The fauna of Greece and adjacent areas in the Age of Homer: evidence from the first written documents of Greek literature

Abstract

Aim To study the composition of fauna in Greece and adjacent areas around 3000 years ago based on the knowledge of Homeric man about the animal kingdom. Location Greece and adjacent areas. Method Analysis of information derived from a thorough study of the first written documents of Greek literature, the epics, attributed to Homer and Hesiod. Results Records of 2442 animals were found, corresponding to 71 different animal names. All animal names were attributed to recent taxa, at different category levels; the majority (65%) were assigned to taxa at the species level and the rest to supraspecific taxa. Most of the animal names recorded in the epics have been retained as integral words or roots in Modern Greek and they have been used in the formation of the Latin scientific taxa names. Five animal phyla appear in the texts: (1) Chordata (mostly birds and mammals), (2) Arthropoda, (3) Mollusca, (4) Porifera, and (5) Annelida. Information in the epics also includes morphology, biology, ecology (habitat and prey–predator relationships), and behaviour. The presence of several species in the area in that period is documented on the basis of archaeological and/or palaeontological findings from various Greek localities. Main conclusions The knowledge of Homeric man about animals, as reflected in the epics, seems to concentrate mainly, but not exclusively, on animals involved in human activities. The populations of some common animal species of the Homeric Age in Greek populated areas have become extinct or reduced at the present time. On the other hand, some common animals of the present time do not appear in the epics, since they were introduced later. Useful zoological information can be derived from the study of classical texts, which may help historical biogeographers as a supplement to archaeology and art, in the reconstruction of faunas of older periods.

Aristotle as an ichthyologist: Exploring Aegean fish diversity 2,400 years ago

“…The research method followed in this work was similar to that applied by Voultsiadou and Tatolas () and Voultsiadou and Vafidis () in their studies on Homeric fauna and Aristotle's invertebrates, respectively. The following zoological works by Aristotle were carefully read to derive information on fish: History of animals ( HA —10 books), in which a description of the observed diversity in animal structure, function and behaviour is given; Parts of Animals ( PA —four books): a detailed study of animal structure in relation to function; Movement of animals ( MA —one book): an examination of the general mechanism of movement in animals; Progression of animals ( IA —one book): a discussion on the inter‐ and intraspecific variability of animal parts that are useful for their movement; Generation of animals ( GA —five books): a thorough study on reproduction, embryology and development of animal characteristics.…”

“…This preliminary identification process was subsequently enhanced by the etymological and lexical study of the ichthyonyms. As Voultsiadou and Tatolas () suggested, the information embedded in ancient Greek animal names, many of which have been retained in Modern Greek, proved to be a very useful tool. The relationship between Aristotle's ichthyonyms and modern fish names, mostly the Greek and secondarily the scientific ones, was explored using encyclopaedias and lexica such as the Greek‐English Lexicon by Liddell and Scott () and the Etymological Lexicon of the Papyrus Larousse Britannica encyclopaedia (Pournaras, –1994).…”

An Archaeological and Historical Review of the Relationships between Felids and People

“…However, cats were extremely rare because weasels, Mustela nivalis, were used for rodent control (Jennison 1937;Kirk 1977;Donalson 1999). In Greece, the earliest depictions of cats appear after 3,000 ya (Zeuner 1967;Bodson 1987), but they are not mentioned in the first Greek literature, the epics attributed to Homer and Hesiod (c. 2,750 ya) (Voultsiadou and Apostolos 2005). Only five examples of cats in Greek art from the 5th and 4th centuries BC (2,500-2,400 ya) were mentioned by Richter (1930).…”

The names of southwestern European goats: is Iberian ibex the best common name for Capra pyrenaica?

“…In classical natural history texts, most descriptions of goats refer to domestic goats (Pliny the Elder, 77 AD; Gessner, 1551; Jonston, 1650; Aristotle and Thompson, 2004;Voultsiadou and Tatolas, 2005). However, wild goats were mentioned as early as in the 8th century (C.) BC by Homer in the Iliad and the Odyssey.…”