» Manticore

The name Manticore is from Middle English manticores, from Latin mantichora, from Greek mantikhoras, variant of martiokhoras, and from Old Iranian martiya-khv ra, man-eater: martiya-, man; -khv ra, eater. It is also known as martikhora, mantiserra, memecoleous, mancomorion, and satyral.

Manticores like to live underground or in jungles. They prefer dens or lairs in caves or underground holes. It’s said to live as far west as Greece and the Atlas Mountains of North Africa. It’s concentrated in the near and middle east. It may live in India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Ethiopia, and Persia. It is also describe in southern Europe during the middle ages and may have lived in Mesopotamia. Asian forests may also be a place it roams.

The body of a Manticore is shaped like that of a lion and is the size of a large lion. It is usually described as red but sometimes as purple. The body can be hairy and also can have the feet of a dragon. Small brown wings like those of a bat but with a 24 foot wingspan have also been described, but the creature is never said to have the ability to fly.

The head and ears of a Manticore are that of a human. The head is often red, fitting in with the red body. The eyes are blue, gray, yellow, or gleaming red. It has a vast mouth filled with three rows of sharp teeth that span from ear to ear. The teeth fit alternately into each other like the teeth of a comb and can slash nearly anything to ribbons. A Manticore has a beguiling smile, thought to have developed as a lure to help attract prey. It also possibly has a long neck and spiraled or curved horns.

The tail of a Manticore is described usually as scorpion-like with foot-long poison darts at the tip that are fatal to humans. The darts can travel a great distance and are razor sharp. Natives believe the darts are made poisonous with the juice of the Upas tree. The tail may also be tipped with a spiked ball and the beast can shoot the spikes like arrows. Or it may be fanned at the end with stinging spikes. The tail is said to be scaled like a snake or possibly segmented with poison spines running along it.

Manticores are impossible to capture. They have powerful legs that can jump over any obstacle and can run exceptionally fast. The Manticore could defeat all animals except the lion and was considered more dangerous than any other jungle dweller. It’s a hybrid humanoid whose strength, speed, and sheer ferocity make it the most dangerous predator around.

Some say the Manticore has a melodious voice like that of a mixture between a flute and a trumpet. Others say that it has a shrill, hissing voice. The Manticore’s voice can parody a human voice and it will croon softly as it devours its prey.

The Manticore has a voracious appetite especially for human flesh. It is possible that it challenges its prey with riddles before killing like the Sphinx. It will stalk or use a hypnotic glare until it is close enough to hit its victim with its paralyzing tail darts after which it will tear its victim to pieces. It devours victims entirely: skull, bones, clothing, and possessions. When someone vanishes without a trace from a jungle village, it’s a sign a Manticore is nearby.

In the Harry Potter world the Manticore has a M.O.M. classification of XXXXX. It’s considered as dangerous as a chimera and as rare. Its skin repels almost all known charms and its sting can cause instant death. Hagrid crossed a Manticore with a fire crab to get blast-ended skrewts.

The psychological attributes of a Manticore are that of one who likes to “kill” for the sake and thrill of killing. This can mean “killing” a reputation or destroying someone’s confidence or dreams, as well as a physical murder. There are no magical attributes for a Manticore as it is considered dangerous and not recommended.

A Manticore was first described in 5th century BC by Greek physician Ctesias and was repeated by Aristotle and by Pliny the Elder in Historia Naturalis (77 AD). By 2nd century AD other explanations were proposed to explain the Manticore. The Greek travel writer Pausanias' theory was that it was really a man-eating tiger (Bengal tiger).

The Manticore is a recognized symbol of evil and malevolence and a symbol of tyranny, disparagement and envy. It is often listed as an allegory for the devil. It is frequently depicted in bestiaries and the Cambridge bestiary lists it as being of Indian origin. The physical characteristics could possible be misrepresentations of Indian sculpture. A Latin bestiary from the 12th century and an Anglo-Saxon one from 1220 both contain basic descriptions by Pliny. The earliest example (mantyger) in English heraldry is the badge of Sir William Hastings of Kirby and Burton Hastings in Warwickshire. In the 13th century Richard of Haldingham depicted one in his mappa mundi, on show at Hereford Cathedral. The 13th century romance about Alexander the Great called Kyng Alisaunder says he lost 30,000 men to such beasts as adders, lions, bears, dragons, unicorns, and manticeros. The Manticore was a favorite with 16th & 17th century illustrators. In Christian iconography it is a hybrid animal with a human head and a globular body ending in a serpent; a symbol of the World, the Flesh, and the Devil. Later folklore of Spain developed the Manticore into a child-abducting type of werewolf. In the 1930s it was still considered by the peasants of Spain to be a beast of ill omen. It’s thought that the Manticore may actually be a hyena, Caspian tiger, or cheetah.