Difference between revisions of "Manticore" - New World Encyclopedia

Revision as of 16:42, 12 July 2007

Manticore illustration from The History of Four-footed Beasts (1607) by Edward Topsell

The manticore is a legendary creature of Central Asia, a kind of Chimera, that is sometimes said to be related to the Sphinx. Like many such beasts, it was often feared as being violent and feral, but it was not until the manticore was incorporated into European mythology during the Middle Ages that it came to be associated as an omen of evil.

Etymology

Originally, the term manticore came into the English language from the Latin mantichora, which was borrowed from the Greek mantikhoras. The Greek version of the word is actually an erroneous pronunciation of the original early Middle Persian martyaxwar, which translates as "man-eater" (martya being "man" and xwar- "to eat").^[1]

Description

Although versions due occasionally differ, the generalities of the manticore's description seem to be that it has the head of a man often with horns, gray or blue eyes, three rows of iron shark-like teeth, and a loud, trumpet/pipe-like roar. The body is usually of a (sometimes red-furred) lion, and the tail of a dragon or scorpion, which some believe can shoot out venomous spines or hairs to incapacitate prey.^[2] Occasionally, a manticore will possess wings of some description.

The manticore is said to be able to leap in high and far bounds, is an excellent hunter, and eats human flesh.

Origin

The manticore originated in Ancient Persia mythology and was brought to the Western mythology by Ctesias, a Greek physician at the Persian court, in the fifth century B.C.E.^[3] The Romanized Greek Pausanias, in his Description of Greece, recalled strange animals he had seen at Rome and commented,

“

The beast described by Ctesias in his Indian history, which he says is called martichoras by the Indians and "man-eater" by the Greeks, I am inclined to think is the lion. But that it has three rows of teeth along each jaw and spikes at the tip of its tail with which it defends itself at close quarters, while it hurls them like an archer's arrows at more distant enemies; all this is, I think, a false story that the Indians pass on from one to another owing to their excessive dread of the beast. (Description, xxi, 5)

”

Pliny the Elder did not share Pausanias' skepticism. He followed Aristotle's natural history by including the martichoras—mis-transcribed as manticorus in his copy of Aristotle and thus passing into European languages—among his descriptions of animals in Naturalis Historia, c. 77 C.E. Pliny's book was widely enjoyed and uncritically believed through the European Middle Ages, during which the manticore was sometimes illustrated in bestiaries.

Folio 24v from a 13th century Bestiary, The Rochester Bestiary (British Library, Royal MS 12 F XIII), showing the Manticora.

Legacy

The manticore made a late appearance in heraldry, during the 16th century, and it influenced some Mannerist representations, as in Bronzino's allegory The Exposure of Luxury, (National Gallery, London)^[4]— but more often in the decorative schemes called "grotteschi"— of the sin of Fraud, conceived as a monstrous chimera with a beautiful woman's face, and in this way it passed by means of Cesare Ripa's Iconologia into the seventeenth and eighteenth century French conception of a sphinx.During this time the manticore was also sometimes seen as a symbol of the prophet Jeremiah, since both were underground dwellers. However, positive connotations did not stick to the manticore. Its ferocious manner and terrifying appearance quickly made it a symbol of evil, and the manticore in Europe came to be known as an omen of evil tidings.^[5]

Nowadays, the manticore is believed to inhabit the forests of Asia, particularly Indonesia. The manticore can kill instantly with a bite or a scratch and will then eat the victim entirely, bones and all. Whenever a person disappears completely, it is said that the locals consider it the work of the manticore. An authentic Eastern manticore tradition would clearly have to refer to the creature as a "manticore."

Pop Culture

While not quite as popular as some other mythical creatures, the manticore has none the less been kept alive in the area fantasy sub-culture of modern society. The manticore has made appearances in several fantasy novels, the most recent in J.K. Rowlings blockbuster Harry Potter series. A manticore was one of the unique and captured by a witch for her menagerie in The Last Unicorn, a popular animated movie in the 1980's. But by far manticore's have gotten their best treatment in role-playing and video games. Dungeons and Dragons, Magic: The Gathering and the Warhammer Fantasy Battles all incorporate manticores.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

↑ (1971) "Oxford English Dictionary": Oxford Press. ISBN 019861117X
↑ Medieval Bestiary. (2006) ["Manticore"] Retrieved July 11, 2007
↑ Monstrous. (1998) ["Manticore"] Retrieved July 11, 2007
↑ John F. Moffitt, "An Exemplary Humanist Hybrid: Vasari's "Fraude" with Reference to Bronzino's 'Sphinx'" Renaissance Quarterly 49.2 (Summer 1996), pp. 303-333, traces the chimeric image of Fraud backwards from Bronzino.
↑ Monstrous. (1998) ["Manticore"] Retrieved July 11, 2007

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[1] (1971) "Oxford English Dictionary": Oxford Press. ISBN 019861117X

[2] Medieval Bestiary. (2006) ["Manticore"] Retrieved July 11, 2007

[3] Monstrous. (1998) ["Manticore"] Retrieved July 11, 2007

[4] John F. Moffitt, "An Exemplary Humanist Hybrid: Vasari's "Fraude" with Reference to Bronzino's 'Sphinx'" Renaissance Quarterly 49.2 (Summer 1996), pp. 303-333, traces the chimeric image of Fraud backwards from Bronzino.

[5] Monstrous. (1998) ["Manticore"] Retrieved July 11, 2007

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[2]

[3]

[4]

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@@ Line 5: / Line 5: @@
 [[Image:ManticoraTHoFFB1607.png|thumb|Manticore illustration from ''The History of Four-footed Beasts'' (1607) by [[Edward Topsell]]]]
-The '''manticore''' is a [[legendary creature]], a kind of [[Chimera (creature)|chimera]] with the [[head (anatomy)|head]] of a [[man]]—often with [[horn (anatomy)|horn]]s, gray eyes, three rows of iron shark-like teeth, and a loud, trumpet/pipe-like roar—the body of a (sometimes red-furred) [[lion]], and the [[tail]] of a [[European dragon|dragon]] or [[scorpion]], which may shoot out [[venom (poison)|venomous]] spines or hairs to incapacitate prey (thus confusing its imagery with the [[cryptozoology]] of a [[porcupine]], though [[tarantula]]s do something similar with their hairs). Occasionally, a manticore will possess [[wing]]s of some description. Size reports range from lion-sized up to horse-sized.
+The '''manticore''' is a [[legendary creature]] of [[Central Asia]], a kind of [[Chimera (mythology)|Chimera]], that is sometimes said to be related to the [[Sphinx]]. Like many such beasts, it was often feared as being violent and feral, but it was not until the manticore was incorporated into European mythology during the Middle Ages that it came to be associated as an omen of evil.
-==Origin==
+==Etymology==
+Originally, the term manticore came into the [[English language]] from the [[Latin language|Latin]] ''mantichora'', which was borrowed from the [[Greek language|Greek]] ''mantikhoras''. The Greek version of the word is actually an erroneous pronunciation of the original [[Persian language|early Middle Persian]]
+''martyaxwar'', which translates as "man-eater" (''martya'' being "man" and ''xwar-'' "to eat").<ref> (1971) "Oxford English Dictionary": Oxford Press. ISBN 019861117X</ref>
-The manticore was of [[Persian mythology|Persia]]n origin, where its name was "man-eater" (from [[Persian language|early Middle Persian]] ''martya'' "man" (as in human) and ''xwar-'' "to eat"). The English term "manticore" was borrowed from Latin ''mantichora'', itself borrowed from Greek ''mantikhoras''—an erroneous pronunciation of the original Persian name. It passed into European mythology first through a remark by [[Ctesias]], a [[Greece|Greek]] [[physician]] at the Persian court of [[Monarch|King]] [[Artaxerxes II]] in the fourth century B.C.E., in his notes on [[India]] ("Indika"), which circulated among Greek writers on natural history, but have not survived.
+==Description==
+[[Image:Mantikor.jpg|thumb]]
+Although versions due occasionally differ, the generalities of the manticore's description seem to be that it has the [[head (anatomy)|head]] of a [[man]] often with [[horn (anatomy)|horn]]s, gray or blue eyes, three rows of iron shark-like teeth, and a loud, trumpet/pipe-like roar. The body is usually of a (sometimes red-furred) [[lion]], and the [[tail]] of a [[European dragon|dragon]] or [[scorpion]], which some believe can shoot out [[venom (poison)|venomous]] spines or hairs to incapacitate prey.<ref> Medieval Bestiary. (2006) [[http://bestiary.ca/beasts/beast177.htm"Manticore"]] Retrieved July 11, 2007 </ref> Occasionally, a manticore will possess [[wing]]s of some description.
-The [[Rome|Romanized]] Greek [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], in his ''[[Description of Greece]]'', recalled strange [[animal]]s he had seen at Rome and commented,
+The manticore is said to be able to leap in high and far bounds, is an excellent hunter, and eats human flesh.
+==Origin==
+The manticore originated in [[Ancient Persia]] mythology and was brought to the Western mythology by [[Ctesias]], a Greek physician at the Persian court, in the fifth century B.C.E.<ref> Monstrous. (1998) [[http://www.monstrous.com/monsters/manticore.htm"Manticore"]] Retrieved July 11, 2007 </ref> The [[Rome|Romanized]] Greek [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], in his ''[[Description of Greece]]'', recalled strange [[animal]]s he had seen at Rome and commented,
 {{cquote|The beast described by Ctesias in his Indian history, which he says is called ''martichoras'' by the Indians and "man-eater" by the Greeks, I am inclined to think is the [[lion]]. But that it has three rows of [[tooth|teeth]] along each [[jaw]] and spikes at the tip of its tail with which it defends itself at close quarters, while it hurls them like an [[Archery|archer]]'s [[arrow]]s at more distant enemies; all this is, I think, a false story that the Indians pass on from one to another owing to their excessive dread of the beast. (''Description'', xxi, 5)}}
-[[Pliny the Elder]] did not share Pausanias' [[skepticism]]. He followed [[Aristotle]]'s natural history by including the ''martichoras''—mistranscribed as ''manticorus'' in his copy of Aristotle and thus passing into European languages—among his descriptions of animals in ''[[Naturalis Historia]]'', c. 77 C.E.
+[[Pliny the Elder]] did not share Pausanias' [[skepticism]]. He followed [[Aristotle]]'s natural history by including the ''martichoras''—mis-transcribed as ''manticorus'' in his copy of Aristotle and thus passing into European languages—among his descriptions of animals in ''[[Naturalis Historia]]'', c. 77 C.E.. Pliny's book  was widely enjoyed and uncritically believed through the European [[Middle Ages]], during which the manticore was sometimes illustrated in [[bestiaries]].
-Pliny's book  was widely enjoyed and uncritically believed through the European [[Middle Ages]], during which the manticore was sometimes illustrated in [[bestiaries]]. The manticore made a late appearance in [[heraldry]], during the [[16th century]], and it influenced some [[Mannerism|Mannerist]] representations, as in [[Bronzino]]'s allegory ''The Exposure of Luxury,'' (National Gallery, London)<ref>John F. Moffitt, "An Exemplary Humanist Hybrid: Vasari's "Fraude" with Reference to Bronzino's 'Sphinx'" ''Renaissance Quarterly'' '''49'''.2 (Summer  1996), pp. 303-333, traces the chimeric image of Fraud backwards from [[Bronzino]].</ref>— but more often in the decorative schemes called "[[Grotesque|grotteschi]]"— of the [[sin]] of [[Fraud]], conceived as a monstrous chimera with a [[beauty|beautiful]] [[woman]]'s face, and in this way it passed by means of [[Cesare Ripa]]'s ''Iconologia'' into the seventeenth and eighteenth century  French conception of a [[sphinx]].
+[[Image:RochesterBestiaryFolio024vManticora.jpg|thumb|left|Folio 24v from a 13th century Bestiary, The Rochester Bestiary (British Library, Royal MS 12 F XIII), showing the Manticora.]]
 ==Legacy==
-Nowadays, the manticore is said{{Fact|date=March 2007}} to inhabit the [[forest]]s of [[Asia]], particularly [[Indonesia]]. The manticore can kill instantly with a bite or a scratch and will then eat the victim entirely, [[bone]]s and all. Whenever a person disappears completely, it is said that the locals consider it the work of the manticore. An authentic Eastern manticore tradition would clearly have to refer to the creature as a "manticore."
+The manticore made a late appearance in [[heraldry]], during the [[16th century]], and it influenced some [[Mannerism|Mannerist]] representations, as in [[Bronzino]]'s allegory ''The Exposure of Luxury,'' (National Gallery, London)<ref>John F. Moffitt, "An Exemplary Humanist Hybrid: Vasari's "Fraude" with Reference to Bronzino's 'Sphinx'" ''Renaissance Quarterly'' '''49'''.2 (Summer  1996), pp. 303-333, traces the chimeric image of Fraud backwards from [[Bronzino]].</ref>— but more often in the decorative schemes called "[[Grotesque|grotteschi]]"— of the [[sin]] of [[Fraud]], conceived as a monstrous chimera with a [[beauty|beautiful]] [[woman]]'s face, and in this way it passed by means of [[Cesare Ripa]]'s ''Iconologia'' into the seventeenth and eighteenth century  French conception of a [[sphinx]].During this time the manticore was also sometimes seen as a symbol of the [[prophet]] [[Jeremiah]], since both were underground dwellers. However, positive connotations did not stick to the manticore. Its ferocious manner and terrifying appearance quickly made it a symbol of evil, and the manticore in Europe came to be known as an omen of evil tidings.<ref>Monstrous. (1998) [[http://www.monstrous.com/monsters/manticore.htm"Manticore"]] Retrieved July 11, 2007 </ref>
-The manticore is also known as the "mantícora," the "mantichor," or by a folk [[etymology]], even the "mantiger." Outside [[occult]]ist circles, the manticore was still an arcane creature in the Western world when [[Gian Carlo Menotti]] wrote his [[ballet]] ''[[The Unicorn, the Gorgon, and the Manticore]]'' in 1956.
-==Appearance in Fiction==
-===Comics===
-* A creature named Manticore appears in the anime ''[[Boogiepop Phantom]]''. It feeds on people but does not devour them.
-* The graphic novel series ''[[The Books of Magic]]'' originally created by [[Neil Gaiman]], though carried on by others, features a character which is found to be a manticore, created by [[John Ney Rieber]], [[Gary Amaro]], and [[Peter Gross]].
-===Film===
-* ''Manticore'' is the name of the [[yacht]] of the Janus Organization, in the [[James Bond]] film ''[[GoldenEye]]'' (1995). The real name of the yacht is ''Northern Cross''.
-* In the 2004 film ''[[Napoleon Dynamite]]'', the protagonist Napoleon elects the [[liger]] as his favourite animal; however, as he attempts to sketch it, he produces a manticore.
-* An old lion is enchanted to look like a Manticore in order to draw patrons to a witch's menagerie in the ''[[The Last Unicorn (film)|The Last Unicorn]]'' (1982).
-===Games===
-* Manticore is ''[[Monster in My Pocket]]'' #14.  They appear in the oriental garden, stage 5, of the [[video game]], hiding behind poles, throwing bones, and projecting a dangerous gaze.
-* Manticores, both in name only and in full, appear in many videogames as both allies and enemies, in games such as ''[[Archon]]'', ''[[Age of Wonders 2: The Wizard's Throne]]'', ''[[Heroes of Might and Magic]]'', ''[[Tales of Symphonia]]'', ''[[Golden Sun]]'', as Myth Units in ''[[Age of Mythology]]'' and its expansion pack ''[[Age of Mythology: The Titans]]''. Manticores also appear in full as flying mounts in ''[[Total Chaos]]''.
-* The Caldari State's stealth bomber in [[MMORPG]] ''[[EVE Online]]'' is code-named "Manticore."
-* Manticores also appear in the strategy game ''[[Heroes of Might and Magic III]]'' as creatures controllable by the Overlord and Warlock player classes.
-* In the MMORPG ''[[The World of Warcraft]]'' they appear as an aerial mount. Though their appearance resembles a lot to the common manticore (lion body, scorpion tail and bat wings), they are named as [[Wyvern]]s.
-* The online flash game ''[http://www.atrianglemorning.com/games/flash.php Which Way Adventure]'' often ended with the player being killed by a manticore.
-* In the MMORPG ''[[Final Fantasy XI]]'', players have the option to fight Manticores in various areas throughout the game.
-*Also used in the Game Boy Advance game ''[[Golden Sun]]'' as a boss in a desert, midway through the game.
-* A manticore is the boss of the Bloodpool level in ''[[ActRaiser]]'' for the [[Super Nintendo]].
-* The MMORPG ''[[City of Heroes]]'' features a [[superhero]] named [[Manticore (City of Heroes)|Manticore]], who appears in game and in a series of comics based on the game. His name probably derives from the fact that his costume is red with a type of metal mane around his head and neck, and his primary weapon is a bow and arrow.
-* Manticores appear as enemies in [[Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow]] ([[Game Boy Advance]]) and [[Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow]] ([[Nintendo DS]]). In AoS, obtaining a manticore soul allowed the player to transform into a large, two-legged manticore which would charge forward automatically. In DoS, the manticore soul allowed the player to grow a scorpion tail which served as an extra weapon. The creature itself attacked by breathing fire or swinging its scorpion tail (which could poison the player on impact).
-*In Harry potter and the prisoner of azkaban video game there is a beast card of manticore in set of of beasts card.
-* In the Warhammer tabletop-game, a Manticore is a mount for Dark Elves. It doesn't look like the common Manticore though, with its lion-head instead of a human head. They have enormous bat wings and strong claws.
-*In Knight Online they have Manticore's which have head of lion body of lion and tail of scorpion + wings of bird.
-* The collectible card game [[Magic: The Gathering]] has a card named Masticore, which resembles the description of a Manticore.
-*The manticore appears as an opponent creature in the table top roleplaying game [[Dungeons and Dragons]]
-* In the [[Birthright]] campaign setting, the Manticore is an honorable warrior, corrupted by the power of the dead god Azrai.  He attempts to control the savagery within.
-* The Manticore serves as a monstrous mount for the [[Dark Elves]] or [[Chaos Dwarfs]] in ''[[Warhammer Fantasy Battles]]''.
-===Music===
-* The [[rock band]] [[Emerson, Lake & Palmer]] used the name "Manticore" for their own [[Atlantic Records]] releases. Prior to this, they featured the Manticore in their [[Tarkus (song)|"Tarkus" suite]] battling another made-up creature (an [[armadillo]]/[[tank]]). Additionally, their four-CD compilation box is called ''Return of the Manticore''. [http://www.emersonlakepalmer.com/albums.html]
-* [[Canada|Canadian]] [[heavy metal]] band [[3 Inches of Blood]] released a bonus track on their [[Japan]]ese release of ''[[Advance and Vanquish]]'' CD called "Quest for the Manticore."
-* There is a punk/metal band from Minneapolis (now of San Francisco) known as [[The Martichora]].
-*MC Andrew mentions the manticore several times in his song, "Monstrous Manual."
-* The manticore in mentioned by the American rock band [[Clutch (band)|Clutch]] in the lyrics of its song "Circus Maximus," from the 2005 CD release ''[[Robot Hive/Exodus]]'':  "From the fiery depths of the planet’s core / The never sleeping for want of eating unholy stench of the manticore."
-===Literature===
+Nowadays, the manticore is believed to inhabit the [[forest]]s of [[Asia]], particularly [[Indonesia]]. The manticore can kill instantly with a bite or a scratch and will then eat the victim entirely, [[bone]]s and all. Whenever a person disappears completely, it is said that the locals consider it the work of the manticore. An authentic Eastern manticore tradition would clearly have to refer to the creature as a "manticore."
-* There is an entry on the manticore in [[Jorge Luis Borges]]' ''[[Book of Imaginary Beings]]''.
-* A manticore appears as a character in [[Salman Rushdie]]'s ''[[The Satanic Verses (novel)|The Satanic Verses]]''.
-* The ''[[Harry Potter]]'' series by [[J. K. Rowling]] includes manticores in its bestiary. In one novel, manticores are [[crossbred]] with [[Minor Harry Potter beasts#Fire Crab|Fire-crabs]] to create a new manticore/arthropod species called "[[Minor Harry Potter beasts#Blast-Ended Skrewt|Blast-Ended Skrewt]]." It is also referenced offhand in ''[[Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban|Prisoner of Azkaban]]'' when [[Hermione Granger]] is looking for historical cases of out-of-control beasts being let off. A manticore was let off... but only because the [[Ministry of Magic]] was afraid to get near it.<ref>David Colbert, ''The Magical Worlds of Harry Potter'', p 131, ISBN 0-9708442-0-4,</ref>
-* The manticore appears in [[India]]n [[fantasy]] author [[Samit Basu]]'s 2005 novel, ''[[The Manticore's Secret]]''.
-* In Canadian writer [[Robertson Davies]]' "[[The Deptford Trilogy|Deptford Trilogy]]," the middle novel is entitled ''[[The Manticore]]''.
-* The manticore appears as an entry in Arthur Spiderwick's ''[[Field Guide to the Magical World Around You]]'', a [[spin-off]] of the [[Spiderwick]] Chronicles.
-* The manticore appears in ''[[The Worm Ouroboros]]'' (1922) by [[Eric Rucker Eddison]].
-* The manticore appears in the ''[[Xanth]]'' series by [[Piers Anthony]], including the cover of the book ''[[A Spell for Chameleon]]'' (1977).
-* The manticore appears in the ''[[A Song of Ice and Fire]]'' series by [[George R. R. Martin]].
-* A manticore appears in [[Madeleine L'Engle]]'s novel ''[[Many Waters]]''.
-* The manticore appeared as creatures of [[chaos]] in [[Roger Zelazny]]'s [[The Chronicles of Amber]].
-* In [[David Weber]]'s [[Honorverse]] [[science fiction]] universe, Manticore is the homeworld of the [[Star Kingdom of Manticore]], the primary faction and home nation of the primary protagonist, [[Honor Harrington]].
-* In the short story collection ''Hellboy: Odder Jobs'', [[Hellboy]] faces a manticore summoned by a bullied student in [[Ray Garton]]'s ''A Full and Satisfying Life''.
-* There's an [[independent bookstore]] in Orillia, Ontario, called Manticore Books.
-===Television===
+==Pop Culture==
-* In 2005, the [[Sci Fi Channel (United States)|Sci Fi Channel]] showed a television movie called ''[[Manticore (film)|Manticore]]''. It is about American soldiers in [[Iraq]] who discover and must fight against a real manticore.  The monster kills and devours anyone who gets in its way and it goes on a rampage in a Iraqi town. [http://www.scifi.com/manticore/][http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0417943/]
-* The television show ''[[Dark Angel (TV series)|Dark Angel]]'' featured a government initiative known as Manticore that created [[supersoldier]]s by splicing together the genes of animals and humans.
-* The manticore appeared in the television series ''[[Charmed]]'' in the episode [[Little Monsters (Charmed episode)|Little Monsters]], however, it is nothing like the mythological creature, only sharing the name.
-* When the Mystic Rangers acquired Legend Armor to become Legend Warriors, they got a new Megazord called the Manticore Megazord which makes its first appearance in part 3 of the ''[[Power Rangers: Mystic Force]]'' three-part story, "Dark Wish."
-* The Manticore was featured as a Hades Beast in the Japanese Super Sentai series, ''[[Mahou Sentai Magiranger]]''. It had the power to use itself as an instrument to make people dance, leaving them helpless so that it could devour them.
-* In the original ''[[He-Man]]'' series (1983) episode “Orko's Favorite Uncle,” Adam, Cringer and Orko stumble into a cave and disturb a manticore in his lair. They incapacitate the territorial manticore and flee from his cave. Taking some creative liberties on the creature, this version of a manticore is 20 feet or so tall and bipedal but slouched in posture, and as it was originally scripted, he was to actually breathe fire, but that part was never animated.
-* In an episode of ''[[The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy]]'' a manticore fought Dean Toadblatt.
-===Other===
+While not quite as popular as some other mythical creatures, the manticore has none the less been kept alive in the area fantasy sub-culture of modern society.
-* [[Gian Carlo Menotti]]'s above-mentioned ballet, ''[[The Unicorn, the Gorgon and the Manticore]]''.
+The manticore has made appearances in several fantasy novels, the most recent in [[J.K. Rowling]]s blockbuster ''[[Harry Potter]]'' series. A manticore was one of the unique and captured by a witch for her menagerie in ''The Last Unicorn'', a popular animated movie in the 1980's. But by far manticore's have gotten their best treatment in role-playing and video games. ''Dungeons and Dragons'', ''Magic: The Gathering'' and the ''Warhammer Fantasy Battles'' all incorporate manticores.
-* The manticore was one of four contenders in a campus-wide vote for a new [[Swarthmore College]] mascot. The school also has a student band named Manticore.
 ==References==