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The Mythical Zoo
First thought to be divine, animals have played an active role in human culture since prehistoric times. Even today, animals wield symbolic powers as varied as the cultures that embrace them. From ants and elephants to tigers and wrens, the 75 conversational entries in this volume weave together a cross-cultural tapestry encompassing mythology, history, art, science, philosophy and literature while discussing the special significance of animals in human cultures.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2001
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263 people want to read
About the author
Boria Sax
30Ìýbooks76ÌýfollowersI first became interested in the literature of animals around the end of the 1980's, not terribly long after I had obtained my PhD in German and intellectual history. I was feeling frustrated in my search for an academic job and even study of literature. By accident, I came across an encyclopedia of animals that had been written in the early nineteenth century. There, without any self-consciousness, was a new world of romance and adventure, filled with turkeys that spoke Arabic, beavers that build like architects, and dogs that solve murders. Within a few months, I had junked my previous research and devoted my studies to these texts.
Today, I shudder how nervy the switch was for a destitute young scholar, who, despite one book and several articles, had not managed to obtain any steady job except mopping floors. But soon I had managed to publish two books on animals in literature, The Frog King (1990) and The Parliament of Animals (1992). Around 1995, I founded Nature in Legend and Story (NILAS, Inc.), an organization that combines storytelling and scholarship. It was initially, a sort of rag-tag band of intellectual adventurers who loved literature but could not find a niche in the scholarly world. We put together a few conferences, which generated a lot of excitement among the few who attended, but little notice in academia or in what they sometimes call "the real world."
From fables and anecdotes, I moved to mythology, and published The Serpent and the Swan (1997), a study of animal bride tales from around the world. This was followed by many further publications including an examination of the darker side of animal studies, Animals in the Third Reich (2000), and a sort of compendium, The Mythical Zoo (2002), and a cultural history of corvids entitled Crow (2003). My most recent book is City of Ravens: London, its Tower and its Famous Ravens (2011), and Imaginary Animals will be published soon by Reaktion Books in London.
When I embarked on the study of animals in myth and literature, even graduate students did not have to mention a few dozen books just to show that they had read them. In barely more than a couple decades, the literature on human-animal relations has grown enormously in both quantity and sophistication. NILAS, I am proud to say, has become a well established organization, which has sponsored two highly successful conferences together with ISAZ.
But as the study of animals, what I like to call "totemic literature," becomes more of a standard feature of academic programs, I fear that something may be lost. It is now just a little too easy to discourse about the "social construction" and the "transgression" of "boundaries" between animals and human beings. Even as I admire the subtlety of such analysis, I sometimes find myself thinking, "So what?"
Having been there close to the beginning, part of my role is now to preserve some the sensuous immediacy, with that filled the study of animals in literature when it was still a novelty. That sort of "poetry" is not simply a luxury in our intellectual pursuits. With such developments as cloning, genetic engineering, and the massive destruction of natural habitats, we face crises so unprecedented that traditional philosophies, from utilitarianism to deep ecology, can offer us precious little guidance. The possibilities are so overwhelming, that we hardly even know what questions to ask. But neither, I am sure, did the fugitive who once encountered a mermaid in the middle of the woods.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
October 19, 2016
At times a little dry, but it is an extremely useful book about symbolism and animals.
April 25, 2021
While I think it could have been organized better, The Mythical Zoo is still an engrossing exploration of a wide variety of animals, and the ways they've been portrayed in our myths, stories, and artwork through the ages. Instead of grouping the entries by taxonomy, geographical region, or even alphabetically, Sax instead opts for a much more subjective classification system ("Almost Human," "Musicians," etc.). It's a strange choice, not made much more intelligible from the introduction, but at least there's an index in the back, in case you want to revisit a particular animal.
Aside from that quibble, the only other flaw worth mentioning is the need for another editing pass. The name of a goddess is spelled both "Hekat" and "Heket" in the same paragraph, instances of the word "or" being used when it should have been "of" (and similar typos) aren't uncommon, and there are even sentences that were clearly rewritten at some point, without the original version being completely deleted. If there were just one or two of these in the whole book, I wouldn't have bothered mentioning it, but clusters of these mistakes show up periodically, like shotgun blasts, and are nearly as jarring.
That aside, there's a lot of fascinating historical/mythological information here. If you have a fondness for animals, and you're curious about how various cultures have portrayed and reacted to them throughout time, you'll find a lot to like in The Mythical Zoo.
Aside from that quibble, the only other flaw worth mentioning is the need for another editing pass. The name of a goddess is spelled both "Hekat" and "Heket" in the same paragraph, instances of the word "or" being used when it should have been "of" (and similar typos) aren't uncommon, and there are even sentences that were clearly rewritten at some point, without the original version being completely deleted. If there were just one or two of these in the whole book, I wouldn't have bothered mentioning it, but clusters of these mistakes show up periodically, like shotgun blasts, and are nearly as jarring.
That aside, there's a lot of fascinating historical/mythological information here. If you have a fondness for animals, and you're curious about how various cultures have portrayed and reacted to them throughout time, you'll find a lot to like in The Mythical Zoo.
December 26, 2014
An entertaining, informative book that pulls stories & facts about a wide range of animals from many sources. It could have used an editor, though. There are many typos & a few geographical errors: Jericho isn't in or near Turkey, Theseus wanders the Labyrinth & the Minotaur lives there (not the other way 'round, Crimea isn't an island & there isn't an ancient Egyptian city called 'Crocopolis.'
October 17, 2014
This book would have been better except for the errors I kept finding as I was reading. Things that should have been taken care of during editing.
August 20, 2022
Interesting if tedious and dry in places, this book covers a lot of territory: myths, legends, popular culture and what part various animals play in all those arenas, either as actual beings or as symbols.
Chapters are: Almost human (ape and monkey, bear, beaver & porcupine, pig); Tricksters (coyote, fox & jackal; hare & rabbit; spider); Sages (bee & wasp; crow, raven & rook; owl; carp & salmon); Just beautiful (ostrich, parrot, peacock & hummingbird); Musicians (cicada, grasshopper & cricket; cuckoo, lark, nightingale & woodpecker); Tooth and claw (lion, panther, jaguar & tiger; wolf); Mermaid's companions (clam, octopus, sea star, squid & crab; dolphin & seal); The barnyard (bull & cow, cock & hen, goat & sheep); Man's best friends (cat, dog); Beasts of burden (ass, camel, llama & mule; horse); Noble adversaries (hart & hind, American buffalo); Tough guys (badger, ermine, groundhog & squirrel; flea, fly & louse; hedgehog; pigeon; rat & mouse); From the underground (ant, beetle, scorpion, snake & lizard, worm); By the seashore (seagull & albatross; swallow; duck, goose & swan; turtle & tortoise); Lost souls (butterfly & moth, English robin & wren, sparrow); Weird and wonderful (bat, frog & toad, the hyena, mantis); Behemoths and leviathans (crocodile, elephant, hippopotamus, whale); Divinities (dove, eagle, rhinoceros). Epilog: what is a human being? Bibliography
Recommended but take your time. It can be slow going.
Chapters are: Almost human (ape and monkey, bear, beaver & porcupine, pig); Tricksters (coyote, fox & jackal; hare & rabbit; spider); Sages (bee & wasp; crow, raven & rook; owl; carp & salmon); Just beautiful (ostrich, parrot, peacock & hummingbird); Musicians (cicada, grasshopper & cricket; cuckoo, lark, nightingale & woodpecker); Tooth and claw (lion, panther, jaguar & tiger; wolf); Mermaid's companions (clam, octopus, sea star, squid & crab; dolphin & seal); The barnyard (bull & cow, cock & hen, goat & sheep); Man's best friends (cat, dog); Beasts of burden (ass, camel, llama & mule; horse); Noble adversaries (hart & hind, American buffalo); Tough guys (badger, ermine, groundhog & squirrel; flea, fly & louse; hedgehog; pigeon; rat & mouse); From the underground (ant, beetle, scorpion, snake & lizard, worm); By the seashore (seagull & albatross; swallow; duck, goose & swan; turtle & tortoise); Lost souls (butterfly & moth, English robin & wren, sparrow); Weird and wonderful (bat, frog & toad, the hyena, mantis); Behemoths and leviathans (crocodile, elephant, hippopotamus, whale); Divinities (dove, eagle, rhinoceros). Epilog: what is a human being? Bibliography
Recommended but take your time. It can be slow going.
March 18, 2019
I was looking for a book about animal symbolism with no connection to any religion in particular. I've found tons about Animal Totems, and though some of them look very interesting, they were all focused on religious practice/divination, and that was not what I wanted for now.
In one of my searches, I've found this volume. I'm still reading it but already can say that it's such an enjoyable book! It doesn't have as many information as an encyclopedia of symbols certainly would, but it's still worth reading. Beautiful cover and vintage illustrations as well.
P.S.: I've just found out that I had already another book by the same author: "Imaginary Animals", which is also great!
In one of my searches, I've found this volume. I'm still reading it but already can say that it's such an enjoyable book! It doesn't have as many information as an encyclopedia of symbols certainly would, but it's still worth reading. Beautiful cover and vintage illustrations as well.
P.S.: I've just found out that I had already another book by the same author: "Imaginary Animals", which is also great!
June 17, 2018
The most useful book about animal symbolism that I ever read. It is amazing to see how Sax wrote the symbolism of each animal and how it seems clear in mind now. Thanks Boria Sax!
March 16, 2020
The editor needed to do a better job of catching typos and when words were switched around, but this book was really cool and I enjoyed it.
February 13, 2022
An interesting amalgam of folklore and literary references to various animals and the symbolic roles they play.
January 29, 2015
I found "Mythical Zoo: Animals in Life, Legend and Literature" to be quite an enjoyable read. It was different than I initially thought it was going to be. Instead of being a book recounting various mythical creatures it instead discusses animals that exist today and how they have been used in various literature throughout history. It serves mostly as an encyclopedia which I enjoyed taking my time delving through. One should be aware of this though when reading it because it is more time consuming to read. If you have the time though it's well worth it.
April 26, 2018
It wasn't what I expected, so I was disappointed. It was more of the legends from many different countries and beliefs. I had hoped it was about the different animals and more information.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
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