Meethology Episodes
The various episodes of Meethology investigate the myths, legends, and fairy tales present in the most beloved movies and attempt to present them to you in a nice and engaging way, maintaining a rigorous approach. You may already know some things, you might discover new things, and other things will make you curious to know more. If you want to interact with me, I am ready to listen to your interests, questions, and to follow your suggestions.
About Melusine: Melusine is a water spirit or fairy present in legends and folktales told across Europe, especially in France and Great Britain. She is typically described in writing and depicted in art as a being in part woman and in part serpent or dragon, with the tail (or sometimes two tails) of a fish or snake and dragon-like wings. The stories about her can be categorized in several overreaching themes, providing differing views of the character. In some legends, Melusine is seen as a genius locus (guardian spirit) of given locations, especially those connected with water such as rivers and lakes. In other stories, she takes a more malevolent role as a succubus, or female demon. One interesting story comes from the French-speaking part of my own country, Switzerland, specifically the canton Jura. In the castle of Saint-Ursanne, there lived a princess who valued partying and showing off wealth more than practicing Christian charity, to the point that she had ordered her servants to beat up anyone who came to her doors asking for bread. Eventually, the fairy Melusine grew tired of her behavior and, as a punishment, turned her into a monstrous, winged serpent with eyes of diamond. Other legends in France tell of Melusine taking human lovers while trying to disguise her dragon nature from them. Eventually, she is discovered and must return to the rivers. It is interesting to notice the parallels between Melusine’s figure and dragons in Asian mythologies since, as it can be seen, Melusine is not the typical medieval fire-breathing reptilian monster.
This is also a good occasion to qualify some of the information I revealed in the two parts “Drag-On arc” episode. In the episode, I mostly discussed dragons as dichotomy between European dragons, seen as destructive and having a negative symbolism, compared to dragons in other cultures, most notably East Asia, who are instead seen as creative and have a positive symbolism. Yet, it is important to stress here that while this generally holds true, there are exceptions on both sides. Melusine, for example, is mostly depicted as a positive and rather poignant figure. Moreover, there is a whole category of folktales from all over the world, referred to as “The Monster (Animal) as Bridegroom” in the Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index, in which a human princess marries a monstrous animal who is actually a prince under a curse. Many examples from Europe involve princes turned into lindworms, a type of dragon or serpent. In this case, the dragon is not truly fought and killed but merely turned back into a human by the heroine. There are even cases of dragons being ascribed statuses as mythological protectors by certain countries and regions. For example, the Coat of Arms of Iceland features four mythological creatures said to protect different sides of island, among them a dragon. Also, the reason why the flag of Wales features a red dragon is because in the Mabinogion, a compilation of myths and legends, this dragon is described as the region’s protector. Conversely, there are instances of tales highlighting the destructive nature of Asian dragons. For example, in his book “The Dragon: Fear and Power”, Martin Arnolds retells a folktale from China in which two dragons steal all the waters of a kingdom, and the hero drowns in an attempt to recover them. Much like the symbol of Yin-and-Yang, the dragon archetype can’t be easily split into clear cut light and dark halves, and there are countless cultural and social factors impacting its perception and spread.
Our Sirrush and Melusine are good, though.
About Hippolyta and Heracles’ quest: Heracles was ordered by the Sybil to perform ten (later twelve) labors for King Eurystheus in order to atone for having killed his own family in a spell of madness sent to him by the goddess Hera. These labors often involved the fetching of special objects and/or creatures, as well as the slaying of monsters such as the Lernaean Hydra, discussed in the previous video a Drag-On Arc Part 2. For his ninth labor, Heracles was ordered to retrieve Hippolyta's belt for the King’s daughter Admete. Initially, Hippolyta was so impressed with Heracles’ previous feats that she gave him the belt willingly. Yet, the goddess Hera, always ready to make things difficult for Heracles, turned herself into one of the Amazons and instigated the other Amazons to attack Heracles on the grounds that he and his crew were about to kidnap their queen. The Amazons believed Hera’s rouse and attacked Heracles ship, yet he succeeded in overpowering them, mostly thanks to his invulnerable clothing made of the Nemean Lion’s skin (see also the video “Monsters Are Appealing). One can’t help but wonder what would have happened without the lion’s skin.
About the Celtic goddesses: unfortunately, while Celtic peoples in both continental Europe and the modern day British Islands had vast mythological traditions, these were mostly lost as a result of Christianity’s spread. However, many stories about the key deities and heroes were integrated in epics from European countries where these peoples lived, such as the Mabinogion from Wales and the Tain Bo Cúailnge from Ireland, the latter of which features the Morrigan. The exact nature of The Morrigan is ambiguous, and it is especially unclear whether she is a goddess with three aspects or a trio of goddesses who operate together and have similar functions. Regardless of the characterization, The Morrigan were depicted as controlling wars and battles, as well as fate, through various means. The three aspects of The Morrigan were Macha, Morrigan, and Badb. While Macha is able to lay curses, (she makes a whole country fall asleep for months on end in the Tain Bo Cúailnge ) she plays a less prominent role compared to the other two. Morrigan is able to foretell the outcome of battles and wars by appearing to warriors who are destinated to die, and she may take the guise of a woman, a wolf, or a raven. Badb took an ever more active role and, in the shape of a raven, could fly over the battlefield and send waves of terror through the armies in order to favor a certain side over the other. The Morrigan, as a collective, also embodied the idea of “the sovereignty goddess”, a motif in Celtic mythology not only symbolizing the fertility of the earth (much like a mother goddess), but also acting as a genius loci on specific lands. As a result, creative and destructive symbolism coexisted in this figure.
About the Association between Women and Fate: the ancient Greeks, Norse, Irish, and Indians were not only ones connecting fate with the feminine principle. As discussed in the first episode, “The Mythological Secret Behind the Force,” Egyptian mythology featured an idea of cosmic order -Maat- regulating everything in the universe, which could be compared to Fate, and also personified it as a goddess, also named Maat.
The Witch in the Room: I sincerely hope that you have enjoyed the video, but I also recognize that by now you may be scratching your heads and be thinking: “Great. You talked about women in mythology, folklore, and movies, what about witches?” Well, here is a thing that very few people know and that dark fantasy films don’t usually tell you: the idea of the witch as being always and necessarily female is a relatively modern concept. In the English language, the word “witch” is neutral, and it can be applied to both males and females perceived to have supernatural powers. Indeed, when anthropologists study analogues of witchcraft in Africa, Asia, and the Americas, they use the term “witch” to translate the native terms used by the various peoples on these continents to refer to witches, even as the majority of witches is actually male. For example, the Skinwalkers mentioned in the episode “From Werewolves to AI” are referred to as “witches” even if they tend to be men. It was only in Western culture, and starting from the Middle Ages, that the idea of a witch started to be associated with women, because Christian theologians thought that women were more susceptible to the devil’s influence, and this idea has lingered in representations of witches in popular culture.
About Heroines in Fairy Tales: a good side note to our discussion about heroines are the motifs associated with these figures in fairy tales. While the dominant view of fairy tale heroines is that of passive women waiting for Prince Charming to rescue them, the folklore of the world is filled with women and girls taking a much more active role as protagonists. A specific category in the Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index is type 451, “The Maiden Seeks Her Brothers”, in which the brothers of the heroine are turned into birds, such as swans or ravens, and the heroine goes on a quest to save her, succeeding in the end after braving great odds. Examples of this tale come from Europe, North Africa, and even India and China. More broadly, heroines in fairy tales set out to recover someone or something that has been lost, such as Vasilisa the Beautiful who, in the eponymous Russian fairy tales, goes in the depths of the forest to find the terrible witch Baba Yaga and take fire from her after her stepsisters purposefully turn off all fires in the home. While the witch subjects Vasilisa to several labors while threatening to eat her, Vasilisa succeeds thanks t her mother’s blessing and gains the needed fire. In modern movies, we can still see this motif of the heroine drawn on a quest after a loved one is snatched (or may be snatched) from her. For example, Chihiro in the film Spirited Away ventures into the world of spirits (Kami) to rescue her parents from a curse that turned them in pigs, risking her own life in the process. Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games novel and film series volunteers to fight in the titular games after her sister Primrose is selected. Her quest will later involve her surviving two rounds of the deadly matches and fighting a war to free the whole country of Panem from dictatorship.
The full story of Prometheus: the ancient Greeks had many creation myths, or stories explaining how the world or universe originated. Still, the dominant version, as narrated by Hesiod in his Theogony, is the best-known one: the genealogy of the gods starts with Uranus (the sky) and Gea (the Earth), which give birth to the Titans. The Titans, led by Cronus, rebelled and killed Uranus. Cronus thus took power and married Rhea yet, after discovering a prophecy according to which he would be overthrown by his children just as he had overthrown his father, he set out to devour his children-the gods and goddesses Poseidon, Hades, Demeter, Hestia, and Hera. When Zeus was born, Rhea hid it. Later, Zeus would free his brothers and sisters and overthrow Cronus and the other Titans after a great battle between gods and Titans known as the Titanomachy. The gods Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades then divided the universe between them, with Zeus taking the sky (and the dominant position that came with it), Poseidon taking the oceans and Hades the underworld. Most of the Titans were imprisoned in the Tartarus, the lowest region of the Ancient Greek cosmos and the closest equivalent to Hell. Still, not all Titans opposed to gods; some of them were neutral, and were initially allowed to be free, though they no longer ruled the Earth. Among them was Prometheus. Prometheus, differently from most other gods and Titans, was sensitive toward the human species. In fact, in some versions of the myth, he had created the first human beings out of clay. He was also neutral during the Titanomachy and thus spared imprisonment in the Tartarus. According to the myth, humanity at that time lived in dreadful conditions as it did not yet have fire, it had no knowledge or technology. Human beings lived on Earth very much like animals, without clothing, shelters, and no way to defend themselves from wild beasts. Only the gods had fire, specifically a single fire guarded by Hestia, the goddess of the hearth. Prometheus, however, felt the sorrows of his creations, and asked the gods to provide fire to them. But Zeus refused, and Prometheus stole fire from Hestia by hiding sparkles into a fennel stalk, and gave it to humanity, teaching them how to use it. As a result, human beings acquired the ability to light fires and build homes and later cities around them. When Zeus found out, he became wrathful toward Prometheus, and had him bound in chains to a mountain and trapped him into a terrifying cycle: every day, an eagle (a bird symbolic of Zeus) would have eaten out Prometheus’ liver, and every night the organ would have grown back only to be eaten the following day. Eventually, Prometheus would be freed by the hero Hercules, who killed the eagle and freed the Titan.
Another version of the myth, also related by Hesiod, held that humanity knew the secret of fire before Prometheus, but Zeus withdrew it from them. According to this story, the gods and the human beings met to decide which foods the human beings could have and which would be sacrificed to the gods. Prometheus killed an ox and made two piles out of his body: in one pile, he put all the edible meat covered with fat in order to make it look unappealing, while in the other piles he put the bones (which are not edible) and covered them with fat and skin to make it look like the meat was there. Then, gods and human beings chose the pile. Zeus was tricked and chose the pile with the bones, while human beings took the best parts of the animal as a result. It was then that the angry Zeus vented his anger by stealing fire, which was then stolen back (or given back) by Prometheus. The overall episode is known as The Trick at Mecone (also written in the Latin script as Mekone), after the location where this myth allegedly took place.
Fire, in this myth, is a general symbol for knowledge, especially the knowledge of the arts, technology, and civilization.
About the phoenix: the phoenix is a mythological creature which, like the dragon, is found in many mythologies across the world, both first attested in Greek and Egyptian traditions. It is first described in a poem generally attributed to Hesiod, The Precepts of Chiron, written as didactic poetry (poetry meant to teach some insight). The speaker of the poem is the centaur Chiron (see episode 2), who is depicted as instructing the hero Achilles. At one point, Chiron mentions the Phoenix. Later, the Greek historian Herodotus (who more often than not weaved myths and legends in his description of the world and its history), argues that the phoenixes live in Egypt. Other authors added the new famous and most distinctive characteristic of phoenix, namely their life cycle. Phoenixes normally live extremely long periods of time. When they are old, they spontaneously combust (catch fire) and reduce themselves to ashes. Afterwards, they are born again as younger birds. This motif of rebirth is perhaps what allowed this bird to appeal to the human imagination so powerfully across thousands of years. Indeed, as time passed, the idea of the phoenix bursting into flames and rising again came to symbolize a wide variety of things. The romans adopted it as a metaphor for their empire’s ability to survive any catastrophe, defeat any enemy, and continue prospering. Early Christians ascribed the phoenix the virtue of purity and used it as a symbol for the Virgin Mary. In medieval Europe, it came to be also seen as an allegory for the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Outside of Western culture, numerous mythologies, most notably Russian, Persian, and Chinese ones, have analogies of the phoenix. Not all of them feature the idea of destruction and rebirth through fire, and most give it a sacred symbolism. Still, most of them associate the bird with some sacred principle, or with fire in some way. For example, Persian mythology features the Simurgh, a gigantic bird, resembling either an eagle or a peacock, thought to be a intrinsically good and a sign of the Zoroastrian God. One specific legend states that it lives for thousands of years before catching fire and being reborn again. Many Russian fairy tales feature the Firebird, a magical bird said to have feathers made of flames, and able to bring immense good luck. It was often the object of heroes’ quests. The corpus of Chinese myths also describes a giant bird similar to the phoenix as a symbol of good luck, often paired with the dragon as the feminine half and the Ying and Yang duality (see episode 1). This “Chinese phoenix”, however, is not reborn perpetually.
Seen through these lens, the character of Fawkes is a branch from a vast dynasty. The association in medieval European and Persian literature with resurrection is reflected in the Harry Potter novels and films, as the main hero also dies and resurrects and, on another occasion, the phoenix saves his life through his tears.
About Grendel: although he is typically depicted as a giant, ogre, or similar humanoid being, no one really knows what image the name “Grendel” conjured in the minds of those who heard the poem in ancient times, since the epic itself does not contain many descriptions. However, the epic poem explicitly states that Grendel lived in an underwater cave beneath a swampy marsh, near the sea. Like the shark in Jaws, he is therefore a sea or water monster. The two creatures share an obvious symbolism of being connected to an unexplored wilderness that is also an abyss.
Folklores about vampires and werewolves: while the video discusses vampires and werewolves mostly in terms of European folklore-since it is this tradition that influenced modern depictions of the creatures the most-these creatures or similar beings have been described by folklores on every country and continent. Concerning vampires, many African ethnic group tell stories of blood-sucking beings; for instance the Ewe people of Ghana fear the Adze, witches able to turn into fireflies and drain people of their blood during the nights. The Ashanti people of the same region have stories about the Asanbosam, a blood-drinking ogre with teeth of iron that dwells in trees. In the Americas, Mapuche mythology featured a particular type of demon known as the Piuchen, a flying snake capable of drawing blood from human beings, likely inspired by the vampire bat. Chinese vampires, known as Jiangshi, are described as corpses of dead people who have either been re-animated by wizards or have absorbed enough Yang to spring back to life. These beings, moving by hopping forward, try to steal life essence from their victims. Like Eastern European vampires, they sleep through the day and wander at night. Werewolves also have a worldwide spread, including beings who shapeshift into other animals. For example, any Indigenous peoples of North America tell legends of “skinwalkers.” The Navajo nation, in particular, believes these creatures to be generally similar to human beings but having skin as hard as rock, glowing eyes with which they can steal an individual’s aspect (or “skin”) when the person looks at them directly and, most importantly, the ability to turn into an animal. Skinwalkers are described as turning in various animals, such as coyotes or owls, but the form most often associated to them was the wolf. The Navajo name for these beings is yeenadloshi (literally meaning “he goes on all fours”). Many African peoples described werehyenas which are either people who can turn themselves into hyenas or hyenas that can disguise themselves as human beings. For instance, a popular tale in Somalia is that of the “Qori Ismaris”, men who can change into hyenas at night by rubbing themselves with a magic stick, turning back into a human at dawn in the same way. Other folklores, such as Ethiopia’s and Erithrea’s, refer to werehyenas as “Budas” and describe them as sorcerers/esses who can curse people with their eyes and shapeshift into hyenas. In Chinese folklore, there are beings known as “Yaoguai”, which were thought to be creatures, animals, or even objects who achieved supernatural powers after cultivating the life force known as ch’I. Many of these animals and objects are capable of transforming from and into human beings in order to deceive them and occasionally prey on them. The most common type of these spirits were fox spirits, depicted as nine-tailed foxes able to turn into other beings, including humans. However, wolves could also achieve these powers, similarly as the Skinwalkers in Navajo culture and European werewolves.
Other monsters representing the fears of technological advancements: while the monster of Frankenstein and several evil artificial intelligences are powerful metaphors for the fears caused by scientific modernity, they are not the only monsters acting as these fears’ manifestations. Another type of monster is modern movies embodying these fears are the Kaiju, a Japanese term that indicates massive monsters often found in Japan’s movies and television series (along with those of other countries), chief among them Godzilla. Many of these giant beasts have origins due to accidents involving human-made technologies that have gone out of control, leading to these monsters destroying entire cities in rampages. They can therefore be interpreted as metaphors for the dangerous and destructive aspects of these technologies. For example, Godzilla itself, as told in the original 1954 film, was originally a dinosaur who was mutated by radiation resulting from nuclear tests, which caused him to grow to immense size and develop an atomic breath. In this and subsequent movies, Godzilla was often seen as a manifestation of fears about nuclear apocalypses in post-war Japan, and its rampage through Tokyo mirrored the real-life nuclear bombings of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. As the character became widespread in global popular culture, it came to represent a more general fear about nuclear weapons and their power to cause devastations similar to the Kaiju monsters. It is interesting to notice that, just as Frankenstein’s monster represents the fear of electricity, Godzilla represents the fear of radiation, showing that while technology was still dreaded as a source of monsters, the focus of the fear had moved from electricity to radiation. Different monsters connected to the wider dread of modernity symbolize different aspects of it. Now, it appears that the focus is moving again to artificial intelligence, even as radiation giant monsters such as Godzilla remain popular.
Other modern monsters with apocalyptic connotations: while villainous artificial intelligences from modern movie franchises have mostly inherited the apocalyptic dimension of the monsters described above and, in some ways, continue their tradition in modern popular culture, they are not the only monsters with this function. Zombies are another type of monstrous being with end-of-the world undertones. The zombie is perhaps a truly modern monster since, while similar undead creatures have been described in ancient mythologies, the concept of a corpse animated through either black magic or a virus is extremely recent. The word originated in several African languages, where it referred to several gods and spirits. Later, when the Transatlantic slave trade forced millions of African people to work on American plantations as slaves, these slaves combined elements of their native traditions with Christianity, resulting in several African diasporic religions, among them Vodun. In the folklore of Vodun, especially in the southern United States and Haiti, a” zombie” came to mean the body of a recently deceased person reanimated as a mindless creature by a priest or a sorcerer. It entered popular culture with several movies. However, after George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead, zombies were mostly depicted as being animated by science fiction elements, such as radiation (as in the film) or, more recently, viruses and other microbes. From this concept of zombies as arising from an agent that can spread and cause huge pandemics, the idea of a “zombie apocalypse”, in which the world is overrun by armies of zombies and global civilization collapses because of them, was a logical evolution. As a result of this trope, used in countless novels, comics, films, and video games, among other media, the idea of an apocalypse has become inseparable from that of a zombie. But even if the zombie itself may be a modern conception, that of an undead army as a vehicle for the end times may have deeper roots. According to Marie Louise von Franz in her book Shadow and Evil in Fairy Tales, invocations of black magic in ancient Greece began with the statement: “Oh, you gods of the netherworld, Hades, Proserpina, and you the nameless enormous army of those who killed themselves, or who were murdered, or who died before their time.” While this “army” does not attack the world of the living, it is still acknowledged of a force of great power. An even more direct antecedent of the zombie apocalypse is the already mentioned Ragnarök. Aside from Fenrir, Jormungand, and Surtr, another force playing a role in the eschatology is the god Loki himself, who will guide the hosts of Hel in the final battle where the Norse gods will be killed. Hel is the afterlife only for those who have not died a heroic or battle death (those instead went to Valhalla and fought for the gods). Instead, all the other dead gathered in Hel and formed the army which would march at Ragnarök. Just as in modern zombie apocalypse fiction, there is an army of undead who destroy the world. Perhaps, this idea is an archetype which has found new inspiration through the modern stories of radiation and viruses.
About apocalyptic monsters (more information about Fenrir and Azi Dahaka and other instances of world-destroying monsters): aside from Fenrir, other monsters in Norse mythology that play a role in Ragnarök and can therefore be considered apocalyptic include the serpent Jormungand (see in the notes to A Drag-on Arc Part 2, Ep 4), which normally coils around the world and keeps it together by holding his tail in his mouth and will release it when Ragnarök comes; and Surtr, the leader of the Fire Giants, who will destroy all Nine Worlds of the Norse cosmos with his flaming swords. Fenrir and Jormungand were brothers with Hel, the queen of the Norse underworld (also named Hel, see the notes to The Hero’s Journey in the Cave of Mysteries, Ep 2), sharing the parents Loki, god of trickery, and the giantess witch Angrbooa. While Jormungand was cast in the seas and used as a world-holder, and Hel was placed to rule the Underworld, Fenrir was initially allowed to stay with the gods. However, he grew increasingly large and aggressive, and desired to rule over the deities. After consulting an oracle relating how Fenris would ultimately destroy the gods, Odin decided to bind the wolf. After two failed attempts, they succeeded in tying Fenrir in Hel, but not before the giant wolf bit off the god Tyr’s hand. He will break free after his two sons, both giant wolves, would destroy the Sun and the Moon, essentially beginning Ragnarök. Surtr instead apparently exists at the beginning of the universe, in the realm known as Muspelheim, a world made up of fire that existed before the Earth. He served as the realm’s ruler and guardian. Azi Dahaka is mentioned in the Avesta, the first and main religious scripture of Zoroastrian. He is the most powerful of the Azis (dragons) in Iranian mythology. While there are many myths surrounding Azi Dahaka, the most important of them is how he ruled the world encouraging evil until he was defeated by Garshap and chained on the Mount Damavand until the end of the world. At that moment, Azi Dahaka will once again break free and devour exactly one third of all human beings and one third of all animals, until Garshap will defeat him again. There are conflicting account of Azi Dahaka’s origins, although most argue that is the son of Ahriman, the Zoroastrian version of the devil. In the epic poem Shahnameh, Azi Dahaka (here called Zahak) is depicted as an evil sorcerer and tyrant rather than an apocalyptic monster. He is still, however, depicted as a corrupt ruler with ties to Ahriman and dragon-like traits, most notably two snakes attached to his shoulders. Azi Dahak is more religious than mythological, since he symbolizes evil in a moral way, rather than a force of destruction. A similar apocalyptic monster in religion in the Great Red Dragon in Christian eschatology, who knocks down a third of all stars and planets and summons other monsters (such as the Beast of the Sea) to encourage evil all over the Earth and rule it. He is directly identified with the devil, and his appearance heralds Judgement Day (the real one). However, the idea of an evil monster bringing forth the apocalypse by encouraging evil in the world is not limited to religions with Near Eastern origin. Hinduism, the main religion of India, also has such a monster, the demon Kali. According to Hindu cosmology, the universe is cyclically created, maintained into existence, and then destroyed over an immense time period known as a “Kalpa.” Each Kalpa is divided in four ages, the latter of which, Kali Yuga, is an age of destruction where the world decays and the cosmos approaches dissolution. According to many Puranas (a category of important texts in Hindu traditions), this decay is caused by Kali, a demon formed by the god of creation Brahma for this purpose. Kali is described in literature and depicted in art in monstrous terms, as a gigantic humanoid being with a huge tongue, a terrible stench and a swine-like face. While the Puranas differ on the exact sequence of events, they all agree that Kali will take over the world and plunge it in a dark age in which sins (according to Hindu tenets) will be promoted and the cosmic order or Dharma will be undermined. This reign will be ended by Kalki, the tenth and prophesized avatar of the God Vishnu, preserver of the Universe, who will rally the remaining believers, defeat all rulers allied with Kali, and finally overcome Kali himself, although, in some narratives, the demon survives the final dissolution and enters the new universe to slowly undermine it, thus continuing the cycle. Kali must not be confused with the goddess Kali; despite sharing a similar name, these two entities are distinct. As can be seen in the examples above, monsters represent not only the fear of human beings’ darkest impulses on a personal level, like vampires and werewolves, but also on a cosmic level, in the form of morally evil and world threatening monsters.
About the sphinx: the sphinx is actually a creature in both Greek and Egyptian mythology. The best known version in popular culture, as well as the one discussed in this episode, is the Greek one. The Ancient Greek sphinx was described as a destructive monster with the body of a lion, the wings of an eagle, and the head of a human woman. Different sources offer different origins. According to Hesiod, she was the daughter of Orthrus, a two-headed dog, and a mysterious female monster that has been variously described as Echidna, Chimera, and Ceto. Instead, Apollodorus and Lasus write that she was the daughter of Typhon (see above on the symbolism of dragons in Western mythologies for more information on Typhon) and Echidna. Regardless of her origins, the Sphinx was portrayed as destructive and merciless. The most famous story featuring this mythical animal is when she was sent either by Hera or Ares (once again, depending on the source) to occupy the gates of the Greek city Thebes. There, the Sphinx asked the notorious riddle to every person attempting to leave or enter the city, and ate anyone who could not answer. Everyone failed to solve the riddle until Oedipus (yes, the same one as the complex) arrived at Thebes. Like the others before him, he was stopped by the sphinx and asked the riddle. Yet, Oedipus succeeded in answering. There are different versions of what happened afterwards, but all ended with the sphinx’s downfall: either she committed suicide after being defeated or tried to attack Oedipus, triggering him to kill her.
The Egyptian version of the sphinx was a very different mythical symbol: instead of being a singular monster, Egyptian sphinxes were an entire species within ancient Egyptian mythology. Also, they were not demons, but rather powerful nd protective beings watching over sacred places such as tombs and temples. Indeed, the first image that is conjured when people hear the word “sphinx” is the vast monuments, such as the one at Giza. Sphinxes were believed to ward off evil, and were a symbol of the Pharaoh. Also, ancient Egyptian Sphinxes did not have wings, and the human head on the body of the lion was masculine.
About Chimera: the Chimera, like the Gorgons, has unclear origins depending on the mythological source. Hesiod writes that she is the daughter of Typhon and a mysterious “she”, which has been identified with Echidna, Hydra, or Ceto. Instead, Apollodorus and Hyginus (who were ancient Greek mythographers or compiler of myths) explicitly argued that Chimera was born from Typhon and Echidna. In addition, Hesiod writes that the Sphinx and the Nemean Lion were born from Orthrus and a once again unknown female monster, which has been identified with the Chimera but also Echidna or Ceto. Anyway, as told in the video, the Chimera had the body of a goat, a goat head and a lion one, and a tail that ended in a serpent or dragon, and could breathe fire. Homer, in the Iliad, cryptically states that the Chimera was raised by Araisodarus, who later became the father of Trojan warriors during the Trojan War. However, this account is sketchy, and it is unknown why did Araisodarus raise the Chimera. In any case, the pet soon got out of control: after taking residence on its namesake mount, the Chimera caused widespread devastation. Bellerophon was sent by the king of Lycia to kill the monster. Bellerophon had been exiled to Lycia in order to rceive forgiveness from the king for a crime he had committed. While the king did forgive him, the queen tried to woo him and, when he rejected her, she accused him of wooing her. The Ancient Greeks are the ultimate source of all soap operas. Anyway, the queen asked for Bellerophon to be killed but he was protected by Xenia, the sacred law surrounding guests in Ancient Greece. Therefore, the king sent him to kill the Chimera, hoping the beast would kill Bellerophon. Instead, he was told by fortune teller to look for Pegasus, the winged horse who was born from Medusa’s blood (see below). He achieved this thanks to the goddess Athena’s help and, riding the winged horse, succeeded in slaying Chimera.
Modern audiences primary remember this myth for its use in the action/spy fiction movie Mission: Impossible 2. In the movie, secret agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise), discovers that a pharmaceutical corporation has created, through genetic engineering, a virus capable of causing a global pandemic, as well as the cure to that virus, in an attempt to enrich the corporation. The virus is codenamed “Chimera” and the cure “Bellerophon”, with an evident wink to the monster-hero relationship. While the screenwriters could have picked any such relationship in the world’s mythologies, the identification of the virus as Chimera was likely because, in the movie, the pathogen is described as resulting from several strands of other microbes’ DNA attached together to form a new one, a hybridization of other entities similar to the mythological Chimera. In fact, it is important to notice that in common English parlance “Chimera” also refers to any hybrid creatures or things, in slangy way. The name “Bellerophon” for the cure likely followed from that.
About the Minotaur: the full story of the Minotaur is also worthy of a soap opera, although with a more supernatural vein. The stage is Crete, an island in Greece, which, historically, was one of the civilizations that combined to give rise to Classical Greece, the other two being the Achaeans and the Dorians. According to the mythology, Crete was once torn by civil war between Minos and his brothers. Minos prayed to the sea god Poseidon’s to send him a white bull in order to show that the god supported him rather than the brothers (the sea was very important to Crete as a maritime power). Poseidon (known by the Romans as Neptune) accepted and did send him a bull. However, Minos was meant, by the Greeks’ religious rules, to sacrifice the bull back to the deity. Minos decided to keep the bull for himself because it was extremely beautiful, and instead sacrificed another bull to Poseidon, hoping that the god would accept a similar sacrifice. But gods do not like to be tricked. Poseidon plotted with Aphrodite, goddess of beauty and (with Eros, known to the Romans as Cupid) one of the deities of love, to punish Minos. Aphrodite made Minos’ wife, Pasiphae, fall desperately in love with… the bull. Therefore, Pasiphae asked Daedalus to build her a hollow cow in order to physically have sexual intercourse with the bull. The result of this “affair” was the Minotaur, whom his parents actually called Asterius, was a partly human and partly bull beast. While he may have been cute as a child, he grew up large and powerful and, most importantly, a taste for human flesh. In order to contain this monster, Minos tasked Daedalus to build a massive Labyrinth beneath the palace in order to trap Asterius/the Minotaur there. The beast needed to be fed, and so Minos established a grisly tradition: every set amount of time (with some sources stating nine or seven years, and even one year), Athens (a city in Greece which had been defeated by Crete) had to send seven young men and women to be put in the Labyrinth and devoured by the Minotaur. Otherwise, the Cretans would have invaded Athens and extracted an even larger tribute. This went on for many decades, until the hero Theseus, the prince son of King Aegeus, decided to put an end to this slaughter by volunteering as a victim to try and kill the Minotaur. Fortunately, Ariadne, daughter of King Minos, fell in love with him and provided him with a extremely long thread which, when pushed below him, glowed in the dark of the Labyrinth’s corridors, allowing him to retrace hi steps and never get lost, as well as special sword that could pierce the Minotaur’s skin. With these gifts, Thesus not only destroyed the monster, but also found his way out of the Labyrinth and saved the other tributes, along with Ariadne. However, he was so thankful to her that… he abandoned her on an island. Luckily, Ariadne found a much more devoted husband in Dionysus, the Greek god of wine and festivity.
About the psychological aspects of monsters: monsters can be seen in many ways under psychological lenses. In her book Shadow and Evil in Fairy Tales, Jungian psychologist Marie Louise von Franz argues that many folktales all over the world tell stories of human beings encountering monsters or demons dwelling into nature and being connected with it, including Chinese tales of peasants encountering ghosts living in mountains and South American stories of rain demons possessing people and turning them into monsters. She argues that these monsters are a projection of the human “Shadow” on nature. The “Shadow”, in Jungian psychology, is the side of the personality that is unknown to the conscious mind, which often contains the impulses rejected by consciousness. For this reason, the Shadow tends to be associated with evil, because it contains the impulses condemned as evil by the society, such as sexual lust, greed, or wrath. Von Franz reports that many psychologists think that monsters and demons found in stories all over the world associated with nature are personifications and exaggeration of real-life dangers associated with these natural places, such as predatory animals, storms, floods, avalanches, and so on. However, Von Franz herself argues that these demons also reflect the potential for evil (therefore the Shadow) within human beings themselves. As evidence to this theory, she points out to the fact that these demons are described by cultures across the continents in similar ways: as misshapen human beings and human-like figures, often a cross between the human forms and entities in the natural world such as animals. While these “nature demons” may be different based on the geography and environment surrounding the culture, with sea cultures telling stories of evil sea spirits and cultures in mountainous terrain developing mountain demons, the overall outlook and character of the monster are the same because the human Shadow is universal. Indeed, this seems to be the case of many monsters discussed in this video: Polyphemus, the Rakshasas, and the Wendigos are all humanoid beings with inhuman traits, and yokai could also come in human-like forms. The Minotaur and the Gorgons are also examples of monsters found specifically in Greek mythology that combine human and non-human traits. Yet, this is not the only way to interpret monsters psychologically. Another way of viewing monsters may be that they represent the dangers of crossing cultural rules and mores established by the society. This can be seen in the story of the Minotaur, since the monster is born when Minos refuses to follow the religious rules of Ancient Greece. Likewise, wendigos were seen as metaphors for people who developed selfishness and came against their nation’s values and rules, being not only exiled but also losing their humanity as a result. In all of these tales, the monsters exist beyond the mores of the society, and their tales act as a warning to human beings not to break these taboos. Heroes, in turn, represent the values and laws of a civilization, because they are depicted as following these values above all else. For example, the Iliad and the Odyssey featured heroes who placed emphasis on honor, worshipping the gods, and a worldview based on Fate that was share d by audiences in Ancient Greece. This, in turn, may reflect an even larger and deeper psychological conflict between the human need for order, resulting in the creation of rules, mores, and laws, and religious or cultural values personified by heroes; and the chaos perceived in the universe, which can also be perceived in human lawlessness and is personified by the monsters. Martin Arnolds, in his book The Dargon: Fear and Power, proposed a similar theory to explain the prevalence of the motif of a hero fighting and killing a dragon. By quoting Levi Strauss, he argued that dragons represent nature, both external natural forces and the basest impulses within human beings, while the heroes defeating dragons represent Culture, or the civilizing impulse. While he adopted this theory only to discuss dragon myths in mostly western and Near Eastern cultures, a similar thinking can be applied to every monster-slayer relationship found in mythology since, as said in the video, monsters everywhere seem to be so deeply associated with natural places.
About the Gorgons: the Gorgons, like most monsters in Greek mythology, also have a convoluted genealogy but they are usually said to be the daughters of the sea-god Phorcys (a primordial deity who ruled the seas before Poseidon) and Ceto, the goddess of sea monsters. The Gorgons were called Stheno, Euryale, and Medusa, were all women with snakes instead of hair, were able to turn whomever looked at them directly to stone, and lived to the edge of the world with their sisters, the Graeae, who were instead wizened old ladies with a very quirky trait: they had only one tooth and one eye, which they passed around to take turns and watch over the Gorgons: when one had the eye, the other two slept, and the eyed one watched until she decided to pass the eye to another one. Imagine having to fight your sisters for… your eyes!
Anyway, of the three Gorgons, only Euryale and Stheno were immortal: Medusa instead could be killed. According to the myths surrounding Perseus, the Greek hero had been sent by Polydectes, his foster father and the king of Seriphos, to recover Medusa’s head. In reality, the king had sent him to die because he feared his strength, but Perseus was helped by both Athene, who gave him a shield capable of reflecting Medusa’s gaze without looking at it, and Ermes, who gave him a scythe. Perseus reached the Graeae and, in order to have them reveal the way to the Gorgons’ lair, he stole their one eye and tooth. In return for their appendices, they not only told him where the Gorgons dwelled, but they also gave him winged sandals, an helm that made him invisible, and even a sac. In some versions of the myth, Perseus then gave the eye and tooth back but in other, he threw them in the lake. What a nice guy! Afterwards, he flew to the Gorgons and, by looking at Medusa’s reflection on the shield rather than at the monster directly, he beheaded her. Then, he escaped thanks to the sandals with the other two Gorgons chasing. From the blood that flowed out of Medusa’s severed neck, the winged horse Pegasus and Chrysaor, who became the father of Geryon (a three headed giant who was overcome by Heracles in one of his many labours in order to steal his magical cattle). Pegasus later helped Bellerophon defeat the Chimera.
About the Rakshasa: the Rakshasa are also adversaries on the hero’s journey. Specifically, Rakshasa are opposed and defeated in the great epics of Hinduism (India’s primary religion), the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Indeed, the Ramayana revolves around Rama, an avatar of the God Vishnu reincarnated as a prince on Earth, as he rescues his wife Sita and rids the world from Ravana, the powerful king of the Rakshasa (pictured below). Here, the significance is mythology as well as religious, with the Rakshasa performing a similar functions as demons described in the Bible: obstructing the message from God and preventing human beings from being re-united with the primary source of existence, an opposition that is overcome by the religion’s founders or other significant figures in a pattern that resembles the hero’s journey.
Below there is a re-phrase of the famous riddle. Why don’t you try and solve it? Don’t worry: no-one here is going to eat you if you do not know the answer.
“Which animal has four feet in the morning, two in the noon, and three at dusk? The answer are human beings. When people are born, and therefore are in the morning of their lives, they crawl on all fours. When they become adults and can be considered in the noon of their life, they walk on two legs. Finally, when they grow old and approach death, being thus at their lives’ dusk, they may carry a walking stick to help them more around. Now, this riddle is pretty famous, and you likely already knew the answer. However, in some versions of the myth, there is also a second riddle, much less well known. If you had fun in the previous paragraph, I have also included the second riddle below, together with the answer after the *, and you can solve this one too. Again, no one is going to devour you if you don’t manage to solve it.
“There are two sisters: one gives birth to the other and the other in turn gives birth to the first. Who are these two sisters?” The answer is day and night. This is a little bit tricky for English speakers, because in Ancient Greek, the words for day and night are both feminine. Thus, the cycle of day and night can be seen as two sisters giving birth to one another. Anyway, that was just a small game to have fun.
About medieval dragons: dragons in medieval Europe developed a rich symbolism in medieval bestiaries. These manuscripts in the Middle Ages purported to list and classify all the animals in the world, or at least in the world known to the Europeas. However, these bestiaries were not scientific, but rather allegorical. They ascribed supernatural characteristics to the animals they described. These traits functioned as symbols of behaviors in human beings. This is due to the medieval idea that God had created the world and all living beings in such a way that these beings could teach lessons to human beings through their behavior. As a result, bestiaries told tales about the animals which expressed Christian principles. The dragon, in the strange allegorical universe of these books, was a symbol for the Devil, the temptations that human beings faced throughout their lives, and sin. Through stories concerning dragons, medieval bestiaries explained how human beings could avoid or resist sin and temptation. For example, the story about the struggle between the Panther and the Dragon reflected the fight between God (especially Jesus Christ) and the Devil.
About Norse dragons: another dragon in Norse mythology who was more important on a cosmic level but less known than Fafnir was Nidhogg (spelling and pronunciation can vary). According to the Norse worldview, the universe consisted in the Nine Worlds, inhabited by human beings, two kinds of gods (Aesir and Vanir), light and dark elves, fire and frost giants, and the dead, among various beings. These worlds were connected by Yggdrasil, an almost boundless tree that traversed the entire Norse cosmos and held the various worlds in its branches. The worlds of the gods, Asgard and Vanaheimir, were on the uppermost branches while the land of the dead Hel was in the roots. At the lowest point of the tree, there was Nidhoog, who is described as a massive serpent or dragon coiled around the base of the tree and constantly gnawing at the tree’s roots, spreading its poison across Yggdrasil and causing it to slowly rot. In Norse mythology, the end of the world will come when, in a future time, Yggdrasil will be completely corrupted by Nidhogg’s poison and will start falling apart, causing a chain of events known as Ragnarok, featuring a final battle between gods, heroes, and various monsters, and ending in the fire giant Surtr’s burning of the universe. Thus, Nidhogg was a symbol of death itself. Other Norse dragons feature prominently in the sagas, which tell the stories of heroes such as Sigurd in the Volsunga Saga (Saga of the Volsungs) and Thidrek in Thidrek’s Saga. These dragons are depicted as greedy and hoarding treasures on which they sleep, becoming inevitably the target of heroes. It is important to notice that these dragons were not at all like today’s winged and two or four legged beasts. They were described as long and powerful serpents, known as “worms.”
About Nidhogg and the symbolism of dragons: Nidhogg was also a symbol of chaos, reflecting another common trait of dragons which I have not discussed in this episode. In many mythologies, especially those of the Western world, dragons represent chaos and unbounded forces which threaten to destroy the universe, as well as the perceived primordial chaos at the beginning of the world. As I wrote above in episode one’s notes, the serpent Apep embodied Isfet, the ancient Egyptian ideas of chaos, evil, and injustice. The dragon Tiamat, killed by the god Marduk in Babylonian mythology, was also a symbol for primordial chaos, as were the monster Typhon in Greek mythology and the giant serpent Vritra in the Hindu and Vedic tradition of India. All of these dragons took actions that upset the balance of the cosmos (for example, Apep tried to swallow the Sun and Vritra to block all the world’s water) and were fought by deities to re-establish order. Still, Nidhogg is not the only dragon in Norse mythology representing chaos and death. The Midgard Serpent, also known as Jormungandr, had similar symbolisms and functions, although with some differences. In the Norse cosmos, the world where human beings lived (the Earth) was called “Midgard” (literally meaning Middle Earth because it was between the heavens and the hells). In Norse mythology, Midgard is surrounded by vast oceans on all sides and, at the edge of the world, there was an immense sea dragon which encircled the entire world and had its tail placed in its mouth. This dragon, Jormungandr, was the son of the trickster god Loki, and was fated to kill the thunder god Thor during Ragnarok. Yet, Jormungandr also had the function of holding the earth together and thus maintaining an important balance. In this respect, he was unlike Nidhogg in that his action preserves the balance of the universe. Thus, the Midgard Serpent was both a symbol of chaos (as the killer of Thor) and of balance (as the preserver of the earth).
About the influence of Norse dragons: Norse mythology, with its stories of dragons, exerted a vast influence on later Western literature, fiction, and arts. In particular, the fantasy writer J.R.R. Tolkien took great inspiration from the Norse ethos while creating his fictional universe of Middle-earth and writing the books set in it, such as The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings. The very name “Middle-earth” is derived from “Midgard.” Tolkien’s legendarium (as the whole ensemble of Middle-earth writings is known) also features dragons. These dragons are both winged, four legged, and fire breathing such as Smaug, or massive serpents with legs more similar to their Norse ancestors. Of course, the best known of Tolkien’s dragons is Smaug from The Hobbit, who shares many characteristics with Fafnir, such as being greedy, and destructive. Yet, Tolkien also created other Norse-inspired dragons. For example, Scatha the Worm, briefly mentioned in the appendix of The Lord of the Rings. Little is told about Scatha, aside from the fact that he was a huge dragon who lived in the Grey Mountains, where he had amassed a golden hoard by stealing it from the dwarves. He was killed by Fram, the ancestor of the Riders of Rohan featured in The Lord of the Rings. Scatha is in many ways closer to Norse dragons than Smaug, because he was a large serpent or worm with legs rather than a flying and legged reptile.
Fafnir’s full story: Fafnir was originally a man, the son of Hreidmar, a powerful sorcerer who had taught magic to Fafnir and his two brothers: Regin and Otter (yes, Otter, like the otters). In fact, Otter loved to shapeshift into an otter and go catching fish in nearby rivers. Then, while he was in the form of an otter, he was killed and skinned by the gods Odin, Loki, and Hœnir, who were exploring the earth. By chance, they met Hreidmar and showed him the skin, which he recognized as his son’s. After trapping the gods with the help of Fafnir and Regin, he threatened to kill them. But Loki pleaded and promised to do anything the mage wished. Hreidmar relented and gave Loki a chance: if he could completely cover Otter’s skin with gold, he would have released the gods. Loki therefore went to a lake that he knew and trapped the dwarf Andvari, who lived in a cave under the lake and owned a great treasure, and threatened to kill him if he did not hand over his gold. Andvari gave in but attempted to keep a small golden ring. Loki found the ring and took it away from him, causing the dwarf to curse the ring in such a way that whomever wore it would have been fated to destruction. The treasure was enough to cover all of the skin except for a small whisker, which Loki covered with the ring. The gods were thus freed and went back to Asgard. Yet, the ring’s curse soon operated. The greed of Fafnir and Regin was solicited, and they asked their father for the treasure. When he refused, they killed him. Regin then expected half of the gold, but Fafnir used “the helm of terror” (which could cause frightful visions to the wearer’s enemies) to drive him away. He went to a cave in the mountains with the treasure and brooded over it. Over time, he turned into a dragon. Regin, meanwhile, became a smith at a royal household, where he also became the tutor of Sigurd. Regin manipulated Sigurd into killing Fafnir, taking out his heart, and roasting it for Regin to eat. Regin actually planned to kill Sigurd, take the treasure for himself, and gain Fafnir’s powers by eating the heart. However, Sigurd accidentally burned his finger and, while suckling it, ingested some of Fafnir’s blood. The dragon’s blood gave him the ability to understand the birds and animals’ language, and he heard two birds talking about Regin’s evil intentions. Sigurd then killed Regin and ate Fafnir’s heart himself. This story is told in the Saga of the Volsungs mentioned above.
ERRATA CORRIGE: Here, I beg your pardon, especially from the Greek mythology experts among you: in this episode, I have given mistaken information about Greek mythological dragons. I have said that the god Apollo founded Delphi after he killed a dragon named “Ladon.” However, the dragon killed by Apollo was actually Python. Ladon is another important dragon in Greek lore who guarded the golden apples in the Garden of Hesperides and was fought by Heracles. But to hear his full story, you will have to wait for the next episodes… This story is told in the Saga of the Volsungs mentioned above.
About the origins of dragons: almost all mythologies in the world have dragons or creatures similar to dragons. They are the most widespread and versatile mythological creatures, to the point of being considered an archetype. Nonetheless, scholars of mythology are unsure of how stories about dragons originated, although there are various theories about this. One of these theories, espoused by Adrianne Mayor in her 2022 book Flying Snakes and Griffin Claws, is that myths about dragons around the world originated as ancient human beings found fossil remains of dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures. This led past civilizations such as Ancient Greece, India, and China to believe that these creatures were still alive and their attempts of imagining what these creatures looked like resulted in dragons. Mayor quotes, as an example, the parallels that have been found between sea serpents as described in Greek mythology and fossils discovered in Greece, as well as between dragon-like creatures in Apache mythology and dinosaur fossils. A related theory, proposed by astronomer Carl Sagan, is that dragons are the result of human beings’ genetic memories of dinosaurs. Finally, an hypothesis put forth by anthropologist David E. Jones is that dragons in the various cultures resulted from primitive human beings combining the characteristics of the most dangerous predators they were familiar with (snakes, lions, tigers, eagles) to create a mythological animal.
About Eastern dragons as water spirits: dragons in the mythologies of China, Japan, Korea, and other East Asian countries were ascribed control over the rains, rivers, as well as storms and floods. Because of these characteristics, and the fact that these nations were historically agricultural societies, dragons were worshiped as deities by peasants across East Asia. Various folk rituals sprouted to gain the favor of the dragons in cultivating crops by bringing about needed rains or staving off floods.
About the association between dragons and royal dynasties: dragons in Japan, China, and Vietnam alike are connected by myths to emperors and kings in various ways. In Chinese mythology, the “winged dragon” Yinglong is said to have helped Emperor Yu save the world from a great flood by building dams of earth. Japanese tradition states that Ryujin, the dragon god of the seas, took the form of a man and had an affair with a human woman, becoming the grandfather of the first Japanese emperor, Jimmu. Finally, in Vietnamese historical legends, the Dragon King gave emperor Le Lo’i a magical sword to free Vietnam from Chinese occupation in the 1410s.
About shapeshifting dragons: while Haku is only shown shapeshifting into a human boy, and it is unknown if he can shapeshift in other beings, there are countless tales from both China and Japan of dragons turning themselves into a variety of creatures. For example, there is a Japanese folktale retold by Martin Arnold in his 2018 book The Dragon: Fear and Power. The folktale tells the story of a dragon who lived in a lake known as Mano Pond which liked to turn himself into a snake and rest on the surface. In this form, he was captured by a tengu (a type of Japanese spirit) which, unable to kill the snake, trapped it into a crack in the mountains, far from the waters that the dragon needed to regain his shape. Luckily, the tengu also trapped a monk with a jar of water. The dragon (in snake form) asked the monk to pour the water on him, allowing him to regain his true form and open the crack. After flying the monk home, the dragon dealt with the tengu and returned to his lake. Perhaps Myazaki got the inspiration for the dragon-riding scenes of his movie from this tale!
About other mythologies with “Eastern-type dragons”: the traditions of Hinduism, Buddhism, and other religions from India also have their own dragons, which share characteristics with both East Asian dragons and the other dragons discussed in this episode: the Nagas. The Nagas were described as huge serpents with divine powers, as well as creatures human from the waist up and serpents from the waist down. Nagas were said to carry out various functions in the world as described by these religions, including controlling the water and rains and supporting the earth. Some of them, such as Ananta Shesa (the mount of the God Vishnu), were closely associated with the deities. The Nagas could be either benevolent or destructive, often depending on how human beings treated them. Indeed, there are a variety of rituals meant to appease them or gain their favor. An interesting fact: “Naga” is a masculine term. The feminine is “Nagaini.” Likely, J.K. Rowling derived the name for Voldemort’s snake from this mythological source.
About dragon-riders in mythology and folklore: while the idea of a dragon being ridden by another being may sound modern, it actually has roots in mythology and folklore. As seen in the painting, deities in Chinese mythology could ride dragons and a specific dragon, Tianlong, even drew their carriages across the sky. Buddha, in Chinese myths and art, was also sometimes depicted riding a dragon. A specific tale within China’s literature containing a character that may be considered a dragon-rider (although different from the depictions mentioned previously) is the novel Journey to the West. The novel follows Buddhist monk Tang Sazang on a quest to recover the original Buddhist scriptures in India, along with three other companions. A dragon, later known as White Dragon Horse, ate Sazang’s horse and, after learning about the protagonists’ objective, shapeshifted into a white horse to serve as a new steed. In Japanese mythology, many kami (spirits living in the natural world and generally considered deities) also have dragons as their mounts. For example, the goddess Benzaiten, patron of wealth, protection from sickness, fortune, dragons, and serpents, among other things, was often portrayed seated on a dragon. Once again, Japanese art sometimes depicted Buddha as being carried on a water dragon’s back. Perhaps due to influences from China and Japan, Vietnam also has many dragon-riding deities, such as the immortal Chu Dong Tu, who appeared on a golden dragon. In India, the scriptures of Hinduism describe the god Vishnu as having two mounts: the bird-like deity Garuda and the immense cosmic serpent Shesha, which resides in the Ocean of Milk (an area in Hindu cosmology) and holds the universe (including the planets, stars, and planes such heaven, Earth, and hell) on his countless heads. Shesha is described as a dragon by Martin Arnolds in the book Dragon: Fear and Power. Europe, in its many mythological traditions, also features dragon-riders. Specifically, the folklores of Romania mentions the Solomonari, wizards thought to ride dragons and control the weather. Various fairy tales from around Europe also describe sorcerers controlling dragons, although it is never specified if they also ride on them. In ancient Mesopotamia, the god Marduk (who was primarily worshipped in Babylon) was often depicted riding or seated on a dragon referred to as Mushussu. In previous times, this dragon’s name was also read as “Sirrush” due to mistranslation, and was employed as a placeholder for the mythological animal before the reading “Mushussu” was discovered. Needless to say, the academic history of this dragon from Babylonian mythology is the source of our Sirrush’s name, since he does look a bit like the original Mushussu, although his name was picked because it is easier to pronounce on video. Aside from Marduk, several other deities were represented as sitting on dragons, such as Mushussu and others. Another dragon-riding deity was Tishpak, god of the city Eshnunna.
As can be seen, dragon-riders have a rich history in ancient mythology and folklore!
About archetypes in creation myths: while the world parent is a common archetype in creation myths, it is not the only one. In fact, creation myths around the world have been categorized according to several types, and it is possible for a given myth to belong to multiple types at the same time. For example, the myth of Pangu incorporates elements of both the world parent and the cosmic egg creation myth. A creation myth that belongs solely to the “cosmic egg” type of myth is the creation narrative of the Dogon people in Africa. Another type of creation myth is “Creatio ex nihilo” creation, in which a divine being creates the world out of nothing with their thought, speech, or other action. Both the creation stories of Genesis and the Popol Vuh belong to this type.
About the interpenetration between human bodies and the natural world: this idea of the human form becoming one with the natural surroundings, or even the whole universe, is also represented in the myths about transformations, in which human beings are transfigured in natural elements (such as animals, mountains, trees, or even constellations) by supernatural forces. The best known of these myths are the ones retold in The Metamorphosis by the ancient Roman poet Ovid, an poem which recount thousands of such stories, including the tale of how Arachne was turned into a spider or how Daphne was turned into a laurel tree.
About heroic quests for Enlightenment in the wilderness: vast wildernesses, such as forests or deserts, have often a dualistic symbolism in mythology and folklore, as they are portrayed simultaneously as the dwelling place of monsters and demons and as the places were great religious figures and culture heroes achieve enlightenment. Jungian psychologist Marie Louise von Franz, in her book Shadow and Evil in Fairy Tales, attempted to explain this duality in a psychological manner: she argued that wildernesses force to mind to turn on itself, unleashing both the unconscious fears of individuals (personified by demons) and the possibility of achieving oneness with the Self, the most powerful and important element of the personality, symbolized by enlightened heroes. Indeed, it is interesting to notice how such religious figures (such as Jesus and the Buddha) are often tempted by devils in their meditations in the wilderness. Their stories may be a model for the mind’s probing of its dark places to reach a greater awareness of itself.
About fairy tales: the Grimm’s fairy tales come mostly from Germany, which historically was shrouded with forests. Of course, not all cultures have vast temperate forests, and consequently fairy tales from other cultures reflect the liminal places found in those cultures. For example, Middle Eastern and Arab folktales such as those from the One Thousand and One Nights place magical places and characters (such as the cave of treasures and the Genie) in the desert, while Indian folktales occur in the jungles. Overall, all cultures have some kind of liminal places acting as a special world and containing supernatural and mythical creatures.
About caves as sources of wisdom: another instance of a myth or legend associating a cave with wisdom is the cave where, according to British folklore, the wizard Merlin rests. Merlin was a mentor figure to King Arthur, and was trapped into a cave by his rival Morgan le Fay. Despite his entrapment, Merlin’s spirit can still be summoned from the cave, as the character Bradamante does in the epic poem Orlando Furioso. In addition, according to the Hebrew Bible, Moses first achieved contact with God within a cave where God appeared as a burning bush.
About an image: in the episode, the cave featured while I talked about the Oracle of Delphi is not the actual cave of the Oracle, since this cave was destroyed. Instead, it is the Oracle of Orpheus’ cave, located in Antissa, a city on the island of Lesbos in Greece.
About monsters in caves: as with many myths, there are multiple variations of Charybdis’ story. In all of these versions, Charybdis was once a beautiful woman, either human or a nymph, who was known for her unbounded appetite and for being a notorious thief. At one point, spurred on by hunger, she tried to steal a herd of cattle from Heracles (which he had himself stolen it from the monster Geryon). This led her to incur the wrath of Zeus, king of the Greek gods, who hurled a thunderbolt at her. The thunderbolt gave her a monstrous aspect and exiled her in a cave on a rock on the ocean next to Scylla, from where she drank the seawater three times a day and caused huge whirlpools.
About Taniwha: the Taniwha are usually described as resembling whales and reptiles such as geckos and have been compared to dragons in other cultures. While they are often portrayed as destructive monsters who might kidnap human women, they may also be seen as guardians and supernatural protectors of specific people and entire tribes. These safeguarding Taniwha often keep not only a group of people, but also its descendants safe.
About the underworld as a cave: the modern English word ‘Hell” comes from Norse mythology, where “Hel” was the Norse name of the underworld, as well as the entity that ruled it. Hel was also an underground realm.
About Mana: in Polynesian and Melanesian mythologies, the Mana can also be cultivated by places which gather great concentrations of it.
About Maat and Isfet: while Maat is personified in Egyptian mythology by the goddess of the same name, Isfet is not personified in any deity. Rather, the giant serpent Apep (which attempts to swallow the Sun every night) is considered to be an embodiment of Isfet.
About the Tao: a direct result of the Tao is a vital force known as ch’i that circulates across the cosmos and within every living being, much like the Mana, Gitche Manitou, and the Force. In addition, according to the Toaist religion, ch’i can be cultivated by individuals through determined rituals, again like the Mana and the Force.
About cosmogonic myths and patterns: many creation myths describe the ordering of the universe from a state of chaos into a coherent cosmos.