Yamata No Orochi - Mythological Parallels

Mythological Parallels

Polycephalic or multi-headed animals are rare in biology but common in mythology and heraldry. Multi-headed dragons, like the 8-headed Orochi and 3-headed Trisiras above, are a common motif in comparative mythology. For instance, multi-headed dragons in Greek mythology include the wind-god Typhon who had several polycephalic offspring, including the 9-headed Lernaean Hydra and the 100-headed Ladon, both slain by Hercules.

Two other Japanese examples derive from Buddhist importations of Indian dragon myths. Benzaiten, the Japanese name of Saraswati, supposedly killed a 5-headed dragon at Enoshima in 552 AD. Kuzuryū 九頭龍 "9-headed dragon", deriving from the Nagaraja snake-kings Vasuki and Shesha, is worshipped at Togakushi Shrine in Nagano Prefecture. (Compare the Jiutouniao 九頭鳥 "nine-headed bird" in Chinese mythology.)

Comparing folklore about polycephalic dragons and serpents, 8-headed creatures are less common than 7- or 9-headed ones. Among Japanese numerals, ya or hachi 八 can mean "many; varied" (e.g., yaoya 八百屋 "greengrocer; jack-of-all-trades"). De Visser (1913:150) says the number 8 is "stereotypical" in legends about kings or gods riding dragons or having their carriages drawn by them. Smith (1919:212), who quotes the orochi myth with "seven or eight heads" and compares a Celtic dragon, says, "The seven-headed dragon is found also in the Scottish dragon-myth, and the legends of Cambodia, India, Persia, Western Asia, East Africa, and the Mediterranean area." Smith (1919:215) identifies the mythic 7- or 8-headed dragons with the 7-spiked Pteria spider shell or 8-tentacled octopus.

The myth of a Storm God fighting a Sea Serpent is itself a popular mythic trope potentially originating with the Proto-Indo-European religion and later transmitted into the religions of the Ancient Near East most likely initially through interaction with Hittite speaking peoples into Syria and the Fertile Crescent. This motif, known as chaoskampf (German for "struggle against chaos") represents the clash between order and chaos. Often as these myths evolve from their original source, the role of the storm god (himself often the head of a pantheon) is adopted by culture heroes or a personage symbolizing royalty. A non-inclusive list of mythological parallels to the story of Susanoo vs. Orochi include:

Indo-European

• Thor vs. Jörmungandr (Norse)
• Tarhunt vs. Illuyanka (Hittite)
• Zeus vs. Typhon (Greek)
  • Hercules vs. The Lernaean Hydra (Greek)
• Indra vs. Vritra (Vedic)
  • Krishna vs. Kāliyā (Indian)
• Θraētaona vs. Aži Dahāka (Zorastrian)
  • Garshasp vs. Zahhak (Iranian)
• Dobrynya Nikitich vs. Zmey Gorynych (Slavic)
  • Saint George vs. The Dragon (Christian)
• Făt-Frumos vs. Balaur (Romanian)

Afro-Asiatic

• Baʿal vs. Yam (Canaanite)
• Yu the Great vs. Xiang Liu of Gong Gong (Chinese)
• Marduk vs. Tiamat (Babylonian)
• Atum vs. Nehebkau (Egyptian)
  • Ra vs. Apep (Egyptian)
• Yahweh vs. Leviathan (Jewish)
  • Gabriel vs. Rahab (Jewish)
    • Christ vs. Satan (Christian)

In many of these examples, the serpent god is often seen as multi-headed or multi-tailed.