2014年4月28日星期一

Legendary creature - Chiyou and Hathor

Keyword: Bull(cow) head

In very ancient China, there are two emperors have high leading level in their own tribes but stand on opponent sides' position. One is Yellow Emperor, the other one is Chiyou, today I am going to talk about Chiyou, due to its peculiar appearance.  


According to the Song dynasty history book Lushi, Chi You's surname was Jiang, and he was a descendant of Yandi.

According to legend, Chi You had a bronze head with metal foreheads. He had 4 eyes and 6 arms, wielding terrible sharp weapons in every hand. In some sources, Chi You had certain features associated with various mythological bovines: his head was that of a bull with two horns, although the body was that of a human. He is said to have been unbelievably fierce, and to have had 81 brothers. Historical sources often described him as 'cruel and greedy', as well as 'tyrannical'. Some sources have asserted that the figure 81 should rather be associated with 81 clans in his kingdom.


In addition, I have to mention Battle of Zhuolu before end the story of Chiyou, according to the Chinese mythological account Shan Hai Jing, Chiyou, with the Giants, Guryeos and evil spirits, rebelled against Yellow Emperor at Zhuolu plains. Both sides used magical powers, but Chiyou had the advantage of forged swords and halberds. Using his powers, Chiyou covered the battlefield in thick fog. Only with the help of a magical compass chariot could Yellow Emperor's troops find their way through the mist. He also used his daughter Nǚbá, the Drought Demon, to harm Chiyou's troops. Later on, Chiyou suffered more defeats and was captured. Only Yinglong, the winged dragon, being a brave servant of the Yellow Emperor, dared to slay him. Chiyou's chains were transformed into oak trees, while Yinglong was cursed to remain on earth forever.


Turn to Egyptian mythology, I find a legendary character with cow head as well, Hathor, is an Ancient Egyptian goddess who personified the principles of joy, feminine love, and motherhood. She was one of the most important and popular deities throughout the history of Ancient Egypt. Hathor was worshiped by Royalty and common people alike in whose tombs she is depicted as "Mistress of the West" welcoming the dead into the next life. In other roles she was a goddess of music, dance, foreign lands and fertility who helped women in childbirth, as well as the patron goddess of miners.



The cult of Hathor predates the historic period, and the roots of devotion to her are therefore difficult to trace, though it may be a development of predynastic cults which venerated fertility, and nature in general, represented by cows.


Hathor is commonly depicted as a cow goddess with horns in which is set a sun disk with Uraeus. Twin feathers are also sometimes shown in later periods as well as a menat necklace. Hathor may be the cow goddess who is depicted from an early date on the Narmer Palette and on a stone urn dating from the 1st dynasty that suggests a role as sky-goddess and a relationship to Horus who, as a sun god, is "housed" in her.

(Hathor and Horus)

The last one of today's topic is Minotaur, the monster in Greek mythology, was a creature with the head of a bull on the body of a man or, as described by Roman poet Ovid, "part man and part bull". He dwelt at the center of the Cretan Labyrinth, which was an elaborate maze-like construction designed by the architect Daedalus and his son Icarus, on the command of King Minos of Crete. The Minotaur was eventually killed by the Athenian hero Theseus.






Reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chi_You
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hathor
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Zhuolu
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minotaur

没有评论:

发表评论