Impossible quests — Mythoi

Motif

Impossible quests.

Tests. · Tests of prowess: quests. · Nature of quests. · Miscellaneous quests. · view the constellation · filed as H1371

Attested across traditions

North American Indigenous Tales of the North American Indians , Tale 39 receipt

In our texts — keyword-matched, unreviewed

Norse The First Nine Books of the Danish History of Saxo Grammaticus , Book 2

Filed across the traditions

N. Am. Indian *Thompson Tales 313 n. 126b.

Within the index

Filed under Miscellaneous quests.

4 finer motifs beneath it

Quest for the world's end Quest for the bottom of the sea Quest for tears shed into the sea Quest for ornaments bride has worn in former birth

Filed beside it

Allegorical quests Enigmatical quests Paradoxical quests. (Cf. H1050.) Quest for unknown person Quest for unknown objects or places Quest for unknown animal Quest for lost persons Quest for lost object Quest: answer to certain question Quest for armor from a grave mound Quest to distant sage for advice Quest for person who has not known sorrow Heroes seek judgment as to which is greatest. (Cf. H1311.1.) Quest for light-giving child Quest for enemies

Keeps company with — shares receipted episodes

Sun father-in-law Animal bribed with food. (Sop to Cerberus.) Animal as guard of person or house Guardian animals evaded Transformation: man to feather Protean beggar: Person assumes successive forms in order to beg Transformation combat. Fight between contestants who strive to outdo each other in successive transformations Transformation to reach difficult place Transformation to escape difficult situation Transformation to receive food Burning magically evaded. (Cf. D1656.) Resuscitation by arrangement of members. Parts of a dismembered corpse are brought together and resuscitation follows. (Sometimes combined with other methods.)

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