John Matthews - The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures - The Ultimate A–Z of Fantastic Beings from Myth and Magic

The Apsaras are beautiful water nymphsin Hindu mythology, who made their appearance at the time of the Churning of the Water of creation and now dance in heaven before the throne of Indra. They are particularly associated with the fig and banana trees, and passers by may hear them playing lutes and cymbals. They are companions to the Gandhavas,spirits of air and music. Tradition describes them as the consorts given as reward to the heroic dead at the time of their arrival in Paradise. Perhaps because of this, no single group of beings would take them as wives, and this gave rise to a belief in their promiscuous behaviour. Their other attributes include bestowing good fortune in games of chance and causing madness or derangement in those who hear their music. They live in the water with plants and trees, or, if on land, with peacocksand arjuna trees. They entice men with their smiles but self-disciplined men are impervious to their dances and callings.

The Apsasu are the form that lamastake when they appear as temple guardians of Mesopotamian temples, usually as female human-headed cowsand lionesseswho stand protectively at gateways.

In Babylonian myth, the Aptaleon was a beast with a goat’sbody and two serrated horns with which it felled trees, sawing away at the wood. This work raised a great thirst which was only quenched by the waters of the Euphrates river. If the Aptaleon wandered into the desert and found an erechire bush, its horns would become locked fast in the branches. ( See Analopos.)

One of the names of the great cosmic serpentin the traditions of the native Australians. Like its fellow, Yurluggur,the Aranda inhabited the depths of the deepest billabongs and rivers, where the currents run so deep they cannot be perceived on the surface. Humans unwise enough to draw water or fish in these spots are often caught unawares; the Aranda rises and takes its victim below in one gulp, leaving no sign that it has even been there.

A bizarre creature from French folklore, which occupies caves in the French Alps. It has the body and legs of a lizardand the head of a cat.It preys on unsuspecting travellers.

An alternative name for the Cerynian Hindin classical Greek and Roman mythology. Hercules sought it for the third of his twelve Labours.

One of two giant hunting dogsbelonging to the giant Orion in classical mythology. Its fellow was named Ptoophagos. Between the two of them, they were powerful enough to hunt down bears.

In the creation myths of the Nauru people of the South Pacific, the Areop-Enap was the Ancient Spiderwho created the Earth and Heavens by prising apart mollusc shells with the help of two snails and a worm.The two snails became the sun and moon, while the worm, Rigi,was the one who forced the molluscs apart. His efforts were such that his sweat became the salt of the sea as he heaved them open. In other stories, Rigi was a butterflywho flew between earth and sea to separate them. Areop-Enap’s son was Areop-It-Eonin or Young Spider, who created fire by bringing it from the abode of thunder and lightning.

An alternative name for the Harpiesof Greek mythology, said to derive from the cries they made. Areyiai translates as ‘Slicer’ or ‘Tearer’, giving a clear indication of the kind of creature this was. Originally, they were goddesses of the wind, as the meaning of the word Harpy – ‘to transport’ or ‘to snatch’ – suggests. Certainly they are unpleasant creatures, with hag-like faces, pendulous breasts, bear’sears and batwings.

In Greek and Roman mythology, Argos was a giantwith a thousand eyes. Sometimes called Panopes (‘he who sees everything’), the giant almost never slept, since at all times, when some of his eyes were closed, others would be open. When Zeus, the father of the gods, had an affair with the nymphIo, his jealous wife Hera kidnapped Io and had her imprisoned under the watchful eyes of Argos. Discovering this, Zeus sent Hermes to rescue her. Hermes lulled the giant to sleep with his lyre, and then killed him and cut off his head. Later, when Hera heard this, she collected Argos’ eyes and set them in the tail of the peacock,a bird that was sacred to her.

A variety of malevolent spirit in the folklore and beliefs of the Maori people of New Zealand. Seen as vehicles for the Atua,or spirits, the Aria were responsible for inflicting disease and misfortune, and even the sight of one could bring disaster. The fearsome form taken by this creature was that of the green gecko. A story, recorded in 1823, tells of a ship’s officer, who was carrying one of these reptiles in his hand, asking a young Maori woman for its name in her language. The woman drew away from him in terror, repeating over and over that this was one of the Ari, which fed upon the bodies of the dead.

A giantwinged ramfrom the mythology of Greece and Rome. It was known as Chrysomallus,‘The Ram with the Golden Fleece’, and this was its most famous attribute. Its fate is inextricably bound up with that of the Prince Phryxus, son of King Athamus of Thesaly. When the young man was accused by his stepmother of causing a famine in his father’s land, he fled, mounted on the ram’s back. Having reached safety at Colchis, he gave thanks to Zeus, the king of the gods, by sacrificing the ram. Its miraculous fleece was hung in the temple of the god. It later became the object of the quest for the Golden Fleece undertaken by the hero Jason and his famed Argonauts. Zeus, pleased with the sacrifice, later placed the ram in the heavens as the constellation of Aries, which rules over the astrological period 21 March to 21 April.

The name of a mighty horsein classical Greek and Roman mythology. Homer calls this beast ‘the swift horse, divine in origin’. Arion was said to be the offspring of the sea god Poseidon, who mated with the goddess Demeter, while both were in the form of horses. Arion was said to be partly human, its hooves resembling human feet, while from its back grew eaglewings. It also possessed the gift of speech, and could prophesy events to come. Among its many riders were the semi-divine heroes Hercules, Copreus and Andrastus.

Among the strange beings reported by the first Western explorers of North America, the Armouchiquois were some of the most curious. Their heads were very small and their bodies very large, and their arms and legs as lean as skeletons yet straight and strong. When they sat on their heels, their knees were more than half a foot over their heads. They were powerful, strong and determined and much feared by the Native American tribes.

Two of the great horses of the sunin the Hindu mythology of India. The stallion Arusha and the mare Arushi are the lead horses, pulling the chariot of the sun god Suraya across the heavens.