cynocephaly
Sign in to saveAlso known as cynocephalus
thumb|250px|right|A cynocephalus. From the Nuremberg Chronicle (1493). The characteristic of cynocephaly, or cynocephalus (), having the head of a canid, typically that of a dog or jackal, is a widely attested mythical phenomenon existing in many different forms and contexts. The literal meaning of cynocephaly is "dog-headedness"; however, that this refers to a human body with a dog head is implied. Such cynocephalics are known in mythology and legend from many parts of the world, including ancient Egypt, Libya, Greece, India and China. Further mentions come from the medieval East and Europe.
~15 min read
Encyclopedic overview
15 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- Ancient Greece and Egypt
- Late Antiquity
- Saint Christopher
- Medieval East
- Ibn Battuta
- Medieval West
- High and late medieval travel literature
- Modern European
- China
- Other dog-headed creatures in legend
- See also
- Notes
- References
- External links
thumb|250px|right|A cynocephalus. From the Nuremberg Chronicle (1493). The characteristic of cynocephaly, or cynocephalus (), having the head of a canid, typically that of a dog or jackal, is a widely attested mythical phenomenon existing in many different forms and contexts. The literal meaning of cynocephaly is "dog-headedness"; however, that this refers to a human body with a dog head is implied. Such cynocephalics are known in mythology and legend from many parts of the world, including ancient Egypt, Libya, Greece, India and China. Further mentions come from the medieval East and Europe. In modern popular culture cynocephalics are also encountered as characters in books, comics, and graphic novels. Cynocephaly is generally distinguished from lycanthropy (werewolfism) and dogs that can talk.
In addition, the Greeks and Romans called a species of apes cynocephalus (these apes are suspected to be baboons).
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “cynocephaly” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.