Monsters And Villains Of The Ancient World

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Monstrum

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Latin word for omen. Monsters are signs of uncertain nature of reality. Culture constructs monsters

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vilein

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Premodern. from old english word. Means low class, boor,rustic, provincial. Fear-harduired, Frightening

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Lillitu

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Ancient Near East. Demons of Akkad. Night hags/screech owls. They seduce men, impregnate women against their will, eat kids.

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Erishkegal

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Ancient Near East. Sometimes one of Lillitu. Queen of underworld/damned, in charge of afterlife.

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Ekimmu

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Ancient Near East. Vampires, night time blood drinkers. 7 of them, show no mercy. They were fat and frog like

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Assyria

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Ancient Near East. Controlled most of the near east. Extreme brutality, created unstoppable war machines that destroyed entire cities.

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Pazuzu

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Ancient Near East. God/demon. Was Assyrian. Connected to winds that brought storms, drought, disease.

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Polis

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Greeks. City-state. greeks didn't think of themselves as a nation, only from the city they referred themselves as. (Athenians, Spartans)

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Theseus

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Greece. Founding hero of Athens. Father didn't recognize him as his son so he proves he is by slaying monsters. Went to war against centars and slays minotaur.

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Agon/Arete

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Greece. Agon means agony, a struggle in warfare or athletics(leg race). Provides a test of the Greek virtue Arete. Which combines the idea of skill, courage & ability to win glory for men-must win to prove you have arete.

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Gynaeceum

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Place where the women of the house was restricted to. Greek strictest on women. Couldn't leave this place unless for religious ceremonies

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Circe

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Greeks. Powerful women seen as a monster. Turns men into pigs, she's beautiful which is what makes her threatening, seductness

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Pliny The Elder

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Roman. Monster Man. Wrote natural histories- collected a lot about the monsters in ancient world. Bought into Mermen, sea serpents, manticores but didn't believe story about werevolves bc of clothes

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Arcadian Werewolves

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Greeks. King Lycaon-transform into wolf, took clothes off, swam into lake, lived as a werewolf for 9 yrs and then when time was up, turned back into a human

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Gautama, "The Buddha"

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India. Enlightened one who sees. Lived a sheltered life, in the beginning it was about trying to get over suffering-being free from suffering. Nirvana-release from existence

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Wrathful Deities

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India. Have to meditate to picture the deities-have to be enlightened to see the good in them. Most are women

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Peta

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India. Re-born as pitas near crime & are always looking & begging for something. Must do something intense to become one, they are ghost but can still interact with people.

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Shi

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India "foolions". Male has a ball underneath him showing dominance. Female as a cub to represent nature. Mouth is usually open but if its closed it could mean death. Males guard outside structures and females inside.

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Mara

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Indian. Lord of desire. Challenged buddha but buddha won. Related to internal/external evils, war, thirst, hunger. Shows up as death.

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Yama

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India. Lord of dead, controls karma. Holds wheel of karma to see where people should go after they die and are reborn. Has a room full of Petas

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Theravada

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India. Original buddhism. Old teaching. "The Little Raft" Nirvana ultimate goal. Intense practice on focusing on wisdom

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Mahayana

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India. Observed local religions. "The Big Raft" Open to idea that everyone can attain Nirvana w/o following life as a monk

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Naga

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India. male & female. Serpent people who are semi divine cause they are gods in a way but interacts as humans & talk in human form. Not all are snakes. Seen as helpful and associated with weather bringing rain, streams. Not nice to people who cross them though (with them or sacred streams)

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100 flowers

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China. Religious ideas & religion are like a vast garden. You dont need to pick just one, you can pick and take from each one. Ex: daoism-clustered around the notion of TianT

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Tian

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China. an essential order and balance to the way the universe works.

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Han Dynasty

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China. Expanded boundaries and began to construct the great wall. Confucianism-belief in Han China, provided a way to think about Tian in relation to human life, respects cosmic order, respects ancestors.

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Jiangshi/Hopping Vampires

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China. Cause they are decaying couldnt walk, could only hop. People became these cause something was wrong with their death(murder, suicide, improper burial)

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Dragons (China)

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beneficial to humans, helpful. yellow dragons were the best. Connected to water, always described as beautiful and wise. Bones for health and healing.

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Dragon of the Apocalypse

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Medieval Europe. Apocalypse of John- story of a terrible dragon with 7 heads & 10 crowns. Warrior Angel-significant bc in the apocalypse the writer identifies the dragon as satan, this is the factor that makes dragons come off as evil.

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Yvain and the Dragon

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Medieval Europe. Best illustrates saintly warrior killing dragon. Dragon is assumed as evil but it never actually does anything bad. Yvain just wants to kill it with the help of a lion he saved.

Dragons were actually small in the medieval times.

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Knighthood

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Medieval Europe. Rise of warrior class. Sworn to 1 particular lord. Only protect aristocrat ladies, don't protect peasants. They were brutal in the middle ages, notions about chivalry didnt come until later

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Dragons of Christian Europe

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Thought of as lustful, greedy, hoarded gold, proud and dangerous. Represented as combat with saints & saintly warriors. Connected to diabolical creatures. Seen as omens

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Dragons as Omens

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Medieval Europe. Seen as bad omens, if you see a dragon its very bad

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India at 500 BCE

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Polotics at the time of the Buddha. Becoming an urban society, a time of change. New merchant class were restless with the caste system. Divided into small, rural states but soon would be united as an Empire

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Nagarjuna

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India. Teacher. Believes in a sense that everything is empty, taught this by the naga

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For essay question: Hebrew tradition

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Thought of monsters as abominations(feeling of hatred). Represented as rebels against god even though they are apart of god's creation. Centered around one god. Monotheism raises the problem about evil because its in a universe that involves a battle of gods and monsters. This culture doesn't define monsters in moral terms, more so on complications they cause. Example: God's Lackeys (placed on earth to reflect gods glory): Behemoth-land monster, outsized. Leviathon- Giant sea serpent, threatens chaos. In a later representation it shows god playing with him (playing with dolphins)

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For Essay: Early Greeks

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Majority of the monsters were women. Example: Circe-has to do with the sea, mixes potions to turn men into pigs. She's beautiful which is why she is threatening. Main idea is that monsters kinda had a relationship to gods but it was okay to slay them. Example: Theseus was founding hero of Athens. Isn't recognize as a hero so he slays monsters, went to war against centars & slays minotaur who is half a god.

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For Essay: Asian civilizations

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Monsters in buddhism are guides to life. They are natured focused and helpful to humans. Dragons in China are beautiful and wise, bones used for healing. Example: Naga in india. Have monster qualities(serpent people) but are seen has helpful and associated with weather and streams. They can be mean if you mess with their sacred streams.

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For Essay: Medieval Christian Europe

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Dragons of Europe thought of as lustful, greedy, proud and dangerous. Represented as combat with saints and saintly warriors. Seen as bad omens. Example: Yvain and the Dragon- He kills dragon for no reason, only does it because its a dragon and is assumed evil. Dragon of Apocalypse (apocalypse of John) is significant because this is the first factor that makes dragons come off as evil and satan like.

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Conclusion for Essay, Monsters and Religion

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Monsters play an important factor in religion. Religion structures the world through rituals and the monsters are signs of uncertain nature of reality and contradict with some religions. Religion shapes the monsters with stories, whether good or bad

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For essay: Ancient Near East

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3000-1200 BCE The gods were very similar to monsters. People scared of gods cause they control everything. People are like cattle to gods. Example: Pazuzu-King of the demons of the wind. Divine but also a monster and terrified people. People of this time believed in more than one god and they believed in the demons created by the gods. People worshipped them cause if the gods were unhappy, the mesopotamian world would be punished. Example: Lilitu-night hags-seduced men,eating kids.