I think what always struck me about Indian mythology is the sense of just additional civilizations everywhere. It’s not like raksashas were just some horrible monsters that lived in the woods–they had a whole island and a city and, presumably, raksasha bankers and shoemakers and raksasha beauty pageants.

The same with the Naga; it’s not like the Naga was just one snake-legged guy. There was a whole kingdom of them.

I like a smart hero, too; there are some Norse ones (like Njal).

Hey braak–

Adrienne Mayer wrote a great book called “The First Fossil Hunters” where she pursued (really persuasively, I though,t given the problematic evidence base) the idea that many of the monster/hero tales were generated by fossil discoveries.

Indian mythology is something I’m just dipping my toes into lately; pretty soon I’ll have to dive deep, I think.

Hey Constance–

Egypt’s influence is huge in every era of the ancient world–e.g. the Sphinx, fluted columns in Greek temples, mathematics etc. etc.

Love, C.

This is an interesting dichotomy, though, and I wonder where it comes from. Even the Norse monsters that are described are really just big versions of regular things (like Fenris) or sometimes REALLY big versions of regular things (Jormungund).

I’m curious; I read something somewhere (this should lend it some authenticity!) about how the Cyclopes might have been inspired by old elephant skulls. Was Classical civilization’s comparatively cosmopolitan and, actually I guess comparatively bourgeois, society better suited to weird monsters? Is there something to the idea that the less individual members of a society have to fight actual things, the more imagination they devote to fantastic things?

Classical India had some pretty crazy monsters, too…

Damn, all this talking of mythic monsters makes me want to play Age of Mythology. lol
Cheers,
Dave