Questions tagged [mythical-creatures]
For questions about animals or non-human beings described in folklore and legends, which may or may not be based on actual creatures.
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Were the fauns ever included in rituals and practices?
The god Faunus himself, I believe, has a more clearly attested cult. But what about his diminutives - the fauni? Were they ever thought to grant any boons? Virgil seems to call them out in his ...
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Who was the first to depict long-tailed fauns?
I have seen several pieces of artwork that depict fauns with long, tufted tails. I initially thought this was just something that C.S. Lewis had made up*, but now I'm curious.
Who was the first person ...
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How big is a ziz?
I initially asked this question on Worldbuilding, and a few people said this site would be a better fit. How big is the ziz? Mythology states that it was large enough to block out the sun with its ...
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Help! Looking for a list of bird-human hybrids in mythology
I'm looking either for a list (linked or in your answer) of half human creatures from any and all mythology that can fly. Specifically, half human half bird. I am aware of harpies and sirens, although ...
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Mythology of Crete
Are there any mythological beings that are Cretan ,and not Greek .For example the minotaur is set in Crete but a Greek story .Are there any pure Cretan legends or Myths .
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What is a reptile with many heads meant to symbolize?
I'm from Romania, a country where you fill like you are in a trash can in urban zones, but feels like a fairy tale in rural zones. In school we learn about fairy tales (which is a species of very ...
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Is there a mythological creature that causes its viewer to commit suicide?
I've found a lot of creatures that kill, but not one that compels someone to commit suicide. Does anything like this exist?
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Which culture believed in a bird whose flight sustains the universe?
I came across a mythological belief a few weeks ago, I believe in a Sam Kriss piece (1).
It centered around a bird (a swan or goose, I want to say?) that ceaselessly flew (in a primordial void/chaos?) ...
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What species were new centaurs born from?
Centaurs are typically only depicted as male. I remember reading something about centaurs reproducing with human women. There's also a vague memory I have of reading that centaurs can mate with horses....
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Persian name for the al-mi'rāj (one-horned rabbit)
The al-mi'rāj is a creature of Persian myth, which resembles a one-horned rabbit. Despite being a Persian myth, most sources seem to have been written in Arabic, hence the Arabic name(s), but what is ...
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What is the "Lert" creature mentioned in Mistral's Poem of the Rhône?
In Frédéric Mistral's epic poem "Lou Pouèmo dóu Rose" (The Poem of the Rhône) from 1897, in Song XI, Verse XCVI is mentioned a creature. Here are the relevant lines in the original Provençal,...
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Is there any creature or being with the role of keeping good and evil balanced?
Is there any creature or being in either mythology or folklore that serves as a form of "negotiator" between good and evil, with the role of keep order and balance between them
(whether it's ...
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Myths about creatures/items/beings that talked with people or took away their problems?
Are there any myths about beings/items/creatures that talked with people in a friendly way? Almost as if the being was a therapist to the human or something? I can think of the caladrius that ...
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How many different werewolf variants are there?
I know there are different types of lycanthrope, a shapeshifter with 2 shifts. I know that different cultures (like japanese, western, norse) discuss the consent of lycanthropes. But how many ...
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What are the "nine fearful curses that plague mankind" of Orcadian folklore, besides the 'Stoor Worm'?
The 'Stoor Worm' of Orcadian folklore is described as one of the nine fearful curses that plague mankind, what are the other curses if there are any?
Islanders were terrified of the serpent; it was ...
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What creatures are there that adopt and take care of children?
I really want to know if there is a creature that adopts or take care of children. I tried to find one myself but it almost shows a creature that scares children or eats them which is the opposite of ...
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Are there myths, folklore, tales, or other traditions/tales about monsters regaining their humanity permanently?
Maybe I should have slept on this question for a little bit, but here I go.
I am working on a TRPG and a setting that would accompany the TRPG. In my setting all monsters are or were humans, so rather ...
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What were the names of Anahita's horses in the original Avestan language?
Most sources on the internet agree that Anahita's four white horses are named Wind, Clouds, Rain, and Sleet. These are obviously the English translations of these words. I am looking for the original ...
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Gods or goddesses of memory
Apart from good old Mmenosyne, are there gods or goddesses of memory (or lack thereof) in any legendarium?
I couldn't find much more beside Meng Po and possibly Muninn, but they don't feel very... ...
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Is Typhon a Gigante or god?
I am confused on the 'race' of Typhon. Is he a god, albeit a monstrous one (he is descended from gods after all)? A Gigante, albeit this time birthed from union between Tartarus and Gaia instead of ...
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Are there any evil dog gods in folklore?
I know there are dog gods like the Inugami but are there any evil dog gods? By this I mean a god that is clearly evil but still represented as a dog. Cerberus would fit the bil if it where a god and ...
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Need help identifying creature or character
I need help to find the creature or character or tale or whatever linked to the following description:
Have a connection:
With dreams, like maybe as a bridge.
With secrets or maybe contracts? Or the ...
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Other names for Drákaines?
The greek Drákaines (Δράκαινες) is a race or group of serpent-like creatures with human features, generally female. Basically what the Medusa from the original 80's Clash of the Titans, minus the ...
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What creatures eat a humans life force?
Are there any creatures that eat, or drain a human's life force? Have tried googling but am not sure which creatures do.
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Do dragon myths share a common origin?
We can see ancient references to dragon-like creatures in European, Asian and also many other civilizations.
Did these civilizations come up with the concept of dragons independently and just ...
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Were the Nekomata bipedal?
The Japanese monster Nekōmata (猫また), which means "forked cat", was supposedly a two-tailed cat creature that lived in the mountains, but was originally a horribly mistreated house cat. I ...
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What is a type of creature that steals souls?
I an writing a book, and I cannot find any soul stealing creatures that still look human! I was wondering if you could give me any examples?
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Important 'watchers', 'watchdogs' or 'guardians of a process'
I'm looking for figures of important 'watchers'/'guardians'. Actually I don't know the right word, but it doesn't need to be like a 'security-guardian', who doesn't let someone get through (i.e. not ...
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Are there any Dragons myths about dragons being the creators of creation? Supernatural beings -as it were - that created the landscape?
I don't have a link to share, just seems to me that ancient man read the landscape and its spiritual and supernatural significance seems to pivot mostly around Dragon myths.
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Identifying a mythical creature
I had a dream one day where i was being stalked through a house by a creature made of twigs. Initially the creature was normal height about 6ft with a face like the chester cat but with normal pupils. ...
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Can you help me identify this creature?
I bought this necklace recently which had no info about the creature on it. I was just wondering if it's just made up or if it features in any myths/legends? Thanks
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Were there ever any Kitsune considered to be Hero's or Protagonists of a story?
I'm trying to do some research into Kitsune's (and other fox spirits) but I am finding it difficult to find any named Kitsune apart from Tamamo-no-Mae whom has been shown to be quite villianous (...
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Looking for stories on the Torngarsuk (Inuit mythology)
I'm doing research and am fascinated by Inuit mythology. I am looking for stories about the Torngarsuk, but am having a hard time finding anything that isn't general Wikipedia summaries. I'm trying to ...
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Horse-headed human -> Ipotane?
There was a question on English SE about the name of horse-headed human (opposite of Centaur), I wrote Ipotane in an answer.
When I searched up 'Ipotane' on Google, it gave me the following image:
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How are Vetalas similar to Medusa?
According to Hindu Mythology, Vetalas are snake-like creatures. How are they similar to Medusa?
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Untangling Bahamut, Behemoth and Leviathan
In Abrahamic religions, there seem to be several versions of the giant sea beast that may (or not) carry the Earth on its back... I am trying to figure out what the original version of this myth is.
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What is the meaning of the green and red Asian dragons?
A member of my family gave me a scroll with a green and red Asian dragon. Is this particular dragon from a myth in Asia? Or does it have a symbolic meaning?
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Is there an older name for Cecaelia?
Cecaelia is a modern term for a mermaid with an octopus lower body, instead of a fish. I have read that such legends come from ancient Native American and Japanese culture. Does anyone know their ...
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How crazy are the Maenads from Greek Mythology?
I have read about the Maenads, how they were insane followers of the god Dionysus, that their names literally meant "the raving ones" and that they were frequently in a state of ecstatic intoxication. ...
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Do European folklore creatures, like ogres, brownies, fairies,goblins etc. have characteristics attributed to anti-semitism?
These creatures mentioned in the title have characteristics (any, such as traits, costumes, behavior, etc.) attributed to anti-semitism by antisemitic people (or have their origins rooted in this)?
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How do we distinguish a dragon, a wyrm and a wyvern in terms of the number of legs?
As I have seen lots of interest around this answer, more precisely around the number of legs (as @lfurini said), I have decided to open a question to find a canonical answer.
From the discussion (...
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Is there an ancient basis for the Cretan bull-headed sea serpent god in Mika Waltari's The Egyptian?
Mika Waltari's excellent historical novel The Egyptian, set in Ancient Egypt during the reign of Pharaoh Akhenaten1, features a bull-headed sea serpent Cretan god.
Here's a quick summary of the time ...
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Why mythical god-like figures share common attributes like wings or lion body parts in different mythologies/cultures
I know some of this mythological depictions are supposed to represent many things like nature forces, and I know Jung's Archetypes theory about symbols founded on the unconscious mind. However I want ...
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What are some famous mythological characters portrayed as guardians of something secret?
Looking for mythological characters similar to Cerberus.
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Could all three Gorgons turn people to stone, or just Medusa?
I've come across conflicting information about Medusa's sisters and whether or not they could turn people to stone like Medusa can.
A lot of places online say that all three can; but some other ...
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Is there a supernatural rat like this?
I had this weird dream including some kind of ghost rats, at first there was this noise they make that was like an indication that the ghost rats were there.
You can not see them and you can only ...
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What are some sentient creatures of pre-Columbian Mesoamerican mythology?
I have read a bit about the five suns world creation myth, and I am curious if the original peoples of Mesoamerica believed in other sentient beings similar to the fairies, centaurs and such of ...
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Were there any mythological beings which could duplicate themselves? [duplicate]
A recurring superpower in comics and such is the ability to duplicate or clone oneself, seen in characters such as Multiplex, Amoeba, Multiple Man, etc.
Were there any figures or creatures from ...
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What more uses are there for dragon parts?
I read this article that tries to describe all things one could do with the body parts and blood of the dragon:
The Uses of Dragon Parts in Mythology and Folklore
Does anyone here know of other uses ...
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Creatures known for excessive planning - demonic or evil favored
I'm looking for creatures that are mostly known for either acting very carefully planned or for providing well thought out plans to others. Specifically creatures that are demonic or otherwise of a ...
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