English 201A: English Composition (Finger): Monsters

In Greek mythology, a creature half human and half horse, wild and lawless. Chiron, the mentor of the hero Heracles and tutor of the god of medicine Asclepius, was an exception. Their home was said to be on Mount Pelion, Thessaly.

Mythical reptilian beast, often portrayed with wings and breathing fire.

Mythical monster, the supposed guardian of hidden treasure, with the body, tail, and hind legs of a lion, and the head, forelegs, and wings of an eagle, though in classical times all four legs were those of a lion.

A fabulous sea monster supposedly seen off the coast of Norway and probably based on the sighting of a gigantic cuttlefish. It was first described by Pontoppidan in his History of Norway (1752). It was said to be capable of dragging down the largest ships and when submerging to suck down a vessel by the whirlpool it created.

A mythical monster with the head of a bull and the body of a man, born of Pasiphae, the wife of Minos, and the white bull that Poseidon sent to Minos.

A mythical sea-creature with the upper body of a woman and the tail of a fish.

A fabulous beast resembling a horse, but with one long spiral horn growing from its forehead; often used as a symbol of strength and purity and in heraldry. Travelers throughout the centuries have made claims of sightings of the fabulous unicorn and have given conflicting descriptions of this beast. There have been accounts of unicorns in China, Mongolia, the Middle East, Egypt, North Africa, India, Japan, Europe and America.

In contemporary popular culture, vampires are fictitious immortal creatures of the night who sustain themselves by drinking the blood of the living. These undead creatures might be the unsettled souls of criminals or suicide victims. They may have been victims of other vampires, as those who are attacked by vampires are fated to become vampires themselves.