| Blemmye | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Naming | |||
| Others | Akephalos Dōnotsura Epiphagos Ewaipanoma | ||
| Original | βλέμμυες | ||
| Romanization | Blémmyes | ||
| Morphology | |||
| Body type | Humanoid | ||
| Average height | ~ 6 ft. to 8 ft. (depending on the source) | ||
| Intelligence | |||
| Sentience | Sentient | ||
| Sapience | Sapient | ||
| Ecology | |||
| Place of origin | Northern Africa, India or South America | ||
| Locomotion | Bipedal | ||
| Behind the Scenes | |||
| Universe | Real | ||
Blemmyes are a mythological species of humanoids with no differentiated head and whose mouth and facial features are instead located on their chests. Different authors have placed them on different parts of the world, from Aethiopia to India to Venezuela. They're also notably encountered by Alexander the Great in the Medieval classic Roman d'Alexandre en prose. In some portrayals, the Blemmyes are covered in fur. In others, their skin is mostly furless and humanlike.
Herodotus, referring to them as Akephaloi (Headless), cites them as inhabitants of Ancient Lybia, along with other mythical races such as the Cynocephali. Pliny the Elder also includes them in his Natural History, as inhabitants of the region of Aethiopia. In later traditions, they're specified as inhabiting an island in the Brisone River. According to Isidore of Seville, there exist two different varieties of Blemmyes: one with their eyes on the chest, and one with the eyes on the shoulders.
By the time of the late Middle Ages, some maps presented the Blemmyes (along with the Cynocephali) as inhabitants of India, whereas others continued to place them on Aethiopia. The Travels of Sir John Mandeville places them on the Andaman Islands. In the late 16th century, Sir Walter Raleigh described these creatures as dwelling in the banks of the Caura River, in Venezuela, and referred to them by the name Ewaipanoma.
In Japan, these creatures are known as Dōnotsura.
Works featuring Blemmyes[]
Literature[]
- Othello, by William Shakespeare (1603) (Mentioned only)
- The Tempest, by William Shakespeare (1610) (Mentioned only)
- The Amazing Voyage of Azzam, by K Godel (2000)
- Baudolino, by Umberto Eco (2000)
- La Torre della Solitudine, by Valerio Massimo Manfredi (2006)
Comics[]
- The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
Notes[]
- The name Blemmyes is also used for a human civilization that inhabited Nubia in ancient times.