On The Intelligence of Ravens - Anthology of Jet-Black Poems

This essay discusses the intelligence of ravens, an intelligence which, according to current research, declares ravens to be the most intelligent birds. The differences to human and artificial intelligence are shown. After a digression to the ancient Greeks and Germanic tribes, it becomes clear that ravens were respected as intelligent in various cultures. Both the Greek poet Aesop – e.g. with the fable The Eagle and the Crow – and the Germanic Raven God Wodan with his two ravens Hugin (sense) and Munin (memory) worshipped crows. In our western world, however, ravens were almost wiped out at the beginning of the twentieth century as they were considered pests for agriculture and livestock. This essay uses raven poems to show how the perception and respect of ravens is slowly changing in our latitudes.