The Lamia
The Lamiae are mythological--and were monsters of Africa, with the face
and breast of a woman, the rest of the body like that of a serpent; they
allured strangers, that they might devour them; and though not endowed
with the faculty of speech, their hissings were pleasing. Some believed
them to be evil spirits, who, in the form of beautiful women, enticed
young children, and devoured them; according to some, the fable of the
Lamia, whom Juno rendered deformed, and whose children she destroyed;
Lamia became insane, and so desperate, that she ate up all the children
which came in her way.
Topsell, before entering upon the natural history of the Lamia, as an
animal, tells the following story of it as a mythological being:--"It
is reported of Menippus the Lycian, that he fell in love with a
strange woman, who at that time seemed both beautifull, tender, and
rich, but, in truth, there was no such thing, and all was but a
fantastical ostentation; she was said to insinuate her selfe, into
his familiaritie after this manner: as he went upon a day alone from
Corinth to Senchraea, hee met with a certaine phantasme, or spectre
like a beautifull woman, who tooke him by the hand, and told him she
was a Phoenician woman, and of long time had loved him dearely,
having sought many occasions to manifest the same, but could never
finde opportunitie untill that day, wherefore she entreated him to
take knowledge of her house, which was in the Suburbes of Corinth,
therewithall pointing unto it with her finger, and so desired his
presence. The young man seeing himselfe thus wooed by a beautiful woman,
was easily overcome by her allurements, and did oftimes frequent her
company.
"There was a certaine wise man, and a Philosopher, which espied the
same, and spake unto Menippus in this manner, 'O formose, et a
formorsis, expetitie mulieribus, ophin thalpies, cai se ophis,' that is
to say, 'O fair Menippus, beloved of beautiful women, art thou a
serpent, and dost nourish a serpent?' by which words he gave him his
first admonition, or incling of a mischiefe; but not prevayling,
Menippus proposed to marry with this spectre, her house to the outward
shew, being richly furnished with all manner of houshold goods; then
said the wise man againe unto Menippus, 'This gold, silver, and
ornaments of house, are like to Tantalus Apples, who are said by
Homer to make a faire shew, but to containe in them no substance at
all; even so, whatsoever you conceave of this riches, there is no matter
or substance in the things which you see, for they are onely inchaunted
images, and shadowes, which that you may beleeve, this your neate bride
is one of the Empusae, called Lamia, or Mormolicae, wonderfull
desirous of commerce with men, and loving their flesh above measure; but
those whom they doe entice, afterwards they devoure without love or
pittie, feeding upon their flesh.' At which words the wise man caused
the gold and silver plate, and household stuffe, cookes, and servants to
vanish all away. Then did the spectre like unto one that wept, entreate
the wise man that he would not torment her, nor yet cause her to
confesse what manner of person she was; but he on the other side being
inexorable, compelled her to declare the whole truth, which was, that
she was a Phairy, and that she purposed to use the companie of
Menippus, and feede him fat with all manner of pleasures, to the
extent that, afterward, she might eate up and devour his body, for all
their kinde love was only to feed upon beautiful yong men....
"To leave therefore these fables, and come to the true description of
the Lamia, we have in hand. In the foure and thirty chapter of Esay,
we do find this called a beast Lilith in the Haebrew, and translated by
the auncients Lamia, which is threatened to possesse Babell.
Likewise in the fourth chapter of the Lamentations, where it is said in
our English translation, that the Dragons lay forth their brests, in
Haebrew they are called Ehannum, which, by the confession of the best
interpreters, cannot signifie Dragons, but rather Sea calves, being a
generall word for strange wilde beasts. How be it the matter being wel
examined, it shall appeare that it must needes be this Lamia, because of
her great breastes, which are not competible either to the Dragon, or
Sea calves; so then, we wil take it for graunted, by the testimony of
holy Scripture, that there is such a beast as this Cristostinius.
Dion also writeth that there are such beasts in some parts of Libia,
having a Woman's face, and very beautifull, also very large and comely
shapes on their breasts, such as cannot be counterfeited by the art of
any painter, having a very excellent colour in their fore parts, without
wings, and no other voice but hissing like Dragons: they are the
swiftest of foote of all earthly beasts, so as none can escape them by
running, for, by their celerity, they compasse their prey of beastes,
and by their fraud they overthrow men. For when they see a man, they lay
open their breastes, and by the beauty thereof, entice them to come
neare to conference, and so, having them within their compasse, they
devoure and kill them.
"Unto the same things subscribe Caelius and Giraldus, adding also,
that there is a certaine crooked place in Libia neare the Sea-shore,
full of sand like to a sandy Sea, and all the neighbor places thereunto
are deserts. If it fortune at any time, that through shipwrack, men come
there on shore, these beasts watch uppon them, devouring them all, which
either endevour to travell on the land, or else to returne backe againe
to Sea, adding also, that when they see a man they stand stone still,
and stir not til he come unto them, looking down upon their breasts or
to the ground, whereupon some have thought, that seeing them, at their
first sight have such a desire to come neare them, that they are drawne
into their compasse, by a certaine naturall magicall witchcraft.... The
hinderparts of the beast are like unto a Goate, his fore legs like a
Beares, his upper parts to a woman, the body scaled all over like a
Dragon, as some have affirmed by the observation of their bodies, when
Probus, the Emperor, brought them forth unto publike spectacle; also
it is reported of them, that they devoure their own young ones, and
therefore they derive their name Lamia, of Lamiando; and thus much
for this beast."
More
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But we must leave warm climes, and birds of Paradise, and speak of "Birds shut up under the Snow." "There are in the Northern Countries Wood-Cocks, like to pheasant for bigness, but their Tails are much shorter, and they are cole black all o... Sponges
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Of all extraordinary beliefs, that in the Barnacle Goose, which obtained credence from the eleventh to the seventeenth centuries, is as wonderful as any. The then accepted fact that the Barnacle Goose was generated on trees, and dropped alive in t... The Basilisk And Cockatrice
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As Pliny not only uses all Aristotle's matter anent Bears, but puts it in a consecutive, and more readable form, it is better to transcribe his version than that of the older author. "Bears couple in the beginning of winter. The female then reti... The Bee
The Busy Bee, too, according to Olaus Magnus, developed, in the regions of the North, a peculiarity to which it seems a stranger with us, but which might be encouraged, with beneficial effect, by the Temperance Societies. The Bees infested d... The Cat
Aldrovandus gives us a picture of a curly-legged Cat, but, beyond saying that it was so afflicted (or ornamented) from its birth, he gives no particulars. Topsell, too, is singularly silent on the merits of Cats; but yet he mentions some interesti... The Centaur
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Aldrovandus gives us the accompanying illustration of a Chimaera, a fabulous Classical monster, said to possess three heads, those of a lion, a goat, and a dragon. It used so to be pictorially treated, but in more modern times as Aldrovandus re... The Circhos
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The largest of the Saurians which we have left us, is the Crocodile; and it formerly had the character of being very deceitful, and, by its weeping, attracted its victims. Sir John Mandeville thus describes them:--"In this land, and many other pla... The Dog-fish And Ray
Olaus Magnus writes of "The cruelty of some Fish, and the kindness of others. There is a fish of the kind of Sea-Dogfish, called Boloma, in Italian, and in Norway, Haafisck, that will set upon a man swimming in the Salt-Waters, so greedily, in ... The Dolphin
Pliny says:--"The Dolphin is an animal not only friendly to man, but a lover of music as well; he is charmed by melodious concerts, and more especially by the notes of the water organ. He does not dread man, as though a stranger to him, but comes ... The Fox
By Englishmen, the Fox has been raised to the height of at least a demigod--and his cult is a serious matter attended with great minutiae of ritual. Englishmen and Foxes cannot live together, but they live for one another, the man to hunt the fox,... The Gorgon
In the title-page of one edition of "The Historie of Foure-footed Beastes" (1607) Topsell gives this picture of the Gorgon; and he says, respecting this curious animal, the following:--"Among the manifold and divers sorts of Beasts which are bred ... The Griffin
There always has been a tradition of birds being existent, of far greater size than those usually visible. The Maoris aver that at times they still hear the gigantic Moa in the scrub--and, even, if extinct, we know, by the state of the bones fou... The Gulo
Olaus Magnus thus describes the Gulo or Gulon:--"Amongst all creatures that are thought to be insatiable in the Northern parts of Sweden, the Gulo hath his name to be the principall; and in the vulgar tongue they call him Jerff, but in the Germ... The Halcyon
Of this bird, the Kingfisher, Aristotle thus discourses:--"The halcyon is not much larger than a sparrow; its colour is blue and green, and somewhat purple; its whole body is composed of these colours as well as the wings and neck, nor is any part... The Harpy And Siren
The conjunction of the human form with birds is very easy, wings being fitted to it, as in the case of angels--and as applied to beasts, this treatment is very ancient, vide the winged bulls of Assyria, and the classical Pegasus, or winged hors... The Hoopoe And Lapwing
Whether the following bird is meant for the Hoopoe, or the Lapwing, I know not. The Latin version has "De Upupis," which clearly means Hoopoes--and the translation says, "Of the Whoups or Lapwings"--I follow the latter. "Lapwings, when at a set ti... The Hornet
So also, up North, they seem to have had a special breed of Hornets, which must have been ferocious indeed, sparing neither man nor beast, as is evidenced by the corpses, and by the extremely energetic efforts of the yet living man to cope with... The Horse
Aldrovandus gives us a curious specimen of a horse, which the artist has drawn with the slashed trunk breeches of the time. He says that Fincelius, quoting Licosthenes, mentions that this animal had its skin thus slashed, from its birth, and was t... The Kraken
This enormous monster, peculiar to the Northern Seas, is scarcely a fable, because huge Calamaries are not infrequently seen. Poor Pontoppidan has often been considered a Danish Ananias, but there are authentic accounts of these enormous Cuttle-fi... The Lamb-tree
As a change from this awful animal, let us examine the Planta Tartarica Borometz--which was so graphically delineated by Joannes Zahn in 1696. Although this is by no means the first picture of it, yet it is the best of any I have seen. A mos... The Lamia
The Lamiae are mythological--and were monsters of Africa, with the face and breast of a woman, the rest of the body like that of a serpent; they allured strangers, that they might devour them; and though not endowed with the faculty of speech, the... The Leech
The Leech has, from a very early age, been used as a means of letting blood; but, among the old Romans, it had medicinal uses such as we know not of now. It was used as a hair dye. Pliny gives two receipts for making it, and it must have been powe... The Leontophonus The Pegasus The Crocotta
The Lion has a dreadful enemy, according to Pliny, who says:--"We have heard speak of a small animal to which the name of Leontophonus[36] has been given, and which is said to exist only in those countries where the Lion is produced. If its flesh ... The Leucrocotta The Eale Cattle Feeding Backwards
"There are oxen, too, like that of India, some with one horn, and others with three; the leucrocotta, a wild beast of extraordinary swiftness, the size of the wild ass, with the legs of a Stag, the neck, tail, and breast of a lion, the head of a b... The Lion
Of the great Cat, the Lion, the ancients give many wonderful stories, some of them not altogether redounding to his character for bravery:--"A serpent, or snake doth easily kill a lion, where of Ambrosius writeth very elegantly. Eximia leonis pulc... The Manticora
Of curious animals, other than Apes, depicted as having some approach to the human countenance, perhaps the most curious is the Manticora. It is not a parvenu; it is of ancient date, for Aristotle mentions it. Speaking of the dentition of animals,... The Martlet And Footless Birds
Of the Martin, or, as in Heraldry it is written, Martlet, Guillim thus writes:--"The Martlet, or Martinet, saith Bekenhawh, hath Legs so exceeding short, that they can by no means go: (walk) And thereupon, it seemeth, the Grecians do call them Apo... The Mimick Dog
"The Mimicke or Getulian Dogge," is, I take it, meant for a poodle. It was "apt to imitate al things it seeth, for which cause some have thought that it was conceived by an Ape, for in wit and disposition it resembleth an Ape, but in face, shar... The Narwhal
generally called the Monoceros or Sea Unicorn, is thus shown in one place, by Gesner; and, rough though it is, it is far more like the Narwhal's horn than is the other, also, in his work, of a Sea Rhinoceros or Narwhal engaged in combat with an ou... The Orca
is probably the Thresher whale. Pliny thus describes it:--"The Balaena (whale of some sort) penetrates to our seas even. It is said that they are not to be seen in the ocean of Gades (Bay of Cadiz) before the winter solstice, and that at periodica... The Ostrich
Modern observation, and especially Ostrich farming, has thoroughly exploded the old errors respecting this bird. We believe in its powers of swallowing anything not too large, but not in its digesting everything, and certainly not, as Muenster ... The Ouran Outan
Transition from hirsute humanity to the apes, is easy, and natural--and we need only deal with the Simiinae, which includes the Orang, the Chimpanzee, and the Gorilla. These are the largest apes, and nearest approach to man--but, although they may... The Pelican
The fable of the Pelican "in her piety, vulning herself," as it is heraldically described--is so well known, as hardly to be worth mentioning, even to contradict it. In the first place, the heraldic bird is as unlike the real one, as it is poss... The Phoenix
Pliny says of the Phoenix:--"AEthiopia and India, more especially produce birds of diversified plumage, and such as quite surpass all description. In the front rank of these is the Phoenix, that famous bird of Arabia; though I am not sure that its... The Remora
Of this fish Pliny writes:--"There is a very small fish that is in the habit of living among the rocks, and is known as the Echeneis, [Greek: Apo tou echein neas]. (From holding back ships.) It is believed that when this has attached itself to the... The Rhinoceros
The true Unicorn is, of course, the Rhinoceros, and this picture of it is as early an one as I can find, being taken from Aldrovandus de Quad, A.D. 1521. Gesner and Topsell both reproduce it, at later dates, but reversed. The latter says that Gesn... The Sahab
"There is also another Sea-Monster, called Sahab, which hath small feet in respect of its great body, but he hath one long one, which he useth in place of a hand to defend all his parts; and with that he puts meat into his mouth, and digs up grass... The Salamander
Many writers have essayed this fabled creature, but almost all have approached the subject with diffidence, as if not quite sure of the absolute entity of the animal. Thus, Aristotle does not speak of it authoritatively:--"And the Salamander shews... The Saw Fish
"The Saw fish is also a beast of the Sea; the body is huge great, the head hath a crest, and is hard and dented like to a Saw. It will swim under ships and cut them, that the Water may come in, and he may feed on the men when the ship is drowned."... The Scorpion
Of the Scorpion, Pliny says:--"This animal is a dangerous scourge, and has a venom like that of the serpent; with the exception that its effects are far more painful, as the person who is stung will linger for three days before death ensues. The s... The Sea Dragon
Of the Ray tribe of fishes, the Sea Dragon is the most frightful-looking, but we know next to nothing about it. Pliny only cursorily mentions it thus:--"The Sea Dragon again, if caught, and thrown on the sand, works out a hole for itself with i... The Sea-hare
"The Sea-Hare is found to be of divers kinds in the Ocean, but so soon as he is caught, onely because he is suspected to be Venemous, how like so ever he is to a Hare, he is let loose again. He hath four Fins behind his Head, two whose motion is a... The Sea-mouse
"The Sea-Mouse makes a hole in the Earth, and lays her Eggs there, and then covers them with Earth: on the 30th day she digs it open again, and brings her young to the Sea, first blind, and, afterwards, he comes to see. ... The Sea-pig
Again we are indebted to Gesner for the drawing of this Sea Monster. Olaus Magnus, speaking of "The Monstrous Hog of the German Ocean," says:--"I spake before of a Monstrous Fish found on the Shores of England, with a clear description of his... The Sea-serpent
Of the antiquity of the belief in the Sea-Serpent there can be no doubt, for it is represented on the walls of the Assyrian palace at Khorsabad, more than once, in the sculpture representing the voyage of Sargon to Cyprus, thus giving it an authen... The Sphynx
"The SPHYNGA or Sphinx, is of the kind of Apes, but his breast up to his necke, pilde and smooth without hayre: the face is very round, yet sharp and piked, having the breasts of women, and their favor, or visage, much like them: In that part of t... The Sting Ray
Pliny mentions the Sting Ray, and ascribes to it marvellous powers, which it does not possess:--"There is nothing more to be dreaded than the sting which protrudes from the tail of the Trygon, by our people known as the Pastinaca, a weapon five in... The Su
Topsell mentions a fearful beast called the Su. "There is a region in the new-found world, called Gigantes, and the inhabitants thereof, are called Patagones; now, because their country is cold, being far in the South, they cloath themselves with ... The Swallow
"And is the swallow gone? Who beheld it? Which way sailed it? Farewell bade it none?" (W. Smith, Country book.) Olaus Magnus answered this question, according to his lights, and when, discoursing on the Migration ... The Swamfisck
The accompanying illustration, though heading the chapter in Olaus Magnus regarding the Swamfisck and other fish, does not at all seem to elucidate the text:--"The Variety of these Fish, or rather Monsters, is here set down, because of their ad... The Swan
The ancient fable so dear, even to modern poets, that Swans sing before they die--was not altogether believed even in classical times, as saith Pliny:--"It is stated that at the moment of the swan's death, it gives utterance to a mournful song; bu... The Toad
Toads were always considered venomous and spiteful, and they had but one redeeming quality, which seems to be lost to its modern descendants:-- "Sweet are the uses of adversity; Which, like the toad, ugly and venomous, Wears yet a p... The Trochilus
This bird, as described by Aristotle, and others, is of a peculiar turn of mind:--"When the Crocodile gapes, the trochilus flies into its mouth to cleanse its teeth; in this process the trochilus procures food, and the other perceives it, and does... The Unicorn
What a curious belief was that of the Unicorn! Yet what mythical animal is more familiar to Englishmen? In its present form it was not known to the ancients, not even to Pliny, whose idea of the Monoceros or Unicorn is peculiar. He describes this ... The Walrus
Of the Walrus, Rosmarus, or Morse, Gesner draws, and Olaus Magnus writes, thus:--"The Norway Coast, toward the more Northern parts, hath a great Fish, as big as Elephants, which are called Morsi, or Rosmari, may be they are (called) so from the... The Wolf
The Wolf, as a beast of prey, is invested with a terror peculiarly its own; when solitary, it is not much dreaded by, and generally shrinks from, man, but, united by hunger into packs, they are truly to be dreaded, for they spare not man nor beast...