Reptilian humanoid
Reptilian humanoids are a common motif in
mythology,
folklore,
science fiction,
ufology, and contemporary
conspiracy theories. They are variously said to be beings that evolved on
Earth parallel to mankind,
extraterrestrials, supernatural entities, or the remains of a pre-human civilization. Depending on context they are known by many names, including
Snakepeople, Reptoids, Dinosauroids, Lizardfolk or
Lizardmen and
Chitauri.
Mythology
Reptilian humanoids of varying depictions have been common in the myths and legends of many cultures throughout history.
Europe
Cecrops I, the mythical first
King of Athens was half man, half
snake. This is illustrated, for example, on a
frieze on the
Pergamon Altar in
Pergamum. In these images from
Pergamum, some of which depict
gigantomachy, one sees the giant Klyteros with huge serpents between his legs.
Boreas (
Aquilon to the Romans) was the Greek god of the cold north wind, described by
Pausanias as a winged man with serpents between his legs.
[1] The ancient Greek cult of
Glycon worshipped a snake god who had the head of a man.
India
In
Indian scriptures and legends, the
Naga (Devanagari: नाग) are reptilian beings said to live underground and interact with human beings on the surface. In some versions, these beings were said to have once lived on a
continent in the
Indian Ocean that sank beneath the waves. Indian texts also refer to a reptilian race called the "
Sarpa" (Devanagari: सर्प). The
Syrictæ (Greek:
Skiritai; Latin:
Sciritae) of India were a legendary tribe of men with snake-like nostrils in place of noses and bandy serpentine legs.[
citation needed]
East Asia
The Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean and Japanese speak throughout their history of
龍 (Lóng) (
Yong in Korean,
Ryu in Japanese) or
dragons, conceived of in both physical and non-physical forms, but rarely depicted in humanoid form, though they may assume a non-reptilian human form.
[2]
In
China,
Korea and
Japan, underwater realms are referred to where the
Dragon Kings and their descendants live, as well as a
lineage of humans descended from a race of dragons. This lineage was often claimed by East Asian emperors, who were believed to be able to change from
human to
dragon form at will.
In Japan, there are myths about the
kappa, or lizard men who live near rivers and attack passers by.
Middle East
In the
Middle East, reptilian beings ranging from certain
Jinn to dragons and serpent-men have been spoken of since ancient times. In one of the apocryphal books falsely purporting to be the lost
Book of Jasher, a serpent race is described.
In the
Book of Genesis,
God punishes the
serpent for deceiving
Eve into eating the fruit of the
Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil by decreeing, "Upon thy belly thou shalt go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of your life" (Genesis 3:14 KJV). Traditionally, many have felt this implied that the serpent (a snake or reptile) had legs before then. Thus It is therefore often portrayed in
Western art as a humanoid (woman) with a snake's tail, and sometimes lizard-like feet, as in a detail from
Bosch's Last Judgement.
Modern claims
Even in modern times, some claim to have encountered reptilian humanoids. In many of these cases, a
UFO is part of the encounter;
alien abduction narratives sometimes allege contact with reptilian creatures.
[3]
Scientific speculation
An image of Dale Russell's hypothetical "dinosauroid"
In a
thought experiment published in 1982,
paleontologist Dale Russell, curator of vertebrate fossils at the
National Museum of Canada in
Ottawa, conjectured that, had the
Chicxulub meteorite not exterminated the
dinosaurs 65 million years ago, bipedal predators (
theropods) which existed at that time, such as
Troodon, would have evolved into intelligent beings similar in body plan to humans.
Troodontids had semi-manipulative fingers, able to grasp and hold objects to a certain degree, and binocular vision. Like most dinosaurs of the troodontid family, this imaginary creature, which Russell called the "Dinosauroid", would have had large eyes and three fingers on each hand, one of which would have been partially
opposed. As with most modern reptiles (and birds), its genitalia would have been internal. Russell speculated that it would have required a navel, as a placenta aids the development of a large brain case, however it would not have possessed mammary glands, and would have fed its young, as birds do, on regurgitated food. Its language would have sounded somewhat like
bird song. Russell's fanciful speculation has been met with criticism from other paleontologists since the 1980s, many of whom point out that Russell's Dinosauroid is overly anthropomorphic.
Gregory S. Paul (1988) and
Thomas R. Holtz Jr., consider it "suspiciously human" (Paul, 1988) and argue that a large-brained, highly intelligent troodontid would retain a more standard theropod body plan, with a horizontal posture and long tail, and would probably manipulate objects with the snout and feet in the manner of a bird, rather than with human-like "hands".
Darren Naish (2006) pointed to the
ground hornbill as a better model for an intelligent dinosaur.
[4][5] The artist Nemo Ramjet has used these new approaches to the original thought experiment to re-interpret the Dinosauroid, going so far as to create "Dinosauroid cave art", which depicts sentient, tool-using troodontids and other dinosaurs and pterosaurs, painted using sticks and feathers.
[6]
Cryptozoology
Main article: Lizard Man of Scape Ore Swamp
Claims of a "lizard man" in South Carolina have circulated for decades. First reported in
Scape Ore Swamp in 1988, the creature was "sighted" again in 2008.
Conspiracy theories
Pseudoscientific Concepts Claims:
- Certain intelligent non-human beings, reptilian and humanoid in appearance, exist in and on Earth and have exerted (or are currently exerting) a profound effect on the development of human civilization.
Related scientific disciplines: Year proposed: Original proponents:
Current proponents:
There are many
conspiracy theories involving reptilian extraterrestrials, or terrestrials of reptilian lineage. Many posit that the so-called
Greys are in fact reptiles, and should be categorized as "Reptoids", others that Reptoids are an entirely different species working with or in opposition to the Greys. Some conspiracy promoters, especially
David Icke, have also claimed that they are capable of
shape-shifting.
One of the earliest, modern-day reports is that of
Ashland, Nebraska police officer
Herbert Schirmer. On
December 3,
1967, Schirmer claims to have been taken aboard a
UFO that appeared just outside of Ashland, where he encountered humanoid beings, 4 feet 6 inches to 5 feet (1.38 m to 1.53 m) tall, who wore close-fitting silvery gray uniforms, boots, and gloves. Their heads were thin, and longer than a human head. The skin on their faces was grey-white, the nose flat, the mouth merely a slit which did not move, even when they spoke. Their eyes were slightly slanted. While only slightly reptilian in their outward appearance, these beings bore a "winged serpent"
emblem on the left side of their chest. Schirmer alleged that the beings are from another
galaxy, and have bases on
Earth.
[7]
John Rhodes
John Rhodes was the first person to publicly present claims of reptilian-humanoid sightings and contact
[8]. He established the Reptoids.com
[9] website in 1997 to collect, review and present his claims of reptoid activity. He has also appeared on television and radio shows giving interviews about his beliefs on Reptoids.
Rhodes contends that the majority of the reptilian humanoids are descendants of the dinosaurs and are biological byproducts of Earth evolution. Rhodes cites the 1980s thought experiment of Dale Russell (see above) as an example of scientific projection that correlates his "Evolved Reptoid" theory. Rhodes also states that human attention has been intentionally misdirected away from the underworld toward deep space, so the subject of underground Earth dwelling Reptoids and lost ancient civilizations can remain secret.
Rhodes adds that most accusations of politicians shape-shifting into reptilian humanoids are totally unfounded, and that such reports are simply projections of collective fear and blame for the world's conditions.[
citation needed] When questioned as to why Reptoids have become the proverbial "whipping boys" of modern
ufology, he responds that it is because people tend to have a knee-jerk reaction to the image that western religious authorities have conditioned them to fear and distrust.[
citation needed]
David Icke
According to
David Icke, reptilian humanoids are the force behind a worldwide
conspiracy directed at manipulation and control of humanity. He contends that most of the world's leaders, from
Bill Clinton,
Hillary Rodham Clinton and
George W. Bush to members of the
British Royal Family, are in fact related to 7-foot (2.1 m) tall, blood-drinking, reptilians from the star system
Alpha Draconis.
According to an interview with David Icke,
Christine Fitzgerald claims that she was a confidante of
Diana, Princess of Wales, and that Diana told her that the Royal Family were reptilian aliens, and that they could shapeshift.
[10] Icke also claims that many
presidents of the United States have been and are reptilian humanoids. In his view, United States foreign policy after
September 11 is the product of a reptilian conspiracy to enslave humanity, with George W. Bush as a servant of the reptilians. He claims that these reptilians came to Earth from the
constellation Draco, as opposed to John Rhodes, of the Reptoids Research Center, who claims that the majority of reptilians are of Earth origin and that they have outposts in various planetary systems and/or dimensions.
Icke draws connections between the reptilian aliens in his theories and the
Annunaki depicted in
Zecharia Sitchin's
12th Planet,
[11] which has led to other conspiracy theorists referring to reptilian humanoids as the "Annunaki";
[12] however, Sitchin himself has always described his Annunaki as purely humanoid.
In fiction
Reptilian humanoids are a common theme in
fiction, whether
fantasy or
science fiction. Because of the aversion that many people have for reptiles in general, reptile-like aliens are often the villain in such works. One observer notes, "Science fiction writers and movie producers are well aware of how appearances affect us, and they are able to construct their aliens to achieve the desired dramatic effects. We may respond favorably to those that remind us of children or pets, and less favorably to those that remind us of lizards... or other creatures that have 'image' problems... For many animals, large eyes or eyelike patterns tend to elicit fear and escape responses. One possible explanation for this is that large, staring eyes often belong to predators. Immense eyes or eyelike appendages may also be threatening to humans, and this threat may contribute to an aversion to 'bug-eyed monsters',"
[13].
Another explanation notes the "slimy" feel of reptiles, rather than their appearance, as a source of horror. R. Rawdon Wilson, Professor Emeritus of the Department of English at the
University of Alberta, explored the theme in
The Hydra's Tale: Imagining Disgust: "Because of the genre's emphasis upon explicit images, horror films are rich in examples of wetness and dissolution... In
Alien,
Aliens, and
Alien3 and
Alien Resurrection, the xenomorphic monsters drip liquid from their mouths in improbable ways... The association with slime is more fundamentally established in the stages of the alien's developmental phases. It is a "Linnean nightmare, defying every natural law of evolution; by turns bivalve, crustacean, reptilian, and humanoid..."
[14]
Human-like reptiles have appeared in various popular treatments, from early pulp short stories and novellas, to full novels,
comic books, television features, films, and the gaming industry. For example, on the TV series '
Babylon 5', there are the '
Drazi', a reptilian race listed as members of the
League of Non-Aligned Worlds, and later, the
Interstellar Alliance
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reptilian_humanoid
, 'a great river'.but I'm starting to waver this is not relevant but you can see the connections
