The belief in sirens has its origin in the Ancient Greece and they've populated literature and legends of the Western world until our times.
In their origin, the Sirens were hybrid beings between women and birds. Later, they were depicted as half woman half fish.
In the Greek mythology, the voice of these creatures, beautiful and enchanting, was called the Sirens' Song. This song of the Sirens was described as hypnotic and, in many occasions, it meant the ruin for sailors.
This appears in many important literary works like the Odyssey of Homer. Odysseus asks his men to protect their ears with beeswax, to avoid the temptation of the Sirens' Song. Circe the sorceress told Odysseus to not listen the Sirens' Song, but Odysseus was curious and ordered his men to tie him to the mast of his ship. When he heard the song, he tried to go with the Sirens, but his men saved him from doing that.
There are also stories about Sirens in the writings of Euripides and Plato.
In the legend of Jason and the Argonauts, the sailors save their lives with the help of Orpheus, the legendary musician son of Apollo and the muse Calliope. Orpheus distracted the sailors playing his beautiful music much louder than the Sirens.
The origin of Sirens is confusing. Some assert that they were daughters of Achelous, a river god that was depicted as a man with fish tail, and a muse.
In some ancient maps it can be read in some seas "Hic Sunt Sirenae", which means a place where there could be Sirens, dangerous beings that sailors should avoid to encounter.
Christopher Columbus said that he had seen Sirens in his travel to America. There are thousands of stories in which people told that they captured a Siren, or have seen one. Sirens are a classic in sailor's songs and tales from Antiquity.
Sigmund Freud analyzed Sirens as a depiction of beauty and danger, and that was the explanation of their power of attraction.
But not always have Sirens been depicted as evil beings of the seas. In many stories, they evolved to be vain and beautiful beings, that sometimes save the sailors that fell to the waters and could drown in the sea. They are depicted sat in a rock combing their hair or staring their faces in hand mirrors, prone to fall in love, and mysterious.
Pixies are considered guardians of Nature as fairies, elfs and gnomes. They come from the Viking and Celtic mythology. And have always been associated with witches, fairies, and druids, because they use them as spies because of their small size.
Following the tradition, their magic can't affect someone who carries a four-leaf clover, or an image of Saint Patrick.
The legend tells that Saint Patrick threw the pixies out of the house of God. In the 17th March, the day of Saint Patrick, it is said that the pixies and all the other magical beings come back from their hidden places to make pranks. That's why in the day of Saint Patrick it's mandatory to carry a four-leaf clover, as it is a protection element against magic.
When Saint Patrick founded the first church in Ireland, he invited the Celts to convert to Christianism. The legend says that the Druids, worrying about loosing their power over people, invoked a legion of mischievous Pixies to complicate the life of Saint Patrick, so he leaves Ireland.
The tradition says that the pixies entered the church doing their pranks. But Saint Patrick faced the pixies and threw them out. The pixies were very upset and felt hurt for this offense, and they abandoned the church of Saint Patrick. They never could stand again his image or his name. So in the so called exorcisms of pixies, they use the image of Saint Patrick.
Following the mythology, pixies live amongst the flowers and forests. They differ from the gnomes in that pixies have magical powers. Many times, they are depicted as childlike figures.
It is said that the pixies approached human beings because they saw in them a source of fun for their pranks.
They are attributed the power of being invisible and imitate the voices of animals. It's also said that they have a very touchy and sensible personality, and are easily offended and can be very resentful. These mocking beings enjoy telling each other their dirty tricks, and laughing hearing them.
These legends of pixies have been a strongly inspirational in all kinds of artistic artworks. William Shakespeare or Goethe did small references to these small creatures in some of their books. In Faust, Lord Oberon married the fairy queen Lady Titania, who was in company of a little pixie. The Gimm brothers give the pixies a more pleasant personality, sometimes helping the humans.
But most of the times, pixies are described by the majority of legends as mocking beings, fun, curious, like eternal children.
MMORPG are computer games that are played online by a big number of players. Many people criticize computer and console games, most of the times without knowing anything about them.
They don't know that the best graphics designers and the best programmers work in these games. They also have original soundtracks that can compete with the ones in the most awarded movies. Sometimes, their background stories have a deep degree of elaboration.
And playing these games develops one's imagination, concentration, reflexes, sense of orientation, alertness...
Doing this list has been a pleasure, because in these games there's the fantasy, mythology, imagination, and inspiration that I always try to seek for in my articles and art.
Following, the top best 55 graphically stunning MMORPG Games:
Dark Age Of Camelot, Located in the Arthurian legends, in a fantasy world. You can choose between 44 different professions and 18 races. It's a very popular game. The graphical appearance is amazing.
Aion, This game is in development. There is a mailing list for those who want to take part in the testing. So now it's a good time to visit it (this is an exclusive lol). The graphics shown are really awesome, so it deserves a place here.
EVE Online, Completely awesome game about wars between starships in outer space. EVE goes beyond all that you may have seen in Star Wars movies or others.
Guild Wars, One of the most famous mmorpgs with many sequels and a high grade of quality.
City of Heroes, Ever wanted to be a superhero like Iron Man, Superman or Black Panther? Here's your game. Join other heroes to save a virtual town from the hands of crime.
Perfect World, This game is based in Chinese mythology, and this makes it at the same time original, intense and interesting. They also have their own radio station that plays music from their website. There are many curiosities about the game that you can read here in Wikipedia.
The Lord of the Rings Online, For all the fans of the Lord of the Rings, here is the official game. You will be transported to the universe of J.R.R. Tolkien.
World of Warcraft, Also known as WoW. Its user community is growing without a stop. This game has a big merchandise around it, that depicts a vast and colorful universe. It is the number one in number of people that play it, only comparable to RuneScape's population.
Lineage II, One of the most awesome role playing games. Its fantasy background is full of color and diversity.
Archlord, A free game with totally stunning graphics. You can buy credits with real money, to buy things, but you are not forced to do so. The user community is huge. It also has a soundtrack by the London Symphony Orchestra.
Dungeons & Dragons, One of the first role playing board games adapted to be 3d and multiuser, having the ambient and flavor of that popular game.
RuneScape, In the moment that this post was written, there were more than 200,000 people playing online, and each day more and more thousands of people join RuneScape. The endless possibilities of gameplay make it a champion.
Everquest II, A mmorpg with great illumination effects and all what you can expect in a role playing fantasy game.
Flyff, Free korean role playing game of manga style. The game is called "Fly For Fun" (Flyff) and that's its main feature: to be able to fly over strange objects. Maybe one of the best cartoon role playing game.
Regnum Online, Free rpg with not too many races or classes but great graphical effects, specially lights, water and atmosphere.
Final Fantasy XI, A game with a deep and enormous argument. Users of console and Windows can play together. A very customizable character creation process.
Tabula Rasa, A space warriors multiplayer game with a very dense story and the original feature of being able to change your character type without having to start again. The lightning is excellent.
City of Villains, The counterpart of City of Heroes. You can play the role of a super villain. Want to be bad to the bone?
9Dragons, Do you like martial arts? This free online multiuser game allows you to be a martial arts master in Ancient China.
Entropia Universe, It is more a virtual community in 3d than a mmorpg, but has some of the features that role playing games have. Two of its main differences is that it is very aimed to social interaction, and that it has a real economy.
Star Wars Galaxies, An opportunity to join the rebels against the Empire and rule the galaxy of the movies of this saga. Let the Force be with you :)
Anarchy Online, It's a sci-fic mmorpg located 30,000 years in the future. It is focused to action and combat.
Ultima Online, The original Ultima game was created by Richard Garriott, a genius in role playing games for computers. Ultima Online is the last chapter of this great invention, turning the old game into a mmorpg. The game has many possibilities.
Ran Online, Its argument that can be resumed in this: you are a student of a mix of martial arts and superpowers and you have to kill zombies with other players. This is one of the most popular games in Asia.
2Moons, Now it's in free open beta. Focused to fighting but surrounded with beautiful landscapes, has a high level of detail and Asian atmosphere.
The Legend of Ares, "We will fight together to death" is the lemma of this game. It's a fantasy fighting game of Asian inspiration.
Dungeon Runners, A fantasy mmorpg very similar in concept to Dungeon And Dragons. The game and its website is very easy to use.
Warhammer Online, It's in testing phase, but a look to their screenshots page can be a great source of inspiration and a pleasure for your eyes. It may be the one of the most stunning games ever. You can't play for now, but you can sign to take part in the testing.
Rakion, Sword and martial arts game. They make special emphasis in making fights spectacular and thrilling. Players can also summon monsters to help them in their fights. Many visual effects in combat.
Risk Your Life, This game has very good environmental effects, ease of use, and a long list of monsters. The game makes special emphasis in the completion of challenges, and has more than 200 quests to complete.
Twelve Sky, Martial arts role playing game in Ancient China. Players must belong to one of three armies in war and try to get holy relics. The movements of combat have been recorded using motion capture techniques.
World of Kung Fu, The ambient of this game is inspired in the ancient paintings of China, and it has a superior lightning and effects. It has a very complete interface. Most of the virtual world is inhabited by monsters, and only cities are a safe place.
Last Chaos, The creators of Shaiya and Twelve Sky have also done this game. And like in the others, here you can find another awesome 3d world of fantasy and imagination and endless adventures with stunning graphics and effects.
PlanetSide, Game of space trooper battles. Players can also drive space ships and giant robots similar to transformers.
Eternal-Lands, A game in constant development that is about a colorful fantasy world populated with unicorns, cyclops, fairies, dragons... They have low hardware requirements and a simple interface, and it's free to play.
Sword of the New World, This is part of a service that allows you to play different games for free with the same account. This one is focused on sword fighting.
Xiah, This free game of martial arts and swords mixes elements from the ancient Asian culture with others from the European fantasy.
Infinity, A free mmorpg where all the characters are warriors and is focused towards intense and fast arcade action.
Voyage century Online, It's a 3D nautical adventures game, which combines the strategy, trade and role-play. The action takes place in the sea and islands.
Hero's Journey, Still in development. It may become one of the tops. A fantasy role playing game with some original elements like feline half human people, for example, and very good graphics and artwork.
Rappelz, Fantasy world that mixes sword fighting with magic powers of amazing visual effects.
Legend: Legacy of the Dragons, This is a 2D fantasy mmorpg that has a very neat interface and good graphics. Doesn't need big hardware requirements.
PlaneShift, This free game stands out of all the others because of its truly original story and atmosphere. There are different races than usual (from cat people to gnomes), very original sceneries, and ways of traveling by flying over a dinosaur or a giant bat.
Knight Online, With millions of users. Players can be a barbarian, warrior, priest, rogue or mage. Players join together to fight against the others or take challenges.
Age of Armor, Free game of battles between giant robots similar to Transformers.
Age of Conan, Impressive multiplayer game located in the Hyborian Age of Conan.
Bounty Bay, In this game you can be a pirate or a explorer, and sail the seas and oceans discovering countries or plundering treasures.
Earth Eternal, Still in development, but you can sign up to join the beta. It deserves to be here because of its very original concept. The players are humanoid animals, dragons and giant man-trees.
Fury, A very intense fighting game, specialized in player vs player combat.
Pirates Of The Caribbean, This will make your dream of becoming a pirate come true, like those in this famous movie.
Zu Online, Zu is a 3d mmorpg that comes from a Chinese legendary Kung-Fu novel.
Tantra, Another good Asian mmorpg of fancy 3d graphics.
RF Online, A combination of science fiction and fantasy, having all the good features of both.
Ryzom, Mixing sci-fic and fantasy, player's actions take place in an alien world populated by strange monsters.
Shaiya, One of the most awesome games that there's been, very complete and with a very elaborated story. It's free to download and play.
Cupid is the name of the God of Love in the Roman mythology. In Greek mythology, he was called Eros. He is the son of Venus, the Goddess of Love, and of Mars, the God of War. Thus, he represents the passionate love.
Eros is the younger of the gods in the Olympus, and is depicted winged. His rebellious and capricious personality caused great troubles amongst the gods and the mortals, as with his bow and arrows he made people fall in love following his whims. Cupid's arrows symbolize the desire, the feelings and love.
It was said that he used to be in company of his mother, but he even caused problems to her, as he also threw his arrows of love to his mother.
There's a love story between Cupid and Psyche. Psyche was a gorgeous mortal, so beautiful that Venus was very jealous of her, and she sent Cupid to punish her. But when Cupid saw Psyche, he fell in love with her. As Cupid was a god, and Psyche was mortal, it was forbidden that she can look at him, so they met in the dark. But the sisters of Psyche convinced her to light a candle and see him. Cupid had to punish and abandon her.
And Psyche appeared suddenly transported to a wasteland. In desperation, Psyche came into a temple of the Goddess of Love. Venus wished her dead, so she proposed her a series of hard and difficult challenges. But she managed to overcome them.
So the goddess proposed a last challenge. Psyche will have to carry a small box to the underwater world. The box contained the Beauty, and was for Proserpina (the wife of Pluto). Psyche should not have opened the box, but as she was so curious, she did it. She was punished falling in a deep sleep, similar to death.
Cupid met her laying in the ground, and returned the deadly sleep back to the box, so she awoke.
When the gods saw the strength of the love between Cupid and Psyche, they felt a great compassion for them. So Zeus turned Psyche into a goddess so they could stay together forever.
In its origins, the Unicorn was a creature depicted as a white horse, with antelope hooves, billy-goat beard, and a horn in its forehead.
But with the pass of time, fantasy artists have depicted the Unicorn as a horse with a horn in its forehead and lacking of the other elements. Some also depict the Unicorn winged.
There are ancient Greek, Roman, and Macedonian stories that tell about a creature with a single horn. Some say that the origin of those stories may lay in the travels that they did into the India, and they are describing the Indian rhinoceros.
Other origins of the Unicorn can be found in the viking mythology and tell about a sea creature that has a horn in its forehead and probably it's actually a cetacean called narval.
But both the narval and the rhinoceros are very different from a horse with a horn in its forehead.
One of the first versions about the Unicorn is the one that the Greek physician Ctesias did in 400 B.C., in one of the expeditions to India. He talks about a white animal with the body of a horse... He also talks about its distrustful and lonely nature. Then, the belief in the protective power of the Unicorn's horn against poison and diseases is born. And it becomes a synonym of a long life.
There's another reference to the Unicorn in the Greek mythology. It is said that Zeus was fed by a goat called Amalthea. In some stories, that animal that feeds Zeus is not a goat but an Unicorn. The legend says that one day, Zeus broke the horn of Amalthea and a big amount of food emerged from that horn, that was called The Horn Of Abundance. Zeus rewarded Amalthea turning it into the star Capella.
Aristotle wrote about the Unicorn, and also Julius Caesar in "Bellum Gallicum" (50 BC).
In the Middle Ages, the Unicorns are the symbol of purity, and in some religious artworks they are linked to Christianity. It was said that only the young female virgins can approach an Unicorn. So in the Middle Ages, the headhunters used virgins to try catch an Unicorn, and get its valuable horn.
The belief in the Unicorn was also present in Asia. In Japan, it was called Kirin, and symbolizes the Justice.
In Persia it was called Shadhavar, and the Unicorn is similar to a gazelle with a single horn. The horn has holes, and when the wind blows, it sounds like a flute. Animals and humans are attracted by its music, and when they are near, the Shadhavar attacks them. This is the reason why this mythical animal is symbol of temptation and danger, in Persia.
In China, the Unicorn (Qilin) is symbol of wisdom, and is classified like the king of all animals. There's a legend in China that says that a king was sat close to a river, and an Unicorn appeared. It had magic symbols in the back, and they helped the king to create the first Chinese writings.
Some adventurers that in the XVIII century traveled to Tibet, said that the fabulous creatures called Unicorns really existed in that place.
In all these stories and legends there's something in common: the spirit of a mythical animal of exceptional beauty, purity, and nobleness.
Gnomes are fantastic beings of small size. Their origin comes, probably, from small people that inhabited the Carpathian Mountains, and used to be miners. Thus, Gnomes are linked to mines, metals, caves and precious stones.
The troops of the Roman Empire reached the Carpathian Mountains. The word "gnomes" comes from latin "gnomus". The roman sergeant Publius Octavus wrote in 470 AC : "Today I saw a tiny person with my very eyes. He wore a red hat, and a blue shirt. He had a white beard and was wearing green trousers. I talked to him several times. He said he was descendant of a race called kuwalden. He used to heal diseased animals and liked to drink milk".
The Swedish Frederic Ugarph found, in the house of a Norwegian fisher, a wood statue that was 15 centimeters tall. In the pedestal, these words were marked: "Nisse Riktig Storrelse". Which is something like "Actual size of the Gnome". Ugarph was several days discussing the purchase of the figure. It was in the house of the sailor for many generations. But at last, he sold it. Today, that statue is in the hands of a private collector. The statue was analyzed and it has more than 2,000 years. But the markings were sculpted hundreds of years later.
The alchemist Paracelsus included Gnomes in his catalog of elemental creatures: Sylph (Air), Salamander (Fire), Undina (Water) and Gnome (Earth).
Some locate the Gnomes living in hundreds-year-old trees. They are described as mischievous and familiar beings, that love music, and are able to build their own musical instruments. The musical instruments linked to Gnomes are: the 8 strings violin, flute, harp...
Gnomes have filled books, tales, and legends of fantasy. In these, Gnomes master the deepest secrets of the Earth, as they live in the most hidden caves and the deepest grottoes, guarding mines of silver and gold.
Poseidon seduced Medusa in the Athena's temple. Athena got angry for this desecration, so she cursed Medusa. She turned her hair into snakes, and all those who dare to look at her eyes would be turned into stone.
Perseus, Greek hero, searched for Medusa as he needed his head to defeat the marine monster called Ceto. This monster was so strong that the only way to beat it was showing it the head of Medusa, so it will be petrified.
Perseus cut the head of Medussa off. And Pegasus emerged from her spilled blood.
Pegasus is depicted as a gorgeous white winged horse that rides across the sky. According to the legend, where it passed, water gushed out. This is because Pegasus is symbolic descendant of Poseidon, who is not only the God of Oceans, but also of the rivers, fountains, lakes...
It was said that Pegasus lived in the mount Helicon, until the Greek hero Bellerophon went to capture him. Bellerophon needed Pegasus to carry him flying to the Olympus, where the Gods lived.
Zeus realized this, and sent an insect to bite Pegasus. When this happened, Bellerophon lost control over Pegasus. He fell to the ground over a bramble bush, and this left him blind and lame.
Pegasus continued flying to the Olympus, and there was welcomed by Zeus. Since then, Pegasus carries the lightnings for Zeus.
Pegasus fell in love with Euippe, and was father of Celeris and Melanippe, that were the origin of the race of winged horses.
Zeus placed the figure of Pegasus in the night skies, as the constellation that has its name.
The word dragon comes from the Latin word "draco" and the Greek word "drakon" that means snake or viper snake.
It's a fabulous animal and a symbolic universal figure.
The dragon is present in most of the cultures of the world. In the ancient Oriental cultures as well as in the Westerner.
The ethnologists Alexander Haggerty Krappe ("La genese des Mythes"), told that the dragon figure could come from the shock of discovering remains of prehistoric animals.
In all the cultures the dragon has a important symbolic nature. Depending on the shape of the depicted dragon, the meaning may vary. Thus, the multi-headed dragon has a strong adverse meaning. The dragon that bites its own tail symbolizes the "Eternal Return", and has been depicted many times in emblems and shields. The symbol of the dragon was very usual in Alchemy.
Colors may vary the meaning of the dragon: a red dragon is the guardian of science, and a white one is a lunar dragon. In the Eastern, a black dragon symbolizes the North, and blue ones are symbol of the coming Spring.
In the Orient, dragons are considered benevolent spirits, symbols of the forces of Nature and Universe. They are linked to Wisdom and a long life. In the legends of Orient, they have magical powers. In China, they made dragons with paper and wood and were used to attract the rain. They were carried through the streets. If the rain didn't come, the dragon was destroyed. The dragon was believed to be an intermediary between them and the forces of Nature.
In the Westerner cultures, it's depicted winged, scaly and able to spit fire. In some cultures, the dragon has the gift of speaking.
In the dragon converge the elements of fire, water, earth and air.
In the beginning, the dragon was associated to the God of Water and the God of Sun. It had powers both destructive and benevolent. It was believed that it lived in the deep of the sea where it guarded treasures. The dragon controlled the destiny of humanity. So with the pass of time, people began to fear the figure of the dragon, and there was a wish to fight and defeat it. This way, in the Westerner, it ended having an adverse meaning, and sometimes it was depicted as a devil or demon.
In the Middle Ages, it was depicted with chest and legs of eagle (celestial quality), body of snake (secret and subterranean quality), bat wings (intellectual quality, as intellect comes from God that is associated with Heavens), and a dart shaped tail (just like the lion in Astrology, a symbol of submission to reason).
The dragon, both as a symbolic figure as well as for its majestic appearance, has decorated palaces, shields, weapons... It has starred stories and works of art. It's always present in the fantasy stories of all times. Maybe because the dragon gathers all the elements that the human beings desire and admire.
Fairies are fantastic and ethereal creatures. They are depicted like beautiful women, glowing, with wings (but not in all cultures fairies have wings), and sometimes carrying a wand that emits sparks. And always in the deep forests.
Their origin is mainly based on Celtic legends. But the belief in the existence of fantastic creatures from the woods maybe is as ancient like the world.
In the Middle Ages, it wasn't estrange to see fairies depicted in coat of arms, and some aristocrats said that they came from a fairy lineage.
It was said that fairies took advantage of their beauty to have relationships with knights, and this way create a intermediate race between humans and fairies. In the Middle Ages, when someone saw a pale and weak child, it was said that was a fairy child.
According to the ancient lore, fairies approached the baby's cribs to give them blessings or curses, depending on the good or bad nature of the fairy. The bad fairies ended being called witches.
There are several theories about the origin of fairies. One of them is that they are angels that were unable to go back to the Heavens. So they stayed in the forests to protect God's creation. It explains why they were protectors of nature. It was said that sometimes they punished women for causing damage to nature, and they turned them into fairies too. And the only moment they might be set free was in Saint John's night.
The saying was that only the noblest and gold hearted can see fairies. It is also said that they live in a parallel world and that they can intercede in the life of humans.
Amongst the most popular legends there is the one which tells that King Arthur was healed by the four most powerful fairies from Avalon (a mythical isle inhabited by fairies).
The belief in fairies was the origin of the so called "fairy tales". They reached their highest splendor in 17Th and 18Th centuries. The greatest writers of this genre were Charles Perrault ("Sleeping Beauty"), the Grimm Brothers ("Snow White", "Cinderella"), Madame Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont ("Beauty and the Beast"), and Hans Christian Andersen ("The Little Mermaid", "The Snow Queen").
Without doubt, who best depicts the world of fairies is Josephine Wall.
With this post I begin a new section, a section called Mythology and Fantasy. Mythology and fantasy is still source of inspiration for many artists, and many people are still interested in this ancient lore of legends.
In all the history of humanity, people always have liked to hear good stories and tell good stories. Mythology and fantasy is a good way to learn, through heroes and creatures, about human relationships.
We can define mythology as a series of stories of a civilization that try to explain the origin of the world. In a beginning stories were spread thought an oral way, and later written and told for generations. Tell this stories to people seeing their expectant eyes could be an eternal pleasure; but for those civilizations it was their truth, their beliefs.
I begin this section with the centaurs, a mythological creature half human and half horse.
Ixion (the Thesalia king) desired Hera, the wife of Zeus (the supreme God). Zeus knew this, so fooled Ixion modeling a cloud with the appearance of Hera; her name will be Nephele. Nephele and Ixion will have a son, a monstrous creature called Centaur.
Centaur had relations with the Pelion's mares so this way the centaurs were born. Centaurs were of violent nature, ate raw meat and were very keen on drinking wine. They had brutal habits and used to take women by the force.
Centaurs were invited to the Lapith king (Piritoo) wedding. They get drunk in the wedding and tried to kidnap the bride and rape the women guests.
Lapiths were really enraged and began a combat, and Centaurs were thrown out from Thesalia. This battle was many times depicted in temples, utensils, figures...
The victory of lapiths represents the victory of the reason over the savagery.
Not every centaurs were cruel and aggressive. Stands out, for example: Pholo and Quiron. Pholo was kind and hospitable, and helped Hercules. And Quiron was the Aquiles teacher.
In the literature doesn't exist the female version of centaur. It was the painter Zeuxis (5th century B.C.) who depicted centaur women.
This video shows the drawings of Boris Vallejo, which is one of the artist who better represents the mythological world.
