The Mythical Zoo: An Encyclopedia of Animals in World Myth, Legend, and Literature

324 Pages·2001·2.32 MB·English

by  Boria Sax Ph.D.

THE MYTHICAL ZOO

THE MYTHICAL ZOO
AN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ANIMALS IN
WORLD MYTH, LEGEND, & LITERATURE
Boria Sax
Santa Barbara, California Denver, Colorado Oxford, England
Copyright © 2001 by Boria Sax
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in
a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, except for the inclusion
of brief quotations in a review, without prior permission in writing from the
publishers.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Sax, Boria.
The mythical zoo : an encyclopedia of animals in world myth, legend,
and literature / Boria Sax.
p. cm.
Includes index.
Summary: An encyclopedia of animals as they have appeared in myth and
legend throughout history.
ISBN 1-57607-612-1 (hardcover : alk. paper); 1-57607-613-X (e-book)
1. Animals—Folklore—Encyclopedias. 2. Animals—Mythology—
Encyclopedias. 3. Animals, Mythical—Encyclopedias. 4. Animals in
literature—Encyclopedias. [1. Animals—Folklore—Encyclopedias. 2. Animals—
Mythology—Encyclopedias. 3. Animals, Mythical—Encyclopedias.] I. Title.
GR705 .S344 2001
398.24'5'03—dc21
2001004422
06 05 04 03 02 01 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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This book is printed on acid-free paper I.
Manufactured in the United States of America
CONTENTS
Preface, vii
Introduction, ix
The Mythical Zoo
Ant, 1 Elephant, 104
Ape and Monkey, 6 Falcon and Hawk, 111
Ass, Mule, and Camel, 14 Fly, Louse, and Flea, 114
Bat, 21 Fox, Jackal, and Coyote, 116
Bear, 23 Frog and Toad, 123
Beaver, Porcupine, Badger, and Grasshopper, Locust, Cricket,
Miscellaneous Rodents, 29 Cicada, and Mantis, 129
Bee and Wasp, 34 Hare and Rabbit, 135
Beetle, 41 Hart and Hind, 141
Bull and Cow, 44 Hedgehog, 147
Butterfly and Moth, 52 Heron, Ibis, Crane, and Stork,
Cat, 57 149
Cock and Hen, 64 Hippopotamus, 154
Crocodile, 68 Horse, 157
Crow, Raven, and Other Hyena, 164
Corvids, 72 Lion, Tiger, Panther, and Jaguar,
Cuckoo, Nightingale, Lark, 173
Woodpecker, and Other Ostrich, Hummingbird, Parrot,
Musical Birds, 78 and Peacock, 185
Dog, 85 Owl, 189
Dove and Pigeon, 95 Pig, 193
Eagle, 101 Rat and Mouse, 201
v
Rhinoceros, 207 Starfish, Clam, Octopus, and
Salmon and Carp, 211 Other Creatures of the Sea
Scorpion, 214 Floor, 244
Seagull, Albatross, and Other Swallow, 247
Seabirds, 217 Swan, Goose, and Duck, 249
Seal and Dolphin, 219 Turtle and Tortoise, 255
Sheep and Goat, 222 Whale, 263
Snake, Lizard, and Related Wolf, 267
Animals, 227 Worm, 274
Sparrow, 235 Wren and English Robin, 276
Spider, 237
Index, 281
About the Author, 299
vi Contents
PREFACE
Now as at all times I can see in the mind’s eye,
In their stiff, painted clothes, the pale unsatisfied ones
Appear and disappear in the blue depth of the sky
With their ancient faces like rain-beaten stones,
And all their helms of silver hovering side by side,
And all their eyes still fixed, hoping to find once more,
Being by Calvary’s turbulence unsatisfied,
The uncontrollable mystery on the bestial floor.
—W. B. Yeats, “The Magi”
I would like to thank my wife, Linda Sax, who read parts of this man-
uscript at various stages of composition and made numerous correc-
tions and offered many useful suggestions. My thanks go also to Di-
anne Littwin, my agent, who did an excellent job of selling the
manuscript. Several of the illustrations are taken from the Pictorial
Archive Series from Dover Books. All biblical quotations are from the
Jerusalem Bible.
Both animals and their symbolism are overwhelming in their va-
riety, and this book could theoretically become as endless as the sub-
ject itself. In a similar way, the sources of this book are so many and
varied that it would be very cumbersome, and perhaps impossible, to
list them all. I have tried, in the selected references following each en-
try, to give either those that had special importance for the preceding
text or would be particularly useful to the reader who wishes to in-
vestigate further. Citations have been confined to direct quotations. In
a few retellings of stories, I have taken the liberty of inventing bits of
dialogue to make the story more vivid, and these, of course, are not
cited. In doing this, I have never changed the plot, and this mild li-
vii
cense certainly follows in the tradition of the legendary Aesop, whose
stories exist in several variants but not in any definitive edition.
In a project such as this one, finding material is never a problem,
but deciding what to leave out can be a very big one indeed. My pol-
icy has been to emphasize depth rather than breadth. I wished to con-
vey the ideas underlying the treatment of animals in myth, legend,
and related aspects of human culture, rather than simply give bits of
disconnected information. This book is intended not only for use as a
reference but also to document how profoundly animals and their
symbolism are integrated into human values. It is important for us to
be aware of this today, as we confront the massive extinction of fa-
miliar varieties and the genetic engineering of new ones.
viii Preface
INTRODUCTION
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.
—William Shakespeare, Hamlet (act 1, scene 5)
You are sitting in the park and your eyes meet those of a squirrel.
What do you see? The Vikings saw a messenger that moved back and
forth between the underworld and the abodes of humans and gods.
The Ainu saw the worn, discarded sandals of the god Aioina. For late
medieval people, the squirrel was sometimes a form taken by a witch.
Simply by saying the name “squirrel,” however, we dissipate part of
the mystery.
In the second biblical tale of creation, Adam gains dominance
over the animals by naming them (Gen. 2:20). Did he give them names
as species such as “Elephant”? Did he give them individual names
such as “Babar”? In the language of God, words fit reality so perfectly
that there was no need for such distinctions. Since human beings were
scattered after Babel, we have lost that perfect language. Asingle crea-
ture is “Rover,” “dog,” “pet,” “canid,” “mammal,” and many other
things besides.
Without the primal language of Adam, the act of naming the an-
imals is a continuous process. Aristotle first systematized the classifi-
cation of animals. In the modern era, the Aristotelian system of classi-
fication was greatly refined by Carolus Linnaeus. Before the
eighteenth century, bats were usually considered winged mice. After
looking carefully at their anatomy, Linnaeus decided that bats were
really primates. Reconsidering, he finally placed them in a separate
family, and that is where they have stayed ever since. The classifica-
ix
tions we use in everyday life are usually rough, informal versions of
those that have been worked out by scientists over the centuries.
Scientists generally regard animals as belonging to different
species when they do not habitually mate together. Although dogs,
wolves, jackals, and coyotes are capable of mating together, they gen-
erally do not do so in the wild, so each of these is considered a distinct
species. In contexts of domestication, however, such a definition be-
comes problematic. Ahorse and an ass not only can mate but also are
often induced to do so to produce a mule, which retains useful quali-
ties of both species. Today, with food animals the genetic manipula-
tion is so intense that sometimes one can no longer speak of species at
all. The turkeys that are sold for Thanksgiving have such large breasts
that they cannot reach one another to mate but must be reproduced
through artificial insemination.
With gene splicing, it is now possible to cross divisions not only
of species and genus but even between plants and animals. Scientists
have produced a cross between a sheep and a goat, known as a
“geep.” They have inserted genes from flounder into the genetic code
of tomatoes to increase resistance to frost, and they have inserted
genes from chickens into tomatoes to make the plants more resistant
to disease. They have placed human genetic material in pigs to pro-
duce organs that will not be rejected when transplanted into human
beings. These creatures are like the monsters of folklore, and it may
well be that in the future we will see crosses between human beings
and chimpanzees or gorillas. Contemporary genetic theory views an-
imals, including human beings, less as individuals or representatives
of species than as repositories of hereditary information. As we ex-
amine new ways of thinking about animals, it is best not to forget the
older ones. These traditional perspectives are intimately linked to cul-
tural values and practices that we have developed over millennia.
When it comes to establishing the identity of an animal, biology
is not nearly enough. Often we are so impressed with the success of
science that we forget it is merely one aspect of a larger tradition.
Every name places an animal in a tradition that is constantly devel-
oping. It surrounds the animal with ideas and associations. My dic-
tionary defines “tradition” as “an inherited pattern of thought and ac-
tion.” It comes from “trade,”which originally meant “track.” To study
a tradition is to track a creature, as though one were a hunter, back
through time. The names we give animals carry intricate expectations
and assumptions. As we learn of the traditions that have grown up
around animals, they regain something of the magical quality that
they had in cave paintings of prehistoric times.
x Introduction