Every nation has beautiful and amazing legends. They are diverse in subject matter: legends about the exploits of heroes, stories about the origin of the names of geographical objects, scary stories about supernatural beings and novelistic tales of lovers.
Term Definition
Legend is an unreliable account of an event. It is very similar to myth and can be considered its approximate analogue. But legend and myth still cannot be called completely identical concepts. If we are talking about a myth, then there are fictional characters that have nothing to do with reality. The legend, on the other hand, admits real events at its core, later supplemented or embellished. Since many fictional facts are added to them, scientists do not accept legends as a reliable source of information.
If we take the classical meaning of the word as a basis, then a legend is a legend presented in an artistic form. Such legends exist in almost all nations.
The best legends of the world - they will be discussed in the article.
Types of legends
1. Oral legends are the oldestview. They spread through wandering storytellers.
2. Written traditions are recorded oral stories.
3. Religious legends are stories about events and persons from church history.
4. Social legends - all other legends that are not related to religion.
5. Toponymic - explaining the origin of the names of geographical objects (rivers, lakes, cities).
6. Urban legends are the newest kind that have gained popularity these days.
Besides, there are many more varieties of legends, depending on what plot they are based on - zootropomorphic, cosmogonic, etiological, eschatonic and heroic. There are very short legends and long narratives. The latter are usually associated with a story about the heroic deeds of a person. For example, the legend about King Arthur or the hero Ilya Muromets.
How did the legends come about?
From the Latin language legenda is translated as "what should be read." The history of legends goes into the deep past and has the same roots as the myth. Primitive man, who had no idea about the causes of many natural phenomena occurring around him, composed myths. Through them, he tried to explain his vision of the world. Later, amazing and interesting legends about heroes, gods and supernatural phenomena began to appear on the basis of mythology. Many of them have been preserved in the traditions of the peoples of the world.
Atlantis - the legend of the lost paradise
The best legends that arose in antiquity have survived to this day. Many of themstill captivate the imagination of adventurers with their beauty and realism. The story of Atlantis suggests that in ancient times there was an island whose inhabitants reached incredible heights in many sciences. But then it was destroyed by a strong earthquake and sank along with the Atlanteans - its inhabitants.
We must express gratitude to the great ancient Greek philosopher Plato and the equally revered historian Herodotus for the story of Atlantis. An interesting legend excited the minds during the lifetime of these outstanding scientists of ancient Greece. It has not lost its relevance even today. A wonderful island that sank thousands of years ago is still being sought.
If the legend of Atlantis turns out to be true, this event will be among the greatest discoveries of the century. After all, there was an equally interesting legend about the mythical Troy, in the existence of which Heinrich Schliemann sincerely believed. In the end, he managed to find this city and prove that there is some truth in ancient legends.
Foundation of Rome
This interesting legend is one of the most famous in the world. The city of Rome arose in antiquity on the banks of the Tiber. The proximity of the sea made it possible to engage in trade, and at the same time, the city was well protected from a sudden attack by sea robbers. According to legend, Rome was founded by the brothers Romulus and Remus, fed by a she-wolf. By order of the ruler, they were to be killed, but a negligent servant threw the basket with the children into the Tiber, hoping that it would drown. The shepherd picked her up and becamefoster father for twins. Having matured and learned about their origin, they rebelled against a relative and took away his power. The brothers decided to found their city, but during the construction they quarreled, and Romulus killed Remus.
The built city he named after himself. The legend of the origin of Rome belongs to toponymic legends.
The Legend of the Golden Dragon - The Path to the Heavenly Temple
Among legends, stories about dragons are very popular. Many nations have them, but traditionally this is one of the favorite themes of Chinese folklore.
The legend of the golden dragon says that there is a bridge between heaven and earth that leads to the Heavenly Temple. It belongs to the Lord of the World. Only pure souls can enter it. Two golden dragons stand guard over the shrine. They sense an unworthy soul and can tear it apart when they try to enter the temple. Once one of the dragons angered the Lord, and he expelled him. The dragon descended to earth, met other creatures, and dragons of various stripes were born from him. The Lord was angry when he saw them, and destroyed them all, except for those who had not yet been born. When they were born, they hid for a long time. But the Lord of the World did not destroy the new dragons, but left them on earth as his deputies.
Treasures and treasures
Legends of gold are not the last in the list of popular legends. One of the most famous and beautiful myths of ancient Greece tells about the search for the Golden Fleece by the Argonauts. For a long time it was just a legendthe legend of the treasure of King Agamemnon, until Heinrich Schliemann found a treasure of pure gold at the excavation site of Mycenae, the capital of the legendary king.
Kolchak's Gold is another famous legend. During the years of the Civil War, Admiral Kolchak ended up with a large part of Russia's gold reserves - about seven hundred tons of gold. It was transported in several trains. What happened to one echelon is known to historians. It was captured by the rebellious Czechoslovak Corps and given to the authorities (Bolsheviks). But the fate of the remaining two is unknown to this day. The precious cargo could have been dumped into the mine, hidden or buried in the ground in the vast territory between Irkutsk and Krasnoyarsk. All the excavations that have been carried out so far (starting with the Chekists) have not yielded any results.
The well to hell and the library of Ivan the Terrible
Russia also has its interesting legends. One of them, which appeared relatively recently, is one of the so-called urban legends. This is a story about a well to hell. This name was given to one of the deepest man-made wells in the world - Kola. Its drilling began in 1970. The length is 12,262 meters. The well was created solely for scientific purposes. Now it is mothballed, since there are no funds to maintain it in working order. The legend of the Kola well appeared in 1989, when a story was heard on American television that sensors lowered to the very depths of the well recorded sounds similar to the groans and cries of people.
Another interesting legend, which may well turn out to be true, speaks of a library of books, scrolls andmanuscripts. The last owner of the precious collection was Ivan IV. It is believed that she was part of the dowry of Sophia Palaiologos, the niece of the Byzantine Emperor Constantine.
Fearing that the precious books in wooden Moscow might burn in a fire, she ordered the library to be placed in the cellars under the Kremlin. According to the seekers of the famous Liberia, it may contain 800 volumes of priceless works of ancient and medieval authors. Now there are about 60 versions of where the mysterious library may be stored.
