Animal trials were truly a strange part of Europe’s medieval history
For millennia, the image of the tiger and what this striking apex predator represents has been woven into culture, religion, folklore, and ritual.
The Chinese were among the first to make detailed star maps, where 28 asterisms are recognized along the line of the zodiac—the Sun's apparent path across the sky. The rest of the heavens are divided into quadrants known as the Black Tortoise (North and winter season), Red Bird (South and summer season), Green Dragon (East and spring season), and White Tiger (West and autumn season).
The Romans also depicted the tiger pulling a chariot being ridden by the god Dionysus, known to the Romans as Bacchus, the god of the grape harvest, winemaking, and wine. Pictured is the 'Triumph of Bacchus,' a detail from a 3rd-century BCE mosaic housed in Seville's Archaeological Museum in Andalusia, Spain.
Ancient Mongolian nomads were equally enamored with the mighty striped beast. Pictured is a bronze plaque depicting a tiger with a deer in its paws from 6th-century Mongolia. The item is on display in the Musée Cernuschi (Asian art museum) in Paris.
The Tungusic peoples native to Siberia and Northeast Asia have always regarded the Siberian tiger as being close to a deity. Similarly, the Scythians, an ancient group of nomadic warriors who originally lived in what is now southern Siberia until the 3rd century BCE, revered the tiger. Pictured is a detail of a tiger on a Scythian sarcophagus made of Siberian cedar from a burial mound in Altai, Russia. It's now on display in the Hermitage Museum's collection in St. Petersburg.
As early as the Neolithic age, tigers were respected for their power, grace, and dignity. They were hunted for food, but the animal's discarded body parts were often used as ceremonial trinkets or to make amulets. Pictured is a tiger's upper canine marked with engravings dated back to around 10,000 BCE. In fact, Neolithic cave paintings are the earliest existing depictions of the tiger, etched into rock walls across the Indian subcontinent 8,000 years ago, and in China's Helan Mountains as well.
The Hindu goddess Durga is depicted as a warrior figure with 10 arms going into battle riding a tigress called Damon.
In Buddhism, the tiger symbolizes rage and anger: the animal is one of the Three Senseless Creatures, which are animals ruled by a more basic human emotion. The monkey represents greed and the deer lovesickness.
A Zen koan painting depicting monk and tiger. A koan is a riddle or puzzle that Zen Buddhists use during meditation to help them unravel greater truths about the world and about themselves. The tiger is depicted in one particular parable known as the 'The Strawberry.'
In Korean myth and culture, the tiger is a symbol of power and good luck and is regarded as a guardian or sentinel that drives away evil spirits and wrongdoers. Pictured is a 18th-century ink on silk screen showing a tiger protecting its young.
Shiva, one of the principal deities of Hinduism, is very often depicted wearing or sitting on tiger skin, or being accompanied by one of the beasts. Pictured is a painting of Shiva and Krishna escorted by a bull, tiger, and jackals, from Mandi in India. The artwork is from the Victoria and Albert Museum collections in London.
In Greco-Roman tradition, tigers were kept in menageries and amphitheaters as exotic wildlife novelties. The animals were also pitched against gladiators in the ring. Pictured is a Roman mosaic showing a tiger and gladiators, from the 2nd century BCE.
In many parts of Vietnam, the tiger is a sacred creature. Tiger statues are usually seen at the entrance of temples and palaces in towns and villages across the country, keeping evil spirits from entering. Pictured is a Vietnamese woman lighting incense at Ngoc Son Temple in Hanoi.
In Western culture, the tiger is represented in numerous stories, films, cartoons, songs, and publicity. An early reference to the animal is found in 'The Tyger.' Published in 1794 in his collection 'Songs of Innocence and of Experience,' English poet William Blake (1757–1827) describes the tiger as a menacing and fearful animal.
Characters featured in Rudyard Kipling's 'The Jungle Book,' published in 1894, include Shere Khan, a fictional Bengal tiger that's depicted as arrogant and feared greatly by the other inhabitants of the jungle. The striped antagonist would turn up again in several Disney adaptations of Kipling's classic.
A far more benign tiger was introduced to readers in the book 'Winnie-the-Pooh' by A.A. Milne (1882–1956). Called "Tigger," this tiger liked to bounce around with his buddies Pooh Bear, Eeyore the donkey, and Piglet. Disney made numerous animated productions starring the characters, and in 2000 released 'The Tigger Movie.'
Six-year-old Calvin shares his life with Hobbes, an imaginary and sardonic stuffed tiger. They appeared together in 'Calvin and Hobbs,' a popular American comic strip that was featured in 2,400 newspapers worldwide from 1985 to 1995.
Tony the Tiger has been the advertising cartoon mascot for Kellogg's Frosted Flakes since the breakfast cereal was introduced in the United States in 1952. Tony is much loved for his catchphrase slogan, "They're Gr-r-reat!"
Pictured: tiger motifs on the portal of the Sher-Dor Madrasah, part of the 15th-century Bibi-Khanym Mosque complex at Samarkand in Uzbekistan, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
For many years, tiger mascots have been employed at different kinds of sporting events all over the world. The 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea adopted the tiger as the official mascot to represent the friendly and hospitable traditions of the Korean people. The amicable beast was called Hodori.
Tiger tail ice-cream is unique to Canada. It's an orange-flavored ice-cream with black licorice. It's so named for its resemblance to orange and black tiger stripes.
Dozens of songs have been composed that contain the world "tiger" in the lyrics. One of the best known is 'Eye of the Tiger,' performed by Survivor and which became the theme song for the Sylvester Stallone movie 'Rocky III' (1982). The track received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song.
Sources: (National Geographic) (Tigers) (Daily Buddhism)
Elsewhere in the world, carving the outline of a tiger into rock symbolized early civilization's fascination with and fear of the mighty beast. Pictured is the famous Lioness of Gobedra in Axum in Tigray, Ethiopia. Similar engravings of tigers also exist.
India, China, and Japan have included tigers prominently in their various folklore, tales, and myths, with perhaps China being the richest country in representations, traditions, and legends related to the animal. Pictured is a decorative ceramic sancai tiger pillow, dated back to the 12th century and the Jin dynasty.
Ang Lee's magical movie adaptation of Yann Martel's 2001 novel of the same name tells the story of a young Indian man named "Pi" Patel who survives a shipwreck in the Pacific Ocean and shares a lifeboat with a fearsome Bengal tiger.
'The Jungle Book' (1967) was based on Kipling's original publication and features a host of animated characters, including the wicked tiger Shere Khan.
Conversely, in traditional Japanese culture, the tiger symbolizes strength and courage. Furthermore, the tiger, together with the dragon, govern the elemental forces of wind and rain, and have been revered for centuries as rulers of the cosmos and the natural world. The pairing of these beasts was believed to bring about blessings of rain and peace. The flying dragon and crouching tiger also came to represent heaven and earth.
Tigers have long been the inspiration for jewelry. This rare gem-set gold finial from the throne of Tipu Sultan (1750–1799), the 18th-century ruler known as the Tiger of Mysore, was specially commissioned and is worth a small fortune.
Sleek, powerful, and mysterious, the tiger has been feared and revered by civilizations since before antiquity. The largest and most recognized of the big cats, this beautiful and critically-endangered creature remains an iconic symbol of strength and courage. The national animal of Malaysia, South Korea, Bangladesh, and India, it is perhaps in China that the richest representations, traditions, and legends related to the tiger originate. In Western culture, too, the tiger has acquired mythical and legendary status through art, literature, and cinema.
Click through and find out more about the tiger's cultural and aesthetic appeal.
The tiger's enduring cultural appeal
July 29 is International Tiger Day
LIFESTYLE Animals
Sleek, powerful, and mysterious, the tiger has been feared and revered by civilizations since before antiquity. The largest and most recognized of the big cats, this beautiful and critically-endangered creature remains an iconic symbol of strength and courage. The national animal of Malaysia, South Korea, Bangladesh, and India, it is perhaps in China that the richest representations, traditions, and legends related to the tiger originate. In Western culture, too, the tiger has acquired mythical and legendary status through art, literature, and cinema.
Click through and find out more about the tiger's cultural and aesthetic appeal.