The phoenix [fee-niks] is a long-lived fiery bird that is present in many different mythologies from around the world – from cultures both alive and those that are long lost in the dust of time. This mythical bird never lays eggs to have it’s own young. It’s said to live anywhere from 500 to…
Listing of Were-Creatures/Shape-Shifters from around the world In folklore, mythology or even fiction, shapeshifting is the act of metamorphosing from one physical form into another. This amazing feat can be accomplished in several ways : magical spells, magic powers of a talisman, divine intervention (whether for good or bad intention),…
Ningen (人間 – meaning ‘human being’) First sighted in the 1960’s, this large humanoid creature could be hiding out in the vast unexplored wilderness of the Antarctic. Primarily seen in the icy ocean waters by, government run, Japanese “whale research” vessels, the Ningen is said to be 65-95 feet in length…
In the mountains of Auvergne France a story dating back to 1588 was told of a royal female werewoman. In the story, a nobleman was gazing out of his window and upon seeing a hunter he knew, asked him to check back with details of the hunt. While in the forest,…
The dreaded Chimera took up residence in Caria, one of Greece’s neighbors and trade partners. Great havoc did it cause, killing and terrorizing the area. As his people (and economy, no doubt) were suffering, the ruler of neighboring Lycia at the time, King Iobates, wished to put an end to it. Soon, as luck would…
Werewolf – Lycanthropy Lycanthropy comes from the Greek lykoi, “wolf” and anthropos, “man” The legend of the werewolf is one of the most ancient and widespread. Stories of werewolves can be found as far back as history has been written. These shapeshifter myths are worldwide from China to Iceland and…
Perhaps one of the best known mythological stories involves Hercules and his 12 Labors. For the final and most difficult labor, King Eurytheus asked Hercules to bring him Cerberus from the Underworld to prove his strength and fearlessness. To King Eurytheus this seemed an impossible task. Cerberus was a fearsome hellhound monster, not…
Chiron (Pronounced Kai-RON/ˈkaɪrən/; also Cheiron or Kheiron; Greek: Χείρων “hand”[1]) was a centaur, but unlike other centaurs, he was directly descended from the titan Cronus. Cronus had disguised himself as a horse to seduce Philyra (an Oceanid sea nymph) so his wife Rhea would not discover the affair. As an interesting side note,…
The Chimera [ki-meer-uh, kahy-], or Chimaera as it’s sometimes known, was said to be a hybrid of three creatures. This amazing creature from Greek Mythology is most commonly depicted as a lion with a goat’s head coming out of it’s back and a serpent’s tail.
Cerberus was a three-headed hellhound (the poet Hesiod claimed he had 50) with snake-like extremities, a snake for a tail and the claws of a lion. In Greek and Roman mythology, Cerberus was said to have been the offspring of two monsters, Typhon (a fire-breathing serpent) and Echidna (commonly portrayed as an…
