The Big Think, a surpassingly excellent curator for
unusual examples of cartography, has a thoughtful piece on political satire, not such subtle ones, and portrayal of maps with anthropomorphism and zoomorphism. Going by national symbols alone, one would have a whole motley herd of eagles, lions, bears, dragons and griffons, but we also have these geo-political works of art that betray sentiment and fears. One of the more utilitarian propaganda monsters has been the
land octopus, the kraken, an unappeasable force of nature that is a bigger threat than caricatures of kaisers and ministers. A lot of different countries, not just Russia and its successors, have assumed these writhing tentacles and it is interesting to reflect on these allegorical portrayals and meaning behind them--like in this map from the collections of
Bibliodyssey. United, more or less under shifting regencies, Europe was often depicted as the Queen of the World, Europa Regina. I am sure that along with all available map-making precision at the time, a lot of thought, slights and glories, went into every feature. I cannot fathom the symbolism and deferring nature of this language but I hope we retain the ability to interpret the subtle and the dense and multi-layered.

Karte oft ungewรถhn-licher Kartographen und Satirikern finden in
The Big Think blog, und in der jungsten Ausgabe befinden sich ein nach-denklich Artikel รผber vermenschlichter und zoomorphischen Figuren der Karten. Anstatt nur nationalen Symbolen--die Lรถwen, Adler, Bรคren, Drachen, Griffins--gibt auch die festlandlich Krake, auf Gefรผhl und Angst hindeuten. Die pur Naturgewalt--der Kraken--ist Propagandamittel und mehr bedrohlicher als politischen Karikaturen. Nicht nur Russland sondern auch vielen anderen Lรคndern dargestellt mit Auslรคufern war. In der Vergangenheit gezeigt Europa so wie eine Kรถnigin. Das ist sehr komplex und vielschichtig. Hoffentlich kรถnnen wir weiter solche Sinnbilder und Symbolismus schรคtzen und verstehen.