Ancient Greeks Loved Dogs as Family, Companions, and Protectors

Riders and their dogs depicted connected an ancient Greek vase c. 510-500 BC. Credit: Public Domain

Ancient Greeks loved and respected their dogs, cherishing them arsenic companions, protectors, and hunters, arsenic evidenced by respective canine tombstones discovered implicit the centuries.

The astir well-known communicative of the narration between ancient Greeks and their favored canines comes from Homer and his Odyssey. Written arsenic aboriginal arsenic circa 800 BC, it is simply a communicative of the unending loyalty of dogs to man.

Argos is the loyal person of King Odysseus. His maestro yet returns location aft being distant connected his escapade for 20 years and is not recognized by the hostile suitors who are vying to triumph the manus of Odysseus’s wife, Penelope. However, Argos recognizes his maestro and rises up from wherever helium has been faithfully awaiting him, wagging his process to greet him.

Odysseus could not clasp backmost his tears, which helium secretly wiped away. However, helium is successful disguise and is acrophobic that if helium acknowledges the greeting, helium volition springiness distant his existent individuality successful beforehand of the suitors. Argos tragically lies backmost down and dies.

The large philosopher Socrates himself saw contented successful dogs. He claimed that dogs are existent philosophers due to the fact that they “distinguish the look of a person and an force lone by the criterion of knowing and not knowing.” He concluded that dogs tendency to larn things because, by learning they find what they similar and what they bash not similar based upon cognition of the truth.

Socrates claimed that dogs person learned who is simply a person and who is not and, based connected that knowledge, respond appropriately portion quality beings are often deceived arsenic to who their existent friends are.

The Philosopher Diogenes of Sinope, who lived from 412 to 323 BC, was called “the dog” by section society. This is wherever the sanction “cynic” derives from. As to wherefore helium was called a dog, Diogenes replied: “Because I fawn upon those who springiness maine anything, and bark astatine those who springiness maine nothing, and wound the rogues.”

Ancient Greek statue of a canine and her puppy. Credit: User:MatthiasKabel/Wikimedia Commons/ CC BY-SA 3.0

How Ancient Greeks named their dogs

Ancient Greeks built the Parthenon, became philosophers, wrote the world’s top tragedies and comedies, and laid the foundations of Western civilization successful general—yet, apparently, they had a hard clip choosing names for their beloved dogs.

Nowadays, we usually conscionable prime a sanction we like, which reminds america of thing oregon has immoderate pleasant meaning for us. At that time, however, determination was a acold much analyzable mode of naming one’s dog.

According to Xenophon, canine names preferred by the Ancient Greeks were short, consisting of one, or, astatine most, 2 syllables. They besides paid peculiar attraction to the meaning of the sanction of the dog, and nary sanction was ever bestowed astatine random oregon connected a whim.

The crushed for this was that a dog’s sanction besides affected the owner’s psychology. Hence, Ancient Greeks chose names which expressed courage, power, speed, appearance, oregon different worldly and spiritual values. The sanction Xenophon himself chose for his ain canine was “Impetus” (Ορμή).

Atalanti, connected the different hand, the celebrated huntress of Greek mythology, named her canine ‘Avra’ (meaning aura oregon breeze).

Other notable canine names of antiquity that we cognize of are Impetuous  (Ορμητικός), Follower (Μεθέπων), The One Who Awakens You (Εγέρτης), Crow (Κόραξ), The Shining One (Λαμπρός), Good Shooter (Εύβολος), and, of course, Odysseus’ faithful canine Argos.

The database of canine names from antiquity was supplemented by Polydeuces, who besides mentioned names specified arsenic White (Λευκός), Ink (Μελανός), Flower (Άνθος), Storm (Θύελλα), Hunter (Κυνηγός), Digger (Σκαφτιάς) and Guard (Φύλαξ).

Ancient Rhyton successful the signifier of a dog’s caput from Ancient Greece, painted by the Brygos Painter successful the aboriginal 5th century. Credit:  Clio20, /Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 3.0

Ancient Greeks’ emotion for dogs engraved everlastingly connected gravestones

After their loyal person and companion departed from this world, Ancient Greeks were not acrophobic to express their grief for their loss, openly crying and mourning.

Greeks would hide their pets on the roadside successful marked graves, and the full ceremonial for this was undertaken successful a precise solemn manner.

Grave stele depicting 2 men and a canine successful Ancient Greece, c. 400 BC. Credit:Mary Harrsch /Wikimedia Commons/CC BY-SA 4.0

Archaeologists person uncovered countless epitaphs connected tombstones dedicated by Greeks to their furry friends.

One gravestone reads: “This is the tomb of the dog, Stephanos, who perished, Whom Rhodope shed tears for and buried similar a human. I americium the canine Stephanos, and Rhodope acceptable up a tomb for me.”

“Helena, foster child, psyche without examination and deserving of praise,” reads another. This peculiar epitaph shows that immoderate Ancient Greeks, overmuch similar today, saw their dogs arsenic their foster children.

In different example, a huntsman mourned the pistillate hound who had helped him hunt successful the 3 Greek mountains mentioned connected the tombstone: “Surely, adjacent arsenic you prevarication dormant successful this tomb, I deem the chaotic beasts yet fearfulness your achromatic bones, huntress Lycas; and your valor large Pelion knows, and splendid Ossa and the lonely peaks of Cithaeron.”

Another tombstone of a beloved household canine from Ancient Greece reads: “You who walk connected this path, if you hap to spot this monument, laughter not, I pray, though it is simply a dog’s grave. Tears fell for me, and the particulate was heaped supra maine by a master’s hand.”