Dog-headed men, or cynocephaly, are a true curiosity within myth and legend. Not to be confused with werewolves, the beings are literally men with dogs’ heads.
The Greeks named the creatures, apparently taking their inspiration from Egyptian gods. Most famously, Anubis boasts the head of a jackal. Although, in recent years, scholars realised his head is that of a wolf. The Egyptian jackal is not actually a jackal, but a member of the grey wolf family.
Evidence also suggests the baboon could explain the dog-headed man myth. That said, the confusion over baboons is more closely linked to the Japanese man-faced dog legend. We’re concerned with dog-headed men.
Confused yet?
Anubis
I feel Anubis deserves his own section since he’s perhaps the most recognisable example. That’s particularly true since his crossover into popular culture. (Don’t worry, I’m not going to get on my soapbox about Hollywood’s misappropriation of the noble god in The Mummy Returns. In the film, an army of Anubis-like creatures become the invading horde our hapless hero needs to defeat).
Anubis is the often maligned god of the dead in ancient Egypt. Far from being a terrifying deity, he was a protector of tombs, the patron god of embalmers, and the guide for souls coming into the afterlife.
It was the figure of Anubis that inspired my own dog-headed men in my dark fantasy novella, The Necromancer’s Apprentice. Called Wolfkin, these muscular beings are definitely the strong, silent type. You can buy the book from Amazon. Or you can also read my super-short story, Wolfkin, which gives a voice to these noble creatures. One of them finally made it to the cover in book 2, The Necromancer’s Rogue.
/ shameless plug
In early depictions, Anubis takes the form of a black wolf. His colour represents the colour corpses turned during mummification. He became a wolf-headed man during the Middle Kingdom. Given the proliferation of wall paintings and the crossover of religions between Egypt and Greece at sites like Thonis-Heracleion and Canopus, it’s hardly surprising that dog-headed men appear elsewhere in historical texts.
Dog-headed men in antiquity
Greek physician Ctesias wrote about the existence of dog-headed men in India back in the 5th century BC. His report also included unicorns, satyrs, and men that reached 18 feet tall. A second century AD satirist actually condemned Ctesias to a specific part of hell reserved for liars. So we can probably ignore his report.
If his book had had pictures, they would have no doubt included the engraving below.
Or can we rule him out so quickly? Megasthenes, a Greek traveller, reported seeing dog-headed people in India, too. According to him, they used barking to communicate with one another. They wore animal skins and lived as hunters.
Perhaps Ctesias wasn’t too far off the mark after all. Even Herodotus references dog-headed men. He notes that ancient Libyans claimed the creatures lived in their lands.
But why dog-headed men at all? The figure collapses human and animal into one package, perhaps referencing the savage nature of mankind. Though anyone who has ever owned a dog might argue the figure represents the noble, loyal aspect of human nature!
The cynocephaly and Christianity
Different branches of the church choose different representations for their religious icons. The Eastern Orthodox Church gives St Christopher a dog’s head in a range of images. Many believe the identification comes from a mistranslation, turning ‘Canaanite’ (or Cananeus in Latin) into ‘canine’ (canineus).
A German bishop, Walter of Speyer, thus paints St Christopher as a dog-headed man, feasting on human flesh until he meets Christ. Once baptised, Christopher gains a human appearance and devotes his life to God.
A Buddhist missionary discusses an island populated by dog-headed men. The island has been identified both as Japan and the Americas. That links back to the man-faced dog legends of Japan, but it’s the first mention of dog-headed men in America.
Could these dog-headed men be the ancestors of the Michigan Dogman? First reported in 1887, the Dogman was immortalised in 1987 by a local DJ. There have been over 100 reports of Dogman sightings since then.
It’s interesting that the dog-headed men never live in the same countries as those writing about them. They somehow represent the wild savage nature of the Other, the strange inhabitants of unknown and distant lands.
It’s not all bad news
These depictions are all fairly negative, despite the legend’s apparent origins in the benign figure of Anubis. But Celtic folklore offers an alternative.
Look at the Wulver in the Shetland Islands. This creature is no werewolf; rather a man with a wolf’s head. They live in caves and enjoy fishing. Some tales even claim the wulver left fish on the windowsill of poor members of the community.
Likewise, Irish folklore boasts the Faoladh, a werewolf that protects children and guards wounded men.
Both of these versions of the dog-headed men represent the loyal and caring side of our canine friends. The earlier depictions focus on the savage, animalistic side of dogs.
I prefer to think of them as being more like Anubis. Silent, peaceful, and completely loyal to their companions. How about you?
If you enjoyed this post, sign up below and get them delivered to your inbox every week. I’ll even throw in a collection of stories inspired by changeling folklore!
Nutty about folklore and want more?
Add your email below and get these posts in your inbox every week.
You'll also get my 5-step guide to protecting your home using folklore!
I would prefer to think of them as the dog companions we know. Maybe the human dogs that lived in caves were dogs but we made them human becasue of how they cared for us?
Wolf skin fits better as there were people who have worn wolf skin
I wonder if kangaroos could be what they saw. Maybe they inhabited India at one point. They communicate well with humans and standing on 2 legs with their chest puffed out look like a dog headed human. Just a thought
You have a point there…
I would say that the Anubians were a powerful alien race first encountered by ancient Egyptians (Explaining the “God of the underworld”), and a latter expedition by them into Central/Eastern Europe (Where the inhabitants saw them as “Werewolves”). The last ones to visit were probably the ones whose vessel malfunctioned over the Southwestern U.S. and were prisoners of the U.S. Air Force until they passed of old age in 1990’s – Early 2000’s (Just a theory)
Fascinating as always! I am a big fan of the wulver. Nice chap. Dogs occupy a dual nature – either mans best friend – or savage predator (or protector, someone else best friend?) Perhaps it is these hopes for friendship and fears of savagery we see played out in these dog headed men stories. Or maybe there really are dog headed men among us…
Ive always been a “dog person” because they are inherently loyal whereas not all people are! Theres not one day that goes by that i dont get a “heroes welcome” from my canine friend. To be honest, i really dont deserve it but my devoted friend who gets my scraps thinks im the best.
I must admit when i began independent study of canines, i was completely unaware of the significance of their role throughout history. One internet search after another, i kept stumbling onto things more unbelievable, the constellations, canus major and minor, then the ancients claims regarding those locations in the sky, and eventually i read about the “mythology” regarding people with dog heads!
As crazy as it seems, i wouldnt doubt it to be true to an extent.
So far removed from the ancient past, we modern people scrape together what we can and interpret it as we may. This bit of history is very intriguing and and got me to thinking.about how shocking it would it be if the truth WAS stranger thsn fiction? Say for example, isnt it interesting that in addition to what we learn in thia article that the iword God reversed is Dog? I DO believe there is a grande deception coming one day. I feel it in my gut. One can only speculate as to what that might en”tail.” And since nothing can be proven, who knows, i may be barking ip the RIGHT tree after all. Rehardless of this craziness i type, i think we all can agree that this world is goijg to the dogs.
I genuinely think modern society couldn’t function without dogs!
However, God spelt backwards is dog only in the English language.
Is it faintly possible that some were describing small isolated groups of Neanderthals ?
I’ve never heard that theory before. I suppose anything is possible (especially if sailors could mix up seals and mermaids!) but the stories are always so particular about the dog heads. It’s very odd.
Yes! They are VERY particular. Exactly right, Icy.
I think it represents the un-evolved man. Meaning men whose knowledge and behavior equates to that of a dog. In many pictures, these dogheads are pictured among Pharaohs, Kings, Jesus, etc. I think its a symbol referencing the differences between men and the Gods.
I wanted to add something about the Cynocephalics “representing” this or that.
No. Characters and elements in a story represent something to the author and the reader, but historical accounts are what they are.
Priests would not have discussions back and forth about whether they should try to evangelize the dog-headed people unless there actually Were some dog-headed people. They weren’t merely ugly people either, but rather, they would have to actually have heads which looked like those of dogs, for priests to speculate whether they were like actual dogs, having no souls at all.
Marco Polo wasn’t trying to write a version of “Gulliver’s Travels”. He wrote an account of their journey to and through Asia and of the various new flora and fauna they encountered, a documenting of actual factual things, like the “dragons” which were like a pack of Velociraptors that tried to eat their horses, dog-headed people, and so on. We are talking about an actual phenomenon which existed in multiple parts of the world.
Heck, in ancient times, the Chinese first called themselves “The Middle Kingdom” because they were a kingdom of people in the middle of “animals who had forgotten themselves” and lived in humanoid tribal groups. They recorded that the people of Turkey, and it sounds like the people of Nippon/Japan (among others), were descended from wolves. Several Native American tribes, who were unaware of each other at the time, had an oral history that they were descended from wolves.
Were the dog-headed people Nephilim descendants, originating and spread to different parts of the world? That would make them make sense, having an origin story involving higher-dimensional beings’ genetic interference. It’s one possible explanation for their existence. But, do they “represent something”? Only if you write a story about them, otherwise, they represent things like the Cherokee or people from Saudi Arabia represent something.
Instead of researching, we can imagine bits and pieces of things and patch them onto our research, until we get ourselves to the point of, “Well maybe whatever,” which is nowhere. When we use our imagination and a sort of mental blending process, and splice it into our research, it befouls that research, making it something other than the search for Truth.
I used the word ‘represent’ in its form to mean “to show” or “to depict”.
These dog-men have been reported in sightings on skin walker ranch, and (whether you believe it or not) they’ve also been reported by people claiming to be secret space program insiders. Jason Rice claims he saw them, and they were a type of AI made for killing. 🤷🏼Admittedly far-fetched, but makes for a good yarn anyways.
There have been many species of homo that have not yet been classified, some may never be, so why is it so hard to believe that amongst all those, there is one who has an extremely prognathous face; to some giving the impression of a dog face. Ignorance makes the mind spin !
Interesting. Human groups have had a tendency to call other human groups ‘monkeys’ so perhaps the dog-headed men fulfill something akin to that.
Im not sure if anyone will ever see this, but I think one of these “things” visited me when I was a child. It was late at night and it walked into my room. It spoke to me but not using its mouth. I never forgot that feeling of terror and was too afraid to tell anybody about it.
Have you ever seen it since?
Don’t eat extra mature Cheddar cheese at night, is my advice.
Hello everyone. @Noone, one has visited me as well. I am having a hard time writing this, but I can’t stop thinking about it, wondering what it is, or means? As you can tell, I am still “researching” and trying to understand what we witnessed and experienced that night. I came across this discussion today and it was like hmm okay, I’ll add to the crazy. My partner and I both saw it at the foot of our bed, it had the head of a Greyhound dog, a red long sleeved medieval army uniform, with gold trim very decorative. it stood about 5′ tall, light brown in color with big black eyes, who stood very still and only moved its eyes from looking at us to looking above us. We both were frozen in disbelief, but could sense other things going on around us, as he or she was looking in our direction, or so we thought, it was, but not directly at us , hard to explain. I was in complete shock, I’ve had a few things happen to me as a kid, that seemed very strange at times and I would brush it off, but now, I am an adult, thinking WTF is happening.. I am a rational person, I grew up in a orthodox Jewish home, so I asked myself “Are we really witnessing this?” As a Jew I began to say The Sh,ma Yisrael thinking this is, I’m going to have a heart attack or be killed by this creature, or taken. I reached for my prayer book “Siddur” that was at the foot of the bed, I didn’t know what else to do, I guess I have seen one too many exorcism movies I even thought of throwing the book at it. Yes it all sounds insane. But if anyone has had any of the same encounters or experiences please share.
I am an engineer from California working in the Brazil amazon this was three months ago when we saw it. We both think we have seen it in our ”dreams” before this encounter. We have not seen it again but this strange feeling is still with us.
Eli Levy
The Lilim are shapeshifters. They do all manner of stuff. They are typically nothing to be concerned about, unless they are trying to tempt you. It’s probably best to not engage them in conversation. They can be incredibly devious. Ultimately, we are stronger. As you have Jewish descent, you might have a predisposition to greater awareness. It is surprising how aware Jewish people can be. I suppose it pays to be vigilant if you are Jewish.
I’ve observed the demons for years. I was more interested than worried. I discovered that in the right(wrong) circumstances, they can sometimes get shockingly, unbelievably rough (the bite of the saraf), but it’s just a matter of endurance and faith if they do. In life we get some strange trials, but God is all powerful. Stand up to them, and they will eventually give up whatever shenanigans they are perpetrating upon you.
I’m not convinced, although all these kinds of tales say far more about us. I wonder whether during the Middle Ages such tales were actually some kind of bizarre satire or jokes of the educated? Who really knows?
The picture of the monsters looks like they’re all on a stroll to a country pub and having a nice chat about the weather as they go.
People’s perceptions change through the centuries, as environmental stimuli cause the perceptual sensitivity of the population to rise and fall. There are always going to be some people who can see strange stuff, but at certain times, it becomes pandemic. Then, humanity restructures their understanding of reality.
Over the centuries sensitivity declines, and then people come to imagine their ancient ancestors were idiots, until the sensitivity returns, and then people realise that their recent ancestors were the ones who were idiots.
Dog headed people are a counterbalance to Cat headed people. What folk are seeing is something being revealed about archetypal inner character. The stuff that is normally hidden to those who are less aware. It’s the same kind of reason that David Icke keeps saying people are lizards. When perceived accurately, all people are at core, just beautiful lights, but there is a lot of variation, on the way to seeing that clarity. That purity is hidden beneath layers of sinfulness. What is seen, depends on the character of both the observer, and the observed. The observer may have biases, according to personal concerns about the character of the observed, which are derived from their own personal sins. Often they are onto something though.