Malta is absolutely brimming with legends and myths. From religious stories to ghostly tales, this Mediterranean gem has been collecting fascinating stories for centuries. If you love a good mystery, check out some more mind-blowing facts about Malta – they’re just as fascinating as these legends!
Saint Paul and the Venomous Viper
Perhaps the best-known legend on the island is that of Saint Paul and the Venomous Viper. You can actually find this one in the Bible! Like many mysteries surrounding the Knights of Malta, this tale has become deeply woven into the island’s spiritual fabric. Legend has it that when St Paul was gathering wood to make a fire for himself and some other shipwrecked people, a venomous viper sprang out of the sticks and bit him. The Maltese, who were very superstitious at the time, expected St Paul to die of poisoning, however no harm came to him. It is said that from that day all snakes and scorpions in Malta became harmless and non-poisonous.
The Legend of tal-Maqluba
Another fascinating legend in Malta is that of tal-Maqluba. The legend states that in the area of tal-Maqluba, just south of the Maltese village of Qrendi, there once was an evil village. The people were so bad that God punished them by opening the ground, and the whole village was swallowed by the Earth. Speaking of mysterious ground formations, it’s interesting to note how geological instability has shaped Malta’s ancient structures throughout history. The opening in the ground stopped exactly in front of a chapel, which is still present just by the edge of this enormous hole. The crater is 50 meters in circumference and around 40 meters deep.
il-GawGaw
If you enjoy spooky tales, you’ll love this one – and you might also be interested in the legend of the Black Knight of Manoel Island! In the past, December 24th was considered a most unfavorable day for birth. According to a superstitious belief that lingered among the Maltese up until the end of the 19th Century, any person born on Christmas Eve was transformed into a ghost called “il-GawGaw”. On that specific night, in the form of a “Gawgaw”, they wandered about frightening people. Children were told that if they misbehaved, the “Gawgaw” would kidnap them and take them far far away to a distant land, where they would die of hunger and loneliness.
Towards dawn, the persons transformed into a “Gawgaw” returned home exhausted. By the time they woke up in the morning, they would have resumed their human form, quite unaware of their nocturnal peregrinations. The remedy against this transformation consisted of inducing the sufferer to sit up all night and to count the holes of a sieve from eleven o’clock at night to the following Christmas morning.
Lost City of Atlantis
My favorite legend suggests that Malta may just be the true location for Atlantis. Malta has incredible ancient structures that are now dated as over 9,000 years old and are said by orthodox archaeologists to potentially be the oldest stone ruins in the world. In fact, Malta’s enigmatic temples continue to puzzle experts today.
Malta once had huge animals like elephants. This shows evidence of having been destroyed in a huge cataclysmic wave. There’s so much hidden wisdom from Malta’s ancient civilizations that we’re still discovering. Author Joseph Ellul and others have proposed that Malta was part of a great civilization of the past, possibly Atlantis. Malta was probably connected to other parts of the Mediterranean when a huge wave from the Atlantic filled the Mediterranean. The island is far too small now to have been Atlantis, but it shows that the Mediterranean was a very different place 12,000 years ago.
Malta and Gozo – steeped in 7,000 years of history, myth and legend
With over 7,000 years of history behind it, it’s hardly surprising that Malta has birthed the odd legend or two along the way. If you’re fascinated by Malta’s rich history, don’t miss these incredible facts about the Knights of Malta – they’re just as captivating as these ancient tales. Malta and its islands on the Maltese archipelago have logged appearances in Homer’s Odyssey and The Bible, and the mainland itself has even been proposed as the site of Atlantis. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that history can be traced back further here than almost anywhere else – even Egypt – with some of the oldest and best-preserved Megalithic temples found on the island. Whatever the reason for the proliferation of Maltese myths and legends, one thing’s for sure – they’re not going to fade any time soon.
If you are interested in more mysteries and temples here are a few more :
Major Temple Sites and Discoveries
- Discovering Malta’s Underground Wonder: The Hal Saflieni Hypogeum
- Step into the Ancient World: Unravel the Secrets of Ġgantija Temples
- A Journey Through Time: Discovering Malta’s Mnajdra and Ħagar Qim Temples
Archaeological Studies and Mysteries
- The Forgotten Temple Builders of Malta: Unraveling Europe’s Ancient Megalithic Mystery
- Geological Instability and the Maltese Megalithic Structures: Are They at Risk?
- The Dolmens, Temples and Cosmic Alignments of Malta: A New Perspective
