Crash Corse

Extra Credit Week 13 Crash Course Myth: Monsters, Horses, Dragons

Monsters. They’re Us, Man

Mythical Horses

Serpents and Dragons

The first video discusses mythical creatures, namely monsters. When considering what makes a monster one must think about the definition of monster. A monster is a being that is outside the bounds of acceptable appearance and behavior. Furthermore, a monster must transgress some kind of social boundary. Monsters often eat people for example, but sometimes it is the people’s fears that make something monstrous. Joseph Campbell has a theory describing the repetitive cycle of hero versus monster: monster comes to a formerly peaceful place, a hero agrees to kill the monster, the hero kills the monster only to have another monster or kin of the original monster come back to the place and repeat the cycle.  The video also spoke at length about the monster, Wendigo and played a tale involving the monster. It is important to consider that monsters, like Wendigo, do not reproduced, but are in fact a product of humans going “wrong.” All humans have the potential to become monstrous and due to that fact monsters and the fear of becoming make them perfect characters in myth.

The second video discusses mythical horses. Horses are domestic animals that have served many purposes to humans for a long time. There exists a ton of mythical horses in tales. Some horses in mythology have human features. Centaurs are mythical horses that are more animal than human. Pegasus is a winged white horse and a central character in some tales. For example, The taming of Pegasus. Unicorns are another type of horse. The unicorn changed throughout mythology, from its original odd design to its representation in art and allegory as a majestic horse. Horses and their mythical relatives are depicted in mythology as representing humans  worst impulses to companions to people. Their importance in our lives makes them a perfect character in stories.

The topic of the third video was serpents and dragons. The most popular beasts in mythology is dragons. However, a dragon conversation must begin with snakes. Snakes were seen first in stories, but they began to morph into dragons. A creation story from Asia sheds light into the beginning of dragons and of humans. Throughout the world, there are many variations in describing dragons. Dragons can range from symbols of royal power with kings hoping to harness the power of dragons to kind beings. Differences in the portrayal of dragons can be reflected in how the East and west dragons. The west depicts dragons as being more violent, it is considered a rite of passage to kill one. However, in the east, a dragon is still powerful but benign and is benevolent in that it brings rain and is a symbol of goodness.

Dragon
Dragon

ImAGE of a dragon or snake