For centuries, people have come up with fantastic characters for their legends. Over time, some images became so accustomed that they were identified with real-life images and became part of the culture of peoples.
The article presents the most unusual and popular mythical creatures - a list characteristic of Slavic peoples.
10. Pharaoh
Pharaoh - The bisexual spirit of water, is the prototype of a mermaid. Represents a half-man - a half-fish. According to Russian folklore, these mythical creatures descended from Egyptians drowned in the Black Sea, who were chasing biblical characters - Moses and the Jews. The horses on which they pursued a pursuit turned into a half-fish-half-horse. There is a legend that pharaohs become attached to a passing ship and ask the passengers of the ship: “When is the day of judgment?” If you do not answer the pharaohs, they will not lag behind. The interest of sea creatures towards the end of the world is argued by the legend that they are doomed to remain in such a form until the end of the world. According to some other legends, pharaohs are credited with traits of cannibalism. At night they leave the sea and devour the people who come in their way.
9. The Nightingale the Robber
The Nightingale the Robber - The character of East Slavic mythology, killing everyone who gets in his way with a wild whistle. The mythical creature was depicted either as a humanoid or as a monster with bird wings. In epics, it is said that the Nightingale the Robber has a well-protected tower in which his family lives. The image of a mythical creature in Russia symbolized the enemy forces of that period. According to the legend, Nightingale was able to defeat the hero Ilya Muromets.
8. Wolverine
Wolverine - a fantastic character in the guise of a female beast living in the fields. The image of a demonic creature is similar to a mermaid. He is described as a naked woman with her hair loose, which she constantly combes. Next to her is always a crying child. Seeing a man, Wolverine immediately hides. There is a more modern monster prototype. The ethnographer Drevlyansky proposed his image of Wolverine, a half-human half-man. The beast moves on its hind legs. Hemp fields are considered the habitat. At night, the monster goes hunting and rushes at the people he met. Rosamaha strangles the victim, gnaws the skull and sucks the brain.
7. Serpent Gorynych
Zmey Gorynych - a fabulous image of Russian epics in the form of a fire-breathing dragon with several heads. He lives in the mountains near the fiery river Smorodina and guards the bridge over which the dead fall into another world. In Russian epics it is said that Gorynych preys on beautiful girls to feast on them and keep people in fear. In the legend about the hero Dobryn Nikitich it is said that he kills cubs of a monster who have nothing to do with the frightening appearance of Gorynych, but look like ordinary vipers. The Serpent of Gorynych serves another mythological character - Koshchei the Immortal.
The fairy-tale creature was erected a sculpture in 2000 in Petrozavodsk.
6. Kikimora
Kikimora (Shishimora) - a mythical female creature that lives in residential buildings and causes harm to the owner. According to the legend, Kikimora chooses the dwelling where the person hanged himself, the child died or the deceased was not buried. It is believed that Kikimora is the wife of Leshy. The mythical creature is an ugly dwarf with not proportional forms of the head and body.
According to popular belief, kikimors live in attics, under the floor, and not even in living quarters. Being in the house, they do not let the owners sleep, interfering with rustling and crying, and can also beat dishes and strangle homeowners.
5. Frost
Frost - a fabulous character, in ancient times was the object of worship of the Eastern Slavs. The formed image of Frost is a big old man with a long white beard, who comes from the north and brings with him a winter cold. The Slavs during the Christmas time and Easter performed the ritual of invitations to the festive table of Frost, so that he would not touch the future harvest. In modern times, the mythical character is called Santa Claus and he is a symbol of the New Year. The image of the hero has completely changed: now this is not an evil old man ruining the crops, but a good grandfather who comes to the children with gifts on New Year's Eve.
4. Volkolak
Volkolak - The character of Slavic mythology in the form of a werewolf-man, a sorcerer, able to take on the guise of a wolf. In popular belief there are two types of volkolak. The first type is the evil sorcerers who turn themselves into wolves and attack people, they are also called ghouls or vampires. The second type is an enchanted person who takes the image of a beast at night. He suffers from his guise and the enchantments sent upon him, but does not harm others.
3. Basilisk
Basilisk It is an image that has a cockerel head, dragon wings, a snake tail and frog legs. On the head is a red comb in the shape of a crown. The entire body of the mythical character is covered in scales. In general, its appearance resembles a huge lizard, which can kill with the help of eyes or breathing. In biblical stories, the devil’s creation is mentioned more than once, and in the Middle Ages Basilisks were considered to be real animals. In modern times, the image of a mythical creature is used to depict the coats of arms of some cities. For example, the emblem of Moscow carries the image of St. George and the serpent, which is the prototype of a basilisk.
2. Baba Yaga
Baba Yaga - One of the fairy tale characters of Russian folk tales and Slavic mythology. Depicted as an ugly old sorceress with magical items. Baba Yaga also acted among the ancient Slavs as a ritual holy person. In folklore, she is credited with a penchant for cannibalism. The mythical creature is attributed to both the world of the dead and the world of the living. In the modern interpretation, Baba Yaga is the mistress of the forest and wild animals, as well as the guardian of the kingdom of the dead. It is believed that her bone leg is a guide to the world of the departed.
1. Alkonost
Alkonost - a bird of paradise with a girlish head and hands. Her image goes back to the myth of the virgin Alkion, which the gods turned into a bird. The ancient Greek myth intertwines with the Slavic legend of the bird Syrin. Often these two creatures are portrayed together. According to legend, a bird of paradise lays eggs in the depths of the sea. After 7 days, the eggs emerge and calmness is observed at sea. Alkonost takes eggs and hatches them on the shore. Singing of a bird of paradise fascinates and makes you forget about everything. According to popular belief, during the morning of Apple Savior, birds Sirin and Alkonost fly into the garden in the morning. Sirin cries and her tears fall on the fruits in the form of dew. Alkonost laughs and brushes away tears from apples. After that, all the fruits on the apple trees become healing.