Blemmia (mythical creatures)

Blemiy. Drawing from the Nuremberg Chronicle, 1493

Acephals ( Greek ἀκέφαλοι - headless) or Blemmia ( Latin Blemmyae , Greek βλέμμυες ) - a fictional race of human-like creatures that have no head and eyes and mouth are located on the chest. The first known description of akephals is in the "History" of Herodotus ^[1] . Pliny the Elder called such creatures a blemish in " Natural History " (in Book V, 8).

Their habitat in antiquity and the Middle Ages was considered Africa , usually - the territory south of Egypt: Nubia , Kush , Ethiopia , and occasionally - the countries of Southeast Asia . Sometimes described as creatures of unusually tall stature.

The origin of the legend of the blemies is probably connected with a real tribe with the same name, who lived in Nubia and fought with the Roman troops. On their armor and shields, they often depicted large human faces, and from afar it really seemed that they were their own faces, located at the level of the chest or abdomen.