Discover the MythCloud

Yorgos Maraziotis' artistic research project Mythical Truths offers a sophisticated exploration of how contemporary institutions develop their own mythologies through the accumulation and circulation of personal narratives. By collecting stories from students at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp and treating them as myths that oscillate between truth and fiction, Maraziotis demonstrates how mythological thinking continues to shape collective identity even in ostensibly rational modern contexts.

The project's recognition that personal belief, fact, fiction, and myth are intertwined within our understanding of the world challenges simplistic distinctions between objective and subjective knowledge. This approach reflects contemporary understandings of how social realities are constructed through shared narratives rather than existing as fixed, independent truths. By applying this framework to art education specifically, Maraziotis illuminates how artistic institutions develop distinct cultures through the accumulation and transmission of stories that shape participants' experiences and expectations.

Particularly significant is the project's attention to the Academy's 360-year history and its current international character, with students from over fifty countries engaging in critical self-reflection and artistic practice. This emphasis on diversity within a historically situated institution raises important questions about how cultural narratives evolve through contact with multiple traditions and perspectives. The project thus examines the dynamic interplay between institutional continuity and cultural evolution.

Maraziotis' questioning of whether memory is a fixed notion or a constantly evolving construct addresses fundamental issues in how mythological thinking operates in contemporary contexts. By exploring how an archive of everyday stories can facilitate institutional pluralism and inspire meaningful change, the project demonstrates how mythological frameworks continue to serve essential functions in modern society—providing flexible frameworks for understanding complex social realities while adapting to changing circumstances and diverse perspectives.

Fontaines D.C. represent a fascinating contemporary adaptation of Irish literary traditions into musical form, demonstrating how mythological thinking evolves through new media while maintaining connection to established cultural frameworks. By channeling the linguistic explorations of Joyce, the social critiques of Kavanagh, and the existential investigations of Irish literature into post-punk musical expression, the band creates a compelling synthesis of traditional and contemporary approaches to cultural storytelling.

The band's emergence from Dublin's literary culture reflects the continuing vitality of Ireland's literary heritage as a resource for addressing contemporary experience. Rather than merely referencing literary predecessors, Fontaines D.C. adapt core elements of Irish literary tradition—careful attention to language, engagement with place, exploration of identity—to create musical expressions that respond to contemporary urban experience. This process exemplifies how effective cultural mythology evolves through creative reinterpretation rather than mere preservation.

Particularly significant is the band's exploration of Dublin's psychological landscape through rhythmic language and introspective lyrics. By rendering urban experience through carefully crafted verbal and musical frameworks, their work continues the tradition of Irish writers who have transformed specific locations into universal metaphors for human experience. This transformation of physical environment into mythological landscape demonstrates how contemporary artists continue to create meaningful frameworks for understanding place-based identity in rapidly changing urban contexts.

The band's engagement with Ireland's literary mythologies represents a form of cultural archaeology, uncovering and reinterpreting elements of shared cultural memory for new audiences and circumstances. By translating literary approaches into musical form, they create multisensory experiences that engage audiences emotionally and intellectually, demonstrating how mythological thinking continues to evolve through medium-specific adaptations. Their work exemplifies how contemporary artists maintain dialogue with cultural traditions not through imitation but through creative transformation that addresses present concerns while acknowledging historical continuity.

This Lithuanian etiological legend about the creation of the Sun represents a classic example of how traditional societies developed narrative explanations for cosmic phenomena. The story of a blacksmith who forged a shiny piece of iron for six years before hurling it into the sky where it remains as the Sun demonstrates how mythological thinking connected natural phenomena to human activities and crafts, making the cosmic comprehensible through familiar frameworks.

The attribution of the Sun's creation to a blacksmith reflects the cultural significance of metalworking in traditional societies. The transformation of raw materials through fire and skill represented one of humanity's most profound technological achievements, naturally lending itself to mythological associations with cosmic creation. The six-year timeframe emphasises the extraordinary effort required, positioning this cosmic creation as the ultimate expression of human craft rather than instantaneous divine action.

The act of throwing the forged Sun into the sky creates a compelling visual image that bridges human and cosmic domains. This narrative element exemplifies how mythological thinking frequently creates connections between everyday human actions and cosmic processes, making the universe conceptually accessible through familiar frameworks. The simplicity and directness of this explanation demonstrates how mythological narratives often distill complex phenomena into comprehensible stories that connect human experience to larger cosmic patterns.

The preservation of this tale in Norbertas Vėlius's collection How the Earth Came to Be: Lithuanian Etiological Legends represents an important transition in how such narratives function—from living explanatory frameworks to documented cultural heritage. This preservation process transforms oral traditions into textual artifacts, changing their social function while ensuring their survival beyond the communities that originally created them. The contemporary interest in such etiological legends reflects continuing fascination with how traditional societies created meaningful explanatory frameworks for understanding the natural world through narrative rather than scientific explanation.

Peter Paul Rubens' Bacchus, Satyr and a Faun represents a sophisticated engagement with classical mythology during the Baroque period, revealing how ancient narratives were continuously reinterpreted to address contemporary aesthetic and philosophical concerns. The work demonstrates the persistence of mythological thinking even in ostensibly Christian European societies, where pagan figures continued to serve as powerful vehicles for exploring aspects of human experience.

Bacchus, the Roman god of wine and ecstasy, functions in this work as a symbol of sensual liberation and the dissolution of ordinary boundaries—themes that resonated with Baroque sensibilities despite their pagan origins. Rubens' portrayal of Bacchus supported by mythological companions creates a visual narrative of divine intoxication that operates simultaneously as religious allegory, classical reference, and exploration of human desire.

The supporting figures—a satyr and faun—embody the liminal space between human and animal, civilisation and wilderness, that characterises much mythological thinking. Their hybrid nature serves as a visual representation of the boundaries that Bacchic worship was understood to dissolve, suggesting the transformation of consciousness that accompanies religious ecstasy or intoxication.

Rubens' engagement with this mythological subject matter reflects the complex relationship between Christianity and classical tradition in European intellectual history. Rather than rejecting pagan narratives, artists and thinkers incorporated them into a syncretic cultural framework where they could explore themes that might otherwise be difficult to address directly within Christian orthodoxy. This work thus exemplifies how mythological figures and narratives persist by adapting to new cultural contexts while maintaining their essential symbolic power.

James Ensor's (1860-1949) pencil sketch of a mythological scene exemplifies how modern artists continued to draw inspiration from classical mythological sources while transforming them through distinctive personal vision and contemporary concerns. As a Belgian artist renowned for his unsettling works that blend surrealism, grotesque imagery, and sharp social commentary, Ensor approached mythological subjects not as mere academic exercises but as vehicles for exploring profound questions about human existence and social structures.

Throughout his career, Ensor explored themes of death, human folly, and societal masks, frequently employing motifs like skeletons, masks, and distorted figures. His engagement with mythological imagery provided an established symbolic language through which he could address these persistent concerns, adapting classical references to express distinctly modern anxieties about identity, mortality, and social authenticity.

Ensor's ability to fuse mythological, religious, and folk imagery with contemporary social critique positioned him as a precursor to surrealism, demonstrating how traditional symbolic systems could be reimagined to address the psychological and social disruptions of modernity. His work demonstrates that mythological thinking remained a vital artistic resource even as traditional belief systems lost cultural authority, providing flexible frameworks for exploring aspects of human experience that resist purely rational explanation.

The tension between the real and the imagined in Ensor's work—highlighted in this drawing's cataloguing title—reflects broader modernist concerns with the nature of reality and representation. By deploying mythological imagery within dreamlike or nightmarish landscapes, Ensor created visual experiences that challenged simplistic distinctions between objective and subjective reality, using traditional symbolic language to explore distinctly modern psychological territories. His enduring influence demonstrates how mythological frameworks continued to provide valuable resources for artistic innovation even in rapidly secularising modern contexts.

This Lithuanian sakmė, or etiological legend, offers a mythological explanation for the appearance of the Milky Way, demonstrating how pre-scientific cultures interpreted celestial phenomena through narrative frameworks that connected human concerns with cosmic patterns.

According to this folk tale, the light band visible in the night sky during autumn is known in Lithuanian tradition as the Bird's Way (Paukščių takas), a celestial pathway that guides migrating birds southward. The narrative explains that since birds cannot navigate clearly during their long journey, God created this celestial illumination to help them find their way. The seasonal appearance of this light corresponds with autumn migration patterns, reinforcing the connection between observable natural phenomena and the mythological explanation.

the origins and causes of natural phenomena through accessible narratives that integrate spiritual beliefs with empirical observation. In this case, the tale connects the visual pattern of the Milky Way with the seasonal movement of birds, creating a coherent explanation that reinforces the belief in divine concern for all creatures.

The narrative reflects the deep connection between celestial and terrestrial realms in Lithuanian mythology, where cosmic phenomena are often understood as manifestations of divine intervention in the natural world. By interpreting the Milky Way as a divinely created navigational aid, the legend emphasises the interconnectedness of all living beings within a harmonious cosmic order.

This sakmė appears in How the Earth Came to Be: Lithuanian Etiological Legends (Kaip atsirado žemė: lietuvių etiologinės sakmės), compiled and edited by the noted Lithuanian folklorist Norbertas Vėlius, representing an important element of Lithuania's rich tradition of nature mythology.

Bluiríní Béaloidis is a podcast from the National Folklore Collection at University College Dublin. It explores the rich landscape of Irish and European folk traditions. Each episode journeys through diverse cultural narratives, revealing how understanding our traditional heritage can illuminate our present and guide our future. By uncovering the stories, beliefs, and practices embedded in folklore, the podcast invites listeners to discover the depth and complexity of our shared cultural inheritance.

Samhain (Halloween)
The festival of Samhain has long been regarded as a pivotal moment in the Irish ritual calendar, marking the transition from light to darkness and the threshold of winter. This ancient Celtic observance, occurring on the eve of 31st October, represents one of the most significant seasonal boundaries in the traditional Irish worldview.

Samhain is characterised by traditions of heightened supernatural activity, the return of ancestral spirits, and practices of divination and disguise. It embodies a liminal period when normal rules and behaviours are temporarily suspended, allowing mischief, mystery, and ritual to take centre stage in community life. This suspension of ordinary constraints reflects a broader pattern found in festival traditions worldwide, where established social orders are temporarily inverted or relaxed.

In this edition of Blúiríní Béaloidis, produced by Ireland's National Folklore Collection, Jonny Dillon is joined by special guest Dr. Billy Mag Fhloinn, a folklorist, archaeologist, author, and lecturer known for his expertise on Irish ritual and tradition. Dr. Mag Fhloinn has contributed to international productions by the BBC, PBS, and National Geographic Channel, and his 2016 book, Blood Rite: The Feast of St. Martin in Ireland, explores another key festival in Irish folklore.

Together, they delve into the rich lore surrounding Samhain, discussing its enduring significance in Irish cultural memory and the ways it continues to resonate in both historical and contemporary contexts. The programme examines how this ancient festival, with its emphasis on the thinning of boundaries between worlds, provides insight into traditional Irish conceptions of time, space, and the relationship between the living and the dead.

This studio photograph of a white coffee set adorned with mythological reliefs, captured by Frank Philippi in Hoboken in 1953, exemplifies how classical mythological imagery continued to influence everyday design well into the 20th century. The persistence of such decorative elements on functional domestic objects demonstrates mythology's remarkable adaptive capacity, transcending its original religious contexts to serve aesthetic and cultural functions in modern secular settings.

The mid-20th century's renewed interest in classical motifs reflects a broader pattern in which societies look to historical traditions for aesthetic inspiration during periods of rapid change and uncertainty. Following the disruptions of World War II, classical references provided reassuring connections to established cultural traditions while simultaneously allowing for modern reinterpretation and adaptation.

The transformation of mythological narratives into decorative relief elements on a coffee set exemplifies how ancient symbolic systems are fragmented and repurposed in modern contexts. Detached from their original narrative frameworks and religious significance, these mythological figures become primarily aesthetic elements, though they retain subtle cultural resonances for viewers familiar with classical traditions.

Philippi's careful photographic documentation of this designed object represents another layer of cultural transformation—the professional documentation of decorative arts that positions everyday objects within frameworks of design history and cultural significance. This photograph thus captures not just a coffee set but a moment in the ongoing evolution of how societies incorporate mythological elements into everyday environments, adapting ancient symbolic systems to contemporary contexts while maintaining connections to cultural heritage.

The Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp (KMSKA) houses a sketch titled A sketch depicting various zodiac figures, Inventory No. 3257/72, by Paul Joostens (1889-1960), a Belgian artist whose diverse career spanned multiple artistic movements and demonstrates the evolution of European modernism in the early 20th century.

Joostens's artistic development reflects a restless creativity and willingness to engage with different aesthetic approaches. Trained at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, he began by working in a Cubist style before becoming associated with the provocative Dadaist movement during and after World War I. In this experimental phase, he created boldly innovative collages from found materials, aligning his practice with the irreverent and critical spirit of international Dada.

By the mid-1920s, Joostens underwent a significant stylistic shift, developing what he termed his "Gothic Joostens" period. This phase was heavily influenced by the Flemish Primitive painters like Hans Memling, whose meticulous attention to detail and spiritual intensity provided a counterpoint to modernist abstraction. During this period, Joostens created religious-themed works, particularly Madonna images, and joined De Pelgrim, a Catholic-inspired art collective that sought to reconnect modern art with religious traditions.

Despite these shifts in his primary focus, Joostens maintained a diverse artistic practice throughout his life. He continued to explore sensual themes in his drawings alongside his religious work, and in later years returned to experimental Dadaist assemblages. His fiery temperament and individualism eventually led to his isolation from mainstream artistic circles, a withdrawal reflected in the darker, anthracite-coloured drawings he produced during the 1950s.

This zodiac sketch represents one facet of Joostens's multifaceted artistic vision, demonstrating his engagement with symbolic and mythological themes that transcend specific stylistic periods.

Seven Ages: The Story of the Irish Stateis a landmark documentary series produced in 2000 by Araby Productions for RTÉ and BBC Northern Ireland. Directed by Seán Ó Mórdha, this influential seven-part series chronicles Ireland's evolution since its founding in 1921 through key political, social, and cultural moments in history.

The series offers a comprehensive exploration of how Ireland, as a new nation-state, evolved a collective identity over its first seven decades. The shared national narrative, initially framed by founding leaders, evolved through a dynamic interplay of internal and external socio-economic-cultural forces. It reveals the complex process through which societies construct and sustain their sense of collective self

Episode 7 analyses how economic hardship and political turmoil in 1980s Ireland catalysed a profound reassessment of national identity. The evolution toward a more nuanced understanding of Irishness demonstrates the adaptive capacity of collective mythology, revealing how societies reformulate their self-conceptions in response to crisis without abandoning core narrative continuity.

Seán Ó Mórdha's documentary series presents this period as a crucial moment of national introspection, illustrating how challenging times often prompt societies to revise overly simplistic narratives of national character. The series shows that effective national mythologies are not rigid constructs but flexible frameworks that can accommodate complexity and contradiction.

Each episode examines critical junctures in Ireland's evolution, revealing how national stories serve both to reflect and to shape collective responses to adversity. The documentary features insights from key political figures and cultural commentators who participated in this national reassessment, offering valuable perspective on how societies consciously and unconsciously revise their foundational narratives.

By analysing how Ireland maintained narrative coherence while acknowledging greater complexity in its self-understanding, the series provides a sophisticated framework for understanding the essential role of storytelling in social resilience. First broadcast in 2000, Seven Ages remains a valuable resource for examining how national mythologies evolve to incorporate even the most challenging circumstances, demonstrating that the most enduring collective narratives are those capable of accommodating growth and change.

Bluiríní Béaloidis is a podcast from the National Folklore Collection at University College Dublin. It explores the rich landscape of Irish and European folk traditions. Each episode journeys through diverse cultural narratives, revealing how understanding our traditional heritage can illuminate our present and guide our future. By uncovering the stories, beliefs, and practices embedded in folklore, the podcast invites listeners to discover the depth and complexity of our shared cultural inheritance.

Fairy Forts
Across the Irish countryside, scattered through fields, valleys, and forgotten corners, lie countless earthwork mounds, cairns, and tumuli—relics of early human habitation dating back to prehistoric times. These ancient sites have acquired profound supernatural significance over centuries, regarded in folk tradition as the dwellings of Na Daoine Maithe (The Good People), a euphemistic term for fairies in Irish folklore.

Far removed from the whimsical fairies of Victorian imagination or contemporary popular culture, these beings were conceptualised as an ancient, otherworldly community that coexisted with humans within the natural landscape. Both feared and revered, they were believed to wield considerable influence over human lives, capable of bestowing both blessings and curses. Their ambiguous nature—neither entirely benevolent nor wholly malicious—reflects the complex relationship between Irish rural communities and the unpredictable forces of nature.

In this edition of Blúiríní Béaloidis from Ireland's National Folklore Collection, hosts Claire Doohan and Jonny Dillon explore the rich history and intricate role of fairies in Irish tradition. Their discussion challenges popular misconceptions, uncovering the origins, habitats, and rituals associated with these enigmatic beings. By examining connections to fallen angels, pre-Christian deities, and nature spirits, the episode traces how various cultural and religious influences shaped beliefs about the fairy world.

The enduring belief in fairy forts and reluctance to disturb them—even well into the 20th century and occasionally persisting today—demonstrates how mythological narratives can influence practical behaviour and land use over remarkable time spans. These sites became focal points where abstract beliefs manifested in concrete interactions with the landscape, creating spatially defined areas where ordinary rules were suspended.

This exploration reveals how mythological beliefs function not merely as entertaining stories but as frameworks for interpreting the environment, explaining misfortune, and maintaining connections to ancestral landscapes.

Eoin Cantwell's thesis on Hipster Republicanism and the Rebranding of Sinn Féin examines Ireland's changing relationship with republican identity and how traditional political mythologies adapt to contemporary cultural, aesthetic and digital contexts.

By analysing Sinn Féin's transformation from a political pariah associated with paramilitary violence to a mainstream political force, Cantwell illuminates how political movements respond to changing social and political circumstances by selectively reframing historical narratives while maintaining narrative continuity with established traditions.

Cantwell examines how a reemergence of young Irish republicanism offers a compelling case study in the evolution of political mythology through cultural and political adaptation. By blending modern sensibilities with romanticised notions of Irish republicanism, Sinn Féin has created visual and narrative frameworks that appeal to younger demographics while maintaining connection to historical political traditions. This strategic repositioning exemplifies how political movements navigate the tension between historical authenticity and contemporary relevance.

Parallels with broader cultural phenomena illustrate how political mythologies operate across multiple domains simultaneously. Two patterns emerge: first, a resurgence of traditional Irish culture embraced by younger generations as relevant and authentic; second, the mainstreaming of previously polarizing Republican bands like the Wolfe Tones. These cultural expressions reveal national narratives as contested sites rather than neutral historical accounts. Contemporary political identities thus form through ongoing reinterpretation of shared historical references, not rigid ideological positions. Meanwhile, newer folk acts like Lankum and The Mary Wallopers adopt more apolitical stances while still drawing on and reinventing more traditional forms.

Sinn Féin's sophisticated digital strategy—leveraging memes, merchandise, and social media—demonstrates how traditional political narratives adapt to new media environments. By creating simplified, commodified versions of complex historical narratives, these approaches make political mythologies accessible to audiences without detailed historical knowledge. This strategic simplification exemplifies how contemporary political movements navigate tensions between historical complexity and the need for accessible messaging, often prioritising emotional resonance over historical nuance. The broader cultural moment shaped by Brexit, changing demographics, and evolving national identities creates context in which these reimagined republican symbols acquire new significance while maintaining connections to established political traditions.

The Irish Wake Museum in Waterford offers a sophisticated exploration of how death rituals function as repositories of cultural memory and continuity. Situated in a 15th-century Almshouse—a building itself associated with life and death across six centuries—the museum examines how wake traditions evolved from early Christian times to the 20th century, demonstrating how death practices provide particularly resilient frameworks for maintaining cultural distinctiveness even through periods of significant social transformation.

The museum's approach—exploring funeral practices "in order to gain a true understanding of the origins of a wake's unique customs"—recognises how death rituals reveal core cultural values and social structures. By examining traditions surrounding this universal human experience, the museum provides accessible entry point for understanding broader cultural patterns and historical developments. This approach exemplifies how examination of specific cultural practices can illuminate wider social frameworks and historical processes.

The immersive, guided format creates experiential engagement with historical practices that might otherwise remain abstract concepts. By physically placing visitors within atmospheric spaces associated with traditional wake practices, the museum creates multisensory encounters with cultural history that transcend purely intellectual understanding. This approach exemplifies how contemporary heritage institutions increasingly recognise the importance of embodied experience in creating meaningful connections to historical practices.

The museum's location in a building that has witnessed six centuries of Waterford's history creates powerful connection between specific architectural space and broader historical narratives. This spatial continuity reinforces the museum's thematic exploration of how death rituals maintain cultural continuity across generations, creating tangible link between contemporary visitors and historical communities who navigated mortality through shared ritual frameworks. The museum thus demonstrates how material spaces themselves participate in the transmission of cultural memory, connecting past and present through physical environments as well as narrative frameworks.

The "chocholi taniec" (dance of the straw wrap) from Stanisław Wyspiański's 1901 drama The Wedding offers a powerful example of how artistic symbols can evolve into national mythology. This striking image of wedding guests dancing under the influence of the straw wrap has transcended its original context to become a potent metaphor for societal lethargy and impotence in Polish cultural consciousness.

The dance's evolution from theatrical element to national symbol demonstrates how aesthetic creations can acquire mythological significance when they effectively capture collective psychological states. By embodying the concept of "marasm"—a deepening drowsiness and national stagnation—the chocholi taniec provided Polish society with a visual language for understanding its own historical predicament at the turn of the 20th century.

Particularly significant is the symbol's ambiguity, which has allowed it to maintain relevance through changing historical circumstances. The image of a society caught in hypnotic, purposeless movement serves as a flexible metaphor that can be applied to various instances of collective inaction or misdirected energy. This adaptability explains why the symbol has retained its power well beyond its original historical context.

The persistence of this theatrical image in Polish cultural memory exemplifies how modern artistic creations can attain mythological status when they effectively address collective psychological concerns. Like traditional mythological symbols, the chocholi taniec provides a framework for understanding complex social and psychological phenomena that might otherwise resist articulation. Its enduring presence in Polish cultural discourse demonstrates how societies continue to create and sustain mythological thinking through literary and theatrical forms, adapting traditional patterns to address contemporary circumstances.

Johan Pas's reflection on Anselm Kiefer's 2016 exhibition at the Pompidou Centre and his reception of an honorary degree from the University of Antwerp examines how contemporary art continues to engage with mythological thinking through sophisticated exploration of history, memory, and cultural identity. Kiefer's powerful body of work exemplifies how modern artists address the complexities of European historical experience through visual and literary channels that blend factual documentation with mythological frameworks.

The intertwining of history and myth throughout Kiefer's artistic practice demonstrates how these domains remain profoundly interconnected despite modern attempts to separate them. His simultaneous engagement with literal and symbolic representations creates multilayered visual experiences that acknowledge both the concrete specificity of historical events and their mythological resonance in collective memory. This approach exemplifies how sophisticated contemporary art often functions similarly to traditional mythology—providing frameworks for understanding complex aspects of experience that resist purely rational explanation.

Kiefer's exploration of trauma and transformation positions his work within a tradition of European art that addresses historical catastrophe through symbolic frameworks. By incorporating materials that physically embody historical processes—earth, ash, lead—his work creates tangible connections to the past while simultaneously transforming historical remnants into new aesthetic configurations. This material transformation parallels the psychological processes through which societies incorporate traumatic experiences into meaningful narratives.

The academic recognition of Kiefer's contribution through an honorary degree from the University of Antwerp reflects how contemporary institutions value artistic approaches to history that acknowledge its mythological dimensions. This recognition demonstrates understanding that purely factual approaches to historical experience cannot fully capture its emotional and psychological significance. The exhibition Die Buchstaben (The Letters) further emphasises Kiefer's engagement with how symbolic systems—particularly language and text—shape our understanding of reality, demonstrating his sophisticated exploration of how human meaning-making processes transform raw experience into structured narratives.

The Swan of Tuonela (Tuonelan joutsen) stands as one of Jean Sibelius's most evocative compositions, a tone poem that vividly translates Finnish mythological imagery into musical expression. Completed in 1895 as part of his Lemminkäinen Suite (Four Legends from the Kalevala), this piece demonstrates how traditional narratives can inspire profound artistic interpretations that transcend their original cultural contexts.

The composition draws on the rich traditions of the Kalevala, Finland's national epic compiled by Elias Lönnrot in the 19th century from Finnish and Karelian oral folklore. Specifically, it depicts the mythical swan that swims on the dark waters of Tuonela, the realm of the dead in Finnish mythology, guarding the border between the worlds of the living and the deceased.

In the original myth, the hero Lemminkäinen is tasked with killing this sacred swan as one of several impossible challenges he must complete. However, before he can accomplish this task, he is himself killed and dismembered. While the narrative is one of violence and tragedy, Sibelius transforms it into a meditation on mortality and the mysterious boundary between life and death.

Through masterful orchestration and haunting melodies, particularly the famous extended English horn solo that represents the swan itself, Sibelius evokes the eerie stillness and profound melancholy of this otherworldly realm. The composition creates a sonic landscape where dark, shimmering strings suggest the black waters of Tuonela, while the swan's theme floats above in serene isolation.

This work exemplifies how mythology continues to provide rich material for artistic exploration across different media and historical periods. Sibelius's interpretation brings Finnish mythological imagery to international audiences, demonstrating how traditional narratives can be reinvented through new forms of expression while maintaining their essential symbolic power.

The exhibition How to Talk to the Weather Demons offers a sophisticated exploration of how Slavic mythological frameworks can provide meaningful perspectives on contemporary environmental challenges. By focusing on weather demons known as "płanetnicy," who traditionally governed atmospheric conditions in Slavic folklore, the exhibition creates conceptual bridges between pre-modern understanding of environmental forces and current climate concerns, demonstrating how mythological thinking continues to offer valuable frameworks for addressing complex contemporary issues.

The exhibition's emphasis on humanity's growing urgency to understand and control nature reflects how environmental crises prompt renewed engagement with fundamental questions about human relationship to natural systems. By connecting contemporary concerns about flooding, droughts, and weather anomalies to traditional mythological frameworks, the exhibition demonstrates how ancient storytelling patterns continue to provide meaningful structures for conceptualising human-environment relationships even in ostensibly scientific contexts.

Water's centrality to the exhibition—positioned simultaneously as vital life source and threatened common resource—creates powerful symbolic focus that connects abstract environmental concerns to immediate human experience. This dual framing exemplifies how effective contemporary mythology often identifies specific elements that can function simultaneously as literal necessities and powerful metaphors, creating points of connection between abstract global challenges and concrete local experiences.

By framing environmental degradation as problem requiring "collective, respectful approach to nature," the exhibition aligns with traditional mythological understanding of natural forces as entities requiring proper relationship rather than mere resources for exploitation. This reframing exemplifies how ancient mythological perspectives can provide alternative conceptual frameworks for addressing contemporary challenges, offering correctives to dominant paradigms that have contributed to current environmental crises. The exhibition thus demonstrates how mythological thinking continues to evolve to address changing circumstances while maintaining connection to established patterns of understanding human relationship to natural forces.

Talking History offers a distinctive exploration of pivotal political, social and cultural events that have shaped our world, examining the complex figures central to these historical moments. Hosted by Dr Patrick Geoghegan of Trinity College Dublin, this programme interrogates the multifaceted, often contested dimensions of our collective past, illuminating what these historical narratives reveal about contemporary society.

Fionn MacCumhaill
This episode of Talking History examines how Fionn MacCumhaill—a central figure in Irish mythology—exemplifies the complex evolution of cultural narratives through oral and written transmission over centuries. By assembling a panel of distinguished experts including Dr. Natasha Sumner, Dr. Kevin Murray, Brian O'Sullivan, Dr. Sheila Nivorku, and Dr. James McKillop, host Patrick Geoghegan creates a multidimensional exploration of how this legendary figure has been portrayed across diverse texts and traditions.

Fionn's character development through centuries of storytelling reveals how mythological figures function not as static entities but as dynamic cultural resources that evolve to address changing social concerns while maintaining recognisable core identity. The diverse depictions of Fionn across different texts—from heroic warrior to wise leader to comic figure—demonstrate how mythological characters acquire layers of meaning through continuous reinterpretation, reflecting evolving cultural values and concerns.

The discussion of the Fenian Cycle in both Irish and Scots Gaelic literature, with additional insights from Dr. Joseph Flav, highlights how mythological narratives transcend political and linguistic boundaries. This cross-cultural persistence demonstrates how foundational cultural narratives often survive political divisions, creating shared cultural heritage that both unites and distinguishes related cultural groups.

The scholarly approach taken in this episode exemplifies modern engagement with mythological traditions—analytical and contextual rather than devotional, yet still recognising the profound cultural significance of these narratives. This mode of engagement allows contemporary audiences to appreciate mythological traditions not as literal history but as sophisticated cultural systems that continue to provide frameworks for understanding cultural identity and values. The program thus demonstrates how mythological figures like Fionn maintain cultural relevance through continuous reinterpretation that connects traditional narratives to contemporary concerns.

The reed sculpture exhibition in Amber Bay, Juodkrante, represents a sophisticated contemporary reinterpretation of ancient seasonal rituals. By combining traditional craftsmanship with public art installation, this annual event demonstrates how pre-modern mythological thinking can be adapted to serve modern cultural needs while maintaining connection to historical practices and beliefs.

Situated on the Curonian Spit, a landscape imbued with centuries of folklore and natural significance, the exhibition consciously positions itself at the intersection of nature, culture, and mythology. The deliberate timing of the display during the Autumn Equinox—a period of balance between light and darkness—connects the event to universal human patterns of marking seasonal transitions, reflecting the fundamental role of cyclical time in mythological thinking across cultures.

The sculptures themselves, crafted from local materials and displayed on water, embody transformation—a central theme in mythological narratives worldwide. Rising from the water, they evoke the common mythological motif of emergence, while their illumination during the festival creates a visual metaphor for enlightenment or revelation. The use of amber in the regional context further layers the symbolism, incorporating a material that has itself been mythologised in Baltic cultures as the tears of gods or goddesses.

This exhibition exemplifies how contemporary societies continue to create ritual spaces that serve functions similar to those of traditional mythological practices—marking time, connecting communities to landscapes, and creating shared experiences that transcend ordinary reality. The merger of art, nature, and local history in this context demonstrates that mythological thinking remains a vital force in contemporary culture, adapting ancient patterns to address modern needs for meaning and connection.

This Late 19th Century Lithuanian Folk Song Archive, c. 1890s. Collection of images, music notation, various artefacts, and Lithuanian sashes, recorded and curated by Jonas Basanavičius. Lithuanian Art Exhibition; Aleksandras Jurašaitis (1859-1915)/. Lietuvos nacionalinis muziejus (National Museum of Lithuania).represents a crucial moment in the preservation of Baltic oral traditions. Collected from the villagers of Dziegcioriai, the song forms part of Lithuania's intangible cultural heritage—stories and melodies that maintained cultural identity during periods of political suppression and foreign domination.

The preservation of such folk songs is particularly significant in the Baltic context, where sung poetry served as a repository for collective memory and shared values during centuries of occupation by various powers. The act of collecting and archiving these songs was not merely an academic exercise but a deliberate effort to document and legitimise national identity at a time when Baltic political independence was still an aspiration rather than a reality.

Basanavičius himself was not simply a collector but a central figure in Lithuania's national awakening, understanding that folk traditions provided essential material for constructing a coherent national narrative. His work exemplifies how the documentation of folklore often serves dual purposes: preservation of cultural heritage and creation of foundational resources for national mythology.

Now housed in the Lithuanian Folklore Archive, this song exists in a transformed state—from a living, performed tradition to a documented cultural artefact. This transition from orality to archive represents a common pattern in how traditional mythologies are simultaneously preserved and changed by modern institutional practices. While the archival process ensures the song's survival, it also fundamentally alters its context, transforming a participatory community practice into an object of study and cultural memory.

The Táin Bó Cúailnge (The Cattle Raid of Cooley) stands as the centrepiece of the Ulster Cycle, a collection of heroic tales from early Irish literature dating from the 8th century CE. This epic narrative, which blends pre-Christian mythology with proto-historical elements, represents one of the most significant works of early European literature and continues to influence Irish cultural identity.

The epic recounts the story of Queen Medb of Connacht's attempt to steal the prized Brown Bull of Cúailnge from Ulster, and how the teenage hero Cúchulainn single-handedly defends his province against her armies while the other Ulster warriors are incapacitated by a curse. Through extraordinary feats of martial prowess, supernatural transformations, and tactical ingenuity, Cúchulainn holds off the invaders until his fellow warriors recover and join the battle.

Thomas Kinsella's acclaimed 1969 translation, referenced here, draws primarily from two medieval manuscripts—the 12th-century Book of Leinster and the earlier but more fragmentary Book of the Dun Cow—supplemented by elements from other versions. His work also incorporates related stories that provide context for the central action, offering readers a more complete understanding of the epic's complex narrative and characters.

This edition is distinguished by its inclusion of brush drawings by Louis le Brocquy, one of Ireland's most significant 20th-century artists. Le Brocquy's stark, minimalist illustrations offer a modernist interpretation of these ancient tales, creating a visual language that captures the primal energy of the text while avoiding anachronistic historical representation.

The combination of Kinsella's poetic translation and le Brocquy's evocative artwork creates a version of The Táin that bridges ancient and contemporary sensibilities, demonstrating how mythological narratives can be continuously reinterpreted while maintaining their essential power and relevance across centuries.

The Royal Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp (KMSKA), one of Belgium's premier cultural institutions, houses the artwork titled A Pencil Sketch of the Painter Titian, Painting Venus, Inventory No. 2138(I)/33, by Nicaise De Keyser (1813-1887), a prominent Belgian artist and director of the Antwerp Academy of Fine Arts from 1855 to 1879.

This meta-artistic sketch depicts the renowned Renaissance master Titian (c. 1488-1576) in the act of creating one of his most celebrated works, the Venus of Urbino (1534). This approach represents more than a simple historical illustration; it embodies a dialogue across centuries of artistic tradition, with a 19th-century Belgian artist paying homage to a 16th-century Venetian master.

Titian's Venus of Urbino, now housed in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, stands as a landmark in the history of European art, representing both the height of Venetian Renaissance painting and a pivotal development in the representation of the female nude. By choosing to depict Titian creating this specific work, De Keyser emphasises the painting's canonical status and its continuing influence on European artistic traditions.

De Keyser's sketch reflects the 19th-century fascination with artistic lineage and the lives of great masters. During this period, artists and academics increasingly viewed the history of art as a narrative of genius and influence, with modern artists positioning themselves as inheritors of classical traditions while simultaneously asserting their own innovations.

This drawing exemplifies how mythology—in this case, the classical figure of Venus—continued to serve as a common reference point across disparate historical periods and artistic movements. It demonstrates the enduring power of mythological subjects to connect artists across time, creating continuity within Western artistic tradition while accommodating evolving aesthetic sensibilities and technical approaches.

This ornate copper engraving of a decorative initial "Q" from the 1644 Groot Profijt-Boek (Great Profit Book) exemplifies how practical commercial publications in early modern Europe incorporated sophisticated visual elements drawn from classical and mythological traditions. As a guide for merchants and citizens on trade and commercial matters, this publication demonstrates how mythological imagery permeated even the most pragmatic aspects of early modern culture.

The decorative initial combines functional typography with artistic embellishment, transforming a simple letter into an elaborate visual statement. This integration of practical communication and aesthetic expression reflects the holistic cultural understanding of early modern European society, which had not yet fully separated utilitarian and artistic domains in the way that modern industrial culture would later do.

Created during a time of vibrant commerce, the engraving exemplifies how trade publications adapted visual languages developed in religious and courtly contexts to serve the needs of an emerging mercantile class. The translation of aristocratic visual rhetoric into commercial contexts represents an important aspect of how symbolic systems evolved to address changing social and economic realities in early modern Europe.

The preservation of this engraving in the Museum Plantin-Moretus collection reflects ongoing cultural interest in understanding the visual language of early modern commercial culture. This artifact provides valuable evidence of how mythological elements were integrated into everyday business practices, demonstrating the persistence of traditional symbolic frameworks even as European society developed increasingly rationalised approaches to commerce and knowledge. The decorative initial thus stands as a small but significant example of how mythological thinking permeated even the most practical aspects of early modern European culture.

Žalioj Girelė Jau Geltonuoja (The Green Little Forest Is Turning Yellow) is a traditional Lithuanian folk song recorded by renowned Lithuanian scholar Jonas Basanavičius (1851-1927) during his extensive fieldwork documenting oral traditions in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This particular song was collected from villagers in Gačiškiai village, representing an important element of Lithuania's rich folk heritage.

The song captures the autumn transformation of the forest, using the changing colours of leaves as a natural symbol that likely carries deeper metaphorical significance. In Lithuanian folk tradition, forest imagery frequently serves as a potent symbol connected to national identity, with Lithuania historically known as a land of forests and lakes. The juxtaposition of "green" and "yellow" in the title creates a vivid image of transition and change, potentially reflecting broader themes of life cycles, impermanence, and seasonal renewal.

Lithuanian folk songs, known as dainos, typically feature distinctive musical characteristics including modal scales, natural harmonies, and regional variations in performance style. The lyrical content often addresses themes of nature, agricultural life, love, family relationships, or historical events, creating a comprehensive cultural archive of rural experience and worldview.

Basanavičius's work in documenting such cultural expressions was crucial to the Lithuanian National Revival movement of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. As a physician, folklorist, and national activist, he recognised that preserving Lithuania's distinct cultural heritage was essential to maintaining national identity during a period of intense Russification policies that restricted Lithuanian language and cultural expression.

The archiving and preservation of this song by the Lithuanian Institute of Literature and Folklore ensures that this cultural expression remains accessible to current and future generations, maintaining connections to traditional ways of understanding and relating to the natural environment through artistic expression.

The Syrenka, or Mermaid of Warsaw, stands as one of Poland's most enduring and recognisable mythological symbols, serving as the official emblem of Poland's capital city since at least the 14th century. Featured prominently on Warsaw's coat of arms and commemorated in statues, murals, and other public artworks throughout the city, this half-woman, half-fish figure embodies Warsaw's identity, resilience, and historical experience.

According to various legends that developed over centuries, the mermaid originally swam from the Baltic Sea into the Vistula River, where she chose to remain, enchanted by the beauty of the landscape and the river's course. Different versions of the tale describe how she was initially captured by a merchant but freed by local fishermen, after which she promised to guard the city and its people—explaining her traditional depiction with sword and shield, ready to defend Warsaw from threats.

The Syrenka's symbolic significance has evolved over time, particularly in the aftermath of World War II, when approximately 85% of Warsaw was systematically destroyed by Nazi forces. During the city's post-war reconstruction, the mermaid became a powerful symbol of Warsaw's indomitable spirit and capacity for renewal, its continuing presence representing historical continuity despite catastrophic destruction.

Today, the most famous physical representation of the Syrenka stands in Warsaw's Old Town Square, a bronze statue created by sculptor Konstanty Hegel in 1855. However, the symbol appears in countless variations throughout the city, from official municipal buildings to street art, consumer products, and corporate logos, demonstrating its flexible adaptability to different contexts while maintaining its essential character.

The enduring presence of the Warsaw Mermaid in the city's visual identity exemplifies how mythological figures can become integral to civic self-understanding, evolving over centuries while providing a sense of continuity and distinctiveness in the face of historical challenges.