Mythical Beasts Read online

  Mythical

  Beasts

  By Andrea Mills

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  Mythical

  Beasts

  By Andrea Mills

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  Editors Katy Lennon, Kritika Gupta

  US Editors Shannon Beatty, Megan Douglass Project Art Editors Emma Hobson, Yamini Panwar Art Editor Roohi Rais

  Jacket Coordinator Francesca Young

  Jacket Designer Suzena Sengupta

  DTP Designers Dheeraj Singh, Nand Kishor Acharya Picture Researcher Sakshi Saluja

  Illustrator Dan Crisp

  Producer, Pre-Production Dragana Puvacic Producer Barbara Ossawska

  Managing Editors Laura Gilbert, Monica Saigal Managing Art Editor Diane Peyton Jones Deputy Managing Art Editor Ivy Sengupta Delhi Team Head Malavika Talukder

  Creative Director Helen Senior

  Publishing Director Sarah Larter

  Reading Consultant Linda Gambrell

  Educational Consultant Jacqueline Harris Reading Consultant Linda Gambrell

  Educational Consultant Jacqueline Harris DK Digital Content, London

  Digital Producer Alex Valizadeh

  Digital Operations, Delhi

  Production co-ordinator Manish Bhatt DK Creative Team, Delhi

  Mohd Zishan, Prerna Grewal

  First American Edition, 2018

  Published in the United States by DK Publishing 345 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014

  Copyright © 2018 Dorling Kindersley Limited DK, a Division of Penguin Random House LLC

  All rights reserved.

  Without limiting the rights under the copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

  Published in Great Britain by Dorling Kindersley Limited A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.

  eISBN: 9781465484543

  The publisher would like to thank the following for their kind permission to reproduce their photographs: (Key: a-above; b-below/bottom; c-center; f-far; l-left; r-right; t-top) 3 Dreamstime.com: Breakermaximus (br). 5 Dorling Kindersley: The University of Aberdeen (bl, c, br). 7 akg-images: Roland & Sabrina Michaud. 8-9 Alamy Stock Photo: Ivy Close Images. 10-11 123RF.com: Lorelyn Medina. 12 Dorling Kindersley: Newcastle Great Northern Museum, Hancock (bl). 13 123RF.com: Anton Tokarev. 14 Science Photo Library: Jamie Chirinos (clb). 15 Bridgeman Images: Pictures from History / Woodbury & Page (cra). Getty Images: Nigel Pavitt (cb). iStockphoto.com: VeraPetruk (cla). Rex by Shutterstock: Nathan Anderson (crb). 18 Alamy Stock Photo: Witold Skrypczak. Dreamstime.com: Alinamd (Clouds). 22 123RF.com: Rafael Ben-Ari (bl). 23 123RF.com: Richard Whitcombe (br). Alamy Stock Photo: World History Archive (tr). TopFoto.co.uk: Ullsteinbild (cl). 25 Alamy Stock Photo: Sabena Jane Blackbird. 26-27 iStockphoto.com: MadKruben. 28-29 123RF.com: Tawatchai Prakobkit.

  30-31 Alamy Stock Photo: The Granger Collection (b). 31 Dreamstime.com: Breakermaximus (c). 32 123RF.com: Vera Petruk (cl). Dreamstime.com: Luca Oleastri (br). 33 Alamy Stock Photo: William Brooks (clb). Dreamstime.com: Restavr (r). 34-35 Depositphotos Inc: Russian-photo. 36 Alamy Stock Photo: North Wind Picture Archives. 38-39

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  Contents

  4 Introduction

  6 Chapter 1: Meet the Monsters

  14 Monsters Map

  16 Chapter 2: Flying Fiends

  22 Dragons

  24 Chapter 3: Earthy Creatures

  32 Local Legends

  34 Chapter 4: Water Wonders

  44 Spectacular Sea Creatures

  46 Chapter 5: Super Shapeshifters

  56 Total Tricksters

  58 Quiz

  60 Glossary

  62 Index

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  Introduction

  Myth means tale or story. It comes from

  the Greek word “mythos.” People have

  shared stories about mighty monsters

  and bizarre beasts since ancient times.

  These tales help people understand

  themselves and the world around them.

  Myths have been retold over the years

  in art and music, as well as in stories.

  With each retelling, the content and

  creatures may change. As people move

  around, their myths and stories travel

  with them. This makes it very difficult to

  track where myths originally came from.

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  Turn the page and get ready to meet

  beautiful beasts, sneaky shapeshifters,

  and creepy critters. They are the things

  that legends are made of!

  Ancient Greek pots

  decorated with images

  of mythical creatures.

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  Chapter 1

  Meet the Monsters

  The most important creature in ancient

  Chinese mythology is Pan Gu. Born from

  a cosmic (space) egg, he had horns, tusks,

  and a hairy body. As the first living being, Pan Gu got to work creating the universe.

  He pushed the sky away from the earth by

  growing ten feet taller every day for 18,000

  years. When Pan Gu died, his hair became

  the stars, his eyes became the sun and

  moon and his body parts were transformed

  into the rest of the universe.

  Pan Gu was a believer in the two forces

  of yin and yang. These forces must be

  balanced for people to live in harmony.

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  A mural of Pan Gu

  from a temple

  in China.

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  Enormous giants were the first beings

  on Earth in many cultures. The frost

  giant Ymir [ee-MEER] was the first

  in Norse (Viking) mythology.

  The Norse world formed when fire

  and ice collided. This made the ice

  melt into water, creating Ymir. As more

  giants appeared, the gods grew scared of

  them. Ymir was killed and the gods used

  his bod
y parts to make the landscape.

  Ymir, the first being, was

  the father of all giants.

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  His hair became trees, his skull the sky,

  and his brain formed clouds. His bones

  made mountains and his blood flowed as

  seas. A wall between the gods and giants

  was built from Ymir’s huge eyebrows.

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  A fantastic, flapping firebird called

  a phoenix is featured in the legends of

  ancient Greece and Egypt. The song

  of the phoenix was so beautiful that

  the sun god would stop his chariot just

  to listen to it.

  Toward the end of its life, the phoenix

  was thought to build a special nest. It

  set the nest on fire before being reborn

  from the ashes. The new phoenix flew

  up to the sky to give the gift of an egg

  to the sun god. This magical bird is

  a symbol of long life, rebirth, and

  eternal hope.

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  It is believed that phoenixes

  can live for up to 500 years.

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  Beware the grotesque Gorgons!

  Anyone who stares at these scary

  snake-haired sisters will be instantly

  turned to stone.

  These ancient Greek women had

  vast wings, sharp fangs, and scaly

  skin. The most famous sister was

  Medusa. She was cursed with

  slithering snakes on her head after

  claiming her hair was more beautiful

  than a goddess’s. Medusa met a

  dire end when the Greek warrior

  Perseus set out to slay her. Using

  a bronze shield as a

  reflective mirror

  to avoid her gaze,

  Perseus cut off

  Medusa’s head.

  He became a hero.

  Bronze shield

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  Medusa was the only Gorgon

  who could be killed.

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  Monsters Map

  Planet Earth has always been a

  monster’s playground. Be brave as you

  travel far and wide to trace the origins

  of these memorable monsters!

  Ymir—Scandinavia

  (see pp.8–9)

  NORTH

  AMERICA

  Ninki Nanka—

  Gambia

  This swamp monster

  has the body of a

  crocodile with

  SOUTH

  a giraffe’s neck

  AMERICA

  and a horse’s head.

  El Chupacabra—Puerto Rico

  This monster is a mix of lizard

  and coyote. Its legend grew

  from stories of beasts in

  Mexico and the USA.

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  Cerberus—Greece

  Known as the hound of Hades,

  this three-headed dog stood

  guard outside the Underworld

  Ushi-oni—Japan

  to keep the dead from escaping.

  The water-dwelling Ushi-oni

  has an ox’s head. Its body is made

  of parts from different animals,

  including a spider, cat, and crab.

  Medusa—Greece

  (see pp.12–13)

  ASIA

  EUROPE

  Pan Gu—China

  (see pp.6–7)

  Phoenix—Egypt and Greece

  (see pp.10–11)

  Yara-ma-yha-who—

  Australia

  Ninki Nanka—

  The yara-ma-yha-who

  Gambia

  is small in size and has

  This swamp monster

  AFRICA

  suckers for fingers. Its

  has the body of a

  skin is bright red.

  crocodile with

  a giraffe’s neck

  and a horse’s head.

  Garuda—India

  AUSTRALIA

  The king of the birds has an

  eagle’s head, wings, and claws,

  with a human body. He punishes

  wrong-doers by eating them.

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  Chapter 2

  Flying Fiends

  The great griffin is part of mythology

  across Europe, Asia, and beyond.

  It has the beak and wings of

  an eagle and the body of a lion.

  Griffins were considered the

  most majestic mix of creatures.

  With super strength, they have

  been described as more powerful

  than 12 eagles and more dangerous

  than a pride of lions. Griffins were

  strong enough to snatch up horses

  and their riders in their talons.

  They were also guardians, trusted

  to protect gold and other treasures.

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  Their strength and leadership meant

  they were pictured on the shields of

  medieval knights.

  Griffins were

  believed to build

  their nests from gold.

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  A thunderbird totem pole

  in Victoria, British

  Columbia, Canada.

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  Native American tribes tell

  tales of the Thunderbird. They

  celebrate it in carvings and totem

  poles. However, sightings and stories

  of the Thunderbird have always struck

  fear into human hearts.

  When this monstrous bird took

  flight the sky would fill with

  thunderstorms. Thunderclaps came

  from each flap of its wings and

  lightning strikes from each blink

  of its eyes. The Thunderbird was so

  large that it could grab whales

  out of the ocean and carry

  them away to eat.

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  Arabian legends tell of a

  winged terror called the Roc. It

  features in a classic Arabian story,

  One Thousand and One Nights. It

  also appears in the traveler’s tales

  of Italian adventurer Marco Polo.

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  According to one story, this

  eagle-like bird could even

  carry off elephants.

  Seeing the Roc meant a failed harvest

  or bloody battle was on the way. The

  Roc had a huge hunger to match its size.

  It could grab its prey in its enormous

  claws. Rocs were thought to be able

  to snatch whole ships from the sea.

&
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  Dragons

  The history of dragons is a tale of two

  continents. Flying, fire-breathing dragons

  were feared in Europe. Slinky, serpentlike

  dragons were thought to be lucky in Asia.

  Kuh Billaur

  In ancient Persia, there

  was an evil dragon

  called Kuh Billaur.

  He was killed by the

  sword of the hero, Ali.

  Gargoyle

  Instead of fire, French dragons,

  called gargoyles, squirted

  water. Gargoyle sculptures

  were put on buildings to scare

  away enemies.

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  Ryu

  This snakelike dragon

  hid beneath the ocean in

  Japan. He created terrible

  storms. However, those who

  faced the creature would

  have their wishes granted.

  Fafnir

  In Scandinavian myth,

  a dwarf named Fafnir was

  turned into a fire-breathing

  dragon. He was killed by

  the dragon-slayer, Sigurd.

  Komodo

  The only dragon alive

  today is the Komodo

  dragon. It is the largest

  living lizard. Komodo

  dragons live in the

  volcanic islands

  of Indonesia.

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  Chapter 3

  Earthy Creatures

  An elephant never forgets, and

  Indian stories always remember

  the jumbo Airavata. This special

  elephant is easy to spot as it has

  five trunks and ten tusks. The Hindu

  god Brahma crowned Airavata

  King of the Elephants.

  In Indian mythology, Airavata is

  known as “elephant of the clouds,”

  because he gave the world water.

  Airavata made rain clouds form above

  Earth. He sucked up water with his

  trunks and sprayed it into the sky.

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  Mural of Airavata at a temple in Thailand.

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