Zoomorphic decoration from the Book of Kells

Zoomorphism is the shaping of something in animal form or terms. Examples include:

• Art that imagines humans as animals¹
• Art that creates patterns using animal imagery, or animal style
• Animal-deities, such as exist in Egyptian mythology²
• Therianthropy: the ability to shapeshift into animal form³
• The tendency of viewing human behaviour in terms of the behaviour of animals, analogous to anthropomorphism, which views animal behaviour in human terms

The word derives from the Greek ζωον (zōon), meaning animal, and μορφη (morphē), meaning shape or form.

Examples

• Fenrisulfr, a wolf in Norse mythology.
• Airavata, the king god of elephants in Indian mythology.
• Clawfoot bathtub, with feet in the shape of a lion's paws.
• The common representation of the Holy Spirit as a dove in Christianity.
• Mark as a lion in Christianity.
• A literary phrase such as "The roar of the ocean".
• The ability of several wizards, Animagi, in the Harry Potter series of books to transform into animals.
• The ancient Egyptians gods were based on animals.
• The sphinx from the "Oedipus the King" written by Sophocles
• Equestropomorphism, animating objects that take the actions of a horse. For instance, in Bedknobs and Broomsticks, the army that fights the Nazis is comprised of anthropomorphized knightly body armor and equestropomorphized horse armor.

References

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