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An Assyrian lamassu dated 721 BC.. Images of unions of different elements into one symbol were originally used by the Ancient Egyptians, Assyrians, and Greeks.The image of the sphinx, found in Egypt and Babylon, depicted the body of a lion and the head of a human, while the harpies of Greek mythology showed bird-like human women.
The word sphinx comes from the Greek Σφίγξ, associated by folk etymology with the verb σφίγγω (sphíngō), meaning "to squeeze", "to tighten up". [4] [5] This name may be derived from the fact that lions kill their prey by strangulation, biting the throat of prey and holding them down until they die.
The Sphinx of Naxos, also Sphinx of the Naxians, now in the Archaeological Museum of Delphi, is a 2.22 meter tall marble statue of a sphinx, a mythical creature with the head of a woman, the chest and wings composed of the impressive feathers of a prey bird turned upward, and the body of a lioness.
The Sphinx is the best known such hybrid. The hippogriff is supposed to be a mixture of several animals and the author notes that in order to support its weight, the wings would be so heavy that flight would be impossible, which proves—without question—that it does not exist. [10]
Although it was originally intended as a symbol of peace and ecumenism, the tricolour is today seen by some Irish unionists as a symbol of Irish republicanism and the Irish Republican Army. Many other flags are suggested as the cross-border flag for Ireland. The flag of Northern Ireland (Ulster Banner) was used officially between 1953 and 1973.
The 'Land of the Ever Young' depicted by Arthur Rackham in Irish Fairy Tales (1920). In Celtic mythology , the Otherworld is the realm of the deities and possibly also the dead. In Gaelic and Brittonic myth it is usually a supernatural realm of everlasting youth, beauty, health, abundance and joy. [ 1 ]
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The main supernatural beings in Irish mythology are the Tuatha Dé Danann ("the folk of the goddess Danu"), also known by the earlier name Tuath Dé ("god folk" or "tribe of the gods"). [3] Early medieval Irish writers also called them the fir dé (god-men) and cenéla dé (god-kindreds), possibly to avoid calling them simply 'gods'. [ 4 ]