This week's #CreatureoftheWeek has us exploring the giant crab #Karkinos. Can he be found in the rock pools of #Rottingdean?
Surprisingly, I haven't come across many crabs in mythology and folklore. It's an odd one because I find them super weird. Here are some reasons why:
They are mega old, popping up originally around 200 million years ago in the Jurassic period.
They can get HUGE, the Japanese spider crabs can grow up to 12 feet long
The coconut crab is also mahoosive and has been known to eat cats and birds
They have like, 2,000 babies at a time
There are blue blooded crabs that have magical blood that tells us if human medicine is safe
They use sea anemones as weapons
Crabs ate Amelia Earhart
Freaky right?! This is why I'm surprised they don't crop up in more old stories...... if you know of some where they feature, please let me know!
The most famous crab from mythology is the giant crab Karkinos.
After #Hercules messed up and murdered his wife and kids (he didn't really mean to do it, #Hera had made him insane!), he had to redeem himself for his massive cock up. The things he had to do were called the #LaboursofHercules.
The first labour was to kill the #NemeanLion who couldn't be harmed by any weapons. This wasn't an issue for Hercules who just wrestled the lion with his bare hands and skinned him alive, standard tough guy behaviour.
The next task involved defeating #Hydra who was a nine headed serpent with poisonous breath. He tried to batter one of her heads off with a club but when he did two serpent heads grew back in it's place. Before he could defeat her in battle Hydra's mate, the giant crab Karkinos, rocks up and bites him on the foot!
As we have already established, Hercules is a #hardbastard, and being bitten on the foot really pisses him off so he kicks Karkinos in the face and cracks his shell and kills him.
Hera is really chuffed that Karkinos attempted to hurt Hercules. Hera is an enemy of Hercules and is always trying to sabotage him. She is actually his dad's Mrs, but Hercules was born through an affair so she hates him. We'll explore this more and the rest of the Hydra vs Hercules story another time, but let's stick to Karkinos for now...
Hera is so pleased with Karkinos she rewards him by putting his corpse in the sky amongst the stars as the constellation Cancer. So if you want to see Karkinos then all you have to do is take a look up at the night's sky. The BBC have done an awesome stargazing guide if you need some tips.
Me and Nigel did a bit of stargazing but we wanted to find a real Karkinos so popped over to Rottingdean to go hunting for the #giantcrab in the rock pools. Granted, it would have to be a rather massive rock for him to hide under, but that didn't stop me and Nigel giving it a go.
We found a few crabs but, being terrified of crabs, I was too scared to pick them up and they scuttle off pretty quick. However my friend Dan is very brave, he found a ferocious crab wielding a mussel shell as lethal weapon and he wasn't even frightened.
Can you find Karkinos in a rock pool near you? If you find him or any of his buddies we'd love to see, please send us your pictures!
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