Sea Monsters - The Cryptid Files
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Image taken from unsplash, @jonasfriese
The ocean is big. Really big.
For millennia, humans have wondered about what looms in the world’s waters. So much so that man’s fear of the unknown gave life to fabulous stories of great aquatic creatures. Some of these creatures were described as horrible monsters and were said to resemble serpents, dragons or giant squids. Said monsters range from ship-sinkers to primordial beings of great power that lurk within the dark depths.
What kind of sea monsters are we talking about? Today, we’ll be looking at the origin of two famous mythological sea monsters: The Kraken, and Leviathan.
The Tale of the Kraken
“The Kraken, as Seen by the Eye of Imagination” Monsters of the Sea, John gibson, 1887
The earliest known written works about the Kraken derive from an Old Norse text, titled Konungs skuggsjá (The King’s Mirror, in English). The text was created by an anonymous author around 1250 BC and is unique in that the entire text is formatted and stylized as a dialogue between a father and his son. The King’s Mirror was intended to educate the King of Norway’s son before he was to become king, thus the title and style of The King’s Mirror. In the section where the father is teaching his son about the Icelandic sea and its inhabitants, he briefly mentions the Kraken. This is the earliest description of the Kraken and is the original source for its name; Kraken.
In this paragraph, the father describes the Kraken as a “rare, incredible fish”. Eyewitness accounts describe it resembling more like an island than a fish due to its massive size, and that one has never been caught or killed. The father believes that the Kraken is incapable of producing offspring and that there are likely only two in the entire ocean. The Kraken’s method of feeding itself involves belching to lure fish into its open mouth and then closing it when its mouth and belly are full.
The Legend of Leviathan
“the Destruction Of Leviathan”, Gustave Doré, 1866
Leviathan originates from prebiblical Mesopotamian mythology as Lotan, who scholars say is the same deity. Lotan is a manifestation of Yamm, the deity of the primordial chaos and the god of the sea and waters. At the beginning of time, Yamm was given divine kingship by El, the chief god and father of all deities. Yamm is said to have requested the god of life and fertility, Ba’al, to be his bond servant. Ba’al refuses and Yamm engages Ba’al in battle as Lotan. Ba’al is supplied with two special weapons by the craftsman Kothar and slays Lotan and, subsequently, Yamm. The kingship is then passed onto Ba’al. This is the first part of the Ba’al Cycle, which consists of the god Ba’al’s death and rebirth and is a seasonal myth in ancient West Semitic folklore.
Leviathan appears multiple times throughout the Old Testament. Leviathan, in Psalms 74:14, is a multi-headed sea serpent that is killed by God and given as food to the Hebrews. In Isaiah 27:1, Leviathan is also a sea serpent, and a symbol of Israel’s enemies, who God vows to slay. In Job 41, Leviathan is described as a horrible sea monster and a creature without fear.
Conclusion
So, what can we learn from these sea monster stories? Well, for starters, we can deduce that man’s fascination with the unknown has stood the test of time. These stories are centuries old, yet the fear the monsters produce is far from dead.
While these stories can be written off as scary stories to tell sailors, one thing is for certain.
We may never truly know what lies below.
To learn more about sea monsters, click here!
