FABULOUS BESTIARY

From N to Z

Shawna SweeneyCompiler;

Designer

Sandy SpragueEditor; Presenter

Kimberly YennacoEditor; Presenter

Shelby MackayResearcher, Nyx

Paris BeckettResearcher, Ogre

William SheehanResearcher,

Phoenix

Mike HughesResearcher,

Rakshasa

Laura SawulskiResearcher,

Sphinx

Zach HeddenResearcher,

Unicorn

NYX

NYX

Nyx was the Greek goddess of Night

and one of the first born Protogenoi, or

elemental gods. They were the primeval

gods of Greek mythology and the basic

components of the universe at Creation.

Some of the others were Earth, Air, Sea,

Sky, Fresh Water, Underworld, Darkness,

Night, Light, Day, Procreation and Time.

NOX

She produced Light and Day

by breeding with Darkness

A dark veil of mist surrounded

her and she was portrayed as a

winged goddess or charioteer

with a crown of mist

“That time I laid to sleep the brain in Zeus of the aegis and

drifted upon him still and soft, but your mind was devising evil,

and you raised along the sea the blasts of the racking winds, and

on these swept him away to Kos, the strong-founded, with all his

friends lost, but Zeus awakened in anger and beat the gods up

and down his house, looking beyond all others for me, and would

have sunk me out of sight in the sea from the bright sky had not

Nyx (Night) who has power over gods and men rescued me. I

reached her in my flight, and Zeus let be, though he was angry, in

awe of doing anything to swift Nyx' displeasure.” (Homer, The

Illiad)• Hera had asked Hypnos (minor god of sleep) to put Zeus to sleep

so she could “cause Hercules misfortune.” Zeus didn’t punish him because Hypnos ran to his mother, Nyx, for help.

OGRE

OGRE

Ogre is a French word derived from the

Italian ‘orco’ meaning ‘demon.’ Used mostly to

describe Hungarians, these beasts have an

oversized head, lots of hair, a beard, and a

muscular body.

They had a large appetite and were known for

eating humans. For example, Polyphemus, the

Cyclops in The Odyssey.

It is unknown where the origin of the ogre is

because there are myths in many places such as

the Netherlands and Spain, which have similar

mythological creatures.

PUSS IN BOOTSFA M O U S S T O R Y O F A C A T O U T W I T T I N G A

S H A P E S H I F T I N G O G R E I N O R D E R T O S A V E T H E P R I N C E S S

AKA-ONI A J A PA N E S E R E D O G R E W H O

VA N Q U I S H E S D E M O N S

PHOENIX

PHOENIX

Mythological Fire Bird who is rarely seen and has a

beautiful singing voice

Found in many ancient cultures

Symbolizes rebirth, renewal, immortality, purity, and

distinctiveness

Responsible for the phrase “Rise from the ashes”

It is believed a Phoenix can live for 500 years before it

burns itself to ashes, which another phoenix is born from

In The Order of the Phoenix, the Phoenix’s

song is said to, “strike fear into the hearts

of the impure and courage into those who

are pure of heart.”

“From the body of the

parent bird, a young

Phoenix issues forth,

destined to live as long a

life as its predecessor” –

Roman poet, Ovid

“My ashes, as the

phoenix, may bring

forth / A bird that will

revenge upon you all.”

– William

Shakespeare, 3 Henry

VI (1.4.35-8)

RAKSHASAIT ’S NO T A VAMPIRE . O R IS IT?

RAKSHASA

Many eastern cultures have words that derive from

“Rakshasa.” It commonly means giant, glutton, or

monster.

Rakshasas are shape-shifting Hindu demons who

haunt cemeteries, disturb sacrifices, harass devout

men, animate dead bodies, devour human beings, and

vex and afflict mankind in all sorts of ways. They are

often associated with magic and are considered

“illusionists” due to their ability to change shape at

will.

RAKSHASA

These are huge, fierce-looking , ugly

humanoids. They’re usually black as soot and

have two fangs protruding from their mouth

like a vampire. They have claw-like nails and

are depicted as ravenous cannibals who can

smell animal, men or flesh. Some more

ferocious ones are shown with flaming red eyes

and flaming hair, drinking blood with their

palms or from a human skull. According to

these stories, they have the power to fly, vanish

and increase or decrease their size, and

transform into any animal, human or other

thing at their will.

RAVANA AND THE RAMAYANA

According to the Ramayana, a

Sanskrit epic, Rakshasas were

created from Brahma’s foot.

Ravanna is a Rakshasa

antagonist who kidnaps the

protagonist’s wife, Sita, to

avenge his sister Surpanakha,

whose nose was cut off by Rama

and his brother Lakshmana

SPHINX

The sphinx has the head of a

woman, which represents the

intellect of women,

The body of a lion, symbolizing

the strength of a man,

The wings of an eagle, which

stand for unity; body & mind

And the serpent-headed tail,

which shows that it is tricky &

clever

SPHINX APPEARANCE AND SYMBOLISM

SPHINX IN EGYPT

SPHINX

The sphinx’s purpose was to inflict pain on Thebes

She was a monster sent by the Gods to consume all

who could not solve her riddle.

Ancient Egyptians built the Great Sphinx of Giza

outside the pyramid of Khafre to scare or trap evil

gods hoping to help their Pharaoh reach the afterlife

UNICORNS

UNICORNS

The earliest Accounts of these magical animals dates back to

Ancient Greece, about 800 B.C., and Asia, 2700 B.C.

They are peaceful creatures who try to avoid contact with

humans

They prefer to remain hidden

When encountered, they do not harm humans

Unicorns can cure illnesses and neutralize poison

Loving purity and innocence, they can be tamed by a virgin

Unicorns are well known for their

white coats but some early authors and

artists described them as yellowish red

or even brown

They usually have a horse's body, often

with cloven hooves like a goat.

Sometimes the entire body looks like a

goat's.

They have a long, white spiraled horn

on their forehead. Early Greek

naturalists described a shorter, blunter

horn colored red, black and white. They

also have a goat’s beard and the tail of a

lion, horse, goat or boar

UNICORN APPEARANCE

A WESTER

N UNICORN TALE

Once upon a time, a hunter in the forest saw a brilliant white

unicorn in the distance, emerging from a river and gleaming

like the moon. Enchanted by the sight, the hunter called

together his friends and gave chase. But the unicorn knew that

men could never catch him, so he playfully waited for the

hunters to draw close before bounding out of view. After a

while, the unicorn came to a stop in front of a beautiful young

maiden sitting under a tree. She reached out, combed his

curling mane and rubbed his horn until he lay his head in her

lap. But it was a trap! Looking up at the maiden, the unicorn

saw her brown eyes were filled with tears and realized her

deceit too late—the dogs and men suddenly seized him and

carried him away. Afterward, the maiden remained in the

woods, despondent. As she leaned down to wash away her

tears in the stream, a movement in the distance caught her

eye: she couldn't be sure, but she thought it was the shining

horn of a unicorn disappearing into the night.

UNICORNS IN THE EAST

Described as a creature of great power and wisdom.

Always benevolent, it avoids fighting at all costs

Walks so softly it will not crush a blade of grass.

Much like its European cousin, the Asian unicorn enjoys its

solitude and cannot be captured.

It’s rare appearances are omens, celebrating a just and wise

ruler.

According to legend, the Chinese philosopher Confucius was

the last person ever to see an Asian unicorn.

Called a Kirin in Japan, "giraffe" in modern Japanese

FEATURES OF AN ASIAN UNICORN

They had a scaly coat,

multicolored in blue, black,

red, white and yellow

A deer's body

A flesh-covered horn, or

sometimes two or even

three horns

And the tail of an ox

Thousands of years ago, the sage Fu Hsi was sitting by a river when he was splashed with water. Raising his eyes, he saw the unicorn, which the Chinese call the qilin ("chee-lin"), wading carefully through the river. The animal resembled a deer but had shining scales like a dragon. A single horn grew from its forehead. Its back was covered with strange signs and magic symbols. As the qilin walked away, Fu Hsi grabbed a stick and traced the symbols as best he could in the dirt. These drawings were the qilin's gift to China-from them would evolve the characters of the first written language.

An Asian Tale

WORKS CITEDhttp://nowpic.com/images_folder/files/2011-01/f74c61d6.jpg

http://images.artnet.com/images_US/magazine/features/jen/jen6-21-07-5.jpg

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h2HzKGfnTfE/TZcUeD7nyFI/AAAAAAAABmA/qiuieyTyo48/s1600/UNICO

RN%2BTOPSELL%2BCLR%2B588.bmp

http://www.theoi.com/Bestiary.html

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

http://legendaryquest.netfirms.com/Folklore.htm

http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Ogre

http://www.zastavki.com/pictures/1024x768/2010/Cartoons_Shrek_Forever_After._Shrek_and_Fion

a_022712_.jpg

http://www.theoi.com/Protogenos/Nyx.html

http://www.pantheon.org/articles/n/nyx.html

http://www.empireonline.com/features/50-greatest-animated-characters/default.asp?film=11

http://www.unicorns.com/