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Derby #79: Myths and Legends

Hey, this Derby's over. When you're finished reliving past glories, check out what's going on in the Derby right now. It's probably even cooler. Or at least newer.

Hercules. Gilgamesh. King Arthur. Paul Bunyan. These figures are more than just guys with powerful beards, muscles, and body odors. They're mythological legends, or legendary myths, and they're the subject of this week's Derby. You don't need to go the proto-action-hero route - girlier myths about golden apples and enchanted flowers and stuff are cool, too. All cultures have them, stories and figures seemingly sprung from the collective consciousness of an entire society to express the way those people see the world. Now use these primal archetypes to affect how the world sees your t-shirt.

What do we mean by "myths and legends"? If your subject matter is known to originate with a single author, it probably doesn't qualify. Tarzan and Ichabod Crane are sorta legendary, but they're not what we have in mind here. Nor are we looking for references to Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Zelda, Mario, or any other pop-cultural artifacts. If this makes it easier, think pre-1600 AD. Except...

The scriptural lore of the currently practiced major world religions is not acceptable subject matter, including Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism. We know, we know, you could make a case for any religion being "mythology", but we're not interested in getting into a whole big religion thing for this Derby.

No "urban legends". That's a subject for another Derby.

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