Myths and Legends

3

What is with cultures and society and the number 3? Like seriously, everything comes in three. For Christians it's the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, the three realms of the afterlife ( Paradiso, Purgatorio, Inferno). With the Greeks it's the Big Three( Zeus, Poseidon, Hades,) the Furies, the Grey Sisters, the Gorgon sisters. In Hinduism it's the Trimurti( Brahma the Creator, Vishnu the Preserver, and Shiva the Destroyer). Judaism had the three sons of Noah: Ham, Shem and Japheth, the three daily prayers; the Three Pilgrimage Festivals: Passover,Shavuot, Sukkot. So on and so forth. But why 3? It carried over into modern tropes: with the heroes/ protagonists Trio aka the Brain, The Brawn, and The Beauty. And the villains: the pretty one, the stupid one, and the one with weird powers... unless they're all stupid.But why three specifically? Ask and ye shall know. 

So let's begin in China, in Cantonese three is considered a good number because it sounds like the word " alive"( saang[ also if you speak Cantonese feel free to correct me]) compared the word for 4 which sound like the word " death" (sei..). In East and Southeast Asia, there is this superstition that considers it inauspicious to take a photo with three people in it because the person in the middle will die first. And it's also unlucky to "take a third light" which is actually a war superstition, that basically means the first person takes a lighter or match in trench. An enemy may see it aim at The second person while they use it and the third guy is shot.

In neopagan (I think Wicca. Don't quote me on that)myths, 3 is the stages in life. You know: birth, life, death, but personified as the Triple Goddess: the Maiden, the Mother, And the Crone. With this one it's more so female centered, and are also the phases of the moon.

Christians and(possibly) Jewish people have three in their religion, mostly because it's no longer just in the Middle East. That's right, The Middle East was once known as the Land of Three Faiths: Christianity, Judaism,Islam. But the whole Jesus dying and resurrecting three days later is a thing. 

Even more modern stories and works we are told as kids or learned as we got older have 3: "Goldilocks and the 3 Bears.","The Three Little Pigs,""Three Blind Mice", etc. The whole "Life, Liberty, and The Pursuit of Happiness" in the Constitution. I believe Japan has a saying about us wearing three masks. Christopher Columbus having three ships. The phrase "All good thing things come in three".If you find a genie, you only get three wishes, and I think you can't wish for more wishes. Hell, our planet is the third one from the sun. So on and so on. But why?

I honestly don't know. I guess it's the perfect number to group. Not too many, but not too few. Also I believe it has to do with more superstitions, that I really don't want to get into. It lead people to believe that numbers have some sort of magical property to them.