Giant squids are rare, but not references to ‘sea monsters’ in annals of history

Evidence of sea monsters across the world

This literature noted down by those on lengthy voyages have for long influenced popular history writing. They give detailed and very often exotic descriptions of unknown lands and living beings. These ancient literature and also art, is often peppered with depictions of huge serpents. A study done by Richard B. Stothers on the historical evidence of the sea monsters shows that there are three major sources for accounts of sea creatures- primitive myths, fossils of ancient animals and historical observations.

The so called sea monsters, whether mythical or real, have entered contemporary popular fiction, poetry and art in various forms. Across different cultures, the sea monsters have been given different names. For instance, in Norway and Greenland giant squids are referred to as Kraken, while the Hebrew Bible refers to the Leviathan as the primeval monster who was defeated by God Hadad.

The carcass found in Indonesia is believed to be particularly akin to the giant squid or the Kraken. The Kraken was first mentioned in a Scandinavian mythology wherein the protagonist travelling through the Greenland Sea, spotted two massive creatures, believed to be a reference to the Kraken. Ancient lores of the Kraken spoke about a tentacled beast that attacked voyagers on ocean. In May 2015 another creature, resembling the Kraken was found in New Zealand’s South island, with tentacles as long as 16 feet. In December 2015, another giant squid was reportedly spotted in Toyama Bay of central Japan.

Representation of a Kraken attacking a merchant ship in 1810. (Wikimedia Commons)

One of the earliest recorded accounts of a sea monster is Bagradas river incident that took place in 256 BC. The incident occurred midway through the First Punic War, when a Roman consular army invaded North Africa. The army, under the command of Marcus Atilius Regulus was encamped by the Bagradas river, when they happened to encounter an enormous reptile, of an astonishing size. The account of the encounter, then goes on to describe a long arduous battle that ensued between the army and the serpent, eventually resulting in the destruction of the latter. Modern commentators have interpreted the account of the serpent in the Bagradas river incident differing ways, from outright dismissal to the acknowledgement of definite existence of monstrous sea serpents.

Leviathan in the fresco The Last Judgment; painted by Giacomo Rossignolo, c. 1555 (Wikimedia Commons)

Other evidence of mythical sea monsters across the world includes the two-headed serpent, 85 feet in length that features in the Roman prodigy list of Cassius Dio in 229 AD. Then there is the account of the 100 feet long and 7 feet wide, sea monster reported by the Syrian polymath Posidonius in 75 BC. North Eastern America has several rock art evidence of sea creatures, often depicted as horned monsters, or mammals who breathed fire and believed to symbolise darkness and power. These images clearly depicted the fear associated with underwater beings in most cultures.

Evidence of sea monsters in India

Perhaps the most common depiction of sea monsters in India is that of snakes that occur in more number of ancient writings than those of any other country. While mythical snakes feature across several religious and folk traditions, an early historical account of a sea monster is that which features in Alexander the Great’s conquest in 327-325 BC. Members of Alexander’s army are believed to have encountered snakes as long as 24 feet. There are other accounts of the king’s personnel, who were believed to have kept as pets snakes of 120 and 210 feet in length.

An early historical account of a sea monster is that which features in Alexander the Great’s conquest in 327-325 BC. (Wikimedia Commons)

Inspired by the tales of Alexander’s army, several writers in the centuries following the conquest frequently wrote about huge ox-swallowing and elephant-toppling snakes in India. For instance, a writer in the post-conquest period wrote that snakes in India were as long as 500 feet.

There are other ancient reports of enormous worms and eels in the major rivers of India as well. For instance, as noted in the work of Stothers, Ctesias, the Greek physician and historian, in 400 BC mentioned huge worms of around 10.5 feet in the Indus river, which were believed to devour large animals such as the oxen. Similarly, the Roman geographer Statius Sebosus had claimed that “some blue worms in the Ganges rivers are endowed with pairs of gills measuring 9 feet in length and are strong enough to carry off elephants with their teeth.”

One needs to remember though that the context in which these descriptions of the sea monsters took place makes it difficult to separate out fact from fiction. While these might very well have been exaggerated and exotic accounts of fairly normal living beings, one can surely speculate of a time when the likes of the giant carcass found in Indonesia were alive and threatening the seafaring voyages of adventurous travellers.