Cross-Cultural Themes

Orpheus in the Underworld

A legendary musician braves the land of the dead to save his love, only to lose her to a single look.

OrpheusEurydice

Inanna's Descent

A powerful goddess surrenders her divinity to face death and rebirth in the ancient abyss.

InannaEreshkigal

Izanagi in Yomi

A grieving god's descent into the land of the dead leads to a terrifying eternal separation.

IzanagiIzanami

Aeneas Visits the Underworld

A hero journeys through the land of the dead to secure the future of a new empire.

AeneasThe Sibyl

Odysseus Consults the Dead

Odysseus braves the realm of Hades to unlock the secrets of his journey home.

OdysseusTiresias

Orion the Hunter's Story

A legendary hunter's boast leads to a tragic end and an eternal place among the constellations.

OrionArtemis

Peg Leg JoeEnslaved Seekers

The Big Dipper and the Drinking Gourd

A celestial map in the stars guides the enslaved toward freedom and a brighter future.

Cassiopeia's Vanity

A queen's boastful beauty leads to a daughter's peril and an eternal, upside-down seat in the stars.

CassiopeiaPoseidon

The Scorpion and Orion

A boastful hunter's pride leads to an eternal celestial chase across the night sky.

OrionThe Scorpion

The Seven Sisters Pleiades

Seven sisters escape a hunter’s pursuit to become an eternal, shimmering cluster of stars.

MaiaElectra

The Bear in the Sky

A mother and son find eternal peace as the Great and Little Bears in the night sky.

CallistoArcas

The First ManThe Great Spirit

The Southern Cross Origins

A mortal's journey into the sky creates the Southern Cross to guide the world.

Prince DhruvaThe Supreme Creator

The North Star's Story

A young prince's devotion transforms him into the eternal guide of the night sky.

Noah's Ark (Extended)

Noah builds a giant ark to save his family and animals from a world-ending flood.

NoahNoah's Family

Utnapishtim's Flood

A wise man builds a massive ark to survive a divine deluge sent to silence the world's clamor.

UtnapishtimEnki

Deucalion's Flood

Two survivors of a global flood repopulate the world by throwing stones that turn into humans.

DeucalionPyrrha

Manu and the Fish

A sage saves a tiny fish that grows into a god to rescue him from a world-ending deluge.

ManuMatsya

Yu the Great's Flood

Yu the Great tames the wild rivers of China through thirteen years of selfless labor and wisdom.

Yu the GreatGun

The Ojibwe Flood

Nanabozho and a humble muskrat recreate the world on a turtle's back after a great flood.

NanabozhoMuskrat

The Hopi Flood

Virtuous people escape a drowning world by climbing through reeds into a new life of balance.

SotuknangSpider Woman