Mythical Creatures and Magical Beings
Griffins
A Griffin (Grifphon or Gryphon) is an animal, which is part eagle, part lion.
It has the head, beak, front body and wings of an eagle and the ears and rear body of a lion. A Griffin is large in size, around about the size of a shire horse.
They are the guardians of secret treasures and mines and were sacred creatures to the Greek god Apollo and goddesses Athena and Nemesis. They are also called the ‘hounds of Zeus’.
The first carving of a griffin dates to 5000 B.C. in the city of Susa in Iran.
Other Griffin carvings have been found in Egyptian tombs, palaces and buildings around the world.
Early pictures show them as guardians and protectors to kings and queens but later pictures depict them as monsters attacking people and animals.
Symbolically they represent the earth and the sky, strength and intelligence. They are also used to represent Christ.
Griffins are magical creatures, their claws are especially valuable as they change colour in the presence of poison.
Their nests are made of gold and their eggs are similar in appearance to gems.
These are the other different types of Griffins:
Snake Griffin – A snake griffin has the body of a lion, the head of a snake and the hind legs of an eagle
Lion Griffin – The lion griffin is similar in appearance to a lion but has the hind legs of an eagle
Hippogryph – A rare Griffin, which is the combination of a griffin and a horse. It has the head, front body and wings of a griffin and the rear body of a horse.
Unicorns
| All of the beasts obeyed Noah when he admitted them into the ark. All but the unicorn. Confident of his strength he boasted 'I shall swim!’ For forty days and forty nights the rains poured down and the oceans boiled as in a pot and all the heights were flooded. The birds of the air clung onto the ark and when the ark pitched they were all engulfed. But the unicorn kept on swimming. When, however, the birds emerged again they perched on his horn and he went under -- and that's why there are no more unicorns now. -- From a Ukrainian folk tale |
A Unicorn is an animal, which has the head and body of a horse, the back legs of a stag, the tail of a lion and a single horn in the center of its forehead.
The name Unicorn is taken from the Latin words Uni meaning One and Cornu meaning horn.
Unicorns are considered to be good omens and represent purity, hope, majesty and love.
They are mentioned several times in the bible and are often used to symbolize Christ.
Unicorns have been mentioned in writings throughout history and even appear in Chinese writings dating back to 2800 BC.
The horn of a unicorn has magical powers.
It is said to offer protection against poisons and has been recorded as an ingredient in many ancient medicines.
It is also said to protect against such illnesses as stomach problems and epilepsy.
Unicorns are good-natured animals but will attack if cornered or scared.
When they are in this state they can only be soothed by the touch of a virgin, and this is where they are said to have lived, with virgins.
Many years ago, these magical creatures where believed to exist but now they only exist in fairy tales and myths.
Pegasus
Pegasus was the child of Medusa and Poseidon.
Medusa was slain by Perseus. As he cut off her head, Pegasus sprung from her body.
Pegasus, the winged horse was given to Bellerophon by the gods as a gift for killing the monster Chimera.
He took Pegasus to Mount Helicon and with one stamp of his hoof he made the spring flow again.
Bellerophon ordered Pegasus to fly him up to the top of mount Olympus, which angered the gods.
Zeus sent a Gadfly down to sting Pegasus that caused the animal to throw Bellerophon from his back, down to earth and his death.
There are two endings to this story, one is that Pegasus then rose up to the heavens where he became a constellation (which can be found in the northern hemisphere) or that he then went on to become ‘the thundering horse of Jove’ carrying thunderbolts for Zeus.
Dragons
Dragons are warm-blooded reptiles, which means that they are able to function in any weather during the day or night.
They are usually red, green or blue in colour or a mixture of several colours. They live for hundreds or thousands of years and normally die due to injury or being killed.
Their nests are filled with jewels and gold, which is most often stolen.
Dragons mate in the air whilst falling to the ground at high speeds. They lay eggs, which can hatch anytime between 2 and 5 years.
These are some of the many kinds of dragons:
Drake – Drakes are similar to eastern dragons but with only two legs. There are three different kinds of drake, the Firedrake, which is red and breaths fire, the Cold Drake, which is white or pale blue, and breaths ice and the Acid Drake, which is green and spits acid.
Eastern dragon – similar to the western dragon except that they have more serpent like bodies, have no wings and do not breathe fire.
They have two horns on their head and either 2, 3 or 4 toes depending on the family of the dragon.
Eastern dragons are good and kind dragons.
There are four main kinds of eastern dragon; these are celestial dragons that protect gods, earth dragons that control water, spiritual dragons that control the rain and wind and underworld dragons that guard treasures.
Fairy dragon – these dragons are very rare, they are only a couple of inches long, with large wings similar to a butterflies wings. They are thought to transport fairies.
Hydra – a hydra is a dragon with several heads. The most famous of these dragons are the ones fought by Hercules and Jason to gain the Golden Fleece.
Hercules discovered that when he cut off a head of the hydra that two more grew in its place and that the only way to stop this from happening was the burn the neck after he cut off the head.
Pernese dragon – like western dragons but with telepathic abilities and the power to disappear to avoid danger.
Western dragon – they have long bodies with 4 legs, 2 wings, long neck and a tail. They are fire breathers and are chameleon like in that they are able to change colour to blend in with their surroundings. They are also able to change shape.
They are evil killers. The most famous dragon of this kind is the one killed by St. George.
This is the most well known type of dragon.
Wyvern – has 2 legs and 2 clawed wings, which act as further hands. They have a stinger in the end of their tails for defense and killing their prey.
Dragons and humans have never been able to live together successfully as men fight and strive for reward and dragons could not understand why. This is probably the reason that we do not know what happened to them.
Phoenix
A phoenix is an eagle like bird with red and gold feathers.
It is said to have a beautiful and melodious song.
They live for around about 500 years on a diet of frankincense and odoriferous gum.
When they die they reproduce themselves rising from the remains of the dead phoenix.
Often the body of the dead phoenix is shown as being on fire and the new phoenix rises from its ashes.
Once they are big enough they move their nest to Egypt to the temple of the sun.
The phoenix comes from Assyria but can be found mentioned all around the world.
Symbolically the phoenix represents life after death and immortality. It represents power and grace. In Chinese mythology it represents yin and yang.
Centaurs
A centaur has the legs and body of a horse and the upper body and head of a man.
In Greek mythology they are the offspring of Ixion, king of Thessaly and a cloud.
Ixion was having an affair with Hera and when Zeus found out he sent a cloud in the form of Hera to Ixion.
Centaurs were disruptive and this was usually caused by alcohol!
Chiron, unlike other centaurs was gentle and learned and was the tutor of many Greek heroes such as Hercules, Jason and Achilles.
Although he was immortal, he was accidentally injured by Hercules and so asked Zeus for help and was sent up to the heavens as the constellation Sagittarius.
They symbolize the unpredictable forces of nature. They also represent the star sign Sagittarius.
Medusa
Medusa was originally a Libyan goddess worshipped by the Amazon’s as the ‘Serpent goddess’.
Medusa meaning ‘sovereign female wisdom’ was one of the three personalities of the goddess Athene, the others being Metis and Athena.
Medusa had the ability to see into the future and it is said that anyone who looked into her face would see their own future including their death.
Medusa represents duality. As the young Medusa she is the life giver, she is beautiful and one with the earth.
As the older crone, Medusa represents death. She kills so that life may continue. She creates balance.
In Greece
In Greek mythology, Medusa as a young woman was a good and beautiful person. The jealous goddess Athena took away her charms and turned her hair to snakes. She made her so monstrous that anyone who looked at her was turned into stone.
Perseus was told to kill Medusa (one of the Gorgon sisters, the other two sisters were Sthenno and Euryale) by Athena and Seriphos.
He was given winged sandals, a cap with powers of invisibility and a pouch.
When he approached the Gorgons were sleeping. Athena held a shield to reflect Medusa so that Perseus was able to cut off her head without being turned to stone.
As Medusa’s head was severed, the winged horse Pegasus sprang from her body (see above).
He placed her head in his pouch and as it retained its magical powers he was able to use the head to turn people to stone during his battles.
Medusa’s head was given to Athena.
Athena place Medusa’s head in the center of her Aegis, a protective device similar to a cloak, which is made of scales and fringed with serpents.
Genies
A magical spirit in Arab traditional stories, who does or provides whatever the person who controls it, asks.
The genies are also known as Djinn.
The Djinn were originally a group on magical giant who enchanted objects with their magic spells.
The Djinn eventually died out but the magic they had placed in these objects remained and waited to be released.
When the object was rubbed or broken the magical fire sprites were released and as a sign of their gratitude they granted three wishes to whoever had released them.
The only problem with the genies is, as with many other fairies, they are tricksters so some caution should be used when making your wishes!
The Thunder Bird
The Thunder Bird is also known as the Waukheon or Wakinyan.
The name thunderbird comes from the Native Americans.
The thunderbird is a nature spirit in the form of a bird, similar in appearance to the eagle.
The thunderbird shoots lightening from its eyes and the movement of its wings causes the thunder.
There are two versions of the thunderbird story.
One version is that the thunderbird was friendly towards man and that it often acted as protector to him.
The thunderbird was a sacred bird and worked in harmony with man.
The other version is that the thunderbird was a fearsome bird that killed both men and animals. It swooped down from the sky and plucked them from the earth with its giant talons and flew them away to their death.
The thunderbird is symbolic of duality, its rain bringing life and its fire and hail bringing death and destruction.
The thunderbird also represents strength and war and is often used as the symbol on shields and other items used for fighting.
Which mythical creature are you like?
This is what the site said about me:
You are Form 3, Unicorn: The Innocent. "And The Unicorn knew she wasn't meant to
go into the Dark Wood. Disregarding the advice
given to her by the spirits, Unicorn went
inside and bled silver blood.. For her
misdeed, the world knew evil." Some examples of the Unicorn Form are Eve
(Christian) and Pandora (Greek). The Unicorn is associated with the concept of
innocence, the number 3, and the element of
water. Her sign is the twilight sun. As a member of Form 3, you are a curious
individual. You are drawn to new things and
become fascinated with ideas you've never come
in contact with before. Some people may say
you are too nosey, but it's only because you
like getting to the bottom of things and
solving them. Unicorns are the best friends to
have because they are inquisitive.
Which Mythological Form Are You?
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