Dogs in mythology and folklore

[Blightwolf]

Discuss about urban legends, stories and myths involving the domestic dog.

Although humans have utilized the dogs for over 10,000 years, it has attracted very little folklore until relatively recently. In religion, the dog is seldom mentioned and when it is, the reference is usually negative. Two outstanding exceptions exist - ancient Persia and China, where early folklore and superstition abound with dogs; indeed, they were regularly used to participate in religious rituals. Not without coincidence, these are the regions where some of the earliest and most important dog breeding took place.

BIBLICAL DOGS

Folklore, the tribal stories of our real or imagined ancestors, offers exciting clues as to how people thought and lived thousands of years ago. The Jewish Bible - the Old Testament - recounts, often in intimate detail, the tribal history of one ancient group of people. It contains about 30 references to dogs, of which all but two are negative. From the Old Testament we know that dogs guarded the flocks of the tribes of Israel, but nothing suggests that a bond of affection existed between them, and dogs were undoubtedly regarded as unclean scavengers.
Ancient Jewish tradition did not allow images of animals but in nearly Egypt, where animals were worshipped, artists portrayed a variety of different breeds. However, none of these played a significant role in religion or folklore. The Egyptian god Anubis, whose responsibility was to accompany the souls of the deceased to their final judgment, is depicted with a human body and what some consider to be a dog's head. It is more likely that the head is not that of a dog, but that of the jackal. Although Herolotus wrote that the Egyptians mourned when dogs or cats died, judging from the large number of mummified cats and extremely small number of mummified dogs, as regards dogs, this practice was rpobably an exception rather than the rule. Elsewhere in the region, stone carvings indicate that the Babylonians bred great warrior mastiffs. Nearby, the Assyrian nobility used dogs for hunting. A superb bas-relief in the British Museum in London shows the Assyrian King Assurbanipal hunting with great mastiff dogs. Dogs do not, however, seem to play any major role in local folklore.

GREEK MYTHOLOGY

Dogs do participate in a number of early Greek legends. Xanthippus, the father of Pericles, was said to have owned a dog that swam by the side of his master's galley to the city of Salamis when the Athenians were forced to abandon their city. The dog was buried beside his master at a site known ever since as Cynossema, the dog's grave. Alexander the Great is said to have founded and named a city, Peritas, in memory of his dog.

The line between folklore and early literature is difficult to define. The Greek writer Homer used figures from Greek mythology and historical events to create his incomparable epic stores. Homer's magnificent description of the sagacious and faithful hound Argus, recognizing Ulysses on his return, when no one else could, and his sensitive account of the dogs belonging to the swine heder Eumaeus, demonstrate that Homer understood dog behavior.

The dog's role in Greek religion was usually sacrificial. Kennels of dogs were kept at the sanctuary of Asclepius at Epidaurus, and Asclepius was occasionally represented accompanied by a dog that could heal the sick by licking them. More frequently, however, dogs were sacrificed because they were plentiful, inexpensive, and easy to control.

ROMAN MYTHOLOGY

The early Romans also sacrificed dogs. For example, at the annual Roman festival of Robigalia, a dog was killed at the fifth milestone on the Via Claudia. Despite this, the Romans clearly view the dogs with great affection, and their folklore abounds with stories pf dogs' courage and fidelity.

REGIONAL INFLUENCES

Christian and Islamic cultures inherited attitudes to dogs from their ancestral religion. However, these attitudes were modified by the folklore and traditions of the regions in which these religions developed. In Europe, Christianity was influenced by regional and Roman folklore. Stories about the devotion of the dog developed throughout northern European folklore. The Norse Saga fo Olaf Triggvason contains descriptions of the faithfulness of dogs, as does the story of Cavall, the favorite hound of the English King Arthur. The saga fo Gelert, the Welsh Prince Llewellyn's great hound, is typical. Gelert was left at home with the king's son, Owain. Llewellyn returned to find blood on the dog's face and his son missing. He killed the dog with his sword, only to discover his son safe, beside the body of a slain wolf. In honor of the valor of Gelert, he had a statue cast in his memory.

[Kakashi Hatake]

Thanks for that info,Blightwolf.

[StoneRose]

Thanks for the info, Emb. <3

[Blightwolf]

More interesting (and random) webpages with information regarding mythological dogs:

http://www.squidoo.com/dogs-in-mythology
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/k.westgate/history4.htm
http://www.indigogroup.co.uk/edge/bdogs.htm
http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/content ... hology.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Mythological_dogs

[AgoyoanyeSand]

Pretty interesting folklore stories you have up there. I know a couple as well, however I know more of the kitsune folklore and more of the larger members of the canine family like the wolf and coyote.

[Blightwolf]

This thread is more dedicated to the appearance of dogs in mythology, not other canids, although others can be mentioned in them.

[FireKitsune]

Pretty interesting folklore stories you have up there. I know a couple as well, however I know more of the kitsune folklore and more of the larger members of the canine family like the wolf and coyote.

Hmm...I've been reading kitsune folklore since I was six, so I know pretty much every bit of it. I need to read some wolf folklore...it might do me some good.

[AgoyoanyeSand]

Hmm...I've been reading kitsune folklore since I was six, so I know pretty much every bit of it. I need to read some wolf folklore...it might do me some good.

Yeah, I only started reading fox folklore because of the series Naruto