during the flight from Egypt. The biblical wild ass was symbolic of wildness and desolation. People of wealth drank asses’ milk and, like Cleopatra, occasionally bathed in it. Early Christians were accused by their opponents of worshipping the ass, and the Roman writer Tertulian mentioned the existence of caricatures of ‘the ass-hoofed god of the Christians’, which was also believed to have ass’s ears. The 1st-century Gnostics believed that the Lord Sabbaoth, a being of great evil, had an ass’s head.
During the medieval era, on 14 January every year, the Festival of Fools was celebrated, and the Feast of the Ass was an important part of this. Sacred individuals and royalty were caricatured at this event with impunity, and the biblical stories of Baalam’s Ass and the Flight into Egypt were burlesqued. More seriously, in Christian tradition, the ass or donkey symbolized Christ’s entry into Jerusalem. In later Christianity, however, it came to represent the devil, as it brayed in the night and was said to bring bad luck. This notion was shared by the followers of Islam, who held the ass to be an accursed creature that desired to bring misfortune to its owner and brayed to call up evil things.
In the ancient Persian religion of Zoroastrianism, the three-legged ass is often equated with the Unicorn because it has a single horn of gold growing from its forehead. In the Bundahish, a 9th-century commentary on the works of Zoroaster, the three-legged ass is described as pure white with eyes in the usual place and a further two in both the forehead and the crown of its head. It has three mouths, each the size of a house, a further three in its forehead and three more on its body. It is thus able to know whatever evil is being plotted or any attempt that might be made to harm it. The creature is so vast that the hooves of its three legs as it stands in the ocean cover an area large enough for a thousand sheep, while a similar number of horsemen could hide beneath a single spur of its hoof. It is considered to be a symbol of righteousness, a servant of the divine Lord Ahuramazda in the fight against evil. It purifies the putrid oceans with its urine, and the amber that washes up on the shore is believed to be its dung. Its white body is considered a symbol of purity and it is known as a champion of the oppressed.
In Welsh tradition, a king named March had been cursed with ass’s ears, which he kept hidden beneath a hood. But in the end he could not contain the secret any longer, and whispered it into a bed of reeds. Later, a poor musician made a flute out of one of these reeds, and found that when he blew it, instead of music it would only repeat over and over, ‘King March has ass’s ears.’ The musician was able to make use of this information when the king imprisoned him – in return for freedom and a purse of gold, he promised to destroy the flute. But, before this could happen, a gust of wind blew through the flute causing it to play on its own so that the secret was out.
The great sacred novel of the classical world, The Golden Ass by Lucius Apuleus, tells the story of a man turned into an ass for mocking the gods. His subsequent adventures teach him a great deal about the sacred mysteries and, in the end, he receives a vision of the goddess Isis who restores him to human form.
ASS-BITTERN
A strange hybrid creature found in heraldic bestiaries. It had the head of the large water bird, the bittern, and the body of an ass.
ASTERION
The name of the Minotaur in classical Greek mythology.
ASTROPE
One of the horses responsible for pulling the chariot of the sun god in classical Greek mythology. Like its fellows, Astrope was described as pure white, with fire-breathing nostrils. Each morning the nymphs of Time harnessed the great steeds to the chariot of Helios, which they drew across the heavens throughout the day. At night they were stabled in the Blessed Isles, where they fed on magical herbs. (See Horses of the Sun.)
ATARGATIS
In Semitic and Syrian myth, Atargatis was the moon goddess who became a mermaid after having given birth to Semiramis. Her shame was so great that Atargatis killed her lover Hadad, and assumed the tail of a fish. The Syrians would not eat fish out of respect for their goddess.
ATHACH
A monster from the folklore of the Scottish Highlands. The Athach may in fact be more than one creature, since the word athach simply means a monster or giant and was applied to several such beings as the Ludeag, a female demon who haunted Loch Nan Dubh, or the Bochan, which can assume a variety of monstrous shapes. Perhaps for this reason, descriptions of it are unclear, though it is said to haunt high places such as cliff sides or steep ravines.
ATRAOIMEN
A monstrous fish-like creature from Caribbean tradition.
Atraoimen became the host for the soul of the hero Kalinago who, tiring of life on the mainland, set sail in search of new lands, eventually arriving at the island of Santa Domingo. There he settled, married and sired many sons. But the sons grew jealous of their father and administered poison to him, at which point his soul passed into the Atraoimen and in this form he pursued his murderers. The sons fled in all directions and were dispersed across a number of islands. In each case, the sons killed the men of the islands, married their women and set up the heads of the slain warriors in caves so that, in time, their own sons could see them and would honour their fathers’ strength. Eventually Kalinogo, in the form of the Atraoimen, caught up with his sons and slew them. In the process of this pursuit, the Carib people spread across the islands, where they remain to this day.
ATTERCROPPE
A curious and malicious fairy creature from Saxon folklore. Its name means ‘Little Poison Head’, and it resembles a small snake with human arms and legs.
ATUA
A name for elemental spirits in the folklore of the Maori people of New Zealand. They inhabit the bodies of other monstrous creatures, such as the Aria or, on occasion, animals such as the gecko. They are extremely venomous. The Atua have many different names and attributes, among which are the Mokotiti, who cause diseases of the lungs; the Korokiorwek, who cause birth defects; the Tarakiki, who inflict swelling to the ankles and toes; the Makawe, whose favourite trick is to drive people into hot pools where they are scalded; and the Titihal, who cause pains in the feet.
They are also known among the Polynesian tribes where they are called Nukir Mai Tore or ‘People of the Otherworld’. Here they have a less fearsome aspect and are akin to Western fairies. They live in the trees and, though shy and reclusive, are known occasionally to marry human beings. It is not permitted to mention their real names and any one who discovers such a name will find their tongue afflicted with paralysis to prevent them from speaking.
ATUNKAI
A strange creature from the folklore of the Native American people of Oregon, Atunkai is said to resemble a gigantic beaver, though it is believed at one time to have been a bear which fell into one of the Wells of Ahuluk. These wells, which contained a number of great water serpents, are said to have the power of transforming anything that falls into them into a monstrous shape.
AUDUMLA
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