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| From Wikipedia |
Little known in
modern times, the Peryton was an animal feared by ancient peoples, for these
beasts often hunted humans out of spite. Resembling a winged deer, the Peryton
had the antlers, head, and legs of a deer. In addition, this beast possessed
the wings and body of a bird. Furthermore, some Europeans thought that Perytons
were relatives of the Stymphalids, the man-eating birds of Arcadia.
Jorge Luis Borges
(Argentina, 1899 - 1986) documented in his “The
Book of Imaginary Beings” (1969) that the Peryton had originally came from
Atlantis. When that continent sank, these beasts fled east beyond the Pillars
of Hercules to the mountains of Greece and North Africa. Since they perceived
that Atlantis, their home, was destroyed by humans, the Perytons sought their
revenge by murdering people.
Whenever a Peryton
hunted, the beast would cast the shadow of a human on the ground. Since it was not
vulnerable to human weapons, a Peryton could easily kill a person. However once
the beast did so, its shadow was transformed into that of a winged deer. According
to Dr. Karl Shuker, (U.K., 1959 - ) a zoologist and cryptozoologist, a Peryton
lost its invulnerability after slaying a person. Moreover, the beast could only
kill one human in its lifetime.
Roman accounts tell
that a sibyl prophesied that the Perytons would bring about the end of Rome.
During the Punic Wars (264 BCE to 146 BCE), these beasts fought for Carthage
against the Romans. From their home in North Africa near the city, Perytons regularly
attacked Roman ships in the Mediterranean Sea.
During the Second Punic War in
218 BCE, Hannibal had attacked Rome. As he laid siege against the city,
Hannibal waited for more reinforcements to arrive from Carthage. Meanwhile the
Roman general Publicus Scipio Africanus sailed to North Africa to stop them. As
he sailed, the Perytons attacked his fleet killing many Roman legionaries. To
stop the on-going carnage, Scipio ordered the survivors to raise their large
square shields (scutum) towards the
sun. The reflection from these shields blinded the Perytons, which then fled to
the mountains of North Africa where they are reputed to be living today.
Various scholars have
claimed that Borges made up his stories about the Perytons. According to them,
Borges’ sources were bogus, and the Peryton was a figment of the writer’s imagination.
Borges, himself, claimed that his
information came from a 16th century Rabbi’s essay, who cited an
ancient Greek scholar. Borges said that the only known copy of this Rabbi’s treatise
was destroyed in World War II. Many think that this is very suspicious and
highly coincidental.
However, Dr. Shuker
points out the abundance of portrayals of winged deer in various cultures. He thinks
that Borges had other sources for his information about the Peryton. Dr. Shuker
points to the statues in Segovia, Spain, and at the palace grounds of
Linlithgow Palace in Scotland as evidence.
Meanwhile, Caspar
Henderson (U.K., 1963 - ), author of “Book
of Barely Imagined Beings: A 21st Century Bestiary,” asked, “which dreams are wholly fantastical and which are vision or
distortions of what is real or has the potential to be so?” Henderson observed
that life is inventive and creatures today are as fantastic as the ones that
Borges wrote about. Therefore, the Peryton exists whether we want to believe Borges
or not.
Works
Used:
Allan, Tony, “The Mythic Bestiary,” Duncan Baird: London, 2008.
Henderson, Caspar, “Rereading The Book of Imaginary Beings by Jorge Luis Borges,” “The Guardian,” 23 November 2012, http://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/nov/23/caspar-henderson-rereading-jorge-luis-borges,
Nigg, Joseph, “The Book of Dragons and Other Mythical Beasts,” Quarto: London, 2002.
Shuker, Karl, “‘And Hast Thou Slain the Peryton?’ – An
Antlered Atlantean,” ShukerNature, 21 November 2011,
http://karlshuker.blogspot.com/2011/11/and-hast-thou-slain-peryton-antlered.html,
.
Zell-Ravenheart,
Oberon and Ash DeKirk, “A Wizard’s
Bestiary,” New Page Press: Franklin Lakes, NJ, 2007.
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