# What anthropomorphisms exist of places or peoples? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 4, 2005, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-anthropomorphisms-exist-of-places-or-peoples/297672 "2005-04-04T15:38:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2005, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-anthropomorphisms-exist-of-places-or-peoples/297672/1 "2005-04-04T15:38:40Z")
England has both [Britannia](http://www.sterlingtimes.org/britannia_yellow.jpg)_and_ [John Bull,](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bull) America has [Uncle Sam](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uncle_Sam), Cuba has [Auntie America](http://www.critic.nohomers.net/Episode_Capsule_2.html)😃 and the [Isle of Lesbos](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesbos) has Sappho. No, wait, that last one was a real person.\*\*\*\*\* 🙂 Anyway, I was wondering if anyone knew of any other groups that have an iconic figure that represents them, such as in the above examples, or if anyone cared to elaborate on how they came to be. \*\*\*\*\*I was going to make a joke about male lesbians, but it seems that many residents of the island prefer to be called Lesviots, as far as I can tell from the wiki article. P.S. I put this in My Humble Opinion instead of in General Questions, because I hope to see people giving goofy answers if they feel like it without being pounced on. P.S. I shouldn’t forget [Lady Baltimore/Baltimorea](http://www.citypaper.com/news/story.asp?id=2478), not to be confussed with the real person by that name. > [@Some booklet writer in 1880](#): > > “Baltimorea,” which a parade program of the day described as "an allegorical representation of Baltimore . . . made by a figure seated on a throne with a canopy overhead."A picture of the float shows a crowned woman surrounded by figures and artifacts symbolizing the city’s economic assets: tobacco leaves, ships, a caduceus, sundry tradesmen, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-anthropomorphisms-exist-of-places-or-peoples/297672/2 "2005-04-05T14:41:59Z")
65 views, no responses. Of course, it’s nice to see people reading this topic, but it’s now on the second page, so it’s time for a bump. Liberty is a symbol of France. It has been used as symbol of Frence friendship with America, personified, seen as the statue named “Liberty Enlightening the World”, better know as The [Statue of Liberty](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statue_of_Liberty). She is also referred to as [Marianne](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marianne). She can also be seen on: The flag of the State of New York, On the dome of the Texas capitol dome, and On the dome of the Allen County Courthouse in Fort Wayne, Indiana. ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-anthropomorphisms-exist-of-places-or-peoples/297672/3 "2005-04-05T15:02:43Z")
Well, how about the elephant and the mule symbols for the Republicans and the Democrats? ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-anthropomorphisms-exist-of-places-or-peoples/297672/4 "2005-04-05T16:03:35Z")
Good question. A cartoon of a donkey can’t really be an anthropomorphism, by definition, I suppose, but it is a symbol of a group. [This link](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Democratic_Party#Symbols) gives more examples of democratic symbols, including Liberty being used as a symbol for Missouri Democrats. ---
**Author:** ![AskNott](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asknott/32/5790_2.png) [@AskNott](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AskNott)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-anthropomorphisms-exist-of-places-or-peoples/297672/5 "2005-04-05T18:44:11Z")
I’m not sure exactly what you’re after, but I’ll give it a go. Does statuary count? If so, you can show pictures of the “Bird Girl” and “Little Mermaid” statues to a lot of people, they’ll say “Savannah” and “Copenhagen.” A quick glance at a certain bronze bull, and you’ll think “Wall Street.” In political cartoons, Russia is a bear, and China is a dragon. If a cartoon shows Fidel Castro, there’s no need for a “Cuba” tag. A chubby fellow in lederhosen and a big moustache is Germany. The thin man with a pencil-thin moustache, cigarette, and a beret is France. Whose face says “Holllllllywood?” Marilyn Monroe, probably. ---
**Author:** ![Scott\_Plaid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Scott\_Plaid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scott_Plaid)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-anthropomorphisms-exist-of-places-or-peoples/297672/6 "2005-04-05T19:14:53Z")
yeah, you are kinda’ on topic, but I suppose I was really asking that question, along with, “Is there a “John Bull”, or an Uncle Sam” equvilant in other countries, past or present.?" ---
**Author:** ![GrizzRich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7ba0ec/32.png) [@GrizzRich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrizzRich)\ **Post date:** [April 5, 2005, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-anthropomorphisms-exist-of-places-or-peoples/297672/7 "2005-04-05T20:06:15Z")
Leprechauns in Ireland, perhaps?