Flying Snakes and Griffin Claws: And Other Classical Myths, Historical Oddities, and Scientific Curiosities

by Adrienne Mayor

A treasury of astonishing mythic marvels--and the surprising truths behind them

Adrienne Mayor is renowned for exploring the borders of history, science, archaeology, anthropology, and popular knowledge to find historical realities and scientific insights--glimmering, long-buried nuggets of truth--embedded in myth, legends, and folklore. Combing through ancient texts and obscure sources, she has spent decades prospecting for intriguing wonders and marvels, historical mysteries, diverting anecdotes, and hidden gems from ancient, medieval, and modern times. Flying Snakes and Griffin Claws is a treasury of fifty of her most amazing and amusing discoveries.

The book explores such subjects as how mirages inspired legends of cities in the sky; the true identity of winged serpents in ancient Egypt; how ghost ships led to the discovery of the Gulf Stream; and the beauty secrets of ancient Amazons. Other pieces examine Arthur Conan Doyle's sea serpent and Geronimo's dragon; Flaubert's obsession with ancient Carthage; ancient tattooing practices; and the strange relationship between wine goblets and women's breasts since the times of Helen of Troy and Marie Antoinette. And there's much, much more.

Showcasing Mayor's trademark passion not to demythologize myths, but to uncover the fascinating truths buried beneath them, Flying Snakes and Griffin Claws is a wonder cabinet of delightful curiosities.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Science, Mythology, Essays, Audiobook, Archaeology

420 pages, Paperback

First published July 26, 2022

Reviews

[Elentarri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mayor has provided the reader with a collection of 50 previously published pop-articles, rather than her usual fare of semi-academic books about ancient topics. This book reads something like a cabinet of curiosities. There are mostly superficial and usually short articles on a variety of animals, formidable women, tattoos, ancient tourists, and other oddball topics such as mirages and poisonous honey. Some of it is interesting, but I bought the book on the assumption she would be treating the subject the same as the previous books she wrote, so this superficial treatment of a variety of interesting subjects is a bit of a disappointment.

[Nostalgia Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

A literal cabinet of classical era curiosities. Some are more lengthy articles, some are just snippets of facts that have been collected from across multiple sources. Not quite what I had been hoping for (a bestiary, essentially), and no sources listed (the author acknowledges this lack in the intro, but still, docked a star). If you're into classical history, this shines some light on some more "human" aspects of the time, making the broad history more accessible.

[Peter Tillman]

The NY Times short review, 4-28-25:
"Mayor’s mesmerizing dive into a rich treasury of myths and ancient folklore — and the possible scientific and historical truths behind them — is sure to engross any reader (or aspiring writer) of historical fantasy. From the archaeological explanation behind the Golden Fleece to tales of poisonous pet birds and the plague-ridden origins of ghost ships, this is a volume that proves the old maxim: Real life is often stranger than fiction."

[Alex Dibona · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full of useless and pointless knowledge. The author goes down many rabbit holes, the height of ancient Rome’s enemy soldiers, the Greeks encounters with dinosaur bones and tattoos to name a few. Even if you don’t share the interest, the author’s enthusiasm, erudition and wit makes this endlessly fascinating.

Best read one chapter at a time slowly

[Bonnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of those books that I very much enjoyed but the people I would recommend it to is limited.

I went into the book thinking that it would be about the scientific and historical basis behind various myths and legendary creatures. And that is explored in some of the chapters, which discuss what the flying snakes of Arabia may have been (potentially microbats, migrating locusts, or the like) and what may have been the inspiration of the griffin (the Protoceratops, an earlier relative of the Triceratops - essentially multiple legendary creatures like cyclops and dragons were likely inspired by fossils). But there are also a host of other topics ranging from antiquity to the 19th century. It's a hodgepodge of short chapters of arcana. There's even a chapter about the author's pet ferrets which came out of nowhere (and I should've been upset about that, but it was an entertaining piece of fluff that I rather enjoyed).

The thing this book does best is that it brings to life people in Ancient times. Too many books focus on the famous players, the big battles, the macro version of history. But the tidbits of historical topics in this book humanize the people who died long ago (and make great facts to bring up at parties!). For instance, the Ancient Greeks used ferrets (the domesticated weasel or polecat) as pets/mousers like people would later use cats. Cats did not become common until the late Roman period, because it was forbidden to export them from Egypt until then. Also, the Scythians - nomadic Central Asian tribes - were likely the source of the legend of the Amazons, since their women fought as fiercely as their men. The Scythians were also big cannabis users and would hotbox themselves in sweat lodges. And the Ancient Romans had a tourist class, who would buy souvenirs, read guidebooks, and visit tourist traps (i.e., "where Medusa Was Slain" and "Where Pegasus Stamped His Hoof").

Because it is a collection of very short chapters about each topic, a reader who was not interested in one topic (i.e., the endless chapter on people making comparisons between women's breasts and drinking vessels) could easily skip it and focus on the topics they prefer. But part of the charm of the book is the slightly random feel of the topics and I am quite pleased that I read the whole thing.

[Eva Parente · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
Interesting curiosities to read about.

[James Sears · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the curation of oddities, histories and myths. I should have known going into it, but I found it hard to stay engaged when there was no cohesive narrative.

[El · Rating 5 out of 5]

I got this book as a birthday present to myself after seeing it in a tik tok and thinking it sounded interesting. And it was so unbelievably good, I literally dreamt about it. The book has 50 chapters which range in length from two pages to twenty. The breadth of topics covered includes tattoos, griffins, dinosaurs, vaccines, etc. in Antiquity. There is so much to learn and even stories that may be familiar to you offer new insights here.
My favorite portion is the first section "Animals: Fabulous, Real, and Extinct." But they were all enjoyable. There were sections where I didn't necessarily agree with the authors conclusions but I found the arguments well put together regardless. Overall an excellent book took me back to my middle school greek mythology phase. It is very dense and you should probably pace yourself but I binged it in three days.

[Dianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not just an enjoyable read, but a ticket back to the time when you first discovered mythology and were captivated by it. Somehow, even with all of her years of research and depth of expertise, Adrienne Mayor is still able to charm and teach through her writing in a way that is both learned and accessible. Some of these stories were entirely unfamiliar to me, but even those that I knew were made wondrous again.

[MKF · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned a lot but some of these were boring while others were decent and some even enjoyable.

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

Could've been 200 pages lighter and readers wouldn't have missed anything. Some chapters are just ramblings and rants of her [the author's] modern experiences.

[Nas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some things were really interesting but some topics were boring :(

[Bill Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adrienne Mayor writes amazing books, full of wonderful things. I mostly know her from her works on paleontology. She’s had amazing success analyzing classical and historic sources for correlations to dinosaur and other fossils. She’s also the go-to scholar for lore on mythical and historic Amazons. Flying Snakes and Griffin Claws is a wide-ranging collection of her essays, on topics across all her fields of research. Even among the dinosaurs, amazons, pets, and monsters, my favorite chapter is the one about Roman tourism in the ruins of Greece, maybe the first Golden Age of the roadside attraction.

[Emily Scholer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book after my own heart, trying to piece together many pieces of folklore and historical facts to find information about how life used to be. I've had questions similar to this myself so finding a book that answers some of those questions was great, not to mention the shorter chapters to keep my attention span busy. There were times the lack of a direct timeline confused me, but sometimes going in order is boring as well.

[Robin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Symbolism in culture has always made me curious. In this book the author explores the basis for symbols, traditions, legends, myths, etc. that are so imbued in our lives we don't always stop to question why. Some reveals were logical while some not so much. However she does a great job researching each topic, citing sources for further review. The Table of Contents lists each topic making it easy to select those of greatest interest though I did read them all.

[M A Kelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. An overall interesting read packed with neat explorations of the origins of ancient folklore. I liked how the book was divided into small short-stories, which made it much easier to read. There is no real “narrative” to this book, but if you’re looking for a short read with more “fun facts,” this is the book for you. I might try some of Mayor’s more “traditional” publications as a later date sense I enjoyed her writing.

[Danny · Rating 3 out of 5]

I only really read part of the first chapter about the flying snakes, but then I skipped to the chapter on ghost ships which was great and gave a wonderful sense of why the concept was so terrifying for sailors.

Interesting author and subjects, but also a little intense on the history side for me at the moment.

[Noel Cisneros]

Etretenidos ensayos en los que Mayor indaga sobre el origen de algunos mitos, así, se pregunta si el grifo no sería que en la antigüedad alguien se haya encontrado con el fósil de un protoceratops. Aunque interesantes, en algún punto el lector puede preguntarse si lo que está leyendo no lo encontrará en wikipedia.

[Becka Cloud · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5 This book was more of a collection of essays than a full book on a specific topic. That being said there were some really fascinating chapters that really kept my attention but then there were others that were dry and uninteresting. It was an interesting read for sure but not fully what I was expecting.

[Bonnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's clear that the author's enthusiasm and thorough research over the years have propelled this passion project. But the how and why behind some of our most enduring myths did not make for compelling reading to me.

[Jessica Weida · Rating 1 out of 5]

I thought this was going to be more explaining Classic Myths and Monsters to what they really were. So far, we have vultures and dolphins? Debunking the flying snakes and similar stories would have made this a stellar read.

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

the section Travelers Tattoos and Tyrants is GREAT. A Rick Steve's guidebook to ancient Greece, grand tourists and recreational mountain climbers - it is such fun and very very enjoyable.

[Foggygirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read, read some of the info in previous books but still entertaining.

[Alan R · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good read with many interesting oddities from the ancient world. I highly recommend it. Mayor is a very good writer. This is the second of hers that I have read

[Una · Rating 5 out of 5]

super enjoyable to read and full of random, useless, and highly entertaining historical tidbits

[Daeny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yea it was fine

[JP · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting look at history, myth and perspective

[Amos Tan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Collection of essays around the origin of legends and myths and its parallel in history. Really mixed bag

[Birch · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok

[Catherine Hayes · Rating 4 out of 5]

The myths and history were interesting, sometimes jumped around a bit. The chapter titles and subtitles sounded like they were clickbait a lot of the time.