Mythology and the Wheel

[Talysia]

I've only been reading the Wheel of Time series for a while, but I've found that I recognize quite a few references to various myths and legends. Is it meant to be a blend of these myths and such, or does it borrow more heavily from one in particular?

[Swady]

Could you elaborate on which myths and legends you mean please. Has been a while since I read them and would be good if you could jog my memory.

[Talysia]

I've only read a few of the books, but I thought I recognized some of the names and situations as those from mythology or legend. It seems to me that there's a few nods to Norse mythology in there, and some of the names look similar to those in Arthurian legend, i.e. Gawyn, Galad, Elayne, for Gawain, Galahad and Elaine, etc. Then there's the Ogiers. I saw the name Ogier in an old book of fables and legends, but it had nothing to do with Jordan's Ogiers.
Or am I just reading too much into it?

[williamjm]

Originally Posted by Talysia

I've only been reading the Wheel of Time series for a while, but I've found that I recognize quite a few references to various myths and legends. Is it meant to be a blend of these myths and such, or does it borrow more heavily from one in particular?

It isn't taking from any one source exclusively but there are a huge number of references to a range of mythical sources as well as other fantasy novels. Arthurian legend is one of the mother obvious references (King Artur Paendrag who is a major figure in Wheel Of Time history is blatantly based on King Arthur Pendragon himself, also Gawyn, Galad, Damodred, Caemlyn a few more of the names), but there's also biblical references (Ishmael, Shaitan), and although the references are less explicit there seems to be quite a lot of influence from both Lord of the Rings and Dune at times. Even "the wheel of time" is a Buddhist mythological concept about time being cyclical and repeating itself in different ages.

[Talysia]

Right! I wondered if it was something like that, but as I haven't read all the books yet, I couldn't tell whether it was meant to be something specific or not. Thanks for the help.

[Lara Luvitt]

If you read the rest of the series, you'll know that Robert Jordan has taken from lots of mythological sources - only got to look at the names of the Forsaken and read into the names and types of names from various countries. Read into the older stories that are always mentioned - Mosk and Merk, etc, and you'll know that it also refers to modern day countries etc. (Moscow and America) Not to mention other things like Materese the healer of the Wondrous Ind. It is rather deep, really.

[Talysia]

I had no idea it was so involved...