Cultures all over the world have different myths about why the world is the way it is. Read on for interesting legends collected from different countries!

1. Thor from Norway

Thor is the Norse god of lightning, storms and strength.

A giant once challenged Thor to a test of strength where Thor had to lift a cat. Sound easy? Well, Thor tried with all his might but could not do it! Thor later found out that the giant had tricked him. The “cat” was actually Jörmungandr in disguise, a snake so large that it encircled the entire world.

2. Pele from Hawaii

Did you know that Pele is the goddess of fire and volcanoes? She is also known as the creator of the Hawaiian Islands.

Pele ended up in Hawaii as she was escaping from her sister, a sea goddess who was jealous of her. One day, her sister caught up with her and killed her. Despite this, it is believed that her spirit lives on in the Halemaumau crater on Kilauea, one of the world's most active volcanoes.

3. Hathor from Egypt

Hathor is one of the most famous goddesses of Ancient Egypt, with numerous titles. In her role as the Eye of Ra, she would defend the sun god, Ra, and was known as the "goddess of destruction".

One day, Hathor became upset with Ra and left him. She turned herself into a wild cat and lived in the desert – far away from Egypt. The god Ra was powerless without her! Luckily, Hathor finally agreed to return after much persuasion, and Ra had his power back again.

4. Eshu from West Africa

Eshu is a trickster god of the Yoruba people of Nigeria in West Africa. He also serves as the messenger between the gods and people.

According to one story, he became the messenger after playing a trick on the Great God, who then punished Eshu by ordering him to visit the sky every night to report everything that happened on earth during the day.

5. Tane from New Zealand

Tane is the Maori god of the forest.

A long time ago, there were three baskets that contained the knowledge of love, knowledge of religion, and knowledge of survival and war. Tane was tasked to spread this knowledge throughout the world. Another god named Whiro sent all sorts of creepy-crawlies to stop him, but Tane found out and sent him to the underworld! Unfortunately, all of Whiro’s bugs were left on earth.

6. Amaterasu from Japan

Amaterasu is the Japanese sun goddess.

After her brother destroyed her fields, Amaterasu fled her home and hid in a cave. The only problem was that without her, the whole world went cold and dark! All the gods pleaded with her to return, but she refused. They eventually succeeded by throwing a big party to draw her out of hiding.

7. Athena from Greece

Athena is the Greek goddess of wisdom, war, and weaving.

However, she was challenged by a commoner called Arachne, who proudly declared herself a better weaver than Athena! The goddess confronted Arachne in a weaving duel where they both showed off their perfect techniques. Despite Arachne's ability, her arrogance angered Athena so much that the goddess turned her into a spider.

8. Viracocha from Columbia

Virachocha is the creator god in Inca mythology from South America.

It is said that Viracocha took soft stone from Lake Titicaca which he moulded into the people of this earth. He also created different sets of clothes for people in order to show which nations they belonged to. Nations were then given languages, skills, songs, and food to make each of them unique.

Want to learn more?

The information in this article was adapted from the book below Gods and Heroes by Korwin Briggs, available here and in public libraries (J 398.2 BRI-[FOL]).

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