|
Water Sprite
A sprite is a supernatural entity in European mythology. They are often depicted as fairy-like creatures or as an ethereal entity. The word ''sprite'' is derived from the Latin ''spiritus'' ("spirit"), via the French '' esprit''. Variations on the term include ''spright'' and the Celtic ''spriggan''. The term is chiefly used with regard to elves and fairies in European folklore, and in modern English is rarely used in reference to spirits. Belief in sprites The belief in diminutive beings such as sprites, elves, fairies, etc. has been common in many parts of the world, and might to some extent still be found within neo-spiritual and religious movements such as "neo-druidism" and Ásatrú. In some elemental magics, the sprite is often believed to be the elemental of air (see also sylph). Water sprite A water sprite (also called a water fairy or water faery) is a general term for an elemental spirit associated with water, according to alchemist Paracelsus. Water ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Legendary Creature
A legendary creature (also mythical or mythological creature) is a type of fictional entity, typically a hybrid, that has not been proven and that is described in folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ... (including myths and legends), but may be featured in historical accounts before modernity. In the classical era, monstrous creatures such as the Cyclops and the Minotaur appear in heroic tales for the protagonist to destroy. Other creatures, such as the unicorn, were claimed in accounts of natural history by various scholars of antiquity. Some legendary creatures have their origin in traditional mythology and were believed to be real creatures, for example dragons, griffins, and unicorns. Others were based on real encounters, originating in garbled accounts of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elemental
An elemental is a mythic being that is described in occult and alchemical works from around the time of the European Renaissance, and particularly elaborated in the 16th century works of Paracelsus. According to Paracelsus and his subsequent followers, there are four categories of elementals, which are gnomes, undines, sylphs, and salamanders. These correspond to the four Empedoclean elements of antiquity: earth, water, air, and fire, respectively. Terms employed for beings associated with alchemical elements vary by source and gloss. History The Paracelsian concept of elementals draws from several much older traditions in mythology and religion. Common threads can be found in folklore, animism, and anthropomorphism. Examples of creatures such as the Pygmy were taken from Greek mythology. The elements of earth, water, air, and fire, were classed as the fundamental building blocks of nature. This system prevailed in the Classical world and was highly influential in medieva ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sprites (folklore)
Sprite commonly refers to: * Sprite (drink), a lemon-lime beverage produced by the Coca-Cola Company * Sprite (computer graphics), a smaller bitmap composited onto another by hardware or software * Sprite (folklore), a type of legendary creature including elves, fairies, and pixies Sprite may also refer to: Comics *Sprite (Eternal), a fictional member of the race of Eternals in the Marvel Universe * Sprite (manga), ''Sprite'' (manga), a 2009 Japanese manga series *Sprite, alias of the Marvel Comics character Kitty Pryde *Sprite comic, a webcomic that consists primarily of computer sprites from video games Computing and technology * Sprite (operating system), an operating system developed at the University of California, Berkeley * SPRITE (spacecraft), a proposed Saturn atmospheric probe mission * SPRITE infrared detector, a specialist detector device using a process known as signal processing in the element * De Havilland Sprite, a British rocket engine Vehicles * Sprite (mo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Siren (mythology)
In Greek mythology, the sirens (Ancient Greek: singular: ; plural: ) were humanlike beings with alluring voices; they appear in a scene in the Odyssey in which Odysseus saves his crew's lives. Roman poets placed them on some small islands called Sirenum scopuli. In some later, rationalized traditions, the literal geography of the "flowery" island of Anthemoessa, or Anthemusa, is fixed: sometimes on Cape Pelorum and at others in the islands known as the Sirenuse, near Paestum, or in Capreae. All such locations were surrounded by cliffs and rocks. Sirens continued to be used as a symbol for the dangerous temptation embodied by women regularly throughout Christian art of the medieval era. Nomenclature The etymology of the name is contested. Robert S. P. Beekes has suggested a Pre-Greek origin. Others connect the name to σειρά (''seirá'', "rope, cord") and εἴρω (''eírō'', "to tie, join, fasten"), resulting in the meaning "binder, entangler", i.e. one who binds ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mermaid
In folklore, a mermaid is an aquatic creature with the head and upper body of a female human and the tail of a fish. Mermaids appear in the folklore of many cultures worldwide, including Europe, Asia, and Africa. Mermaids are sometimes associated with perilous events such as floods, storms, shipwrecks, and drownings. In other folk traditions (or sometimes within the same traditions), they can be benevolent or beneficent, bestowing boons or falling in love with humans. The male equivalent of the mermaid is the merman, also a familiar figure in folklore and heraldry. Although traditions about and sightings of mermen are less common than those of mermaids, they are generally assumed to co-exist with their female counterparts. The male and the female collectively are sometimes referred to as merfolk or merpeople. The Western concept of mermaids as beautiful, seductive singers may have been influenced by the Sirens of Greek mythology, which were originally half-birdlike, but ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Selkies
In Celtic and Norse mythology, selkies (also spelled ', ', ') or selkie folk ( sco, selkie fowk) meaning 'seal folk' are mythological beings capable of therianthropy, changing from seal to human form by shedding their skin. They are found in folktales and mythology originating from the Northern Isles of Scotland. The folktales frequently revolve around female selkies being coerced into relationships with humans by someone stealing and hiding their sealskin, thus exhibiting the tale motif of the swan maiden type. There are counterparts in Faroese and Icelandic folklore that speak of seal-women and seal-skin. Terminology The Scots language word ' is diminutive for ' which strictly speaking means 'grey seal' (''Halichoerus grypus''). Alternate spellings for the diminutive include: ', ', ', ', ', ', ', etc. The term ''selkie'' according to Alan Bruford should be treated as meaning any seal with or without the implication of transformation into human form. W. Traill Den ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Matter
In classical physics and general chemistry, matter is any substance that has mass and takes up space by having volume. All everyday objects that can be touched are ultimately composed of atoms, which are made up of interacting subatomic particles, and in everyday as well as scientific usage, "matter" generally includes atoms and anything made up of them, and any particles (or combination of particles) that act as if they have both rest mass and volume. However it does not include massless particles such as photons, or other energy phenomena or waves such as light or heat. Matter exists in various states (also known as phases). These include classical everyday phases such as solid, liquid, and gas – for example water exists as ice, liquid water, and gaseous steam – but other states are possible, including plasma, Bose–Einstein condensates, fermionic condensates, and quark–gluon plasma. Usually atoms can be imagined as a nucleus of protons and neutrons, and a surro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
