Home›Hybrids›Associated WithBrowse ByAssociated WithThis page groups mythical creatures by the idea or figure they symbolize. Wikipedia notes that "in Christian art, animals carried symbolic meanings, where, for example, the lamb symbolized Christ, a dove indicated the Holy Spirit, and the classical griffin represented a guardian of the dead." Browsing by associated-with lets a visitor find every creature carrying the same symbolic meaning.FactsLearn MoreAssociated WithSourcesComments (0)Reader Challenges (0)FactsOverviewWhat Defines This GroupingWell-attestedBeings whose body combines parts of two or more kinds - animal with animal, or animal with human - grouped by that composite form, which the comparative indexes treat as a class of its own. 2Peoples and Traditions CoveredWell-attestedChinese: the qilin is an auspicious omen-beast whose appearance marks a sage's birth or a just reign - a sign of good government, not a monster. 3Peoples and Traditions CoveredWell-attestedEgyptian: the sphinx is a royal image - a lion's body with a king's head - and the Greek Sphinx who questions Oedipus is a separate, later and female figure. 4Peoples and Traditions CoveredWell-attestedGreek: centaur, chimaira, gorgon, sphinx and minotaur are distinct figures of Greek myth with separate stories, and are not variants of one composite type. 5Peoples and Traditions CoveredWell-attestedPersian and Indian: the manticore reaches Europe as a traveller's report of India, from Ctesias and repeated by Pliny, and is a literary marvel rather than a figure of any cult. 6DirectoryCategoryWell-attestedMythical Creatures 1Learn MoreThe Hybrid Creatures This group gathers hybrid creatures, beings that combine the parts of two or more animals, or of animal and human, a form found throughout world mythology from the sphinx and griffin to countless composite guardians and monsters. The hybrid often expresses a mixing of powers or realms. The browser will find the composite creatures the atlas gathers here. The entries describe each being's combined form and its mythological role.Associated WithFilter Results7 entriesTraditionAllAncient Egyptian Religion (1)Ancient Greek Religion (5)Hinduism (1)Creature kindAllLion-Bodied Composite Creatures (2)Region of OriginAllGreece (1)Indian Subcontinent (1)HistoricityAllLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical record (7)Domain / FunctionAllChildbirth (1)Cosmic order and truth (2)Craft, metalwork and smithing (1)Fate and time (1)Healing and medicine (1)Justice, law and oaths (4)Kingship and sovereignty (2)Marriage and the household (1)Music and poetry (1)Prophecy and divination (1)Rivers, lakes and springs (1)Sea and ocean (1)Sky (1)Storm and thunder (1)Sun (1)Tutelary of a place or community (1)War and battle (1)Weaving and textile craft (1)Wisdom and counsel (1)Era of Attestation End YearAll391 (2)400 (4)2026 (1)Era of Attestation Start YearAll2400 BCE (1)1500 BCE (1)1400 BCE (3)700 BCE (2)GenderAllFemale (4)Male (3)Status Within the TraditionAllNot formally addressed by this tradition (1)TheologyAllPolytheistic: many gods (7)Veneration TodayAllActively venerated in a living tradition (1)Historically attested; no continuous cult (6)Show ResultsBrowseCompareApolloAssociated With1 entryAthenaAssociated With1 entryHeraAssociated With1 entryMa'atAssociated With1 entryNemesisAssociated With1 entryVarunaAssociated With1 entryZeusAssociated With1 entrySources1. Divinity Atlas Directory Taxonomy, First Edition Category Treetier 1Category: Mythical Creatures2. Motif-Index of Folk-Literature: A Classification of Narrative Elements in Folktales, Ballads, Myths, Fables, Mediaeval Romances, Exempla, Fabliaux, Jest-Books and Local Legendstier 1Stith Thompson, Indiana University Press, 1958B0-B99, Mythical Animals3. Encyclopedia of Religiontier 1Mircea Eliade (ed.); Lindsay Jones (ed., 2nd ed.), Macmillan Reference, 2005the entry on Chinese religion: omen animals and the qilinView the Source4. The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypttier 1Donald B. Redford (ed.), Oxford University Press, 2001the article on the sphinxView the Source5. The Oxford Classical Dictionary, 4th editiontier 1Simon Hornblower, Antony Spawforth and Esther Eidinow (eds.), Oxford University Press, 2012the entries on centaurs, the Chimaera, the Gorgons and the MinotaurView the Source6. Naturalis Historia (Natural History)tier 1Pliny the ElderBook 8, the manticoreView the SourceDivinity Atlas Directory Prose, First Edition Category Descriptionstier 1Comments (0)No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.Sign in to join the discussion.Reader Challenges (0)No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.