Cthulhu [usually pronounced "kuh-THOO-loo"] is a Great Old One (..."malevolent deities which are most frequently worshiped by humans. Many participate in the affairs of humanity, always to the detriment of the species. A number of the Great Old Ones are imprisoned on Earth, often beneath Elder Signs"*1 ), who came to earth from the stars. Upon his arrival he built a a great prehistoric city at R'lyeh. "Cthulhu's cult is the most widespread and popular cult from the earthly Great Old ones."*2
Cthulhu is an evilly aligned being who's legends warn of laying waste to the world if ever awoken from his slumber in the sunken city of R'lyeh. Although in, "millenial sleep, Cthulhu is known to send horrifying dreams to mortal men, which may have tipped some people into madness"*1, or worship.
Cthulhu's description is best summed by the following quote:
"If I say that my somewhat extravagant imagination yielded simultaneous pictures of an octopus, a dragon, and a human caricature, I shall not be unfaithful to the spirit of the thing. A pulpy, tentacled head surmounted a grotesque and scaly body with rudimentary wings... A monster of vaguely anthropoid outline, but with and octopus-like head whose face was a mass of feelers, a scaly, rubbery-looking body, prodigious claws on hind and fore free, and long, narrow wings behind. This thing... was of somewhat bloated corpulence's lumbered slobberingly into sight and gropingly squeezed it gelatinous green immensity through the black doorway...A mountain walked or stumbled" -- H.P. Lovecraft, The Call of Cthulhu
Cthulhu inhabit's R'lyeh or rather waits entombed there below the Pacific Ocean.
“The sunken continent is of vast size but the tomb of Great Cthulhu is located at approximately S. Latitude 47 9', W Longitude 126 43'. That region of the sunken continent was briefly thrust above the surface in the spring of 1925, revealing a grotesque city of cyclopean stone constructed on geometrical lines unfamiliar to man. Before a few days, however it again sank below the waters.”*2
Cthulhu was perhaps first written about in the Necronimicron by Abdul "The Mad Arab" Al-Hazrad.
"That is not dead which can eternal lie,
And with strange æons, even death may die" -Necronimicron
The above quote referencing Cthulhu in his sleep like state, forgotten but to rise again.
The Necronomicron also feature the famous quote of Cthulhu cultists: "ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn" which translates to "In his house at R'lyeh dead Cthulhu waits dreaming".
"Cthulhu is sometime called Khadhula in the Arabic Necromicron",*1 the name being a difficult Arabic name to translate into Greek.
Some translations of Cthulhu in different languages:
Latin: Cthulhu
Greek: xthulu
Arabic: khadhulu (meaning 'abandoner' or 'forsaker')
Hebrew: chadel (connected to the meaning of Sheol or Hell)
Sanskrit: katala
Chinese: kui tai loa hai (roughly meaning "ancient evil oceanic demon")
"In elder days prehistoric civilizations openly worshiped Cthulhu. Atlantis built great temples to Cthulhu..."*2 However with the loss of the civilizations that worshiped Cthulhu, their knowledge also was lost. Cthulhu is still worshiped to this day by modern cults. "A voodoo-oriented cult in New Orleans was broken up by police around the turn of the century. Suspected of numerous kidnappings and murders, most of those captured were judged too insane to stand trial." Isolated but consistent reports of cults worshiping Cthulhu still happen. "Although these various cults seem to have little or no connection with one another, they all share common characteristics regarding worship of their god and the rites and chats used to propitiate him."*2
*1 denotes the “Call of Cthulhu” Roleplaying game sourcebook, By Sandy Petersen & Lynn Willis. Chaosium Inc. - 2386
*2 denotes “The Keeper's Companion: A Core Book for Keeper's. Vol. 1” which is a sourcebook for the rpg “Call of Cthulhu”mentioned above. Chaosium Inc. - 2388
Electronic Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cthulhu
And of course the short story “Call of Cthulhu” by H.P. Lovecraft
I see you posted an image by Paul Carrick. Did you notice that he is now featured on this site?