Home›Mythical Creatures›Historicity›Legendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordBrowse ByLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordThis page groups mythical creatures by whether anyone has ever claimed they were real. Wikipedia defines a legendary creature as one that "may be featured in historical accounts before modernity, but has not been scientifically shown to exist." Browsing by historicity lets a visitor separate a creature once treated as a real animal from one always understood as symbolic.FactsLearn MoreLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordSourcesComments (0)Reader Challenges (0)FactsStatusStanding as a Comparative CategoryWell-attestedA collectors' category rather than a comparative one. Michael Dylan Foster shows that Japanese yokai will not sit inside the English "monster" or "mythical creature", and the same holds for most of the traditions gathered here. 2OriginsWhose Classification This IsWell-attestedThe form-based classes are a comparative folklorist's device. Stith Thompson's Motif-Index (revised edition, 1955-58) sorts fabulous beings under B0-B99 by body-plan, as a finding aid for narrative motifs rather than a claim that the creatures belong together. 1StructureStructureWell-attestedGrouped by creature form - dragons, serpents, birds, hybrids, spirits, water-spirits and the rest - which is how comparative folklore indexes arrange fabulous beings, and not how any tradition arranged its own. 1Learn MoreBeings of Myth and the Bestiary This category gathers the creatures of myth, folklore and the bestiaries who are not gods: dragons, phoenixes, griffins, kitsune, thunderbirds, sea-serpents and the rest. Each entry records the culture the creature belongs to, the kind of being it is, and what the myths and older sources actually say about it. These are the fabulous inhabitants of the mythic world (guardians and monsters, messengers and shape-shifters, hybrids of human and beast), known from epic, folktale, heraldry and the medieval bestiaries, and from the parallel traditions of many other cultures.Parallels Without Merger Similar creatures appear across cultures in related but distinct forms (the winged serpent, the fire-bird, the human-headed lion), and the temptation is to merge them into a single archetype. The atlas resists that: it notes the parallels while keeping each tradition's creature its own, since a Chinese dragon and a European dragon, or a phoenix and a Chinese fenghuang, differ as much as they resemble. The entries stay with what the sources report rather than with later popular embellishment. The creatures group by kind (dragons, serpents, birds, hybrids, water-spirits and the rest), so a browser can move through the bestiary by type.Legendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordFilter Results107 entriesTraditionAllAncient Egyptian Religion (3)Ancient Greek Religion (18)Anglo-Saxon Paganism (2)Aztec Religion (1)Buddhism (3)Celtic Paganism (6)Chinese Folk Religion (8)Christianity (4)Confucianism (1)Etruscan Religion (1)Hermeticism (2)Hinduism (10)Islam (3)Judaism (5)Ladin Mythology (1)Maya Religion (1)Mesopotamian Religion (2)Native American Religion (1)Norse Paganism (10)Philippine Indigenous Religion (Anitism) (3)Roman Religion (2)Sardinian Folk Tradition (1)Shinto (7)Sicilian Folk Religion (1)Slavic Native Faith (Rodnovery) (3)Wicca (1)Zoroastrianism (2)Zulu Traditional Religion (1)Attested InAllRig Veda (1)Talmud (3)Attributed ToAllParacelsus (1)Éliphas Lévi (1)Attested In RegionAllAnatolia and Asia Minor (1)Arabia (2)Britain (1)British Isles (1)British Isles and Gaul (4)China (3)East Africa (1)Eastern Europe (2)Egypt (2)England (1)Etruria (1)Greece (6)Indian Subcontinent (1)Italy (1)Japan (5)Mesopotamia (1)North America (1)Persia (2)Scandinavia (5)Southeast Asia (5)Associated WithAllAnu (1)Apollo (1)Athena (1)Charon (1)Enki (1)Enlil (2)Ereshkigal (1)Freyr (1)Gaia (1)Hera (2)Inanna (1)Inari (1)Indra (1)Lord Yama (1)Ma'at (1)Marduk (2)Nemesis (1)Ninhursag (1)Odin (4)Poseidon (1)Quetzalcōātl (1)Shiva (1)Shukra (1)Tezcatlipoca (1)Utu (1)Varuna (1)Vishnu (1)Zeus (1)Domain / FunctionAllGuardianship of the golden apples of the Hesperides (1)Karmic punishment of the greedy dead, corpse-eating at night (1)Sea hazard, the impossible choice between two dangers (1)Venom, bidirectional movement, protective amulet (1)Water, drowning, the unquiet dead, fertility of the land (1)Sacred ToAllArtemis (1)Hera (1)Region of OriginAllArabia (1)China (5)Eastern Europe (1)Ethiopia (1)Etruria (1)Germany (1)Greece (5)Indian Subcontinent (4)Italy (2)Japan (4)Near East (1)Persia (2)Scandinavia (3)Southern Africa (1)United States (1)Creature kindAllAswang-Type Viscera-Sucker Shapeshifters (2)Beasts (Mythical Creatures) (2)Boastful Giant Bird Demons (Mythical Creatures) (1)Cat Spirits (Mythical Creatures) (2)Choosers of the Slain (Mythical Creatures) (1)Companions of Saint Nicholas (Mythical Creatures) (2)Constructs (Mythical Creatures) (3)Death Spirits (Mythical Creatures) (2)Demons of Jewish Tradition (Mythical Creatures) (1)Desert Spirits (Mythical Creatures) (1)Dragons (Mythical Creatures) (4)Dragons and Serpents (Mythical Creatures) (2)Emblematic Figures (Mythical Creatures) (2)Flesh Eating Spirits (Mythical Creatures) (1)Fox Spirits (Mythical Creatures) (2)Giants (Mythical Creatures) (3)Horned Beasts (Mythical Creatures) (2)Horses (Mythical Creatures) (1)Hounds (Mythical Creatures) (3)Hybrid Serpents (Mythical Creatures) (2)Hybrid Spirits (Mythical Creatures) (2)Irish and Gaelic Fairy Folk (1)Lion-Bodied Composite Creatures (4)Mesopotamian Divine Beings (2)Messengers of Death (Mythical Creatures) (1)Possessing Spirits (Mythical Creatures) (1)Primordial Earth Monsters (Mythical Creatures) (2)Protective Spirits (Mythical Creatures) (4)Ravens (Mythical Creatures) (2)Sacred Deer (Mythical Creatures) (1)Sea Monsters (Mythical Creatures) (2)Sea Serpents (Mythical Creatures) (1)Serpent Dragons (Mythical Creatures) (2)Servants of Death (Mythical Creatures) (1)Skin-Shedding Animal Bride Shapeshifters (2)Slavic Water Spirits (1)Solar and Fire Birds (3)Three Legged Crows (Mythical Creatures) (1)Winged Horses (Mythical Creatures) (1)Wolves (Mythical Creatures) (1)World-Serpents of the Chaoskampf Myth (2)Show ResultsBrowseCompareSelect all 107AmmitLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordAmphisbaenaLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordAnunnakiLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordAsmodeusLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordAsuraLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordAswangLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordAži DahākaLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordAzure DragonLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordBakenekoLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordBansheeLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordBaphometLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordBasiliskLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordBehemothLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordBelsnickelLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordBlack ShuckLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordBlack TortoiseLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordCentaurLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordCerberusLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordCeryneian HindLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordCharunLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordChimaeraLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordCipactliLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordCockatriceLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordCu SithLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordDevaLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordDomovoiLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordDonne di FuoriLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordDragon (Western)Legendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordFenghuangLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordFenrirLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordGandharvaLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordGolemLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordGrendelLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordGriffinLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordGullinburstiLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordHarpyLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordHomunculusLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordHuginn and MuninnLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordHuli JingLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordHydraLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordIgigiLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordJanasLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordJikininkiLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordJormungandrLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordKappaLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordKarkadannLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordKelpieLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordKeresLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordKinnaraLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordKitsuneLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordKnecht RuprechtLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordKrakenLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordLadonLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordLamiaLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordLeviathanLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordLong (Chinese Dragon)Legendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordMakaraLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordManananggalLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordManticoreLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordMedusa (Gorgon)Legendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordMinotaurLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordNasnasLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordNatsLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordNekomataLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordNidhoggLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordOniLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordPegasusLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordPhoenixLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordPookaLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordPythonLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordQilinLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordRakshasaLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordRedcapLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordRocLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordRusalkaLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordSalvansLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordScylla and CharybdisLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordSelkieLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordSerpopardLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordShinigamiLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordSimurghLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordSleipnirLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordSphinxLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordSwan MaidenLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordTenguLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordThe JotnarLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordThe Oak King and the Holly KingLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordTikbalangLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordTokolosheLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordUnicornLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordValkyriesLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordValravnLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordVasukiLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordVermilion BirdLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordVilaLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordVritraLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordVucub CaquixLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordWendigoLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordWhite TigerLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordWyvernLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordYakshaLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordYamadutaLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordYamata no OrochiLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordYatagarasuLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordYmirLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordZarLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordZizLegendary: known from narrative tradition, not the historical recordSources1. 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 Animals2. The Book of Yokai: Mysterious Creatures of Japanese Folkloretier 1Michael Dylan Foster, University of California Press, 2015the introduction, on the difficulty of the categoryDivinity 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.