Why are there tides? What caused the world to shift? Why are there valleys surrounded by mountains? The explanations for these phenomena are all found in the Norse myth of Thor's journey to Utgard.

The tale of Arachne is spun for viewers of a short video that details the fate of the beautiful, vain, young spinner who challenged Athena and was caught in the web of her arrogance.

Viewers learn about Echtrai, an Irish myth genre, with the retelling of the myth of Oisin and his visit with Niamh to Tir na nOg, the land of eternal youth.

Have the foresight to include a short video on the story of Prometheus in a study of Greek mythology. Viewers discover why Prometheus is an inspiration for novelists, poets, dramatists, as well as the Olympic flame.

What does it mean to love? Is true love possible? Transformative? The myth of Cupid and Psyche asks readers to ponder these questions as does a short video that retells the classic tale.

Teenagers are the first to agree that they are the frontrunners in popular culture. But how much of their image is constructed by individualism, and how much of it have they bought from capitalistic sources? Roland...

Greek myths take center stage in a short video that not only revisits the of tragic fates of Daedalus and his son Icarus, but also explains the roles King Minos, his wife Pasiphae, and the Minotaur played in a cautionary tale of human...

According to the Chinese zodiac, 2017 is the Year of the Rooster. But why? Viewers are treated to a retelling of The Great Race myth that details the story behind the animal signs, their arrangement on the Chinese zodiac, and the...

Among the many mythological stories related to the festival of Diwali is the story of Ram and Ravana, the classic story of the victory of good over evil. Watch this video to know about the Ramayana story of Ram and Ravana and the reason...

This video focuses on the theories of myths relying on the study of mythology. Euhemerism is interpreting myths as primitive explanations of the natural world or as time-destorted accounts of long-past events. Early Christians believed...

This video focuses on floods in the ancient Near East. You have heard the story of Noah and the Ark from the Bible, but that is not the only deluge story humans tell. It's a common thing across cultures. You could say the study of...

This video focuses on floods in the Americas. We're looking at ancient flood myths in the Americas, and what they can tell us about the stories that people tell, and how they can look similar, even in cultures separated by large swathes...

This video focuses on the dying god in world mythology. It's the Circle of Life and Death and sometimes, Life again. Mike Rugnetta is teaching you about Dying Gods, by which I mean gods that die, and then return to life. You'll learn...

This video focuses on tricksters in world mythology. This week, Mike introduces you to Tricksters, starting with Anansi, the West African trickster god who is also sometimes a spider. Tricksters are, well, tricky. They're wise and...

This video focuses on the Apocalyspe in World Mythology. Mike Rugnetta is going to tell you stories of death, destruction, divine judgment, damnation, and the occasional happy ending. That's right, this week we're talking about the...

Mike Rugnetta teaches you about Ma'ui, prominent hero of many cultures in Oceania, aka the Pacific Island nations. Ma'ui is just the kind of hero we're interested in at Crash Course. He's a culture hero, he's an adventurer, he has a...

Mike Rugnetta is teaching you about mythical gardens and caves, which appear in cultures all over the world. Caves and gardens can stand for different things, but in the two stories we're talking about today, they tie into the creation...

Mike Rugnetta is teaching you about mythical trees. There are lots of trees in myth, and we've touched on some of them before, but today we're going to focus on three trees from three different traditions. We'll talk about the Tree of...

This episode starts the discussion of Mythical Creatures with the WORST creatures. Monsters. What makes a monster monstrous though? Mike Rugnetta will guide you through the fine line between a magical creature and a monster. Spoiler...

In this episode, Mike is teaching you about the most mythic of mythological creatures: Dragons. Cultures across the world (and across Westeros) tell stories of dragons, and their power to destroy, their power to prop up kings, and their...

Mike Rugnetta teaches you about the stories we tell about witches and hags. It's definitely unfortunate that a lot of social orders have generated stories about evil women with magical powers. Today we're going to look at a few of those...

This video focuses on The Epic of Gilamesh. Gilgamesh was a terrible ancient king who left his kingdom seeking adventure, and eventually on the prowl for immortality. Along the way, he checks pretty much all the boxes on the checklist of...

This video tutorial is an introduction to the mythology genre. It defines mythology and provides examples from various cultures. [5:56]

This animation references the mythology unit as a resource for learning about the Gods. 2:08sec.