Origins of HOMM's armies

[Paviel]

I thought I'd try to summarize where each creature in the Heroes series came from, culturally or mythologically speaking. I'll start with Heroes I, and see if I'm up for the sequels later.

Note that I'm focusing primarily on the names of these creatures, and the definitions of the names. Their appearances, statistics, and/or abilities might not be consistent with the origin of the names.

NEUTRAL

Rogue: Mundane and ubiquitous
Nomad: Mundane and ubiquitous
Ghost: Ubiquitous
Genie: Arabic mythology

KNIGHT

Peasant, Archer, Pikeman, Swordsman, and Cavalry: Mundane, from medieval or renaissance Europe
Paladin: French mythology

BARBARIAN

Goblin: Germanic mythology
Orc: Tolkien's mythology
Wolf: Mundane and ubiquitous
Ogre: European mythology
Troll: Norse mythology
Cyclops: Greek mythology

SORCERESS

Sprite: Ubiquitous
Dwarf: Norse mythology
Elf: Norse mythology
Druid: Mundane, from ancient Gaul and Britain
Unicorn: Medieval European mythology?
Phoenix: Greek mythology

WARLOCK

Centaur: Greek mythology
Gargoyle: Mundane, from medieval European architecture
Griffin: Greek mythology
Minotaur: Greek mythology
Hydra: Greek mythology
Dragon: Ubiquitous

I find it interesting how the Heroes series mixes elements from so many different myths together.

[Paviel]

Here are the creatures introduced in Heroes II. Most upgraded versions of creatures have the same mythological origins as their non-upgraded counterparts, so I have only included the exceptions:

NEUTRAL

Medusa: Greek mythology
Elementals: Paracelsus

KNIGHT

Crusader: Mundane, originally a medieval Arabic slur

NECROMANCER

Skeleton: Mundane and ubiquitous
Zombie: Haitian mythology
Mummy: Mundane and ubiquitous
Vampire: Eastern European mythology
Lich: Original meaning (corpse) is mundane and ubiquitous.
Bone Dragon: Not found in any mythology?

WIZARD

Halfling: Tolkien's mythology
Boar: Mundane, from Eurasia
Iron Golem: Jewish mythology
Roc: Hindi mythology
Mage: Original meaning (priest) is mundane, from ancient Iran.
Giant: Ubiquitous; Titans are from Greek mythology.