SASA Inspires

➡️ For more on Penaggalans, see here: papers.iafor.org/wp-content/u...

👻 Similar monsters exist throughout Southeast Asia. Like the Manananggals of the Philippines, the Leyaks of Indonesia, and the Krasue of Thailand. No matter what distinguishing features or names these creatures have, they still have one thing in common. They’re all scary!

👻 Those whom she feeds upon contract horrible diseases, and if she were to brush you with her dangling entrails, you would develop painful sores. Some tried to protect their homes from Penanggalans by planting spiky plants meant to injure the spirits’ lungs outside their homes.

👻 Penanggalans are women who practice dark magic. During the day, they are powerful and beautiful, but at night, their souls leave their bodies, taking the form of a floating head with their organs hanging out from their necks. They would fly around and feed on the blood of women and children.

👻 Malaysia, home to tropical rainforests, great food, and of course, one of the most horrifying mythical creatures ever imagined.

🐂 You can watch the entire series here: archive.org/details/jim-....

➡️ For more on ‘The Storyteller: Greek Myths’, see here: www.ancientworldmagazine.com/reviews/jim-...

🐂 Tragically, Jim Henson died shortly after production on ‘Greek Myths’ began, but the people he inspired throughout his life continued with the project. If you’re looking for a spooky show to watch this October, consider both Greek Myths and the original Storyteller series.

🐂 The Storyteller, played by Michael Gambon, narrates these tales to his dog while they try to escape the Labyrinth. Each episode features classic Henson creativity, especially in the makeup department. In fact, the makeup and costuming for the characters is what makes the show so scary!

🐂 ‘The Storyteller: Greek Myths’ is a four-episode spinoff of an earlier production, simply called Jim Henson’s ‘The Storyteller’. While that show focused on European folktales, ‘Greek Myths’ covered the myths of Perseus, Orpheus, the Minotaur, and Daedalus.

🐂 Jim Henson is mainly known for his work on Sesame Street and the Muppets, but he also had a hand in an adaptation of Greek mythology that was so unnerving that NBC refused to air it in the United States.

➡️ For more on the etymology of the word ‘exorcism’, see here: en.wiktionary.org/wiki/exorcism

👹 The word ‘exorkismos’ evolves into ‘exorkizein’ in ecclesiastical Greek, where it specifically translates as ‘to banish.’ But it is not until it floats over to Latin and becomes ‘exorcismus’ in the medieval era that it began to be used with direct reference to expelling evil entities!

👹 The suffix ‘-ismos’ indicates an abstract noun in Greek that is used to depict a practice, condition or theory. To illustrate this, ‘-ismos’ evolves into the suffix ‘-ism.’ Think ‘journalism’ being the act or professional pursuit of researching information for newspapers, journals and the media.

👹 The word ‘exorcism’ comes from the Ancient Greek ‘exorkismos,’ which is an abstract noun meaning ‘binding by an oath.’ To break it down, ‘ek-’ or ‘ex-’ is a prefix that translates generally as ‘out of’ in Greek. ‘Orkos’ means ‘oath’, and it is where we get the modern English word from.

👹 An exorcism is the practice of removing or dispelling an evil, malevolent, or demonic entity possessing a human or place. Exorcism was popularized as a practice in the Christian world during the sixteenth century. But what of the word’s origins?

🐷 Overall, ‘Melas Zomos’ is a grizzly and curious insight into ancient culinary arts and the Spartan mindset.

➡️ For more on Melas Zomos, see here: www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?...

YouTube video by Tasting History with Max Miller Spartan BLACK BROTH | Melas Zomos

🐷 Like with many ancient dishes, we are unsure how often it was consumed, as it is mentioned everywhere from being a feasting delicacy to a staple of military rations. But you can check out an attempted recreation of the dish here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=oqQz...!

🐷 The soup was allegedly able to facilitate physical robustness and tenacity in the Spartans. Its origins are unclear, as are the details of its consumption, but ancient sources share the conclusion that this soup was consumed by the Spartans and was almost intolerable to anyone else.

🐷 The basic ingredients of the dish included pork, salt, vinegar, and blood. Owing to the value of meat, it was important to use every part of the animal. Beyond these basic ingredients, it is likely that it was mixed with herbs and maybe even onions and other local vegetables.

🐷 An army marches on its stomach, but it might make yours curdle to hear how the Spartans did it! ‘Melas Zomos’ was a soup culturally associated with the Spartans. It literally translates as ‘black soup,’ but it is sometimes known as ‘blood soup,’ owing to its grizzly ingredients.

Devouring Gods! What Was the Ancient Egyptian Cannibal Hymn? | TheCollector What does one of the most puzzling passages of the Pyramid Texts, the ancient Egyptian cannibal hymn, mean?

🍽️ The reigning theory interprets the Cannibal Hymn as metaphorical rather than literal. It likely symbolizes Unas’s absolute kingship over the world that transcends past death, sustained by the power of the gods.

➡️ For more on Cannibal Hymn, see here: www.thecollector.com/ancient-egyp...

🍽️ After its discovery, the hymn was first interpreted as a myth to discourage cannibalism and support the practice of mummification and entombment. This theory has been debunked, though, as there’s no evidence that cannibalism was rampant in this period in Egypt.

🍽️ These passages were part of the Pyramid Texts, specifically Utterances 273-276, inscribed inside royal tombs during the Old Kingdom period. The most documented comes from the pharaoh Unas’s pyramid, built around 2300 BCE in Saqqara.

🍽️ It’s the Cannibal Hymn from Unas’s tomb in Ancient Egypt! The inscription describes his superior power in the afterlife, sustained by the essence of the gods. He gains the ability to order the gods to slaughter others and serve him their entrails to nourish his power.

Monstrum: Leshy--The Slavic Lord of the Forest He can grow higher than the trees or smaller than a blade of grass. Both demon and deity, guardian and antagonist, the Leshy is rooted deep in the cultural and religious history of the Slavic people. ...

🌲 Ultimately, whether a Leshy is a trickster or a protector, both embody the forest. And though we think we’ve tamed the woods, maybe avoid whistling when you’re out for a walk in the night…

➡️ For more on the Leshy, see here: dcmp.org/media/13488-...

🌲 Unfortunately, there is not much recorded of their mythology prior to Christianity’s influence on the Slavs, which made the Leshy much more devilish in nature. So we may never know whether the trickster Leshy or the guardian of nature Leshy is more authentic to its original portrayal.

🌲 Those who traveled in the forest were careful not to offend the Leshy, avoiding harming plants unnecessarily and even refusing to whistle in fear of annoying it. Despite the Leshy’s hostile nature, they can be won over if given enough respect.

🌲 Nature can be both beautiful and cruel. This duality likely inspired the Slavic creature, the Leshy. A Leshy is a shapeshifting woodland creature, and it can take the shape of anything in the forest, big or small. It might guide a lost traveler home, or make sure they’re lost forever.

➡️ For more on Lamia, see here: www.theoi.com/Ther/Lamia.h...

🧛🏼‍♀️ Within the Witcher franchise, vampires are abundant. Although the lamia is cast alongside other sirenic vampires, the Witcher directly uses Philophrastus’ take of a beautiful woman with high intelligence who lures men to their doom with the intention of exsanguination.