The Sámi are an Indigenous people whose homeland, Sápmi, stretches across northern Norway, Sweden, Finland, and the Kola Peninsula of Russia. Historical and archaeological evidence demonstrates that Sámi communities have long inhabited the same regions where many of their settlements remain today [1]. Currently, the Sámi population is estimated at around 50,000 – 60,000 in Norway, 20,000 in Sweden, 8,000 in Finland, and 2,000 in Russia [2]. Within this population are several

Mythology is science, or at least humanity’s earliest attempt at it. Both seek to answer all of the big How and Why questions that can only be asked by keen observers of the world around them. Both admit that their truth isn’t perfect—science through the error bars on its measurements and myth through the shifting otherworldly nature of the divine. Both are built on foundations of pattern recognition and communal cooperation. Myth and science have their superficial difference

As an eleven-year-old child, I was fascinated by Classical mythology, especially Edith Hamilton’s work which was required reading in my grade school at the time. As I grew older, I “forgot” about my interest in mythology and turned my attention and enthusiasm to history and archaeology instead. My renewed interest in mythology stems from my study of archaeomythology, and my use of archaeomythology as a methodology to investigate Bronze Age Crete (c. 3200-1070 BCE), a society

Perhaps defining myth is impossible. Unanimity on an exact definition cannot occur because it will leave out what someone, somewhere, considers important; too loose a definition will lack enough specificity to be useful. Also, a myth nailed down dies, like a pinned butterfly.

I need to begin with Wendy Doniger’s observation, “it's impossible to define myth, but cowardly not to try.” So here goes. Not with a definition – but, instead, with an appreciation.

Myth, like dreams, has been brushed aside as unimportant when in actuality, myth and dreams are the bedrock of what it means to be human.

The International Society of Mythology is accepting course and workshop proposals for 2026. What We Are Looking For Courses about specific mythologies and stories: i.e., Classical, Scandinavian, Mayan, Yoruba, Indigenous, Korean, etc. 101 Lectures and courses that contextualize and give an overview of mythic texts, culture, figures, and stories. New takes, deep dives, interdisciplinary analysis of myth. Interdisciplinary ISM supports the study of mythology from all its i

"Soul and the Machine" Features Contributions by ISM Members The International Society of Mythology (ISM) is proud to announce the publication of Soul and the Machine: Depth Psychology, Myth and Artificial Intelligence , co-edited by ISM co-founder Jason D. Batt, Ph.D . and Dr. Jonathan Erickson . Published by Springer, this interdisciplinary volume brings together diverse scholarly perspectives examining the human-AI relationship through mythological frameworks and depth p

By Shannon Sloan-Spice, Ph.D. Ireland has a farming history that stretches back past 6,000 years with portal tombs, passageways, and “thin places” that honor the movement of light through the seasons. On the Celtic Wheel of the Year, there are eight sabbats, or celebrations, that help to mark the seasonal and planting cycles which fall on the solstices, equinoxes, and cross-quarters of those cosmic events. Every six weeks, there is new energy to work with. The Celtic New Year

Right now Homer’s epic poem is everywhere: from Uberto Pasolini’s The Return and Jorge Rivera-Herrans’s EPIC: The Musical to Christopher Nolan’s upcoming The Odyssey (2026) and literary retellings like Margaret Atwood’s The Penelopiad. This isn’t new. Fascination with Homer’s homecoming epic is centuries—millennia!—old, and its influence so vast it’s impossible to list.

The International Society of Mythology (ISM) Call for Proposals for Mythologium 2026: Mythic Imagination

Dating back at least four millennia, the Sumerian/Akkadian myth of the “Descent of Inanna” tells the story of how Inanna, the Queen of Heaven, descends to the Underworld realm of her sister Ereshkigal to attend the funeral of Ereshkigal’s husband. Inanna is stripped of her clothing and jewelry—all the trappings of her status—as she passes through the gates to the underworld, until she stands naked before her sister. Ereshkigal looks at her with the “eyes of death,” and Inanna

The Sumerian deity Inanna is becoming one of the goddess zeitgeists of our current moment. She was buried underground in what is modern day Iraq for nearly 4,000 years. But now Her rediscovery and reawakening in the popular imagination foretells of Inanna’s myth becoming reality: Her descent into the Underworld and eventual rebirth mirror our current historical moment. I agree with Sylvia Bretton Perera’s assessment that the timing of Inanna’s return from the literal undergro

In the pantheon of ancient goddesses, Artemis remains one of the most complex and enduring figures. She traverses the margins of myth and history, sovereignty and service, wilderness and civilization. Her presence in the ancient world was vast, and her mythology and worship rich with complexity, spanning forests, cities, rivers, mountains, and thresholds. Daughter of Leto and Zeus, and twin sister of Apollo, Artemis emerges in Homeric literature as a huntress, roaming the mou

Image Source Theoi : Persephone, Triptolemus and Demeter, Athenian red-figure skyphos C5th B.C., British Museum Persephone as Underworld...

Myth Fest 2025 was a wonderful day of inspiration, creativity, and imagination as twelve artists shared their process of incorporating mythology into their craft.

The dolls suggested the energy of primordial archetypes. They were also provocative in other ways – they could trigger personal associations

Mythology drew me in because it speaks to something deep within us—something beyond time and culture. These stories aren’t just entertainmen

Many ISM members will already have some familiarity with the MSJ. It is still the only academic journal entirely dedicated to mythology–thou

Jung had a keen sense of how exploring the soul can lead to unknown discoveries that provokes others. They fertilize our imaginal involveme