We have explored the oceans, we have explored space, we have explored demons lurking in
the depths of the underworld.
However, today, let’s turn our attention towards the skies.
As innocuous as it may be, according to folklore, there are mythical monsters lurking above,
waiting patiently to feast on our souls.
So today on Top 5 Scary Videos, I’m going to be counting down our list of the Top 5
Scariest Mythological Monsters That Rule The Skies.
Before we begin though, be sure to stick around until the end of the video where I’ll be
responding to some of your comments.
And with that, let’s jump in.
5 Harpy Hailing from Greek mythology and Roman mythology,
a Harpy is a half-human and half-bird personification of storm winds.
They have generally been depicted as birds with the heads of maidens, faces pale with
hunger and long claws on their hands.
They have however been depicted in various forms by various writers.
To Hesiod, they were imagined as fair-locked and winged maidens, who surpassed winds and
birds in the rapidity of their flight.
The Harpies seemed originally to have been wind spirits.
Their names meaning “Snatchers” or “swift robbers” and they steal food from their
victims while they are eating and carry evildoers to the Erinyes.
If a person were to suddenly disappear from Earth, it was said that he had been carried
off by the Harpies.
In this form they were agents of punishment who abducted people and tortured them on their
way to Tartarus.
They were depicted as being vicious, cruel and violent.
They were sometimes even referred to as “the hounds of mighty Zeus”.
In later text, writers listed the Harpies among the guardians of the underworld, among
other monstrosities such as Centaurs, Scylla, Briareus, Lernaean Hydra, Chimera, Gorgons,
and Geryon.
4 Hippogriff The Hippogriff is a legendary creature which
has the front half of an eagle and the hind half of a horse.
The second mention of the Hippogriff in history was made by the Latin poet Jamie Unni.
Though sometimes depicted during the Classical Era and during the rule of the Merovingians,
it was used by Ludovico Ariosto in his Orlando Furioso, at the beginning of the 16th century.
In the poem, the hippogriff is a steed born of a mare and a griffin -- it is extremely
fast and is presented as being able to fly around the world and to the Moon.
It is often ridden by magicians and the wandering knight Ruggiero, and from the creature’s
back frees the beautiful Angelica.
The Hippogriff is a symbol of the Greek god Apollo, either through his connection to the
Muses or as God of the Sun.
In the aforementioned poem by Arisoto, the Hippogriff is described as, I quote: “no
fiction wrought magic lore, But natural was the steed the wizard pressed; For him a filly
to griffin bore; Hight hippogryph.
In wings and beak and crest, Form like his sire, as in the feet before; But like the
mare, his dam, in all the rest.
Such on Riphaean hills, though rarely found, Are bred, beyond the frozen ocean’s bound.
Drawn by enchantment from his distant lair, The wizard thought but how to tame the foal;
And, in a month, instructed him to bear Saddle and bit, and gallop to the goal; And execute
on Earth or in mid air, All shifts of manege, course and caracole; He with such labour wrought.
This only real, Where all the rest was hollow and ideal.”
However, Thomas Bulfinch’s Legend of Charlemagne continues the description by stating, I quote:
“Like a griffin, it has the head of an eagle, claws armed with talons, and wings covered
with feathers, the rest of its body being that of a horse.
This strange animal is called a Hippogriff.
The Hippogriff is said to be an evil spirit resting and possessing its soul in that of
a horse and griffon.”
3 Sylph Sylph is a mythological air spirit, with the
term originating in the 16th century works of Paracelsus, who described Sylphs as invisible
beings of the air, his elementals of air.
In the Liber de Nymphis of the Philosophia Magna, Paracelsus discusses the characteristics
of the elementals at length.
Sylphs are rougher, coarser, taller and stronger than humans.
Sylphs are said to be closest to humans in conception because they move through the air
like we do, while in fire they burn, in water they drown, and in earth, they get stuck.
In 1765, the French author Jean-Francois Marmontel had found the Sylph legend to be notable enough
to be included among his Moral Tales, the story of “the Sylph-Husband”, in which
a young woman obsessed with the idea of marrying a Sylph is deluded into falling in love with
her arranged-husband after he impersonates one.
Savage.
As you would expect, Sylphs have often been compared to Fairies, due to their association
with the ballet La Sylphide, where Sylphs are identified with fairies and the medieval
legends of fairlands, as well as the confusion with other “airy spirits”, a slender woman
may be referred to as a Sylph.
2 Wyvern A Wyvern is a legendary bipedal dragon with
a tail often ending in a diamond or arrow shaped tip.
The Wyvern is a popular creature in European and British literature, video games, and modern
fantasy.
In heraldry and folklore, the Wyvern is a fire-breathing two-legged dragon, sometimes
portrayed in fantasy books as frost-breathing or poison-breathing.
Since the sixteenth century, in English, Scottish, and Irish heraldry, the key difference between
the Wyvern and Dragon is that a wyvern has two legs, whereas a dragon has four.
In modern fiction is where this beast shines though, Wyverns, when present as creatures
tend to appear as less magical and more as dangerous beasts: smaller, weaker, and less
intelligent than dragons.
Also unlike Dragons, who are more feared for their ferocity and sharp teeth, Wyverns are
often associated with poison, either in the form of venomous fangs or poisonous breath,
but this trait is not universally represented.
Outside of fiction, the Wyvern is a fairly popular commercial logo or mascot, especially
in Wales and Worcestershire.
As well as is a frequent mascot of athletic teams, colleges, and universities.
In English heraldry and vexillology, the Wyvern often appears, typically depicted resting
upon its legs and tail, but may also be depicted with its claws in the air and only supported
by its tail.
1 Griffin The Griffin, also known as Griffon or Gryphon,
is a legendary creature with the body, tail, and back legs of a lion; the head and wings
of an eagle; and sometimes an eagle’s talons as its front feet.
Now, because the lion was considered the King of the beasts, and the eagle king of the birds,
by the Middle Ages the griffin was thought to be an especially powerful and majestic
creature.
Since classical antiquity, griffins were known for guarding treasures and priceless possessions.
Most statuary representations of Griffins depict them with bird-like talons, and are
oftentimes feathered, and when depicted on coats of arms, the griffin is called the Opinicus,
referring to the serpent astronomical constellation.
Now, representations of griffin-like hybrids with four legs and beaked head appeared in
Ancient Iranian and Ancient Egyptain art dating back to before 3000 BC.
Now, in Medieval Lore, griffins not only mated for life, but if either partner died, then
the other would continue the rest of its life alone, never to search for a new mate.
The griffin was in turn made an emblem of the Church’s opposition to remarriage.
Being an aerial bird and a terrestrial beast, it was seen in Christendom to be a symbol
of Jesus, who was both human and divine.
John Milton in Paradise Lost II, refers to the legend of the griffin in describing Satan:
“As when a Gryfon through the Wilderness, with winged course ore Hill or moarie Dale,
Pursues the ARIMASPIAN, who by stealth, Had from his wakeful custody purloined, The guarded
Gold.”
Younger viewers may also be familiar with the Griffon from the Harry Potter series.
Well, there we have it!
Do you guys agree with our list?
Were there any mythological monsters that we missed?
Leave us all your thoughts and feelings in the comments down below and perhaps we can
do a part 2.
Before I go though, I just want to respond to a few comments from one of our last videos,
Top 5 Scariest Aquatic Monsters You Need To Read About.
Inger Rogers said: I love Lucy!
You’ve won me over.
It’s a pleasure to listen to you tell a story.
Happy Holidays and a safe New Year to you and yours.”
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Christopher England said: “Loving the monsters of the deep.”
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Preforit said: “Thanks, Lucy, I cancelled my scuba trip because of a previous don’t
go in the water video.
But now I have to invent a transporter to really avoid the Oceans.”
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Allen Linley said: “Lucy to you and the staff of Top 5 and to all the viewers, I wish
you a Merry Christmas/ Happy Holidays and a very Happy New Year.”
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And on that note, if you haven’t already, be sure to give this video a big thumbs up,
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And until next time, see ya later.