Monstrous Mythology - Essay Example

A monster when defined through literal terms comes from a Latin word 'Monstrum' which means an indication of what is yet to come, however, the Romans usually used this word to describe a series of unusual occurrences. It is very important for us to acknowledge the apparent relationship between the mythological notion of monstrous and the representation of it in the contemporary culture. The contemporary culture has adopted the mythological existence of monsters mostly through visualization or imagery which serves as a possibility inside human minds regarding the existence of these creatures.

Mythology has well preserved the concept of monstrous which holds two attributes for their identification, one of which is that they are not human beings and the other saying that they are an evil force with their distinct objectives to kill humans. (Monster mythology, Carl Sargent, Pg 12-15) Classical mythology has a deep significance in the representation of what really a monster is with all the description that has something or the other constituting an animalistic nature. It is believed that the monsters in classical mythology usually existed either in the form of humans with unnatural attributes or absurd creatures that are part human and part animal.

According to classical mythology, monsters were the creatures that violated the cultural values and norms and had their own inhumane and cruel motives. Myth makers and fiction writers have created many monsters but we cannot look through the deep-rooted significance of myth making itself and how it describes the appearance of the monster and the extent of its cruelty, for instance the people in New Guinea promoted a myth that involves monster traits such as shape transformation, inhumane union, thirst for blood and human flesh and other forms of cannibalism.

Moreover, Greek Mythology has many relevant monstrous illustrations which prominently include the Stymphalian and evil birds in the Hercules period. (Classical mythology, Helen Morales, Pg 110-116)Monsters according to a culture can be the evil force that has all the wrong and manipulative objectives and perhaps this is why people following distinct cultural and moral values consider people who end up doing or even start believing in evil/malicious paths as the monsters or demons regardless of how a typical horror monster may look like.

Classical mythology has preserved monsters time and time again such as the Cerberus, Centaurs, Chimaera, Medusa, Cyclopes, hydra etc. Below is an image of a monstrous creature in Norse mythology which was in the form of a savage wolf named 'Fenrir'.All these monsters were either humans or with a body or skull of an animal which depicts brutality and a hunger for blood gushing inside human bodies. Mythology as an explanation to monstrous creatures that once existed suggests that these creatures were perhaps a translation as to what fear is inside human minds or more like the image of fear and horror.

Moving ahead it is extremely notable to understand the human psychology and how they perceive the monsters that they see on television screens or read and imagine about, it is believed that monsters are