GOLEMS

The idea of golems - creatures made from clay - has proven to be popular, as Dungeons and Dragons and Final Fantasy have created several variations on the theme.

Clay Golem -- Iron Golem -- Mithril Golem -- Steel Golem -- Stone Golem -- Wood Golem

CLAY GOLEM

According to Hebrew folklore, a clay figure could be brought to life and serve its creator - these clay men were called golems. A legend relates that a rabbi living in 16th century Prague, the capital of Czechoslovakia, created a golem to protect the town's persecuted Jewish population. It's said that the now lifeless golem is still in the attic of a Prague synagogue

IMAGE: The title character of the 1920 film The Golem: How he Came into the World, based on the legend of the golem of Prague

IRON GOLEM, STONE GOLEM

Two Dungeons and Dragons variations on the golem legend. There are similar creatures in legends, although as they weren't created using kabbilistic magic, they can't truly be considered golems. Examples of stone "golems" include the animated statues that were mentioned in Greek myths and continued to be documented as late as 1985, when several statues of the Virgin Mary in Ireland were reported to move and speak, although these particular statues were unlikely to be made of stone. The only living iron figure that I know of is the titular robot from Ted Hughs' book The Iron Man, but there are legends of "golems" made from other metals. For example, the 13 century alchemist Albertus Magnus allegedly brought a bronze statue to life, but it became so annoyingly talkative that Magnus' pupil, Thomas Aquinas, scrapped it.

IMAGES: The title character of the 1920 film The Golem: How he Came into the World, based on the legend of the golem of Prague -- Stone and iron golems from D&D

MITHRIL GOLEM, STEEL GOLEM, WOOD GOLEM

Three of Square's variations on the golem legend. Mithril is a fictional metal from J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings novels (for the closest approxiamtions of this and the steel golem that I can find, see the iron golem entry). The only legend of wood becoming sentient that I can think of is the Norse myth of the first humans, Ask and Embla, who were created by the gods from driftwood, but they can hardly be considered wood golems as they became flesh and blood in the process.

IMAGE: The title character of the 1920 film The Golem: How he Came into the World, based on the legend of the golem of Prague

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