Category Archives: Demon
Shadow People
Also known as: Black Mass, Shadow Beings, Shadow Figure, Shadow Men
The appearance of Shadow People seems to be an offshoot of the Boogeyman. Instead of parents using the Boogeyman to frighten children into good behavior, the appearance of Shadow People appears more tied to, just as the name says, a dark, shadowy figure or mass where something might be. Appearing at the foot of the bed, in a corner of the room, in the closet. Wherever a darkened shadow appears, and the imagination fills in the blanks. For the believers, this extends to possibly seeing something from the corner of your eye with nothing there when you turn your head to look.
Researchers of the Paranormal and Supernatural have latched onto the idea of Shadow People as inter-dimensional beings or aliens. This tends to go into a lot of potentially pseudo-scientific ideas of what they could be and explanations. In terms of modern folklore and Urban Legends, it’s certainly a way to expand upon the classifications of potential ghosts and spirits, along with what they might really be.
Description
A Shadow Person is essentially nothing more than a dark, shadowy figure that is vaguely humanoid in appearance or just a formless mass, sometimes it has tendrils, sometimes it doesn’t. Usually there are no other discernible features, though in some cases, red eyes have been noted.
Further descriptions mention where there is one main tall shadowy figure with numerous smaller hooded shadow figures. Reports say these types of Shadow People are not see-through. That this type is more prone to be drawn towards an individual than a particular place.
As the stories and accounts of Shadow People persist and grow, the descriptions begin to really vary. Ranging from small, child-sized figures, to tall with a jack-o-lantern head, and those of a tall figure wearing a hat.
Some of the sightings of Shadow People are reported to be mainly in Rhode Island and North Carolina in the United States. Some people claim they have been attacked physically with scratches and burns. Others will tell how they have been choked or attacked in their sleep during a sleep paralysis attack.
The Hat Man – This type of specific Shadow Being is described by some people as wearing a top hat and suit. This one is generally seen as being more demonic or evil in nature. This being was identified by the author Heidi Hollis who says that this being and others like it are trying to build an army for the dark side.
It is also strongly likely that the appearance of this Shadow Man is influenced by pop culture in terms of movies like the Nightmare on Elm Street series and the perpetuation of Urban Legends and similar stories.
Guardian Spirit – Some forum sites dedicated to the Paranormal & Supernatural Phenomenon will claim that a Shadow Person could be a guardian angel or spirit watching over a person. Given how often so many of the reports and stories have a negative view of Shadow People, this is not really likely.
Ancient History!?!
There are claims that Shadow People have existed for thousands of years, found in every culture and religion. Which only makes sense with stories of spectral, shadowy beings and shades. The use of the term Shadow People would be more modern and expand the ways in which such entities of folklore and mythology are classified.
One story pointed out is “Le Horla” (“The Horla”), written in 1887 by French author Guy de Maupassant. In this story, shadow beings live on milk and water, they bedevil the human mind and stalk the unwary.
The specific term of “Shadow People” first appears on September 21st, 1953 as the title to a radio drama from the “Hall of Fantasy” broadcast on Chicago’s WGN-AM station. Later, on April 12th 2001, the late-night radio show, Coast to Coast AM would bring back and modernize a belief in Shadow People. On the show, the host, Art Bell interviewed a Native American elder by the name of Thunder Strikes, also known as Harley “Swift Deer” Reagan. Listeners to the show were encouraged to submit drawings of Shadow People and those drawings, in turn, were posted to the show’s website.
Later that year, in October 2001, author and researcher Heidi Hollis published her first book, “The Secret War,” where she goes into more information on Shadow People. The book details Shadow People having many traits that cross over to folklore with the Nightmare attacks and imagery of ghostly or spectral figures. Hollis goes on to say that Shadow People may be related to the alien entities of Greys and Reptilians. Hollis details how Shadow People don’t like to be spotted and as such, she does provide several means by which to decrease encounters with these beings.
Master your fear and don’t let it control you, focus on positive thoughts, hold your ground, use the name of Jesus to repel them, keep a light on and bless your room or house.
Side note: Given the whole alien Reptilians and the conspiracy theory around them, I do find much of what Hollis says, suspect. Plus, the name of “Hall of Fantasy” for the radio drama, gives the whole Shadow People as real, as being just made up. Especially if anyone is trying to assign them any significant power.
Ghosts
Not quite…
Most will agree that ghosts are spirits of the deceased who have not moved on for any number of reasons. Most ghosts often have descriptions of appearing as balls of light, being misty white, and having a distinctively human form to them, such as clothing, facial features, and other details that can be described.
Djinn
This Arabic entity has been suggested for what Shadow People might really be, especially if you are leaning towards Shadow People being demonic in nature. The Jinn are usually invisible to humans, but some descriptions say when they do appear, it is that of black smoke that may or may not have a vaguely humanoid outline.
Spirit
If Shadow People aren’t the ghosts of the deceased, their ethereal and incorporeal natures do say that they belong to the broader category of Spirits. As to what type of spirit, it’s hard to say. Some speculate that Shadow People may be a type of demon. What is it that they want, other than to frighten people, remains unknown.
Native American Spirits – Taking the “Hall of Fantasy” interview with elder Thunder Strikes or Harley “Swift Deer” Reagan, I can see, while researching Shadow People, that some of the sites I looked at concluding that Shadow People are Native American in origin. When looking at the Hat Man Shadow, his description fits just enough to suggest the Stovepipe Hat Bigfoot from the Tall Man Spirit in Lakota lore. It’s also easy to see a connection to the Urban Legends of Slender Man.
In some of the older Lakota lore, they have stories of bad spirits or giants that once wandered the Earth. They had become prideful and arrogant to the point that they challenged the thunder and lost to it. These stories lend themselves to the Tall Man Spirit and if we’re looking at more than one entity, they could account for some of the Shadow People stories and sightings that people claim.
Thought-Forms
Also known as Egregores or Tulpas. Whether intentional or not, the negative thoughts and energy can or could create and manifest an entity identified as a Shadow Person. A strong enough belief and enough people believing can also cause manifestations. Especially if people believe, want to believe, say they saw something, jumping the “me too” bandwagon. This would explain easily why there’s an increase in the number of people claiming to see Shadow People or just having another term of what to call previously known folklore and mythological figures.
Inter-Dimensional Beings
This certainly leans more into Pseudo-Science. After all, mainstream science acknowledges and speculates about there being more than three dimensions to as many as 10 spacetime dimensions and how the laws of physics would work differently in those dimensions where these different dimensions interact. Add in too, psychics claiming they can sense the vibrational frequency of these other dimensions and beings.
In Paranormal studies, the idea then is that these beings who live in other dimensions can sometimes, partially cross over, interact or be seen. That how we might perceive these beings who live in these other dimensions is as shadows.
Ufology & Aliens
Some people claim that Shadow People might be aliens, extraterrestrial beings abducting people. Those who claim to be the victims of the alien grays say these beings can pass through walls, closed windows and have advanced technology that enables them to appear and disappear quickly.
Fear Is The Mind Killer
I will not fear.
“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.” – Frank Herbert, Dune
The existence of Shadow People seems to thrive on a fear of the unknown. These entities show up and hang around, feeding off the fear and dread they cause by their unsettling appearance.
Anywhere with strong negative associations and energy could easily attract the presence and sightings of Shadow People. It’s only in movies, video games, and books that such entities get to have any “extra powers” or abilities.
Even if a case got chalked up to an overactive imagination, human beings are pattern seekers, we’re prone to letting the mind fill in the blanks on vague shapes and patterns, putting a recognizable form or image to something. This tendency is called Pareidolia, to think we saw something out of the corner of our eye and then to fill in the blanks on what it might be.
Possible Reality Behind The Myth
Overactive Imaginations – To shine a light on things, figuratively and literally, you do have to rule out possible overactive imaginations involved. I know I’m repeating myself, human beings are prone to pattern-seeking and if we see a vague human outline in the shadows, we are likely to fill in the blanks to see something that isn’t there.
I know that explanation puts a damper on many people who claim to have seen Shadow People or study the paranormal and believe.
Apply a little bit of the Scientific Method here. Is it the active imagination of a child who is having trouble going to sleep at night? Everybody loves a good ghost story and stories of encounters with Shadow People tend to be remarkably similar. As such, these accounts can also be very anecdotal and subjective with no real good way to verify them.
Hallucinations – Are you sleep deprived and not getting enough sleep? Is there a particular substance or drug that was taken known to cause hallucinations? Mental Illness?
Electromagnetic Fields – There are theories that in the right conditions, electromagnetic fields can mess with human perceptions, causing both audio and visual hallucinations. It could allow for people to believe they saw any manner of things from ghosts, to spirits, aliens, fairies, Elvis.
Any old buildings with substandard wiring, power plants nearby, a place with strong magnetic fields? Researchers have been able to recreate in laboratories the experiences that people have had with such hallucinations, including those of seeing Shadow People.
Rule out the possible causes before whatever remains, no matter how improbable is taken as the truth.
Pareidolia – I’ve mentioned it before, humans are wired and have a tendency to see patterns, mostly faces and other human characteristics.
Sleep Paralysis Attacks – This can be frightening for those who have experienced one. It is when you wake or have a lucid dream and are unable to move while sleeping, especially during REM sleep. Some people will claim terrifying images of dark, shadowy beings surrounding them, in the room or trying to attack them.
From the folkloric view, the description of a Shadow Person trying to choke or suffocate someone in their sleep matches the classic Nightmare and Hagging Attacks.
Sleep Walking – This is close on the heels of the Sleep Paralysis Attacks, only instead of being paralyzed, the person sleeping is getting up and moving around. Some sleepwalkers report dreams where they’ve seen shadowy figures or beings as they move around the house.
Substance Abuse – Is the person using drugs known for causing hallucinations?
Mental Illness – I’m not trying to make light of this, is it possible that a person claiming to see Shadow People prone to seizures and other mental health issues such as delusions or hallucinations?
Substance Abuse and Mental Illness can be why some of the descriptions of Shadow People are inconsistent.
Protection
For small children, night lights work wonders and don’t underestimate the power of a favorite stuffed animal or other toy to comfort them as they sleep. If it is an overactive imagination at work, many children will outgrow this stage or learn to control it so this overactive imagination isn’t getting the better of them.
If there is an entity there, like the Boogeyman, such entities tend to only be able to feed a fear, again something children grow out of or once you confront it, it goes away.
A Dream Catcher; try hanging one above the bed where you sleep. Especially if you know you are prone to sleep paralysis attacks and nightmares. Depending on your religious affiliation, prayers, crystals and other protective charms can be effective.
Eris
Pronunciation: ee’-ris
Etymology: Strife
Other Names and Epithets: Ἔρις , “The Lady of Sorrow,” “Defender of the People”
Eris is the Greek goddess of strife and discord. She is often thought of as a younger sister to Ares and accompanies him into battle. True to the meaning of her name, Eris loves nothing more than to cause chaos and trouble, giving her a reputation for being sinister and mean-spirited.
Attributes
Animal: Hissing Snake
Patron of: Discordians or Erisians
Planet: Eris
Plant: African Blackwood
Sphere of Influence: Chaos, Conflicts, Strife, Struggles
Symbols: Golden Apple of Discord
Greek Depictions
Eris is described as being a beautiful young woman with pale skin, black wings and carrying a golden apple that she tosses into battle from Ares’ chariot that she rides in.
Parentage and Family
Parents
Three different sets of parentage are given for Eris.
Erebus – Primordial God of Darkness is given as Eris’ father in Hyginus’ works.
Nyx – Goddess of night is given as Eris’ mother. Sometimes Nyx is the only parent listed for Eris.
In the third parentage mentioned, often a later addition:
Zeus – King of the Olympian Gods is Eris’ father.
Hera – Queen of the Olympian Gods is Eris’ mother.
Siblings –
Aeacus, Angelos, Aphrodite, Apollo, Ares, Artemis, Athena, Dionysus, Eileithyia, Enyo, Ersa, Hebe, Helen of Troy, Heracles, Hermes, Minos, Pandia, Persephone, Perseus, Rhadamanthus, the Graces, the Horae, the Litae, the Muses, the Moirai, Thanatos, Hypnos, the Keres, Hemera, Aether, Moros, Apate, Furies, Oneiroi, Nemesis, Geras, Eleos, Philotes, Oizys, Momus
Consort
Ares – Given that Eris would often ride with Ares into battle on his chariot, it is sometimes assumed that they are consorts.
The truth is, they’re just really good friends and siblings who love the chaos of the battlefield.
Children
Where Eris is the daughter of Hera and Zeus, the sister to Ares, she has the following children:
Strife – A son. This has to be a translation into English from Greek. Like maybe there’s a masculine pronunciation to Eris. This is the name found in Homer’s Iliad.
Where Eris is the daughter of Nyx, she has the following children:
Algea (“Sorrow”), Amphillogiai (“Disputes”), Androctasiai (“Manslaughter”), Ate (“Ruin”), Dysnomia (“Lawlessness”), Horkos (“Oath”), Hysminai (“Fighting”), Lethe (“Forgetfulness”), Limos (“Famine”), Makhai (“Battle”), Neikea (“Quarreling”), Phonoi (“Murder”), Ponos (“Labor”), and Pseudologoi (“Lies”)
Goddess Of Strife
Eris is known for accompanying her brother Ares into battle and tossing her golden apple of discord to incite chaos on the field of battle. Eris’ son, Strife is also known to come along for the ride as well.
Representing the way conflicts and arguments grow, Eris starts off being small but will grow as time passes until her head reaches the heavens and she hurls out the bitterness of resentments, conflicts, and strife upon people.
You Called Her A Daimon!
Yes, as in the Greek term and meaning for the word spirit. It is Christianity that takes and twists the word and meaning to Demon, for an evil spirit or being. In Eris’ case, it would be easy to see why they make that connection.
Among the ancient Greeks, the word daimon means spirit or “replete with knowledge.” They recognized both good (eudemons) and bad (cacodemons). The word or term daimon also means “divine power,” “fate,” or “god.” And in Greek mythology, daimons could also include deified heroes.
Daimons functioned as messengers or intermediary spirits between men and gods. The good daimons were viewed as guardian spirits who gave guidance and protection to those they watched over. The bad daimons, naturally, weren’t so nice and could mislead people, getting them into trouble.
Mother Of Cacodaemons
Where Nyx is listed as her mother, Eris is the mother of numerous Cacodaemons, who are personifications of all the ills and evils that plague mankind.
In Hesiod’s Works and Days, it is mentioned that the fifth day of the month is a day to be careful, for that is when the Cacodaemons are out and about, angry. It is on the fifth day that the Erinyes assist Horkos on plaguing those who bare false oaths.
Pandora’s Jar – Yes, a jar, not a box. We can thank Erasmus of Rotterdam for that mistranslation with the Latin.
When Prometheus gave humans fire, Zeus decided an equally fitting gift of a jar holding all the evils and ills of the world was good. It’s suggested and hinted that these ills and evils were Eris’ offspring awaiting within to be released when Pandora opened the jar to go out and plague mankind. Only Elpis or Hope remained in the jar at Zeus’ bidding.
Two Eris’
Works & Days – By Hesiod, in this book we learn that there are two different goddesses by the name Eris in Greek mythology. The first Eris tends to foment the evils of war and battle, she is thought of as cruel. She really revels in the chaos of war.
The second Eris is the oldest daughter of Nyx. This Eris is far kinder and tends to be associated more with strife in terms of struggling to toil, make ends meet, planting and the day to day struggles of daily living. I’m reminded of a Buddhist saying that there is suffering in life when looking at this second Eris.
Theogony – In this book of Hesiod’s, Eris, the daughter of Nyx is not thought of so kindly as she had been in Works & Days when her children and what they are personifications of are mentioned.
Mistaken Identify – Homer’s Iliad makes mention of Eris, as the sister of Ares. She is one of the few deities who wasn’t invited to the big wedding of Cadmus to Harmonia in Boeotia. Homer is also the source for referring to Eris as the “Defender of the People.” Well that’s a little odd and it likely has to do with Homer confusing Eris with Enyo, a battle goddess.
Golden Apple
Eris is known for tossing her golden apple of discord among a group of people to incite chaos. If the apple is thrown among friends, their friendships end; among enemies, war breaks out.
The best known story is during the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, after Eris wasn’t invited, she tossed her golden apple among the gods as the main prize for who was the most beautiful, thus setting off the events for the Trojan War.
In literature, the golden apple or apple of discord is that core or crux of an argument, that while it starts off small, can leads to larger problems or disputes.
Aesop Fable 534
In this fable, Hercules is heading on his merry way when he spots something laying on the ground. A closer examination shows that it appears to be an apple. Herakles takes his club and decides to smash the apple.
As soon as Herakles strikes it, the apple swells to twice its size. He strikes it again and the apple grows again, so that it is blocking the way.
Dumbfounded, Herakles stands there, dropping his club. Athena happens along and tells Herakles not to be so surprised. This apple was only put there to confuse him by Aporia (Contentiousness) and Eris. If he were to leave the apple alone, it would remain small. But if he insists on fighting it, then the apple will swell in size.
Polytechnos & Aedon
In this story, the couple Polytechnos and Aedon declared that they loved each other more than Hera and Zeus. This declaration attracted the attention of Hera who became angry and sent Eris to stir up trouble between them.
Polytechnos was finishing off a chariot board and Aedon was working on some embroidery. Eris shows up and tells them that “Whosoever finishes their task last will have to present the other with a female servant.
Aedon, with Hera’s help, finishes first. Polytechnos is not happy with losing and goes to Aedon’s sister, Chelidonis with the pretense that Aedon wants to see her. On the way back home, Polytechnos rapes Chelidonis and then dresses her up as a slave with the command to be silent. He then presents Chelidonis to Aedon.
At some point, Chelidonis speaks up, lamenting her fate, and is overheard by Aedon who realizes this is her sister. Why exactly she didn’t realize this sooner, I don’t know.
The two conspire together and Polytechnos’ son, Itys is murdered, chopped up, and served as dinner to his father.
Aedon and Chelidonis then flee back to their father. Polytechnos shows up soon after, angry. With things getting quickly out of hand, Zeus steps in, changing everyone into birds to end the matter.
It’s a story noted to be similar to that of Philomela and Procne found in Ovid’s Metamorphosis. Both stories are a study in word play, explaining how different animals came to be.
Typhon & Zeus
In this story, Zeus finds himself having to battle the monstrous giant Typhon, husband to Echidna, the mother of monsters.
Typhon or Typhoeus is described as a serpentine monster that breathes fire. Zeus fought him using his thunder bolts and aegis.
Eventually Zeus would defeat Typhon and trap him under Mount Etna. Echidna would be allowed to live along with her monstrous children. In Grecian myths, this is how Mount Etna became a volcano. In other versions of the myth, the gods Hermes and Pan would come to Zeus’ aid.
In Nonnus’ Dionysiaca, Eris is described as accompanying Typhon into battle whereas Nike, the minor goddess of Victory, accompanies Zeus into battle.
The Judgement Of Paris
This is perhaps the best-known source for Eris’ myth and story. The gods were feasting at the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, who will become the parents of Achilles. All the gods were invited accept Eris who hadn’t received an invite. Chiron was in charge of the wedding invites and didn’t invite Eris due to her reputation for stirring up trouble. This understandably miffed her to no end. After all, everyone else got invited, why not her?
Coming off as seeking to be peaceful and no hard feelings, a beauty contest was proposed between the goddesses Aphrodite, Athena, and Hera. As the prize, Eris tossed a golden apple of beauty, or better known, the golden apple of discord. In some retellings, it is noted that the golden apple has engraved or written the word: “Kallisti,” meaning: “for the fairest.”
This dispute, one driven by vanity over who was the loveliest of the goddess would escalate and the hapless mortal Paris is called in to judge. Each of the goddesses attempted to bribe Paris to choose her. Hera offered political power, Athena offered battle prowess and Aphrodite tempted Paris with the most beautiful woman in the world, Helen.
Being a young mortal man, Paris chooses Helen and rewards Aphrodite with the golden apple. Only there is one problem, Helen is the wife of Menelaus of Sparta. In claiming and taking her, Paris sparks off the Trojan War.
Divine Set Up – If we go by the “lost” epic, The Cypria attributed to Stasinus, this whole Trojan War was planned on by Zeus and Themis. There’s only about 50 lines of text from the Cypria and it’s seen as a prequel to Homer’s The Iliad and explains how the events came about.
Trojan War
Eris gets the blame for starting the Trojan War even though Zeus and Themis had planned on it from the beginning. They just weren’t going to get their hands dirty.
In battle, Eris rode alongside Ares and Enyo on the side of the Trojans. It is in this famous, epic ten-year war that Eris becomes known as the “Lady of Sorrow.”
During one battle, Eris fought on the side of Aeneas, Aphrodite’s son, defending him. The rest of the time, Eris wandered the battlefield, reveling in the chaos of it all, spreading bloodshed wherever she went.
Sleeping Beauty
It has been noted that this classic fairy tale draws inspiration from the story of The Judgement of Paris. Just like Eris, the wicked fairy of Sleeping Beauty takes grievances with not being invited to the princess’s christening and places a curse upon the infant.
Discordian Religion
In the late 1950’s, Greg Hill and Kerry Thornley, under the pen names of “Malaclypse the Younger” and “Omar Khayyam Ravenhurst,” wrote the Principia Discordia. The concept of Eris established in the Principia Discordia gets used and expanded upon further in the science fiction The Illuminatus! Trilogy by Robert Shea and Robert Anton Wilson. The ideas in this book series have caused many people to call themselves Discordians or Erisians. In turn, this led to the Discordian Religion.
In Discordian teachings, Eris is the main goddess and she has a much softer outlook on the world than her darker Grecian origins. In the Principia Discordia, Eris’ parents are either what’s given in Greek legend or she’s the daughter of the Void. For me, I have to say this is likely the Eris who is the daughter of Nyx showing up here.
Eris is the Goddess of Disorder and Being, her sister Aneris is the goddess of Order and Non-Being. Their brother is Spirituality.
Among Discordians, Eris not being invited to the marriage of Peleus and Thetis is known as the Original Snub.
Essentially, Discordian religion and philosophy teaches that the only truth is chaos. That order and disorder are at best, temporary states. No matter how much people may try to order the world around them, it is still all chaotic.
It puts me to mind Chaos Theory, that what seems random at first, will eventually show having a pattern and the Mendelbrot set being an equation that determines how to figure out that pattern.
As Morticia Addams in the movie said, “Normal is an illusion. What is normal for the spider is chaos for the fly.”
Spiders, Why’d There Have To Be Spiders?
It’s either that or someone screaming incoherently before torching down their entire house just to kill it.
Fun and amusing, given how many people are arachnophobic, there is a genus of spiders named after Eris.
Dwarf Planet
Eris is the second largest Dwarf Planet in the Solar System out in the Kuiper Belt. It was discovered in January 2005 by Mike Brown at the Palomar Observatory. It initially received the designations of 2003 UB313, 136199 Eris and the name Xena, after the popular TV series: “Xena: Warrior Princess.” In 2006, it was officially named Eris and has a moon called Dysnomia, after one of Eris’ daughters. Given the actress who played Xena and what Dysnomia means for Lawless, it still works out.
Eris’ discovery, true to her namesake, disrupted and challenged the way in which Planets are classified. It was thought at first it would be the tenth planet in the Solar System. After a series of measurements and calculations, Eris would be classified as a Dwarf Planet alongside Pluto, Ceres, Haumea and Makemake.
So, what makes a Planet versus a Dwarf Planet? In short, a Planet in the classical sense is that it’s relatively round, and able to make a clear orbit around the Sun without another celestial body in its orbit that competes. Whereas a Dwarf Planet doesn’t have a clear orbit and has other celestial objects in its same orbit.
Apep – Egyptian God
An ancient Egyptian god of chaos represented as a giant serpent. He constantly fought against his counterpart, Ma’at, the goddess of light, truth and order.
Discordia – Roman Goddess
She is very simply the Roman version of Eris.
Kali – Hindi Demon
There are two Kali. The first is the goddess who destroys evil to protect the innocent. The second is the Kali demon who is male and the source of all evil.
Lucifer – Christianity
In terms of fomenting trouble and conflicts, temptations, and other problems, some have been daring enough to equate the Christian devil or Lucifer with Eris, particularly the darker aspect of her.
The Morrigan – Celtic Goddess
Eris has been equated with this Celtic goddess when it comes to chaos and conflicts on the field of battle.
Loki – Norse God
If we’re talking tricksters that lean into the darker aspect, causing disruptions wherever they go, then Eris has been equated with this deity.
Set – Egyptian God
Another Egyptian deity associated with deserts, disorder, foreigners, storms, and violence. Unlike Apep, Set is seen more benignly as he is the reconciled fighter where he sails with Ra on his solar boat to fight off Apep, the chaos serpent.
Polar Twins
If Eris is the goddess of chaos and strife, then there must be a polar opposite. This honor falls to Harmonia, the goddess of peace, with her Roman counterpart being Concordia.
If Harmonia is the goddess of peace, then there must be a polar opposite. This honor falls to Eris, often cited as the goddess of chaos with her Roman counterpart being Discordia.
Tiamat
Etymology: Mother of Life
Alternate Spellings & Other Names: Tiahamtu, Baau, Bis-Bis, Hubar, Mammu-Tiamat, Omorca, Omoroka, Tamtu, Tauthe, Tehom, Thalass, Thalassa, Thalatth, Thamte, Thlavatth, Tiawath, Tisalat, Ummukhubar, Θαλάττη Thaláttē (Greek)
Epithets: Mummu Hubur (Mother of Monsters) or “Ummu-Hubur, Who Formed All Things”
Tiamat is an ancient, primordial mother goddess often represented as a draconic personification of the oceans and saltwater from whom all life springs forth from.
Attributes
Animal: All aquatic animals, Dragons, Sharks
Element: Water
Sphere of Influence: Chaos, Creation
Mesopotamian Depictions
Classically, the image of Tiamat is that of a large, primordial dragon who symbolizes the saltwater ocean, the element of Chaos from which all life originates.
Surprisingly, when looking at the Enûma Elish, Tiamat is described as having a tail, thighs, a lower half of the body, belly, udder, ribs, neck, and head. It’s not a clear enough description aside from the tail is that of a dragon. The udder though, makes me think of a cow?
I came across one description, that in her role as creatrix, Tiamat is described as a glistening woman. When connected later to her chaotic element, Tiamat is then shown as a dragon.
More modern authors and sources go with describing Tiamat as a sea serpent or dragon. This connection holds up with Tiamat giving birth to dragons and serpents.
For those familiar with Dungeons & Dragons, Tiamat is a multi-headed dragon, with each head representing a different chromatic dragon race in the game.
Hellenistic Iconography – There’s a relief found in the temple of Bel in Palmyra that shows Marduk and Nabu slaying Tiamat who is represented with a woman’s body and snake legs.
Older Than Time
Not quite.
The oldest reference to Tiamat is an Akkadian incantation dating to the first millennium B.C.E. Once the Enuma Elish was composed, Tiamat begins to be found in several religious texts. However, it must be noted those works refer back to the Enuma Elish. An almost obscure historian, Berossus also writes about Tiamat in the 3rd century B.C.E.
When You Stare Into The Abyss…
This turned out to be a fascinating bit to find. Looking at the Sumerian word, “ti” means “life” and “ama” means “mother.” So Mother of Life or Mother of All could be good translations for Tiamat’s name.
Going by the Akkadian word for the sea, it is tâmtu or ti’amtum. It has also been noted that the long vowel â in tamtu is a contraction of the vowels i and a. This word is a proper form for addressing a person or deity. So… Tiamat, tâmtu is: “O’sea!”
Taking this further for how ancient languages likely influenced each other, there are some scholars who see a connection to the Hebraic word Tehom that means ‘the Deep” or “Abyss,” especially as used in the Torah or Old Testament in the book of Genesis. It makes sense, tehom is a cognate to the Akkadian tamtu and the Ugaritic t-h-m and all share similar meanings. It’s not hard to see how these words would also be found as a root word and meaning to the Babylonian Tiamat.
As a side note, the Greek Septuagint uses the word “abyssos” or Abyss when translating tehom.
Speaking of Greek, Tiamat was called Thalatte in the Hellenistic Babylonian Berossus’ first volume of Universal History. The name Thalatte is a variation to the Greek’s word for the sea of Thalassa. Later, in other translations, Tiamat’s name is altogether replaced for Thalassa as the Akkadian sources for Enuma Elish used the more common word for sea as both names of Thalassa and Tiamat had become synonymous.
Parentage and Family
Consort
Apsu – Or Abzu, Primordial God of Freshwater
Kingu – Or Qingu, her consort after Apsu’s death, also her son and general of her army.
Children
Lachmu and Lachamu – The first pair of gods born. From them, all of the other gods within the Mesopotamian pantheon come.
Monstrous Children & Demon – After the death of Apsu, Tiamat creates a host of monstrous children, among whom dragons and serpents are but a few.
Grandchildren
Anšar and Kišar – Through Lachmu and Lachamu.
Igigi – Ultimately the second and third generation of gods.
Babylonian Mythology
In this mythology, Tiamat is a primordial, monstrous sea goddess depicted as a dragon. She represents the formless chaos from which life began. It is with her consort, Apsu, the primordial god of freshwater that the first generation of gods are born.
Enuma Elish
This an ancient epic creation poem written in the 18th century B.C.E. (1700 to 2000 B.C.E. are other estimated guesses) when the city of Babylon becomes the political capital of Mesopotamia. It’s largely written to show Marduk’s birth, many of his heroic deeds and how Ea (Enki) steps down to allow Marduk, in a relatively peaceful transfer of power to become the king and head of the pantheon.
The Enuma Elish begins at the start of time, when the universe is nothing more than chaos with freshwater represented by Apsu and saltwater (or the abyss) represented by Tiamat, a dragoness. The male and female principles, not unlike the concept seen in the Japanese Yin & Yang. The joining of these two primordial deities would see the creation of all the other gods and other beings. Their most notable children are Lachmu and Lachamu along with others who become the other gods and goddesses, known as the Anunnaki. The other children of Apsu and Tiamat are giant sea serpents, dragons, snakes, storm demons, fish-men, scorpion-men
While Tiamat loved all her children, Apsu on the other hand didn’t care for them, saying they were too noisy, keeping him up all night and unable to get any work done during the day. Apsu’s response to this problem was to kill his children, specifically the younger, Igigi deities.
A horrified Tiamat told her eldest son, Enki (later version its Ea) of what Apsu has planned. Enki decided that the best plan for dealing with this was to capture and put Apsu into a deep sleep and then kill him. From Apsu’s corpse, Enki then creates his home, the earth and the marshy region of Eridu.
Kingu, one of Tiamat and Apsu’s sons, soon to be consort to Tiamat is upset and goes to report what happened. This further horrifies Tiamat who wasn’t expecting for Enki to just up and kill Apsu. As a result, she decided to wage war on her own children. The mighty Tiamat raised up an army of chaos consisting of twelve monsters: Bašmu, “Venomous Snake,” Ušumgallu, “Great Dragon,” Mušmahhu, “Exalted Serpent,” Mušhuššu, “Furious Snake,” Lahmu, the “Hairy One,” Ugallu, the “Big Weather-Beast,” Uridimmu, “Mad Lion,” Girtablullû, “Scorpion-Man,” Umu dabrutu, “Violent Storms,” Kulullû, “Fish-Man,” and Kusarikku, “Bull-Man” who are all led by Kingu (Quingu) as the general of this army.
This has Enki and the other gods worried about what to do. That is, until Marduk steps forward, saying he will lead everyone in this war. Marduk has one condition, that is that he be named as the new king of the pantheon. Enki agrees and Marduk leads the Anunnaki to battle.
Marduk prepares his weapons consisting of bow and arrows, a mace, lightning as he is a storm god, flames and a net. Gathering up the four winds, Marduk encircles and nets the mighty Tiamat to prevent her from escaping him. New winds are created by Marduk such as whirlwinds and tornadoes. As he is a storm god, Marduk brings down a fierce flood of rain. It’s a battle between a storm god and a primordial goddess of chaos and the sea, it’s epic as Marduk rides in his storm-chariot pulled by four horses who have poison in their mouths. Spellcasting and an herbal antidote as Marduk faces off against one of the mightiest dragons known in mythology.
After Marduk finally slays Tiamat with an arrow to her stomach, he then goes after Tiamat’s son, Kingu who oversaw the army and wears the Tablets of Destiny over his chest. Marduk makes short work of Kingu in single combat, claiming the tablets and establishing himself as the new head of the pantheon.
This is a lot of power that Marduk has now accumulated and he sets about to create the universe. But didn’t that already exist? He’s at least making a new one as Marduk takes the two halves of Tiamat’s corpse to create the heavens and the earth, completing the work started by Enki. From Tiamat’s eyes, the Tigris and Euphrates rivers flow.
With Kingu’s blood, Marduk mixes it with the earth to create the first humans who would be the servants of the Igigi (the younger Mesopotamian gods). The creation of humans would allow the gods the leisure time and the time to focus on higher purposes, taking care of human needs as humanity basically did the grunt work. All humans would need to do is respect and give heed to the will of the gods living in Eridu with Marduk ruling overall as a benevolent god.
That doesn’t sound like it will end well and I’m sure there’s another story concerning that.
Side Note: Early versions of this story have Anu, later replaced by Enlil and then in the last version, it is Marduk who gets the promise from the other gods about becoming head of the pantheon.
Marduk’s version dates from the first dynasty of the Babylonians, whereas the other versions are much older. Even then, depending on the version of the creation myth, it is solely Marduk involved in all of it and there’s no mention of Enki at all. Scholars who look at when the Enuma Elish was written generally believe that it represents political and religious propaganda meant justify and install Marduk as the head of the Babylonian pantheon as the city-state rose to political power in the region.
As for Apsu, the Enuma Elish is the first time he’s treated as a deity. Before, he’s just a concept, what they called the freshwater found beneath the earth in the aquifers.
Mother Of Gods & Monsters
If this were Greek mythology, I would say that sounds like Echidna who is infamous for giving birth to several monsters or Gaia with the numerous monstrous children that she gave birth to that were later imprisoned in Tartarus.
The first children that Tiamat gives birth to are those gods who will become part of the collective Mesopotamian pantheon. It is after the death of her consort Apsu, that Tiamat gives birth to a host of monstrous creatures, some of whom are dragons and serpents to go after her first group of children, the gods. Some of Tiamat’s monstrous children also become the signs of the zodiac.
As the mother of all creation, Tiamat’s mating with Apsu is seen as a Sacred Marriage. It more a poetical explaining the creation of life and in the ancient Mesopotamian mythology, where the saltwater sea met and mixed with the freshwater sea in the Persian Gulf. One notable region in the area is Bahrain, which means “two seas” in Arabic. It’s thought by some scholars that Bahrain might be the site Dilmun and corresponding with the original Sumerian creation story.
Anunnaki – These are the first generation of gods that Apsu and Tiamat gave birth to at the beginning of the creation. Now, depending on which of the Mesopotamian mythologies you follow, Akkadian, Babylonian, Sumer, their number can vary and it’s inconsistent. Lahmu and Lahamu, meaning “hairy” are the firstborn, from there, the other gods are born.
Igigi – These are the second and third generations of gods born. Who were meant to be servants to the Anunnaki. When Apsu decides to kill their children for being too noisy, some retellings will explain it to mean, it’s the Igigi he plans to kill. And it’s the Igigi for whom Tiamat gets angry and decides to retaliate against. The Igigi in their victory, will then create humans to be their servants.
Chaoskampf
The struggle against Chaos; this is a familiar motif found throughout the world in many different regions and mythologies of a culture hero or god going up against a creature of chaos. This creature is often shown as and takes the form of a great serpent or dragon. This is the familiar Knight slaying the Dragon seen in many European mythologies. Parallels to this concept are even found in other cultures.
It is no different for the myth of Tiamat with her connection as a primordial goddess of Goddess. With her death, either Anu, Enlil or Marduk establishes order and with her corpse, creates the heavens and the earth.
Tiamat’s story is very likely the origin of the hero slaying the dragon motif where she becomes a symbol of not just chaos, but evil. There’s a commentary that suggests that the female deities of Mesopotamian mythology are older than the male deities. This would then strongly suggest that the hero slaying the dragon is the establishment of monotheistic patriarchal religions over matriarchal religions.
The only other goddess who is likely older than Tiamat is the Sumerian goddess Nammu, who is also a primordial goddess of the sea.
Canaanite Mythology
Scholars tend to agree that Tiamat originates with later Babylonian mythology. Looking at Tiamat’s connection with the sea, scholars do note a similarity in Levantine mythology between the sea god Yamm and Baal.
As the story goes, from the Ras Shamra and other Ugarit texts that have been translated, Baal and Yamm weren’t the best of buddies and their conflicts are symbolic of the short Syrian winters with the conflicting weather of rain, hail and tides. Baal and Yamm were fighting over who would take over as head of the pantheon after El is stepping down. El had told Yamm he would get to take charge and Baal wasn’t happy with the news.
Yamm keeps on sending messengers to Baal about this edict and Baal is having none of it. With the aid of Kothar creating some magical clubs, Baal eventually defeats Yamm.
Baal’s conquering of Tannin and defeating Yam has been seen as being similar to the myths of Zeus defeating the Titans to become King of the Gods or when Zeus usurps Poseidon as King of the Gods from Mycenean Greece to the more well-known Ancient Greece.
Jumping back to the Judaic mythology, scholars have noted that a passage in the book of Isaiah parallels the Baal Cycle. In the Ugaritic passage for the Baal Cycle, Tannin is described as “the encircler.” The other description given is “the mighty one with seven heads.” It gets debated between the Ugaritic and Hebraic texts if this is three separate figures being described or if these are epitaphs of Lotan or Leviathan.
Me, being a lover of mythology, “the encircler” makes me think of Norse mythology and the Midgard serpent Jormungand. And the seven heads, D&D anyone and the evil dragon goddess of chaos, Tiamat?
Biblical Connections?
That seems very likely. Given the close proximity of the cultures in the Mesopotamian and Canaanite regions, it stands to reason that elements of each culture might cross over.
Some scholars take note of the similarity with the Book of Genesis chapter 1:2 “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” And the comparison to the story of Tiamat’s and Apsu’s procreation with the mixing of saltwater and freshwater to give birth to the first gods and life in a universe where nothing else existed.
Tannin – the giant sea monster of Canaanite mythology and the Judiac Torah is sometimes through to be a connection to Tiamat. It has been noted the similarities between Tannin in the Baal Cycle with Marduk defeating Tiamat.
It’s not hard to see a similarity and a possible connection between the two. And, for the longest time, Biblical scholars did think that the Old Testament or Torah referenced the Babylonian myths. That would change with the discovery of texts found in Ras Shamra or Ugarit as it was anciently known. Once the Ugarit texts were translated, it became apparent that the Old Testament references the ancient Canaanite mythology more.
Anzu – Fire Bird?
There is another Mesopotamian monster, born from the waters of Apsu and the Earth. Think of either a Griffin or a lion-headed eagle that can breathe both fire and water. There have been similarities pointed out between the story of Tiamat being slain by Marduk the Sumerian-Akkadian myths where one text has Marduk slaying this monstrous bird and another text where the god Ninurta slays it with arrows.
Akitu Festival – Happy New Years!
This was the ancient New Year’s festival that the Sumerians and Mesopotamian cultures celebrated. This festival occurred sometime during March and April, marking the planting of barley. This festival was presided over by Nabu and Marduk to such a degree, that a text known as the Akitu Chronicle documents a time when the festival couldn’t be observed as Marduk (his physical statue, thus him) wasn’t present in the city of Babylon.
Every year at the Akitu House located outside the city, the Enuma Elish would be recited for the New Year’s festival. There was also involved a ritual slapping of the king. Gotta’ stay humble, I guess. With the Enuma Elish being recited on the fourth day, the battle between Marduk and Tiamat would be a symbolic reenactment of this mythical battle.
Otherwise, as far as any cults or worship of Tiamat go, there really isn’t any.
Tethys – Greek Titaness
In Greek myth, Tethys is a Titaness and primordial goddess of the ocean.
Tethys as Tiamat. She is the wife of Oceanus, the Titan god of the seas. There isn’t much known about their myths and some scholars go so far as to suggest that Tethys is a syno-deity or similar to Tiamat given their age and functions.
Nammu – Sumerian
A primordial goddess of the sea who is often equated with Tiamat. There is not much in the way of surviving texts that attest of her. Her myth is similar in that, with Apsu, the freshwater oceans beneath the earth, she gives birth to the first gods, An (Heaven) and Ki (Earth).
Omoroca – Stargate-SG1
This source claims to be from Chaldean mythology, which works when you remember that that’s the whole of Mesopotamian mythology between 10th to 6th-century B.C.E.
I had a hard time pinning this one down. During the Hellenistic-Greek era, there is a Babylonian scholar by the name of Berossus who wrote a history of Babylonia. He lived during the time of Alexander, the son of Philip. There’s a lot of Babylonian history that he writes, much of which, modern scholars would see as mythology. He’s not very well known beyond that, making his obscurity excellent fodder for a show to draw from.
A quick search of Omoroca brought up a lot of Stargate-SG1 references, which would imply that the writers are drawing on a historical/mythological source. At the very least, a T.V. show is linking Tiamat with Chaldean mythology to make a show’s mythos more in-depth.
With that grain of salt in mind, Omoroca’s myth starts off much like that of Tiamat’s, wherein the beginning, there is nothing, just darkness and the abyss of water wherein numerous hideous beings and creatures dwell. This is an infinite variety of different beings of every description. All of which are recorded in the temple of Belus in Babylon.
The Stargate wiki in question says that a woman by the name of Omoroca ruled over all of them. That Omoroca’s name in Greek is Thalassa, the sea or the Moon. Belus comes and kills her, creating heaven and earth much like Tiamat’s myth.
Once again, a Stargate-SG1 television source and it does work when linking Belus to Bel-Marduk and thus to Tiamat.
Sitchin Time
According to Zecharia Sitchin, the claim is made that the great battle between Tiamat and Marduk is symbolic for the creation of our solar system’s asteroid belt. Sitchin writes that this asteroid belt was once a planet that the Sumerians called Tiamat. Due to an impact, the planet was destroyed, creating the “Great Band” or asteroid belt. The planetary impact responsible is that of the planet Nibiru, associated with the god Marduk.
Babylonian Astronomy
I will call bunk on Sitchin’s ideas.
When you look at the word Nibiru in the Akkadian language, it refers to a crossing or transition point like with rivers. In Babylonian astronomy, Nibiru came to refer to the Equinox, notably, the Autumn Equinox. In their star lore, the term nibiru can refer to any crossing. Tracking the movement of the stars and planets in the heavens as they appear from Earth. The star or planet associated with Marduk is the one we know modernly as Jupiter.
For the Babylonians, the Autumn Equinox occurred in the month of Tisritum, roughly coinciding with between September and October. If we’re following the Greek Zodiac, then the constellation of Libra is prominent. A further fun fact, depending on the time of the year and the location, the planet Mercury could sometimes be called Nibiru.
Some of it is confusing. Mainly it’s understanding how to read and interpret what the Babylonians meant when tracking the night sky.
Cetus – Greek Mythology & Constellation
While many are familiar with the constellation’s connection to the Grecian story of Andromeda and Perseus in its role as the giant sea monster sent by Poseidon to destroy the coast of Aethiopia.
The constellation of Cetus has been identified with Tiamat, the dragon goddess of Chaos. Marking Tiamat’s story one of many that the Greeks likely inherited from the Mesopotamians and retold for their own legends.
Tannin
Etymology – Crocodile (Modern Hebrew), Serpent or Snake, Dragon
There may be a root word that means “howling” or it is in reference to the way smoke spirals or coils upwards. The first part of the word, “tan” likely means or refers to snakes and lizards that are seen as foul or hidden. In Modern Hebrew, tannin can refer to either alligators or crocodiles.
Alternate Spellings: tannina (tannine for plural), Tanin, Tinnin (Arabic), Tunannu (Ugaritic), Ophioneus (Phoenician)
Pronunciation: tan-neen
For those who are Bible Scholars and know their Torah or the Old Testament, they will likely already be familiar with Tannin (or Tanninim for plural) of who and what it is.
Depending on the interpretations and the context that Tannin appears, it will be either a dragon, a serpent or a large sea monster.
Chaoskampf
The struggle against Chaos; this is a familiar motif found throughout the world in many different regions and mythologies of a culture hero or god going up against a creature of chaos. This creature is often shown as and takes the form of a great serpent or dragon. This is the familiar Knight slaying the Dragon seen in many European mythologies. Parallels to this concept are even found in other cultures.
Tannin is no different as it is used as a symbol of chaos and evil in the ancient Canaanite, Mesopotamian and Phoenician mythologies and beliefs that are much older and more ancient than medieval stories of slaying dragons. Much like how Tiamat is equated as a symbol of chaos in Mesopotamian mythology. It is this part of being a sea monster or dragon and symbolic of chaos that has modern scholars identifying Tiamat with Tannin.
Judaic Mythology
Tanninim appears in the Hebraic Books of Genesis, Exodus, Deuteronomy, Psalms, Job, Ezekiel, Isaiah and Jeremiah. Tanninim are among the many creatures created by God or Yahweh on the fifth day during the creation story in Genesis. The description of these creatures varies widely depending on the context of the scripture they’re referenced in.
The translation into the King James Bible will translate most of these instances to mean a whale. Back to the Genesis creation story, tanninim are translated as whales.
Why mention one particular creature, Tannin in all of these other passages and books and then call it a dag gadol in one Jonah? It’s assumed that whales are what’s being mentioned. Yet when we get into Isaiah, tannin is again mentioned as a sea monster that will be slain by God or Yahweh. When we go back into the King James Bible, that translation of tannin becomes dragon.
So, if dag gadol is a whale or rather, a great fish; then what’s tannin? Sticking to just Jewish mythology, tannin is often linked to the sea monsters Leviathan, Lotan and Rehab. In modern Hebrew, tannin means crocodile or alligator.
Alongside the name Rahab, Tannin is the name used to reference ancient Egypt after the exodus to Canaan.
It’s really interesting and fascinating the number of times that the word tannin is used, such as Aaron’s staff turning into a tannin in the Hebrew version of Exodus and the King James translation uses snake. Or wherein other instances, the translation is dragon.
Jackals – Since we’re already about translations. When translating the word Tannin into English, a bit of care needs to be taken.
Tannin is singular and Tanninim is plural for serpents or dragons. If the word is misspelled, then you get Tannim, the plural for Tan or Jackal. Something that can cause confusion among Bible scholars when translating texts and given the confusion with Tannin alone, this just adds fuel to the fire for which context and what creature is being referred to.
Whales – Since Tannin could exist on land and sea, given the variety of translations, such as in the Greek bible, Septuagint a whale is sometimes mentioned as being what’s referred to, notably in the Genesis creation story and the story of Jonah and the Whale.
Kabbalah – A blind, cosmic dragon called Tanin’iver is Lilith’s steed.
It’s not just in the Kabbalah, the name Tannin can also be the name for a demon as they can take the shape of dragons.
Canaanite Mythology
Tannin appears specifically in the Baal Cycle. It is a story similar to the Mesopotamian myth of Marduk (or Enlil) slaying Tiamat and the Grecian Perseus slaying Cetus or Zeus slaying Typhon.
Tannin is a monstrous servant of the sea god Yam who is defeated by Baal or it is bound by his sister Anat. In the myth, Tannin is described as serpentine in appearance and likely has a double tail.
As the story goes, from the Ugarit texts found at Ras Shamra and other places that have been translated, Baal and Yamm weren’t the best of buddies and their conflicts are symbolic of the short Syrian winters with the conflicting weather of rain, hail, and tides. Baal and Yamm were fighting over who would take over as head of the pantheon after El is stepping down. El had told Yamm he would get to take charge and Baal wasn’t happy with the news.
Yamm keeps on sending messengers to Baal about this edict and Baal is having none of it. With the aid of Kothar to create some magical clubs, Baal eventually defeats Yamm.
Baal’s conquering of Tannin and defeating Yam has been seen as being similar to the myths of Zeus defeating the Titans to become King of the Gods or when Zeus usurps Poseidon as King of the Gods from Mycenean Greece to the more well-known Ancient Greece.
Jumping back to the Judaic mythology, scholars have noted that a passage in the book of Isaiah parallels the Baal Cycle. In the Ugaritic passage for the Baal Cycle, Tannin is described as “the encircler.” The other description given is “the mighty one with seven heads.” It gets debated between the Ugaritic and Hebraic texts if this is three separate figures being described or if these are epitaphs of Lotan or Leviathan.
Me, being a lover of mythology, “the encircler” makes me think of Norse mythology and the Midgard serpent Jormungand. And the seven heads, D&D anyone and the evil dragon goddess of chaos, Tiamat?
Mesopotamian Mythology
The Enuma Elish from Babylonian myth is a creation myth showcasing Marduk and his rise to becoming the head god of the Babylonian pantheon of gods. Tiamat is the primordial goddess of chaos often depicted as a dragon. After she declares war on the gods, Ea tasks his son Marduk to go slay Tiamat. The result of which is her death and the creation of heaven and earth from the two halves of her body.
Tiamat – It has been noted the similarities between Tannin in the Baal Cycle with Marduk defeating Tiamat.
It’s not hard to see a similarity and a possible connection between the two. And, for the longest time, Biblical scholars did think that the Old Testament or Torah referenced the Babylonian myths. That would change in 1924 with the discovery of texts found in Ras Shamra or Ugarit as it was anciently known. Once the Ugarit texts were translated, it became apparent that the Old Testament references the ancient Canaanite mythology more.
Dragons & Dinosaurs
Dinosaurs in the Bible! The usage of the word Tannin and how it gets translated to mean dragon, based on the context to which it’s translated into the King James and other versions of the Bible, likely and strongly contributes to this idea.
After all, there are those who, on taking a cursory look at paleontology and history know that anciently, people who came across the fossilized remains of giant creatures from millions of years ago believed that it was possible that these creatures and monsters were still around. There wasn’t the understanding of fossils, how they form and just how ancient these remains are.
The word and term dinosaur are relatively new as it originates in 1841 with British scientist Sir Richard Owen. Before this, the term dragon was applied, especially to the more reptilian looking fossils. The descriptions between both dinosaur and dragon could lead many, who want a literal translation and understanding of the Bible to mean dinosaur.
However, seeing that Tannin has the meaning of crocodile in Hebraic. We’re still describing a real creature. This just may be a more plausible explanation. Especially with any of the prehistoric crocodiles. Even today, the alligators in Florida, U.S.A. can get fairly huge.
Those who aim for a more scholarly approach to the Bible, know that mention of dragons tended to be poetical or symbolic and likely remnants of mythology within this text, the triumph of order over chaos.
There certainly is a level of confusion and some suppositions put forward say it could be Hippopotamuses that are being referenced. Some might try and apply the newer understandings from paleontology and the classification of animals that Tannin is just a generalized use word for any large, unknown animal that could be dangerous and thus scary.
Sea Serpents By Any Other Name….
Cetus – The Grecian sea monster that depending on the translation given, is either a sea monster or a monstrous whale.
Illuyanka – The name of a giant serpent killed by Tarḫunz in Hittite mythology.
Jormungand – This is the infamous sea serpent from Norse mythology that encircles the earth.
Leviathan – The name of a giant, monstrous sea serpent mentioned in the Books of Job, Isaiah, Amos, and Psalms.
Lotan – Originating more in Canaanite mythology, this is a sea creature much older than Leviathan and was just one of Yam’s many sea servants he could call on. Additionally, Lotan is also known by the name Tannanu that is similar to the name Tannin.
Rahab – A sea serpent associated with the Red Sea, Rahab is often equated with Tannin. It also the more poetic name for Egypt in medieval Jewish folklore.
Ded Moroz
Pronunciation: Djet m-aw rohz
Other names: Dzyed Maróz (Ukrainian), Did Moróz (Russian), Dédushka Moróz (Serbian), Deda Mraz (Bulgarian), Dyado Mraz (Slovenian), Dedek Mraz (Russian), Morozko (Russian), Grandfather Frost, King Frost, Father Frost, Ice King
Etymology: Grandfather Frost
Ah Santa Claus, Sinterklaas and Father Christmas…. That magical time of the year with Christmas and Yuletide celebrations. When we jump over to the Russian and Slavic celebrations for Winter, there is Ded Moroz or Grandfather Frost who will be bringing gifts.
Just who is Ded Moroz? Let’s see…
To start, Ded Moroz is described as an elderly looking man with a long, flowing white beard who wears a long red, blue or white fur coat and round fur hat and boots. He carries with him a long magical staff and rides along with an evergreen tree in a sled or troika pulled by three white horses.
Much like his American and other European counterparts, Ded Moroz is known for bringing presents to good children. Unlike Santa Claus who brings his gifts on December 25th or Sinterklaas who arrives on December 6th, Ded Moroz brings his gifts on New Year’s Eve.
Other little factoids about Ded Moroz include that his birthday is on November 18th, this coincides with when the first frost arrives on the ground in Veliky Ustyug, Russia. Many sources will also place Ded Moroz’s age at around 2,000 years old.
Slavic Paganism
Ded Moroz appears to have a strong connection to Eastern Slavic Paganism before spreading out into Russian beliefs and culture. Here, Ded Moroz is the Wizard of Winter and a snow demon who personifies Russian winters.
In folklore, Ded Moroz is originally Morozko, a powerful blacksmith and hero known for freezing water to become frost. As a force of nature, Morozko isn’t necessarily evil, he is known to help those who show him proper respect and giving gifts, plus he can be devastating to those who are rude, disrespectful and otherwise mean-spirited.
Slightly different origins place Morozko as a god of frost and ice who’s married to the harsh, unforgiving Winter. As a deity, he could freeze people and the countryside in a moment’s notice. With the Russian Orthodox Church, there was an attempt to label Morozko as a demon. Later fairy tales would soften Morozko’s image to be an elderly old man who could be more benevolent and not quite as harsh.
You Called Him A Demon!
Before we freak out, the Slavic use of referring to entities as demons is very similar to the Greeks usage of the term daimon when referring to a spirit or a minor local deity, or force of nature. As more of the Slavic countries and Russia became Christianized, the term demon would take on more negative associations.
I should throw in at this point, a note that scholars and historians do have some disputes about the exact origins of Ded Moroz. He does appear to be derived from a Slavic deity of Winter and to be the personification of cold and frost.
I’ll touch on it more, further down; there was a period of religious prohibition during the Soviet era and the Russian Orthodox Church doesn’t seem to be settled on the nature and role that Ded Moroz has. He goes from scary demon to a figure that can now allow for some of the religious traditions to come back, even if they’re claimed to be pagan in origin.
However, myths and legends do evolve, grow and change. The very image of Ded Moroz that many people have, especially in Russia does come out of the Soviet era. Why ruin a good thing that people love?
Morozko (Grandfather Frost)
Or Old Man Winter
This is the main story and source for Ded Moroz and is also the origin for his granddaughter, Snegurochka (Snow Maiden). It is a Russian fairy tale first collected by Alexander Afanasyey for his Russian Fairy Tales collection and then is included in “The Yellow Fairy Book” compiled by Andrew Lang in 1894 as “The Story of King Frost.”
The story begins with a stepmother who dislikes her good-natured stepdaughter who is always good and kind and always having to hear about it. Of course, the stepmother loves her own daughter and dotes on her whim and desires.
As is the nature of these type of stories, the stepmother tells the father to send the stepdaughter away, so she didn’t have to see or hear her again. The man begs his wife to reconsider and she is unrelenting about getting rid of the stepdaughter. So, the man, the father takes his daughter out on their sled, out to the woods before giving the girl a kiss and abandoning her there.
Realizing her lot and fate, the sobbing girl sits down next to a tree. She isn’t sitting there long before she hears a crackling noise and looks up to see that King Frost is standing there.
In a stern voice, King Frost snaps out doesn’t the girl know who he is? He is King Frost, king of the red-noses.
The girl says “All hail” to King Frost and then she asks if he is here to take her.
King Frost asks if she is warm enough. The girl answers, saying she is warm enough despite the fact that she is shivering fiercely.
The King repeated his question, stepping closer and the girl insisted that she was still warm.
At this, King Frost takes pity on the poor girl and wraps her in furs to keep warm. He goes further with covering her in blankets and giving her gifts of gems and lastly, a sleigh pulled by six white horses.
In the morning, the stepmother tells the man that he should go out and retrieve his daughter’s body for burial. To the stepmother’s surprise and shock, the man returns with a chest filled with gems and his still-living daughter, more beautiful than before with the splendid furs and her silver and gold dress.
Wanting the same for her own daughter, the stepmother tells the man to take her daughter out to the same spot where the stepdaughter had been left. The man did as he was bid, taking the stepmother’s daughter out and leaving her there.
As soon as the man left, the daughter sulked as she sat down by a tree. Just as before, it wasn’t long until King Frost appeared.
Just as before, King Frost asked the daughter if she was warm. Unlike the stepdaughter who had been respectful with her words, the daughter was rude, calling him a blind fool, of course she was cold, her hands and feet are nearly frozen.
Angered by this girl’s words, King Frost snapped his fingers and froze the girl to death.
Of course, the stepmother expected her own daughter to return just as the stepdaughter had, loaded with wealth and finery. That clearly wasn’t what happened when the man went out to retrieve her and brought back only the daughter’s cold, lifeless body.
It just shows, it pays to always be polite and respectful as you never know who you’re talking to or dealing with.
Moroz – Red Nose
This is a poem connected to Ded Moroz written by Nikolai Nekrasov. The story found within this poem highlights a dark aspect to Ded Moroz’s character as it depicts him killing a peasant woman and orphaning her children.
Other darker aspects to Ded Moroz as a wizard of winter would have him kidnap children and he would only be willing to return them when parents offered him up gifts.
Orthodox Influence
Within the Christian Orthodox Church, the character of Ded Moroz has changed over the years. Most notably during the 19th century with different plays featuring him. The two most notable plays are Aleksandr Ostrovsky’s Snegurochka and a similarly named play by Rimsky-Korsakov.
The Russian Revolution
1917 saw the Bolshevik Revolution. More forward a few years into the 1920’s with the formation of the Soviet Union and Government, we see that many Christmas traditions were discouraged as they were considered to be too religious in nature and materialistic. Especially Saint Nicholas, who had been Russia’s patron saint, his feast day of December 6th were done away with.
It doesn’t help that Ded Moroz was declared to be “an ally of the priest and kulak” as Russia tried to remove many religious elements. Other sources give the history that Ded Moroz was seen as too childish and not acceptable.
This isn’t just Christmas that got banned by the Soviet Government, this is a prohibition on any religious holidays, observances and celebrations.
Soviet Santa – An Alternative
Luckily a complete banning of the holiday spirits wouldn’t last long. I’m sure there are many children psychologists and just even psychologists in general who can extrapolate much better than I can about the importance of play, the use of imagination and human spirit. If you crush it completely, we’re going to have problems.
Seeing a need and importance for some type of holiday seasonal celebration, Ded Moroz would take on his more familiar image thanks in part to a letter written by Pavel Postyshey on December 28th of 1935. Pavel stated that the origins for the Christmas traditions pre-dated actual Christianity and that it would be beneficial to bring back these traditions for the sake of the children.
Now, instead of arriving on Christmas Day, Ded Moroz and Snegurochka would arrive on New Year’s or Novy God, bringing presents to leave under an evergreen tree. This change provided an alternative to the American Santa Claus and one seen as a secular celebration by the Soviet Union.
Letters To Ded Moroz
Much like how Santa Claus will receive letters from children, Ded Moroz will receive his share of letters from numerous children requesting gifts. Millions of letters over the years from all across Russia and around the world have been addressed to Ded Moroz.
Veliky Ustyug
Where Santa makes his home in the North Pole, Ded Moroz does hang his hat and call home?
To answer that, in 1998, it was declared that the town of Veliky Ustyug, in Vologda Oblast is Ded Moroz’s home. Since then, Veliky Ustyug has become a popular tourist destination for many Russians who travel to Veliky and visit. Ded Moroz’s lives in a log cabin out in the taiga forest near where three rivers meet.
Ded Moroz spends his summers reading letters from children all over the country in preparation for the New Year’s Tree on January 1st.
Ded Moroz’s Granddaughter
Snihurónka or the Snow Maiden is Ded Moroz’s granddaughter who often accompanies him. She is shown wearing a long silver-blue dress or robes and a fur-lined cap to keep her warm.
Ded Moroz is often shown being accompanied by his granddaughter, Snihurónka. She’s noteworthy as numerous other, familiar Winter figures don’t have a female companion.
Holiday Twins & Counterparts
So, what are the differences between Santa Claus and Ded Moroz?
We know there are differences, after all, Santa Claus arrives on Christmas Eve and Ded Moroz arrives on New Year’s; both bring presents. Santa Claus classically dresses all in red, especially in America, and Ded Moroz is known for dressing in not just red, he will also dress in blue or even white, much like how a Russian noble would be expected to dress. They certainly look like cultural syno-entities and cultural twins (given the history, that’s how Ded Moroz got his start.) Santa Claus is known for being short and rotund and Ded Moroz is tall and thin. Russian children will affectionately call Ded Moroz, “Ded Moroz the Red Nose.”
Other notable differences between the two is that Santa Claus will enter a home coming down the chimney and leaving his gifts in a stocking. Whereas, Ded Moroz will enter in through the front door and leave his gifts under the New Year’s Tree.
Cultural Bridges
During the 1990’s, the character of Santa Claus began to make his way into the Russian Federation as more and more influences of Western culture made their way through the previous Soviet Union.
There have been efforts to show cultural goodwill by having Santa Claus (or his various counterparts) and Ded Moroz (sometimes his Belarus counterpart Dzied Maroz) has one-on-one meetings or friendly competitions.
December of 1997 saw the creation of ‘Christmas Without Borders” where Ded Moroz and Santa Claus met a bridge crossing the Narva River between Estonia and Russia. The whole point was to spread goodwill and increase cooperation between the two countries and neighboring border towns. I wasn’t able to determine if this started a new tradition and continued or if it just petered off after a few years.
The early 21st century saw a resurgence for the character of Ded Moroz and his granddaughter, Snegurochka where they arrive on New Year’s bringing gifts, often showing up at children’s parties. Much like Saint Nicholas who battles Krampus in some of the Germanic countries, Ded Moroz and Snegurochka will face off with Baba Yaga who wants to steal the presents.
Of course, there are a few will say that Ded Moroz is really Santa Claus’ grandfather. That works too given how long the two have been around and who’s mythologies are older.
Tracking Ded Moroz On His Nightly Runs
Where Santa has NORAD tracking his nightly flight, Ded Moroz has GLONASS tracking his run on New Year’s. This began in November of 2009 when the Russian Federation offered to compete with NORAD.
Alright! May the best Present-Giver win!
What’s In A Name – Regional Variations
With the dissolution of the Soviet Union, many of the countries that formed after sought to move away a Soviet heritage by reclaiming their own regional heritages and roots. This means that Ded Moroz and Snegurochka will frequently have a different, variant name or change altogether as each country seeks their ancient traditions or move forward to something different.
Armenia – Dzmer Pap, meaning “Grandfather Winter,” his granddaughter is known as Dzyunanushik, meaning “Snow Sweetie” or Snow Anush. They have been part of Armenia traditions for some 160 years since the Russo-Persian War. Both wear red, blue or white winter coats. They make an appearance for both Christmas and New Year’s with bringing gifts. Children are expected to sing songs or recite poems before getting their gifts.
Azerbaijan – Saxta Baba, meaning “Grandfather Frost,” his granddaughter is known as Qar Qizi meaning “Snow Girl.” Saxta Baba brings gifts during New Year’s. Qar Qizi isn’t usually seen.
Bashkir and Tatar – Qis Babay, which means “Winter Old Man.”
Belarus – Dzied Maroz, he replaced Sviatv Mikalai who was more local, but had been disapproved of due to being Christian. Dzied Maroz’ makes his home in the Bialowieza Forest.
Bulgaria – Dyado Koleda or Grandfather Koleda is often equated with Santa Claus and appears alongside Dyado Mraz or Grandfather Frost. Dyado Mraz was popular during the Communist rule but has since fallen by the wayside since 1989 as Dyado Koleda began to gain more popularity.
Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan – Ayaz Ata is the name for Ded Moroz.
Nenets – Yamal Iri, which means “Grandfather of Yamal.”
Poland – Poland didn’t have a version of Ded Moroz and during the communist era, there were efforts to try and introduce Dziadek Mróz as historically speaking, Communists didn’t want religion and view Saint Nicholas as being too religious in nature. It’s fairly obviously that Dziadek Mróz was meant to create a culture link and tie to Russia.
Romania – In 1948, a Communist party gained power and Christmas celebrations were done away with. Mos Cracium (Father Christmas) was replaced with Mos Gerila (Old Man Frosty), the Romanian name for Ded Moroz who would now bring gifts on December 31st for the New Years. Anyone paying attention, knows that New Year’s celebrations begin on December 30th, the Day of the Republic, when King Mihai I abdicated the throne in 1947.
Sakha Republic – Chys Khan, meaning “Master of Cold” and Khaarchana (Snow Maiden).
Slovenia – In this country, Ded Moroz’s name translates to Dedek Mraz. He is a slender man who wears a grey leather coat trimmed with fur inside and out and who wears round dormouse fur cap. This image of Dedek Mraz is based on pictures by Maksim Gaspari in 1952. Dedek Mraz’s home is located on Mount Triglay, the highest peak in both Slovenia and Yugoslavia. In the 1990’s when Communism ended, Miklavž (Saint Nicholas) who arrives on December 6th and Božicek (Christmas Man) who arrives on December 24th, Christmas Eve began making an appearance in Slovenia. Some Slovenian families in the 1940’s would have the Christkind (Jezušcek or “Little Jesus”) who brought gifts on Christmas Eve. It varies by family in regard to their political and religious views, current culture will show all three of Grandfather Frost, Saint Nicholas and Santa Claus as friends. The attributes of each will also get mixed with the others.
Tajikistan – Boboi Barfi, meaning “Grandfather Snow” and Snegurochka is known as Barfak, meaning “Snowball.” There was an effort briefly on December 11th of 2013 to do away with the state televised celebrations of Boboi Barfi, Barfak and the New Year’s. That lasted all of about a day and the next day, the televised broadcasting plans were back on.
Ukraine – With the current conflicts with Russia, as early as 2014, there have been efforts to replace Ded Moroz with Sviatyi Mykolai (Saint Nicholas) and well, Sviatyi Mykolai is more popular in Western Ukraine. Nor is it helping that conflicts continue with a war in Ukraine from Russian invasion in 2022.
Yakut – Chys Khaan, meaning “Master of Cold.”
Yugoslavia – The socialist Yugoslavia that comprises Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Slovenia, has a character by the name of Grandfather Frost. In Bosnian, this name is Djed Mraz or Djeda Mraz, in Croatian, this name is Djed Mraz, in Macedonian, the name is Dedo Mraz, the Serbian name is Deda Mraz and the Slovenian name is Dedek Mraz.
For a bit of a history lesson here, in Croatia, Djed Mraz was viewed as a communist figure and the character of Djed Božicnjak or Grandfather Christmas is introduced. It’s taken a while for Djed Božicnjak to replace Djed Mraz and then, not completely. After 1999, both Djed Mraz and Djed Božicnjak have become synonymous. Some families still have Djed Mraz arrive on New Year’s bringing gifts. Thanks to some historical Austrian influence in parts of Croatia, children will get gifts on December 6th brought by Sveti Nikola (Saint Nicholas) who is accompanied by Krampus. More religious families will have the baby Jesus (Isusek, Mali Isus or Kriskindl) who brings gifts on Christmas. Getting into some areas of Dalmatia, it is Sveta Lucija (Saint Lucy) who brings gifts.
Cetus
Etymology – “Big Fish” or Whale
Alternate Spellings: Κηφεύς Kepheús (Greek), Ketos, Cetea (plural)
Pronunciation: SEE-tus
Cetus is the name of the monstrous sea creature whom King Cepheus was to sacrifice his daughter Andromeda. The giant monster has a bit part in the overall story of Perseus and Andromeda, though it is enough to earn it a place up in the heavens to be immortalized as a constellation.
Description
The name cetus can mean any large fish, especially a shark, whale or a sea monster. In Greek art, as well as seen in the Hercules The Legendary Journeys series, the cetea were shown as large sea serpents. And yes, both Hercules and Perseus slay giant sea monsters in their adventures.
Visualizing Cetus as a huge, monstrous sea serpent makes it easier to see how it could destroy the coast of Aethieopia or rise up out of the sea to try and devour Andromeda.
Side Note – The art historian John Boardman has the idea that the images of the cetus along the silk road influenced the image of the Chinese dragons and the Indian makara.
Story Of Perseus
In the Greek story of Perseus, Cepheus was the king of Acrisios or Aethiopia, the husband of Queen Cassiopeia and the father to Andromeda. For the Greeks, Cepheus is known as the father of the Royal Family.
The story begins when Cassiopea started bragging about how Andromeda was more beautiful than the Nereids. This kind of attitude of extreme arrogance and pride, especially when a person claims to be better than the gods, creates what’s known as hubris.
Offended by Cassiopeia’s remarks, the Nereids approached Poseidon and complained, asking him to punish this mortal woman. Poseidon agreed and he sent a flood as well as the sea monster Cetus (or Kraken) to destroy the coastline of Aethiopia.
After consulting with the oracle of Ammon (identified by the Greeks with Zeus,) located at an oasis near Siwa in the Libyan desert, Cepheus was told that he would be able to end the destruction of his country by giving up his daughter Andromeda in sacrifice to Cetus. At the urging of his people, Cepheus had Andromeda chained to a rock by the sea to await her fate.
Luck was with Andromeda, for the hero Perseus was flying by on the Pegasus and on seeing her, he flew down to ask her why she was bound to the rocks. Andromeda told her story to the hero Perseus.
After hearing the story, Perseus went to Cepheus, saying he could save Andromeda from the sea monster and that in return, he wanted her hand in marriage. Cepheus told Perseus that he could have what he wanted.
At that, Perseus then, depending on the accounts given, pulled his sword and found a weak spot in the scales of the sea monster Cetus or he used the severed head of Medusa to turn the monster to stone.
In either event, the monster is slain, Perseus saved Andromeda and a grateful Cepheus and Cassiopeia welcomed them to a feast where the two were married.
The story doesn’t completely end there as it seems Andromeda had also been promised to her uncle Phineus to marry. This wouldn’t have been disputed or contested if Phineus had been the one to save Andromeda and slay Cetus himself. So Phineus picked a fight with Perseus about his right to marry Andromeda at the wedding.
After slaying a Gorgon and a Sea Monster, a mere mortal man is no challenge for Perseus who once again pulls out Medusa’s head and turns Phineus to stone. Given variations of the story, sometimes this is when Cepheus and Cassiopeia are also turned to stone when they accidentally look at the gorgon’s severed head. With Phineus now dead, Andromeda accompanies Perseus back to his home Tiryns in Argos where they eventually founded the Perseid dynasty.
Some accounts give that Perseus and Andromeda had seven sons and two daughters. Others place this count a little differently saying its seven children all together, six sons and one daughter. Most accounts agree that the eldest son, Perses founds his own kingdom and becomes the ancestor to the kings of Persia. A variation to this account is that Perses was adopted by his grandfather Cepheus and named an heir to the throne.
Eventually, years later, as the major figures of the storied died and passed away, the goddess Athena placed Cepheus and the others up into the heavens as constellations to immortalize and commemorate this story.
In another account, because Cepheus was descended from one of Zeus’ lovers, the nymph Io, that earned him a place in the night sky.
Further, it is the god Poseidon who places both Cepheus and Cassiopeia up into heavens to become a constellation.
Hyginus’ Account – By his account, Cepheus’ brother is Agenor who confronts Perseus as he was the one to whom Andromeda had been promised in marriage. This is who Perseus ends up killing instead of Phineus.
Aethiopia or Ethiopia?
The accounts can vary and much of this owes to some lack of clarity among the ancient Greek Scholars and Historians. Homer is the first to have used the term Aethiopia in his Iliad and Odyssey. The Greek historian Herodotus uses the name Aethiopia to describe all of the inhabited lands south of Egypt. The name also features in Greek mythology, where it is sometimes associated with a kingdom said to be seated at Joppa, (what would be modern-day Tel-Aviv) or it is placed elsewhere in Asia Minor such as Lybia, Lydia, the Zagros Mountains, and even India.
Modern-day Ethiopia is located on the horn of Africa and has some tentative ties to the legend of Andromeda. The Egyptian priest Manetho, who lived around 300 BCE called Egypt’s Kushite dynasty the “Aethiopian dynasty.” And with the translation of the Hebrew Bible or Torah into Greek around 200 BCE, the Hebrew usage of “Kush” and Kushite” became the Greek “Aethiopia” and “Aethiopians.” This again changes later to the modern English use of “Ethiopia” and “Ethiopians” with the arrival of the King James Bible.
Given the way that Countries, Empires, Kingdoms, and Nations rise and fall, expand and shrink, it’s very well possible that both Aethiopia and Ethiopia are one and the same and that modern-day Tel-Aviv once known as Joppa (Jaffa) may have once been part of Ethiopia. Some sources cite Joppa as having been a city of Phoenicia. There is a lot of history that has been lost to the sands of time that can only be guessed at and speculated upon.
Hercules Vs Cetus
This is a very similar story that follows much the same theme that the story of Perseus and Andromeda follows.
Now, Hesione is a Trojan princess and the daughter of King Laomedon. Being Trojan, Hesione in some versions and not Helena gets the blame as the trigger for the famous Trojan War.
Enough of that, the gods Apollo and Poseidon became angry with King Laomedon when he refused to pay his tribute to the gods for the construction of Troy’s walls. Fair enough, if you don’t pay, we’ll send a plague and a giant sea monster after you to collect.
After consulting the Oracles for what he could do to set things right, Laomedon was told he would need to sacrifice his daughter Hesione to the monster Cetus. Some versions say a series of pulling lots saw Hesione get this fate. Like Andromeda, Hesione too is chained to the rocks near the ocean for Cetus to come and get.
The hero Hercules along with Oicles and Telamon were returning from their campaign against the Amazons when they come across Hesione chained up and exposed. Hercules finds out what’s going on and goes to her father, Laomedon saying that he can save her for a price.
What price? The horses Laomedon received from Zeus as compensation when Ganymede was abducted. Though it’s Tros who is often given as the father of Ganymede and Laomedon is a nephew of said Ganymede. This story follows the lineage with Laomedon as Ganymede’s father rather than a nephew.
Back on track, Laomede agrees to Hercules’ price of giving the horse and the hero sets off to kill the sea monster Cetus.
When it came time for Hercules to collect his reward, Laomedon refused to pay. Why am I not surprised by that? Some people just don’t learn.
Hercules and his companions are angry enough that they come back to attack Troy, killing Laomedon and all his sons except for Podarces. Telamon takes Hesione for his wife and Podarces, becoming king of Troy, changes his name to Priam.
The whole famous Trojan War fits in as Priam wanted Hesione returned to Troy. When Antenor and Anchises, both sent by Priam, couldn’t get Hesione, they return. Paris is then sent to Greece to bring Hesione back and while on the way, brings back Helen, Queen of Sparta and wife to Menelaus.
Other Grecian Legends
Gates of the Underworld – With Cetus’ location under the ecliptic, it’s stars, along with those of Pisces are connected to the capture of Cerberus in The Twelve Labors of Hercules. Having written a post for Pisces, this is the first I’ve come across this story being connected to either constellation. It seems to me, part of a series of connection several constellations to the story of Hercules and his labors.
Western Astronomy
The constellation known as Cetus is one of 48 constellations listed by the 2nd-century astronomer Ptolemy in his book, Almagest. Today it remains as one of the 88 current or modern constellations. The Cetus constellation is found in region of the sky called “The Sea” with other water-based constellations of: Aquarius, Capricornus, Eridanus, Piscis Austrinus, and Pisces.
17th-century astronomer, Johannes Bayers thought Cetus resembled a dragonfish. In his star map or Uranographia, Johann Elert Bode gives an alternative name of Monstrum Marinum for Cetus. Other astronomers, Willem Jansson Blaeu and Cellarius saw a Whale in the Cetus constellation. It’s not unusual either for Cetus to be shown as a giant, monstrous fish with varying animal heads on it.
The Cetus constellation is found in the southern hemisphere where it can most likely be seen during autumn evenings, especially in November, along with several other constellations named after characters in the myth of Perseus. Because of its southern location, Cetus is visible between the 70° and -90° latitude lines and for observers farther south it lies below the horizon. It is 4th largest constellation found in the night sky. Bordering constellations to Cetus are: Aquarius, Aries, Eridanus, Fornax, Pisces, Sculptor and Taurus.
Arabic Astronomy
Arab astronomers were aware of Ptolemy’s constellations, in their star lore, one of the hands from the Pleiades (Al-Thurayya) is said to extend into part of the Cetus constellation. Additionally, two pearl necklaces were seen as making up the stars of Cetus. One necklace is intact and whole while the other is depicted as broken and the pearls scattered.
Brazilian Astronomy
The Tukano and Kobeua people see a jaguar in the Cetus constellation. This jaguar is the god of hurricanes and violent storms. The stars Lambda, Mu, Xi, Nu, Gamma and Alpha Ceti make up the head. The stars Omicron, Zeta and Chi Ceti make up the body with the stars Eta Eri, Tau Ceti and Upsilon Ceti making up the legs and feet. Lastly, the stars Theta, Eta, and Beta Ceti mark the tail of the jaguar.
Chinese Astronomy
The stars of Cetus are located in two areas of the Chinses Night Sky, the Black Tortoise of the North or Bei Fang Xuán Wu and the White Tiger of the West or Xi Fang Bái Hu.
The area of the night sky that Cetus occupies is associated with Autumn, agriculture and the harvest season, especially with the need for storing grains and cereals.
Bakui – This is an old asterism comprised of the stars 2, 6 and 7 Ceti that represents a bird catching net. In older maps, this asterism will be placed further south in the constellations of Sculptor and Phoenix. It’s thought that perhaps Chinese astronomers have moved this asterism further north with the slow precession of stars in the night sky.
Chuhao – Or called Chugao, it is located south of Tianjun. This asterism is made up of six stars, two of which are Epsilon and Rho Ceti that border with Eridanus. This asterism represents either a measure of animal feed or medicinal herbs.
Tiancang – Is a square granary, made up of six stars from main body of Cetus, including Iota, Eta, Theta, Zeta, Tau and Upsilon Ceti form this asterism.
Tianhun – This asterism is a loop of seven stars near Eta Ceti and represents either a manure pit or pig sty.
Tianjun – Is a circular granary, made up of thirteen stars from the head and neck of Cetus, including Alpha, Gamma, Delta and Xi Ceti form this asterism.
Tianlin – Is a third granary that borders between the Cetus and Taurus constellations. It is comprised of four stars Omicron, Xi, 4 and 5 Tauri. This storehouse or granary is used to store millet or rice.
Tusikong – One star, Beta Ceti marks this asterism that represents the Minister of Works and Land Usage Overseer.
Hawaiian Astronomy
It’s thought that this constellation was called Na Kuhi and the star, Omicron Ceti might have been called Kane.
Mesopotamian Astronomy
As I study the old Grecian myths and the history behind them, the stronger a connection and correlation between the Greek and Mesopotamian myths appears. The story of Andromeda and Perseus is just one set of myths the Greeks inherited from the Mesopotamian cultures.
The constellation of Cetus has been identified with Tiamat, the dragon goddess of Chaos. She bore many demons for her husband, Apsu, but eventually she decided to destroy them in a war that ended when Marduk killed her. He used her body to create the constellations as markers of time for humans.
Biblical Connection – Lost In Translation!
The Greeks weren’t the only ancient people that the Mesopotamians influenced. We see another interesting connection come in the Torah or Hebrew Bible and with the Canaanites.
Jonah and the Whale – This is the story that many people are most likely familiar with for any connection of Cetus with the Bible. If you don’t really dig any further, that can be good enough for people when linking this constellation to the Bible.
If we go a little further, yes, the Hebrew text in Jonah calls the whale a dag gadol, meaning “great fish.” And yes, when the Old Testament was translated to the Greek Bible or Septuagint, the translation is “mega ketos.” Then translated again, in the Latin Vulgate, it translates to Cetus and then later to “piscis grandis.”
Torah – What gets interesting, is another creature, Tanninim (or Tannin for singular) that gets mentioned in the Hebraic Books of Genesis, Exodus, Deuteronomy, Psalms, Job, Ezekiel, Isaiah, and Jeremiah. Now, the translation into the King James Bible will translate many of these instances to mean a serpent or whale.
Why mention one particular creature, Tannin in all of these other passages and books and call it a dag gadol in Jonah? It’s assumed that whales are what’s being mentioned. Yet when we get into Isaiah, tannin is again mentioned as a sea monster that will be slain by God or Yahweh. When we go into the King James Bible, that translation of tannin becomes dragon.
If dag gadol is a whale or rather, a great fish; then what’s tannin? Sticking to just Jewish mythology, tannin is often linked to the sea monsters Leviathan, Lotan and Rehab. In modern Hebrew, tannin means crocodile.
Canaanite Mythology – Tannin also appears in Canaanite myths, specifically the Baal Cycle. It is a story very similar to the Mesopotamian myth of Marduk (or Enlil) slaying Tiamat and the Grecian Perseus slaying Cetus.
Tannin is a monstrous servant of the sea god Yam who is defeated by Baal or is bound by his sister Anat. This serpentine sea monster is used in Canaanite, Hebrew and Phoenician mythologies as being symbolic of chaos and evil. Much like how Tiamat is equated as a symbol of chaos. It is this part of being a sea monster or dragon and chaos that has modern scholars identifying Tiamat with Tannin.
Nautical Lore & Superstitions
A ship or a ship’s maidenhead will be called Cetus to indicate a ship undaunted by the sea or a fearsome and ruthless pirate ship.
By sailors, the name Cetus is an omen and harbinger of a bad storm or misfortune. The name could also mean lost cargo, the presence of pirates or getting steered/pulled off course. The superstition was so great, that sailors would avoid mentioning the name Cetus.
Here Be Dragons! – Continuing the bit of nautical connection, some retellings of Perseus and Andromeda will refer to Cetus as being a sea serpent or outright calling it a dragon.
Release The Kraken!
Thanks to the 1981 stop-motion movie Clash of the Titans and it’s later 2010 remake, the part that Cetus played is replaced with an even scarier and more compelling monster, the now famous Kraken that rises up to destroy a coastline and kill Andromeda.
Think about it, “Release the Cetus!” just doesn’t have as dramatic of flair as “Release the Kraken!” does. Even the old stop-motion Kraken is more ominous to see on the screen then a giant whale or monstrous sea serpent rising up out of the ocean. It’s more exciting for a modern audience whether seen in theaters or on the small screen to watch.
This also simply shows how Hollywood will often change the source material for what they think is more exciting and action-oriented. Then, when enough people are familiar with this version as the story of Perseus and Andromeda, it shows how these stories and mythologies are still active and evolve with the different cultures that retell them.
It’s been pointed out that the Kraken isn’t even Greek in origin, it’s from Norse & Icelandic lore and mythologies.
Even in Renaissance paintings depicting Perseus, this is where we see the hero going from wearing Hermes’ flying sandals to riding the winged horse Pegasus.
Perseus Family
The constellation of Cetus, along with eight other constellations of: Andromeda, Auriga, Cassiopeia, Cepheus, Lacerta, Pegasus, Perseus and Triangulum.
All these constellations have some connection to the overall legend and myth of the Grecian hero Perseus.
Stars Of Cetus
Alpha Ceti – Also known as Menkar that means “nose.” It is a giant red star. It forms a double star with 93 Ceti. Alpha Ceti gets to have a bit of a claim to fame with it’s use in Science Fiction, particularly the original Star Trek series. It is Alpha Ceti V where Khan and his crew are exiled. Then in Star Trek: Enterprise, Alpha Ceti V is the planet that humans find refuge at after the Xindi destroy Earth.
Beta Ceti – Also known as Deneb Kaitos and Diphda is the brightest star found within Cetus. It is an orange star. The name Deneb Kaitos comes from the Arabic phrase Al Dhanab al Ḳaiṭos al Janūbīyy meaning: “the whale’s tail.” The name Diphda comes from the Arabic: “aḍ-ḍafdaʿ aṯ-ṯānī” meaning: “the second frog.” It should be noted that the star Fomalhaut found within Piscis Austrinus is the first frog.
Gamma Ceti – This a double star, the main star is yellow while the secondary star is blue.
Omicron Ceti – Also known as Mira, meaning “The Wonderful,” is the first variable star to have been discovered. Because this star seems to appear and disappear to the unaided eye, it was given the common name of “The Amazing One.” It was discovered by David Fabricius in 1596.
Tau Ceti – Is only notable for being a star similar to the Earth’s own sun. There aren’t any known planets for this star.
AA Ceti – Is a triple star system. The third star is only known by the shadow it casts when passing in front of the primary star.
Pac-Man Nebula
NGC 246 also known as the Cetus Ring, is a planetary nebula found within the Cetus constellation. It’s roughly 1600 light-years away from Earth. It earns the nickname of Pac-Man Nebula due to how its central stars and surrounding star field appear.
Cetids
There are a series of three meteor shows associated as originating out of Cetus, they are the October Cetids, the Eta Cetids and finally, the Omicron Cetids.
Raiju
Etymology: Rai (“Thunder”) and Ju (“Animal” or “Beast”)
Pronunciation: Rye-Gin
Other Names and Epithets: 雷獣, らいじゅ, Raijuu
Raiju is a curious mythical creature from Japanese mythology sometimes viewed as a type of demon or yokai. It’s best known for being a companion animal to Raijin, the god of storms and lightning.
Description
The descriptions of Raiju vary greatly in description as it is sometimes described as having a body made of electricity and resembles either a badger, cat, monkey, tanuki, weasel or even a wolf. Sometimes Raiju flies about as a ball of lightning. The cries of a Raiju are said to sound like thunder.
Thunderstorms
Normally peaceful, Raiju becomes agitated and active during thunderstorms, leaping from one tree to another. After a storm is over, any lightning marks on the tree were believed to have been caused by Raiju ripping it open.
Raiju! I Choose You!
That sounds like the name of a pokemon. There are a couple, Raichu and Raikou, a legendary pokemon who is based on Raiju and other thunder gods.
In Japanese mythology, raiju is the name of Raijin’s animal companion that is described as a blue and white wolf or a wolf wrapped in lightning.
It doesn’t stop there as Raiju is referenced in a number of different Japanese animes, manga and video games.
More Than One?
That might seem to be the case with some of the articles that I looked up and likely an evolution to the mythology of Raiju. Instead of one animal companion, that there are multiple of this creature. It could serve too to explain why the descriptions of Raiju and what animal it really looks like varies so much.
Raikiri – Lightning Cutter
As legend holds, a samurai by the name of Tachibana Dōsetsu was taking shelter beneath a tree during a storm. When lightning struck the tree, Dōsetsu drew his sword swiftly enough to block being hit by the bolt. Once the smoke cleared, Dōsetsu saw that there was a dead raiju laying on the ground. Dōsetsu named his sword Raikiri or “Lightning Cutter.”
Possible Reality Behind The Myths
That’s very typical of human nature to try and explain the universe around us and to try to make sense of events and occurrences. Especially with natural phenomenon, like lightning strikes, that they’re caused by the gods or oh, this tree looks like it has scratch marks where the lightning hit it. Must have been a beast of some sort.
Ball Lightning – A ball lightning, when they’re reported, are balls of lightning or electricity that occur during thunderstorms. Given how rare these are, the science behind what causes them and what’s being seen is and can be disputed. Some reports say the ball lighting glows like a 100-watt lightbulb with tendrils of electricity. The balls vary in color from yellow, orange, blue and red and size from a grapefruit to a beachball. Other reports say the ball lightning explodes, leaving behind a sulfurous smell.
Traveling Shows – During the Edo period of Japan, reportedly “real raiju” would be caught and put on display as sideshow attractions. Much like “real kappa” and the mummified remains of mermaids, the mummified and stuffed taxidermy of animals ranging from cats to badges, tanuki and monkeys would-be put-on display for people to view. The descriptions of caged raiju would match those of other captive animals during a thunderstorm as they get agitated and try to flee the confines of their cage.
As scientific knowledge and advances progressed in the Meiji period, as people better understood what was going on with lightning and electricity, the belief in raiju began to taper off, becoming a rather minor figure that still shows up in pop culture references.
Hide Your Navel!
It’s believed that Raijin is found of eating human navels. It was common practice for Japanese parents to tell their children to hide their belly buttons during a thunderstorm lest Raijin come eat it.
If it’s any minor consolation, according to some beliefs, it’s not really Raijin who eats children’s belly buttons, but his animal companion Raiju who actually does. Or if Raiju isn’t eating your navel, he’ll curl up inside to sleep during a thunderstorm. Of course, you only manage to get Raiju sleeping in your navel if you were sleeping outside. If you must sleep outside during a storm, try sleeping on your stomach to keep Raiju from curling up in your belly button. Raijin is said to hurl to shoot arrows at Raiju to wake up, which getting hit by arrows or lightning will hurt.
Okay then…
Fūjin
Other Names and Epithets: 風神, Futen, Kami-no-Kaze, Ryobu
Fujin is one of the oldest Shinto goes in Japan. He is a god of wind and is often paired with the storm god Raijin.
Description
Fujin is often shown as a fearsome wizard-like demon with green skin and a red head wearing only a leopard skin and carrying around a large bag or bags of wind with him. He is also noted to have only four fingers or digits that represent each of the four cardinal directions.
Parentage and Family
Parents
The gods Izanami and Izanagi, the main deities in Shinto are who birthed or created Fujin and all the other gods in Japan.
Siblings
In addition to Raijin and his brother Fujin, all of the Kami of Japan can be said to be Fujin’s brothers and sisters as they were all created after the creation of Nippon (Japan).
Divine Origins
Like Raijin, Fujin was born or created by the gods Izanami and Izanagi after creating Nippon. When Fujin opened his wind bag for the first time, the winds he released cleared away the morning mists and filled the space between the earth and the heavens so the sun could shine.
In Japanese lore, both Raijin and Fujin were a pair of oni who actively opposed the other deities. Under the orders of Buddha, it took an army of thirty-three gods to subdue Raijin and Fujin and convert them to work alongside the other deities.
Kojiki – This ancient Japanese text is the primary source for everything known about Fujin.
The Silk Road – Surprisingly, the imagery for Fujin seems to have originated from the West, during the Greek’s Hellenistic era when they were once spread throughout areas of Central Asia and India. Meaning, that the wind god Boreas is whom Fujin could have originated from. As the imagery for Boreas traveled, he would become the god Wardo in Greco-Buddhist era, changing then to the wind god Fei Lian (or Feng Bo) in China before making his way to Japan as Fujin. What appears to be the connecting motif is that all these deities carry a bag of wind (or shawl in the case of Boreas) and has a disheveled, wild appearance.
Kamikaze – The Divine Wind
In 1274, the Mongols for the first time would attempt to set sail and invade Japan. However, a massive typhoon would destroy a good number of the Mongol fleet, disrupting plans for a conquest of Japanese archipelago. Going by the legend, only three men are said to have escaped. A second attempt in 1281 saw a similar typhoon blow through and wreck most of the Mongol fleet again. Both massive storms or Kamikaze as they would come to be known were attributed as being sent by Raijin and Fujin to protect Japan.
One of Fujin’s alternative names is Kami-no-Kaze, directly connecting him to these fierce, massive storms.
Kami or Oni?
Some of the descriptions of Fujin say he’s an oni and that certainly seems true given his description and when looking at more Buddhist influenced stories where the gods had to battle Raijin and Fujin to tame them and convert them to Buddhism.
Kami – When we go back to the Shinto religion that predates Buddhism in Japan, Fujin is one of many, numerous gods or kami found throughout the region. They range in power from low level spirits all the up to gods.
Shintoism holds the belief and idea that everything seen in nature has a spirit, or kami. As spirits, they just are. The greater the spirit or kami, more of a force of nature and raw power it will be. So many of these spirits would be revered and respected just to avoid needlessly getting them angry and ticked off.
Oni – By Japanese mythology, Oni are very synonymous with the Western concept of demons. Ugly, ogre-like creatures of varying descriptions. An Oni’s only purpose is to create chaos, destruction and disaster. Given depictions of Fujin, he looks very much the part of an Oni and when it comes to wind storms, a more severe storm can be very destructive.
With some of the more primal nature spirits and gods, it’s a very thin line for the concepts of good and evil if you’re trying to pin them to those categories.
Thunder Buddies!
When Raijin is mentioned, he is frequently paired with Fujin, another Weather God is also a sometimes rival. The two are constantly at it, fighting amongst themselves over who will rule the skies. The more intense a storm, the more intense their fighting.
Temple Guardians – Statues of Raijin and Fujin can be found at the gates to many temples and holy places in Japan where they are seen as protectors and guardians.
Raijin
Etymology: Rai (“Thunder”) and Den or Jin (“Lightning”). Another derivation is Kaminari 雷 (“Thunder”) and Kami 神 (“God”)
Pronunciation: Rye-Gin
Other Names and Epithets: 雷神, Kaminari, Kaminari-sama (“Thunder Master”), Karai-shin, Karaijin, Narukami (Thundering Spirit”), Raiden, Raiden-sama (Thunder and Lightning Master”), Yakusa no ikazuchi no kami (“Eight, Thunder, Spirit”)
Raijin is the name of a Shinto Weather God in Japanese mythology, specifically the God of storms, thunder & lightning. Sometimes, the name Raijin refers to one deity, other instances, Raijin will refer to several weather gods.
Attributes
Animal: Raichu
Element: Air
Plant: Rice
Sphere of Influence: Storms, Thunder, Lightning, Agriculture
Symbols: Drum
Description
Raijin is often depicted as a muscular, red-skinned Oni with sharp claws, horns, wild hair and carrying around a large drum or several drums with the symbol of tomoe written on them. These drums of course are used for the sound of thunder. To beat the drums, Raijin uses hammers. Sometimes Raijin is shown to have three fingers that each represent the past, present and future.
Statues depicting Raijin can be found throughout many places in Japan. Many of these sculptures will show Raijin possessing a pot-belly and a fearsome face.
Mortal Kombat – Finish Him!
Raijin, better known as Raiden, appears in the popular fighting game series Mortal Kombat. As Raiden, he is often shown as a robed man wearing a straw hat.
Parentage and Family
Parents
The gods Izanami and Izanagi, the main deities in Shinto are who birthed or created Raijin and all the other gods in Japan.
Siblings
In addition to Raijin and his brother Fujin, all of the Kami of Japan can be said to be Raijn’s brothers and sisters as they were all created after the creation of Nippon (Japan).
Divine Origins
There’re a few variations to Raijin’s origin.
In line with Japan’s creation myth, the gods Izanami and Izanagi created Raijin after they created Nippon, making him among some of the oldest gods in the Shinto religion. Specifically, Raijin was born right after the death of his mother, Izanami when she bore the fire god, Kagu-tsuchi. Izanagi took his sword, Ame no Ohabri got Kagu-tsuchi up into eight pieces, which became eight volcanoes. The blood dripping off the sword would create a number of other Japanese gods or kami.
After Izanami descended to the underworld, her husband Izanagi would follow after. There is a misunderstanding between the two and Izanagi took off. Izanami would send Raijin, along with other spirits to bring Izanagi back.
Other legends will say that there are eight lightning gods, hence the suffix part of Raijin’s name “jin” for people, plural. Getting back on point, these eight lightning gods were tasked with protecting Dharma by the Buddha. This syncretism, known as Shinbutsu-shūgō, joining different religions together is common in Japan. Even an order 1868 meant to separate the two religions of Buddhism and Shinto didn’t stop this from happening.
In Japanese lore, Raijin and his companion, Fujin were a pair of oni who actively opposed the other deities. Under the orders of Buddha, it took an army of thirty-three gods to subdue Raijin and Fujin and convert them to work alongside the other deities.
Kojiki – This ancient Japanese text is the primary source for everything known about Raijin.
Kamikaze – The Divine Wind
In 1274, the Mongols for the first time would attempt to set sail and invade Japan. However, a massive typhoon would destroy a good number of the Mongol fleet, disrupting plans for a conquest of Japanese archipelago. Going by the legend, only three men are said to have escaped. A second attempt in 1281 saw a similar typhoon blow through and wreck most of the Mongol fleet again. Both massive storms or Kamikaze as they would come to be known were attributed as being sent by Raijin to protect Japan.
Kami or Oni?
Some of the descriptions of Raijin say he’s an oni and that certainly seems true given his description and when looking at more Buddhist influenced stories where the gods had to battle Raijin and Fujin to tame them and convert them to Buddhism.
Kami – When we go back to the Shinto religion that predates Buddhism in Japan, Raijin is one of many, numerous gods or kami found throughout the region. They range in power from low level spirits all the up to gods.
Shintoism holds the belief and idea that everything seen in nature has a spirit, or kami. As spirits, they just are. The greater the spirit or kami, the more of a force of nature and raw power it will be. So many of these spirits would be revered and respected just to avoid needlessly getting them angry and ticked off.
Oni – By Japanese mythology, Oni are very synonymous with the Western concept of demons. Ugly, ogre-like creatures of varying descriptions. An Oni’s only purpose is to create chaos, destruction and disaster. Given depictions of Raijin, he looks the part of an Oni very much and when it comes to storms, a more severe storm can be very destructive.
With some of the more primal nature spirits and gods, it’s a very thin line for the concepts of good and evil if you’re trying to pin them to those categories. As a weather deity, it goes either way if his rains bring fertility and life or if it’s the destructive force of a hurricane.
Thunder Buddies!
When Raijin is mentioned, he is frequently paired with Fujin, another Weather God is also a sometimes rival. The two are constantly at it, fighting among themselves over who will rule the skies. The more intense a storm, the more intense their fighting.
Temple Guardians – Statues of Raijin and Fujin can be found at the gates to many temples and holy places in Japan where they are seen as protectors and guardians.
Raiju! I Choose You!
That sounds like the name of a pokemon. There are a couple, Raichu and Raikou, a legendary pokemon who is based on Raiju and other thunder gods.
In Japanese mythology, raiju is the name of Raijin’s animal companion. Raiju is described as a blue and white wolf or a wolf wrapped in lightning.
Island Deity
Raijin is also the god or kami of one of the Japanese islands and believed to live up on the mountains.
Storm Deity
As a storm deity, Raijin is revered as a considerable force of nature. The storms he brings can be destructive in the form of hurricanes and great wind storms when he battles Fujin. Or they can be life giving water and fertility to the land.
Kura-Okami – The god of rain and snow, Raijin is sometimes equated as being the same deity. Kura-Okami is active and at his strongest during the winter months from December to February.
Fertility
Thunder isn’t all that bad. A thunderstorm would mean rain. A lot of Japanese farmers would seek to appease Raijin for rain during droughts and not to flood their rice fields. There was a belief that lighting would cause fertility for a rice field. The sound of thunder and lighting, it would mean a bountiful harvest. This seems a tentative way to connect Raijin to agriculture and fertility.
Protection
I would think having a lightning rod to redirect lighting to the ground would be protection from Raijin. Hiding under a mosquito net is the only protection from Raijin.
That isn’t the only way, as the sound of thunder often freaks out many people and is an omen of disaster. After all, who wants a tree crashing in on their house during a thunderstorm or coming out after it’s over to see what swath of destruction has been left behind? Not many.
Mosquito nets asides, certain areas in Japan hold to a superstition that ritual needs to be performed during a thunderstorm. This ritual involves striking bamboo to exorcise bad spirits away from rice fields. This was thought to avert any disasters in the fields that would result to any lightning and thunder.
As a stated previously, as Raijin is seen as a primal spirit, its better to appease him and get on his good side rather than get him needlessly angry.
Hide Your Navel!
It’s believed that Raijin is found of eating human navels. It was common practice for Japanese parents to tell their children to hide their belly buttons during a thunderstorm lest Raijin come eat it.
If it’s any minor consolation, according to some beliefs, it’s not really Raijin who eats children’s belly buttons, but his animal companion Raiju who actually does. Or if Raiju isn’t eating your navel, he’ll curl up inside to sleep.
Okay then…
Kappa
Also Called: Gataro (“River Boy”), Kawako (“River Child”), Kawataro (“River Boy” or “River Tiger”), Komahiki (“Horse Puller”), Suiko (“Water Tiger”)
There are some eighty names for kappa depending on the region they’re found in. Next to the oni and tengu, kappa are some of the best known yokai found in Japan.
Some of these other names are: Dangame (“Soft-Shelled Turtle”), Enko (“monkey”), Gawappa, Kawappa, Kawaso (“otter”), Kogo, Mizuchi, Mizushi, and Suitengu.
Etymology – “River-Child” from the words kawa for “river” and wappo, an inflection of waraba meaning “child.”
In the Shinto Religion of Japan, Kappa are mischievous water spirits or yokai who will pull young children and the unwary into the river and ponds where they live and drown them. Kappa are also known for attacking travelers and animals. Even today, many towns and villages keep signs out warning of the dangers of kappa near a river.
Some of the less deadly pranks that kappa will pull are passing gas loudly and looking up women’s kimonos. They will also steal crops, flat out kidnap children and rape women.
The kappa are curious about human culture, they are not mindlessly aggressive and many can be appealed or reasoned with as they do speak Japanese. Wisemen were known to befriend kappa and learn the art of setting bones from them. It’s thought that somehow, kappa were once wise monkeys.
Kappa will also sometimes challenge people to different tests of skill such as shogi or sumo wrestling. People have been known to befriend kappa by giving gifts and offerings, often of food and especially cucumbers.
The kappa are a major folkloric figure that people have reported seeing for centuries. They have remained a staple of literature and even the tourist industry in some towns will tell visitors to be wary of kappa and to be careful.
Suijin
In Shinto, the Kappa are viewed as one of many types of Suijin or water people or even water deities. Many of these water deities or spirits are often depicted as snakes, dragons, eels, fish, turtles and kappa. It is believed that belief in kappa can be traced back to China, though much of the kappa lore is native to Japan.
With the arrival of Chinese and Koreans during the 2nd century C.E. along with the arrival of Buddhism in Japan, the imagery of kappa would be begin to take on these attributes.
While the name for the most powerful Suijin in Japan is Mizu no Kamisama or Goddess or God of Water, the kappa are more accurately referred to as Kawa no Kami or River Deity reflecting a less powerful status.
The offering of cucumbers to kappa may have come from a tradition of giving the year’s first crop of cucumbers and eggplants to the local river to either appease local water deities or hungry ghosts.
Festivals – There are still some festivals held in places, twice a year during the equinoxes to placate the kappa and ensure a good harvest. These festivals also mark the time of the year when the kappa travel down from the mountains to the rivers and back up.
Kappa Odori Dance – This is a sacred Shinto dance used to pray for abundant crops. Young boys dress up as kappa and jump and bounce around in time to the humorous music as it’s played.
Jozankei Hot Springs – A local spa near the Toyohiragawa River to the southwest of Sapporo. Named after the monk who found the place, the kappa are local guardian spirits. Some 23 kappa statues stand around the area. The Kappa Pool becomes very lively in early August during the Kappa Festival. A local legend holds that the story of the Kappa Buchi occurred here.
Ancient Origins?
Ainu Folklore – The Ainu are Japan’s earliest inhabitants who live mostly on the northern island of Hokkaido. The connection here is very tentative as some believe that the kappa come from Ainu folklore. There’s just not enough known of their mythology to really make a concrete connection. What does get cited is that near the main city Sapporo on Hokkaido is an area known as Jozankei where the legends for the “Great Kappa King” and the “Kappa Buchi Legend” can be found, though these stories are not likely to be of Ainu origin and mythology.
Nihon Shoki – Chronicles of Japan – One of Japan’s earliest and official records, it was compiled sometime around 720 C.E. It is the first text to refer to kappa where it is called Kawa no Kami or River Deity in this text.
Wakan Sansaizue – Kappa don’t really take on popularity until around Japan’s medieval era, during the Edo period. The Wakan Sansaizue is a 105-volume encyclopedia dating to about 1713 C.E. and is the first to depict a kappa.
Gazu Hyakkiyagyō – Or the “Night Procession of One Hundred Demons” is a four volume text that next shows and depicts kappa within it.
From here, the popularity of kappa in continues in the Edo Period, appearing in a serial called Kasshiyawa where the kappa called Kawataro. Another document is the Mimibukuro, a 10-volume text written by Negishi Yasumori.
Portuguese Monks – When Portuguese monks arrived in Japan during the 16th century, their appearance of cloaks that hung down in back like a kappa’s shell and their shaven heads resulting in a bald head crowned with hair known as a Capa for the Portuguese word for this hair style would easily become absorbed into Japan’s Kappa lore…. After all a homophone of words Kappa and Capa sound very alike.
Drowned Monkeys – Some legends will hold that the first kappa come from monkeys. Yanagida Kunio records a story where he notes that some regions of Japan referred to kappa as enko or monkeys.
There is a famous Buddhist story from China in which a group of monkeys tried to capture the moon’s reflection. For their trouble and efforts, the monkeys were drowned.
The Monkey King Versus The Water Demon – There are a number of tales for the Indian collection of Buddha stories called Jataka. Dating from the 3rd century B.C.E. India and Sri Lanka, the story in question features the monkey kingdom under attack from a monkey-eating water demon. The wise monkey king outwitted the demon with bamboo.
So, what’s the connection? In Sanskrit, the word Kapi translates to monkey. It’s possible that Kappa is a distorted form of Kapi. It would explain some of the descriptions of kappa being monkey-like is a carry over of this distortion. Further, there is a kapi jembawan, a monkey sage in Indonesian folklore based on the Dwarka kingdom where Lord Krishna ruled. The famous Hindi poet, Tulsidas who wrote the Ramayana some 500 years ago, uses the word kapi in place of the Vanara or monkey folk in the South who help Rama defeat Ravana.
If we’re looking at linguist connections, that could all hold up.
Description
Kappa look like child-sized humanoid turtles or more often monkeys with scaly limbs and thick tortoise shells. Some kappa are depicted with ape-like faces while others are more beaked. Skin coloration ranges from green to yellow and even blue.
The most distinguishing feature of kappa are the bowl or saucer-shaped depressions on the top of their heads called a sara (meaning “dish,” “bowl,” or “plate.”) When leaving the water, kappa makes sure that the sara is kept filled with water. The sara is surrounded with scraggly hair in a bobbed hair style known as okappa-atama. Should the kappa loose this water, it loses its strength and powers, possibly even dying in this weakened state if water isn’t refilled. Some kappa are reputed to have taken to wearing a metal plate or cap to cover their sara so the water doesn’t pour or dry out, thus weakening them.
Depending on the story, the arms of a kappa are said to be connected to each such, that the kappa can slide their arm from one side to the other. I can see that trick, the kappa is wearing a shell, pull one arm in and stuff it out the other arm hole, much like a person does when wearing a t-shirt. I’m sure it’s a simple enough illusion and magic trick to pull off.
Aquatic creatures who live in ponds and rivers, Kappa also possess webbed hands and feet. People have commented that Kappa smell like fish. Some of the legends involving kappa have them spending spring and summer down in the water during autumn and winter, heading up to the Yama-no-Kami (“Mountain Deities”) mountains. While kappa can be found throughout much of Japan, they’re often found in the Saga Prefecture.
Hyosube – This is the name for the kappa’s hairy cousin. The two are identical otherwise in terms of physical attributes and what they do. The biggest distinction of the two aside from hair, is that kappa are more prone to staying outside. The Hyosube are more likely to sneak into people’s homes to cause mischief, namely to take a bath. Being so hairsute, the hyosube are known to shed hair which is deadly to those who encounter it in Japanese folklore.
Shibaten – Also called Shibatengu, is a more turtle-like kappa where the kappa can be more ape or monkey like in appearance.
Diet
The kappa feed on a diet of blood and cucumbers.
Blood – Young children are told to be wary when playing near the water’s edge of ponds and rivers. Children are a kappa’s favored meal though they’re not above eating an adult.
Eww… so what makes humans so appealing to a kappa is a shirikodama that they will suck out of a person’s anus. Alrighty then.
And the shirikodama? Depending on the source and legend, that’s a mystical ball containing a person’s life force or soul that’s found near the anus, entrails, in the blood or liver.
Cucumbers – The only thing that kappa love more than small children. Its customary for some Japanese parents to write the names of their children or themselves on a cucumber and toss it into a pond or river where the kappa are believed to dwell.
Other Food Offerings – Cucumbers aren’t the only food item a kappa will accept. Offerings of eggplant, soba noodles, natto (fermented soybeans) and kabocha (winter squash) are accepted by kappa.
Powers
Being an aquatic yokai, it goes without saying that kappa are master swimmers with a vast knowledge of water and it’s importance.
Strength – Much of a kappa’s strength is tied to the waters of the pond or river it calls home. The water that a kappa keeps in the depression on its head is a source of its strength and even life.
Flatulence – I’m not sure that I would call this a power. Suffice to say that a kappa can use a particularly noxious gas attack in self-defense much like skunks do. A kappa is known to release this gas not just as a prank but to get someone like fishermen to let it go.
Flight – So those cucumbers offered to the kappa, not only do they eat the cucumbers, the kappa uses them to fly around on like dragonflies. Okay….
Weaknesses
So how does one manage to thwart and defeat a Kappa you might ask?
Arms – If we go off the idea that the arms of a kappa are connected to each other, they can be easily pulled off. If a person manages to get a kappa’s arm, they will perform a task in order to get it back. Assuming the arm can be reattached.
Challenges – Kappa aren’t mindlessly aggressive, and a person can reason with them. If they don’t have an offering of cucumbers to give, a person can try challenging the kappa. Most challenges usually take the form of feats of strength with wrestling matches.
One challenge found in a folktale sees a Farmer’s daughter get promised to a kappa in marriage in exchange for the yokai to irrigate his land. The daughter challenged the kappa to submerge several gourds in water. When the kappa failed at this task, the daughter was freed from the marital arrangement.
Fire – Being water creatures, it stands to reason that Kappa are held to be afraid of fire and loud noises. Some villages in Japan will have fireworks festivals each year to try and scare away spirits.
Land – Kappa can’t survive for long on the land and must always keep their heads wet, especially the sara filled with water.
Etiquette – That in mind, the kappa are overly found of etiquette, so if you bow deeply to them in greeting, they will bow as well, spilling the water from their sara. With this water spilled, the kappa loses its strength and any powers, becoming weakened and possibly die if this water isn’t refilled. It must be water from their home river or pond that is poured back in. If a human is the one who refills this water, it is believed that the kappa would the human in question for the rest of eternity.
Cucumbers – Offering the Kappa a nice tasty cucumber is sure to do the trick and placate them instead of trying to haul you into the river to drown.
Instead of offering the cucumber, a person would the vegetable themselves as a means of protection before swimming. Though some will say this is sure to guarantee an attack.
Miscellaneous – There’s a variety of other items that supposedly drive away kappa. These items include ginger, iron and sesame.
A Friend For Life
Those who have successfully befriended a kappa find that they truly have a friend for life. Kappa are known to help farmers in any number of ways such as irrigating fields. The kappa are very knowledgeable in the way of medicine and have been known to teach the art of bone setting to humans.
There are shrines to kappa that have been established, especially of a particularly helpful kappa. You could trick a kappa into service via the bowing and refilling the bowl on their head with water. He’s not likely to be so nice about the help he gives then.
The kappa, like the European Fae won’t break an oath as their sense of etiquette and decorum is such, they just won’t. So yeah, a human can trick a kappa into service and get one to swear an oath to them, the kappa’s sense of honor says they will follow it through to the end.
Japanese Expressions
There are a few expressions associated with kappa.
Kappa Maki – A cucumber sushi roll named for kappa.
“Kappa-no-kawa-nagare” – This phrase translates to “A kappa drowning in a river” is used to mean that even an expert can make mistakes.
“Kappa no He” – Much ado about nothing, the literal translation is water-imp fart. This is my new favorite.
Okappa – the bobbed hairstyles that look like those kappa sport.
Koppojutsu
This is a martial arts style invented by Kappa who will sometimes teach it to humans. The name of koppojutsu translates as “attacks against bones.” It is a hard-martial art compared to another, koshijutsu that is a soft-martial art that targets an opponent’s muscles.
Kappa-Buchi
The Kappa Pool is a legend found in the Jozankei region of Japan.
A young man was out fishing in a deep pool and he ended up falling in. He never surfaced. Some months later, as his father slept, the son came to him in a dream and told his father that he was living happily with the Kappa, that he even had a kappa wife and child. Shortly after, the pool came to be known as the Kappa Buchi.
Kappa Bashi
The Kappa bridge found in Tokyo used to be farmland that was surrounded by canals prone to flooding. During the late Edo period, a raincoat dealer, Kappaya Kihachi spent his entire fortune on building a better drainage system. The work proved more difficult than expect and taking longer to complete.
Falling into despair and about to give up, the man was visited by a kappa whose life he had saved many years before. The kappa had arrived to help and in no time at all, the new drainage system was completed. Further, the story goes that those who saw the kappa were blessed with good fortune. Shortly after, the Kappa Temple was built to honor and enshrine the kappa as a local deity.
Saiyuki – Journey West
When the Chinese epic of Journey to the West arrived in Japan, the character of Sha Wujing’s name is changed to Sangojo or Sagojo. Where Sha Wujing or Sandy is often depicted as a Water Buffalo or some kind of water demon, in Japan, he is frequently identified as a kappa.
Horses & Livestock & Monkeys!
Continuing a connection of Kappa to the Journey West story, in which kappa come from drown monkeys. In Chinese lore, monkeys are shown riding horses and in Journey West, the Jade Emperor appoints Monkey or Son Goku to a position of a Stable Hand or Protector of Horses.
This connection could explain a few different folktales and stories of kappa harassing people’s horse and cattle. There is a story recorded by Lafcadio Hearn in Kawachimura where a horse-stealing kappa was captured and forced to sign an agreement never to harm any people or steal from them again. The kappa even went so far as to swear he would get his fellow kappa to swear to the oath of leaving humans alone.
Of course, it could be too much of a stretch and horses were just one of many animals and objects that kappa would try to steal from humans.
Possible Reality Behind The Myths
Drowning – It’s likely stories of kappa developed as a means to scare and warn children from wandering too close to the water’s edge at any pond or river.
Kappa are even blamed for drowning deaths and signs are still posted near bodies of water that warn of kappa dangers.
Giant Salamanders – It makes sense, that inspiration for the kappa could come from the Japanese giant salamander or hanzaki. It is a large, aggressive salamander that grow up to five feet in length that will grab its prey with powerful jaws.
Miscarriages & Leech Babies – Touching back on that idea of kappa rapping women. There is an 18th century Ukiyo-e picture by Utamaro showing a kappa rapping an ama diver while underwater. That’s a bit unpleasant. More relevant might be a belief found in Kunio Yanagita’s Tono Monogatari, in which women who were raped by kappa and became pregnant often had repulsive babies born. These babies, called Leech Babies, would be buried shortly after.
Sometimes these stillborn babies would be tossed into a river and children would be warned to stay away from the water’s edge to avoid seeing these dead babies. Sadly, sometimes a poor family might have tossed an unwanted baby into the river if they couldn’t afford to care for it.
It’s possible a woman might say she had been raped by a kappa in order to try and explain why a baby was born deformed and likely stillborn. It would provide a way of saving face to explain a stillborn and deformities. That’s my take after reading in Celtic folklore and comparing it the myths regarding Changelings and parents who have a child that dies of SIDs, you just say the fairies came and took your baby and that the one isn’t real. Because somewhere, your real baby is still alive.
Similar Folkloric Figures
There are a few other, similar figures found in other cultures from around the world that have been used to scare young children from straying too close to the water’s edge.
Kelpie – A fearsome water horse in Scottish folklore known to drown those who try to ride it.
Näkki – A water monster from Finnish folklore.
Neck – Also called Nix or Nixie, a similar shapeshifting creature to the Näkki, only from Germanic and Scandinavian folklore.
Shui Gui – Water Ghost or Water Monkey is a similar creature found in Chinese folklore.
Siyokoy – Found in the Philippin islands and known for kidnapping children. Their description is very similar to those of kappa.
Vodyanoy – A frog-like water spirit found in Slavic folklore.
Vodnik – A green humanoid spirit or creature found in western Slavic folklore, particularly in the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Brickthology 