As if the sea is not daunting enough, we have scrolls, books, films, poetry and sworn statements telling us that there indeed are gigantic, malformed, deadly sea creatures lurking in water caverns and dark abysses just waiting to drag us to our deaths. Mythology can be such a cheerful subject.

Without it, we would not have the fantastical stories of killer mermen and mermaids, squids with bodies the size of small islands and thick tentacles that would put any steroid-ridden athlete to shame, reptiles of a length that can not be measured, seaweed-covered horses rising out of the waves to grab and devour unsuspecting beachcombers, and beautiful women who rise from the depths of the sea only to sing, entrance, and then drag men back under. This list is but a small fraction of the mythological sea creatures that we have come to know so well.

The sea has always been a source of mystery, inspiration, often encouraging individuals or groups to pit themselves against its benevolence and fury. When something is a mystery and it is one that can not be solved, our imaginations take hold and create answers for us. Months spent out at sea in the ancient world without proper hydration might alter one’s perception so much that the mind could turn innocuous shadows of dolphins under the water into killer monsters on the attack. Sightings of these mysterious creatures have also been blamed on freak weather conditions.

But then again, perhaps the stories of these sea creatures are not so far-fetched. There are oral traditions passed down of eye witness accounts made by mariners of mermaids caught in fishing nets and of gigantic sea-beasts wrapping themselves around boats and sucking them under the water. It is difficult to argue against eye-witness accounts as not everyone has a camera at the ready nor did they even have one thousands of years ago.

The most infamous mythological boat-crunching and city-crushing sea creature is the Kraken, its career having recently been revived by the new film version of “Clash of the Titans”.

From Tennyson’s poem “The Kraken” –

Below the thunders of the upper deep;
Far far beneath in the abysmal sea,
His ancient, dreamless, uninvaded sleep
The Kraken sleepeth: faintest sunlights flee…

No one should ever have to come face to face with the Kraken. Its hulking tentacles and massive body would be akin to having a ten story building fall on top of you. It might be easy to confuse the Kraken with the Leviathan, whose origin stems from biblical mythology. There is a difference between the two sea-monsters in that the Leviathan has stealth on its side, and is described as having two serpent bodies and multiple heads.

In approaching an overview of sea creatures in mythology, it must also be considered that there are many cultures and individuals who believed absolutely in the existence of these mythical sea creatures. Some still do, such as the popular beastie from Scotland, ‘Nessie’ the Loch Ness monster. Sightings of Nessie go all the way back to the 6th century AD and St. Columba. But it did not end there. The most recent sightings of Nessie are here http://www.lochness.co.uk/fan_club/thisyr.html#2009.

Many of these sea creatures are directly tied into particular creation myths for certain cultures. Tiamat, in Babylonian mythology, was the powerful, primordial goddess of the sea but her description varies. Some sources say she was a giant serpent while others give her no particular description except to say she gave birth to serpents, merpeople, and dragons who, in turn, created other aspects of the earth.

Besides the Kraken and Leviathan, other sea creatures in mythology you definitely want to avoid are the Vodianoi – who, according to Slavic mythology, would not think twice about drowning a wayward swimmer; the Blue Men of the Minch - whose territory is the Northwest coast of Scotland and could intentionally cause a storm to wreck your ship if you could not answer their riddles or finish their rhymes; and the Lotan or Lawtan who, in Ugaritic myth, is a seven-headed serpent  also associated with the Ugaritic god Yam. Either way, you do not want to be out in your boat when either of them are around as they are responsible for the untamed, unruly and destructive tendency of the sea.

Many of these mythical sea creatures were created as a way to teach lessons to children about the dangers of the sea or to keep them from going into rough or too cold of water. But not all creatures within it were considered evil or dangerous. Some sirens actually helped shipwrecked sailors find land instead of luring them to a watery grave, like the Greek sea-nymphs the Nereids.

From Japan we have tales of the Ningyo – mermaids whose flesh grants long life and the Amabie – also mermaids who give prophecies. From the South China Sea we have stories of the Kojin, a mermaid-like creature, who spends most of its time weaving and cries tears which are said to turn into precious jewels. China also apparently has four Dragon Sea-Kings (East, North, West, and South) who can shape shift into human beings, control the rain and clouds, and flood entire cities.

As stories of these sea-creature tales spread, bards and poets incorporated their legends into their own work and passed them down to new generations of storytellers. Though mythological sea creatures are most prevalent in sea-faring cultures, inland peoples had them too though they were found more in local rivers or lakes. Stories of sea creatures helped provide answers to sudden, unexplainable boat accidents or mysterious disappearances. Although not a ‘creature’, an example of how easy it is to create a sea creature is reflected in the legend of the Bermuda Triangle. It can not yet be completely proven ‘what’ is causing planes and boats to disappear in that area, but it is believed that ‘something’ is there causing it to happen.

Nevertheless, sea creatures from mythology are a goldmine for entertaining our imaginations and will always be an impeccable source for creative artists.

Sources:

http://www.lenntech.com/water-mythology.htm

The World’s Mythology In Colour, Ions, Veronica, Hamlyn Publishing Group Ltd, 1974

Wikipedia- Sea Creatures