This dictionary offers an enlightening account of the role that animals real and fantastical have played in shaping the myths, religion and customs of the world, from primordial times to present day.

This A-Z of symbolic and mythological animals concentrates specifically on the stories associated with birds and beasts from around the world. Entries vary in length depending on the importance of the animal, fowl, insect or fish, with practically every creature having some symbolic or mythological significance. In addition the book examines the fabulous monsters of legend, and there are more general entries such as totems, fetishes, animal guardians and animal worship. The guide concludes with a bibliography.

A valuable reference, this informative and entertaining volume presents a key to elucidating the symbolic worlds encountered in both the arts and the history of ideas. 32 black-and-white illustrations.

This new edition of Chiron's popular guide to the meaning of symbols in religion, archaeology, mythology, art, dreams, fairy tales, and literature contains more than 1,000 entries from all over the world, revealing an abundance of the types of human symbolic thinking. Formerly titled The Herder Symbol Dictionary. Over 450 illustrations.

Describes the origins, history, and meaning of a variety of signs and symbols that appear in art, literature, mythology, and religion, covering more than two thousand symbols, figures, and themes and drawing from classical myth, biblical text, and other t

Provides an inventory of symbols from various cultures, including the symbolism in art, literature, dreams, and numbers.