Cynocephaly and the mythological dog-headed human

17 JANUARY, 2015 - 12:22 MRREESE

Cynocephaly and the mythological dog-headed human


The characteristic of Cynocephaly describes the head of a dog upon a human body.


 This trait is a theme upon which there are several variations, with representations showing up in several cultures and legends. Tales of human forms with a dog-like head have been told from ancient Egypt, to ancient Greek, medieval, and Christian stories. These tales, eliciting both fear and fascination, are like an ancient form of a monster tale, often invoking the idea that cynocephaly is not just a myth or legend, but an actual race of creatures living here on Earth. The appearance of cynocephaly in stories throughout the ages illustrates the ubiquitous nature of the creatures, and the flexibility of an image that continuously reoccurs with a similar appearance, but varying stories.


The most basic description of cynocephaly is that it is the image of a human figure that has the head of a dog, or, in some instances, a jackal.  This is not to be confused with images of werewolves. Werewolves are a creature where the human forms transforms into a dog-like head and body.  Some believe that werewolves and cynocephalic creatures are somehow related, but they are more likely two separate types of creatures that happen to share some dog-like traits.


 The name cynocephaly sounds much more like an actual disease than a depiction of an image or a human with a dog head shown in prehistoric drawings and renderings. The name is derived from the Greek language, in which cyno- means dog and –cephaly means a disease or condition of the head. Put together, cynocephaly is a disease or condition where the head is in the form of a dog.






Images depicting cynocephaly date as far back as ancient Egyptian times. Ancient Egyptian gods Hapi and Anubis were both depicted in the cynocephaly form, with a human body and a dog head, or in the case of Anubis, a jackal. These images were depicted standing and wearing clothing, giving the appearance that in spite of the dog head, these gods are, in essence, humans. It is unknown why these figures are depicted with the head of a dog, but their presence in Egyptian drawings certainly spread to later cultures that followed.
 




Greek physician Ctesias wrote of a dog-headed figure called Indici in India in the 5th century BC. Later, the Greek Megasthenes returned from travels to India with tales of a race of cynocephaly living in the mountains of India. This dog-headed race of people would hunt in the mountains while wearing animal skins, and would communicate through barking sounds. Such stories of sub-human creatures would likely invoke many emotions, including fear, fascination, intrigue, and terror.


Cynocephaly continued far beyond ancient Egyptian and Greek times, also appearing in some works of medieval literature. Their existence and origin were questioned in City of God, Book XVI, Chapter 8, written by Augustine of Hippo. The Christians had the story of the "Abominable" who had the face of a dog and lived in a city of cannibals. Once baptized, the doglike features disappeared. The Eastern Orthodox Church viewed Saint Christopher as having the head of a dog, which may have been the result of a misinterpretation of the word Cananeus to say canineus, or canine. Later, German bishop and poet Walter of Speyer wrote of Saint Christopher as a large cynocephalic figure from the Chananeans that barked and consumed human flesh. When the cynocephalic Christopher met Christ, he chose to be baptized, at which point he shed his doglike appearance and began a life devoted to God.  This idea that the figure with a doglike appearance would become fully human upon being baptized and accepting god is a story that repeats, illustrating that to the Christians, the doglike appearance was a negative feature, a punishment of sorts that could only be eliminated by choosing to follow a certain set of religious beliefs.






Images of cynocephaly continued through medieval culture in a book called Historia gentis Langobardorum, written by Paul the Deacon. Again, the doglike appearance was considered un-Christian as it was applied to the Norse at the court of Charlemagne. The Nowell Codex, which is the script that contains the story of Beowulf, also contained references to the cynocephalic, with portions referring to "healfhundingas" or "half-dogs." The idea spread into Anglo-Saxon England, where outlaws were referred to as wulfes heafod (“wolf’s head”), again giving the impression that the image of a human body with a dog’s head is an inherently negative trait, meant to refer to an outcast of society. Even the tales of King Arthur refer to cynophaly, as King Arthur’s men fight hundreds of the cynophalic creatures, and the stories morph into tales including werewolves.






Finally, cynophaly appears in Chinese legends, as told in the writings called History of the Liang Dynasty. In the writings, Buddhist missionary Hui-Sheng describes an island to the east of Fusang which is inhabited by cynophalic creatures. This island could either be referring to Japan, or America. Historian Li Yanshou also describes a dog kingdom in The History of Northern Dynasties.


The repeated appearance of cynophalic creatures in various ancient writings, legends, and myths represents a very common theme in human history. Such stories have held many purposes, from depicting religious figures, to depicting a lower form of human reserved for those who choose not to follow certain religious teachings. Travelers may have told tales of these creatures in hopes of impressing others, or perhaps they truly believed they saw such beasts. Regardless of the reasons for the use of the images, they invoke images of a mysterious, terrifying, and intriguing being. The use of cynophalic figures in modern story-telling, books, movies, and television shows indicate that this ancient mythological depiction has withstood the test of time.


Featured image: Cynocephaly, Basilique Sainte-Marie-Madeleine de Vézelay (Wikimedia Commons)


Sources:


Cynocephaly – Wikipedia. Available from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynocephaly#Ancient_Greece_and_Egypt
What are the Cynocephaly? – Rajeshbihani. Available from:  http://www.rajeshbihani.com/raj/191/
Cynocephaly – the dog heads – I love Werewolves. Available from: http://ilovewerewolves.com/cynocephaly-the-dog-heads/

By M R Reese

- See more at: http://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends/cynocephaly-and-mythological-dog-headed-human-002577#sthash.gosh1tRq.dpuf

Look at the top of his head. It's the crescent and star! That makes me think that maybe the dog head symbolizes the DOG STAR. Maybe that's what the crescent moon and star represent.

You know there are two stars, Sirius A and Sirius B and they orbit each other. So, what if this is not a moon but an eclipse of two stars? It's my understanding that at the time of the crucifixion, Sirius was red and you know that there were earthquakes (and the raising of the dead).

What if this happens at a certain circuit of their orbit around each other and at a certain point the magnetism (or whatever) of white dwarf Sirius B causes a reaction between the two?

I'm thinking Blue Star Kachina, the warning, then Red Star Kachina, look out below because you will be bombarded with gamma rays? or something like that.