Strange Science: Mammals Perhaps as long as 5,000 years ago, a group of sailors found skulls belonging to a race of hideous giants whom the ancient Greeks named cyclops. Dwelling in their mythical land, entrusting the fate of their crops to their evil gods and devouring any humans they could find, these creatures terrified generations of Europeans. Today, relatives of these monsters can still be found — roaming the African savannas or the Indian jungles, or even eating peanuts from the hands of small children in city zoos. In fact, the ancient Greek sailors found elephant skulls. What they mistook for single eye sockets were the nasal openings for the elephants' trunks. Most Recent Additions May-31-2015 May-17-2015 Apr-11-2015 Year: 1486 Artist: Erhard Reuwich Originally published in: Perigrinationes ad Terram Sanctam Now appears in: The Unicorn by Nancy Hathaway Unicorn "sightings" occurred throughout the world, but the mythical creature wasn't the same in each description. Year: 1897 Scientist: H.N.
Baba Yaga Andreas Johns identifies Baba Yaga as "one of the most memorable and distinctive figures in eastern European folklore," and observes that she is "enigmatic" and often exhibits "striking ambiguity." Johns summarizes Baba Yaga as a "a many-faceted figure, capable of inspiring researchers to see her as a Cloud, Moon, Death, Winter, Snake, Bird, Pelican or Earth Goddess, totemic matriarchal ancestress, female initiator, phallic mother, or archetypal image". Etymology[edit] Variations of the name Baba Yaga are found in the languages of the Eastern Slavic peoples. The first element, baba, is transparently a babble word. In Old Russian, baba may mean 'midwife', 'sorceress', or 'fortune teller'. These associations have led to variety of theories on the figure of Baba Yaga, though the presence of the element baba may have simply been taken as its primary meaning of 'grandmother' or 'old woman'. Folklore[edit] The heroine Vasilisa outside of the hut of Baba Yaga as depicted by Ivan Bilibin (1902)
List of Greek mythological creatures The following is a list of creatures from Greek mythology. The list does not include gods and other divine and semi-divine figures (see List of Greek mythological figures). Mythological monsters[edit] Greek myth includes many monstrous beings: Mythical animals[edit] These animals possess some fantastic attribute. Giants[edit] Enormous and monstrous human-like creatures. Dragons[edit] The dragons of Greek mythology were serpentine monsters. Drakons[edit] Drakons ("δράκους" in Greek, "dracones" in Latin) were giant serpents, sometimes possessing multiple heads or able to breathe fire, but most just spit deadly venom. The Laconian Drakon was one of the most fearsome of all the drakons. Cetea[edit] Cetea were sea monsters. Automatons[edit] Automatons or Colossi, were men, animals and monsters crafted out of metal and made animate in order to perform various tasks.
Almas (cryptozoology) The Almas (Mongolian: Алмас/Almas, Bulgarian: Алмас, Chechen: Алмазы, Turkish: Albıs), Mongolian for "wild man", is a purported hominid cryptozoological species reputed to inhabit the Caucasus and Pamir Mountains of central Asia, and the Altai Mountains of southern Mongolia.[1] The creature is not currently recognized or cataloged by science. Furthermore, scientists generally reject the possibility that such mega-fauna cryptids exist, because of the improbably large numbers necessary to maintain a breeding population,[2] and because climate and food supply issues make their survival in reported habitats unlikely.[3] Almas is a singular word in Mongolian; the properly formed Turkic plural would be 'almaslar'.[4] As is typical of similar legendary creatures throughout Central Asia, Russia, Pakistan and the Caucasus, the Almas is generally considered to be more akin to "wild people" in appearance and habits than to apes (in contrast to the Yeti of the Himalayas). Tjutjuna Notes
Free Resources - Glossary - Home Abstract: Used as a noun, the term refers to a short summary or outline of a longer work. As an adjective applied to writing or literary works, abstract refers to words or phrases that name things not knowable through the five senses. Examples of abstracts include the Cliffs Notes summaries of major literary works. Absurd, Theater of the: See Theater of the Absurd Absurdism: See Theater of the Absurd Accent: The emphasis or stress placed on a syllable in poetry. The following line from William Shakespeare's Hamlet: "To be or not to be: that is the question" has five accents, on the words "be," "not," "be," and "that," and the first syllable of "question." Act: A major section of a play. Examples of five-act plays include the works of Sophocles and Shakespeare, while the plays of Arthur Miller commonly have a three-act structure. Acto: A one-act Chicano theater piece developed out of collective improvisation. Aestheticism: A literary and artistic movement of the nineteenth century.
Petra: Lost City of Stone Deep within the deserts of Jordan lies the ancient city of Petra. Through a narrow gorge it emerges into view, revealing awe-inspiring monuments cut into the surrounding cliffs. What is this astonishing city? Who built it, and why? Two thousand years ago, Petra stood at a crossroads of the ancient Near East. Camel caravans passed through, loaded with spices, textiles and incense from distant regions--and through such commerce, the city flourished. The Nabataeans also erected monumental tombs, memorializing their kings and leaders. Today archaeologists are discovering clues to Petra's past. In New York, Petra: Lost City of Stone was made possible by Banc of America Securities and Con Edison.
Family tree of the Greek gods Family tree of gods, goddesses and other divine figures from Ancient Greek mythology and Ancient Greek religion The following is a family tree of gods, goddesses and many other divine and semi-divine figures from Ancient Greek mythology and Ancient Greek religion. (The tree does not include creatures; for these, see List of Greek mythological creatures.) Key: The essential Olympians' names are given in bold font. See also List of Greek mythological figures Notes References Theoi: Legendary Greek Creatures See also CATEGORIES IN THE BESTIARY (an illustrated index). Greek myth and legend is filled with a wide variety of monsters and creatures ranging from Dragons, Giants, Demons and Ghosts, to multiformed creatures such as the Sphinx, Minotaur, Centaurs, Manticores and Griffins.There were also many fabulous animals such as the Nemean Lion, golden-fleeced Ram and winged horse Pegasus, not to mention the creatures of legend such as the Phoenix, Unicorns (Monocerata) . Even amongst the tribes of man, myth spoke of strange peoples inhabiting the far reaches of the earth such as the hopping Umbrella-Foots, the one-eyed Arimaspians, the Dog-Headed men, and the puny Pygmies. AMPHISBAENAE see Beasts, African AUTOMOTONS (Automotones) Creatures crafted out of metal and endowed with life by the smith-god Hephaestus. BULLS, BRONZE (Tauroi Khalkeoi) Four fire-breathing, bronze bulls which Hephaestus crafted for King Aeetes of Colchis. BASILISCI see Beasts, African CATOBLEPAS see Beasts, African