7
votes
Accepted
Is Typhon a Gigante or god?
One might say that he is both, depending on a few different factors in question.
Classification Issues
In Greco-Roman mythology the "gods" are not a special category in the same sense that ...
- 9,772
6
votes
What's the earliest recorded story of a human woman giving birth to a monster?
An early theme in several mythologies, particularly on the land masses referred to, in English, as Europe, Asia and North America, is that of women giving birth to giants, usually humanoid ones. In ...
- 9,772
6
votes
Accepted
Did the manticore always have a human head?
The first description of the manticore with have is from Ctesias, let's read him (Translation from John Freese freely available):
The martikhora is an animal found in this country. It has a face ...
- 3,501
6
votes
Accepted
How did Hades get Kerberos?
In 1828 the Danish sculptor Albert Bertel Thorvaldsen made this piece (above), entitled Cupid Leading Cerberus. On his website the Greek Mythology Link, Carlos Parada has labelled this picture: "Cupid ...
- 9,772
6
votes
What's the secret behind the infamous 'Backrooms' creepypasta?
It is indeed 4chan, per Know Your Meme:
On April 21st, 2018, an anonymouse 4chan user posted the image in the /x/ forum in a thread about cursed images (shown below).
On May 12th, 2019, an anonymous ...
- 388
5
votes
What animal did Demeter transform into?
I can't find anything on Demeter at present. Wikipedia seems to be drawing from the Metamorphoses of Antoninus Liberalis, which has no mention of additional divine transformations:
Apollo became a ...
- 14.1k
5
votes
How did Hades get Kerberos?
In Hesiod's Theogony Cerberus was the offspring of Echidna and Typhon (on the other hand, Hesiod did call him fifty-headed, so). To back this story up, note that Euphorion of Chalcis described him as ...
- 589
5
votes
Where did the various artistic depictions of the Chimera originate?
Theoi to save the day!
The two earliest Greek works both attest to its general composition:
Homer, Iliad 6. 179 ff (trans. Lattimore) (Greek epic C8th B.C.) :
"First he [King Iobates of Lykia (...
- 7,157
4
votes
Are there any beasts/creatures that "feed on" grief or regrets?
I'd suggest doing some reading on Buddhist "demons", the daughters of Mara in particular.
Wiki lists the three daughters as:
Taṇhā ("thirst, desire, longing, greed")
Arati ("aversion, discontentment"...
- 14.1k
3
votes
Accepted
Who/What parented the Stymphalian birds?
The only ancient text which mentions the parents of the Stymphalian birds makes it sound like these killer avians were Arkadian [Arcadian] princesses.
A scholion on Apollonius Rhodius' Argonautika 2....
- 9,772
3
votes
Accepted
Was Charybdis always a monster?
Couple of different things.
The ancient Greek scholia on Homer's Odyssey give several different accounts of the origin of Kharybdis. In one she was a daughter of Pontos (Sea) and Gaia (Earth) who ...
- 6,719
3
votes
what Monsters exist in African mythology?
There is a category on Wikipedia dedicated to this subject, and Mental Floss has a list of 11 rather interesting creatures of African mythology:
Grootslang
Grootslang is an Afrikaans word meaning &...
- 433
3
votes
What animal did Demeter transform into?
From the birth myth of Arion, we are told (Pseudo-Apollodorus) that the horse was birthed by Demeter while she was in 'the likeness of a Fury'.
We are also told that Despoina is the daughter of ...
- 566
2
votes
Which folklore beasts/creatures are representative solely of regret?
Look at the Greek goddess Oizys, she is the goddess of misery, grief and regret. Otherwise, the Algea were the personifications of sorrow in Greek mythology, daughters of the goddess of strife, Eris.
...
2
votes
Accepted
A monster made of many insects
Perhaps a bit tenuous, but The Worm That Walks might be the closest to what you're seeking.
I am not aware of a similar equivalent term from classical mythology, but you could argue this to be ...
- 7,786
2
votes
Who wrote about gorgon's blood?
The writing, entitled the Bibliotheca, "Library," used to be attributed to the Athenian historian Apollodorus, but, as Wikipedia says, 'that attribution is now regarded as false, and so "Pseudo-" was ...
- 9,772
2
votes
Accepted
Are all monsters children of gods/Titans/primordials?
Almost all of the monsters of Greek myth are clearly said to have been children of deities or at least were quite closely related to the gods, whether the divinities in view were Titanic, primaeval or ...
- 9,772
2
votes
Why do so many cultures have monsters that prey on families?
The family unit was like a religion to people in the olden days and the importance of family honour more keenly felt, even to the extent that anything (bad) that happened in the family might have to ...
- 127
2
votes
Need help identifying creature or character
Your question reminded me of a concept in Zoroastrian mythology. Although I have the feeling this is not what you are looking for, it does have connections with a bridge, music, the human soul, and, ...
- 1,689
1
vote
Need help identifying creature or character
This sounds like a "Liminal diety". I basically googled a mythological being that can see your soul and access doors and this immediately popped up. There seems to be many of this kind of ...
- 11
1
vote
What creatures eat a humans life force?
"Life force" is a rather vague criterium. Many mythologies do not have this concept. The only ones I'm aware of outside of Abrahamic mythology are Eastern mythologies:
Prana in Hinduism
Qi ...
- 5,354
1
vote
Are there any beasts/creatures that "feed on" grief or regrets?
THE ALGEA were the personified spirits (daimones) of pain and suffering--body and mind--, grief, sorrow and distress. They were the bringers of weeping and tears. The Algea were related to Oizys, the ...
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