Hybrid beasts in folklore
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Hybrid beasts are creatures composed of parts from different animals, including humans, appearing in the folklore of a variety of cultures as legendary creatures.
Assyrian shedu from the entrance to the throne room of the palace of Sargon II at Dur-Sharrukin (late 8th century BC), excavated by Paul-Émile Botta, 1843–1844, now at the Department of Oriental antiquities, Richelieu wing of the Louvre.
The falcon-headed Horus and crane-headed Seth.
Zeus darting his lightning at Typhon, shown as a hybrid with a human torso, bird's wings and a reptilian lower body (Chalcidian black-figured hydria, c. c. 550 BC, Staatliche Antikensammlungen Inv. 596).
Street festivities in Hyderabad, India, during the festival of Ganesh Chaturthi.
Harpy
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In Greek and Roman mythology, a harpy is a half-human and half-bird mythical creature, often believed to be a personification of storm winds. They feature in Homeric poems.
A harpy in Ulisse Aldrovandi's Monstrorum Historia, Bologna, 1642.
A medieval depiction of a harpy as a bird-man.
Harpies in the infernal wood, from Inferno XIII, by Gustave Doré, 1861.
Kylix Theseus Aison MNA Inv 11365 n 1