Quantcast
Channel: They were here and might return | Scoop.it
Viewing all 258 articles
Browse latest View live

Ox-Head and Horse-Face

$
0
0


In Chinese lore, Horse Face and Ox Head are two creatures depicted over and over again in the hell scrolls....


"Each is firmly bound and tightly tied,

Shackled by both ropes and cords.

The slightest move brings on the Red-hair demons,
The Black-face demons,
With long spears and sharp swords;
The Bull-head demons
The Horse-face demons
With iron spikes and bronze gavels,
They strike till faces contort and blood flows down;
But the cries to Earth and Heaven find no response.
So it is that man should not betray his own conscience,
For gods are knowing; whom will they overlook?
Vice and virtue will get their due in the end -
A matter of payment early or late."

From the Chinese classical novel  "The journey to the West"...

http://bit.ly/1Da1NX2



In 'Journey to the West', Ox-Head and Horse-Face are sent to capture Sun Wukong, but he overpowers them and scares them away.


He then breaks into the Underworld and crosses out the names of himself and his primate followers from the record of living souls, hence granting immortality to himself and his followers. 

http://bit.ly/1A2lCk0



Post IamgE:  http://on.be.net/1FmvvYx





Keto, Kētō, Ceto,Crataeis, Krataiis,Trienus

$
0
0


In Greek lore, Keto, The daughter of Gaia and Pontus, is a marine goddess who personifies the dangers and horrors of the sea.

 

She consorted the sea-god Phorkys, and produced the Gorgons (a brood of awful monsters):Ekhidna (the Viper), Skylla (the Crab), Ladon (the Dragon), the Graia (the Grey), and the Gorgones (the Terrible Ones)...

 

Keto/Krataiis not to be confused with the goddess Hekate, a divinity whose power extended over the sea. There was also a Krataiis river in the territory of the Brutti, near the Straits of Messina in Italy.

 

Keto also should not be confused with the minor Oceanid also named Ceto — who appears in Hesiod's Theogony as a separate character from Ceto the daughter of Pontus and Gaia — or with various mythological beings referred to as ketos (plural ketea); this is a general term for "sea monster" in Ancient Greek...

http://bit.ly/1FbKnvo

 

 

Supportive resources:

http://bit.ly/1FbL1ck

http://bit.ly/1KYgkaZ

http://bit.ly/1vQEP6I

http://bit.ly/1FbKnvo

http://bit.ly/1FkeyAB

http://bit.ly/1A0ERZB

http://bit.ly/1Ms4XtN

http://bit.ly/1AwUQ3x

http://bit.ly/1EinPpd

 


See Gaia:

http://bit.ly/Mxt7Be

 

 

Post ImagE:  http://bit.ly/1L6clJz




Fukurokuju, Fukurokujin

$
0
0


Fukurokuju is the Shinto god of wealth, happiness, and longevity in Japanese lore...


Fukurokuju is a personification of the southern polar star and he is often confused with Jurōjin (another god of Taoist origin and member of the Seven Lucky gods).  The two are said to inhabit the same body, but to represent different manifestations of the same celestial body


The bald and bearded Fukurokuju has long whiskers and unusually elongated forehead . He is typically shown in the customary garments of a Chinese scholar and holding a cane with a scroll attached to it.


He may also have a tortoise or crane near him (both creatures are icons of longevity in China and Japan). He is also sometimes with a black deer.


Fukurokuju was not always included in the earliest representations of the seven in Japan. He was instead replaced by Kichijōten (goddess of fortune, beauty, and merit)...

http://bit.ly/1M0QsKf




Sources: 

http://bit.ly/1wFHjzV

http://bit.ly/1BOObST

http://bit.ly/1CeQQF2

http://bit.ly/1aIjSl0

http://bit.ly/1E7lmQi

http://bit.ly/1EDkG5X

http://bit.ly/1E7iFOO

http://bit.ly/1E7iOSn

http://bit.ly/1zQEeOD



Post Imagehttp://bit.ly/1wFOQPc




Sea Bishop, Bishop-Fish

$
0
0


The seabishop or bishop-fish is a type of sea monster reported in the 16th century.


According to legend, it was taken to the King of Poland, who wished to keep it. It was also shown to a group of Catholic bishops, to whom the bishop-fish gestured, appealing to be released.


They granted its wish, at which point it made the sign of the cross and disappeared into the sea.


Another was supposedly captured in the ocean near Germany in 1531.


It refused to eat and died after three days. It was described and pictured in the fourth volume of Conrad Gesner's famous Historiae animalium.


Whereas many of the animals documented in Historia Annimalium have been identified the Bishop Fish remains a mystery.


It has been suggested that it may have been some sort of beach squid.


The Bishop Fish was believed to be the inspiration for the Gill Man in the 1954 b-movieCreature from the Black Lagoon.

http://bit.ly/1ElsWWA



Supportive resources:

http://bit.ly/19lIS19

http://bit.ly/1DlqYYN

http://bit.ly/1xnQ2Hi

http://bit.ly/1FmNvnk

http://bit.ly/1ElsWWA



Post Image: http://bit.ly/1G57k0Q




Noppera-bō

$
0
0


A lazy fisherman who decided to fish in the imperial koi ponds near the Heian-kyō palace.


Despite being warned by his wife about the pond being sacred and near a graveyard, the fisherman went anyway.


On his way to the pond, he is warned by another fisherman not to go there, but he again ignores the warning.


Once at the spot, he is met by a beautifull young woman (Noppera-bō ) who pleads with him not to fish in the pond. He ignores her and, to his horror, she wipes her face off.


Rushing home to hide, he is confronted by what seems to be his wife, who chastises him for his wickedness before wiping off her facial features as well...

Noppera-bō or faceless ghost, is a Japanese legendary creature.


Noppera-bo are apparently harmless. They do nothing more than scare the ever-loving crap out of unsuspecting people. As for why they do this, well, their motives are unclear.


They often appear initially in human form, often as someone who is familiar to their potential victim.


Once they’ve ingratiated themselves to the victim, or otherwise attracted their attention, they then go full horror act on the poor person..



Resources:

http://bit.ly/1ItYpXq

http://bit.ly/1IWh6E7

http://bit.ly/1IWeAxN



Post Imagehttp://bit.ly/1F7mxwg




Allocamelus, Ass-camel

$
0
0


The allocamelus is an heraldic monster described as having the head of an donkey and a body with a camel’s hump; it’s sometimes called an “ass-camel” in the heraldic literature...


 It is the legendary representation of the llama.


There doesn’t seem to be a default posture for the allocamelus; the illustration shows an allocamelus statant...


A drawing made in 1558 from Holland shows the animal being towed away by a man. The creature is almost twice the height of the man possibly being 8ft tall.

http://bit.ly/1Gqg9G1



Post Image:  http://bit.ly/1CxWYmf




Heryshaf, Hershef, Herishef, Herysaf, Heryshef, Terrible Face, Terrible Face, Arsaphes, Harsaphes, Ruler of the Riverbanks

$
0
0


Heryshaf (Heri-shef, 'he who is on his lake') is an ancient ram-god whose cult was centered in Middle Egypt at Herakleopolis Magna (now Ihnasiyyah al-Madinah)...


Heryshaf is a fertility god and said to have emerged from the primordial waters. He is depicted as a ram or as a human with a ram's head. His feet rested on earth but his head was in the sky where his right eye was the sun and his left eye was the moon.


Heryshaf is sometimes depicted with four heads. 

http://bit.ly/1GbYPC6


He is often seen to be the personification of the souls of Osiris and Ra. The Greeks equated Hershef with Herakles.

http://bit.ly/1Hp2spO



Chapter 175 of the Book of the Dead associates the lake of Herakleopolis with the blood of Osiris which he lost as the result of an injury incurred by wearing the heavy royal crown. It also explains why blood plays an important role in the rituals of Harsaphes, who had an offering and purification cult near the lake; it is the blood of Seth that poured from his nose when he bowed before Osiris, and which was buried by Re in the ground...



Supportive resources:

http://bit.ly/1Dv7YBx

http://bit.ly/1begIoT

http://bit.ly/1HN1YKw

http://bit.ly/1cSpXMI

http://bit.ly/1D7dYQn



See Ra:

http://sco.lt/6FFhTd



Post Image adapted fromhttp://bit.ly/1Ge0ARV




Kothar-wa-Khasis, Kothar, Kathar-Wa-Hasis, Kothar-u-Khasis, Kathar-Wa-Hassis, Kusorhasisu

$
0
0


Kothar-wa-Khasis (“skill-and-cunning”),  ancient West Semitic god of crafts, equivalent of the Greek god Hephaestus.


Kothar was responsible for supplying the gods with weapons and for building and furnishing their palaces.


During the earlier part of the 2nd millennium bc, Kothar’s forge was believed to be on the biblical Caphtor (probably Crete), though later, during the period of Egyptian domination of Syria and Palestine, he was identified with the Egyptian god Ptah, patron of craftsmen, and his forge was thus located at Memphis in Egypt.


According to Phoenician tradition, Kothar was also the patron of magic and inventor of magical incantations; in addition, he was believed to have been the first poet...


Kothar-wa-Khasis made the wonderful bow for Aqhat and built Baal's palace. He also made Baal's maces...



Supportive Resources: 

http://bit.ly/1R34ws1

http://bit.ly/1K4sTjI

http://bit.ly/1GTJ4TA

http://bit.ly/1EJOhJY

http://bit.ly/1I5UKkL

http://bit.ly/1R34yjN



Post Image:  http://bit.ly/1AzcPl1





Lorelei, Loreley

$
0
0


According to German legend, there was once a beautiful young maiden, named Lorelei, who threw herself headlong into the river in despair over a faithless lover.

Upon her death she was transformed into a siren and could from that time on be heard singing on a rock along the Rhine River, near St. Goar.

Her hypnotic music lured sailors to their death. The legend is based on an echoing rock with that name near Sankt Goarshausen, Germany...


I'm looking in vain for the reason,
That I am so sad and distressed;
A tale known for many a season,
Does not allow me to rest.

Cool is the air in the twilight
And quietly flows the Rhine;
The mountain glows with a highlight,
From the evening sun's last shine.

The fairest of maiden's reposing,
So wonderfully up there.
Her golden jewelry disclosing,
She's combing her golden hair.

She combs it with a comb of gold
And meanwhile is singing a song;
A melody strangely bold
And unbelievably strong.

The bargeman in his small craft
Is seized with longings and sighs.
He sees not the rocks fore and aft,
He looks only at her and the skies.


It looks like the waves are flinging,
Both man and boat to their end;
That was what with her singing,
The Lorelei did intend.

Lore Ley from Heinrich Heine


Supportive:





Tugarin Zmeyevich, Zmey Tugarin, Zmey Tugaretin, Zmeishche Tugarishche

$
0
0


Tugarin Zmey is a creature which personifies evil and cruelty and has a dragon-like nature; originates from East Slavic lore...

 

Tugarin Zmeyevich is best known from a bylina* about his duel with Alyosha Popovich**, which comes in many different versions.

 

When the two approach each other in a field, Tugarin is hissing like a snake and his horse is neighing like a beast. Tugarin's torso is covered with fiery snakes.

 

It appears that Tugarin represents the element of fire, which he uses in different forms as a weapon. He threatens to strangle Alyosha Popovich with smoke, throw fiery sparks at him, scorch him with fire, and shoot charred logs at him.

 

It also appears that Tugarin represents the element of water, because their duel usually takes place near the Safat River.

 

At the same time, Tugarin is also a dragon. He is flying in the sky flapping his paper-like wings, which fail him when it rains.

 

Alyosha Popovich wins the duel, cuts Tugarin's body into pieces and scatters them across the field...

 

Tugarin Zmeyevich is a chtonical character of an ancient dragon-fighting mythos, related to Zmey Gorynych, Fiery Dragon, etc.

 

In Kievan Rus, Tugarin Zmeyevich became a symbol of paganism and wild steppes full of dangers.

 

 

*Bylina (or Bylyna) is a traditional East Slavic oral epic narrative poem. 

 

 **Alyosha Popovich is a folk hero of Kievan Rus, a bogatyr (i.e., a medieval knight-errant). He is the youngest of the three main bogatyrs, the other two being Dobrynya Nikitich and Ilya Muromets. All three are represented together at Viktor Vasnetsov's famous painting Bogatyrs.

 Source



Supportive Resources:

Two

Three

Four

Five

  


Post Image




Liluri

$
0
0


In the lore of the Levant, little is known about Liluri, the ancient Syrian mountain goddess, consort of the weather god Manuzi...


It has been said that bulls were sacrificed to both of them...



Supportive Resources:

One

Two

Three



The Post Image is adapted from the following link whereby you can order the Oil on Canvas (The Goddess Art of Jonathon Earl Bowser*)

URL




Buer

$
0
0


The 10th spirit,  wise in the art of medicine,  one of the 72 Spirits of Solomon, Buer is a demon of the second order...


Buer  appears in Sagittary, and that is his shape when the Sun is there...


Yet even more remarkable than Buer’s powers is his form, especially as captured by 19th century French painter Louis Le Breton.


The demon appears as a sardonic lion’s head encircled by five goat’s legs Others say that he appears as a starfish...


Buer appears as a "vestige" in the Dungeons & Dragons handbook, Tome of Magic. 



Resources:

☠☠☠

☠☠☠☠



Post Image




Nikkal, Nikkal-wa-Ib

$
0
0


Nikkal, the Syrian moon-goddess of the Ugarits and later of the Phoenicians, is  married to the moon-god Jarih, and their marriage is lyrically described in the Ugaritic text Nikkal and the Kathirat.


Nikkal is also a goddess of orchards, whose name means "Great Lady and Fruitful" and derives from Akkadian / West Semitic "´Ilat ´Inbi" meaning "Goddess of Fruit".


The oldest incomplete annotated piece of ancient music is a Hurrian song, a hymn in Ugaritic cuneiform syllabic writing which was dedicated to Nikkal......"The Hymn to Nikkal"...*****


Nikkal's Sumerian equivalent is the goddess Ningal.



Resources:

*

**

***

****

*****

******



Post Image 




Voltumna, Veltha

$
0
0

 

In Etruscan lore, Veltha was the chthonic (earth deity related to or inhabiting the underworld), who became the supreme god of the Etruscan pantheon, the deus Etruriae princeps, according to Varro.

 

Voltumna's cult was centered in Volsini (modern-day Orvieto) a polis of the Etruscan Civilization of northwest Italy.

 

Voltumna’s equivalanet for Romans is Vertumnus.

 

 

Supportive:

 

 

Post Image

 



Far darrig, Fear dearg

$
0
0

 

The far darrig or fear dearg, a faerie of Irish lore, is a near relation to the leprechaun, with similar features and a short stocky body.

 

His face is splotched yellow. He dresses in red from his hat to his tail-trailing cape to the woolen stockings which cling to his calves. This is the reason he is called the far darrig or red man.

 

He is known not only for his color but for his delight in mischief and mockery.

 

He can be a gruesome practical joker. He manipulates his voice, emitting sounds like the thudding waves on the rocks or the cooing of pigeons.

 

His favorite is the dull, hollow laugh of a dead man; which he makes sound as if it's coming from the grave. He has also been known to give evil dreams.

 

With all his pranks, the far darrig desires not to do harm but to show favor... URL

 

 

Resources

1 ✹

2✹✹

3 ✹✹✹

4 ✹✹✹✹

5 ✹✹✹✹✹✹

 

 

See the Leprechaun

 

 

Post Image

 

 




GEGENEES

$
0
0

 

....In the Propontis there is an island sloping steeply to the sea, close to the rich mainland of Phrygia, and parted from it only by a low isthmus barely raised above the waves.

 

The isthmus, with its two shores, lies east of the River Aisepos (Aesepus); and the place itself is called Bear Mountain by the people round about.

 

It is inhabited by a fierce and lawless tribe of aborigines, called GEGENEES,  who present an astounding spectacle to their neighbours.

 

Gegenees, meaning "earth-born" are the offspring of Gaia.

 

Each of these earthborn monsters is equipped with six great arms, two springing from his shoulders, and four below from his prodigious flanks...

 

The Gegenees were battled by the Argonauts* on Bear Mountain in Mysia.

 

  

...No doubt then that the Gegenes perfectly fit the role of arbiter in the primeval eris between Athena and Poseidon, a central event in the future political order of Athens. But is it only by chance that Kekrops also played witness to the birth of Erichthonius? Certainly not: we are dealing with a gegenes who mediates the advent of a second gegenes, another cultural hero who in many respects duplicated and developed the cultural features of his predecessor... URL

 

*Argonauts are the heroes and demigods who, according to the traditions of the Greeks, undertook the first bold maritime expedition to Colchis, a far distant country on the coast of the Euxine, for the purpose of fetching the golden fleece.... See Argonautica.

 

 

Supportive Resources:

∩∩.∩∩∩∩∩∩∩∩∩∩∩∩

 

  

See also

Gaia

Autochthon

 

  

Post Image

 



Gula

$
0
0

 

Beyond the role of the ashipu and the asu, there were other means of procuring health care in ancient Mesopotamia. One of these alternative sources was the Temple of Gula.

 

Gula is the Sumerian goddess of healing and the patroness of medicine. Her consort is Ninurta. The dog is her symbolic animal.  ... She is usually depicted surrounded by stars with her dog by her side.

 

Gula is often identified with Nin'insina, the tutelary goddess of Isin.

She is also associated with the underworld.

 

In his book Illness and Health Care in the Ancient Near East: the Role of the Temple in Greece, Mesopotamia, and Israel, Hector Avalos states that not only were the temples of Gula sites for the diagnosis of illness (Gula was consulted as to which god was responsible for a given illness), but that these temples were also libraries that held many useful medical texts.

 

              ☉☉

And her dog  

 

 

Supportive Resources

 

 

 

Bonus 

 

 

Post Image via Pinterest

 



Gefjon, Gefion, Gefn, Gefjun

$
0
0

 

As the poet Bragi the Old says:


        Gefion dragged with laughter
        from Gylfi liberal prince
        What made Denmark larger,
        so that beasts of draught
        the oxen reeked with sweat;
        four heads they had, eight eyes to boot
        who went before broad island-pasture
        ripped away as loot.

 

A Goddess whose name means simply ‘giver’, Gefn was regarded by the Norse-Germanic people as a frolicsome, fertile figure and seeress who embodied the earth’s greenery. Source

 

This Norse goddess of unmarried women is the fourth goddess of the Æsir, following Frigg (the wife of Odin), Sága, and Eir (the best of physicians), according to The Prose Edda of Snorri Sturluson....  

Gefjon is a fertility goddess, especially connected with the plough.

She was considered the patron of virgins and the bringer of good luck and prosperity...

 

Gefjon created the Island of Zealand...

Gefjon was a giantess who dreamed of becoming a Goddess. With only farming skills, great strength and determination, she made her way barefoot to Asgard, only to be laughed at by Odin.

 

She pledged to give him whatever he wanted, and he asked for as much land in the human realm as could be crossed in a day by a fast horse.

 

Njord gave her advice and encouragement when she despaired, and she made her plan....She won from the Swedish king a promise: to have as much land as she could plough in a day.

 

To Giantland she then returned to bear four sons to the man her parents had promised her to. When they were old enough, she returned to Midgard, and with these sons taking the form of four bulls, she ploughed an island off from the mainland.

 

This is how she paid for and won her place in Asgard. Later she earned Hela’s permission to welcome any willing woman who died unmarried to serve her in working the land...◯◯

 

 Gefion could be another form of Frigg who is also known under that name.



Viewing all 258 articles
Browse latest View live