Adrienne Mayor is renowned for exploring the borders of history, science, archaeology, anthropology, and popular knowledge to find historical realities and scientific insights鈥攇limmering, long-buried nuggets of truth鈥攅mbedded 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 ancient, 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鈥檚 sea serpent and Geronimo鈥檚 dragon; Flaubert鈥檚 obsession with ancient Carthage; ancient tattooing practices; and the strange relationship between wine goblets and women鈥檚 breasts since the times of Helen of Troy and Marie Antoinette. And there鈥檚 much, much more.
Showcasing Mayor鈥檚 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.
"Mayor鈥檚 cabinet of curiosities conveys admirably her sense of the wonder, complexity, and engrossing strangeness of the ancient Greco-Roman world, as well as the richness and diversity of the many ages that followed."鈥擩ames Romm, Wall Street Journal
"Covering much more than just myths and monsters, this book also contains information about ancient science and mirages, and everything from tourism to tattoos. . . . This book has a little something for everyone."鈥�Library Journal
"This is an eminently informative book, for readers of all ages. . . . Mayor is able to give a sense of wonder to her inquiries and, without losing rigor, she brings it back to the academic world. In this sense, the book more than fulfils its objectives: we have found pleasure in reading it."鈥�Bryn Mawr Classical Review
"An interesting gallimaufry of 50 short essays that seek to extract nuggets of truth from mythology, legends, and folklore."鈥�Choice Reviews
"A good bedstand book, for dipping into at will for a bite-sized diversion."鈥擩anet Brennan Croft, Mythlore
"In this hugely entertaining new anthology of historical curiosities we reap the benefits of Mayor鈥檚 willingness to burrow into the dusty corners of history and to pick up on myths and stories other historians tend to slide past without stopping."鈥擳erry Potter, Letterpress Project
"This delightful collection of 50 mini-essays by Stanford University research scholar Adrienne Mayor answers some of the most fascinating questions readers wouldn鈥檛 otherwise have thought to ask themselves about classical folklore and the history of science. . . . Mayor鈥檚 inquisitive spirit animates the answers she provides."鈥�Christian Century
"Mayor has a vast store of knowledge and is a masterful storyteller. Her latest work is a delightful feast for curious minds."鈥擠iana Bentley, Minerva Magazine
"Informative and vastly entertaining."鈥擜nita Guerrini, History Today
"A delightful compendium that will provoke fresh scholarship and draw new readers to the study of folklore, myth, and culture."鈥擳imothy J. Burbery, Folklore
鈥淩ead this immediately! Whether you are a lover of lore, an armchair academic, or simply a curious soul, you will find inspiration in the pages of Flying Snakes and Griffin Claws. It is an excellent starting place if you鈥檙e new to Adrienne Mayor鈥檚 work and an excellent compendium if you鈥檙e already a fan. Her books have been a must-read for me since she began writing. She is a treasure.鈥濃�擬elissa Marr, New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of The Hidden Knife
鈥淎drienne Mayor reminds us in full Technicolor HD why we need to break the academic form to let in the light of brilliant, hypercurious scholars and laypersons from all walks outside it, eventually making terms like 鈥榦utside鈥� and 鈥榠nside鈥� irrelevant. Mayor鈥檚 gifts are many, but my favorite is that her writing is immediate, three-dimensional, and inviting. Ancient history is not a black-and-white, linear timeline in her work. Her excitement in her subjects fills me with the same riveted fascination, and I feel like I belong to it as much as any scholar.鈥濃�擭eko Case, musician
鈥淎drienne Mayor is one of our most brilliantly engaging writers on the ancient world, and Flying Snakes and Griffin Claws is a delightful cabinet of curiosities. Her inspired detective work reveals the natural-historical and paleontological phenomena that lurk behind the iconic imagery of classical myth, folklore, and history鈥攁nd much else besides.鈥濃�擠aniel Ogden, author of The Werewolf in the Ancient World
鈥淧art miscellany and part detective work, this delightful compendium of folklore combines the spirit of Herodotus and the skepticism of the modern historian. Adrienne Mayor bounds through history dispelling myths and harvesting fascinating insights.鈥濃�擟andida Moss, author of The Myth of Persecution: How Early Christians Invented a Story of Martyrdom
鈥淕riffins! Dragons! Ghost ships! In her delightful new collection of essays, Adrienne Mayor traces the origin stories of a bevy of irresistible curiosities, from talking mynah birds and musical racing turtles to giants and mermaids. Her impressive scholarship is matched only by her infectious good humor as she plunges into the history behind tattoos and foot fetishes, sifting expertly between mythology and classical sources in pursuit of evidence. A treat to read from cover to cover.鈥濃�擭ancy Goldstone, author of In the Shadow of the Empress: The Defiant Lives of Maria Theresa, Mother of Marie Antoinette, and Her Daughters
鈥淭his eclectic and fascinating essay collection is Mayor鈥檚 Wunderkammer鈥攖he stories from a lifetime of meticulously turning myths into bones.鈥濃�擲usanna Forrest, author of The Age of the Horse: An Equine Journey through Human History
鈥淭o read Adrienne Mayor鈥檚 richly researched pageant of fantastical creatures, warrior queens, and curious travelers is to be reminded that the past is stranger than we imagine and to discover that the line between myth and history is more porous than we had previously believed.鈥濃�擱yan Ruby, author of Zero and the One: A Novel
鈥淔or decades, Adrienne Mayor鈥檚 brilliant writing has occupied an important intersection of mythology, classical folklore, and ancient history of science. For readers keen to explore the curiosities, mysteries, and oddities of the ancient world, Flying Snakes and Griffin Claws is a powerful, personal collection of essays on these themes鈥攁 must-read.鈥濃�擫ydia Pyne, author of Genuine Fakes: How Phony Things Teach Us about Real Stuff
鈥淟ike fondant and filling, ancient mysteries and modern knowledge come together in fifty delectable stories from veteran classicist Adrienne Mayor. Dip into Herodotus on biological warfare and tour antiquity through its ample array of women warriors. Ponder the shape-shifting fancies of long ago as marvelous creatures like flying snakes turn out to be, perhaps, bats. This is a delicious treat of a book.鈥濃�擬ary Ellen Hannibal, author of Citizen Scientist: Searching for Heroes and Hope in an Age of Extinction
