Mythology

   For thousands of years people have associated objects in the sky, the Earth, and aspects of their physical world with the gods and goddesses of their cultures. Through these pages, find out about the gods and goddesses of different cultures around the world, and the works of art people have created to give them expression.
Left 
section of the east frieze of the Siphnian Treasury (c. 525 B.C.) depicting 
from left to right <a 
href="/mythology/Definitions_gods/Venus_def.html&dev=">
Venus</a>, <a 
href="/mythology/Diana_def.html&dev=">
Diana</a>, and <a 
href="/mythology/Definitions_gods/Apollo_def.html&dev=">
Apollo</a>. This portion of the frieze shows the gods sitting, watching the 
Greeks raid Troy.<p><small><em>   Image courtesy of the Superintendency (Ephoria) of Prehistoric and Classical Antiquities in Delphi. Greek Ministry of Culture-Archaeological Receipt Fund. (c) Greek Ministry of Culture.</em></small></p>For the Aztecs, who lived in central Mexico, <a href="/mythology/tonatiuh.html&dev=">Tonatiuh</a> was a <a href="/sun/sun.html&dev=">Sun</a> god. Aztecs believed that four suns had been created in four previous ages, and all of them had died at the end of each cosmic era. Tonatiuh was the fifth sun and the present era is still his. The carvings on this sunstone represent the four cycles of creation and destruction in the Aztec creation story. The skull at the center depicts the god Tonatiuh.<p><small><em>   Image courtesy of Corel Corporation.</em></small></p>The artist, Peter Paul Rubens, painted this image, Neptune Calming the Tempest, in 1635.  Rubens is known for the style of painting termed, "baroque".  Rubens (1577-1640) combined the tradition of Flemish painting with the themes of the Renaissance.<p><small><em>Image credit: (c)1996 President and Fellows of Harvard College, Harvard University Art Museums, Courtesy of the Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University Art Museums Alpheus Hyatt Fund. To be reproduced only by permission of the Harvard University Art Museums, </em></small></p>"Temple of Jupiter" by Giovanni Battista Cipriani.    In Roman mythology, Jupiter (Zeus in Greek mythology) was the king of heaven and Earth and of all the Olympian gods. He was also known as the god of justice.<p><small><em>   Image courtesy of Corel Corporation.</em></small></p>Pegasus was a winged horse that came out of Medusa when she was be-headed by <a href="/mythology/perseus.html&dev=">Perseus</a>.
This is a mural of Pegasus from Turkey.<p><small><em>   Image courtesy of Corel corporation.</em></small></p>Side view of an ancient Aztec carving depicting Quetzalcoatl, the Plumed
Serpent. The carving is from the Quetzalcoatl Temple at Teotihuacan, Mexico.<p><small><em>   Image courtesy of Corel Corporation.</em></small></p>

Windows to the Universe, a project of the National Earth Science Teachers Association, is sponsored in part is sponsored in part through grants from federal agencies (NASA and NOAA), and partnerships with affiliated organizations, including the American Geophysical Union, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Earth System Information Partnership, the American Meteorological Society, the National Center for Science Education, and TERC. The American Geophysical Union and the American Geosciences Institute are Windows to the Universe Founding Partners. NESTA welcomes new Institutional Affiliates in support of our ongoing programs, as well as collaborations on new projects. Contact NESTA for more information. NASA ESIP NCSE HHMI AGU AGI AMS NOAA