Gods and Monsters Mythology

Not quite sure where to start with this research as there are so many possibilities! Began by looking at well known 'gods and monsters' - perhaps narrow down what are my main areas of interest, and looking into developing further. - discovering more obscure/lesser known legends.


Gathered information from;
http://www.gods-and-monsters.com/mermaid-mythology.html

Catogeries;
- Gods, 
- Greek gods, 
- Egyption Gods
- (explore further in separate post? - in more detail. Find primary research.)

- Monsters, e.g...
- All mythical creatures
- Vampires
- Werewolves
- Demons
- Fairies
- Zombies

Myths
-True stories?
- legends - worldly legends - linked with religion perhaps?


Skandinavian Folklore:
Thor 

Trolls

Dwarves

Elves

Odin

Loki

Kraken

Huldra - Sharman.

List of all mythical creatures / - (Myths most famous beasts?)

- Alicorn - the name for a winged unicorn.
- Banshee - A spirit appearing as a frenzied old woman whose high pitched shriek prophesised a death soon to come 
- Basilisk - A legendary lizard who could kill a man with its stare.
- Bigfoot - A type of Sqsqutch native to North American forests.
- Black Dog - An evil spirit dog that stalks city streets at night
- Black eyed beings - they take human form but have black, soulless eyes and emanate a sense of pure evil.
- Bogle - a ghostly being whose purpose is to confuse and scare humans and other creatures
- Brownies - small humanoid creatures wearing all brown clothing who sneak into homes at night to help with household chores.
- Centaur - Half man half horse creatures that run wild and unruly.
- Cerberus - The three headed dog that guards the enterence to hades.
- Charybdis - The whirlpool on one side of the strait of messina that swallowed ships that came too close to it.
- Chimera - Part-lino, part goat part snake all monster.
- Cockatrice - A flying part-rooster/part-snake that could kill with its stare.
- Cyclops - The one-eyed giant who captured and ate people
- Cynocephalus - A member of an ancient race of men with the heads of dogs.
- Demon - Malevolent spirits of Hell who battle humans for control of their souls.
- Doppelgänger - Apparitions of people that occur in impossible situations.
- Dragon - Giant, flying, fire-breathing lizards who often guard treasure.
- Dwarf - A short, stalky humanoid who live in underground mining communities.
- Echidna - The snake-woman who became the mother of most Greek monsters.
- Elf - A race of pointy-eared humanoids who excel in magic and archery.
- Fairy - A small, flying humanoid with magical abilities.
- Ghosts - Spirits of the dead whose souls remain in the realm of the living.
- Gnome - A small, humanoid creature who lives and moves beneath the earth.
- Goblin - A grotesque, troublesome little creature with a strong greed for gold and jewels.
- Golem - Magically animated human-shaped creatures typically made of solid stone.
- Gorgon - The snake-haired and snake-bodied humanoid that was created in its mother's image. Its stare could turn a person to stone. Medusa became one of these creatures in a later myth.
- Griffin - A creature with the body of a lion, the tail of a snake, and the head and wings of an eagle.
- Grim Reaper - The embodiment of death itself, the Grim Reaper comes to take your soul to the afterlife.
- Hobgoblin - A type of Brownie who is inherently less helpful and more mischievous, even to the point of causing harm if antagonised.
- Hydra - The nine-headed serpent who grew two new heads for every one that was cut off.
- Imp - Small, mischievous creatures who liked to play pranks on people.
- Ladon (Python) - The snake that guarded the golden apples in the Garden of the Hesperides.
- Leprechauns - Small, bearded men who have a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.
- Loch Ness Monster - The elusive sea-monster from the Loch Ness in Scotland.
- Manticore - A mythical beast with a lion's body and a human's head.
- Medusa - A disciple of Athena who was turned into a gorgon.  She had the hair of snakes and could turn men to stone with her gaze.
- Mermaids - Sea creatures with the head and torso of a woman and the tail of a fish.
- Minotaur - The creature with the head and legs of a bull and the torso of a man, who guarded the exit to The Labyrinth.
- Mothman - A winged creature in the shape of a man with hypnotic red eyes sighted in West Virginia.
- Mutants - A term describing abnormal creatures created by genetic or environmental mutations.
- Nemean Lion - The giant lion with impenetrable hide who becomes the constellation Leo.
- New Jersey Devil - A flying creature with a high-pitched scream and a horse-like head native to the New Jersey Pine Barrens.
- Nymph - Divine female nature spirits who inhabit certain natural sites.
- Ogre - An ugly, oversized humanoid creature with great physical strength and little intelligence.
- Orthros - The two-headed monster dog.
- Pegasus - Technically the proper name of Bellerophon's winged horse, which became the general name for winged horses.
- Phoenix - The golden bird who, at the end of its life, burst into flames only to be reborn again.
- Pixie - A small humanoid creature with pointy ears who likes to cause mischief.
- Sasquatch - Large, hairy, man-like beasts that live in the woods.
- Satyr - Half-men, half-goats who were wild and lustful.  The god Pan was one of these.
- Scylla - The man-eating beast that lived on the opposite side of the Strait of Messina from Charybdis.
- Sea Monsters - The generic term for several breeds of water-based monsters.
- Sea goat- The half-goat, half-fish who are the children of Pricus, who becomes the constellation Capricorn.
- Shade - The ghosts of dead people before they are admitted entrance to Hades.
- Shapeshifters - Humans who can willingly take the form of an animal while maintaining their consciousness.
- Sirens - Man-eating beautiful women whose song compels men to them.
- Sphinx - The half-human, half-lion that forces those it meets to answer its riddles, or die.
- Sprite - A category of elemental, fairy-like spirits, invisible to humans (a Sylph is one of these).
- Sylph - An invisible, fairy-like being dedicated to the element of air.
- Thunderbird - A giant bird that creates storms with its wings.
- Typhon  - The fire-breathing giant who challenged Zeus for control of Mount Olympus. Also the father of most Greek monsters.
- Unicorn - A magical horse with a single horn on its forehead.
- Valkyries - Mythical Norse female divinities who choose heroes to die in battle and carry them to the great Valhalla.
- Vampire - Legend's most charming bloodsucker gets a whole section of this website all to itself.
- Wendigo - An evil spirit that possesses humans and turns them into cannibals.
- Warewolf - Human by day, wolf by night.
- Wraith - Evil spirits of the dead who are trapped on Earth.
- Zombie - The living dead who feed on human flesh.

Specific types of mythology:




Mermaid Mythology - 'all mythical creatures'

There are many different interpretations of the mermaid throughout history, - "The earliest known mermaid legends come from Syria around 1000 B.C. where the Syrian goddess Atargatis dove into a lake to take the form of a fish, but the powers there would not allow her give up her great beauty, so only her bottom half became a fish and she kept her top half in human form."

Stories have changed and developed over time however, - its seems to be that The goddess Atargatis and became mixed with the goddess Ashtarte, who is considered the counterpart to greek mythology's Aphrodite. "Though Aphrodite is rarely portrayed in mermaid form, this evolution of mermaid mythology is what led to Aphrodite's role in the mythology of Pisces, which clearly has roots in Syrian mythology.

later tales of mermaid mythology come from Homer's 'the Odyssey' where mermaids were seen as dangerous and luring creatures of the sea, - this has been an intensely popular representation of the mermaid throughout history. Popular tales include legends from the bristish isles, and the famous Arabian Nights tales. - where mermaids would sing to men on ships or shores; their voice and beauty would hypnotise them, and the men would be lured out to sea to either drowned, or eaten.
- Other tales suggest that mermaids were innocent creature, but that still caused great threat - it was said that men would believe they have seen a woman drowning, and dive in after them only to drown themselves.
- Some believe that mermaids perhaps didn't understand that humans could not breath underwater, and would un intentionally drag people down to their death.
- Some cultures believe that mermaids were immortal and powerful - abilities ranging from curing the sick to granting wishes and sharing their gift go immorality.
- The modern perception of mermaids is often far developed from this threatening image - todays perception is that mermaids are sweet and innocent creatures, which can be credited to the most famous tale in mermaid mythology - Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid" tale - and the disney film adaptation.

- It is this interpretation that has made mermaids so appealing and exciting to young children and this perception is so distanced from how they were originally seen.
- Perhaps it would be interesting then to reinvent the idea of 'the mermaid' and take it back to where the legend came from. - I am interested in exploring the idea of illustrating lesser known myths and legends, but also the lesser known origins stories/interpretations.
- I will not worry about censoring the information to make the stories ' child friedly' but in creating works with a darker, spookier feel/theme. - this is something that needs to be well considered when choosing an audience.

Represented throughout film/books/stories.
- examples I've known; Peter pan, Little mermaid, Harry Potter - just briefly showing the wide spectrum of how these creatures are represented.

Disneys "Peter Pan"

Universal Studio's "Peter Pan"

Disneys "The Little Mermaid"

Harry Potters Interpretation of Mer people.

Warewolves
- Many interpretation and variations across cultures.
- See, scandanavian folklore - 'Mara'

Warewolfs posses - power, speed, and mindless slaughtering propensity. What really constitutes as a werewolf? - Broken down into Three distinct creatures known by this name.

1. The Shapeshifter Wolf

"The shapeshifter wolf has the ability to change form at any time.  This is believed to have been the original power of the first werewolf before it was taken away.  The shapeshifter wolf can transform from human form to wolf form at will, though aggressive energy or anger may increase the likelihood of causing an unintentional transformation.  The shapeshifter wolves considered "werewolves" can only change from human to wolf form, though "pure" shapeshifters can transform from human form to any other animal form, including a wolf. It is believed that all shapeshifters are born into this ability, and one cannot be transformed into a shapeshifter by the bite from the creature. The exception to this is the Navajo Skinwalker, which is not a true shapeshifter, but a witch using an animal hide to transform."

As seen in Twighlight, - shapeshifter

2. The Wolfman

Many "werewolf" stories, including sightings of the legendary Bray Road Beast, describe a creature that is physically a combination of a wolf and a man.  This mutant wolf-man typically has a mostly human-shaped body, stands on two legs, but is covered in wolf hair and has claws and fangs. The Wolfman is often called a "werewolf" because in many legends this creature is believed to share many of the traits of the werewolf "curse". Depending on the legend, some wolfmen are humans by day and wolf-men by night while others are in their duel human/wolf form at all times.  I believe the generally accepted theory is that one begins by transforming from human to wolfman on full moons only, then over time it increases to every night, and eventually the body settles into a pure wolfman form at all times. The degree to which a wolfman can control his mind and emotions also degrades as these transformations become more permanent.

3. The True Werewolf

A true "werewolf", according to most legends, is a human being that uncontrollably transforms into a wolf during a full moon.  The original werewolf curse transformed a Shapeshifter Wolf into a Werewolf, effectively taking away the ability to control the shift but also taking away the ability to think as a human while in wolf form. Werewolves, when in wolf form, have uncontrollable rage and hunger.  They are driven to kill everyone and everything they encounter, regardless of their relationship as humans. The curse causes these wolves to lose all control of their minds, and when they wake up in human form in the morning, they don't remember anything (though they may revisit certain memories in dreams). It is this form of werewolf that can transfer their condition through a bite, assuming of course that the human being bitten survives the attack.

Underworld

Hemlock Grove

Griffin

"The griffin is a fascinating mythical creature whose roots reach from western Europe to the Eastern edges of India and beyond.
In any mythology, the griffin is portrayed as a mix between an eagle and a lion.  In all cases, this creature is shown as having the head of an eagle and the body of a lion, but from there the other specific features are in debate. The most common portrayal of the griffin in mythology is a creature with the body and regal, kingly mythical creature who commanded deep respect. (Griffin mythology reads a lot like dragon mythology in that) griffins were thought to be very wise and wily characters who spent a good deal of time seeking out and guarding gold and treasures.  Other legends have the griffin as a trickster, who would challenge people with riddles in a contest of wits.  The winners would get to keep their lives and treasures, and the losers would not."

According to historian and folklore expert Adrienne Mayor, it is possible that the origin of griffin mythology stems from some human interpretations of fossils. A dinosaur from the cretaceous period - the pentaceratops, possessed a beaked face and four legged body, barring much resemblance to the description of a griffin. These fossils were known to be discovered by people digging for gold, leading to the belief that the creatures acquired the reputation of being gold hauders.

"As they represented both wisdom and power, griffins were commonly associated with strength in war, thus being an obvious choice for many coats of arms from ancient to medieval families and armies.  The Republic of Genoa used the griffin as a symbol of its seafaring power on all of its ships in the Middle Ages.

A griffin on a coat of arms

As with most monsters, the griffin has ties to ancient Greek mythology.  Specifically, it was said that a griffin pulled the chariot of Apollo (Greek mythology), the sun god.  This would be appropriate, as the griffin was thought to be stronger than an ox or a horse, and had the ability to fly, thus carrying the sun god to and from the sun and earth.  Apollo often also represented wisdom in the form of knowledge, which is also a characteristic of the griffin."

There are not many varied examples specifically about griffins. They are well known mythical creatures, however, there are only a few examples of characters in mythology. Its perhaps surprising that there are no named griffins in stories, but its perhaps that they are considered more as symbolic creatures and fits their character to main a level of anonymity and mystery.

The Shapeshifter

"There are many variations on the shapeshifter concept throughout mythology. In fact, it is such a powerful archetype that the term "shapeshifting" can refer to several different variances in mythology, both figurative and literal.

While many of the ancient gods and goddesses regularly performed physical transformations, they are not considered "shapeshifters" by this definition. The creature known as The Shapeshifter is specifically a human who can willingly take the physical form of one to several animals while maintaining their human consciousness. This precise definition is of great importance, as there are other human-form-to-animal-form transformers in myths and legends that do not match this criteria. In order to easier identify this specific creature, I will refer to it from here on as "The Shapeshifter".

One major trait of this being is that it transforms at will. It does not automatically change forms in full moons, when immersed in water, etc. They can stay in their human form indefinitely, and many don't even know they have this ability during early childhood (it usually first appears during the teenage years). Though their transformation is willful, they can "accidentally" cause transformation by losing control of their emotions, particular anger.

Some Shapeshifters of this kind can transform into multiple animal forms while others can only transform into a single form. All members of this race begin as single-form shifters. It is not known why some can change into multiple forms and some into only a single form throughout their lives, but it appears to be genetically pre-determined.

A good example of these different forms of The Shapeshifter show up in popular vampire fiction. The Twilight series features Shapeshifter Wolves - humans who are born with the ability to transform into wolves at will. In contrast, the Trueblood series features Shifters who can transform into just about any animal they are familiar with.  Both of these types of creatures are considered The Shapeshifter as they both fit the requirements of this type of being. In contrast, consider the werewolf, a human who can also transform into a wolf - but the transformation is not under their control, nor do they maintain their human consciousness. These seemingly small differences are actually very important distinctions between The Shapeshifter and most of the other beings who can change physical form.

In many myths magic is used to transform one creature into another against their will, such as the famous legends of "The Frog Prince" or "Beauty and the Beast". In other myths gods, goddesses, wizards, witches, and other beings with mystical powers can magically change their forms, but still they are not the same as The Shapeshifter. When mystical, magical, or godly power is used for the transformation, it can indeed be considered the shifting of one's shape, but every creature who can change shapes is not necessarily a "Shapeshifter" by definition.

In modern mythology, there are creatures best known as "Reptilian Shapeshifters" that are believed to be a race of aliens who have infiltrated governments around Earth in human form. Though they can also change form at-will and maintain their consciousness, they fail the test of The Shapeshifter as they transform from reptile-to-human form and not the other way around. Sorry, Reptoids, you'll have to get your own web page."

* Do I choose a fully narrated myth/legend or do i consider choosing a known creature and creating a new narrative?
- Focus on one religion/culture? maybe i need to start by choosing a specific kind of mythology for example greek mythology has such a broad range of legends. - for a more cohesive project need to focus on one?