favourite mythological creature

[Aunt Hilda]

what is(are) your favorite mythological creature(s)?




My favourite is...

Kelpie

The kelpie is a supernatural water horse from Celtic folklore that is believed to haunt the rivers and lochs of Scotland and Ireland; the name may be from Scottish Gaelic cailpeach or colpach "heifer, colt".

The Kelpie by Herbert James Draper

[Vesuvian Sky]

[Graham]

Nuckelavee
The Nuckelavee (or Nuckalavee) is a creature from Orcadian folklore.

The name is a corruption of the Orcadian name "knoggelvi", which in turn seems to be a variant of the "Nokk" or kelpie, and is thus related to the Icelandic Nykur.

A creature from Northern folklore, the Nuckelavee is the most horrible of all the Scottish elves. He lives mainly in the sea, but was also held responsible for ruined crops, epidemics, and drought. His breath could wilt the crops and sicken the livestock.

The Nuckelavee resembles a centaur whose legs are part fin; he has an enormous gaping mouth and a single giant eye, which burns with a red flame. Some sources, such as Katharine Mary Briggs' Abbey Lubbers, Banshees, and Boggarts, describe him as having both a horse's head and a human head and torso, the latter growing out of his back.

Arguably the most gruesome detail of the Nuckelavee's appearance is the fact that he has no skin. Black blood courses through yellow veins, and the pale sinews and powerful muscles are visible as a pulsating mass. The Nuckelavee has an aversion to running water, and those who are chased by him have only to cross a stream to be rid of him.

Some reports claim that he is simply a very large head on two small arms, with all of the other characteristics mentioned above.

Another phobia that the Nuckelavee suffers from is the burning of seaweed to create soda ash, called kelp locally.

Enraged, he starts on a wild rampage of plague, killing cattle and many other creatures, and bringing bad crops. At this time, the only person able to stop him is the Mither o' the Sea, another ancient divine being in Orkney mythology.

[Aunt Hilda]

Vodyanoy

In Slavic mythology, vodyanoy is a male water spirit. Vodník (or in Germanized form hastrman) in Czech fairy tales is the same creature as the Wassermann or nix of German fairy tales. In many such languages the word is also used to mean the Aquarius zodiac sign.

Vodyanoy is said to appear as a naked old man with a greenish beard and long hair, with his body covered in algae and muck, usually covered in black fish scales. He has webbed paws instead of hands, a fish's tail, eyes that burn like red-hot coals. He usually rides along his river on a half-sunk log, making loud splashes. Consequently, he is often dubbed "grandfather" or "forefather" by the local people. Local drownings are said to be the work of the vodyanoy (or rusalkas).

Vodyanoy by Ivan Bilibin, 1934.

[Amun]

Anubis

Anubis (pron.: /əˈnuːbəs/ or /əˈnjuːbəs/;[2] Ancient Greek: Ἄνουβις) is the Greek name[3] for a (presumably) jackal-headed god associated with mummification and the afterlife in ancient Egyptian religion. He is the son of Nephthys and Set according to the Egyptian mythology. According to the Akkadian transcription in the Amarna letters, Anubis' name was vocalized in Egyptian as Anapa.[4] The oldest known mention of Anubis is in the Old Kingdom pyramid texts, where he is associated with the burial of the pharaoh.[5] At this time, Anubis was the most important god of the dead but he was replaced during the Middle Kingdom by Osiris.[6]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anubis

[Amun]

Amun

Amun and Amaunet are mentioned in the Old Egyptian pyramid texts.[4] Amun and Amaunet formed one quarter of the ancient Ogdoad of Hermopolis, representing the primordial concept or element of air or invisibility (corresponding to Shu in the Ennead), hence Amun's later function as a wind deity, and the name Amun (written imn, pronounced Amana in ancient Egyptian [5]), meaning "hidden".[6] It was thought that Amun created himself and then his surroundings.[1]

Amun rose to the position of tutelary deity of Thebes after the end of the First Intermediate Period, under the 11th dynasty. As the patron of Thebes, his spouse was Mut. In Thebes, Amun as father, Mut as mother and the Moon god Khonsu formed a divine family or "Theban Triad".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amun

[Aredhel]

Athena



Scylla and Charybdis

[Methusalem]

Bouda (Werehyena)

Buda (or bouda), in Ethiopian folk religion, is the power of the evil eye and the ability to change into a hyena. Buda is generally believed to be a power held and wielded by those in a different social group, for example among the Beta Israel or metalworkers. The belief is also present in Sudan, Tanzania, and among the Berber people in Morocco.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buda_(folklore)

Were-hyena is a nonce-term coined in analogy to werewolf for therianthropy involving hyenas in the folklore of East Africa and the Near East. Unlike werewolves and other therianthropes, which are usually portrayed as being originally human, some werehyena lore tells of how they can also be hyenas disguised as humans.

In Ethiopia, it is traditionally believed that every blacksmith, whose trade is hereditary, is really a wizard or witch with the power to change into a hyena. These blacksmith werehyenas are believed to rob graves at midnight and are referred to as bouda (also spelled buda).They are viewed with suspicion by most countrymen. Belief in the bouda is also present in Sudan, Tanzania and Morocco where some among the Berber people regard the bouda as a man or woman who nightly turns into a hyena and resumes human shape at dawn. Many Ethiopian Christians characterize Ethiopian Jews as being bouda, accusing them of unearthing Christian corpses and consuming them; the commonality of blacksmithing as a traditional profession for Jewish men in Ethiopia may be a reason for the connection between the two beliefs.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Werehyena

[alfieb]

In before some troll says God or Jesus


(Odysseus and the Cyclops, a play set in Sicily)

I don't really have one, but I'll vote for Cyclops, as in ancient Greek mythology they lived in Sicily near Mount Etna... and I like wearing an eyepatch.

[MarkyMark]

The Phoenix