The Mythical Zoo: An
Encyclopedia of Animals in World Myth, Legend and Literature
Boria Sax
Publisher Name: ABC CLIO.
Place of Publication:
Publication Year: 2002
Number of Pages: xxi + 298pp.
ISBN: ISBN 1 576 07612
1
Price: £59.95
Article type: Review.
Keywords: Animals, Myths,
Literature.
Reference Reviews
Volume 16 Number 8 2002 pp. 20-20
Copyright © MCB University Press ISSN 0950-4125
Walk into any zoo
in the world and you'll probably see more or less the same thing, animals
behind bars. If you're lucky you might get to feed the penguins or watch the
chimps having a bit of a scrap. In Boria Sax's zoo the animals, both real and
mythical, are let loose on to the page and you are given the chance to get to
know them really well. Sax is a man with a huge interest in animals and their
human associations, and this shows in his wonderfully
descriptive passages. He is the founder of Nature in Legend and Story (NILAS,
Inc.) a society that seeks to give an understanding of the traditional bonds
between man and the natural world. Through his Encyclopaedia of Animals in World Myth, Legend and
Literature he has endeavoured to
communicate his knowledge and passion for the subject to a wider audience
Sax prefaces his
encyclopedia with an interesting introduction that gives the reader some food
for thought before they jump into the A-Z section. He details how animals have
been used in literature as political tools, and in
religion as creatures of divine worship. One of the most interesting parts of
his introduction is his brief foray into modern genetic engineering. How long,
one wonders, before man creates one of these mythical creatures of history?
Perhaps a unicorn wouldn't prove to be that difficult.
The volume is
well written and provides some really interesting insights into how different
religions and cultures viewed, and view, certain animals. The dog may be man's
best friend today but it was also Egyptian man's best friend. If a family dog
died in Ancient Egypt it was tradition for the family to shave all the hair off
their bodies as a sign of mourning.
Attractive black
and white images illustrate various animals and mythical creatures,
though it would have been better if there had been more illustrations, and
possibly some in colour. The index is comprehensive
and easy to use. Probably easier, indeed, than leafing through the A-Z layout,
which, although it covers a good proportion of animals present on today's earth
(and some that surely only exist in folklore), does tend to group several
animals together; for example horses, unicorns and centaurs. The difficulty
with this is that by the end of the section all the creatures appear to have
merged into one - as a result one can no longer recall whether it is the beaver
or the badger that can forecast weather. Separate headings for individual
animals would make for much easier reading. A good selective bibliography
follows each entry, so that if you feel compelled to dig deeper into the
history of the bat after finding out that in Chinese the same word means joy,
you can!
This is a large
subject for anyone to tackle but Sax has made an excellent endeavour
though there is still scope for improvement on the subject. Nevertheless, the
volume is well written, full of fascinating information and well worth picking
up as an introduction to the subject.
Helen Tose