Kraken

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For other uses, see Kraken (disambiguation).

Pen and wash drawing by malacologist Pierre Dénys de Montfort, 1801, from the descriptions of French sailors reportedly attacked by such a creature off the coast of Angola.

Kraken (pronounced /ˈkreɪkən/ or /ˈkrɑːkən/)^[1] are mythical sea monsters of gargantuan size, said to have dwelt off the coasts of Norway and Iceland. The sheer size and fearsome appearance attributed to the beasts have made them common ocean-dwelling monsters in various fictional works (see Kraken in popular culture). The legend may actually have originated from sightings of real giant squid that are variously estimated to grow to 13–15 m (40–50 ft) in length, including the tentacles.^[2][3] These creatures normally live at great depths, but have been sighted at the surface and have reportedly attacked ships.^[4]
Kraken may be derived from the Old Norse noun kraka "to drag under the water".^[5] In modern German, Krake (plural and declined singular: Kraken) means octopus, but can also refer to the legendary Kraken.^[6]

 

Basilisk

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This article is about the legendary creature. For the actual animal, see Corytophanidae.

For other uses, see Basilisk (disambiguation).

Woodblock print of a basilisk from Ulisse Aldrovandi, Monstrorum historia, 1642

City seal of Zwolle from 1295 with Saint Michael killing a basilisk

In European bestiaries and legends, a basilisk (English pronunciation: /ˈbæzɪlɪsk/^[1], from the Greek βασιλίσκος basilískos, "little king"; Latin Regulus) is a legendary reptile reputed to be king of serpents and said to have the power to cause death with a single glance. According to the Naturalis Historia of Pliny the Elder, the basilisk of Cyrene is a small snake, "being not more than twelve fingers in length",^[2] that is so venomous that it leaves a wide trail of deadly venom in its wake, and its gaze is likewise lethal; its weakness is in the odour of the weasel, which, according to Pliny, was thrown into the basilisk's hole, recognisable because all the surrounding shrubs and grass had been scorched by its presence.

CyCLop

Cyclops

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This article is about the mythical creature. For other uses, see Cyclops (disambiguation).

Polyphemus, by Johann Heinrich Wilhelm Tischbein, 1802 (Landesmuseum Oldenburg)

In Greek mythology and later Roman mythology, a cyclops (pronounced /ˈsaɪklɒps/; Greek: Κύκλωψ, Kuklōps), was a member of a primordial race of giants, each with a single eye in the middle of its forehead. The classical plural is cyclopes (pronounced /saɪˈkloʊpiːz/; Greek: Κύκλωπες, Kuklōpes), though the conventional plural cyclopses is also used in English. The name is widely thought to mean "circle-eyed".^[1]
Hesiod described one group of cyclopes and the epic poet Homer described another, though other accounts have also been written by the playwright Euripides, poet Theocritus and Roman epic poet Virgil. In Hesiod's Theogony, Zeus releases three Cyclopes, the sons of Uranus and Gaia, from the dark pit of Tartarus. They provide Zeus' thunderbolt, Hades' helmet of invisibility, and Poseidon's trident, and the gods use these weapons to defeat the Titans. In a famous episode of Homer's Odyssey, the hero Odysseus encounters the Cyclops Polyphemus, the son of Poseidon and a nereid (Thoosa), who lives with his fellow Cyclopes in a distant country. The connection between the two groups has been debated in antiquity and by modern scholars.^[2] It is upon Homer's account that Euripides and Virgil based their accounts of the mythical creatures.

Pegasus

In Greek mythology, Pegasus (ancient Greek Πήγασος / Pegasos, Latin Pegasus) is one of the most known fantastical creatures in Greek mythology. He is a winged divine horse usually white in color. He was sired by Poseidon, in his role as horse-god, and foaled by the Gorgon Medusa.^[1] He was the brother of Chrysaor, born at a single birthing when his mother was decapitated by Perseus. Greco-Roman poets write about his ascent to heaven after his birth and his obeisance to Zeus, king of the gods, who instructed him to bring lightning and thunder from Olympus. Friend of the Muses, Pegasus is the creator of Hippocrene, the fountain on Mt. Helicon. He was captured by the Greek hero Bellerophon near the fountain Peirene with the help of Athena and Poseidon. Pegasus allows the hero to ride him to defeat a monster, the Chimera, before realizing many other exploits. His rider, however, falls off his back trying to reach Mount Olympus. Zeus transformed him into the constellation Pegasus and placed him in the sky. There are theories that ascribe the origin of Pegasus to Pihassassa, the ancient god of thunderstorms in Hittite mythology.

Pegasus was a mythological part of the ancient Roman world. Hypotheses have been proposed regarding its relationship with the Muses, the godsAthena, Poseidon, Zeus, Apollo, and the hero Perseus.

The symbolism of Pegasus varies with time. Symbol of wisdom and especially of fame from the Middle Ages until the Renaissance, he became one symbol of the poetry and the creator of sources in which the poets come to draw inspiration, particularly in the nineteenth century. Pegasus is the subject of a very rich iconography, especially through the ancient Greek pottery and paintings and sculptures of the Renaissance. Personification of the water, solar myth, or shaman mount, Carl Jung and his followers have seen in Pegasus a profound symbolic esoteric in relation to the spiritual energy that allows to access to the realm of the gods on Mount Olympus.

In the twentieth and twenty-first century, he appeared in movies, in fantasy, in video games and in role play, where by extension, the term Pegasus is often used to refer to any winged horse.

Zombie

A zombie is a creature that appears in books, films and popular culture. It is typically a reanimated corpse, or a human being who is being controlled by someone else by use of magic. More recent stories have used a pandemic illness to explain them. Stories of zombies originated in the West African spiritual belief system of voodoo, which told of the people being controlled as laborers by a powerful wizard. Zombies became a popular device in modern horror fiction, largely because of the success of George A. Romero's 1968 film Night of the Living Dead.^[

Chrysaor

In Greek mythology, Chrysaor (Greek: Χρυσάωρ, Khrusaōr; English translation: "He who has a golden armament"), the brother of Pegasus, was often depicted as a young man, the son of Poseidon and Medusa. However, Chrysaor is sometimes said to be a giant or a winged boar.^[1] Chrysaor and his brother, the winged horse Pegasus, were not born until Perseuschopped off Medusa's head. Chrysaor was also said to be born from the neck of Medusa, whereas Pegasus was born from Medusa's blood.

Medusa, one of the Gorgon sisters, the most beautiful, and the only mortal one, offended Athena by having sexual intercourse with Poseidon in one of Athena's temples, thereby desecrating it. Chrysaor and Pegasus were born from the drops of Medusa's blood which fell in the sea; some say that they sprang from Medusa's neck as Perseus beheaded her, a "higher" birth (such as the birth of Athena from the head of Zeus). Chrysaor is said to have been king of Iberia (Andorra, Gibraltar, Spain and Portugal). Chrysaor had one son, Geryon, from Callirrhoe, daughter of Oceanus.

"Chrysaor, married to Callirrhoe, daughter of glorious Oceanus, was father to the triple-headed Geryon, but Geryon was killed by the great strength of Herakles at sea-circled Erytheis beside his own shambling cattle on that day when Herakles drove those broad-faced cattle toward holy Tiryns, when he crossed the stream of Okeanos and had killed Orthos and the oxherd Eurytion out in the gloomy meadow beyond fabulous Okeanos.