What's new?

If you are using the Google Toolbar version 4 you can now add a custom button for the Encyclopedia Mythica. It will allow you to directly find definitions in the encyclopedia (currently Windows XP/2000 & IE 6.0+).

Click here to read more and to install the custom button.

I have created a plug-in for the Google Desktop Sidebar (version 2.0). It will show a brief description of today's featured deity in a panel.

Click here to read more and to download the plug-in.

I have created a search plug-in that -- once installed -- will add a search engine to the search box in the top right corner of Firefox. It will allow you to search the Encyclopedia Mythica directly.

Click here to read more and to install the search engine.

Unfortunately, we had a server crash today. We're currently restoring the site but in the mean time, some pages may not display correctly or appear missing. Thank you for your patience.

Update: the encyclopedia should be fully restored now. If you encounter any problems, please let us know.

Today is the 10th anniversary of the Encyclopedia Mythica. Exactly 10 years ago -- on June 15, 1995 -- the encyclopedia appeared online. First as a personal home page, but less then a year later with its own domain name (March 29, 1996) and in encyclopedic form. The site has undergone many cosmetic changes and moved to many different hosting providers in order to accommodate increasing traffic. The number of articles have grown from the initial 300 to over 7,000 today. The encyclopedia has won numerious awards, has been mentioned in a plethora of books and magazines, and is visited by millions each year.

The coming period will be one of many changes, some of which will be:

• Adding hundreds of new articles and images, revising many others;
• Extend article details with pronunciations, characteristics (gender, symbols, functions), time periods, etc.;
• Categorizing deities by aspects, functions, spheres of competence, etc.;
• Adding new areas for Arabian, Christian, Finnish, Lithuanian, and Slavic mythology and religion;
• Adding many new quizes to the MythQuiz;
• More background information on cultures and religions;
• New genealogy charts;
• And many more...

Several small articles have been added (primarily in the Native American mythology area). For a complete overview, try this page. The number of articles online is now 7,008.

The Encyclopedia Mythica has been presented with the Talking Hands Award which is to "... reward web site authors, who through their creative excellence provide a web site which teaches, contains teaching elements in sufficient detail, and otherwise leave a visitor with something of significant value after returning to their normal daily activities."

Two more ways to use the new articles RSS feed: Bloglines and FeedBurner. To subscribe via Bloglines, click here; to use the FeedBurner feed, paste the following url in your favorite news aggregator: http://feeds.feedburner.com/mythica

I have created a new section for the Middle East. Instead of a categorization by continent, the mythology area is now is divided in 6 geographical regions: Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe, Middle East, and Oceania. The Middle East section currently contains Islamic, Judaic, Mesopotamian, and Persian mythology and religion.

I have updated the Encyclopedia Mythica glossary for Babylon. The new version can now be downloaded from the Babylon site.

About the program: "Babylon-Pro is a powerful information tool that instantly provides relevant information, translations & conversions for any word or value you click on."

Several new articles have been added to the Judaic mythology and religion area. The articles have been submitted by Rabbi Geoffrey W. Dennis of the Kol Ami congregation, Flower Mound TX. Rabbi Dennis teaches Rabbinics in the Jewish Studies Program at the University of North Texas, Denton.

The number of entries online is now 6,488. See the New & Modified page for an overview of new and modified entries.

In addition to the RSS feeds, there is now an Atom feed with the most recent articles. To use this feed, paste the following url in your favorite news aggregator: http://rss.pantheon.org/feeds/atom.xml

It has taken longer than planned, but here is a major update of the site. There is a new design (made by Ty Lindemans), new features, and many new and updated articles. Be sure to let me know your comments and suggestions.

I have created two RSS feeds (Real Simply Syndication), one for the recent changes to the Encyclopedia, and one for the recently added articles. These feeds are RSS 2.0 and may be used freely on your site or programs.

Point your news aggregator to the following location(s):
» What's New?: http://rss.pantheon.org/feeds/whatsnew.xml
» New articles: http://rss.pantheon.org/feeds/newarticles.xml

For comments/suggestions, please use the feedback form.

There is a new area on Basque mythology, thanks to Olga Gomez who has written many new articles and updated others.