Blind, dense, ancient sleep is embraced,

Under the formidable firmament, in the abysses of the sea,

The kraken lurks - to the depths of such

Neither a hot beam nor a thunderous peal

Not reaching...

So, buried in a gigantic abyss,

Feeding on shellfish, he will sleep,

As long as the flame, raising the water column,

Will not announce the end of time.

Then, roaring, the monster will emerge,

And death will end the ancient dream.

This poem by Tennyson is inspired by ancient legends about giant octopuses - the ancient Hellenes called these monsters polyps, and the Scandinavians called krakens.

Pliny also wrote about a giant cephalopod killed by fishermen:

“His head was shown to Lucullus: it was the size of a barrel and had a capacity of 15 amphoras (about 300 liters). He was also shown limbs (i.e. arms and tentacles); their thickness was such that a person could hardly grasp them, they were knotted like clubs, and 30 feet (about 10 meters) long.

A medieval Norwegian scribe described the kraken as follows:

“In the Norwegian Sea there are very strange and terrible-looking fish, whose name is unknown. At first glance, they seem cruel creatures and inspire fear. Their head is covered on all sides with sharp thorns and long horns, resembling the roots of a tree just pulled out of the ground. Huge eyes (5-6 meters in circumference) with large (about 60 centimeters) bright red pupils are visible to fishermen even on the darkest night. One such sea monster can drag a huge loaded ship to the bottom, no matter how experienced and strong its sailors are.”

Engravings from the time of Columbus and Francis Drake, among other sea monsters, often depicted giant octopuses attacking fishing boats. The kraken that attacked the ship is depicted in a painting hanging in the chapel of St. Thomas in the French city of Saint-Malo. According to legend, this painting was donated to the church by the surviving passengers of a sea sailing ship that fell victim to a kraken.

BLOODTHIRSY BEASTS FROM THE Abyss of the Sea

However, scientists were skeptical about such stories, including the kraken in the same company of mythical creatures along with mermaids and sea snakes. But everything changed in 1873, when the corpse of a giant cephalopod was found on the coast of Newfoundland. Marine biologists have identified the find as an unknown species of squid, dubbed the giant squid (Architeuthis). The first discovery of a dead giant was followed by another series of finds in the last quarter of the 19th century.

Zoologists have even suggested that the krakens in ocean depths ah, at that time some kind of pestilence attacked. The size of the mollusks was truly gigantic, for example, a squid 19 meters long was found off the coast of New Zealand. The giant's tentacles were of such a size that lying on the ground, the squid could reach them almost to the 6th floor, and the eyes were 40 centimeters in diameter!

Having received material evidence of the existence of giant octopuses, scientists began to treat stories of kraken attacks on people with less skepticism, especially since medieval legends about bloodthirsty sea monsters have found modern confirmation.

So, in March 1941, in the Atlantic, a German raider sank the English transport Britannia, from whose crew only twelve people escaped. The surviving sailors were drifting on a life raft waiting for help, when at night a giant squid, emerging from the ocean depths, grabbed one of the raft's passengers with its tentacles. The unfortunate man did not have time to do anything - the kraken easily tore the sailor from the raft and carried him into the depths. The people on the raft waited with horror for the new appearance of the monster. The next victim was Lieutenant Cox.

Here is how Cox himself wrote about it:

“The tentacles quickly swept over my legs, and I felt terrible pain. But the octopus immediately released me, leaving me writhing in the throes of hell ... The next day I noticed that large ulcers were bleeding where the squid grabbed me. To this day I still have traces of these ulcers on my skin.”

Lieutenant Cox was picked up by a Spanish ship, and because of this, his wounds were examined by scientists. By the size of the scars from the suckers, it was possible to establish that the squid that attacked the sailors was not at all large sizes(7-8 meters in length). Most likely, it was only a cub of architeuthis.

However, larger krakens can also attack ships. For example, in 1946, the Brunswick tanker, a 150-meter long ocean-going vessel, was attacked by a giant octopus. A monster more than 20 meters long emerged from the depths and quickly overtook the ship, moving at a speed of about 40 km per hour.

Having overtaken the “prey”, the kraken rushed to the attack and, clinging to the side, tried to break through the skin. According to zoologists, the hungry kraken mistook the ship for a large whale. In this case, the tanker was not damaged, but not all ships were so lucky.

MONSTERS OF TERRIBLE SIZES

What are the largest krakens? The largest architeuthis washed ashore had a length of 18-19 meters, while the diameter of the suction cups on their tentacles was 2-4 centimeters. However, the British zoologist Matthews, who examined 80 sperm whales caught by whalers in 1938, wrote: “Almost all male sperm whales bear traces of suckers ... squids on their bodies. Moreover, traces with a diameter of 10 centimeters are a fairly common thing. It turns out that 40-meter krakens live in the depths?!

However, this is far from the limit. Naturalist Ivan Sanderson, in Chasing the Whales, stated: "The largest footprints on the body of large sperm whales were about 4 inches (10 cm) in diameter, but scars over 18 inches (45 cm) in diameter were also found." Such tracks could only belong to a kraken at least 100 meters long!

Such monsters may well hunt whales and sink small ships. More recently, New Zealand fishermen caught a giant cephalopod called the "colossal squid" (Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni).

This giant can reach, according to scientists, even larger sizes than architeuthis. However, you can be sure that other types of giant octopuses lurk in the depths of the sea. In this regard, it is worth remembering that, judging by the surviving descriptions, the kraken was not a squid, but an octopus of monstrous size.

Modern science does not know octopuses larger than a few meters. However, in 1897, a huge dead octopus was found on the coast of Newfoundland, which was mistaken for a giant squid. According to the measurements of Yale University professor A. Verrill, the octopus had a body about 7.5 meters long and twenty-meter tentacles.

Of this monster, only the part preserved in formalin has survived. As modern studies have shown, the monster thrown ashore was not a squid at all, but a gigantic octopus! Probably, this was a true kraken, young and small in size. And his relatives, larger than the largest whale, are still hiding from science in the depths of the ocean ...

How I love Pirates of the Caribbean! great music, vivid images juicy picture! Fights, chases, mysticism, intrigue... This franchise made me take a fresh look at Hollywood cinema, made me fall in love with myself and still does not let go. Of the blockbuster series, I love the X-Men more. “The Curse of the Black Pearl was a great fairy tale for all ages with lots of funny, scary and tense moments. "Dead Man's Chest" turned out to be incredibly eventful, dynamic and significantly expanded the universe. "At the End of the World", although it came out a little chaotic, it adequately completed the trilogy. Well, five years later, the heroes beloved by everyone returned in the part “On strange shores».
The fifth film in the franchise is coming out in May, Dead Men Tell No Tales, which I'm looking forward to. But you already understood from the title that not everything is so simple. So here are the top 11 annoying Pirates of the Caribbean moments!

In I deliberately did not mention the flywheel of time, I ignored the eagles. There will be no bracketing here, because there are simply no such well-known plot holes in the plot. It's a pity.
11. Undead Monkey


The hilarious monkey named Jack is the ultimate example of how you can make a character for comedic relief without being annoying. In the scene after the credits of the first part, she steals a coin from the chest, turns into a walking dead man and makes the final screamer in the camera. Of course, Verbinski and the company did not abandon such a funny character and included him in subsequent films, and in the third part they also endowed him with incredible intelligence. But ... she repeatedly appears in the frame at night in subsequent parts! By the light of the moon! And there are no signs of her "corpse-likeness" at all! That is, the creators initially scored on this detail. It seems like a trifle, but it is very striking!

10. Pintel and Ragetti got good

Another hello from the first part. Most of Barbossa's immortal crew from The Curse of the Black Pearl were completely unmemorable thugs. But there was a pleasant exception. Charming couple Pintel and Ragetti, who somehow reminded me of the duo of robbers from Home Alone. And in the sequel, they decided not to abandon them and made them good. They even teased this moment a little, making one of them a devout person reading the Bible. As often happens, bandits decide to take the right path and find their salvation in the holy books. But damn it, I couldn't just forget the sins of the first part! At their first appearance, Pintel shamelessly shoots an innocent butler with the cynical phrase "Walked a long time!". It is clear that a pirate is, in principle, a violator of the law. But this scene is very jarring, especially when viewing subsequent parts.

9. Davy Jones' stash


In general, everything that happened with the Davy Jones Cache is some kind of one drug trip. As it is customary to write in such cases: "So many questions and so few answers." Why, after eating the Kraken, the "Pearl" and Jack ended up intact somewhere incomprehensibly where? What are these crabs? Why did he “float” to the seashore with their help? And do other ships that the Kraken eats also fall into this "cache"? If yes, what size is it? And how did it happen that the pirates who came to the rescue immediately found Jack? Although, of course, it cannot be called a strong jamb. Because everything can be answered: "It's magic, shut up and watch!"

8 Elisabeth's Stupid Blackmail That Worked


One of the weirdest scenes in the first part. At the first viewing, it does not raise any questions at all, but it is worth reviewing the film, and you are already thinking: pirates, what is wrong with you? So, Barbossa's team finds the last coin of cursed gold and, as it seems to them, the daughter of Bill Bootstrap (why they didn't know that Bootstrap had a son and not a daughter is another story). And Elizabeth begins to dictate terms to the pirates. How did she do it? She began to threaten to throw the locket overboard. But... But... But it's completely pointless! A little earlier, the pirates themselves say that they are drawn to gold, especially in the water! In fact, they found the coin when Elizabeth inadvertently fell into the sea with it. And further footage showed that they calmly walk on the seabed. So what prevented them from going down and calmly picking up the medallion? In addition, in the blackmail scene, they were standing in the bay, which means that there would be absolutely no problems with this!

7. Physics went out for a smoke and never came back


I don’t understand claims in the spirit of “the fact that Sparrow’s wound moves from the left side of his face to the right one confuses you, but the fact that the living dead walk in the film does not.” Because any fairy tale, any fantasy initially sets some laws of the genre, some conventions. But at the same time, a number of things in her should not differ from the real world, otherwise there would be zero sense in a fairy tale and one could do anything. The only tales that are initially set up to break any laws are Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass. And yes, I am not embarrassed by the revived dead pirates, but they will be embarrassed by banal movie bloopers and just stupidity. And here I am really confused by the endless violations of the laws of physics in the franchise. As far as we are given to understand, Jack and Will are two ordinary person like you and me. They weigh like normal adult men. SO WHY THE FUCK THEY MANAGE TO WALK ON THE BOTTOM AND CARRY AN OVERCUT BOAT LIKE A DIVING DOME?! This is completely unrealistic, if only they did not weigh 200 kg each. And how does Jack in the second part, running away from the natives, manage to fall from a gigantic height (albeit with a slightly slower fall) and not break anything? How do the characters in the third part manage to turn the whole ship over, albeit rocking it back and forth? Yes, even the scene of meeting Jack has no physical meaning - he swims up to the pier on an almost sunken boat, which, having gone under water, does not stop, but continues to move, as if it does not have a sail, but a motor.

6 Useless Calypso


The writers of the third part decided to surprise us with a few unexpected moves. And one of them was that the ugly sorceress Tia Dalma actually turned out to be the locked mistress of the sea Calypso. And so Barbossa had a long quarrel with the pirate barons, should she be released or not. It seems that everyone decided not to do this, but the hero of Geoffrey Rush did his own thing and still released her. Hoping for some goodies. And what did Calypso end up doing? Maybe she got her revenge on Davy Jones? Or vice versa, helped former lover? Revenge on the pirates who captured her? Or helped the pirates who freed her? What did she do? She stupidly turned into a whirlpool. So what? And why? And why? She is such a powerful goddess! And that's all she could do? An absolutely pointless and ridiculous scene that was needed solely to show a cool battle scene in a funnel.

5. Some kind of game with the curse of the Aztecs


As we remember, the pirates in the first part stole the cursed gold of the Aztecs and turned into the living dead. In the moonlight we saw their true nature - skeletons covered in decayed rags. They became immortal, but in return they lost the joy of food and feminine warmth. Their task was to collect all the lost coins and return them to their original place ... And all this curse will cause many questions. And why didn't the rest of the coin carriers become cursed - Will, Elizabeth? They kind of don't count because they didn't want to get rich on them? But after all, the monkey also hardly thought about buying bananas with these coins, then why did she become cursed? And why then were all pirates cursed? Did they all steal these coins? Surely someone stayed on duty on the ship while the rest climbed into this cave.
No less questions are the clothes of the dead. Here it is in the moonlight became decayed. And if they changed clothes, would the curse spread to the new clothes or would it remain on the old?
Well, the main question: the pirates clearly did not lead a peaceful lifestyle - even in pursuit of one coin, they cut out half a fort. And it’s scary to imagine how many people were put, collecting the previous ones. And did they really not cut off a single limb from anyone? Watch the scene with Governor Swan and the severed hand. It turns out that half of the Caribbean should be in revived limbs!
And when Will removed the curse, Barbossa immediately died from a bullet fired by Jack. Why then did the other pirates who fought with the soldiers not die from their wounds? And they were there for sure, and not alone.

4. Curse of Will Turner


The ending of the third part came out very dramatic. It seems that everything ended with a happy ending: the bad guys were defeated, the good guys won, but ... Everything is not so rosy. Will dies in Elizabeth's arms, but Jack saves him and makes him captain of the Flying Dutchman. It seems like it's good, but a heavy curse falls on the hero: he can go to land only one day in ten years. “The main thing is what kind of day it will be,” Will says beautifully. And at the very end, we are first shown that she and Elizabeth are spending time as part of a film with a children's rating, and 10 years later, a long-haired boy runs to meet a folder.
But nobody cursed Elizabeth! Nothing prevents her, for example, to sit down with Jack on the ship, ride to the Flying Dutchman and have mercy on her beloved Will, until his polyps and tentacles grow! Of course, he is a busy man, but he can find an evening for a sweetheart! Even the captains long-distance navigation I see my wives more often than once every ten years!
What's more, this entire ten-year curse is completely nullified by one negotiating scene on the islet. On one side are Jack, Barbossa and Elizabeth. On the other - Lord Beckett, Will and ... Davy Jones with their feet in a tub! So fir-trees-sticks, then put Will in a barrel and at least take them to the Gobi Desert! And you can also make a bucket for each leg - and let him walk where he wants, the main thing is not to spill it! The negotiation scene is really interesting, but this Jones in a barrel completely robs the curse of any meaning.

3. Pirate Lord Barbossa


An epic trilogy had to end epic. And one of brightest moments the third part - a mass congress of pirate barons from all over the world. At a large meeting there are barons from China, France, Turkey, Africa and other walking stereotypes. There is also Jack among them, which is strange in itself, given his "isolation" from the pirate brethren, and - here's a surprise! - Barbossa! This really hit me hard the first time I saw it. Somehow I didn’t pay much attention to the larger jambs and inconsistencies that are lower in the rating. And this raises questions from the very first second. On what basis did Barbossa become a pirate baron? We were told in the first part in plain text: "He was a cook in Jack's team and started a riot." Cock, Carl! Why on earth did a pirate baron go to work as a cook? Say: was it his plan to take possession of the fast "Pearl"? Let us suppose. Why didn't Jack recognize him then? After all, he should have crossed paths with him at least once, when all the pirate barons locked Calypso together! It is immediately obvious: the creators of the third part did not even bother to revise the first one, saying the legendary bad-comedian "SHAAAAAYUT!"

2. Merged Kraken


Kraken is one of the brightest monsters in general in world cinema. In the second part, we were shown all its inevitability and indestructibility. Severed tentacles grow back, shots from cannons are not taken, and if this beast rushed at you, then one can only hope that a dedicated team will find you in Davy Jones's chest. And the creators did everything right: almost until the very end they did not show us it in full and pumped up suspense before his next attack. And what will happen to the Kraken in the third part? But nothing, he will lie dead on the shore, and Pintel and Ragetti will jump on him! At the same time, he was killed by Davy Jones himself on the orders of Beckett. It remains only to ask: “What, so it was possible?”. Moreover, we were not even shown the actual process of the murder, because it must have been very epic. But the most incomprehensible - what for Beckett needed to kill the Kraken? This is indeed most powerful weapon who obeys Davy Jones who obeys you! It's like voluntarily destroying a nuclear warhead. I somehow did not notice any nobility in Lord Beckett to deprive myself of such an advantage! The only explanation is that the writers stupidly did not know what to do next with the Kraken and how to get him out of the final battle.

As a bonus today, I would like to mention an issue that is not specific to this series, but has spread to other films. Namely - the image of Captain Jack Sparrow. Johnny Depp was a 100% hit in this image in 2003. They say that many people auditioned for this role, including Jim Carrey, but Gore Verbinski managed to find someone who would play an extravagant hero, but within certain limits, and not like Jim Carrey. Alas, because of this role, the previously multifaceted actor Johnny Depp began to play the same character over and over again: Willy Wonka, Alice in Wonderland, The Lone Ranger ... And even in serious roles like the same Sweeney Todd's "sparrow" notes were traced. Although it seems like recent times the actor is getting better.

1. The entire Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides movie

There are successful sequels - for example, "Back to the Future" -2 and 3. There are sequels that come out even better than the original ("Terminator 2"). There are bad sequels. There are even terrible ones. But On Stranger Tides is even worse. He's just... no. This is an empty, not catchy film that evokes absolutely no emotions from viewing. After viewing it, only the question remains: why is it needed? No, of course, to cut down the dough on the franchise, but still. The original trilogy came out as a brilliant finished story, with amazing humor, great dialogues and popular phrases. Can you remember at least one phrase from the fourth part? The fourth part came out absolutely useless, optional. She does not develop the plot of the trilogy in any way, does not expand the universe in any way and does not try to start new story. That is, it seems like in the scene after the credits we were shown Penelope Cruz with Jack's voodoo doll, but even at the first viewing it became obvious: there is no development of the story here and never will be.
"On Stranger Tides" is remembered only for the fact that it constantly slips into quoting old phrases. There isn't even new music. All the same He's a pirate theme and a couple of non-catchy compositions.
Love line? God, she's pointless and miserable. Will and Elizabeth pissed me off in the trilogy, but at least their relationship was interesting. There is also a missionary and a mermaid, who do not even have a billionth share of charisma, doing meaningless things (why, for example, did the mermaid want to help the sailors who hunted her sisters?).
The villain? Come on, why should I be afraid of some man, even if he manages the ropes of his ship? I have seen animated skeletons, the terrifying Kraken and the Davy Jones team in previous parts! That's who inspired real fear - a crowd of immortal monsters from sea ​​depths! And then ... well, some regular pirate, who is not even a match for Barbossa from the first part, let alone Davy Jones. It is not clear why Jack was suddenly so afraid of him.
Do you remember that the post is called "top 11 most ANNOUNTING moments"? And what irritates me most of all in the fourth part is that there is simply nothing to hate her for! As a separate story, it looks quite tolerable, albeit a little clichéd. But I don't see any reason to love her (well, other than Penélope Cruz's breasts rising above her corset)! And it hurts as hell that such a posh franchise contains such an empty film.

As I wrote above, in May we are waiting for the fifth part of the adventures of Jack Sparrow ... Sorry, Captain Jack Sparrow. Orlando Bloom will return to the franchise, they seem to promise a cameo by Keira Knightley ... Well, the most colorful Geoffrey Rush is in place. And although I look forward to it with my heart, I understand in my mind that it is not worth waiting for any discoveries from her. And the reason for this is the useless fourth part. However, we should not forget that no one will take away from us three great first films. And thanks to Gore Verbinski and company for that! Are you savvy?

The legend and myths about the kraken are among the most widespread in the world. Everyone is trying to unravel the mystery of his existence. But who is the kraken?

The word itself came to us from the Scandinavian language - "krabbe".

In ancient times, science was not so developed, and people called all creatures more or less similar in appearance with one word. Therefore, Kraken is the common name for all huge squids and octopuses.

But legends describe a single monster that keeps all sailors at bay. Who is he?

Appearance of the Kraken

Despite the frightening stories, the kraken is a very real creature.

The giant monster has an elliptical body. In length it can reach about 3-4 meters, and in diameter - more than 100.

The color is usually grayish-transparent, shiny. And the body itself is jelly-like, which allows you not to react to third-party stimuli.

Outwardly, the kraken resembles an octopus: it has a head and several tentacles, strong and long.

According to legend, one tentacle with a large number of suckers is capable of destroying a ship.

Like all octopuses, the kraken has 3 hearts: a normal one and a pair of gills that push blood through the gills.

The blood circulating in his body is blue in color. A set internal organs almost standard: liver, kidneys, stomach. There are no bones in the body, but the brain is present.

The head of the octopus is the center of nerve nodes that controls all body functions. The sense organs - taste, smell, touch, hearing, balance, vision - are perfectly developed in them. Huge eyes have a complex structure: retina, cornea, iris, lens, vitreous body.

The kraken has one distinguishing feature: it has a specific organ resembling a jet engine in properties.

It works as follows: having drawn sea water into the cavity, the gap is tightly closed with the help of cartilaginous buttons, and then the water is pushed out with a powerful jet.

As a result of this manipulation, the mollusk is able to move with a strong push in the opposite direction at a distance of about 10 meters.

The kraken is also capable of releasing a cloudy liquid into the water when angered. It has a protective function and is poisonous.

It is almost impossible for a person to meet this giant, because he does not float to the surface or does it extremely rarely.

habitats

Krakens live in the open sea at a depth of 200 to 1000 meters. All oceans are the habitat of these molluscs, with the exception of the Arctic.

According to one of the legends, it is believed that krakens are guards guarding the untold riches of destroyed ships.

Maybe that's why it's so hard to find them.

According to numerous legends of all the peoples of the world, it is believed that the kraken rests at the bottom of the sea until someone wakes it up.

Who is it? Most likely the god of the seas. All sea creatures obey him.

His order is able to raise the kraken from the bottom and awaken from sleep in the name of the destruction of everything.

There is also a myth that a certain artifact controls the kraken.

In general, he is harmless, because he sleeps for centuries and does not touch anyone without orders. But if he is awakened, then the power of the kraken will destroy more than one coast.

Mythical creature or real organism

Yes, the kraken does exist. In the 19th century, the first proof of this was obtained. Three Newfoundland fishermen were fishing near the shore.

Suddenly, a huge animal appeared on the shallows and ran aground. Before swimming up to it, the fishermen peered for a long time, trying to understand if the creature was moving.

The dead carcass of a kraken was delivered to science Center where extensive research has been done.

Later, several more huge monsters were found. Scientists assumed that an epidemic or disease caused the death of so many mollusks.

The first explorer of the legendary kraken was Addison Verrill, a zoologist from America. It was he who gave the name to the animal and compiled a detailed scientific description. After that, the giants received official recognition.

Carl Linnaeus considered it reasonable to place krakens in the order of molluscs. In general, he was right. These monsters - octopuses - really belong to molluscs. An unusual fact is that the kraken - close relative snails.

The French zoologist Pierre-Denis de Montfort published his own research in 1802. In them, he proposed to divide the kraken into 2 species: Kraken Octopus, living in the seas of the north, described by Poinius the Elder, and a huge octopus, terrifying ships, living in the south.

The rest of the scientists did not accept such a hypothesis, believing that the evidence of sailors is not the most reliable source, since they could mistake volcanic activity or a change in the direction of currents for a kraken.

And only in 1857 they were able to prove the existence of a giant squid - Architeuthis dux, which could serve as the beginning of stories about the Great Kraken.

1852 was the time when a priest from Scandinavia was able to describe the legendary clam in detail. Erik Ludwigsen Pontoppidan and his "Natural History of Norway" gave the world a lot of imagination with a colorful description of the appearance of the monster.

Johan Japetus Steenstrup, a Danish zoologist, published a detailed work on krakens in general in the middle of the 19th century: he collected all the stories, evidence, images and drawings in one book.

And in 1853 he got hold of real evidence its existence - the throat and beak of a giant squid, which, apparently, were washed ashore.

1861, November - the first recorded meeting with existing kraken next to the island of Tenerife.

The commander of the ship that encountered the monster only recovered a small fragment of the tail, as the rest of the carcass fell into the water due to gravity.

legends

It turns out that the kraken is an ordinary mollusk, albeit of a gigantic size. Whence, then, frightening stories about a formidable monster? Of course, legends.

Scandinavia. Kraken, in their interpretation, is Saratan, an Arabian dragon or sea ​​serpent. It was about this monster that the sailors made up legends, the origins of which come from the giant squid carcasses found in the stomachs of sperm whales.

Traditions abound various stories about the meetings of the Vikings with the kraken.

One Viking set off on his ship to the Brythonic Islands, gathered a team and took a velva on the road so that she prophesied the path.

They set off on their way, and as soon as they left the fjord in full sail, a white veil covered the eyes of the velva, and she began to utter: “The moment we arrive at the lands of distant relatives, the ocean abyss will rise and a bloody island, unprecedented before, will rise, and descend a military army to the island, and this island will pull us to the bottom, for this is the word of Njord!

Naturally, the warriors of the unfavorable prophecy were frightened, but it was impossible to cancel the path. They sailed for several days and nights, and as soon as the sun rose, after these days, the shore became visible on the horizon.

The Vikings were delighted at first, all the islands are known and are on the maps, but then the sea foamed, reared up and something rose from the water. At first, the navigators thought that this was an island, but since they knew about the danger, they did not set foot on it. And the island continued to rise and soon, it was already a sea monster, huge, red, with long rods extending from a huge body.

Coming out of the waters of the sea, the creature wrapped its tentacles around the ship, and began to pull to the bottom. Frightened for their lives, the warriors took out their swords and chopped the creature's tentacles, and then its body into pieces. They managed to escape from death in the abyss of the ocean ...

Bermuda Triangle. It is believed that the Great Kraken rests in this area, which is why this place has become so mysterious. Losses are justified by the existence of a monster that captures everyone with its tentacles.

1810, the schooner Celestina, sailing to Reykjavik, noticed a huge luminous object in the water. Approaching, the sailors realized that it was creature resembling a huge jellyfish. It was 70 meters in diameter.

An English corvette en route to America rammed a similar monster. Only the ship was able to pass through the giant, as if through jelly.

After that, according to eyewitnesses, the kraken died and went to the bottom of the sea.

Evidence

• 2004 Falkland Islands. The fishermen's trawl caught a squid almost 9 meters long. It was taken to the museum.
• September 2004. Japanese scientists near Tokyo lowered under water, to a depth of about 1 km, a cable with food for squid and a camera. The giant monster took the bait, hooking its tentacle to the hook. For an hour he tried to free himself, and the cameraI was able to take 400 pictures. The giant left without one tentacle, which was subsequently sent for examination.

The image of the Kraken in art

• A. Tennyson, sonnet "Days of the Kraken"
• J. Verne, "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea"
• J. Wyndham, The Kraken Awakens
• S. Lukyanenko, "Draft" kraken lived in the seas of the world "Earth-three"
• D. Vance, Blue World
• "Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest"
• "Clash of the Titans"
• "Lord of the Rings"
• Game Tomb Raider Underworld
• World game of Warcraft
• P. Benchl "Creature"
• S. Pavlov "Aquanauts"

The kraken is well known modern man according to sea legends preserved from ancient times. Belief in sea monsters can be traced in the epic of most countries of the world that had access to the sea. The giant squid is found in many sources, under many different names. It was he who was once blamed for most maritime disasters.

In the article:

Kraken - the appearance and habits of a sea monster

There are two main versions of the description of the appearance of this monster. The first is a giant squid, the second is an octopus. At the beginning of the 19th century, near Iceland, sailors saw a giant luminous jellyfish, which was also called the kraken. If you believe the entries in the ship's log, its diameter was about 70 m. However, often any large sea monster with tentacles is called a kraken. In rare cases, the kraken resembles a crab, as well as a fish, which brings to mind the legends about - giant fish with a suction cup that stopped ships.

It was only in the 19th century that the French zoologist Pierre-Denis de Montfort proposed to distinguish two varieties of kraken. The first is a giant squid that lives in northern waters. The scientist believed that it was precisely such a kraken that Pliny described. The second variety is a giant octopus that lives in the waters of the southern hemisphere of the planet.

In all legends, without exception, large sizes are attributed to the kraken. According to the legends appearance miraculously described the sailors who survived after his attacks. So, the northern epic claims that the back of the kraken protrudes from the water and can reach up to a kilometer in size. Its tentacles are so large that they can cover absolutely any ship with them. Even the largest warships could not stand during the attack of the kraken.

The size of the giant squid or octopus is so large that sailors of past centuries sometimes mistook it for an island. There are sailors' stories that describe encounters with a creature of this size. Their plots are similar - the team landed on the island, which suddenly plunged into sea ​​waters. At the same time, a whirlpool often formed, dragging the ship with it. The Kraken has often been blamed for shipwrecks and maritime disasters.

The kraken doesn't break ships for fun. According to the legends, he needs fresh human flesh for food. He ate people who ended up at sea after the destruction of the ship. Surviving after a kraken attack is quite difficult. Legends describe that, like the octopus, it secretes a dark liquid. But the "ink" of the kraken, unlike that secreted by the octopus, is poisonous.

The legendary monster spends most of its time hibernating at the bottom of the sea. As a rule, at this time, part of his torso protrudes above the water, forcing sailors to mistake him for an island. Fishermen believed that a lot of fish always swim around the kraken. If you throw nets near it, you can get a solid catch. The Bishop of Bergen explained this by the fact that the kraken emits a huge amount of nutritious excrement that lure fish.

Kraken in various sources

The most common references to the kraken are found in northern mythology. It is believed that Icelandic sailors were the first people to see this monster with their own eyes. However, it is impossible to call it part of only the northern epic, since giant sea monsters were part of the mythology of many countries - along with other creatures. There are many synonyms for the word "kraken" - kraks, krabben, pulp, polypus.

Medieval Europe was no exception. Navigators and travelers have repeatedly described their encounters with this sea ​​monster, destroying ships with its tentacles. Pirate legends claimed that the kraken kept the treasures of sunken ships. He acts as an analogue of living on land.

The first handwritten medieval source describing this monster was the records of Bishop Eric Pontoppidan of Bergen dating from the middle of the 18th century. The author wrote down oral legends that were widespread among seafarers. He described the appearance of the monster differently than other authors. According to Pontoppidan, the kraken is a mixture of crab and fish of enormous size, comparable to the size of a small island. When moving, he formed whirlpools that pulled ships to the bottom.

In addition, the Bishop of Bergen wrote that the harmfulness of the kraken also lies in introducing confusion into the compilation of maps. Cartographers often mistook a huge clam for an island and put it on maps. It was not possible to find such islands for the second time.

The giant squid was also known in ancient Rome under the name polypus. Pliny the Elder wrote that he attacks not only on the high seas. Polypus also appeared on the sea coasts, where fish was salted. She was one of the favorite treats of thunderstorm sailors around the world.

According to Pliny, the polypus caused a lot of problems by eating all the salted fish. They tried to hunt him with dogs, but he ate them too. In the end, the giant squid was captured and sent to Lucullus, a proconsul who was known for his love of sumptuous feasts and gourmet dishes. The length of the tentacles of the polypus ancient rome was about 9 meters, and the thickness of the body was comparable to a human.

Encounters with the kraken - sea legends

In the 18th century, the St. Petersburg Bulletin wrote about a huge squid washed ashore in Norway. It was discovered by Norwegian sailors. They claimed that this is the real kraken, described in many legends.

In 1774, an English newspaper described the story of Captain Robert Jameson who saw the kraken. Team members confirmed his words. The captain's testimony about this case was given in court under oath. Robert Jameson spoke of a huge creature he encountered while sailing. Its length was about 3 kilometers, and its height was about 10 meters. The alleged kraken appeared from the water column, then disappeared again. In the end, he dived into the depths, causing a great wave of the waters. At the place where the sea monster swam, the sailors got a good catch, filling almost the entire ship with fish.

In 1811, an English corvette met with a kraken, making a voyage from Chile to the American shores. According to the stories of the team, he suddenly appeared above the water almost in front of the bow of the ship - just ten meters from it. Its size was impressive - sailors compared the creature to an island. On the at full speed the ship crashed into the kraken with little to no resistance. The sea monster did not survive the collision with the corvette. His remains went to the bottom.

Kraken and science

As early as the 18th century, there were suggestions that a particularly large squid or octopus could be a kraken. But until the end of the 19th century, science considered the existence of giant clams to be an invention of superstitious sailors. Skeptics explained the legends about them by volcanic activity, rapid and sudden change of currents, as well as the appearance and disappearance of small islands - all this is characteristic of the coasts of Iceland.

However, at the end of the 19th century, the discovery of Canadian sailors proved that the kraken is not only a character scary stories, but also existing animal. They spotted a giant squid sitting firmly on the shallows and helped bring it to the science center. Until the beginning of the 20th century, several more individuals were found washed up on the shore and surfaced on the surface of the ocean. It is believed that some disease killed them.

Science does not deny the existence of squids 10-12 meters long. In addition, it is known that octopuses living at great depths reach a larger size. This is proved by the traces of their suckers, found by fishermen on the skin of whales and sperm whales. It was large and giant squids that served as prototypes for creating the image sea ​​monster who killed sailors.

Not a single living individual resembling the legendary kraken has been caught to date. Museums display those that were found dead. Finds in the form of separate body parts of huge squids are also not uncommon. The largest individual caught alive reached 10 m in length. In addition, there is a giant squid that is found in the waters of Antarctica. It was first described in the 20th century from tentacles found in the stomach of a sperm whale. In the 21st century, videos of giant squids that reached 3-4 m appeared. The existence of giant octopuses has not yet been proven.