Not every creature of folklore springs from the grave or another world - some are the work of alchemists and artisans! Don an apron and take a look at...
- Homunculi, a Creation of Alchemy
- The Golem of Prague
- Talos, the Ancient Greek Automaton
- Tupilaq, Arctic Avengers
- Ushabti, a Construct for the Egyptian Afterlife
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| A homunculus was said to be the product of alchemy... (Jordyn St. John) |
Homunculi, a Creation of Alchemy
The 1653 work known as "The art of distillation..." (the title goes on for nearly a paragraph) by John French gives three different versions of a homunculus - which he claims to have taken from the works of Renaissance physician and alchemist Paracelsus. These are:
- A model of a person that contained a spirit, used for magical purposes
- An artificially created man, alchemically produced using human body fluids
- A strange concoction brewed from putrefying wheat and wine, which resembled an embryo part-way through its production
Naturally it's the second option we're interested in, but French declined to go into detail ("because I think it unfit to be done, at least to be divulged.") So let's turn to "De natura rerum" by Paracesus (historians believe that this book was really a composite of his and other alchemist's work.)
On page eighteen of book one, Paracesus speaks of creating a homunculus by brewing human sperm in a sealed cucurbit warmed by venter equinus (horse's belly, usually meaning putrefying horse manure.) Once the substance began to move inside the container, it would need to be fed "arcano fanguinis humani" (a substance prepared from human blood) as it grew into a small, child-like figure.
With a little education under its belt, the homunculus would become frighteningly intelligent "knowing all secret and hidden things." De natura rerum also made the claim that homunculi would eventually grow into dwarves, giants or other fairytale creatures thanks to the magic involved in their creation!
The Golem of Prague
Possibly the most famous of all mythological constructs, the Golem of Prague was a man of animated clay, brought to life as a protector for the Jewish community.
The story goes that one night Rabbi Judah Loew ben Bezalel heard a voice commanding him to create an effigy of clay. He took mud from the river and harnessed the elements to fashion it into the shape of a man. He then placed a shem (a religious token that acted as an imitation soul) into its mouth, commanding it to rise and walk.
Given the name Yossele, the construct performed heavy labor all day and guarded the streets at night. It needed no food, no drink and no rest... but it couldn't really think for itself. In keeping with Jewish tradition, Rabbi Loew would remove the shem for the Sabbath, allowing the golem a day of rest... until one fateful Sabbath, he forgot.
Yossele went mad. It rampaged through the streets until the Rabbi could be summoned and the shem removed. The experience must have shaken Rabbi Loew - he never reanimated his creation. Supposedly the lifeless clay was left in the attic of the Old New Synagogue and may still be there to this day.
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| Talos was said to be a giant bronze automaton... (Couleur) |
Talos, the Ancient Greek Automaton
Striding out of Greek mythology comes Talos, a mighty bronze automaton smithed in the shape of a man.
Legend has it that he was created by Hephaestus (god of the forge) and given by Zeus to his consort Europa, with orders to guard her home on Crete. The metal giant would patrol the waters around the island, hurling rocks at pirates that got too close or holding them against his searing-hot body.
Talos would eventually meet his fate at the hands of a sorceress and the Argonauts. Legend has it that he had a single ichor vessel in his body, capped with a stud that prevented his molten metal blood from escaping. In some versions of the tale the sorceress drove him mad, causing him to gash his vulnerable ankle open. In another, she tricked him into complacency by offering true immortality then removing the stud... while in yet another version, a well-placed arrow opened the vein. Either way, Talos bleed to death and the Argonauts continued their quest!
Tupilaq, Arctic Avengers
Have you heard of a tupilaq? The modern version is a piece of Arctic artwork, a strangely distorted bone, ivory or wooden figurine blending human and animal characteristics. The ancient version was a lot more sinister.
A tupilaq was a construction of bone and flesh, with parts taken from animals or humans as the angakkuq (an Inuit magic user) creating it saw fit. There was no hard and fast rule as to what the creature had to be made from, only that it needed to be grotesque enough to strike fear in its creator's enemies.
Once assembled and brought to life with a sung spell, the tupilaq would be floated out to sea where its hunt could begin. They would seek their assigned prey (typically someone who had offended their creator) then lie in wait for their victim to let their guard down.
Deploying a tupilaq was not without risks for the angakkuq. If the target turned out to have strong magic of their own, the frustrated construct could turn its wrath against its own creator... and eat them alive!
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| Ushabti acted like robotic helpers in the Egyptian afterlife... (Nada Habashy) |
Ushabti, a Construct for the Egyptian Afterlife
The ancient Egyptians put a lot of thought into having a comfortable afterlife. The ushabti are a perfect example of this, being constructs intended to serve their masters after death.
These small figurines (around 10 to 50cm in height) were carved from stone, wood or glazed earthenware called faience and frequently held an agricultural tool in their arms. They were extremely popular and some tombs featured an ushabti for every day of the year... with a further set of overseer ushabti to keep them in line!
So why were they so desirable? The reason is actually inscribed on some of the figurines - if the gods called on the deceased to perform menial tasks in the afterlife, the ushabti would declare "here I am" and step in to do the work. In fact, their name is often translated as "answerer!"
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