μῦθοι Mythoi
Motif

Periodic sacrifices to a monster.

Unnatural cruelty. · Cruel sacrifices. · Sacrifices. · view the constellation · filed as S262

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“When Hercules called for wine, he said he feared to open the jar which belonged to the centaurs in common.? But Hercules, bidding him be of good courage, opened it, and not long afterwards, scenting the smell, the centaurs arrived at the cave of Pholus, armed with rocks and firs. The first who dared to enter, Anchius and Agrius, were repelled by Hercules with a shower of brands, and the rest of them he shot and pursued as far as Malea.”

— The Library (Bibliotheca), BOOK II, ch. V · served from our shelf uncorrected OCR — being verified against the scan

On our shelf — the index’s citations, resolved to served chapters
Scholars’ trail — 14references

The index’s own references — the collections where scholars sighted this story-shape, tradition by tradition. Titles on our shelf are live links; the rest is the frontier, not yet shelved.

  • Missouri FrenchCarrière
  • SpanishEspinosa III Nos. 139, 151, 157
  • Greek*Frazer Apollodorus I 207 n. 2, II 119 n. 2, 134 n. 1 → on our shelf: The Library (Bibliotheca), BOOK II, ch. V
  • India*Thompson-Balys
  • Buddhist mythMalalasekera I 189, II 573, 1188
  • JapaneseIkeda
  • Africa (Basuto)Jacottet 154 No. 22, (Fang): Trilles 166.
  • general *Schoepperle II 326ff.
  • general *Panzer Beowulf 276ff.
  • general *Frazer Pausanias V 143
  • general Brown Iwain 17 and passim
  • general *Freytag Am Urquell I (1890) 179ff., 197ff.
  • general *Fb "glarbjærg" I 459, "jomfru" II 43
  • general Chauvin VI 110 No. 274. Irish myth: *Cross
Within the index

Filed under Sacrifices. (Cf. S255.)

5 finer motifs beneath it
One man disappears each nightWoman given to devastating monster as wife to appease itTribute of youths regularly sent to foreign kingSacrificial victim chosen by lot. (Cf. N126.)Girl offers to sacrifice herself to dragon in place of her parents
Filed beside it
Human sacrificeFoundation sacrifice. A human being buried alive at base of the foundation of a building or bridgeSacrifice to appease spirits (gods). (Cf. K1603, T211.1.1.)Sacrifice to rivers and seasSacrifice of strangersBurial of live girl to banish plagueFlood stopped by sacrifice of boy and girlChild sacrificed to provide blood for cure of friend. (Cf. S260.1.4.)Sacrifice of child to remove barrennessSacrifice of brothers promised if girl is bornChild bought to serve as sacrifice to demonSacrifice as an agricultural riteSacrifice as protection against disease[First Edition: S290. Cruel sacrifices – miscellaneous motifs.]
Keeps company with — shares receipted episodes
Hound of hell. Cerberus (monstrous dog) guards the bridge to the lower worldTwo-headed dogHydra: nine-headed monster. Middle head immortalMan-eating maresCentaur: man-horse. Trunk and head of man, body of horseHind with golden hornsTransformation to animal to seduce womanMagic goblet (glass)Transportation by magic goblet. (Cf. D1171.6.2.)Immortality exchanged. Wounded Centaur immortal but cannot be cured. He gives away his immortality to Prometheus and is thus allowed to diePerson with three bodies. Body of three men grown together in one at waist but parted in three from flanks and thighsTasks imposed. A person's prowess is tested by assigning him certain tasks (usually impossible or extremely difficult) to be performed either to escape punishment or to receive a valuable reward
Carried in tale types

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