History CommonKnowledge / MythsAndReligion

** OurAngelsAreDifferent. Angels, Cherubim and Seraphim are three distinct kinds of beings, not all of which look like humans with wings. Generally, when angels turn up in scripture, they're either not described in much detail or stated to look largely like humans (wings are sometimes present and sometimes not) ''or'' they look mildly to highly outlandish. While it's commonly claimed that Biblical angels look like {{Eldritch Abomination}}s, even the ones that actually are somewhat eldritch (like the Cherubim) [[HumanoidAbomination generally still have some human traits]]. The claim isn't ''entirely'' false (see [[Literature/BookOfEzekiel Ezekiel]]), it's just inaccurate to say it applies to all or even just the majority of Biblical depictions of angels. Only three types of "eldritch" angel are described in any detail, and these are:

** Satan doesn't look like [[BigRedDevil a red guy with horns and pitchfork]]. According to Revelation 12:3 (the only physical description of Satan in the Bible) he looks like a seven-headed dragon with ten horns.
In other passages he is described as masquerading as a being/spirit of light.

* ''Theatre/OedipusTheKing'': Oedipus killed his father and slept with his mother. While that is factually true, most people assume that he did so intentionally, which he didn't. He didn't even ''know'' that the man he killed was his father nor that the woman he had sex with was his mother. His parents in fact had their son's fate foretold to them, so they left him for dead. He was then adopted and, once he reached adulthood, heard a similar prophecy and went to drastic lengths to ''avoid'' doing such horrible things to his ''adoptive'' parents. He then got into a fight with a stranger on the road and killed him, not knowing that it was the king of Thebes. He later married the recently widowed queen of Thebes as a reward for ridding the city of the Sphinx on his way to the city; some versions of the story have the queen wearing a necklace that kept her youthful, thus making it even less likely that Oedipus would think she was his mother. It was many years again before anyone learned the truth. The UsefulNotes/OedipusComplex -- which UsefulNotes/SigmundFreud named after him -- might be solely responsible for misconception.[[note]]The similarly named Electra Complex is based on a similar misconception; Electra hated her mother, not because she was jealous over her father, but because said mother had ''murdered'' her father and tried to do the same to her brother.[[/note]] It's worth mentioning that Oedipus was so horrified and disgusted when he learned that he had murdered his father and had sex with his mother, that he ''[[EyeScream gouged his own eyes out]]'' (presumably the ancient Greek equivalent of BrainBleach).

** The Satan we all know and uh...know, is frequently portrayed with aspects of Pan (horns, hooves, goatee) and Poseidon's trident. It's CommonKnowledge that this was propaganda by the early Christian church to discredit Pagan cults by associating them with the Devil. But the truth is that Satan's portrayal varied wildly during the Early Middle Ages, and these aspects didn't show up until around the 13th century, when Roman paganism was essentially dead as an actual faith. After a renewed interest in pagan art arose, the syncretism between Satan and the old gods was cemented, based not on a desire to mock or disrespect them, but on RuleOfCool. It was just as common to use pagan divinities as sources to depict holy things, hence the GrandpaGod images based on Jupiter's idols (which are also not meant to be accurate).

* Everybody knows that [[Literature/BookOfJudges Samson]] got his superhuman strength from [[MagicHair his hair]], which is why he [[BroughtDownToNormal lost his strength]] [[KryptoniteFactor when his hair was cut]]. Not quite. In fact: Samson was a ''Nazirite'', a member of an exclusive Hebrew religious order whose members took a vow to abstain from cutting their hair (similar to the practice of ''kesh'' observed by Sikhs) as well as not eating any food made from grapes and not touching corpses. Samson had already broken the other two vows (he got drunk on wine on multiple occasions and once grabbed a honeycomb that was nestling in the corpse of a lion) so when Delilah forcibly cut Samson's hair it caused him to lose God's favor for failing to uphold any of his vows. (This was also why the hair growing back wouldn't have been enough by itself, but Samson's prayer acknowledging that he'd let God down and asking God for one final chance).

* The WarGod Ares was unanimously disliked by the Greeks, who always portrayed him as a HateSink or a ButtMonkey in myths before [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff Romans reimagined him as the benevolent Mars]]. It's not totally inaccurate, but it's also more complicated than that. His portrayal and characterization in the whole mythology, just like many other gods, [[DependingOnTheWriter wildy depends on the writer]]. While he often assumes an antagonistic role, he is also portrayed heroically in some stories; he was a protector to the Amazons and once saved his daughter Alsippe from being raped by Halirrhothius (and was acquitted for killing the latter).

* The WarGod Ares was unanimously disliked by the Greeks, who always portrayed him as a HateSink or a ButtMonkey in myths before [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff Romans reimagined him as the benevolent Mars]]. It's not totally inaccurate, but it's also more complicated than that. His portrayal and characterization in the whole mythology, just like many other gods, [[DependingOnTheWriter wildy depends on the writer]]. While he often assumes an antagonistic role, he is also portrayed heroically in some stories; he was a protector to the Amazons and once saved his daughter daughter Alsippe from being raped by Halirrhothius (and was acquitted for killing the latter).
** Ares is frequently thought to have been the patron god of Sparta in the same way Athena was to Athens, which stems from the assumption that the notoriously militaristic Spartans loved Ares for being a bloodthirsty war god. In reality, Spartans did not worship Ares any more than they did the other gods (in fact, ''Athena'' had a much bigger cult presence and temple in Sparta than Ares, who only had a minor shrine). This was because the Spartans valued obedience far more than fighting prowess; Ares was infamous in the mythology for his constant ''dis''obedience and unruliness because of how violent he was. The Greeks largely saw him as a chaotic deity who needed appeasement, not a deity who could be bargained with through sacrifices; because of this, his worship was fairly limited in comparison to gods like Zeus and Athena. The only Greek polis that held him as a patron god was a small one called Metropolis in Ionia.

* God of war Ares was unanimously disliked by the Greeks who always portrayed him as a HateSink or a ButtMonkey in myths before [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff Romans reimagined him as the benevolent Mars]]. It's not totally inaccurate but it's also more complicated than that. There were cities such as Sparta where Ares was worshipped as protector of justice. His portrayal and characterisation in the whole mythology, just like many other gods, [[DependingOnTheWriter wildy depends on the writer]]. While he often assumes an antagonistic role, there are also some stories that shows him in a better light such as when he saved his daughter daughter Alsippe from being raped by Halirrhothius and being acquited for killing the latter.

* On a related note, "antichrist" is not a singular according to the Bible, but a plural. It refers to anyone opposing Christ and or the Christian religion-thus, it's really anti-Christ. This was later combined with the character of the end-of-the-world dictator described in various prophecies (called the Little Horn in ''Daniel'', the Man of Sin in ''Thessalonians'', and The Beast in ''Revelation''), who of course would also be "anti-Christ" going by this.

* It's commonly believed -- in the English-speaking world, at least -- that Purgatory is a realm "between" Heaven and Hell where you go when you're not good enough for Heaven or bad enough for Hell. The vast majority of Christianity holds that anyone who sincerely repents of their sins is bound for Heaven, those that believe in Purgatory simply believe that this is a temporary pass-through to Heaven where you perform penance that you didn't get to do in your lifetime. Whether or not penance is even necessary indeed varies from denomination to denomination, which obviously affects the belief in the need for and the existence of Purgatory.

* Noah did not just bring two of every animal aboard the ark. He brought two ''pairs'' of every "unclean" animal, ''seven'' pairs of every "clean" animal, as well as ''seven'' pairs of every bird. And it wasn't for eating. They weren't actually supposed to eat any until the flood was done. Animal sacrifice was part of worship at this time, and Noah sacrificed a lamb when they survived the flood, so they needed the spare clean animals for this as well.

* Everybody knows that [[Literature/BookOfJudges Samson]] got his superhuman strength from [[MagicHair his hair]], which is why he [[BroughtDownToNormal lost his strength]] [[KryptoniteFactor when his hair was cut]]. Not quite. In fact: Samson was a ''Nazirite'', a member of an exclusive Hebrew religious order whose members took a vow to abstain from cutting their hair (similar to the practice of ''kesh'' observed by Sikhs) as well as not eating any food made from grapes and not touching corpses. Samson had already broken the other two vows (he got drunk on wine on multiple occasions and once grabbed a honeycomb that was nestling in the corpse of a lion) so when Delilah forcibly cut Samson's hair it caused him to lose God's favor for failing to uphold any of his vows. (This was also why the hair growing back wouldn't have been enough by itself, but Samsons prayer acknowledging that he'd let God down and asking God for one final chance).

* Everybody knows that [[Literature/BookOfJudges Samson]] got his superhuman strength from [[MagicHair his hair]], which is why he [[BroughtDownToNormal lost his strength]] [[KryptoniteFactor when his hair was cut]]. Not quite. In fact: Samson was a ''Nazirite'', a member of an exclusive Hebrew religious order whose members took a vow to abstain from cutting their hair (similar to the practice of ''kesh'' observed by Sikhs) as well as not eating any food made from grapes and not touching corpses. Samson had already broken the other two vows (he got drunk on wine on multiple occasions and once grabbed a honeycomb that was nestling in the corpse of a lion) so when Delilah forcibly cut Samson's hair it caused him to lose God's favor for failing to uphold any of his vows. (This was also why the hair growing back wouldn't have been enough by itself, but Samsons prayer acknowledging that he'd let God down and asking God for one final chance)

* Almost any Christian schoolchild will tell you the Fruit in the Garden of Eden was an apple. The Bible, in any language, does not specify what it was. Jewish tradition claims it to be a fig, wheat, or grapes, and Islam sometimes holds that it was a pomegranate. The apple connection came from the [[JustForPun Latin words for apple (malum) and evil (mālum),]] though some say it's because apples are usually the first solid food children eat in the Western world. The only fruit explicitly mentioned as being in the Garden Of Eden are figs, as Adam and Eve use their leaves to cover themselves up.

* Everyone "knows" {{Medusa}} was originally a beautiful human woman who got [[PunishedWithUgly turned into a gorgon]] by Athena [[ValuesDissonance as punishment for being raped by Poseidon in one of the goddess' temples]]. But in reality, this origin seems to have been invented by Creator/{{Ovid}} out of whole cloth for ''Literature/TheMetamorphoses''. Earlier versions of her myth say she was ''always'' a horrible monster, though [[MultipleChoicePast where exactly she came from varied]]. Moreover, most versions of the Perseus myth, which tells the story of how the heroic son of Zeus hunted down Medusa and slew her, denote that Medusa had two sisters who were not only equally hideous, but also immortal (making for ''three'' monstrous Gorgons), so Perseus had to take great pains to not only pick the right one to decapitate, but to not alert the other unkillable two. This adds considerable doubt on the veracity of the original "cursed by the gods" story, which was probably tacked on by other storytellers who wanted to make Medusa more sympathetic.

* Hestia gave her throne to Dionysus after he ascended to Olympus, right? Well, this is commonly assumed to be the case (and is often claimed to be such, even in more academic sources), but there's no mention of it ever happening in the original myths.

* By extension, it's generally believed that Persephone is an innocent DistressedDamsel and flower goddess who just wants to be free of her husband and doesn't take much role in running the Underworld. While the oldest and most common telling of the myth claims that her abduction was not willing and suggests he had to trick her to stay, all her appearances consistently show her as a fairly equal partner to Hades in his rulership of the underworld. In fact, two of her epithets, ''Despoina'' ("the mistress") and ''Kore'' ("the girl") both suggest that the Greeks saw her as a feared enough figure that they didn't like saying her name (not helped by her cult being pretty secretive), which is corroborated by stories like ''The Odyssey'' describing her as "dread Persephone." In fact, there's some pretty serious evidence to suggest that Persephone ''predates'' Hades, and was considered an underworld goddess before he even existed.

* Hades was ''not'' the Greek {{expy}} of {{Satan}} ([[http://pantheon.keenspace.com/d/20010217.html comic-strip gags notwithstanding]]). In fact, the two literally have nothing in common. Satan is a corrupting influence who exists on Earth, and will be punished at the end of time by being thrown into Hell, where he will be just as much a prisoner as its other denizens. Hades is the ruler of the Underworld, which is where people go after they die. He is a generally a benevolent ruler, and by all accounts a pretty nice guy (at least, by ''Greek Deity'' standards; he's done some crappy stuff [[ValuesDissonance by modern standards]]). It's primarily in Anglo-American folklore that (wrongly) views Satan as the king of Hell, which has decided that the Underworld = Hell and thus Hades = Satan. The power over the underworld attributed to both of them is also completely incomparable; Satan has no special power over Hell, whereas Hades not only has dominion over the Underworld, but is, ''at worst'' the second most powerful of all the gods not named Zeus. However, he was still considered fearsome and dangerous, and not a being to be trifled with.

** That Muhammad is historical, but Jesus is legendary and cannot be historically proven. Actually, most historians accept that [[http://www.forerunner.com/blog/did-contemporary-historians-mention-jesus there is a historical character named Jesus]] (it's his ''divinity'' they debate). [[https://www.catholicstand.com/amazons-alexa-says-jesus-christ-fictional-character/ Sorry, Alexa]].

** In the earlier texts, the [[Myth/KingArthurAndTheHolyGrail Holy Grail]] was not a cup, nor was it even referred to as holy. In its first appearance, Creator/ChretienDeTroyes' ''Perceval, le Conte du Graal'', which translates into ''The Story of the Grail'', it appeared as a dish. It's also worth observing that early versions of Arthurian legend predate the Holy Grail's inclusion. There are a lot of people who think Arthurian legend is always about Holy Grails and Lancelot/Guinevere betrayals and don't realize versions exist without them.
** Myth/KingArthur is properly a legendary king of ''Britain'', not England. In early traditions Arthur is said to have fought the Anglo-Saxons who gave the name England ("land of the Angles") to Britain. In Arthurian romances from the continent, Arthur's kingdom also encompassed Brittany, indeed, Brittany is the main setting of these romances (the Breton Arthurian tradition is the reason for the interest of French writers in the Matter of Bretain), a fact often downplayed by his English, Cornish and Welsh fans. In ''Literature/HistoriaRegumBritanniae'', Arthur's grandfather even comes from Brittany.

** ''Another'' version that mentions her being transformed, and possibly the oldest of all, portrays her as not only doing so willingly but going ''from monstruous to beautiful'' and then back: in said version Medusa planned to destroy the gods by having a child with both divine and mortal natures, and so able to kill the gods, and thus turned herself in a gorgeous form to seduce Poseidon and have his divine seed, prompting Athena to send Perseus to slay her before the dual natures could mix. He did so, and from Medusa came out ''two'' beings, Pegasus, born of Poseidon's divine nature (thus being a winged horse), and Krysaor, born of Medusa's mortal nature.

* Zeus, meanwhile, is not the equivalent of, or even similar to, the Judeo-Christian God. While more powerful than all the gods of Olympus combined, he was neither omnipotent or omniscient. He was wiser and stronger than any mortal could possibly be, but he still had his limits, and was tricked from time to time. He was also not considered to be all-good, and is often called out on his selfishness, capriciousness, and greed by other gods, though the overall perception of him among Greeks was roundly positive and he was still generally seen as a protector, a savior, and the patron of kingship, society, and hospitality.

* God of war Ares was unanimously disliked by the Greeks who always portrated him as a HateSink or a ButtMonkey in myths before [[GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff Romans reimagined him as the benevolent Mars]]. It's not totally inacurate but it's also more complicated than that. There were cities such as Sparta where Ares was worshipped as protector of justice. His portrayal and characterisation in the whole mythology, just like many other gods, [[DependingOnTheWriter wildy depends on the writer]]. While he often assumes an antagonistic role, there are also some stories that shows him in a better light such as when he saved his daughter daughter Alsippe from being raped by Halirrhothius and being acquited for killing the latter.

** The Hebrew word for "angel", ''mal'ach'', literally means "messenger", and so does "angel" in Greek. Angels in the earliest books of the Bible look like ordinary humans. For example, the story where Abraham hosted the three angels is meant to depict him as a paragon of [[SacredHospitality hospitality]], not as sucking up to heavenly beings -- because he didn't know they were heavenly beings.

* A common argument of the militant atheist, or at least an argument that God is not worth following, is the accusation that he "raped" the virgin Mary by impregnating her "without her consent". The simple fact is that the Bible says God chose Mary because she was highly favored, the implication being that she would ultimately feel honored to be chosen. In the scene where she is visited by the angel Gabriel, while she expresses surprise, her ultimate response to the entire idea is "Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." While Gabriel phrases the process as though it will happen, he never coerces or threatens her, and Mary is repeatedly stated throughout the rest of the story to feel blessed that she is the mother of the Messiah.
* The Immaculate Conception of Mary does ''not'' mean that Mary's parents conceived her in some supernatural way without involving any sex (though this is true of Mary herself giving birth to Jesus). It is instead the idea that Mary, though having been conceived and born in an ordinary way from the biological standpoint, was born free from original sin. This doctrine, having been defined by the Catholic Church and obviously requiring a belief in original sin in the first place, is not universal to Christian denominations.
* Somehow during the debate in the United States over immigration and the border crisis, it became popular to refer to Mary and Joseph as "refugees". They were not refugees; they were going to Joseph's home town to register for a census. They did however flee Bethlehem and spent time in Egypt until Herod the Great died. Then they returned to Nazareth. It could still be debated whether that makes them refugees.

* Everybody knows that [[Literature/BookOfJudges Samson]] got his superhuman strength from [[MagicHair his hair]], which is why he [[BroughtDownToNormal lost his strength]] [[KryptoniteFactor when his hair was cut]]. Not quite. In fact: Samson was a ''Nazirite'', a member of an exclusive Hebrew religious order whose members took a vow to abstain from cutting their hair (similar to the practice of ''kesh'' observed by Sikhs). Nazirites were forbidden from letting a razor touch their heads--so when Delilah forcibly cut Samson's hair, it caused him to lose God's favor for failing to uphold his vows.

** It's generally thought that Mordred is the son of Morgan le Fay. Except in the original stories, he's Morgan's ''nephew''; his mother was her sister Morgause. Nor is he particularly associated with Morgan; in the original stories, their only interaction was him making a visit to her castle where he learned of Guinevere's infidelity.

* Hades was ''not'' the Greek {{expy}} of {{Satan}} ([[http://pantheon.keenspace.com/d/20010217.html comic-strip gags notwithstanding]]). In fact, the two literally have nothing in common. Satan is a corrupting influence who exists on Earth, and will be punished at the end of time by being thrown into Hell, where he will be just as much a prisoner as its other denizens. Hades is the ruler of the Underworld, which is where people go after they die. He is a generally a benevolent ruler, and by all accounts a pretty nice guy (at least, by ''Greek Deity'' standards; he's done some crappy stuff [[ValuesDissonance by modern standards]]). It's primarily in Anglo-American folklore that (wrongly) views Satan as the king of Hell, which has decided that the Underworld = Hell and thus Hades = Satan. The power attributed to both of them is also completely incomparable; Satan has no power special power over Hell, whereas Hades not only has dominion over the Underworld, but is, ''at worst'' the second most powerful of all the gods not named Zeus. However, he was still considered fearsome and dangerous, and not a being to be trifled with.

** Everyone "knows" that Jesus was first around when Mary got pregnant (at least everyone who hasn't been raised in the church). Except, that Jesus, like God the Father, and the Holy Spirit, are all eternal. Jesus is "begotten not made" in the Nicene Creed, and John 1:2 states "The Word (later defined as Jesus) was with God in the beginning."

** Jesus was not crucified by being impaled through his palms, nor was anyone in RealLife ever crucified this way. Being nailed by the palms wouldn't be enough to support someone's body weight and the nails would just rip their hand apart. Crucifixion was done by being impaled through the ''wrists'', or by just tying the hands to the cross.