26 Introduction: Mythic Monsters and Connections to Our Lives

Name

Description

Myth/Legend/Folktale

Culture

Alkanost

A mythological creature with the head and chest of a woman and the body of an owl or other bird.

In Russian fairy tales and folklore, the Alkanost’s beautiful voice made people forget their hardships and worries. These bird-women were said to possess magical powers.

• The Alkanost folklore is found in Persian, Russian, and other Slavic countries, as well as in Greek and Roman mythology (harpies and sirens).
• “Kinnari” are benevolent deities in Thai myth featured in a national forest that surrounded the sacred mountain Meru (Ramakien Kinnari resided in the enchanted Himavanta); Kinnari statues and paintings are found throughout the temples of Thailand.

Centaurs and Centauresses

Part human and part horse.

Said to be the offspring of Xion, King of the Lapiths, and a cloud that Zeus created in the form of a goddess.

• Central to Greek and Roman mythology.
• The Battle of Centaurs most notably featured in the (former) Elgin Marbles at the British Museum (the battle is often depicted as the struggle between order and chaos).

Chimera

A mythic fire-breathing creature that is parts lion, goat, and snake.

Usually depicted as a lion with the head of a goat and the tail of a snake, the chimera was the offspring and Typhon (a monstrous serpentine snake) and Echidna (a half-woman, half snake-like creature). Chimera’s sibling was the three-headed dog of Hades, Cerberus.

• The Chimera appeared in ancient texts from Asia Minor and in Greek and Roman mythology.

Minotaur

Half man and half bull.

In Greek mythology, the minotaur was a human-flesh-eating monster imprisoned in a labyrinth. King Minos’s wife Pasiphae falls in love with a bull; their offspring was the Minotaur.

In avenging the death of his son, King Minos declared war on King Aegeus of Athens. Minos won the war and then demanded the annual sacrifice of fourteen people to feed the Minotaur. The Greek hero Theseus kills the Minotaur and liberates the people of Greece.

• The famous myth of Theseus and the Minotaur has different variations and interpretations. The Minotaur has been a symbol for unknown fears and even death.
• Artists like Pablo Picasso associated the Minotaur with boldness, strength, the irrational, and the unconscious.

Gorgon

Gorgons were female monsters often featured with hideous faces and hair made of snakes. A glance at a gorgon would turn the onlooker into stone.

The symbolism of Medusa (protective fighting spirit, destructive force, victim of Athena’s curse) is open to interpretation.

Medusa is the most famous of the gorgons; she was once a beautiful woman who had been transformed into a monster by Athena.

The Greek hero Perseus killed Medusa and then later used her head as a weapon that would shield him from enemies.

• While many world mythologies include versions of gorgons, Greek mythology features a number of tales featuring the gorgons Echidna (half-woman, half snake), Medusa, and Scylla (multi-headed snake-woman monster) who was, like Medusa, once beautiful, and then turned into a monster by Circe, the sorceress, and Hesperides.
• Medusa’s head has also been a popular emblem and motif that represents a protective power, similar to the shield of Perseus.

Griffin

Fantastical hybrid creatures that were said to nest in mountains; they had the head, torso, and talons of an eagle (or peacock), the body of a lion and are almost always featured with brightly coloured wings.

Books such as C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia and Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland featured griffins. They are often associated with majesty, nobility, and power, but depending on the culture and context, a griffin’s symbolism can vary considerably.

• Beautiful illustrations that feature imaginative details, colours, and depictions of griffins as emblems, heraldry, archways and entrances, and in illustrations dating back thousands of years can be found in many Middle Eastern, North African, and European cultures.

Hydra

A mythic Greek water monster with multiple heads.

The hydra regenerated multiple heads and for every head slain, two or three more grew back. The hydra had a poisonous breath and venomous blood.

In the epic story of Buddha, the Mucalinda was the king of the Nagas, snake-like deities. The multi-headed Mucalinda protected the Buddha from storms and other harsh natural elements after he achieved enlightenment. Art works and statues of the Buddha often feature the Mucalinda “halo” of protection.

• In the Greek myth, Heracles kills the hydra by cutting off one head and dipping it in its own venom, thus cauterizing the head so that it would not grow back.
• Asian, Middle Eastern, and many other cultures worldwide feature snake-like deities.
• Snakes have different positive or negative symbolic meanings depending on the cultural traditions.

Dragon

Enormous serpent-like creatures that may have wings and breathe fire. Dragons may also be multi-headed. Depending on the culture, dragons are composites of different animal characteristics but they are imbued with magical powers.

In European legends and myths, dragons often live inside caves or near marshes. In early maps, images of dragons were often features to indicate dangerous or perilous waters. They also appear on emblems of authority like banners and seals.

Depending on the culture, dragons are associated with life-affirming or life-destroying qualities. Some European stories feature a massive snake or lizard-like creature called a Basilisk that could cause men to die with a simply a glance.

Greek and Nordic myths often feature the hero (such as Heracles) battling the multi-headed Lernean Hydra in pursuit to destroy a dragon that represent a threat or evil force.

The legend of St. George and the Dragon is depicted in many works of art.

• Chinese scholar Lu Dian wrote: “None of the animals is so wise as the dragon. His blessing power is not a false one. He can be smaller than small, bigger than big, higher than high, and lower than low.”
• Variations of dragons and dragon imagery can be found in nearly all world cultures.
• In contrast to many Western myths and legends that associate dragons with destruction and malevolence, many Asian cultures see the dragon as a powerful benevolent force. Dragons are associated with protection, imperial royalty, longevity, wisdom, strength, and harmony. There are different dragons associated with the domains of the sky, water worlds, earth, and underworld.
• East Asian culture, legend, and religious traditions have depicted dragons as having vast powers, including controlling seasons, waters, and light, for over 4,000 years. 
• Often viewed as magical creatures, the appearance of dragons are often rooted in animals, including fossil remains of dinosaurs.

Thunderbird

The Thunderbird is a legendary creature in North American Indigenous traditions, often depicted as a large raptor with horns, long legs, a wide wing span, and a featherless head.

In some Indigenous legends, the thunderbird’s wings caused thunder and stirred the wind. Lightning derived from the thunderbird’s eyes.

Thunderbirds belonged to “upper” spiritual realms; the visionary artist Norval Morrisseau (known as “Copper Thunderbird”) often featured mystical lynx and thunderbird spirit animals in his paintings. Morrisseau expressed his mystical beliefs on canvas.

The Thunderbird was often associated with supernatural powers and thought to carry messages from Creator.

Lightening was created with light from the Thunderbird’s eyes.

• Important spiritual being in many North American Indigenous mythologies and systems of beliefs.
• Thunderbirds were associated with spiritual energy and life forces.
• You can find more about Norval Morriseau here and here.

Serpents and Sea Monsters

Serpents are features in most world mythologies and belief systems.

Sea monsters and sea dragons can have snake-like features. They inhabit the ocean and are found in many mythologies worldwide, and in particular in countries near seas and oceans.

In Norse mythology, Jörmungandr was an enormous sea serpent that surrounded the earth. Causing havoc and destruction, Jörmungandr is killed by Thor (god of Thunder) at Ragnarok. The Loch Ness Monster and the Gloucester Sea Serpent are creatures found in Scottish and British folklore. Many sea serpents have their origins in real animals.

• Diverse world mythologies feature versions of sea serpents and serpent deities.
• While many serpents represent malevolent forces, other serpents (such as the Mucalinda in Hindu mythology) represent protection and power.
• The rainbow serpent in Australian Indigenous belief systems is known as a creator god.
• The python is featured in Greek mythology as a fire-breathing dragon-serpent set by Gaia (Goddess of the earth) to guard the sacred oracle of Delphoi (Delphi).
• Naga are a race of serpent deities in Hindu mythology.
• The serpent in the Garden of Eden is a symbol of evil and temptation central to the Old Testament and the temptation of Adam and Eve and the Tree of Knowledge.
• Basilisk is a mythic reptile that was hatched by a cockerel from the egg of a toad or serpent. A glance at a basilisk could be fatal.
• Hydra is a Greek water monster with regenerating heads.
• In Hindu mythology, the Makara was depicted as a two-part creature: part deer, stag, crocodile or elephant in the front; part seal, fish, or peacock tail in the rear.

Mermaids and Mermen

Legendary beings often illustrated as half fish and half human.

They are sometimes featured as companions to other water beings/spirits, such as Poseidon, and could be protective of sailors.

Often depicted as “fatally attractive” and could lure men to their underwater homes; Mermen were the male counterpart to the mermaids.

• From ancient scrolls and to the myths, folklore, and legends of many cultures worldwide, mermaids (perhaps more so than mermen) were associated with beauty, benevolence, and protection.
• Sedna, the Inuit mother of creation, was a type of mermaid and spirit of the sea. While she could be very protective and bountiful, she could unleash ferocity that could cause sea storms and withhold the ocean’s bounties.

Unicorn

A solitary, elusive, and mystical horse-like (or goat-like) creature with a single horn (Monoceros) that is sometimes a long spiral horn while in some ancient texts the horn is shorter. A unicorn’s horn is said to have magical properties.

Unicorns are often white (sometimes brown or yellowish red) with the tail of a lion, goat, or boar, and reside in the deep woods.

The famous “The Lady and the Unicorn” tapestries at the Cluny Museum in Paris represent allegories of love and emotion.

Unicorns are often associated with love, purity, and mysticism.

The unicorn is often viewed as a solitary animal and is a symbol of uniqueness and rarity.

• Many world mythologies include unicorn-like creatures.
• Tales from ancient Greece over two thousand years old feature unicorns.
• Some early naturalists believed that the unicorn existed and was related to a rare species of cattle.

Sphinx

A mythic creature with the head of a human, the body of a lion, and the wings of a falcon or other bird.

For dynastic pharaohs in ancient Egypt the tradition was to carve the reigning monarch’s face onto a lion’s body at the tomb location. The sphinx was seen as both the source of wise, divine power with which the pharaoh ruled and served as the guardian of the pharaoh’s tomb.

• The sphinx is featured in Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Greek, and Etruscan cultures and is often symbolic of power, knowledge, wisdom, and royalty. In Egyptian cultures, the Sphinx is often shown as a man (Androsphinx) and is considered benevolent, powerful, and wise.
• In contrast, the Greek sphinx is usually depicted as a treacherous and deadly woman who would kill if her riddle is not answered. Sophocles’ drama Oedipus Rex features a sphinx who compels Oedipus to answer her riddle.
• A sphinx is often featured in architectural entrances as a guardian and protective force.

Phoenix, Firebird; Garuda; Simurgh; Feng Huang

A mythological bird with supernatural and transformative powers.

It is symbolic of rebirth and regeneration, arising from its own ashes to be reborn.

• Mythological birds are featured in Egyptian, Persian, Greek, Roman, Russian (firebird), Chinese and other Asian cultures, as well as some North American Indigenous cultures.

Fauns, Nyads, and Satyr

Part deer, part human. The Satyr is part human and part goat or other animal hybrid.

Mythological forest deities or beings with magical powers.

Satyrs haunted the woods and mountains; they were companions to Pan and part of the cult of Dionysus (Bacchus), the God of wine-making, vegetable, festivity, and harvests.

• These woodland creature/spirits/deities are common to many Celtic, Greek, and some Norse mythologies.
• Companions to Pan and Dionysus.
• Often featured in imaginative paintings of celebrations and festivities.

Magical Horses

Horses with wings and/or with multiple legs and other extraordinary features.

Magical horses like Pegasus (Greek mythology), Sleipnir (eight-legged horse of Norse mythology), and Hippocampus (the sea horse that pulled Poseidon’s chariot) are associated with speed, power, and protection.

• Many cultures, including Greek and Norse mythology, feature different iterations of winged horses.
• In Scottish folklore, the “Kelpies” were shape-shifting sea spirits that could take the form of a human. They were often black and could represent a benevolent or malevolent force.
• In Turkish mythology, the “Tulpers” are described as winged horses that were either white or black.

Trolls and Giants

Imaginary creatures that lived in wooded areas, mountains, and on islands. In Icelandic folklore, the trolls were called huldefolk (little folk) and the giants were called jontars. Both possessed supernatural powers.

In Norse myths, giants feature prominently in the early stories of creation. Parts of the giant’s body were used to form the earth and first peoples.

Ymir Ymir was known to be the very first giant.

• Many world cultures feature giants as beings of supernatural height and strength.
• Folk and fairytales include many stories of giants (such as Jack and the Beanstalk).
• Oscar Wilde’s “The Selfish Giant” was a children’s story that highlights the giant’s search for love. Allegorical references are made.
• Giants are featured in Greek and Roman myths and most prominently in the Icelandic “Prose Edda” by Snorri Sturleson.
• In Norse folklore, the trolls would only appear at night; they would turn to stone if exposed to too much daylight.
• Trolls and giants can have both benevolent and malevolent qualities.

Angelic Beings

Divine beings of the heavens or cosmos (not always male or female) with supernatural powers.

Spiritual, winged beings that assist God or serve as messenger or protector.

• Angels are central to many religious faiths.
• Throughout the ages, artists have depicted angels as symbols of hope, protection and inspiration.
• Artists like William Blake painted many angels featured in biblical texts including books on creation and the revelations.