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sea monsters
welcome to watch mojo and today we're
counting down our picks for the top 10
mythical sea monsters
foreign
for this list we're looking only at sea
creatures from ancient myths and
folklore
excluding fictional monsters from modern
works like moby dick
and the cthulhu mythos as well as fresh
water creatures like the loch ness
monster
do you believe any of these creatures
really exist let us know in the comments
number 10. bakunawa this sea serpent
from philippine mythology
is so large it can swallow the moon
depicted as long insinuous with a looped
tail and horned nose
this gigantic monster causes storms
earthquakes
and eclipses it roams not only the
oceans
but also the sky and underworld
fortunately it's afraid of loud noises
banging on pots and pans will prompt it
to spit the moon back out
you might ask why eat a moon anyway
depends who you ask but in one tale
it was for revenge after humans killed
its sister a sea turtle
in another it was because a tribal
leader stood between bakunawa and its
one true love
a human girl hey even monsters feel love
number nine the aspadak alone medieval
books called bestiaries were used to
research and catalog
different beasts and monsters and this
massive sea monster was frequently
featured in such books
the aspedoc alone has been described in
many forms as a giant turtle
a large sea creature with spines and
ridges on its back
or as a massive whale very similar to
the devil whale myth that inspired moby
dick
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no matter what form this monster takes
it's large enough to
easily be mistaken for an island by
unsuspecting sailors
once the sailors dock the aspadac alone
swiftly pulls the whole ship and
everyone on board underwater
drowning them all so if you're ever out
sailing and find an island
check if it has eyes and scales first
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number eight sirens in ancient greek
mythology
sirens were originally described as
half-woman half-bird
as the legends changed they became women
with fishtails instead of legs
but she's my friend primo
though these creatures eventually
evolved into what we now call mermaids
sirens are nowhere near as kind as ariel
mythological sirens use their alluring
singing voices to manipulate sailors
passing by
into jumping into the water or wrecking
their ships entirely by sailing directly
into the rocky coast of the siren's
island
odysseus encountered sirens and had his
crew tie him to the mast of the ship
and plug their ears with beeswax in
order to resist the creature's fatally
tempting song
number 7 cetus
in greek mythology acetis is a somewhat
ambiguous monster
that refers to any large sea creature or
monster though
typically depicted in art as a giant
serpentine fish
in one myth poseidon sent cetus to kill
the beautiful princess andromeda
but the hero perseus slew the monster
before andromeda was harmed
in another myth heracles or hercules
fought a creature called the cetus that
was again sent by poseidon
this time to attack the city of troy
though cetus is mythical
you can actually see the creature just
not underwater
a constellation named after the monster
sits near other water-related
constellations like aquarius and pisces
and is sometimes referred to in english
as the whale
number 6 the umibozu
the name of this sea spirit from
japanese folklore translates to sea
priest in english
and there have been stories of sightings
of this creature throughout the seas of
japan
when the umibozu appears once calm seas
quickly become rough and choppy if the
ship isn't wrecked immediately
after the spirit's appearance the
umibozu will demand a barrel and
subsequently drown all the sailors
to escape you can give the spirit a
bottomless barrel and sneak away while
it tries to figure out how to use it
some also say that tobacco smoke the
umibozu's weakness
can deter the spirit most stories of the
umibozu have been dismissed as strange
shadows and stormy seas
but sightings of the spirit have been
reported as recently as 1971
and the legend still lives on today
sea monsters
number five cilla and charybdis these
two aquatic beasts count as one entry
because of their linkage together in
greek mythology
as described in homer's odyssey cilla
has 6 heads and 12 feet
and devours anything that comes too
close to her
close by lurks charybdus under her rock
swallowing and spitting out huge amounts
of water to create dangerous whirlpools
that could suck down an entire ship
inhabiting two opposite sides of a very
narrow straight
it's almost impossible for sailors to
safely pass one without getting too
close to the other
the idiom between cilla and charybdis
refers to choosing the lesser of two
evils
as those who encountered the beasts
would have to do number four
tiamat in ancient babylonian mythology
tiamat is the goddess of the salt sea
and a symbol of primordial chaos she's
often depicted as a sea serpent or
dragon
and is credited with creating and
releasing all the monsters in
mesopotamian mythology to avenge the
murder of her husband
the fresh water god apsu she was then
killed by the younger storm god
and mythological hero marduk who divided
her body to create the earth and sky in
the babylonian creation myth
the legend of tiamat is one of the
earliest examples of a mythical battle
between a hero and a supernatural
aquatic monster
and according to some interpretations
tiamat's death reflects a shift from a
matriarchal society to a patriarchal one
in ancient babylon number 3
german gander this norse sea serpent
also known as the midgard serpent is the
child of loki
and the arch enemy of thor taken from
its parents by odin and thrown into the
ocean
german gander grew so massive it
encircled the earth
and grasped its own tail in its mouth
the creature is featured prominently in
norse art
especially in its fierce battles with
thor now
and we miss all its dismemberment
norse legend also foretells that when
the german gander releases its tail
ragnarok will begin resulting in the
deaths of many gods
and the submersion of the world
underwater
[Applause]
the serpent occasionally appears in
modern pop culture including the 2017
ducktales reboot
and the 2018 video game god of war
number two the leviathan okay this is an
illustration of the leviathan
the creature guarding the entrance to
atlantis this
monstrous sea serpent is straight up
biblical literally
originating in jewish mythology though
likely inspired by similar mythical
creatures like tiamat
the leviathan is often described as a
large aquatic dragon or
serpent-like creature that wields the
waters of chaos with
overwhelming power mentioned in the
christian bible and the jewish tanakh in
the book of job
psalms and others the leviathan often
serves as a metaphor for a
devastatingly powerful enemy likely
babylon in the era it was written
more recently some scholars have
rationalized the monster as a
sensationalized description of a large
aquatic animal
like a crocodile
before we unveil our top pick here are
some honorable mentions
cecilia creatures related to merfolk
that are half human and half
octopus or squid
insignificant food
a huge scottish sea monster that can
disguise itself as a small silver fish
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number one the kraken release the kraken
this infamous massive cephalopod monster
originates from norse mythology where it
was rumored to lurk in the waters of
norway and greenland
the kraken is set to be a gigantic
octopus with spikes on its suckers that
is easily capable of capsizing a ship
the legend of the kraken quickly spread
among sailors worldwide
likely aided by frightening sightings of
real giant squids that lent some truth
to the tall tale
these days the legend lives on through
depictions of the kraken in movies like
clash of the titans
and pirates of the caribbean dead man's
chest as well as many other pop culture
iterations of this gigantic aquatic
beast
even today many sailors look out for the
fascinating kraken as they travel
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