Dog In Ancient Greek Culture Essay

Across time animals have featured significantly in the lives of humans. In this paper, I shall focus on the domestic dog and examine its role in the daily lives and culture of the ancient Greeks. In doing so, I will provide an overview of the species, before turning to archaeological evidence which sheds light on the role dogs played in daily life, and how the Greeks thought of them. In addition, I will examine some examples of dogs represented in both two and three dimensional art, and consider how dogs were depicted and described in texts, especially in Greek myth. From here I will explore the role of dogs in religion, considering the philosophical significance they held. Ultimately, in looking at these various aspects of dogs through the lens of ancient Greek culture and life, these specific areas of inquiry will overlap, offering support to the idea that dogs played a significant role in the daily lives and culture of the ancient Greeks. The Greeks saw dogs as intelligent, although they tended to consider the dog in a utilitarian manner, namely, as a helper to be utilised. Dogs were used as companions, herders, and guardians, among other things. And importantly, this was not only during life. The Greeks also saw dogs as playing an important function by providing these services
For instance, according to Busuttil, dogs, particularly toy breeds such as the maltese, were highly popular as pets, both for men and women. In ancient Greece it was customary for owners of such pet dogs to even take them on long voyages as a source of companionship and pleasure. The ancient Greek writer Artemidorus expressed such an attitude towards the keeping of malitaean toy dogs as pets by saying that they are “the supreme pleasure of life and the greatest of all delights.”10 This view of dogs as pets could help explain the burial of a single dog with a beef bone placed next to its head in