Mv Manticore

[Desiree Friede]

Themanticore or mantichore (Latin: mantichora; reconstructed Old Persian: *martyahvārah; Modern Persian: مردخوار mard-khar) is a legendary creature from ancient Persian mythology, similar to the Egyptian sphinx that proliferated in Western European medieval art as well. It has the head of a human, the body of a lion, and the tail of a scorpion or a tail covered in venomous spines similar to porcupine quills. There are some accounts that the spines can be launched like arrows. It eats its victims whole, using its three rows of teeth, and leaves no bones behind.

The term "manticore" descends via Latin mantichora from Ancient Greek μαρτιχόρας (martikhrās)[3] This in turn is a transliteration of an Old Persian compound word consisting of martīya 'man' and xuar- stem, 'to eat' (Mod. Persian: مرد; mard + خوردن; khordan);[a][4][5][6] i.e., man-eater.

An account of the manticore was given in Ctesias's lost book Indica ("India"), and circulated among Greek writers on natural history, but has survived only in fragments and epitomes preserved by later writers.[13]

The beast's name means "maneater", as already noted.[14][7] Aelian citing Ctesias adds that the Mantichora prefers to hunt humans, lying in wait, taking down even 2, 3 men at a time. And the Indians take their young captive, disabling its tail by crushing it with stone before the growth of sting begins.[7]

Pliny also introduced the confused notion that the manticore might occur in Africa, because he had discussed this and other creatures (such as the yale) within a passage on Aethiopia.[16][17][e] But he also described the crocotta and the mantichora of Aethiopia together, and while the crocotta imitated the voices of men[f] the mantichora of Aethiopia too also mimicked human speech, on authority of Juba II,[19] with a voice like the pipe (panpipe, fistula) mixed with trumpet.[20]

Pliny did not share Pausanias' skepticism.[11] And for 1500 years afterwards, it was Pliny's account, also copied by Solinus (2nd century), which was held to be authoritative on matters of natural history whether real or mythological.[11] In the advent of Christianity, writings in the Holy Scripture combined with Plinian-Aristotelian learning gave rise to the Physiologus (also c. 2nd century), which later evolved into the medieval bestiaries[11] some of which contained entries on the manticore.

In most instances, the manticora is "coloured red or brown and has clawed feet".[26] Artists took the liberty of coloring the manticore blue at times.[27] One example is depicted "as a long-haired blond" (fig., top right).[29] Another has the face of a woman and the body of a blue manticore (fig., bottom right) .[31]

Most manuscripts do not bother detailing the scorpion tail[32] and simply draw a long cat's tail,[26]but in Harley MS 3244 the manticore has an "oddly pointed tail"[32] or an "extraordinary spike on the end" of it,[26] and a tail covered in spikes from end to end is shown on the manticore in several other second family manuscripts[36][26]

The text here describing the beast[39][40] differs little from Pliny's Latin version in language,[41] or the Greek version in content (paraphrased above).[42] This is naturally the case, since much of Solinus was recopied out of Pliny,[43][44] and the manticora is described as "bloody-colored" here[d] rather than "red like cinnabar".[c][h]

The text concludes by stating that the manticore "seeks human flesh, is active, and leaps so that neither large spaces nor broad obstacles can delay it[40] (neither the broadest space nor the widest barrier can hinder it)".[39]

Actually there are two candidate sources given for the passage, "Solinus 52.37" and "H iii.8";[45] this "H" being the pseudo-Hugh of Saint Victor De bestiis et aliis rebus, edited by Migne,[46][47] but this source has been regarded circumspectly as the "problematic De bestiis et aliis rebus" by Clark.[48]

The manticore also occurs in the earliest "Transitional" First Family bestiary (c. 1185),[i][28][50] and some Third Family codices as well, whose illustrations attempted to reproduce some of the finer details given in its text.[26]

As aforementioned, the manticore is one of three hybrids from Aithiopia described together by Solinus,[51] appearing in (nearly) successive chapters of the bestiary.[52][j] This created the groundwork for the beasts in adjacent chapters being confounded or amalgamated through scribal errors, as described below in the cases of bestiaries produced in France.

The manticore is basically absent from the French bestiary of Pierre de Beauvais,[k] which exist in the short versions of 38 or 39 chapters, and the long version of 71 chapters. Instead, there is a Chapter 44 on the "centicore" (or santicora, var. ceucrocata[53]), which suggests manticore in name, but which is nothing like the standard manticore.[l][54][m] The name is thought to have arisen from misspellings of leucrocotta, compounded by the suffix replaced by -cora by scribal error.[55] Due to further mistransmission, "centicore" became the French misnomer for the yale (eale), a mythic antelope which should be a separate entry in the bestiaries.[57]

bred among the Indians, having a treble rowe of teeth beneath and above, whose greatnesse, roughnesse, and feete are like a Lyons, his face and eares like unto a mans, his eies grey, and collour red, his taile like the taile of a Scorpion of the earth, armed with a sting, casting forth sharp pointed quills, his voice like the voice of a small trumpet or pipe, being in course as swift as a Hart; His wildnes such as can never be tamed, and his appetite is especially to the flesh of man. His body like the body of a Lyon, being very apt both to leape and to run, so as no distance or space doth hinder him,.. [64][62]

Topsell thought the manticore was described by other names elsewhere. He thought that it was the "same Beast which Avicen calleth Marion, and Maricomorion" and also, the same as the "Leucrocuta, about the bigness of a wilde Ass, being in legs and Hoofs like a Hart, having his mouth reaching on both sides to his ears, and the head and face of a female like unto a Badgers".[62][10]

And Topsell wrote that in India they would "bruise the buttockes and taile" of the whelp or cub they captured, causing it to be incapable of using its quills, thus removing the danger.[62] This differs somewhat from the original sources which stated that they would crush the tail with stone to make them useless.

The mantyger is glossed as merely a variant reading of manticore in the OED,[66] though the 17th century heraldry collector Randle Holme made a fine distinction between manticore and mantyger. Holme's description of the manticore seems to derive directly from naturalist Edward Topsell (cf. above),

[The manticore has] the face of a man, the mouth open to the ears with a treble row of teeth beneath and above; long neck, whose greatness, roughness, body and feet are like a Lyon: of a red colour, his tail like the tail of a Scorpion of the Earth, the end armed with a sting, casting forth sharp pointed quills.[67]

while he describes the mantyger as having "the face and ears of a man, the body of a Tyger, and whole footed like Goose or Dragon; yet others make it with feet like a Tyger", etc., and also noting that they may be horned or unhorned.[68]

It is noted that the manticore/mantiger of heraldic devices has a beast of prey body as standard, but sometimes chosen to be given dragon feet.[5] The Radcliffe family manticore appears to have human feet,[71] and (not so surprisingly), a chronicler described as a "Babyon" (baboon) the device by John Radcliffe (Lord Fitzwater) accompanying Henry VIII into war in France.[72] It has also been speculated the Babyngton device is intended to represent the "Babyon, or baboon, as a play upon his name", and it too also has characteristically "monkey-like feet".[73][p]

The typical heraldic manticore is supposed to have not only the face of an old man, but spiraling horns as well,[5][71][75] although this is not really ascertainable in the Radcliffe family badge, where the purple manticore is wearing a yellow cap[65] (cap of dignity [71]).

And inasmuch as the following conversation also has been recorded by Damis as having been held upon this occasion with regard to the mythological animals and fountains and men met with in India, I must not leave it out, for there is much to be gained by neither believing nor yet disbelieving everything. Accordingly Apollonius asked the question, whether there was there an animal called the man-eater (martichoras); and Iarchas replied: "And what have you heard about the make of this animal? For it is probable that there is some account given of its shape." "There are," replied Apollonius, "tall stories current which I cannot believe; for they say that the creature has four feet, and that his head resembles that of a man, but that in size it is comparable to a lion; while the tail of this animal puts out hairs a cubit long and sharp as thorns, which it shoots like arrows at those who hunt it."

I am looking for advice from someone who has defeated the Manticore recently with Argentavis (most info I find is 1-2 years old). I was wondering if the Argy is still a viable choice and if so what stats I should aim for when looking to solo the boss. Can they be used on Gamma, Beta and Alpha? Do you fight with 20ea x Argent or do you use a mix? I have a few boss level Argy, Vulture and am working on wyvern. Any info you can provide would be helpful, thank you!

Gamma is possible. 19 and a yuti. The problem is the argies bugging and constantly trying to land instead of fighting. Takes forever. I have 1200 melee argies and sometimes it takes 18 minutes to down manticore. Before this bug could do gamma in 3 minutes.

Last time I tried alpha with a Yuty and 19 Argies that had 10k hp, 1.4k% melee and 100-124 armor saddles, I lost the fight due to running out of time. Used to kill it in few minutes without trouble before v279.275 but the following change made them headless chickens:

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