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There are quite a lot of creatures from our real world ancient myths, that exist in the world of GoT: giants, dragons etc.

However, are there any creatures that are mythical in both worlds? Creatures mentioned in either book or show which are mythical both in our real world ancient myths and myths of Westeros/Essos?

The only creature that comes to my mind is the Kraken from Scandinavian myths, as I am not sure if it exists in GoT although it is a symbol of Greyjoys.

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    Mermaids and ice dragons off the top of my head
    – Aegon
    May 29, 2019 at 14:28
  • @aegon Not sure if ice dragons are old mythological creatures, I think they are more a D&D invention.
    – vojta
    May 29, 2019 at 14:31
  • Oh they exist in the books, they are not altogether a D&D heresy. But what they are is decisively different than what many believe was an ice dragon in GoT.
    – Aegon
    May 29, 2019 at 14:39
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    @Aegon I meant Dungeon and Dragons, not showrunners of GoT :)
    – vojta
    May 29, 2019 at 14:40
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    wait, are you saying that dragons aren't real in our world? :(
    – Kepotx
    May 29, 2019 at 14:57

3 Answers 3

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  • Centaurs , opinions differ. Some think they actually existed in the dawn age. Others contest that they were no more than mounted warriors who were perceived as such by their victims.
  • Merlings Merlings, both male and female appear in sigils and stories. But there's no evidence that they exist, nobles like Tyrion Lannister think it's more of peasant nonsense.
  • Grumkins, don't need much introduction. They appear in bedtime stories and are supposed to grant wishes. Basically like Genies in our world.
  • Harpies, mythical monsters who have head and torso of a human female, Wings of a bat, legs of an eagle and tail of a scorpion. They are famous mostly as symbol of the Ghiscari Empire. Slightly different than our harpies who lack the tail and have avian wings rather than a bat's.
  • Sphinx because let it never be said that Ghiscari created a mythical half-human creature and Valyria did not. This one is supposed to have a human face, the body of a lion, the wings of a hawk and the tail of a serpent. Quite similar to Sphinx in the Greek myths.
  • Snarks also feature in Westerosi bedtime stories. They appear in at least one work of fiction in our world. (Credit: Raj )
  • A Cockatrice graces the banners of House Gargalen, quite similar to Cockatrice in our world. (Credit: Nolimon)
  • Griffins grace the banners of House Connington but there is no evidence that they exist in Planetos. Identical to our Griffins.
  • Hellhounds appear in both Westerosi myths and our myths.
  • Sea Dragons are quite similar to Sea serpents in our myths. (Credit: Kepotx)
  • The Deep ones are similar to some Lovecraftian creatures. (Credit: Kepotx)
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    Also, Old Nan mentions White Walkers riding "giant ice spiders" that do not appear to be real.
    – Jack Aidley
    May 30, 2019 at 11:10
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    A loooong string of comments here has been moved to chat. Creatures discussed there include manticores and unicorns and Children of the Forest, so please don't propose adding them without checking the chat first.
    – Rand al'Thor ♦
    May 30, 2019 at 13:01
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    I think you can add krakens to that list. Although people seem more inclined to believe them, I don't think we get any first hand accounts of one.
    – Ethan
    May 30, 2019 at 17:08
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    @Ethan Not first hand accounts but plenty of other evidence. When Alyn Velaryon set sail to the Iron Islands from Driftmark, it is noted by Maesters that the sea south of Dorne was infested with Krakens. Maesters are scientific men, if they say something exists and lives in these places, I think that's a good case for accepting their existence. We also have recorded appearance of Krakens around Iron Islands when Aegon the Conqueror came ashore. Also, one of the ships that accompanied Elissa Farman on her exploration west was pulled down by a Kraken. Ofc, Varys reports a Kraken attack too
    – Aegon
    May 31, 2019 at 5:46
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    Yeah, there's definitely a higher chance they are real in the series than most of the other things. On the other hand, we have real world reasonably scientific accounts of krakens as recently as the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The Westeros accounts could likewise be attributed to dangerous seas and such.
    – Ethan
    May 31, 2019 at 13:59
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Do supernatural forces count?

Depending on your personal religious views, God would be supernatural but (possibly) not real.

At least the God of Light manifests itself through some physical phenomena in GoT, but it is in general supernatural.

There are claims of other Gods in GoT. The claims of ancient Olympus Gods are known to be mythical in our world.

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GRRM has recently hinted that in The Winds of Winter there will be unicorns. Sort of.

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    So not a mythical creature... sort of
    – Mikey Mouse
    May 30, 2019 at 13:21

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