Some Famous and Not So Famous Monsters There have been a lot of mythical monsters appearing throughout history. While these are mythical, there are those who believe some have at least a semblance of clues which might prove they actually existed. There are quite a few which are still very popular and many not so much. One of the most famous of all monsters is the dragon. There has never been any proof it existed, but since it resembles a flying dinosaur, some believe it was real. One does have to wonder why so many cultures speak about dragons and even picture them. Some go back many thousands of years. Even some cultures which didn’t seem to have contact at one time with others seem to have their dragons. Even the oldest known culture in the world, the Aborigines had dragon stories. The question is if they didn’t exist why did just about every culture talk about them? An anthropologist had a theory and it was the reason for this is they embodied the lethal predators which humans had to face. There is an ancient meaning for the word salamander which is different from what it is today. In the ancient past it meant fire lizards who lived in volcanoes. This could have accounted for the dragon having fiery breath. No, the fire lizard was not real either. The Manticore was a Persian monster. It was very similar to the Sphinx. It had the head of a human, the body of a lion, but also had a tail composed of venomous spines. Sometimes it is depicted as having the tail of a scorpion. There were various stories about the creature and some say it could shoot its spines at a person from its tail. It is said if you crossed its path, it could devour you whole. If we translate the name to English, it means man eater, ouch. It is said the King of Persia, in the fourth century B.C. had a Greek doctor, who was responsible for passing on the story of the Manticore to the rest of the world. The Griffin was another fearsome monster. It was part lion and part eagle or hawk. It had the body and back legs of the lion and the wings, beak and talons of a fearsome bird. No one is sure when the legend of the Griffin started, but it became popular in ancient Greece. Stories abounded about Griffins grabbing people, flying high in the sky with them and then dropping them to their deaths. It was also said if they got you, they might rip you apart and supposedly eat you. Some scientists believe the idea of a Griffin might have been inspired by dinosaur fossils which were found by the Greeks. The Basilisk started out in Roman stories and was described as a snake like creature with a sort of crown on its head. As time went by and humanity reached the Middle Ages, the Basilisk was still mentioned, probably because it was Roman and everything Roman was believed to be true in those days including medical treatises. By then the Basilisk was described as looking like a serpent with the head of a rooster and bat like wings. It was said it could kill you by just looking at you and you could counter this by using a mirror to have it stare at itself because if that happened it would drop dead. Every race talks about its monsters and the Japanese are no different. They have the Oni. In Japan the Oni are said to be huge, heavy and have horns growing from their heads. There are different depictions of their skin color which could be either red, white or blue. Wow, that seems very patriotic. They should be American. Anyway, they carry clubs and are said to be demons from hell. The Aqrabuamelu would be something in real life you would never want to meet. This is quite an ancient mythical monster and originates from Mesopotamia, which is considered to be the first culture. I should say this is true now, but who knows if older cultures will be found someday? It was said the Aqrabuamelu were created by the goddess Tiamat. She needed them because the younger gods were revolting as was her mate Apsu. This was part of the Babylonian creation myth. Today we think of a Chimera as a creature born of the mating of two different creatures. In ancient Greece a Chimera was said to be a fire breathing animal which looked like a combination of a lion, goat and snake. The Chimera was considered to be a female. The Pontianak is a fearsome creature which fools people at first into thinking it is a beautiful woman. The beast can turn into a bloodthirsty vampire like demon after luring a man somewhere. The legend of the Pontianak comes from Indonesia. It is said to be more like a spirit than a creature. Here is the good news, it is also said it can kill a vampire. One of the most famous of all monsters is the Bogeyman. I am sure everyone has heard of it. How many children have been told if they didn’t behave the Bogeyman would get them? No one knows where the story of the Bogeyman first started. It seems every culture has a type of Bogeyman and they mostly all look different. It has been described as having horns by some and talons by others. Some say it has hooves. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the Zombie. A Zombie is said to be one of the living dead. The first mention of a Zombie was from Haitian folklore. Originally, they were more like the living under the control of some master, but today they are described as reanimated dead. When I was young there were a lot of Zombie movies out, but not so much today. If you were a Roman and were on a lonely road somewhere, you never wanted to bump into a Faun. A Faun was a creature which was half man and half goat. They also were capable of being helpful by guiding people to safety. You never knew which way they might go. Would they help you or kill you? There are plenty of other mythical monsters out there. We all have heard of vampires, werewolves, and all sorts of other famous monsters. There was the Gorgon named Medusa which would turn you to stone if you looked at her. There is no shortage of monsters and I am sure they will be inhabiting stories and books forever.
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