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srijeda, 15.02.2006.
Centaurus (Kentaur)
The centaurs of Greek mythology are creatures that are part human and part horse. They are usually portrayed with the torso and head of a human, and the body of a horse. Centaurs are the followers of the wine god Dionysus and are well known for drunkenness and carrying off helpless young maidens. They inhabited Mount Pelion in Thessaly, northern Greece. According to one myth, they are the offspring of Ixion, the king of Lapithae (Thessaly), and a cloud. He had arranged a tryst with Hera, but Zeus got wind of it and fashioned a cloud into Hera's shape. Therefore, the Centaurs are sometimes called Ixionidae.
Notorious is their bestial behavior on the wedding of Pirithous, king of the Lapiths. They violated the female guests and attempted to abduct the bride. What followed was a bloody battle, after which they were driven from Thessaly. An exception was the kind and wise centaur Chiron, the teacher of the Greek heroes Jason and Achilles.
Often depicted as violent and war-like, although they can get along with men. An example is Chiron, who was wise and knowledgeable about music, medicine and archery. He was a teacher of Jason, Hercules, and Achilles. He died when accidentally hit with a poison arrow shot by Hercules.
"These monsters were represented as men from the head to the loins, while the rest of the body was that of a horse. The ancients were too fond of a horse to consider the union of his nature with man's as forming a very degraded compound, and accordingly the Centaur is the only one of the fancied monsters of antiquity to which any good traits are assigned. The Centaurs were admitted to the companionship of man, and at the marriage of Pirithous with Hippodamia they were among the guests. At the feast of Eurytion, one of the Centaurs, becoming intoxicated with the wine, attempted to offer violence to the bride; the other Centaurs followed his example, and a dreadful conflict arose in which several of them were slain. This is the celebrated battle of the Lapiths and the Centaurs, a favorite subject with the sculptors and poets of antiquity.
But not all the Centaurs were like the rude guests of Pirithous. Chiron was instructed by Apollo and Artemis, and was renowned for his skill in hunting, medicine, music, and the art of prophecy. The most distinguished heroes of Greek history were his pupils. Among the rest the infant Asklepios was intrusted to his charge by Apollo, his father. When the sage returned to his home bearing the infant, his daughter Ocyroe came forth to meet him, and at sight of the child burst forth into a prophetic strain (for she was a prophetess), foretelling the glory that he was to achieve. Asklepios when grown up became a renowned physician, and even in one instance succeeded in restoring the dead to life. Hades resented this, and Zeus, at his request, struck the bold physician with lightening, and killed him, but after his death received him into the number of the gods. Chiron was the wisest and most just of all the Centaurs, and at his death Zeus placed him among the stars as the constellation Sagittarius." - from Bulfinch's Mythology
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srijeda, 04.01.2006.
Phoenix (Fenix)
[The Roman poet] Ovid tells the story of the Phoenix as follows: 'Most beings spring from other individuals; but there is a certain kind which reproduces itself. The Assyrians call it the Phoenix. It does not live on fruit or flowers, but on frankincense and odoriferous gums. When it has lived five hundred years, it builds itself a nest in the branches of an oak, or on the top of a palm tree. In this it collects cinnamon and spikenard, and myrrh, and of these materials builds a pile on which it deposits itself, and dying, breathes out its last breath amidst odors.
From the body of the parent bird, a young Phoenix issues forth, destined to live as long a life as its predecessor. When this has grown up and gained sufficient strength, it lifts its nest from the tree (its own cradle and its parent's sepulchre), and carries it to the city of Heliopolis in Egypt, and deposits it in the temple of the Sun.'
In ancient Greek and Egyptian mythology, the phoenix is a mythical bird and associated with the Egyptian sun-god Re and the Greek Phoibos (Apollo). According to the Greeks the bird lives in Arabia, nearby a cool well. Each morning at dawn, it would bathe in the water and sing such a beautiful song, that the sun-god stops his chariot to listen. There exists only one phoenix at the time.
When it felt its death approaching (every 500 or 1461 years), it would build a nest of aromatic wood and set it on fire, and was consumed by the flames. When it was burned, a new phoenix sprang forth from the pyre. It then embalmed the ashes of its predecessor in an egg of myrrh and flew with it to Heliopolis ("city of the sun"). There it would deposit the egg on the altar of the sun god.
In Egypt is was usually depicted as a heron, but in the classic literature as a peacock, or an eagle. The phoenix symbolizes immortality, resurrection, and life after death. In that aspect it was often placed on sarcophagi. It is associated with the Egyptian Benu, the Garuda of the Hindus, and the Chinese Feng-huang.
Judaic lore mentions that the phoenix achieved its unique status as an immortal bird because it refrained from bothering the overburdened Noah during the Flood voyage (Sanh. 108b).
His description is: "The size of an eagle, with gold plumage around the neck, a purple body, and an azure tail. The throat has a crest, and the head has a tuft of feathers."
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utorak, 03.01.2006.
Satyr (Faun)
Satyrs were male creatures who inhabited woodlands and forests in Greek mythology. They often accompanied Dionysos, and were frequently depicted in art and myth as members of the god's ecstatic entourage (an entourage, by the way, which included not only satyrs but the wild women known as Maenads or Bacchantes). In addition, the satyrs as a group were passionately fond of females - especially nymphs, those gentle and beautiful nature spirits. But there is much more to these mythical creatures, as we shall learn.
The ancient Greeks saw the satyrs as having some rather distinct attributes. Satyrs appear commonly with the legs of goats. In this respect they resemble the god Pan. Scholars have suggested that these animal attributes are meant to reflect the way in which satyrs embody the wild, uninhibited forces of nature. And with their lascivious appetites and insatiable lust for female companionship (it has already been noted that nymphs were most commonly the objects of their desire), satyrs have earned a reputation for naughtiness that has made them legendary over the centuries.
In both mythology and art, satyrs are sometimes confused with Sileni. Sileni are another type of mythological being but are closely related to the satyr in appearance and mannerisms (it should be mentioned that Sileni sometimes also have the ears and tail of a horse). However, the two kinds of creatures were primarily distinguished in ancient Greece by their age - satyrs are represented as eternally young and Sileni are usually depicted as older and more mature looking (their behavior, however, was anything but mature). Indeed, the most famous of the Sileni is Silenus. Silenus was a wise, elderly father figure character who according to legend tutored the god Dionysos.
Satyrs were called fauns in Roman mythology.
Pliny- "Among the mountainous districts of the eastern parts of India, in what is called the country of Catharcludi, we find the Satyr, an animal of extraordinary swiftness. They go sometimes on four feet, and sometimes walk erect; they have, also, the features of a human being."
Isidore of Seville- "The Satyrs are manikins with upturned noses; they have horns on their foreheads, and are goat-footed, such as the one St. Anthony saw in the desert. And he, being questioned, is said to have answered the servant of God, saying, "
In Greek mythology the satyrs are deities of the woods and mountains. They are half human and half beast; they usually have a goat's tail, flanks and hooves. While the upper part of the body is that of a human, they also have the horns of a goat. They are the companions of Dionysus, the god of wine, and they spent their time drinking, dancing, and chasing nymphs. The Italian version of the satyr is the faun, while the Slavic version is the Ljeschi.
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