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Creatures

Further information: List of legendary creatures by type, List of Greek mythological creatures, and List of legendary creatures from China

A variety of mythical animals appear in the art and stories of the classical era. For example, in the Odyssey, monstrous creatures include the Cyclops, Scylla and Charybdis for the hero Odysseus to confront. Other tales include Medusa to be defeated by Perseus, the (human/bull) Minotaur to be destroyed by Theseus, and the Hydra to be killed by Heracles, while Aeneas battles with the harpies. These monsters thus have the basic function of emphasizing the greatness of the heroes involved.⁶⁷⁸

Some classical era creatures, such as the (horse/human) centaur, chimaera, Triton and the flying horse Pegasus, are found also in Indian art. Similarly, sphinxes appear as winged lions in Indian art and the Piasa Bird of North America.⁹¹⁰

In medieval art, animals, both real and mythical, played important roles. These included decorative forms as in medieval jewellery, sometimes with their limbs intricately interlaced. Animal forms were used to add humor or majesty to objects. In Christian art, animals carried symbolic meanings, where for example the lamb symbolized Christ, a dove indicated the Holy Spirit, and the classical griffin represented a guardian of the dead. Medieval bestiaries included animals regardless of biological reality; the basilisk represented the devil, while the manticore symbolised temptation.¹¹

Allegory

One function of mythical animals in the Middle Ages was allegory. Unicorns, for example, were described as extraordinarily swift and uncatchable by traditional methods.¹²: 127  It was believed that the only way for one to catch this beast was to lead a virgin to its dwelling. Then, the unicorn was supposed to leap into her lap and go to sleep, at which point a hunter could finally capture it.¹³: 127  In terms of symbolism, the unicorn was a metaphor for Christ. Unicorns represented the idea of innocence and purity. In the King James Bible, Psalm 92:10 states, "My horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of a unicorn." This is because the translators of the King James erroneously translated the Hebrew word re'em as unicorn.¹⁴: 128  Later versions translate this as wild ox.¹⁵ The unicorn's small size signifies the humility of Christ.¹⁶: 128 

Another common legendary creature that served allegorical functions within the Middle Ages was the dragon. Dragons were identified with serpents, though their attributes were greatly intensified. The dragon was supposed to have been larger than all other animals.¹⁷: 126  It was believed that the dragon had no harmful poison but was able to slay anything it embraced without any need for venom. Biblical scriptures speak of the dragon in reference to the devil, and they were used to denote sin in general during the Middle Ages.¹⁸: 126  Dragons were said to have dwelled in places like Ethiopia and India, based on the idea that there was always heat present in these locations.¹⁹: 126 

Physical detail was not the central focus of the artists depicting such animals, and medieval bestiaries were not conceived as biological categorizations. Creatures like the unicorn and griffin were not categorized in a separate "mythological" section in medieval bestiaries,²⁰: 124  as the symbolic implications were of primary importance. Animals we know to have existed were still presented with a fantastical approach. It seems the religious and moral implications of animals were far more significant than matching a physical likeness in these renderings. Nona C. Flores explains, "By the tenth century, artists were increasingly bound by allegorical interpretation, and abandoned naturalistic depictions."²¹: 15 

See also

• Bestiary
• Fearsome critters
• Lists of legendary creatures
• List of legendary creatures by type
• List of cryptids
• Non-physical entity
• list portal

External links

• Media related to creatures at Wikimedia Commons

References

1. Phillips, Catherine Beatrice (1911). "Unicorn" . In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 27 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 581–582. https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica/Unicorn ↩

2. Bascom, William (1984). Alan Dundes (ed.). Sacred Narrative: Readings in the Theory of Mythology. University of California Press. p. 9. ISBN 9780520051928. table. 9780520051928 ↩

3. Simpson, Jacqueline; Roud, Steve (2000). A Dictionary of English Folklore. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780192100191. Retrieved 24 March 2013. 9780192100191 ↩

4. Large, Mark F.; Braggins, John E. (2004). Tree Ferns. Portland, Oregon: Timber Press, Incorporated. p. 360. ISBN 978-0-88192-630-9. 978-0-88192-630-9 ↩

5. "Seven species that used to be cryptids". IU Blogs. 12 December 2020. Retrieved 29 January 2025. https://blogs.iu.edu/sciu/2020/12/12/seven-cryptids-species/ ↩

6. Delahoyde, M.; McCartney, Katherine S. "Monsters in Classical Mythology". Washington State University. Retrieved 6 January 2017. http://public.wsu.edu/~delahoyd/classical.monsters.html ↩

7. Grimal, Pierre. The Dictionary of Classical Mythology. Blackwell Reference, 1986. ↩

8. Sabin, Frances E. Classical Myths That Live Today. Silver Burdett Company, 1940. ↩

9. Murthy, K. Krishna (1985). Mythical Animals in Indian Art. Abhinav Publications. pp. 68–69. ISBN 978-0-391-03287-3. 978-0-391-03287-3 ↩

10. O'Flaherty, Wendy (1975). Hindu Myths: A Sourcebook. Penguin. ↩

11. Boehm, Barbara Drake; Holcomb, Melanie (January 2012) [2001]. "Animals in Medieval Art". Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 5 January 2017. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/best/hd_best.htm ↩

12. Gravestock, Pamela. "Did Imaginary Animals Exist?" In The Mark of the Beast: The Medieval Bestiary in Art, Life, and Literature. New York: Garland. 1999. ↩

13. Gravestock, Pamela. "Did Imaginary Animals Exist?" In The Mark of the Beast: The Medieval Bestiary in Art, Life, and Literature. New York: Garland. 1999. ↩

14. Gravestock, Pamela. "Did Imaginary Animals Exist?" In The Mark of the Beast: The Medieval Bestiary in Art, Life, and Literature. New York: Garland. 1999. ↩

15. J. L. Schrader. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, New Series, Vol. 44, No. 1, "A Medieval Bestiary" (Summer, 1986), pp. 1+12–55, 17. ↩

16. Gravestock, Pamela. "Did Imaginary Animals Exist?" In The Mark of the Beast: The Medieval Bestiary in Art, Life, and Literature. New York: Garland. 1999. ↩

17. Gravestock, Pamela. "Did Imaginary Animals Exist?" In The Mark of the Beast: The Medieval Bestiary in Art, Life, and Literature. New York: Garland. 1999. ↩

18. Gravestock, Pamela. "Did Imaginary Animals Exist?" In The Mark of the Beast: The Medieval Bestiary in Art, Life, and Literature. New York: Garland. 1999. ↩

19. Gravestock, Pamela. "Did Imaginary Animals Exist?" In The Mark of the Beast: The Medieval Bestiary in Art, Life, and Literature. New York: Garland. 1999. ↩

20. Flores, Nona C., "The Mirror of Nature Distorted: The Medieval Artist's Dilemma in Depicting Animals". In The Medieval World of Nature. New York: Garland. 1993. ↩

21. Flores, Nona C., "The Mirror of Nature Distorted: The Medieval Artist's Dilemma in Depicting Animals". In The Medieval World of Nature. New York: Garland. 1993. ↩