Monster

:This article is about monsters as a kind of legendary creature. For other uses, see Monster (disambiguation).

Monsters in history

Social concept

At one time, the monster was an important social concept. 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. Monsters were seen as scientific puzzles; things science needed to understand. 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.

Related Topics:
Renaissance - The Enlightenment - Cabinet of curiosities - Aesthetics - Sublime

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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.

Related Topics:
Hinduism - Greek mythology - Norse mythology - Ragnarok - Asgard

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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.

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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 or the Horta in the Star Trek episode, "The Devil in the Dark".

Related Topics:
King Kong - Horta - Star Trek - The Devil in the Dark

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