09.09.10 : Idea Entry : Half-Man Half-Beast

Example of Half-Man Half-Animal hybrids in Greek Mythology include : Centaur (horse-man), Echidna (snake-woman), Harpy (bird-woman), Mandrake (plant-man), Mermaid (woman-fish), Minotaur (bull-man), Satyr (horse-tailed man; later, goat-man), Siren (bird-woman), Sphinx (woman-lion-bird), Tragelaphos (goat-stag).


The best known of these Half-Man Half-Animal hybrids is the Centaur. According to The Book of Imaginary Beings, Centaurs are a well-known beast with the torso of a man and the hindquarters of a horse. Most are portrayed as savage beasts, but others can be well learned in many arts. Many mythological hybrid bring the the best feature in a man and an animal to combine them into a new creature that has more skills. Many of these hybrids were created in stories told of heroes who conquer these outstanding and powerful creatures.

Borges, Jorge Luis, Margarita Guerrero, and Andrew Hurley. The Book of Imaginary Beings. New York: Viking, 2005. Print.

Barringer, Judith M. Art, Myth, and Ritual in Classical Greece. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 2008. Print.

Exhibition We Are Family
Sculpture by Patricia Piccinin

"Piccinini's works animate the promise and the perils of the runaway scientific developments that pervade our time. Her art embodies our dreams - dreams of perfect children, of perfect health, of life disease-free, and articulates the value of difference and uncertainty in human life."

Silversmith, Jane. "New Zealand Art Monthly - Articles." NZ Art Monthly - Home. Jan. 2003. Web. 08 Sept. 2010.


This idea of a Half-Man Half-Beast is very interesting to me since would like to continue to incorporate animals into my work, but an not sure how I would like to do it. Though creating these bizarre hybrids may be interesting, I don't know if this is were my work is heading.