Great Discovery Series: Mythological Creatures
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Today starts a new series in Great Discovery: Mythological Creatures...
PART I: Cyclops
From Greek mythology, the cyclops were originally storm-gods, famous for having but one eye in the middle of their foreheads. They were titans or giants, and were put in and out of Tartarus on many occasions. Eventually they became great smiths, occasionally help Hephaestus with some of his work. It is said that the cyclops were the ones who fashioned Zeus' lightning bolt. Originally, it was said that there were only three of them, sons of Ouranos: Brontes (Thunder), Sterops (lightning), and Arges (thunderbolt). Later, they were called the sons of Poseidon. The cyclops were eventually made into a race of one-eyed beings. Cannibalistic and brutish, cyclops were feared and shunned. They can be found in Homer's Odyssey (book 9), and in Euripides' play The Cyclops -
One thousand years ago, superstition and the sword ruled.
It was a time of darkness
It was a world of fear.
It was the age of Gargoyles.
Stone by day, warriors by night.
We were betrayed by the humans we had sworn to protect,
frozen in stone by a magic spell for a thousand years.
Now here in Manhattan, the spell is broken,
and we live again.
We are defenders of the night.
We are GARGOYLES!
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In Scotland, 994 A.D., the castle Wyvern is guarded by gargoyles, creatures that sleep during the day, turned into stone, and are fearsome warriors during the night. In spite of keeping the castle's inhabitants safe, the gargoyles are not respected nor appreciated by them, except for the Captain of Guard who sees great value and honor in these creatures. After being betrayed by the only human they trusted, most of the gargoyles are killed while sleeping, and out of anger the Magus puts a spell on the surviving gargoyles so they also sleep during the night. In 1994 A.D., the billionaire David Xanatos purchases the castle, moving it to the top of his skyscraper in Manhattan. With the castle above the clouds, the spell is broken and now the Scottish gargoyles live again in a world that they know nothing about. The Clan is still reluctant about trusting humans, but after meeting Elisa Maza they find a reason to befriend humans again. -
wow i long time neber watch this liao, forgotten abt it...Originally posted by InnoHippo:gargoyles -
History: Thor is the bloodson of Odin, lord of the
gods of Asgard, and Jord, who is also known as Gaea, the
elder goddess of the Earth. Odin sought to father a son
whose power would derive from Earth as well as Asgard, and
hence he sought to mate with Jord. Odin created a cave in
Norway where Jord gave birth to Thor. Months after the
infant Thor was weaned, Odin brought him to Asgard to be
raised. From that time onward Odin's wife, the goddess
Frigga, acted as Thor's mother.
Not until recent years did Thor learn that Jord was his
mother. A severed eye of Odin once grew to great size,
achieved sentience, and informed Thor that another Thor had
existed before the current Thor's birth. This previous Thor
is said to have killed the Midgard Serpent, and to have been
killed himself by the dying monster's venom, at Ragnarok,
the destruction of a previous version of Asgard. Odin
himself was killed, but a new Odin appeared in the place of
several gods who survived Ragnarok, and it was this new Odin
who fathered the current version of Thor. Possibly these
previous versions of Odin and Thor were earlier physical
incarnations of the Odin and Thor of today. However, this
account of Thor's origin by the severed eye of Odin may very
well be entirely false. The eye's motives for constructing
such a story, if it is false, are unknown.
The young Thor was raised alongside Loki, who had been
adopted by Odin after Loki's father, the Frost Giant Laufey,
had been killed in battle. From childhood Loki was jealous
of Thor, and his hatred grew over the years to a wish to
destroy him. Thus began Loki's enmity for Thor, which
persists to this day. When Thor was eight, Odin sent him to
Nidalvelir, the land of the dwarves, to bid the dwarves
Brokk and Eitri to create three treasures for Asgard's
ruler. Among the three treasures that Brokk and Eitri
created was the uru hammer Mjolnir (although Loki sabotaged
the creation of the hammer so that its handle was made too
short).
Odin bestowed various enchantments upon the hammer,
including one that made it impossible for anyone to lift it
except someone who was truly worthy of wielding it. Odin
then declared that he was reserving the use of Mjolnir for
Thor, who would receive it on the day that great deeds of
selfless valor had proved him worthy of it. For years Thor
strove to become strong and worthy enough to wield the
hammer, and was responsible for many heroic deeds. Finally,
when Thor was sixteen, Odin presented him with the hammer,
declaring he was indeed worthy of it. Thor became Asqard's
greatest warrior. -
where is the cyclops from XMen??Originally posted by Mospeada:Cyclops
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No manticore? No unicorn?
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Pegasus is the winged horse from Greek Mythology
who sprang from Medusa's neck when she was killed
by the hero Perseus. Shortly after its birth, the
magical steed struck the ground with his hoof on
Mount Helicon, and on the spot a stream began to
flow which became sacred to the Muses. It was
believed to be a source for poetic inspiration.
All longed in vain to catch and tame the creature,
and this became the obsession of Bellerophon,
Prince of Corinth. On the advise of a seer,
Bellerophon spent the night in the temple of the
Goddess Athena. As he slept, the Goddess appeared
to him with a golden bridle and told him that it
would enable him to capture Pegasus. When he
awoke, he found the golden bridle beside him, and
with it he easily captured and tamed the wild horse.
He then attempted to fly Pegasus to Olympus to join
the Gods, but an angry Zeus sent an insect to sting
Pegasus, causing him to throw Bellerophon from his
back. Consequently, Bellerophon thereafter wandered
the earth alone. Some stories place Pegasus in Zeus'
stables after this, entrusted with the task of bringing
thunderbolts and lightning to the God.
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thor!!!!!!!!!!
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No Egyptian folktales? Whatever happened to the story of Osiris & Set?
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Medusa been to Hard Rock Cafe
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scary...
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if u bio .... u will turn stoneOriginally posted by RaTtY81:scary...
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OsirisOriginally posted by iveco:No Egyptian folktales? Whatever happened to the story of Osiris & Set?
(Usire)
Egyptian god of the underworld and of vegetation. Son of Nut and Geb. His birthplace was said to be Rosetau in the necropolis west of Memphis. Brother of Nephthys and Seth, and the brother and husband of Isis. Isis gave birth to Horus after his death, having impregnated herself with semen from his corpse. Osiris was depicted in human form wrapped up as a mummy, holding the crook and flail. He was often depicted with green skin, alluding to his role as a god of vegetation. He wore a crown known as the 'atef', composed of the tall conical white crown of Upper Egypt with red plumes on each side. Osiris had many cult centers, but the most important were at Abydos (Ibdju) in Upper Egypt, where the god's legend was reenacted in an annual festival, and at Busiris (Djedu) in the Nile delta.
One of the so-called "dying gods", he was the focus of a famous legend in which he was killed by the rival god Seth. At a banquet of the gods, Seth fooled Osiris into stepping into a coffin, which he promptly slammed shut and cast into the Nile. The coffin was born by the Nile to the delta town of Byblos, where it became enclosed in a tamarisk tree. Isis, the wife of Osiris, discovered the coffin and brought it back. (The story to this point is attested only by the Greek writer Plutarch, although Seth was identified as his murderer as early as the Pyramid era of the Old Kingdom.)
Seth took advantage of Isis's temporary absence on one occasion, cut the body to pieces, and cast them into the Nile. (In the Egyptian texts this incident alone accounts for the murder of Osiris.) Isis searched the land for the body parts of Osiris, and was eventually able to piece together his body, whole save for the penis, which had been swallowed by a crocodile (according to Plutarch) or a fish (according to Egyptian texts). In some Egyptian texts, the penis is buried at Memphis. Isis replaced the penis with a reasonable facsimile, and she was often portrayed in the form of a kite being impregnated by the ithyphallic corpse of Osiris. In some Egyptian texts, the scattering of the body parts is likened to the scattering of grain in the fields, a reference to Osiris's role as a vegetation god. 'Osiris gardens' - wood-framed barley seedbeds in the shape of the god, were sometimes placed in tombs - and the plants which sprouted from these beds symbolized the resurrection of life after death.
It was this legend that accounted for Osiris's role as a god of the dead and ruler of the Egyptian underworld. He was associated with funerary rituals, at first only with those of the Egyptian monarch, later with those of the populace in general. The pharaoh was believed to become Osiris after his death. Although he was regarded as a guarantor of continued existence in the afterlife, Osiris also had a darker, demonic aspect associated with the physiological processes of death and decay, and reflecting the fear Egyptians had of death in spite of their belief in an afterlife. Osiris was also a judge of the dead, referred to as the 'lord of Maat' (i.e. of divine law).
Legendary ruler of predynastic Egypt and god of the underworld. Osiris symbolized the creative forces of nature and the imperishability of life. Called the great benefactor of humanity, he brought to the people knowledge of agriculture and civilization. The worship of Osiris, one of the great cults of ancient Egypt, gradually spread throughout the Mediterranean world and, with that of Isis and Horus, was especially vital during the Roman Empire.
