Final Draft - Preview Matter - Florida State University

The imagery used to represent hybrid deities is indicative of gods who cross boundaries
and blur categories. While addressing the topic of liminality, V. and E. Turner remark that
“incongruous forms may be created” as one way of denoting the liminal nature of initiatory
rituals. 639 “These might include ‘monsters,’ compounded of elements from human or animal
forms; for example, animal-headed gods, or human-headed animals.” 640 Such devices serve as
the impetus for initiates to think about “persons, objects, relationships, social roles, and features
of their environment hitherto taken for granted.” 641 Animals and animal imagery thus function
as metaphors and are used to explain human experience. 642
Many of these gods are associated with the transition between life and death. 643
Narratives associated with Aesculapius’ and Dionysos’ birth, the transition between night and
day possibly associated with the bird-man from Pyrgi, Faunus’ embodiment of the protector and
ravager of the flock, lines between sanity and madness associated with Pan and Dionysos, and
the transition between mortality and immortality represented by figures such as Picus and
Ganymede are represented by the blending of human and animal form. One god that marks an
actual boundary is Achelous, who is a personification of a geographical feature. Thus,
boundaries are not only broken but can also be reinforced by these gods. The use of heads of
Juno Sospita and Achelous as antefixes to simultaneously decorate temples and ward away evil
denotes the use of these liminal figures to reinforce the barrier between the sacred and the
profane. In this way, these gods may conform to structural theories in that the gods mediate
between two poles.
In addition to these other aspects of liminality, theriomorphic and therianthropic gods are
appropriate to ward away evil because of the fear they inspire. It is interesting to note how many
therianthropic deities are represented as a human with an animal head or as a human wearing a
cap or mask. The head may be the most fearsome part of the body, be it animal or human form.
Mundkur suggests that the fear of human-animal hybrids is the result of “primitive” belief. 644 I
639
V. and E. Turner 1982, 205.
640
V. and E. Turner 1982, 205.
641
V. and E. Turner 1982, 205.
642
Morris (1998, 169) demonstrates a similar trend in the use of animals as cultural metaphors amongst the Malawi
people of Africa.
643
A parallel between Greco-Roman culture and the Malawi people in the use of animal imagery deals with the
wearing of animal skins. Morris (1998, 176) points to a motif of detachable animal skins which is comparable to the
use of masks. In the context of Italian therianthropic and theriomorphic deities, we find the use of both devices
(skins and masks) in the representations and cult practices of these gods.
644
Mundkur 1988, 153.
130