The Origin of Santa Claus and the Customs of Christmas: Part Two

The Companions of Saint Nicholas by Spearhafoc

Last time we learned about Saint Nicholas: the legends of his generosity, of the punishments that might be doled out to naughty children, and of his connection with the modern Santa Claus.  We also learned a little bit about Zwarte Piet, or Black Peter.  Today we will further examine the companions of Santa Claus, as well as looking at some of the other forefathers of Santa Claus within Norse mythology.

Black Peter

Black Peter, like Santa Claus, is known by many names: Knecht Ruprecht, Pere Fouttard and Pelzabock der Hans Muff.

A modern postcard of Zwarte Piet

 According to Dutch tradition, Zwarte Piet was a Moorish slave who was freed by Sinterklaas.  In return for his freedome, Zwarte Piet devoted his life to serving Sinterklaas.  In Holland, Sinterklaas rides into Centennial Park on a white horse, led by Zwarte Piet during the town's Parade of Lights.  Sometimes Zwarte Piet rides a mule or walks behind Saint Nicholas.  He was the one to carry the presents for the good little children and the birch rods for the bad little children.  He was sometimes portrayed wearing clothes of a 16th century Spanish official.  He is said to have entered the house through the chimney to deliver presents.  His face has been blackened by the soot from the chimney.

The source of these legends are believed to be connected with both German and Dutch mythology, where the people were blessed by ghostly creatures capable of going up andx down chimneys like smoke.  Some traditions make Black Peter the devil who was defeated by Saint Nicholas, who then shackles him before the feast of Nicholas to do his bidding. 

Pere Fouttard

 Amongst the Germanic people Knecht Ruprecht was thought of as a 'grungy, sooty faced... farmhand or servant.'  He, like Black Peter, carries a sack and a rod.  The children would be asked to sing a religious song or to recite a religious poem.  If they were unable to do so, or if they had been naughty, Knecht Ruprecht would beat them, stuff them inside his sack and take them off to his cave in the Black Forest.

In France, Pere Fouttard would lead a donkey whose saddlebags were full of gifts.  He was dressed in black and was also known as the 'Evil Butcher' who was condemned to follow Saint Nicholas to make up for his past crimes: he would lure children into his butcher shop, where the children would meet their unfortunate end.  Children who had been naughty would be whipped.


A similar character can be found in Germany: the Krampus.  The Krampus was considered to be a 7 ft tall monster who possessed an extraordinary long tongue.  He carried a wicker basket, in which he would carry naughty children to his lair, and a whip, to punish the naughty children.  Today, in Austria, people still dress up as Krampuses and run down the streets, beating the 'bad' out of those they deem naughty.  Most families, however, use the story of the Krampus as a way to frighten their children into behaving.

The Krampus

As you can see, the unpleasant character of Black Peter and his aliases were, and in some countries still are, used as a means to make children behave themselves.  This tradition lives on in the 'better be good' attitude which accompanies Santa Claus and Christmas.  However, the punishment for misbehaviour has been lessened to a piece of coal rather than a beating with birch sticks and a trip to Hell is Black Peter's sack.

Some have argued that there are many problems with Saint Nicholas being the inspiration for the modern Santa Claus.  Santa has been portrayed as wearing a scruffy hair coat, with an unkept beard.  He is often covered in soot from sliding down the chimney and promises earthly rewards which he carries in a sack. 

Saint Nicholas, on the flip side, was meant be be just that - a saint.  So he was dressed in church attire and would have had heavenly aspirations.  Surely Saint Nicholas couldn't be considered materialistic.  However, when we look at Black Peter, we find 'a coat of hair, a disheveled beard, a bag, and ashes on his face.'  It seems that Black Peter has his own role to play within our modern perception of Santa Claus.

While Saint Nicholas and Black Peter both play a role in our modern perception of Santa Claus, there are others who help to form the modern basis for our Christmas gift-giver.  Many other ancient traditions have also been mixed into the legend.  One other influence Pagan gods of the Norse people..

The Pagan Gods of the Norse People

Midwinter by Skarbog

 Odin is usually portrayed as a long-bearded, one-eyed, old man and often appeared dressed in old robes and a hood.  In this guise he would grant gifts and boons as well as curses and catastophe.  He watched over the nine worlds, including the worlds of the elves.  Sometimes he was said to ride a flying, white horse with eight legs called Slepnir through the sky during Yule, when he would throw sweets to children.  The children would place their boots near the chimney and fill them with carrots, straw, or sugar for Odin's horse to eat and Odin would reward these children by replacing the food with gifts or sweets.  This practice, having survived Christianity, became associated with Saint Nicholas, with children still putting straw-filled shoes beside the chimney on every winter night in the hope that Saint Nicholas will reward them.

Before the Christmas tradition reached the lands of the Norse, the people celebrated Yule.  This winter holiday is associated with Odin and included feasting, drinking, and gift-giving, much like the Christmas traditions of today.  The terms Christmas and Yule have become interchangable.
While our modern Santa Claus cannot be said with certainty to have originated with Odin, there are definately similarities between this god and the holiday associated with him, and our modern Christmas.  Here we have the long beard of Santa Claus, the cloak and hood, a potential origin for Santa's elves and maybe even the reindeer.

Thor by derekulstad

 Another Norse god who is believed to be related to Santa Claus is Thor.  He was the god of peasants and the common people and was portrayed as an friendly and jolly elderly man, of heavy build, with a long white beard.  His element was fire and he was said to come down the chimney into his element, the fire.  Also, because of his element, his colour is red.  Thor was said to ride a chariot through the sky.  It was drawn by two white goats, whose names were Cracker and Gnasher.  Having fought against the ice and snow giants, Thor became the a god of Yule.  He was said to live in a palace among the icebergs in the Northland and was believed to help and protect people.  His symbol is that of a hammer, which is also the tool of a carpenter.  Thor himself was a skilled carpenter and his hammer was made by elves, who were also his helpers.

Today in Sweden Thor still represents Santa Claus, where children wait with great excitement for Jultomten; a gnome whose sleigh is drawn by the Julbocker, the goats of the god Thor.  He wears a red suit and cap and carries a bulging sack, much like our modern Santa.

The similarities between Thor and Santa Claus are very difficult to ignore.  Here we have the jovial old man, the long white beard, the trips up and down the chimney, the potential origin of Santa's red suit, a possible start for Santa's flying sleigh drawn by animals with similar names to our reindeer, and Santa's home at the North Pole.  We also have a skilled carpenter, whose symbol was a hammer, and the elves who are said to help him, much like Santa's elves.

Father winter by alexson1

Old Man Winter, also known as Father Winter, is another Norse character who has found a place within our modern Christmas.  Some believe that Old Man Winter is another personification of Odin on account of the giant white horse he was said to ride.  Depicted as wearing a hooded fur coat, this characted also had a long white beard and was welcomed into homes to enjoy the festivities.  During the 8th and 9th centuries, when the Vikings conquered Britain, Old Man Winter was introduced and became the English Father Christmas.

That's all for today.  Next time we will further examine Yule, the Winter Solstice, which may provide us with further clues of how the holiday of Christmas began.








Useful Resources

Oddball Michigan: A Guide to 450 Really Strange Places by Jerome Pohlen
Santa's Book of Knowledge by Santa Al Horton
Santa Claus: Is He for Your Child? by John L. Hoh
The Curious Tales of Santa Claus by Gregory Conte and Therese Conte
Santa Claus: Last of the Wild Men by Rhylis Siefker
About Christmas by Nicolae Sfetcu
The Story of Santa Claus by Joseph McCullough

Creatures of the Deep: Sea Serpents - Part Two

Sea Serpent by Julia-Aurora

Yesterday we learned about some of the sea serpents in mythology - the Leviathan, Midgard Serpent, Hydra and Master Stoorworm.  Today we are going to look at historical accounts of sea serpents from ancient to modern times.

The earliest account of sea serpents can be traced hack to the 4th century BC, in Aristotles 'Historia Animalium' or History of Animals.  This account tells us of mariner's experieces with sea serpents near Libya.

'In Libya, according to all accounts, the length of the serpents is something appalling; sailors spin a yarn to the effect that some crews once put ashore and saw the bones of a number of oxen, and that they were sure that the oxen had been decoured by serpents, for, just as the were putting out to sea, serpents came chasing their galleys at full speed and overturned one galley and set upon the crew.'

Great Norwegian Sea-Serpent in the Sea of Darkness, by Olaus Magnus, from his History of the Northern Peoples.

According to Olaus Magnus, in his Historia de Gentibus Septentrionalibus or Description of the Northern Peoples, which was printed in Rome in 1555, sea serpents of around 75ft were sighted by sailors of the North in 1522.

'There is also another serpent of an astonishing size in an island called Moos, in the diocese of Hammer: which portends a change in the Kingdom of Norway, as a comet does in the whole world, as it was seen, anno 1522, raising itself high above the surface of the water and circling like a spire.  Seen from afar this serpent was estimated by conjecture to be fifty cubits long; this event was followed by the banishment of King Christiernus and by a great persecution of the Bishops; and it also showed the destruction of the country, as Isidorus tells us of the birds of Diomedes.'

Great Sea Serpent and the Maelstrom by Olaus Magnus.

Another account from the same literature tells us of sighting near Norway, where the serpent was some 200ft in length.  Note how, in both accounts, the sighting of the sea serpent is linked with the occurrence of death or banishment of royalty or the start of war. 

'They who, either to trade, or to fish, sail along the shores of Norway, relate with concurring evidence a truly admirable story, namely that a very large serpent of a length upwards of 200 feet, and 20 feet in diameter lives in rocks and holes near the shore of Bergen; it comes out of its caverns only on summernights and in fine weather to devour calves, lambs and hogs, or goes into the sea to eat cuttles, lobsters and all kinds of sea-crabs.  It has a row of hairs of two feet in length, langing from the neck, sharp scales of a dark colour, and brilliant flaming eyes.  It attacks boats, and snatches away the men, by raising itself high out of the water, and devours them: and commonly this does not happen without a terrible event in the Kingdom, without a change being at hand, either that the princes will die or will be banished, or that a war will soon break out.'

In John Josselyn's An Account of Two Voyages to New England, printed in 1674, with the voyage sighting occurring during the first voyage of 1638, we are told the following:

June the Six and twentieth day... where amongst variety of discourse they told me... of a Sea-Serpent of Snake, that lay quoiled up like a Cable upon a Rock at Cap-Ann: a Boat passing by with English aboard, and two Indians, they would have shot the Serpent, but the Indians disswaded them, saying, that if he were not kill'd out-right, they would be all in danger of their lives.'

Sea Serpents off Maine Coast

A similar reference was by Obadiah Turner, writing from Lyon, Massachusettes in September 1641, where we are told 'some being on ye great beache... did spy a most wonderful serpent a shorte way off from ye shore.  He was as big round in ye thickest part as a wine pipe; and they do affirme he was fifteen fathome of more in length...  Wee have likewise heard yt at Cape Ann ye people have seene a monster like unto this which did there come out of the sea and coil himself upon the land.'

This sea serpent later became known as Gloucester's Sea Serpent, named after a harbor just north of Boston, with sightings continuing through the 18th and 19th centuries.

In 1722, Hans Egede, known for his work as a missionary in Greenland, wrote a report to the Bergen Comapany, which was published in 1729 as Det gamle Gronlands nye perlustration or A Description of Greenland.  Here he wrote of 'an enormous huge serpent and when it dived again underwater, it plunged backwards into the sea, and so raised its tail alopf, which seemed a whole ship's length distant from the bulkiest part of the body.' 

Sea serpent reported by Hans Egede

Another account of Hans Egede's encounter appears in A Full and Particular Relation of his voyage to Greenland, as a Missionary, on the year 1734, published at Kopenhagen in 1740.

'Anno 1734, July.  On the 6th, appeared a very terrible sea-animal, which raised itself so high above the water, that its head reached above out main-top.  It had a long sharp snout, and blew like a whale, had broad, large flappers, and the body was, as it were, covered with a hard skin, and it was very wrinkled and uneven on its skin; moreover on the lower part it was formed like a snake, and when it went under water again, it cast itself backwards and in so doing it raised its tail above the water, a whole ship-length from its body.'

Maned sea serpent from Bishop Erik Pontoppidan's 1755 work Natural History of Norway.

In a Natural History of Norway, Bishop Pontoppidan relates the following encounter with a huge maned sea serpent, which he had heard from Captain de Ferry:

'The latter end of August, in the year 1746... it happened when we arrived with my vessel within six English miles of the aforesaid Molde... I heard a kind of murmuring voice from amongst the men at the oars, who were eight in number, and observed that the man at the helm kept off from land.  Upon this I enquired what was the matter; and was informed that there was a Sea-Snake before us.  I then ordered the man at the helm to keep to the land again, and to come up with this creature, of which I had heard so many stories...  In the mean time this Sea-Snake passed by us...  As the Snake swam farther than we could row, I took my gun... and fire at it: on this he immediately plunged under the water...  The head of this Snake, which it held more than two feet above the surface of the water, resembled that of a horse.  It was of a greyish colour, and the mouth was quite black, and very large.  It had black eyes, and a long white mane, that hung down from the neck to the surface of the water.  Besides the head and neck, we saw seven or eight folds or coils of this Snake, which were very thick, and, as far as we could guess, there was about a fathom distance between each fold.'

Of the many sea serpent sightings and accounts from the 19th century, the most interesting comes from August 1848, when the Officer of Watch, aboard the Royal Navy Frigate HMS Daedalus spotted what he believed to be a sea serpent.  The following letter from Captain McQuhae recounts the experience.

The sea serpent spotted by the crew of HMS Daedalus in 1848.

H.M.S Daedalus
Hamoaze, Oct. 11.
Sir - In reply to your letter of this day's date, requiring information as to the truth of a statement published in the Times nespaper, of a sea-serpent of extraordinary dimensions having been seen from Her Majesty's ship Daedalus, under my command, on her passage from the East Indies, I have the honour to acquaint you, for the information of my Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, that at 5 o'clock PM. on the 6th of August last, in latitude 24° 44´ S. and longitude 9° 22´ E, the weather dark and cloudy, wind fresh from the N.W., with a long ocean swell from the S.W., the ship on the port tack, heading N.E. by N., something very unusual was seen by Mr. Sartoris, midshipman, rapidly approaching the ship from before the beam.  The circumstance was immediately reported by him to the officer of the watch, Lieutenant Edgar Drummond, with who and Mr. William Barrett, the master, I was at the time walking the quarter-deck.  The ships' company were at supper.

Another of the original illustrations of the HMS Daedalus encounter

On our attention being called to the object, it was discovered to be an enormous serpent, with head and shoulders kept about four feet constantly above the surface of the sea; and as nearly as we could approximate by comparing it with the length of what our main topsail-yard would show in the water, there was at the very least sixty feet of the animal à fleur d’eau, no portion of which was, in our perception, used in propelling it through the water, either by verticle or horizontal undulation.  It passed rapidly, but so close under our lee quarter that had it been a man of my acquaintance I should have easily recognized his features with the naked eye, and it did not, either in approaching the ship or after it had passed our wake, deviate in the slightest degree from its course to the S.W., which it held on at the pace of from twelve to fifteen miles per hour, apparently on some determined purpose.  The diameter of the serpent was about fifteen or sixteen inches behind the head, which was, without any doubt, that of a snake; and it was never, during the twenty minutes that it continued in sight of our glasses, once below the surface of the ater; its colour, a dark brown with yellowish white about the throat.  It had no fins, but something like the mane of a horse, or rather a bunch of sea-weed, washed about its back.  It was seen by the quarter-master, the boatswain's mate, and the man at the wheel, in addition to myself and officers above mentioned.
I am having a drawing of the serpent made from a sketch taken immediately after it was seen, which I hope to have ready for transmission to my Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty by to-morrow's post.
I have, &c.,
PETER M‘QUAHŒ, Capt.
To Admiral Sir W. H. Gage, G.C.B.
Devonport

'Caddy' the sea serpent was first sighted in 1892, with the following account having been printed in Port Townsend newpaper and in Key City Graphic originally:

Cadborosaurus AKA Caddy by Timothy Donald Morris

    Yesterday morning, while the steamer Monticello was coming from Angeles to this city, and when almost directly opposite Dungeness, Captain Oliver says he saw the water in the Straits lashed into foam.  Drawing near, to the surprise of the captain and all on board, a huge sea serpent, wrestling about in the waters as if fighting with an unseen enemy, was seen. It soon quieted down and lay at full length on the surface of the water. Captain Oliver estimates it to be about fifty feet in length and not less than four feet in circumference of the body. Its head was projecting from the water about four feet. He says it was a terrible looking object. It had viciously sparkling eyes and a large head. Fins were seen, seemingly sufficiently large to assist the snake through the water. The body was dark brown in color and was uniform all along. From what he says it would be capable of crushing a yawl boat and its occupants.
    As the steamer passed on its course, the snake was seen disporting itself in the water. At the time the Straits were calm, and there could have been no mistake in recognizing the object.
            Found here

In 1933 'Caddy' was given the scientific name Cadborosaurus willsi after British Columbia's Cadboro Bay, where repeated sightings had been made.  In Amphipacifica Journal of Systematic Biology, Dr. Paul H. LeBlond and Dr. Edward L. Bousfield stated that the many historical sightings and accounts of this this serpent provided sufficient evidence to conclude 'the animal is real and merits formal taxonomic description,' and gave Caddy its name.

The Sea Serpent by by Aaron-Radney

Please check out some of the awesome artists for the art on these blog posts (just follow the link below the artwork) and, if your interested in sea serpents and want more information, the following blog post is definitely worth a look.
New Page Books: Creature of the Month The Sinuous Sea-Serpent by Oberon Zell Ravenheart


 







Useful Links
The History of Animals (Historia Animalium) by Aristotle
The Natural History of Norway by Erich Pontoppidan
An Account of Two Voyages to New-England: made during the years 1638 & 1663 by John Josselyn
A Description of Greenland by Hans Egede, who was a missionary in that coutry for twenty-five years
Creatures in the Mist: Little People, Wild Men and Spirit Beings Around the World by Gary R. Varner
The New England Mariner Tradition by Robert A. Geake
The Great Sea Serpent by Antoon Cornelis Oudermans
10 Sensational Sea Serpent Sightings by Lance David Leclaire

Creatures of the Deep: Sea Serpents: Part One

The sea serpent is a mythological and legendary marine animal which most often resembles a giant snake and is widespread in the beliefs of ancient people.  Today we're going to learn about some of the different sea serpents of mythology and legend within different cultures.

The Leviathan
The Leviathan is probably one of the oldest sea serpents in existence.  It can be found in Babylonian and Phoenician mythology.  Its name means 'Coiled'.  In Canaanite mythology, leviathan is referred to as Lotan, the sea dragon or crooked serpent with seven heads.

Leviathan by Vyrilien

When you (Baal) smote Lotan the ancient dragon,
Destroyed the crooked serpent,
Shilyat with the seven heads,
Then the heavens withered and drooped
Like the hoops of your garment.

The Hebrew Old Testament, or Tanakh written between around 1200BC and 165BC, makes several mentions of the leviathan.  Here Leviathan is the chaos dragon created on the fifth day, referred to by Isaiah as the 'crooked serpent' and said to be three hundred miles long with the capability to eat a whale a day.

Leviathan by ourlak

Job 41, however, gives us a description rich in details.  We are told that Leviathan is strong and graceful, with 'rows of shields, tightly sealed together' on its back.  It is said to be so strong that 'the mighty are terrified'.  It has a 'chest as hard as rock' and 'makes the depths churn like a boiling caldron'.  Leviathan breathes fire, much like a dragon.  'Flames stream from its mouth, sparks of fire shoot out.  Smoke pours from its nostrils as from a boiling pot over burning reeds.  Its breath sets coals ablaze, and flames dart from its mouth.'  Human made weapons seem no match for Leviathan: 'Iron it treats like straw and bronze like rotten wood.  Arrows do not make it flee, slingstones are like chaff to it.  A club seems to it but a piece of straw; it laughs at the rattling of the lance.'  Overall, according to this description, Leviathan has no equal, it is 'a creature without fear.'

 Apocalyptic writings, such as the Book of Epoch, also make mention of Leviathan as well as the Behemoth, with the Leviathan being female and the Behemoth being male.  'And on that day were two monsters parted, a female monster named Leviathan, to dwell in the 8 abysses of the ocean over the fountains of the waters.  But the male is named Behemoth, who occupied with his breast a waste wilderness named Duidain, on the east of the garden where the elect and righteous dwell...'  Leviathan's jaws are sometimes regarded as the gates of hell, especially within demonology.

Jörmungandr
Jörmungandr, the Midgard Serpent of Norse mythology, was the offspring of Loki, the fire-giant.  'Loki had yet more children.  A giantess in Jotunheim, hight Angerboda.  With her he begat three children.  The first was the Fenris-wold, the second, Jörmungandr, that is, the Midgard-serpent, and the third Hel.  When the gods knew that these three children were being fostered in Jotunheim, and were aware of the prophecies that much woe and misfortune would thence come to them,... Alfather sent some of the gods to take the children and bring them to him.  When they came to him he threw the serpent into the deep sea which surrounds all lands.  There waxed the serpent so that he lies in the midst of the ocean, surrounds all the earth, and bites his own tail.' 

The world serpent by SigbjornPedersen

We are later told of Thor's first meeting with the Midgard Serpent when he is on a mission to retrieve a cauldron from the giant Hymir.

   '...Thor took the ox-head on board, sat down in the stern and rowed.  Hymir thought they made rapid progress from his rowing.  Hymir sat in the bow, and together they rowed until they came to the place where Hymir was accustomed to sit and catch flat fish.  Thor said he wanted to row much farther out, and they had another bout of fast rowing.  Then Hymir said that they had come so far out that it would be dangerous to sit there on account of the Midgard Serpent. 
   Thor, however, declared his intention of rowing for a bit yet, and di so, and Hymir was not at all pleased at that.  When Thor shipped his oars, he made ready a very strong line and a large hook.  He baited the hook with the ox-head and flung it overboard.
   The Midgard Serpent snapped at the ox-head, and the hook stuck fast in the roof of its mouth.  It jerked away so hard that both Thor's fists knocked against the gunwale.  Then Thor grew angry and, exerting all his divine strength, dug in his heels so hard that both legs went through the boat until he was digging his heels in on the sea bottom.
   He drew the serpent up on board, staring straight at it.  The serpent glared back, belching poison.  The giant Hymir turned pale with fear when he saw the serpent and the sea tembling in and out of the vessel too.  At the very moment that Thor gripped his hammer and raised it aloft, the giant fumbled for his bait knife and cut Thor's line off at the gunwale.
   The serpent sank back into the sea.  Thor flung his hammer after it and people say that this struck its head off in the waves; but the truth is that the Midgard Serpent is still alive and lying in the ocean.'

The rise of Jormungander by VampirePrincess007

We next encounter the Midgard Serpent in the prophecy of Ragnarok or Fate of the Gods.  Here Thor battles against the Midgard Serpent, eventually defeating it.  However, the prophecy also states that this too will be the end of Thor.

Ragnarok by MoshYong

'The shall come to pass these tidings also: all the earth shall tremble so, and the crags, that trees shall be torn up from the earth, and the crags fall to ruin; and all fetters and bonds shall be broken and rent.  Then shall Fenris-Wolf get loos; then the sea shall gush forth upon the land, because the Midgard Serpent stirs in giant wrath and advances up onto the land...  The Midgard Serpent shall blow venom so that he shall sprinkle all the air and water, and he is very terrible, and shall be on one side of the Wolf...  Thor shall put to death the Midgard Serpent, and shall stride away nine paces from that spot; then shall he fall dead to the earth, because of the venom which the Snake has blown at him.'

Lemean Hydra

Hydra by brianvadell

In Greek mythology we find the Lernean Hydra, which forms the second labour of Hercules.  The Lernean Hydra is described as 'a water-snake with nine heads, of which one was immortal, and therefore could not possibly be killed.  It was so very poisonous that even the air from the marshes which it haunted often killed people.'  This water-snake was the offspring of Echidna and Typhon and was later trained by Hera to kill Hercules.  It was said to live near the Fountain of Amymone, preventing the pheasants from using the water in the fountain.  In the Second Labour of Hercules we are told of the battle between Hercules and the Lernean Hydra, in which Hera sends a crab to help defeat Hercules. 





'After a long, dusty walk over the country roads, Hercules  and Iolatus reached the Fountain of Amymone; and there, the first thing that they saw, was the hydra, stretching its nine heads out of its den, and hissing an angry warning with every head.

-Hydra- by arvalis

   A few arrows sent buzzing against it brought the snake out into the marsh, and then Hercules set to work cutting off its heads with his sword.  But for every head he cut off, two new ones grew, and the new heads began hissing and biting even more fiercely than the heads that had been cut off.  Then, while the fight was going on, a crab came out and seized Hercules by the heel.  This was altogether too much to contend with.  Hercules saw that he must try a different plan.  So he called to Iolatus to set fire to a grove of young trees that grew near the swamp, and to keep him supplied with burning brands.  Iolatus did so.
   Then Hercules, as he cut off a head, burned it up, until only one was left.  This one, being the immortal head, would not burn.  Hercules had cut it off, but as it lay in the grass, it spit venom more fiercely than ever.  So Hercules rolled a huge rock over it, and thus prevented it from doing any more harm.'

Stoor worm as portrayed by Maud Hunt Squire

Mester Stoorworm
According to Scandinavian and Celtic legend, Mester Stoorworm was the first and largest of all sea serpents, with a length that stretched halfway across the globe.  His breath was so poisonous it could kill every living creature and wither every single plant.  It was said to resemble a huge mountain, with eyes that glowed like fire and a forked tongue thousands of miles long with which it could sweep entire towns, forests, and hills into the ocean.  It was said that, as he died, his teeth became the Faroes, Orkneys, and Shetland Islands; his tongest entangled itself on the moon; and his body hardened to become Iceland.

The Legend of Master Stoorworm
   Master Stoorworm was a giant sea serpent who resided in the sea near a coastal town.  Master Stoorworm had a great appetite, and each morning he would yawn seven times.  With each great yawn his mouth would open wider and wider.  On the seventh yawn, his mouth would open widest and his long, snake-like tongue would roll out and pull in seven things for him to eat: cattle, chickens, cows, men, women, children, dogs, cats, and so on.  It mattered not to Master Stoorworm.
   King Harald finally got fed up with the sea serpent's marauding ways, and he called a meeting to decide what should be done.  The consensus was to appease the beast by offering him seven maidens on a certain schedule, in the hopes that he would leave them along for the rest of the time and hunt for himself in the seas.  But King Harald did not want to sacrifice his people to the beast.  He wanted the dragon dead, and so he promised his daughter's hand in marriage to the one who slew Master Stoorworm.  Many answered the call, but most were scared away by the serpent's vile breath.  After many failures and with the dragon still on the rampage, the King ordered a boat to be made so that he could go to battle for himself, for he would rather do that than force the sacrifice of his subjects.
   In this town was a young boy who was small, yet exceedingly courageous.  After all the warriors who had come to the king's challenge were either scared away or dead, the boy planned to venture out and try his luck against the beast.  During the night he snuck out carrying an iron pot full of peat.  He made his way to the docks and there stole the King's boat, rowing out to sea to wait for Master Stoorworm to awaken.  With the sea serpent's first great yawn, the boat was swept down his gullet.     The boy paddled down into the beast's body until he reached the liver.  There he used his peat pot to set the liver on fire.  As the dragon writhed in agony, the boy travelled back up the body and out the mouth.
   Master Stoorworm struggled and writhed.  As he flailed about, his teeth started falling out.  These dragon teeth eventually formed Orkney, Shetland, and Faroe Islands.  After Stoorworm died, his carcass shrivelled up and floated away to later become Iceland.

Assipattle and the Sea-Serpent

That's all for today.  Next time we will look at the historical accounts and sightings of sea serpents around the world.

Useful Resources
Encyclopedia of Demons in World Religions and Cultures by Theresa Bane
The Book of Epoch
The Old Enemy: Satan and the Combat Myth by Neil Forsyth
Satanism Today by James R. Lewis
Canaanite Myth and Hebrew Epic: Essays in the History of the Religion of Israel by Frank Moore
The Younger Edda
The Prose Edda of Snorri Sturlason
Ancient Greek Beliefs by Perry L. Westmoreland
Favourite Greek Myths by Lilian Stoughton Hyde
Dragonlore: From the Archives of the Grey School of Wizardry by Ash Dekirk and Oberon Zell-Ravenheart

Creatures From the Deep: Mermaids - Part Two

Sydney Aquarium

Accounts of mermaids can be found everywhere, although they most often come from sailors and those that live on the coast.  Today we will look at some of these accounts, both historic and modern, from around the world

One famous sighting of mermaids can be found in the Journal of Christopher Columbus, which he claimed to have seen during his first voyage.  The following account can be found n Wednesday, 9th of January 1493.

'On the previous day, when the Admiral went to the Rio del Oro, he saw three mermaids, which rose well out of the sea; but they are not so beautiful as they are painted, though to some extent they have the form of a human face.  The Admiral says that he had seen some, at other times, in Guinea, on the coast of the Manequeta.'

Modern interpretations of Columbus' account suggest that the mermaid sighting was in fact the manatis, or sea-cows which were once relatively common in the Carribean Sea and the rivers of South America.  'Their resemblance to human beings, when rising in the water, must have been striking.  They have small, rounded heads and cervical vertebrae which form a neck, enabling the animal to turn its head about.  The fore-lims also, instead of being pectoral fins, have the character of the arm and hand of the higher mammalia.  These peculiarities, and their very human way of suckling their young, holding it by the forearm, which is movable at the elblow-joint, suggested the idea of mermais.'

The Little Mermaid by noctillucca

Columbus' sighting was not the first account of mermaids and it was by far the last.  Accounts of mermaids can be found as far back as the 1st century AD and continue right up to modern times.  However, the opinion of these accounts  vary, with some believing this creatures exist, others believing they are actually some type of seal, some claiming they are nothing but a figment of the imagination, and others still believing they are some kind of alien.

In the 1st century AD Pliny the Elder wrote of mermaids in his Natural History with absolute conviction that they existed, as can be seen in the following excerpt.

Nereid by Lady-Nihonto

...there was seen and heard within a certain cave a Triton, sounding a shell; and that he was known by his form.  And it is not false that there is such a creature as a Nereid; only their body is rough with scales, even in those parts where they possess a human form.  For such a female being was beheld on the same shore; and the neighbouring inhabitants heard is moaning from a distance when it was dying.  Also, a Governor of Gaul, under Divus Augustus, wrote, that many of these Nereids were seen dead upon the shore.  I possess authors, illustrious in the equestrian order, who testify that in the ocean near Gades they saw a sea-man, in the whole body perfectly resembling a man: that in the night season he would come aboard their boats; and on whatever part he sat, he weighed it down; so that if he continued there any long time he would even sink it.
                                                                                                            From Pliny's Natural History

Another famous account comes from In 1614 John  Smith, associated with Pocahontas, who claimed to have seen a mermaid which was so beautiful he'd believed it to be a human girl bathing.  However, when he approached her Smith realized she had green hair and 'from below the waist the woman gave way to fish.'  John Smith reported that the mermaid had 'large eyes, rather round, a finely shaped nose (a little too short), well formed ears, rather too long, and her long green hair imparted to her an original character by no means unattractive.'

Escaped by Elydor

While there are many reports from sailors who said that they'd seen mermaids, there are probably just as many accounts of mermaids being captured.  In 1403, a mermaid is said to have been captured just offshore of Edam in Holland.  It lived on dry land for several years, dressed in woman's apparel and soon learned to spin.  Its religious education was not neglected, and it is recorded that although the mermaid did not speak, it always made devout reverences with its tail each time it passed a crucifix.

British fisherman are said to have caught something strange in ther net near Oxford in Suffolk which they delivered to Sir Bartholomew de Glanville.  About the year 1109, Ralph de Coggeshall affirms a man-fish to have been taken near Oxford in Suffolk.  As it had a human face and beard, it was presumed that it could speak; and many tortures were applied to the poor animal to overcome its silence, but in vain.  With equal discernment, but less inhumanity, its captors took it to church; where, as might naturally be expected, 'it shewed no signs of devotion.'  The diet which this tormented creature used was fish, out of which it had previously squeezed the moisture with its hands.  One day, being neglected by its keepers, this 'lusus natura' found its way to the sea, and was heard of no more.

Another interesting account comes from 1718, whe the Dutchman Samuel Fallours described a mermaid which he claimed to keep in his bath.  'It was kept alive in a tub for more than 4 days, uttering cries like those of a mouse.'  A portrait of the mermaid was given to King George III of England and Czar Peter the Great of Russia as well as other dignitaries.  A picture of the mermaid, drawn by Fallours, was also printed in the book Poissons, exrevisses et crabes de diverses couleurs et figures extraordinaires, que l'on trouve autour des Isles Moloques, by Louis Renard which was dedicated to King George.  Accompanying the image was the following description:

PETMA Mermaid Poster by Aazure-Dragon

See-wyf.  A monster resembling a Siren caught near the island of Borne, or Boeren, in the Department of Amboine.  It was 59 inches long and in proportion as an eel.  It lived on land, in a vat full of water, during four days and seven hours.  From time to time it uttered little cries like those of a mouse.  It would not eat, though it was offered small fish, shells, crabs, lobsters &c.  After its death, some excrement was discovered in the vat, like the secretion of a cat.

A particularly interesting mermaid account from 1830 comes from the island of Benbecula in the Outer Hebrides off northwest Scotland.  It was reported by British folklorist Alexander Carmichael, who stated that the tale had come from 'persons still living who saw and touched this curious creature.'  The following account is taken from Carmichael's Carmina Gadelica, written in 1900.

.'Some seventy years ago, people were cutting seaweed at Sgeir na duchadh,Grinnis, Benbecula.  Before putting on her stockings, one of the women went to the lower end of the reef to wash her feet.  While doing so she heard a splash in the calm sea, and looking up she saw a creature in the form of a woman in miniature, some few feet away.  Alarmed, the woman called to her friends, and all the people present rushed to the place.
    The creature made somersaults and turned about in various directions.  Some men waded into the water to seize her, but she moved beyond their reach.  Some boys threw  stones at her, one of which struct her in the back.  A few days afterwards, this strange creature was found dead at Culle, Nunton, nearly ten miles away. 
    The upper portion of the creature was about the size of a well-fed child of three or four years of

Little Mermaid Final by madamenanas

age, with an abnormally developed breast.  The hair was long, dark, and glossy, while the skin was white, soft, and tender.  The lower part of the body was like a salmon, but without scales.  Crowds of people, some from long distances, came to see this strange animal, and all were unanimous in the opinion that they had gazed on the mermaid at last.
    Mr Duncan Shaw, factos for Claranald, baron-bailie and sheriff of the district, ordered a coffin and shroud to be made for the mermaid.  This was done, and the body was buried in the presence of many people, a short distance above the shore where it was found.  There are persons still 

Duyung by Wolfberry-J

Several mermaids were spotted by Japanese soldiers in 1943 on the shore of the Indonesian Kei Islands.  The soldiers claimed that the mermaids were swimming in the water while another apparently dead mermaid was on the beach.  They described them as 'roughly 4-foot 9-inches tall, pinkish skin, human looking face and limbs, spikes along its head, and a mouth like a carp.'  Sergent Taro Horiba examined the dead mermaid and, on his return to Japan, encouraged scientists to study creatures like the one he had had examined.  His suggestions for further studied were ignored and no further investigation was made as the scientists didn't believe Horiba's claim.  Locals in the area refer to mermaids as Orang Ikan, or 'fish people', with several such creatures being reported as becoming caught in fishing nets over the years.

Mermaid Caught on Tape in Israel?

Both locals and tourists flocked to the town of Kiryat Yam in Israel in 2009n the hope they might catch sight of a mermaid.  Shlomo Cohen, one of the first people to see the alleged mermaid, gave the following account. 'I was with friend swhen suddenly we saw a woman laying on the sand in a weird way.  At first I though she was just another sunbather, but when we approached she jumped into the water and disappeared.  We were all in shock because we saw she had a tail.'  The mermaid, who was described as 'a cross between a fish and a young girl', was claimed to appear at sunset when it would perform a few tricks before disappearing beneath the waves.  The Kiryat Yam government offered a prize of $1,000,000 to anyone that could get a photograph of the mermaid but the money has yet been unclaimed, with many insisting the sighting was a hoax or some kind of misconception.



Useful Resources

The Journal of Christopher Columbus (During His First Voyage, 1492-93) and Documents Relating the Voyages of John Cabot and Gaspar Corte Real by Clements Robert Markham, Christopher Columbus, Paolo Pozzo Del Toscanelli
The Feejee Mermaid and Other Essays in Natural and Unnatural History by Jan Bondeson
Curious Myths of the Middle Ages, Volume 2 by Sabine Baring-Gould
Atheneum, Or, Spirit of the English Magazines Volume XII Oct 1822 to April 1823
Unsolved Mysteries of the Sea by Lionel & Patricia Fanthorpe
Hidden Animals: A Field Guide to Batsquash, Chupacabra, and Other Elusive Creatures by Michael Newton
Carmina Gadelica by Alexander Carmichael
Livescience - Mermaid Sightings Claimed in Israel

Creatures From the Deep: Mermaids - Part One

Mermaid by Pygar

Mermaid myths and legends are a worldwide phenomenon, with our fascination with these water spirits going back through centuries.  Often described as beautiful enchantresses, mermaids were also depicted as treacherous and destructive, perfectly personifying the ocean they were believed to inhabit.  But how did the mermaid come into being, what is their origin and how have they evolved over the years?  Let us take a look.

Our perception of the mermaid is believed to date back to the ancient Babylonian god of the sea, Oannes and his counterpart Atargatis, with the earliest accounts dating back to around 5,000BC.  In mythology, Oannes is an amphibious deity who taught the gift of wisdom to mankind.  He was pictured as having the form of a fish, with the head of a man beneath his fish head and feet beneath his fish tail.  During the day, Oannes came onto land and taught human's the arts, sciences and writing.  At night he returned to the ocean.  The following is an account from Berossus, a Babylonian priest of the 3rd century BC.

Oannes of the Sea

At first they led a somewhat wretched existence and lived without rule after the manner of beasts. But, in the first year appeared an animal endowed with human reason, named Oannes, who rose from out of the Erythian Sea, at the point where it borders Babylonia. He had the whole body of a fish, but above his fish's head he had another head which was that of a man, and human feet emerged from beneath his fish's tail. He had a human voice, and an image of him is preserved unto this day. He passed the day in the midst of men without taking food; he taught them the use of letters, sciences and arts of all kinds. He taught them to construct cities, to found temples, to compile laws, and explained to them the principles of geometrical knowledge. He made them distinguish the seeds of the earth, and showed them how to collect the fruits; in short he instructed them in everything which could tend to soften human manners and humanize their laws. From that time nothing material has been added by way of improvement to his instructions. And when the sun set, this being Oannes, retired again into the sea, for he was amphibious. After this there appeared other animals like Oannes.

Atargatis, known to the Greeks as Derketo, is a goddess of Assyrian mythology.  She is portrayed much in the same way as we picture mermaids today, with the upper body of a woman and the lower body of a fish.  She is, by many, considered to be the mother of mermaids and dates back to around 1,000 BC.

Sailor Atargatis by Cionie

According to Assyrian legend, Atargatis fell in love with a human shepherd, who she accidentally kills.  In shame and grief, Atargatis threw herself into a lake, intending to take the form of a fish.  But the water refused to hide her beauty from the world so she was instead transformed, with her lower body becoming that of a fish and her upper body remaining human and retaining her
 beauty.

It is believed that both Oannes and Atargatis were first portrayed as mortals wearing fish cloaks which were, over time, evolved into tails.  Oannes was considered to represent the positive side of the ocean, 'rising from the waves each morning and sinking below the waves each night, like a sun god.'  Atargatis, on the other hand, represented the dark and destructive side of the ocean and was worshipped as a moon goddess.  

The Foam Born Goddess by oneoftheabove

The story of Atargatis became entwined with many other myths and cultures.  Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and beauty, or Venus in Roman mythology, can be linked to Atargatis.  While Aphrodite is not portrayed as a mermaid, she is a product of the ocean and her name is believed to derive from the word 'foam', with many interpreting her name as 'risen from the foam'.  Aphrodite began her life as the genitals of Uranus, which were cut off by Cronus and thrown into the sea. 

'And so soon as he had cut off the members with flint and cast them from the land into the surging sea, they were swept away over the main a long time: and a white foam spread around them from the immortal flesh, and in it there grew a maiden.  First she drew near holy Cythera, and from there, afterwards, she came to sea-girt Cyprus, and came forth an awful and lovely goddess, and grass grew up about her beneath her shapely feet.  Her gods and men call Aphrodite, and the foam-born goddess and rich-crowned Cytherea, because she grew amid the foam...'
                                               The Theogony of Hesiod

Matsya, avatar of Vishnu

Some tales of merpeople depict them as benevolent and helpful to humanity, as in the account of Oannes.  Ancient Hindu mythology tells us of the coming of the Great Flood, when Vishnu appeared to Manu.  As Manu washed his hands in the river, a fish pleaded with him to save it.  So Manu put the fish into a jar and, as it grew, he found larger vessels to contain the fish until he eventually released the fish into the ocean.  The fish eventually appeared as Vishnu, a man with a fish tail.  He warned Manu of the coming flood, commanding Manu to take everything onto a boat.  When the deluge came, the boat was pulled by a great golden fish.  And so Vishnu, the fish-tailed merman saved the entire human race from extinction.

While mermaids are most often depicted as beautiful and sometimes as benevolent, this is not true for all.  Norse folklore tells of the Margygr.  In the Korungs-Sknaggsja or King's mirror, a 12th century Icelandic or Norse piece of literature, we are given the following descripton:

A monster is seen also near Greenland, which people call the Margygr.  This creature appears like a woman as far down as the waist, with breast and bosom like a woman, long hands, and soft hair; the neck and head in all respects like those of a human being.  The hands seem to people to be long, and the fingers not to be parted, but united by a web like that on the feet of water birds.  From the waist downwards, this monster resembles a fish, with scales, tail and fins.  This prodigy... is believed to show itself especially before heavy storms.  The habit of this creature is to dive frequently and rise again to the surface with fishes in its hands.  When sailors see it playing with the fish, or throwing the towards the ship, they fear that they are doomed to lose several of the crew; but when it eats the fish, or turning from the vessel flings them away from her, then the sailors take it as a good omen that they will not suffer loss in the impending storm.  This monster has a very horrible face, with broad brow and piercing eyes, a wide mouth and double chin.
                                                                          King's mirror translated by Laurence Marcellus Larson

While some mermaids were said to give omens of good and bad, other mermaids could be down right nasty.  The Nix, Nixe or Nixie are German river merpeople which are said to lure sailors and swimmers to their deaths.  The female Nixie is believed to be more common and is alluring and beautiful.  The male Nixen is also believed to be physically beautiful but is said to have green teeth.  Both are believed to wear green hats.   The Nixie is said to take the form of a human woman and, when on land, she would sing and dance.  They were said to be capable of telling the future, although not to help people but to make them trust.  Once the Nixie felt she had a human's trust, she would lure them into deeper water where she drowned them.

Come With Me by raradolly

In this, the Nixie is similar to the modern percepton of the Greek Siren.  Sirens (bewitching ones), born from the drops of blood which hit the ground from the broken horn of Acheloos, or the offspring of the ancient sea god Phorcys depending on your source, are a type of malicious nymph.  In ancient stories they are depicted as half bird and half woman.  Over many years they have evolved into mermaid like beings which sit on the rocks near the shore, luring sailors into shallow waters where their ships would wreck with their beautiful song.  In these later myths, the only way to kill a Siren was to resist their song, causing the Siren to kill herself.

Sirens Of The Seven Seas by Spellsword95

'So far so good,' said she, when I had ended my story, 'and now pay attention to what I am about to tell you - heaven itself, indeed, will recall it to your recollection.  First you will come to the Sirens who enchant all who come near them.  If any one unwarily draws in too close and hears the singing of the Sirens, his wife and children will never welcome him home again, for they sit in a green field and warble him to death with the sweetness of their song.  There is a great heap of dead men's bones lying all around, with the flesh still rotting off them.  Therefore pass these Sirens by, and stop your men's ears with wax that none of them may hear, but if you like you can listen yourself, for you may get the men to bind you as you stand upright on the cross-piece half way up the mast, and they must lash the rope's ends to the mast itself, that you may have the pleasure of listening.  If you beg and pray the men unloose you, then they must bind you faster.'
                                                                                     The Odyssey by Homer

Sailors, it seems, had every reason to fear these monsters of the ocean but they were not the only ones to suffer at the hands of a mermaid.  According to one account, a mermaid was responsible for the extinction of an entire Native American tribe.

The River Mermaid by crazy4coral

 According to the legend, the Pascagoula Indians, also known as the Biloxi, 'marched into a raging river at the comman of a mermaid-like sea goddess and drowned.'  Before 1579 the Pascagoula tribe, also known as the Biloxi Indians, lived peacefully along the Pascagoula river.  They loved and respected a river mermaid that dwelt in the river, even building a statue of her within the temple in their village.  Every evening they worshiped the mermaid at the bank of the river and listened to her sweet song, which is said to have made 'brave warriors... weep under its spell.'
   According to F. Randall Floyd, 'the Biloxi Indians did suddenly and inexplicably vanish during the early sixteenth century, only weeks after a white-bearded priest had appeared to them with a crucifix in his hand, demanding that they abandon their superstitious belief in an underwater goddess.'  The priest somehow convinced the tribe that the mermaid wasn't worthy of their worship and that they should convert to Christianity.
   The tribe took their temple down and threw the mermaid statue into the river.  The mermaid became aware of what had happened and rose from the water, calling to her people to join her in the river, in paradise.  The tribe believed they had made a mistake, joined hands and together leaped into the river, with every man, woman, and child drowning.  It is said that the river still sings to this day, with one reporter stating that the river 'emits a low, mournful humming or singing in certain areas.'

That's all for today.  Next time we will learn about accounts of the merpeople from ancient to modern times.

Useful Resources

The Story of Oannes
Classical Mythology by Mark P. O. Morford and Robert J. Lenardon
A Dictionary of Nature Myths by Tamra Andrews
The Mermaid's Tail by Sophia Delaat
Iceland: Its Scenes and Sagas by Sabine Baring-Gould
Mermaids by Lucille Recht Penner
Encyclopedia of Fairies in World Folklore and Mythology by Theresa Bane
Water Monsters by Gail B. Stewart
Creatures in the Mist: Little People, Wild Men, and Spirit Beings by Gary R. Varner