These forms'
motifs appear across cultures in many
mythologies around the world. Such hybrids can be classified as partly human hybrids (such as
mermaids or
centaurs) or non-human hybrids combining two or more non-human animal species (such as the
griffin or the
chimera). Hybrids often originate as
zoomorphic deities who, over time, are given an
anthropomorphic aspect.
Paleolithic Partly human hybrids appear in
petroglyphs or
cave paintings from the
Upper Paleolithic, in
shamanistic or
totemistic contexts. Ethnologist Ivar Lissner theorized that cave paintings of beings combining human and animal features were not physical representations of mythical hybrids, but were instead attempts to depict shamans in the process of acquiring the mental and spiritual attributes of various beasts or
power animals. Religious historian
Mircea Eliade has observed that beliefs regarding animal identity and
transformation into animals are widespread.
Ancient Middle East Examples of humans with animal heads (
theriocephaly) in the
ancient Egyptian pantheon include jackal-headed
Anubis, cobra-headed
Amunet, lion-headed
Sekhmet, and falcon-headed
Horus. Most of these deities also have a purely zoomorphic and a purely anthropomorphic aspect, with the hybrid representation seeking to capture aspects of both of which at once. Similarly, the
Gaulish
Artio sculpture found in
Bern, Switzerland shows a juxtaposition of a
bear and a woman figure, interpreted as representations of the theriomorphic and the anthropomorphic aspect of the same goddess. Non-human hybrids also appear in ancient Egyptian iconography, as in
Ammit (combining the
crocodile,
lion, and
hippopotamus). Mythological hybrids became very popular in
Luwian and
Assyrian art of the
Late Bronze Age to
Early Iron Age. The angel (human with
birds' wings, see
winged genie) the mermaid (part human part
fish, see
Enki,
Atargatis, and
Apkallu) and the
shedu all trace their origins to Assyro-Babylonian art. In
Mesopotamian mythology the
urmahlullu, or lion-man, served as a guardian spirit, especially of bathrooms. The Old Babylonian
Lilitu demon, particularly as shown in the
Burney Relief (part-woman, part-owl) prefigures the harpy/
siren motif.
Harpies were human sized birds with the faces of human women. They were once considered beautiful creatures but over time were then considered to be ugly and hideous. Harpies were used for torture; their most known torture was that of
Phineus who was said to have offended the heavens. They would torture their victims by taking food from them and polluting what was left with their feces. They would leave just enough for their victims to stay alive.
Mediterranean darting his lightning at
Typhon, shown as a hybrid with a human torso, bird's wings and a reptilian lower body (Chalcidian black-figured
hydria, c. , Inv. 596). In
Archaic Greece, Luwian and Assyrian motifs were imitated, during the
Orientalizing period (9th–8th centuries BC), inspiring the monsters of the
mythology of the
Classical Greek period, such as the
chimera,
harpy,
centaur,
griffin,
hippocampus,
Talos, and
Pegasus. The motif of the winged man appears in the Assyrian
winged genie, and is taken up in the Biblical
seraphim and
Chayot, Etruscan
Vanth, Hellenistic
Eros-
Cupid, and ultimately the Christian iconography of
angels. The motif of otherwise human figures sporting
horns may derive from partly
goat hybrids (as in
Pan in Greek mythology and the
Devil in Christian iconography) or as partly
bull hybrids (
Minotaur). The
Gundestrup cauldron and the
Pashupati figure have
stag's
antlers (see also
Horned God,
horned helmet). The Christian representation of
Moses with horns, however, is due to a mistranslation of the Hebrew text of
Exodus 34:29–35 by
Jerome.
Hinduism , during the festival of
Ganesh Chaturthi. The most prominent hybrid in
Hindu iconography is
elephant-headed
Ganesha, god of wisdom, knowledge and new beginnings. Both
Nāga and
Garuda are non-hybrid mythical animals (
snake and bird, respectively) in their early attestations, but become partly human hybrids in later iconography. The
god Vishnu is believed to have taken his first four
incarnations in human-animal form, namely:
Matsya (
human form with fish's body below waist),
Kurma (human form with
turtle's body below waist),
Varaha (human form with a
boar's head), and
Narasimha (human form with lion's head).
Kamadhenu, the
mythical cow which is considered to be the mother of all other cattle, is often portrayed as a cow with human head,
peacock tail and bird wings. ==Known mythological hybrids==