Sunday, August 12, 2007

Stamp of the Day: Kraken

Kraken is a mythical giant squid off the coasts of Iceland and Norway, and LA is really the expert on this subject, not me. This fierce ocean beast has been shown on at least two stamps. One features Disney's animated movie of Jules Verne's Twenty thousand leagues under the sea. I guess this is one of those cases where the myth actually might be real, since there really are giant, giant squids down deep in the oceans.

3 comments:

LA said...

The Kraken comes from norse mythology and is supposed to be the creation of Njord, the god of the sea. It is a cross between a giant squid and an octopus and is supposed to be larger than a cargo ship. It is pernounced 'krau-kin' in norse mythology. It was later adopted into eruopean mythology and suprisingly, into pirate folklore.

LS said...

When you say 'European mythology' do you mean the druids and knights of England, or what kind of people and places? Did the Romans know about Kraken?

Krake in Swedish mean a tiny, puny little creature, something to feel sorry for. Obviously it has nothing to do with the word for this giant sea monster.

O.K. said...

When fishing for giant squid, bait with squid.