By Helen Scales
ISBN-10: 1101133767
ISBN-13: 9781101133767
EISBN-13: 978-1-101-13376-7
A attention-grabbing trip with the ocean creature that has captured human mind's eye for hundreds of thousands of years
Poseidon's Steed trails the seahorse via secluded waters around the globe in a kaleidoscopic historical past that mirrors man's centuries-old fascination with the animal, sweeping from the reefs of Indonesia, during the again streets of Hong Kong, and again in time to old Greece and Rome. over the years, seahorses have surfaced in a few not going locations. We see them immortalized within the ornamental arts; in tribal folklore, literature, and old delusion; or even at the pages of the earliest scientific texts, prescribed to regard every little thing from pores and skin lawsuits to baldness to flagging libido. Marine biologist Helen Scales eloquently indicates that seahorses are certainly fish, although scientists have lengthy wondered over their unique anatomy, and their very unusual intercourse lives — male seahorses are the single men within the animal international that have childbirth!
Our first seahorse imaginings seemed six thousand years in the past on cave partitions in Australia. the traditional Greeks known as the seahorse hippocampus (half-horse, half-fish) and despatched it galloping throughout the oceans of mythology, pulling the ocean god Poseidon's golden chariot. The seahorse has even been the guts of a modern day foreign artwork scandal: A two-thousand-year-old winged seahorse brooch was once plundered by means of Turkish tomb raiders and offered to the Metropolitan Museum of artwork in New York.
A booklet that's as captivating because the seahorse itself, Poseidon's Steed brings to existence an aquatic treasure.
Seahorses lead quiet lives, tucked away out of sight at the seafloor. it really is infrequent to seize a glimpse of a seahorse in its average habitat. yet no matter if few have noticeable one reside, those unique, possible prehistoric creatures exist particularly vividly in our imaginations and so they have mesmerized scientists, artists, and storytellers all through time with their otherworldly rarity.
Poseidon's Steed is a sweeping trip that takes us from the coral reefs and seagrass meadows of Indonesia the place many seahorses makes their ordinary habitat to the again streets of Hong Kong the place a thriving black industry seahorse alternate is hid. all through heritage, seahorses have surfaced in a few unforeseen locations and Scales additionally follows the seahorse again in time, from our so much rudimentary seahorse imaginings six thousand years in the past on cave partitions in Australia, to the myths of historic Greece.
Scientists have lengthy questioned over seahorses' strange anatomy and their very unusual intercourse lives. And male seahorses are the one men within the animal global that have childbirth! Seahorses usually are not what scientists name a "keystone" species. They depend upon a fit ocean to outlive, however the marine environment doesn't depend on them. yet their soft attractiveness reminds us that we depend at the seas not just to fill our dinner plates, but additionally to feed our imaginations.
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Extra resources for Poseidon's Steed: The Story of Seahorses, from Myth to Reality
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Krieger Toadstools, Mushrooms, Fungi, Edible and Poisonous: One Thousand American Fungi: How to Select and Cook the Edible; How to Distinguish and Avoid the Poisonous, with Full Botanic Descriptions by charles Mcilvaine MedicinAL uSeS In a 1976 article in Desert Magazine, Marian Seddon writes: Only lately have medical journals in North America and Europe begun advocating carob powder for the prevention and cure of human dysentery, especially in children. The pectin and lignin in the carob not only regulate digestion, they combine with harmful elements—even radioactive fallout—in digested foods and carry them out of the body.
The burrs have been used to help keep wounds closed to promote healing, while the leaves (lightly crushed) laid over the wounds promote healing and eliminate airborne infectious particles. Though generally a veterinary practice, it has apparently been used on humans in dire emergencies. otHeR uSeS Observe the efficiency with which the seed pods attach themselves to your socks and pants. Look closely at the hooks on each spine of the burr. Compare these hooks with Velcro, that fastening device first so common on camping gear, such as packs and coats, and now found in countless other applications.
Timothy Snider otHeR uSeS The small, hard seeds inside the pods were once used as weights and provided the term carat, as in the weight of gold. They can be boiled in water to be softened and then strung into a necklace. All in all, the carob is a beautiful friend to have around, offering shade in the summer’s heat and year-round food to all who are willing to partake. Detrimental Properties I consider carob one of the best survival foods, and the tree lives well and lives long with little care.
Poseidon's Steed: The Story of Seahorses, from Myth to Reality by Helen Scales
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