Creature Consortium
Many people have difficulty identifying mythological beings on sight. How do they appear? How do they behave? Alternately, locating them may best describe the issue. (That was always my hang up.) Creature Consortium is here to help you with all of that. This page mostly considers anthropomorphic beings from folklore. Sometimes, though, the creatures' sole claim to human likeness will be its sentience.
153 Pins
·1w
𝑭𝒂𝒖𝒏𝒔: Faun and Nymph, by Pál Szinyei Merse (1845-1920).
Frolicsome fauns see to the even flow of the rural and the wild. Often depicted with goat-like horns and lower quarters, these woodland denizens enjoy the slow pace of the provincial. ----●---- Fauns are miniature versions of, or minions of, the Roman god, 𝘍𝘢𝘶𝘯𝘶𝘴 (more or less equivalent to the Greek, 𝘗𝘢𝘯.) ----●---- Much like 𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘺𝘳𝘴 in appearance, fauns are also all-male entities. Together, they seem the counterparts of the all-female 𝘯𝘺𝘮𝘱𝘩𝘴 and 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘴.
𝑽𝒂𝒍𝒌𝒚𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔: 'The Valkyrie,' by Arthur Rackham (1867-1939).
Having given their lives in battle, 𝘖𝘥𝘪𝘯 wanted to reward the valiant warriors. So, he put out an invitation for them to come to his home, 𝘝𝘢𝘭𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘢, and stay there with him, living the good afterlife. He tasked the Valkyries with fetching these bold fighters, from the battlefield. ----●---- Like 𝘯𝘺𝘮𝘱𝘩𝘴, Valkyries were all-female figures. Art often depicts them looking like nymphs, like typical Norse women, or like female Norse warriors (𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘦𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘴).
𝑵𝒚𝒎𝒑𝒉𝒔: 'Bathing Nymphs,' by Hans Dahl (1849-1937).
Greek and Roman mythology describes several nymph varieties, some keeping to water (𝘕𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘪𝘥𝘴, 𝘕𝘢𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴, and 𝘖𝘤𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘥𝘴, for instance), others preferring woodlands (such as the 𝘋𝘳𝘺𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘴), and still others have other particular hangouts. ----●---- Just as 𝘧𝘢𝘶𝘯𝘴 and 𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘺𝘳𝘴 are always male figures, nymphs and 𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘴 are always female entities.
𝑮𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒔:
These three sisters were the goddesses of charm, beauty kindness, courtesy, poise, and ease. They would often assist the other gods with festivals, dancing, and the practices of attractiveness. The Greek myths do not agree on their origins, though they not uncommonly cite Zeus as this triad's father. ----●---- 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙧𝙩: The Three Graces, by Édouard Bisson (1856-1939).
𝑾𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒘𝒐𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒔:
Modern depictions typically cast werewolves in humanoid form; for instance, today's werewolves often walk upright. Consider Lon Chaney as the 'Wolf Man.' However, pre-modern people usually understood that the human werewolf, when transformed, simply became a wolf. When in lupine form, one could pick out a werewolf, as distinct from other wolves, by its large size and destructive tendencies. Consider the 𝘉𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘎é𝘷𝘢𝘶𝘥𝘢𝘯. ----●---- 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙧𝙩: 'Werewolves Leanings Against the Wall of a Cemetery at Night,' by Maurice Sand (1823-1889).
𝑼𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒆:
Curiously, the lore says that undines have no souls but may gain one by marrying a human. If he is unfaithful to her, though, she will lose her ability to breath effortlessly, and then, if she falls asleep, she will die. ----●---- 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙧𝙩: This piece is called, 'Undine,' and is by Arthur Rackham (1867-1939).
𝑾𝒐𝒐𝒅𝒘𝒐𝒔𝒆:
The fur-covered 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘮𝘦𝘯 of European legends live in the deep forests. Leave civilization behind and you just might run into one of these fierce savages. ----●---- The woodwose are, like 𝘗𝘢𝘯 and 𝘧𝘢𝘶𝘯𝘴, symbols of humanity's wildness, sometimes indulging in provincial frolicsomeness. Other times they even take on the fearfulness of 𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘴 and 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘸𝘰𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴. ----●---- One cannot help but wonder about possible connections to the legends of 𝘴𝘢𝘴𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘤𝘩 and the 𝘺𝘦𝘵𝘪. Are these mysterious beings North America's and the Himalaya's wildmen, respectively? ----●---- 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙧𝙩: A depiction of a wild woman riding a unicorn, by the Master of the Amsterdam Cabinet (15th Cent.).
𝑺𝒆𝒍𝒌𝒊𝒆𝒔:
Selkies are much like 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘥𝘴. They have a human form and an aquatic form. They appear as seals in the ocean but remove their seal skin to come ashore in human appearance. As with mermaids, keeping an object from them is the way to force them to maintaining their human form. Whereas with mermaids, it is often a hat, in the case of a selkie that object is her seal skin. ----●---- 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘼𝙧𝙩: 'Undine,' by Arthur Rackham (1867-1939).
𝑼𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒆: 'Les Ondines,' by Antoine Calbet (1860-1842).
An undine not only lives in the water but controls the water. She is responsible for the flow of a river, stream, spring, etc. ----●---- While the name, 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘦, only goes back as far as the sixteenth century, female water fairies, spirits, and nymphs have long been recognized in folklore. An undine's counterparts for the other alchemical elements are 𝘨𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘴 (land), 𝘴𝘺𝘭𝘱𝘩𝘴 (air), and 𝘴𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴 (fire).
𝑭𝒐𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒔: 'The Fomorians,' by John Duncan (1866-1945).
Not all of Ireland's early settlers are alike. Irish folklore tells of waves of inhabitants, and great wars to dominate the Emerald Isle. The Fomorians comprised the second wave. Like Ireland's original settler, the 𝘛𝘶𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘢 𝘥𝘦 𝘋𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘯, they are not human. The Fomorians come from under the sea, or from the netherworld. ----●---- So, what are they? Some would describe 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘴, 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴, or 𝘨𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴. Perhaps they are 𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘴 or troll-like beings, which is consistent with the idea that they are giants (giants are a type of troll). Some descriptions make them sound like 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 (trolls are a type of fairy). This would put them on par with the Tuatha de Danann, who are also fairies. Regardless, they reproduce, so 𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘴 does not seem to fit.
𝑵𝒐𝒓𝒏𝒔: 'The Three Norns,' by Hermann Hendrich (1854-1931).
Inconsistences in the lore permits room to speculate about these mysterious beings: Do their members number more than three? Do they originate from 𝘑ö𝘵𝘶𝘯𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘮 (the realm of 𝘨𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴), or does their numerous variety perhaps stem from many realms? Do we glimpse, with these keepers of destiny, primordial entities that even wield power over the 𝘨𝘰𝘥𝘴?
𝑫𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒔: 'Zhong Kui the Demon Queller with Five Bats,' perhaps by Wu Wei (~1368–1644).
𝘋𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴 are counterparts to the 𝘨𝘰𝘥𝘴 or to 𝘎𝘰𝘥. That is, demons are god-like beings, or demigod-like beings, that stand for evil or destruction (which are not necessarily the same thing). In short, some belief systems advocate the worship of 𝘨𝘰𝘥𝘴, but they oppose the worship of 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴. As such, one belief system might condemn a certain being as 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘤, while another belief system might worship that being as a 𝘨𝘰𝘥...at least in theory.
𝑫𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒔: 'Isenheim Altarpiece: Temptation of Saint Anthony,' by Matthias Grünewald (1470-1528).
People characterize demons in two similar yet distinct ways. ----●---- 1) 𝘋𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴 are spirits that plague people. Most often their reputation warns that they possess people. 𝘋𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴 are often conflated with 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘭𝘴, 𝘪.𝘦., 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘭𝘴. However, another perspective cites them as the 𝘨𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘵𝘴 of 𝘯𝘦𝘱𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘮. Either way, demons specifically ally themselves with 𝘚𝘢𝘵𝘢𝘯 or otherwise dedicate themselves to mayhem and suffering for people. ----●---- 2) 𝘋𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴 are counterparts to the 𝘨𝘰𝘥𝘴 or to 𝘎𝘰𝘥. That is, demons are god-like beings, or demigod-like beings, that stand for evil or destruction. In short, some belief systems advocate the worship of 𝘨𝘰𝘥𝘴, but they oppose the worship of 𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴.