If a child like this was born in an earlier time, would it have become an Isis or a Vishnu, a god with an animal head or extra body parts?
News item - Dominican two-headed baby
Almost certainly not. It would probably have been regarded as monstrous. People have had some strange religious ideas throughout history, but even that can’t remove the “ick” factor of seeing a grossly abnormal baby.
Representations of deities are meant to be symbolic. The animal-headed gods of Egypt may have originally been totemic, while the multiple arms of Vishnu are probably meant to indicate his omnipotence or the various aspects of his character. And for what it’s worth, the ancient Greeks envisioned their gods as superhumanly beautiful and well formed, and were aghast at the Egyptian’s beastial pantheon.
Actually, this is more likely what would originate stories of monsters – which, let us recall, was the actual term used for children with these sorts of extreme malformities until very, very recently.
holy shit! Didn’t know that was possible. It’s a tradegy for the surgery to fail…would have been one hell of a smart kid.
Yes, it is a tradegy. Although the second head was hurting the girl’s brain, not helping it.
I don’t see why not.
Could be the way some odd creatures entered the pantheon of various religions.
There always seem to be one-eyed demigods and some with animal legs, hairy faces or other deformities. Things you might see today on circus freaks.
Some of those tales could easily have been based on real “monster” people.
Take the Siamese Twins- they became famous and popular and part of the language.
Or the Elephant Man, who was the toast of London society and met all the royalty.
If a monarch takes you under his wing, then you are a good candidate for later telling of stories and myths.
I don’t think you mean Isis, by the way, but one of the animal-headed gods like Anubis, Horus, or Sobek. It’s not hard to imagine someone with that “prematurely aging skin” disease getting called Crocodile Head.