What is the kraken?
The kraken is a gigantic sea monster said to appear in Scandinavian waters, such as off Norway and Iceland. Its back was so large it could be mistaken for an island, and it was feared for wrapping its many arms around ships and dragging them into the sea.
A sailors’ legend
In the 18th century, Erik Pontoppidan, Bishop of Bergen in Norway, described the kraken in detail in his Natural History of Norway, based on what fishermen told him. He wrote that when the kraken rose to the surface, fish gathered around it and fishermen made great catches, but when it sank it created a dangerous whirlpool. Later the kraken came to be depicted as a giant squid or octopus and became a popular subject of novels and films.
What is the kraken really?
The kraken is thought to be the giant squid, which lives in the deep sea. Including its long tentacles, a giant squid can exceed 10 meters, and weakened squid floating near the surface or carcasses washed ashore are believed to have given rise to the legend.
