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+--- Thread: Dogs in Greek/Roman culture? (/showthread.php?tid=25046)
Dogs in Greek/Roman culture? - FarDarter - 08-19-2015
I tried the search function but I didn't find much directly on this subject. What was the role of man's best friend in ancient culture? I have heard that they were very important to farmers, but not from primary sources. The extent that I know of dogs is that Hades was a dog lover(see Cerberus) in their mythology, and the Romans bred certain breeds for war, but feel free to correct/enlighten me.
Dogs in Greek/Roman culture? - Renatus - 08-19-2015
This may be evidence of dogs as pets:
http://edh-www.adw.uni-heidelberg.de/edh/foto/F023655
Dogs in Greek/Roman culture? - Urselius - 08-19-2015
They had various types of hunting dogs, hounds from Britain were particularly prized, and formed a well-known British export. Molossian hounds from Epirus were also prized. The 'cave canem' (beware of the dog) mosaic in the entrance to the 'House of the Tragic Poet' in Pompeii suggests that the role of domestic watchdog existed. Literary descriptions also suggest that small 'lap-dogs' were kept as household pets. Shepherds routinely kept dogs as guards against wolves.
Dogs in Greek/Roman culture? - ParthianBow - 08-19-2015
It's recorded that hunting dogs from Ireland were prized too.
There are also numerous tombstones to pet dogs.
(Beware the 'war dogs' idea - it seems to be much mentioned in Rome: Total War and other games, and is commonly bandied about by Rottweiler breeders etc, but I have yet to see one single mention of such dogs in the ancient texts...)
Dogs in Greek/Roman culture? - Urselius - 08-19-2015
Puppies, usually black, were sacrificed to Hecate.
Dogs in Greek/Roman culture? - Ioannes - 08-19-2015
I don't know much about ancient canes myself, but I know that Molossian mastiffs were enormous dogs that were popular for warfare, home defense, etc. They're extinct now, but their descendants include most large dogs today, such as St. Bernards and modern mastiffs. Hope that helps, Amice!
Dogs in Greek/Roman culture? - Crispianus - 08-20-2015
Thought this might interest, its not Roman but Egyptian however the dating does bring it up to 30bc... an enormous number of mummified dogs were interred...
http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/share/research/projectreports/catacombsanubis/catacombs-of-anubis.html
And a recent article:
http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=9756240&fulltextType=RA&fileId=S0003598X14000532