Dogs of Myth and Legend
Canines have been an important part of cultures around the world for thousands of years. There is an abundance of stories, legends, tales, and myths that revolve around particularly special dogs. Here are tales of but a few of those canines of legend.
Anubis
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| Image credit: Wikimedia Commons |
Aralez
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| Image credit: Gegart at Russian Wikipedia, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons |
Black Dogs
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| Sidney Paget's illustration for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Hound of the Baskervilles |
The United Kingdom is rife with tales of black dogs. They are certainly not the only people to tell stories of black dogs, but these supernatural canines seem to be especially present in the United Kingdom. Some locales have particular names for their black dogs, such as Black Shuck, Padfoot, the Harry Hound, the Black Dog of Newgate, Barguest, the Gurt dog, the Yeth hound, and the Grim. Most often these dogs are associated with back luck and malevolence, but some are seen as protectors, often tied to a family, a stretch of road, or a particular location.
There are some common traits in nearly all descriptions of the black dogs: they're large, shaggy, and have large glowing eyes, usually red in hue. Some are headless, some wear chains, some have human faces, some are as large as a house, and still others walk on their hind legs. These dogs are infamous for their mysterious appearance and equally mysterious disappearance (often into an eerie mist), leaving no track or trace of their visitation.
On a Sunday morning in 1577, a storm thundered through the sky in Bungay Market in Suffolk. A Sunday service was being held in a local church when a fiery black dog appeared and killed two praying men, burning a third. Panic ensued, and the legend of Black Shuck was born.
A more benevolent tale is told by Johnnie Greenwood from Swancliffe. He was walking alone at night in the woods when a black dog padded up alongside him, accompanying him until he got to the edge of the trees. Later, two prisoners confessed to having plotted to rob and murder Johnnie that night, but they were deterred by the large black canine walking with him.
Another legend follows the deeds of the Dartmoorian squire Cabell, who was alleged to have sold his soul to the devil. He was a huntsman in life, and when he died in 1677, black hounds appeared 'round his burial chamber. His ghost was said to ride with these mysterious black hounds, and this very tale is what inspired Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous story "The Hound of the Baskervilles".
People would protect themselves from the black dogs by carrying around a cross, a picture of a saint, a coffin nail, a pair of iron scissors, or by sprinkling fresh water on the ground behind themselves as they traveled. Some also avoided crossroads, moving water, the woods, and large fields.Bul-Gae
불 개
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| Photo credit: Free Korean Dogs |
Cadejos
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| Photo credit: Pixabay (Pexels) |
The cadejos are two supernatural canines who appear to travelers at night in Central America and southern Mexico. There's a white cadejo and a black cadejo, whose roles reverse depending on locale. Typically, the white cadjeo appears in front of those who need protection from harm, and the black cadejo appears in front of people to threaten or kill them. Some people consider the black cadejo to be an incarnation of the devil. There are many regions in Central America with their own versions of the cadejo story, so there are many interpretations of what these supernatural canines appear like, mean, and do.
In some regions, the white cadejo is known to guard inebriated folks against those who mean them harm. In general, some people believe that if a white cadejo appears before you, it has come to protect you from something bad that would have otherwise happened to you. If a black cadejo appears in front of you, however, it is allegedly because you yourself meant to do something harmful in some way. Be warned, however, if you turn your back on either of the cadejos, some say that you'll lose your mind.
Both cadejos often appear as large, shaggy dogs with burning red eyes and cloven goats' hooves. The size varies depending on the region. In some lore, the black cadejo lurks in graveyards and alleyways, preying on passersby. It is said in these versions to have short, pig-like hair, and to make rattling sounds in the back of its throat. It smells strongly of urine and sulphur. If you make eye contact with this devil-dog, you'll be frozen in fear.
In yet further versions of the tale, the cadejos have even more bull-like qualities, or smell strongly of goat when you get near them. In some legends, the cadejo is said to be dragging a chain behind it, and the Spanish word "cadena" (chain) is thought to perhaps be where the word for cadejo is derived from. There is also an animal referred to as a cadejo by some: the Tayra, a large weasel-like animal. Some say this may be the source of the legend.
According to the stories, many have tried to kill the evil cadejo, but those who try inevitably fail and breathe their last. Though, further tales suggest that if one did kill a cadejo, it would stink terribly and the body would mysteriously disappear. It seems as though they might not be able to be killed with any sort of permanence. The cadjeos have been known to do battle in some regions, with the white cadejo, the good cadejo in those regions, always winning the fight. This may be symbolic of good always triumphing over evil.
Cerberus
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| Image credit: By Wilhelm Janson, Antonio Tempesta |
Cerberus, also known as the Hound of Hades, was the multi-headed dog tasked with guarding the gates to the underworld in Greek mythology. He made sure the dead didn't leave and those who entered, stayed. Cerberus was the child of Typhon and Echidna, who had a number of monstrous children.
He was most frequently depicted with three heads and an assortment of snakes on his body, occasionally with his tail also being a snake. Rarely he was depicted with one head, sometimes two, and occasionally he wasn't a dog at all, but a hundred snakes. One writer, Hesiod, claimed Cerberus had fifty heads and fed on raw flesh. Though his depictions varied, his myths were fairly otherwise consistent.
Cerberus was thwarted thrice by various Greek figures: Heracles, who stole Cerberus away and brought him up aboveground to complete his twelfth labor; Orpheus, who put Cerberus to sleep with his graceful lyre-playing so he could try to save his wife; and the Sybil of Cumae, who tricked Cerberus with a tasty (but drugged) honey-cake.
Heracles's twelfth and final labor to repent for his crime was to capture Cerberus and bring him to the king who he was completing these labors for. Hades, the ruler of the underworld and the god of the dead, allowed Heracles to do this so long as he didn't use weapons. Of course, depending on which narrative one reads, the tale varies. Heracles used his lionskin as a choking device or used his own strength, depending on the myth, and subdued Cerberus. Heracles put Cerberus in chains and showed the king, who was horrified, and then paraded Cerberus around Greece before taking him back to Hades/releasing him.
The mythology surrounding Cerberus typically focuses on the few times that he was not able to do his job effectively, but he was otherwise an incredibly effective and fearsome guard dog.
Fenrir
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| Odin and Fenrir (1909) by Mabel Dorothy Hardy |
Fenrir was the wolf-son of the Norse god Loki and the giantess Angrboda. He had two siblings, the serpent Jormungand and the underworld goddess Hel. When he and his siblings were born, the Aesir gods foresaw the dangerous fates of these three children. Jormungand and Hel were sent away, but the Aesir were especially wary of Fenrir and so kept him in their home, Asgard, and raised him there.
Only the god Tyr was willing to approach Fenrir to feed him, and so they established something of a bond. Fenrir grew quickly, and the Aesir knew they had to do something. If he roamed free, he would cause much destruction to the world, so the gods devised a plan to trick him into fetters. The Aesir made it seem like a game to test Fenrir's strength, and they cheered and clapped when he broke out of the first two sets of chains. Underneath their masks of cheer, they were increasingly aware of the danger of his terrible strength.
The Aesir sent a messenger to the realm of the dwarves, known to be the best craftspeople in the realms. The messenger carried a special request for fetters of unmatched strength. The dwarves worked long and hard and crafted a chain called Gleipnir, which was so light and delicate-seeming that when it was presented to Fenrir, he was incredibly suspicious.
Fenrir demanded that if he was to allow Gleipnir to be wrapped about him, one of the gods must put one of their hands in his mouth. Only Tyr was brave enough to volunteer to lose his hand and break an oath, and so he placed his hand in Fenrir's mouth for the good of the world. When Fenrir realized he had been tricked, and he could not escape these fetters, he tore Tyr's hand off and swallowed it whole. In some retellings, he takes Tyr's whole arm.
Fenrir was wildly upset at having been tricked into unbreakable chains, and he howled endlessly as Gleipnir was tied to a boulder and a sword was jammed in his mouth to keep it open. From the drool that pooled from his lips there was birthed a river, Ván, or "Expectation". At the end of the known world in Norse mythos, Ragnarok, Fenrir will break free and devour everything in his path 'round the world and will kill the leader of the Aesir, Odin, the Allfather. It was also prophesied that one of Odin's sons would kill Fenrir in avenging the death of his father.
And there Fenrir lies until Ragnarok, howling, drooling, betrayed. This is why two of his names, Vánagandr and Vanargand, mean "Monster of the [river] Ván." Fenrir means "Fen-dweller" in Old Norse, sometimes translated as "He Who Dwells in the Marshes." He is also sometimes known as He is sometimes known as Fenrisúlfr, which is frequently translated as Fenris-wolf; and Hróðvitnir (fame-wolf).
Panhu
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| Image credit: Hong Kong Space Museum |
Panhu was a dog-god or a dragon-dog in Chinese mythology. In some myths, he came into being when the Chinese Emperor Di Ku's wife had an excruciating pain in her ear. The pain persisted for three years, and no physician or wizard was able to cure her pain until a particular man came along and extracted a strange golden worm or cocoon, depending on the retelling. Her pain went away, and she kept the strange golden thing in a jar (hu) with a plate (pan) over it. Several days later, a dog hatched from the cocoon, and was named Panhu after his unique birthplace.
The emperor and his family were very fond of Panhu and grew to love him dearly. As such, Panhu overheard many conversations, and one day Emperor Di Ku was so fed up with his enemy's general that he offered his daughter's hand in marriage to whomever could bring him his head. Panhu's ears perked up at this, as he thought highly of the Emperor's daughter.
Panhu promptly disappeared, worrying the Emperor's family greatly. He eventually returned, weary and sore-pawed, but triumphantly carrying the severed head of the aforementioned general. Some retellings of the myth explain Panhu's success in killing the enemy general to be dependent on the fact that when Panhu was seen trotting up to the enemy camp, they knew who Panhu was and took it as a great omen that the emperor's favorite dog had apparently abandoned him and come to join their cause. The enemy camp celebrated, and when everyone was drunk, Panhu snuck into the general's tent and bit his head off.
When Panhu returned to the Emperor's family, he was offered the best cuts of meat for his job well done, but he refused all food and sulked instead. When Di Ku realized that Panhu was disappointed because the emperor had not kept his promise, he tried to explain to Panhu that a dog could not very well marry a princess. To the Emperor's surprise, Panhu spoke up for the first time and told the emperor if that was the only barrier, there was an easy remedy. Panhu just needed to stay under a large golden bell for seven days undisturbed.
What followed depends on the retelling you read, but in one version, the princess felt sorry for Panhu for not having eaten in several days, so on the sixth day she lifted the edge of the bell to slide him some food and the spell was broken. In a different version, Panhu had to be sequestered under the bell for 280 days, and on the 279th, the emperor was too curious and peeked under the lip of the bell. In both cases, the transformation was complete save for the head, which remained that of a canine thereafter. In another retelling, there was no bell at all, and he simply transformed into a man when he married the princess.
In all cases, Panhu and the princess ended up married, and had twelve children together, who represent the twelve clans of Chinese mythology. This serves as an origin myth for multiple groups of Chinese peoples who self-identify with Panhul, the princess, and their twelve children as original ancestors.
Raiju
雷獣
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| Image credit: Ban KōKē 伴蒿蹊, (Wikimedia Commons) |
Raiju, meaning Thunder Beast or Thunder Animal, was a divine beast of Japanese mythology. Raiju was the wolf or dog-like companion of Raijin, the shinto Thunder God. Some myths claim for there to have been one primary Raiju, and other myths claim for there to have been multiple Raiju. There are many, many old recordings of encounters with Raiju.
The Raiju wass most often described as a wolf made of lightning, surrounded by lightning, or possessing a blue and white coat, with a thunderous rumble of a howl. The Raiju was also described in other forms, such as that of a weasel, fox, badger, cat, monkey, tanuki, monkey, crab, small dragon, or even a ball of fire or lightning energy. However, the most popular myths are typically those in which Raiju looked like a dog or wolf.
Raiju made a habit of sleeping in people's navels, so more superstitious folk would sleep on their stomachs during thunderstorms. They didn't want to get hurt or even killed when Raijin would spot Raiju whiling away the time with a nap in someone's belly button and send a lightning bolt to wake Raiju up. Some folks believed Raiju would only sleep in their navels if they slept outside or under a tree.
Some folks would light incense during thunderstorms to keep Raiju at bay, as Raiju was purported to dislike the scent. The scorch marks left on trees and buildings after a lightning storm were believed to be the claw marks of Raiju. Legend told that eating the blackened bark of a tree struck by Raiju could cure a toothache.
Sarama
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| Image credit: Devdutt Pattanaik |
Sarama was the godly dog who lived with the other gods in Indra's court, the first dog in Hindu mythology. Her name means "fleet one", and her official title was Devashuni. Sarama was considered in some texts to be the mother of all dogs, or even of all creatures with claws. In Hindu mythology, dogs were often associated with death, attachment, clinginess, and neediness.
Sarama first became well-known when Indra called on her to find Indra's stolen cows, who had been stolen by a gang of robbers called the Panis. First, Indra sent a bird who was bribed by the Panis with a curd. When the bird returned to Indra and claimed for there to be no cows, Indra kicked the bird in the stomach, causing it to vomit up the bribe and be proven guilty.
Indra knew that the cows had to be somewhere, so Indra called on Sarama to find them. Sarama tracked down the Panis and served as a highly effective diplomat, convincing the Panis to return the herd and also negotiating with Indra for there to always be milk provided to her future children to drink whenever they should want it.
In a different version of the story, it's Samara who was bribed instead of the bird, and after her vomiting, she is embarrassed and leads Indra to the cow herd as penance.
As Hindu mythology changed and evolved, as many mythologies do, Sarama's role in the pantheon shifted. She was the Noble Dog initially, but she grew to become a more sinister deity who stole fetuses away from the womb and preyed upon human children. Her own children, the Sarameyas, became the four-eyed messengers of Yama, the god of death, guarding the path to the afterlife.
Once, Sarama and her children were visiting the site of an important sacrificial ritual that was taking place. The dogs were shortly accused of licking the pot of milk that was going to be used for the offerings to the gods as part of the sacrifical service. Then, people began throwing stones at the dogs, and for this injustice Sarama cursed the people throwing stones so that the ritual would not be successful, and her curse worked, rendering their ritual futile.
Xolotl
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| Image credit: Wikimedia commons |
Xolotl is the Aztec underworld dog god, often portrayed as dog-headed, emaciated, and possessing backwards feet and empty eye sockets, representative of his connection to sickness and deformity. He is the twin brother of Quetzalcoatl, the Aztec god of wind, sun, learning, and science. In contrast, Xolotl is the god of fire, lightning, dogs, twins, monsters, and misfortune, as well as sickness and deformity as mentioned above. The Aztecs viewed twins as a deformity and dogs as filthy creatures, so suffice to say, Quetzalcoatl was more popular than his twin.
In one myth, the godly twin brothers traveled to the Aztec underworld, Mictlan, to gather bones in order to create humans. Some say that Xolotl brought fire from the underworld in order to give it to the human beings. This likely cemented his connection to the element of fire.
Xolotl was also considered to be the evening star (his twin being the morning star), and it was his duty to serve as protector and guide of the Sun on its danger-laden nightly journey through the underworld. It was also Xolotl's duty to serve as a psychopomp, or one who leads the recently deceased to the underworld.
One legend that explains how Xolotl came to have empty eye sockets has to do with the rising of the Fifth Sun and the creation of Humanity. The gods had created the Fifth Sun but it wasn't moving, and Tonatiuh, the god of the Fifth Sun, asked the gods to sacrifice themselves so that the sun might rise and move. The other gods sacrificed themselves, and according to one legend, Xolotl didn't partake and cried so much his eyes fell out.
In another legend, Tonatiuh asked Xolotl to act as the executioner of the gods and then kill himself afterward. He did this in some myths, but in others he played the role of the trickster and escaped the sacrifice. He accomplished this by transforming into a maize plant (xolotl), an agave (mexolotl), and finally an axolotl. For his final transformation, he hid in Lake Xochimilco.
What follows after his transformations depends on the retelling. In the version where the other gods already died, he is found out and killed by the god Ehecatl-Quetzalcoatl. In another version, he hides away before the sacrifice, and is found by his twin brother Quetzalcoatl. Quetzalcoatl forgives him, but Xolotl must stay in Lake Xochimilco as an axolotl forever. This is the only lake in the world where the animal the axolotl is found naturally.
Additional sources:
Christie, Anthony (1968). Chinese Mythology. Feltham: Hamlyn Publishing. ISBN 0600006379.
Encyclopedia of Korean Folklore and Traditional Culture Vol. III by The National Folk Museum of Korea (South Korea) 길잡이미디어, 2014 ISBN 9788928900848
Jue, Liu. “'Tails' of Ancient Dogs.” The World of Chinese, 27 Feb. 2018, www.theworldofchinese.com/2018/02/tails-of-ancient-dogs/.
Korean Breeds of Dog in Korean. Retrieved from 2015 by Wayback Machine
Orchard, Andy (1997). Dictionary of Norse Myth and Legend. Cassell. ISBN 0-304-34520-2.
Simek, Rudolf (2007). Dictionary of Northern Mythology. translated by Angela Hall. D.S. Brewer. ISBN 0-85991-513-1.
Written by Skye Isabella Rose Iwanski
Inspired by the "mytho doggos" art of erinyedust
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