Chinese mythology merely fantastic types of the bestiary sort. Sometimes the dragon is considered part of this category, related to it, or the ruler of all the swimming and crawling folk. This may include the giant marine turtle or tortoise Ao, the Bashe snake reputed to swallow elephants, a nine-headed snake monster reminiscent of the hydra known as Xiangliu, and the White Serpent from the novel "Legend of the White Snake". Various birds are found in Chinese mythology, some of them obviously based on real birds, other ones obviously not, and some in-between. The Crane is an example of a real type
Ancient Greek literature Prince of Tyre" was based off an adaptation of the ancient Greek novel "Apollonius of Tyre" found in John Gower's "Confessio Amantis". John Milton's epic poem "Paradise Lost" is written using a similar style to the two Homeric epics. It also makes frequent allusions to figures from classical literature and mythology, using them as symbols to convey a Christian message. Lucian's "A True Story" was part of the inspiration for Jonathan Swift's novel "Gulliver's Travels". "Bulfinch's Mythology", a book on Greek mythology published in 1867 and aimed at a popular audience, was described by Carl J. Richard as "one of