Mythological places
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A mythological place (also called "mythical place") is a place that a particular culture describes in their mythology and folklore as existent, that might have existed in earlier times but its actual location is now lost. Unlike fictional places, which are only used in fictional writings, mythological places are often considered un(re)discovered places in the real world. While they may appear in fictional stories, there is often some scientific, historical or archeological evidence, as well as myths and legends that indicate such places may have existed or are awaiting discovery, rediscovery or at least explanation about their location.
"Mythical" can also refer to a state of religious influence.
Some examples of mythological places are:
- Agartha - A legendary city that supposedly resides in the Earth's core.
- Annwn - The "afterworld" of Welsh mythology.
- Atlantis - The legendary (and almost archetypal) lost continent that was supposed to have sunk into the Atlantic Ocean; there are many differing opinions on what and where Atlantis was.
- Avalon - Legendary Island of Apples in the British Isles. It is believed by some to be the final resting place of King Arthur.
- Ayotha Amirtha Gangai - An instrumental river in Ayyavazhi mythology.
- Biarmaland - A mighty kingdom described in Norse sagas as lying to the north of Russia
- Camelot - Supposedly the city from which King Arthur reigned.
- City of the Caesars - A city between a mountain of gold and another of diamonds supposed to be situated in Patagonia.
- Cockaigne - In medieval mythology, it is a land of plenty where want does not exist.
- Garden of Eden - The original birthplace and home of humanity according to Abrahamic religions. The first humans were banished from it after disobeying God and it was destroyed in a Deluge.
- El Dorado - Rumored city of gold in South America.
- Hawaiki - The ancestral island of the Polynesians, particularly the Māori.
- Heaven - According to many religions, the place in which noble souls reside.
- Hell - According to many religions, the place in which evil souls reside.
- Kyöpelinvuori
- Lemuria - A supposed "lost land" that was found in either the Indian or Pacific Ocean.
- Lyonesse - A fingerlike spit of land that was many believe once branched off the southwestern coast of Cornwall in England.
- Mag Mell or Tir na nÓg - The afterworld of Irish mythology; it is similar in many respects to the Norse Valhalla.
- Mu - It is believed to be a sunken continent in the Pacific Ocean. It is often confused with Lemuria.
- Nibiru - A mythological planet described by the Babylonians.
- Phaeton - A hypothetical planet between Mars and Jupiter that was suggested by Heinrich Wilhelm Matthäus Olbers. He supposed that the planet's destruction formed the Asteroid Belt. Some scientists refer to this proposed planet as Tiamat.
- Quivira and Cíbola - Two of the legendary Seven Cities of Gold supposed by Spanish conquistadors to have existed in the Americas.
- Kingdom of Saguenay - In Algonquin Indian belief, it was a rich city of blonde men that existed in Canada prior to the French colonization of the landmass. It is currently believed to have been a city of early, unrecorded European colonists.
- Kvenland - Land next to Sweden at the northern shores of Baltic sea, probably ancient Finland or some of its parts
- Shambhala - In Tibetan Buddhist tradition, this kingdom is hidden somewhere in the Himalayas.
- Shangri-La - A peaceful, isolated land in the Himalayas suggested by British author James Hilton.
- Terra Australis Incognita - The great unknown southern land that cartographers believed occupied most of the southern hemisphere until Captain James Cook discovered and circumnavigated Australia, New Zealand, and Antarctica.
- Thule - An island that was supposed to have existed somewhere in the belt of Scandinavia, northern Great Britain, Iceland, and Greenland.
- Thuvaraiyam Pathi - In Ayyavazhi mythology, it was a sunken island some 150 miles off the south coast of India.
- Ys- A city located in Brittany, France that was supposedly built below sea level, protected by a dam, and eventually destroyed when the Devil released the water held back by the dam.
