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Critical Survey of Mythology & Folklore: Legendary Creatures
Salem Press’s newest title in the popular Mythology & Folklore series profiles famous mythological creatures throughout the world. The fabled beasts of every culture provide a window into human-animal relationships and humanity’s changing relationship with the natural world. Although these beings were often called by different names in various cultures, similarities in appearance, personality, and significance emerge around the globe.
These creatures continue to fascinate scholars and are very much a part of literature, art, and culture into modern times. As human society has evolved, the portrayal of legendary creatures has evolved along with it. Whether these beasts serve as threat or protector, or sometimes a little of both, they continue to play a role in our understanding of the world. Algonquin wendigo feature as villains in video games, and the man-eating manticore of ancient Persian myth, who famously left no trace of its prey, is still on the hunt in modern graphic novels. Japanese mythological beings played largely in explanations of natural disasters in ancient times, and they still dominate in today’s anime and manga. Even the Jersey Devil still haunts the southern geographies of New Jersey’s Pine Barrens and has become a revered symbol for the state.
Legendary creatures covered in this volume include:
- Anansi, a famous trickster in African folklore, is most commonly depicted as a spider and is associated with power, trickery, and wisdom. Anansi is known for deceiving others to gain what he wants, but his guile is also designed to teach life lessons.
- The Native American Skinwalker is regarded as the most dangerous type of witch, and it can shift its shape to appear as an animal, or even possess an animal. Some even believe that skinwalkers can assume the face of other people.
- Jinn, also spelled djinn, are mysterious beings in Arabic mythology. While most commonly thought of as a type of wish-granting genie in Western culture, jinn can be good or evil in Arabic folklore. In the Islamic world, many believe they are the cause of mental illness in humans.
- Alleged sightings of America’s Mothman continue to be reported. This winged being became famous in the 1960s after making hundreds of appearances in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, culminating in the creature’s alleged involvement in the collapse of the town’s Silver Bridge, which resulted in forty-six deaths.
- Before the coming of the Gaels to Ireland, the Morrígu, also known as the Great Queen and the Crow of Battle, lives in the hill of Tara, or Teamhair. She is able to appear in many forms, including those of a large black crow and of three sisters, and she is thought to be able to predict the fate of warriors in battle.
- Classical Greek mythology relates the legend of the minotaur, a creature with the body of a human and the head of a bull. The result of a cursed union between a human queen and a bull sent by the gods, the human-devouring minotaur was imprisoned in a vast maze known as the labyrinth by King Menos of Crete, until the Greek hero Theseus solved the riddle of the labyrinth and killed the creature.
- Yōkai are a large collection of supernatural beings found in the folklore of Japan. The yōkai can appear as monsters, gods, possessed humans, demons, ghosts, or other strange creatures. Yōkai can be forces of good or evil. Many are mischievous, some are helpful; some are indifferent to humans while others can be consumed with vengeance.
- The first recorded stories of the mythical Scandinavian creatures known as trolls can be traced back to Old Norse manuscripts from the thirteenth century. While the traditional troll is a brutish, carnivorous beast, modern interpretations have softened its unsavory reputation. In Iceland, trolls bring children Christmas gifts, while in movies and TV, some trolls have been portrayed as cheerful, helpful creatures.
- According to Greek mythology, sirens were beautiful creatures with the face and upper body of a woman and the wings and lower body of a bird. Legend states that their voices were so beautiful that their songs mesmerized sailors and caused them to leap from their boats and into the sea. Although the term “siren” is used interchangeably with the term “mermaid,” mermaids have the lower body of a fish, not a bird. The desire to refer to sirens as mermaids may stem from their connection to sailors and the sea.
This new volume presents introductory sections to the history, cultures, and traditions of several regions, some modern and some historical, as well as individual portraits of the illustrious beasts that reflect our individual and collective psyche.
The content is arranged by region and myth cycle. Regions covered include: Africa; the Americas; Egypt; Norse, Celts & Europe; the Far East; Greece; India & Central Asia; the Near East; the Pacific; and the Roman World. Each regional section begins with a number of Overview essays that discuss the literature, mythology, and art of the region.
