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Another Week, Another Horse

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Unicorn | Greece

“Dazzling horse with a spiral horn.”

Basic Facts:

  • The unicorn did not come from Greek mythology but rather from Greek literature but has been referred to in ancient myths of India and China.
  • Drinking from the horn of a unicorn can help or protect from stomach trouble, epilepsy, and poison.
  • Inspiration for the description of the unicorn in Ctesia’s work is most likely the Indian rhinoceros.
  • They’re representative of independence and grace.
  • If you come across a unicorn, they’ll always run away. So, no on is going to believe you.

Petrify!

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Medusa | Greece

Basic Facts:

  • What happened after the death of Medusa? Her head was put onto Athena’s shield, the Aegis. The name of the shield has been used in multiple fantasy and video game scenarios characters can equip.
  • Medusa’s image is still used in modern-day culture…anyone ever heard of Versace?
  • Many artists have taken the time to paint Medusa…like Leonardo da Vinci, Benvenuto Cellini, and Hubert Gerhard.
  • Medusa was the only one of her sisters who was not immortal.
  • Although seen as a villain in the stories, Medusa’s image is said to represent large ideas such as philosophy, beauty, art and even feminism.

A Greek Hybrid

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Chimera | Greece

“Fire-breathing hybridization of a lion, goat, and snake.”

Basic Facts:

  • The chimera is female. Unless you love Greek mythology and knew that already, some may think the chimera is genderless.
  • Offspring of the Chimera are the Sphinx and the Nemeian lion, a huge lion that had an impenetrable hide.
  • She was killed by Bellerophan, a hero sent by a King…what a likely story.
  • Other classical writers thought the Chimera represented a Lycian volcano.
  • If you like constellations, Pegasus and Chimera may have once opposed each other in the stars, but is usually associated with the Capricorn.

Everybody Knows

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One of my personal favorites from Greek Mythology that still resonates in many other cultures even to this day.

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Pegasus | Greece

“Winged stallion that helps heroes conquer deadly foes.”

Basic Facts:

  • Pegasus has a brother! Being born by Medusa, Chrysaor is the brother of Pegasus. With the death of Medusa came two.
  • With its hooves, Pegasus created a spring for Hippocrene (also translated to “horse spring.”)
  • Speaking of translations, Pegasus loosely translates to “spring, well” and includes the origination of Pegasus (location-wise.)
  • A job for the flying horse? Zeus had Pegasus carry his thunderbolts.
  • The image of Pegasus has been used time and time again within logos or emblems.

A Different Hunt

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Instead of being a creature of malice, this week we are diving into a human-turned-keeper. Keep reading to find out some interesting facts!

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Herne the Hunter | England

“The antlered spirit of a hanged man that guards Windsor Forest.”

Basic Facts:

  • Truth be told…Herne was probably based off of a real keeper of the forest.
  • Story goes: the hunter made a pact with the Devil, forcing him to be doomed to hunt forever.
  • He rides at night, mostly but is found during storms.
  • Herne is said to wear horns, rattle chains, blast trees and cattle BUT…is not commonly seen by mortals.
  • Our beloved hunter had an oak tree, which is rumored to be where he haunted most of the time, was torn down…but Queen Victoria came to the rescue and replaced it with another oak.

Tread Lightly

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Recently, we’ve been seeing the writing community discuss the anxieties pertaining to writing minority characters. A lot of authors and writers tread these waters lightly. At the end of the day, when one person writes a race that isn’t their own, it can easily be turned against them. We want to remind that: it is possible to write another race. You shouldn’t feel discouraged!

Don’t ever forget: people are diverse. Not only in skin color but in personal experience. Not one experience will ever be the same. Your character’s bio should have the “deep and complex” experience which helps them grow throughout the duration of the plot. This can easily be influenced by location, demographic, how their family dynamic is built…all those details. Every writer knows this but here’s a friendly reminder…do your research.

One of the biggest concerns is encouraging stereotypes. For anyone, stereotypes in books alter the reality of how we see other races. Take the jokes and heavily controversial bits that you’ve heard out of your writing. Instead, apply the research you’ve done to your racially-diverse characters.

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Keep in mind: you’re not going to please everyone. People will not like your character because it doesn’t reflect their exact life experience. People won’t like the textbook relation of your character to the audience. Your character is your character; they’re an extension of you and your work. At the end of the day, that’s all that matters.

 

The Woman of the Fairy Mounds

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Not to be mixed up with the TV show Banshee…but today we’re diving into what a banshee is exactly and where did she come from?

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Banshee | Ireland

“Female spirit that screams as an omen of death.”

Basic Facts:

  • The name translates to ‘woman of the fairy mounds.’
  • What can she be seen or mistaken as? A beautiful, young woman or a frightening old woman or hag. Either can be very deceiving!
  • She cries at night when someone is about to give in to death. Not kill anyone. She has a ‘sister-like’ figure who lures their victim into their death using their charm so be careful of that one!
  • If you see a comb nearby, don’t pick it up! Banshees use combs to brush their own hair…it’s a sign of their anguish.
  • Banshees were said to only haunt families with the surnames starting with (Ó) or (Mac).

He Lives!

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Art by Bernie Wrightson

Remember when Mary Shelley wrote one of the most well known monster tales of all time?

I sure don’t because that was 1818. But that being said, Mary Shelley created a man no one would ever forget.

Classic monster literature takes on several themes, some of which cross over into other. Most of the classic literature, like Frankenstein, Dracula, Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde…they all seem to carry the weight of these themes.

The biggest one is enlightenment and science. Since these works were written during the Age of Enlightenment, pretty much moving away from the influence of faith to the influence of science, the emphasis on science and how it impacted those who practiced was reflected in literature. Each of the main three works mentioned earlier each show signs of science and enlightenment.

The other themes shown in these types of works are isolation, loneliness, and duality. Most of the characters embody the feeling of being isolated, being lonely, being helpless. Duality is mainly mirrored through Dr. Jekyll when turning into Mr. Hyde and in the idea of vampires, resting during the day and running amok and causing destruction when the night comes.

Do you have a favorite monster or work of monster literature?

Hear Ye, Hear Ye

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With writing, there comes plenty of responsibility to label royals and nobles in a proper manner in proximity to where the writing is taking place.

European hierarchy has a very particular line of way of naming their people in power. If you’re in need of official titles for some of your medieval characters, follow our list (based off of the British nobility):

  1. Emperor / Empress
  2. King / Queen
  3. Prince / Princess
  4. Duke / Duchess
  5. Marquess / Marchioness
  6. Earl (Count) / Countess
  7. Viscount / Viscountess
  8. Baron / Baroness
  9. Baronet / Baronetess
  10. Knight
  11. Esquire
  12. Gentleman

I recommend checking out this website to see other ways to say each level of nobility and definitions within other countries! It is really interesting to see how ranks vary between countries. Always educate!

 

Man Crush Monday

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gatsby.gifBack in my high school English classes, one of the only books I read from cover to cover was the story of Jay Gatsby. The Great Gatsby.

He was the most alluring character, shrouded in mystery and living hopelessly in love. To this day, The Great Gatsby remains one of my favorite novels due to the way Fitzgerald used Nick as the narrator. But I really just love the book for Jay and that’s all I needed to cure my Monday blues.

Do you have a unreal crush on a literary character? Who is it!