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Mythicalogical Creatures YTHICALOGICAL M CREATURES FROZEN BOOKS PHOeNIX ssociated with the ASun, a phoenix obtains new life by arising from the ashes of its predecessor. According to some sources, the phoe- nix dies in a show of flames and combus- tion, although there are other sources that claim that the leg- endary bird dies and simply decomposes Isidore of Seville are among those who before being born have contributed to the retelling and again. There are dif- transmission of the phoenix motif. ferent traditions con- In ancient Greece and Rome, the cerning the lifespan phoenix was associated with Phoeni- of the phoenix, but cia, (modern Lebanon), a civilization by most accounts the famous for its production of purple phoenix lived for 500 dye from conch shells. In the historical years before rebirth. record, the phoenix “could symbolize ] Herodotus, Lucan, renewal in general as well as the sun, Pliny the Elder, Pope time, the Empire, metempsychosis, Clement I, Lactantius, consecration, resurrection, life in the oSeville. heavenly Paradise, , Christ, Mary, virginity, the exceptional man, and certain aspects of Christian life”. The modern English noun phoenix derives from Middle English phenix (before 1150), itself from Old English fnix (around 750). A once-common typological variant is phœnix. Old English fnix was borrowed from Medieval Latin phenix, which is derived from Classical Latin phoenx. The Classical Latin phoenix rep- resents Greek phoinx. In ancient Greece and Rome, the phoenix was sometimes associated with the similar-sounding Phoenicia (modern Leba- non), a civilization famous for its production of purple dye from conch shells. A late antique etymology offered by the 6th- and 7th-century CE archbishop Isidore of Seville accordingly derives the name of the phoenix from its allegedly purple-red hue. Because the costly purple dye was associated with the upper classes in antiquity and, later, with royalty, in the medieval period the phoenix was considered “the royal bird” In spite of these folk etymologies, with the deciphering of the Linear B script in the 20th century, the original Greek was decisively shown to be derived from Mycenaean Greek po-ni- ke, itself open to a variety of interpretations. Classical discourse on the subject of the phoenix points to a potential origin of the phoenix in Ancient Egypt. In the 19th century scholastic suspicions appeared to be confirmed by the discovery that Egyptians in Heliopolis had venerated the Bennu, a solar bird observed in some respects to be similar to the Greek phoenix. However, the Egyptian sources regarding the bennu are often problematic and open to a variety of interpretations. Some of these sources may have actually been influenced by Greek notions of the phoenix, rather than the other way around Herodotus, writing in the 5th century BC, gives a somewhat skeptical account of the phoenix. MERMAID In folklore, a mermaid is an aquatic crea- ture with the head and upper body of a female human and the tail of a fish. Mermaids appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide, including the Near East, Europe, Asia, and Africa. The first stories appeared in ancient Assyria, in which the goddess Atargatis transformed herself into a mermaid out of shame for accidentally killing her human lover. Mermaids are sometimes associated with perilous events such as floods, storms, shipwrecks, and drownings. In other folk traditions (or sometimes within the same tradition), they can be benevolent or beneficent, bestowing boons or falling in love with humans. The male equivalent of the mermaid is the merman, also a familiar figure in folklore and her- aldry. Although traditions about and sightings of mermen are less common than those of mermaids, they are generally assumed to co-exist with their female counterparts. Some of the attributes of mermaids may have been influenced by the Sirens of Greek mythology. Historical accounts of mermaids, such as those reported by Christopher Columbus during his explo- ration of the Caribbean, may have been inspired by manatees and similar aquatic mammals. While there is no evidence that mermaids exist outside folklore, reports of mermaid sightings continue to the present day, including 21st century examples from Israel and Zimbabwe. Mermaids have been a popular subject of art and literature in recent centuries, such as in Hans Christian Andersen’s well-known fairy tale “The Little Mermaid” (1836). Mermaids have been a popu- a paddle used for propul- lar subject of art and literature sion, and remnants of hind in recent centuries, such as in limbs (legs) in the form of Hans Christian Andersen’s well- two small bones floating known fairy tale “The Little deep in the muscle. They Mermaid” (1836). They have look ponderous and clumsy subsequently been depicted in but are actually fusiform, operas, paintings, books, films hydrodynamic and highly and comics. muscular, and mariners The word mermaid is a com- before the mid-nineteenth pound of the Old English mere century referred to them as (sea), and maid (a girl or mermaids. young woman).[1] The equiv- Sirenomelia, also alent term in Old English was called “mermaid syn- merewif.[2] They are conven- drome”, is a rare congenital tionally depicted as beautiful disorder in which a child with long flowing hair.[1] As is born with his or her legs cited above, they are some- fused together and small times equated with the sirens genitalia. This condition is of Greek mythology (especially about as rare as conjoined the Odyssey), half-bird femmes twins, affecting one out of fatales whose enchanting every 100,000 live births[5] voices would lure soon-to-be- and is usually fatal within a shipwrecked sailors to nearby day or two of birth because rocks, sandbars or shoals. of kidney and bladder Sirenia is an order of fully complications. Four survi- aquatic, herbivorous mammals vors were known as of July that inhabit rivers, estuaries, 2003. coastal marine waters, swamps As the anthropologist A. and marine wetlands. includ- Asbjørn Jøn noted: “these ing manatees and dugongs, ‘marine beasts’ have fea- possess major aquatic adapta- tured in folk tradition for tions: arms used for steering, many centuries. RENDEL, the best of Gorthar Grendel is a character in the antagonists (along with Gren- Anglo-Saxon epic poem Be- del’s mother and the drag- owulf (AD 700–1000), which on), all aligned in opposition is found in the Nowell Codex. against the protagonist Beow- This manuscript is so-called ulf. Grendel is feared by all in because its first known owner Heorot but Beowulf. Grendel was the antiquary Laurence is described as “a creature of Nowell, whose name can be darkness, exiled from happi- found written on the first leaf ness and accursed of God, the with the date 1563. Grendel is destroyer and devourer of our one of the poem’s three human kind”. e is usually depicted as a monster or a giant, although his status as a monster, giant, or other Hform of supernatural being is not clearly described in the poem and thus remains the subject of scholarly de- bate. There are numerous different interpretations and re-imaginings of the character of Grendel and his role in the story of Beowulf. Grendel is originally found in the poem Beowulf, which is contained in the Nowell Codex. Grendel, being cursed as the descendant of the Biblical Cain, is “harrowed” by the sounds of singing that come ev- ery night from the mead-hall of Heorot built by King Hrothgar. He is unable to bear it anymore and attacks Heorot. Grendel continues to attack the Hall every night for twelve years, killing its inhabitants and mak- ing this magnificent mead-hall unusable. To add to his monstrous description the poet details how Grendel consumes the men he kills; “now that he could hope to eat his fill.” Beowulf hears of these attacks and leaves his native land of the Geats to destroy Grendel. He is warmly welcomed by King Hrothgar, who gives a banquet in celebration. Afterwards Beowulf and his warriors bed down in the mead hall to await the inevi- table attack of the creature. Grendel stalks outside the building for a time, spying the warriors inside. He then makes a sudden attack, bursting the door with his fists and continuing through the entry. BIG FOOT In North American folklore, Bigfoot or Sasquatch are said to be hairy, upright-walking, ape-like creatures that dwell in the wil- derness and leave footprints. They are strongly associated with the Pacific Northwest (particularly Oregon, Washington and British Columbia), and individuals claim to see the creatures across North America. Over the years, these creatures have inspired numerous commercial ventures and hoaxes.[1] The plural nouns ‘Bigfoots’ and ‘Bigfeet’ are both acceptable.[2] Folklorists trace the figure of Bigfoot to a combination of factors and sources, including folklore surrounding the Euro- pean wild man figure, folk belief among Native Americans and loggers, and a cultural increase in environmental concerns.[3] A majority of mainstream scientists have historically discount- ed the existence of Bigfoot, considering it to be a combination of folklore, misidentification, and hoax, rather than living ani- mals.[4][5] A minority, such as anthropologists Grover Krantz and Jeffrey Meldrum, have expressed belief in the creatures’ existence. According to David Daegling, the legends predate the name “big- foot”.[10] They differ in their details both regionally and between families in the same community.[10] Ecologist Robert Pyle says that most cultures have accounts of human-like giants in their folk history, expressing a need for “some larger-than-life creature.”[11] Each language had its own name for the creatures featured in the local version of such legends. Many names meant something along the lines of “wild man” or “hairy man”, although other names described common actions that it was said to perform, such as eating clams or shaking trees.[12] Chief Mischelle of the Nlaka’pamux at Lytton, British Columbia told such a story to Charles Hill-Tout in 1898; he named the creature by a Salishan variant meaning “the benign-faced-one”.[citation needed] Members of the Lummi tell tales about Ts’emekwes, the local ver- sion of Bigfoot.
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