Flying Snakes and Griffin Claws

And Other Classical Myths, Historical Oddities, and Scientific Curiosities

Adrienne Mayor

• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Year: 2022
• ISBN:
  9780691211190
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Ancient History
• Index: History

A treasury of astonishing mythic marvels—and the surprising truths behind them Adrienne Mayor is renowned for exploring the borders of history, science, archaeology, anthropology, and popular knowledge to find historical realities and scientific insights—glimmering, long-buried nuggets of truth—embedded in myth, legends, and folklore. Combing through ancient texts and obscure sources, she has spent decades prospecting for intriguing wonders and marvels, historical mysteries, diverting anecdotes, and hidden gems from ancient, medieval, and modern times. Flying Snakes and Griffin Claws is a treasury of fifty of her most amazing and amusing discoveries.The book explores such subjects as how mirages inspired legends of cities in the sky; the true identity of winged serpents in ancient Egypt; how ghost ships led to the discovery of the Gulf Stream; and the beauty secrets of ancient Amazons. Other pieces examine Arthur Conan Doyle's sea serpent and Geronimo's dragon; Flaubert's obsession with ancient Carthage; ancient tattooing practices; and the strange relationship between wine goblets and women's breasts since the times of Helen of Troy and Marie Antoinette. And there's much, much more.Showcasing Mayor's trademark passion not to demythologize myths, but to uncover the fascinating truths buried beneath them, Flying Snakes and Griffin Claws is a wonder cabinet of delightful curiosities.

INDEX

• Note: Page numbers in italic type indicate illustrations.

• Abenaki Indians, 155
• Abishai, 291–92
• Abkhazians, 37
• acetylandromedol, 275
• Achilles, 33, 59–60, 187, 191
• Acosta, José de, 350
• Acrisius (Argive king), 263
• acromegaly. See gigantism
• Acropolis, Athens, 254, 328, 339, 344, 346–48
• Adams, Michael Friedrich, 158–59
• Aeacus, 33
• Aegina, 60–61
• Aelian: Dikairon, 68, 74; flying snakes, 15–16, 22; fossils, 122; Griffins, 7, 128; military tactics, 312; talking birds, 82; turtles, 66; weasels, 93, 97
• Aeneas, 187–89, 311
• Aeolian harp, 260
• Aeolos, 250, 256–57
• A. Ernest Mills (schooner), 232
• Aeschylus, 63, 129
• Aeson, 381
• Aesop: Boreas, 252; dolphin and monkey, 54; tortoise and hare, 59; weasels, 94–95, 97
• Aetius, 357
• Africa, 16, 22, 27, 46, 69, 72, 73, 82, 98, 114, 115, 168, 257, 306, 307, 311. See also Carthage; enslaved Africans
• Agamemnon, 257
• albatross, 233
• Alcmene, 95–96
• Alexander of Myndus, 76
• Alexander the Great, 53, 90, 120, 189, 204–7, 239, 292–94, 372, 386–87
• Amanirenas (Nubian queen), 189
• Amarant, 304
• Amazons: Ares worshipped by, 200; Athenians vs., 188; battle skills of, 176, 193, 194–96; beauty secrets of, 174–79; characteristics of, 193; clothing of, 173; debates over existence of, 205, 209–12; Dionysos’s s...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• More Praise for Flying Snakes and Griffin Claws
• About the Author
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Epigraph
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction. The Borderlands of Myth, History, and Science
• Animals: Fabulous, Real, and Extinct
• Formidable Women
• Curious History and Science
• Travelers, Tattoos, and Tyrants
• Notes
• Credits
• Index
• Also by Adrienne Mayor