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Flying Snakes and Griffin Claws
And Other Classical Myths, Historical Oddities, and Scientific CuriositiesBy Adrienne MayorNarrated by Nancy Crane, Adrienne MayorLength11h 2m
About this audiobook
Adrienne Mayor and Nancy Crane narrate this treasury of astonishing mythic marvels
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 antiquity, 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.
Audiobook details
GenreHistory
Length11 hrs 2 mins
Narrated byNancy Crane, Adrienne Mayor
FormatAudiobook
Publish dateJul 26, 2022
LanguageEnglish
Table of contents
1Opening Anno, Acknowledgements
27Chapter 25, Plato and the Amazons
2Introduction, The Borderlands of Myth History and Science
28Chapter 26, The Brave Women of Argos
3Part 1 Animals Fabulous Real and Extinct , Chapter 1 , The Flying Snakes of Arabia
29Chapter 27, Cleopatra and Antony Go Fishing
4Chapter 2, Sea Monsters and Mer-People of the Mediterranean
30Chapter 28, The Poetess and the Queen of Amazons
5Chapter 3 , The Golden Fleece
31Chapter 29, Proving the Existence of Amazons in 1685
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6Chapter 4, Griffin Claws and a Unicorn Horn
32Chapter 30, Wine Goblets and Women's Breasts 213
7Chapter 5, Dolphin Tales
33Part 3 Curious History and Science , Chapter 31, Ghost Ships
8Chapter 6, The Musical Racing Turtles of Greece
34Chapter 32, Mirages at Sea
9Chapter 7, A Little Bird with Poison Poop
35Chapter 33, Winds in Ancient Myth and History
10Chapter 8, The Roman Army's Vulture Mascots
36Chapter 34, Death by Bronze Frisbee
11Chapter 9, Pet Birds through the Ages
37Chapter 35, Could Aristotle Guess Your Personalityfrom Your Face
12Chapter 10, Your New Puppy in Ancient Times
38Chapter 36, The First Anti-Vaxxers
13Chapter 11, Weasels in Classical Myth and History
39Chapter 37, Poison Honey
14Chapter 12, Living the Modern Ferret Lifestyle
40Chapter 38, Who Was the First Foot Fetishist
15Chapter 13, Colossal Fossils of Greece
41Chapter 39, Giants in Ancient Warfare
16Chapter 14, Hunting Griffins: An Imaginary Letter to a Paleontologist
42Chapter 40, Sweating Truth in Ancient Carthage
17Chapter 15, Siegfried and the Dragon
43Part 4 Travelers Tattoos and Tyrants, Chapter 41, Tourists in Classical Antiquity
18Chapter 16, Tracking the Lucky Rhino in China
44Chapter 42, Grand Tourists in Greece from Lord Byron to Sigmund Freud
19Chapter 17, Fake Fossils
45Chapter 43, Who Were the First Recreational Mountain Climbers
20Chapter 18, Cuvier and the Mammoth Foot
46Chapter 44, Ancient Tattoos
21Chapter 19, Geronimo's Dragon
47Chapter 45, Tattoos in Ancient China
22Chapter 20, Enslaved Africans Were First to Identify Mammoth Fossils in America
48Chapter 46, Caligula
23Part 2 Formidable Women , Chapter 21, Beauty Secrets of the Ancient Amazons
49Chapter 47, A Mountain of a Man
24Chapter 22, Arab Warrior Queens
50Chapter 48, King Midas
25Chapter 23, Chiomara Courageous Celtic Woman
51Chapter 49, Home in a Body Bag
26Chapter 24, Camilla
52Chapter 50, Perfumes of Power, Closing Annos
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