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สั ตว์ประหลาดและอมนุษย์ในต� ำนานและวรรณกรรมตะวั นตก 170 The Journal of the Royal Institute of Thailand Vol. 38 No. 4 Oct-Dec 2013 บรรณานุกรม มาลิทัต พรหมทัตตเวที. (๒๕๔๗) เ ทพนิยายที่เป็นพื้นฐานของวรรณคดี. กรุงเทพมหานคร : ส� ำนักพิมพ์ มหาวิทยาลัยรามค� ำแหง. Dobell, Steve. (1996) Mythical Beasts. Singapore: Star Standard Industries Pte. Ltd. Dobell, Steve. (1996) Mermaids. Singapore: Star Standard Industries Pte. Ltd. Hamilton, Edith. (1996) Mythology. New york: The New American Library Inc. Oswalt, Sabine G. (1996) Concise Encyclopedia of World Mythology . Glasgow: Wm. Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. Stapleton, Michael. (1996) The Illustrated Dictionary of Greek and Roman Mythology. New York: Peter Bedrick Books, Inc. Suckling, Nigel. (1996) The Book of the Unicorn. Singapore: Kyodo Printing Company Limited. Warner, Rex. ed. (1975) Encyclopedia of World Mythology. Hong Kong: Mandarin Publishers Limited. Zimmerman, J.E. (1964) Dictionary of Classical Mythology. New York: Harper & Row Publishers. Abstract Mythical Beasts in Western Myths and Literature Malithat Promathatavedi Associate Fellow of The Academy of Arts, The Royal Institute, Thailand Monsters and mythical beasts play an important role in Western mythology and literature. They do not exist in reality, just the fruit of the imagination. These monsters serve to enhance the prowess of the heroes: dragon slayers, giant killers, etc. They appear in the epics The Iliad and The Odyssey by the Greek poet Homer and in the popular modern literary works such as Harry Potter, The Hobbit, and The Lord of the Rings. When these works are made into movies Griffins, Chimaera, cyclops, mermaids, dragons, Minotaur, Medusa, and unicorns are featured as well. It is therefore advantageous for the readers to learn about these monsters and mythical beasts so that they could get a better grasp of the stories, enhance their imagination and have greater enjoyment of the books and movies. Keywords : Mythical beasts, Monsters, Mermaids, Dragons, Medusa, Unicorn