Myth Stuff

Notes on mythical creatures and fantastical beings.

[dwollfieldnotes]

Miscellaneous Creatures in Aelian's On Animals

These are innocuous enough that the information on them isn't enough to fill their own entries.

Peteliae: -Literally means "fliers" -Resemble pale crabs with tiny wings -Generate in the mud [written back when spontaneous generation was considered a viable scientific theory] -Only fly when they're scared and want to escape predators -Can't fly per say, merely lessen their weight and skip away

Fishing Frog: -Also called the angler -A species of frog with "eyelashes" above its eyes, attached to each of which is a small sphere -Sits in deep mud and slime with its lures extended, waiting for fish -Lays hard eggs with rough scales

Winged Scorpion: -Megasthenes says India has winged scorpions of immense size -They give a strong sting like the scorpions of Europe -Apparently there are also winged scorpions in Egypt with two stings [though their size is not stated]

Neades: -Samos was uninhabited by humans in primeval times due to the presence of these creatures -They were savage, dangerous monsters of immense size -Their roar was enough to split the ground. Samians had a proverb which went: "he roars louder than the Neades" -Gigantic bones testified to their existence

Fire Flies: -A species of fly which lives and flies about in flames -If taken outside of fire, they immediately die

Indian Turtles: -In India [presumably just the Indus river] there is a river turtle with a shell as large as a full-sized skiff, or equivalent to ten medimni [about 12 gallons] -Also there are tortoises as large as enormous clods of soil [real precise measurement there bub…] -These tortoises shed their shells -They lie in the soil and farmers must extract them with mattocks as Greeks remove caterpillars from plants

[dwollfieldnotes]

The Greek Dragons of India and Ethiopia

Life of Apollonius of Tyana by Philostratus (170 – 245)

-India is so girt with dragons that there's one on every ridge, one for every marsh -Those of the marshes lack crests, being like draikana [so the crests are found on males! Reminder: draikana is the feminine form of drakon] -30 cubits long [43.7 feet? Roman cubit is approx. 444 mm, 44.4 cm, or 17.48 inches] -Sluggish in their habits, black backs with fewer scales than other drakons -Drakons from the foothills and mountain crests are active pursuit hunters, chasing prey even down to the plains below -Reach extreme lengths and can move as fast as rivers -No prey can escape them -Have magnificent crests that grow with them as they age and turn red -As adults they have serrated backs -Have beards -Lift their necks up high, like cobras, allowing their scales to glitter like silver -Behind their red eyes are fiery stones, which have hidden properties -When they hunt elephants they are crushed by the pachyderm's weight -Teeth are sharp and indestructible like those of the largest fish -Resemble swine in most respects but are slimmer and more flexible -The dragons of the mountains are even longer than those of the plains -Bushy, golden beards and prominent eyebrows -Eyes are sunk deep and have a terrible glance -Their hissing shakes the mountains -Have crests that flash a fire brighter than a torch at night -Dig through the earth like worms, making a sound that can be heard from the surface like clashing brass -Do not sleep, having "inflexible eyes" [without eyelids?] -Similar serpents are found in a neighborhood of mountains around the Red Sea -Impossible for humans to guess how many years they can live -Indians hunt them by leaving a scarlet cloak emblazoned with gold letters over the entrance of its burrow, after they charm it to sleep -The letters, upon being read by the dragon, entice it to extend its neck and rest peacefully -The Indians then kill it. It is not a sure thing, however, as the drakon may wake up and feast upon its would-be slayers -Within the head of the serpent is a stone of flowery color which can be set in a ring to give the wearer mystical power -In India, under the mountains there is a city called Parax, in whose center there is a great collection of dragon heads, as the citizens of this city are trained to hunt them from boyhood -These hunters also feast on the heart of livers of their quarry, giving them knowledge of the language and ideas of animals

Natural History by Pliny the Elder (77) -Cites Ctesias -Æthiopia and India have dragons, but those of Æthiopia are smaller, only 20 cubits (30 ft, 9.14 m) -Others mistakenly claim they have crests [perhaps only true of Indian dragons?] -Indian dragons are the main predators of elephants -They wrap around the elephant, enveloping it -However, as the elephant's legs buckle and it falls, the dragon is crushed under the weight -A man called Thoas, who lived in Arcadia, raised a small dragon as a child. His father was frightened at its size and monstrous nature, so he took it to the desert [sailed across the ocean? There aren't deserts in Greece, unless he's talking about garigue/phrygana] and left it there. Thoas later traveled the desert and was attacked by robbers. The dragon recognized his voice and saved him.

On Animals by Aelian (2nd century)

-Æthiopia is the home of the very largest serpents -Reach one hundred and eighty feet in length, killing elephants -Rival the longest-lived of all animals -In India, they are the bitterest rivals of elephants -When elephants draw down the branches of trees, the drakons will crawl up in the boughs and choke the elephants, biting their eyes out as well -Alexander the Great had desired to see two drakons kept by an Indian, one a hundred and forty cubits (210 ft), the other eighty cubits (120 ft) -There are drakons in the Phrygian highlands (Central Anatolia) as well -They grow to 60 ft -Live in lairs underground, but in mid-summer they crawl to the river banks to hunt birds -They raise their heads up into the air, open their mouths, and enchant birds to sit in them with their breath -Also hunt flocks, as well as herdsmen

[madam-melon-meow]

@dwollfieldnotes “teeth are sharp and indestructible like those of the largest fish” has me wondering if Pliny is talking about teeth like a shark, which is quite a large fish indeed

[dwollfieldnotes]

Maybe! Given the size of these dragons, shark teeth could be the only comparison, given that the largest land carnivore Pliny would've known about would've been the brown bear

[dwollfieldnotes]

The Greek Dragons of India and Ethiopia

Life of Apollonius of Tyana by Philostratus (170 – 245)

-India is so girt with dragons that there's one on every ridge, one for every marsh -Those of the marshes lack crests, being like draikana [so the crests are found on males! Reminder: draikana is the feminine form of drakon] -30 cubits long [43.7 feet? Roman cubit is approx. 444 mm, 44.4 cm, or 17.48 inches] -Sluggish in their habits, black backs with fewer scales than other drakons -Drakons from the foothills and mountain crests are active pursuit hunters, chasing prey even down to the plains below -Reach extreme lengths and can move as fast as rivers -No prey can escape them -Have magnificent crests that grow with them as they age and turn red -As adults they have serrated backs -Have beards -Lift their necks up high, like cobras, allowing their scales to glitter like silver -Behind their red eyes are fiery stones, which have hidden properties -When they hunt elephants they are crushed by the pachyderm's weight -Teeth are sharp and indestructible like those of the largest fish -Resemble swine in most respects but are slimmer and more flexible -The dragons of the mountains are even longer than those of the plains -Bushy, golden beards and prominent eyebrows -Eyes are sunk deep and have a terrible glance -Their hissing shakes the mountains -Have crests that flash a fire brighter than a torch at night -Dig through the earth like worms, making a sound that can be heard from the surface like clashing brass -Do not sleep, having "inflexible eyes" [without eyelids?] -Similar serpents are found in a neighborhood of mountains around the Red Sea -Impossible for humans to guess how many years they can live -Indians hunt them by leaving a scarlet cloak emblazoned with gold letters over the entrance of its burrow, after they charm it to sleep -The letters, upon being read by the dragon, entice it to extend its neck and rest peacefully -The Indians then kill it. It is not a sure thing, however, as the drakon may wake up and feast upon its would-be slayers -Within the head of the serpent is a stone of flowery color which can be set in a ring to give the wearer mystical power -In India, under the mountains there is a city called Parax, in whose center there is a great collection of dragon heads, as the citizens of this city are trained to hunt them from boyhood -These hunters also feast on the heart of livers of their quarry, giving them knowledge of the language and ideas of animals

Natural History by Pliny the Elder (77) -Cites Ctesias -Æthiopia and India have dragons, but those of Æthiopia are smaller, only 20 cubits (30 ft, 9.14 m) -Others mistakenly claim they have crests [perhaps only true of Indian dragons?] -Indian dragons are the main predators of elephants -They wrap around the elephant, enveloping it -However, as the elephant's legs buckle and it falls, the dragon is crushed under the weight -A man called Thoas, who lived in Arcadia, raised a small dragon as a child. His father was frightened at its size and monstrous nature, so he took it to the desert [sailed across the ocean? There aren't deserts in Greece, unless he's talking about garigue/phrygana] and left it there. Thoas later traveled the desert and was attacked by robbers. The dragon recognized his voice and saved him.

On Animals by Aelian (2nd century)

-Æthiopia is the home of the very largest serpents -Reach one hundred and eighty feet in length, killing elephants -Rival the longest-lived of all animals -In India, they are the bitterest rivals of elephants -When elephants draw down the branches of trees, the drakons will crawl up in the boughs and choke the elephants, biting their eyes out as well -Alexander the Great had desired to see two drakons kept by an Indian, one a hundred and forty cubits (210 ft), the other eighty cubits (120 ft) -There are drakons in the Phrygian highlands (Central Anatolia) as well -They grow to 60 ft -Live in lairs underground, but in mid-summer they crawl to the river banks to hunt birds -They raise their heads up into the air, open their mouths, and enchant birds to sit in them with their breath -Also hunt flocks, as well as herdsmen

[dwollfieldnotes]

Lindworm/Lindorm

Scandinavian Folk-Lore: Illustrations of the Traditional Beliefs of the Northern Peoples by William A. Craigie (1896)

-Live in waste-places [wastelands? Like places where people don't or can't live] -May wrap themselves around churches and not budge -Start out life small, indistinguishable from normal snakes -One had brindled scales -Grow very quickly by drinking milk. Will spare the person who gave them milk as a youngling when they're an adult -Eat cattle and horses and people -Dig up corpses from churchyards to eat -In addition to their usual fare, they may eat all sorts of plant material: young shoots, grass, wooden crosses, etc. [this one instance was done by a lindorm wrapped around a church, so perhaps it couldn't/wouldn't go out to hunt?] -Do not like tobacco -Strong enough to strike a stone with its tail and leave a furrow -Burrow underneath the ground, sometimes under churches [semi-fossorial, like most snakes] -Not immune to heavy ordnance or a mad, three-year old bull -Blood is poisonous and liable to kill their slayer if it's spilled heavily

Folktales of Norway by Reidar Thoralf Christiansen (1964)

-One was exorcised by flame, thirty ells long (112.5 ft) -Lived alongside numerous other large, ugly snakes underneath the parishes in Trondheim -Had a black mane -Not immune to fire, however, as it perished after devouring the Lapp that had lured it into the ring of flames

[dwollfieldnotes]

Dwarf (German)

The World Guide to Gnomes, Fairies, Elves, and Other Little People by Thomas Keightley (1828)

German Dwarf: -Names: Zwerge (Dwarf), Bergmannlein (Hillfolk), Erd-mannlein (Ground-folk), Stille Volk (Quiet Folk), Kleine Volk (Little Folk) -Mannlein is a diminutive of mann, meaning man or human. -Dwell underground -At Plesse, in Hesse, they live in springs, wells, clefts, and holes in rock -Silent, beneficent to most, make good servants -Unlike others, they enact vengeance on cattle and property if angered by folk, not the people themselves -Rich -Nocturnal when they venture to the surface -Flesh and bone, bear children and die like humans -Can become invisible through the use of a magic cap and pass through stone like air -Sometimes lead people into mountains; giving them rich gifts if their guests are nice and leading them astray if nasty -Cannot stand bad manners, liable to give good gifts to the kind -Can be physically threatened as they are weak in strength or caught off-guard -Do not like to be seen when on their own/ conducting their business -Gifts from "Dwarf's Feast": a sword, a gold ring, a salamander cloth, must be kept together for good fortune, if separated bad luck -Do not commonly interact with people on purpose -Often steal coin, buried things, often unknowingly -Cannot move supernaturally fast like Irish fairies, but can get through small spaces (like keyholes or cracks in windows) -Skilled in illusions -Caps make them invisible, but only when worn. Can be knocked off -Live in great cities, thousands could inhabit a single mountain, only a family could live in a hill -Good to their word, repay debts -Care for their children, but hunger/malnutrition is common. Women will sometimes approach human women, asking them to breast-feed their babies for them -Like to trade for food with services, charms, or gifts if relations are good -Some do the changeling bit. Dwarf changelings are heavier than they look and eat great quantities -Have decadent, luxurious homes

Swiss Dwarfs: -Also called Hill (Härdmandle) or Earth Men -Live in clefts in the mountains whose entrances are hidden from human eyes -Even when ice freezes the mountains over they keep warm -Their homes are made of rock crystal shaped into towers -Fond of strolling through valleys -Kind and generous; they will drive home stray lambs and leave berries for poor children -Many stories are told of them giving food to the hungry and starving. They're characterized as having lots of food, enough to throw many banquets, and like to share -Keep chamois as their cattle, from which they make an infinite cheese. When you take a bite from it, the bitten piece will grow back. But if it's eaten completely, it's gone for good -Sometimes seen watching people plough the fields (sitting on rocks or tree branches, a few dwarfs at a time) -People who treat them unkindly will rouse their anger and mischief -May preform hard work for people they like in the night

Der Zwerg in der deutschen Heldendichtung des Mittelalters by August Lütjens (1911)

German Dwarf: -Males look like old men, wizened and spry, the height of a 2-year old child [average is about 2.5 feet or 76 cm] -Alberich, a king of dwarfs, can appear variously as a bearded old man in helmet and armor or as a richly-dressed four-year old child -Lutjens believes them to look like old men but are compared in size to children -Short bodies, short legs, "grotesque" heads -Unlike Celtic fairies (who ride horses the size of dogs [or just regular dogs/corgis]), Merlin (who rides an elk), and the Woodwoses (who ride deer and chamois), they rarely ride animals -Alberich, though, rides a horse -Enemies of the giants, but unable to fight them, rely on humans -Frequently described as Christian in contrast to pagan giants -Males are lusty for human women, females for human men

Hungarian Folk Beliefs by Tekla Dömötör (1982)

Dwarf: -In Hungarian known as "the little man in his den" -Called Portmandli, but this may be a corruption of the German Bergmannli -Lives in mines -Has the stature of a dwarf, but wears the typical miner's overalls -Warns miners of collapses -Haunts and frightens miners [for his amusement, obviously] -Punishes wicked behavior among them -Rewards honest and kind miners. Usually by showing them a new, undiscovered vein, on the condition that the profits made from it are split exactly 50/50 -In Northern Hungary, it was customary to leave food, drinks, and a pair of tiny shoes at the entrance of a mine

[dwollfieldnotes]

Leprechaun & Clurichaun

Echtra Fergus mac Léti (Adventure of Fergus son of Léti) by Anonymous. Translated by Daniel Anthony Binchy (1950)

Lucorpain: -More literally lúchorpáin. Eventually evolved into the modern leprechaun -Come from the sea while Fergus is asleep -Steal his sword and pull him from his chariot into the sea -Small enough that Fergus can hold two in each hand and one on his breast -In exchange for their lives, they give Fergus herbs to put in his ears so that he may pass underwater [allowing him to breath water presumably] -Alternatively, they give him a cloak that, once twisted around his head, allowed him to pass underwater -The tradition of taking hold of one's breasts [chest] and cheek to appeal to their honor comes from one of the lupercains, who said it was 'one of the rules of fair combat to us' -Gives Fergus the catch that he can't go under Loch Rudraige

The World Guide to Gnomes, Fairies, Elves, and Other Little People by Thomas Keightley (1828)

Leprechaun: -Appears in the form of an old man -As big as a newborn -Have eyes as bright as a frog's -May wear a cocked hat, leather apron -Maker of brogues [shoes], who jealously guards his immense wealth -Lives in the most secret areas, only detectable by the sound of his cobbler's hammer -Often seen purely on accident (like between two bushes) -Only violent threats will make him give away the location of his treasure. One must always keep their eye on him, or else he'll disappear faster than the eye can see, along with his treasure -Learned to make beer out of heath from the Danes when they invaded Ireland

Clurichaun: -A domestic fairy, one of the few in Ireland [although no mention of them doing house-work is ever done…] -Sometimes synonymous with the leprechaun, in which case the clurichaun takes all of its characteristics -Keep to the cellars -Given food at night, and if not properly respected they will beat people black and blue, or do other mischief -If someone leaves the beer barrel tap running the clurichaun will wedge himself in there -This makes it look as if it were plugged up invisibly; no beer will come out -Prone to acts of physical violence when not met with respect -Follow their host families, having no attachment to the house -Like all Irish fairies, unable to cross running water

Irish Fairy and Folk Tales by William Butler Yeats (1888)

-Believed to be named from leith bhrogan, or, one-shoemaker -Old, wizened, wrinkled, and bearded -Dresses richly with silver buckles, spectacles, gold lace, and red leather -A span and a half high [an English span in 9 inches, so about 13.5 inches tall] -An industrious cobbler -Make all kinds of shoes -Partakes of snuff -Love wine, and will go through keyholes into cellars to drink it all -Live all by themselves -Bog rushes are their horses. In one tale, the human servant of a leprechaun pulls the strongest rushes from a bog and the leprechaun chants "Borram!" over them three times, turning them into fine horses -Hearing the name of God displeases leprechauns greatly, causing them to beam with rage and shriek

[dwollfieldnotes]

Harpy

Odyssey by Homer (8th to 7th Century BC)

-Storm-spirits, also called the "Snatchers" because they grab people without warning and take them away forever -Representative of whirlwinds and dry storms -Depicted on contemporary as young women with wings, common associations of gods connected to the wind, or travelers

Aeneid by Virgil (19 BC)

-Live on the Strophades after being expelled from Phineus' home -One is named Celaeno ["dark one" in Greek], who was once in contact with Apollo -Have the faces of young girls, foul ooze below, talons for hands, and pale famished nightmare mouths -Foul every food item they touch -Famously swoop down to steal food -Squawk loudly as the descend in great numbers -Too quick to be killed with blades -Intelligent; speak perfect human language -Privy to the prophecies and goings-on of the gods

[dwollfieldnotes]

Paracelsus' Four Elemental Spirits

Now, you may have heard of Paracelsus or his four elemental spirits, but have you read the book they featured in? If not, here's some notes:

A Book on Nymphs, Sylphs, Pygmies, and Salamanders, and on the Other Spirits by Theophrastus von Hohenheim (Paracelsus) (1566)

Spirits: -In Paracelsus' reckoning, human beings possess nature (in the body), spirit, and an angel [internal holiness? or like a literal guardian angel/personal genius?], present in the soul -Supernatural beings, called spirits or elementals, have neither a soul nor an angel, but only a body, like animals -And yet, he continually compares both their form and mannerisms to true spirits -Later says most people see them as spirits, or mirages, but he claims they are flesh and blood -Unlike true spirits [angels and demons, probably] they cannot move through all matter. They are flesh and blood, and must walk, eat, drink, and reproduce -When they die, they die without a soul, only returning their body to nature -Have no compulsion to serve God -Each type of elemental lives in its own abode, which humans can interact with -None of the elementals intermingle with each other [no inter-breeding] -[Shows a few interesting bits of folklore, but is bogged down by Paracelsus' own weird world-building and semi-science] Undine: -Frequently called nymphs -Spirits of the water. Reside in brooks and rivers -Eat from the mud, where earth and water mix -Look exceedingly similar to human beings [he says both men and women, but read below] -Grasp people that swim near them -Seek to woo and marry men to attain an eternal soul -Venus was a historical undine that ruled in a Venusberg (see below) -She gathered many kingdoms together, but they fell apart during her death, as none of her successors were as well-endowed as her Gnome: -Also called the mountain people -Spirits of the earth. Reside in earth as easily as we reside in air, moving through stone without issue -Because they live in a coarse material, they are made of subtle material to pass through it -Their food grows in water rather than in soil [get nourishment from the materials in aquifers? or underground lakes?] -Very small in appearance, only two spans tall [if we assume an English span, that would be 18 inches] -Never marry with humans, though may serve them -Have supernatural knowledge of the future and past -Guard the treasures of earth (jewels and precious minerals) Sylph: -Also called the forest people -Spirits of the air. Closest to humans, who also live in air and suffocate in water and earth, and burn in fire -Eat wild plants and herbs, nourished by rain from the heavens and the soil of earth -Cruder, coarser, longer, and stronger than human beings -Shy and quiet Salamander: -Spirits of the fire -Fed by the earth and air -Long, narrow, and lean in shape -Can be heard yelling and hammering in volcanic regions -Never marry humans, and rarely serve them -Have supernatural knowledge of the future and past -May appear as fiery lights in far distances or passing through homes -Commonly work with witches -Guardians of precious materials, a job they share with gnomes -Will-o'-the-wisps are the monsters of the fire people, like sirens below Siren: -Relatives of nymphs, or a sub-set of them -Live on the water rather than in it [like on islands?] -Monstrous in appearance -Born from undine parents, but are considered wicked and strange -Do not marry and bear human children -So few male sirens are born that the women form Venusbergs; large collections of nymphs/sirens Giant: -Monsters born from the forest people, like sirens -When giants come together it is like a thunderstorm or earthquake -Not impressed by the constellations of Heaven -Infertile. Because of this, they've died out Dwarf: -Monsters born from the mountain people, like sirens -Greater and stronger than human beings, despite being shorter than them -Infertile. Because of this, they've died out

[dwollfieldnotes]

For the love of God I couldn't post that entire thing in one post, tumblr desktop just wouldn't let me

[dwollfieldnotes]

Nymphs: Ancient and Modern

Here we have an opportunity to see how the folk belief in nymphs and related beings evolved throughout Greek history.

Odyssey by Homer (8th to 7th Century BC)

Nereid: -Daughters of the sea gods, but apparently are not very close to them. Eidothea is daughter of Proteus and says "he serves under Poseidon, and is, as they say, my father" [perhaps they aren't literal daughters of the sea gods, but they spring from the sea fully formed?] -Dive under swells of waves with immortal grace, like diving birds -Later, while Odysseus is besieged by a storm on a small raft, Leukothea helps him, once a mortal girl [mortals can become nymphs] -She breaks the surface of the water like a diving bird and lands upon his raft -White in appearance, like sea foam -Help forlorn sailors loved by the gods Naiad: -On Ithaka, there's a hidden cove where they live in a hollowed stone cave -In their cave there are looms of stone, bees, rock amphorai, and dyes where the naiads weave and dye linens and tissues -No men may come into their home -Must be honored with hekatombs of sacrifice, just like gods -Are slim and ever young, with white skin that is permanently smooth -The stone of their sea cave is "smoothed/hallowed by the feet of those immortal girls" Nymph: -Called the daughters of Zeus -Shy, do not like to interact with humans -Live within the wooded mountains, where men do not come -Flush out wild goats, provided Odysseus' men a meal [intentional or not?]

[dwollfieldnotes]

Modern Greek Folklore and Ancient Greek Religion by John Cuthbert Lawson (1910)Nymph: -Widely believed by modern Greek peasants [at the time of writing] -Called Nereids rather than nymphs, the word being expanded for all manner of spirits regardless of habitat -Women set out precautions against the theft and mischief of Nereids and men often have stories to tell about their beauty and caprice -Hearts are ruled by extreme emotion, from love to hate -Appear as tall, incredibly pretty young women wearing all white, taller than befits human beings, often shy and encountered as fleeting apparitions between trees in a forest, running away so as not to be seen [worse hiders than their invisible predecessors] -Imagined as corporeal if not invisible in contrast to angels who are "the bodiless ones" and act as spirits -Gold is also associated with their dress -Comparing a woman to a nymph is a high compliment of beauty -Some localities give them the feet of goats or asses -Many euphemistic by-names are used for them: "Evil Women" [very rare and used by those who were injured by them], "The Ladies", "Our Good Queens", "The Kind-Hearted Ones", "The Ladies To Whom We Wish Joy", or most commonly "Our Good Ladies" -A personal encounter with a nereid was both a common and expected part of life in the wilds -Seen singing or dancing in the wild places or the caves and seas and rivers -Also good cooks and housewives. The best spinners, often owning golden spindles [essentially the idealized peasant wife in this regard] -Stories of men marrying nereids is common. However, they are wild and free, inspiring "passion" in their husbands -Almost always look to leave after a few years, yearning for the freedom of the air and water they knew before -Never forget their children after they leave -Sometimes do not marry, but fornicate with men for brief but recurring times. Even with married men -People claim to be Nereid-born and families guard a title like that with honor -Not immortal, like the ancient Nymphs -Their clothes bear supernatural qualities. A kerchief stolen from a nereid could render her powerless [similar to selkie stories] -Able to shapeshift into any form imaginable [mostly used in a similar manner to Thetis and Peleus' story] -Those that spy on them or come upon them on accident may suffer blindness, epilepsy, dumbness, or even mutilation -While potentially loving to men and children, they are malicious and hateful towards women. Especially on their wedding day and during childbirth -Kidnapped children in whirlwinds, not to kill but to keep as their own. If they are found they are found whole and healthy, with signs of being well fed and cared for -Seizures or strokes are literally the invisible hands of the nereids [even in ancient times Socrates claimed to have seizures on holy grounds, possibly dedicated to Pan and the nymphs] -Amulets, garlic, the sign of the cross, invocations to saints are all wards against nereids. If one is right there though, closing your eyes is an immediate help -Cures for their tricks and presence include prayers, ecclesiastic icons or relics, offerings of honey cakes, or more specific things may be useful -Can be split into the four ancient appellations: Nereids, Naiads, Oreads, and Dryads, but all called Nereids.

[dwollfieldnotes]

-Nereids: -Rarest type -Green hair adorned with pearls and corals -Dances on the surface of the sea at moonlight -During the day, they would dry their clothes on dry rocks [specific one mentioned used Lerna] -In the town of Sinasos they are called Zabetai [from zab, a Cappacodian word meaning sea] -Don't use boats, but when they use a human's they are able to travel as fast as lightning -May drown people -In the province on Maina, the sea nymphs join battle with the nymphs of the mountains every Saturday night to delegate the human population. Those who win will wake up in high spirits and have good luck -Oreads: -Recognized throughout the mainland of Greece -Like to dance and sing even more than naiads and sea-nereids. Dance without pause -Once, some Cretan hunters were out shooting for goats. They fired randomly and missed. Later they happened on a grove where violin music was playing and young women as bright as sun rays danced and carried a nymph like a corpse. They had fired at her on accident -Responsible for whirlwinds, where they would kidnap children and adults, or carry adults off to injury. Caused by their rapid movement -In Athens dust devils should be met with the cry of "Honey and Milk in your path" to avoid the oread's attention -Corfu, decades ago, still offered honey and milk to the nereids -Dryads: -Dryad/Druad is still in use -Not used to denote a nymph, instead the first few days of August where trees may not be cut or peeled nor may anyone bath or wash clothes with freshwater [originally sacred to the dryads?] -Associated with both trees and rivers -These nereids may live in either a tree or in a river -Especially fruit-bearing trees may be haunted by a nereid. Only one nymph per tree -Messing with these trees or even straying too close would incite her wrath -Lives are tied with that of their trees, otherwise they are incapable of aging -In Arkadia a phrase goes: "A crow lives twice as long as a man, a tortoise twice as long as a crow, and a Nereid twice as long as a tortoise." [literally a modern retelling of the same phrase from the Precepts of Chiron] -Naiads: -Usually referred to as the nereid of the stream or spring -May also be "The Parched One" or "The Abominable Ones" -May live in the depths of the stream itself or in a cave adjacent to it -Their homes generally gather great fame but are not to be entered -Usually the ones most associated with kidnappings

[dwollfieldnotes]

Nymphs: Ancient and Modern

Here we have an opportunity to see how the folk belief in nymphs and related beings evolved throughout Greek history.

Odyssey by Homer (8th to 7th Century BC)

Nereid: -Daughters of the sea gods, but apparently are not very close to them. Eidothea is daughter of Proteus and says "he serves under Poseidon, and is, as they say, my father" [perhaps they aren't literal daughters of the sea gods, but they spring from the sea fully formed?] -Dive under swells of waves with immortal grace, like diving birds -Later, while Odysseus is besieged by a storm on a small raft, Leukothea helps him, once a mortal girl [mortals can become nymphs] -She breaks the surface of the water like a diving bird and lands upon his raft -White in appearance, like sea foam -Help forlorn sailors loved by the gods Naiad: -On Ithaka, there's a hidden cove where they live in a hollowed stone cave -In their cave there are looms of stone, bees, rock amphorai, and dyes where the naiads weave and dye linens and tissues -No men may come into their home -Must be honored with hekatombs of sacrifice, just like gods -Are slim and ever young, with white skin that is permanently smooth -The stone of their sea cave is "smoothed/hallowed by the feet of those immortal girls" Nymph: -Called the daughters of Zeus -Shy, do not like to interact with humans -Live within the wooded mountains, where men do not come -Flush out wild goats, provided Odysseus' men a meal [intentional or not?]

[dwollfieldnotes]

Modern Greek Folklore and Ancient Greek Religion by John Cuthbert Lawson (1910)Nymph: -Widely believed by modern Greek peasants [at the time of writing] -Called Nereids rather than nymphs, the word being expanded for all manner of spirits regardless of habitat -Women set out precautions against the theft and mischief of Nereids and men often have stories to tell about their beauty and caprice -Hearts are ruled by extreme emotion, from love to hate -Appear as tall, incredibly pretty young women wearing all white, taller than befits human beings, often shy and encountered as fleeting apparitions between trees in a forest, running away so as not to be seen [worse hiders than their invisible predecessors] -Imagined as corporeal if not invisible in contrast to angels who are "the bodiless ones" and act as spirits -Gold is also associated with their dress -Comparing a woman to a nymph is a high compliment of beauty -Some localities give them the feet of goats or asses -Many euphemistic by-names are used for them: "Evil Women" [very rare and used by those who were injured by them], "The Ladies", "Our Good Queens", "The Kind-Hearted Ones", "The Ladies To Whom We Wish Joy", or most commonly "Our Good Ladies" -A personal encounter with a nereid was both a common and expected part of life in the wilds -Seen singing or dancing in the wild places or the caves and seas and rivers -Also good cooks and housewives. The best spinners, often owning golden spindles [essentially the idealized peasant wife in this regard] -Stories of men marrying nereids is common. However, they are wild and free, inspiring "passion" in their husbands -Almost always look to leave after a few years, yearning for the freedom of the air and water they knew before -Never forget their children after they leave -Sometimes do not marry, but fornicate with men for brief but recurring times. Even with married men -People claim to be Nereid-born and families guard a title like that with honor -Not immortal, like the ancient Nymphs -Their clothes bear supernatural qualities. A kerchief stolen from a nereid could render her powerless [similar to selkie stories] -Able to shapeshift into any form imaginable [mostly used in a similar manner to Thetis and Peleus' story] -Those that spy on them or come upon them on accident may suffer blindness, epilepsy, dumbness, or even mutilation -While potentially loving to men and children, they are malicious and hateful towards women. Especially on their wedding day and during childbirth -Kidnapped children in whirlwinds, not to kill but to keep as their own. If they are found they are found whole and healthy, with signs of being well fed and cared for -Seizures or strokes are literally the invisible hands of the nereids [even in ancient times Socrates claimed to have seizures on holy grounds, possibly dedicated to Pan and the nymphs] -Amulets, garlic, the sign of the cross, invocations to saints are all wards against nereids. If one is right there though, closing your eyes is an immediate help -Cures for their tricks and presence include prayers, ecclesiastic icons or relics, offerings of honey cakes, or more specific things may be useful -Can be split into the four ancient appellations: Nereids, Naiads, Oreads, and Dryads, but all called Nereids.

[dwollfieldnotes]

Nymphs: Ancient and Modern

Here we have an opportunity to see how the folk belief in nymphs and related beings evolved throughout Greek history.

Odyssey by Homer (8th to 7th Century BC)

Nereid: -Daughters of the sea gods, but apparently are not very close to them. Eidothea is daughter of Proteus and says "he serves under Poseidon, and is, as they say, my father" [perhaps they aren't literal daughters of the sea gods, but they spring from the sea fully formed?] -Dive under swells of waves with immortal grace, like diving birds -Later, while Odysseus is besieged by a storm on a small raft, Leukothea helps him, once a mortal girl [mortals can become nymphs] -She breaks the surface of the water like a diving bird and lands upon his raft -White in appearance, like sea foam -Help forlorn sailors loved by the gods Naiad: -On Ithaka, there's a hidden cove where they live in a hollowed stone cave -In their cave there are looms of stone, bees, rock amphorai, and dyes where the naiads weave and dye linens and tissues -No men may come into their home -Must be honored with hekatombs of sacrifice, just like gods -Are slim and ever young, with white skin that is permanently smooth -The stone of their sea cave is "smoothed/hallowed by the feet of those immortal girls" Nymph: -Called the daughters of Zeus -Shy, do not like to interact with humans -Live within the wooded mountains, where men do not come -Flush out wild goats, provided Odysseus' men a meal [intentional or not?]

[dwollfieldnotes]

Indian Unicorn

Indica by Ctesias (5th Century BC)

In India there are wild asses, larger than horses, with a single horn on their forehead

The body is white, the head is dark red, the eyes bluish, the horn is white at the base, black, and then flaming red at the tip

Cups made from their horns protect the drinker from convulsions, epilepsy, and all poisons

Have huckle-bones/ankle-bones resembling an ox and a gall-bladder

These ankle-bones are heavy like lead and colored like cinnabar

Stronger and swifter than any other quadruped

Unable to be captured alive

Protect their colts by surrounding them while the graze, like musk-oxen

Flesh is too bitter, they are hunted for their horns and huckle-bones

Natural History by Pliny the Elder (77)

Lives in India

Cannot be taken alive by any hunter

Head of a stag, feet of an elephant, tail of a boar, the rest resembles a regular horse/ass

Makes a deep, low rumbling noise

Has a single black horn, two cubits in length, projecting from the middle of its forehead

Life of Apollonius of Tyana by Philostratus (170 – 245)

They dwell near the marshes of the Indian River Hyrdoates

Wild asses with horns on their foreheads

Can be used to butt like bulls and make a sport of battling any beast that tries them

If a cup is made of this horn it will have many properties

Anyone who drinks from the cup cannot be made sick on the same day he drank from it [all of these properties last one day, and one must drink from it every day for the properties to carry over]

He is immune to poison

He can pass through fire unharmed

He will be no worse for being wounded

These goblets are reserved for kings, and only they are allowed to hunt unicorns

Apollonius said he once encountered a unicorn and met an immortal king in India, who drank from the cup every day, and he could not blame him for his intoxication

On Animals by Aelian (2nd century)

Cites Ctesias

India is home to one-horned horses and asses

If drinking vessels are made from their horns, any poison put within them is rendered harmless

They are asses as large as horses

All white, with a head approaching purple, and dark blue eyes

Horn is on the forehead a cubit and a half long; lower part is white, middle part is jet black, and upper part is crimson

Rich Indians make drinking-horns from these, decorating them with gold rings

Anyone who drinks from these will be protected from epilepsy and incurable diseases. If he had ingested poison previously, he'll vomit it up and be fine

Have knuckle-bones, jet black, unseen in animals with uncloven hooves [odd-toed ungulates/horses]

Faster than any deer or horse

The asses live in herds of dams and their colts, led by a single sire guarding them

Inhabit the most desolate plains of India

When fighting hunters, their horns are able to shatter any weapon set against them. Their horns have been used to disembowel horses and kill men. They kick fiercely and their bites tear at flesh

Cannot be caught alive

Their meat is inedible, far too bitter

[dwollfieldnotes]

Cynocephalus

Indica by Ctesias (5th Century BC)

Name literally means dog heads. Supposedly Indians call them Kalystrii

Live in the mountains of India

Can live to be 170, sometimes 200 years old

Look like men with the heads of dogs. Their teeth is larger than that of other dogs, their nails are round and long like other animals. Their skin is swarthy

Above their hips is a tail like a dog's, but longer and hairier [like a wolf's then?]

Understand the speech of humans but cannot replicate it. They communicate via barking and hand signs

Very just, like other Indians

Number around 120,000 at the time of writing [4th century BC]

Hunter pastoralists. Cook animals by leaving them to roast in the sun. Farm sheep (for wool and milk, which they love), goats, and asses

Also eat Siptakhora fruit for its sweetness. Love it so much that they also eat it dried

Trade the fruit for bread, flour, and cotton with the Indians, whom they also buy swords for hunting wild beasts, bows, and arrows

Skilled with bows and hurling spears. Once an animal is wounded they can overtake it, being very fleet of foot

Live in caves rather than houses. Wear skins of animals, tanned and de-furred to look very fine. The richest wear linen, but there are very few of them

Bathe rarely. Women do so only once a month, men only wash their hands. Sometimes (3 times every month) they anoint themselves with oil made from milk and wash themselves with skins

The richest is determined by he who has the most sheep

Have no beds. Sleep on leaves or grass

Every year they send a tribute to the Indian king via rafting on the rivers to his lands: Siptakhora fruit, purple flowers, purple dye, and 1260 talents of amber

The Indian king sends them a present of 300,000 bows, as many spears, 120,000 shields, and 50,000 swords ever five years

[dwollfieldnotes]

Phoenix

The Histories by Herodotus (430 BC)

An eagle-like bird in shape and size. Plumage is partly gold and partly red

Lives in Arabia and only comes to Egypt, in Heliopolis, when its father dies, once in 500 years

After its father dies the phoenix carries him to the temple of Helios [what Egyptian sun god it actually is is unknown]

To convey the father the phoenix creates an egg of myrrh as large and heavy enough as possible. It then places the body of the father inside the egg, covers the hollow hole, and carries it all the way to Heliopolis [huh. No mention of resurrection]

Natural History by Pliny the Elder (77)

Lives in Arabia

There is only one in the whole world, and that one is not seen very often

The size of an eagle [so not eagle-shaped], with brilliant golden plumage around the neck, an azure tail with many long feathers intermingled with roseate hues, and a purple body

The throat has a crest, the head is adorned with a tuft of feathers

No one has seen it eat

In Arabia it is held as sacred as the sun itself

Lives five hundred and forty years

Builds a nest of incense and regenerates in a fiery passion

Afterwards, a worm crawls out of the ashes, grows into a baby bird, then an adult phoenix

Carries the old nest to the temple of the Sun near Panchaia and rests it upon the altar of the deity

Possesses all the qualities of the old phoenix

[dwollfieldnotes]

Gryphon

The Histories by Herodotus (430 BC)

Live near the outer edges of the world [past Scythia but not as far as Hyperborea]

Guard gold, which is abundant in their homelands, more so than any place on Earth

Have distinctive heads with hooked beaks. Common as sculptures for this reason

Life of Apollonius of Tyana by Philostratus (170 – 245)

They live near rocks dotted with gold, which the gryphons mine with their incredibly strong beaks

Sacred to Helios [or the Indian equivalent. The Greeks believed their gods appeared under different names and guises in foreign parts, but were universal]

Looked like lions with wings and beaks

Got the better of elephants and drakons

Not great at long flight, because they didn't have true wings, but instead the palms of their feet are webbed with red membranes, which they revolve to fly [wtf]

Cannot catch tigers, as they are too swift

On Animals by Aelian (2nd century)

An Indian animal

A quadruped like a lion with enormous claws

Winged. Some report that the wings are black in the back and red along the front. Other claim they are actually white.

Cites Ctesias, who claimed the neck feathers were dark blue

Has the head and curved beak of an eagle

Eyes are like fire

Lives in mountains

Unable to be caught, except when young

Bactrians say they build their huge nests with gold, which they dig out of the ground, and Indians collect the left-overs

The Indians deny this, saying the beasts are merely defending their nests when they come to dig for gold, as beasts have no need for it

Efficient predators, but do not throw shade at lions or elephants [contradicting Philostratus]

Live in a dreary wilderness, a year's journey away from human civilization [take into account that it took Alexander two years to get to Babylon from the Indus River]

Diurnal, as gold-hunters must work during the night to avoid their gaze

Fabulous Beasts by Peter Lum (1951)

The chariots of Jupiter, Apollo, and Nemesis were sometimes drawn by gryphons

Gryphons are especially sacred to Nemesis as birds of revenge

Hagen, a king's son of the Burgundians, was kidnapped by a gryphon. He would have been a meal for its young, but he escaped and lived in a cave where he grew up and later killed the whole brood [from the Kudrun, a Middle High German poem possibly from Austria or Bavaria composed around 1250]

12-century tale said travelers to China would hunt and skin animals. During times of danger they would hide in the skins with a sword. The skins were blown up to resemble the original animal and hermetically sealed, attracting gryphons, which constantly hovered around ships like seagulls

Gryphons would then carry the skins to their nests, whereupon the sailors burst out and slayed them

Middle Ages legends of Alexander the Great said he built a glass cage transported on the wings of 8 gryphons to travel through the air

[dwollfieldnotes]

Manticore

Indica by Ctesias (5th Century BC)

Lives in India

Has the face and ears of a man, is cinnabar-red all over, and has light blue eyes

Three rows of teeth

Tail is like that of a land scorpion, with a cubit-long sting at the end

It has other stings on either side of its tail and one on top of its head

A sting-made wound is always fatal, except to elephants

If attacked from a distance it can discharge its sting as if from a bow, if from behind it will straighten its tail [so the tail seems to have some sensory system, like the hairs of an insect, to detect motion near it]

Called the man-eater in the languages of the Persians and Greeks

Though it consumes animals as well, the greater portion of its diet is made up of human beings

Stings grow again after being discharged

Natural History by Pliny the Elder (77)

Cites Ctesias

Lives in Æthiopia [sub-Saharan Africa]

Triple rows of teeth, which fit together like the teeth of a comb

The face and ears of a man, azure eyes, the body of a lion colored blood red, and a tail ending with a sting like a scorpion [so, not just a straight-up scorpion tail, but similar in effect]

Too swift to be caught by men

Has a voice like the union of a flute and trumpet

Craves human flesh above all else [may be a specialist predator of humans, using its face and voice to lure people in]

"On Animals" by Aelian (2nd century)

Cites Ctesias

Lives in India, and is called the man-slayer by Persians

As large as the largest lion, with red cinnabar fur and a shaggy coat like a dog's

Has the head of a man and human-like ears, but larger and shaggy. Eyes are blue-grey

Three sets of teeth on the upper and lower jaw, larger than the fangs of a hound

At the end of the tail is a sting like a scorpion, a cubit in length, with stings in intervals at each side

The prick of the tip is fatal to anyone, and death is immediate

Can discharge its stings like a bow. When it shoots ahead of it, it must bend its tail above itself, like a scorpion. If behind, the tail must be straightened. [Seems to be momentum-based]

Stings are as thick as a bulrush

In the places where those stings have been let fly others spring up, so that this evil produces a crop [so… the stings are able to grow like a plant when detached from the manticore. Are the stings a separate organism, that symbiotically attaches to the manticore's tail? A creature that grows like a plant and produces poison, but is otherwise sessile, requiring the manticore to disperse them. The manticore gets a poisonous weapon for its tail and the stings grow/regenerate in the tail]

Hunted by Indians when they're young, still without spines. They crush the tip of the tail with a rock so that they can never grow. [Again, suggesting a sort of symbiosis. Young manticores have to seek out these spine-organisms and accept their eggs onto their tails for them to grow]

Their voice is remarkably like a trumpet

Some were spotted in Persia, and Ctesias brought this up with the Persian king to discuss the issue [spreading their range?]