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14 - Animals in Athenian Life

from Part II - Inhabitants

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 March 2021

Jenifer Neils
Affiliation:
American School of Classical Studies, Athens
Dylan K. Rogers
Affiliation:
University of Virginia
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Summary

According to a variety of ancient sources (texts, inscriptions, archaeology, visual arts), animals were a common sight in the city of Athens. Their behaviors, characteristics, and relationships to humans revolve around the thematic categories of everyday life, mythology and religion, and performance and competition.

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Chapter
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Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2021

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References

Further Reading

The growing field of Animals Studies has encouraged recent publications on many aspects of ancient Greek (and thus Athenian) animals; e.g., bovines by McInerney 2010, who reflects on their symbolic value and their many functions within ancient Greek culture; birds by Mynott 2018. The best general introduction is Campbell 2014, with chapters organized according to theme, and covering much that is mentioned here, as well the economy, magic, communication, husbandry, metamorphosis, zoology, etc. For classification, terminology, and species, see Calder 2011; Korhonen and Ruonakoski 2017; and the user-friendly collections of Kitchell 2013, and Lewis and Llewelyn-Jones 2018. Fauna are covered by MacKinnon (in Campbell 2014); Ekroth and Wallensten 2013; and see Liston et al. 2018, for dogs found deposited with infants in a second-century bc well in the Agora. For animal fossils and their connections to mythology, see Mayor (in Campbell 2014). Both Kalof 2011 and Campbell 2014 place Greek animals into a wider ancient context. Hybrid creatures in Athenian literature and art are well covered in Padgett 2003 and Aston 2011, while animal-shaped vessels from Athens and elsewhere are the topic of a recent exhibition and well-illustrated catalogue (Ebbinhaus 2018).

Bibliography

Additional resources to accompany this chapter can be found at: www.cambridge.org/NeilsRogers

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Calder, L. 2011. Cruelty and Sentimentality: Greek Attitudes to Animals, 600–300 bc. Oxford.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Campbell, G.L., ed. 2014. The Oxford Handbook of Animals in Classical Thought and Life. Oxford.Google Scholar
Ebbinhaus, S. 2018. Animal-Shaped Vessels from the Ancient World: Feasting with Gods, Heroes, and Kings. New Haven.Google Scholar
Ekroth, G., and Wallensten, J., eds. 2013. Bones, Behaviour, and Belief: The Zooarchaeological Evidence as a Source for Ritual Practice in Ancient Greece and Beyond. Stockholm.Google Scholar
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Kaltsas, N. 2002. Sculpture in the National Archaeological Museum, Athens. Athens.Google Scholar
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