Folklore and legends from around the world usually have at least some sort of a basis in reality. Here are 10 mythic places from legends and folklore, and the real world spots that they supposedly exist in.
1.) Entrance to the Fairy Kingdom.
In western Ireland is the Knockma Woods. It’s a wooded area that’s said to contain an entrance to Ireland’s fairy kingdom ruled by Finnbheara, the Fairy King of Connacht. The Knockma Woods has featured heavily in Irish folklore for centuries. In fact, excavations have found evidence of human dwellings in the area as far back as 7000 B.C.
2.) The River Styx.
You’ve heard of Styx the rock band, but it’s not just a clever name. According to Greek mythology The River Styx is the entrance to the Underworld. While the real River Styx (complete with it’s entrance to the afterlife has yet to be found), researcher believe that the Mavroneri River is the river that Styx is modeled after.
3.) The Lost City of Z.
Some call it El Dorado, others call it the City of Z. In either case, they refer to a city somewhere deep in the Amazon jungle in South America. A sophisticated city full of riches.
Since the arrival of Europeans to America, many explorers tried to find the mythic city to no avail. However recent satellite images show evidence of a past, advanced civilization deep within the Amazon jungle. As luck would have it, the evidence was found in the exact area where many explorers suspected the city would be.
4.) The Golden Apples of Hesperides.
According to Greek mythology, the goddess Hera was given a wedding gift of trees that grew golden apples. In order to keep these trees safe, Hera kept the trees in the Garden of Hesperides. Through careful research, scholars have managed to pin point the supposedly location of the gardens in the city of Lixus in modern day Morocco.
5.) Newgrange.
Newgrange is both a tomb and allegedly the entrance to the Celtic Underworld. It was constructed more than 5,000 years ago in Ireland’s Boyne Valley. According to Irish folklore, the Celtic gods also used Newgrange and a number of other sites to travel between their world and the human world.
(Via: List Verse)
I’ll be honest, I wouldn’t mind actually getting one of those golden apples. Maybe I should start planning a trip to Morocco.
