Mythology and Folklore Research Resources
Mythology and folklore can be an excellent source of storytelling inspiration. In the past, it could be tricky to track down info on myths outside what I’ll call the Big 4 (Greek, Roman, Egyptian and Norse). Even for these well-known pantheons, a lot of the available info was over-simplified, or filtered through the view of writers who misconstrued (or sometimes straight-up rewrote) the original story.
Today, scholars, folklorists, and mythologists from around the world can share their knowledge without going through an academic gatekeeper. The result is a wealth of information about mythologies, pantheons, rituals, and folk tales, both ancient and active. While the internet is still shockingly incomplete in some areas, there are tons of resources available for writers seeking inspiration from myths and folk stories. Here are some of the sites I’ve found most useful for my own research.
Ancient Origins
Best for: Info on ancient mythology, artifacts, and history
Ancient Origins’ Myths & Legends section can be sorted by continent if there’s a particular area of the world you’re interested in. There’s also an entire page devoted to the folklore of human origins. The site is a treasure trove of creative inspiration in other ways, too, with info on ancient artifacts, unexplained phenomenon, and a page devoted to weird facts that’s good for hours of entertainment even if you’re not looking for story ideas.
The Database of Religious History
Best for: Digging deep into world religions
The DRH is a searchable online encyclopedia of world religions. You can browse the database by region, religion, place, or text to see all entries related to a specific subject. Unlike other sites on the list, the DRH doesn’t include full myths or religious text, but instead summarizes their key beliefs and provides big-picture data, like where and when a religion was practiced or their views on the afterlife and reality. This makes it great not just for inspiration, but also as a research tool for creating realistic settings, cultures, and characters.
Encyclopedia Mythica
Best for: Overview of mythological characters and concepts
Encyclopedia Mythica is a step up from sites like Wikipedia because all of its info is curated and based on verifiable sources and scholarship. The thorough citations also make it a great launching point for deeper research, and the entries themselves give a clear overview of the topic being covered. Its main weakness is that it’s not as thorough as other sites. It has a lot of info on myths and folklore from Europe, Asia, Australia, and the Pacific Islands, but little for those from Africa or the Americas.
Godchecker
Best for: Quick reference of world gods
The Godchecker database lists thousands of mythological, legendary, and religious figures from around the world. Don’t be fooled by their cheeky (and sometimes hilarious) tone—their entries don’t go too deep but the info they drop is research-based, often pulled directly from source myths and archaeological findings. Many of their scholarly source texts are listed on their resources page if you’re looking to go deeper into a particular area of knowledge.
Internet Sacred Text Archive
Best for: Full texts of myths, folklore, and related scholarship
The ISTA is the world’s largest free archive of religious, folklore, and mythology texts, with more than 1,200 books in their catalog, all of which can be read in full for free. Their site catalog is particularly handy, letting you search for specific subjects or keywords in all of the texts at once, but you can also browse the collection using the category links down the left sidebar. You’ll find obvious things here like the Prose and Poetic Eddas, the Vedas, the Bible, and the Qur’an, along with some unexpected finds like 1001 Arabian Nights and the works of Shakespeare. All the texts are helpfully separated by chapter or section with a hyperlinked index.
Native Languages of the Americas
Best for: Information on American indigenous myths and legends
Native Languages of the Americas is a non-profit devoted to preserving and promoting indigenous language and cultures throughout the Americas. Their page of myths and legends has the full text of stories from dozens of tribes across North and South America. Scroll to the bottom to find indexes that may be of interest to fiction writers, like monsters, tricksters, animal myths, and creation or origin stories.
ResearchGate
Best for: Scholarly and academic research
ResearchGate isn’t specific to mythology, but I’m including it because it’s a very cool resource many writers don’t know about. Signing up gives you free access to millions of scientific papers from around the world on pretty much any topic. This is awesome for two reasons. First, it’s a way to access the latest scholarship on a subject you want to take a deep dive into. Second, it’s a chance to read novel scholarship—brand new ideas that can spark your imagination, or help you see a way to tell a familiar tale from a different angle.
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