Myths and Legends * Manticore. Mythical creatures (40 photos) Whose body is a manticore

He even provided comprehensive evidence in the form of photographs in this article. Why did I talk about mermaids, yes because mermaid is a mythical creature found in many stories and fairy tales. And this time I want to talk about mythical creatures that existed at one time according to legends: Grants, Dryads, Kraken, Griffins, Mandrake, Hippogriff, Pegasus, Lernaean Hydra, Sphinx, Chimera, Cerberus, Phoenix, Basilisk, Unicorn, Wyvern. Let's get to know these creatures better.

Video from the channel "Interesting Facts"

1. Wyvern

Wyvern-This creature is considered a "relative" of the dragon, but it only has two legs. instead of the front one there are bat wings. It is characterized by a long snake-like neck and a very long, movable tail, ending with a sting in the form of a heart-shaped arrow or spear tip. With this sting, the wyvern manages to cut or stab the victim, and under the right conditions, even pierce it right through. In addition, the sting is poisonous.
The wyvern is often found in alchemical iconography, in which (like most dragons) it personifies primordial, raw, unprocessed matter or metal. In religious iconography, it can be seen in paintings depicting the struggle of Saints Michael or George. The wyvern can also be found on heraldic coats of arms, for example, on the Polish coat of arms of the Latskys, the coat of arms of the Drake family or the Enmity of Kunvald.

2. Asp

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Aspid- In the ancient Alphabet Books there is a mention of the asp - this is a serpent (or snake, asp) “winged, with a bird’s nose and two trunks, and in the land in which it is committed, that land will be devastated.” That is, everything around will be destroyed and devastated. The famous scientist M. Zabylin says that the adder, according to popular belief, can be found in the gloomy northern mountains and that it never sits on the ground, but only on a stone. The only way to speak and exterminate the destroyer serpent is with a “trumpet voice” that makes the mountains shake. Then the sorcerer or healer grabbed the stunned asp with red-hot pincers and held it “until the snake died.”

3. Unicorn

Unicorn- Symbolizes chastity, and also serves as an emblem of the sword. Tradition usually represents him as a white horse with one horn protruding from his forehead; however, according to esoteric beliefs, it has a white body, a red head and blue eyes. In early traditions, the unicorn was depicted with the body of a bull, in later traditions with the body of a goat, and only in later legends with the body of a horse. Legend claims that he is insatiable when pursued, but obediently lies down on the ground if a virgin approaches him. In general, it is impossible to catch a unicorn, but if you do, you can only hold it with a golden bridle.
"His back was curved and his ruby ​​eyes glowed; at the withers he reached 2 meters. Just above his eyes, almost parallel to the ground, his horn grew; straight and thin. His manes and tail were scattered in small curls, and drooping and unnaturally for albinos were black eyelashes cast fluffy shadows on pink nostrils." (S. Drugal "Basilisk")
They feed on flowers, especially rosehip flowers, and honey, and drink morning dew. They also look for small lakes in the depths of the forest in which they swim and drink from there, and the water in these lakes usually becomes very clean and has the properties of living water. In Russian "alphabet books" of the 16th -17th centuries. The unicorn is described as a terrible and invincible beast, like a horse, all the strength of which lies in the horn. Healing properties were attributed to the unicorn's horn (according to folklore, the unicorn uses its horn to purify water poisoned by a snake). The unicorn is a creature of another world and most often foreshadows happiness.

4. Basilisk

Basilisk- a monster with the head of a rooster, the eyes of a toad, the wings of a bat and the body of a dragon (according to some sources, a huge lizard) that exists in the mythologies of many peoples. His gaze turns all living things to stone. Basilisk - is born from an egg laid by a seven-year-old black rooster (in some sources from an egg hatched by a toad) into a warm dung heap. According to legend, if the Basilisk sees its reflection in the mirror, it will die. The Basilisk's habitat is caves, which are also its source of food, since the Basilisk only eats stones. He can only leave his shelter at night because he cannot stand the crowing of a rooster. And he is also afraid of unicorns because they are too “pure” animals.
“He moved his horns, his eyes were so green with a purple tint, his warty hood was swelling. And he himself was purple-black with a spiky tail. The triangular head with a black-pink mouth opened wide...
Its saliva is extremely poisonous and if it gets on living matter, it will immediately replace carbon with silicon. Simply put, all living things turn into stone and die, although there are disputes that the Basilisk’s gaze also petrifies, but those who wanted to check this did not return...” (“S. Drugal “Basilisk”).
5. Manticore

Manticore- The story about this creepy creature can be found in Aristotle (IV century BC) and Pliny the Elder (1st century AD). The manticore is the size of a horse, has a human face, three rows of teeth, a lion's body and a scorpion's tail, and red, bloodshot eyes. The manticore runs so fast that it covers any distance in the blink of an eye. This makes it extremely dangerous - after all, it is almost impossible to escape from it, and the monster feeds only on fresh human meat. Therefore, in medieval miniatures you can often see an image of a manticore with a human hand or foot in its teeth. In medieval works on natural history, the manticore was considered to be real, but living in deserted places.

6. Valkyries

Valkyries- beautiful warrior maidens who fulfill the will of Odin and are his companions. They invisibly take part in every battle, granting victory to those to whom the gods award it, and then take the dead warriors to Valhala, the castle of the extra-celestial Asgard, and serve them at the table there. Legends also call heavenly Valkyries, who determine the fate of each person.

7. Anka

Anka- In Muslim mythology, wonderful birds created by Allah and hostile to people. It is believed that anka exist to this day: there are simply so few of them that they are extremely rare. Anka is in many ways similar in its properties to the phoenix bird that lived in the Arabian desert (one can assume that anka is a phoenix).

8. Phoenix

Phoenix- In monumental sculptures, stone pyramids and buried mummies, the Egyptians sought to find eternity; It is quite natural that it was in their country that the myth of a cyclically reborn, immortal bird should have arisen, although the subsequent development of the myth was carried out by the Greeks and Romans. Adolv Erman writes that in the mythology of Heliopolis, the Phoenix is ​​the patron of anniversaries, or large time cycles. Herodotus, in a famous passage, expounds with marked skepticism the original version of the legend:

“There is another sacred bird there, its name is Phoenix. I myself have never seen it, except as a drawing, for in Egypt it appears rarely, once every 500 years, as the inhabitants of Heliopolis say. According to them, it flies when it dies father (that is, she herself) If the images correctly show her size and size and appearance, her plumage is partly golden, partly red. Her appearance and size resemble an eagle."

9. Echidna

Echidna- half-woman, half-snake, daughter of Tartarus and Rhea, gave birth to Typhon and many monsters (Lernaean Hydra, Cerberus, Chimera, Nemean Lion, Sphinx)

10. Sinister

Sinister- pagan evil spirits of the ancient Slavs. They are also called krixes or khmyri - swamp spirits, which are dangerous because they can stick to a person, even move into him, especially in old age, if the person has never loved anyone in his life and has not had children. Sinister has an indefinite appearance (speaks, but is invisible). She can turn into a little man, a small child, or an old beggar. In the Christmas game, the evil one personifies poverty, misery, and winter darkness. In the house, evil spirits most often settle behind the stove, but they also love to suddenly jump on a person’s back or shoulders and “ride” him. There may be several more evil ones. However, with some ingenuity, you can catch them by locking them in some kind of container.

11. Cerberus

Cerberus- one of Echidna's children. A three-headed dog, on whose neck snakes move with a menacing hiss, and instead of a tail he has a poisonous snake... Serves Hades (the god of the Kingdom of the Dead) stands on the threshold of Hell and guards its entrance. He made sure that no one left the underground kingdom of the dead, because there is no return from the kingdom of the dead. When Cerberus was on earth (This happened because of Hercules, who, on the instructions of King Eurystheus, brought him from Hades) the monstrous dog dropped drops of bloody foam from his mouth; from which the poisonous grass aconite grew.

12. Chimera

Chimera- in Greek mythology, a monster that spewed fire with the head and neck of a lion, the body of a goat and the tail of a dragon (according to another version, the Chimera had three heads - a lion, a goat and a dragon). Apparently, the Chimera is the personification of a fire-breathing volcano. In a figurative sense, a chimera is a fantasy, an unfulfilled desire or action. In sculpture, chimeras are images of fantastic monsters (for example, chimeras of Notre Dame Cathedral), but it is believed that stone chimeras can come to life to terrify people.

13. Sphinx

Sphinx s or Sphinga in ancient Greek mythology, a winged monster with the face and breasts of a woman and the body of a lion. She is the offspring of the hundred-headed dragon Typhon and Echidna. The name of the Sphinx is associated with the verb "sphingo" - "to squeeze, suffocate." Sent by Hero to Thebes as punishment. The Sphinx was located on a mountain near Thebes (or in the city square) and asked everyone who passed a riddle (“Which living creature walks on four legs in the morning, on two in the afternoon, and on three in the evening?”). The Sphinx killed the one who was unable to give a solution and thus killed many noble Thebans, including the son of King Creon. The king, overcome with grief, announced that he would give the kingdom and the hand of his sister Jocasta to the one who would deliver Thebes from the Sphinx. Oedipus solved the riddle, the Sphinx in despair threw herself into the abyss and fell to her death, and Oedipus became the Theban king.

14. Lernaean Hydra

Lernaean Hydra- a monster with the body of a snake and nine heads of a dragon. The hydra lived in a swamp near the city of Lerna. She crawled out of her lair and destroyed entire herds. The victory over the hydra was one of the labors of Hercules.

15. Naiads

Naiads- Every river, every source or stream in Greek mythology had its own leader - a naiad. This cheerful tribe of water patrons, prophetesses and healers was not covered by any statistics; every Greek with a poetic streak heard the carefree chatter of the naiads in the murmur of the waters. They belong to the descendants of Oceanus and Tethys; there are up to three thousand of them.
“No one can name all their names. Only those who live nearby know the name of the stream.”

16. Rukhh

Rukhh- In the East, people have long been talking about the giant bird Rukh (or Ruk, Fear-rah, Nogoi, Nagai). Some people even met her. For example, the hero of Arabian fairy tales, Sinbad the Sailor. One day he found himself on a desert island. Looking around, he saw a huge white dome without windows or doors, so large that he could not climb onto it.
“And I,” Sinbad narrates, “walked around the dome, measuring its circumference, and counted fifty full steps. Suddenly the sun disappeared, and the air darkened, and the light was blocked from me. And I thought that a cloud had come over the sun (and it was summer time), and I was surprised, and raised my head, and saw a bird with a huge body and wide wings flying through the air - and it was she who covered the sun and blocked it over the island . And I remembered one story that was told long ago by people wandering and traveling, namely: on some islands there is a bird called Rukh, which feeds its children with elephants. And I became convinced that the dome I walked around was the Rukh egg. And I began to marvel at what the great Allah has created. And at this time the bird suddenly landed on the dome, and hugged it with its wings, and stretched out its legs on the ground behind it, and fell asleep on it, may Allah be praised, who never sleeps! And then I, untying my turban, tied myself to the feet of this bird, saying to myself: “Perhaps she will take me to countries with cities and populations. It will be better than sitting here on this island." And when the dawn rose and the day rose, the bird took off from the egg and soared into the air with me. And then it began to descend and landed on some ground, and, having reached the ground, I I quickly got rid of her legs, afraid of the bird, but the bird didn’t know about me and didn’t feel me.”

Not only the fabulous Sinbad the Sailor, but also the very real Florentine traveler Marco Polo, who visited Persia, India and China in the 13th century, heard about this bird. He said that the Mongol Khan Kublai Khan once sent loyal people to catch a bird. The messengers found her homeland: the African island of Madagascar. They did not see the bird itself, but they brought its feather: it was twelve steps long, and the diameter of the feather shaft was equal to two palm trunks. They said that the wind produced by the wings of Rukh knocks a person down, her claws are like bull horns, and her meat restores youth. But try to catch this Rukh if ​​she can carry off a unicorn along with three elephants impaled on her horn! author of the encyclopedia Alexandrova Anastasia They knew this monstrous bird in Rus', they called it Fear, Nog or Noga, and gave it even new fabulous features.
“The leg-bird is so strong that it can lift an ox, flies through the air and walks on the ground with four legs,” says the ancient Russian “Azbukovnik” of the 16th century.
The famous traveler Marco Polo tried to explain the mystery of the winged giant: “They call this bird on the islands Ruk, but they don’t call it in our language, but it’s a vulture!” Only... greatly grown in the human imagination.

17. Khukhlik

Khukhlik in Russian superstitions there is a water devil; mummer. The name hukhlyak, hukhlik, apparently comes from the Karelian huhlakka - “to weird”, tus - “ghost, ghost”, “strangely dressed” (Cherepanova 1983). The appearance of the hukhlyak is unclear, but they say that it is similar to the shilikun. This unclean spirit most often appears from water and becomes especially active during Christmas time. Likes to make fun of people.

18. Pegasus

Pegasus- V Greek mythology winged horse. Son of Poseidon and the gorgon Medusa. He was born from the body of the gorgon killed by Perseus. He received the name Pegasus because he was born at the source of the Ocean (Greek “source”). Pegasus ascended to Olympus, where he delivered thunder and lightning to Zeus. Pegasus is also called the horse of the muses, since he knocked Hippocrene out of the ground with his hoof - the source of the muses, which has the property of inspiring poets. Pegasus, like a unicorn, can only be caught with a golden bridle. According to another myth, the gods gave Pegasus. Bellerophon, and he, taking off on it, killed the winged monster chimera, which was devastating the country.

19 Hippogriff

Hippogriff- in the mythology of the European Middle Ages, wanting to indicate the impossibility or incongruity, Virgil speaks of an attempt to cross a horse and a vulture. Four centuries later, his commentator Servius claims that vultures or griffins are animals whose front part is eagle-like and the back part lion-like. To support his statement, he adds that they hate horses. Over time, the expression “Jungentur jam grypes eguis” (“crossing vultures with horses”) became a proverb; at the beginning of the sixteenth century, Ludovico Ariosto remembered him and invented the hippogriff. Pietro Michelli notes that the hippogriff is a more harmonious creature, even than the winged Pegasus. In "Roland the Furious" a detailed description of the hippogriff is given, as if intended for a textbook of fantastic zoology:

Not a ghostly horse under the magician - a mare
Born into the world, his father was a vulture;
Like his father, he was a wide-winged bird, -
He was in front of his father: like that one, zealous;
Everything else was like the uterus,
And that horse was called a hippogriff.
The borders of the Riphean mountains are glorious for them,
Far beyond the icy seas

20 Mandrake

Mandrake. The role of Mandrake in mythopoetic ideas is explained by the presence of certain hypnotic and aphrodisiac properties in this plant, as well as the similarity of its root to the lower part of the human body (Pythagoras called Mandrake a “human-like plant”, and Columella - a “semi-human grass”). In some folk traditions, based on the type of Mandrake root, male and female plants are distinguished and even given appropriate names. In old herbalists, Mandrake roots are depicted as male or female forms, with a tuft of leaves growing from the head, sometimes with a dog on a chain or an agonizing dog. According to legends, anyone who hears the groan made by the Mandrake as it is dug out of the ground must die; to avoid the death of a person and at the same time satisfy the thirst for blood supposedly inherent in Mandrake. When digging Mandrake, they tied a dog, which was believed to die in agony.

21. Griffins

Griffin- winged monsters with a lion's body and an eagle's head, guardians of gold. In particular, it is known that the treasures of the Riphean Mountains are protected. From his scream the flowers wither and the grass withers, and if there is anyone alive, then everyone falls dead. The griffin's eyes have a golden tint. The head was the size of a wolf's with a huge, terrifying-looking beak a foot long. Wings with a strange second joint to make them easier to fold. In Slavic mythology, all approaches to the Irian Garden, Alatyr Mountain and an apple tree with golden apples are guarded by griffins and basilisks. Whoever tries these golden apples will receive eternal youth and power over the Universe. And the apple tree itself with golden apples is guarded by the dragon Ladon. There is no passage here for either foot or horse.

22. Kraken

Kraken is the Scandinavian version of Saratan and the Arabian dragon, or sea serpent. The Kraken's back is one and a half miles wide, and its tentacles are capable of enveloping the largest ship. This huge back protrudes from the sea, like a huge island. The Kraken has a habit of darkening the sea water by spewing some liquid. This statement gave rise to the hypothesis that the Kraken is an octopus, only enlarged. Among Tenison's youthful works one can find a poem dedicated to this remarkable creature:

From time immemorial in the depths of the ocean
The giant Kraken sleeps soundly
He is blind and deaf, over the carcass of a giant
Only from time to time a pale ray glides.
Giant sponges sway above him,
And from deep, dark holes
Polyps innumerable choir
Extends tentacles like hands.
The Kraken will rest there for thousands of years,
So it was and so it will be in the future,
Until the last fire burns through the abyss
And the heat will scorch the living firmament.
Then he will wake up from sleep,
Will appear before angels and people
And, emerging with a howl, he will meet death.

23. Golden dog

golden dog.- This is a dog made of gold that guarded Zeus when he was pursued by Kronos. The fact that Tantalus did not want to give up this dog was his first strong offense before the gods, which the gods later took into account when choosing his punishment.

“...In Crete, the homeland of the Thunderer, there was a golden dog. She once guarded the newborn Zeus and the wonderful goat Amalthea who fed him. When Zeus grew up and took away the power over the world from Cronus, he left this dog in Crete to guard his sanctuary. The king of Ephesus, Pandareus, seduced by the beauty and strength of this dog, secretly came to Crete and took it away on his ship from Crete. But where to hide this wonderful animal? Pandarey thought about this for a long time during his journey across the sea and finally decided to give the golden dog to Tantalus for safekeeping. King Sipila hid the wonderful animal from the gods. Zeus was angry. He called his son, the messenger of the gods Hermes, and sent him to Tantalus to demand the return of the golden dog. In the blink of an eye, fast Hermes rushed from Olympus to Sipylus, appeared before Tantalus and said to him:
- The king of Ephesus, Pandareus, stole a golden dog from the sanctuary of Zeus in Crete and gave it to you for safekeeping. The gods of Olympus know everything, mortals cannot hide anything from them! Return the dog to Zeus. Beware of incurring the wrath of the Thunderer!
Tantalus answered the messenger of the gods this way:
- It is in vain that you threaten me with the wrath of Zeus. I have not seen a golden dog. The gods are wrong, I don’t have it.
Tantalus swore a terrible oath that he was telling the truth. With this oath he angered Zeus even more. This was the first insult inflicted by tantalum on the gods...

24. Dryads

Dryads- in Greek mythology, female tree spirits (nymphs). they live in a tree which they protect and often die along with this tree. Dryads are the only nymphs who are mortal. Tree nymphs are inseparable from the tree in which they live. It was believed that those who plant and care for trees enjoy the special protection of dryads.

25. Grants

Grant- In English folklore, a werewolf, who most often appears as a mortal in the guise of a horse. At the same time, he walks on his hind legs, and his eyes glow with fire. Grant is a city fairy, he can often be seen on the street, at noon or towards sunset. Meeting with a grant portends misfortune - a fire or something else in the same spirit.

A lot of information has been preserved about the creature called the “manticore”, only thanks to the ancient Greek physician Ctesias, who allegedly saw him at the Persian court. The Greek described the monster as a lion with the face of a man who devoured people and overtook the victim at great distances in one leap. There is a version that this creation is supposedly one of the images.

Manticore - who is it?

The manticore is a creature with a lion's body, a man's face and a scorpion's tail, the striking features of which were three rows of teeth and blue eyes. It was believed that this monster hunts people and feeds on their meat, so it was often depicted with human body parts in its teeth. The tail was crowned with huge spikes, with which the monster could also kill, so there was no chance of salvation.

Manticore - Greek mythology

Manticore - who is she? Although, judging by the description and habits of the monster, many researchers suggest that it comes from Persia or India, its appearance is very reminiscent of a huge tiger. Even the name translated from Farsi means “man-eater”, and such large wild cats were also found in the jungle. But the discoverer of the creation is not considered to be the Hindus, but the Greek doctor Ctesias, who described the nightmarish creation in his books. According to his version, the manticore is an evil creature with:

• the body of a lion and the face of a man;
• three rows of teeth;
• a claw on the tip of the tail;
• mustache filled with poison.

This is how the ancient Hellenes described the manticore in their writings. Later, Greek scientists formed their own version of this creation. The geographer Pausanias was sure that we were talking about a giant tiger, and the red color of the skin was given to it in the eyes of the Hindus by the setting sun. And the triple row of teeth and a tail that shoots poisonous arrows are inventions of hunters who were afraid to defeat a huge beast.

What does a manticore look like?

According to the descriptions of the ancient Greeks, which they received from the Persians, the manticore was a symbiosis of different creatures:

• the body of a lion, but not yellow, but red;
• a scorpion sting on its tail that shoots needles;
• lightning jumps, fast running;
• the voice is similar to the sounds of a trumpet and a pipe at the same time.

Whose body does the manticore have? Judging by the descriptions of either a large lion or a giant cat, this was a characteristic feature of the monster. In subsequent centuries, her image was significantly supplemented with other features:

1. Middle Ages. The huge teeth were no longer located in the mouth, but in the throat, and the voice was like the hiss of a snake, with which the monster lured people.
2. 20th century, science fiction books. The manticore acquired wings and shooting poisonous spines, and its voice was more like a purr. Instantly healed its wounds, the skin had the ability to reflect any spells.

What is the difference between a manticore and a chimera?

Some researchers connect the manticore and the chimera based on external features, but there is a difference between them. Chimera is a creature from Greek mythology, Echidna was considered her mother, and Cypheus, the son of Gaia and Tartarus, was considered her father; according to another version, she was born from Orth and Hydra. It was believed that the chimera lived in Lycia, and Prince Bellerophon defeated it. This creature is from the pantheon of gods native to the Greeks, and the manticore is a guest from foreign legends. and the manticore had one common external feature: the body of a lion, but otherwise the Hellenic monster was different:

• the ability to spit fire;
• the back of the goat's body;
• snake tail;
• three heads: a goat, a snake and a dragon.

The Legend of the Manticore

The Greek Ctesias did not bring any legends about the manticore, limiting himself to general rumors about its existence. In the myths of Persia there is a mention that this terrible monster, when meeting a person, likes to ask riddles, and if the traveler answers everything, he lets him go. Researchers are inclined to believe that the manticore, a monster that devours people, arose in the stories of India, and then migrated to Persia, where the Greek Ctesias heard about it.

There is also a version that supposedly such a monster was created by a legend about the god Vishnu, who could transform into different creatures. In the form of one of them - a lion with a human face - he defeated the evil demon Hiranyakasipu. After which the Hindus began to call the man-lion Vishnu Narasimha the manticore. Legend describes it as having the body of a lion, the tail of a scorpion, and the teeth of a shark. In the Middle Ages, the manticore became a symbol of tyranny and evil.

Manticore (monster)

Manticore

Manticore

It was believed that the manticore is a predator and can hunt people. Therefore, in medieval miniatures you can often see an image of a manticore with a human hand or foot in its teeth.

The first mention of the manticore is found in the books of the Greek physician Ctesias, thanks to whom many Persian myths became known to the Greeks. Aristotle and Pliny the Elder directly refer to Ctesias in their writings.

He (Ctesias) assures that the Indian beast “martichora” has a triple row of teeth on both lower and upper jaws, and it is the size of a lion and just as hairy, its legs resemble the legs of a lion; his face and ears resemble those of a human; his eyes are blue, and he himself is bright red; its tail is the same as that of an earthen scorpion - it has a sting in its tail and it has the ability to shoot needles attached to its tail like arrows; his voice is a cross between the sound of a pipe and a trumpet; he can run as fast as a deer and he is also wild and a cannibal.

(Aristotle's History of Animals)

However, the most complete of the ancient descriptions of the manticore was made in the 2nd century AD. e. Elian. He gives several interesting details: “She strikes anyone who approaches her with her sting... The poisonous spines on her tail are comparable in thickness to the stem of a reed, and are about 30 centimeters long... She is capable of defeating any animal, with the exception of a lion.” . In the 2nd century AD e. Flavius ​​Philostratus the Elder mentions the manticore as one of the miracles about which Apollonius of Tyana questions Iarchus on the Hill of the Sages.

Although the manticore is rarely mentioned in ancient scientific books, medieval bestiaries abound in its descriptions. From there, the manticore migrated into folklore. Thus, in the 13th century, Bartholomew of England wrote about it, and in the 14th century, William Caxton wrote about it in his book “The Mirror of the World.” For Caxton, the manticore's three rows of teeth became "a palisade of huge teeth in her throat," and her voice, like the melody of a pipe, became "the sweet hiss of a snake, with which she attracts people to herself in order to then devour them."

In the 20th century, ideas about the manticore continued to evolve. For example, in the bestiary of the Polish science fiction writer Andrzej Sapkowski, the manticore acquired wings and learned to shoot in any direction with its poisoned spines. And in the novel by the English writer J. Rowling “Magical Beasts and Where to Find Them,” the manticore “after absorbing its next victim begins to purr quietly.” Also, according to Rowling, “the skin of a manticore reflects almost every known spell.” In the story “Demon Hunter” by Russian science fiction writer Nikolai Basov, the manticore has the ability to heal its wounds almost instantly. The image of the Manticore is also found in modern animation. For example, in the animated American series “The Amazing Misadventures of Flapjack”, in one of the episodes the manticore is presented in the form of a lion with the face of a man and small wings, which becomes docile if tickled. The manticore was found in the computer games of the "Might and Magic" series - in "Heroes of Might and Magic III" and "Might and Magic 7" it looked like a lion with a scorpion tail and wings (it looks similar in the latest animated series "My Little Pony"), in “Heroes of Might and Magic V” a human face has been added to the image, and is also a non-player monster in the game “Allods Online” (also a lion with a scorpion tail and wings). The manticore is one of the key characters in the novel of the same name by Canadian writer Robertson Davis.

Notes

Categories:

• Non-heraldic figures
• Mythical animals
• Mythical cannibals
• Medieval mythology
• Persian mythology
• Characters from Borges's Book of Fictional Creatures

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See what “Manticore (monster)” is in other dictionaries:

Manticore (lat. Manticora) is a polysemantic term. The manticore is a fictional creature, a horse-sized monster with the head of a man, the body of a lion and the tail of a scorpion. Manticore (lat. Manticora) is a genus of beetles from the ground beetle family... ... Wikipedia

Manticore: (Latin: Manticora) The manticore is a fictional creature, a monster the size of a horse, with the head of a man, the body of a lion and the tail of a scorpion. Manticores (lat. Manticora) a genus of beetles from the ground beetle family (Carabidae), subfamily ... ... Wikipedia

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Myths and Legends * Manticore

Manticore

Boris Vallejo - Manticore
(Mythical monster (Manticore)

Material from Wikipedia

Manticore(Mythical monster (Manticore)
Manticore- a fictional creature, a monster the size of a horse, with the head of a man, the body of a lion and the tail of a scorpion.

Manticore(lat. Manticora, Epibouleus Oxisor) - a fictional creature - a monster with the body of a red lion, the head of a man and the tail of a scorpion. The creature has a red mane, three rows of teeth and bloodshot eyes. The manticore's tail ends in spikes, the poison of which kills instantly.
The Indians called the man-eating tiger manticore (translated from Farsi as cannibal). The sharp edges of the teeth of many carnivores can create the feeling that there are several rows of teeth in the mouth. The black, keratinized tip of the tail resembles a claw. In addition, according to ancient beliefs, tiger whiskers were considered poisonous. The Persians saw a human face in the image of a tiger-deity and passed on the resulting description of the manticore to the Greeks.
It was believed that the manticore is a predator and can hunt people. Therefore, in medieval miniatures you can often see an image of a manticore with a human hand or foot in its teeth.
The first mention of the manticore is found in the books of the Greek physician Ctesias, thanks to whom many Persian myths became known to the Greeks. Aristotle and Pliny the Elder directly refer to Ctesias in their writings.

He (Ctesias) assures that the Indian beast “martichora” has a triple row of teeth on both lower and upper jaws, and it is the size of a lion and just as hairy, its legs resemble the legs of a lion; his face and ears resemble those of a human; his eyes are blue, and he himself is bright red; its tail is the same as that of an earthen scorpion - it has a sting in its tail and it has the ability to shoot needles attached to its tail like arrows; his voice is a cross between the sound of a pipe and a trumpet; he can run as fast as a deer and he is also wild and a cannibal.

(Aristotle's History of Animals)

However, the most complete of the ancient descriptions of the manticore was made in the 2nd century AD. e. Elian. He gives several interesting details: “She strikes anyone who approaches her with her sting... The poisonous spines on her tail are comparable in thickness to the stem of a reed, and are about 30 centimeters long... She is capable of defeating any animal, with the exception of a lion.” . In the 2nd century AD e. Flavius ​​Philostratus the Elder mentions the manticore as one of the miracles about which Apollonius of Tyana questions Iarchus on the Hill of the Sages.
Although the manticore is rarely mentioned in ancient scientific books, medieval bestiaries abound in its descriptions. From there, the manticore migrated into folklore. Thus, in the 13th century, Bartholomew of England wrote about it, and in the 14th century, William Caxton wrote about it in his book “The Mirror of the World.” For Caxton, the manticore's three rows of teeth became "a palisade of huge teeth in her throat," and her voice, like the melody of a pipe, became "the sweet hiss of a snake, with which she attracts people to herself in order to then devour them."

In the 20th century, ideas about the manticore continued to evolve. For example, in the bestiary of the Polish science fiction writer Andrzej Sapkowski, the manticore acquired wings and learned to shoot in any direction with its poisoned spines. And in the novel by the English writer J. Rowling “Magical Beasts and Where to Find Them,” the manticore “after absorbing its next victim begins to purr quietly.” Also, according to Rowling, “the skin of a manticore reflects almost every known spell.” In the story “Demon Hunter” by Russian science fiction writer Nikolai Basov, the manticore has the ability to heal its wounds almost instantly. The image of the Manticore is also found in modern animation. For example, in the American animated series “The Amazing Misadventures of Flapjack,” in one of the episodes the manticore is presented in the form of a lion with the face of a man and small wings, which becomes docile if tickled. The manticore was found in the computer games of the "Might and Magic" series - in "Heroes of Might and Magic III" and "Might and Magic 7" it looked like a lion with a scorpion tail and wings (it looks similar in the latest animated series "My Little Pony"), in "Heroes of Might and Magic V" a human face has been added to the image, and is also a non-player monster in the game "Allods Online" (also a lion with a scorpion tail and wings). The manticore is one of the key characters in the novel of the same name by Canadian writer Robertson Davis.

Manticore - Manticore - The story of this terrible creature can be found in Aristotle (IV century BC) and Pliny the Elder (1st century AD). The manticore is the size of a horse, has a human face, three rows of teeth, a lion's body and a scorpion's tail, and red, bloodshot eyes. The manticore runs so fast that it covers any distance in the blink of an eye. This makes it extremely dangerous - after all, it is almost impossible to escape from it, and the monster feeds only on fresh human meat. Therefore, in medieval miniatures you can often see an image of a manticore with a human hand or foot in its teeth.
In medieval works on natural history, the manticore was considered to be real, but living in deserted places.
The proof that the manticore exists was the disappearance of people. Moreover, if they disappeared without a trace, this was considered the presence of a monster, because it ate its victims without a hundred dollars, along with their clothes.
Manticore
India and Indonesia are most often called the habitat of the manticore, since quite a lot of people disappear in the jungle there.
The earliest legends are considered to be Persian. The name itself comes from the old Persian martikhoras meaning “ogre.” This word went into European mythology.

Pausanias, in his Description of Greece, recalled in his pages the strange animals he saw in Rome:

"The animal described by Ctesias in his Indian History is called martichoras, which means man-eater. I am inclined to think it is a lion, but it has three rows of teeth along each jaw and spines at the tip of its tail, which it can throw like arrows at their enemies; all this, I think, is a false story invented by the Indians due to their excessive fear of this animal."
During the Middle Ages, the Manticore was an extremely popular animal and was often illustrated in bestiaries with body parts in its teeth.
Manticore - illustration of a medieval bestiary
The thirteenth-century novel about Alexander the Great, King Alexander, states that he lost 30,000 men to animals such as snakes, lions, bears, dragons, unicorns, and manticores. However, already in the second century AD, authors began to think that the mythical monster was nothing more than a man-eating Indian tiger.
The last manifestation of the munticore was in 16th century heraldry. This often influenced Mannierist artists, who included this animal in their works. But more often in decorative paintings called grotesques. The manticore signified the sin of fraud - a chimera with the face of a beauty. Then this image passed on to the 17th-18th centuries as a sphinx
In the Middle Ages, the mythical monster was an emblem for the prophet Jeremiah. At the same time, the mythical monster became a symbol of tyranny, envy, and ultimately the embodiment of evil.

An ancient mythical creature, a dangerous predator with a blood-red lion's body and a human head. Its tail is crowned with a scorpion sting.

Origin of the manticore

This creature came to us from India, but Ctesias, a Greek physician, first described it in his writings. According to him, the manticore or “manticore” (in the Indian manner) reached the size of a lion and had an equally thick coat of fur, which shone bright red, like blood. The head of the manticore looked more like a human, its bright blue eyes hypnotized the victim so that she could not move from fear. Horror was inspired by her sharp teeth, three rows of which crowned the mouth of a terrible predator, and the tail of a scorpion, in the needle of which there was a terrible poison. Ctesias also noted that in addition to the scorpion's sting, the manticore's tail had needles with which the monster could pierce its victim from a distance, like arrows. The manticore's voice was like the sounds of a pipe and a trumpet at the same time. During the hunt, the manticore hid in the jungle and attacked large animals and people passing by. Of all the creatures on earth, she was most afraid of fighting a lion, because only he could defeat her.

Many of Ctesias’s contemporaries, and even scientists of a later time, were skeptical of his words, suggesting that the frightened Hindus mistook the most ordinary tiger for a terrible monster, because in movement the stripes of this big cat merged, which is why it seemed that the tiger’s skin turned red shade. And the creepy teeth and tail are inventions of frightened residents.

And yet the description of a predator is found in the works of such great people as Aristotle in his “History of Animals”, Pausanias in the pages of “Description of Hellas”, Pliny in “Natural History” and Solinus in “Collection of Landmarks”. Thanks to the light hand of the last two authors, the formidable predator manticore lost its tail, studded with sharp spines, with which it could hit a target at a distance. The poor predator was left to be content with a scorpion sting, but Solin immediately notes in his work that this cat (and the manticore can easily be classified as a member of the cat family), is distinguished by incredible jumping ability and its jump is so far that no distances or obstacles can stop it.

On the pages of the Middle Ages

The manticore has become firmly entrenched in many books over the centuries, especially medieval bestiaries. And although it has undergone some changes over the years, the main features of this mythical creature have remained unchanged - blood-red skin, rows of knife-sharp teeth, a scorpion tail and a love of human flesh. In medieval miniatures, this predator was most often depicted with some part of a person in its teeth to emphasize its cannibal nature.

But that’s where the resemblance to the ancient image ended. In the Middle Ages, the manticore was rewarded with a snake hiss, which it used to lure its prey. The triple row of teeth, according to some writings, turned into a palisade going straight into the throat.

Some scientists, inspired by the works of their ancient colleagues, added new abilities to the manticore. Thus, Honorius Augustodunsky endowed the mythical creature with the ability not only to jump long distances, as Solin wrote, but also to fly.

The place of the manticore in the modern world

Many writers, such as Andrzej Sapkowski and Joanne Rowling, could not remain indifferent to such a ferocious and formidable creature and placed the manticore on the pages of their own bestiaries.

There is no limit to human imagination, and Sapkowski returned to the manticore its tail with sharp needles, with which it can strike the enemy in absolutely any direction, and a pair of wings grew on its back. The formidable predator has become even more dangerous.

Rowling, in her book Magical Beasts and Where to Find Them, endowed the manticore's skin with immunity to magic. Now any spells are useless against this creature. Writer David Robertson gave the manticore human consciousness and the ability to speak, and Russian science fiction writer Nikolai Basov made it capable of regeneration.

In addition to books, the manticore also appeared on television screens in the film "Manticore" and the television series "Grimm". Many are familiar with it from such well-known and beloved games as “Heroes of Might and Magic III”, “Titan Quest”, “Age of Mythology”, “Artorias from the Abyss”. Similar characters are found in the World of Warcraft universe.