While looking through my list of mythical creatures, I came across notes I’d made of ones that aren’t mentioned as much.

I’ll start with the 2 familiar ones, which happen to be a couple of my favourite mythical beasts.

The Hippogriff, half griffin and half horse, although its sometimes depicted with the front half of an eagle.

The Hippogriff - ***‘Aventurian Bestiary II’ by Nadine Schakel (ArtStation)***

The griffin half of the hippogriff, the head and forequarters, are of the father while the hindquarters come from its mother, a mare.

It was invented by the Italian poet, Ludovico Ariosto, in the early 16th century in his epic poem, ‘Orlando Furioso’.

The poem, which was about war, love and the romantic ideal of chivalry, mixes realism and fantasy.

The hippogriff is a swift-moving creature, able to fly around the world and even to the moon.

The ‘Lamassu’.

I first came across one at the British Museum.

A celestial being from ancient Assyria, it’s shown with a human face, either a lion or bull’s body, and giant wings.

Despite their fearsome appearance, they were considered household protective spirits, watching over the common folk.

Lamassu were engraved in clay tablets and buried under the door’s threshold to protect the house.

In time, they became known as royal protectors and were placed at palace entrances as a pair to act as sentinels.

Enormous sculptures of lamassu were also placed at the entrance of cities, again as a pair.

Now, onto the not-so-familiar.

First is one that some believe might have either come from outer space or is the result of military experiments…

The Chupacabra.

The name literally means ‘goat-sucker’ in Spanish as the creature is said to attack livestock and drink the blood of its victims.

Sightings of the creature were reported in Puerto Rico from the 1970s, and it has also been seen in southern American states.

Physical descriptions vary from dog-like to more reptilian, possibly even alien-like with leathery or scaly skin and spines running down its back.

Next, the Kludde, another dog-like beast.

Kludde - ***CrystalKleure (deviantart)***

Known mainly in Belgium, the Kludde is described as a big black dog that walks on its hind legs with batwings on its back.

Its capable of shapeshifting into other animals including cats, bats, horses and even humans.

According to Belgian folklore, the Kludde is recognised by the sound of rattling chains and the blue flame that flickers around it.

Any who venture onto lonely roads risk being attacked by the beast, which jumps on its victim’s back and tears them to pieces.

The caladrius.

According to Roman mythology, this snow-white bird was said to have healing abilities in that it would take a person’s sickness into itself.

It was said that if the caladrius looked into the face of a sick person, that person would live. But if it looked away, the person would die.

It was believed that by looking into the face of the patient, the caladrius would draw the sickness from the person into itself.

It would then fly towards the sun, which would burn and destroy the sickness; thus, the caladrius, also, would be healed.

The next creature is from Greek mythology – the Hecatoncheires.

The name means ‘hundred-handed ones’ because they had a hundred hands; they also had fifty heads.

The children of the Titans, Uranus and Gaea, they were referred to in the plural because they were three beings – Briareus or Aegaeon (‘the vigorous’ or ‘the sea goat’), Cottus (‘the striker’ or ‘the furious’), and Gyges (‘the big-limbed’).

The Hecatoncheires represented the natural forces of earthquakes and massive sea waves.

For whatever reason, Uranus tried to push them back into Gaea’s womb.

Angered, Gaea plotted to overthrow her husband, and helped Cronus, her son, defeat him.

But Cronus then imprisoned the Hecatoncheires in Tartarus.

During the war between the Titans and the Olympians, Gaea, siding with Zeus, advised him to free them.

Proving themselves worthy allies, they helped to overthrow the Titans, and Zeus made them the guards of Tartarus.

We go even further back in time for the penultimate creature – Aqrabuamelu or Scorpion men.

Akrabuamelu by ***yigitkoroglu (deviantart)***

Also known as ‘girtablilu’, they featured in a number of Akkadian language myths including the ‘Epic of Gilgamesh’.

They had the head, torso, and arms of a man, and a scorpion’s body; their heads were said to touch the sky.

It is said they were first created by Tiamat, the primordial goddess of the sea, to wage war against the younger gods for the betrayal of her mate, Apsu, a primal being made of fresh water.

***Scorpion men*** - '***A History of Babylon, From the Foundation of the Monarchy to the Persian Conquest History of Babylonia***' by Leonard William King (Public Domain)

In the ‘Epic of Gilgamesh’, the aqrabuamelu stand guard outside the gates of the sun god, Shamash, at the mountains of Mashu, which are the entrance to Kurnugi, the land of darkness.

The aqrabuamelu open the doors for Shamash as he travels out at the beginning of each day, closing the doors when he returns at night.

Although their “terror is awesome”, and their “glance is death”, they also warned travellers of dangers.

(The quotes above are from ‘The Babylonian Gilgamesh Epic’ by A.R. George; they tell of Gilgamesh’s meeting with the Scorpion men as he journeys to meet his ancestor, Ut-napishtim, who has been granted eternal life.)

Finally, Amarok the Wolf.

From Inuit legends, Amarok, or Amaroq, is a giant wolf that hunts alone, a literal lone wolf.

It’s believed to have its origins in old Eskimo stories about the direwolf, which no longer exists.

Amarok is said to hunt humans who go hunting alone during the night to punish them for their foolishness.

Despite this, many of the stories about Amarok show it in a positive light.

According to an Inuit tale, a weak young boy was shunned by his people because of his lack of physical strength.

When he prayed to the gods for a way to become stronger, it was Amarok who came to him.

Every day, the giant wolf wrestled with the boy, and, in this way, the boy gradually became stronger.

Until, one day, the boy wrestled and defeated 3 bears, gaining the respect of his people.

Other tales tell of Amarok the Wolf being slain by a powerful warrior as a way of showing strength and courage.

Of the not-so-familiar, predictably, it is Amarok the Wolf that’s my favourite. Despite its fearsome appearance, it seemed to have favoured humans instead of viewing them solely as prey.

Mythical Creatures - 2 Familiar and 6 Not-So-Familiar