Kraken (pronounced /ˈkreɪkən/ or /ˈkrɑːkən/) are mythical sea monsters of gargantuan size, said to have dwelt off the coasts of Norway and Iceland. The sheer size and fearsome appearance attributed to the beasts have made them common ocean-dwelling monsters in various fictional works (see Kraken in popular culture). The legend may actually have originated from sightings of real giant squid that are variously estimated to grow to 13–15 m (40–50 ft) in length, including the tentacles. These creatures normally live at great depths, but have been sighted at the surface and reportedly have "attacked" ships.
That's right, folks: though the film is based on Greek legend, the original kraken was a Norse creature. This is a surprising mistake, considering Hollywood's long track record of historical accuracy. Accounts of a kraken (or at least kraken-like beasts) didn't appear until circa 1250 AD, long after Perseus, Pegasus, and all those other legendary guys with names ending in "sus".
Like the Loch Ness Monster and Elvis of today, the theory that kraken actually roamed the seas took hold and persisted in spite of scant evidence.
Carolus Linnaeus included kraken as cephalopods with the scientific name Microcosmus in the first edition of his Systema Naturae (1735), a taxonomic classification of living organisms, but excluded the animal in later editions. Kraken were also extensively described by Erik Pontoppidan, bishop of Bergen, in his "Natural History of Norway" (Copenhagen, 1752–3). Early accounts, including Pontoppidan's, describe the kraken as an animal "the size of a floating island" whose real danger for sailors was not the creature itself, but the whirlpool it created after quickly descending back into the ocean. However, Pontoppidan also described the destructive potential of the giant beast: "It is said that if it grabbed the largest warship, it could manage to pull it down to the bottom of the ocean".
If we are to make a gigantic leap of faith and believe these accounts, then the Kraken is certainly the largest animal on Earth, now and ever. More likely, what the sailors of the day were actually describing was a giant squid; an animal that, though not as enormous as a kraken, is very large and equipped with similar features. There are a few other possibilities as well.
Since the late 18th century, kraken have been depicted in a number of ways, primarily as large octopus-like creatures, and it has often been alleged that Pontoppidan's kraken might have been based on sailors' observations of the giant squid. In the earliest descriptions, however, the creatures were more crab- like than octopus-like, and generally possessed traits that are associated with large whales rather than with giant squid. Some traits of kraken resemble undersea volcanic activity occurring in the Iceland region, including bubbles of water; sudden, dangerous currents; and appearance of new islets.
So, really then, what we have here is a bunch of drunken sailors seeing squid and volcanic activity, and getting all worked up about it.
Even as a fictional beast, the kraken is pretty awesome. What can be more terrifying than an enormous monster that rises up out of the sea and drags ships down with it? Perhaps the kraken is the manifestation of humanity's fear of the unknowable, black depths of the oceans. We know more about the surface of Mars than we do about what's deep under the waves, and yet we all rely on the sea in some way or another. I suppose it's no surprise that kraken appear in popular culture so frequently, as evidenced by this page. There is something very alarming and appealing about a massive undersea beast that may or may not exist.
I shall close this article with one of the most tantalizing works with this beast as the subject: The Kraken by Alfred Tennyson:
Below the thunders of the upper deep;
Far far beneath in the abysmal sea,
His ancient, dreamless, uninvaded sleep
The Kraken sleepeth: faintest sunlights flee
About his shadowy sides; above him swell
Huge sponges of millennial growth and height;
And far away into the sickly light,
From many a wondrous grot and secret cell
Unnumber'd and enormous polypi
Winnow with giant arms the slumbering green.
There hath he lain for ages, and will lie
Battening upon huge seaworms in his sleep,
Until the latter fire shall heat the deep;
Then once by man and angels to be seen,
In roaring he shall rise and on the surface die.
I would think most people have heard of a Kraken considering how popular the Pirates of the Carribean movies are.
ReplyDeleteRegardless, your post has encouraged me to read up on the Greek mythology tale of Perseus, which of course led me on a trip through constellations... Wikipedia is a dangerous place.
Oh right ... yes it was in one or two of those movies.
ReplyDeleteI actually learned about kraken from Age of Mythology.
They are a very common tattoo image...usually as a sleeve.
ReplyDeletei want a kraken that I can command to do my bidding. That would be the best.