Animal Gods: Classics and Classificiation

Abstract

Although biological sciences and classical studies are today disparate disciplines, natural philosophers once drew heavily upon the mythological figures of the ancient past when creating new scientific names for animal and plant species across the world. Beginning with Linnaeus in the 18th century, these scholars were trained in the Classics as part of their formal education, and a working knowledge of Latin and ancient Greek was commonplace among their peers. Significantly, it was not the great epics and poetic works of antiquity that supplied their names. Rather, taxonomists drew upon the work of ancient Roman mythographers, who had catalogued the many versions and variations of the myths and legends as they knew them. These mythographer texts act almost as handlists to who did what, who went where, and who was related to who, in the ancient myths. Animal Gods: Classics and Classification examines the reception of Classics in natural history, exploring entomological specimens and their mythological namesakes side by side.