View source for Legendary creature

{{Redir|Legendary beast}}{{Short description|Supernatural animal}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}}
[[File:J.F.Bertuch-Fabelwesen2.JPG|thumb|Several legendary creatures from ''{{Lang|de|Bilderbuch für Kinder}}'' ({{lit|''picture book for children''}}) between 1790 and 1822, by [[Friedrich Justin Bertuch]]]]

A '''legendary creature''' is a type of extraordinary or [[supernatural]] being that is described in [[folklore]] (including [[myth]]s and [[legend]]s) and may be featured in historical accounts before [[modernity]], but this has not been scientifically proven.

In the [[classical era]], monstrous creatures such as the [[Cyclops]] and the [[Minotaur]] appear in [[hero]]ic tales for the protagonist to destroy. Other creatures, such as the [[unicorn]], were claimed in accounts of [[natural history]] by various scholars of antiquity.<ref name=Britannica>{{Cite EB1911|wstitle= Unicorn |volume= 27 |last= Phillips |first= Catherine Beatrice | pages = 581&ndash;582  }}</ref><ref name="Dundes1984">{{cite book|last=Bascom |first=William |editor=Alan Dundes |title=Sacred Narrative: Readings in the Theory of Mythology |url=https://archive.org/details/sacrednarrativer00dund |url-access=registration |quote=table. |year=1984 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=9780520051928 |page= [https://archive.org/details/sacrednarrativer00dund/page/9 9]}}</ref><ref name="SimpsonRoud2000">{{cite book |last1=Simpson |first1=Jacqueline |last2=Roud |first2=Steve |title=A Dictionary of English Folklore |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iTcdvd1iRXsC&q=myths |access-date=24 March 2013 |year=2000 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=9780192100191}}</ref> Some legendary creatures are [[Hybrid beasts in folklore|hybrid beasts]].

Some legendary creatures originated in traditional [[mythology]] and were believed to be real creatures--for example, [[dragon]]s, [[griffin]]s and unicorns. Others are based on real encounters or garbled accounts of travellers' tales, such as the [[Vegetable Lamb of Tartary]], a sheeplike animal which supposedly grew tethered to the earth.<ref name="Large&Braggins">{{cite book | last1=Large | first1=Mark F. | last2=Braggins |first2=John E. |author-link2=John E. Braggins | title=Tree Ferns | publisher=Timber Press, Incorporated | year=2004 | location=Portland, Oregon | page=[https://archive.org/details/treeferns00mark/page/360 360] | isbn=978-0-88192-630-9 | url=https://archive.org/details/treeferns00mark/page/360 }}</ref>

Some animals, such as the [[gorilla]], the [[kangaroo]], the [[okapi]], the [[Komodo dragon]], the [[giant squid]], and the [[platypus]], were thought to be mythical before they were discovered by science.<ref>{{cite web |date=12 December 2020 |title=Seven species that used to be cryptids |url=https://blogs.iu.edu/sciu/2020/12/12/seven-cryptids-species/ |access-date=29 January 2025 |website=IU Blogs}}</ref>

==Creatures==
{{Further|List of legendary creatures by type|List of Greek mythological creatures}}
{{multiple image
| align             = left
| total_width       = 320
| image1            = Statue of the Minotaur (Roman copy after an original by Myron) at the National Archaeological Museum of Athens on 3 April 2018.jpg
| caption1          = In classical mythology, the [[Minotaur]] was defeated by the hero [[Theseus]].
| image2            = 85-Oxford 1511 - Unicorno.jpg
| caption2          = Medieval [[bestiary|bestiaries]] included mythical animals like the [[monoceros (mythology)|monoceros]] (above) alongside real animals like the [[bear]].
}}
A variety of mythical animals appear in the art and stories of the [[classical era]]. For example, in the ''[[Odyssey]]'', monstrous creatures include the [[Cyclops]], [[Scylla]] and [[Charybdis]] for the hero [[Odysseus]] to confront. Other tales include [[medusa (mythology)|Medusa]] to be defeated by [[Perseus]], the (human/bull) [[Minotaur]] to be destroyed by [[Theseus]], and the [[Hydra (mythology)|Hydra]] to be killed by [[Heracles]], while [[Aeneas]] battles with the [[harpy|harpies]]. These [[monster]]s thus have the basic function of emphasizing the greatness of the [[hero]]es involved.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Delahoyde |first1=M. |last2=McCartney |first2=Katherine S. |title=Monsters in Classical Mythology |url=http://public.wsu.edu/~delahoyd/classical.monsters.html |publisher=Washington State University |access-date=6 January 2017}}</ref><ref>Grimal, Pierre. The Dictionary of Classical Mythology. Blackwell Reference, 1986.</ref><ref>Sabin, Frances E. Classical Myths That Live Today. Silver Burdett Company, 1940.</ref>

Some classical era creatures, such as the (horse/human) [[centaur]], [[Chimera (mythology)|chimaera]], [[Triton (mythology)|Triton]] and the [[Pegasus|flying horse Pegasus]], are found also in [[Indian art]]. Similarly, [[sphinx]]es appear as winged lions in Indian art and the [[Piasa Bird]] of North America.<ref>{{cite book |last=Murthy |first=K. Krishna |title=Mythical Animals in Indian Art |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dMI4rZuRs1MC&pg=PA68 |year=1985 |publisher=Abhinav Publications |isbn=978-0-391-03287-3 |pages=68–69}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=O'Flaherty, Wendy |title=Hindu Myths: A Sourcebook |publisher=Penguin |date=1975}}</ref>

In [[medieval art]], animals, both real and mythical, played important roles. These included decorative forms as in medieval jewellery, sometimes with their limbs intricately interlaced. Animal forms were used to add humor or majesty to objects. In [[Christian art]], animals carried symbolic meanings, where for example the lamb symbolized Christ, a dove indicated the [[Holy Spirit]], and the classical [[griffin]] represented a guardian of the dead. [[Medieval bestiary|Medieval bestiaries]] included animals regardless of biological reality; the [[basilisk]] represented the [[devil]], while the [[manticore]] symbolised temptation.<ref name="Met">{{cite web |author1=Boehm, Barbara Drake |author2=Holcomb, Melanie |date=January 2012 |orig-year=2001 |title=Animals in Medieval Art |url=http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/best/hd_best.htm |publisher=Metropolitan Museum of Art |access-date=5 January 2017}}</ref>

==Allegory==
[[File:Roof detail, dragon.jpg|thumb|Symbolic power: a [[dragon]] in the [[Imperial City, Huế]], Vietnam]]
One function of mythical animals in the Middle Ages was [[allegory]]. Unicorns, for example, were described as extraordinarily swift and uncatchable by traditional methods.<ref name="Gravestock">Gravestock, Pamela. "Did Imaginary Animals Exist?" In ''The Mark of the Beast: The Medieval Bestiary in Art, Life, and Literature''. New York: Garland. 1999.</ref>{{rp|127}} It was believed that the only way for one to catch this beast was to lead a virgin to its dwelling. Then, the unicorn was supposed to leap into her lap and go to sleep, at which point a hunter could finally capture it.<ref name="Gravestock"/>{{rp|127}} In terms of symbolism, the unicorn was a metaphor for Christ. Unicorns represented the idea of innocence and purity. In the [[King James Version|King James Bible]], [[Psalm 92]]:10 states, "My horn shalt thou exalt like the horn of a unicorn." This is because the translators of the King James erroneously translated the Hebrew word [[re'em]] as unicorn.<ref name="Gravestock"/>{{rp|128}} Later versions translate this as wild ox.<ref>J. L. Schrader. ''The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin'', New Series, Vol. 44, No. 1, "A Medieval Bestiary" (Summer, 1986), pp. 1+12–55, 17.</ref> The unicorn's small size signifies the humility of Christ.<ref name="Gravestock"/>{{rp|128}}

Another common legendary creature that served allegorical functions within the Middle Ages was the [[dragon]]. Dragons were identified with serpents, though their attributes were greatly intensified. The dragon was supposed to have been larger than all other animals.<ref name="Gravestock"/>{{rp|126}} It was believed that the dragon had no harmful poison but was able to slay anything it embraced without any need for venom. Biblical scriptures speak of the dragon in reference to the devil, and they were used to denote sin in general during the Middle Ages.<ref name="Gravestock"/>{{rp|126}} Dragons were said to have dwelled in places like Ethiopia and India, based on the idea that there was always heat present in these locations.<ref name="Gravestock"/>{{rp|126}}

Physical detail was not the central focus of the artists depicting such animals, and medieval bestiaries were not conceived as biological categorizations. Creatures like the unicorn and griffin were not categorized in a separate "mythological" section in medieval bestiaries,<ref name="Flores">Flores, Nona C., "The Mirror of Nature Distorted: The Medieval Artist's Dilemma in Depicting Animals". In ''The Medieval World of Nature''. New York: Garland. 1993.</ref>{{rp|124}} as the symbolic implications were of primary importance. Animals we know to have existed were still presented with a fantastical approach. It seems the religious and moral implications of animals were far more significant than matching a physical likeness in these renderings. Nona C. Flores explains, "By the tenth century, artists were increasingly bound by allegorical interpretation, and abandoned naturalistic depictions."<ref name="Flores"/>{{rp|15}}

==See also==
* [[Bestiary]]
* [[Fearsome critters]]
* [[Lists of legendary creatures]]
* [[List of legendary creatures by type]]
* [[List of cryptids]]
* [[Non-physical entity]]
* [[list portal]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline|
 creatures}}

{{Heraldic creatures}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Legendary creatures| ]]
[[Category:Science fiction themes]]
[[Category:Fantasy tropes]]