Cultural depictions of amphibians

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The legendary fire-dwelling Salamander in the Book of Lambspring in Lucas Jennis' Musaeum Hermeticum, 1679 edition Salamander from The Story of Alchemy and the Beginnings of Chemistry.jpg
The legendary fire-dwelling Salamander in the Book of Lambspring in Lucas Jennis' Musaeum Hermeticum , 1679 edition

Culture consists of the social behaviour and norms in human societies transmitted through social learning. [1] Amphibians have for centuries appeared in culture. From the fire-dwelling salamander to the frogs (and occasionally toads) of myth and fairytale and the rare use of a newt in literature, amphibians play the role of strange and sometimes repulsive creatures. Frogs however have symbolised fertility, as in Ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome, while in Ancient China they were associated with healing and good fortune in business.

Contents

Context

Culture consists of the social behaviour and norms found in human societies and transmitted through social learning. Cultural universals in all human societies include expressive forms like art, music, dance, ritual, religion, and technologies like tool usage, cooking, shelter, and clothing. The concept of material culture covers physical expressions such as technology, architecture and art, whereas immaterial culture includes principles of social organization, mythology, philosophy, literature, and science. [1] This article describes the roles played by amphibians in human culture, so defined.

Salamander

The salamander has been ascribed fantastic and sometimes occult qualities by pre-modern authors (as in the allegorical descriptions of animals in medieval bestiaries) not possessed by the real animal. The legendary salamander is often depicted as a typical salamander in shape, with a lizard-like form, but is usually ascribed an affinity with fire, sometimes specifically elemental fire. [2] [3] In the Renaissance, the salamander was supposed to be able to withstand any heat and even to put out fire. [4]

Frog

Arthur Rackham's 1909 illustration of the fairy tale of the Brothers Grimm version of "The Frog Prince" Arthur Rackham Frog Prince.jpg
Arthur Rackham's 1909 illustration of the fairy tale of the Brothers Grimm version of "The Frog Prince"

To the ancients in Egypt, Greece and Rome, the frog was a symbol of fertility, and in Egypt actually the object of worship. [5]

A plague of frogs is seen as a punishment in the Old Testament of the Bible.

A frog being eaten by King Stork, by Milo Winter to illustrate a 1919 Aesop anthology The Frogs Who Desired a King - Project Gutenberg etext 19994.jpg
A frog being eaten by King Stork, by Milo Winter to illustrate a 1919 Aesop anthology

Two fables attributed to Aesop, The Frogs Who Desired a King and The Frog and the Ox feature frog characters.

The Frogs is a comic play by Aristophanes. The chorus of frogs sings the famous croaking onomatopoeic refrain: Brekekekèx-koàx-koáx (Greek: Βρεκεκεκὲξ κοὰξ κοάξ). This greatly annoys Dionysus, who engages in a mocking debate with the frogs. [6] [7]

In "The Frog Prince", a spoilt princess reluctantly befriends the Frog Prince, who is magically transformed into a handsome prince when (in the Brothers Grimm version) she throws the frog against a wall. However, in modern versions, she effects the transformation by kissing it instead. [8]

Toad

Toads are often not distinguishable from frogs in popular culture, but Kenneth Grahame's Mr Toad in his 1908 novel The Wind in the Willows is a likeable and popular if selfish and narcissistic comic character. Mr Toad reappears as the lead character in A. A. Milne's 1929 play Toad of Toad Hall , based on the book. [9] [10]

In Chinese culture, the Money Toad (or Frog) Jin Chan appears as a Feng Shui charm for prosperity. [11]

Newt

Newts are traditionally associated with witchcraft. In William Shakespeare's play Macbeth, the witches use "eye of newt" as the first ingredient added to their cauldron. [12]

Newts rarely appear in literature, but Roald Dahl included one crucial to the story as a practical joke on the malevolent Miss Trunchbull, in his novel Matilda . [13]

See also

Related Research Articles

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Amphibians are ectothermic, anamniotic, four-limbed vertebrate animals that constitute the class Amphibia. In its broad sense, it is paraphyletic group encompassing all tetrapods excluding the amniotes. All extant (living) amphibians belong to the monophyletic subclass Lissamphibia, with three living orders: Anura (frogs), Urodela (salamanders), and Gymnophiona (caecilians). Evolved to be mostly semiaquatic, amphibians have adapted to inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living in freshwater, wetland or terrestrial ecosystems. Their life cycle typically starts out as aquatic larvae with gills known as tadpoles, but some species have developed behavioural adaptations to bypass this.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salamander</span> Order of amphibians

Salamanders are a group of amphibians typically characterized by their lizard-like appearance, with slender bodies, blunt snouts, short limbs projecting at right angles to the body, and the presence of a tail in both larvae and adults. All ten extant salamander families are grouped together under the order Urodela from the group Caudata. Salamander diversity is highest in eastern North America, especially in the Appalachian Mountains; most species are found in the Holarctic realm, with some species present in the Neotropical realm.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toad</span> Common name for certain frogs, especially of the family Bufonidae

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Chinese folklore encompasses the folklore of China, and includes songs, poetry, dances, puppetry, and tales. It often tells stories of human nature, historical or legendary events, love, and the supernatural. The stories often explain natural phenomena and distinctive landmarks. Along with Chinese mythology, it forms an important element in Chinese folk religion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frogs in culture</span> Overview of frogs in culture

Frogs play a variety of roles in culture, appearing in folklore and fairy tales such as the Brothers Grimm story of The Frog Prince. In ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, frogs symbolized fertility, while in classical antiquity, the Greeks and Romans associated frogs with fertility, harmony, and licentiousness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wildlife of Algeria</span> Overview of flora and fauna in Algeria

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The salamander is an amphibian of the order Urodela which, as with many real creatures, often has been ascribed fantastic and sometimes occult qualities by pre-modern authors not possessed by the real organism. The legendary salamander is often depicted as a typical salamander in shape with a lizard-like form, but is usually ascribed an affinity with fire, sometimes specifically elemental fire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newt</span> Salamander in the subfamily Pleurodelinae

A newt is a salamander in the subfamily Pleurodelinae. The terrestrial juvenile phase is called an eft. Unlike other members of the family Salamandridae, newts are semiaquatic, alternating between aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Not all aquatic salamanders are considered newts, however. More than 100 known species of newts are found in North America, Europe, North Africa and Asia. Newts metamorphose through three distinct developmental life stages: aquatic larva, terrestrial juvenile (eft), and adult. Adult newts have lizard-like bodies and return to the water every year to breed, otherwise living in humid, cover-rich land habitats.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poisonous amphibian</span> Amphibians that produce poison

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References

  1. 1 2 Macionis, John J.; Gerber, Linda Marie (2011). Sociology. Pearson Prentice Hall. p. 53. ISBN   978-0137001613. OCLC   652430995.
  2. ↑ Manly P. Hall, The Secret Teachings of All Ages: An Encyclopedic Outline of Masonic, Hermetic, Qabbalistic and Rosicrucian Symbolical Philosophy, (original publisher unclear-see for on-line text), (1928).
  3. ↑ Florence McCulloch, Medieval Latin and French Bestiaries Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1962, pp.161-162
  4. ↑ Friar, Stephen (1987). A New Dictionary of Heraldry. Alphabooks/A & C Black. p. 300. ISBN   0-906670-44-6.
  5. ↑ Cooper, JC (1992). Symbolic and Mythological Animals. Aquarian Press. pp. 106–08. ISBN   1-85538-118-4.
  6. ↑ Aristophanes (1993). Dover, Kenneth (ed.). Frogs. Clarendon Press. p. 2.
  7. ↑ Jones, Paul Anthony (2013). Haggard Hawks and Paltry Poltroons: The Origins of English in Ten Words. Little, Brown. p. 141. ISBN   978-1-4721-0941-5.
  8. ↑ Heiner, Heidi Anne. "The Annotated Frog King". Archived from the original on 27 July 2017. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
  9. ↑ "The Big Read Top 200". BBC. April 2003. Retrieved 28 June 2016..
  10. ↑ Christine Paik (2002-03-19). "NPR report". NPR . Retrieved 2013-02-26.
  11. ↑ "Feng Shui Money Frog". Archived from the original on 1 May 2014. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
  12. ↑ Crump, Marty (2015). Eye of Newt and Toe of Frog, Adder's Fork and Lizard's Leg: The Lore and Mythology of Amphibians and Reptiles. University of Chicago Press. p. 147. ISBN   9780226116006.
  13. ↑ "Miss Trunchbull's newt". Roald Dahl.com. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
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