Pets in Rome during Antiquity
Publisher
:
Les Belles Letttres
Parution date
:
2002
EAN
:
9782251338187
Description
Never before has anyone paid attention to the role pets played in Rome during antiquity. Drawing from an incredibly rich amount of sources both Latin and Greek, Jacqueline Amat evokes little-known aspects of the daily life and mentalities related to animals in ancient Rome. She shows us how animals considered as pets today were already members of the Roman family, although, with a little twist. Dogs for example were perfumed and jeweled with precious stones, while their astrological charts were drawn on a regular basis and their birthdays celebrated. A little more unusual was the role played by monkeys, cats and parrots which were usually owned by wealthy people and which served as a sign of high social rank. Romans had a taste for everything strange, rare and exotic and an anthropomorphic vision of the animal world. They could easily be close to an animal and still hunt it for food and pleasure. Such was the case of the deer which was at once a beloved pet in rural homes and also hunted fiercely for its flesh. Jacqueline Amat also sheds light on pets’ symbolic value before and during the rise of Christianity explaining how the Christian world transformed animals such as the snake that were once adored into evil creatures. Founded essentially on ancient texts by philosophers, artists and scientists, this fascinating book will delight researchers and animal lovers alike.
Author
Amat Amat : Jacqueline Amat is a professor of Latin and Greek at the University of Bretagne occidentale in Brest.
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