More The Pets: Dogs In Graeco-Roman Egypt

Aelian’s comprehensive work on animals encouraged scholars to address animals in the ancient world (Ael. NA I-XVII). Based on textual, pictorial, and zooarchaeological evidence, Patrick Houlihan systematically collected different species of ancient Egyptian fauna, providing information about their character, environment, and domestication (Houlihan 1996). Dieter Kessler turned attention to animal cult and hypogea at Tuna el-Gebel, the necropolis of Hermopolis Magna (Kessler 1989). Perhaps the most beloved animal to ancient as well as modern inhabitants is the dog (Lazenby 1949, 245-7). Scholars considered the history of dogs in ancient Egypt and the Mediterranean (Brewer et al 2001; Routledge 2004; Gransard-Desmond 2004). Salima Ikram, a passionate of animals, presented valuable studies on animals, with a special focus on animal mummification and dogs in the dynastic period (Ikram 2005, 2007a, 2008, 2013). This article deals with dogs in Graeco-Roman Egypt based on literary, archaeological, and papyrological documents. It argues that the dog enjoyed reverence from the Pharaonic to the Roman period mainly through its role in the myth of Isis and Osiris. Dogs’ mummies in Egypt symbolised and perpetuated the role of Anubis and the dog in the Osirian legend. Additionally, they served as guardians and companions of the givers/dead in their journey to the underworld. The paper begins with the animal cult and the dog’s function in the Osirian myth, followed by consideration of dogs in Pharaonic and Graeco-Roman times to highlight continuity in dogs’ symbolism. It finally addresses the death and burial rituals, which the owners of dogs performed after the demise of their pets, closely matching those offered to Osiris by Isis and Anubis.