Dante

 

Learning about the questions about his life and the ambiguous evidence. How many children? What was he like? What do we know about the other people in his life? Shakespeare the person is mostly lost to us through the mist of time. So 3 centuries earlier aren't going to have a lot of info. 

I like this list of creatures in Canto XXIV:

Jaculi: Jaculis were capable of camouflaging themselves, comparable to the famed ability of a chameleon, changing the color of their skin to match their surroundings. They were also known to be talented climbers and swimmers. Some described them as being capable of launching themselves with a force and accuracy comparable to that of javelins. (Wikipedia)

Amphisboenae: Head at each end. According to Greek mythology, the amphisbaena was spawned from the blood that dripped from the Gorgon Medusa's head as Perseus flew over the Libyan Desert with her head in his hand, after which Cato's army then encountered it along with other serpents on the march.

Chelydri: venomous water-snake

Cenchri--always move in a straight line??! Insect: "The cenchri are small blister-like lobes on the metanotum of these insects, just posterior to the mesothoracic scutellum, shaped and positioned in such a way as to latch onto the base of the front wings when they are folded at rest." A sawfly?

Pharae: Lost to us, no beasts of that name on the 2021 internet.

The beasts were sourced apparently by Dante from Lucan's Pharsalia: A Roman epic poem detailing the civil war between Julius Caesar and the forces of the Roman Senate led by Pompey the Great.

Other posts on Dante:

Movies based on Dante

First post

Buddhist thinking

Old Man of Crete