Mythical Creatures!

1
Mythical Creatures!

• Done by
• Kai Xiang
• Shi Yi
• Nathanael
• Benedict

2
Contents

• Greek/Egyptian Mythical Creatures
• -Medusa
• -Sphinx
• Japanese Mythical Creatures
• -Nukekubi
• -Jikininki
• Melanesian Mythical Creatures
• -Abaia
• Western Mythical Creatures
• -Dragon (Chinese one too)
• -Basilisk
• -Chupacabra

3
Medusa

• Medusa was a mythical creature associated with
  the legend of Perseus. One of the Gorgons of
  Greek mythology, she was usually depicted as a
  woman with snakes for hair, fangs and could turn
  people to stone with her gaze, but was the only
  Gorgon who was mortal. The story goes that
  Perseus used a shield polished like a mirror to
  avoid getting turned to stone and beheaded
  Medusa. Medusas head was eventually presented to
  the Greek goddess Athena, who placed it on her
  shield. Some historians think that Medusa was a
  normal mortal until she compared her beauty with
  Athenas, causing Athena to fly into a rage and
  curse Medusa to be so ugly that anyone who looked
  at her would into stone. Others think that Medusa
  was Poseidons girlfriend and they had agreed to
  meet in the temple of Athena. This was highly
  disrespectful to Athena and she turned Medusa to
  a gorgon.

4
Sphinx

• A Sphinx is a creature that is usually depicted
  by its lion body and its human head. There are
  two main variations of the Sphinx The Egyptian
  Sphinx (Good) and the Greek Sphinx (Bad).
• The Egyptian Sphinx is known as a guardian to
  many Egyptians in the past. Its statue is carved
  with a lions body and the head of a pharaoh.
  This is for the pharaoh to show his close
  relationship with the powerful deity, Sekhmet. To
  present the Sphinx in a way like this, actually
  symbolises that the Sphinx bring to the people of
  Egypt more good than bad.
• A very famous Sphinx in Egypt is The Great
  Sphinx of Giza. It is the largest monolith
  statue,

5
Sphinx (continued)

• On the other hand, the Greek Sphinx symbolises
  bad luck and destruction. It is said that it
  guarded the city of Thebes. It would question a
  traveller, and if the traveller answered it
  wrongly, it would strangle him or her and devour
  the body. A famous question it asked is
• What has four legs in the morning, two legs
  in mid-day and three legs at night? Only a man
  named Oedipus could solve its riddle, and when he
  did, it became so angry that it committed suicide
  by throwing itself from a high rock.

6
Nukekubi

• Nukekubi are monsters found in Japanese
  folklore. During the day, Nukekubi appear to be
  normal human beings. At night, however, their
  heads and necks detach from their bodies and fly
  about searching for human prey. Their heads
  attack by screaming, thus increasing their
  victims' fright, and then closing in and biting.
• While the head and neck are detached, the body
  of a Nukekubi becomes inanimate. In some legends,
  this is one of the creatures weaknesses if a
  nukekubi's head cannot reattach to its body by
  sunrise, the creature will die. Legends say that
  some people kill the creatures by waiting until
  their heads have flown off, and then destroying
  the body.
• The only way to tell a nukekubi from normal
  humans is a line of red symbols around the neck
  where the head comes off. However you cannot
  really rely on this as these symbols are easily
  concealed beneath clothing or jewellery.?
• By day, Nukekubi blend into human society. They
  may live in groups, pretending to de normal human
  families.

7
Jikininki

• In Japanese Buddhism, Jikininki are the spirits
  of greedy, selfish individuals who are cursed
  after death to seek out and eat human corpses.
  They do this at night, scavenging for newly dead
  bodies and food offerings left for the dead. They
  sometimes also loot the corpses they eat for
  valuables, which they use to bribe local
  officials to leave them in peace. Nevertheless,
  jikininki lament their condition and hate their
  repugnant cravings for dead human flesh .
• Often, Jikininki are said to look like
  decomposing corpses, perhaps with a few inhuman
  features such as sharp claws or glowing eyes.
  They are a horrifying sight, and any mortal who
  views one finds themselves frozen in fear.
  However, several stories give them the ability to
  magically disguise themselves as normal human
  beings and even to lead normal "lives" during the
  day .
• Jikininki may be viewed as a sort of demon, the
  punished souls of selfish people .

8
Abaia

• In Melanesian mythology there is a creature
  known as the Abaia. This creature is said to be a
  giant eel-like monster that dwells at the bottom
  of lakes in Fiji, Solomon and the Vanuatu Island.
  The Abaia is very protective of any creature that
  lives in the same lake as it. It considers all
  animals in the lake as its children and will
  attack anyone who harms or disturbs them. It is
  said that those who try to catch the fish from a
  lake containing the Abaia are immediately faced
  with a tidal wave caused by the thrashing of the
  Abaias powerful tail.
• However, another version of the legend says that
  if someone harms a creature living in the Abaias
  home, the Abaia would cause a huge storm that
  floods the land and drowns those who caused the
  harm.
• One story goes like this

9
Abaia (continued)

• One day a man discovered a lake where there were
  many fish to be caught. At the bottom of the lake
  though, there lived a magic eel, however this man
  did not realise it. He caught many fish and went
  back the next day with the people of his village
  whom he had told of his discovery, and they also
  were very successful.
• The Abaia was angry that his fellow fish
  companions were caught, so he caused monsoon rain
  to fall on the village that night, and the lake
  flooded, and all the people drowned except an old
  woman who had not eaten of the fish and who saved
  herself in a tree.
• "Melanesia", an umbrella term used for the
  islands of New Guinea, the Torres Strait Islands,
  the Admiralty Islands, Solomon Islands, New
  Caledonia, Vanuatu.

10
Dragons

• Dragons are the most well-known mythical
  creatures, and, as such, there are many differing
  descriptions of dragons in numerous cultures. The
  most commonly known dragon is the European
  dragon, usually depicted as a giant flying lizard
  with bat wings that breathes fire, lives in a
  cave and hoards gold to sleep on. Most European
  dragons in stories are hostile and aggressive,
  and a symbol of evil. For example, in the story
  of St. George and the dragon, where St. George is
  held as a paragon of virtue in contrast to the
  malevolent dragon demanding human sacrifice.
• The Asian dragon is quite a different entity
  altogether. According to Chinese scholars, the
  dragon had nine anatomical resemblances to other
  creatures, including the antlers of a stag, the
  eyes of a demon, the head of a camel, and the
  scales of a carp, among other things. Generally,
  Asian dragons are long and snake-like, scaled,
  have four legs and five claws, and a beard. In
  many Asian cultures, the dragon has a deep
  significance. In Chinese culture, the dragon was
  a symbol of the Emperor and seen as powerful and
  warlike. In Japanese myth, dragons were seen as
  water gods or spirits associated with rain and
  bodies of water.

11
Dragons (continued)

• Dragons have also appeared in modern literature,
  such as Smaug in J.R.R.Tolkiens novel The
  Hobbit, and the popular books by Christopher
  Paolini, Eragon, Eldest and Brisingr.
  Nowadays in modern fantasy, dragons are still
  seen as powerful, but not necessarily evil or
  good, and some have acquired the trait of vast
  wisdom and intelligences.

12
(No Transcript)
13
Basilisk

• The basilisk is an ancient creature which is
  extremely dangerous. It can kill with a stare or
  just anything is breathes upon. It is said that
  it was so hideous that when it looks at itself,
  it could die instantly.
• It is born when a snake looks after a cockerels
  egg, and that is also the reason why the basilisk
  looks like a fusion between a cockerel and a
  snake. Its poison is so strong that it can not
  only kill the object that is touching it, but
  also the thing that is touching the poisoned
  object and so forth. For example, a man on a
  steed who killed a basilisk with his spear will
  get infected with the poison through his spear
  and the horse will get infected by the man,
  causing him and his steed to go down with it.

14
The only thing that can kill a basilisk is a
weasel because of its urine's smell and a
rooster's crow. Unfortunately, the weasel will
die too because of the basilisk's strong poison
but a rooster's crow is instantly fatal to the
basilisk and can kill it without harming others.
It is also rumored that it can be killed through
mirrors as it looks at its hideous face. Not many
who encountered the legendary creature had
survived but those who did had lived to tell the
story of this threat to animals, humans and
plants.
15

• A mermaid is half-woman, half-fish. Mermaids
  that are depicted in art and legends are usually
  holding a mirror or a comb they sometimes sit on
  the rocks and sing, which lures sailors to their
  doom. This is why they are occasionally mixed
  with sirens. Many people have seen pictures of
  them. Almost every culture that includes
  seafaring has spotted them. Early sightings of
  mermaids by the Arabs, the Greeks, the medieval
  sailors and the famous Christopher Columbus and
  sightings have even been reported in the
  Twentieth Century. They are also shown in
  television shows like Sponge Bob Square Pants
  and The Little Mermaid. Some people still
  believe the mermaids still exist. They are
  probably dugongs or manatees in real life.

16
Chupacabra

• A Chupacabra is a weird mythical creature that
  exists in our century. It is reported for
  draining farm animals' blood in Puerto Rico 1995
  to Texas and Brazil 2007. It is said to come out
  at night to catch its prey with stealth to avoid
  detection by humans. Chupacabra bites are usually
  the same in the animals of the same farm. It is
  also often mistaken as coyote, like when a farmer
  thought he shot a Chupacabra down in July 2004,
  it was actually a coyote with a disease known as
  mange.

17
Chupacabra (continued)

• Chupacabras are often described differently, but
  with the same features each time. It is said to
  be kangaroo-like,a reptilian and has big red eyes
  and sharp, long fangs. Although this creature may
  seem almost impossible to exist, scientist are
  finding tactical ways to capture it on film and
  in real life. If you see a weird, alien-like
  creature hanging around the farm, you might want
  to consider taking the creature down as it may be
  the fearsome Chupacabra.

18
References

• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jikininki - The
  information on scary and disgusting looking
  Jikininkis. Retrieved on 23 February 2009.
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abaia -How the
  Abaias devastating attack killed many and
  information about it. Retrieved on 16 February
  2009.
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilisk - The
  information on dangerous Basilisks which can
  split a rock into half with just one stare. Its
  poison is very strong and can easily kill.
  Retrieved on 17 March 2009.
• http//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/FileRijeka056.j
  pg Picture of green
• basilisk statue. Retrieved on 9 April 2009.
• http//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/FileWenceslas_H
  ollar_-_The_basilisk_and_the_weasel.jpgfilelinks
  Basilisk picture of a weasel chasing it.
  Retrieved on 9 April 2009.
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chupacabra -
  Information of the alien-like Chupacabra which
  varies in forms. Known for sucking blood out of
  sheep in farms. Retreived on 18 March 2009.
• http//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/FileChupacabras
  .svg Picture of creepy green Chupacabra.
  Retrieved on 10 April 2009.

19

• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nukekubi -
  Information on deadly Nukekubis which can detach
  their heads from their bodies to find human preys
  at night. Retrieved on 16 March 2009.
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FileYumoto_C_Nukekub
  i.jpg Picture of Nukekubi with detached head.
  Retrieved on 11 April 2009.
• http//www.draconian.com Pictures of Chinese
  dragon and internal skeleton of a western dragon.
  Retrieved on 29 April 2009.
• http//eaudrey.com/myth/mermaid.htm - Information
  of the common mythical creature known as mermaid.
  Retrieved on 30 April 2009.
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FileVilhelm_Pedersen
  -Little_mermaid.jpg A picture of the classic
  little mermaid. Retrieved on 1 May 2009.
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FileRubens_Medusa.jp
  eg Picture of the bloody, beheaded Medusa.
  Retrieved on 1 May 2009.
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medusa - Information
  about the snaked-haired, hideous-looking Medusa
  who could turn people into stone. Retrieved on 26
  March 2009.
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sphinx - Information
  about both the Egyptian Sphinx and the Greek
  Sphinx. Retrieved on 1 May 2009.
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FileEgypt.Giza.Sphin
  x.02.jpg Picture of the Great Sphinx of Giza
  against Khafras pyramid. Retrieved on 1 May
  2009.
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File028MAD_Sphinx.jp
  g Picture of the evil Greek Sphinx statue.
  Retrieved on 1 May 2009.

20

• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FileChina_Qing_Dynas
  ty_Flag_1862.png Picture of Chinese dragon on
  Chinas Qing Dynasty Flag (first page). Retrieved
  on 1 May 2009.
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FileCoat_of_Arms_of_
  Moscow.png Picture of Coat of Arms Moscow which
  shows a man on a horse battling a basilisk with
  his spear. Retrieved on 1 May 2009.

21
Thank You!
Thank you!
THANK YOU!