Origins and Influences

Spain is a country with a very diverse history. From Romans to Muslims, Jews and Christians it has been influenced by many different people throughout the centuries. This diversity is what makes the mythology of Spain an interesting subject to learn about. At the same time, it also makes it a complex matter and you cannot expect to find organized mythology like the greek or the roman, nor the same rituals in the whole country, because it varies significantly from region to region. To be able to understand where the Spanish myths come from, we first need to understand how and by whom they were influenced.

We can divide them into four periods :

1. The pre-roman period.
2. The Roman period.
3. The Arab and Jew period.
4. The Christian period.

It’s important to highlight the fact that the last two periods, the Arab, the Jewish, and the Christian, coexisted for a long time in the Iberian Peninsula, specifically from the 8th century AC until the 15th century AC, and created a very specific set of beliefs and traditions that last until today and that will be explained more in-depth in the next pages.