[Gayalondiel]

Probably there's a lot of greek influence, as in ancient myths and legends.<P>I could go on about this, but as its Harry Potter not LOTR i'll just point out that pretty much all Rowling's 'creatures': giant spiders, centaurs, sphinxes, dragons etc are drawn straight from classical mythology, Greek or otherwise. they behave like they would in myth too (eg the sphinx asks riddles, see 'Oedipus Tyrannus' by sophocles)<P>JRRT can be said to have done much the same, Elves and Dwarves aren't new creatures, and they act right: real-life 'dwarves' were very persecuted in centuries past and would have receded to their own dwellings, symbolised by living underground (poorly explained and a bit tenuous i know). other creatures, like dragons and the watcher in the water can be seen in myth, (the watcher may possibly be derived from the Kracken).<P>Lots of authors do this, indeed its probably impossible to write (especially fantasy) without influence. after all, today's mythology is yesterday's fantasy tale <P>