The Judgment of Animals in Classical Greece: Animal Sculpture and ...

The fragment clearly identifies bread (a1rton) as the food presented to the dog. 284
Considering that the term a1rtoj designated a leavened wheat loaf, 285 and that cereals
like wheat were thought to have high nutritional value in Classical Greece, 286 it is again
evident that the animal was fed with its well-being in mind.
The fragment is further illuminating in terms of the canine behavior it describes:
so unsympathetic was the woman who tried to feed the dog that the animal declined to
take food from her. 287 This behavior contrasts sharply with that seen earlier: decided
eagerness to steal and gobble food. Although such contrasts in behavior can be attributed
to a possible difference in breeds, 288 what cannot be overlooked is that the dog was aware
of the woman’s dark character and therefore avoided being fed by her. Such evidence
grants wisdom and foresight to the animal and recognizes in it a level of mental capacity;
it also presupposes canine observation of human character and behavior, a circumstance
already seen in the Knights (1030-1034), where the dog waits for the diners to look in
another direction in order to steal their food. We have already seen from the analysis of
284
The emphasis on bread as the best food for dogs is also found in both Greek and Latin authors of later
periods. Varro (Rust. 2.9.8-2.9.10) [188], for example, recommends that dogs should be fed barley bread.
Similarly, Columella (Rust.7.12.10) [78] recommends barley flour with whey or bread made from the flour
of emmer or bread-wheat mixed with the liquid of boiled beans. Arrian (Cyn. 8.1-8.2) [70] states that dogs
“enjoy wheat bread or barley bread, for this food is best for a hound and there is no fear lest they be filled
too full of it. Then it is better if they like their food dry, but even if you soak it in water and they like it, it
is not bad”; translation: D. B. Hull, Hounds and Hunting in Ancient Greece (Chicago and London, 1964)
170. Finally, Nemesianus (Cyn. 151-156) [134] says that bread should be given to puppies.
285
A. Dalby, Siren Feasts. A History of Food and Gastronomy in Greece (London and New York, 1996)
91.
286
Garsney, Food and Society 17-21.
287
Such evidence contrasts with the scene on an Attic red-figured lekythos that dates to 470-460 B.C. The
scene depicts a woman feeding a dog that sits on its hind legs and looks upward toward the food suspended
from her hand (Fig. 19). For a short discussion of this lekythos, now in Rome (Accademia dei Lincei
2478), see Lewis, The Athenian Woman 70-71, fig. 2.13; and 159-166 for further discussion of scenes on
Classical Greek pottery that depict women being surrounded by animals (e.g., dogs, hares, tortoises, mice,
and birds).
288
Thorne, “Feeding Behavior,” in Serpell, ed., The Domestic Dog 106, presents a discussion of modern
observations regarding the feeding behavior of dogs and how it is manifested in different breeds: “the
Labrador retriever shows a tendency to over-eat when given the opportunity, while other breeds,
particularly some of the toy and giant breeds, are so finicky that it is often difficult to maintain their
optimum body weight.”
188