| Title | : | A Cultural History of Animals in Antiquity (The Cultural Histories Series) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 1847888178 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9781847888174 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 272 |
| Publication | : | First published April 1, 2009 |
Animals had a ubiquitous and central presence in the ancient world. A Cultural History of Animals In Antiquity presents an extraordinarily broad assessment of animal cultures from 2500 BCE to 1000 CE, describing how animals were an intrinsic part of the spiritual life of ancient society, how they were hunted, domesticated and used for entertainment, and the roles animals played in ancient science and philosophy. Since much of what we know about animals in antiquity is gleaned from the images left by our ancestors, the book presents a wealth of illustrations. Seminal ancient narratives about animals - including works from Aristotle, Plutarch, Ovid and Pliny the Elder - are also drawn upon to illustrate contemporary ideas about and attitudes towards animals.
A Cultural History of Animals in Antiquity presents an overview of the period and continues with essays on the position of animals in contemporary symbolism, hunting, domestication, sports and entertainment, science, philosophy, and art.
A Cultural History of Animals in Antiquity (The Cultural Histories Series) Reviews
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Kalof scours classical-age accounts for clues on the evolution of human to animal relations, from myth, to travelogue, to everyday conversation. For example, according to a Greek myth, the hero Orpheus was able to tame wild beasts through the enchanting power of music. And in the spirit of such original communion with the beasts, many Greco-Roman landowners set up walled compounds known as “paradise parks,” stocked with animals for the viewers’ pleasure. The animals might be fed at the owners’ mealtimes, and summoned to the feast by “Orpheus” blowing his horn. As the Roman writer Varro reported,
"A trumpet was sounded at regular hours and you saw boars and wild goats come for their food. … at Hortensius’s place in Laurentum, I saw the thing done more in the manner of a Thracian bard. … As we were banqueting, Hortensius ordered Orpheus to be summoned. He came complete with robe and lute, and was bidden to sing. Thereupon he blew a trumpet, and such a multitude of stags and boars and other four-footed beasts came flooding around us that the sight seemed as beautiful to me as the hunts staged … in the Circus Maximus …” (pp. 25–26).
As Varro’s closing remark shows, the ancient world’s animal parks tended to evolve. From serving as re-creations of some Eden-like paradise, they became arenas for staged animal hunts. Then the walled compounds grew into coliseums, where animals were killed for public entertainment. Later, the enclosures for enjoying animals changed into medieval menageries, then zoos, and finally national parks. -
it's good, really. I took notes. Good references. For someone that's actually working in the field. Otherwise, I would say it would be quite boring. But I found a lot of interesting things. I will read the rest, middle ages let's go.
