Who is a gargoyle is a demonic being that personifies the forces of chaos subordinate to the divine power. Serves the angels for the sake of maintaining an orderly universe. Translated from Latin - gargoyle - a symbiosis of the words "pharynx" and "whirlpool". According to one version, their cry was like a gurgling, on the other - they were the same symbol of eternity, like water.
Gargoyle - who is this?
Gargoyles are found in different myths, they are better known, thanks to the legends of Ancient Greece. The Greeks made them the personification of the evil or good will of the gods, which determine the destinies of people. There are several versions about the origin, the gargoyle is:
- The lowest demonic deity.
- Incarnation of the underworld.
- Guardian of Darkness, who serves the Powers of Light.
Myths of different peoples have preserved several characteristic features of these creatures:
- hatred of everything living, both to people and to evil spirits;
- sometimes enter into an alliance with other beings for the sake of profit;
- the most incorruptible and strict Sentinels.
What does the gargoyle look like?
Gargoyle - a mythical creature, its distinctive feature is the ability to turn into a stone and wake up from it, but does it only by its own will, and not by someone else's. They are depicted humanoid, with a characteristic appearance:
- leathery wings;
- sharp talons;
- head lion or wolf, sometimes - a symbiosis with a human face.
When a gargoyle receives a wound, it regenerates, becoming a stone. Her skin looks like a human, has a gray color. Over time, the gargoyles began to be portrayed as a symbiosis of different animals. There are several versions of why these demonic creatures decided to install on the roofs of the temples:
- Should take evil from home, like the stronger Guardians.
- To remind of the fate of sinners.
- There was a contrast between the beauty of the cathedral inside and the ugliness outside.
How does the gargoyle scream?
The scream of the gargoyle is now considered a myth, the authors of games are doing their utmost to create it. It is only known that creatures screamed at the approach of enemies, whether they were invaders or evil spirits. What it looks like, the legends did not save. The churchmen persuaded that a gargoyle bird was making a scream when a city dweller commits a sin. Strikingly different from other statues of the statue on the cathedral of St. Vitus in Prague, these are not dragons, but ugly people, frozen in screaming. Researchers explain the decision of architects as a desire to remind humanity of sins and curses that can be imprisoned in stone.
What is the difference between a gargoyle and a chimera?
Very often people believe that gargoyles and chimeras are the same, the difference between them is relative, but there is still. Gothic chimeras became known, thanks to the statues on the Cathedral of Notre Dame, these are creatures:
- with a hunchback figure and an eagle's claws;
- the wings of the batters;
- heads of goats or snakes.
The Greeks attributed the power of the chimeras to sea storms, the architects of the Middle Ages presented these creatures as the personification of fallen souls who can not enter the temple. In Gothic gargoyles and chimera almost no difference, the only difference is that the first were not only an element of decor, but also drains. Through the throat of demonic creatures, water drained away from the walls and did not wash away the foundation of the buildings. And only in the 19 th century they were replaced by downspouts, and gargoyles remained a decoration of the facade.
Gargoyle in mythology
The gargoyle is an unusual creature, its images have been transformed with time, although originally in the legend of the origin it is represented as a dragon. There is a myth that in 600 AD. near the Seine lived the dragon La Gargul, who spit not only with fire, but with streams of water, provoking floods. Residents of the surrounding area propitiated him with human victims, electing criminals for this.
Many years later, Romanus arrived in Rouen and agreed to destroy the dragon in exchange for people accepting the Christian faith and building a church in the village. The hero won, the monster's body tried to burn, but the flame could not destroy the head. Then the residents allegedly installed these remains on the roof of a temple built in honor of the feat of the priest Romanus. Since then, a tradition has appeared to decorate buildings with statues of gargoyles.