Taxonomy and terminology
The genus ''Cygnus'' was introduced in 1764 by the French naturalistDescription
Distribution and movements
Behaviour
Systematics and evolution
Evidence suggests that the genus ''Cygnus'' evolved in Europe or western Eurasia during thePhylogeny
Species
Genus ''Cygnus'' TheFossil record
TheIn culture
European motifs
Many of the cultural aspects refer to the mute swan of Europe. Perhaps the best-known story about a swan is the fairy tale "As food
Swan meat was regarded as a luxury food in England during the reign ofHeraldics
Ancient Greece and Rome
Swans feature strongly inIrish lore and poetry
The Irish legend of theNordic lore
In''Swan Lake'' ballet
The ballet ''Christianity
Spanish language literature
In Latin American literature, the Nicaraguan poet Rubén Darío (1867–1916) consecrated the swan as a symbol of artistic inspiration by drawing attention to the constancy of swan imagery in Western culture, beginning with the rape of Leda and ending withHinduism
Swans are revered in Hinduism and are compared to saintly persons whose chief characteristic is to be in the world without getting attached to it, just as a swan's feather does not get wet although it is in water. The Sanskrit word for swan is ''hamsa'' and the "Raja Hamsam" or the Royal Swan is the vehicle of Devi Saraswati, which symbolises the ''Sattva Guna'' or purity par excellence. The swan, if offered a mixture of milk and water, is said to be able to drink the milk alone. Therefore, Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge, is seen riding the swan because the swan thus symbolizes ''Viveka'', i.e. prudence and discrimination between the good and the bad or between the eternal and the transient. This is seen as a great quality, as shown by this Sanskrit verse: It is mentioned several times in the Vedas, Vedic literature, and persons who have attained great spiritual capabilities are sometimes called Paramahamsa ("Supreme Swan") on account of their Divine grace, spiritual grace and ability to travel between various spiritual worlds. In the Vedas, swans are said to reside in the summer on Lake Manasarovar and migrate to Indian lakes for the winter. They are believed to possess some powers, such as the ability to eat pearls.Indo-European religions
Swans are intimately associated with the divine twins in Indo-European religions, and it is thought that in Proto-Indo-European religion, Proto-Indo-European times, swans were a solar symbol associated with the divine twins and the original Indo-European sun goddess.See also
* Swan upping (an annual ceremony happening since the 16th century, in whichReferences
External links
* * Louchart, Antoine; Mourer-Chauviré, Cécile; Guleç, Erksin; Howell, Francis Clark & White, Tim D. (1998): L'avifaune de Dursunlu, Turquie, Pléistocène inférieur: climat, environnement et biogéographie. ''Les Comptes rendus de l'Académie des sciences, C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris IIA'' 327(5): 341–346. [French with English abridged version]