mythical beings
Dragons and unicorns
Mythical beings are creatures from folklore, legend, and religious tradition that exist in cultural imagination rather than biological reality.
Dragons, unicorns, mermaids, and phoenixes are mythical beings.
Gods, demons, and spirits also qualify.
The term often implies ancient or traditional origins: The forest was said to be home to mythical beings.
Creatures from modern fiction are usually called fictional rather than mythical.
- Greek godsHellenic divine beings
- AnansiWest African spider deity
- AmaterasuShinto sun deity
- Norse mythologyScandinavian pagan religion
- AnubisEgyptian mortuary deity
Hercules · Perseus · Apollo · Athena · Cerberus · Leviathan · sea serpent · Loch Ness Monster · Zeus · Loki · Wendigo · forest spirits · fairy folk · Hera · Gilgamesh · Quetzalcoatl · shape shifter · Beowulf
- fantasywizard, witch, magic, dragon, elf
- creaturesanimals, animal, mammals, mammal, birds
- surrealismdreamscapes, Rene Magritte, Max Ernst, automatic writing, automatism
- Buddhist loresacred stories, koans, moral fables, bodhisattvas, nagas