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A gigantic sea turtle frequently cited in sailors’ yarns from earliest times.In classical Greece it was known as Aspidochelon or Aspidodelone or as the Asp Turtle, though the Physiologus refers to it as the Fastitocalon.This dates it to at least as early as the 2nd century BC, in Alexandria, where the Physiologus was complied. Medieval bestaries named it as Aspidoicholon or Apsodo-Toroise, while Middle Eastern sources, probably deriving from Alexandrian writings, knew it as Zaratan.It was said to be so vast that it resembled an island floating in the sea.Mud andsoil accumulated on its back and bushes and shrubs grew there, giving it appearence of a floating island.There are numerous sailors’ tales which described ships anchoring off what they thought was an island, going ashore for the night and ligthing a fire.Only at this point did the creature awaken, and sink beneath the water, carrying the unfortunate mariners with it.One of the earliest accounts is in the medieval Voyage of St Brendan,when the saint and his companions encounter the great beast and come very close to being destroyed by it – only escaping because of the holiness of their leader.In this source, it is known as Jasconius.Yet the Aspidochelone seems to have lived exclusively on a diet of fish, which swam into its open jaws, attracted by the surprisingly sweet smell that issued from it.J.R.R. Tolkien has a poemabout the Fastitocalon, based on the medieval accounts of the Aspidochelone, in his collection The Adventure of Tom Bombadil.

      Probably the most horrifying legendary creature is the Kraken. It was suppose to have been a giant sea monster. This creature was huge, with many arms. Its arms could reach up to the top of a sailing ship’s main mast, when its arms were deployed.

     When the Kraken would attack a ship, it would wrap its arms around the ship and capsize it. The crew would either be eaten by the Kraken or drown. Fishermen around Scandainavia noticed this creature the most.

     Scylla is a monster that has six arms, six heads with four eyes on each. Then at the lower part of this monsters body is six beastly dogs, whose mouth contain razor-like teeth. Scylla is to approximately 15 feet tall.

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     This monster hides in caves at the bottom of cliffs. Scylla lets her head come out of the chasm, grabbing dolphins and humans that venture into its surroundings.

    The Sirens are better known as Mermaids. They are half-woman and half-fish. The Sirens were believed to have lived on the island of, Anthemoessa. Huge boulders surround this island so if ships ventured too close they would be destroyed.

      Aspidochelone is a fabled sea creature. It is described as a huge turtle, in fact it is suppose to be as large as an island. It rises from the sea and entices sailors to make landfall on its shell. Then it devours them.

The poem ‘The Kraken’ by Alfred Tennyson made the concept popular in the western world and inspired Jules Verne’s depiction of the (unrealistically) giant squid in Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea. The legend of the Kraken was also an inspiration for H.P. Lovecraft’s tentacled aquatic god Cthulhu in his short story Call of the Cthulhu. The Watcher in the Water in JRR Tolkein’s Lord of the Rings is depicted as a giant squid-like monster guarding the entrance to the mines of Moria. The Kraken appears in a myriad of other mediums, including in the Narnia series by CS Lewis, the Marvel comic franchise and most recently in the Pirates of the Caribbean series. In Dead Man’s Chest, the Kraken is the last of its kind and is used as a tool of Davy Jones to hunt and destroy rival/enemy ships.

The origin of this myth probably stems from several factors. A majority of legends originate from the ancient desire to explain natural phenomena. Many of the events which are associated with the appearance of a Kraken are explainable by volcanic activity, i.e. Bubbling water and sudden changes in currents. The appearance of the Kraken can be attributed to early sightings of giant squid or giant octopuses.

The largest octopus species in the world is Enteroctopus dofleini. These creatures can grow up to 7m in girth.

Giant squid can grow up to 13 metres in length and have been known to ‘attack’ ships. Their ten tentacles are lined with powerful suckers which are surrounded by a row of tiny teeth. Sperm whales have been discovered which bear scars inflicted by the suckers of giant squid, which gives you and idea of their size and ferocity. Giant squid have been described as early as the first century AD, by Pliny the elder. Giant squid may also be the inspiration for several other mythical sea monsters, including:

• Scylla: a six headed sea monster who would attack passing ships and kill six members of the crew.
• Charbydis: a monster who sucked in vast amounts of sea water before expelling it as a whirlpool.
• Aspidochelone: a giant sea monster commonly mistaken for an island.
• Hydra: this many-headed serpent could grow back a head that that been cut off.
• Cetus: a hideous sea monster, who was the personification of the dangers of the sea and unknown creatures.