2.3 A Universal Mythopoeic Consciousness
Firstly, the therianthropic and hybrid figures in the cave pictographs seem to
be a universal feature not only of rock art but also appear in mythologies around
the world and throughout history and appear in the imaginal creations of people
from vastly different cultures, suggesting the existence of a collective unconscious
of iconic form and thematic constants. These therianthropes are, in the modality of
myth, absolutely real with some kind of objective existence. Therianthropes occupy
a dimension of consciousness that is special and can be seen, for example, in the
religious iconography and mythology of ancient Egypt in the form of hawk-headed
Horus, dog-headed Anubis, lion-headed Sekmet, crocodile-headed Sobek and ibis-
headed Thoth. A similar situation may be seen in the therianthropic gods of the
Central American Mayas and Aztecs. Later variations of these therianthropes and
other strange creatures populated Greek myth and legend in a wide variety of
monstrous forms ranging from dragons, giants, demons and ghosts, to multiformed
centaurs, sphinxes and griffins.
Figure 5. An ancient Greek griffin or therianthrope (http:/ / http://www.theoi.com/ Gallery/ M18.3.html).For example, Demeter transformed the Sirens, who became companions of the
maiden goddess Persephone, into therianthropes with the heads, arms and breasts
of women but with the bodies, legs and tails of birds. Sometimes they were
depicted as birds with only the heads of women.
Figure 6. A siren (http:/ / http://www.theoi.com/ Gallery/ O21.2C.html).