Monster

Monster is a term for any number of legendary creatures that frequently appear in mythology, legend, and horror fiction. The word originates from the ancient Latin monstros, monstrum, from the root of monere, "to warn", also meaning prodigy, miracle. more...

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Social concept

At one time, the monster was an important social concept, because monsters were often associated with unknown lands and unknown things. For instance, historically, unexplored areas on maps would be marked indicating that monsters such as dragons lived there. This connection between monsters and the unknown meant that the monster was an important concept in the Renaissance and the Enlightenment, as Western society began to use science and other academic disciplines to try to understand the unknown. But nobody has ever proved the existence of monsters. In addition, monsters were seen as scientific puzzles; a strange and particular thing that the science needed to understand and further explore. In the Enlightenment, the cabinet of curiosities would often include monsters in amongst the scientific instruments and toys. Similarly, the monstrous was an important concept on aesthetics during the enlightenment, often closely associated with the wondrous and the sublime.

Religion and mythology

Many Eastern religions such as Hinduism, as well as ancient religions such as Greek mythology and Norse mythology, depict monsters as the enemies of the gods. Ragnarok in Norse mythology was the final battle between the gods of Asgard and the many monsters of the world.

Ancient peoples considered the birth of "freaks" representations of the wrath of the gods, a demonstration, as it were. The first so-named monstra were the showpieces in traveling carnival freakshows, people afflicted with body deformities or diseases like elephantiasis.

Occasionally, there are monsters who act out of legitimate motives and their monstrous appearance leads to serious misunderstandings. Some well known examples are King Kong, Frankenstein's Monster, and the Horta in the Star Trek episode, "The Devil in the Dark".

There is a pattern which many monsters in mythology follow. They are often portrayed as a threat which kills indiscriminately and mercilessly, only to be eventually slain by the hero. Good examples of this include Beowulf and the legend of Saint George and the Dragon.

Monsters in literature

The relationship between science and monstrosity became an important theme in many Victorian-era horror novels, where history was often depicted not merely as studying monsters, but as producing them in masses. Notable examples include Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Frankenstein. This change corresponded with a decline in the popularity of science among the general public.

Read more at Wikipedia.org