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Laconian (dog)

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For other uses, see Laconia.
Laconian
Statue of a hunting dog with Laconian characteristics found in the sanctuary of Artemis Brauronia on the Acropolis.
Other names
  • Λάκαινα
  • Spartan
  • Castorian
  • Lacedaemonian
  • Λακωνικοί Κύνες
  • Lakonikoí Kýnes
OriginLaconia, Ancient Greece
Breed statusExtinct
Traits
Colour tan with white markings or black with tan markings
Litter size up to 8
Dog (domestic dog)

The Laconian (Ancient Greek: Λακωνικοί Κύνες, romanized: Lakonikoí Kýnes), also known as the Spartan and the Castorian, is an extinct dog breed from Ancient Greece typically used for hunting.

The breed originating in Laconia, a region of Ancient Greece, famous for its city state, Sparta.

Laconians were famed throughout the ancient world for their hunting skill and swiftness,[1] and were widely depicted in classical sculptures, mosaics, gravestones and drinking cups.[2][3][4] They were famed for their hunting skills,[5] with their speed, stamina and olfactory tracking abilities often praised by contemporary writers, including Pollux,[1] Xenophon,[5] Sophocles,[6] Aristotle,[7] Plato,[8] Theophrastus,[9] Oppian,[10] Horace,[11] Claudian,[12] Pliny the Elder,[13] and Petronius.[14]

Sub-types and controversy

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Laconians were often further divided into two sub-types: the larger Castorian (Greek: καστορίδες, romanized: kastorides) and the smaller fox-like Vulpine (Greek: ἀλωπεκίδες, romanized: alopekides).

The Castorian's name was derived from the myth that they were bred from hounds that Castor was said to have received from Apollo.[5] The Vulpine's name was derived from the erroneous belief that they were the result of a cross between a dog and a fox.[1][5][7][15]

However, some confusion between the two types exists. Xenophon explicitly make a distinction between the kastorides and alopekides[5] while Pollux uses kastorides interchangeably with alopekides, since he claims that it was Castor himself who crossed dogs with foxes and thus create a new breed.[1]

Denison Bigham Hull and other scholars[16] noted this contradiction and theorized that both observations may be true if either 1. kastorides and alopekides interbred and, over time, became indistinguishable,[5][17] or 2. one of the sub-types became extinct.[16][18]

Characteristics

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A modern day Hellenic Hound, speculated to be a descendent of the Laconian dog.

The Laconian was frequently praised for its swiftness, particularly when contrasted with the more 'powerful' Molossian.[15] They were often described as 'tawny',[11] typically either tan with white markings or black with tan markings.[5] They were also well known for their general reproductive ability.[7][13]

It is speculated that the Hellenic Hound is the modern-day descendant to the Laconian.[19] Both breeds have similar lifespans, litter sizes, colouring[20] and overall temperament.[7][21]

Speculated individual Laconians

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It has been speculated that Alexander the Great's favourite dog, Peritas, may have been a Laconian.[22]

It is also strongly theorized that Odysseus's dog's Argos may have been a Laconian.[7] Laconians were described as the swiftest of their contemporaries and Homer's choice to name it Argos ("swift-footed", Homer's most common epithet for speed) may have been an allusion to Argos being a Laconian. Further evidence is provided by the specification that it had been used to hunt "wild goats, or deer, or hares",[23] less ferocious game typically hunted with Laconian hounds.[15]

In A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Theseus brags, “My hounds are bred out of the Spartan kind”,[24] which is sometimes interpreted to be a reference to the Laconian breed.[25]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d Pollux, Onomasticon 5, 37
  2. ^ "Rhyton with the Head of a Laconian Dog - Workshop of the Patera and Baltimore Painters". Google Arts & Culture.
  3. ^ Attic red-figure cup, detail of a Laconian hound scratching his head, by the Euergides Painter, c.500 BC (ceramic), Greek, (6th century BC) / Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford, UK / The Bridgeman Art Library
  4. ^ An athlete and his dog. (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston acc. No. 01.8038) Kylix interior; Brygos Painter, 500–450.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Xenophon. The Sportsman: On Hunting, a Sportsman's Manual, Commonly Called Cynegeticus. Translated by Dakyns, Henry Graham. Longer quote on the subtype controversy: "There are two breeds of sporting dogs: the Castorian and the fox-like. (1) The former get their name from Castor, in memory of the delight he took in the business of the chase, for which he kept this breed by preference. (2) The other breed is literally foxy, being the progeny originally of the dog and the fox, whose natures have in the course of ages become blent.
    (1) Kastoriai, or Laconian, approaching possibly the harrier type; alopekides, i.e. vulpocanine, hybrid between fox and dog.
    (2) Or, "get their appellation from the fact that Castor took delight in the business of the chase, and kept this breed specially for the purpose." Al. diephulaxen, "propagated and preserved the breed which we now have." See Darwin, Animals and Plants under Domestication, ii. 202, 209.
    (3) Or, "and through lapse of time the twofold characteristics of their progenitors have become blent." See Timoth. Gaz. ap. Schneid. ad loc. for an ancient superstition as to breeds. "
  6. ^ Sophocles, Ajax 8
  7. ^ a b c d e Aristotle, Historia Animalium 574A
  8. ^ Plato, Parmenides 128C
  9. ^ Theophrastus, Characters 21, 14
  10. ^ Oppian, Cynegetica 1, 396
  11. ^ a b Horace (circa 66 BCE-9 BCE). Epodes. Original latin quote: “nam qualis aut Molossus aut fulvos Lacon, amica vis pastoribus" Translated: “For, like a Molossian, or tawny Laconian dog, that is a friendly assistant to shepherds” (alternate location)
  12. ^ Claudian, Stilicho 3, 302
  13. ^ a b Pliny the Elder, Historia Naturalis 10, 177–178
  14. ^ Petronius, Satyricon 2, 40
  15. ^ a b c Grout, James. "Dogs in Rome and Greece - Encyclopaedia Romana". penelope.uchicago.edu. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
  16. ^ a b Hull D.B. (1964), Hounds and Hunting in Ancient Greece
  17. ^ Gaza, Timothée de (1950). Timotheus of Gaza. On Animals, @, Fragments of a Byzantine Paraphrase of an Animal-book of the 5th Century A.D. Translation, Commentary ... by ... F.S. Bodenheimer ... and A. Rabinowitz ... Académie internationale d'histoire des sciences.
  18. ^ Anderson, J. K. (1985). Hunting in the Ancient World. doi:10.1525/9780520349735. ISBN 978-0-520-34973-5.
  19. ^ Athens Bureau (4 September 2023). "The 6 dog breeds with ancient Greek roots". Greek City Times.
  20. ^ "FCI-Standard N° 214 - HELLINIKOS ICHNILATIS (Hellenic Hound)" (PDF). Fédération Cynologique Internationale.
  21. ^ "Greek Harehound Breed Guide - Learn about the Greek Harehound". Pet Paw. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
  22. ^ "The eccentric dog breeds that vanished". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
  23. ^ Homer. The Odyssey, Book 17, lines 319 and following.
  24. ^ Shakespeare, William. "A Midsummer Night's Dream - Act 4, scene 1 | Folger Shakespeare Library". www.folger.edu. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
  25. ^ Hancock, David (MBE). "THE HOUNDS OF ANCIENT GREECE".
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