All mythological creatures. Mythical creatures, monsters and fairy-tale animals

Ancient Greece is considered the cradle of European civilization, which gave modernity many cultural riches and inspired scientists and artists. The myths of Ancient Greece hospitably open the doors to a world inhabited by gods, heroes and monsters. The intricacies of relationships, the insidiousness of nature, divine or human, unimaginable fantasies plunge us into the abyss of passions, making us shudder with horror, empathy and admiration for the harmony of that reality that existed many centuries ago, but so relevant at all times!

1) Typhon

The most powerful and terrifying creature of all those generated by Gaia, the personification of the fiery forces of the earth and its vapors, with their destructive actions. The monster has incredible strength and has 100 dragon heads on the back of its head, with black tongues and fiery eyes. From his mouth comes the ordinary voice of the gods, the roar of a terrible bull, the roar of a lion, the howl of a dog, or a sharp whistle echoing in the mountains. Typhon was the father of mythical monsters from Echidna: Orphus, Cerberus, Hydra, Colchis Dragon and others, who on earth and underground threatened the human race until the hero Hercules destroyed them, except for the Sphinx, Cerberus and Chimera. All the empty winds came from Typhon, except Notus, Boreas and Zephyr. Typhon, crossing the Aegean Sea, scattered the islands of the Cyclades, which had previously been closely located. The fiery breath of the monster reached the island of Fer and destroyed its entire western half, and turned the rest into a scorched desert. The island has since taken on a crescent shape. Giant waves raised by Typhon reached the island of Crete and destroyed the kingdom of Minos. Typhon was so terrifying and powerful that the Olympian gods fled from their monastery, refusing to fight him. Only Zeus, the bravest of the young gods, decided to fight Typhon. The duel lasted a long time; in the heat of battle, the opponents moved from Greece to Syria. Here Typhon plowed the earth with his gigantic body; subsequently, these traces of the battle filled with water and became rivers. Zeus pushed Typhon north and threw him into the Ionian Sea, near the Italian coast. The Thunderer incinerated the monster with lightning and cast him into Tartarus under Mount Etna on the island of Sicily. In ancient times, it was believed that the numerous eruptions of Etna occur due to the fact that lightning, previously thrown by Zeus, erupts from the crater of the volcano. Typhon served as the personification of the destructive forces of nature, such as hurricanes, volcanoes, and tornadoes. From English version The word “typhoon” comes from this Greek name.

2) Dracaines

They represent a female snake or dragon, often with human traits. Dracains include, in particular, Lamia and Echidna.

The name "lamia" etymologically comes from Assyria and Babylon, where it was the name given to demons who kill infants. Lamia, daughter of Poseidon, was the queen of Libya, beloved of Zeus and gave birth to children from him. Extraordinary beauty Lamia herself kindled the fire of revenge in Hera’s heart, and Hera, out of jealousy, killed Lamia’s children, turned her beauty into ugliness and deprived her beloved husband of sleep. Lamia was forced to take refuge in a cave and, at the behest of Hera, turned into a bloody monster, in desperation and madness, kidnapping and devouring other people's children. Since Hera deprived her of sleep, Lamia wandered tirelessly at night. Zeus, who took pity on her, gave her the opportunity to take out her eyes to fall asleep, and only then could she become harmless. Having become in a new form half woman, half snake, she gave birth to eerie offspring called lamias. Lamia have polymorphic abilities and can act in various forms, usually as animal-human hybrids. However, more often they are likened to beautiful girls, since it is easier to charm unwary men. They also attack sleeping people and deprive them of their vitality. These night ghosts, disguised as beautiful maidens and youths, suck the blood of young people. Lamia in ancient times was also called ghouls and vampires, who, according to the popular belief of the modern Greeks, hypnotically lured young men and virgins and then killed them by drinking their blood. With some skill, a lamia can be easily exposed; to do this, it is enough to make it give a voice. Since lamias have a forked tongue, they are deprived of the ability to speak, but they can whistle melodiously. In later legends of European peoples, Lamia was depicted in the guise of a snake with the head and chest of a beautiful woman. She was also associated with a nightmare - Mara.

The daughter of Forkis and Keto, the granddaughter of Gaia-Earth and the god of the sea Pontus, she was depicted as a gigantic woman with a beautiful face and a spotted snake body, less often a lizard, combining beauty with an insidious and evil disposition. From Typhon she gave birth to a whole host of monsters, different in appearance, but disgusting in their essence. When she attacked the Olympians, Zeus drove her and Typhon away. After the victory, the Thunderer imprisoned Typhon under Mount Etna, but allowed Echidna and her children to live as a challenge to future heroes. She was immortal and ageless and lived in a dark cave underground, far from people and gods. Crawling out to hunt, she lay in wait and lured travelers, then mercilessly devouring them. The mistress of snakes, Echidna, had an unusually hypnotic gaze, which not only people, but also animals were unable to resist. In various versions of the myths, Echidna was killed by Hercules, Bellerophon or Oedipus during her tranquil sleep. Echidna is by nature a chthonic deity, whose power, embodied in his descendants, was destroyed by the heroes, marking the victory of ancient Greek heroic mythology over primitive teratomorphism. The ancient Greek legend about Echidna formed the basis of medieval legends about the monstrous reptile as the most vile of all creatures and the absolute enemy of humanity, and also served as an explanation for the origin of dragons. The name of Echidna is given to an egg-laying, spine-covered mammal native to Australia and the Pacific Islands, as well as to the Australian snake, the largest venomous snake in the world. Echidna is also called an evil, sarcastic, treacherous person.

3) Gorgons

These monsters were the daughters of the sea deity Forkis and his sister Keto. There is also a version that they were the daughters of Typhon and Echidna. There were three sisters: Euryale, Stheno and Medusa Gorgon - the most famous of them and the only mortal of the three monstrous sisters. Their appearance was terrifying: winged creatures, covered with scales, with snakes instead of hair, fanged mouths, with a gaze that turned all living things to stone. During the duel between the hero Perseus and Medusa, she was pregnant by the god of the seas, Poseidon. From the headless body of Medusa, with a stream of blood, came her children from Poseidon - the giant Chrysaor (father of Geryon) and the winged horse Pegasus. From drops of blood that fell into the sands of Libya, poisonous snakes appeared and destroyed all life in it. Libyan legend says that red corals appeared from a stream of blood that spilled into the ocean. Perseus used the head of Medusa in a battle with a sea dragon sent by Poseidon to devastate Ethiopia. Showing the face of Medusa to the monster, Perseus turned him into stone and saved Andromeda, the royal daughter, who was destined to be sacrificed to the dragon. The island of Sicily is traditionally considered the place where the Gorgons lived and Medusa, depicted on the flag of the region, was killed. In art, Medusa was depicted as a woman with snakes instead of hair and often boar tusks instead of teeth. In Hellenic images there is sometimes a beautiful dying gorgon girl. Separate iconography includes images of the severed head of Medusa in the hands of Perseus, on the shield or aegis of Athena and Zeus. The decorative motif - the gorgoneion - still adorns clothing, household items, weapons, tools, jewelry, coins and building facades. It is believed that the myths about the Gorgon Medusa have a connection with the cult of the Scythian snake-footed ancestral goddess Tabiti, evidence of whose existence are references in ancient sources and archaeological finds of images. In Slavic medieval book legends, Medusa Gorgon turned into a maiden with hair in the form of snakes - the maiden Gorgonia. The animal jellyfish got its name precisely because of its resemblance to the moving hair-snake of the legendary Gorgon Medusa. In a figurative sense, a “gorgon” is a grumpy, angry woman.

Three goddesses of old age, granddaughters of Gaia and Pontus, sisters of the Gorgons. Their names were Deino (Trembling), Pefredo (Anxiety) and Enyo (Terror). They were gray-haired from birth, and the three of them had one eye, which they used alternately. Only the Grays knew the location of the island of Medusa the Gorgon. On the advice of Hermes, Perseus headed towards them. While one of the grays had an eye, the other two were blind, and the sighted grayya led the blind sisters. When, having taken out the eye, Graya passed it on to the next in line, all three sisters were blind. It was this moment that Perseus chose to take the eye. The helpless Grays were horrified and were ready to do anything if only the hero would return the treasure to them. After they had to tell how to find the Gorgon Medusa and where to get winged sandals, a magic bag and an invisibility helmet, Perseus gave the eye to the Grays.

This monster, born of Echidna and Typhon, had three heads: one was a lion's, the second was a goat's, growing on its back, and the third, a snake's, ended with a tail. It breathed fire and burned everything in its path, devastating the houses and crops of the inhabitants of Lycia. Repeated attempts to kill the Chimera made by the king of Lycia were invariably defeated. Not a single person dared to come close to her home, surrounded by the decaying carcasses of headless animals. Fulfilling the will of King Iobates, the son of the King of Corinth, Bellerophon, on the winged Pegasus, headed to the cave of the Chimera. The hero killed her, as predicted by the gods, hitting the Chimera with an arrow from a bow. As proof of his feat, Bellerophon delivered one of the severed heads of the monster to the Lycian king. The chimera is the personification of a fire-breathing volcano, at the base of which snakes teem, on the slopes there are many meadows and goat pastures, flames blaze from the top and there, at the top, are the lairs of lions; The Chimera is probably a metaphor for this unusual mountain. The Chimera Cave is considered to be an area near the Turkish village of Cirali, where natural gas comes to the surface in concentrations sufficient for its open combustion. A detachment of deep-sea cartilaginous fish is named after the Chimera. In a figurative sense, a chimera is a fantasy, an unfulfilled desire or action. In sculpture, chimeras are images of fantastic monsters, and it is believed that stone chimeras can come to life to terrify people. The prototype of the chimera served as the basis for creepy gargoyles, considered a symbol of horror and extremely popular in the architecture of Gothic buildings.

The winged horse that emerged from the dying Gorgon Medusa at the moment when Perseus cut off her head. Since the horse appeared at the source of the Ocean (in the ideas of the ancient Greeks, the Ocean was a river encircling the Earth), it was called Pegasus (translated from Greek as “stormy current”). Swift and graceful, Pegasus immediately became the object of desire for many heroes of Greece. Day and night, the hunters set up ambushes on Mount Helikon, where Pegasus, with one blow of his hoof, caused clear, cool water of a strange dark violet color, but very tasty, to flow. This is how the famous source of Hippocrene’s poetic inspiration appeared - the Horse Spring. The most patient happened to see a ghostly horse; Pegasus allowed the luckiest ones to come so close to him that it seemed that just a little more - and you could touch his beautiful white skin. But no one was able to catch Pegasus: at the last moment this indomitable creature flapped its wings and, with the speed of lightning, was carried away beyond the clouds. Only after Athena gave young Bellerophon a magic bridle was he able to saddle the wonderful horse. Riding on Pegasus, Bellerophon was able to get close to the Chimera and struck the fire-breathing monster from the air. Intoxicated by his victories with the constant help of the devoted Pegasus, Bellerophon imagined himself equal to the gods and, riding Pegasus, went to Olympus. The angry Zeus struck down the proud man, and Pegasus received the right to visit the shining peaks of Olympus. In later legends, Pegasus was included in the ranks of the horses of Eos and in the society of strashno.com.ua muses, in the circle of the latter, in particular, because he stopped Mount Helicon with the blow of his hoof, which began to waver at the sounds of the songs of the muses. From a symbolic point of view, Pegasus combines the vitality and power of a horse with liberation, like a bird, from earthly heaviness, so the idea is close to the unfettered spirit of the poet, overcoming earthly obstacles. Pegasus personified not only a wonderful friend and faithful comrade, but also boundless intelligence and talent. The favorite of the gods, muses and poets, Pegasus often appears in the visual arts. A constellation in the northern hemisphere, a genus of marine ray-finned fish, and a weapon are named after Pegasus.

7) Colchis dragon (Colchis)

The son of Typhon and Echidna, a vigilant, fire-breathing huge dragon who guarded the Golden Fleece. The name of the monster was given to the area where it was located - Colchis. King Eetus of Colchis sacrificed a ram with a golden skin to Zeus, and hung the skin on an oak tree. sacred grove Ares, where Colchis guarded her. Jason, a pupil of the centaur Chiron, on behalf of Pelias, king of Iolcus, went to Colchis for the Golden Fleece on the ship "Argo", built specifically for this journey. King Eetus gave Jason impossible tasks so that the Golden Fleece would remain in Colchis forever. But the god of love, Eros, kindled love for Jason in the heart of the sorceress Medea, daughter of Eetus. The princess sprinkled Colchis with a sleeping potion, calling on the god of sleep Hypnos for help. Jason stole the Golden Fleece, hastily sailing with Medea on the Argo back to Greece.

Giant, son of Chrysaor, born from the blood of the Gorgon Medusa, and the oceanid Callirhoe. He was known as the strongest on earth and was a terrible monster with three bodies fused at the waist, had three heads and six arms. Geryon owned wonderful cows of unusually beautiful red color, which he kept on the island of Erithia in the Ocean. Rumors about the beautiful cows of Geryon reached the Mycenaean king Eurystheus, and he sent Hercules, who was in his service, to get them. Hercules walked all of Libya before reaching the extreme West, where, according to the Greeks, the world ended, which was bordered by the Oceanus River. The path to the Ocean was blocked by mountains. Hercules pushed them apart with his mighty hands, forming the Strait of Gibraltar, and installed stone steles on the southern and northern shores - the Pillars of Hercules. On the golden boat of Helios, the son of Zeus sailed to the island of Erithia. Hercules killed the watchdog Orff, who was guarding the herd, with his famous club, killed the shepherd, and then fought with the three-headed owner who arrived in time. Geryon covered himself with three shields, three spears were in his mighty hands, but they turned out to be useless: the spears could not pierce the skin of the Nemean Lion, thrown over the hero’s shoulders. Hercules fired several poisonous arrows at Geryon, and one of them turned out to be fatal. Then he loaded the cows into Helios's boat and swam across the Ocean in the opposite direction. Thus the demon of drought and darkness was defeated, and the heavenly cows - the rain-bearing clouds - were freed.

A huge two-headed dog guarding the cows of the giant Geryon. The offspring of Typhon and Echidna, the elder brother of the dog Cerberus and other monsters. He is the father of the Sphinx and the Nemean Lion (from the Chimera), according to one version. Orff is not as famous as Cerberus, therefore much less is known about him and information about him is contradictory. Some myths say that in addition to two dog heads, Orff also had seven dragon heads, and in place of the tail there was a snake. And in Iberia the dog had a sanctuary. He was killed by Hercules during his tenth labor. The plot of the death of Orff at the hands of Hercules, who was leading away the cows of Geryon, was often used by ancient Greek sculptors and potters; presented on numerous antique vases, amphoras, stamnos and skyphos. According to one very adventurous version, Orff in ancient times could simultaneously personify two constellations - Canis Major and Canis Minor. Now these stars are combined into two asterisms, but in the past their two brightest stars (Sirius and Procyon, respectively) could well have been seen by people as fangs or the heads of a monstrous two-headed dog.

10) Cerberus (Kerberus)

The son of Typhon and Echidna, a terrible three-headed dog with a terrible dragon tail, covered with menacing hissing snakes. Cerberus guarded the entrance to the dark, full of horrors underground kingdom Aida, making sure that no one leaves there. According to the most ancient texts, Cerberus greets those entering hell with his tail and tears into pieces those who try to escape. In a later legend, he bites new arrivals. To appease him, honey gingerbread was placed in the coffin of the deceased. In Dante, Cerberus torments the souls of the dead. For a long time, at Cape Tenar, in the south of the Peloponnese peninsula, they showed a cave, claiming that here Hercules, on the instructions of King Eurystheus, descended to the kingdom of Hades in order to bring Cerberus out from there. Presenting himself before the throne of Hades, Hercules respectfully asked the underground god to allow him to take the dog to Mycenae. No matter how harsh and gloomy Hades was, he could not refuse the son of the great Zeus. He set only one condition: Hercules must tame Cerberus without weapons. Hercules saw Cerberus on the banks of the Acheron River - the border between the world of the living and the dead. The hero grabbed the dog with his powerful hands and began to strangle him. The dog howled menacingly, trying to escape, the snakes wriggled and stung Hercules, but he only squeezed his hands tighter. Finally, Cerberus gave in and agreed to follow Hercules, who took him to the walls of Mycenae. King Eurystheus was horrified at one glance at the terrible dog and ordered to quickly send him back to Hades. Cerberus was returned to his place in Hades, and it was after this feat that Eurystheus gave Hercules freedom. During his stay on earth, Cerberus dropped drops of bloody foam from his mouth, from which the poisonous herb aconite later grew, otherwise called hecatina, since the goddess Hecate was the first to use it. Medea mixed this herb into her witchcraft potion. The image of Cerberus reveals teratomorphism, which heroic mythology fights against. Name angry dog has become a household word to denote an overly harsh, incorruptible watchman.

11) Sphinx

The most famous Sphinx in Greek mythology was from Ethiopia and lived in Thebes in Boeotia, as mentioned by the Greek poet Hesiod. It was a monster, born of Typhon and Echidna, with the face and breasts of a woman, the body of a lion and the wings of a bird. Sent by Hero to Thebes as punishment, the Sphinx settled on a mountain near Thebes and asked everyone who passed by a riddle: “Which living creature walks on four legs in the morning, on two in the afternoon, and on three in the evening?” The Sphinx killed the one who was unable to give a solution and thus killed many noble Thebans, including the son of King Creon. Dejected with grief, Creon announced that he would give the kingdom and the hand of his sister Jocasta to the one who would rid Thebes of the Sphinx. Oedipus solved the riddle by answering the Sphinx: “Man.” The monster, in despair, threw itself into the abyss and fell to its death. This version of the myth superseded the more ancient version, in which the original name of the predator who lived in Boeotia on Mount Fikion was Fix, and then Orphus and Echidna were named as his parents. The name Sphinx arose from a connection with the verb “to squeeze”, “to strangle”, and the image itself was influenced by the Asia Minor image of a winged half-maiden-half-lioness. Ancient Fix was a ferocious monster, capable of swallowing prey; he was defeated by Oedipus with a weapon in his hands during a fierce battle. Images of the Sphinx abound in classical art, from 18th-century British interiors to Empire furniture of the Romantic era. Masons considered sphinxes a symbol of the mysteries and used them in their architecture, considering them as guardians of the temple gates. In Masonic architecture, the sphinx is a frequent decorative detail, for example, even in the version of the image of its head on the form of documents. The Sphinx personifies mystery, wisdom, the idea of ​​man's struggle with fate.

12) Siren

Demonic creatures born from the god of fresh waters Achelous and one of the muses: Melpomene or Terpsichore. Sirens, like many mythical creatures, are mixanthropic in nature, they are half-birds, half-women or half-fish, half-women, who inherited wild spontaneity from their father, and a divine voice from their mother. Their number ranges from a few to a whole lot. Dangerous maidens lived on the island's rocks, strewn with the bones and dried skin of their victims, whom the sirens lured with their singing. Hearing their sweet singing, the sailors, losing their minds, steered the ship straight towards the rocks and eventually died in the depths of the sea. After which the merciless virgins tore the bodies of the victims into pieces and ate them. According to one of the myths, Orpheus on the ship of the Argonauts sang sweeter than the sirens, and for this reason the sirens, in despair and furious anger, threw themselves into the sea and were turned into rocks, for they were destined to die when their spells were powerless. The appearance of sirens with wings makes them similar in appearance to harpies, and sirens with fish tails are similar to mermaids. However, sirens, unlike mermaids, are of divine origin. Attractive appearance is also not a mandatory attribute. Sirens were also perceived as muses of another world - they were depicted on tombstones. In classical antiquity, wild chthonic sirens turn into sweet-voiced wise sirens, each of whom sits on one of the eight celestial spheres of the world spindle of the goddess Ananke, creating with their singing the majestic harmony of the cosmos. To appease sea deities and avoid shipwreck, sirens were often depicted as figures on ships. Over time, the image of sirens became so popular that a whole order of large marine mammals was called sirens, which included dugongs, manatees, and sea (or Steller's) cows, which, unfortunately, were completely exterminated by the end of the 18th century.

13) Harpy

Daughters of the sea deity Thaumant and the oceanid Electra, archaic pre-Olympic deities. Their names - Aella ("Whirlwind"), Aellope ("Whirlwind"), Podarga ("Swift-footed"), Okipeta ("Fast"), Kelaino ("Gloomy") - indicate a connection with the elements and darkness. The word "harpy" comes from the Greek "to seize", "to kidnap". IN ancient myths Harpies were wind deities. The proximity of the strashno.com.ua harpies to the winds is reflected in the fact that the divine horses of Achilles were born from Podarga and Zephyr. They interfered little in the affairs of people; their duty was only to take the souls of the dead to the underworld. But then the harpies began to kidnap children and harass people, swooping in suddenly like the wind and disappearing just as suddenly. In various sources, harpies are described as winged deities with long flowing hair, flying faster than birds and winds, or as vultures with female faces and sharp hooked claws. They are invulnerable and smelly. Always tormented by a hunger that they cannot satisfy, the harpies descend from the mountains and, with piercing screams, devour and dirty everything. Harpies were sent by the gods as punishment for people who had offended them. The monsters took food from a person every time he started eating, and this continued until the person died of hunger. Thus, there is a well-known story about how the harpies tortured King Phineus, who was cursed for an involuntary crime, and, stealing his food, doomed him to starvation. However, the monsters were driven out by the sons of Boreas - the Argonauts Zetus and Kalaid. The heroes were prevented from killing the harpies by the messenger of Zeus, their sister, the rainbow goddess Iris. The Strophada Islands in the Aegean Sea were usually called the habitat of harpies; later, along with other monsters, they were placed in the kingdom of gloomy Hades, where they were considered one of the most dangerous local creatures. Medieval moralists used harpies as symbols of greed, gluttony and uncleanliness, often combining them with the furies. Harpies are also called evil women. The harpy is the name given to a large bird of prey from the hawk family that lives in South America.

The brainchild of Typhon and Echidna, the hideous Hydra had a long serpentine body and nine dragon heads. One of the heads was immortal. Hydra was considered invincible, since two new ones grew from its severed head. Coming out of the gloomy Tartarus, Hydra lived in a swamp near the city of Lerna, where murderers came to atone for their sins. This place became her home. Hence the name - Lernaean Hydra. The hydra was always hungry and devastated the surrounding area, eating herds and burning crops with its fiery breath. Her body was thicker than the thickest tree and covered with shiny scales. When she rose on her tail, she could be seen far above the forests. King Eurystheus sent Hercules with the task of killing the Lernaean Hydra. Iolaus, Hercules' nephew, during the hero's battle with the Hydra, burned her necks with fire, from which Hercules knocked off the heads with his club. Hydra stopped growing new heads, and soon she had only one immortal head left. In the end, she too was demolished with a club and buried by Hercules under a huge rock. Then the hero cut the Hydra’s body and plunged his arrows into its poisonous blood. Since then, the wounds from his arrows have become incurable. However, this heroic feat was not recognized by Eurystheus, since Hercules was helped by his nephew. The name Hydra is borne by the satellite of Pluto and the constellation of the southern hemisphere of the sky, the longest of all. The unusual properties of Hydra also gave their name to the genus of freshwater sessile coelenterates. Hydra is a person with an aggressive character and predatory behavior.

15) Stymphalian birds

Birds of prey with sharp bronze feathers, copper claws and beaks. Named after Lake Stymphala near the city of the same name in the mountains of Arcadia. Having multiplied with extraordinary speed, they turned into a huge flock and soon turned all the surroundings of the city almost into a desert: they destroyed the entire crop of the fields, exterminated the animals grazing on the rich shores of the lake, and killed many shepherds and farmers. As they took off, the Stymphalian birds dropped their feathers like arrows and struck with them everyone who was in the open area, or tore them apart with their copper claws and beaks. Having learned about this misfortune of the Arcadians, Eurystheus sent Hercules to them, hoping that this time he would not be able to escape. Athena helped the hero by giving him copper rattles or kettledrums forged by Hephaestus. Having alarmed the birds with the noise, Hercules began to shoot his arrows poisoned with the poison of the Lernaean Hydra at them. The frightened birds left the shores of the lake, flying to the islands of the Black Sea. There the Stymphalidae were met by the Argonauts. They probably heard about the feat of Hercules and followed his example - they drove away the birds with noise, hitting their shields with swords.

Forest deities who formed the retinue of the god Dionysus. Satyrs are shaggy and bearded, their legs end in goat (sometimes horse) hooves. Other character traits the appearance of satyrs - horns on the head, a goat or ox tail and a human torso. Satyrs were endowed with the qualities of wild creatures, possessing animal qualities, thinking little about human prohibitions and moral norms. In addition, they were distinguished by fantastic endurance, both in battle and at the festive table. A great passion was dancing and music; the flute is one of the main attributes of satyrs. Also considered attributes of satyrs were a thyrsus, a pipe, leather furs or vessels of wine. Satyrs were often depicted in the paintings of great artists. Often the satyrs were accompanied by girls, for whom the satyrs had a certain weakness. According to a rationalist interpretation, the image of a satyr could reflect a tribe of shepherds who lived in forests and mountains. A satyr is sometimes called a lover of alcohol, humor and sorority. The image of a satyr resembles a European devil.

17) Phoenix

Magic bird with golden and red feathers. You can see in it collective image many birds - eagle, crane, peacock and many others. The most amazing qualities of the Phoenix were its extraordinary lifespan and the ability to be reborn from the ashes after self-immolation. There are several versions of the Phoenix myth. In the classical version, once every five hundred years the Phoenix, bearing the sorrows of people, flies from India to the Temple of the Sun in Heliopolis, in Libya. The chief priest lights a fire from the sacred vine, and Phoenix throws himself into the fire. His incense-soaked wings flare and he quickly burns. With this feat, Phoenix, with her life and beauty, returns happiness and harmony to the world of people. Having experienced torment and pain, three days later a new Phoenix rises from the ashes, which, thanking the priest for the work done, returns to India, even more beautiful and shining with new colors. Experiencing cycles of birth, progress, death and renewal, Phoenix strives to become more and more perfect over and over again. The Phoenix was the personification of the ancient human desire for immortality. Even in the ancient world, the Phoenix began to be depicted on coins and seals, in heraldry and sculpture. The phoenix has become a favorite symbol of light, rebirth and truth in poetry and prose. A constellation in the southern hemisphere and a date palm were named after Phoenix.

18) Scylla and Charybdis

Scylla, the daughter of Echidna or Hecate, a once beautiful nymph, rejected everyone, including the sea god Glaucus, who asked for help from the sorceress Circe. But Circe, who was in love with Glaucus, out of revenge on him, turned Scylla into a monster, which began to lie in wait for sailors in a cave, on a steep cliff of the narrow Strait of Sicily, on the other side of which lived another monster - Charybdis. Scylla has six dog heads on six necks, three rows of teeth and twelve legs. Translated, her name means “barking.” Charybdis was the daughter of the gods Poseidon and Gaia. Zeus himself turned her into a terrible monster, throwing her into the sea. Charybdis has a gigantic mouth into which water pours without stopping. She personifies a terrible whirlpool, the gaping depths of the sea, which appears three times in one day and absorbs and then spews out water. No one saw her, since she was hidden by the thickness of the water. This is exactly how she ruined many sailors. Only Odysseus and the Argonauts managed to sail past Scylla and Charybdis. In the Adriatic Sea you can find the Skyllei Rock. As local legends say, this is where Scylla lived. There is also a shrimp of the same name. The expression “being between Scylla and Charybdis” means being exposed to danger from different sides at the same time.

19) Hippocampus

A sea animal that has the appearance of a horse and ends in a fish tail, also called hydrippus - a water horse. According to other versions of myths, the hippocampus is a sea creature in the form of a seahorse with the legs of a horse and a body ending with a snake or fish tail and webbed paws instead of hooves on the front legs. The front of the body is covered with thin scales, in contrast to the large scales on the back of the body. According to some sources, the hippocampus uses lungs for breathing, while others use modified gills. Sea deities - Nereids and Tritons - were often depicted on chariots drawn by hippocampuses, or seated on hippocampuses cutting through the abyss of water. This amazing horse appears in the poems of Homer as a symbol of Poseidon, whose chariot was drawn by fast horses and glided along the surface of the sea. In mosaic art, hippocampi were often depicted as hybrid animals with a green, scaly mane and appendages. The ancients believed that these animals were the adult form of the seahorse. Other land animals with fish tails that appear in Greek myth include leocampus - a lion with a fish tail), taurocampus - a bull with a fish tail, pardalocampus - a leopard with a fish tail, and aegicampus - a goat with a fish tail. The latter became a symbol of the constellation Capricorn.

20) Cyclops (Cyclopes)

Cyclops in the 8th-7th centuries BC. e. were considered the creation of Uranus and Gaia, the titans. The Cyclopes included three immortal one-eyed giants with ball-shaped eyes: Arg (“flash”), Bront (“thunder”) and Steropus (“lightning”). Immediately after their birth, the Cyclopes were thrown by Uranus into Tartarus (the deepest abyss) together with their violent brothers with one hundred arms (Hecatoncheires), who were born shortly before them. The Cyclopes were freed by the remaining Titans after the overthrow of Uranus, and then thrown back into Tartarus by their leader Kronos. When the leader of the Olympians, Zeus, began to struggle with Kronos for power, he, on the advice of their mother Gaia, freed the Cyclopes from Tartarus to help the Olympian gods in the war against the Titans, known as Gigantomachy. Zeus used lightning and thunder arrows made by the Cyclopes, which he threw at the Titans. In addition, the Cyclops, being skilled blacksmiths, forged a trident and a manger for Poseidon's horses, an invisibility helmet for Hades, a silver bow and arrows for Artemis, and also taught Athena and Hephaestus various crafts. After the end of the Gigantomachy, the Cyclops continued to serve Zeus and forge weapons for him. Like the henchmen of Hephaestus, forging iron in the depths of Etna, the Cyclops forged the chariot of Ares, the aegis of Pallas and the armor of Aeneas. Cyclopes were also the name given to the mythical people of one-eyed cannibal giants who inhabited the islands Mediterranean Sea. Among them, the most famous is the ferocious son of Poseidon, Polyphemus, whom Odysseus deprived of his only eye. Paleontologist Othenio Abel in 1914 suggested that the discovery of dwarf elephant skulls in ancient times gave rise to the myth of the Cyclops, since the central nasal opening in the elephant's skull could be mistaken for a giant eye socket. The remains of these elephants were found on the islands of Cyprus, Malta, Crete, Sicily, Sardinia, the Cyclades and the Dodecanese.

21) Minotaur

Half-bull, half-man, born as the fruit of the passion of Queen Pasiphae of Crete for the white bull, the love of which Aphrodite instilled in her as punishment. The real name of the Minotaur was Asterius (that is, “starry”), and the nickname Minotaur means “bull of Minos.” Subsequently, the inventor Daedalus, the creator of many devices, built a labyrinth in order to imprison her monster son in it. According to ancient Greek myths, The Minotaur ate human flesh, and in order to feed him, the king of Crete imposed a terrible tribute on the city of Athens - seven young men and seven girls were to be sent to Crete every nine years to be devoured by the Minotaur. When Theseus, the son of the Athenian king Aegeus, had the lot to become a victim of an insatiable monster, he decided to rid his homeland of such a duty. Ariadne, the daughter of King Minos and Pasiphae, in love with the young man, gave him a magic thread so that he could find Return trip from the labyrinth, and the hero managed not only to kill the monster, but also to free the remaining prisoners and put an end to the terrible tribute. The myth of the Minotaur was probably an echo of the ancient pre-Hellenic bull cults with their characteristic sacred battles bulls Judging by the wall paintings, human figures with bull heads were common in Cretan demonology. In addition, the image of a bull appears on Minoan coins and seals. The Minotaur is considered a symbol of anger and bestial savagery. The phrase “Ariadne’s thread” means a way to get out of a difficult situation, to find the key to solving a difficult problem, to understand a difficult situation.

22) Hecatoncheires

The hundred-armed, fifty-headed giants named Briareus (Egeon), Kott and Gies (Gius) personify the underground forces, the sons of the supreme god Uranus, the symbol of Heaven, and Gaia-Earth. Immediately after birth, the brothers were imprisoned in the bowels of the earth by their father, who feared for his dominion. In the midst of the struggle with the Titans, the gods of Olympus called on the Hecatoncheires, and their help ensured victory for the Olympians. After their defeat, the Titans were cast into Tartarus, and the Hecatoncheires volunteered to guard them. The ruler of the seas, Poseidon, gave Briareus his daughter Kimopoleia as his wife. Hecatoncheires are present in the book by the Strugatsky brothers “Monday Begins on Saturday” as loaders at the Research Institute FAQ.

23) Giants

The sons of Gaia, who were born from the blood of castrated Uranus, absorbed into the Mother Earth. According to another version, Gaia gave birth to them from Uranus after the Titans were thrown into Tartarus by Zeus. The pre-Greek origin of the Giants is obvious. The story of the birth of the Giants and their death is told in detail by Apollodorus. The giants inspired horror with their appearance - thick hair and beards; their lower body was snake-like or octopus-like. They were born on the Phlegrean Fields in Chalkidiki, in northern Greece. It was there that the battle of the Olympian gods with the Giants took place - Gigantomachy. Giants, unlike titans, are mortal. As fate would have it, their death depended on the participation in the battle of mortal heroes who would come to the aid of the gods. Gaia was looking for a magic herb that would keep the Giants alive. But Zeus got ahead of Gaia and, sending darkness to the earth, cut off this grass himself. On the advice of Athena, Zeus called Hercules to participate in the battle. In the Gigantomachy, the Olympians destroyed the Giants. Apollodorus mentions the names of 13 Giants, who generally number up to 150. The Gigantomachy (as well as the Titanomachy) is based on the idea of ​​ordering the world, embodied in the victory of the Olympian generation of gods over the chthonic forces and the strengthening of the supreme power of Zeus.

This monstrous serpent, generated by Gaia and Tartarus, guarded the sanctuary of the goddesses Gaia and Themis in Delphi, at the same time devastating their surroundings. That's why he was also called Dolphinius. By order of the goddess Hera, Python raised an even more terrible monster - Typhon, and then began to pursue Latona, the mother of Apollo and Artemis. The grown-up Apollo, having received a bow and arrows forged by Hephaestus, went in search of the monster and overtook him in a deep cave. Apollo killed Python with his arrows and had to remain in exile for eight years to appease the angry Gaia. The huge dragon was periodically mentioned in Delphi during various sacred rites and processions. Apollo founded a temple on the site of the ancient oracle and established the Pythian Games; this myth reflected the replacement of chthonic archaism with a new, Olympian deity. The plot, where a luminous deity kills a snake, a symbol of evil and the enemy of humanity, has become a classic for religious teachings and folk tales. The Temple of Apollo at Delphi became famous throughout Hellas and even beyond its borders. From a crevice in the rock located in the middle of the temple, fumes rose, which had a strong effect on human consciousness and behavior. The priestesses of the Pythian temple often gave confusing and vague predictions. From Python comes the name of a whole family of non-venomous snakes - pythons, sometimes reaching up to 10 meters in length.

25) Centaur

These legendary creatures with a human torso and equine torso and legs are the embodiment of natural strength, endurance, and are distinguished by cruelty and unbridled temper. Centaurs (translated from Greek as “killers of bulls”) drove the chariot of Dionysus, the god of wine and winemaking; they were also ridden by the god of love Eros, which implied their penchant for libations and unbridled passions. There are several legends about the origin of centaurs. A descendant of Apollo named Centaur entered into a relationship with a Magnesian mare, which gave the appearance of a half-man, half-horse to all subsequent generations. According to another myth, in the pre-Olympic era, the smartest of the centaurs, Chiron, appeared. His parents were the oceanid Felira and the god Kron. Kron took the form of a horse, so the child from this marriage combined the features of a horse and a man. Chiron received an excellent education (medicine, hunting, gymnastics, music, divination) directly from Apollo and Artemis and was the mentor of many heroes of the Greek epics, as well as a personal friend of Hercules. His descendants, the centaurs, lived in the mountains of Thessaly next to the Lapiths. These wild tribes lived peacefully with each other until, at the wedding of the Lapithian king Pirithous, centaurs tried to kidnap the bride and several beautiful Lapithian women. In a violent battle called the centauromachy, the Lapiths won, and the centaurs were scattered across mainland Greece, driven into mountainous areas and remote caves. The appearance of the image of a centaur is more three thousand years ago suggests that even then the horse played an important role in human life. It is possible that the ancient farmers perceived horse riders as a whole being, but most likely the Mediterranean inhabitants, who were prone to inventing “composite” creatures, simply reflected the spread of the horse when they invented the centaur. The Greeks, who bred and loved horses, were well acquainted with their temperament. It is no coincidence that it was the nature of the horse that they associated with unpredictable manifestations of violence in this generally positive animal. One of the constellations and zodiac signs is dedicated to the centaur. To designate creatures that are not similar in appearance to a horse, but retain the features of a centaur, the term “centauroids” is used in the scientific literature. There are variations in the appearance of centaurs. Onocentaur - half-man, half-donkey - was associated with a demon, Satan or a hypocritical person. The image is close to satyrs and European devils, as well as the Egyptian god Set.

The son of Gaia, nicknamed Panoptes, that is, the all-seeing, who became the personification of the starry sky. The goddess Hera forced him to guard Io, the beloved of her husband Zeus, whom he turned into a cow in order to protect her from the wrath of her jealous wife. Hera begged Zeus for a cow and assigned her an ideal caretaker, the hundred-eyed Argus, who vigilantly guarded her: only two of his eyes were closed at the same time, the others were open and vigilantly watched Io. Only Hermes, the crafty and enterprising messenger of the gods, managed to kill him, freeing Io. Hermes put Argus to sleep with poppy seeds and cut off his head with one blow. The name Argus has become a household name for a vigilant, vigilant, all-seeing guard, from whom no one and nothing can hide. Sometimes this is what is called, following an ancient legend, the pattern on the feathers of a peacock, the so-called “peacock eye”. According to legend, when Argus died at the hands of Hermes, Hera, regretting his death, collected all his eyes and attached them to the tails of her favorite birds, peacocks, which were always supposed to remind her of her devoted servant. The myth of Argus was often depicted on vases and in Pompeian wall paintings.

27) Griffin

Monstrous birds with the body of a lion and an eagle's head and front legs. From their cry, flowers wither and grass withers, and all living creatures fall dead. The griffin's eyes have a golden tint. The head was the size of a wolf's head with a huge, terrifying-looking beak, and the wings had a strange second joint to make them easier to fold. The griffin in Greek mythology represented insightful and watchful power. Closely associated with the god Apollo, he appears as the animal that the god harnesses to his chariot. Some of the myths say that these creatures were harnessed to the carriage of the goddess Nemesis, which symbolizes the speed of retribution for sins. In addition, griffins turned the wheel of fate, and were genetically linked to Nemesis. The image of a griffin personified dominance over the elements of earth (lion) and air (eagle). The symbolism of this mythical animal is associated with the image of the Sun, since both the lion and the eagle in myths are always inextricably linked with it. In addition, the lion and eagle are associated with mythological motifs of speed and courage. The functional purpose of the griffin is security, in this it is similar to the image of a dragon. As a rule, it protects treasures or some secret knowledge. The bird served as an intermediary between the heavenly and earthly worlds, gods and people. Even then, ambivalence was inherent in the image of the griffin. Their role in various myths is ambiguous. They can act both as defenders, patrons, and as evil, unrestrained animals. The Greeks believed that griffins guarded the gold of the Scythians in northern Asia. Modern attempts to localize griffins vary widely and place them from the northern Urals to the Altai Mountains. These mythological animals are widely represented in antiquity: Herodotus wrote about them, their images were found on monuments from the period of prehistoric Crete and in Sparta - on weapons, household items, coins and buildings.

28) Empusa

A female demon of the underworld from Hecate's retinue. Empusa was a vampire night ghost with donkey legs, one of which was copper. She took the form of cows, dogs or beautiful maidens, changing her appearance in a thousand ways. According to existing beliefs, the empousa often carried away small children, sucked the blood from beautiful young men, appearing to them in the form of a lovely woman, and, having had enough of the blood, often devoured their meat. At night, on deserted roads, the empousa would lie in wait for lonely travelers, either frightening them in the form of an animal or a ghost, or captivating them with the appearance of a beauty, or attacking them in her true terrible form. According to legend, an empusa could be driven away with abuse or a special amulet. In some sources, the empusa is described as being close to a lamia, onocentaur or female satyr.

29) Triton

The son of Poseidon and the mistress of the seas, Amphitrite, depicted as an old man or youth with a fish tail instead of legs. Triton became the ancestor of all newts - marine mixanthropic creatures frolicking in the waters, accompanying the chariot of Poseidon. This retinue of lower sea deities was depicted as half-fish and half-man, blowing a snail-shaped shell to excite or tame the sea. In their appearance they resembled classic mermaids. Tritons in the sea became, like satyrs and centaurs on land, minor deities serving the main gods. The following are named in honor of tritons: in astronomy - the satellite of the planet Neptune; in biology - the genus of tailed amphibians of the salamander family and the genus of prosobranch mollusks; in technology - a series of ultra-small submarines of the USSR Navy; in music, an interval formed by three tones.

Myths and legends, any oral or written traditions tend to disappear over time and be erased from human memory.

This fate befell many characters, both good and bad. Some images were modified under the influence of religion or the peculiarities of the folklore of nations that gradually assimilated the indigenous people who gave rise to such a fantasy.

Others remained in the memory of mankind and even became a kind of “trademark”, a hot topic for books, films and computer games.

A mythical creature does not necessarily have features exaggerated by human imagination. Monsters can be of a completely natural appearance, be it an animal, a demigod, or an evil spirit taking the form of a human.

All of them have one thing in common - the attempt of ancient man to explain natural phenomena, disasters and misfortunes by the intervention of an extraterrestrial force, cruel and indifferent.

However, sometimes mythical animals, characters and images begin to live on their own. Once told, a legend is passed on from person to person, acquiring details and new facts.

What they all have in common is a terrible disposition, fear of losing accumulated wealth and an extremely long life span.

The character of such a creature is peculiar. Most of the dragons are wise, but hot-tempered, cruel and proud.

The hero often speculates on the lizard's attitude towards himself in order to later kill him through deception and cunning and take possession of the dragon's untold riches.

Later, many variations of the original image appeared. Thanks to John Tolkien, Robert Salvatore and many other authors of the fantasy genre, dragons were divided by color and even acquired a direct “kinship” with the original forces.

Terrors in the night, a reflection on the fangs of a vampire

A monster capable of drinking the blood of a person or subjugating him to his will. This evil spirits should be considered as an extremely harmful and cruel creature.

The villagers mercilessly drive an aspen stake into the next corpse, the carpenter famously chops off a cervical vertebra with an ax, and the next “vampire” goes to the Underworld.

Before Bram Stoker's novel was published, vampires were not given anthropomorphic features. So, for example, a blood-sucking creature from South America, looks like a mixture of a hellhound with various kinds of monsters.

In the Philippines, a vampire is even depicted as a winged torso with a proboscis similar to that of a mosquito.

Thus, the monster “drinks” a person, taking away his youth, beauty and strength.

Ancient people were not so scrupulous and believed that it was enough for a creature to cut off its head, or cut out its heart.

Personal transport for every virgin

Not every mythical creature is terrible in nature, because darkness cannot exist without light, however, just like vice versa.

Mythical animals quite often act as guides for the protagonist, helping him with both advice and deeds.

The messenger of the primordial light, at least according to most legends, is. This creature is pure by nature, aggression and violence are alien to it, so these animals are not left in modern world.

The most remarkable fact is that the unicorn has a strange “connection” with the virgin, feels her and always comes to the call.

Interesting fact, the harsh northern peoples of Rus' have their own unicorn, huge and “callous”.

Does it sound satirical? And yet they describe it exactly like that. Unlike the shiny and light creature, Indrik belongs to the spirits of mother earth, and therefore looks the part.

The huge “earth mouse” is not attracted to virgins, but it can also come to the aid of a soul lost in the mountains.

We don’t know what - chimeras

The last chords of life - siren

Despite the fact that a siren and a mermaid are different concepts, they have a lot in common, which ultimately led to a conditional juggling of names and a little confusion.

However, this is acceptable. In Greek mythology, the Sirens are the nymphs of Persephone, who lost the will to live with their mistress when she went to Hades.

With their singing, they lured sailors to the island, where they devoured their bodies, probably out of longing for their patroness.

Odysseus almost fell into their net, and he even ordered his comrades to tie themselves up so as not to become prey to carnivorous fish women.

Later, the image migrated to the mythology of Europe and even became a kind of common noun personifying the temptation of the deep sea for a sailor.

There have been theories that mermaids are actually manatees, which may resemble fish with anthropomorphic features, but the image itself remains relevant to this day.

Witnesses of the past - Bigfoot, Yeti and Bigfoot

Unlike other characters, these creatures are still found throughout the world.

Regardless of their veracity, the very fact of such finds is living proof that the images not only still exist, but also remain relevant.

What they have in common is their similarity with various stages of the evolutionary cycle of human development.

They are huge, have a thick coat of wool, are fast and strong. Despite their meager intelligence, the creatures continue to stubbornly avoid all the ingenious traps created by various kinds of hunters for mystical secrets.

Mythical animals remain an extremely relevant topic, in demand not only by art workers, but also by historians.

The epic had a huge influence on the development of humanity and the skepticism with which a modern resident of a metropolis treats such mysteries is dictated precisely by mythology and its “domestication” of the forces of nature.

Mythological genre(from the Greek word mythos - legend) - a genre of art, dedicated to events and heroes about whom the myths of ancient peoples tell. All peoples of the world have myths, legends and traditions; they constitute an important source of artistic creativity.

The mythological genre was formed during the Renaissance, when ancient legends provided rich subjects for the paintings of S. Botticelli, A. Mantegna, Giorgione,
In the 17th - early 19th centuries, the idea of ​​paintings in the mythological genre expanded significantly. They serve to embody a high artistic ideal (N. Poussin, P. Rubens), bring closer to life (D. Velazquez, Rembrandt, N. Poussin, P. Batoni), create a festive spectacle (F. Boucher, G. B. Tiepolo) .

In the 19th century, the mythological genre served as the norm for high, ideal art. Along with the themes of ancient mythology, themes from Germanic, Celtic, Indian and Slavic myths became popular in the visual arts and sculpture in the 19th and 20th centuries.
At the turn of the 20th century, symbolism and Art Nouveau revived interest in mythological genre(G. Moreau, M. Denis, V. Vasnetsov, M. Vrubel). It received a modern rethinking in the graphics of P. Picasso. See historical genre for more details.

Mythical creatures, monsters and fairy-tale animals
Ancient man's fear of the powerful forces of nature was embodied in mythological images of gigantic or vile monsters.

Created by the fertile imagination of the ancients, they combined body parts of familiar animals, such as the head of a lion or the tail of a snake. The body, made up of different parts, only emphasized the monstrousness of these disgusting creatures. Many of them were considered inhabitants of the depths of the sea, personifying the hostile power of the water element.

In ancient mythology, monsters are represented by a rare wealth of shapes, colors and sizes; more often they are ugly, sometimes they are magically beautiful; Often these are half-humans, half-beasts, and sometimes completely fantastic creatures.

Amazons

The ancient Greeks believed that these fierce beauties certain time years they married men from other tribes. Boys born they gave them to their fathers or killed them, and the girls were raised in a warlike spirit. During the Trojan War, the Amazons fought on the side of the Trojans, so the brave Greek Achilles, having defeated their queen Penthisileia in battle, zealously denied rumors of a love affair with her.

Stately female warriors attracted more than one Achilles. Hercules and Theseus took part in the battles with the Amazons, who kidnapped the Amazon queen Antiope, married her and with her help repelled the invasion of warrior maidens into Attica.

One of the twelve famous labors of Hercules consisted of stealing the magic belt of the queen of the Amazons, the beautiful Hippolyta, which required considerable self-control from the hero.

Magi and Mages

Magi (wizards, magicians, sorcerers, sorcerers) are a special class of people (“wise men”) who enjoyed great influence in ancient times. The wisdom and power of the Magi lay in their knowledge of secrets inaccessible to ordinary people. Depending on the degree of cultural development of the people, their magicians or sages could represent different degrees of “wisdom” - from simple ignorant witchcraft to truly scientific knowledge.

Kedrigern and other magicians Dean Morrissey

Harpies

Harpies, in Greek mythology, the daughter of the sea deity Thaumantas and the oceanid Electra, the number of which ranges from two to five. They are usually depicted as disgusting half-birds, half-women.

Harpies Bruce Pennington

Myths speak of harpies as evil kidnappers of children and human souls. From the harpy Podarga and the god of the west wind Zephyr, the divine fleet-footed horses of Achilles were born. According to legend, harpies once lived in the caves of Crete, and later in the kingdom of the dead.

Dwarves in the mythology of the peoples of Western Europe are small people who live underground, in the mountains or in the forest. They were the size of a child or a finger, but they possessed supernatural strength; they have long beards and sometimes goat legs or crow's feet.

Dwarves lived much longer than people. In the depths of the earth, little men kept their treasures - precious stones and metals. Dwarves are skilled blacksmiths and could forge magic rings, swords, etc. They often acted as benevolent advisers to people, although black gnomes sometimes kidnapped beautiful girls.

Goblins

In the mythology of Western Europe, goblins are called mischievous ugly creatures that live underground, in caves that do not tolerate sunlight, and lead an active night life. The origin of the word goblin seems to be connected with the spirit Gobelinus, which lived in the lands of Evreux and is mentioned in manuscripts of the 13th century.

Having adapted to life underground, representatives of this people became very hardy creatures. They could go without food for a whole week and still not lose strength. They also managed to significantly develop their knowledge and skills, became cunning and inventive and learned to create things that no mortal had the opportunity to do.

It is believed that goblins love to cause minor mischief to people - sending nightmares, making people nervous with noise, breaking dishes with milk, crushing chicken eggs, blowing soot from the stove into a clean house, sending flies, mosquitoes and wasps on people, blowing out candles and spoiling milk.

Gorgons

Gorgons, in Greek mythology, monsters, daughters of the sea deities Phorcys and Keto, granddaughters of the earth goddess Gaia and the sea Pontus. Their three sisters are Stheno, Euryale and Medusa; the latter, unlike the elders, is a mortal being.

The sisters lived in the far west, off the banks of the world river Ocean, near the Garden of the Hesperides. Their appearance was terrifying: winged creatures covered with scales, with snakes instead of hair, fanged mouths, with a gaze that turned all living things to stone.

Perseus, the liberator of the beautiful Andromeda, beheaded the sleeping Medusa, looking at her reflection in the shiny copper shield given to him by Athena. From the blood of Medusa appeared the winged horse Pegasus, the fruit of her relationship with the ruler of the sea, Poseidon, who, with a blow of his hoof on Mount Helicon, knocked out a source that gives inspiration to poets.

Demons and Demons

A demon, in Greek religion and mythology, is the embodiment of a generalized idea of ​​​​an indefinite formless divine force, evil or benign, determining the fate of a person.

In Orthodox Christianity, “demons” are usually denounced as “demons.”
Demons, in ancient Slavic mythology - evil spirits. The word “Demons” is common Slavic and goes back to the Indo-European bhoi-dho-s - “causing fear.” Traces of ancient meaning survive in archaic folklore texts, especially spells. In Christian ideas, demons are the servants and spies of the devil, they are warriors of his unclean army, they oppose the Holy Trinity and the heavenly army led by the Archangel Michael. They are the enemies of the human race

In the mythology of the Eastern Slavs - Belarusians, Russians, Ukrainians - the general name for all lower demonological creatures and spirits, such as evil spirits, devils, demons etc. - evil spirits, evil spirits.

According to popular beliefs, evil spirits are created by God or Satan, and according to popular beliefs, they appear from unbaptized children or children born from intercourse with evil spirits, as well as suicides. It was believed that the devil and the devil could hatch from a cock's egg carried under the left armpit. Evil spirits are omnipresent, but they favorite places there were wastelands, thickets, swamps; intersections, bridges, holes, whirlpools, whirlpools; “unclean” trees - willow, walnut, pear; underground and attics, space under the stove, baths; The representatives of evil spirits are named accordingly: goblin, field worker, waterman, swamper, brownie, barnnik, bannik, underground etc.

DEMONS OF HELL

Fear of evil spirits forced people not to go into the forest and field during Rusal Week, not to leave the house at midnight, not to leave dishes with water and food open, to close the cradle, to cover the mirror, etc. However, people sometimes entered into an alliance with evil spirits , for example, he told fortunes by removing the cross, healed with the help of spells, and sent damage. This was done by witches, sorcerers, healers, etc..

Vanity of vanities - Everything is vanity

Dragons

The first mention of dragons dates back to the ancient Sumerian culture. In ancient legends there are descriptions of the dragon as an amazing creature, unlike any other animal and at the same time resembling many of them.

The image of the Dragon appears in almost all creation myths. The sacred texts of ancient peoples identify it with the primordial power of the earth, the primordial Chaos, which enters into battle with the Creator.

The dragon symbol is the emblem of warriors on Parthian and Roman standards, the national emblem of Wales, and the guardian depicted on the prows of ancient Viking ships. Among the Romans, the dragon was the badge of a cohort, hence the modern dragon, dragoon.

The dragon symbol is a symbol of supreme power among the Celts, a symbol of the Chinese emperor: his face was called the Face of the Dragon, and his throne was called the Dragon Throne.

In medieval alchemy, primordial matter (or otherwise the world substance) was designated by the most ancient alchemical symbol - a snake-dragon biting its own tail and called ouroboros ("tail eater"). The image of the ouroboros was accompanied by the caption “All in One or One in All.” And Creation was called circular (circulare) or wheel (rota). In the Middle Ages, when depicting a dragon, different parts of the body were “borrowed” from various animals, and, like the sphinx, the dragon was a symbol of the unity of the four elements.

One of the most common mythological plots is the battle with the dragon.

The battle with the dragon symbolizes the difficulties that a person must overcome in order to master the treasures of inner knowledge, defeat his base, dark nature and achieve self-control.

Centaurs

Centaurs, in Greek mythology, wild creatures, half-human, half-horse, inhabitants of mountains and forest thickets. They were born from Ixion, the son of Ares, and the cloud, which, by the will of Zeus, took the form of Hera, on whom Ixion attempted. They lived in Thessaly, ate meat, drank and were famous for their violent temper. The centaurs fought tirelessly with their neighbors the Lapiths, trying to kidnap the wives from this tribe for themselves. Defeated by Hercules, they settled throughout Greece. Centaurs are mortal, only Chiron was immortal

Chiron, unlike all centaurs, he was skilled in music, medicine, hunting and the art of war, and was also famous for his kindness. He was friends with Apollo and raised a number of Greek heroes, including Achilles, Hercules, Theseus and Jason, and taught healing to Asclepius himself. Chiron was accidentally wounded by Hercules with an arrow poisoned by the poison of the Lernaean hydra. Suffering from an incurable sore, the centaur longed for death and renounced immortality in exchange for Zeus freeing Prometheus. Zeus placed Chiron in the sky in the form of the constellation Centaur.

The most popular of the legends where centaurs appear is the legend of the “centauromachy” - the battle of the centaurs with the Lapiths who invited them to the wedding. Wine was new to the guests. At the feast, the drunken centaur Eurytion insulted the king of the Lapiths, Pirithous, trying to kidnap his bride Hippodamia. The “Centauromachy” was depicted by Phidias or his student in the Parthenon, Ovid sang it in book XII of “Metamorphoses”, it inspired Rubens, Piero di Cosimo, Sebastiano Ricci, Jacobo Bassano, Charles Lebrun and other artists.

Painter Giordano, Luca depicted the plot known history the battle of the Lapiths with the centaurs, who decided to kidnap the daughter of King Lapith

RENI GUIDO Deianira, kidnapped

Nymphs and Mermaids

Nymphs, in Greek mythology, are the deities of nature, its life-giving and fruitful powers in the form of beautiful girls. The most ancient ones, the Meliads, were born from drops of the blood of castrated Uranus. There are nymphs of water (oceanids, nereids, naiads), lakes and swamps (limnads), mountains (restiads), groves (alseids), trees (dryads, hamadryads), etc.

Nereid J. W. Waterhouse 1901

Nymphs, owners of ancient wisdom, the secrets of life and death, healers and prophetesses, from marriages with gods gave birth to heroes and soothsayers, for example Achille, Aeacus, Tiresias. Beauties, who usually lived far from Olympus, at the behest of Zeus were summoned to the palace of the father of gods and people.

GHEYN Jacob de II - Neptune And Amphitrite

Of the myths associated with nymphs and Nereids, the most famous is the myth of Poseidon and Amphitrite. One day, Poseidon saw, off the coast of the island of Naxos, the Nereid sisters, daughters of the prophetic sea elder Nereus, dancing in a circle. Poseidon was captivated by the beauty of one of the sisters, the beautiful Amphitrite, and wanted to take her away in his chariot. But Amphitrite took refuge with the titan Atlas, who holds the vault of heaven on his mighty shoulders. For a long time Poseidon could not find the beautiful Amphitrite, daughter of Nereus. Finally, a dolphin opened her hiding place to him. For this service, Poseidon placed the dolphin among the celestial constellations. Poseidon stole from Atlas beautiful daughter Nereus and married her.

Herbert James Draper. Sea melodies, 1904

Satires

Satyr in Exile Bruce Pennington

Satyrs, in Greek mythology, spirits of the forests, demons of fertility, together with the Silenians, were part of the retinue of Dionysus, in whose cult they played a decisive role. These wine-loving creatures are bearded, covered with fur, long-haired, with protruding horns or horse ears, tails and hooves; however, their torso and head are human.

Cunning, cocky and lustful, satyrs frolicked in the forests, chased nymphs and maenads, and played evil tricks on people. There is a well-known myth about the satyr Marcia, who, having picked up a flute thrown by the goddess Athena, challenged Apollo himself to a musical competition. The rivalry between them ended with God not only defeating Marsyas, but also skinning the unfortunate man alive.

Trolls

Jotuns, thurs, giants in Scandinavian mythology, trolls in the later Scandinavian tradition. On the one hand, these are the ancient giants, the first inhabitants of the world, preceding the gods and people in time.

On the other hand, the Jotuns are the inhabitants of a cold, rocky country on the northern and eastern outskirts of the earth (Jotunheim, Utgard), representatives of elemental demonic natural forces

T Rollie, in German-Scandinavian mythology, evil giants who lived in the depths of the mountains, where they kept their countless treasures. It was believed that these unusually ugly creatures had enormous strength, but were very stupid. Trolls, as a rule, tried to harm people, stole their livestock, destroyed forests, trampled fields, destroyed roads and bridges, and engaged in cannibalism. Later tradition likens trolls to various demonic creatures, including gnomes.

Fairies

Fairies, according to the beliefs of the Celtic and Roman peoples, are fantastic female creatures, sorceresses. Fairies, in European mythology, are women with magical knowledge and power. Fairies are usually good sorceresses, but there are also “dark” fairies.

There are many legends, fairy tales and great works of art in which fairies do good deeds, become patrons of princes and princesses, and sometimes themselves act as wives of kings or heroes.

According to Welsh legends, fairies existed in the guise of ordinary people, sometimes beautiful, but sometimes terrible. At will, when performing magic, they could take the form of a noble animal, flower, light, or could become invisible to people.

The origin of the word fairy remains unknown, but in the mythologies of European countries it is very similar. The words for fairy in Spain and Italy are “fada” and “fata”. Obviously, they are derived from the Latin word "fatum", that is, fate, fate, which was a recognition of the ability to predict and even control human destiny. In France, the word "fee" comes from the Old French "feer", which apparently appeared on the basis of the Latin "fatare", meaning "to enchant, to bewitch". This word speaks of the ability of fairies to change the ordinary world of people. From the same word comes the English word "faerie" - "magical kingdom", which includes the art of witchcraft and the entire world of fairies.

Elves

Elves, in the mythology of the Germanic and Scandinavian peoples, are spirits, ideas about which go back to the lower natural spirits. Like elves, elves are sometimes divided into light and dark. Light elves in medieval demonology are good spirits of the air, atmosphere, beautiful little men (about an inch tall) in hats made of flowers, inhabitants of trees, which, in this case, cannot be cut down.

The myths that have survived to this day are full of dramatic stories about gods and heroes who fought dragons, giant snakes and evil demons.

In Slavic mythology, there are many myths about animals and birds, as well as creatures endowed with a bizarre appearance - half-bird, half-woman, human-horse - and extraordinary properties. First of all, this is a werewolf, a werewolf. The Slavs believed that sorcerers could turn any person into a beast with a spell. This is the frisky half-man, half-horse Polkan, reminiscent of a centaur; wonderful half-birds, half-maidens Sirin and Alkonost, Gamayun and Stratim.

An interesting belief among the southern Slavs is that at the dawn of time all animals were people, but those who committed a crime were turned into animals. In return for the gift of speech, they received the gift of foresight and understanding of what a person feels.

ON THIS TOPIC

Vakhana(Sanskrit वहन, vahana IAST from Sanskrit वह, “to sit on, ride on something”) - in Indian mythology - an object or creature (character) used by the gods as a means of transportation (usually a mount).

Airavata

Surely you have heard about such mystical animals as the Centaur, but do you know who Airavata is?

This magical animal comes from India. It is believed to be a white elephant, which is the vahana of God Indra. Such an entity has 4 tusks and as many as 7 trunks. This entity is called differently - Cloud Elephant, War Elephant, Brother of the Sun.

In India there are many legends associated with this elephant. People believe that the White Elephant was born after Brahma chanted the sacred Vedic hymns over the shell of the egg from which Garuda hatched.

After Airavata emerged from the shell, seven more elephants and eight female elephants were born. Airavata subsequently became the king of all elephants.

Mystical animal of Australia - Bunyip

One of the most amazing entities known from Australian Aboriginal mythology is the Bunyip. It is believed that this is an animal of enormous size that lives in swamps and various bodies of water.

There are many descriptions of the appearance of the animal. However, they are all very different from each other. But some features always remain similar: a horse's tail, large flippers and fangs. It is believed that the monster devours any animals and people, and its favorite delicacy is women.

In 2001, Robert Holden, in his book, described at least 20 variations in the appearance of the creature, which he learned from various tribes. Until now, such a magical creature, which is a dangerous enemy of man, remains a mystery. Some believe that he really exists. These people rely on eyewitness accounts.

In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, researchers actually saw strange aquatic animals that were about 5 meters long, one and a half meters high, with a small head and a very long neck. However, this data remained unconfirmed, and the legend about the powerful and insidious magical creature still lives on.

Monster from Greece - Hydra

Anyone who has read the myths of Hercules knows who Hydra is. It’s hard to say that this is just an animal, albeit a magical one. It is a mythological entity that has the body of a dog and 9 snake heads. A monster appeared from the belly of Echidna. Such a monster lives in a swamp near the city of Lerna.

At one time, such a monster was considered invincible, because if you cut off its head, then two more would immediately grow in its place. However, Hercules managed to defeat the monster, as his nephew cauterized the decapitated neck of the Hydra as soon as the hero cut off one head.

The peculiarity of this creature was also that its bite was fatal. As you remember, Hercules dipped his arrows in deadly bile so that no one could heal the wounds he inflicted.

Kerynean fallow deer

The Kerynean Hind is the magical animal of the goddess Artemis. The doe differed from others in that she had golden horns and copper hooves.

Kerynean fallow deer

The main task of the animal is to devastate fields. This was the punishment that fell on Arcadia, as the local residents angered Artemis.

There is also a myth that in reality there were only five such creatures. They were huge, even larger than a bull. Four of them were caught by Artemis and harnessed to her chariot, but the latter was able to escape thanks to Hera.

Magical unicorn

Probably one of the most famous characters mythology is the unicorn. Such an entity is described differently by different sources. Some believe that the animal has the body of a bull, others believe that it has the body of a horse or goat. The main difference between this creature is the presence of a horn in its forehead.

Unicorn

This image is a symbol of chastity. In modern culture, the unicorn is depicted as a snow-white horse with a red head and blue eyes. It is believed that it is almost impossible to catch this magical animal, since it is insatiable and can run away from its pursuers. However, a noble animal will always bow to a virgin. You can only hold the unicorn with a golden bridle.

The image of a one-horned bull first appeared in the third millennium BC on seals and from the cities of the Indus Valley. Various legends associated with this mythical creature are found in Chinese, Muslim, and German fairy tales. Even in Russian legends there is a terrible invincible beast that looks like a horse, and all its power lies in its horn.

In the Middle Ages, many different properties were attributed to the unicorn. It was believed that it cures diseases. According to legend, using a horn can purify water. Unicorns eat flowers, honey, and morning dew.

Often lovers of all things supernatural and magical wonder: are there unicorns? One can answer that this entity is one of the best creations of human imagination. To date, there is no evidence of the existence of such a beast.

Iku-Turso - sea monster

In Karelian-Finnish mythology, Iku-Turso is an animal that lived in the depths of the sea. It was believed that the father of this monster was the thunder god Ukko.

Iku-Turso

Unfortunately, there is no detailed description of the sea monster’s appearance. However, it is known that it was described as having a thousand horns. It is worth noting that quite often the northern peoples called the tentacles horns. For example: octopuses or squids. It is therefore quite logical to assume that a thousand horns may imply the presence of a thousand tentacles.

By the way, if you translate the word "turso" from Old Finnish, then we get the word "walrus". Such a creature has its own special symbol, which is somewhat reminiscent of a swastika and is called "The Heart of Tursas".

According to legend, the essence is associated not only with the water element, but also with the fire element. There is a legend about how a creature set fire to a haystack, in the ashes of which an acorn was planted and an oak tree grew from it.

Some researchers believe that this is an analogue of the well-known Miracle-Yuda. However, this is just a theory.

Heavenly dog ​​from Asia - Tiangou

Translated from Chinese, Tiangou means "heavenly dog". It is a magical entity in ancient Chinese mythology. The creature is described in different ways. It is believed that this is a white-headed fox that brings harmony and tranquility to human life. People believed that the creature could protect from any troubles and attacks from robbers.

There is also a black, evil hypostasis of this creature. They imagined an evil double in the form of a black dog that lives on the Moon and eats the Sun during an eclipse. In myths it is mentioned that in order to save the Sun, it is necessary to beat dogs. Then the animal will spit out the moon and disappear.

Incredible facts

From the very beginning of its history, humanity has been drawn to legends and myths, many of which had very real reasons. The heroes of these myths often became prototypes of real-life creatures.

In 1799, the English zoologist George Shaw wrote that the platypus looks as if “the beak of a duck had been attached to the head of some quadruped.” However, the platypus for a long time confused scientists not only with his appearance, but also with other oddities.

Naturalists around the world for a long period of time could not decide whether this creature was a mammal. Did it lay eggs or was it viviparous? In fact, it took scientists a hundred years to get answers to these and other questions regarding the platypus (which, by the way, happens to be one of the few egg-laying mammals).

Myths of Ancient Greece

Sirens

The legends about sirens are almost as old as the history of human navigation. One of the most early mentions the sirens are associated with the era when the first mentions of the half-sister of Alexander the Great, Thessalonica, appeared.

Legend has it that after Alexander returned from his a journey filled with dangers connected with the search for the source of eternal youth, he washed his sister’s hair in living water.

After Alexander died, his sister (and some sources claim that his mistress) decided to drown herself in the sea. However, Thessalonica could not drown in it. But she was able to turn into a siren.

According to legend, she called out to the sailors with the question: "Is King Alexander Alive?" If they answered that, they say, "he's alive, lives, reigns and continues to conquer the world" , then Thessalonica allowed sea travelers to sail past calmly.

If the unfortunate people dared to tell Thessalonica that the king was dead, she immediately turned into a terrible monster (perhaps the same Kraken?), which grabbed the ship and dragged it to depths of the sea along with the whole team.

The only possible explanation for the fact that sailors regularly reported sightings of sirens (that is, demonic creatures with the body of a woman and the tail of a fish) was that men confused them with herbivorous mammals living in sea water (for example, with dugongs or sea cows).

This explanation looks rather strange, since the same sea cows are far from being able to be called at all attractive and seductive creatures on Earth. How could the sailors make such a cruel mistake? Perhaps they had been swimming too long without women...

However, perhaps the reason was that manatees (that is, sea cows) have a habit of sticking their heads out of the water, shaking them in such a way that it looks like a man bobbing in water. When viewed from the back, their rough skin below the head may appear to have hair flowing down from the head.

Another reason could be the fact that the first navigators, who spent a long time at sea, often suffered from hallucinations. It is possible that, from a distance, with only the light of the moon, they could confuse the manatee with women. By the way, a group of animals was named after the mythical sirens, which included manatees and dugongs.

Vampires

Sight modern man on vampires was formed largely thanks to the famous (one might say cult) Irish writer Bram Stoker's Dracula, which was first published back in 1897.

Since then, the appearance of the “average” vampire has remained virtually unchanged - they were a stranger with pale, thin skin, speaking with an unbearable accent (apparently Romanian), sleeping in a coffin during the daytime. Plus, he was more or less immortal.

It is well known that Bram Stoker's main vampire was based on the real historical character– Vlad III Tepes, Prince of Wallachia. It is also quite possible that Stoker was inspired by numerous rumors and superstitions regarding death and burial itself. These rumors were caused by the ignorance of people who did not particularly understand the processes of decomposition of the human body at that time.

After death, a person’s skin dries out in such a way that teeth and nails look more prominent and prominent against its background. It feels like they have grown up. In addition, internal organs disintegrate, various fluids leave the human body through the mouth and nose, leaving dark stains. People often interpreted these stains as if a dead man drank the blood of living people.

In addition to the above, there were other signs of vampirism that fueled superstition, associated, for example, with coffins. The thing is that sometimes scratches were found on the inner surface of the coffin lids after exhumation, which were perceived as a direct indication that the dead had ceased to be such and were trying to rise from the grave.

Such cases are explained by the terrible mistakes that were common in those days; sometimes they buried a seemingly dead person who was, in fact, in a short-term coma, for example. The unfortunate man, waking up and finding himself in pitch darkness, of course, frantically scratched the lid of the coffin from the inside, trying to get out...

It is also believed that the famous Scottish monk and philosopher, blessed John Duns Scotus died in this way. An exhumation was carried out, as a result of which it was discovered that his body in the coffin was curved in an unnatural way. The fingers were torn, and there was dried blood everywhere. Another person buried alive tried unsuccessfully to get out...

Greek mythology

Giants

Giants have remained a constant part of folklore for thousands of years. In Greek mythology, we encounter a whole tribe of giants who were born into the world by the goddess Gaia after she was fertilized with blood collected during the castration of the sky god and her husband Uranus by Kronos.

Germanic-Scandinavian mythology speaks of creation the largest giant of Aurgelmir from drops of water formed at the moment of contact between the land of ice and mists (Niflheim) and the land of heat and flame (Muspellheim).

It must have been really big! After Aurgelmir was killed by the gods, our Earth appeared. A stronghold was formed from the giant’s flesh, seas and oceans from his blood, mountains from his bones, stones from his teeth, the sky from his skull, and clouds from his brain. Even his eyebrows came in handy: they began to encircle Midgard, inhabited by people (that’s what the Vikings called the Earth).

The strengthened belief in giants can be partly explained by the phenomenon of hereditary gigantism (however, not in all countries). Scientists are confident that they managed to isolate a gene that leads to familial gigantism. According to the results of various studies, people suffering from gigantism often suffer from pituitary gland cancer, which stimulates uncontrolled body growth.

The height of the biblical giant Goliath, according to legend, reached 274 centimeters. In the modern world there is no clear rule or definition that would allow us to unambiguously say that a giant is a person of such and such height. The reason for this is that different peoples have different average heights (the difference can reach 30 centimeters or more).

One study published in the international medical journal Ulster Medical Journal suggested that Goliath (killed, as we know, by David with a stone thrown from a sling), whose family tree is easily identifiable, suffered from autosomal dominant inheritance of diseases.

They say that the stone that David used hit Goliath in the forehead. And if Goliath suffered from a tumor of the pituitary gland, which put pressure on his optic chiasm, then this could certainly lead to visual impairment, which did not allow the giant to see the stone flying at him.

Banshee

In Irish folklore, a banshee (that is, a woman from Shea, if translated from the language of the Scottish Celts) is a beautiful young woman, fairy, with flowing white hair and eyes red from continuous tears. He cries, thereby warning the person who hears it that someone in his family will soon die.

Her crying and lamentations are perceived more as a kind of help to a person, rather than a threat. Hearing the howls of a banshee, a person understands that he will soon have to say goodbye forever to someone close to him; and, thanks to the banshee, he has a little time for this.

It is not entirely clear when this legend first began. There are certain references to banshees, dateableXIV century. More precisely, in the year 1350, when a large-scale clash took place near the village of Torlaug between representatives of the Irish and English noble families.

After this, the banshee was almost never forgotten, until the middle of the 19th century. In fact, mourning the dead with lamentations has always been part of the tradition of Irish women, thus expressing bitterness, pain and the severity of loss.

Representatives of the fairer sex stood on the edge of the grave and began to scream at the top of their voices, mourning their loss. This tradition gradually died out during the 19th century because turned into a kind of “attraction” for tourists, who came to look at the mourners from a “real Irish funeral.”

It is not difficult, in fact, to accept the fact that the impressionable Irish, who were always ready to believe in something supernatural, mixed together their women wailing in grief and fairy tales to eventually get beautiful story about the banshees warning under the windows of his owners’ house about the approaching grief...

Hydra

According to Greek mythology, Hydra is a gigantic snake with nine (or more) heads, one of which is immortal. If Hydra had one head cut off, then instead, two new heads grew from a fresh wound(or three - different data can be found in different mythological sources).

The killing of the Hydra is one of the 12 glorious labors of the great Hercules. To defeat this monstrously dangerous creature, Hercules enlisted the support of his nephew Iolaus, who helped the hero by cauterizing the heads severed by the strongman.

The confrontation was difficult, but all the animals were also on Hercules’ side. The battle continued until until Hercules cut off all of Hydra's heads, except for one – immortal. The strongman eventually chopped her off too, and then buried her in the ground near the road, covering her with a heavy boulder on top.

The myth of the many-headed hydra was probably inspired to the ancient Greeks by Mother Nature herself. Since ancient times, there have been numerous references to snakes with several heads (although no one has yet mentioned nine heads!). In fact, cases of polycephaly (being born with multiple heads) are much more common among reptiles than among any other animal.

Moreover: thanks to the study of Siamese twins, scientists themselves learned to create polycephalic animals. Known experiments of the German embryologist Hans Spemann, who at the beginning of the 20th century attached slamander embryos together using a child's human hair. As a result, a creature with two heads was born.

Mythical animals

dire wolves

These days, the so-called dire wolves are very well known to those who watch the TV series Game of Thrones. After all, these were the wolves that were given to the young Starks. In fact, dire wolves are not a figment of the imagination of the writers and authors of the famous series.

Dire wolves are huge wolves that actually existed in North America, extinct more than ten thousand years ago. These formidable creatures were larger, but stockier (due to shorter legs) than modern wolves.

About four thousand fossilized remains of dire wolves (in addition to many more remains of other animals) have been discovered in the area of ​​tar lakes called Rancho La Brea, Los Angeles, California, USA.

Researchers believe they became trapped in these tar pits when they arrived there to profit from the remains of numerous other animals, trapped in underground bitumen coming to the surface.

The dire wolf had a huge skull, but its brain was smaller than the brain of a modern wolf. Perhaps if the brains of these ferocious creatures were a little larger, they would realize that the remains of various animals did not end up in these tar pits by chance...

If you remember, there was an albino wolf in Game of Thrones. In fact, it is unknown whether there were albinos among dire wolves, although Among the population of modern wolves, albinos are far from uncommon. It is also noteworthy that dire wolves were not as agile as modern wolves.

Basilisk

According to the famous Greek myths and films about Harry Potter (choose for yourself which source is more authoritative for you), the basilisk was a snake with a deadly look and a deadly breath. Legends say that the basilisk hatched from the egg of an ibis bird, which was hatched by a snake.

It is assumed that the basilisk was afraid only of the cock's crow and caress, who was immune to his poisonous bites. Yes, they almost forgot about Harry Potter’s sword, with which he killed this snake - his basilisk, too, as it turned out, was afraid...

In Greek mythology, the basilisk was a normal-sized snake, but by the time this creature ended up at Hogwarts (the school of wizards where Harry Potter studied), it unexpectedly increased to the size of a mammoth (not to mention the length). This creature has had many other reincarnations over these past centuries...

The likelihood that a snake will actually hatch an ibis egg is almost zero (not to mention the fact that an ibis, in principle, is not able to lay an egg with a snake inside). Nevertheless, the legend of the basilisk has a very real basis. Researchers are convinced that the prototype of the mythical basilisk is an ordinary Egyptian cobra.

However, the Egyptian cobra is not so ordinary - it is an extremely dangerous reptile that constantly hisses, and even spits venom at a distance of up to two and a half meters. Moreover, he aims directly between the eyes of his potential enemy or victim.