Spiral Galaxy

 

Axis Mundi: "The central pivot of the earth or of the entire cosmos" ("Axis Mundi")


Apocalypse: "[T]he complete final destruction of the world, especially as described in the biblical book of Revelation. The word is recorded from Old English, and comes ultimately, via Old French and ecclesiastical Latin, from Greek apokaluptein 'uncover, reveal'" ("Apocalypse")


Cosmogony: "A cosmogonic myth or cosmogony is a particular culture's story of the creation" ("Cosmogonic Myths").


Cosmos: "[T]he universe seen as a well-ordered whole. - ORIGIN ME: from Gk kosmos 'order or world'" ("Cosmos, n.")


Hierophany: "(Gk., hieros, ‘sacred’, + phainein, ‘to show’) The manifestation of the divine or the sacred, especially in a sacred place, object, or occasion. Manifestations of some particular aspect may be named after the aspect revealed, e.g. theophany (of divinity), kratophany (of power)" ("Hierophany").

Imago Mundi: Image of the world, a symbolic representation of the ordered world or universe


Omphalos: "[T]he navel. Metaphorically, the centre of a geographical area, e.g. the sea, a city (= the agora), the world. Title to the last was claimed by Delphi, at least by early in the Classical period, and reinforced by identification with a solid object, namely an egg- (or navel-) shaped stone. Strabo gives the fullest description of the Delphic omphalos: it was covered by wreaths and had two images on it representing the two birds sent by Zeus, one from the west, one from the east, meeting at Delphi. This stone was in the temple. The marble stone seen by Pausanias--and preserved to this day--as a man-made object, the wreaths depicted in relief. It stood on the esplanade outside the temple" ("Omphalos").

Theophany: "[A] visible manifestation of God or a god to man ("Theophany n.")


Typology: "System of groupings that aids understanding of the things being studied by distinguishing certain attributes or qualities among them that serve to link them together into a closed set of items" ("Typology," World Encyclopedia).

 

Bibliography

"Axis Mundi." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. Ed. John Bowker. Oxford UP, 2000. Oxford Reference Online. Web. 26 August 2011.

"Apocalypse." A Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. Ed.Elizabeth Knowles. Oxford UP, 2006. Oxford Reference Online. Web. 24 August 2011.

"Cosmogonic Myths." A Dictionary of Asian Mythology. Ed. David Leeming. Oxford UP, 2001. Oxford Reference Online. Web. 24 August 2011.

"Cosmos, n." The Concise Oxford English Dictionary. 12th ed . Ed. Catherine Soanes and Angus Stevenson. Oxford UP, 2008. Oxford Reference Online. Web. 24 August 2011.

"Hierophany." The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions. Ed. John Bowker. Oxford UP, 2000. Oxford Reference Online. Web. 26 August 2011.

Leonard, Scott and Michael McClure. Myth & Knowing: An Introduction to World Mythology. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2004. Print.

"Omphalos." Oxford Dictionary of the Classical World. Ed. John Roberts. Oxford UP, 2007. Oxford Reference Online. Web. 26 August 2011.

Rosenberg, Donna. World Mythology: An Anthology of the Great Myths and Epics. 3rd ed. Lincolnwood: NTC, 1999. Print.

"Theophany n." The New Zealand Oxford Dictionary. Ed. Tony Deverson. Oxford UP, 2004. Oxford Reference Online. Web. 26 August 2011.

"Typology." World Encyclopedia. Philip's, 2008. Oxford Reference Online. Web. 29 August 2011.

 

HUM 2130 World Mythology