Love stories for the ages. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most heartbreaking romantic tales from world mythology.
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00:00It's an old song. It's an old tale from way back when. It's an old song. It's an old song.
00:08And we're gonna sing it again.
00:10Welcome to MsMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most
00:14heartbreaking romantic tales from world mythology.
00:17When gods fall in love with mortals, it always spells trouble.
00:22Number 10. Isis and Osiris
00:25The old saying of behind every great man is a great woman definitely applies to the story of Isis and Osiris.
00:32This is due to all of the work Isis puts in, gathering up all the pieces of her slain husband.
00:38Oh, did we forget to mention that the great and all-powerful Osiris was murdered and dismembered by his brother, Set?
00:46Well, this truly is a big day for the family.
00:51I, Set, shall be your one true king.
00:57Isis was able to reassemble Osiris and send him to the afterlife hole, ensuring he would live on as a king there.
01:05However, she remained behind to raise their son alone.
01:08Under her guidance, he grew into a strapping young god who defeated Set to assume his rightful rule over Egypt.
01:14This Egyptian myth symbolizes not only the seasonal cycles of death and rebirth, but also the country's belief in the afterlife.
01:22Additionally, the quest for Isis to recover Osiris' body speaks to her love and devotion.
01:28Her behavior following the death of Osiris epitomizes the ingenuity and perseverance that she was beloved for.
01:34This triumph indicates her possession of mighty magic, which allows her to shapeshift, revive the dead, and protect the vulnerable.
01:42Number 9. The Arthurian Love Triangle
01:45Don't you think I see how you two look at each other?
01:47Arthur, this is...
01:48No. I will get to the end of this, even if I have to command your silence.
01:55The stories of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table are grand examples of classic English myth.
02:01High Adventure is often the name of the game here, but there's also a tragic love triangle that sits at the center of Arthur's marriage to Queen Guinevere.
02:10I will love you as my queen and as the wife of my best friend. And while you live, I will love no other.
02:19Readings of these stories differ depending upon the source.
02:22Some consistently maintain that Guinevere's love is reserved solely for the heart of Sir Lancelot, and paint her as unfaithful.
02:31Another angle tells of Arthur's tryst with his half-sister, Morgan le Fay.
02:36No matter the details, though, the messy love lives of a king, his queen, and his greatest knight lead to the downfall of Camelot, and the utopian ideals it represented.
02:47It's those old, uncivilized days. Come back again.
02:53Those days, those...
02:57...dreadful days that we tried to...
03:00...to put asleep forever.
03:02Number 8. Persephone
03:04I have scoured the heavens and earth for you.
03:07What happened? Are you alright?
03:11This daughter of Zeus and his sister Demeter, goddess of nature, wasn't always a queen of the underworld.
03:17This occurred when she was abducted by her uncle, Hades, making this story not so much of romantic love, but of familial bonds.
03:25The narrator helpfully informs us that this abduction was sponsored and ordered by Zeus, Persephone's father, because Hades was in love with Persephone, but Zeus didn't think Demeter would approve.
03:33Her mother begged Zeus to return Persephone from her place as Hades' new wife.
03:37The king of the gods eventually obliged, sending Hermes to retrieve Persephone from the underworld.
03:43Hades, however, tricked his queen into tasting some tiny pomegranate seeds, an act that, at least partially, now tethered her below.
03:51As a result, the winter months symbolized Demeter's mourning for her lost daughter, while the warmer periods signify the rebirth of Persephone's return home.
04:00And so it was that her transit marked the gradual turning of the seasons and the bittersweet compromise between life and death.
04:21It's a tale as old as time, right?
04:23The forbidden love of a god or goddess with someone of mortal birth results in a boundless tragedy.
04:30We're speaking in this case, anyway, of Cleona and Ceoban, the former being Ireland's queen of the Banshees.
04:37It's a fateful meeting between these two star-crossed lovers that results in Cleona choosing to forsake her divine status in order to facilitate a proper romance.
05:00Unfortunately, their journeys together anger Monomon Maclear, an Irish sea god, and he lures her beneath the waves forever, a la the Sirens from Greek mythology.
05:10Ceoban is left to forever mourn his lost Cleona, searching each massive wave for a glimpse of her face.
05:17What did that make you feel?
05:19It made me feel a little bit sad. It was a bit sad in the ending, wasn't it?
05:25The Norse myths may be primarily tethered of stories of battle and conquest, but there also exist sweeping stories of tragic love.
05:33Haunt me. Don't leave me.
05:39Sigurd and Brynhild's tale is perhaps one of the most well-known of these, the former being in possession of a cursed ring from the treasure of Fofnir the dragon.
05:48Sigurd leaves behind this ring at Verenord with Brynhild, but winds up the victim of a potion given to him by Queen Grimhild.
05:57A thunderbolt to mix it well.
06:03This love potion results in Sigurd's marriage to another woman, Goodrune, and eventually his demise via a plot devised by the betrayed Brynhild.
06:12This circle of infidelity, heartbreak, and death really has no winners, only losers.
06:17It's been a long journey.
06:20Not in the saddle, but in the mind.
06:26Veigar and Altair
06:40The origins of this myth are said to reside within Chinese folklore and deal with a goddess of the skies called Veigar, and a mortal by the name of Altair.
06:49It's the music of the latter that initially draws Veigar into his orbit, and the pair soon fall in love.
06:56However, it's then said that Veigar's mother, or father, depending on the reading, forbids this relationship.
07:02I know my place. It is time you learned yours.
07:06The Milky Way is then formed across the sky, serving as a barrier between Veigar and Altair.
07:12It's only once a year, when a bridge of fluttering magpies appear across the sky, that the pair are reunited.
07:19If this does not occur, however, then rain will fall, signifying Veigar's disappointed tears.
07:26Above the clouds, each lover attempted to wade through the surging stars, but no matter how hard they struggled, the gulf between them only grew wider.
07:35Number 4. Balder and Nanna
07:37It's the story of Balder's death that's probably the most well-known tale attached to this beloved Norse god.
07:43This comes down to the manner of his demise, which is orchestrated by the trickster god Loki.
07:48I see a scheme, and in that scheme I see myself.
07:53Worrisome dreams of Balder's death trouble his mother, Frigg, so much that she holds every living thing to an oath never to harm her son.
08:02Everything, that is, except the mistletoe.
08:05After all, what god could fear a trifling weed?
08:09At this, Loki dashed outside to find a sprig of mistletoe.
08:13It's this mistletoe that's then given to Balder's brother, Holfer, by Loki, and shot as an arrow into Balder, killing him.
08:21The god's wife, Nanna, is so distressed by the loss of her husband that she perishes with him, dying of a broken heart.
08:303. Leila and Majnun
08:38The myths of Greece, Scandinavia, and Egypt may take up a lot of our free time,
08:43but there are wonderful stories from around the world that bear repeating.
08:47The tale of Leila and Majnun is one that's related across the Arabian Peninsula in Southwest Asia.
08:54It's also one with a theme that still resonates today, as opposed to the more fantastical stories of gods and monsters.
09:08It all comes down to social class and wealth, since the poet Majnun is forbidden from marrying his true love, Leila, who is of noble birth.
09:17Majnun is driven into exile as a result of their separation, composing plaintive poems for his lost love, while Leila pines for him within an unhappy marriage.
09:372. Perumas and Thisbe
09:47We're not sure if the Shakespearean tragedy of Romeo and Juliet was influenced by this classic Greek myth, but the similarities are definitely present.
09:56This is a tale where two young lovers are separated due to the angry feelings of their respective families.
10:02This feud drives both Perumas and Thisbe to communicate in secret, via a small crack in the wall both families share.
10:18The predictable set of fatal misunderstandings follows their decision to meet in person, whereby Perumas destroys himself after believing Thisbe to be dead.
10:27She, upon finding his body, then does the same.
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10:481. Orpheus and his wife
10:52The music of Orpheus was a powerful tool.
10:55It helped earn him a beloved wife, Eurydice, and even managed to move Hades and Persephone to tears.
11:02Orpheus' journey to the other side of the world was also a turning point for him.
11:07The music of Orpheus was a powerful tool.
11:10It helped earn him a beloved wife, Eurydice, and even managed to move Hades and Persephone to tears.
11:16Orpheus' journey down into the underworld in search of Eurydice is initially a story of dedication and fealty.
11:22Orpheus' journey down into the underworld in search of Eurydice is initially a story of dedication and fealty.
11:28However, the tale takes a turn for the worse during the pair's travels back to the Upper World,
11:33for Orpheus has been commanded by Hades not to look back at Eurydice as they escape his domain.
11:39For if you turn to look at her, she will be lying once more.
11:47You hear me?
11:49The hero adheres to these terms at first.
11:52However, Orpheus simply cannot resist glancing back to make sure that Eurydice is still behind him,
11:58only for his wife to fade away, back into the underworld.
12:02Separated from Eurydice, Orpheus swore never to love another woman again.
12:07Instead, he sat in a grove of trees and sang songs of lovers.
12:12What do you feel is the most underrated world mythology?
12:15Let us know in the comments!