[afraidfortherepublic]

A mosaic of Hercules with pet Cerberus.

[afraidfortherepublic]

Ancient Doggie Ping

[Revolting cat!]

There were dogs in those years? Who knew?

[Still Thinking]

Popular names for dogs in antiquity, translated from Greek, include Lurcher, Whitey, Blackie, Tawny, Blue, Blossom, Keeper, Fencer, Butcher, Spoiler, Hasty, Hurry, Stubborn, Yelp, Tracker, Dash, Happy, Jolly, Trooper, Rockdove, Growler, Fury, Riot, Lance, Pell-Mell, Plucky, Killer, Crafty, Swift, and Dagger.

What, no Wizzer?

[quantim]

Interesting.

No mention of Kenyans that eat dogs though.

[GOP Poet]

bookmark

[equaviator]

“Here Arfimedes...C’mon, boy!”

[IamConservative]

Reminds me of the old joke about the Indian boy who asked his father how people got their names.

His father replied: “Why do you ask two dogs f*&^ing?”

[InvisibleChurch]

Dear Smithsonian, How can historians garner such information but not a simple BC, college record or medical history?

[xsmommy]

Cerberus would be a great name for a dog, will need to keep that in mind for our next pup. We named the last one Julius Caesaer. it was hilarious when we took him to the doggy training school for his lesson and the trainers would all say, ALL HAIL!

[AnAmericanMother]

The most famous of the Greek dogs was named Argos: meaning "quick" or "shining". It was also the name of the giant "all-seeing" who guarded the nymph Io, and the name of an ancient citadel in the Peloponessus.

Now as these two were conversing thus with each other, a dog who was lying there raised his head and ears. This was Argos, patient-hearted Odysseus' dog, whom he himself raised, but got no joy of him, since before that he went to sacred Ilium.

In the days before, the young men had taken him out to follow goats of the wild, and deer, and rabbits; but now he had been put aside, with his master absent, and lay on the deep pile of dung, from the mules and oxen, which lay abundant before the gates, so that the servants of Odysseus could take it to his great estate, for manuring.

There the dog Argos lay in the dung, all covered with dog ticks.

Now, as he perceived that Odysseus had come close to him, he wagged his tail, and laid both ears back; only he now no longer had the strength to move any closer to his master, who, watching him from a distance, without Eumaios noticing, secretly wiped a tear away, and said to him:

"Eumaios, this is amazing, this dog that lies on the dunghill. The shape of him is splendid, and yet I cannot be certain whether he had the running speed to go with this beauty, or is just one of the kind of table dog that gentlemen keep, and it is only for show that their masters care for them."

Then, O swineherd Eumaios, you said to him in answer: "This, it is too true, is the dog of a man who perished far away..."

So he spoke, and went into the strongly settled palace, and strode straight on, to the great hall and the haughty suitors.

But the doom of dark death now closed over the dog, Argos, when, after nineteen years had gone by, he had seen Odysseus.

Odyssey, Book XVII, trans. Richard Lattimore.

[mass55th]

How Obama named his puppies: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, and Snack.