Blemmila

Blemmilae are mythical creatures described in ancient and medieval texts as headless beings with their faces located in their chests. Their name is derived from the Greek word "blemmys," meaning "without a mouth." These creatures were often depicted as monstrous or savage, dwelling in distant and exotic lands. Descriptions vary; some accounts state they have eyes in their chests, while others attribute them with other sensory organs there.

The concept of the blemmyae appears in early Greek and Roman writings, notably in the works of Ctesias, a Greek physician and historian, and later Pliny the Elder, who included them in his Naturalis Historia. These descriptions were often based on traveler's tales and fragmented accounts of peoples from Africa and India. During the Middle Ages, blemmyae continued to feature in bestiaries and illuminated manuscripts, serving as examples of the strange and monstrous inhabitants of the unknown world. Their depiction often reinforced existing geographical and cultural biases, portraying remote regions as home to creatures that defied natural order. While purely mythological, the persistence of the blemmyae in literature reflects a human fascination with the exotic and the unknown, and how such tales were used to delineate the boundaries of the known world.