Dog Heads—Cynocephali—from Marco's Travels

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Marco Polo was a Venetian traveler who left Venice, Italy, with his father, Niccolo, and uncle Maffeo in 1271; arrived in China in 1275, where Kublai Khan had his court; and returned home in 1294. In the book that he later wrote, "The Travels," this illustration appeared. Marco Polo was not the only medieval traveler to mention the existence of creatures that had the bodies of humans and the heads of dogs. In the illustration, the creatures, known scientifically as cynocephali, are gathering frankincense.

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Size: 5273px × 3540px
Photo credit: © Ivy Close Images / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No

Keywords: creatures, cynocephali, dog, dogs, frankincense, gathering, geography, heads, humans, il, legend, marco, medieval, milione, monsters, monstrous, myth, polo, tales, traveler, travels