In looking for myths related to mythological creatures there seems to be a pattern as to the roles the animal plays in the myth. This pattern is directly related to the importance given to animals in that culture.
In Greek and Roman mythology most often this role is a secondary or a tertiary one. In the love myth of Cupid and Psyche a direct reference is made as to why ants live underground. According to the story, they fear Venus’ wrath because they helped Psyche to overcome the second of the tasks she needed to perform. The first striking aspect, as I read this and other myths, is how closely they parallel in their trials and tribulations the telling and retelling of folk tales. These myths of why things are motivate the listener to take part and to do comparisons among closely related myths. These stories could be best used at story time or as prompts to the writing of a new myth as the children’s knowledge of myths is developed.
Sometimes it is possible to trace the birth of a myth to a part of the world where it becomes established; other times you can see it migrate from one culture to another; from one time period to the next, modified in different ways and at times with many other added symbolical values that may or may not have been there in their origin. This can be seen with an example such as the origins and myths of the Centaur, the sphinx, Pegasus, etc. The myth is seen in motion. We can study the origins and how it changes, taking other values as it is reinterpreted by other times or other cultures. We can study its influences in other areas of society such as the arts, the sciences, history, religion.
ADDIN ENRef South (1987) assigns mythical and fabulous creatures among five categories based on the use of physical characteristics or form. The first category is that of birds and beasts, next the human-animal composites, followed by creatures of darkness, and finally the fairies and giants. The evil mythological creatures outnumber those that are good. These creatures represent the full range from the completely good creatures such as the Ki-Lin, or Chinese unicorn, to the most evil one such the Windingo, a human flesh-eating-creature of Algonquin myth. Some myths have different associations in different cultures. Here the dragon is a good example. In the eastern cultures the dragon is seen as beneficial and good, while in the West it is associated with evil.
The first appearance of mythological and fabulous creatures in the arts is dated to 3,000 BC ADDIN ENRef (Mode, 1975). However, the creation of the myths would be dated much earlier. It is in Egypt and Mesopotamia that many of these myths have their origins. In ancient Egyptian art we have many representations of human-animal beings, especially animal deities with human bodies. From Mesopotamia we have depictions of such creatures as the Centaur, the Phoenix, human-fish composites, the dragon, etc. All these myths were passed onto the West, at times being modified (as in the case of the Phoenix by the Greeks) and then passed on again undergoing other changes.