Dogs in the Ancient Past

From early picture-writing we are able to learn something about dogs of Ancient Egypt and other great cultures. On the tombs of ancient people of rank are portrayals of dogs that had been their companions in life. In Egypt the oldest is the 'Khufu Dog', appearing on the tomb of King Khufu (also known as Cheops) who lived around 3730 BC and was responsible for the building of the Great Pyramid. His personal house dog was called Akbaru, always depicted tied close to his master's chair and wearing a fashionable collar tied four times around his neck.

Many ancient Egyptian dogs were kept as household pets but others were for hunting and, on the tomb of Amten, some 200 years later than Khufu, dogs were clearly depicted attacking deer. Around the same time, dogs' names were recorded in temples. The tomb of Antefa II in 3000 BC represents four dogs at the king's feet, one wearing a narrow collar, tied with a bow at the front. Called Bahakaa, this dog was white with hanging ears, although most dogs of that time were shown with pricked ears. Later, there were long-bodied Dachshund-like dogs with mottled black and tan markings, indeed the shape and color of fashionable dogs seemed to depend largely upon the tastes of the ruling monarch at the time. There is conjecture about whether the Egyptians actually dyed their dogs' hair but certainly some were depicted in blue, red and green.

When their pets died, people went into deep mourning and anyone finding a dead dog was duty bound to send it back to its home town so that it could have a proper burial. From this it must be assumed that some means of identification was used.

Sacred beings
In some areas dogs were considered divine beings, such as in Cynopolis, a town which took its name from a dog. Here, people were obliged to provide specified amounts of food for the dogs to eat. On one occasion there was even a war with a neighboring town because one of its inhabitants had eaten a dog from Cynopolis. Although the bull and ibis were held in still higher esteem, the sacred character of the dog was acknowledged by many. Bipon a dog's death people shaved their heads and led loudly. They also fasted and sometimes wed all food in the house. Carefully embalmed, log was placed in a tomb specifically allotted to and at the graveside the master gave an account of all the good things the dog had done in his life mourners beat themselves with grief. Each had a burial ground just for dogs and often -r were so full that they had to be enlarged, dogs' bodies recovered in later years were found to have been buried m their leather collars.

The dog star
Dog worship originated in part from Sinus, the Dog Star, which marked the greatest day in the Egyptians' year, for when the star rose over the horizon it was a sign that the Nile would overflow, and on this flood their lives depended. The Dog Star, however, also rose at the hottest time of the year and people believed this made the dogs bad-tempered and prone to hydrophobia.

Another reason for worship of the dog revolved around the story of Isis, who was assisted by a dog m her search for the body of Osiris. The jackal-headed Anubis, also gave cause for reverence surrounding the dog because he played a part in the process of embalming bodies and saw to it that the beam of the balance used to weigh the heart was in the correct position. He also appeared before dead bodies to protect them from the Eater of the Dead.

Around 625 BC, many dogs of the Mastiff type were used to hunt lion and wild ass; some of these dogs had such imaginative names as The Biter-of-His-Foes, The Seizer-of-His-Enemies and He-Ran-and-Barked. One hundred years later an Egyptian king had large bands of fierce dogs trained to attack in formation.

Role in other lands
In Persia it was a crime to kill a dog, and in Babylon few towns were exempted from all taxes in return for which the people were trained to breed Mastiffs for the armies. In Ancient Greece, the dog was used by herdsmen and also in the chase, which was a favorite sport — it was through the chase that the Greeks trained themselves for war. Some of the larger dog breeds in Greece were used at war to fight alongside the army in squadrons, and it is believed that Corinth was saved by the watchdogs on duty on the ramparts while their masters slept.

In Japan, the dog was venerated because of its connection with the god Omisoto. Curiously, dogs in Japan were buried standing up with their heads left above the ground, so that for several days after they died, people came up to lay food beside them.