Last Updated on August 3, 2024
Some old and outdated mythical creatures to give your fantasy a fresh edge.
If you want to write a bestseller one day, you can’t overlook the fantasy genre. If genres were trees, fantasy would be an evergreen. It has a massive following, and much like romance, it’s a constant rather than a trend.
It doesn’t stop at the faeries, though. Last year, there was a serious spike of Retellings books out on the shelves, with
Are you a fantasy buff looking to write a fiction novel? You might as well write what you know! But how can you write something that isn’t just another faery story?
Below are 5 interesting mythical creatures that you can feature, or make the star of, your next fantasy novel. This list is a mash-up of both Greek and Roman creatures, as the two cultural belief systems overlap in many ways.
fauns
In 1997, Disney created the iconic movie, Hercules. In said movie, Danny DeVito voice acts for the character Phil, a small man with the lower body of a goat. Phil was a faun.
Fauns are a part of Roman mythology. They are associated with the Greek god of shepherds and fertility, Pan. Pan is often seen as a promiscuous and unsophisticated god, the legends often portraying his personality as more animal than man.
Fauns are commonly seen as benevolent, happy creatures. They exist to shepard and protect flocks.
[more about fauns and their features.] Like any mythical creature, the idea is subject to change. Often we see images of fauns drawn with just the goat horns and legs (think of a centaur, but with only two legs). It isn’t uncommon to see pictures of the faun with the face of a goat, as well.
A cool rabbit hole to fall down is the connection between the goat motif and evil (or the devil). Satan is often depicted as an evil faun, with goat horns and hooves. The reason behind this common idea is hard to pinpoint, but
hydra
This is another creature that featured in the Hercules movie. A hydra is a large water monster, depicted with many snake-like heads.
Imagine the Loch Ness monster but with too many faces!
The number of heads a hydra possesses is hard to agree on, but mythology usually cites anywhere between four to nine heads.
It is is an evil creature, with a poisonous bite and the ability to regrow heads that are chopped off. It resides in lakes and sometimes comes out to terrorize people, though no one was able to explain why.
Beyond Ancient Roman or Greek art and the Disney movie, I could not find many depictions of the hydra in any books. This could be for a specific reason, or it could be a sign that there is a corner of the market ready for you to dominate!
Chimera
A Chimera, like the Faun, is another “animal mash-up” monster.
Seeing a pattern?
The Chimera in particular is a lion with a goat in the middle of its back. Some art interpretations have the body and head of a lion, with a goat and dragon head attached on the sides. Going even further, a serpent’s tail is sometimes added into the mix.
The monster is typically female and fire-breathing (hence the dragon head).
The name comes from the Greek word khimaira, meaning “she-goat”. Furthermore, in biology, chimera means “an organism containing a mixture of different genetic tissues, formed by fusion or mutation”.
An honorable mention for you is the Manticore: a mythical animal with the body of a lion, the head of a man, and the tail of a dragon. They are very similar to the chimera, though there is no fire breathing. Manticores starred in The Chronicles of Narnia series. Both manticores and chimera’s are seen as evil.
It may be interesting to see a someone’s modern take on a chimera! Perhaps you can keep the main lion body, but include some different animals? Or create a totally new version of a chimera in your novel!
harpy
The harpy is a cross between a human and a bird, often represented as a woman with wings or a bird with a woman’s face. They are associated with storm winds (sometimes called a wind spirits).
Depending on the time period and work, Harpies were either good or bad spirits. Some classic examples include Homer’s The Odyssey or Dante’s Inferno. In both, harpies are spirits of the underworld. They are sometimes cited as being the hounds of Zeus, tasked with sweeping people away with their wind off to the underworld.
That being said, I think it would be relatively straightforward to incorporate a modern-day harpy into a fantasy series. The half-human half-bird imagery can be twisted to fit the classic angel description if you wanted to!
An Ancient Greek angel that works for Zeus as the protagonist? Could be interesting!
basilisk
A basilisk, also known as “the king of serpents” is depicted as a large reptile, usually a snake, that can kill with one look at its prey. The name comes from the Greek word for king, basileus.
Most people have heard of this creature through the Harry Potter series, but J.K. Rowling didn’t make it up! You may have to compete with her famous snake if you use this creature, but the Harry Potter series is over twenty years old. I say let’s bring it back!
The basilisk is seen as another evil creature, said to be laid by a rooster and hatched by a serpent. Due to this, it is sometimes depicted as a half-rooster half-serpent animal, and dubbed a “cockatrice”.
Legend has it that you can kill a basilisk with a mirror (its deadly gaze can kill everything, including itself). It can also be weakened with the odor of a weasel. This is most likely a product of the mongoose being the main predator to the king cobra snake that inspired the legend.
Basilisks are seen as evil and violent, or symbols of dread, but can you turn this on its side and present the basilisk in a different light? Or make it the noble companion to your hero? Food for thought!
final thoughts
Of course, there are hundreds of Greek and Roman mythological creatures worth exploring if you want to include something that can give your fantasy story an edge. These were just some of my favorites! Each one could lead you down a rabbit hole on the internet, even if you don’t think they’re fit for your new story.
I hope this helps or inspired you in some way! Have a favorite Greek or Roman creature that wasn’t mentioned here? Leave a comment down below!
