The Birth Myth of Dae Gaya

The birth of an ancient nation is always accompanied by a mysterious myth.
A goddess from the mountain appears as the heroine of Dae Gaya’s birth myth. In contrast to the myth of many other Korean nations' births, Dae Gaya has a female heroine in its myth. With this story, we can see the tradition of worshipping women.

According to the myth, a goddess from the mountain and a god from the sky gave birth to a son, who founded Dae Gaya. The goddess gave birth to two sons, and one founded Dae Gaya while the other founded Geumgwan Gaya. Both belonged to the Gaya confederacy. Geumgwan Gaya was prosperous first, and Dae Gaya flourished later.

Another legend from Geumgwan Gaya says that six eggs came down from the sky, and a man born from one of them founded Geumgwan Gaya while another one founded Dae Gaya.

Contrasting stories about the origins the two states shows us the competitive relationship between them.