In myth, Athena, goddess of wisdom, and Poseidon, god of the sea, competed to be the city's protector. According to the ancient geographer Pausanias, the sculptures of the Parthenon's west pediment depicted this contest; the area of the neighbouring Erechtheion is said to have held Athena's sacred olive tree, and the temple honoured both Athena and Poseidon.
Myths and legends
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Europe: civilization and memoryStories rooted in place
The basilica's mosaics tell a story of 'predestination': an angel once foretold to St Mark that one day he would be buried in Venice. This legend gave Venice's possession of the saint's relics a 'divine mandate'. The basilica also has a pillar where, it is said, the relics were miraculously found again in 1094, a scene depicted in the mosaic opposite.
The lower level of the New Town Hall Glockenspiel shows the coopers' dance (Schäfflertanz). It is said that after a severe plague ended in 1517, the coopers danced in the streets to encourage frightened residents to come out of their homes again. Traditionally the dance is performed every seven years during Carnival; by 1700 it was already recorded as an 'old custom', though today's steps were only fixed in 1871.
During the Ottoman siege of Vienna in 1683, Kulczycki dressed in Turkish clothes and crossed the enemy camp singing Ottoman songs to contact the relief army, and was hailed by the citizens as a hero. Legend says he used coffee beans left behind by the retreating Ottoman army to open Vienna's first coffee house. More recent research, however, suggests that Vienna's first coffee house was opened in 1685 by the Armenian Johannes Diodato.
At least six ravens are kept at the Tower of London. Legend says that 'if the ravens are lost or fly away, the Crown will fall and Britain with it', and local lore traces the ravens back to the reign of Charles II. But some scholars, including the Tower's official historian, believe the legend is probably a Victorian invention: the earliest known reference to ravens kept at the Tower is an illustration from 1883.