There are many ways of classifying Chinese Dragons. One system goes by their color, and another is determined by their tasks.
Anonymous asked: can you tell us what the goddess coatlicue is lik for ex( goddess of love or nature cuz my hw assiment is supposed to bo found on the internet
Here is the post: http://fantasticallore.tumblr.com/search/coatlicue
You can type in coatlicue in the search bar, located on top.
(via did-you-kno)
(via did-you-kno)
I dig this for a couple of reasons.
First, it’s got great style.
Perhaps more interestingly though, is that it’s a very different tone as far as the direction of aggression. Most people know the Clash of the Titans version where she’s on the hunt for him once he shows up. But let’s face it, Medusa really gets the shaft from destiny overall. She starts out as a priestess in a temple who gets raped by Poseidon and gets cursed for it as if it was all her fault. The result is that she’s basically doomed to live without human contact for eternity. Then she’s hunted down specifically for her head by a demigod whose got all sorts of great toys and backing to get the job done and depicted as some sort of horrible monster for defending her turf from folks out to kill her.
There are some really interesting theories about regarding just what the whole ‘gorgon’ thing was really about from a historical perspective. It’s really quite a tragic tale about the rise of patriarchy and the purge of goddess-centric worshipers. There are also parallels to the Apollo versus Typhon story which is part of the same era. Harsh.
See, even the demystified stories from ancient times are fascinating!
Medusa by *MattRhodes
Reblogging for commentary.
I wish there were more nuanced portrayals of Medusa than as just a scary, snake lady.
^
Sorry for the lack of posts. Life got in the way.
As always, if you guys want to see something specific, drop a message and I’ll get to it ASAP.
Origin: Greek mythology
Resides In: Nemea
The Nemean Lion is a terrifying monster, said to be impervious to normal weapons. Its claws were sharper than any mortal blade, and can cut through even armor. As his first task, Herakles must slay the Nemean Lion, but quickly found that his bow and arrow were useless. After the Lion returned to its cave, Herakles blocked one entrance, forcing the beast to leave through one opening. Trapping the Lion, Herakles stunned it with his club, and then strangled the monster to death. The hero then used the Lion’s own claws to skin the hide.
Origin: Egyptian mythology
Type: goddess
Hathor is a goddess sometimes depicted either with a cow head or a woman’s head with a cow’s ears and horns. As a Great Mother, she manifests as a lover, mother, avenger and comforter of the dead. Descriptions of her vary, but in later myths her characteristics mix with those of Isis. The connections to cows stem from the human reproductive anatomy: the triangle cow head and two horns resemble the shape of the uterus.
The Italian word for owl, strix, or strega, means ‘witch’, and provides a hint to the owl’s symbolic connection to witchcraft. The owl is a nocturnal bird, which leads some to believe it has information of occult knowledge, cover information, and secrets. Since some owls like to make their nests in abandoned homes, some have believed that they are connected to decay.
Origin: Jewish mythology
Lilth is similar to the Succubus, in that she seduces men in order to give birth to more demons. Stories about Lilith are as old as the Gilgamesh epic. In one version, the goddess Ishtar, plants a tree with the intentions of crafting it into a throne. When she attempts to cut it down, she encounters a snake that cannot be charmed, a Zu bird, and Lilith, the Maiden of Darkness, living in its trunk. When Gilgamesh slays the serpent, Lilith flees.
One legend says that she coupled with Satan, and gives birth to the demon Djinn. As punishment, God slays some of her children each day. In revenge, Lilith preys on newborn infants. One common practice to protect children were to give them an amulet bearing the image of Adam and Eve.