Monopods (also called sciapods, skiapods, skiapodes) were mythological dwarf-like creatures with a single, large foot extending from a leg centred in the middle of their bodies. The names ''monopod'' and ''skiapod'' (σκιάποδες) are both

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

, respectively meaning "one-foot" and "shadow-foot".

Ancient Greek and Roman literature

Monopods appear in

Aristophanes Aristophanes (; grc, Ἀριστοφάνης, ; c. 446 – c. 386 BC), son of Philippus, of the deme In Ancient Greece, a deme or ( grc, δῆμος, plural: demoi, δημοι) was a suburb or a subdivision of Athens and other city-states ...

' play '' The Birds'', first performed in 414 BC. They are described 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 his '' Natural History'', where he reports travelers' stories from encounters or sightings of Monopods in India. Pliny remarks that they are first mentioned by

Ctesias Ctesias (; grc-gre, Κτησίας; fl. fifth century BC), also known as Ctesias of Cnidus, was a Greek physician and historian from the town of Cnidus in Caria, then part of the Achaemenid Empire. Historical events Ctesias, who lived in the fi ...

in his book ''

Indika Indika may refer to: * An alternate name of Megasthenes' ''Indica'' People * Indika Anuruddha, Sri Lankan politician * Indika Bandaranayake (b. 1972), Sri Lankan politician * Indika Basnayake (b. 1979), Sri Lankan cricketer * Indika Batuwitara ...

'' (India), a record of the view of Persians of India which only remains in fragments. Pliny describes Monopods like this:

Philostratus Philostratus or Lucius Flavius Philostratus (; grc-gre, Φιλόστρατος ; c. 170 – 247/250 AD), called "the Athenian", was a Greek sophist of the Roman imperial period. His father was a minor sophist of the same name. He was born probab ...

mentions Skiapodes in his ''

Life of Apollonius of Tyana ''Life of Apollonius of Tyana'' ( grc-gre, Τὰ ἐς τὸν Τυανέα Ἀπολλώνιον), also known by its Latin title , is a text in eight books written in Ancient Greece by Philostratus (c. 170 – c. 245 AD). It tells the story of A ...

'', which was cited by

Eusebius Eusebius of Caesarea (; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος ; 260/265 – 30 May 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilus (from the grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος τοῦ Παμφίλου), was a Greek historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christian ...

in his ''Treatise Against Hierocles''.

Apollonius of Tyana Apollonius of Tyana ( grc, Ἀπολλώνιος ὁ Τυανεύς; c. 3 BC – c. 97 AD) was a Greek Neopythagorean philosopher from the town of Tyana in the Roman province of Cappadocia in Anatolia. He is the subject of ''L ...

believes the Skiapodes live in India and Ethiopia, and asks the Indian sage Iarkhas about their existence.

St. Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Afri ...

(354–430) mentions the "Skiopodes" in ''The City of God'', Book 16, Chapter 8 entitled "Whether Certain Monstrous Races of Men Are Derived From the Stock of Adam or Noah's Sons", and mentions that it is uncertain whether such creatures exist.

Medieval literature

Reference to the legend continued into the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

, for example with

Isidore of Seville Isidore of Seville ( la, Isidorus Hispalensis; c. 560 – 4 April 636) was a Spanish scholar, theologian, and archbishop of Seville. He is widely regarded, in the words of 19th-century historian Montalembert, as "the last scholar of ...

in his ''Etymologiae'', where he writes: The

Hereford Mappa Mundi The Hereford Mappa Mundi is a medieval map of the known world ( la, mappa mundi), of a form deriving from the T and O map, T and O pattern, dating from c. 1300. Archeological scholars believe the map to have originated from eastern England in ...

, drawn c. 1300, shows a sciapod on one side of the world, as does a world map drawn by

Beatus of Liébana Saint Beatus of Liébana ( es, Beato; 730 – c. 800) was a monk, theologian, and geographer from the former Duchy of Cantabria and Kingdom of Asturias, in modern Cantabria, northern Spain, who worked and lived in the Picos de Europa mountains ...

(c. 730 – c. 800).

Einfœtingr of Canada

A race of the "One-Legged", or the "Uniped" ( on, einfœtingr) was allegedly encountered by

Thorfinn Karlsefni Thorfinn Karlsefni Thórdarson was an Icelandic explorer. Around the year 1010, he followed Leif Eriksson's route to Vinland in a short-lived attempt to establish a permanent settlement there with his wife Gudrid Thorbjarnardóttir and their fol ...

and his group of Icelandic settlers in North America in the early 11th century, according to ''

Eiríks saga rauða The ''Saga of Erik the Red'', in non, Eiríks saga rauða (), is an Icelandic saga on the Norse exploration of North America. The original saga is thought to have been written in the 13th century. It is preserved in somewhat different versions ...

'' (''Saga of

Erik the Red Erik Thorvaldsson (), known as Erik the Red, was a Norse explorer, described in medieval and Icelandic saga sources as having founded the first settlement in Greenland. He most likely earned the epithet "the Red" due to the color of his hair a ...

''). The presence of "''unipedes maritimi''" in Greenland was marked on

Claudius Clavus Claudius Clavus (Suartho) also known as ''Nicholas Niger'', ( da, Claudius Claussøn Swart), (born 14 September 1388), was a Denmark, Danish geographer sometimes considered to be the first Nordic countries, Nordic cartographer. It is believed t ...

's map dated 1427. According to the saga, Karlsefni

Thorvald Eiriksson Thorvald Eiriksson ( non, Þórvaldr Eiríksson ; Modern Icelandic: ) was the son of Erik the Red and brother of Leif Erikson. The only Medieval Period source material available regarding Thorvald Eiriksson are the two '' Vinland sagas''; the ...

and others assembled a search party for Thorhall, and sailed around

Kjalarnes Kjalarnes () is the least populous district in the municipality of Reykjavík, the capital of Iceland, with a population of around 600 inhabitants. Overview Kjalarnes was an independent municipality, until it joined Reykjavík in 1998. It takes a ...

and then south. After sailing for a long time, while moored on the south side of a west-flowing river, they were shot at by a one-footed man (''einfœtingr''), and Thorvald died from an arrow wound. The saga goes on to relate that the party went northward and approached what they guessed to be Einfœtingaland ("Land of the One-Legged" or "Country of the Unipeds").

Origin

According to

Carl A. P. Ruck Carl A. P. Ruck (born December 8, 1935, Bridgeport, Connecticut), is a professor in the Classical Studies department at Boston University. He received his B.A. at Yale University, his M.A. at the University of Michigan, and a Ph.D. at Harvard Uni ...

, the Monopods's cited existence in India refers to the

Vedic upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...

Aja Ekapad ("Not-born Single-foot"), an epithet for

Soma Soma may refer to: Businesses and brands * SOMA (architects), a New York–based firm of architects * Soma (company), a company that designs eco-friendly water filtration systems * SOMA Fabrications, a builder of bicycle frames and other bicycle ...

. Since Soma is a botanical deity the single foot would represent the stem of an

entheogen Entheogens are psychoactive substances that induce alterations in perception, mood (psychology), mood, consciousness, cognition, or behavior for the purposes of engendering spiritual development or otherwiseRätsch, Christian, ''The Encyclop ...

ic plant or fungus.

John of Marignolli Giovanni de' Marignolli ( la, Johannes Marignola;. ), variously anglicized as John of Marignolli or John of Florence, was a notable 14th-century Catholic European traveller to medieval China and India. Life Early life Giovanni was born, probab ...

(1338–1353) provides another explanation of these creatures. Quote from his travels from India:

Fiction

''Chronicles of Narnia''

C.S. Lewis CS, C-S, C.S., Cs, cs, or cs. may refer to: Job titles * Chief Secretary (Hong Kong) * Chief superintendent, a rank in the British and several other police forces * Company secretary, a senior position in a private sector company or public se ...

features monopods in the book ''

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader ''The Voyage of the Dawn Treader'' is a high fantasy novel for children by C. S. Lewis, published by Geoffrey Bles in 1952. It was the third published of seven novels in ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' (1950–1956). Macmillan US published an Am ...

'', a part of his children's series ''

The Chronicles of Narnia ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' is a series of seven high fantasy novels by British author C. S. Lewis. Illustrated by Pauline Baynes and originally published between 1950 and 1956, ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' has been adapted for radio, telev ...

''. In the story, a tribe of foolish dwarves known as Duffers inhabit a small island near the edge of the Narnian world along with a

magician Magician or The Magician may refer to: Performers * A practitioner of magic (supernatural) * A practitioner of magic (illusion) * Magician (fantasy), a character in a fictional fantasy context Entertainment Books * ''The Magician'', an 18th-ce ...

named

Coriakin Coriakin is a fictional character in C. S. Lewis's ''Chronicles of Narnia''. He appears in ''The Voyage of the Dawn Treader''. Fictional character biography Coriakin was originally a star, who, as reparation for past misdeeds was charged by Asl ...

, who has transformed them into monopods as a punishment. They have become so unhappy with their appearance that they have made themselves invisible. They are (re)discovered by explorers from the Narnian ship, the ''

Dawn Treader Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the appearance of indirect sunlight being scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc has reached 18° below the observer's horizo ...

'', which has landed on the island to rest and resupply, and at their request

Lucy Pevensie Lucy Pevensie is a fictional character in C. S. Lewis's ''The Chronicles of Narnia'' series. She is the youngest of the four Pevensie children, and the first to find the Wardrobe entrance to Narnia in '' The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe''. Of ...

makes them visible again. Through confusion between their old name, "Duffers", and their new name of "Monopods", they become known as the "Dufflepuds". According to

Brian Sibley Brian David Sibley (born 14 July 1949) is an English writer. He is author of over 100 hours of radio drama and has written and presented hundreds of radio documentaries, features and weekly programmes. He is widely known as the author of many fi ...

's book ''The Land of Narnia'', Lewis may have based their appearance on drawings from the ''

''.

''Baudolino''

Umberto Eco Umberto Eco (5 January 1932 – 19 February 2016) was an Italian medievalist, philosopher, semiotician, novelist, cultural critic, and political and social commentator. In English, he is best known for his popular 1980 novel ''The Name of the ...

in his novel ''

Baudolino ''Baudolino'' is a 2000 novel by Umberto Eco about the adventures of a man named Baudolino in the known and mythical Christian world of the 12th century. ''Baudolino'' was translated into English in 2001 by William Weaver. The novel presented a ...

'' describes a sciapod named Gavagai. The name of the creature "Gavagai" is a reference to Quine's example of

indeterminacy of translation The indeterminacy of translation is a thesis propounded by 20th-century American analytic philosopher W. V. Quine. The classic statement of this thesis can be found in his 1960 book ''Word and Object'', which gathered together and refined much of Qu ...

''The Name of the Rose''

's novel ''

The Name of the Rose ''The Name of the Rose'' ( it, Il nome della rosa ) is the 1980 debut novel by Italian author Umberto Eco. It is a historical murder mystery set in an Italian monastery in the year 1327, and an intellectual mystery combining semiotics in fiction, ...

'', the abbey's chapter house is decorated with carvings of "the inhabitants of unknown worlds," including "sciopods, who run swiftly on their single leg and when they want to take shelter from the sun stretch out and hold up their great foot like an umbrella."

Explanatory notes

References

;Citations

External links

{{Commons category, Sciapod * http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/monster_list.html * http://www.henry-davis.com/MAPS/EMwebpages/207.1mono.html * http://www.westgallerychurches.com/Suffolk/indexsflk.html * https://web.archive.org/web/20061205213734/http://www.kunst.no/mono/panot/utgivelser.htm Mythic humanoids Fantasy creatures Greek legendary creatures Medieval European legendary creatures Mythological peoples Legendary tribes in Greco-Roman historiography Legendary creatures with absent body parts