1. Monsters… “lions, tigers, and basilisks… Oh my!”

2. Monster Means From the Latin- Monster= ► Monstrare= “to show” ► Monere= “to warn” ► Monstrum= “that from which we learn”

3. And… ► From the Gk. Drakon- “Dragon or Large Serpent” ► But also means “sharp-sighted” ► Associated with wisdom and foresight

4. Monsters in mythology ► Monsters exist in every mythology throughout the world. ► They represent the fears of a particular culture at a given time.  Our own human failing and inner demons

5. Monsters Serve a Purpose ► Most often related to ► Teach ► Warn ► Show Something about our weaknesses Something about our weaknesses

6. And… ► Scapegoat- (tied to purpose)  Hebrew- actual goat  Philippines  Mayan  Athens/Greece

7. Monsters in modern pop-culture ► In ancient society, while the background of the monster may be explained via myth (Medusa, Minotaur, etc.) this information is solely provided as a what not to do. ► Sympathetic response to monster plight occurs in modern society as we read new stories like Shrek and John Gardner’s Grendel which present a sympathetic view where we feel sorry for their plight.

8. FORM ► Form= both  Appearance  Behavior ► Not Human… Unnatural ► Hybrid  Often of “recognizable” animal parts  May be seen as part human

9. Monsters as individuals ► Most children go through stages where they have immense fear of the unknown. ► This leads to all manner of early monsters in our individual lives:  Bogeyman  Monster under bed, in closet, etc…

10. Monsters physical appearance ► Physically mythological monsters are representations of the often localized fears of the society they stem from:  Snakes  Bulls  Shadows  Spiders  Women… lol (it is true!)

11. Monsters symbolically ► Represent the fear of man’s self. ► This fear is normally represented in terms of the monsters actions:  Extreme rage, anger, evil, immorality is often represented here.  An important side-note here. Even ‘simple- minded’ creatures (yeti, bigfoot, etc.) can still represent complex symbols.

12. Examples of human flaws in monsters. ► Vampires ► Werewolves ► Wizards ► Giants

13. Examples of human flaws in monsters. ► Vampires ► Werewolves ► Wizards ► Giants ► Humanity’s weakness for sensuality. ► Humanity’s fear of our own animalistic nature ► Fear of mental power’s corruption. ► Fear of corruption via physical power.

14. Destroying/Defeating the Monster: ► Intelligence ► Divine Intervention/Blessing ► Good luck/ Fortune

15. Monsters and heroes ► Typically within a hero’s story he is forced to face a number of monsters, each representing the physical, emotional or psychological weaknesses of the hero.  Nemean Lion – Invulnerable to weapons so Heracles must face his fear of his own physicality.  Ringwraiths force Frodo to deal with his problems rather than hide.

16. Nemesis  From nemein- to "distribute, allot, apportion one's due (Greek goddess of vengence) ► The hero’s nemesis (not in every myth) ► When it is not present, the role of the nemesis is typically the hero him/herself. ► When present, the nemesis represents all of the hero’s flaws and weaknesses and will require that things learned throughout the journey be used to defeat it.