korea and other East Asian countries.

The two traditions may have evolved separately, but have influenced each other to a certain extent, particularly with the cross-cultural contact

of recent centuries. The English word “dragon” derives from Greek δράκων (drákōn), “dragon, serpent of huge size, water-snake”. 

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The Herd From the Underworld

In Greek mythology, the Minotaur (/ˈmaɪnətɔː/,^[1] /ˈmɪnəˌtɔr/;^[2] Ancient Greek: Μῑνώταυρος [miːnɔ̌ːtau̯ros], Latin:

Minotaurus,Etruscan Θevrumineś), was a creature with the head of a bull on the body of a man^[3] or, as described by Roman poet Ovid, ”

part man and part bull”.  He dwelt at the center of the Cretan Labyrinth, which was an elaborate maze-like construction designed by the architect

Daedalus and his son Icarus, on the command of King Minos of Crete. The Minotaur was eventually killed by the Athenian hero Theseus.

The term Minotaur derives from the Ancient Greek Μῑνώταυρος, a compound of the name Μίνως (Minos) and the noun ταύρος”bull”,

translated as “(the) Bull of Minos”. In Crete, the Minotaur was known by its proper name, Asterion,^[6] a name shared with Minos’ foster-father.^[7]

“Minotaur” was originally a proper noun in reference to this mythical figure. The use of “minotaur” as a common noun to refer to members

of a generic race of bull-headed creatures developed much later, in 20th-century fantasy genre fiction.

Warewolves of London Warren Zevon

Werewolf myths have been around perhaps even longer than those associated with vampires and zombies.

Ancient Greek mythology tells of Lycaon, a man transformed into a wolf after eating human flesh.

The word werewolf is thought to be derived from the Old English “wer,” meaning man. While the specific attributes

of werewolves vary across different cultures, the beast itself is generally the same: a part-man, part-wolf creature of the

night who preys on humans. But just as with vampires and zombies, most of the myths surrounding werewolves do not hold up to scrutiny.

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Celtic woman Fairies

A fairy (also fay, fae; from faery, faerie, “realm of the fays“) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature

in European folklore, a form of spirit, often described as metaphysical, supernatural or preternatural.

Fairies resemble various beings of other mythologies, though even folklore that uses the term fairy offers

many definitions. Sometimes the term describes any magical creature, includinggoblins or gnomes:

at other times, the term only describes a specific type of more ethereal creature or sprite.

Various folkloristic traditions refer to them euphemistically, by names such as wee folk, good folk, people of peace, fair folk

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Mermaid song ~ Sarah Khider (with lyrics)

A mermaid is a legendary aquatic creature with the upper body of a female human and the tail of a fish.

Mermaids appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide, including the Near East, Europe, Africa and Asia.

The first stories appeared in ancientAssyria, in which the goddess Atargatis transformed herself into a mermaid

out of shame for accidentally killing her human lover. Mermaids are sometimes associated with perilous events

such as floods, storms, shipwrecks and drownings. In other folk traditions (or sometimes within the same tradition),

they can be benevolent or beneficent, bestowing boons or falling in love with humans.

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Loreena McKennitt the old ways

Wicca (English pronunciation: /ˈwɪkə/) is a modern pagan, witchcraft religion. It was developed in England

during the first half of the 20th century and it was introduced to the public in 1954 by Gerald Gardner,

a retired British civil servant. It draws upon a diverse set of ancient pagan and 20th century hermetic motifs

for its theological structure and ritual practice. The word witchderives from Middle English wicche, Old English wicce

(/ˈwɪttʃe/) (feminine) “witch” and wicca (/ˈwɪttʃɑ/) (masculine) “wizzard”.

Wicca is a diverse religion with no central authority or figure defining it. It is divided into various lineages and denominations,

referred to as traditions, each with its own organisational structure and level of centralisation. Due to its decentralized nature,

there is some disagreement over what actually constitutes Wicca. Some traditions, collectively referred to as British Traditional Wicca, strictly follow the initiatory lineage of Gardner and consider the term Wicca to apply only to such lineaged traditions, while other eclectic traditions do not.

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King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to medieval

histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century.

The details of Arthur’s story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and his historical existence

is debated and disputed by modern historians. The sparse historical background of Arthur is gleaned from

various sources, including the Annales Cambriae, the Historia Brittonum, and the writings of Gildas.

Arthur’s name also occurs in early poetic sources such as Y Gododdin.

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