We have all heard or read stories about mythical creatures - either from ancient Greek stories or more modern tales. This is the list of the most well known mythical creatures. As always, if you want to add more, use the comments at the bottom of the page.
1. Griffin (or Gryphon) [Wikipdia]
The griffin is normally characterised as a lion with the head and wings of an eagle. It was thought to be a particularly strong creature as the lion is the king of beasts and the eagle is the king of birds. In ancient times it was considered the protector of the divine. The creature was seen in civilisations as early as the Minoan civilisation (2700BC to 1450 BC).
2. Phoenix [Wikipdia]
The phoenix is a mythical firebird from Ancient Egypt which is portrayed as a bird that dies in fire and is reborn of it. It is normally portrayed as having gold and red feathers. At the end of its life, a phoenix is said to build a nest of cinnamon twigs which it then ignites. The bird is destroyed in the fire but a new young phoenix is born from the same fire. It was believed to have a life span of 500 - 1461 years (depending on who you ask). Its tears were thought to heal wounds.
3. Unicorn [Wikipdia]
The unicorn is usually shown as a horse with a long single horn on its head, but it originally had a billy-goat beard, lion’s tail, and cloven hooves. The unicorn is virtually the only creature in legend which did not come from human fears and was, in fact, a rather gentle creature. It was considered impossible to capture a unicorn except by using unfair methods. The horn was said to be able to neutralise poison. The unicorn first came to be known during the Indus Valley Civilisation (3300–1700 BC).
4. Satyr [Wikipdia]
Satyrs were originally seen as companions of the goat god Pan in ancient Greek civilisation. The first drawings of satyrs were of normal men, though often with an erect phallus. It was later merged with the Roman faun which is when they began to be depicted as half men half goats (the upper body being that of the man, and the lower half being that of a goat). Satyrs are described as roguish but faint-hearted folk — subversive and dangerous, yet shy and cowardly. In old age they are often seen with horns on their head, while young satyrs are seen with nubs instead.
5. Minotaur [Wikipdia]
In Greek mythology, the Minotaur had the upper body of a bull and the lower body of a man. It was said to live in the centre of the labyrinth which was a large maze-like construction built for King Minos of Crete especially to house the minotaur. It was designed by Daedalus and is generally thought to have been at the site of Knossos. The minotaur appears briefly in a scene from the Satyricon by Petronius. He was eventually killed by Theseus.
6. Cyclops [Wikipdia]
A Cyclops is a member of a primordial race of giants, each with a single round eye in the middle of its forehead. Cyclopes are described by both Homer and Hesiod. According to Hesiod, the Cyclopes—Brontes, Steropes and Arges — were the sons of Uranus (Sky) and Gaia (Earth), while according to Homer the term “Cyclops” refers to a particular son of Poseidon and Thoosa named Polyphemus who was a Cyclops.
7. Mermaid [Wikipdia]
The mermaid (or merman in the case of a male) has been discussed since at least 5000 BC. It is highly possible that manatees or dugongs may have been confused for these creatures, and even Christopher Columbus claimed to have seen some on his journeys. In British folklore they are considered to be a forewarning of doom or disaster.
8. Gorgon [Wikipdia]
Gorgons were wicked women with fangs, and living snakes instead of hair. Legend says that looking at the face of a gorgon will turn a person into stone. Probably the most famous gorgon is Medusa who was the only mortal sister of three (the others being Stheno and Euryale). Because Medusa was mortal, Perseus was able to kill her by cutting off her head while he looked at her reflection in his shield. Images of Gorgons were often used by the Greeks to ward off evil.
9. Banshee [Wikipdia]
The banshee is from Irish mythology and are usually seen as female spirits. They were considered to be omens of death and were believed to have come from the “otherworld”. They are generally thought to be remnants of an ancient Celtic pagan religion in which they were minor gods, spirits, or ancestors. In English they are often referred to as fairies. According to legend, banshees will wander around the outside of a house wailing when someone inside is about to die.
10. Giant [Wikipdia]
“Giant” is the English word to describe monsters of great strength and size but human form. They appear in the Bible (in the story of King David and Goliath). In mythology they are frequently seen to be in conflict with the gods and are generally considered to be associated with chaos and wild nature. They were seen as early as the Ancient Greek culture where they were known as gigantes - creatures born from Gaia who was fertilised by the blood of Uranus when he was castrated.
译文:
揭开10大神秘生物的面纱
我们都听说过神秘生物，或者在古希腊神话和近代传奇中读到过。以下是大家最熟悉的一些神秘生物。老规矩，如果你有补充，请留言。
传说中格里芬是有翅膀的狮身鹰头怪物。据说它异常勇猛，堪比万兽之王的狮子和百鸟之王的老鹰。在古代，人们认为它是神灵的守护者。它最早出现在克里特文明中（公元前2700——公元前1450）。
凤凰是古埃及的神秘火鸟，它在烈火中死去又复生。它常被描绘成身披金红相间的羽毛。据说一只凤凰在临死前会用肉桂枝筑巢，然后点燃它。它在大火中消失了，但是一只雏鸟会在火中诞生。人们相信它的寿命有500到1461年（这是仁者见仁、智者见智的事）。它的眼泪可以治愈伤口。
独角兽是头上长一只角的马，但它原来有山羊胡子、狮子尾巴和偶蹄。实际上，独角兽是传说故事里唯一不让人害怕的动物，确切的是，它很温顺。它一般不可能被抓住，除非人类使用阴险的方法。它的角据说可以解毒。独角兽最早在印度文明（公元前3300——公元前1700）中出现。
萨梯原本是古希腊文明中潘神的同伴。萨梯最早的画像是一个普通的男人，尽管常画有竖立的阴茎。后来他和罗马的农牧神混为一谈，形象就成了半人半山羊（上身是人，下身是山羊）。萨梯被描绘成无赖怯懦之徒——危险具有破坏性，却很害羞懦弱。年长的萨梯头上长角，而年轻的只有的瘤块。
在希腊神话中，弥诺陶洛斯上身是牛，下身是人。据说它住在迷宫的中央，这个巨大的迷魂阵建筑是克里斯岛的弥诺斯王专门为弥诺陶洛斯而造的。它由代达罗斯设计，建在克诺索斯宫内。它在裴特洛纽斯所写的《森林之神》客串过。它最后被特修斯杀死。
独眼巨人是最早的巨人家族中的一员，前额上长有一只圆眼。荷马和赫西奥德都曾写到它。赫西奥德说独眼巨人Brontes, Steropes and Arges是天神优利纳斯和大地母亲盖亚的儿子，而荷马却认为它是海神波赛冬和海中仙女Thoosa 的私生子波吕斐摩斯。
对美人鱼（或美男鱼，如果它是雄性）的争论可追溯到公元前5000年。很可能人们把它和海牛或儒艮混淆在了一起，连哥伦布也声称在探险中见过它们。英国的民间传说中，它们的出现是对灾难的警告。
戈耳工是长着毒牙和蛇发的女巫。传说看一眼它们的脸就会变成石头。最著名的蛇发女妖莫过于美杜莎了，它是可怕的三姐妹中的一个（另外两个是斯忒诺、欧律阿勒）。因为美杜莎能制人于死地，所以珀尔修斯是看着盾上它的影子，才砍掉了它的头。希腊人常用戈耳工的形象来避开恶魔。
班西是爱尔兰神话中的女妖精。它们是死亡的象征，据说来自于另一个世界。通常认为它们是凯尔特异教的余孽，它们曾是异教中的辅神、精灵和祖先。在英语中，它和精灵的意思差不多。根据传说，如果家中有人将死，班西就会在房子外面游荡哀嚎。
“Giant”（巨人）是英语中的词汇，用来形容人形的大力怪物。它们在圣经中出现（详见大卫王和
歌利亚的故事）。神话里，它们常和神灵起冲突，它们的形象总是和混乱、野蛮联系在一起。在古希腊文化中就有它们的身影，优利纳斯失去性器官后，他的血令盖亚怀孕，生下了这些巨大的生物。