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The kraken ( / ˈkrɑːkən /) [7] is a legendary sea monster of enormous size, etymologically akin to a squid or octopus, said to appear in the sea between Norway and Iceland. It is believed the legend of the Kraken may have originated from sightings of giant squid, which may grow to 12–15 m (40–50 feet) in length.
Jun 10, 2020 · The myth of the Kraken is believed by many historians to have originated from the giant squid. If the Kraken is based on a giant squid, this could explain the description of the “belch” or “poop” the creature is said to emit – a confusion of the onlookers witnessing the squid trying to protect itself by squirting out ink.
- What Is The Kraken?
- Characteristics
- Cultural Representation
- GeneratedCaptionsTabForHeroSec
Off the coast of Norway, at the bottom of the ocean, the giant Kraken slumbers. When he wakes to an empty stomach, he heads up towards the ocean’s surface, bringing mighty ripples with him. Any ship who spots these ripples must flee or face destruction.
Physical Description
The earliest descriptions of the Kraken don’t give away too much information. They dwell on the creature’s size, claiming that he is “the hugest monster in the sea.” He is so large that he can swallow ships and whales. So large that his body can be mistaken for land, his mouth for a sound, and his teeth for boulders. So large that his movement can create whirlpools. Despite the lack of detail about his appearance, the Kraken’s size was enough to secure him a place in Nordic legend. Over time,...
Personality
With his whirlpool-making and ship-swallowing abilities, the Kraken is certainly a dangerous beast—but, unlike other sea monsters, he isn’t particularly interested in hunting humans. Most of the sailors who have gone down in the Kraken’s belly simply didn’t get out of the way fast enough. In fact, the Kraken is a rather lazy creature. It spends most of its time sleeping on the ocean floor. Even when it rises from the ocean floor to hunt, its strategies are passive. Of course, there are a few...
Special Abilities
The Kraken may be lazy, but with his size, he couldn’t fail to be powerful. Perhaps the most interesting thing about this beast is his unique hunting strategy. The Kraken feeds on fish—thousands and thousands of fish—but rather than swimming around the ocean, snapping up fish one by one, he has devised a way to make dinner come to him. After the Kraken digests a round of fish—which can take up to three months—he recycles the waste, spewing out so much vomit or excrement that the water around...
Origin
The Kraken was first described in 1180 by no less than the king of Norway. As decades passed, the beast’s legend grew larger and larger, with heroes in some of Norway’s first epic tales, like the Orvar-Oddr, having close encounters with the monster. By the mid-thirteenth century, naturalists had begun looking into the legend. The Konungs Skuggsjaelaborated on its appearance and feeding habits. Even into the eighteenth century, prominent scientists like Carl Linnaeus included the Kraken in the...
Modern Appearances
At the turn of the eighteenth century, the Kraken began to be relegated to works of fiction. It found a place in poems by Alfred Tennyson and in Herman Melville’s Moby Dick, Jules Vernes’ Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, and HP Lovecraft’s Call of Cthulu. Today, it remains one of fictions most popular sea monsters, appearing in movies like Pirates of the Caribbean, Clash of the Titans, and Game of Thrones.
Explanation
While science has discarded the idea of a mile-long monster lurking at the bottom of the ocean, it has discovered a sensational, Kraken-like creature: the giant squid. The giant squid, which does live in the waters off the coast of Norway, might have been encountered by early sailors. Giant squids can grow up to forty-two feet, the length of seven or eight men. Like the Kraken, they are bottom-dwellers who feed mostly on fish—although sperm whales often bare scars from their toothy tentacles....
Learn about the Kraken, a giant octopus-like creature that can swallow ships and whales, and create whirlpools with its arms. Find out its characteristics, personality, special abilities, cultural representation, and modern appearances in mythology, fiction, and science.
Sep 15, 2021 · Giant squid sightings are likely what inspired tales of the ship-destroying Kraken from Scandinavian mythology. Real giant squid live at depths of at least 2,950 feet (900 m) below the ocean's ...
- Patrick Pester
Jan 13, 2013 · For thousands of years, sailors have told stories of giant squids. In myth and cinema, the kraken was the most terrible of sea monsters. Now, it's been captured — on a soon-to-be-seen video.
Dec 30, 2015 · Learn how the giant squid, a real animal that lives in the deep sea, inspired the Nordic folklore of the Kraken, a monster that haunted ships and devoured sailors. Discover the scientific facts and myths about this elusive cephalopod and its predator, the sperm whale.
Apr 5, 2024 · A woodcut from the 1500s showing a sea serpent attacking a ship. kraken, legendary sea monster of Scandinavian and Norwegian lore, perhaps imagined from sightings of giant squids and octopi. Sailors have discussed giant sea monsters for thousands of years, and Danish historian Erik Pontoppidan described the kraken (as well as sea serpents and ...
