Animals had a variety of roles and functions in ancient Greece and Rome. Fish and birds were served as food. Species such as donkeys and horses served as work animals. The military used elephants. It was common to keep animals such as parrots, cats, or dogs as pets. Many animals held important places in the Graeco-Roman religion or culture. For example, owls symbolized wisdom and were associated with Athena. Humans would form close relationships with their animals in antiquity. Philosophers often debated about the nature of animals and humans. Many believed that the fundamental difference was that humans were capable of reason while animals were not. Philosophers such as Porphyry advocated for veganism.
Marine life
Fishing For the ancient Greeks and Romans fishing served as a source of income, food, and entertainment. Fishes such as tuna, sturgeons, mackerel, jellyfish, anchovies, lobsters, sprat, red mullet, oysters, mussels, sea urchins, salted fish, squid, and octopus were popular meals in ancient Greece or Rome. Octopuses were stored in pots and they would be given as a gift. Fish was also used to make a popular Roman condiment known as garum. Species such as Bluefin Tuna were expensive delicacies in ancient Greece. In ancient Rome, many fish species were delicacies. The poor had limited access to these fish. Fishes were also used to help guide seamen and as methods of foretelling the weather.
Ancient fisherman used nets, short rods, traps, and lines with hooks. Roman fishing lines would often have an artificial fly attached to the end of the line. These flies were made of small feathers and were made to imitate the insects that landed on the surface of the water. The ancient Greek word griphos referred to a type of fishing basket. Poseidon, or Neptune in Roman mythology carried a trident that is used for spearfishing. People would hunt and trap tuna through seine fishing. Traps such as the almadraba might have been used in ancient Rome. Fisherman would sell their goods in the markets of Roman cities for profit. There were thriving fish markets across the Roman world.
Polybius describes fishing techniques in his works. Boats would sail towards the fishing spot, with one sailor serving as a lookout. The lookout would signal to the other sailors when they had found fish. One sailor would row the boat towards the fish, while another man stood by ready to harpoon the fish. After the fish was stabbed the harpooner would pull the weapon out of the body leaving behind the barbed spear point inside of the fish. The fisherman attached a rope to the spear point, which they would then use to pull the fish towards them. Oppian, a Greek writer who wrote the Halieutica describes fishing in his work. He wrote that fisherman would use their oars to scare the fish into running into their nets made of buoyant flax which the fish thought was shelter. In ancient Athens a bell would announce the arrival of fishing boats. The ancient Greeks and Romans practiced whaling. They hunted both sperm and killer whales. Usually, they would whale by Corsica, Sardinia, and the Peloponnese. Ancient whaling was a dangerous practice and whalers used long lines with animals skins at the end to catch the whale and prevent themselves from being dragged under by it.
Stories of fishermen and fishing appear throughout Ancient Greek literature. For example, in Sophron's The Fisherman and the Clown or the comedian Plato's Phaon. Roman and Greek writers were infatuated with the idea of a weather-beaten fisherman. Oppian depicted the fisherman as heroic. The Greeks and Romans practiced aquaculture and would create artificial bodies of water for fish. Sometimes they would keep fish as pets. Alcaeus, a Greek lyric poet wrote:
Dolphins and whales Pliny the Elder described a story of a boy who befriended a dolphin by feeding him bread. The ancient Greeks had numerous stories of people being rescued by dolphins. Arion, a Greek musician, and Dionysus, a Greek god both had such stories told about them. The Romans called dolphins porcus piscus, which translates to pig-fish. During the reign of Septimius Severus, a whale was stranded on the Tiber River. The Romans built a model of this whale, which people would walk through. This site became a popular tourist attraction. People would watch animals such as lions walk through the model.
Lobsters
Although there are a wide variety of images of lobsters throughout ancient Greece or Rome, very few are anatomically accurate. The ancient Romans knew that lobsters had five arms and they had detailed information about their claws and other external features. Pliny considered them bloodless animals. The Romans also knew that lobsters live in rocky terrain, their reproductive habits, and their seasonal movements. Roman authors provide accounts of how lobsters interacted with octopuses, which are their predators. Fishermen used this information to catch the lobsters using lobster traps, which became a popular metaphor in Roman theatre. Lobsters were considered a prestigious food in ancient Rome and Greece and the wealthy would hunt them to gather them.
Other species
Seaweed was known as alga in ancient Rome and the Greeks knew it as phycos. In ancient Rome it was considered a medicine for gout and ankle swelling. Roman poet Virgil wrote, "nothing is more vile than seaweed." Juvenal, another Roman poet, once joked about "inspectors of seaweed," who waste time on trivial matters. The Romans would wrap the roots of their crops with seaweed to preserve the freshness and humidity of the seedlings. Red algae were also used as soil fertilizer in ancient Rome. Dioscorides described the usage of algae as medicine in De Materia Medica. Several species of venus clam, or as they were called in Greek, kheme. One species was the kheme trakheia or the glykymaris. They were known for their hard shells, taste similar to the sea, and high level of nutrition. The khemea leia, or the smooth clam was known for its smoothness and taste. Another species, known as peloris, is possibly named after Cape Peloris, which is where they were found. Saltfish were used in Roman medicine. They were believed to provoke the bowels and the appetite. It was considered difficult to digest, although nutritious. Xenocrates differentiates between a variety of kinds of saltfish. One kind had hard flesh, another kind had soft flesh, another kinds had flesh somewhere in between. Some saltfish were fleshy and others were fatty. The fat saltfish were capable of floating on their stomach.
Birds
Birds in ancient Rome and Greece were eaten as food. Flamingo tongues were highly valuable in ancient Rome. Emperors would collect them and serve them at feasts. The Hēliou Zōön, or "creature of the sun" was an ancient Greek term for a species of bird, which was likely the Greater Flamingo or the Phoenix. Pheasants and geese were valuable delicacies in ancient Rome. They, along with guineafowl and partridges were farmed. Partridges were considered good for people with dysentery. Quails have been hunted since antiquity and eaten as food. Ostrich eggs were also eaten, although rarely.
The Romans ate peacocks and peahens. They usually were pastured in fields and were sacrificed to Juno and lived in temples. Through Juno, they became associated with marriage and fertility. The arrival of a Barn Swallow was believed to be a signal that spring had arrived. This belief is the origin of an ancient proverb “One Swallow doesn’t make a spring”. Swallow chicks are hatched blind, which may have led to an ancient misconception that if the eyes of a chick was removed, they would heal and would be granted sight. Swallows also appear in Greek myths such as with Procne and Philomela. Red and Black Kites were thought of as a sign of spring and a marker that was used by farmers to determine when they should shear their sheep. It was also considered to be a greedy and malevolent animal that killed young children and stole from the people. The Eurasian Wryneck was connected with erotic magic in Ancient Rome and Greece. There are several explanations for this. One holds that the Wryneck was invented by Aphrodite to help Jason win Medea. Another is that Hera turned the daughter of Echo into a wryneck because of her affairs with Zeus. One bird, which is possibly the Ruff was known for traveling to the grave of Memnon and then killing each other. Bats were thought to have mythical properties.
Tits, or as they were known in ancient Greece, Aigthalos,’’ were said to have laid more eggs than other birds and to have attacked bees and wasps. Which may have formed half their diet. This formed the origin for an Ancient Greek proverb, “Bolder than an Aigthalos.” Sometimes two females of this species were said to have laid in the same nest. The Aigiothos or Aigithos is a bird described by Aristotle as fighting a war against donkeys. Donkeys rub their sides on thorn bushes which hide the nests and eggs of the bird, thus destroying them. The birds would peck the sores on the donkey’s back. This species is described as producing many children and being lame in one foot. It may have been a White wagtail, a Western Yellow wagtail, or a Northern Lapwing. The Yellow Wagtail was valued for its usage to farmers. If Jackdaws screamed it was considered a sign of oncoming rain. However, if they screamed following a storm it was a sign of good weather. Ravens were also used as messengers of the weather. The Black Francolin bird became a word for a branded runaway slave because of its color and its ability to conceal itself. "Kepphos" was slang for an idiot in ancient Athens. This is because it was also the name of a bird which may be the European Storm Petrel. It was considered stupid as it fed on sea foam, and therefore hunters could catch it by throwing sea foam at it. Emperor Claudius had a pet thrush which could replicate human speech.
Owls
Aeiskops was the Greek for the Scops owl. Aristotle called the Scops Owls that lived in Greece all year-long “Always-Scops Owls.” These owls were inedible, while the ones that only stayed in Greece for only a couple of days were considered nutritious. These species were silent and fatter while the other species was loud and skinnier. The Aigolios was a bird said to be the size of a domesticated chicken. Aristotle wrote that it hunted Jays and fed at night. Therefore, it was rarely visible during the day. It may have lived in caves and rocks. This species may have been the Ural Owl. Owls were associated with Athena and wisdom. Due to this association, the Acropolis was a safe haven for them. They were signs of victory and were believed to protect soldiers. Owls were also thought to watch over the Greek economy. The Greeks also believed that owls were capable of foretelling weather. The early Romans believed that if one nailed a dead owl to a door it would protect that house from death. Owls signified death and defeat. In ancient Rome, the Eagle Owl or Little Owl were believed to signify the imminent death of any person related to a house they landed on. Ascalaphos, an ancient Greek mythological figure was turned into an owl by Demeter as punishment for informing her that Persephone had eaten pomegranate seeds in the underworld.
Chickens