Interesting legends. Ancient legends and myths proven by scientists

Every nation has beautiful and amazing legends. They are varied in topic: legends about the exploits of heroes, stories about the origin of the names of geographical objects, horror stories about supernatural beings and novelistic tales about lovers.

Definition of the term

A legend is an unreliable account of an event. It is very similar to the myth and can be considered its approximate analogue. But legend and myth still cannot be called completely identical concepts. If we are talking about myth, then there are fictional heroes who have nothing to do with reality. The legend is based on real events, later supplemented or embellished. Since many fictitious facts are added to them, for reliable scientists legends do not accept.

If we take the classical meaning of the word as a basis, then a legend is a legend set out in artistic form. Such legends exist among almost all nations.

The best legends of the world - they will be discussed in the article.

Types of legends

1. Oral legends are the most ancient look. They spread through wandering storytellers.

2. Written traditions - recorded oral stories.

3. Religious legends - stories about events and persons from church history.

4. Social legends - all other legends that are not related to religion.

5. Toponymic - explaining the origin of the names of geographical objects (rivers, lakes, cities).

6. Urban legends - newest look, which has become widespread these days.

In addition, there are many more varieties of legends, depending on the plot that underlies them - zootropomorphic, cosmogonic, etiological, eschatonic and heroic. There are very short legends and long narratives. The latter are usually associated with a story about the heroic achievements of a person. For example, the legend about the hero Ilya Muromets.

How did legends arise?

WITH Latin language legenda translates as “that which must be read.” The history of legends goes back a long way and has the same roots as myth. having no idea about the reasons for many things happening around him natural phenomena, composed myths. Through them he tried to explain his vision of the world. Later, based on mythology, amazing and interesting legends about heroes, gods and supernatural phenomena began to arise. Many of them have been preserved in the traditions of the peoples of the world.

Atlantis - the legend of the lost paradise

The best legends that arose in ancient times have survived to this day. Many of them still captivate the imagination of adventurers with their beauty and realism. The story of Atlantis says that in ancient times there was an island whose inhabitants achieved incredible heights in many sciences. But then it was destroyed by a strong earthquake and sank along with the Atlanteans - its inhabitants.

We must express gratitude to the great ancient Greek philosopher Plato and the no less revered historian Herodotus for the story of Atlantis. An interesting legend excited the minds of these outstanding scientists during their lifetime. ancient Greece. It has not lost its relevance even today. The search for the wonderful island, which sank thousands of years ago, continues to this day.

If the legend about Atlantis turns out to be true, this event will be one of the greatest discoveries century. After all, there was no less interesting legend about the mythical Troy, in the existence of which Heinrich Schliemann sincerely believed. In the end, he managed to find this city and prove that there was some truth in the ancient legends.

Founding of Rome

This interesting legend is one of the most famous in the world. The city of Rome arose in ancient times on the banks of the Tiber. The proximity of the sea made it possible to engage in trade, and at the same time the city was well protected from surprise attack sea ​​robbers. According to legend, Rome was founded by the brothers Romulus and Remus, who were suckled by a she-wolf. By order of the ruler, they were supposed to be killed, but a careless servant threw the basket with the children into the Tiber, hoping that it would drown. She was picked up by a shepherd and became the foster father for the twins. Having matured and learned about their origin, they rebelled against a relative and took power from him. The brothers decided to found their own city, but during construction they quarreled, and Romulus killed Remus.

He named the built city after himself. The legend about the emergence of Rome belongs to toponymic legends.

The Legend of the Golden Dragon - The Path to the Heavenly Temple

Among the legends, stories about dragons are very popular. Many nations have them, but traditionally it is one of the favorite themes of Chinese folklore.

The legend of the golden dragon says that between heaven and earth there is a bridge that leads to the Heavenly Temple. It belongs to the Lord of the World. Only pure souls can enter it. Two golden dragons stand guard over the shrine. They sense an unworthy soul and can tear it apart when trying to enter the temple. One day one of the dragons angered the Lord, and he expelled him. The dragon descended to earth, met other creatures and dragons of different stripes were born from him. The Lord became angry when he saw them and destroyed everyone except those not yet born. Having been born, they hid for a long time. But the Lord of the World did not destroy the new dragons, but left them on earth as his governors.

Treasures and Treasures

Legends about gold occupy not the last place in the list of popular legends. One of the most famous and beautiful myths Ancient Greece tells of the Argonauts' search for the Golden Fleece. For a long time, the legend about the treasure was considered simply a legend until Heinrich Schliemann found a treasure of pure gold at the excavation site of Mycenae, the capital of the legendary king.

Kolchak's Gold is another famous legend. In the years Civil War ended up in my hands most of Russia's gold reserves are about seven hundred tons of gold. It was transported in several trains. Historians know what happened to one train. He was captured by the rebel Czechoslovak Corps and handed over to the authorities (Bolsheviks). But the fate of the remaining two is unknown to this day. The precious cargo could have been dumped into a mine, hidden or buried in the ground at huge territory between Irkutsk and Krasnoyarsk. All the excavations that have been carried out so far (starting with the security officers) have not yielded any results.

The Well to Hell and the Library of Ivan the Terrible

Russia also has its own interesting legends. One of them, which appeared relatively recently, is one of the so-called urban legends. This is a story about a well to hell. This name was given to one of the deepest man-made wells in the world - Kola. Its drilling began in 1970. The length is 12,262 meters. The well was created exclusively for scientific purposes. Now it is mothballed because there are no funds to maintain it in working condition. The legend appeared in 1989, when a story was heard on American television that sensors lowered to the very depths of the well recorded sounds similar to moans and screams of people.

Another interesting legend, which may well be true, speaks of a library of books, scrolls and manuscripts. The last owner of the precious collection was Ivan IV. It is believed that she was part of the dowry of the niece of the Byzantine Emperor Constantine.

Fearing that the precious books in wooden Moscow might be burned in a fire, she ordered the library to be placed in the basements under the Kremlin. According to the seekers of the famous Liberia, it may contain 800 volumes of priceless works of ancient and medieval authors. Now there are about 60 versions of where the mysterious library may be stored.

Dear reader! Collected here short parables, fables and legends for children junior classes. They are redone and written in short sentences. Easy to read children. Will fit for children of any grade. Parables are added. If you have your own good parable, fable or legend - please send it. Or post it in the comments. Thank you! 🙂

Parable. What to be afraid of?

One day a strong thunderstorm began. All the children ran home. But the little girl herself was not there.

Mom went to look for her. It was raining in the yard. Lightning flashed brightly. Thunder rumbled loudly.

Mom was scared. She closed her eyes from every lightning. And from every thunder she covered her head with her hands.

Mom found her daughter on the street. The girl was all wet. She jumped and danced in the rain. And when lightning flashed, the girl raised her face up. And smiled at the sky.

Mom was very surprised. She asked:

- Daughter! Are not you afraid? Are you scared?

But the daughter answered in surprise:

- No, mom! I'm not scared! I don't know what to be afraid of here?

And then she said:

- Mother! Look! I dance and the sky takes pictures of me!

The same parable performed by Alexandra

Don't judge strictly, performance without rehearsal:

Two apples

A parable about not making hasty conclusions.

A little girl brought two apples from the street. Probably someone gave it to me.

– Mom, look how beautiful the apples are!
- Yes, beautiful! Will you treat me? - Mom asked.

The little girl looked at the apples. And then she took a bite from one apple. I thought for a second and... – I bit the second one.

Mom was surprised. And I thought:

– What a greedy girl I’m growing up. She started eating both apples, but didn’t offer me one.

But to her surprise, the girl handed her mother one apple with the words:

- Mommy! Take this apple! It's sweeter! 🙂

Dear reader!

Fable for children

Fable Lion and Mouse

The lion was sleeping under a tree. And under this tree there was a Mouse hole. The mouse began to crawl out of the hole and woke up the Lion. The lion woke up and caught the mouse. The mouse began to ask:

- Let go! I promise to help you when you ask me.

The Lion let go of the Mouse and laughed. He said:

- How can you help me? You're so small.

Time has passed. The hunters wounded the lion. They tied him up with rope and decided to sell him to the zoo.

The lion roared loudly, but none of the animals came to the rescue. All the animals were also afraid of the hunters.

But the Mouse came running. She chewed the rope at night. And Leo was freed.

Then the Mouse said to the Lion:

– Remember, you laughed at me for being so small. You didn't believe that I could help you.

Lev said:

- Sorry, Mouse, that I laughed. I didn’t know that small animals can also be useful.

Fable for children

Fable Dog and Reflection

The dog walked along the plank across the river. She carried a bone in her teeth.

Suddenly the Dog saw her reflection in the water. She thought that another dog was carrying prey there. And it seemed to the dog that that dog had a much larger bone than hers.

The dog abandoned his prey and rushed to take the bone from the reflection.

As a result, the Dog was left with nothing. She lost hers and couldn’t take away someone else’s.

This fable is about a cowardly heart.
No matter how much you help a coward, he will still be afraid.

Mouse heart

Young speaker

Once upon a time there lived a little Mouse who was unhappy because he was afraid of everything. But most of all he was afraid of falling into the paws of a cat.

The mouse came to the Wizard and began to ask him to make him a cat.

The wizard took pity on the mouse and turned him into a cat.

But then this cat began to be afraid of dogs.

The wizard turned a former mouse into a dog. But then he began to be afraid of wolves.

The wizard turned him into a wolf. But then he became very afraid of hunters.

And then the Wizard gave up. He again turned him into a mouse and said:

- Nothing will help you. Because you have the heart of a cowardly mouse.

The Legend of King Solomon's Ring.

There is a legend about King Solomon.
This legend is about King Solomon and the magic ring. I think children will understand it just as much as adults.

The sage gave King Solomon a magic ring. He put this ring on the king's finger and said:

“Never take off the ring!”

On this ring was the inscription:

"All will pass!"

When the king was sad, Solomon looked at the ring and read the inscription:

"All will pass!"

And the magic of the ring acted on the king. Solomon stopped grieving.

The ring always helped the king. Even when Solomon was angry, he also looked at the ring and read:

"All will pass!"

He smiled and calmed down.

But one day a great grief happened. Solomon looked at the ring and read the inscription. But he didn’t calm down, he even got angry. Then he took the ring off his finger for the first time and wanted to throw it away. But he saw that there was also an inscription inside the ring. He read:

“This too shall pass!”

Solomon calmed down and smiled.

He never took his magic ring off his hand again. And he gave the sage an expensive gift.

Parable for children

Where does a zebra get stripes? African legend.

Once upon a time, the zebra was one color. She was brown, like an antelope. And Zebra didn't like it. But she didn't know what color she should be. She liked black and white.

The zebra took two brushes and two cans of paint: white and black.

Each time she painted herself, sometimes with black paint, sometimes with white. This is how the stripes appeared. She never decided what she should be, white or black.

Then Zebra decided to take a swim to wash off the paint. But the paint was already so ingrained that it was impossible to get rid of it. Since then, Zebras have become black and white striped.

The Legend of Narcissus.

It was a long time ago. Back when people didn't have mirrors.

One young man was very handsome. And to see his beauty, he went to the stream to look at his reflection.

He looked at his reflection for a long time and admired himself. Then a Fairy appeared from the forest and made the young man beautiful flower. This beautiful flower remained on the bank of the stream, admiring its reflection.

And people began to say to those who often look at their reflection:

– Don’t admire yourself for too long, lest you turn into a flower like Narcissus

Parables for children

The legend of how the kangaroo got its name.

The famous navigator James Cook sailed to Australia. There he saw amazing animals that jumped with huge leaps on two legs.

The surprised captain asked a local resident:

-What is the name of this beast?

The native shrugged his shoulders because he didn’t understand anything.

Cook asked again:

- Who is this?– and pointed to the jumping animal.

The native replied:

- Kan garu.

In the local language this meant: "I do not understand you".

Cook asked:

- Kangaroo?

The native nodded his head:

– Kan garu

Cook wrote in his journal that he saw amazing animals that run by jumping on two legs. And these animals are called: kangaroo.

Parables for children

The dispute between the Sun and the Wind. Who is stronger?

The wind was bragging about how strong it was. The Sun decided to teach the Wind a lesson. It said:

“You see, there’s an old man in a raincoat.” Can you take his cloak off?
“Of course I can,” answered the Wind.

The sun hid behind a cloud, and the wind began to blow. It got stronger and stronger until it finally turned into a hurricane. But the stronger the Wind blew, the more the traveler wrapped himself in his cloak.

The sun said:

- Enough! Now it's my turn!

The wind died down and stopped.

And the Sun smiled at the traveler and warmed him with its rays. The old man cheered up, he felt warm - and he took off his cloak.

And the Sun said to the Wind:

- You see! There is another force.

Since then, the Wind has stopped boasting of its power in front of the Sun.

Parables for children

Parable. How to divide equally?

Two brothers lived in the same village. Father, we will give them a field. And the brothers decided to divide the field in half.

We started dividing. It seemed to one that the other was getting most of it... then vice versa... They couldn’t draw a line. We thought and wondered... we almost came to a fight...

And they decided to turn to the Sage.

- Tell me, Sage... How can we equally and peacefully divide the field among ourselves?

And the sage says:

- Do this. Let one brother divide the field in half as he decides to do it. And let the second one choose from two halves: which part will be his, and which part will go to his brother.

And so they did. One brother divided the field in half. He tried very hard to make sure the halves were the same. The second brother chose one half of the field. And I was pleased too. After this incident, the brothers began to divide everything in this way.

Parables for children

How to feel about your work.

Three workers were carrying bricks. A boy came up to them and asked:

- What are you doing?

The worker wiped the sweat from his forehead and replied:

– Don’t you see that we are carrying bricks?
- But why?
- Baby, this is our job.

The boy did not understand why people carry bricks. He approached another worker and asked:

- What are you doing?

He rolled up his sleeves and said matter-of-factly:

– Don’t you see? - We earn money.
- What for?
- What do you mean why? I need money, otherwise I wouldn't take this job.

Then the boy approached the third worker.

- What are you doing?

The man smiled and said:

- Like what? We are doing a good job. We are building a house for good people. People will live happily in it. I am glad that I have already built many beautiful houses.

The boy thought about it. People do the same job for different reasons. And with different moods.

Children's parables

Fight with Leo

Lion resting in the shade big tree after a hearty lunch. It was midday. Heat.

The Jackal approached the Lion. He looked at the resting Leo and timidly said:

- A lion! Let's fight!

But the answer was only silence.

The jackal began to speak louder:

- A lion! Let's fight! Let's have a battle in this clearing. You are against me!

Leo didn't pay any attention to him.

Then the Jackal threatened:

- Let's fight! Otherwise I’ll go and tell everyone that you, Leo, scared me terribly.

Leo yawned, stretched lazily and said:

- And who will believe you? Just think! Even if someone condemns me for cowardice, it is still much more pleasant than the fact that they will despise me. Despised for fighting with some Jackal...

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Parables for children

Fly and bee

Mosquito asked Mukha:

– Are there any beautiful flowers somewhere nearby?

But the Fly answered Mosquito:

- There are no flowers here. But there are a lot of good trash heaps. You definitely need to fly to them. There's so much interesting stuff there.

The mosquito flew away. And he met the Bee. He asked:

- Bee! Where are the trash cans? I can't find them at all.

And the Bee answers:

- Don't know. I saw only beautiful flowers nearby. Let's fly together and I'll show them to you.

Parables for children

Ghost tree.

Not far from the road stood a large withered tree.

One night a thief passed by on the road. He saw a tree in the dark. But this silhouette seemed to him in the form of a policeman. The thief got scared and ran away.

In the evening a lover passed by. From a distance he noticed an elegant silhouette and thought that it was his beloved who had been waiting for him for a long time. His heart began to beat joyfully. He smiled and quickened his pace.

One day a mother and child walked past the tree. Kid scared scary tales, thought there was a ghost near the road and burst into tears.

But the tree always remained just a tree!

The world around us is a reflection of ourselves.

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Parables for children

What else could I become?

There lived two brothers. There was one brother successful person who achieved fame for their good deeds. The other brother was a criminal.

One day the police caught the criminal and the case was brought to court. Before the trial, a group of journalists surrounded him, and one asked a question:

- How did it happen that you became a criminal?
- I had a difficult childhood. My father drank, beat my mother and my brother and me. Who else could I become?

After a while, several journalists approached the first brother, and one asked:

- You are known for your achievements and good deeds. How did you achieve all this?

The man thought for a moment and then answered:

- I had a difficult childhood. My father drank, beat my mother, my brother and me. Who else could I become?

Parables for children

ALL IN YOUR HANDS
Parable

Once upon a time, in one city, there lived a great sage. The fame of his wisdom spread far around him hometown, people from afar came to him for advice.

But there was a man in the city who was jealous of his glory. He once came to a meadow, caught a butterfly, planted it between his closed palms and thought:

- Let me go to the sage and ask him: tell me, oh wisest one, which butterfly is in my hands - alive or dead? - If he says dead, I will open my palms and the butterfly will fly away. If he says alive, I will close my palms and the butterfly will die. Then everyone will understand which of us is smarter.

That's how it all turned out. An envious man came to the city and asked the sage: “Tell me, oh wisest one, which butterfly is in my hands - alive or dead?”

Looking intently into the eyes, the sage said:

"All in your hands".

Parables for children

Parable. MASTER OF TOYS

Lived in a distant country an old man, Very loving children. He constantly made toys for them.

But these toys turned out to be so fragile that they broke faster than the child had time to play with them. Having broken another toy, the children were very upset and came to the master to ask for new ones. He gladly gave them others, even more fragile ones...

Finally, the parents intervened. They came to the old man with a question:

- Tell us, O Wise One, why do you always give our children such fragile toys that the children cry inconsolably when they break them?

And then the sage said:

- Quite a few years will pass, and someone will give these former children their heart. Maybe, having learned not to break fragile toys, they will be more careful about someone else’s heart?..

The parents thought for a long time. And they left, thanking the Teacher.

Parables for children

Paper

The teacher called his students and showed them a piece of white paper.

-What do you see here? – asked the Sage.

“Point,” one answered.

All the other students nodded their heads as a sign that they also saw the dot.

“Take a closer look,” said the Teacher.

But no matter how hard the students looked, they saw nothing but a black dot.

And then the teacher said:

- You all saw a small black dot, and no one noticed a clean white sheet...

“So I still have something to teach you.”

Parables for children

About trading methods

Once at the bazaar an ancient old man appeared in a skullcap and an oriental robe embroidered with an unusual pattern. The old man was selling watermelons.

There was a sign above his product:

“One watermelon – 3 rubles. Three watermelons – 10 rubles.”

A bearded man comes up and buys a watermelon for three rubles...

Then another watermelon for three rubles...

And at parting he joyfully says to the seller:

- Look, I bought three watermelons, but only paid 9 rubles, not 10. You don’t know how to trade!

The old man looks after him:

- Yes! They buy three watermelons from me instead of one, and then teach me how to trade...

Children's parables

Parable of two wolves

Once upon a time, an old Indian revealed one vital truth to his grandson.

- You see, in every the man is walking struggle. This fight is very similar to the fight between two wolves. One wolf represents evil: envy, jealousy, regret, selfishness, greed, lies... And the other wolf represents good: peace, love, hope, care, kindness, loyalty... And others good qualities person.

The little Indian thought for a long time. And then he asked:

- Grandfather! Which wolf wins in the end? Bad wolf or good wolf?

The old Indian smiled faintly and replied:

- Remember: the wolf you feed always wins.

Parables for children

A stupid boy

A little boy walks into a barber shop. The hairdresser recognizes him immediately and says to his clients:

- Look, this is the stupidest boy in the world! Now I will prove it to you.

The barber takes $1 in one hand and 25 cents in the other. He calls the boy and invites him to choose:

– Do you choose 1 or 25?
- Twenty five!

Everyone laughs. The boy receives 25 cents and leaves.

Soon, one client catches up with the boy and asks:

- Boy! Tell me, why did you choose 25 cents and not 1 dollar? Are you really that stupid that you don't realize that $1 is more than 25 cents?
- Fine! What will I get for this?
- You'll get another 25 cents.

The boy receives coins and says:

- Because the day I choose $1, I think the hairdresser will stop being happy. Visitors will have nothing to laugh about. I will become “smart”, I will no longer be “stupid”. And I won’t be able to get 25 cents every time.

Children's parables

The Legend of the Temple of a Thousand Mirrors

Many hundreds of years ago, high in the mountains there was a Temple with a Thousand Mirrors. Many people went to see him.

One day, a dog entered this temple. Looking around, the dog saw a thousand dogs in the mirrors and, frightened, bared its teeth.

At that moment she saw a thousand grinning dogs. The dog growled. And the echo responded with a growl...

With its tail between its legs, the dog jumped out of the temple, convinced that evil dogs lived in this temple.

A month later, another dog came to the temple with a thousand mirrors.

She entered it and, looking in the mirrors, saw a thousand friendly and peaceful dogs. She wagged her tail. And I saw a thousand friendly dogs.

Barking joyfully, she left the temple with full confidence that this Temple was full of friendly dogs.

• The world is often only a reflection of ourselves: if we look at the world brightly and joyfully, then it responds to us in the same way!

Parables for children

Bucket of apples

The man bought it for himself new house- large, beautiful - and a garden with fruit trees near the house. And nearby in an old house lived an envious neighbor.

One day a man woke up in good mood, went out onto the porch, and there was a pile of garbage.

What to do? Your porch needs to be cleaned. And also to find out who it was. And he found out - an envious neighbor.

I wanted to go and argue, but after thinking about it, I decided to do it differently.

He went into the garden, picked up the ripest apples and went to his neighbor.

The neighbor, hearing a knock on the door, thought maliciously: “Finally, my neighbor is angry!” Opens the door.

To his surprise, there was no one there, only apples. And on the apples there is a note:

He who is rich in what, shares it!

Children's parables

Bad words.

Two friends quarreled. And one began to say bad words about his friend to everyone he knew.

But then he calmed down and realized that he was wrong. He came to his friend and began to ask him for forgiveness.

Then the second friend said:

- Fine! I'll forgive you. Only on one condition.
- Which one?
- Take a pillow and let all the feathers out into the wind.

The first friend did just that. He tore the pillow. And the wind carried the feathers throughout the village.

A satisfied friend came to another and said:

- I completed your task. Am I forgiven?
- Yes, if you put all the feathers back into the pillow.

But you understand that it is impossible to collect all the feathers back. Likewise, bad words that have already scattered throughout the village cannot be taken back.

Sincerely, rhetoric coach Oleg Bolsunov.

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Short legends, parables, fables for children junior class

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/ Legends and parables for schoolchildren / The best legends and parables / Short legends and parables for elementary school children / Parables and legends for grades 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 /

According to statistics from the British Royal Society of Ghosts, on average every square meter At least 3 ghosts live on the inhabited surface of the Earth. We managed to photograph some of them, and even talk to some of them. We present the most famous myths and legends.

10th place: Argonauts. The myth of the Argonauts and the Golden Fleece is very old. The very first recorded version of this myth is already a reworking of it, very far from the original story. Argonauts (literally "sailing on the Argo") - participants in the voyage on the ship "Argo" for the Golden Fleece to the country of Colchis. The journey of the Argonauts is described in most detail in the poem "Argonautica" by Apollonius of Rhodes.

9th place: Beowulf. The only existing manuscript of Beowulf dates back to around 1000. But the epic itself dates back, according to most experts, to the end of the 7th or the first third of the 8th century. Beowulf, a young knight from the Gaut people, having learned about the attack of the monster Grendel on the Danish king Hygelac, goes to help the king.

8th place: The legend of the fern flower. According to ancient folk legend Those who find a fern flower on the night of Ivan Kupala will find happiness. By the way, this myth exists not only in Russia. The legend of the fern flower was also believed in Lithuania and Estonia.

7th place: The Legend of King Arthur. Italian researcher Mario Moiraghi claims that the legendary sword of King Arthur really exists and is located in a rock in the Abbey of San Galgano in Italy. By the way, in his book, Moiragi states that the legend of King Arthur is Italian, although it was traditionally assumed that King Arthur and the Holy Grail were invented in northern Europe or in France.

6th place: Poltergeist. Some claim that poltergeists (“noisy spirit” in German) terrorized our ancestors for thousands of years. During a poltergeist, objects can appear and disappear out of nowhere, for example, a fire can pour or appear right out of thin air, pipes can burst, plugs can burn out, dishes can break, etc. Events of this kind usually last about 2-3 months, and only sometimes for several years.

5th place: Loch Ness monster. The first mentions of Nessie begin in 565. A monster is described as resembling a giant toad, “only it wasn’t a toad.” Seventh-century Latin accounts of Nessie noted the appearance of a dragon "cum agenti fremitu", meaning "violently",

4th place: No one has really seen Bigfoot yet, but Nepalese mountain tribes still believe in the existence of the terrible Mi-Go or “Abominable Snowman” lurking among the icy and mountain spiers.

3rd place: Flying Dutchmen. Legend has it that there once lived a Dutch captain, Van der Decken. He was a drunkard and a blasphemer. And then one day, near the Cape of Good Hope, his ship was caught in a strong storm. The navigator advised him to take refuge in one of the bays, but instead of heeding the advice, Van der Decken shot the navigator. This act angered God, and since then Van der Decken’s ship has been wandering the seas. With a rotten hull, it nevertheless holds up well on the waves. The damned captain recruits his crew from drowned men, and the more vile and vile their deeds in life were, the better.

2nd place: Bermuda Triangle. The literature on the Bermuda Triangle describes in detail 50 cases of disappearances of ships and aircraft. In almost all cases, ships and planes disappeared without a trace along with their crews. By the way, about 140 thousand people were nevertheless saved from shipwrecks in the area Bermuda Triangle US Protective Service.

1 place: Aliens. On this moment Various organizations have recorded about 1-0 thousand evidence of UFO sightings and communication with aliens. The myth about aliens is especially widespread throughout the world: aliens from outer space who visited the earth a long time ago. Some people consider the ancient Egyptians and Maya Indians to be aliens. By the way, the image of a green man with big eyes and in silver clothing was recognized as the most common idea of ​​aliens on Earth. The drawing of the “little green man” was sealed in one of the “time capsules”, which should be opened in three thousand years.

The debate between supporters of the theory of creationism and evolutionary theory continues to this day. However, unlike the theory of evolution, creationism includes not one, but hundreds of different theories (if not more).

The Myth of Pan-gu

The Chinese have their own ideas about how the world came into being. The most popular myth is the myth of Pan-gu, the giant man. The plot is as follows: at the dawn of time, Heaven and Earth were so close to each other that they merged into a single black mass.
According to legend, this mass was an egg, and Pan-gu lived inside it, and lived for a long time - many millions of years. But one fine day he got tired of such a life, and, swinging a heavy ax, Pan-gu got out of his egg, splitting it into two parts. These parts later became Heaven and Earth. He was of unimaginable height - about fifty kilometers in length, which, by the standards of the ancient Chinese, was the distance between Heaven and Earth.
Unfortunately for Pan-gu and fortunately for us, the colossus was mortal and, like all mortals, died. And then Pan-gu decomposed. But not the way we do it. Pan-gu decomposed in a really cool way: his voice turned into thunder, his skin and bones became the earth's surface, and his head became the Cosmos. Thus, his death gave life to our world.

Chernobog and Belobog

This is one of the most significant myths of the Slavs. It tells the story of the confrontation between Good and Evil – the White and Black gods. It all started like this: when there was only one continuous sea around, Belobog decided to create dry land, sending his shadow - Chernobog - to do all the dirty work. Chernobog did everything as expected, however, having a selfish and proud nature, he did not want to share power over the firmament with Belobog, deciding to drown the latter.
Belobog got out of this situation, did not allow himself to be killed, and even blessed the land erected by Chernobog. However, with the advent of land, one small problem arose: its area grew exponentially, threatening to swallow everything around.
Then Belobog sent his delegation to Earth with the goal of finding out from Chernobog how to stop this matter. Well, Chernobog sat on a goat and went to negotiate. The delegates, seeing Chernobog galloping towards them on a goat, were imbued with the comedy of this spectacle and burst into wild laughter. Chernobog did not understand the humor, was very offended and flatly refused to talk to them.
Meanwhile, Belobog, still wanting to save the Earth from dehydration, decided to spy on Chernobog, making a bee for this purpose. The insect coped with the task successfully and learned the secret, which was as follows: in order to stop the growth of land, you need to draw a cross on it and say cherished word- "enough". Which is what Belobog did.
To say that Chernobog was not happy is to say nothing. Wanting to take revenge, he cursed Belobog, and he cursed him in a very original way: for his meanness, Belobog was now supposed to eat bee feces for the rest of his life. However, Belobog was not at a loss and made bee excrement as sweet as sugar - this is how honey appeared. For some reason, the Slavs did not think about how people appeared... The main thing is that there is honey.

Armenian duality

Armenian myths resemble Slavic ones and also tell us about the existence of two opposite principles - this time male and female. Unfortunately, the myth does not answer the question of how our world was created; it only explains how everything around us works. But that doesn't make it any less interesting.
So here you go short summary: Heaven and Earth are a husband and wife separated by an ocean; The sky is a city, and the Earth is a piece of rock, which is held on its huge horns by an equally huge bull - when it shakes its horns, the earth bursts at the seams from earthquakes. That, in fact, is all - this is how the Armenians imagined the Earth.
There is an alternative myth where the Earth is in the middle of the sea, and Leviathan floats around it, trying to grab onto its own tail, and constant earthquakes were also explained by its flopping. When Leviathan finally bites its tail, life on Earth will cease and the apocalypse will begin. Have a nice day.

Scandinavian myth of the ice giant

It would seem that there is nothing in common between the Chinese and the Scandinavians - but no, the Vikings also had their own giant - the origin of everything, only his name was Ymir, and he was icy and with a club. Before his appearance, the world was divided into Muspelheim and Niflheim - the kingdoms of fire and ice, respectively. And between them stretched Ginnungagap, symbolizing absolute chaos, and there Ymir was born from the fusion of two opposing elements.
And now closer to us, to the people. When Ymir began to sweat, a man and a woman emerged from his right armpit along with the sweat. It’s strange, yes, we understand this - well, that’s how they are, harsh Vikings, nothing can be done. But let's get back to the point. The man's name was Buri, he had a son Ber, and Ber had three sons - Odin, Vili and Ve. Three brothers were gods and ruled Asgard. This seemed to them not enough, and they decided to kill Ymir’s great-grandfather, making a world out of him.
Ymir was not happy, but no one asked him. In the process, he shed a lot of blood - enough to fill the seas and oceans; from the unfortunate man's skull the brothers created firmament, they broke his bones, making mountains and cobblestones out of them, and clouds were made from poor Ymir’s torn brains.
This new world Odin and the company immediately decided to settle: so they found two beautiful trees on the seashore - ash and alder, making a man from the ash, and a woman from the alder, thereby giving rise to the human race.

Greek myth about marbles

Like many other peoples, the ancient Greeks believed that before our world appeared, there was only complete Chaos around. There was neither the sun nor the moon - everything was dumped into one big pile, where things were inseparable from each other.
But then a certain god came, looked at the chaos reigning around, thought and decided that all this was not good, and got down to business: he separated the cold from the heat, the foggy morning from a clear day, and everything like that.
Then he set to work on the Earth, rolling it into a ball and dividing this ball into five parts: at the equator it was very hot, at the poles it was extremely cold, but between the poles and the equator it was just right, you couldn’t imagine anything more comfortable. Then, from the seed of an unknown god, most likely Zeus, known to the Romans as Jupiter, the first man was created - two-faced and also in the shape of a ball.
And then they tore him in two, making him a man and a woman - the future of you and me.

One day, great composer Irving Berlin heard the music of just aspiring composer George Gershwin. She made a very strong impression on him. So much so that Berlin offered Gershwin the position of his musical secretary with a salary three times higher than others.

Gershwin actually agreed.

“But don’t take this job,” Berlin said after he voiced his proposal.
- Why?
– Because if you agree, you will become a second-class Berlin. And if you remain yourself, then perhaps one day you will become a first-class Gershwin.

And Gershwin refused to become Irving Berlin's musical secretary.
Over time, George Gershwin became a great American composer.

A woman walked along the road, as beautiful as a fairy. Suddenly she noticed that a young man was following her. She turned around and asked:

- Tell me, why are you following me?

The guy replied:

“Oh, mistress of my heart, your charms are so irresistible that they command me to follow you.” I want to express my love to you, because you have captivated my heart.

The girl looked silently for a while at young man and then said:

Sir Ernest Rutherford, President of the Royal Academy and Laureate Nobel Prize in physics, told the following story, which serves as an excellent example of the fact that it is not always easy to give the only correct answer to a question.

A colleague asked me for help. He was going to give the lowest grade to one student in physics, but this student demanded the highest grade.

Both teacher and student agreed to rely on the judgment of a third party, a disinterested arbitrator; the choice fell on me.

The exam question read: “Explain how the height of a building can be measured using a barometer.”

The student’s answer was: “You need to go up to the roof of the building with the barometer, lower the barometer down on a long rope, and then pull it back and measure the length of the rope, which will show the exact height of the building.”

The case was truly complicated, since the answer was absolutely complete and correct! On the other hand, the exam was in physics, and the answer had little to do with the application of knowledge in this field.

I suggested that the student try to answer again. After giving him five minutes to prepare, I warned him that the answer must demonstrate knowledge physical laws. After five minutes, he still hadn't written anything on the exam paper. I asked him if he was giving up, but he stated that he had several solutions to the problem and was simply choosing the best one. Interested, I asked the young man to begin answering.

The new answer to the question read: “Climb to the roof with a barometer and throw it down, timing the fall. Then, using the formula L = (a*t^2)/2, calculate the height of the building.” Then I asked my colleague, a teacher, if he was satisfied with this answer. He finally gave in, recognizing the answer as satisfactory.

However, the student mentioned that he knew a few more answers, and I asked him to reveal them to us. “There are several ways to measure the height of a building using a barometer,” the student began. “For example, you can go outside on a sunny day and measure the height of the barometer and its shadow, and also measure the length of the shadow of a building. Then, having solved a simple proportion, determine the height of the building itself.”

“Not bad,” I said. “Are there other ways?”

"Yes. There are many ways, and I'm sure you'll like one of them.

Legends about flowers

The Legend of the White Water Lily

One day, the Great Warrior decided to leave a sign about his skills and exploits. He was incredibly strong and fast. The arrows he shot flew faster than lightning and farther than the human eye could see. And he decided to shoot an arrow into the sky so that it would remain there for centuries, in memory of his dexterity.

- Stars! - he turned to the sky, - Will you catch the arrow I shot so that it remains in the sky as a sign of my dexterity and strength?

– If you reach the sky, well... We’ll catch you and keep it with you. - answered two stars: Polar and Vechernyaya.

The Great Warrior pulled the bowstring with all the strength he had and... let go of the arrow. She soared up, cutting through the clouds. Seeing this, the Polar and Evening stars rushed to catch her. They flew almost as fast as a fired arrow, paying no attention to anything but their target. Cutting through the air, they rushed towards the arrow towards each other... until they collided... The sky shone with diamonds and sparks from the collision of stars fell to the ground.

The Great Warrior was shocked by what he saw. But what impressed him most was that the sparks that fell into the water began to bloom into magnificent flowers.

- Yes! I could not have foreseen such an outcome of events! - he exclaimed admiringly, - A flower is the best thing you can leave behind to people as a sign of memory. I will call these flowers this way: Lilies!

Lily. Water lily

/ The Legend of the Water Lily / Flower White Lily/ Legends about flowers /

Salvador Dali was surrounded by legends and secrets. For example, he could tell buyers that he used a large number of bee venom mixed with paint. That's why this painting is so unusual and should cost at least a million.

Salvador Dali. Oil painting. A dream caused by a bee flying around a pomegranate.

Here is one of the legends. Salvador Dali often visited restaurants that were new to him, inviting him to lunch different people: rich buyers, art connoisseurs, critics and just friends. He treated everyone at his own expense. Dali ordered the most expensive dishes for his guests.

When the time came to pay the bill, the artist signed the check with a generous hand, and then... turned the check over and wrote a few warm words of gratitude to the owner of the establishment, completing the gratitude with his sweeping signature.

Dali was sure that the owner of the restaurant would never dare to cash such a check with the original signature of Salvador Dali himself!

That’s exactly what happened: restaurant owners did not cash such a check. After all, they understood that they would be able to help out much more over time. more money for this check than just the invoice amount. Essentially, Dali paid for an expensive lunch with a piece of paper with his signature.

But such a receipt under glass hung in the most visible place in the restaurant, saying: “Salvador Dali himself eats with us!”

Well, the artist saved a lot of money, acquired new customers and gained fame as a generous friend.