The hyena's symbolism stems from several facts about the animal. It is nocturnal and therefore mysterious. Most species of hyenas are carrion-eaters and so are thought to be unclean, cowardly, and greedy. It is a symbol of greed and its name comes from the Greek "hys" meaning "swine." The spotted hyena is a vicious predator which hunts larger animals in packs and may even attack people. This hyena is so terrifying to humans that it was once alleged that the sight of its shadow would strike dogs dumb with fear and the sight of its skin would cause the mighty panther's fur to fall out in fright. It is the antithesis of the panther which is paralyzed with fear when attacked by it.
Early naturalists thought hyenas were hermaphrodites or the result of the mating of a dog with a wolf. According to early writings such as Ovid's Metamorphoses and the Physiologus, the hyena continually changed its sex and nature from male to female and back again. It, therefore, became an image of sexual deformity, prostitution, and deviant sexual behavior.
The hyena was also a symbol of wisdom and cleverness, however, because of its constant laughter, its knowledge was seen to be that of the debased, profane, earthly, or initiatory kind. The wise hyena was a fool compared to the all-knowing God and symbolized the foolishness of man's wisdom as opposed to that of the Father (I Cor 1:25).
It was believed to have powers of divination and fascination and to know the secrets of magic, the dead, and various hidden or demonic forces. It was thought to imitate human voices and call its victims by name. This talent made it a symbol of the Devil who disguised his tempting voice as that of an angel. He caused confusion in his prey and hypnotized them with his shadow or the touch of his paw. It was believed that the souls of humans it had eaten remained forever visible in the eyes of the hyena who devoured them. Sorcerers hunted with hyena packs and became hyenas themselves in order to tear their enemies apart. Witches and ghosts were thought to ride upon these beasts.
In Mali there were Hyena Men similar to werewolves. These were usually wicked men or demons who occasionally changed themselves into hyenas in order to hunt both man and beast. They used magical talismans to protect themselves from hunters and could only be destroyed by using a beautiful naked woman for bait. The sight of such a treasure in their path would so captivate Hyena Men that they would stop in their tracks, allowing the hunter to shoot them.
Christian legend reports that a hyena once brought a blind boy to Macarius the Egyptian who restored his sight to him. Isaiah says of Babylon that "hyenas will howl in their citadels" adding their voices to the sounds of desolation to be heard in this once beautiful city (Isa 13:22). The site of ancient Babylon was avoided for centuries by wandering Arabs who believed that it was haunted by demons, evil spirits, satyrs, and the ghost of Nimrod, the renowned hunter and warrior believed to have built the tower of Babel (Gen 10:8-12; Mic 5:6).
All scripture quotes are from the NKJV Bible unless otherwise indicated.
Comments© 1998 by Suzetta TuckerTo cite this page:
Tucker, Suzetta. "ChristStory Hyena Page." ChristStory
Christian Bestiary. 1998. http://ww2.netnitco.net/users/legend01/hyena.htm
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