Mythology Horses · 1:46am Jan 24th, 2015
Apparently horses have been around a bunch in the mythos of the ages. Pretty neato stuff, gotta admit. And hey, some of the user base has already dipped their toes into this exciting field, so I thought I'd get the gears turning for all of you and include more info on the various monsters, beasts, and gods of equine nature.
Kirin
Often called the “Chinese Unicorn” it has a body like a horse except it’s covered in scales, and has the head of a dragon with one horn. It has the tail of a horse but also has the typical Chinese dragon tufts of fur. The Kirin floats in the air, never to touch the ground, it’s a symbol of the purity of nature.
Al-Buraq
An angel…of sorts…from Islamic belief. This creature had the body of a horse, with the wings of bird (like the Pegasus) but had a long hairless neck with a large human head (of a bearded man wearing a hat).
However in the Koran it makes no mention of it having a human head; it is described as being a white beast with a beautiful face and long ears, it has wings on its flanks, and it could extend its legs to the farthest point of its gaze to be there instantly…to be honest…this kind of sounds like a machine of some sort. The prophet Muhammad supposedly rode on this from Mecca to Jerusalem.
Hippocampus
Basically the horse equivalent of a mermaid. Front body of a horse, back body of a fish. Often however the front hooves would also be fins. It could be found in both fresh and salt water, *makes sense to Greeks*, as a servant to the god Posieden. They have a natural enemy it seems in a “mer-lion” creature.
The older Etruscan version also sported a pair of bird like wings. Apparently later Hellenistic Greeks didn’t care for that part.
Hippogriff
The front of the body is that of an eagle, and the back that of a horse. Apparently in the mythology these creatures are the result of a Griffon breeding with a mare. Supposedly one of these was bred by a Wizard for Charlemagne.
It has an interesting point as a processor to the phrase “when pigs fly” as the Griffon was said to regard horses as prey; thus a mating between them next to impossible. They are said however to travel at the speed of lightning, far faster than any Griffon. Unlike its carnivore father or herbivore mother this creature was an omnivore and unlike the Griffon was as easy to tame as a horse.
Icthyocentaurs
A pair of ocean gods to be blunt. The upper body of a man, front legs of a horse, and a fish tail behind. So basically a centaur version of the Hippocampus. They also had lobster claws for horns as if the rest wasn’t weird enough.
Karkadann
Okay really more of a Rhino/Buffalo monster, as it’s really ugly. Said to have the build of a buffalo but with rhino skin that is black. It has a head like a rhino, with eyes sitting lower on the cheek than other animals. It has a single curved horn on its forehead that bends back towards its body. It has donkey like ears.
Current historians of Arabic, Persian, and Islamic art and tradition are certain this creature is based on the Indian Rhino. Problem lies when descriptions of the Unicorn came to the region the two creatures became confused with each other as the Arabic authors used the same name for both; and artists ended up mixing and matching their qualities in art.
Kelpie
The water horse of Celtic mythology. It has two base descriptions, one a black horse with seal smooth skin, and the other a green horse. The creature hunts like a crocodile *eyes above water* and can take on the form of a beautiful woman. It always has a wet appearance. It lures men and children to it, to ride its back. When they get on its skin becomes sticky. It drags them into the water and drowns them; after which it then eats them. There are many other very similar “water horses” through out the British Isles, some are said to be safe to ride so long as they are no where near water. Some the horse form is only a trick by the evil faerie. Most though have two things in common (1: live in the water and 2: are predators). In fact the Lochness monster, before the whole “Plesiosaur” thing came up was based on descriptions called a “water horse” a Each Uisge. Funny how when you stop calling a monster a dark faerie aquatic horse and start calling it an extinct reptile that couldn’t live in those waters that people believe the later.
A “water horse” was also a common form the Nixie, which would also take the form of a man, woman, snake, or dragon, as they wanted.
The Each Uisge it should be pointed out dwells in lakes while the Kelpie dwells in rivers. The Each Uisge is a far more dangerous creature (despite being the one that can be ridden inland and be safe so long as it doesn’t smell water), as it turns into a person and actively looks for human prey as well as attacking cattle and sheep.
Nuckelavee
A horrid monster, the body is a horse with fins above the hooves, there is a human torso that connects in the middle of the back with long arms that almost reach the ground, one or both heads has only one eye. On top of all of this the creature is skinless, with yellow veins and black blood.
Onocentaur (Including This One Because It's Funny)
It’s a centaur, except the lower body is that of a donkey.
Tikbalang
From the Philippines, this humanoid creature has arms and legs so long that when it squats down its knees go above its head. It has the head and feet of a horse. They have strange ghostly supernatural powers (comparable to British faeries or Asian tricksters).
Uchchaihshravas
Horse from Hindu Mythology, its said the King of Heaven “Indra” and the king of hell “Bali” both ride one. Its said to be the king of horses. Its snow white in color and has seven heads. Its artisitc depictions are odd, as it appears to have only one neck but seven heads (Hindu divine beings tend to be odd like this).
Sleipnir
The eight legged giant horse that Odin rides. Its also one of Loki’s offspring. There was a giant, an un-named builder who took a contract with the gods to build Valhalla for them, but in exchange he wanted the goddess Freya as well as the sun and the moon. The gods agreed under one condition; that he could complete the work with-in three seasons with out help from anyone. The builder was able to get permission to use his horse; partially thanks to Loki. However the horse does more work than the giant does, and is stronger than any man.
The giant was nearly done, the deadline coming up. The gods decreed this was all Loki’s fault, so planned to punish Loki if Loki couldn’t find a way to stop the giant from finishing on time. Loki took the form of a mare (yes a female horse) and “distracted” the giant’s work horse…yes had sex with it as a female horse…this did the task and the giant was unable to complete the work on time. Loki however became pregnant and bore Sleipnir; which he gave to Odin (not that it mattered, the giant turned out to be an Ice Giant, and the gods went back on their word anyway and had Thor kill the guy).
Mares of Diomedes
The Mares of Diomedes, also called the Mares of Thrace, were four man-eating horses in Greek mythology. Magnificent, wild, and uncontrollable, they belonged to the giant Diomedes, king of Thrace, son of Ares and Cyrene who lived on the shores of the Black Sea. Bucephalus, Alexander the Great's horse, was said to be descended from these mares.
After capturing the Cretan bull, Heracles was to steal the Mares for one of his Twelve Labours. In one version of the story, Heracles brought a number of youths to help him. They took the mares and were chased by Diomedes and his men.
Heracles was not aware that the horses, called Podargos (the swift), Lampon (the shining), Xanthos (the yellow) and Deinos (the terrible), were kept tethered to a bronze manger because they were wild; their madness being attributed to an unnatural diet of human flesh. Some versions say that they expelled fire when they breathed. They were man-eating and uncontrollable, and Heracles left his favoured companion, Abderus, in charge of them while he fought Diomedes, and found out that the boy was eaten.
Púca
According to legend, the púca is a deft shapeshifter, capable of assuming a variety of terrifying or pleasing forms. It can take a human form, but will often have animal features, such as ears or a tail. As an animal, the púca will most commonly appear as a horse, rabbit, goat, goblin, or dog. No matter what shape the púca takes, its fur is almost always dark. It most commonly takes the form of a sleek black horse with a flowing mane and luminescent golden eyes.
Considered to be bringers both of good and bad fortune, they could either help or hinder rural and marine communities. There are stories of some púca being blood-thirsty and vampire-like creatures. Other stories even say some are man eating beings, hunting down, killing, and eating their victims.
And that's about all I know of. Props to this dude who really knows his shit. If y'all know any good monster horses or gods to add onto the list, that'd be great to hear!
Some of these could spawn some . . . really terrifying stories.
I'm gonna sound so immature but...the Al-Buraq has butt-wings.
2742933
Dat ass can fly.
Fascinating.
Epona.
Be honest, Bob; how much of this did you rip from the_Changeling_Prince_2's The Known World group?
2742957
I have no idea what group that is. ;-;
I'm saving this. :D
SquareEnix and a lot of other video game producers love to use these beasts, either as fight-able monsters or summons. They love to use the obscure stuff to entice those mythologists.
The Al-Buraq
And it's sibling, Oe-Bama
Bob.
Please.
2742977 In that case, here's your go-to group for anything and everything mythology-related.
Seriously, the dude knows this stuff like the back of his hand.
A huge collection of stories that cover each one of those mythological horses can and will happen at some point.
Chrysalis is driven mad by kelpies which is why she attacks Canterlot
do et
I love this kind of stuff. I research it all the time for story concepts. Thank you for saving me the time and hassle of this particular search.
Yo, and then there's my favorite type: Shadhavars!
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Shadhahvar is a type of carnivorous unicorn in Persian folklore which resembles a gazelle with a single hollow horn. Graceful and a little melancholy, the animal stands approximately six feet tall at the shoulder, but is very thin. Dark patches mark its face, dripping down from its eyes which gives the appearance of perpetual tears. When wind blows through the horn, a rhythm is produced not unlike that from a flute. The music attracts both human and animal alike. Once an animal is near, the Shadhavar will use the opportunity to attack its prey in a vicious manner.
The Shadhavar can be thought of as an "evil unicorn". Many similarities can be drawn between the Shadhavar and the Sirens from Greek mythology that endangered Odysseus on his journey.
To be honest, I think Sombra might be related to these guys in some way, but I don't know for sure...
Behold, the Mula sem Cabeça!
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In most tales, it is the ghost of a woman that has been cursed by God for her sins (often said to be as concubinate or fornication with a priest within a church) and condemned to turn into a fire-spewing headless mule, galloping through the countryside from Thursday's sundown to Friday's sunrise.
The myth has several variations concerning the sin that turned the cursed woman into the monster: necrophagy, infanticide, sacrilege against the church, fornication, etc.
The Al-Buraq image you posted is an Arabian, which is believed to be one of the oldest breeds of horses, to which most other horse breeds today trace their bloodlines to.
My personal favorite breed, along with Friesians and Clydesdales.
What was left out about the hippocampus was that sometimes groups of them would sing, "Shoo be doo". No one knows why. Also, here's a great comic on the kelpie.
One other you could add to this is the helhest. Basically, Death's horse in Danish folklore. People could bribe it with oats, sometimes.
I am genuinely surprised no-one linked the Shoo-Be-Doo thing from one of the earlier MLP generations.
Love the Diomedean Mares. Someone should make a horror/thriller about the Tikbalang.
It's called "the Philippines".
Philippians is either a book in the Bible or the people of Philippi.
I'll take one Shadowmere
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Actually the Kirin really originates from the giraffe, not the horse. This was from when Admiral Zheng He of the Ming Dynasty made a trip to East Africa via sailing and found the giraffes. Since earlier accounts of Kirin/Qilin exists and the giraffes share similar qualities and characteristics of the mytho beast, Zheng referred to them as the Kirins.
Really if you want an actual dragon horse, look to the longma, a chinese dragon horse whose root names literally combine the chinese words of dragon and horse. They typically share both characteristics of the two creatures, having both fur and scale, with their defining feature being their wings (either being feathery or bat/dragon-like).
Now I don't have any fancy painted art of longmas, since the most I can find are just MLP Longma OCs.
However I do have a picture of best Longma OC (with a cringe-inducing name).
Meet Sparity. Daughter of Rarity and Spike.
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Aww yis, Hippogriffs are awesome. I used one in one of my stories.
There is also the completely amazing and one of my top favorite horse mytho beasts: the hippalectryon, aka the CHICKEN HORSE.
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Completely badass bird horses that are more unique than griffins and/or hippogriffs. They have a variety of colors in their feathers that makes them incredible vibrant, clawed chicken hind legs that enable them to stand up for long periods of time and they can run decently well with just those two legs along, and magnificent wattle beards as well as combs. Their beaks enables them to crack the toughest of seeds (the most legendary chicken horses known to be strong enough to bend metal), but they're also known to eat meat in a pinch.
The strength of a horse and the ferocity of a chicken. Yes chickens are quite fearsome as they are also known for the infamous cockfights. I mean take a look down below.
A grown man, screaming and running for his life. I rest my case.
also Scootaloo is Best Hippalectryon.
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I found this both interesting and entertaining.
Dude... the Nuckelavee looks like something straight from Resident Evil...
YES YOU INCLUDED THE NUCKELAVEE YES
2743463 What is that from?
I just love little miss donkey...
No.
Unicorns in the bible. Yes thy're in there and they are not nice as they ate the flesh of man
Well this was interesting.
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From now on I will always have a awkward feeling whenever encountering Sleipnir in a game or movie...
It was very educational. I've seen a couple of them used in various stories, like the Kelpie.
>mythology blog
>first picture is a Magic card
Well, you know how to grab my interest. Rather ironic choice for the "purity of nature" thing.
The al-buraq's stretchy legs sound more like line-of-sight teleportation to me. That, or it's actually the time-displaced steed of Plastic Man.
On that subject, the karakadann seems like a fine steed for any Krogan.
I like to think of the nuckelavee as "Todd McFarlane's centaur." Fun fact: It could inflict a magical disease, mortasheen, on horses. I can't find anything on the symptoms aside from death.
The story of Sleipnir's birth is wonderfully par for the course for Norse mythology. Thor could kill the goats who pulled his chariot, cook them for dinner, and wave Mjolnir over their bones the next morning to resurrect them. No word on what Tanngrisnir and Tanngnjóstr (literally "Snarler" and "Teeth-Gnasher") thought about this.
How much would it suck to be Xanthos? Your sisters are the swift, the shining, the terrible! You're "the yellow." She's like the feral, anthrophagous Charlie Brown of Diomedes.
Oh, and on the subject of the labors of Heracles, don't forget the Augean Stables, which were so legendarily full of horse poop that the demigod had to redirect a river to clean them out.
Thank you for these, Bob!
I always knew there were influences from the Kelpies and Puca in the designs of the Changelings. Which is why I've always considered them fey despite what a lot of other bronies think.
2743912
Yeah, Changelings were always Faeries in my mind as well. I'd prefer a Pan's Labyrinth inspired approach to them, instead of the usual Zerg or whiny perpetual victims.
Damn, that's informative.
So can I find these critters at pets smart or some other pet shop?
You forgot one Bob... The Jersey Devil
There is a mares of Diomedes fic, titled (appropriately enough), Mares of Diomedes by Admiral Biscuit. No link, 'cause it's mature.
I also came across a Lyra fic where she was a kelpie, but I can't remember the title.
EDIT: It's The Little Mermare, by AbsoluteAnonymous. Also no link to the story, 'cause it's also mature.
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Sandpoint devil
http://pathfinder.wikia.com/wiki/Sandpoint_devil
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Bog Unicorn
http://dragonage.wikia.com/wiki/Bog_Unicorn