The characteristic of cynocephaly, having the head of a dog—or of a jackal—is a widely attested mythical phenomenon existing in many different forms and contexts. Cynocephaly is taken from the Latin word cynocephalus, meaning dog-head, which derives from Greek: κῠνοκέφᾰλοι. The prefix cyno- comes from the combining form of Greek: κύων meaning dog. This prefix forms compound words having the sense of dog. The suffix -cephalic comes from the Latin word cephalicus, meaning head. This word finds its roots in Greek: κεφαλικός (kephalikos) meaning capital from κεφαλή (kephalē) meaning head. The suffix -cephaly, specifically, means a specific condition or disease of the head. This together forms a dog-like condition or disease of the head. The phrase cynocephaly also gave birth to the term cynomorph which means dog-like. This phrase is used primarily as Cynomorpha, a sub-group of the family Cercopithecidae. This family of primates are known as dog-like apes and contain many species of macaques and baboons. Ancient Greece and Egypt Cynocephaly was familiar to the Ancient Greeks from representations of the Egyptian gods Hapi (the son of Horus) and Anubis (the Egyptian god of the dead). The Greek word (Greek: κῠνοκέφᾰλοι) dog-head also identified a sacred Egyptian baboon with the face of a dog. Reports of dog-headed races can also be traced back to Greek antiquity. In the fifth century BC, the Greek physician Ctesias wrote a detailed report on the existence of cynocephali in India, known as Indica. Similarly, the Greek traveller Megasthenes claimed to know about dog-headed people in India who lived in the mountains, communicated through barking, wore the skins of wild animals and lived by hunting. Herodotus reports claims by ancient Libyans that such creatures inhabit the east of their lands, as well as headless men and various other anomalies. Late Antiquity The cynocephali offered such an evocative image of the magic and brutality deemed characteristic of bizarre people of distant places that they kept returning in medieval literature. Augustine of Hippo mentioned the cynocephali in City of God, Book XVI, Chapter 8, in the context of discussing whether such beings were descendants of Adam; he considered the possibility that they might not exist at all, or might not be human (which Augustine defines as being a mortal and rational animal: homo, id est animal rationale mortale), but insisted that if they were human they were indeed descendants of Adam. Medieval East Cynocephali also figure in medieval Christian world-views. A legend that placed St. Andrew and St. Bartholomew among the Parthians presented the case of Abominable, the citizen of the city of cannibals... whose face was like unto that of a dog. After receiving baptism, however, he was released from his doggish aspect. Modern appearances The use of dog-headed, human-bodied characters is still very strong in modern literature. In the domain of comics publishing in North America and in Europe many works feature an all-cynocephalic cast or use the heads of dogs and other animals together for social comment or other purposes. In the Pulitzer Prize winning graphic novel Maus by Art Spiegelman, Jews have human bodies and the heads of mice while characters with their roots in the United States have human bodies and the heads of dogs, Germans have the heads of cats, and the French have the heads of frogs. The comic book Ghost Rider features a villain named Doghead. He is an anthropomorphic dog who serves Blackheart, the son of Mephisto, the Marvel Comics version of the devil. The hero of Baudolino, a novel by Umberto Eco, has to face dog-headed people at the end of his journey. At the beginning of A Dogs Head, a novel by Jean Dutourd, a woman gives birth to a child with a dogs head. Dog-headed creatures based on the ancient accounts appear in many modern role-playing games, beginning with the Gnolls of Dungeons & Dragons, though it should be noted that Gnolls heads are based on hyenas, which are not canines. A fearsome race of dog-faced warriors appear in Terry Jones book Erik the Viking. Other dog-headed creatures in legend[edit] Question book-new.svg The Talmud states that at the time before the Messiah, the face of the generation will have the face of a dog. Talmud, Sotah 49b,Talmud, Sanhedrin 97a (This is widely understood to be metaphorical.) The Chinese legend of Fu Xi included variations where he had a dogs head, or he and his sister Nu Wa had ugly faces. In the USA there are tales of dog-headed creatures, including the Michigan Dogman, and the wolf-like Beast of Bray Road of Wisconsin. The Wulver of the Scottish Shetland Isles. Psoglav in Serbian mythology. Pasoglavac, Pesoglavac in Croatian mythology. The Nacumerians, in The Voyage and Travels of Sir John Mandeville.
Posted on: Mon, 19 Jan 2015 13:26:07 +0000
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