The papacy has been surrounded by numerous myths and legends. Among the most famous are the claims that: The Papal Tiara contains a set of words that when numerised produce the total 666, the 'number of the beast' (ie., Satan), in the bible; A woman—Pope Joan—was once elected pope, and that because of this, subsequent popes underwent an examination to ascertain their sex. Both these claims have been independently verified as being myths. Myths and legends surrounding the Papacy - P ...

Including:

• Myths and legends surrounding the Papacy - Popes who died during sex
• Myths and legends surrounding the Papacy - The Vicarius Filii Dei myth
• Myths and legends surrounding the Papacy - Pope Joan
• Myths and legends surrounding the Papacy - Documents of Jesus Christ
• Myths and legends surrounding the Papacy - Additional reading

Read more here: » Myths and legends surrounding the Papacy: Encyclopedia - Myths and legends surrounding the Papacy

See also:

Myths and legends surrounding the Papacy, Myths and legends surrounding the Papacy - Popes who died during sex, Myths and legends surrounding the Papacy - The Vicarius Filii Dei myth, Myths and legends surrounding the Papacy - Pope Joan, Myths and legends surrounding the Papacy - Documents of Jesus Christ, Myths and legends surrounding the Papacy - Additional reading

Read more here: » Myths and legends surrounding the Papacy: Encyclopedia II - Myths and legends surrounding the Papacy - Pope Joan

Another legend of the Vatican is that, buried in the archives beneath St. Peter's Basilica, there exists a collection of documents that directly refer to, or were in fact personally written by, Jesus. One such document is said to be the execution order for Jesus, signed by Pontius Pilate, while another is said to be a series of letters, hand-written by Jesus, explaining to his followers how to conduct the formation of the Catholic Church after his death. Still other legends speak of Christ havi ...

See also:

Myths and legends surrounding the Papacy, Myths and legends surrounding the Papacy - Popes who died during sex, Myths and legends surrounding the Papacy - The Vicarius Filii Dei myth, Myths and legends surrounding the Papacy - Pope Joan, Myths and legends surrounding the Papacy - Documents of Jesus Christ, Myths and legends surrounding the Papacy - Additional reading

Read more here: » Myths and legends surrounding the Papacy: Encyclopedia II - Myths and legends surrounding the Papacy - Documents of Jesus Christ

Catalan myths and legends are the traditional myths and legends of the Catalan-speaking world, especially Catalonia itself, passed down for generations as part of that region's popular culture. Among the figures of Catalan mythology are: Aloja Catalan mythology about witches Dip Dona d'aigua Donyet Dragons Drac (generally male) Víbria (specifically female) Encantaria Follet Gambutzí Goja Home de ...

Read more here: » Catalan myths and legends: Encyclopedia - Catalan myths and legends

In the history of the Roman Catholic Church, the Avignon Papacy was the period from 1305 to 1378 during which the Bishop of Rome, the Pope, lived in Avignon (now a part of France) rather than in Rome. Seven popes, all French, resided in Avignon during this period: Pope Clement V: 1305–1314 Pope John XXII: 1316–1334 Pope Benedict XII: 1334–1342 Pope Clement VI: 1342–1352 Pope Innocent VI: 1352–1362 Pope Urban V: 136 ...

Including:

• Avignon Papacy - Background
• Avignon Papacy - The Papacy in the 14th Century
• Avignon Papacy - Conflict between the Popes and the king of France
• Avignon Papacy - Cooperation
• Avignon Papacy - Submission
• Avignon Papacy - Schism: The War of the Eight Saints
• Avignon Papacy - Criticism
• Avignon Papacy - Summary

Read more here: » Avignon Papacy: Encyclopedia - Avignon Papacy

A legend (Latin, legenda, "things to be read") is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude. Legend, for its active and passive participants, includes no happenings that are outside the realm of "possibility", defined by a highly flexible set of parameters, which may include miracles that are perceived as actually having happened, within the specific tradition of indoctrination where th ...

Including:

• Legend - Some legends

Read more here: » Legend: Encyclopedia - Legend

Urban legends are a kind of folklore consisting of stories often thought to be factual by those circulating them (see rumor). The term is often used in the meaning similar to the expression "apocryphal story". Urban legends are sometimes repeated in news stories and, in recent years, distributed by e-mail. People frequently say such tales happened to a "friend of a friend"—so often, in fact, that FOAF has become a commonly used acronym to describe ...

Including:

• Urban legend - Origins
• Urban legend - Structure
• Urban legend - Propagation and belief
• Urban legend - Urban legend versus urban myth
• Urban legend - Documenting urban legends
• Urban legend - Examples

Read more here: » Urban legend: Encyclopedia - Urban legend

The Urban Legends Reference Pages, also known as snopes.com, is a website dedicated to determining the truth about many urban legends, modern-day myths and other such stories of uncertain or questionable origin. Snopes is run by Barbara and David Mikkelson, a couple from California who met on the newsgroup alt.folklore.urban and married. The site is organized according to topic and includes a ...

Read more here: » Urban Legends Reference Pages: Encyclopedia - Urban Legends Reference Pages

The Jesus-Myth is a sceptical position on the historicity of Jesus, claiming that Jesus did not exist as a historical character, but functioned instead as an abstract, symbolic, and metaphorical allusion to a higher knowledge. The theory has not found widespread acceptance among mainstream scholars and historians. Jesus-Myth - Background. The first scholarly proponent of the Jesus Myth idea was probably nineteenth century historian Bruno Bauer, who argued that the true founder of Christianity was the Alexan ...

Including:

• Jesus-Myth - Background
• Jesus-Myth - Arguments in support of the Jesus myth
• Jesus-Myth - Arguments against the Jesus myth

Read more here: » Jesus-Myth: Encyclopedia - Jesus-Myth

As previously noted, reliable historical information about Sacagawea is extremely limited. For example, there was no contemporary portrait made of her. Regrettably, the lack of records has fostered a number of myths about Sacagawea. One of these is that she was romantically involved with Lewis or Clark; while the journals show that she was friendly with Clark and would often do favors for him, the idea of a liaison is almost certainly manufactured wholly by novelists who wrote ab ...

See also:

Sacagawea, Sacagawea - Birth, Sacagawea - Marriage, Sacagawea - Lewis and Clark, Sacagawea - Myths and legends, Sacagawea - Spelling and pronunciation, Sacagawea - In fiction, Sacagawea - Commemorations

Read more here: » Sacagawea: Encyclopedia II - Sacagawea - Myths and legends

Tales of mermaids are nearly universal. The first known mermaid stories appeared in Assyria, ca. 1000 BCE. Atargatis, the mother of Assyrian queen Semiramis, was a goddess who loved a mortal shepherd and in the process killed him. Ashamed, she jumped into a lake to take the form of a fish, but the waters would not conceal her divine nature. Thereafter, she took the form of a mermaid - human above the waist, fish below, though the earliest representations of Atargatis showed her as being a fish with a human head and legs, similar to the Babylonian Ea. The Greeks recognized Atargatis under the name Derketo, wh ...

See also:

Mermaid, Mermaid - The Truth behind The Mermaid Myth?, Mermaid - Legend and myth, Mermaid - Fiction, Mermaid - Sirenomelia, Mermaid - Hoaxes, Mermaid - Heraldry

Read more here: » Mermaid: Encyclopedia II - Mermaid - Legend and myth

The pope's position as Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church is dogmatic and therefore not open to debate or dispute within the Catholic Church; the First Vatican Council anathematised all who dispute the pope's primacy of honour and of jurisdiction (it is lawful to discuss the precise nature of that primacy, provided that such discussion does not violate the terms of the Council's Dogmatic Constitution). However, the pope's authority is not undisputed outside the Catholic Church; these objections differ from denomination to denomination, ...

See also:

Pope, Pope - Office and nature, Pope - Regalia and insignia, Pope - Status and authority, Pope - Political role, Pope - Death abdication and election, Pope - Death, Pope - Abdication, Pope - Election, Pope - Objections to the Papacy, Pope - Other Popes

Read more here: » Pope: Encyclopedia II - Pope - Objections to the Papacy

The pope's position as Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church is dogmatic and therefore not open to debate or dispute within the Roman Catholic Church; the First Vatican Council anathematised all who dispute the pope's primacy of honour and of jurisdiction (it is lawful to discuss the precise nature of that primacy, provided that such discussion does not violate the terms of the Council's Dogmatic Constitution). However, the pope's authority is not undisputed outside the Roman Catholic Church; these objections differ from denomination to de ...

See also:

Pope, Pope - Office and nature, Pope - Regalia and insignia, Pope - Status and authority, Pope - Political role, Pope - Death abdication and election, Pope - Death, Pope - Abdication, Pope - Election, Pope - Objections to the Papacy, Pope - Other Popes

Read more here: » Pope: Encyclopedia II - Pope - Objections to the Papacy

The story of Pope Joan is known mainly from the 13th century Polish chronicler Martin of Opava (Martin von Trappau to Germans, also known as Martin Polonus, "Martin the Pole"). In his Chronicon Pontificum et Imperatum, Martin writes: After... Leo, John Anglicus, born at Mainz, was pope for two years, seven months and four days, and died in Rome, after which there was a vacancy in the papacy of one month. It is claimed that this John was a woman, who as a girl had been led to Athens dressed in the clothes ...

See also:

Pope Joan, Pope Joan - The Legend, Pope Joan - Analysis, Pope Joan - Related Issues, Pope Joan - Art and film, Pope Joan - Books

Read more here: » Pope Joan: Encyclopedia II - Pope Joan - The Legend

The Mahavamsa, the ancient historical record of Sri Lanka, describes King Kasyapa as the son of King Dhatusena. Kasyapa murdered his father by walling him alive and then usurping the throne which rightfully belonged to his brother Mogallana. Mogallana fled to India to escape being assassinated by Kasyapa but vowed revenge. In India he raised an army with the intention of returning and retaking the throne of Sri Lanka which was rightfully his. Knowing the inevitable return of Mogallana, Kasyapa is said to have built his palace on the summit o ...

See also:

Sigiriya, Sigiriya - The Setting, Sigiriya - Archeological Remains, Sigiriya - The History Of Sigiriya, Sigiriya - Myth And Legend, Sigiriya - A Tour Of The Site, Sigiriya - The Outer Gardens And Moat, Sigiriya - The Gardens, Sigiriya - The Lower Palace, Sigiriya - The Lower Slope and Terrace, Sigiriya - The Courtyard and Lion Gate, Sigiriya - Ruins on the Summit of Sigiriya Rock, Sigiriya - Views From The Top Of Sigiriya Rock, Sigiriya - The Mirror Wall And It's Frescos

Read more here: » Sigiriya: Encyclopedia II - Sigiriya - Myth And Legend

Tales of mermaids are nearly universal. The first known mermaid stories appeared in Assyria, ca. 1000 BCE. Atargatis, the mother of Assyrian queen Semiramis, was a goddess who loved a mortal shepherd and in the process killed him. Ashamed, she jumped into a lake to take the form of a fish, but the waters would not conceal her divine nature. Thereafter, she took the form of a mermaid - human above the waist, fish below, though the earliest representations of Atargatis showed her as being a fish with a human head and legs, similar to the Babylonian Ea. The Greeks recognized Atargatis under the name Derketo, wh ...

See also:

Mermaid, Mermaid - Legend and myth, Mermaid - Fiction, Mermaid - Sirenomelia, Mermaid - Hoaxes, Mermaid - Heraldry

Read more here: » Mermaid: Encyclopedia II - Mermaid - Legend and myth

Caratacus - Caratacus and Christianity. Caratacus is described as a "barbarian Christian" in Dio Cassius's Roman History.[12] This is a fragment of a lost passage of Dio, preserved in two versions which differ significantly, in the 6th century Excerpta Vaticana and by the 12th century chronicler Joannes Zonaras, both Christian documents.^{See also:}

Caratacus, Caratacus - History, Caratacus - Caratacus's name, Caratacus - British legend, Caratacus - Ancient and Modern myths? surrounding Caratacus, Caratacus - Caratacus and Christianity, Caratacus - Theory of Caratacus' relationship to Saint Linus, Caratacus - Notes

Read more here: » Caratacus: Encyclopedia II - Caratacus - Ancient and Modern myths? surrounding Caratacus

A snake-eating bird of prey appears in a legend of the Mexica people, who gave rise to the Aztec empire, and it is represented in the Mexican flag: The Mexicas, guided by their god Huitzilopochtli, sought a place where the bird landed on a prickly pear cactus, devouring a snake. They found the sign on a island in Lake Texcoco, where they erected the city of Tenochtitlan ("Place of the Prickly Pear Cactus" – present-day Mexico City) in 1325. (In the Coat of Arms of Mexico this bird is depicted as a Golden Eagle, though it's often said to be ...

See also:

Ophiophagy, Ophiophagy - Ophiophagy in myth and legend, Ophiophagy - Practical use, Ophiophagy - Immunity

Read more here: » Ophiophagy: Encyclopedia II - Ophiophagy - Ophiophagy in myth and legend

Amaranth, or Amarant (from the Greek amarantos, unwithering), a name chiefly used in poetry, and applied to Amaranth and other plants which, from not soon fading, typified immortality. Thus, in Milton's Paradise Lost, iii. 353: "Immortal amarant, a flower which once In paradise, fast by the tree of life, Began to bloom; but soon for man's offence To heaven removed, where first it grew, there grows, And flowers aloft, shading the fount of life, And where the river of blis ...

See also:

Amaranth, Amaranth - Cultivation and uses, Amaranth - Myth Legend and Poetry, Amaranth - Selected species

Read more here: » Amaranth: Encyclopedia II - Amaranth - Myth Legend and Poetry

Amaranth, or Amarant (from the Greek amarantos, unwithering), a name chiefly used in poetry, and applied to Amaranth and other plants which, from not soon fading, typified immortality. Thus, in Milton's Paradise Lost, iii. 353: "Immortal amarant, a flower which once In paradise, fast by the tree of life, Began to bloom; but soon for man's offence To heaven removed, where first it grew, there grows, And flowers aloft, shading the fount of life, And where the river of blis ...

See also:

Amaranth, Amaranth - Cultivation and uses, Amaranth - Myth, Legend and Poetry, Amaranth - Selected species

Read more here: » Amaranth: Encyclopedia II - Amaranth - Myth, Legend and Poetry