Culture & Mythology
Insects have shaped human belief for millennia, from scarab beetles rolling the Egyptian sun to crickets as luck and cicadas as rebirth. These guides explore the folklore, symbolism, and stories built around the six-legged world. (9 guides.)
Culture & MythologyRead article →The Significance of Butterflies in Global MythologiesThe Significance of Butterflies in Global Mythologies comes down to one biological fact: a caterpillar liquefies inside its chrysalis and reassembles into a winged adult. No other
Culture & MythologyRead article →Insect Gods: Khepri, Arachne, and the Cicada's SongInsect Gods appear in mythologies on nearly every continent because a real insect behavior looked miraculous to the people watching it. A beetle that seems to burst fully formed ou
Culture & MythologyRead article →The Connection Between Insects and Spiritual Beliefs WorldwideThe connection between insects and spiritual beliefs shows up in temple carvings, funerary amulets, and origin myths on nearly every continent. A creature that molts its skin, spin
Culture & MythologyRead article →The Use of Insects in Traditional Medicine Across CulturesThe use of insects in traditional medicine across cultures spans thousands of years and every inhabited continent. Ancient Egyptian physicians prescribed honey and bee products for
Culture & MythologyRead article →The Symbolism of Dragonflies in Various TraditionsThe symbolism of dragonflies in various traditions traces back to one biological fact: the insect lives two lives. It spends most of its existence underwater as a predatory nymph,
Culture & MythologyRead article →Mythical Insects: Scarabs, Fireflies, and CicadasMythical insects show up across cultures on every continent, standing in for everything from the sun's daily journey to the souls of the dead. A dung beetle became a solar deity in
Culture & MythologyRead article →How Ants Are Portrayed in Different Cultural MythologiesHow ants are portrayed in different cultural mythologies depends heavily on what people watched them do: carry loads many times their own body weight, vanish into the ground, or re
Culture & MythologyRead article →How Crickets Are Respected and Celebrated in FolkloreHow crickets are respected and celebrated in folklore comes down to one sound: the chirp. That single acoustic signal, produced only by males, has been read as an omen of luck in C
Culture & MythologyRead article →Cultural Perspectives on Insects in Art and LiteratureCultural perspectives on insects in art and literature shift sharply depending on where and when you look: the same beetle that guarantees resurrection on an Egyptian sarcophagus s