Critical Survey of Mythology & Folklore: Legendary Creatures

Global in coverage and on point with the current zeitgeist, this encyclopedia addresses mythological creatures that appear across the world in a range of historical and contemporary contexts and through a variety of modes of cultural production. Rich in scope and depth, the work begins with a contextualizing essay before centering on entries focused upon seven creatures that have global representation: dragon, fairy, giant, ogre, sea serpent, serpent, and trickster. Next, the work is divided into geographic areas and time periods: Africa, ancient Greece and Rome, Asia, South Asia and the Pacific, Central and South America, Europe, the Middle East, and North America. Each region is introduced with an essay about its lore and legends; then specific creatures are addressed in short entries (spanning the ahuizotl to the yeti). A similar approach is then taken to gods and goddesses, covering the same regions (and addressing figures from Amun in Africa to Utu in the Middle East). Entries provide an overview, consider the creature in mythology, discuss origins and cults, and offer further reading. Many include an illustration.