Paintings Of Owls

Lengend Of Owls

In the past, owls were seen as a sorcerer's apprentices, messengers of death, demons, ill omens, or just plain bad luck. Perhaps this is because the majority of owl species are nocturnal predators. In fact, some people speculate that our traditions about Halloween ghosts may have been inspired by the barn owl, which is white, likes to live in old buildings, and is capable of making some fairly blood-curdling sounds!

There are many different stories about owls:

In the Mabinogion, a collection of Welsh legends, there is a story about how the owl was created, and why the owl is rarely seen in the daylight.

An English legend tells of people who are turned into owls as punishment for greed. A baker's daughter from the city of Gloucester decides to eat half a loaf of bread which her mother has baked for Jesus Christ himself. The bread promptly grows and grows until it become a huge loaf. The girl, frightened by this miracle, begins to screech. She winds up growing the wings and beak of an owl.

In France, there is a fable by writer Jean de la Fontaine, about how the eagle and the owl swore not to eat eachother's children. When the eagle asked how he would recognize the owl's children, the owl papa replied that they were beautiful, well-formed, and fine. Unfortunately, the eagle happened to find the owl's nest one day, when the owl parents were out and about. Not recognizing the ungainly, homely owlets, the eagle mistook them for some strange new species of animal, and promptly ate them. The moral of the story -- Parents need to be more realistic about the attributes of their children.

In ancient Greek mythology, the Little Owl (athene noctua) was the bird favored by Athena, the virgin goddess of arts, crafts and war. "Owl-eyed" Athena was known for her wisdom, and was often portrayed with an owl head, or a helmet with an owl symbol on it. Since the owl was favored by the goddess, it was respected by the citizens of Athens and appeared on Athenian coins.

Unfortunately for owls, the Romans appropriated Greek gods and Athena became the Roman goddess Minerva. Minerva was allowed to keep her bird, but the Romans regarded owls as ill omens. A hooting owl was a messenger of death, destruction and evil. The writer Ovid refers to the owl as a "screechwitch" (strix) that eats babies and smells bad.

In Judeo-Christian tradition, owls are regarded as "unclean" birds. The Bible says:

"These are they which ye shall have in abomination among the fowls; they shall not be eaten, they are an abomination: the eagle, and the ossifrage, and the osprey..... And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckow, and the hawk after his kind. And the little owl, and the cormorant, and the great owl...." (Leviticus 11:13-17)

Quite probably, this prohibition comes from the fact that these animals were thought to be carrion-eaters, or were seen in the vicinity of dead bodies. Some owls, such as the barn owl, also have a tendancy to hang around old abandoned buildings, and this may also have contributed to their association with death and destruction.

One rare positive view of the owl is found in Southern Australia. Among the aborigines, it was believed that after death, a man's soul united with a bat, and a woman's united with an owl. Because nobody could be sure whose soul was inhabiting what owl, all owls were protected.

Among some North American Indian tribes, the owl was associated with the dead. For the Ojibwa, there was a bridge over which dead people had to pass. This bridge was known as the "owl-bridge". The Kwakiutl Indians thought the owl was both a dead person, and the dead person's spirit. If you killed an owl, you might kill the person who was united with the owl, as well. Owls were therefore worthy of great respect.