Greek | Imaginary Creatures

Centaur (Kentauroi)

admin — Mon, 29 Jan 2018 02:08:44 +0000

The centaur is up there with my all-time favourite greek mythological creatures – maybe because of anthropomorphic/human qualities, or perhaps because of my appreciation of horses. Either way, they right up there with the best on the imaginary creatures list.

The Origin of the Word: Centaur

It was only recently while questioning why Centaurs are called centaurs that I stumbled on an interesting fact; they were occasionally referred to as Hippocentaurs.

Why is that interesting? Well, Centaur doesn’t have any roots that mean horse — taur could be Taurus AKA bull, and cen, I’m not sure. But the Greek for a horse is Hippos. You may know the root of the word from the hippocampus – a part of the brain that is said to resemble a seahorse.

The ancient Greek for Seahorse, is, in fact, Hippocampus, hippocamp or hippokampoi, depending on who you are. With Hippo being horse and campus meaning sea-monster. So the literal translation of hippocampus would be horse-sea-monster.

Hippos meaning horse shows that the word centaur is likely shortened from hippocentaur as that would make logical sense. But did they drop the horse bit?

Etymology

Centaur means bull-killer: The is a theory that Centaurs could have originated from a tribe of expert horsemen that kept and hunted bulls – the cowboys of Ancient Greece. It makes you think what future historians will think when we mention cowboys, doesn’t it?

Centaurs are said to have lived mainly in Thessaly, where there was a tradition of hunting bulls on horseback. It is possible that the origin of the Kentauri myth lies there, and that Centaurs were the mythological counterparts of the ferocious and skilful horsemen of Thessaly, who used to hunt and kill bulls.

The myth of the centaurs could easily have been built up around men that were such keen riders, it was as if the horse was part of them. The Greeks may well have got the idea of the centaur from these expert horsemen and hunters. Note that Thessalians had the best cavalry in ancient Greece, next to the Macedonians. This too would have stoked the fire of myth even more.

Are Female Centaurs Called Centaurs too?

This is a good question, and up until recently I was under the impression that a female centaur would, of course, be called a centaur! My understanding was that the word would most likely be an amalgam of horse and person, in the way that mermaid is… except, mermaid is the female version and merman is the male. Apparently, Centaurs are the same, with Centauride or the Centauress being the chosen term for the female centaur.

Centaurs in Greek Mythology

In Greek Mythology

Modern Appearances of Centaurs

Sources & Further Reading

Theoi.com

Britannica.com

Greekmythology.com

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centaur

Centaurs

Basilisk

admin — Tue, 25 Jul 2017 23:21:30 +0000

The Basilisk is a popular imaginary creature of mine and one that I vividly remember from my childhood. In one book of creatures that I had, the basilisk was portrayed as having the head of a chicken or cockerel and the body of a snake – though this is not always the case. Usually, it is simply depicted as a crested reptile like a snake or a lizard.

Originating from European bestiaries and legends, a basilisk is a legendary reptile reputed to be King of serpents and said to have the power to cause death with a single glance, or sometimes by looking into the creature’s eyes, similar to Medusa. The word Basilisk originates from the Greek βασιλίσκος basilískos, “little king;” Latin Regulus; Northeastern Portuguese meu rei.

Though sometimes referred to as a small creature “being not more than twelve fingers in length”, it is sometimes depicted as a giant serpent (think Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets). The name itself meaning “Little King”, It is often depicted as a mighty serpent king, dropping the “little” entirely.

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”, that is so venomous, it leaves a wide trail of deadly venom in its wake, and its gaze is likewise lethal; its weakness is in the odor of the weasel, which, according to Pliny, was thrown into the basilisk’s hole, recognizable because some of the surrounding shrubs and grass had been scorched by its presence. It is possible that the legend of the basilisk and its association with the weasel in Europe was inspired by accounts of certain species of Asiatic snakes (such as the king cobra) and their natural predator, the mongoose.

A few sources also said that is so dangerous that it can kill creatures just with its presence. Even its odour is said to kill snakes. The basilisk is also said to breathe fire coming from its mouth that kills birds, and its glance will kill a man. It can also kill by hissing, which is why it is also called the sibilus.

Apparently, its bite causes the victim to become hydrophobic – which isn’t that bad when you consider it can supposedly kill you by looking at you. A basilisk is said to be hatched from a cock’s egg, obviously a rare occurrence.

One of the only things that can naturally kill the basilisk is the weasel – probably based on the cobra and its main natural predator the mongoose.

The idea of a killing stare could well come from cobras, that were able to spit venom into the eyes of its prey to kill it. To bystanders, it could be seen as being done with a glance.

Basilisk Sources and Further Reading

Bestiary.ca

Wikipedia

Stats

Type: Serpent

Origin: European – Italian

Acephali

admin — Thu, 20 Jul 2017 11:29:19 +0000

Acephali simply means “headless” or “without head” in Ancient Greek (from Ancient Greek: ἀκέφαλοι “headless”, singular ἀκέφαλος akephalos from ἀ- a-, “without”, and κεφαλή kephalé, “head”). And as such, if you look up the creature Acephali, you may find it hard to get much information, because Acephali became a term – often used in the Church – for sects or religions without a “head” or leader. I can imagine this being quite the put-down in its day.

The Acephali as an imaginary creature is usually depicted simply as a human with no head and a face on their torso instead – a guy has got to eat right?

Fabled human-like creatures in Greek mythology, similar to Pliny the Elder’s Blemmyae.