D is for Dracaenae

Taken from here
Dracaena means 'she-dragon', and it is a creature with the upper body of a beautiful nymph and the lower body of a dragon, serpent or sea-monster. The most famous examples of Dracaena are Echidna and Ceto who, between them, spawned most of the monsters of Greek mythology. 
Ceto was a marine goddess with the lower body of a sea dragon. She spawned Echidna and many other sea monsters, while Echidna went on to spawn many monsters including Cerberus (the three headed dog who guards the Underworld), Hydra (a nine headed water serpent) and Scylla (a sea monster with many heads, whom I have named my new car after!)

Comments

  1. Dani and Jax4 April 2013 at 11:47

    Love this picture. It's speaks volumns about her.
    Dani & Jax @ Cover Girls

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  2. Rob Z Tobor4 April 2013 at 12:10

    I am rather curious as to why you have named your car after a sea monster with many heads, it must be a very cool car.

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  3. Timothy S. Brannan4 April 2013 at 12:13

    Oh!! I have to show this to my son. He would find it very interesting since he LOVES Dragons.

    Thanks so much. I knew I'd be rewarded by coming back here every day!

    --
    Tim Brannan
    The Other Side and The Witch
    Red Sonja: She-Devil with a Sword
    The Freedom of Nonbelief

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  4. Miranda Hardy4 April 2013 at 13:22

    Great picture! Love mythology! All kinds of great stories pop into my head.

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  5. Jessica Ferguson4 April 2013 at 13:33

    Very interesting. My daughter named her car Rhonda. Sort of plain and boring compared to yours. :)

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  6. Unknown4 April 2013 at 13:34

    Wow. I am so uninformed about mythology.

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  7. Anonymous4 April 2013 at 13:38

    I wonder what you would get if you crossed one of these with a gorgon? Weeping Angels, perhaps?

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  8. Franny Stevenson4 April 2013 at 13:54

    Fascinating creatures!

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  9. M.J. Fifield4 April 2013 at 14:22

    I love that picture. It makes me want to write new stories.

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  10. Dani4 April 2013 at 14:56

    LOVE the picture. Geez, didn't they know what cause all these births! Like they needed more monsters anyways.
    Dani @ Entertaining Interests
    #warriorminion

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  11. Carolyn Paul Branch4 April 2013 at 16:17

    Interesting! I must have slept through the Sea Monster lecture when I was in school. Do you write fantasy?

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  12. Outcast4 April 2013 at 16:58

    So cool that you named your car after Dracaenae's offspring Laura, I'd never heard of this before.

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  13. Allison4 April 2013 at 17:11

    Cool--never heard of it. Cerberus is one of my favourite mythical creatures though. Love how JK Rowling spun the myth around with "Fluffy." :)

    Allison (Geek Banter)

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  14. Bob Sanchez4 April 2013 at 20:21

    Hi Laura, stopping by on the A-Z Challenge.

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  15. Tony Noland4 April 2013 at 21:03

    Love this drawing!

    Found you via the A to Z challenge.
    http://www.tonynoland.com

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  16. millvallison: mary allison tierney4 April 2013 at 22:37

    I was born a dragon - according to the Chinese astrological calendar. Some days I really feel like one!

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  17. Anonymous4 April 2013 at 23:19

    Hi Laura
    Enjoying your posts...hope the assignments are going as well. Doing a Masters in creative writing was life changing for me, hope the same is true for you -- are you at Hull? Take care and remember no one is going to mark the comments you make on other people's blogs whereas your assignment... (can you guess I went back to lecture in CW at my old college three years after graduating.)...not nagging but, like socialism, it's all about priorities. Take care but don't knock yourself out....

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  18. Unknown5 April 2013 at 00:15

    I might just start calling myself a Dracaenae before coffee!
    Connie
    Checkin' in from the A to Z Challenge.
    Peanut Butter and Whine

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  19. Unknown5 April 2013 at 00:42

    Hm. I think I've known some dracaenae! Good stuff here.

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  20. Unknown5 April 2013 at 00:52

    When I read this, I remind myself how imperative it is that I study some mythology in my spare time. Love the picture you shared with the explanation.

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  21. Deanie Humphrys-Dunne5 April 2013 at 01:03

    Very nice blog and it was a great idea to include the picture. I had never heard those words before so now we're all a bit better informed. Thanks for sharing.

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  22. mshatch5 April 2013 at 02:03

    I had heard of Echidna but not Ceto. Glad I stopped by to learn something new :)

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  23. Krista McLaughlin5 April 2013 at 02:13

    A bit creepy - I've never heard of dracaenae before! Interesting. :)

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  24. DWei5 April 2013 at 06:06

    So this is the English name of it. I'm only familiar with the Japanese name which I believe is Naga.

    Well, I think they're similar if not the same creature.

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  25. Unknown5 April 2013 at 06:31

    She would make an excellent character in an upcoming paranormal story I'm working on!

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  26. Shannon Lawrence5 April 2013 at 09:37

    I didn't know each of those was a dracaenae. I've heard of each of them, though.

    Shannon at The Warrior Muse

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  27. JennaQuentin5 April 2013 at 09:39

    This makes me think of the French story of the fairy Melusine, who was half snake. Dropping in from the A to Z challenge!

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  28. Bevimus9 April 2013 at 21:21

    It's coming back to me now... at some point in the past I knew these beasts. Thanks for the reminder!

    ReplyDelete

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