by P Vandegrift

Created on: July 28, 2010

As if the sea is not daunting enough, we have scrolls, books, films, poetry and sworn statements telling us that there indeed are gigantic, malformed, deadly sea creatures lurking in water caverns and dark abysses just waiting to drag us to our deaths. Mythology can be such a cheerful subject.

Without it, we would not have the fantastical stories of killer mermen and mermaids, squids with bodies the size of small islands and thick tentacles that would put any steroid-ridden athlete to shame, reptiles of a length that can not be measured, seaweed-covered horses rising out of the waves to grab and devour unsuspecting beachcombers, and beautiful women who rise from the depths of the sea only to sing, entrance, and then drag men back under. This list is but a small fraction of the mythological sea creatures that we have come to know so well.

The sea has always been a source of mystery, inspiration, often encouraging individuals or groups to pit themselves against its benevolence and fury. When something is a mystery and it is one that can not be solved, our imaginations take hold and create answers for us. Months spent out at sea in the ancient world without proper hydration might alter one’s perception so much that the mind could turn innocuous shadows of dolphins under the water into killer monsters on the attack. Sightings of these mysterious creatures have also been blamed on freak weather conditions.

But then again, perhaps the stories of these sea creatures are not so far-fetched. There are oral traditions passed down of eye witness accounts made by mariners of mermaids caught in fishing nets and of gigantic sea-beasts wrapping themselves around boats and sucking them under the water. It is difficult to argue against eye-witness accounts as not everyone has a camera at the ready nor did they even have one thousands of years ago.

The most infamous mythological boat-crunching and city-crushing sea creature is the Kraken, its career having recently been revived by the new film version of “Clash of the Titans”.

From Tennyson's poem “The Kraken” –

Below the thunders of the upper deep;
Far far beneath in the abysmal sea,
His ancient, dreamless, uninvaded sleep
The Kraken sleepeth: faintest sunlights flee…

No one should ever have to come face to face with the Kraken. Its hulking tentacles and massive body would be akin to having a ten story building fall on top of you. It might be easy to confuse the Kraken with the Leviathan,

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