The Mythology and Folklore Database
M75B3 - Trojan horse: victory over enemies
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Source Data from Berezkin's Analytics Catalogue, if using this data please acknowledge and link to it here:
Ю.Е. Березкин, Е.Н. Дувакин. Тематическая классификация и распределение фольклорно-мифологических мотивов по ареалам. Аналитический каталог.
Summary of Motif
Enemies are shown a life-size or larger image of a horse or bull. Not realizing that this is a ruse, they bring the figure to their own territory and are defeated as a result.Berezkin category: Adventures: Tricks and episodes
This is of motif type Adventures and tricks and is part group 10, Adventures
M75 has 9 other sub-motifsM75. The character attracts and catches corpse eaters (usually birds) and as a result obtains valuables or returns something valuable (fire, woman, animals, etc.). M75a. The character lures a veteran to avenge his fall from the sky. Either the (potauatomi) shovel drops the character or leaves him on top to avenge being lured and caught. M75b. A person hides in the skin or carcass of a large animal. A bird brings a skin or carcass to the nest without knowing what it brought the person. M75b1. A person (usually of high status) learns that a poor boy who is born will inherit his property or become king. He tries to stop it, but what he predicted comes true. M75b1a. A high-ranking person finds out that a (just born) poor or ugly girl is intended for him, or the girl herself finds out that she is destined to become a man's wife of high origin. A betrothed or someone else tries to kill a girl, but only hurts her and the prediction is fulfilled; if the girl is ugly, she becomes beautiful. M75b2. bird tries in vain to prevent the marriage, which she learned was inevitable when the future spouses were still children. M75b3. Enemies are shown a life-size or larger image of a horse or bull. Not realizing that this is a ruse, they bring the figure to their own territory and are defeated as a result. M75b4. To master a woman, the hero hides inside the hollow figure of a horse (bull, deer) or in an animal carcass. The character guarding the woman takes her to her. The hero gets outside and becomes a woman's lover. Or a woman hides inside the figure of a horse, which is taken to the man's chambers. M75c. A person is offered to climb a rock or tree to get treasures. A return descent is not possible. Doomed to death, the hero remains alive. M75d. A man bereaves vultures of their hunting weapons or amulets Click here if would you like to see a distrbution map combining all of M75's motifs? |
Top 10 Motifs with similar dispersal patterns
| Motif | Similarity | Motif Summary |
|---|---|---|
| K103A | 98.52% | A suddenly grown plant (tree, vine, lotus) bends (raises its branches, etc.), allowing only the hero or heroine to climb it or pick its fruits (flowers). |
| K27ZY | 98.32% | A young man (woman) lives in the house of a cannibal (witch). In order to destroy him or her, the cannibal orders that a certain object be brought from other cannibals (often from his or her mother or sister). The hero or heroine escapes (and destroys all the cannibals). |
| L108C | 98.15% | To prevent the victim from recognising him and opening the door, the predator, the cannibal, shows part of his clothing, his hand, his paw, making the victim believe that his mother, teacher, etc. has come. |
| L19B2 | 98.09% | A creature with nine heads is mentioned – either singly or at the end of a series of creatures with fewer heads. |
| H46A | 97.99% | The possibility of using cereals for food is determined by the behaviour of the dog in the era of creation. See motif H46. |
| H49 | 97.79% | A dog or other animal kills a creature that threatened a small child. The owner or other people mistake the saviour for an aggressor and kill it. |
| B52C | 97.62% | When the earth and sky were created, they turned out to be different sizes. The earth was compressed, and mountains appeared. See motif B52. |
| K76G | 97.59% | The son or foster son of a married couple – a crab. He marries a princess and turns into a handsome man. |
| K33G | 97.51% | The person who eats the fruit (leaf, etc.) grows horns (long nose, etc.) or turns into an animal, while the other fruit (leaf, etc.) returns to its normal appearance. |
| K73A6 | 97.49% | Malicious women kill (throw away) her wonderful children. Trees (flowers) grow from their remains, later reincarnating into humans. |
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Map of Motif Dispersal
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This motif has been recorded in 7 traditions: Indian literary tradition (Vedic, Brahman, Purana, Indian Buddhism, Hinduism, Ramayana, Mahabharata, Panchtantra, Jatakas); iconography of Hindu temples, Early Chinese written sources, Ancient Italy: Latins, Etruscans, Magna Graecia, Ancient Greece, Georgians, Arabs (literary tradition; incl. One Thousand and One Nights), Early Russian written sources