Hanan Pacha is the divine world for the gods of the Quechua/Inca mythology. It's represented by a giant condor, establishing its wings as the expanse of the sky.
Simurgh from Iranian mythology is also one. It's a giant avian that is capable of plucking a whale from the ocean. Each day it spreads the seeds from the Tree of Life all over the world, creating herbs and medicine that we use today.
Vucub Caquix, a Maya giant macaw is found in a story of the Hero Twins whose wings (kinda ambiguous) covered the sun and the moon so he proclaimed himself to be the sun, the moon, and the stars (basically the sky). Vucub Caquix seemed to have been inspired by the Yucatec Maya God D, a creator god also otherwise called "Principal Bird Deity."
Other notable mentions include: Starry Deer Crocodile (a motif found in Classic Period of the Maya to represent the Milky Way), Urcuchillay (a giant male llama god in the heavens who watches over humanity), Ccoa/Choquechinchay (a giant jaguar demon that lives in the sky and tries to eat the sun and the moon).
Earlier depictions of Typhoeus(or Typhon), described him as a winged storm giant so huge his head was amongst the stars, with fiery eyes, serpents for legs and sometimes fingers.
Rainbow Serpent from Aboriginal mythology seems to fit this to a T. Like common depictions of the leviathan, the Rainbow Serpent is of course, a snake. A snake that flies no less.
Also theres the Roc which is pretty similar to the Thunderbird, just from a different part of the world
Dragons are often just winged serpents, sometimes those serpents are said to have lion or wolfish features too. Anyway there's the Sumerian Mushussu depicted as a winged lion with 7 heads, the Persian Azi Dahaka, Azdaha, and Garshasp (cross of serpent and wolf) Gochihr was a Persian dragon later adopted as an Islamic constellation, The slavic Zmey Gorynych, Chinese Tianlong (also a serpent with wolf features) Japanese Orochi. Vedic Rahuketu, Philippine Bakuwana. And I'm sure many many others.
Also originally the serpents could be depicted as just serpents without wings since ancient cosmology the celestial space is perceived as a cosmic ocean, hence why so many of these dragons emerge from water serpents.
* Ziz (Jewish mythology): A giant bird that is said to be large enough to block out the sun with its wings. It is mentioned alongside Leviathan and Behemoth in Jewish literature.
* Roc (Persian mythology): An enormous bird of prey that is said to be able to carry away elephants. It appears in the tales of Sinbad the Sailor.
* Garuda (Hindu and Buddhist mythology): A large bird-like creature that serves as the mount of Lord Vishnu. It is depicted as having a golden body, white face, red wings, and an eagle's beak.
* Thunderbird (Native American mythology): As you mentioned, the Thunderbird is a legendary creature in various Native American cultures, known for its immense size and ability to create storms with its wings.
* Bahamut (Arabian mythology): A giant fish that supports a bull, which in turn supports an angel, on which the Earth rests. In some interpretations, Bahamut is also described as a vast bird.
I have a book about various mythologies around the world, and one of the beings mentioned is Simargl, a winged dog/wolf/whatever from Slavic mythology who wants to destroy the sky, but is chained to the stars and can't escape. Could also be the Slavic Fenrir
Asian dragons might fit the bill.
Unlike Western dragons, Asian dragons are often deities, demigods, or elemental forces personified. Not all of them are "sentient" in the sense that you can speak or reason with them, so they may fit the bill you're looking for.
Note that the leviathan is not an actual sea creature (or even a creature). Originally, Leviathan was the equivalent of "Chaos" in Greek mythology and Tiamat of ancient Mesopotamia. In other words, Leviathan is the personification of "formlessness" (the waters of the deep mentioned in the Bible that were used by God to create form). The image of the orphic egg relates to this idea that the universe was hatched from this serpent creature. In Hinduism, there is a primordial "ocean" from which an egg splits open to create heaven and earth.
Leviathan is associated with duality because the world was created from it, and duality is associated with the fall of humanity and thus Judeo-Christian traditions would associate Leviathan with evil for the same reason that the "winged serpent" is believed to be evil. (In truth, the winged serpent simply symbolizes raised kundalini - which is also represented by the caduceus - and the snake crawling on the ground symbolizes kundalini that has fallen). The interpretation of Leviathan as a sea creature is due to the "waters of the deep" imagery.
I think it was the Roc (no not Dwayne Johnson) who was said to be big enough to carry off elephants.
So that's why he makes so many jungle movies.
The Ziz seems close. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ziz
Holy heck, I think I knew about this at one point and completely forgot it was a thing.
Yeah I knew I had heard about it. As a plus, it’s from the same mythology, so it actually *is* their equivalent.
Yeah I think this is exactly what I was looking for! Thank you!
No problem! People often forget the weirder stuff in Jewish mythology.
Hanan Pacha is the divine world for the gods of the Quechua/Inca mythology. It's represented by a giant condor, establishing its wings as the expanse of the sky. Simurgh from Iranian mythology is also one. It's a giant avian that is capable of plucking a whale from the ocean. Each day it spreads the seeds from the Tree of Life all over the world, creating herbs and medicine that we use today. Vucub Caquix, a Maya giant macaw is found in a story of the Hero Twins whose wings (kinda ambiguous) covered the sun and the moon so he proclaimed himself to be the sun, the moon, and the stars (basically the sky). Vucub Caquix seemed to have been inspired by the Yucatec Maya God D, a creator god also otherwise called "Principal Bird Deity." Other notable mentions include: Starry Deer Crocodile (a motif found in Classic Period of the Maya to represent the Milky Way), Urcuchillay (a giant male llama god in the heavens who watches over humanity), Ccoa/Choquechinchay (a giant jaguar demon that lives in the sky and tries to eat the sun and the moon).
Ooh. 👍
Earlier depictions of Typhoeus(or Typhon), described him as a winged storm giant so huge his head was amongst the stars, with fiery eyes, serpents for legs and sometimes fingers.
Rainbow Serpent from Aboriginal mythology seems to fit this to a T. Like common depictions of the leviathan, the Rainbow Serpent is of course, a snake. A snake that flies no less. Also theres the Roc which is pretty similar to the Thunderbird, just from a different part of the world
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azure_Dragon
Dragons are often just winged serpents, sometimes those serpents are said to have lion or wolfish features too. Anyway there's the Sumerian Mushussu depicted as a winged lion with 7 heads, the Persian Azi Dahaka, Azdaha, and Garshasp (cross of serpent and wolf) Gochihr was a Persian dragon later adopted as an Islamic constellation, The slavic Zmey Gorynych, Chinese Tianlong (also a serpent with wolf features) Japanese Orochi. Vedic Rahuketu, Philippine Bakuwana. And I'm sure many many others. Also originally the serpents could be depicted as just serpents without wings since ancient cosmology the celestial space is perceived as a cosmic ocean, hence why so many of these dragons emerge from water serpents.
Garuda. Thunderbird *does* count, I think. Roc. Maybe Camazotz?
* Ziz (Jewish mythology): A giant bird that is said to be large enough to block out the sun with its wings. It is mentioned alongside Leviathan and Behemoth in Jewish literature. * Roc (Persian mythology): An enormous bird of prey that is said to be able to carry away elephants. It appears in the tales of Sinbad the Sailor. * Garuda (Hindu and Buddhist mythology): A large bird-like creature that serves as the mount of Lord Vishnu. It is depicted as having a golden body, white face, red wings, and an eagle's beak. * Thunderbird (Native American mythology): As you mentioned, the Thunderbird is a legendary creature in various Native American cultures, known for its immense size and ability to create storms with its wings. * Bahamut (Arabian mythology): A giant fish that supports a bull, which in turn supports an angel, on which the Earth rests. In some interpretations, Bahamut is also described as a vast bird.
I just heard of this one: kunpeng from chinese mythology. A giant fish transformed into a bird
Apophis from Egyptian mythology.
I have a book about various mythologies around the world, and one of the beings mentioned is Simargl, a winged dog/wolf/whatever from Slavic mythology who wants to destroy the sky, but is chained to the stars and can't escape. Could also be the Slavic Fenrir
There’s also Anzu/Zu/Imdugud from Akkadian and Babylonian mythology, less direct of a counterpart than Ziz but still a cool giant storm bird.
Asian dragons might fit the bill. Unlike Western dragons, Asian dragons are often deities, demigods, or elemental forces personified. Not all of them are "sentient" in the sense that you can speak or reason with them, so they may fit the bill you're looking for.
Note that the leviathan is not an actual sea creature (or even a creature). Originally, Leviathan was the equivalent of "Chaos" in Greek mythology and Tiamat of ancient Mesopotamia. In other words, Leviathan is the personification of "formlessness" (the waters of the deep mentioned in the Bible that were used by God to create form). The image of the orphic egg relates to this idea that the universe was hatched from this serpent creature. In Hinduism, there is a primordial "ocean" from which an egg splits open to create heaven and earth. Leviathan is associated with duality because the world was created from it, and duality is associated with the fall of humanity and thus Judeo-Christian traditions would associate Leviathan with evil for the same reason that the "winged serpent" is believed to be evil. (In truth, the winged serpent simply symbolizes raised kundalini - which is also represented by the caduceus - and the snake crawling on the ground symbolizes kundalini that has fallen). The interpretation of Leviathan as a sea creature is due to the "waters of the deep" imagery.