Appearance: FFXII
We're back after a weeks holiday. To celebrate, in the Monday Monster slot we'll be starting on some of the Rare Game monsters from Final Fantasy XII. So each week for the next while there will be one or two of the creatures covered. To start off we have two giant turtles.
The Aspidocheolon, FFXII
Aspidochelon:
The Aspidochelon appears in the 2nd to 4th Centuary bestiary Physiologus. The bestiary describes plants, animals, and certain other natural phenomenon couched in moral and spiritual lessons. The text was originally written in Greek. Aspidochelon comes from the words ἀσπίς (aspis) and χελώνα (chelona) meaning 'asp' and 'turtle' respectively.
According the bestiary the Aspidochelon was a sea creature of immense size. Its rough skin mimicked a craggy island and it girt the outer edges of it's form with dunes and vegetation. Many a ship was said to land on these tempting shores. The sailors set up camp, lighting their fires and cooking their meats. Then, all of a sudden the great beast will dive to the ocean's depths dragging the men and ships alike to a watery grave.
A translation of the Physiologus can be found here.
The Aspidochelone, from a 1633 manuscript in the Danish Royal Library
Thalassinon:
The English name is most likely derived from the Greek work for the sea, 'θάλασσα' (thalassa). This turtle spawns on the Phon Coast so this name makes sense.
The Thalassinon
No comments:
Post a Comment