Having earned the title of ‘man’s best friend’ through their millennia-long relationship with humans, dogs have been constantly present in human life. The great number of textual and artistic representations of canines attests to the popularity of these animals in ancient Greece, where the existence of domesticated dogs has been traced back to the early Neolithic period. Dogs appear in more than 2,000 painted and sculpted scenes of Athenian art, serving a variety of roles: they are the faithful companions of warriors and riders, valuable collaborators in the hunt, cherished pets, and status symbols. They are present in the gymnasium, the symposium, and in domestic scenes. They are shown happily playing with children, providing protection and companionship for women, and accompanying males in various aspects of their everyday lives. They are associated with gods and mythical heroes and are even depicted on funerary reliefs, accompanying their humans in death. This book offers a thorough study and analysis of the iconography of dog depictions in Athenian sculpture and vase painting, employing an interdisciplinary approach to explore their multifarious function and the extent to which they were influenced by the human-canine bond.
Introduction
Chapter 1: The dog in Ancient Greece
Chapter 2: Depicting the dog in Athenian sculpture and vase painting
Chapter 3: Dogs in war
Chapter 4: Dogs in the hunt
Chapter 5: Dogs and horses, riders and chariots
Chapter 6: Dogs, athletics, music and education
Chapter 7: Dogs in the symposium and komos
Chapter 8: Dogs and eros
Chapter 9: Dogs and death
Chapter 10: Dogs and humans
Chapter 11: Dogs, deities and rituals
Chapter 12: Dogs of myth
Conclusions
Catalogue
References / Bibliography
Bibliographical Notes
Tables (I: breeds, II: Athenian dog names)
Graphs (1: Vase shapes, 2: Themes, 3: Vase painters)
Images
Index
Height:
Width:
Spine:
Weight:0.00