All of us love a good mythical story.
The legends, the heroes, the weapons, the wars, everything is just captivating.
But one thing that actually makes these stories even more fascinating is the locations.
And what location could be more majestic than a mountain?
Let’s have a look at some of the mythical mountains in the world.
10.
Mount Ararat.
Located in Turkey, near the borders of Armenia and Iran, Mount Ararat holds a special place
in mythology as it is believed to the final resting place of Noah’s ark!
And the fact that is a dormant volcano was not enough to get people to stay away from it.
Attempts had been made since the middle ages to look for the Ark, but it was only in 1829
that it was actually scaled.
The whole search began because of the mention of Ararat in the book of genesis where it
is said that after the flood, Noah’s ark landed on the mountains of Ararat.
Hence, the mountain has taken on biblical proportions!
But of course, none of the searches have ever revealed anything.
That hasn’t stopped people from looking though as they genuinely believe that remains
of the ship can still be found in the mountains!
There have been claims of course, and according to a 1974 book, 200 people from over 20 countries
have claimed to have seen remnants of the ark, but nothing has been verified.
9.
Mount Kailash.
Located in the Tibet autonomous region of China, Mount Kailash plays a huge role in
the Hindu mythologies.
Hindus have many Gods, but the chief among them are Brahma he creator, Vishnu the preserver
and Shiva the destroyer.
Kailash is supposedly the home of Shiva where he sits in a state of perpetual meditation
along with his wife Parvati.
It is said that no one who has committed any sin can ever climb the mountain, and when
you consider that it one of the only few mountains in the world that nobody has been able to scale,
it does sort of ring true!
And not just in reality, even in Hindu mythology, only one person has even been known to climb
the mountain, which is Yudhishthira.
But still, that hasn’t stopped pilgrims from visiting the foothills of Kailash, where
the Mansarovar lake is present.
It is the largest fresh water lake in the world and is even the starting point for many rivers.
And what’s more is that not just Hindus, but almost all religions in the region consider
Mount Kailash to be holy.
8.
Jade Mountain.
China is a land of shrouded by mysticism and magic.
So obviously, there would be a number of mythological tales in the country.
And the Jade mountain holds a special place in the folklore of China as it was home to
the Queen Mother of the West.
Her actual name is Xi wangmu, and the first mention of her can be traced to oracle bones
of 15th century BC, and she is said to have predated Taoism itself!
She was supposedly a wild and fearsome spirit and was a deity of disaster, disease and punishment!
The jade mountain was where she dwelled and although she looked human, she had a panther’s
tail and a tiger’s teeth and could roar quite loudly!
Of course, her description has changed with various dynasties and she has also been referred
to as a beautiful princess.
People also believed that she possessed the elixir of immortality as well!
7.
Kunlun.
One of the longest mountain chains in the world, spreading to over 3000 kilometres,
the Kunlun mountains have a special place in the mythology of China.
According to it, Kunlun is where the Heavenly Emperor, also known as the Yellow Emperor, stays
The mountain is supposedly protected by a deity with a tiger body and 9 tails!
Kunlun is also credited as the source of the yellow river and it is believed that even
the fabled city of Shangri-la lies in the mountains.
Descriptions of Kunlun include it being made of gem like rocks.
Perhaps that is the reason people believe that it is the throne of the Supreme Deity
and think of it as a pillar which holding up the sky!
It is said that King Mu of Zhou often used to visit the Kunlun mountains which was probably
why the Zou dynasty was at its peak during his reign.
There are many legends and myths surrounding Kunlun mountains, and almost everyone in China
revers it as the actual stairway to heaven!
6.
Mount Penglai.
Also known as Horai in the Japanese mythology, Mount Penglai is an important place for both
Japanese and Chinese mythology.
According to the Chinese, the mountain is the base for the eight immortals, where they
travelled for banquets.
They believe that everything on the mountain is white with palaces made from gold and platinum.
There are supposed to be rice bowls and wine glasses which never empty and that there is
no pain and no winter there!
Many people in China have tried to search for this land of immortality, but no one has ever found it.
According to the Japanese however, Penglai or Horai, is not free from pain and does not
have magical bowls and glasses.
They believe that the atmosphere of the mountain is not made from air but from innumerable souls!
The legends also say that if you breathe the air in the Horai mountains, you are granted
the perceptions and knowledge of all these souls!
The residents of the mountain are not human, but small fairies who have no evil in their
heart and so they never get old!
It doesn’t really matter whether you believe the Chinese or the Japanese version as in
both cases the mountain is pretty awesome and it is kind of sad that we have never really
been able to find a mountain like that!
5.
Mount Etna.
Located on the East coast of Siciliy, Etna is an active stratovolcano and is also the
highest volcano in Europe outside the Caucasus.
It plays an active part in Greek mythology as well and many of the ancient Greeks considered it sacred.
Mount Etna is supposed to be where the forge of Vulcan, or Haephestus, is.
He is the God of Fire and the God of forge and it is easy to believe where that derivation
comes from considering the lava that keeps flowing from the mountain.
Another story that is associated with mount Etna is that the dangerous and serpentine
giant Typhon who battled Zeus for the supremacy of the Cosmos was buried under Etna after his defeat!
And perhaps it is his anger which bubbles forth as the hot lava!
4.
Mount Athos.
Located in the north east part of Greece, Mount Athos is home to almost 20 monasteries
of the Eastern Orthodox monasticism.
And perhaps the reason they find it so important is because of its role in Greek mythology.
According to the legend, Athos was a giant who led them in their battle against the Olympians,
who were led by Poseidon.
During the battle, Athos supposedly threw a massive rock at Poseidon.
Athos kind of missed though, and the rock landed safely as it fell into the sea.
And there, it formed the pyramid shaped mountain which shared his name!
Another legend associated with the mountain is that the ancient God Apollon fell in love
with the daughter of the King of Arcadia who hid in the mountains to keep her virginity!
Not a bad place to hide right?
3.
Mount Shasta.
Mount Shasta has been the center of many religious legends.
But perhaps the most famous one is the one that the Klamath tribe believe in.
According to them, Llao, the God of the below world once fell in love with daughter of the
Klamath chief but she rejected him.
Angered, he was about to let lose his vengeance when the people prayed to Skell, the God of
the above world, to stop him.
The 2 Gods then stood on top of 2 mountains, Skell on Shasta and Llao on the nearby mountain
Mazarna.
They flung fiery rocks back and forth and it became so intense that 2 medicine men sacrificed themselves!
That drove Skell into a fury and he was finally able to defeat Llao and being peace once again!
We guess that Llao wasn’t too happy about it as Mazarna is a volcanic mountain and still spews lava!
2.
Mount Meru.
Perhaps the most important mythical mountain, Mount Meru is a sacred 5 peak mountain in
the Hindu, Jain and Buddhist lore.
It is considered to be the center of all universes, and many temples of these faiths have been
designed as a homage to Mount Meru.
According to the Hindu lore, Mount Meru is supposedly about 85 times taller than the
Earth itself and the sun and all the planets revolve around it.
All the principal deities of the Hindu mythology have their abode on or near Mount Meru and
they and their disciples reside in it waiting for their next birth!
According to the Jains, Mount Meru is the centre of the world and surrounded by Jambudvipa,
which is basically the terrestrial world.
It is supposedly in the form of a huge circle with two sets of sun, moon and stars.
Apparently, the second set doesn’t work and hides behind the mountain.
In the Buddhist cosmology, the universe was essentially seen as flat and Mount Meru was
the center of all things.
The universe was then surrounded by a vast expanse of water which, in turn, was surrounded
by a vast expanse of the wind.
Whichever version you choose to believe, it is very clear that Mount Meru is basically
the center of the universe!
No wonder that most of the temples are designed along the lines of what is supposedly its peak!
1.
Olympus.
Of course this had to be the first.
Mount Olympus is the home to the all powerful Greek Gods including Zeus, the lightning God.
Olympus is an actually the tallest mountain in Greece with 52 peeks.
Twelve Olympian Gods stayed in the mountains and the Mytikas peak, also known as Pantheon,
was where they met to oversee the world.
According to the lore, Olympus was created after a battle between the Titans and the
Olympians in which the former were defeated.
The Gods who stayed here were Zeus, Poseidon, Hera, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Hestia, Demeter,
Hermes, Aphrodite, Ares and Hephaestus.
Zeus was of course the primary God sitting atop his massive throne and sending down lightning
bolts as and when he pleased!
The nine muses, who were basically the daughters of Zeus, also resided in the foothills of
the mountains.
Olympus holds a special place in the hearts of all lovers of Greek mythology!
Do let us know in the comments below if you have heard of any mythical mountains that
we have missed or have ever seen one for yourself!
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