It's a way to create myths about deaths, as well as a symbol to show the power of animals. Even the lobster has some power. Adolf Frederick, King of Sweden, famously died of digestion issues after consuming a meal consisting of lobster, caviar, sauerkraut, smoked herring, and champagne.
I read that the stories of the big meal were propaganda! But still, the story persists. Somehow or other, rulers are "supposed" to be killed by animals.
There’s a symbolic in retrospectively attributing a leader’s death to an animal, like the hippopotamus and tiger ones you cited. The leader then becomes part of the already existing mythology of that country (religious or not).
But there’s also something to be said about those, like Alexander of Greece, who were killed by an animal, and had a meaning attributed to their death afterwards.
There’s a French prince who died because his horse ran into a pig. People attributed a meaning to his death afterwards. And not a meaning like "We should maybe keep our pigs inside pens."
I guess now Greeks are giving a meaning to their king dying because of a monkey just after WWI. And not a meaning like "we should maybe not keep monkeys as pets."
Back in Uni I had a fren from India and he told me about his uncle, who was killed by a man eating tiger. Although sad and unfortunate way to go, said uncle somehow poked the tiger's eye out (I know, hunting stories) and the not-so-cuddly critter was found sometime later, and very, very dead. My fren joked that his uncle was famed for never washing his hands...
Oooof, that's rough. Not quite "falling into the latrine along with dozens of others" rough, but still.
Also, you're a fan of finding perfect names for nu metal bands, and I'd say "Dead By Monkey Bite" fits the bill perfectly!
It's more of a curse than a blessing, honestly.
It's a way to create myths about deaths, as well as a symbol to show the power of animals. Even the lobster has some power. Adolf Frederick, King of Sweden, famously died of digestion issues after consuming a meal consisting of lobster, caviar, sauerkraut, smoked herring, and champagne.
I read that the stories of the big meal were propaganda! But still, the story persists. Somehow or other, rulers are "supposed" to be killed by animals.
There’s a symbolic in retrospectively attributing a leader’s death to an animal, like the hippopotamus and tiger ones you cited. The leader then becomes part of the already existing mythology of that country (religious or not).
But there’s also something to be said about those, like Alexander of Greece, who were killed by an animal, and had a meaning attributed to their death afterwards.
There’s a French prince who died because his horse ran into a pig. People attributed a meaning to his death afterwards. And not a meaning like "We should maybe keep our pigs inside pens."
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_of_France_(1116%E2%80%931131)
I guess now Greeks are giving a meaning to their king dying because of a monkey just after WWI. And not a meaning like "we should maybe not keep monkeys as pets."
I haven't read anything about the meaning modern Greeks are giving to Alexander's death, but would be interested to see what the premise would be.
Fantastic catch about Philip of France and that pig!
Back in Uni I had a fren from India and he told me about his uncle, who was killed by a man eating tiger. Although sad and unfortunate way to go, said uncle somehow poked the tiger's eye out (I know, hunting stories) and the not-so-cuddly critter was found sometime later, and very, very dead. My fren joked that his uncle was famed for never washing his hands...
The most common choke in jiu jitsu is called the "lion killer" by Brazilians!
I think we are talking "The Infection touch" here :P