The Tupilaq: Ancient Vengeance Monster of the Inuit
In Inuit mythology, which dates back 4,000 to 5,000 years, the tupilaq was originally conceived of as a hybrid avenging monster-spirit created by an angakkuq, an Inuit shaman.
Monstrous Medical Maladies: Sirenomelia and Cyclopia
Several congenital birth defects are named for mythological monsters. Today, we’re focusing on two specific genetic abnormalities, one named for the Sirens and another for the Cyclops.
Adapting Ancient Myth: “HANGRY HARPIES”
We here at The Ancient Monsters Blog recently had an exciting opportunity: the chance to discuss the development of an upcoming television series, Hangry Harpies. Our guests are Rebecca Lauren, Creator/Producer/Actor, and Meredith Ginsburg, Director of the pilot episode. The mythological Harpies are best known from the story of Jason and the Argonauts, in which… Read more Adapting Ancient Myth: “HANGRY HARPIES”
Cerberus, the Incompetent Watchdog of Hades
From fifty-headed primordial monstrous canine to three-headed pet of Hades, Cerberus is renowned for being the vicious guard dog of the Greek and Roman underworld, tasked with keeping the dead in and the living out. But his reputation seems largely unearned, given the rather large number of live humans who managed to infiltrate Hades.
Monstrous Insects in the Ancient Imagination
What do you think of when you hear the phrase “monstrous insects”? Do you get a mental picture of prehistoric giant dragonflies from the works of Jules Verne? Or of the giant, radiation-mutated bugs omnipresent in films from the 1950s that arose in the wake of atomic testing? Would it interest you to know that giant insects existed long before that— in the imagination of the ancient Greeks?
Medusa and the Monstrous Feminine
Perception of the Gorgons as monsters, both in antiquity and in later reception, comes as a result of these early literary and artistic representations that effectively “other” the sisters’ appearances. They are fearsome, dangerous, and—despite having the shape of women—inhuman, which makes them monstrous.
Teaching Ancient Monsters
Today’s guest, Dr. Anactoria Clarke, is on the Regional Academic Staff of The Open University, UK, where she is a Staff Tutor in English Literature. Dr. Clarke has not one but two PhDs, the first in English Literature and the second in Classics!
The Playful Nature of Ancient Sea Monsters
Here Professor Denson, who previously spoke with us about Charybdis, has a very new take on some extremely old sea monsters.
Charybdis, Science Fiction, and the Nature of Realities
Today’s guest is Ryan Denson, currently Assistant Professor at the University of Silesia in Katowice, Poland. He has previously written in depth on Charybdis’ eerie nature in a 2023 article for the interdisciplinary journal Preternature entitled “Monstrous Disembodiment and Ontological Uncertainty in Charybdis.”
Working on Egyptian monsters
Today we’re speaking with Leanna Boychenko, Associate Professor of Classical Studies at Loyola University Chicago. One of her main interests is Ptolemaic Egypt and the cultural and literary connections between Egypt and Greece. She has written a chapter entitled “Spawned from the Nile: Egyptian Monsters in Graeco-Roman Culture” for The Oxford Handbook of Monsters in Classical Myth.