104 Mythical Creatures That Fairytales (And Nightmares) Are About

In Norse mythology, a Valkyrie is a woman fighter who mounts a wolf or a boar while carrying a spear. She determines the destiny of warriors in combat and transports the dead to Odin's Valhalla. In addition to determining who enters Valhalla, the meaning of their name, "choosers of the slain," also alludes to their picking who perishes in battle and utilizing evil magic to make sure that their preferences in this respect are carried out. In Valhalla, also known as Odin's Hall of Heroes, the ghosts of slain soldiers engage in daylong combat with one another, come back to life and health in the evening, and then spend the night drinking. While the origin of the Valkyrie is unknown, it's possible that they were initially death demons who fed on the deceased on battlefields and carried their souls to an underworld afterlife. Similar to this, it is believed that the Valkyries were once more terrifying beings that brought the souls of warriors and non-warriors alike to a generic afterlife where they continued to eat and drink as they did in life. It is also believed that as Valhalla evolved into a Hall of Heroes, the Valkyries also changed from gloomy death demons to shining representations of both feminine beauty, masculine strength, and martial prowess.

A dragon is a mythical reptile creature that is found in the mythology of numerous cultures all over the world. Regions have very different views on dragons, but from the High Middle Ages, dragons have frequently been pictured in western cultures as having wings, horns, and the ability to breathe fire. The Greek term drakōn, from which the English word was later derived, was initially used to refer to any giant serpent. Thus, the mythical dragon, regardless of the form it eventually took, remained fundamentally a snake. In eastern cultures, dragons are typically portrayed as wingless, serpentine creatures with four legs and above-average intellect. The characteristics of dragons frequently combine elements of avian, reptile, and feline species.

The mythological and divine firebird known as the Phoenix is a frequent subject in Greek and Roman legends. It's argued that the Bennu, a creature with a similar appearance in Egyptian mythology, may have inspired the Phoenix. Apparently, Christians adopted the Phoenix as a symbol of Christ's death and resurrection. Also, there is only one Phoenix alive at a time. Allegedly, it has a lifespan of 500 years, and near the end of its life, it constructs an incense nest from sacred elements that subsequently ignite itself. The bird is then consumed by the flames of its own nest. However, from its ashes, a new Phoenix bird is reborn. It's believed that the newborn Phoenix will survive just as long as its previous incarnation. Depending on the source, the Phoenix's look changes with time. Herodotus describes the Phoenix as an eagle-like bird with crimson and gold feathers. In Roman wall art, the Phoenix is portrayed as having a crest resembling that of a peacock. In medieval Christian bestiaries, as an explanation for its name, the Phoenix was thought to be Phoenician purple in color.

According to legend, the Basilisk is the most venomous animal to have ever existed. Apparently, when it was killed by a spear from a horse, the poison ran upward and killed both the rider and the horse. Its presence is so poisonous that not only do herbs perish from its horrible breath, but also stones crumble. The Basilisk's poison is so potent that when one drinks from a well, the water becomes contaminated for millennia and kills anyone else to drink from it. It was described as a huge, fire-breathing creature with a terrible roar. It quickly gained the reputation of being a rooster with dragon wings and a serpent's tail. The Basilisk is claimed to have been born from a rooster's egg and incubated by a toad. Another description of the Basilisk is a lizard with eight chicken legs, a serpent's tail, and a rooster's head.

In Greek mythology, Pegasus is an immortal horse with wings, sprung from the neck of the headless Gorgon Medusa. According to a legend, Bellerophon, a hero of Greek mythology, trained Pegasus and rode it into combat against the Chimera, a fire-breathing monster. Later, the hero tried to fly to heaven, but Zeus ordered the horse to buck, causing the hero to return to earth. Pegasus continued to fly to Mount Olympus, where he took on Zeus' thunderbolt-bearing role. Moreover, Pegasus could make streams of water wherever his hoof touched the ground. It was universally believed that Pegasus' hoof was the source of at least two well-known springs in Greece, both of which were called Hippocrene (Greek for "Horse Spring"). The more prominent of the two was situated atop Mount Helicon, the holy home of the Muses. Apparently, whenever poets drank its waters, they became inspired and inventive.

Legendary gigantic sea monsters known as Krakens are claimed to have lived off the coastlines of Norway and Iceland. The beasts are frequently depicted as ocean-dwelling monsters in various fictional works due to their enormous size and frightening look. The old Norse word "kraki" is where the name Kraken comes from. These enormous, multi-armed creatures would capsize ships with their tentacles while attacking them. They often thrust down their tentacles with such force that they split massive ships in half. During such attacks, the crew usually perished by drowning or was devoured by the monster.

The Sphinx is a mythical creature that appears in both Greek mythology and Egyptian sculptures. In Greek mythology, there was only one Sphinx, a demon of disaster and misfortune. In Hesiod's account, she was either the daughter of Echidna and Typhon or, in other versions, Echidna and Orthrus. The Sphinx is typically shown as a winged lion with a woman's face or head. She also occasionally appeared as a lady with the paws, claws, and breast of a lion, a serpent's tail, and eagle wings.

Hades' enormous, three-headed hound Cerberus stood watch at the underworld's entrances and forbade the dead spirits from escaping. Cerberus was described as a three-headed dog with a snake's mane, a lion's claws, and a serpent's tail. However, Hesiod claims that Cerberus had fifty heads and ate raw flesh. Heracles' twelfth, last, and most dangerous labor was actually to fetch the three-headed hound, which he did with the help of the goddess Persephone. After successfully bringing Cerberus up to the land of the living and completing his final task, Heracles returned Cerberus to Hades.

The serpentine water monster known as the Lernaean Hydra, or simply Hydra, often appears in Greek and Roman mythology. The Lerna lake in the Argolid served as its hideout. According to legend, Lerna served as a portal to the underworld. In the traditional Hydra myth, Hercules defeats the monster as the second of his Twelve Labors. The numerous heads were its most defining feature. Two new heads instantaneously grew in its place whenever a head was severed. The front and biggest Hydra head was immortal and could breathe fire. The other heads of this huge snake breathed venom, and its blood was poisonous and acidic. Its very aroma was lethal. Later, Hercules would use this venomous blood to defeat other beasts, such as the Stymphalian Birds, the enormous Geryon, and the centaur Nessus.

The Wyvern is a type of dragon with only a pair of back legs and wings. Wyverns can be seen slithering around the title pages of early printed books, gaping menacingly among the carved ornamentation of many medieval structures, and gliding erratically towards nowhere, particularly on the corners of the first, somewhat speculative, maps. It was believed that the earth these horrifying monsters wandered over was polluted. Typically, the Wyvern has a dragon's head, forked tongue, scaly neck, and leathery wings, an eagle's two clawed feet (as opposed to the dragon's four), and a long, serpentine tail that is frequently shown knotted or twined upon itself to show the creature's extreme venomousness and violent nature.

The White Stag has historically been used interchangeably with the unicorn. The mythical creature can be found in the mythology and folklore of numerous cultures and civilizations. The White Stag often appeared in artwork and records from Mesopotamia, Babylon, Assyria, Mongolia, China, and even Japanese folklore. Considering that deer were hunted in the past for food and were also a valuable resource for leather and bone, perhaps it is not surprising that myths and stories developed around reports of encounters with a rare White Stag. In Celtic mythology, the White Stag is a symbol that denotes the existence of life outside the Earth and the forces that reside there. The Celts once regarded the white stag as a representative of the "Other world" that brought about significant transformations to individuals it encountered. Allegedly, the white stag often appeared when a sacred object, rule, or code was breached. Also, when a human came into contact with a White Stag, there were often serious repercussions, sometimes leading to significant spiritual transformations. These encounters have occasionally served as the catalyst for important developments that resulted in the formation of nations and kingdoms.

Huginn and Muninn are Odin's two ravens, according to Norse mythology. Old Norse words for "thinking" and "memory," respectively, are Hugginn and Muninn. Odin, the god of war and of the dead, dispatched them every morning at daybreak to fly around the nine kingdoms and observe what was happening. The ravens would return to Odin that night and tell him what they had seen and heard. As you might have realized, Huginn and Muninn are incredibly close to Odin. In fact, they are so close that Odin is referred to as the raven god in old literature. Because of this intimate relationship, the ravens could resemble Odin. In Seidr, Nordic shamanism, Odin is renowned for having extensive knowledge of it, and it's fairly typical in shamanism to assume an animal shape.

The Chimera, a three-headed monster from Greek mythology, was believed to ravage Lycia's countryside in Anatolia (also known as Asia Minor). It was a fire-breathing beast with the body and head of a lion, the udders of a goat, a goat's head emerging from its back, and a serpent for a tail. King Iobates gave the order to the heroic Bellerophon to kill the beast. He entered the fray astride the winged Pegasus and thrust a lead-tipped spear into the blazing beast's throat, strangling it with molten metal. Late classical authors thought the monster represented a Lycian volcano.

A unicorn is a legendary horse-like creature with a horn sticking out of its forehead. Numerous other myths, as well as Roman bestiaries, contain references to them. Typically, it is shown as a white, sometimes winged, horse with horns. It is believed that unicorns have healing properties, and that consuming their blood will keep one alive when very sickly. Apparently, they can also revive the deceased and clean contaminated water. However, some believe they possess other abilities, such as casting spells and charms.

In Japanese mythology, Yamato no Orochi is a well-known enormous eight-headed and eight-tailed serpent who likes to drink and eat human flesh. Its abdomen is red, and its eyes are bright red. Apparently, the beast is so enormous that the length of its body spans eight valleys and eight hills. On its back are fir and cypress trees, and moss covers its body.

One of the many personified representations of death, the Grim Reaper, commonly referred to as the Reaper, was widely featured during the medieval era and came to represent both death and a fear of the unknown. The Grim Reaper was regarded as a soul collector and the bearer of the dead. The entity had no business judging the spirits of the deceased or helping or interfering with mortal matters. Simply put, the Grim Reaper's job was to guide the dead to their final resting place, where they would be evaluated by higher forces. Although today's Grim Reaper is more like a metaphorical creature than a deity, he or she is nevertheless the most well-known death symbol of all time.

Many ancient cultures, including Iranian, Anatolian, Egyptian, European, and Indian, depict griffins in their art and mythology. They were described as dragging the chariots of the gods Apollo and Nemesis in early Greek art. They were thought to represent the hounds of Zeus. By being coupled with Apollo, they came to be identified with the sun, and by serving Nemesis, they earned the reputation of guardians and protectors who exacted justice on violators. According to one tradition, Alexander the Great bound two griffins to his throne after capturing them. He eventually tamed one, and it carried him throughout his kingdom in flight for seven days. Regarding appearance, griffins are typically shown to have four legs, feathered eagle wings, a beak, large, horse-like ears, eagle talons on their forelegs, and an eagle head and neck clothed in feathers that blend with a lion's tawny fur.

As Ra's assistant and a falcon deity, Horus represented the pharaoh's authority for most of Egypt's history. According to Egyptian mythology, Horus was the son of Osiris, the god of the dead, and Isis, the goddess of love. When his likeness first emerged in some rectangular objects called serekhs, he was immediately associated with Egyptian kingship. Serekhs, which depicted the falcon deity perched on the facade of a palace enclosure, were the earliest marks of pharaohs. This emphasized a close connection between Horus and the rulers. In fact, the king's various titles included the "Horus name." In addition to having a Horus name, the king was frequently shown with a falcon-like figure hovering above his head. Horus is commonly depicted as a falcon wearing the Double Crown of Egypt or a crown with a cobra. Light and authority are represented by the hooded cobra (uraeus), which the gods and pharaohs wore on their foreheads. Uraeus served to guard the person against danger.

In Norse mythology, the goats Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr pull the chariot of the god Thor. According to the Prose Edda, Thor eats the goats, and the following day, he revives them back to life with his hammer, Mjöllnir. The same account claims that Thor once spent the night at the home of peasant farmers and shared his goat feast with them. However, one of their children broke one of the bones to suck out the marrow, leaving one of the goats with a limp upon its resurrection. As a result, Thor keeps that child and his sister as servants.

Chiron, or Cheiron, a wise centaur, is arguably one of the most famous centaurs. He was a prominent exception to the stereotype of lustful, wild centaurs. He was modest, civilized, and renowned for his medical knowledge and teaching skills. It is believed that Chiron taught several Greek mythological figures, including Achilles and Aesculapius. Although Chiron was immortal, Heracles mistakenly shot him with an arrow infected with Hydra's blood, leaving him in excruciating anguish. Chiron volunteered to give his life to free Prometheus and himself from suffering when Heracles implored his father to rescue the latter, and Zeus insisted that a sacrifice be made.