Myths about creatures that exist. The most unusual mythical creatures in the world

The world is not as simple as it might seem at first glance. And many scientists today repeat that there are parallel worlds in which various entities live, previously unseen. And fairy tales and myths are not fiction at all, but rather, even epics. That is why this article will present a list of mythical creatures that may have once lived, or maybe somewhere else they live in this moment.

Unicorn

In this list, both positive and negative representatives will be studied. If a good list is considered, the unicorn should definitely open. What is it? So, most often it is a beautiful white horse, in the forehead of which there is a sharp horn. It is a symbol of chastity and the struggle for justice. However, according to the esotericists, the unicorn must be a creature with a red head and a white body. Previously, he could be depicted with the body of a bull or a goat, and only later - a horse. Legends also say that unicorns by nature have an inexhaustible supply of energy. It is very difficult to tame them, but they obediently lie down on the ground if a virgin approaches them. If you want to ride a unicorn, you will have to stock up on a golden bridle.

The life of unicorns is also very difficult. They feed exclusively on flowers, drink only morning dew, and bathe in the cleanest forest lakes (in which the water becomes healing after that). Moreover, all the power of these creatures is contained in a single horn (healing powers are also attributed to him). Today they say: to meet a unicorn - to great happiness.

Pegasus

The list of mythical creatures similar to horses can also be replenished by a winged horse, the son of the Medusa Gorgon and Poseidon. His main function is to be on Olympus and give lightning and thunder to his father. However, being on earth, Pegasus knocked out Hippocrene with his hoof - the source of muses, which should inspire everyone creative people for useful deeds.

Valkyries

You can also consider separately mythical creatures female. The list will be supplemented without fail by the Valkyries. These are warrior maidens who are companions and executors of the will of Odin (the supreme god in These are some symbols of honorable death in hostilities. After the warrior has fallen, the Valkyries on their winged horses take him to the heavenly castle of Valhalla, where they serve him at the table. In addition, Valkyries can predict the future.

Other mythical female creatures

1. Norns. These are spinning women who determine the birth, life and death of people.
2. Parks, or moira. These are the three sisters, daughters of the night. They also predetermined the life of each person. Clota (first daughter) spins the thread of life, Lachesis (second daughter) keeps it, Atropos (third daughter) cuts it.
3. Erinyes. These are the goddesses of revenge, who are depicted with torches and whips in their hands. They push a person to avenge insults.
4. We continue to consider female names mythical creatures. Dryads can add to the list. These are the women guardians of the trees. They live in them and die with them. And those who planted and helped the tree grow were the wards of the dryads. They tried their best to help them.
5. Graces. These are mythical creatures that personify youthful charm and beauty. Their main goal was to arouse in the young hearts of girls such a feeling as love. In addition, they brought joy to everyone who met on their way.

Birds

The list of mythical creatures must be replenished with various birds. After all, they also occupied leading places in folk beliefs.

1. Phoenix. Today, many will say that this is a bird of happiness. However, earlier she personified the immortality of the soul and the cyclical nature of the world, as she could give rebirth and she herself was reborn, burning herself. The phoenix appears in the form of an eagle with golden and red plumage.
2. Anka. This is a bird from Muslim mythology, very similar in function and presentation to the phoenix. It was created by Allah, and is inaccessible to people.
3. Ruhh. This is a gigantic bird, which in its claws (huge and strong, like bull horns) can lift three elephants at once. It was believed that the meat of this bird returns lost youth. It was called Nog or Fear.

Griffins and similar creatures

The list of mythical creatures can be continued by monsters, which are the result of crossing two or more powerful animals.

1. First of all, these are griffins. These are winged creatures that have the head of an eagle and the body of a lion. They are guardians of the gold and treasures of the Riphean mountains. The cry of these monsters is very dangerous: every living thing in the area, even a person, dies from it.
2. Hippogriffs. This is the result of crossing a vulture bird (the front of the creature) and a horse (the body). This creature also had wings.
3. Manticore. This is a creature that has a human face crowned with three rows of teeth, the body of a lion and the tail of a scorpion. His eyes are filled with blood. It moves very quickly, and feeds on human bodies.
4. Sphinx. This is a creature that has the head and chest of a woman, and the body of a lion. It was called to protect Thebes. The Sphinx gave a riddle to every passer-by. Who could not guess it, he was killed by this creature.

dragons

What other mythical creatures are there? The list can be replenished with monsters, outwardly something similar to dragons.

1. Basilisk. This creature has the eyes of a toad, the head of a rooster, wings bat and the body of a dragon. In other legends, this is a huge lizard. From the gaze of this creature, all living things turn to stone (if the basilisk looks at itself in the mirror, it will die). Its saliva is also poisonous, it can also petrify. Lives in a cave, eats stones, comes out only at night. The main goal of his life: the protection of unicorns, as they are "pure" creatures.
2. Chimera. It is a creature with the head and neck of a lion, the tail of a dragon, and the body of a goat. This is a symbol of a breathing volcano, as this monster spewed fire. Some people believe that modern stone chimeras can come to life and do things.
3. We continue to consider mythical creatures. The list can be replenished with a monster with a body of a snake and nine heads of a dragon. She lived in a swamp near the city of Lerna and ate entire herds. Saved the city from the hydra Hercules.
4. Kraken. This is a kind of sea serpent, an Arabian dragon. He could capture an entire ship with his tentacles, and his back stood out in the middle of the ocean like a huge island.

Russian mythical creatures

Separately, consider the mythical creatures of Russia. This list can be opened by villains. They were also called Khmyri, or Crixes. They live in swamps, pester people. They can even move into a person if he is old and has no children. They represent darkness, poverty, poverty. In the house, the villains settle behind the stove, and then jump on the shoulders of a person and ride on him. Another mythical creature is Khukhlik. This is a mummer, water devil. This is an unclean spirit that comes out of the water and loves to play tricks on people, arranging various dirty tricks for them. Especially active during Christmas time.

Greek mythical creatures

Separately, I would also like to present a list of the mythical creatures of Greece, the cradle of human civilization.

1. Typhon. This is a monster that has about 100 dragon heads with long black tongues on the back of its head. It can scream with the voices of a variety of animals. This is a special personification of the destructive forces of nature.
2. Lamia is a demon with a female appearance who kills babies.
3. Echidna. An immortal and ageless woman with the body of a snake who lured travelers and devoured them.
4. Grai - three goddesses of old age.
5. Gerion. This is a giant, a monster, on the belt of which three bodies have grown together. He owned beautiful cows that lived on the island of Erifia.

Movies about mythical creatures

Fans of everything unusual can watch films about mythical creatures. This list can be replenished by the following films:

1. "Jason and the agronauts", 1963 release.
2. "The Lord of the Rings", several films that were released from 2001 to 2003.
3. Cartoon "How to Train Your Dragon", 2010 release.
4. Percy Jackson and the Sea of ​​Monsters, 2013.
5. The 2001 film Horror from the Abyss.
6. "My pet dinosaur" 2007 release.

Having considered complete list mythical creatures and demons, I want to say that all these monsters are fictional. And so it is necessary to consider as long as there are no facts that testify to the contrary.

Now it is difficult to imagine that people believed in the existence of such animals as the platypus, gorilla, giant squid and many others relatively recently. Travelers talking about them, showing sketches and photographs, were accused of lies and hoaxes. New species of animals are also discovered in our time, mostly small or leading a secretive lifestyle. We consider the creatures in the pictures below to be fantasy at this point in time, but who knows how our descendants will treat them?

1) strashno.com Mutant fish caught in Japan after the Fukushima accident:

2) In Brazil, locals on the banks of the river photographed something strange. As they say, it was a mermaid:

3) And this is what sea creatures look like after death. This creature was photographed after it was discovered by fishermen on the ocean. It was subsequently confiscated by the FBI:

Another similar creature in full growth:

4) This human-faced fish was caught off the coast of Japan:

5) Photo taken from an airplane over Loch Ness. In the circle you can see the outlines of a body that would fit a dinosaur:

6) Another mutant fish, this time from Australia, which doesn't even have fins.

7) Another miracle from the Green Continent is a poisonous pink jellyfish of an unknown species strashno.com:

8) This gnome-like creature was photographed at night in the light of lanterns in South America:

9) We are lost in conjectures, looking at a strange flyer in the cloudy sky of Nuremberg:

10) This is a figure depicting a Japanese water kappa in one of the local museums. The limbs in the box are the kappa's arm and leg, officially on display. Some Japanese still keep such artifacts at home, because the kappa, in their opinion, is still alive, but now it is not so easy to find him. Kappa is also depicted in many Japanese watercolors, ancient and not so:

11) Orbs - living entities or just a play of light? Here we see the orbs in the cemetery:

12) The most famous photograph snowman. As its authors later admitted, this is a common hoax, made by them for entertainment and for the sake of earning money from selling strashno.com photos to newspapers. Below it is a much less famous one, on which a bear is visible, but who is visible at the top right?

13) What is Chupacabra - the result of genetic experiments or a guest from a parallel world? In each case of the discovery of the corpse of a Chupacabra, it is seized by the FBI, claiming that the body belongs to a sick coyote. Pictured is a baby chupacabra. Please note: there are five fingers on the paws. Below is the head of a chupacabra that was killed in South America by locals:

14) If such a creature, as the author of the photo suggested, really existed, its existence would have been recorded:

15) Could this roe deer stalker caught on camera at night be the mysterious Jersey Devil?

16) Mothman, the progenitor of Batman comics:

17) It looks a lot like a harpy, doesn't it?

18) Mummified fairy, passed on official authorities. Below is a cheerful flock of live strashno.com fairies:

19) Strange ridiculous creature filmed in Florida:

20) A creature similar to him, filmed many years ago in London, but with a head resembling a human:

21) Probably, many have seen the video with Slenderman on our website. The photos below with this character are also very curious:

22) There is quite a lot of evidence that one of the alien races, the so-called "gray", not only actively participates in the life of earthlings, but also in politics:

23) The monster in the photo is waving to the camera. To assure us that there are mermen?

24) Perhaps giant shark monsters are not a Jaws fantasy. Zoologists who studied this photo taken off the coast South Africa, confirm: this is not a whale, but a shark:

25) Japanese cameras captured an animal resembling the megalodon shark, believed to be extinct millions of years ago:

scary.com

26) Finding the mummified remains of an animal unknown to science in South Africa:

27) Who is this creature caught in the frame by a night camera - a vampire or an alien?

28) During archaeological excavations, the remains of a huge human skeleton were found. Perhaps the Titans are not a Greek myth at all.

29) Is the mysterious creature stalking the fence finished in Photoshop?

30) The corpse of a toothy creature, similar to extinct marine life, was found on the beach and baffled experts:

31) We continue the theme of dead animals found on the beach, unknown to science, such as this strange snake, which seemed to have risen from the depths of the sea:

32) Another creepy and apparently dangerous toothy fish:

33) Scientists invited to identify this find suggested that it was a sturgeon mutant. But somehow we don't really believe them:

34) And this four-meter monster, thrown out Indian Ocean, strashno.com appears to be a mutant megajellyfish:

35) Who is this wonderful creature - a hybrid of a pig with someone?

36) The creature, which is impossible to look at without disgust, probably escaped directly from the island of Dr. Moreau:

37) Who is this mysterious clam?

Creepy creatures, right?

How Koschei hid death
Kashchei is tired. If he wasn't immortal, he would have died long ago. The whole body of the old man was hardened from proteins and yolks. Some of them have already dried up, some are rotten. Kashchei died. In his hands, the old man stupidly held another egg, inside of which he hammered a needle. Stuffing it up the duck's ass was no easy task. Taking the bird by the neck, he tried to stick the egg into its hollow. The shell cracked and flooded the old man once again. Kashchei swore dirtyly and carefully took a needle out of the wreckage. The deadly tool had to be sanded into the next egg. The duck dutifully waited. The old man took the egg with his lips, parted the duck's legs and carefully began to shove the ellipsoid into her asshole. The egg burst. The old man jumped up, threw the bird into the sea, and cursing began to jump along the shore.

Calm down, Kashchei, calmly, - he finally calmed himself and continued the procedure. The immortal did it again and again, but the eggs burst. Finally, lathered with a safeguard, one of them crawled into the bird's womb. The old man leaned back contentedly on the trunk of a pine tree. But what is it?! The damned feathered one is dead!
- Ioptvayu, stsuko!!! One hundred and thirty years down the drain! - Kashchei fell on the sand with a howl and began to gnaw and beat it with his hands. Three days later he came to his senses and thought deeply. A thought came into the immortal head. The old man got up and went into the cave. For a whole month, the sound of a hammer, the grinding of iron and the sound of welding could be heard from there. Finally, Kashchei proudly stepped out into the light, holding a funnel in his hands. The ducks saw the device and precipitated.

Work boiled over. It was possible to insert a funnel into a feathered point right away. But vile creatures died and died. Finally done!!! Fucked up, but alive, the duck lay on the ground with bulging eyes. Her ass was tightly sealed with sealing wax - Kashchei did not like to take risks. The whole courtyard was strewn with the bones of eight hundred and fifty-two thousand waterfowl. The old man sat down on a stump and looked longingly into the forest. I had to put a duck in a hare's ass.

Kashchei sat on the sand, looked into the eyes of the hare and thought. Oblique o @ ueval. He had never been looked into both eyes at once. "Maybe there's a simpler way to hide the needle?" the old man thought, but nothing came to mind. "There are no fortresses that the Bolsheviks would not take!" - decided the Immortal and energetically jumped up. A minute later, he was already busily scurrying around near the rodent crucified on the ground, measuring it with a tape measure. The hare is a powerful beast, an ornament of the breed, theoretically could accommodate a duck. The only thing left was to figure out a way.

The duck itself was sitting in a cage nearby. Just looking at the hare hollow made her feel claustrophobic. Kashchei did not touch the bird, realizing its value. For the experiment, he chose another.
"We care about you and your health!" - Kashchei kept saying, smearing cream on the hare's ass. Then he took the bird and began little by little, with rotational movements, to introduce it to the hare with his beak in the ass. The head went in, as it was there, but then things stalled. The neck of the duck was bent in different directions, and then curled up nafig. Having exterminated one and a half birds, Kashchei realized that this would not work. A revolutionary solution was needed. And the Immortal found him!

To begin with, he drilled a carrot along the axis and passed a nylon cord through the hole. Having firmly fixed it on the other side of the vegetable, Kashchei put the root crop into the hare's mouth and waited. The rodent has earned jaws.

The sun was already going down when the end of the cord appeared from the shaggy ass. Tying a duck to it by its beak was a matter of minutes. The hare generally did not like ducks, especially in his own ass. The beast twitched its ears and shook slightly. Kashchei sat down opposite the hare, spat in his palms and, resting his feet on his shoulders, began to pull the cord. The eyes of the oblique converged at the bridge of the nose and climbed onto his forehead. Looking at him, I recalled the words of the romance "Today it hurts me so much!"

And suddenly! Feel sorry for the Immortal Hare! "How long?!" he yelled, looking around. The remains of various living creatures covered the surface with a three-meter layer. Birds did not fly, animals hid in holes. Desolation reigned everywhere. Then Kashchei spat poisonous saliva. He caught a kangaroo, wrote “Hare” on his ass with a felt-tip pen, put a duck in her bag and put it in a chest. "Steroids, yopt!" The old man smiled and went to bed.
Here is the END of the fairy tale ....

When we have nightmares about terrible monsters, we realize that this is just a fantasy: monsters emerge from the darkest depths of the subconscious and embody our secret fears (special thanks to the movie Aliens!). However, there have been many cases where people actually believed that a certain creature actually existed. Everyone has heard about Bigfoot, but there are others - so evil and scary that some people are even afraid to mention them.

Yovi

Yovi is the Australian equivalent of Bigfoot. It has been spotted in different parts of Australia, most often in the Blue Mountains region to the west of Sydney. Reports of encounters with strange creatures appeared shortly after the settlers from Europe decided to settle in the area, and do not stop to this day. At Australian aborigines there are also many legends about encounters with yowie. At first, it was called "yehu" (yahoo), which means "evil spirit." And although there are no cases of a direct attack by a yovi on a person, this creature itself is terrifying. They say that he stands and stares at you, without looking up, and then disappears into the forest thicket.

Yakumama

Rumors of a giant anaconda living in the jungles of South America have always existed. It's about not about the usual giant anaconda, but about an unknown reptile of truly monstrous proportions. Witnesses claimed that this snake is larger than any they have ever seen, and its length reaches 40-50 meters. The natives gave her the name "mother of water". They say that the head of this snake is almost two meters wide. She can cut down trees on her way, let alone large animals or a person - when they meet this monster, they are doomed.

Brownie

Brownie - a creature from Slavic mythology, devilry. He looks like a little man with a big beard. It is believed that every house has its own brownie and that brownies love cleanliness and help maintain it. These creatures do not seem to be evil, but on the contrary, they are useful in the household, but if the brownie does not like something, he can begin to build evil intrigues and ruin your life. It's best not to mess with him. If he loves you, he will help you, and if he suddenly dislikes you, he will pinch you to bruises at night, lean on top in a dream and press so that you can’t breathe. In general, the brownie is an ambiguous figure.

Bunyip

Bunyip, also known as "kyanprati", is an Australian sea devil, or evil spirit. This creature is large in size and rather peculiar in appearance: it has the head of a crocodile, the muzzle of a dog, fangs and flippers like a walrus, and in addition to everything, a horse's tail. Bunyip lives in swamps, streams, rivers, ponds and lakes. There have been no reports of encounters with him since the middle of the 19th century, but the natives still believe in his existence. Bunyips are bloodthirsty: at night they go hunting, devouring animals and people, and they especially like to feast on women.

Bigfoot

Almost everyone has heard of Bigfoot. But if suddenly you do not know - this creature large sizes seen in many areas North America. Bigfoot is known to be very tall, have thick brown or black fur, and stink terribly. There are reports that he abducted people and kept them in the forest for a long time in his hiding places. Whether this is true or not is not known for sure. They say he likes to watch people, looking into the windows of houses at night.

Jikininki

Jikininki is a very peculiar mythical creature. This is a Japanese evil spirit, a goblin that eats human corpses. It is known that once they were people, but for sins after their death they were turned into terrible spirits. If you are bad and greedy man, you will be cursed and after death you will have to roam the Earth forever in the guise of a jikininka, endowed with an insatiable hunger. They say that they look like a decaying corpse with very bright eyes, with which they can immobilize you with a look. So it's better not to see them.

Yeti

Yeti - Himalayan Bigfoot. They say that he comes from Tibet, from where he then spread to the nearby highlands. Witnesses claim to have seen a yeti carrying big Stone and whistling an eerie tune. Yeti walks on two legs, is covered with white hair, and he also has huge fangs. Yeti should not be taken lightly, because. in Tibet, many cases have been recorded when people encountered it.

Chupacabra

The Chupacabra is the legendary goat vampire. This creature is rather modest in size, but very vicious. The first mention of the chupacabra came from Puerto Rico, and then there were many reports of a meeting with this monster in both South America and North. Chupacabra translates as "sucking goats." She kills animals and sucks their blood. There is not a single serious proof of the existence of the Chupacabra, but people still believe in it.

Beast of Gevaudan

Between 1764 and 1767, the French province of Gévaudan (now the Lozère department) was terrorized by a creature that looked like a huge wolf. It is known that in three years the ruthless cannibal wolf, whom everyone considered a werewolf, made 250 attacks, 119 of which led to death. The killings continued for several years, and even King Louis XV sent hundreds of professional hunters to round up the beast, but their efforts were unsuccessful. They say that he was eventually killed by a local hunter - with a consecrated silver bullet. And human remains were found in the stomach of the beast.

wendigo

Wendigo is an Indian bloodthirsty cannibal spirit. It is said that if a person is cursed, they can turn into a wendigo, especially if that person has practiced black magic and cannibalism. And also if he was cursed by a healer or bitten by another wendigo. The danger is that the wendigo is always hungry and loves human flesh very much. This creature is three times taller than a human, it has a translucent, but very hard skin that no weapon can take. You can only kill him with fire.

Gugalanna

The Sumerians were interesting people. They built such a highly developed civilization that they rose above the rest. Their epic, like the epic of other ancient peoples, tells of various outlandish creatures, gods and goddesses, including very bloodthirsty ones. One of the most famous mythical monsters The Sumerians are Gugalanna, the heavenly bull from the Epic of Gilgamesh. This creature killed thousands of people in search of the city where the great king lives, and it was also looking for him to kill. It was possible to cope with this bull, but not without losses. Gugalanna was a terrible heavenly punishment that one of the gods sent to people.

Mananangal

These creatures, legends about which are common in the Philippines, look like vampires. They are also very fond of blood, but they have features that distinguish them from other vampire-like creatures: these monsters love to feast on the hearts of babies and know how to split their body in half. They say that at night they do just that - they leave the lower half of the body to stand on the ground, and the upper one releases membranous wings from the shoulders and flies away to look for a victim. Mananangals fly into houses, grab pregnant women, drink their blood and steal the heart of their child with their long proboscis tongue. Good news is that they can be killed. To do this, pour salt, crushed garlic or ashes on the lower half of the monster's body.

Black Annis

Black Annis is known to every Briton. She is an evil witch with bluish skin, long sharp teeth and claws and a frightening smile who roams the countryside and steals small children. It is necessary to protect not only children, but also animals from her, because she eats children and small sheep, tearing off their skin. From this skin she then makes belts and wears them. She lives in a cave called "Black Annis's Dwelling" and is scratched with witches' claws into the roots of an old oak - the only tree left from an ancient forest in Leicestershire.

dybbuk

A dybbuk for Jews is the same as for Christians a demon or spirit that inhabits a person and which Catholics drive out in the process of exorcism, and Orthodox ones - with reprimand prayers. Dybbuk is the soul of the deceased bad man. She cannot rest and is looking for someone to move into. They say the dybbuk can cling to good man and make him insane. It seems that the dybbuk is desperately looking for help and support in this way, but in the end it brings only evil, completely mastering the person. It takes one righteous and ten other members of the community, dressed in funeral shirts, to exorcise the dybbuk.

Koschey

The tale of Koshchei the Immortal is common among the Slavic peoples. This is a powerful and strong sorcerer who always plots and is considered one of the most terrible precisely because of his immortality. Looks like a tall thin old man or a skeleton. Likes to kidnap other people's brides. He has a weakness - his soul, but this soul is bewitched and turned into a needle "Koshcheev's death", and the needle is very well hidden. We know it by heart: a needle in an egg, an egg in a duck, a duck in a hare, a hare in an iron chest, a chest buried under an oak, an oak on a magical island. Not The best way spend your vacation.

Unicorns and mermaids - fact or fiction? We present a list of mythical creatures, evidence of the existence of which people continue to look for over the centuries.

water creatures

Loch Ness monster

The monster, according to legend, lives in Loch Ness, the Scots affectionately call Nessie. The first mention of this creature is found in the chronicle of the Aion monastery, dated to the 5th century BC.

The next mention of the "water beast" is found in 1880 - because of a sailboat that drowned in Loch Ness. The circumstances of the crash were very unusual: according to the descriptions of eyewitnesses, as soon as the ship reached the middle of the reservoir, it was suddenly broken in half by something resembling tentacles or a tail.

Rumors about the existence of the monster began to spread widely after 1933, when the Evening Couriers newspaper published detailed story"eyewitness" who noticed an unknown creature in the lake.

In September 2016, amateur photographer Ian Bremner managed to take a picture of a 2-meter snake-like creature slicing through the expanse of Loch Ness. The photo is quite convincing, but the press accused Bremner of a hoax, and someone decided that the photo depicts three frolicking seals.

Mermaids

It is widely believed that mermaids are girls living at the bottom of a river or sea, and instead of legs they have a fish tail. However, in the myths different peoples mermaids are the guardians of forests, fields and reservoirs, and they walk on two legs. In Western cultures, mermaids are called Nymphs, Naiads or Undines.

In Slavic folklore, the souls of drowned women turned into mermaids. Some ancient Slavic peoples they also believed that the mermaid is the spirit of a deceased child, whom death overtook on the Rusal (preceding the holiday of the Trinity) week. It was believed that during these 7 days, mermaids walk the Earth, emerging from the water after the Ascension of the Lord.

Mermaids are classified as evil spirits that can harm a person, for example, drown him. It was customary to portray these creatures naked and without a headdress, less often in a torn sundress.

Sirens

According to legend, sirens are winged maidens with enchanting voices. They received their wings from the gods when they instructed them to find the fertility goddess Persephone kidnapped by Hades.

According to another version, they became winged because they could not fulfill the order of the gods. As punishment, the Thunderer Zeus left them a beautiful girlish body, but turned his hands into wings, because of which they could no longer remain in the world of people.

The meeting of people with sirens is described in Homer's poem "The Odyssey". The mythical maidens enchanted the sailors with their singing, and their ships crashed on the reefs. Captain Odysseus ordered his crew to plug their ears beeswax to counter the sweet-voiced half-woman, half-bird, and his ship escaped destruction.

kraken

Kraken is a Scandinavian monster that sinks ships. A half-dragon with huge octopus tentacles inspired fear in Icelandic navigators of the 18th century. In the 1710s, the Danish naturalist Erik Pontoppidan first described the kraken in his diaries. According to legend, an animal the size of a floating island darkened the sea surface and dragged ships to the bottom with huge tentacles.

200 years later, in 1897, researchers discovered in the waters Atlantic Ocean giant squid Architeutis, reaching 16.5 meters in length. It has been suggested that this creature was mistaken for the kraken two centuries earlier.

It is not so easy to see the kraken in the vastness of the ocean: when its body protrudes above the water, it is easy to mistake it for a small island, of which there are thousands in the ocean.

flying creatures

Phoenix

The Phoenix is ​​an immortal bird with fiery wings that can burn itself and be reborn. When the phoenix senses the approach of death, it burns, and in its place a chick appears in the nest. Phoenix life cycle: about 500 years.

Mentions of the phoenix are found in myths Ancient Greece in the mythology of the ancient Egyptian Heliopolis, in which the phoenix is ​​described as the patron of large time cycles.

This fabulous bird with bright red plumage personifies renewal and immortality in modern culture. So, the phoenix rising from the flame, accompanied by the inscription "The only Phoenix of the whole world" is depicted on the medals of the English Queen Elizabeth II.

Pegasus

A snow-white horse with eagle wings is named Pegasus. This fabulous creature is the fruit of the love of Medusa Gorgon and Poseidon. According to legend, Pegasus came out of the neck of Medusa when Poseidon cut off her head. There is another legend that says that Pegasus appeared from the drops of Gorgon's blood.

In honor of this fictional winged horse, the constellation Pegasus is named, which is located southwest near Andromeda and consists of 166 stars.

Zmey Gorynych

Serpent Gorynych is an evil character in Slavic fairy tales and epics. His characteristic- three fire-breathing heads. The body, covered with shiny scales, ends with an arrow-shaped tail, and on its paws it has sharp claws. He guards the gate separating the world of the dead and the world of the living. This place is located on Kalinov bridge, which is above the Smorodina River, or the fiery river.

The first mention of the Serpent dates back to the 11th century. On the harp, made by the settlers of the Novgorod lands, you can find images of a three-headed lizard, which was originally considered the king of the underwater world.

In some legends, Gorynych lives in the mountains (therefore, it is believed that his name comes from the word "mountain"). In others, he sleeps on a stone in the sea and combines the ability to control two elements at once - fire and water.

wyvern

A wyvern is a mythical dragon-like creature with one pair of legs and wings. It is not capable of spewing fire, but its fangs are saturated with deadly poison. In other myths, the poison was contained at the end of the sting, with which the lizard pierced its victim. Some legends say that it was wyvern venom that caused the first plague.

It is known that the first legends about wyverns appeared in the Stone Age: this creature personified ferocity. Subsequently, his image was used by the leaders of the troops to instill fear in the enemy.

A wyvern-like creature can be found on Orthodox icons, depicting the struggle of St. Michael (or George) with the dragon.

ground creatures

Unicorns

Unicorns are stately noble creatures, symbolizing chastity. According to legend, they live in forest thickets and only innocent maidens are able to catch them.

The earliest evidence for the existence of unicorns dates back to the 5th century BC. The ancient Greek historian Ctesias was the first to describe "Indian wild donkeys with one horn on their foreheads, blue eyes and a red head," and whoever drinks wine or water from the horn of this donkey will be cured of all diseases and never get sick again.

No one, except Ctesias, saw this animal, but his story was received wide use thanks to Aristotle, who included a description of the unicorn in his History of Animals.

Bigfoot/Yeti

Bigfoot, or Yeti, is a huge humanoid creature that has similar features to a monkey and lives in deserted highlands.

The first mention of Bigfoot was recorded from the words of Chinese peasants: in 1820 they met a tall, shaggy monster with large paws. In the 1880s, expeditions began to be equipped in European countries to search for traces of Bigfoot. The Valkyries Carry the Dead to Valhalla

On rare occasions, the maidens are allowed to decide the outcome of a battle, but more often than not, they carry out the will of their father, Odin, who decides who will be victorious in a bloody battle.

Valkyries are most often depicted in armor and helmets with horns, and shining light emanates from their swords. The story goes that the god Odin endowed his daughters with the capacity for compassion so that they would accompany the dead in battle to the “hall of the slain.”

Sphinx

The name of the mythical creature sphinx comes from the ancient Greek word "sphingo", which means "strangle". The earliest images of this creature were created 10 thousand years BC in the territory of modern Turkey. However, the image of the sphinx with the body of a lion and the head of a woman is known to us from the myths of ancient Greece.

Legend has it that a sphinx woman guarded the entrance to the city of Thebes. Everyone who met her on their way had to guess the riddle: “Who walks on four legs in the morning, on two in the afternoon, and on three in the evening?” Unguessed people died from clawed paws, and only Oedipus could name the correct answer: man.

The essence of the clue is that when a person is born, he crawls on all fours, in adulthood- walks on two legs, and in old age is forced to rely on a cane. Then the monster dropped from the top of the mountain into the abyss, and the entrance to Thebes became free.

The editors of the site offer to learn about the most unusual non-fictional creatures.
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