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Thu 3 Nov, 2005 06:26 am
I need some help with finding names for mythological gardens or places of paradise.
I already know about Arcadia, Eden and Elysion (the Elysian Fields), but I need some more of cultures. Could somebody help me out here?
Names of mythological places of refuge would also be helpful.
Thank you for any help rendered.
Wolf,
You may also have heard of "Valhalla" from Norse mythology. It would be a mythical "place of refuge" where heroes who have died in battle are taken. These dead warriors are being prepared by the god "Odin" for a future apocalyptic battle.
from Wikipedia:
Quote:Shangri-La
Shangri-La is a fictional place described in the novel, Lost Horizon, written by British writer James Hilton in 1933. In it, "Shangri-La" is a mystical, harmonious valley, gently guided from a lamasery, enclosed in the western end of the Himalaya. Shangri-La has become synonymous with any earthly paradise but particularly a mythical Himalayan utopia - a permanently happy land, isolated from the outside world. The story of Shangri-La is based on the concept of Shambhala, a mystical city in the Buddhist religion.
Several possible places in the Buddhist Himalaya between north India and Western China have been suggested as the actual basis for Hilton's legend. In China, Tao Qian of the Jin Dynasty described a Shangri-La in his Story of the Peach Blossom Valley, for example. The legendary Kun Lun Mountains offer other possible Shangri-La valleys. There are also a number of modern Shangri-La pseudo-legends that have developed since 1933 in the wake of the novel and the film made from it.
Also:
Cockaigne
El Dorado
Google search will probably lead to others.
You might google Cockaigne. Also, Coronado was searching for the Seven Cities of Cibola when he explored Tejas and the southwest of North America--these were said to be cities of gold. A favorite topic of the middle ages was not a place, but a person. Try googling Prester John.
If i think of any more, i'll drop them off.
There is also Tir Na Nog or "land of the Young" for Irish legends
Avalon, or the Blressed Isles of the West, to which King Arthur's body was borne after his unfortunate run-in with his nephew/son Mordred. I believe Merlyn wound up in the same vanue.
And what was it in Tolkein's Middle Earth? Help me out here, someone.
According to the Silmarillion, the Eldar (the elves) were all entitled to return to Valinor, the home of those members of the Ainur sent to form middle earth. It is to that which perhaps you refer, M.A.
Valinor it is. Thanks, Set. Too lazy to reach up and get my copy of the Silmarilion, which is aproximately 2.5 feet from where I am sitting at this writing.
I applaud you your dedicated lassitude, Boss . . .
Of course! Avalon! How could I forget about Avalon?
Oh, by the way, El Dorado actually refers to a person rather than a land per se.
Atlantis was supposed to be a pretty ritzy place.
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