Sea Monsters - The Cryptid Files

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The ocean is big. Really big.

For millennia, humans have wondered about what looms in the world’s waters. So much so that man’s fear of the unknown gave life to fabulous stories of great aquatic creatures. Some of these creatures were described as horrible monsters and were said to resemble serpents, dragons or giant squids. Said monsters range from ship-sinkers to primordial beings of great power that lurk within the dark depths.

What kind of sea monsters are we talking about? Today, we’ll be looking at the origin of two famous mythological sea monsters: The Kraken, and Leviathan.

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The Tale of the Kraken

“The Kraken, as Seen by the Eye of Imagination” Monsters of the Sea, John gibson, 1887

The earliest known written works about the Kraken derive from an Old Norse text, titled Konungs skuggsjá (The King’s Mirror, in English). The text was created by an anonymous author around 1250 BC and is unique in that the entire text is formatted and stylized as a dialogue between a father and his son. The King’s Mirror was intended to educate the King of Norway’s son before he was to become king, thus the title and style of The King’s Mirror. In the section where the father is teaching his son about the Icelandic sea and its inhabitants, he briefly mentions the Kraken. This is the earliest description of the Kraken and is the original source for its name; Kraken.

In this paragraph, the father describes the Kraken as a “rare, incredible fish”. Eyewitness accounts describe it resembling more like an island than a fish due to its massive size, and that one has never been caught or killed. The father believes that the Kraken is incapable of producing offspring and that there are likely only two in the entire ocean. The Kraken’s method of feeding itself involves belching to lure fish into its open mouth and then closing it when its mouth and belly are full.

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The Legend of Leviathan

“the Destruction Of Leviathan”, Gustave Doré, 1866

Leviathan originates from prebiblical Mesopotamian mythology as Lotan, who scholars say is the same deity. Lotan is a manifestation of Yamm, the deity of the primordial chaos and the god of the sea and waters. At the beginning of time, Yamm was given divine kingship by El, the chief god and father of all deities. Yamm is said to have requested the god of life and fertility, Ba’al, to be his bond servant. Ba’al refuses and Yamm engages Ba’al in battle as Lotan. Ba’al is supplied with two special weapons by the craftsman Kothar and slays Lotan and, subsequently, Yamm. The kingship is then passed onto Ba’al. This is the first part of the Ba’al Cycle, which consists of the god Ba’al’s death and rebirth and is a seasonal myth in ancient West Semitic folklore.

Leviathan appears multiple times throughout the Old Testament. Leviathan, in Psalms 74:14, is a multi-headed sea serpent that is killed by God and given as food to the Hebrews. In Isaiah 27:1, Leviathan is also a sea serpent, and a symbol of Israel’s enemies, who God vows to slay. In Job 41, Leviathan is described as a horrible sea monster and a creature without fear.

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Conclusion

So, what can we learn from these sea monster stories? Well, for starters, we can deduce that man’s fascination with the unknown has stood the test of time. These stories are centuries old, yet the fear the monsters produce is far from dead.

While these stories can be written off as scary stories to tell sailors, one thing is for certain.

We may never truly know what lies below.

To learn more about sea monsters, click here!

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Trey Turner

Trey is an eighteen-year-old way over his oversized head. He is Cree from Eeyou Istchee in Northern Quebec. When he isn’t on Twitch or YouTube—he can be found in his bedroom, unconscious.

Twitter: @kr00si

Instagram: @krewsi

The Curious Case of the Moon

Photo By Eugenio Pastoral on Unsplash

Have you ever looked up at the moon and wondered at its beauty? I certainly have. I have had a fascination with the moon and the magic it seems to emanate from its place in the sky. For a millennia people have looked up at the sky and stared at the moon, drawing inspiration from it. 

But while we may look up at the moon and just see a piece of floating rock, the people who lived thousands of years before us looked up and saw a goddess. Throughout time, the moon has encompassed divine energy. Though, with some digging, I discovered that this might not always be the case.  

BUT I don’t want to get ahead of myself. Why don’t we start by looking at an example of a myth where the moon is identified with a female deity?

Selene

According to Greek myth, Selene was born to the Titans Hyperion and Theia. She is also sister to Helios (the sun god) and so it feels natural that Selene would be a moon goddess. Selene also has another sibling; a sister named Eos who is goddess of the dawn—I don’t know about you but I’m starting to see some thematic elements linking this family together.

It is said that Selene once loved a mortal named Endymion. Zeus put Endymion into an eternal sleep. So, every night Selene would descend from the heavens to visit him on Mount Latmus.

Something curious that I discovered was that, as time went on, Selene became associated with other deities such as Artemis and Phoebe. Even though it’s difficult to hunt down her image, Selene is often depicted with a crescent moon and driving a chariot pulled by two horses (remember this for later). 

Now, let’s take a look at a story that portrays the moon as a masculine entity.

Sol and Mani

“The Wolves Pursuing Sol and Mani” by J.C. Dollman (1909)

In Norse myth, the sun and the moon, much like Selene and Helios, are siblings. The sun is called Sol, who, unlike Helios, is female. Sol’s brother is named Mani and he is a moon god. 

Curious, right? 

Well, the story goes that they move the sun and the moon into their positions in the sky. Both Sol and Mani are, according to one source, forced to each drive a chariot that is helmed by two horses. Did you remember that tiny detail from Selene’s story? This is because the wolves, Skoll and Hati, are in pursuit of them.

Mani has control over the moon’s phases since he is the one who moves the moon across the heavens. This has its own story attached to it as well. One story says that Mani kidnapped a human girl (Bil) and a human boy (Hiuki) who were the children of Vidfinn. Bil and Hiuki represent the Waning and Waxing moon respectively. 

While I don’t approve of the kidnapping of children, it’s interesting to see how the Nordic people had stories to explain the phases of the moon.

Curious Elements

Personally, I think that it’s interesting to see how in these two different mythologies, there are some underlying elements that remain the same. The sun and the moon are thought of as siblings who, while different, are still family. It’s beautiful, in a way, don’t you think?

Maybe the next time you look up into the sky and see the moon, you will see something more than a rock in the sky.

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Read More:

About Selene

About Sol and Mani

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Sarah Clarke

Sarah is a 20-something aspiring author who has a passion for writing. She is also an avid fan of movies, TV shows, video games, and of course, books. Her favourite genres include fantasy, sci-fi, historical fiction, and various others. Why have one favourite when you can have many?

Beyond Noah: The Many Floods of Myth

When a culture finds itself inundated with miscreants and other unsavoury characters, it often introduces a nice, cleansing, world-consuming flood. Across multiple cultures, from China to Northern British Columbia, there is mention of a great flood, somewhere in the mythology. 

How Many Floods?

At least six.

The most famous version of the flood myth is what we’ve heard from the Christian Bible, but that is by no means the only instance in which a flood cleanses the Earth. Noah builds an ark and saves some animals as well as his family, then goes about repopulating the Earth by some unspecified means. 

The Mesopotamians document a flood myth in The Epic of Gilgamesh, where a man named Utnapishtim is advised by one of the gods, Enki (or Ea), to build a massive boat. This boat would then contain the seed of all life, as well as our hero’s family, and it would keep them all safe from drowning in the massive flood. Once the flood subsides and everyone is safe, they go about repopulating the Earth.

In Greek mythology, there is also mention of a flood. Zeus went down to Earth in disguise to learn about the nature of humankind. Zeus was nowhere near pleased. There was a meeting on Mount Olympus about what to do about those horrendous parasitic humans. The gods decided that a flood was the best choice. Prometheus, the champion of humanity, warned his son Deucalion, who, along with his wife Pyrrha, climbed into a chest afloat in the waves. They survived the flood and moved on to repopulate the Earth. Luckily, they were given a non-incestuous way to repopulate, without relying on the creation of a narrow family tree. Deucalion and Pyrrha were to throw pebbles over their shoulders and as each one landed on the Earth, a human being sprang forth.

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But Why A Flood?

There are further myths to be found from Hindu mythology all the way to the Aztecs. The idea of a great, cleansing flood is so pervasive that it spans oceans. Why are there so many accounts of this one thing found across cultures that likely never had direct contact with each other? It seems to be a far stretch to think that ancient China had much communication with the Nisga’a nation in Northern Canada, and yet, their mythologies both mention the flood.

It might have something to do with the way that humanity views water. We wash ourselves with water, which gives us the idea that it has a cleansing nature. We need water to live, which inspires us to equate water with a sense of divine importance. After the rain, the world takes on a poetic sheen, allowing us to think for a moment that perhaps this is something sent from the gods.

As much as humanity has a collectively positive view of water, we tend to have the opposite view of humans. If we can all agree on something, it’s that humans are awful. We also have a flair for the dramatic and love a good apocalypse.

It makes sense then, when you think about humanity’s collective thoughts on water and humanity, that we would want to use one to wipe out the other. If you were to cleanse a surface of something bad, no matter what your religious background, you would reach for water.

One possibility for the commonality that I quite enjoy is the idea that there really was a large flood. Who’s to say that these stories are mythology at all? Maybe in the distant past, a great sea of water rose and conquered the land.

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Molly Desson

Molly Desson is a Professional Writing student at Algonquin College. When she’s not busy with coursework, she’s either talking to or about her dog. Some of her non-dog interests include the ancient world, crafts, and being outside.

In Ancient Greece, You Could Become Invisible! If You Knew the Right Contact...

Credit: Jaroslav Devia/Unsplash

While most of us wish we could put a paper bag on our heads to try and become invisible during socially awkward situations, the Ancient Greeks had a far more sophisticated means to disappear in a hurry!

But, before we head there, first comes a titanic myth.

In the beginning, there were the Titans

At the dawn of time, Earth (Gaea) and Heaven (Uranus) had 12 children—the Titans. Hubris and a not-so-small dose of lust prompted a war between children and their parents. This was far worse (read: epic) than your typical family inheritance feud.

The Titan Kronos defeated his father Uranus and became ruler of the rest of the Titans. Peace would not last long—Kronos’s own son Zeus rebelled against him, and a decade-long war followed. Karma, I guess?

Credit: Brandon Morgan/Unsplash

A tale of three

Credit: Daniels Joffe/Unsplash

During the war, the Cyclopes Titans (brothers of Kronos) created three weapons to aid Zeus and his two brothers. We’re perhaps familiar with Zeus’s iconic lightning bolt and Poseidon’s trident, but the lesser known of the triad is Hades’s Helmet of Invisibility. The “Helmet” is also known as a Cap or Helm, and “Invisibility” is also referred to as “Darkness.”

The Helmet conferred invisibility on the wearer. Why a helmet and not a ring or a cloak? With constant warring, sex and convoluted lineages, Ancient Greek mythology is clearly anything but simple. But the Greeks obviously LOVED war—a helmet only makes sense!

Wearing the Helmet, Hades slipped undetected into the Titans’ camp, securing victory for himself and his brothers in their first battle.

Ten years later, the trio had won the war.

Zeus imprisoned the Titans, and thus began his reign as king of the younger gods—the 12 Olympians we’re more familiar with.

So, the Helmet served its purpose. What happened to it next?

The Helmet’s other known users

Throughout mythological history, Hades (now Lord of the Underworld) allowed other gods to use the Helmet in uncharacteristic Greek deity benevolence. They didn’t ask him nicely for it anyway.

While there is no definitive list of users, the Greek poet Hesiod pointed to two other godly users in his writings:

Athena, goddess of wisdom, handicraft and warfare, used the Helmet during the Trojan War (long before the wooden horse) to help Diomedes—a mortal naval commander fighting for the Greeks. Thanks to Athena’s invisible intervention, Diomedes managed to injure Ares, god of war, who fought (at least for this battle) on the Trojan side.

Hermes, messenger of the gods, wore the Helmet to slay the giant Hyppolitus during the Gigantomachy. Yes, another war! However, not much else is known about Hermes’s relationship with the Helmet.  

Different mythological traditions, same result

perseus with the head of medusa, benvenuto cellini (1554)

Loggia dei lanzi, florence, italy

Photo by raf n.

The demigod Perseus is the Helmet’s most famous user. How he came to possess the Helmet depends largely on the tradition.

Different traditions point to Hermes, the Nymphs, Athena, or Hades himself giving Perseus the Helmet. Whoever Perseus’s benefactor was, the mission remained largely the same…

 Near them their sisters three, the Gorgons, winged
With snakes for hair—hatred of mortal man—

Aeschylus, Prometheus Bound

Perseus ventured into Medusa’s lair, but (against common sense, if you ask me) he didn’t avoid her petrifying gaze with the Helmet’s invisibility but rather used it to escape her two (less famous) immortal sisters Stheno and Euryale.

Hades probably took back the Helmet, but at least Perseus made it out of the Gorgons’ lair with one handy trophy…

Read more:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cap_of_invisibility

https://greekmythology.wikia.org/wiki/Helm_of_Darkness

https://niftybuckles.wordpress.com/2020/07/30/helm-of-darkness-cap-of-invisibility/

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Titan-Greek-mythology

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Perseus-Greek-mythology

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Raf N.

After finishing a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Graduate Diploma in Digital Marketing, Raf ventured into the exciting world of professional writing. Some of Raf’s interest include travel, photography, history, languages, and dogs.

Mythology Abroad

From natural disasters to animals and monsters, there are themes throughout mythology that flow into one another. 

We intend to look at and discuss the intersectional nature of mythology across the entire world. We explore what may have caused these similarities and their implications on societies past and present. 

What can we learn from these ancient stories?