{{Refimprove, date=August 2013
The achlis was one of a number of strange creatures listed in
Roman mythology
Roman mythology is the body of myths of ancient Rome as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans. One of a wide variety of genres of Roman folklore, ''Roman mythology'' may also refer to the modern study of these representat ...
by
Pliny the Elder
Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/2479), called Pliny the Elder (), was a Roman author, naturalist and natural philosopher, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the emperor Vespasian. He wrote the encyclopedic '' ...
in the 1st century BC. He described it as saying it looked somewhat like an
elk
The elk (''Cervus canadensis''), also known as the wapiti, is one of the largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. The common ...
, though it bore some very strange characteristics. It was said its upper lip was so large that it had to graze backwards to avoid its lip falling over its mouth.
A great problem because its back legs had no joints, forcing it to sleep standing up or leaning against a tree. This allowed hunters a relatively easy way to catch them. They chopped halfway through the tree where the creature slept and when the achlis put any weight against it he fell onto the ground. Because of its back legs, it could not get to its feet fast enough to get away.
See also
*
Hugag
In American folklore, the hugag is a fearsome critter resembling a hippopotamus with an extensive upper-lip, preventing it from grazing, and joint-less legs preventing it from lying down.
Name usage
The word hugag well predates its usage as a te ...