ORNICOPIA 14: ORACULAR

976.  Did birds have a leading role in other ancient literature?  Aristophanes (about 448-385 B.C.), the great Athenian dramatist and poet, often used natural forms in his comedies.  The Birds is one of his finest.  His references in this play to superstitions then current are interesting today:

 For every oracular temple and shrine,

The birds are a substitute equal and fair

For on us you depend and to us you repair

For counsel and aid when a marriage is made,

A purchase, a bargain, a venture in trade.

Unlucky or lucky, whatever has struck ye,

An ox or an ass that may happen to pass,

A voice in the street, or a slave you may meet,

A name or a word, by chance overheard,

If you deem it an omen, you call it a Bird,

And if birds are your omens, it will clearly follow

That birds are a proper prophetic Apollo.

More than 2,300 years have passed since Aristophanes voiced these superstitions, yet birds remain in our folklore.  Inherited traditions concerning birds and their significance remain today.
 

Text:  1001 Questions Answered About Birds by Allan D. Cruickshank and Helen G. Cruickshank (Toronto, General Publishing Company, 1958).

Pictures by Elisabeth Frink.  Upper:  Kestrel  (1974) ;  Lower:  Golden Eagle (1974).

For Eddie.