Of myth and monsters

Monsters lurk at Otago Museum, the stuff of myth and legend, Jen Copedo writes.

There are many objects in Otago Museum’s galleries with overt connections to our Sea Monsters exhibition, including pottery decorated with images of Greek sirens, a mermaid statue and the fossil plesiosaur.

But there are others with less obvious claims. These include a crab specimen and a squid beak, both of which are on display in Animal Attic.

Mythological sea creatures are fantastical, living in a realm of make-believe, but they are created from small grains of truth. Myth was a tool to help explain natural phenomena back before we had the scientific method. Go back thousands, even hundreds, of years, and you'll find mythology everywhere, explaining everything.

The crucifix crab, found in the Animal Attic gallery, has the scientific name Charybdis feriata and is an example of a swimming crab. It often lives in soft, sandy shallows or rocky areas, and not only scuttles along the seabed, but can actually swim.

Its name refers to Charybdis, one of the Greeks’ deadliest sea monsters. She sat on the Sicilian side of the Strait of Messina, a channel of water between mainland Italy and the island of Sicily. In some tellings, Charybdis was a massive whirlpool that would draw down vast volumes of water then spew it back out again. Opposite her resided Scylla, another sea monster and just as deadly. In trying to avoid one, sailors would fall victim to the other. In Homer’s epic The Odyssey, the titular hero must choose between Scylla and Charybdis. He chooses to sail closer to Scylla who can only take up to six men at a time, rather than losing his entire ship to Charybdis.

The kernel of this myth is found in the behaviours of the waters through the strait. The currents and winds funnel through the channel so quickly and powerfully that often whirlpools are created, and the myth of a sea monster was born.

Also on display in the Animal Attic is a squid beak.

Every squid and octopus has a beak. As in birds, they are used to break up food. The beak on display comes from a species of squid found in New Zealand called the Nototodarus sloanii.

Its best-known mythological association is with the kraken. This sea monster is most often depicted as a giant octopus or squid and was believed in Scandinavian folklore to dwell deep in the Greenland Sea.

Examples of this popular representation are found in movies such as Disney's Atlantis: Milo’s Return, and Pirates of the Caribbean.

But the original kraken, or perhaps a precursor to the kraken, was the hafgufa, which appears in Norse sagas such as Orvar-Oddr and the Konungs skuggsja. It is a creature of considerable size, with many limbs, and like Charybdis, can suck down massive amounts of seawater, and any creatures or ships in the vicinity.

Today, scientists believe that the origin of the kraken comes from the sightings of colossal squid, which can reach up to 14m long. On top of the odd shape of a colossal squid, it is no wonder ancient sailors in their small, unsophisticated boats were terrified of the sea monster they called the kraken.

These are just a couple of objects at the museum linked to myth and monster. There will others, if you care to find them.

 - Jen Copedo is Otago Museum assistant collection manager, humanities.