Table of contents
1. Introduction.
2. Creatures of mythology.
3. Unicorns – the mythical creatures.
4. Conclusion.
5. References.
Introduction.
This paper analyzes magical creatures of mythology that have become a colorful
and inalienable part of books about the magical world, for example, in the “Harry
Potter” series.
Many of the legendary magical creatures are mentioned in folklore - the Greek
mythology, the Egyptian mythology, the British folklore. Besides, the paper
gives an analysis of one of the most beautiful mythological creatures - a unicorn.
2. Creatures of Mythology.
Creatures have become an integral part of mythological stories. They are of
different size and shape that one can only imagine. Some creatures are beautiful
like the unicorn, and others are ugly like trolls, ghosts and so on (Dann and
Dozois, 1985, p. 207-208).
The dragons, the most widespread mythological beasts, are famous creatures that
have wings and can fly. People think that dragons are descendents of dinosaurs.
Some dragons are described as gigantic wingless worms or large snakes. More
often they are depicted as great lizards with wings that breathe with fire.
Dragons are creatures of the fantasy world but everyone known what a dragon
looks like.
In the West the dragon is an awful creature that breathes fire. However in China
the dragon is a wise creature with warm heart. There it is connected with the
bringing of life-giving rains. In legends dragons can speak and have a magical
power.
They are mentioned in legends like Beowulf, novels like “The Hobbit”
by Anne McCaffrey (Lurie, 1999, p.14). Besides, the dragon is the title of the
year in the Chinese Zodiac (Dann and Dozois, 1985, p. 241-242). The dragon is
described in legends of many cultures of the world.
Pegasus is the mythical creature with wings that looks like a horse. The rumor
has it Pegasus was the tamed creature of Bellerophon in Greek Mythology. He
managed to tame Pegasus with a golden bridle (Lurie, 1999, p.17). However, one
day Zeus turned Pegasus into a constellation.
Mermaid is famous in stories, legends, literature and art all over the world
(Dann and Dozois, 1985, p. 209). One of the most beautiful creatures of the
submarine world, mermaid fascinates people for centuries. She is a beautiful
creature, half-female and half-fish. They have gold or green hair and they are
seen in the moonlight while looking into mirrors. However, in literature she
is known to be the reason of many sailors who mysteriously disappeared.
Mermaid is a character of many stories, such as “The Little Mermaid”
by Hans Christian Andersen, “Peter Pan” by J.M. Barrie and many
others (Lurie, 1999, p.48).
Troll is another creature of a fantasy world that is described for many centuries
in stories and legends. They are depicted as aggressive creatures with ugly
faces, huge tusks, great noses, and arms that reach their knees (Lurie, 1999,
p.64). Besides, they are guardians of bridges. Usually they are of green color
and have great power. It is very difficult to kill a troll.
Trolls are sometimes described as stooped and wicked creatures – dwarfs,
or giants with great strength, like in stories “Three Billy Goat’s
Gruff” and “The Hobbit” (Dann and Dozois, 1985, p. 113-114).
They live in caves near the sea or high in the mountains. Most trolls cannot
see the direct sunlight beams otherwise they become stone or burn.
The Sphinx is usually described as a magical creature with the upper portion
of a woman, and the body of a lion. It is well known for giving the riddles
to every victim on the road. If the answer is right the traveler was free to
continue his journey.
In the legends of Egypt the Sphinx has the head of a man and the body of a lion.
The Assyrian Sphinx has the body of a bull and the head of a man (Dann and Dozois,
1985, p. 68-69).
3. Unicorns – the mythical creatures.
The unicorn is very likely the most wonderful of all mythical creatures. It
is a well-known fact that a unicorn is famous for that he is lost in a dense
forest that is situating on the border between the real and magical worlds (Coville,
1988, p.24). The unicorn arouses respect as it is a breathtaking creature. However,
the connection of unicorn with human beings is very often dangerous for the
fantastic world and for the unicorn itself (Dann and Dozois, 1985, p.69-70).
The unicorn exists in myths, folklore and also in the art. Many of the mythological
creatures are seen on pictures in order to show the beauty of an image (Dann
and Dozois, 1985, p.93-94). One can see many examples of the lightsome creature,
the unicorn, on the screen and on book covers.
Unicorns, high spirited creatures of the deepest forests of the world, are
the most generous, and wonderful. They are the frontier guards of the valleys
and woods (Coville, 1988, p.31). Sometimes they become aggressive in battles
with each other. They have white fur and silver hooves. Silver horns make the
unicorns highly spiritual beings so that one can think they are somehow connected
with the Moon light.
The rumor has it the unicorns are very shy, cautious creatures and they are
even afraid of people. They say, a unicorn can be tamed by virgins only and
it is a very difficult task (Dann and Dozois, 1985, p.195).A young virgin could
capture or kill it sitting and waiting when a unicorn will come and lay its
head in her lap and feel asleep. Sometimes the unicorn is described as an immortal
creature, sometimes – not.
For the first time in the history a unicorn is mentioned by Greek historian
Ctesias in 398 B.C. Ctesias describes unicorns in his chronicls about India.
The unicorns are herbivorous and in size they are like ponies or horses. The
difference between unicorns and horses is that the first have cloven hooves
(Dann and Dozois, 1985, p.289). A unicorn is like a white horse, but it has
a little goat’s beard and a horn in the middle of the forehead.
In mythological stories unicorn is a creature with a single spiral horn that
was a valued magical object. Unicorns run on a tremendous speed and have an
aggressive conduct. They are unsociable and even wild. The horns were used for
making drinking vessels that had the possibility to neutralize the poison (Coville,
1988, p.19). Besides, one could purify water with a horn and a horn had properties
of an aphrodisiac.
Unicorn hair is known to be used by magicians as a traditional major component
of many old magic spells. It has a silvery glint like moonlight. Besides, it
has a healing effect.
The unicorn is a symbol of chastity, fierceness, virginity, and meekness. The
legends tell that the meek and the unicorn will inherit the earth (Coville,
1988, p.47). In China the unicorn symbolizes good omen, like the dragon, the
pheonix, and the tortoise.
4. Conclusion.
The paper briefly analyzes magical creatures of mythology, such as dragon, troll,
mermaid, Pegasus, elf, dwarf, gnome, goblin, Gollum, hobbit, giant, ghost, beast,
owls, gryphon, centaur, werewolf, shapechanger, spirit, Phoenix, and others.
Besides, the paper gives an analysis of one of the most beautiful mythological
creatures of the world’s deepest forests and jungles - a unicorn.
References:
1. Alison Lurie (1999). Fabulous Beasts, Farrar, Straus & Giroux.
2. Bruce Coville (1988). The Unicorn Treasury, Doubleday, 1988.
3. Alma Flor Ada (1994). The Unicorn of the West, Atheneum Books, 1994.
4. Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois (1985). “Stories About Legendary Creatures
Of Myth And Magic, Bestiary” The Berkley Publishing Group, 200 Madison
Ave., New York, New York, p.1-2, 69-70, 93-94, 113-114, 195, 207-208, 241-242,
289.
