MOST FAMOUS MYTHOLOGICAL ANIMALS

DRAGON

They are winged reptiles –like the one in the photo that opens this article– and the most powerful mythological beings that exist or have ever been talked about. They are present in the legends of Asia, Europe, America and Oceania, and one of their main characteristics is that they spit fire and can fly.

PHOENIX

This animal is used a lot when a person can get ahead despite obstacles. The phoenix bird, which 'rises from the ashes', has its origins in Egypt and, according to legend, every 500 years it could be reborn after purification by fire.

MANTICORE

Similar to the Egyptian sphinx, this mythological animal has the body of a lion, the head of a man, the wings of a dragon or bat, and the tail of a scorpion or dragon. It is an imposing beast very popular in European legends and, apparently, lived in ancient Persia. This is another of the most powerful beings in popular culture and a lover of eating humans, after shooting poisonous thorns at them. During the Middle Ages it was used as a symbol of tyranny, envy, oppression and the embodiment of all evil.

PEGASUS

This winged horse is another of the best known mythological animals; it was used by Zeus –God of heaven and earth– and was born from the blood of Medusa

after being decapitated. According to the representation it can be white or black,
it has two wings, and while it is in the air it moves its legs as if it were actually running or galloping.

GRIFFIN

This creature is 'composed' of two animals: the lower part is that of a lion with

yellow fur, a long tail and muscular legs; the upper part belongs to a giant eagle

with golden feathers, powerful talons and a sharp beak. According to myths it is

stronger than a big cat, and it arose in the Near East (Babylonia, Persia and Assyria),

although it is also present in Greek legends: the god Apollo used griffins as guardians

of his treasures.

FAUN

This character from Roman mythology – known as Pan in Greek mythology – is an animal with the legs of a ram, the body of a man and the horns of a goat. He was a great hunter and lived in the forests and plains. He was worshiped as a god of the field and shepherds, and as a prophetic divinity. In various regions of Italy there are still monuments and statues in honor of Faun.

CHIMERA

The chimera comes from Greek mythology and is a hybrid animal with snake,

lion and goat parts. It has three heads, the lion's in the front, the goat's in the

center of its back, and the snake's at the end of its tail. It is believed to have been

a ferocious animal, with incredible strength and the ability to spit flames.

UNICORN

The unicorn is a mythological animal depicted as a white horse with a spiral horn coming out of its forehead. Wonderful healing powers were attributed to it, since it was considered that its horn could heal any disease and even cure poisoning.

CERBERUS

It was also called the watchdog of the underworld. According to Greek mythology, it was the pet of Hades and had the task of preventing the souls of mortals from escaping the underworld. His physical appearance was colossal and he had three heads instead of one.

FEATHERED SERPENT

This creature was present in the ancient beliefs of several Mesoamerican pre-Hispanic cultures. Its appearance was that of a large snake with colorful feathers and colours, considered the deity of the greatest wisdom, nature and vegetation. Its name in Nahuatl is Quetzalcóatl and it comes from the fusion of two words: "Quetzalli" which means feathered or beautiful feather and "Cóatl" which means snake.

KRAKEN

It is a giant octopus that is believed to have the size of "a floating island", lived at the bottom of the sea and destroyed ships that dared to enter its domain. It comes from Scandinavian mythology. Today, this mythological animal is considered to have originated from sightings of giant squid measuring between 33 and 45 meters in length.

MERMAID

One of the best-known mythological marine animals are mermaids, to which marvelous aesthetic qualities used to be attributed. Its usual representation was that of a hybrid being with the upper half in the form of a human (woman) and the lower half in the form of a fish (tail).

XOLOTL

The Xolotl is a god with the body of a man and the head of a dog who is in charge of guiding the souls of the dead to Mictlan (underworld). According to Aztec mythology, he was the brother of Quetzalcóatl (feathered serpent) and was considered the god of heavenly fire and lightning.

MINOTAUR

Finally, in this list we find a being formed by the body of a man and the head of a bull, who was locked up in a labyrinth on the island of Crete and received seven men and seven women as food each year. Theseus was in charge of entering the place and annihilating the beast after a hard fight.

CENTAUR

In Greek mythology, the centaur is a creature with the head, arms, and torso of a human and the body and legs of a horse. The females are called centaurs. They lived in the mountains of Thessaly and were considered the children of Apollo and Estilbe.

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