I’ve always had a thing for the myth of the Kraken.
I would almost go as far as saying that I’m obsessed by it, except it’s not like I think about it all the time, or that I daydream about it, or that I play with small action figures of a Kraken swallowing a tiny ship full of horrified little sailors.

So, I won’t. Let’s go back to my first statement: I’ve always had a thing for the myth of the Kraken.

It’s not difficult to imagine how it came into existence, is it?
I figure that the very first time puny humans ventured out to the unfamiliar sea, on a flimsy, floating chunk of wood, they stared nervously down to the dark depths and wondered “what if there’s a giant monster down there?”.

Hell, I wondered that myself when, scuba diving off the West coast of Sardinia, I suddenly found myself out of shallow waters, staring into a dark, impenetrable depth.
I imagined a giant mouth coming out of the dark, from below, big enough to fill my field of view. And then I swam back to the shore, because I am chicken.

And it’s not like the Mediterranean is deep and full of predators. The worst you can find is probably a school of tuna.

Anyway, I was having these thoughts the other day while doodling during my lunch break at work, and I came up with this.

Kraken aside, I figured this scene might have happened at some point, right?
Primitive people sacrificing some poor sod to keep the Kraken well fed, and prevent it from shifting its attention to the fishing fleets.

It may have happened multiple times, I dare say.
Imagine you’re a primitive guy, and you just sacrificed some other guy to the Gods of the Sea. Clearly since a Kraken didn’t actually show up you MUST have done something right!

Anyway, bonus content:

The single and only reason why I would really like to be a God is to have the chance to command someone to RELEASE THE KRAKEN.

by Paolo Puggioni

3 Responses

1. massimo says:

   August 12, 2014 at 13:57

   Well, actually the myth could come from the *real* giant squids that actually exist in the depths. People might have seen them beached here and there and shivered in fear.

   Reply
2. massimo says:

   August 12, 2014 at 13:57

   Oh, and AWESOME painting, one of the best of yours I’ve seen!

   Reply
   • Paolo Puggioni says:

     August 12, 2014 at 14:23

     Thanks!
     I don’t know, even now it’s such a VERY rare occurrence. I would see the irrational fear as more likely, but you never know.

     Reply