It was bad with evil spirits in Rus'. There have been so many bogatyrs recently that the number of Gorynychs has dropped sharply. Only once did a ray of hope flash for Ivan: an elderly man who called himself Susanin promised to lead him to the very lair of Likh One-Eyed... But he only came across a rickety ancient hut with broken windows and a broken door. On the wall was scratched: “Checked. Likh no. Bogatyr Popovich."
Sergey Lukyanenko, Yuliy Burkin, “Rus Island”
“Slavic monsters” - you must agree, it sounds a bit wild. Mermaids, goblins, water creatures - they are all familiar to us from childhood and make us remember fairy tales. That is why the fauna of “Slavic fantasy” is still undeservedly considered something naive, frivolous and even slightly stupid. Nowadays, when it comes to magical monsters, we more often think of zombies or dragons, although in our mythology there are such ancient creatures, in comparison with which Lovecraft’s monsters may seem like petty dirty tricks.
The inhabitants of Slavic pagan legends are not the joyful brownie Kuzya or the sentimental monster with a scarlet flower. Our ancestors seriously believed in those evil spirits that we now consider worthy only of children's horror stories.
Almost no original source describing fictional creatures from Slavic mythology has survived to our time. Something was covered in the darkness of history, something was destroyed during the baptism of Rus'. What do we have except vague, contradictory and often dissimilar legends of different Slavic peoples? A few mentions in the works of the Danish historian Saxo Grammarian (1150-1220) - times. “Chronica Slavorum” by the German historian Helmold (1125-1177) - two. And finally, we should recall the collection “Veda Slovena” - a compilation of ancient Bulgarian ritual songs, from which one can also draw conclusions about the pagan beliefs of the ancient Slavs. The objectivity of church sources and chronicles, for obvious reasons, is in great doubt.
Book of Veles
The “Book of Veles” (“Veles Book”, Isenbek tablets) has long been passed off as a unique monument of ancient Slavic mythology and history, dating from the 7th century BC - 9th century AD.
Its text was allegedly carved (or burned) onto small wooden strips, some of the “pages” were partially rotten. According to legend, the “Book of Veles” was discovered in 1919 near Kharkov by white colonel Fyodor Isenbek, who took it to Brussels and handed it over to the Slavist Mirolyubov for study. He made several copies, and in August 1941, during the German offensive, the tablets were lost. Versions have been put forward that they were hidden by the Nazis in the “archive of the Aryan past” under Annenerbe, or taken after the war to the USA).
Alas, the authenticity of the book initially raised great doubts, and recently it was finally proven that the entire text of the book was a falsification, carried out in the mid-20th century. The language of this fake is a mixture of different Slavic dialects. Despite the exposure, some writers still use the “Book of Veles” as a source of knowledge.
The only available image of one of the boards of the “Book of Veles”, beginning with the words “We dedicate this book to Veles.”
The history of Slavic fairy-tale creatures may be the envy of other European monsters. The age of pagan legends is impressive: according to some estimates, it reaches 3000 years, and its roots go back to the Neolithic or even Mesolithic - that is, about 9000 BC.
The common Slavic fairy-tale “menagerie” was absent - in different areas they spoke of completely different creatures. The Slavs did not have sea or mountain monsters, but forest and river evil spirits were abundant. There was no gigantomania either: our ancestors very rarely thought about evil giants like the Greek Cyclops or the Scandinavian Jotuns. Some wonderful creatures appeared among the Slavs relatively late, during the period of their Christianization - most often they were borrowed from Greek legends and introduced into national mythology, thus creating a bizarre mixture of beliefs.
Alkonost
According to ancient Greek myth, Alkyone, the wife of the Thessalian king Keik, upon learning of the death of her husband, threw herself into the sea and was turned into a bird, named after her, alkyon (kingfisher). The word “Alkonost” entered the Russian language as a result of a distortion of the ancient saying “alkion is a bird.”
Slavic Alkonost is a bird of paradise with a surprisingly sweet, euphonious voice. She lays her eggs on the seashore, then plunges them into the sea - and the waves calm down for a week. When the eggs hatch, a storm begins. In the Orthodox tradition, Alkonost is considered a divine messenger - she lives in heaven and comes down to convey the highest will to people.
Aspid
A winged snake with two trunks and a bird's beak. Lives high in the mountains and periodically makes devastating raids on villages. He gravitates towards rocks so much that he cannot even sit on damp ground - only on a stone. The asp is invulnerable to conventional weapons; it cannot be killed with a sword or arrow, but can only be burned. The name comes from the Greek aspis - poisonous snake.
Auca
A type of mischievous forest spirit, small, pot-bellied, with round cheeks. Doesn't sleep in winter or summer. He likes to fool people in the forest, responding to their cry of “Aw!” from all sides. Leads travelers into a remote thicket and abandons them there.
Baba Yaga
Slavic witch, popular folklore character. Usually depicted as a nasty old woman with disheveled hair, a hooked nose, a "bone foot", long claws and several teeth in her mouth. Baba Yaga is an ambiguous character. Most often, she acts as a pest, with pronounced tendencies towards cannibalism, but on occasion, this witch can voluntarily help a brave hero by questioning him, steaming him in a bathhouse and giving him magical gifts (or providing valuable information).
It is known that Baba Yaga lives in a deep forest. There stands her hut on chicken legs, surrounded by a palisade of human bones and skulls. Sometimes it was said that on the gate to Yaga’s house there are hands instead of locks, and the keyhole is a small toothy mouth. Baba Yaga's house is enchanted - you can enter it only by saying: “Hut, hut, turn your front to me, and your back to the forest.”
Like Western European witches, Baba Yaga can fly. To do this, she needs a large wooden mortar and a magic broom. With Baba Yaga you can often meet animals (familiars): a black cat or a crow, helping her in her witchcraft.
The origin of the Baba Yaga estate is unclear. Perhaps it came from Turkic languages, or perhaps derived from the Old Serbian “ega” - disease.
Baba Yaga, bone leg. A witch, an ogress and the first female pilot. Paintings by Viktor Vasnetsov and Ivan Bilibin.
Hut on kurnogi
A forest hut on chicken legs, where there are no windows or doors, is not fiction. This is exactly how hunters from the Urals, Siberia and Finno-Ugric tribes built temporary dwellings. Houses with blank walls and an entrance through a hatch in the floor, raised 2-3 meters above the ground, protected both from rodents hungry for supplies and from large predators. Siberian pagans kept stone idols in similar structures. It can be assumed that a figurine of some female deity, placed in a small house “on chicken legs,” gave rise to the myth of Baba Yaga, who can hardly fit in her house: her legs are in one corner, her head is in the other, and her nose rests into the ceiling.
Bannik
The spirit living in the baths was usually represented as a small old man with a long beard. Like all Slavic spirits, he is mischievous. If people in the bathhouse slip, get burned, faint from the heat, get scalded by boiling water, hear the cracking of stones in the stove or knocking on the wall - all these are the tricks of the bathhouse.
The bannik rarely causes any serious harm, only when people behave incorrectly (wash on holidays or late at night). Much more often he helps them. The Slavs associated the bathhouse with mystical, life-giving powers - they often gave birth here or told fortunes (it was believed that the bannik could predict the future).
Like other spirits, they fed the bannik - they left him black bread with salt or buried a strangled black chicken under the threshold of the bathhouse. There was also a female version of the bannik - bannitsa, or obderiha. A shishiga also lived in the baths - an evil spirit that appears only to those who go to the baths without praying. Shishiga takes the form of a friend or relative, invites a person to steam with her and can steam to death.
Bas Celik (Man of Steel)
A popular character in Serbian folklore, a demon or evil sorcerer. According to legend, the king bequeathed to his three sons to marry their sisters to the first one to ask for their hand in marriage. One night, someone with a thunderous voice came to the palace and demanded the youngest princess as his wife. The sons fulfilled the will of their father, and soon lost their middle and older sister in a similar way.
Soon the brothers came to their senses and went in search of them. The younger brother met a beautiful princess and took her as his wife. Looking out of curiosity into the forbidden room, the prince saw a man chained. He introduced himself as Bash Celik and asked for three glasses of water. The naive young man gave the stranger a drink, he regained his strength, broke the chains, released his wings, grabbed the princess and flew away. Saddened, the prince went in search. He found out that the thunderous voices that demanded his sisters as wives belonged to the lords of dragons, falcons and eagles. They agreed to help him, and together they defeated the evil Bash Celik.
This is what Bash Celik looks like as imagined by W. Tauber.
Ghouls
The living dead rising from their graves. Like any other vampires, ghouls drink blood and can devastate entire villages. First of all, they kill relatives and friends.
Gamayun
Like Alkonost, a divine female bird whose main function is to carry out predictions. The saying “Gamayun is a prophetic bird” is well known. She also knew how to control the weather. It was believed that when Gamayun flies from the direction of sunrise, a storm comes after her.
Gamayun-Gamayun, how long do I have left to live? - Ku. - Why so ma...?
Divya people
Demi-humans with one eye, one leg and one arm. To move, they had to fold in half. They live somewhere on the edge of the world, reproduce artificially, forging their own kind from iron. The smoke from their forges brings with it pestilence, smallpox and fevers.
Brownie
In the most generalized representation - a house spirit, the patron of the hearth, a little old man with a beard (or completely covered with hair). It was believed that every house had its own brownie. In their homes they were rarely called “brownies,” preferring the affectionate “grandfather.”
If people established normal relations with him, fed him (they left a saucer of milk, bread and salt on the floor) and considered him a member of their family, then the brownie helped them do minor housework, looked after the livestock, guarded the household, and warned them of danger.
On the other hand, an angry brownie could be very dangerous - at night he pinched people until they were bruised, strangled them, killed horses and cows, made noise, broke dishes and even set fire to a house. It was believed that the brownie lived behind the stove or in the stable.
Drekavac (drekavac)
A half-forgotten creature from the folklore of the southern Slavs. There is no exact description of it - some consider it an animal, others a bird, and in central Serbia there is a belief that drekavak is the soul of a dead, unbaptized baby. They agree on only one thing - the drekavak can scream terribly.
Usually the drekavak is the hero of children's horror stories, but in remote areas (for example, the mountainous Zlatibor in Serbia) even adults believe in this creature. Residents of the village of Tometino Polie from time to time report strange attacks on their livestock - it is difficult to determine from the nature of the wounds what kind of predator it was. The peasants claim to have heard eerie screams, so a Drekavak is probably involved.
Firebird
An image familiar to us from childhood, a beautiful bird with bright, dazzling fiery feathers (“they burn like heat”). A traditional test for fairy-tale heroes is to get a feather from the tail of this bird. For the Slavs, the firebird was more of a metaphor than a real creature. She personified fire, light, sun, and possibly knowledge. Its closest relative is the medieval bird Phoenix, known both in the West and in Rus'.
One cannot help but recall such an inhabitant of Slavic mythology as the bird Rarog (probably distorted from Svarog - the blacksmith god). A fiery falcon that can also look like a whirlwind of flame, Rarog is depicted on the coat of arms of the Rurikovichs ("Rarogs" in German) - the first dynasty of Russian rulers. The highly stylized diving Rarog eventually began to resemble a trident - this is how the modern coat of arms of Ukraine appeared.
Kikimora (shishimora, mara)
An evil spirit (sometimes the brownie's wife), appearing in the form of a small, ugly old woman. If a kikimora lives in a house behind the stove or in the attic, then it constantly harms people: it makes noise, knocks on walls, interferes with sleep, tears yarn, breaks dishes, poisons livestock. Sometimes it was believed that infants who died without baptism became kikimoras, or kikimoras could be unleashed on a house under construction by evil carpenters or stove makers. A kikimora that lives in a swamp or forest does much less harm - mostly it only scares lost travelers.
Koschey the Immortal (Kashchei)
One of the well-known Old Slavonic negative characters, usually represented as a thin, skeletal old man with a repulsive appearance. Aggressive, vengeful, greedy and stingy. It is difficult to say whether he was a personification of the external enemies of the Slavs, an evil spirit, a powerful wizard, or a unique variety of undead.
It is indisputable that Koschey possessed very strong magic, avoided people and often engaged in the favorite activity of all villains in the world - kidnapping girls. In Russian science fiction, the image of Koshchei is quite popular, and he is presented in different ways: in a comic light (“Island of Rus'” by Lukyanenko and Burkin), or, for example, as a cyborg (“The Fate of Koshchei in the Cyberozoic Era” by Alexander Tyurin).
Koshchei’s “signature” feature was immortality, and far from absolute. As we all probably remember, on the magical island of Buyan (capable of suddenly disappearing and appearing before travelers) there is a large old oak tree on which a chest hangs. There is a hare in the chest, there is a duck in the hare, there is an egg in the duck, and in the egg there is a magic needle where Koshchei’s death is hidden. He can be killed by breaking this needle (according to some versions, by breaking an egg on Koshchei’s head).
Koschey as imagined by Vasnetsov and Bilibin.
Georgy Millyar is the best performer of the roles of Koshchei and Baba Yaga in Soviet fairy tales.
Goblin
Forest spirit, protector of animals. He looks like a tall man with a long beard and hair all over his body. Essentially not evil - he walks through the forest, protects it from people, occasionally shows himself, for which he can take on any form - a plant, a mushroom (a giant talking fly agaric), an animal or even a person. The goblin can be distinguished from other people by two signs - his eyes glow with magical fire, and his shoes are put on backwards.
Sometimes a meeting with a goblin can end in failure - he will lead a person into the forest and throw him to be devoured by animals. However, those who respect nature can even become friends with this creature and receive help from it.
Dashingly one-eyed
Spirit of evil, failure, symbol of grief. There is no certainty regarding Likh’s appearance - he is either a one-eyed giant or a tall, thin woman with one eye in the middle of his forehead. Dashing is often compared to the Cyclopes, although apart from one eye and tall stature, they have nothing in common.
The saying has reached our time: “Don’t wake up Dashing while it’s quiet.” In a literal and allegorical sense, Likho meant trouble - it became attached to a person, sat on his neck (in some legends, the unfortunate person tried to drown Likho by throwing himself into the water, and drowned himself) and prevented him from living.
Likh, however, could be gotten rid of - deceived, driven away by force of will, or, as is occasionally mentioned, given to another person along with some gift. According to very dark superstitions, Likho could come and devour you.
Mermaid
In Slavic mythology, mermaids are a type of mischievous evil spirits. They were drowned women, girls who died near a pond, or people swimming at inopportune times. Mermaids were sometimes identified with “mavkas” (from the Old Slavonic “nav” - dead man) - children who died without baptism or were strangled by their mothers.
The eyes of such mermaids glow with green fire. By their nature, they are nasty and evil creatures, they grab bathing people by the legs, pull them under the water, or lure them from the shore, wrap their arms around them and drown them. There was a belief that a mermaid's laughter could cause death (this makes them look like Irish banshees).
Some beliefs called mermaids the lower spirits of nature (for example, good “beregins”), who have nothing in common with drowned people and willingly save drowning people.
There were also “tree mermaids” living in tree branches. Some researchers classify mermaids as mermaids (in Poland - lakanits) - lower spirits who take the form of girls in transparent white clothes, living in the fields and helping the field. The latter is also a natural spirit - it is believed that he looks like a little old man with a white beard. The field dwells in cultivated fields and usually patronizes peasants - except when they work at noon. For this, he sends midday warriors to the peasants so that they will deprive them of their minds with their magic.
It is also worth mentioning the crowfish - a type of mermaid, a baptized drowned woman, who does not belong to the category of evil spirits, and therefore is relatively kind. Waterworts love deep pools, but most often they settle under mill wheels, ride on them, spoil millstones, muddy the water, wash out holes, and tear nets.
It was believed that waterwomen were the wives of mermen - spirits who appeared in the guise of old men with a long green beard made of algae and (rarely) fish scales instead of skin. Bug-eyed, fat, creepy, the merman lives at great depths in whirlpools, commands mermaids and other underwater inhabitants. It was believed that he rode around his underwater kingdom riding a catfish, for which this fish was sometimes called “devil’s horse” among the people.
The merman is not malicious by nature and even acts as a patron of sailors, fishermen or millers, but from time to time he likes to play pranks, dragging a gaping (or offended) bather under the water. Sometimes the merman was endowed with the ability to shapeshift - transform into fish, animals or even logs.
Over time, the image of the merman as the patron of rivers and lakes changed - he began to be seen as a powerful “sea king” living under water in a luxurious palace. From the spirit of nature, the merman turned into a kind of magical tyrant, with whom the heroes of the folk epic (for example, Sadko) could communicate, enter into agreements and even defeat him with cunning.
Mermen as presented by Bilibin and V. Vladimirov.
Sirin
Another creature with the head of a woman and the body of an owl (owl), with a charming voice. Unlike Alkonost and Gamayun, Sirin is not a messenger from above, but a direct threat to life. It is believed that these birds live in the “Indian lands near paradise”, or on the Euphrates River, and sing such songs for the saints in heaven, upon hearing which people completely lose their memory and will, and their ships are wrecked.
It's not hard to guess that Sirin is a mythological adaptation of the Greek Sirens. However, unlike them, the bird Sirin is not a negative character, but rather a metaphor for the temptation of a person with various kinds of temptations.
Nightingale the Robber (Nightingale Odikhmantievich)
A character in late Slavic legends, a complex image combining the features of a bird, an evil wizard and a hero. The Nightingale the Robber lived in the forests near Chernigov near the Smorodina River and for 30 years guarded the road to Kyiv, not letting anyone through, deafening travelers with a monstrous whistle and roar.
The Robber Nightingale had a nest on seven oak trees, but the legend also says that he had a mansion and three daughters. The epic hero Ilya Muromets was not afraid of the adversary and knocked out his eye with an arrow from a bow, and during their battle, the whistle of the Nightingale the Robber knocked down the entire forest in the area. The hero brought the captive villain to Kyiv, where Prince Vladimir, out of curiosity, asked the Nightingale the Robber to whistle - to check whether the rumor about the super-abilities of this villain was true. The nightingale, of course, whistled so loudly that he almost destroyed half the city. After this, Ilya Muromets took him to the forest and cut off his head so that such an outrage would not happen again (according to another version, Nightingale the Robber later acted as Ilya Muromets’ assistant in battle).
For his first novels and poems, Vladimir Nabokov used the pseudonym "Sirin".
In 2004, the village of Kukoboi (Pervomaisky district of the Yaroslavl region) was declared the “homeland” of Baba Yaga. Her “birthday” is celebrated on July 26th. The Orthodox Church sharply condemned the “worship of Baba Yaga.”
Ilya Muromets is the only epic hero canonized by the Russian Orthodox Church.
Baba Yaga is found even in Western comics, for example, “Hellboy” by Mike Mignola. In the first episode of the computer game "Quest for Glory" Baba Yaga is the main plot villain. In the role-playing game "Vampire: The Masquerade" Baba Yaga is a vampire of the Nosferatu clan (distinguished by ugliness and secrecy). After Gorbachev left the political arena, she came out of hiding and killed all the vampires of the Brujah clan who controlled the Soviet Union.
* * *
It is very difficult to list all the fabulous creatures of the Slavs: most of them have been studied very poorly and represent local varieties of spirits - forest, water or domestic, and some of them were very similar to each other. In general, the abundance of intangible creatures greatly distinguishes the Slavic bestiary from more “mundane” collections of monsters from other cultures
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Among the Slavic “monsters” there are very few monsters as such. Our ancestors led a calm, measured life, and therefore the creatures they invented for themselves were associated with the elementary elements, neutral in their essence. If they opposed people, then, for the most part, they were only protecting Mother Nature and ancestral traditions. Stories of Russian folklore teach us to be kinder, more tolerant, to love nature and respect the ancient heritage of our ancestors.
The latter is especially important, because ancient legends are quickly forgotten, and instead of mysterious and mischievous Russian mermaids, Disney fish-maidens with shells on their breasts come to us. Do not be ashamed to study Slavic legends - especially in their original versions, not adapted for children's books. Our bestiary is archaic and in some sense even naive, but we can be proud of it, because it is one of the most ancient in Europe.
There are so many of them, they are all famous for something of their own, something different from others. Whether it's history or just their appearance (scales, ears or tails ^^) - this makes them part of their world.
A world into which they are not ready to let everyone in! But we won't last long, right? Let's take a peek and that's it!
Let's go lower... and here they are!
Elves. Strange ears that give them a certain mystery and unity with nature. More often they are found exactly where the “Great Mother” reigns with all her grass-ants and creepers and flies. An interesting kind of creature, so cute in appearance, but so “arrr” strong and ready to do anything to protect those who have become a kind of family for them...
Oooh, but these creatures are generally unusual to the core and bones, and even to the tail, yeah. They lure the foolish peasants into the water with their singing - and remember everyone’s name! But the beauties are always on parade, always ready to win the heart of the opposite sex. And sailors are in special demand among them... So, boys, be careful... otherwise they’ll grab you, drag you away, and you’ll be gone! 
Centaurs seem to be human, but they seem not. But in various legends and myths they were most often presented as a good part of all living things. Always on the side of good and light. But they have more than enough strength. Anyone can be rebuffed.
By the way, if you turn your gaze to the sky, you can see a centaur there in the form of a constellation! 
Medusa Gorgon is a terrible creature. A beautiful girl, and on her head, mother of God, snakes wriggle. Ugh. What a horror. And if you look into her eyes - that’s it, you’ll turn to stone immediately, without having time to come to your senses. Those are still monsters of the mythical world. By the way, her hairs are poisonous, so if you meet THIS on your way, you can immediately pray! 
Fairies are cute creatures that live near ponds and flowers. Fairies were rarely evil; rather, they were a reflection of nature, loving peace and tranquility and preserving beauty in everything - this is how they are seen in fairy tales and cartoons. But often evil thoughts are hidden under kindness, so you need to be very careful when meeting them. Be careful, these cute wings may fool you! 
Well, and finally, just a couple of beautiful mythical pictures with creatures that are unlike anything in this ordinary and routine world. Very unusual, beautiful and damn mythical, dooo! 
Mythological genre(from the Greek word mythos - legend) is a genre of art dedicated to events and heroes about which 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 style revived interest in the 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 would marry men from other tribes at certain times of the year. They gave the born boys to their fathers or killed them, and raised the girls 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.
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| Kedrigern and other magicians Dean Morrissey |
But the further statement of these magi that they came to Jerusalem because they saw in the East the star of the born king of the Jews, whom they came to worship, shows that they belonged to the category of those eastern magi who were engaged in astronomical observations.
Upon returning to their country, they devoted themselves to contemplative life and prayer, and when the apostles scattered to preach the Gospel throughout the world, the Apostle Thomas met them in Parthia, where they were baptized by him and themselves became preachers of the new faith. Legend says that their relics were subsequently found by Queen Helena; they were first placed in Constantinople, but from there they were transferred to Mediolan (Milan), and then to Cologne, where their skulls, like a shrine, are kept to this day. In their honor, a holiday was established in the West, known as the holiday of the three kings (January 6), and they generally became patrons of travelers.
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.
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| 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.
| Gorgons (V. Bogure) |
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, are 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 their favorite places were wastelands, thickets, and 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 of the famous story of the battle between the Lapiths and the centaurs, who decided to kidnap the daughter of King Lapith
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| RENI GUIDO Dejanira, 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.
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| 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 the beautiful daughter Nereus from Atlas and married her.
| Herbert James Draper. Sea melodies, 1904 |
Satires
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| 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.
They loved to dance in circles in the moonlight; the music of these fabulous creatures enchanted listeners. The world of the light elves was Apfheim. The light elves were engaged in spinning and weaving, their threads were flying webs; they had their own kings, fought wars, etc.Dark elves are gnomes, underground blacksmiths who store treasures in the depths of the mountains. In medieval demonology, elves were sometimes called lower spirits of natural elements: salamanders (spirits of fire), sylphs (spirits of air), undines (spirits of water), gnomes (spirits of earth)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
In the culture of every nation there are mythical creatures with both positive and negative qualities.
Some of them are known all over the world. Others, on the contrary, are familiar only to a specific ethnic group.
In this article we present a popular list of mythical creatures with pictures. Moreover, you will learn their origins as well as those associated with them.
Homunculus
Faust with HomunculusTo do this, it was necessary to meet many different conditions, with the obligatory use of mandrakes. The alchemists were confident that such a little man was able to protect his owner from harm.
Brownie
This is one of the most popular mythical creatures in Slavic folklore. Most people know about him from fairy tales. Until now, some believe that the Brownie can influence the life of the owner of the house.
According to the myth, so that he does not harm any of his owners, he must be appeased with various treats. Although this often leads to the opposite consequences.
Babai
In Slavic mythology it is a night spirit. They usually scare naughty children. And although Babai does not have any specific image, he is often spoken of as an old man with a sack in which he puts harmful children.
Nephilim
The Nephilim lived in pre-Flood times and are even mentioned in the Bible. These creatures are fallen angels who were once seduced by the beauty of earthly women and entered into sexual relations with them.
As a result of these connections, the Nephilim began to be born. Literally, the word means “those who make others fall.” They were very tall, and also distinguished by incredible strength and cruelty. The Nephilim attacked people and caused serious destruction.
Abaasy
Baawan Shi
In Scottish mythology, it meant a bloodthirsty creature. When a person saw a raven turning into a beautiful girl in a dress, it meant that in front of him was Baavan shi himself.
It was not for nothing that the evil spirit wore a long dress, because under it he could hide his deer hooves. These evil mythical creatures won over men, and then drank all their blood.
Baku
Werewolf
One of the most famous mythical creatures found among different peoples of the world. A werewolf is a person who can transform into animals.
Most often, werewolves are. Such modifications can occur at the request of the werewolf himself, or in connection with lunar cycles.
Wiryava
The peoples of the north called the mistress of the forests that way. As a rule, she was depicted as a beautiful girl. Viryava is served by animals and birds. She is friendly towards people and can help them if necessary.
Wendigo
The Wendigo is an evil cannibal spirit. He is an ardent opponent of any excesses in human behavior. He likes to hunt and surprise his victims.
When any traveler finds himself in the forest, this mythical creature begins to make frightening sounds. As a result, the person takes to his heels, but fails to escape.
Shikigami
In Japanese myths, these are spirits that can be summoned by the sorcerer Omme-do. Despite their small size, they can inhabit animals and birds in order to then control them.
Manipulating Shikigami is very dangerous for a magician, since at any moment they can begin to attack him.
Hydra
This mythical creature is described in the work of the ancient Greek poet Hesiod. Hydra has a serpentine body and many heads. If you cut off one of them, two new ones immediately grow in its place.
It is almost impossible to destroy Hydra. She guards the entrance to the kingdom of the dead and is ready to attack anyone who gets in her way.
Fights
In English mythology, this is the name given to water fairies. Turning into wooden saucers, slowly floating on the surface of the water, they try to lure women into a trap.
As soon as a woman touches such a saucer, Drac immediately grabs her and drags her to the bottom, where she will have to look after his children.
Sinister
These are pagan evil spirits in the myths of the ancient Slavs. They pose a great danger to humans.
Evil spirits pester people and can even possess them, especially if they are alone. Often these mythical creatures take the form of poor old people.
Incubi
In the legends of many European countries, this was the name given to male demons thirsting for female love.
In some ancient books, these creatures were represented as fallen angels. They have such a high reproductive rate that entire nations arose from them.
Goblin
Most people know that the mythical creature Leshy is the owner of the forest, vigilantly watching over all his property. If a person does nothing bad to him, then he treats him friendly and can even help him find a way out of the forest.
But he can deliberately force bad people to walk in circles around his domain, leading them astray. The goblin can laugh, sing, clap his hands or cry. With the onset of cold weather, it goes underground.
Baba Yaga
One of the most popular characters in Russian fairy tales. Baba Yaga is the mistress of the forest, and all animals and birds obey her.
As a rule, she is presented as a negative character, but sometimes she can come to the aid of different heroes.
Baba Yaga lives in a hut on chicken legs and can also fly on a mortar. She invites children to come into her abode and then eat them.
Shishiga
Living in the forest, this mythical creature attacks lost people and then eats them. At night, Shishiga prefers to make noise and wander through the forest.
According to another belief, Shishigi love to mock people who begin to take on any work without first praying. From this follows the popular belief that they accustom people to the correct routine of life.
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He even provided comprehensive evidence in the form of photographs in this article. Why did I talk about mermaids, yes because mermaid is a mythical creature found in many stories and fairy tales. And this time I want to talk about mythical creatures that existed at one time according to legends: Grants, Dryads, Kraken, Griffins, Mandrake, Hippogriff, Pegasus, Lernaean Hydra, Sphinx, Chimera, Cerberus, Phoenix, Basilisk, Unicorn, Wyvern. Let's get to know these creatures better.
Video from the channel "Interesting Facts"
1. Wyvern
Wyvern-This creature is considered a “relative” of the dragon, but it only has two legs. instead of the front one there are bat wings. It is characterized by a long snake-like neck and a very long, movable tail, ending with a sting in the form of a heart-shaped arrow or spear tip. With this sting, the wyvern manages to cut or stab the victim, and under the right conditions, even pierce it right through. In addition, the sting is poisonous.
The wyvern is often found in alchemical iconography, in which (like most dragons) it personifies primordial, raw, unprocessed matter or metal. In religious iconography, it can be seen in paintings depicting the struggle of Saints Michael or George. The wyvern can also be found on heraldic coats of arms, for example, on the Polish coat of arms of the Latskys, the coat of arms of the Drake family or the Enmity of Kunvald.
2. Asp
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Aspid- In the ancient Alphabet Books there is a mention of the asp - this is a serpent (or snake, asp) “winged, with a bird’s nose and two trunks, and in the land in which it is committed, that land will be devastated.” That is, everything around will be destroyed and devastated. The famous scientist M. Zabylin says that the adder, according to popular belief, can be found in the gloomy northern mountains and that it never sits on the ground, but only on a stone. The only way to speak and exterminate the destroyer serpent is with a “trumpet voice” that makes the mountains shake. Then the sorcerer or healer grabbed the stunned asp with red-hot pincers and held it, “until the snake died.”
3. Unicorn
Unicorn- Symbolizes chastity, and also serves as an emblem of the sword. Tradition usually represents him as a white horse with one horn protruding from his forehead; however, according to esoteric beliefs, it has a white body, a red head and blue eyes. In early traditions, the unicorn was depicted with the body of a bull, in later traditions with the body of a goat, and only in later legends with the body of a horse. Legend claims that he is insatiable when pursued, but obediently lies down on the ground if a virgin approaches him. In general, it is impossible to catch a unicorn, but if you do, you can only hold it with a golden bridle.
"His back was curved and his ruby eyes glowed; at the withers he reached 2 meters. Just above his eyes, almost parallel to the ground, his horn grew; straight and thin. His manes and tail were scattered in small curls, and drooping and unnaturally for albinos were black eyelashes cast fluffy shadows on pink nostrils." (S. Drugal "Basilisk")
They feed on flowers, especially rosehip flowers, and honey, and drink morning dew. They also look for small lakes in the depths of the forest in which they swim and drink from there, and the water in these lakes usually becomes very clean and has the properties of living water. In Russian "alphabet books" of the 16th -17th centuries. The unicorn is described as a terrible and invincible beast, like a horse, all the strength of which lies in the horn. Healing properties were attributed to the unicorn's horn (according to folklore, the unicorn uses its horn to purify water poisoned by a snake). The unicorn is a creature of another world and most often foreshadows happiness.
4. Basilisk
Basilisk- a monster with the head of a rooster, the eyes of a toad, the wings of a bat and the body of a dragon (according to some sources, a huge lizard) that exists in the mythologies of many peoples. His gaze turns all living things to stone. Basilisk - is born from an egg laid by a seven-year-old black rooster (in some sources from an egg hatched by a toad) into a warm dung heap. According to legend, if the Basilisk sees its reflection in the mirror, it will die. The Basilisk's habitat is caves, which are also its source of food, since the Basilisk only eats stones. He can only leave his shelter at night because he cannot stand the crowing of a rooster. And he is also afraid of unicorns because they are too “pure” animals.
“He moved his horns, his eyes were so green with a purple tint, his warty hood was swelling. And he himself was purple-black with a spiky tail. The triangular head with a black-pink mouth opened wide...
Its saliva is extremely poisonous and if it gets on living matter, it will immediately replace carbon with silicon. Simply put, all living things turn into stone and die, although there are disputes that the Basilisk’s gaze also petrifies, but those who wanted to check this did not return...” (“S. Drugal “Basilisk”).
5. Manticore
Manticore- The story about this creepy creature can be found in Aristotle (IV century BC) and Pliny the Elder (1st century AD). The manticore is the size of a horse, has a human face, three rows of teeth, a lion's body and a scorpion's tail, and red, bloodshot eyes. The manticore runs so fast that it covers any distance in the blink of an eye. This makes it extremely dangerous - after all, it is almost impossible to escape from it, and the monster feeds only on fresh human meat. Therefore, in medieval miniatures you can often see an image of a manticore with a human hand or foot in its teeth. In medieval works on natural history, the manticore was considered to be real, but living in deserted places.
6. Valkyries
Valkyries- beautiful warrior maidens who fulfill the will of Odin and are his companions. They invisibly take part in every battle, granting victory to those to whom the gods award it, and then take the dead warriors to Valhala, the castle of the extra-celestial Asgard, and serve them at the table there. Legends also call heavenly Valkyries, who determine the fate of each person.
7. Anka
Anka- In Muslim mythology, wonderful birds created by Allah and hostile to people. It is believed that anka exist to this day: there are simply so few of them that they are extremely rare. Anka is in many ways similar in its properties to the phoenix bird that lived in the Arabian desert (one can assume that anka is a phoenix).
8. Phoenix
Phoenix- In monumental sculptures, stone pyramids and buried mummies, the Egyptians sought to find eternity; It is quite natural that it was in their country that the myth of a cyclically reborn, immortal bird should have arisen, although the subsequent development of the myth was carried out by the Greeks and Romans. Adolv Erman writes that in the mythology of Heliopolis, the Phoenix is the patron of anniversaries, or large time cycles. Herodotus, in a famous passage, expounds with marked skepticism the original version of the legend:
“There is another sacred bird there, its name is Phoenix. I myself have never seen it, except as a drawing, for in Egypt it appears rarely, once every 500 years, as the inhabitants of Heliopolis say. According to them, it flies when it dies father (that is, she herself) If the images correctly show her size and size and appearance, her plumage is partly golden, partly red. Her appearance and size resemble an eagle.
9. Echidna
Echidna- half-woman, half-snake, daughter of Tartarus and Rhea, gave birth to Typhon and many monsters (Lernaean Hydra, Cerberus, Chimera, Nemean Lion, Sphinx)
10. Sinister
Sinister- pagan evil spirits of the ancient Slavs. They are also called krixes or khmyri - swamp spirits, which are dangerous because they can stick to a person, even move into him, especially in old age, if the person has never loved anyone in his life and has had no children. Sinister has an indefinite appearance (speaks, but is invisible). She can turn into a little man, a small child, or an old beggar. In the Christmas game, the evil one personifies poverty, misery, and winter darkness. In the house, evil spirits most often settle behind the stove, but they also love to suddenly jump on a person’s back or shoulders and “ride” him. There may be several more evil ones. However, with some ingenuity, you can catch them by locking them in some kind of container.
11. Cerberus
Cerberus- one of Echidna's children. A three-headed dog, on whose neck snakes move with a menacing hiss, and instead of a tail he has a poisonous snake... Serves Hades (the god of the Kingdom of the Dead) stands on the threshold of Hell and guards its entrance. He made sure that no one left the underground kingdom of the dead, because there is no return from the kingdom of the dead. When Cerberus was on earth (This happened because of Hercules, who, on the instructions of King Eurystheus, brought him from Hades) the monstrous dog dropped drops of bloody foam from his mouth; from which the poisonous grass aconite grew.
12. Chimera
Chimera- in Greek mythology, a monster that spewed fire with the head and neck of a lion, the body of a goat and the tail of a dragon (according to another version, the Chimera had three heads - a lion, a goat and a dragon). Apparently, the Chimera is the personification of a fire-breathing volcano. In a figurative sense, a chimera is a fantasy, an unfulfilled desire or action. In sculpture, chimeras are images of fantastic monsters (for example, chimeras of Notre Dame Cathedral), but it is believed that stone chimeras can come to life to terrify people.
13. Sphinx
Sphinx s or Sphinga in ancient Greek mythology, a winged monster with the face and breasts of a woman and the body of a lion. She is the offspring of the hundred-headed dragon Typhon and Echidna. The name of the Sphinx is associated with the verb "sphingo" - "to squeeze, suffocate." Sent by Hero to Thebes as punishment. The Sphinx was located on a mountain near Thebes (or in the city square) and asked everyone who passed 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. The king, overcome with grief, announced that he would give the kingdom and the hand of his sister Jocasta to the one who would deliver Thebes from the Sphinx. Oedipus solved the riddle, the Sphinx in despair threw herself into the abyss and fell to her death, and Oedipus became the Theban king.
14. Lernaean Hydra
Lernaean Hydra- a monster with the body of a snake and nine heads of a dragon. The hydra lived in a swamp near the city of Lerna. She crawled out of her lair and destroyed entire herds. The victory over the hydra was one of the labors of Hercules.
15. Naiads
Naiads- Every river, every source or stream in Greek mythology had its own leader - a naiad. This cheerful tribe of water patrons, prophetesses and healers was not covered by any statistics; every Greek with a poetic streak heard the carefree chatter of the naiads in the murmur of the waters. They belong to the descendants of Oceanus and Tethys; there are up to three thousand of them.
“No one can name all their names. Only those who live nearby know the name of the stream.”
16. Rukhh
Rukhh- In the East, people have long been talking about the giant bird Rukh (or Ruk, Fear-rah, Nogoi, Nagai). Some people even met her. For example, the hero of Arabian fairy tales, Sinbad the Sailor. One day he found himself on a desert island. Looking around, he saw a huge white dome without windows or doors, so large that he could not climb onto it.
“And I,” Sinbad narrates, “walked around the dome, measuring its circumference, and counted fifty full steps. Suddenly the sun disappeared, and the air darkened, and the light was blocked from me. And I thought that a cloud had come over the sun (and it was summer time), and I was surprised, and raised my head, and saw a bird with a huge body and wide wings flying through the air - and it was she who covered the sun and blocked it over the island . And I remembered one story that was told long ago by people wandering and traveling, namely: on some islands there is a bird called Rukh, which feeds its children with elephants. And I was convinced that the dome that I walked around was the Rukhh egg. And I began to marvel at what the great Allah had created. And at this time the bird suddenly landed on the dome, and hugged it with its wings, and stretched out its legs on the ground behind it, and fell asleep on it, may Allah be praised, who never sleeps! And then I, untying my turban, tied myself to the feet of this bird, saying to myself: “Perhaps she will take me to countries with cities and populations. It will be better than sitting here on this island." And when the dawn rose and the day rose, the bird took off from the egg and soared into the air with me. And then it began to descend and landed on some ground, and, having reached the ground, I I quickly got rid of her legs, afraid of the bird, but the bird didn’t know about me and didn’t feel me.”
Not only the fabulous Sinbad the Sailor, but also the very real Florentine traveler Marco Polo, who visited Persia, India and China in the 13th century, heard about this bird. He said that the Mongol Khan Kublai Khan once sent loyal people to catch a bird. The messengers found her homeland: the African island of Madagascar. They did not see the bird itself, but they brought its feather: it was twelve steps long, and the diameter of the feather shaft was equal to two palm trunks. They said that the wind produced by the wings of Rukh knocks a person down, her claws are like bull horns, and her meat restores youth. But try to catch this Rukh if she can carry off a unicorn along with three elephants impaled on her horn! author of the encyclopedia Alexandrova Anastasia They knew this monstrous bird in Rus', they called it Fear, Nog or Noga, and gave it even new fabulous features.
“The leg-bird is so strong that it can lift an ox, flies through the air and walks on the ground with four legs,” says the ancient Russian “Azbukovnik” of the 16th century.
The famous traveler Marco Polo tried to explain the mystery of the winged giant: “They call this bird on the islands Ruk, but they don’t call it in our language, but it’s a vulture!” Only... greatly grown in the human imagination.
17. Khukhlik
Khukhlik in Russian superstitions there is a water devil; mummer. The name hukhlyak, hukhlik, apparently comes from the Karelian huhlakka - “to weird”, tus - “ghost, ghost”, “strangely dressed” (Cherepanova 1983). The appearance of the hukhlyak is unclear, but they say that it is similar to the shilikun. This unclean spirit most often appears from water and becomes especially active during Christmas time. Likes to make fun of people.
18. Pegasus
Pegasus- V Greek mythology winged horse. Son of Poseidon and the gorgon Medusa. He was born from the body of the gorgon killed by Perseus. He received the name Pegasus because he was born at the source of the Ocean (Greek “source”). Pegasus ascended to Olympus, where he delivered thunder and lightning to Zeus. Pegasus is also called the horse of the muses, since he knocked Hippocrene out of the ground with his hoof - the source of the muses, which has the property of inspiring poets. Pegasus, like a unicorn, can only be caught with a golden bridle. According to another myth, the gods gave Pegasus. Bellerophon, and he, taking off on it, killed the winged monster chimera, which was devastating the country.
19 Hippogriff
Hippogriff- in the mythology of the European Middle Ages, wanting to indicate the impossibility or incongruity, Virgil speaks of an attempt to cross a horse and a vulture. Four centuries later, his commentator Servius claims that vultures or griffins are animals whose front part is eagle-like and the back part lion-like. To support his statement, he adds that they hate horses. Over time, the expression “Jungentur jam grypes eguis” (“crossing vultures with horses”) became a proverb; at the beginning of the sixteenth century, Ludovico Ariosto remembered him and invented the hippogriff. Pietro Michelli notes that the hippogriff is a more harmonious creature, even than the winged Pegasus. In "Roland the Furious" a detailed description of the hippogriff is given, as if intended for a textbook of fantastic zoology:
Not a ghostly horse under the magician - a mare
Born into the world, his father was a vulture;
Like his father, he was a wide-winged bird, -
He was in front of his father: like that one, zealous;
Everything else was like the uterus,
And that horse was called a hippogriff.
The borders of the Riphean mountains are glorious for them,
Far beyond the icy seas
20 Mandrake
Mandrake. The role of Mandrake in mythopoetic ideas is explained by the presence of certain hypnotic and aphrodisiac properties in this plant, as well as the similarity of its root to the lower part of the human body (Pythagoras called Mandrake a “human-like plant”, and Columella - a “semi-human grass”). In some folk traditions, based on the type of Mandrake root, male and female plants are distinguished and even given appropriate names. In old herbalists, Mandrake roots are depicted as male or female forms, with a tuft of leaves growing from the head, sometimes with a dog on a chain or an agonizing dog. According to legends, anyone who hears the groan made by the Mandrake as it is dug out of the ground must die; to avoid the death of a person and at the same time satisfy the thirst for blood supposedly inherent in Mandrake. When digging Mandrake, they tied a dog, which was believed to die in agony.
21. Griffins
Griffin- winged monsters with a lion's body and an eagle's head, guardians of gold. In particular, it is known that the treasures of the Riphean Mountains are protected. From his scream, the flowers wither and the grass withers, and if there is anyone alive, then everyone falls dead. The griffin's eyes have a golden tint. The head was the size of a wolf's with a huge, terrifying-looking beak a foot long. Wings with a strange second joint to make them easier to fold. In Slavic mythology, all approaches to the Irian Garden, Alatyr Mountain and an apple tree with golden apples are guarded by griffins and basilisks. Whoever tries these golden apples will receive eternal youth and power over the Universe. And the apple tree itself with golden apples is guarded by the dragon Ladon. There is no passage here for either foot or horse.
22. Kraken
Kraken is the Scandinavian version of Saratan and the Arabian dragon, or sea serpent. The Kraken's back is one and a half miles wide, and its tentacles are capable of enveloping the largest ship. This huge back protrudes from the sea, like a huge island. The Kraken has a habit of darkening the sea water by spewing some liquid. This statement gave rise to the hypothesis that the Kraken is an octopus, only enlarged. Among Tenison's youthful works one can find a poem dedicated to this remarkable creature:
From time immemorial in the depths of the ocean
The giant Kraken sleeps soundly
He is blind and deaf, over the carcass of a giant
Only from time to time a pale ray glides.
Giant sponges sway above him,
And from deep, dark holes
Polyps innumerable choir
Extends tentacles like hands.
The Kraken will rest there for thousands of years,
So it was and so it will be in the future,
Until the last fire burns through the abyss
And the heat will scorch the living firmament.
Then he will wake up from sleep,
Will appear before angels and people
And, emerging with a howl, he will meet death.
23. Golden dog
golden dog.- This is a dog made of gold that guarded Zeus when he was pursued by Kronos. The fact that Tantalus did not want to give up this dog was his first strong offense before the gods, which the gods later took into account when choosing his punishment.
“...In Crete, the homeland of the Thunderer, there was a golden dog. She once guarded the newborn Zeus and the wonderful goat Amalthea who fed him. When Zeus grew up and took away the power over the world from Cronus, he left this dog in Crete to guard his sanctuary. The king of Ephesus, Pandareus, seduced by the beauty and strength of this dog, secretly came to Crete and took it away on his ship from Crete. But where to hide this wonderful animal? Pandarey thought about this for a long time during his journey across the sea and finally decided to give the golden dog to Tantalus for safekeeping. King Sipila hid the wonderful animal from the gods. Zeus was angry. He called his son, the messenger of the gods Hermes, and sent him to Tantalus to demand the return of the golden dog. In the blink of an eye, fast Hermes rushed from Olympus to Sipylus, appeared before Tantalus and said to him:
- The king of Ephesus, Pandareus, stole a golden dog from the sanctuary of Zeus in Crete and gave it to you for safekeeping. The gods of Olympus know everything, mortals cannot hide anything from them! Return the dog to Zeus. Beware of incurring the wrath of the Thunderer!
Tantalus answered the messenger of the gods this way:
- It is in vain that you threaten me with the wrath of Zeus. I haven't seen a golden dog. The gods are wrong, I don’t have it.
Tantalus swore a terrible oath that he was telling the truth. With this oath he angered Zeus even more. This was the first insult inflicted by tantalum on the gods...
24. Dryads
Dryads- in Greek mythology, female tree spirits (nymphs). they live in a tree which they protect and often die along with this tree. Dryads are the only nymphs who are mortal. Tree nymphs are inseparable from the tree in which they live. It was believed that those who plant and care for trees enjoy the special protection of dryads.
25. Grants
Grant- In English folklore, a werewolf, who most often appears as a mortal in the guise of a horse. At the same time, he walks on his hind legs, and his eyes glow with fire. Grant is a city fairy, he can often be seen on the street, at noon or towards sunset. Meeting with a grant portends misfortune - a fire or something else in the same spirit.
