What myths involve vultures? What do they represent?
602111
In Greek mythology, the Vulture is the descendant of the Griffin.  It was a very Buddhist-like, Zen-like symbol of the non-dual oneness of heaven and earth, spirit and matter, good and evil, guardian and avenger.  The Vulture is the avenger of nature spirits.    Ancient Assyrians believed the Vulture was, like Nagarjuna's middle way, Sunyata, the encompassing overall non-separated union between the day and night.\n\nIn Egyptian mythology, Nephthys (spelt Nebet-het, and Nebt-het, in transliteration from hieroglyphs) is one of the Ennead of Heliopolis, a daughter of Nuit and Geb, and the wife of Set. \n\nShe was banished to the desert.  As she was also seen as a bird, she gradually became seen as a vulture, which the egyptians believed never had children due to being believed to all be female (they thought vultures were spontaneously created from air). Although vultures were seen in a positive light, their feeding behaviour nevertheless lead them to be associated also with decay and death, and so Nephthys too gradually became a goddess of death and decay.
213943
Many of my philosophy professors and Jungian fanatics would like to believe that every greek myth is a metaphor for some part of the human mind. \n\nHowever, there are new theories coming to light. For exacmple, the greek peninsula was, in prehistoric times, covered with dinosaurs and ice age animals. \n\nNow, it was common for a city-state to identify with a certain greek hero or god (Athens and Athena, Hereklia and Hercules, etc.) In fact, they often would construct tombs for their heroes. \n\nSo, back to the animals, if Joe-Greek walking through the wilderness comes across an enormous bone, he has to wonder what it was. Often, it is surmised, that the thigh bone of a mastadon or mammoth was taken for that of a giant or a hero (because greek heroes were literally, larger than life). \n\nIt is also suggested that the mammoth's skull, which has a circular opening in the high center (for the animals trunk) must has looked quite like the skull of a cyclopes. Considering the greeks had likely ZERO knowledge about the animals of the ice age, this seems like a safe guess. \n\nAnother example is a frilled dinosaur skeleton. We, of course see it immediately as a triceratops or one of his cousins. The greeks, would see a short tail (like a lion), claws (like a lion or alligator) a beak (like an eagle) and the frill bones, which near it's shoulders (wings maybe?)\n\nDon't let your philosophy or mythology of psychology profs. tell you it's all about the human mind. It's all about the human *interpretation* of data.
544621
There are a couple like how earth was created (Or WHY)\nWhy roses have thorns\nWhy there is a sun or moon in the sky\nWhy A Tiger has stripes\nHow lions got their manes\nHow Rome was created\nThe floods of the Nile River\nWhy there are deserts on earth\n       Just have fun with it, maybe you can come up with your own myths and legends.
131844
Why is this question in the mythology section?\n\nI recomend a search engine.
228152
The most common metamorphosis in ancient mythology is a god or goddess changing themselves (or their appearance, anyway) into an animal of some sort, generally in order to fool a human.  Some of the stories are fascinating, like Leda and the swan, where Jupiter morphed himself into a swan, and Leda gave birth to an egg from which sprang the twins Castor and Pollux.  Apparently he managed to transform some of her basic functions too, for her to give birth to an egg!
631951
Check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_mythology\nhttp://www.npl.lib.va.us/bibl/Spain/Spain_bibs.html
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This was there pegan god. People from the past worship different gods and most of these gods are eccentric of animals. Like the sphinx in where it is the combination of a man's head and body of lion with wings of a bird.
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Could they of been buzards? I am not familar with your area, here in the South (GA) we have black vultures and they are completely black (brown), we also have turkey vultures but they have white on them. Buzzards fly by their self and in large groups.
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&*&*&\nI HOPE THIS HELPS YOU.  GOOD LUCK!!!\n\n\nhttp://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/animalgods.htm\n\nAnimals and the Gods of Ancient Egypt\nby Caroline Seawright\n\nEgyptian towns usually had their own local sacred animal. It was thought that some gods and goddesses represented themselves on earth in the form of a single representative of a specific species, and honoring that species of animal would please the god or goddess associated with the animal. The animal believed to be the incarnation of the god or goddess lived a pampered life in and near the temples and religious centers.\n\nBaboon y`n baboon determinative y`n - The dog-headed baboon was one of the manifestations of both Thoth, god of writing, and Khonsu, the youthful moon god. Both deities were related to the moon. Hapy, the son of Horus who guarded the canopic jars that held the lungs, had the head of a baboon. There was also a baboon god in the Early Dynastic period named Hedjwer, 'The Great White One', who became closely linked with Thoth. Sometimes Thoth was shown in baboon form, perched on top of the scales of judgement in the underworld.\n\nBast, Egyptian Cat Goddess Cat myywcat determinative myw - Many deities were depicted as cats, both domestic or wild, and so they were seen as benevolent, sacred animals. Bast, originally a desert cat, was later depicted as a domestic cat. Ra was shown as 'The Great Cat of Heliopolis' who defeated Apep in 'The Book of the Dead'.\n\nCattle mnnmnntcattle determinative mnmnt - Hathor, Isis, Nut and Bat were three goddesses who were often depicted as cows, with the horns of cows or with the ears of cows. Because of this, and because of the relationship of the pharaoh as a living god, the cow came to symbolize the mother of the pharaoh. The cow was also a solar icon, where Nut carried the sun across the sky on her back, when she was in cow form. The cow was linked to female fertility and to the mother of the pharaoh. Osiris was related to the bull - the Apis bull, after death, became Osiris-Apis. While it was still alive, the Apis bull was seen as the Ba of Ptah, mummified god of creation. The Mnevis bull was regarded as the Ba of Ra-Atum. The bull, therefor, was linked to masculinity and the pharaoh.\n\nWadjet in her Human-headed Cobra Form Cobra djtcobra in a basket determinative djt - The cobra was sacred to Wadjet, the cobra goddess of Buto, who represented Lower Egypt and kingship. The cobra goddess Renenet was a fertility goddess who was sometimes depicted as nursing children and as protector of pharaoh. Another cobra goddess was Meretseger, 'she who loves silence', who could punish criminals with blindness or her venom.\n\nCrocodile mshcrocodile determinative msh - Ammut, the demoness at the judgement hall, had the head of a crocodile along with other fearful creatures, and was known as 'the devourer of the dead' who punished evildoers by eating their hearts. The god of the Athribis region, the solar god Horus Khenty-Khenty, was sometimes shown as a crocodile. But the crocodile was also sacred to Sobek, who was portrayed as a human with the head of a crocodile, or as the crocodile itself. The temples of Sobek usually had sacred lakes where crocodiles were fed and cared for. The hippo goddess of childbirth, Taweret, was thought to have the back and tail of a crocodile, or was shown with a crocodile perched on her back.\n\nFalcon / Hawk bykfalcon with a flagellum determinative byk - The sacred bird of the falcon-headed solar god Horus, it was also regarded as his Ba. The falcon was a bird that had protective powers, and was frequently linked with royalty, where it was depicted as hovering over the head of the pharaoh, with outstretched wings. The falcon was also sacred to Montu, god of war, and Sokar, god of the Memphite necropolis. The bird of prey was sometimes associated with Hathor, 'The House of Horus'. The son of Horus, Qebehsenuef who guarded the canopic jar of t
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There are a lot of myths about the anaconda, it depends in the ethnic background of who's telling the story. So there are *lots* of stories about anacondas.\nIn Peru, one of the most popular is the Yacumama's story.\nIt is said that the Yacumama (yacu = water and mama = mother in the native language) is an enormous anaconda that lives in flooded tropical forests and its the forest protector or 'mother'. It is always sleeping, in the bottom of the river or 'cocha' (lake), but when the forest is disturbed, it awakes to a nasty monster that would make 'disappear' the nuisance.\nSome illegal loggers and hunters are afraid of it.\n=)
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You have put this question under mythology and folklore, so I'll answer it in the same vein, rather than going on about the more probable causes such as the birds had been fed by humans or that magpies like shiny objects (you are not a shiny object, are you?)\n\nIn old Norse folklore unexplained or "weird" behaviour of animals were sometimes visitations by spirits.  In the Icelandic sagas are stories of human ghosts taking on animal form (ie the ghost of Killer Hrap taking the form of a seal with human eyes in Laxadalen Saga),  or of "fetches": manifestations of guardian spirits, often in animal form (a goat in Njal's saga).\n\nThe chances are you are reading too much into things and the birds are just being curious.
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Post this in the Mythology section, or maybe Entertainment.\n\nMaybe someone will be amused.
152384
I think it is likely there was, as most myths have some basis in reality.  However, who he actually was is lost to the mists of time.  Check out the link for interesting details, especially about the evolution of the legend.
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It is kind of a three-legged crow which has been a part of the mythology of many countries, including Egypt and China. In Japan it is called Yatagarasu and it is the bird of the sun goddess Amaterasu.\n\nThanks for bringing that up, I had never thought about it!
879459
I don't think dinosaurs got anything to do with it.\n\nThe earliest mention of a "dragon" is actually Assyrian, Tiamat the old earth goddess in her emanation as a sea monster being slain by Marduk the sky god.\nThe theory of a common Asian origin is much more likely to my mind, only that European dragons were not able to fly, they were also called "wyrms", which implies a crawling creature.\n\nEuropean dragons seem to have been creatures of fire and earth  and unfriendly to humans, where Asian ones are associated with wind and water, and are considered bringers of fame and fortune,\nin China the dragon was the symbol of the emperor whereas the phoenix was the symbol of the empress.\n\nMy own theory is that a common idea of a giant magical creature got spread west with the Indo-European language groups from Central Asia where there must have been contacts with Asian cultures, but got mixed with contents from the mythology of the original inhabitants of the Mediterranean region, and transformed into something different, then with the renewed cultural contact in the 17.th century got changed again, so now dragons can fly in Europe as well.
425634
mythologies are not meant to taken literally.
381755
In ancient Egyptian mythology and in myths derived from it, the phoenix is a mythical sacred firebird.\n\nSaid to live for 500, 1461 or for 12594 years (depending on the source), the phoenix is a male bird with beautiful gold and red plumage. At the end of its life-cycle the phoenix builds itself a nest of cinnamon twigs that it then ignites; both nest and bird burn fiercely and are reduced to ashes, from which a new, young phoenix arises. The new phoenix embalms the ashes of the old phoenix in an egg made of myrrh and deposits it in Heliopolis ("the city of the sun" in Greek), located in Egypt. The bird was also said to regenerate when hurt or wounded by a foe, thus being almost immortal and invincible — a symbol of fire and divinity.\n\nOriginally, the phoenix was identified by the Egyptians as a stork or heron-like bird called a benu, (see Bennu), known from the Book of the Dead and other Egyptian texts as one of the sacred symbols of worship at Heliopolis, closely associated with the rising sun and the Egyptian sun-god Ra.\nOne inspiration that has been suggested for the Egyptian phoenix is a specific bird species of East Africa. This bird nests on salt flats that are too hot for its eggs or chicks to survive; it builds a mound several inches tall and large enough to support its egg, which it lays in that marginally cooler location. The convection currents around these mounds resembles the turbulence of a flame.