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 |  This is a continuation of my blogging here at WdC |
| Mythological Or Legendary Creatures As Cliché So, regular readers will know that I have been writing a book for many, many, many years, a book that will apparently never be finished, listing and giving some account of every single legendary creature in the world. Not those from fiction, but from belief. Anyway, this rather weird obsession that I have developed has meant I look at many stories that involve these creatures with a slightly more critical eye. So, what I will do is look at some of the most commonly used creatures here and offer some alternatives. But 2 creatures will not be here. First is vampires, as popular culture has so diluted and changed the original legends that Meyer’s sparkling vampires are just the end of a long list of changes made for books and film that are just there. Second is therianthropes – people who can turn into animals. Popular culture has diluted the stories, and many ancient legends have been completely corrupted by Christianity and its adherents. So, with these creatures, have at them. You can’t do worse than what’s already been done. On the other hand, here’s six that I feel can be replaced by some other more interesting beings, before they become clichés themselves. 1) Dragon Let’s start with the grand-daddy, a creature that has ancient stories on every continent except Australia (though that is an argument I am currently having with an anthropologist). Starting as just huge, winged lizards, they developed intelligence and gold-lust and fire-breath, and then certain weaknesses through the years so that the creature evolved… and yet the one we often picture nowadays has not changed much since the medieval period. However, it is something of a cliché now. Dragon-riders, dragon-tamers, telepathic dragons… all been there, done that for years. Alternate?How about a wyvern? They are not as intelligent, and actually make more sense scientifically, being tetrapods (hind legs and forelimbs are wings). Most tales do not mention fire, but extremely tough hides. Some even have a scorpion tail, so they have that as well. In fact, this ended up being the creature I used in Invasive Species  . Spoiler!2) Unicorn The unicorn is depicted nowadays as a white horse with a single long horn on its forehead, a paragon of virtue. Of course, it started as a nasty creature that did avoid humans, who hunted it for its cure-all horn. In the Middle Ages, it was incorporated into the Noah’s Ark myth and the added story was that a beautiful female virgin could seduce one. Last unicorns are a common trope of human hubris. Alternate?Maricorn. This is a unicorn that lives in the water, with the lower body of a fish or dolphin, like a horned Hippocampus. There is also the Almaricorn, which was a Maricorn with the wings of an eagle. Having the added element of water could make for some interesting tales. 3) Griffon The griffon, the eagle-lion hybrid creature, was a guardian of gold to the ancient Greeks, and became the symbol of strength and bravery to medieval people. My own family crest features a griffon (also spelt griffin, gryphon or gryps). Normally depicted as steadfast guardians nowadays, they have not changed much in centuries. Alternate? Heliodromos could be interesting. Picture a griffon, but with the bird parts those of a vulture, and with the tendency to scavenge and hoard, like a vulture, and you have this medieval creature. There is more scope for a nasty creature here, and the legends about it are scant, so adding to the story is simple and won’t step on toes. 4) Giant These larger than normal humans are just that – larger than normal humans. How large is larger than normal? Depends on the culture. These creatures do appear on all continents. Australian and North American giants tend towards mountain-sized; European ones twice the height of a human, South American and African giants tend to be simply larger than humans, but not by a lot, while Asian giants run the gamut from a little larger to mountain-sized. They are a simple thing, and appear as generally stupid beings, no matter the culture (Norse being quite the outlier here). They have changed very little over the centuries. Alternate? Danish Trolls. Trolls from Norse legend were a form of ugly, really nasty giant, but those from Denmark lived underground and had cities that were very similar to human habitations. They were not stupid, but were nasty and were often depicted as wanting to eat humans. The fact the tribes could not get along kept their numbers down, as troll battles would kill many. They were said to be ugly by human standards, and used simple weapons as swords were too expensive for them to create, and dwarves would not give them metal. Could be a greater threat if they can work together. 5) Centaur A centaur is a man to the waist, then a horse from there down. In ancient Greece, they were seen as drunken louts who ravished human women (or men) and fought battles, with the only exception being Chiron, who was the teacher of many Greek heroes. Over time, centaurs have come to be seen as more guardians of nature, though this is a post-Middle Ages interpretation of the myth. Alternate? Here’s one – Uridimmus. From ancient Mesopotamia, particularly Sumer and Akkad (where he was called Samas), he was a man to the waist, and a lion from there down – a lion-centaur. Depicted as a guardian creature, he was very loyal and strong, and as fierce as any lion. That is all that is really known about it, so is another creature that could well be adapted and adopted without really intruding on the original myth or legend. 6) Mermaid The mermaid of nowadays is an interesting legendary creature. They were depicted as people to the waist, and fish from there down. In Europe, they come from the Greek god Triton; in Australia and the Pacific, they tended towards more shark-like; in Japan, there was a definite dolphin-like quality. In the Americas, they seem to have been introduced with Europeans. In some cultures in Europe, they took over the original creatures, who were more like Sirens. It is a muddled and confused history, made worse by the fact that sailors thought they were real, mistaking (it is believed) manatees for women. You had to be at sea for a long time, in my opinion, for that to happen! But they have become a cliché, made more confused by Walt Disney and the house of Mouse’s corrupting influence on popular culture. Alternate? Why not go for the siren? This ancient Greek creature that spread across Europe )where it was called Sirin, Syren, etc.) was another water-based being. They were birds with the faces and breasts of women. They were also the ones who were first renowned for singing; original mermaid myths had no singing, but the two were joined together in medieval times. In some tellings of the myth, the women were old and ugly, in others they were young and beautiful. The young depiction does appear to be later, but both are still from ancient Greek legend. Still, a woman-animal hybrid living on or near the water, with a beautiful singing voice, and already showing signs of having been changed by ancient cultures. Sounds perfect. So, there we are, 6 mythological or legendary creatures that have been over-used in modern pop culture and an alternative for each that could still make your story an interesting one, and giving some love to lesser known creatures of yore. It is worth thinking about doing. Why stick with the old? Why not extend yourself and give something else a go? And, of course, if it doesn’t work, go back to the clichéd creature. No-one’s stopping you. This is just a suggestion, after all. |
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