Post by brobear on Jan 11, 2023 14:38:17 GMT -5
Next to Gods
Down the ages, man has come across brown bears more than once. Evidence for this is so extensive that we can dwell on just a few facts here.
In the primitive times, the bear became a cult animal embodying strength and fearlessness. Moreover, many nationalities regarded him the ancestor of humans, their senior relation, the creature that personifies the connection between the sky and the earth.
Bears have an excellent hearing and sense of smell but comparatively weak eyesight. Their five-fingered paws are equipped with up to 15-centimeter claws. The animals are very strong – a bear can break a bull’s back with a single stroke. This is why they have no natural enemies (very occasionally, a young bear can be attacked by a pack of wolves). In the Russian Far East, fights between a bear and a tiger have been recorded, the outcome depending on the size and experience of the animals.
Bears begin to reproduce when they are three or four years old. Females are in heat from May to July, and bear cubs are born in the lair from January to March. Adult males keep on their own while females go together with cubs and young weaned bears.
Bears’ territories range from 70 to 400 km2. The borders are drawn with scratches on the trees and scent marking. Bears like to live next to the water and can cross water bodies stretching many kilometers. In the winter, they hibernate from 2.5 to 6.5 months. Their sleep, however, in contrast to hibernation of, say, ground squirrels, is not deep and the body temperature does not drop dramatically. Bear lairs are normally arranged in chosen locations not frequented by people; real bear towns can be set up there. They once found in the Altai 26 lairs within the area of 1 km2! Not surprisingly, this animal capable of putting up such cozy winter headquarters has become a symbol of far-sightedness.
In days gone by, when bears were common in Europe, their image became part and parcel of European culture. Thus, in the ancient world, a brown bear was associated with the virgin goddess of hunt, mountains, and forests, and the patron of wild animals Artemis (Diana in Roman mythology). Together with other animals, bears belonged to the goddess’s suite; tamed bears used to be kept at temples in her honor. In Attica, priestesses participating in Artemis’ rituals would wear bear skins and call themselves she-bears.
Celts’ and Old Germans’ religious beliefs were closely tied with the bear...This mighty animal was an embodiment of the Scandinavian god Odin: frenzied warriors, berserkers (derivative of “ber”, a bear), were dressed in bear skins, and their enemies would mistake them for bear turnskins.
A bear was the most worshipped animal of Ancient Slavs. In the pagan times, it was associated with the god Volos, patron of domestic animals. In the Slavic folklore a bear was the totem personifying a man: father, husband, or fiance. It was no accident that legends about turnskin bears appeared: it was believed that people could be turned into bears for misbehavior – no wonder the feet and toes of these animals resembled the humans’.
Bears were mentioned in the Bible, with ambiguous interpretation: David fought this ferocious animal but the bears fell down before Saint Euphemia instead of tearing her to pieces. In medieval heraldry the bear became a symbol of strength, clumsiness and kindheartedness. In European countries you can see it on heraldic images put on house walls and on the roofs of catholic cathedrals to grant protection (together with chimeras) against evil spirits. The image of a bear is reflected not only on the coats-of-arms of many European (and Russian) cities but also in their names, such as Berlin and Bern.
Down the ages, man has come across brown bears more than once. Evidence for this is so extensive that we can dwell on just a few facts here.
In the primitive times, the bear became a cult animal embodying strength and fearlessness. Moreover, many nationalities regarded him the ancestor of humans, their senior relation, the creature that personifies the connection between the sky and the earth.
Bears have an excellent hearing and sense of smell but comparatively weak eyesight. Their five-fingered paws are equipped with up to 15-centimeter claws. The animals are very strong – a bear can break a bull’s back with a single stroke. This is why they have no natural enemies (very occasionally, a young bear can be attacked by a pack of wolves). In the Russian Far East, fights between a bear and a tiger have been recorded, the outcome depending on the size and experience of the animals.
Bears begin to reproduce when they are three or four years old. Females are in heat from May to July, and bear cubs are born in the lair from January to March. Adult males keep on their own while females go together with cubs and young weaned bears.
Bears’ territories range from 70 to 400 km2. The borders are drawn with scratches on the trees and scent marking. Bears like to live next to the water and can cross water bodies stretching many kilometers. In the winter, they hibernate from 2.5 to 6.5 months. Their sleep, however, in contrast to hibernation of, say, ground squirrels, is not deep and the body temperature does not drop dramatically. Bear lairs are normally arranged in chosen locations not frequented by people; real bear towns can be set up there. They once found in the Altai 26 lairs within the area of 1 km2! Not surprisingly, this animal capable of putting up such cozy winter headquarters has become a symbol of far-sightedness.
In days gone by, when bears were common in Europe, their image became part and parcel of European culture. Thus, in the ancient world, a brown bear was associated with the virgin goddess of hunt, mountains, and forests, and the patron of wild animals Artemis (Diana in Roman mythology). Together with other animals, bears belonged to the goddess’s suite; tamed bears used to be kept at temples in her honor. In Attica, priestesses participating in Artemis’ rituals would wear bear skins and call themselves she-bears.
Celts’ and Old Germans’ religious beliefs were closely tied with the bear...This mighty animal was an embodiment of the Scandinavian god Odin: frenzied warriors, berserkers (derivative of “ber”, a bear), were dressed in bear skins, and their enemies would mistake them for bear turnskins.
A bear was the most worshipped animal of Ancient Slavs. In the pagan times, it was associated with the god Volos, patron of domestic animals. In the Slavic folklore a bear was the totem personifying a man: father, husband, or fiance. It was no accident that legends about turnskin bears appeared: it was believed that people could be turned into bears for misbehavior – no wonder the feet and toes of these animals resembled the humans’.
Bears were mentioned in the Bible, with ambiguous interpretation: David fought this ferocious animal but the bears fell down before Saint Euphemia instead of tearing her to pieces. In medieval heraldry the bear became a symbol of strength, clumsiness and kindheartedness. In European countries you can see it on heraldic images put on house walls and on the roofs of catholic cathedrals to grant protection (together with chimeras) against evil spirits. The image of a bear is reflected not only on the coats-of-arms of many European (and Russian) cities but also in their names, such as Berlin and Bern.
