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Dave's Mythical Creatures and Places |
Anthropophagi or Cannibals
Stories of cannibals have always been around. Although sometimes true, the stories were often exaggerated or untrue, and represented the fears of the unknown. Generally, the stories give the location of cannibals as the outer limits of the known world, beyond the reach of normal civilization. Cannibalism is generally considered an uncivilized and barbaric act.
Pliny ascribed the practice as common among Scythian tribes. He writes, " According to Isigonus of Nicea, the Scythian Cannibals, who live 10 days' journey to the north beyond the River Borysthenes, drink out of human skulls and use the scalps with the hair attached as napkins to cover their chests." (Healy, 1991.)
The term cannibal comes from Columbus's
expeditions-during his travels in the West Indies, there was much talk about the
feared Carib or Canib tribe. They would invade other islands
and eat other people. The picture above illustrates what happened to the
Spanish explorer de Solis, who sailed from Spain to Brazil in 1514. He and
five others were captured by natives, and roasted and eaten while their
horrified companions watched from the ship. (They returned to Spain immediately
thereafter.) 
