Happy Monday, Missians!
It's time for another edition of Monday May Mythical Beasts, (in this case, we'll say mythical creatures). Today's Mythical Creatures are Elementals. Today's Elemental's information is courtesy of Wikipedia:
It's time for another edition of Monday May Mythical Beasts, (in this case, we'll say mythical creatures). Today's Mythical Creatures are Elementals. Today's Elemental's information is courtesy of Wikipedia:
Elementals:
Universally, an elemental is a type of magical entity who personifies a force of nature and controls natural powers derived from their element.
Within the Paracelsian concept an elemental is a mythic being described in occult and alchemical works from around the time of the European Renaissance and particularly elaborated in the 16th century works of Paracelsus. From the classical Paracelsian perspective there are four elemental categories: gnomes, undines, sylphs, and salamanders. These correspond to the Classical elements of antiquity: earth, water, air and fire. Aether (quintessence) was not assigned an elemental. Terms employed for beings associated with alchemical elements vary by source and gloss.
In his 16th-century alchemical work Liber de Nymphis, sylphis, pygmaeis et salamandris et de caeteris spiritibus, Paracelsus identified mythological beings as belonging to one of the four elements. Part of the Philosophia Magna, this book was first printed in 1566 after Paracelsus' death. He wrote the book to "describe the creatures that are outside the cognizance of the light of nature, how they are to be understood, what marvellous works God has created". He states that there is more bliss in describing these "divine objects" than in describing fencing, court etiquette, cavalry, and other worldly pursuits. The following is his archetypal being for each of the four elements:
- Gnome, being of earth
- Undine, being of water
- Sylph, being of air
- Salamander, being of fire
The concept of elementals seems to have been conceived by Paracelsus in the 16th century, though he did not in fact use the term "elemental" or a German equivalent. He regarded them not so much as spirits but as beings between creatures and spirits, generally being invisible to mankind but having physical and commonly humanoid bodies, as well as eating, sleeping, and wearing clothes like humans. Paracelsus gave common names for the elemental types, as well as correct names, which he seems to have considered somewhat more proper, "recht namen". He also referred to them by purely German terms which are roughly equivalent to "water people," "mountain people," and so on, using all the different forms interchangeably. His fundamental classification scheme on the first page of Tractatus II of the Liber de Nymphis is based on where the elementals live, and he gives the following names:
| Correct name (translated) | Alternate name (Latin) | Element in which it lives |
|---|---|---|
| Nymph | Undina (undine) | Water |
| Sylph | Sylvestris (wild man) | Air |
| Pygmy | Gnomus (gnome) | Earth |
| Salamander | Vulcanus | Fire |
Of the names he used, gnomus, undina, and sylph are all thought to have appeared first in Paracelsus' works, though undina is a fairly obvious Latin derivative from the word undameaning "wave."
In De Meteoris he referred to the elementals collectively as Sagani.
He noted that undines are similar to humans in size, while sylphs are rougher, coarser, longer, and stronger. Gnomes are short, while salamanders are long, narrow, and lean. The elementals are said to be able to move through their own elements as human beings move through air. Gnomes, for example, can move through rocks, walls, and soil. Sylphs are the closest to humans in his conception because they move through air like we do, while in fire they burn, in water they drown, and in earth, they get stuck. Paracelsus states that each one stays healthy in its particular "chaos," as he terms it, but dies in the others.
Paracelsus conceived human beings to be composed of three parts, an elemental body, a sidereal spirit, and an immortal divine soul. Elementals lacked this last part, the immortal soul. However, by marriage with a human being, the elemental and its offspring could gain a soul.
Breakdown of Elementals:
A nymph (Greek: νύμφη, nýmphē [nýmpʰɛː]) in Greek and Latin mythology is a minor female nature deity typically associated with a particular location or landform. Different from other goddesses, nymphs are generally regarded as divine spirits who animate nature, and are usually depicted as beautiful, young nubile maidens who love to dance and sing; their amorous freedom sets them apart from the restricted and chaste wives and daughters of the Greek polis. They are beloved by many and dwell in mountainous regions and forests by lakes and streams. Although they would never die of old age nor illness, and could give birth to fully immortal children if mated to a god, they themselves were not necessarily immortal, and could be beholden to death in various forms. Charybdis and Scylla were once nymphs.
Other nymphs, always in the shape of young maidens, were part of the retinue of a god, such as Dionysus, Hermes, or Pan, or a goddess, generally the huntress Artemis. Nymphs were the frequent target of satyrs.
Sylph (also called sylphid) is a mythological air spirit. The term originates in the 16th century works of Paracelsus, who describes sylphs as (invisible beings) of the air, his elementals of air.
Paracelsus discusses the characteristics of the elementals at length. Sylphs, he says, are rougher, coarser, taller, and stronger[13] than humans. The elementals are said to be able to move through their own elements as human beings move through air. Because of this, sylphs are the closest to humans in his conception because they move through air like we do, while in fire they burn, in water they drown, and in earth, they get stuck.
The Pygmies (Greek: Πυγμαῖοι Pygmaioi, from the adjective πυγμαῖος from πυγμή pygmē, "the length of the forearm") were a tribe of diminutive humans in Greek mythology. According to the Iliad, they were involved in a constant war with the cranes, which migrated in winter to their homeland on the southern shores of the earth-encircling river Oceanus. One story describes the origin of the age-old battle, speaking of a Pygmy Queen named Gerana who offended the goddess Hera with her boasts of superior beauty, and was transformed into a crane.
In art the scene was popular with little Pygmies armed with spears and slings, riding on the backs of goats, battling the flying cranes. The 2nd-century BC tomb near Panticapaeum, Crimea "shows the battle of human pygmies with a flock of herons".
The Pygmies were often portrayed as pudgy, comical dwarfs.
The salamander is an amphibian of the order Urodela which, as with many real creatures, often has been ascribed fantastic and sometimes occult qualities by pre-modern authors (as in the allegorical descriptions of animals in medieval bestiaries) not possessed by the real organism. The legendary salamander is often depicted as a typical salamander in shape, with a lizard-like form, but is usually ascribed an affinity with fire, sometimes specifically elemental fire. This legendary creature embodies the fantastic qualities that ancient and medieval commentators ascribed to the natural salamander. Many of these qualities are rooted in verifiable traits of the natural creature but often exaggerated. A large body of legend, mythology, and symbolism has developed around this creature over the centuries.
In one of the earliest surviving descriptions of a salamander, Pliny the Elder (A.D. 23–79) noted that the creature is "an animal like a lizard in shape and with a body specked all over; it never comes out except during heavy showers and goes away the moment the weather becomes clear." All of these traits, even down to the star-like markings, are consistent with the golden Alpine salamander (Salamandra atra aurorae) of Europe that has golden or yellow spots or blotches on its back and some similarly marked subspecies of the fire salamander (Salamandra salamandra). Pliny even made the important distinction between salamanders and lizards, which are similar in shape but different in other respects, which was not systematized until modern times, when biologists classified lizards as reptiles and salamanders as amphibians.
Well, what are your thoughts on Elementals? Do you think they really exist? Of course, we know salamanders really do, but do they possess the fantastical qualities some of these earlier thinkers believed? I always say, anything is possible, (not so much about the salamanders, specifically), and that some of these myths and legends could be partially based off of things that may have once existed, (though maybe not to such an extreme degree as portrayed in the myths or legends). As usual, I leave that estimation up to you, dear readers. That's it for now. I'll check back with you guys later in the week.
Until then,
This is your host J,
signing off....
 |
| Undine Rising, by Chauncey Bradley Ives. Wikipedia, Public Domain |
Comments
Post a Comment