Dogs were the first animal to be domesticated.
Over their millennia of coexistence with humans, selective breeding for various physical and
behavioral traits has created a dazzling range of canine types, which have been formalized
over the past century and a half into hundreds of breeds.
Roman dogs also came in many varieties.
This is visible even in the paw prints that they made on drying roof tiles, which range
from the delicate tracks of lapdogs to craters punched by loping mastiffs.
Careful study of the canine bones found at Vindolanda in northern England has revealed
dogs from the size of Miniature Poodles to the size of Great Pyrenees.
Although dogs have been selectively bred for thousands of years, it was only in the last
century and a half, with the appearance of kennel clubs and pedigree registries, that
clear breed standards were established.
In the classical world, there were no such standards.
A dog was what it did: it was a sheep dog or a guard dog or whatever else, and its appearance
was more or less irrelevant.
But since wealthy Greeks and Romans could be very particular about the dogs they used
for hunting and kept as pets, a few varieties that we might call proto-breeds emerged.
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Back to the proto-dog breeds of the Roman Empire.
The largest classical variety was the Molossian hound, a deep-chested mastiff with a broad
muzzle, pointed ears, and a ruff of fur around the neck.
Molossians were originally bred to hunt boars, and continued to be the default big-game dog
throughout antiquity.
Molossians even appeared in the Colosseum, where they chased exotic animals and unfortunate
criminals.
More prosaically, they were used to guard homes, and even to pull small carts.
One of the more eccentric emperors is said to have harnessed four huge Molossians to
a chariot when he wanted to drive around the grounds of his estates.
The Classical world’s most famous mid-size variety was the slim and swift Laconian hound,
which ran down deer and hares.
Over the course of the Roman era, however, it was replaced by the equally slim and ever
swifter vertragus, which resembled the modern greyhound.
The vertragus also a favorite pet: the historian Arrian had one that lay beside him as he wrote
and walked with him to the gymnasium every day.
The best-known small variety was the Maltese dog, a stub-legged and fluffy-coated creature
whose most useful quality was being able to fit in a handbag.
To judge from ancient representations, it was about the size, shape, and volume of a
Pomeranian.
Many wealthy Roman families kept a Maltese dog or three.
They became the Roman equivalent of purse dogs.
Elite ladies carried them about in the folds of their cloaks and named them things like
Smidgen and Pearl.
Often, they were outrageously spoiled: a Roman poet describes how one doting owner commissioned
a portrait of a lapdog named Missy.
Especially favored lap dogs might be buried beside their owners.
In the Antalya Museum, for example, is a miniature sarcophagus inscribed with three Greek epigrams,
one of which reads: Rhodope shed tears when I perished, and buried me like a human.
I am the dog Stephanos; Rhodope set up a tomb for me.
Rhodope, of course, was the name of the dog’s owner.
Molossians, Laconians, and Maltese were only the most famous and widespread of the classical
varieties.
Ancient sources mention dozens more, most apparently confined to a single region.
None of these varieties, as far as we can tell, has a close relationship with any modern
breed.
But their existence reflects the fact that, even two thousand years ago, man’s best
friend came in many shapes and sizes.
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You might also enjoy my book, Naked Statues, Fat Gladiators, and War Elephants.
Thanks for watching.