Arabian Myths

This unique book will introduce you to the amazing, multilayered, and whimsically beautiful mythology of Ancient Arabia, which gifted the world the beloved tales of «One Thousand and One Nights», the image of the djinn emerging from a bottle or lamp, the adventures of Aladdin and Sinbad the Sailor, and, of course, the teachings of the prophet Muhammad. You will be transported to distant times when three hundred idols stood around the sacred Kaaba and learn whether Arabia was always a desert, how the ancient Arabs lived, what they believed in and whom they worshipped, and what traces these mythological concepts left in Islamic culture. In addition to angels, shaytans, and invisible djinns eavesdropping on secrets in the heavens, you will become acquainted with the gods of the ancient Arabian pantheon: the god of fate Hubal, whose idol once stood in Mecca, the goddess of the planet Venus al-Uzza and her dolphin companions, the dying and resurrecting god Dushara, the brother of the Greek Dionysus, and the deity of fortune Gad. You will also meet beings from Arabic demonology: shikks — people with half a body who predict the future, the tribe of monopods nasnas, the fierce horned hare al-miraj, werehyenas, and unicorns karkadann, one of which, according to legend, was the beloved horse of Alexander the Great, Bucephalus.