Fiery Beasts

Hello and Happy 2020.

Unfortunately for Australia 2020 has started with epic bushfires in the east of our country. Which has lead me to write a post on Fiery Beasts of the mythological world.

Fire, is something of a necessity for humanity, and is something we both love and loathe. Useful for warmth and cooking, fire has a darker, much more destructive side. Like a ravenous beast it can be wild and terrifying, consuming all in its path. It really is little surprise that wealth of mythological creatures have come into existence to explain the wild, unpredictable nature of of this primal element.

For the sake of brevity, I will not be discussing common fiery mythological beasties such as dragons and the phoenix, as you're probably already familiar with them.

Fire Salamander

Image Courtesy: Skygalleon

The actual fire salamander is a real animal, that can be found in Europe, on some Mediterranean islands, northern Africa, and  the Near East. They are often kept as pets and can live up to 10 years in captivity. Members of the Amphibian class, they can grow up to 12 inches, and are usually black and orange / yellow in coloration.

The mythical fire salamander however, is an altogether different creatures. The actual word Salamander is derived from the Greek salamándra meaning "Fire Lizard", and these mythological creatures were said to be live in fire, and/or have the power to create fire. There is a faery legend that suggests that fire salamanders were the creatures who introduced humanity to the element of fire. A potential origin for this mythology found in real life salamanders, "which are known to hibernate through the winter in logs that were then picked up and used to fuel fires. As a result of being tossed into a roaring inferno, they would wake up and scamper out of the fire. Due to their cool and damp skin, they would be able to survive the escape from the flames. As such, it was misunderstood that salamanders were entities of fire themselves." ref

Fire Giants

Image of Australian Bushfire smoke, courtesy Daily Telegraph

Just looking at the photo from above, its not hard to see how people believed in enormous fire giants. 

The fire giants that we are looking into today, hail from Norse mythology, in particular the realm of Muspelheim. According to Norse mythology there are nine realms, the realm of the Gods (Asgarth), of the Vanir (Vanaheim), of the elves (Alfheim), of men (Mithgarth), of the giants (Jotunheim), of fire (Muspellsheim), of the dark elves (Svartalfaheim), of the dead (Niflheim), and of the dwarfs ( Nithavellir). Muspelheim is described as a hot and glowing land of fire, and is guarded by Surtr, with his flaming sword. The fire giants apparently will play a big part in the coming of Ragnarok, at the end of the world.

Cherufe

Image Courtesy: AndrasaWiki

The Cherufe is a large man-eating mythical creature from the Mapuche mythology of the indigenous Mapuche people of south-central Chile

Cherufe is an evil creature made of rock and magma inhabits the magma pools found deep within Chilean volcanoes and is the cause of many earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. 

The Cherufe's appetite for destruction could be calmed by throwing a sacrificial victim into the its volcano. Unsurprisingly in mythology, the Cherufe preferred virginal women for its dinner.

And that's it for today, I hope your 2020 is a good one.

2017 Year of the Odontotyrannus...

Image Courtesy:Wikipedia

Happy New Year for 2017 - official year of the Odontotyrannus.

Just Kidding!

It's hard to believe another year has passed and I've haven't had a new release. Oops.

Well I'm currently in the process of re-writes for "Big Girl," here's to hoping 2017 is a more productive writing year!

Anyway onto the subject of January's post... the Odontotyrannus.

This particular beast caught my attention because it is mentioned in Greek classical writings but also  in a story of Alexander the Great. For those of you not familiar, Alexander the Great became king of ancient Macedonia at the age twenty.  Born in 356 BC, Alexander is remarkable in that by the age of thirty had created a large empire spanning from Greece to NW India. He remained undefeated in battle and is considered by many scholars to be one of history's most successful military leaders.  He died aged thirty-two, many suspect he was poisoned, as he had a lingering death after drinking some dodgy wine. Unlucky.

Anyway, it is alleged that the Alexander's Macedonian army was attacked by an Odontotyrannus during a campaign beside either the Ganges or Indus rivers in Northern India.

According to the Latin "Letter from Alexander" (the seventh of such letters about India written to his tutor Aristotle,) the creature had a black, horse-like head, with three horns protruding from its forehead and was larger than an elephant. The creature was fearless, and undeterred by the sight of fire. It is said to have killed twenty-six Macedonians and incapacitated fifty-two. It was eventually killed by being repeated stabbed with hunting spears.  He reports that that the local Indians called the beast "tooth-tyrant"  hence its Greek name dentityrranus or odontatyrannus.

Image Courtesy: Wikipedia

So what may this terrible beast be? Many scholars suggest it may have been a Crocodile living in the river - though the reports of the three horns makes that explanation somewhat problematic. Others suggest it may have been a rhinoceros. This also proves problematic also as the Indian Rhinocerous is famous for being only one horned. Another suggestion is that was an Indus Worm. The Indus Worm is a cryptid beast that looks like an enormous (three metres in length) fruit fly maggot. It is said to live in the mud at the bottom of the river and feed on horses and camels that drink there.  It has terrible teeth on its upper and lower jaw. Again this is unlikely to be the Odontotyrannus, as the dominant features of the beast is that it is black (not white like a maggot) and it has those troublesome three horns. 

The Odontotyrannus is interesting in that the original source descriptions are reasonably consistent. Even an Ethiopian version of Alexander describes it as having three 'tusks'.  Personally think the Rhino description is

most likely - despite the lack of three horns. Maybe there was a mutant? Who knows? The dark grey / blackish skin colour fits, and the Indian Rhino also defends itself with sharp canines. Regardless, I think the Odontotyrannus is is a fascinating beastie, and one well worth knowing about.

Have a wonderful 2017!

5 Most Bizarre Mythological Creatures

It's been a while coming, but this is a post I've been longing to write -

the worlds strangest and funniest mythological creatures!

The Ant Lion.

Yes, it's really as silly as it sounds.

Image Courtesy: B. Rosen, "The Mythical creatures bible".

Hailing from an early Greek Bestiary, the Ant-lion is a strange creature with the head of a lion and the body of an ant... This is because the Ant-Lion's father is indeed a lion and its mother a tiny ant. Really, the mind boggles at the physiological impossibility of it all. Considering a male lion has a penis about 6-9 inches that is covered with barbs, and the average size of  queen ant (the only ant capable of having young) is a meagre 8 mm - copulation simply could not occur without the assistance of a shrinking ray...which hasn't yet been invented... 

This all aside, it was said in those early Greek bestiaries that because the ant-lion's father is a carnivore and its mother a herbivore... all ant-lion's die shortly after birth.

The Jackalope

Image Courtesy: Museum Of the Weird. 

The Jackalope is a cryptid that comes from America, notably Wyoming. It is said to be a cross between the pygmy deer and a jack rabbit.  In the 16th - 18th Centuries, European bestiaries indicated a strong belief in horned rabbits. According to legend Jackalope milk has medicinal properties (unsurprisingly as an aphrodesiac), and the beasts can only breed during electrical storms that include hail (very specific). The Jackalope can imitate human voices and does so to lead hunters astray.

Interesting to note, it has been suggested that the Jackalope is in fact a jack rabbit suffering from a wart virus, the warts developing into horny growths that may (or may not) appear as 'antlers'.

The Amphisbaena

Image Courtesy: Theoi

The Amphisbaena is a Libyan mythological beastie, said to help women during childbirth. It comes in the form of a double headed snake or dragon - with the heads at either ends of its body.

Wait...

What's that you say? 

It has a head where its bum should be?

Yes indeedy.

If you're anything like me (which I'm presuming you are because you're reading this), if it really existed how the hell did this critter do its pooping?

Well... If there was any chance of this biological anomaly even reaching existence it would have to have an two sets of internal organs meeting at an anus / vent somewhere in its middle. Generally speaking  reptiles have a multi-purpose orifice called a cloaca - which serves the purpose of common outlet into which the intestinal, urinary, and genital tracts open and that opening is almost always at its tail end.

 When googling this creature I did indeed find images that looked like two headed snakes (heads at each end). They were in fact Eryx johnii, or sand boa snake that has a tail resembling its head. These creatures are found in India, Pakistan and the Middle East... and are possibly what the Amphisbaena really is.

The Batibat

Image Courtesy: Tumblr

This bad girl is found in the Philippines. She is essentially an overweight female wood nymph.

If her tree is cut down to build a bed, she will hunt down the owner of the bed and smother their faces at night until they are dead. It is said that she can be deterred from squashing you if you bite your own thumb... Remember that... It might come in handy.

The Asiman or Obayifo

Image Courtesy: Pieter Hugo

This mythological beastie hails from West Africa and is known as the Asiman or Obayifo by the Ashanti people. Generally considered a vampiric beast, it is  described as having shifty eyes and being obsessed with food.... (Wait I think I know some of these!) The Asiman are often believed to be witches who feed of despair, but also the blood of children.

This isn't funny or bizarre is it? 

 It gets better... When travelling at night they are said to turn into orbs of light. 

Still not bizarre enough? 

Well in Joseph William's 2003, book Psychic Phenomena of Jamaica.,it states that rather than turning into an orb of light, the Obayifo emit a phosphorescent light from their armpits and anus instead.

Which makes you think they'd wear thick pants and woolly jackets to prevent giving themselves away.

Enjoy your weekend!

Sharks! Move over Jaws and meet Tumuitearetoka!

Yes, yes, we are all terribly familiar with JAWS and monster sharks lurking in the depths just waiting for your fleshy limbs to flail by before devouring you in a horrific and painful fashion aren't we?

Before you crap yourself about getting back in the water, I think I should introduce you to the amazing Tumuitearetoka, the king of Sharks, who hails from Polynesian Mythology and Kamohoalii of Hawaiian mythology.

image courtesy: Wikia

We are so used seeing the shark depicted as something wicked and evil that some Polynesian mythology may  surprise you. In many of the Polynesian territories the Milky Way is traditionally represented as a shark, and is apparently called the "Long Blue Cloud Eater." This shark spirit can become man, in the form of tribal chiefs. These shape shifting chieftains can been good or evil depending on their personal preferences!

In Hawaiian mythology, Ka-moho-aliʻi is a shark god, and frequently swam the waters of Maui, whenever a boat was lost, the sailors would feed him an alcoholic kava drink and he would guide them back to their home port. It is alleged that Kamohoalii could also take the form of any oceanic fish. It is interesting however that Kamohoalii's son Nanaue's story isn't nearly as nice. Kamohoalii's boy unfortunately got a taste for human flesh... things got a little messy after that... You can read that myth here.

 There is also an interesting myth that I read about in The Element Encyclopaedia of Magical Creatures, by John and Caitlin Matthews. On the American Pacific coast a man and his wife were fishing, and instead of catching halibut they captured an enormous fish like they'd never seen. They cleaned and gutted it, but as she returned to the waters edge the wife was grabbed by Killer Whales. In desperation, the husband asked the Fish Chief where they would have taken his wife. He told the fisherman that his wife would have been taken as a slave because the huge fish they caught was a friend of the Killer Whales. Desperate now, the husband pleaded for anyone to come and help search for his wife. The only one volunteer was Shark. Together the man and Shark travelled to the home of the Killer Whales, where Shark grabbed the woman, throwing her into her husband's arms. He yelled at the humans to hurry away. When the people got to shore, behind them they could see a great fight happening in the water. To this day, Sharks and Killer Whales are still fighting...
Interestingly I could indeed find evidence of this.

Image Courtesy: Discover Wild Life

I am going to warn you that if you look on youtube you may find some disturbing footage...

Now all this nice mythology is great, but as the story of  Nanaue suggests, not all the Polynesian shark myths are very nice. In fact they can be just as dismal as a Jaws sequel. One in particular is when Tumuitearetoka decided he would eat the Polynesian legendary hero Ngaru. Fortunately for Ngaru and every subsequent surfer, in an effort to out run Tumuitearetoka in the water, Ngaru is said to have created the first surfboard.

Another Fijian myth of the shark deity called Dakuwanga, says that the shark positively delighted in eating fishermen's fish, as well as the fishermen should they fall in. As it happens, the king of the octopus fought with him, and eventually they came to a deal, and Dakuwanga promised not to eat any more fishermen...

So perhaps you could say that despite the sharks scary appearance and nature, even the myths don't peg it as totally malevolent being... which some people (the Premier of Western Australia, Colin Barnett for example) should take heed of.

Sea Shepherd Australia

As you may know from my Facebook posts last year, am proud supporter of Support Our Sharks and Sea Shepherd Australia, organisations who are trying hard to save our increasingly endangered marine life, especially the top predators, who are suffering at the hands of humans through overfishing, shark finning and general ignorance about their importance in a healthy marine ecosystem.

On that note, I hope you found this post enlightening, I certainly found the research fascinating. Have a wonderful week!

Save Our Sharks

Book Ref:
Knappert, J.,1992, An Encylopedia of myth and Legend Pacific Mythology, HarperCollins.
Matthews, J&C., 2013, The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures, HarperCollins.

A Bad Day to be a Sea Monster - Cetus

I am supposing that most of you  are unaware of Cetus -you may recognise the name, but can't think of a mythological creature related to it...

Can you see the whale shape? I can't.

Well Cetus is a massive sea monster hailing from Greek mythology, and the term cetacean (a marine mammal, whale, dolphin, porpoise etc) is derived from it.

Cetus is also a constellation, that can be seen throughout the year.

However the Cetus I'm talking about is the mythological one, not the astronomical one.

Some say Cetus is closely linked to the Leviathan (the biblical sea monster alternately described as a massive black skinned whale or dragon / serpent) - however, Cetus has been described as having the head of a dog or dragon and the bloated body of a whale/dolphin with large broad fan-like fins.

In Greek mythology Cetus has a bad day. One day Cetus was ordered by Poseidon to destroy the Phoenician kingdom ruled by Cassiopeia and her husband. He did this simply because Cassiopeia claimed she was more beautiful than the sea nymphs (Neriads). Which really seems like rather a stupid thing to do as anyone claiming to be more beautiful than a Goddess or demigod seems to meet with an unpleasant end (cough *Psyche* cough).

Anyway, as punishment for her pride and vanity, Cassiopeia has two options, let Cetus destroy her city or sacrifice her daughter Andromeda by chaining her naked to a rock and allowing her to be eaten. Naturally, Cassi chooses the latter.
So, thinking he's in for a nice juicy dinner, Cetus approaches and gets ready for his tea. Unfortunately, Perseus, who just happens to be in the area after chopping off Medusa's head, sees what's going on... He saves Andromeda, and not content with that, cuts off Cetus' head (or some say he displayed the head of  Medusa allegedly turning him to stone). Which rounded up a generally shitty day for poor old Ceets.

Perseus, went on to marry Andromeda, and fight more monsters, of course.

Charles Andre Van Loo - Perseus and Andromeda 1735-40

Leviathan (http://arelith.com/node/7422)

Enjoy your day!

Mythical Worms

If you have mythical bees and spiders, you've got to have mythical worms right?

Yes indeed.

Just for something totally random, today's post is on Legendary Worms....

Now, I feel I must state, for clarity's sake that todays post is about worms (ordinarily being invertebrate annelids, nematodes, or platyhelmenthes but also laval insects, maggots, etc). I do not however, refer to the mythical wyrm. This title (sometimes spelled wurm) refers to Dragons or Serpents. If you are interested in wyrms here's an interesting link. Wyrms may refer to the Lambton Worm / Sockton Worm / Laidly Worm/ Linton Worm - all of which are presumably dragon /serpent myths.

Worms or laval like creatures however do crop up occasionally within myth and most interestingly in cryptozoology - with many an varied sightings.

The Mongolian Death Worm -  olgoi-khorkhoi

Is a mythological creature that has gained cryptid status in the past 90 years. It is alleged to exist in the Gobi Desert, Mongolia.
It appears to be a creature commonly believed to exist by traditional inhabitants of the area. In  the 1920's an expedition was sent out to try and discover and capture one - naturally the expedition met with failure.
Commonly described as a red worm ranging from 2 ft to 5 ft in length with a thick body. It can kill at a distance, by either spewing acid, poison or an electric shock. Most interestingly, biologists who have studied the area cannot find an indigenous animal to equate the myth with - which makes the Mongolian Death Worm a particularly unusual cryptid. Click here for an interesting radio segment on the Death Worm.

Final Fantasy Minhocao.

The Minhocão
 Literally  means "big earthworm" in Portuguese. According to myth this is a giant subterranean worm-like cryptid, inhabiting the earth underneath South American forests. Described primarily as being enormous earth worms, there are reports of them also being aquatic. They apparently have some type of tentacle like appendage protruding from the head (I'm thinking slug and snail head here). The minhocão  has been reported to prey on large mammals, namely cattle, by suddenly capturing them from below the water.
The minhocão is known for the enormous tunnels it leaves behind. These tunnels suggest a diameter of up to ten feet. Its body length is stated to vary, from 75 up to 150 feet.
On occasion, the collapsing of houses has been blamed on the tunnels left by this creature. The creatures tunnels will sometimes flood, creating subterranean water bodies.

Gippsland Worm

The Minhocao is featured in the game "Final Fantasy" as a 'sand worm'.
It is perhaps important to note that giant earthworms - do actually exist - in Australia, Japan and South America. However, most notably, real giant earthworms (such as the giant Gippsland earth worm) may grow to as long as 4 meters, but their diameter almost always remains narrow (about 2 cm). This apparently has something to do with their ability to burrow.

Caecilian

Now, there is also a real creature known as a caecilian worm. They are found in tropical regions through out the world. Caecilians are a strange type of amphibian that superficially resemble earthworms. They are completely limbless, and can reach a length of up to 4 ft. They also have a toxin in their skin to deter predators. Their eyes are tiny and rather useless capable of sensing changes in light, rather than movement. The diet of caecilians isn't well know. Studies have shown unidentifiable plant matter and termite heads in their guts upon dissection. It is assumed they may be omniverous eating small invertebrates and plants.  I'll leave you to make up your own mind whether caecilians may be the antecedents to the giant burrowing worm myths.

Legendary human eating worms - although no where near as popular as vampires and werewolves, occasionally crop up in film and Video Games. My first encounter with them was watching "Tremors" a 1990 sci-fi-horror with Kevin Bacon (it was followed by a number of sequels.) There is also sandworms in the film BeetleJuice, as well as the giant lavae thing (Tanker worm) in the 1997 movie Star Ship Troopers. There are possibly many more.

If you are interested in reading more about worms - mythical or otherwise, here is an awesome article on about them  at Cryptomundo.
Additionally Youtube, as always, has some bizarre and disturbing images of worms / cryptids if ever you have the random desire to look up on any alleged 'sightings'.

On that note, have a fabulous week.

Tanker Worm - 1997 - "Starship Troopers"

Hags...the name says it all or does it?

Hag - a word often used as a derogatory term for a grumpy or mean female.

Where does the term come from? Is there a male equivalent? Why does mythology fixate so frequently on the ugly side of the female sex?








Lets take a look....
According to the dictionary, the English word Hag, apparently has it's origins in the Old English (1175–1225 AD) word hægge, which is similar to hægtesse meaning "witch", and hagorūn meaning "spell". 

It is unsurprising that Hags (sometimes called Crones) crop up in a multitude of countries. The most common description of a hag is of an unattractive older lady with malicious intent. Hag mythology is characterised by the presence of bad dreams, or uncomfortable sensations during sleep. The traditional hag myth revolves around old ladies being responsible for the poor sleep of their targetted victim.

It is believed that most Hag myths have been derived from  explanations of a condition known as 'sleep paralaysis' (also known as Old Hag Syndrome!) in which a person feels a weight on their chest and experiences difficulty breathing. Succubi and Incubi are also characterised by this sensation. However the Hag mythology has evolved into more corporeal creatures such as Banshee, Baba Yaga (and their varients) as well as interestingly Onibaba (Japan). Onibaba is a legendary evil old woman from the Fukushima region, who allegedly cut the living liver from a pregnant woman, who later turned out to be her own daughter. This act sent her into homocidal psychopathy and tales of her hideous behaviour survive to the modern day.

Here is a list of some other interesting more traditional 'hags'.

Boo Hag (African American) - Skin stealing, creature who gains sustenance from the breath of their victim. They enter the bedroom and 'ride' the victim by sitting on their chest, and stealing their breath.

Mara / Mare (Norse) - Old woman who enters the bedroom through the keyhole to bring the sleep nightmares. Legend has it that women may become a Mara through evil or wicked actions or being cursed.

Nocnitsa (Polish) -  this hag specialises particularly in tormenting sleeping children. She is primarily made of shadow and has a particularly earthy scent that can infiltrate dreams. She can be warded away by placing an iron knife in the child's bed, or drawing a protective circle around the bed with an iron knife. Depression or prolonged periods of sadness attract Nocnitsa to adults and she gains power from negative feelings.

Gorska Makua (Bulgarian) - Bulgarian version of Nocnitsa.

Phi Am

Phi Am ผีอำ (Thai) - ghost widow who steals the souls of young men as they sleep. To defend against this ghost, some men in the northeastern villages of Thailand wear lipstick to bed, in the belief that these female widow ghosts are women and won’t harm other females.

Cailleach (Ireland/Scotland) - an enormous old, ugly woman, often linked with natural destructive elements. She comes down from her home on November 1st and hits her staff against the ground to bring on cold winds and storms.
 
Are Hags always horrible?
 Not always...
There is the conflict between the concept of the 'hag' and the archetype of the "old woman healer" - who crops up in myth, literature and film. She however, is often considered to be a 'white witch' rather than a hag or crone.
Additionally the "British Hag" is (by some scholars at least) believed to be an evolution of one of that country's many ancient goddesses. This hag, however, is regarded as the personification of winter. In the winter months she is usually old and very ugly looking. As the season changes though she becomes more and more beautiful, and younger.
Celtic mythology also has The Morrigan Goddess, who is sometimes (but infrequently) linked with Hag mythology. Traditionally the Morrigan (who some say is a combination of three Goddesses) is a goddess of war, and can take the form of ravens etc. In human form she has a normal female appearance.
Other Hag-like mythical beings can, at times, choose to be benevolent. For example Baba Yaga may assist people on quests if the mood strikes her, however she is just as likely to eat you.
Similarly the Bean nighe (often linked with the Banshee). She appears as an old washerwoman. This Hag is sometimes seen as an omen of death, however, if you can sneak up to her and suckle at her long hanging breast (as you do!) you could then claim to be her foster child and she will grant you wishes...
The resounding theme here? The constantly perpetuated idea of the fickle female, which crops up again, and again in mythology and indeed sociology.

So...is there a male equivalent for the Hag?

 I would like to think so, but from my research (which I confess is NOT exhaustive) most old men myths speak of either 1) benevolent fatherly being (or god/demigod) who gives advice, 2) a trickster, 3) a combination of both. It is rare to have an malevolent mythical being who takes the form of an old man. Charon (from Greek mythology is probably the exception, though he seems more angry and annoyed than actually malevolent).

 Charon (Greek) - He is the ferry-man who takes the dead over the river Styx. He usually takes the form of a grumpy older male, clad in dirty clothes, with haggard cheeks and an unkempt beard, a fierce ferryman who guides his craft with a long pole. He must be paid to transport souls across the river.

Old Man of the Sea (Greek) - a primordial God-like being who is associated with a number of water-gods. Old Man of the Sea gains a mention in Homer's "Odyssey", and also in "Sinbad the Sailor". He can give useful advice to travellers, but also tricks people.

Yue Lao - old man under the moon,  月下老人 (Chinese) - Yue Lao is Chinese deity of marriage. People pray to Yue Lao for assistance in finding a marriage partner. Statues of him may be found throughout Asia. He is typically seen as an elderly man holding the book of marriage (姻缘簿) in his left hand and a walking stick in his right hand.

Napi / Oldman (Blackfoot Native American) -  Napi, is a creator god and trickster figure in the mythology of the Blackfoot people of North America. He is said to have created the world and all the creatures in it









The concept of the 'wise old man' is an archetype rarely connected with malevolent acts.
This type of character is typically represented as a kind and wise, older father-type figure who uses personal knowledge of people and the world to help tell stories and offer guidance that, in a mystical way, may impress upon his audience a sense of who they are and who they might become, thereby acting and acting as a mentor.
 
Why are there so many negative mythologies about old women and so few about old men?
There are probably many theories out there, which you'd have to research yourself, but this is my take on the situation.

In ancient times and in some modern traditional societies, men die earlier than women and those that survive would (one would assume) be the wisest and cleverest and most able to give advice to the younger generations on running the community (in a patriachal society at least).
Women live longer than men as a general rule. Therefore, those women past their useful childbearing years must do something to remain useful in a traditional society or else they are not worth the food they are fed.
Therefore women who could heal others and were wise would be kept and looked after (enter the archetype of the old woman healer). However, those older women who were sly, and tricky survived using wits and deceit - and it is those individuals I believe the negative hag myths have evolved from.

In addition to my "life-expectancy and usefulness theory of Hag evolution", I also believe that myths are created as moral tales to teach people societies 'norms' and instill fear to ensure co-operation. So, what could be more scary than a mother figure being twisted and made into monster? I'm certain it was that twisting of the natural order of motherhood and grand-motherhood, that has made Hag myths so popular and so frightening for people in times past.

On that note, I've had enough of typing and I bid you farewell.

Enjoy your Weekend.

:)

 

Making Myths Real III - creating the Thriae.

Today I'm showing you how I'd make a mythological creature 'real' in my writing.

 

I've chosen a rather random mythological insect, who hails from Greek Mythology, namely the Thriae.



[image; B. Rosen]

Beastly Facts

Name: Thriae (also known as Thriai)
Origin: Greek Mythology
Creep Factor: 1/10
Religious affiliation: Ancient Greek Pantheon
Deadly rating: Low
Cryptid: No
Shares similarity with: Melissae, Melissai


Brief and Basic History: The Thriae are closely linked to the Melissae (bee demigods/nymphs). Originally the Thriae were three nymphs (Melaina, Kelodora and Daphnis), who were oracles/soothsayers who used pebbles as a means of divination. The myths say that the nymphs were part woman and part bee, and lived somewhere around Mt Parnassos. They would tell fortunes and fed exclusively on honey, often they were described as being sprinkled with white/yellow meal, which was allegedly the pollen from the flowers.

Homeric Hymn 4 to Hermes 550 ff (trans. Evelyn-White)
(Greek epic C7th to 4th B.C.) :
[Apollon says to Hermes:] ‘There are certain holy ones, sisters born--three virgins gifted with wings: their heads are besprinkled with white meal, and they dwell under a ridge of Parnassos. These are teachers of divination apart from me, the art which I practised while yet a boy following herds, though my father paid no heed to it. From their home they fly now here, now there, feeding on honey-comb and bringing all things to pass. And when they are inspired through eating yellow honey, they are willing to speak the truth; but if they be deprived of the gods' sweet food, then they speak falsely, as they swarm in and out together. These, then, I give you; enquire of them strictly and delight you heart: and if you should teach any mortal so to do often will he hear your response--if he have good fortune. Take these, Son of Maia . . .’

Without giving too much away, I intend on using a version of the thriae in my next book. To use such an unusual creature, I am going to have to work hard to make it realistic and believable. Below is a step by step guide of how I will do it.

 Biological Realism is important.

Let face it, a human torso in insect body... How is that going to work...ever?!

Well, lets look at biology, and see how we can manipulate it.

a) Choose a type and a stick with it.
I am going to make my thriae almost entirely insectivorous, because mammalian vascular systems could never work in harmony with an insects  - there are simply too many differences. Unless I'm going to use the blanket "it's just magic" comment over it, we're going to have to do some research.

b) Know your basic biology.
Google is great! I also have countless biology books in my home library (yes, I did Biology 101 at University). Look at the diagrams!

If I want my thriae to be more bee-like than human internally, this is going to mean some serious physiological reasoning.
For example; Within the thorax/torso of my thriae, there will be no lungs. Being small and insectivorous they'd breath through spiracles and trachea. Therefore making them speak in a way that is intelligible to the average human is going to be problematic.

So how could I make the Thriae talk?
The biological realities are; that to speak they'd need vocal cords. Vocal cords are not muscles, but pieces of soft tissue with muscles surrounding them. These muscles around chords that cause them to loosen or tighten and it is the air passing through the vocal cords that make sound.
Here lies a big problem; the spiracles through which an insect breaths are located on the exoskeleton (thorax and abdomen, not the head). They allow allow air to enter the trachea. The tracheal tubes deliver oxygen directly to the small creatures tissues (this is one of the reasons that in our atmosphere insects can only grow upto a particular size as the respiratory system isn't complex enough to support a large body).
So assuming the thriae are insectivorous internally, and do not have lungs - they couldn't make vocal cords vibrate and therefore they couldn't speak through their mouths.
Hmmm. I have two options here, I can think of a way to make them speak biologically, or I can use literary license and say they speak through 'magic'. As I'm always up for a challenge, I like to investigate the posibility of speech through spiracles.

c) Do MORE research...
Ask yourself the questions!
Could spiracles move enough air to make sound? I don't know!!.. so I  did some more research. discovered that there is a very special catepillar named the walnut sphinx catepillar that can actually whistle. It does this through contorting its body and pushing air through the spiracle. This only occurs at the eighth spiracle (article; http://jeb.biologists.org/content/214/1/ii.short). Woo hoo!

So, if I want my thriae to talk (which I do), they're going to have make speech-like sounds through their spiracles and some type of muscle and chord system arrangement there, not through their mouths.
Therefore with a few minor manipulations of biology, my thriae will be able to speak a pseudo human language, albeit not through their mouths, but rather though a hole somewhere near their arse.

 

Sorry, that was low brow.

 

There are of course other complications that will need to be addressed. For example the endo- verses exo-skeleton problem with the existance human torso/bee abdomen.

Well, I've already stated that they have bee-internals so I'm going to have to continue the insect-theme and give them an entire exoskeleton. To do this I'll look at some other  insects that have interesting faces.

[stick insect]

Bee

damselfly.

Dragonfly

 Strangely cute aren't they?

 

So now, I can imagine a humanish head, but add insect features to it.

They additionally would have no neck, merely a flexible joint between the the head and thorax. Additionally, the six legs of an insect generally all stem from the thorax (torso in the thriae). So we'd have to add segmented legs, that could be made to move the creature in a realistic fashion and a modified first pair of legs that the thriae would use as 'arms'.

 

d) Sketch it.

You don't have to be an artist, but give it a go, it will help you understand the dimensions of your creature better, and envisage its movements with greater ease. I love to draw and paint so I find this particularly enjoyable, and my pin-board is covered in random sketches :)Below is my sketch of 'my' thriae (complete with my cat's paw - he's everywhere you want to be).

Suffice to say, my thriae doesn't look as cute as the other images, but you get the idea. :)

 

Finally....

 

d) Remember this IS fantasy.

Yes, I like to go over the top with research to make things realistic, but it is also important to realise that the creatures of myth and magic do not have to be completely realistic to be readable. After all, they're not real. A biologist I'm certain would be able rip apart my biological reasonings and explain millions of reasons why things would probably not work. However, it's just that little germ of possibility,  that adds something special to a novel. 

 

It is also important to understand that despite all the research and cool facts you discover, the information must not dumped into the story like a text-book. Indeed, some of it may not be even mentioned at all. It's a shame, but when you come across a reader or fellow mythology/biology nut you'll always have something to talk about.

 

And on that note, enjoy your Wednesday!