Mythical Beasts is a captivating and wondrous journey across the world, exploring the origins of unicorns, dragons, griffins, sphinxes and half-human creatures. This rich and colourful history spans Ancient Egypt, Africa, Mesopotamia and Imperial China, all the way to the work of Lewis Carroll and the fashionable and decorative sphinxes of the 1920s. Written by leading experts, the narrative draws on a wide variety of sources to illuminate the roles that mythical beasts have played in different cultures and show why they have retained their appeal through the ages.