There are many dark spots in the history of mankind that science cannot illuminate. Modern research methods are not distinguished by elegance and variety. According to archaeologist Sergei Orlov: “Our modern civilization has built for itself a historical paradigm that has created the illusion of knowledge about the past of our planet. In fact, this concept has nothing to do with the true state of affairs."
Indeed, there are a lot of mysteries in our history. Often the ideas of our distant ancestors are ridiculed by modern researchers, but as it turns out, this is completely unfounded. Our ancestors really wrote about real events.
The most striking example is a passage from the Bible, which tells about the absorption of the prophet Jonah by a whale. In the 19th century, this piece of Scripture was subjected to all kinds of criticism. Literally in the middle of the same century, an event occurs that confirms the possibility of such a situation. The whaler was swallowed by a whale, after the whale was killed a few days later, the loser was taken out of its womb.
Thus, one should not subject the legends to unequivocal criticism; first, it is necessary to comprehensively understand a separate issue.
Sea monsters: the scourge of the ancient sailors
Various monsters appear in the legends of the peoples of the world. Probably the most famous sea monster is the lord of the seas, the horror of sailors - the Kraken.
It is currently impossible to determine the exact date of the origin of the legends about this monster. Until recently, it was believed that the Danish bishop Eric Pontoplidan in 1752, in his essay on oral legends and myths of the northern peoples of Europe, first mentioned this creature. Eric wrote: "the inhabitants of the coastal regions of Iceland and Norway firmly believe in the mysterious sea creature, which is called KRAKEN among themselves."
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According to his treatise, the monster is distinguished by a bad character, rancor and aggressiveness, has a cunning and sophisticated mind. Despite such a detailed description, the bishop of the Catholic Church does not describe this monster at all.
Until recently, oral histories dedicated to this monster were considered the folklore of exclusively northern European peoples. However, as recent archaeological finds show, the monster was known throughout the ancient world.
The ancient Roman writer Pliny the Younger assured that the squadron of Mark Antony was destroyed by a sea animal that was smart, cunning and was simply gigantic.
Another ancient writer and historian Sizomen, who lived in the 6th century, wrote that many sailors fervently pray to the Living God to protect them during sea voyages from a terrible monster. Sizomen calls this beast "Kalos", which is translated as bad, foreign, alien.
Hippocrates wrote in his "History" that the unlucky sailors who dare to go far out to sea from the coast are trapped by the sea animal "Fricto Sirios".
Based on the preserved ancient written evidence of the peoples of the world, a stable idea is being created about the existence of a certain marine inhabitant who attacked ancient sailors. Unfortunately, there is no more information regarding this monster.
What did the Ancients want to say?
So, the ancient peoples were sure that a creature of large sizes lives in the sea, capable of destroying ships. Not one of the writers who mentioned the monster did not award the creature with their own name. The writers called the creature: a terrible beast, a monster, bad and rewarding it with such non-flattering epithets. The question arises, where did the term "Kraken" come from in modern literature?
In the legends of the peoples of the north, a creature appears, which is designated by the term "KGANEN", which literally can be translated as "incorrect", "distorted". Most likely, this word meant everything that was different from the ordinary and carried a danger to a person.
Some researchers suggest that Bishop Erik incorrectly conveyed the Norwegian word "KGANEN" in his work. Redesigning it as "KRAKEN".
Maybe it still exists?
In the 17th and 19th centuries, zoologists from all over the world began to put forward theories that a certain creature, or rather a whole species of marine life, of enormous size, unknown to science, could actually exist. So, in 1861, Linnaeus Karl wrote a treatise "The System of Nature". In the essay, he tries to classify various sea creatures. Linnaeus introduces the concept of "kraken" into his scientific classification, referring this species of giant creatures to cephalopods.
What was the reason for such an act on the part of a famous scientist? It turns out that just a few years before the book was published, the fishermen managed to catch a piece of the body of a truly gigantic creature. Linnaeus is one of the few who conducted research on the remains of an unknown animal. His findings were truly amazing. The scientist suggested that during life the creature reached 30 meters in length and merrily more than 40 tons.
Throughout the 19th century, then the 20th century, various reports come from all over the world that people encountered the Kraken. Unfortunately, in most cases, researchers end up with dead creatures.
Only in 2004, a Japanese oceanologist managed to catch a squid, which reached a length of 12 meters. Then in the scientific world fierce battles unfolded over the possibility of confirming the legend of the Kraken. However, the lack of evidence did not allow us to reliably state that the sea monster was not a fiction of our ancestors. Soon, the controversy died down and the incident was forgotten.
In 2016, in Indonesia on the northern coast of Seram Island, Malacca province, a local resident found the remains of a strange creature resembling a giant squid. The length of the monster was more than 35 meters, and the width of one tentacle was 2 meters. The carcass of a dead specimen weighed 20 tons.
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Thus, there is a possibility that soon another legend will be confirmed. Skeptics from the scientific world will have to admit that our common ancestors did not invent fables. In oral legends, they retell exactly what they saw with their own eyes.