Pregledni rad
Animals in the Religions and Mythology of Ancient Peoples (Part 1)
Petar Džaja
orcid.org/0009-0006-2511-1884
; Veterinarski fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu, Zagreb, Hrvatska
Jozo Grbavac
Magdalena Palić
; Veterinarski fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu, Zagreb, Hrvatska
Petar Tomšić
orcid.org/0009-0003-1212-1467
Mario Benić
Krešimir Severin
; Veterinarski fakultet Sveučilišta u Zagrebu, Zagreb, Hrvatska
Sažetak
From the very beginning, humans have tried to explain their origins and the changes that occur to them (diseases, death) and their animals, as well as the natural events taking place around them. Probably out of fear, ignorance, helplessness and sometimes curiosity, humans sought the answers far away from themselves, which resulted in the belief in a variety of gods and other beings, strange creatures, whose worship was passed on from one civilization to another, with the names, appearance, or rites related to them slightly altered. Worship of animals using representative animals led to the creation of animal cults. This paper deals with religions and mythology (myths and legends, zoolatry, totemism, animalism, oracular animals, monsters in animal form, fantastic animals and hybrids) in various civilizations at different times. The paper presents the beliefs of ancient peoples related in any way to animals, whether they worshipped animals as gods and goddesses, or gods were shown associating with animals, as monsters or fantastic creatures (werewolves, dragons), or in the form of hybrids - a mixture of human and animal forms, or a combination of several species of animal characters. In ancient and contemporary civilizations the sacredness of animals has been preserved, including prophesying on the basis of their behaviour or the appearance of their organs, along with the belief that humans can be transformed into animals or other creatures. In the first part of the paper animals are described as deities, mythical creatures or monsters, in their various forms - antelopes, cattle (bison, bull or cow), camels, dolphins, ravens, rodents, insects, goats, jaguars, hawks, deer, hedgehogs, whales and horses.
Ključne riječi
religion; mythology; ancient peoples; hybrids; monsters; oracular animals
Hrčak ID:
295164
URI
Datum izdavanja:
1.6.2022.
Posjeta: 1.147 *