Venerated Dogs

The more I see of humans, The more I love Dogs

Nepal                                 : dogs were worshipped at a festival called Khicha puja.

Nosarii                              : of Western Asia were said to worship dogs.

Peritas                              : was Alexander the great's favourite dog. A city was named after him,and his statue was placed in the square.

Persia                               : In the Mithraic religion, the dog was venerated as the companion of Mithras, God of Light. The dog is always shown springing towards the wound in the side of a sacred bull which Mithras has subdued and reluctantly sacrificed.

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Venerated dogs

The more I see of humans, The more I love Dogs.

Ethiopia                       : A dog was elected as King. If it fawned, it was found the government was good; if it growled, it was bad.

Greece                         : Hecate was a Greek goddess who bestowed wealth and the blessings of daily life; the dog was her favourite animal and was sacrificed to her.


Kalangs                       : of Java practised the Cult of the Red Dog. Each family kept one in the house - probably a wooden image - which was worshipped after the death of a member of the family and burnt after a thousand days.


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Venerated Dogs

Egypt                        : Dogs were idolised in Ancient Egypt. Members of the family shaved themselves to mourn a dead dog in the time of Herodotus. The 'watchful and faithful' Dog star, Sirius, heralded the vital annual overflow of the Nile and was worshipped for that reason. The ancient god Anubis was probably a jackal, not a dog, but was greatly venerated. Dogs in general were still esteemed for their sagacity in the time of Pythagoras, when the Egyptians believed that at the death of a human being the soul entered various animals.

Egyptian dogs were protected from being killed; they were never considered to be subordinate animals; and they were often temple guards.

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Venerated Dogs

Arctic                         : The Eskimos looked upon the native dog as the father of the human family. Greenlanders believed that because dogs existed before mankind they had a certain presentiment of the future; they also thought that eclipses were caused by the sun being pursued by his brother the moon, and in that frightening event the women would take their dogs by the ears on the assumption that, if the dog did not cry out under such treatment then the was not to be destroyed.

the Siberian yakuts thought less of dogs: they believed that the hum,an soul entered animals after death, and the weakest would end up in a dog.

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Venerated Dogs

America                : The Karok and Navaho Indians regarded the dog's close cousin, the coyote, as a great hero and divine benefactor known as the Fire Stealer. In Oregon the coyote inspired creative exploits, and on the Gulf Coast or the prairie wolf was the creative hero and chief supernatural being. The Tinneh Indians had a miraculous dog as their chief divine being: he could assume the form of a young handsome man and he became the first material of most things when he was torn to pieces by gaints.


Arabia                  : The Arabians thought so highly of their dogs that they were the first to give them medical attention. The Saluki was said to be the sacred gift of Allah.

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Classical Dogs

Horace                     :Satires II: The Tale of the Town Mouse and the CountryMouse'. . . . .when the lofty
                                   hall resounded with the baying of Molossian hounds.

Xenophon                 : Oeconomicus: : On farm management". . . . .and puppies too learn to do tricks


Virgil                         : Georgics III: Animal Husbandry in Africa and Scythia ' The african swain'. . . and
                                    Amyclaean dog'Classical dogs

Classical Dogs

Arrian                         : On Hunting, XVI Hares, gives full details of using 'fast Celtic hounds of our day'.

Dio  Chrysostom        : Discourses,VII(Euboicus) ..... took to hunting, sometimes using dogs changed from        
                                       sheepdogs into a type of late trained, rather slow hunting dog.

Homer                        : Iliad  Nine swift-footed dogs following four golden herdsmen walking beside cattle -
                                      savage lion attacks - dogs to the rescue, barking furiously.

Horace                       : EpodesII - Daydreams of moneylender . . . . with his pack of hounds from here, from
                                      there, he forces the fierce boars towards the ready nets'.

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Mythological Dogs continued

Laelaps                          : was destined to catch whatever he chased, but he was put in pursuit of a vixen destined never to be caught...........

Maera                            : was Icarius's faithful dog who committed  suicide by jumping into a well to join his murdered master. Icarius became the constellation Bootes, his daughter Erigone became Virgo, and Maera became the star Procyon which rises in July just before the Dog star.


Xanthippus's Dog          : was so faithful that it swam alongside its master's ship all the way to the Greek island of Salamis when the Athenians fled there for safety in 480 A.D.http://dogalogueofraj.blogspot.com

Mythological Dogs

Actaeon's Hounds          :Actaeon the hunter accidentally glimpsed the goddess Diana bathing. She changed him into a stag and he was pursued and killed by his own 50 hounds.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Argos                           : was a very old dog who recognised Odysseus when he came home in disguise after 20 years.The dog died of joy!

 Cerberus                       : was the monstrous 50- headed watchdog of Hades.


Gargittios & Orthos      : were Greyon's monster dogs, killed by Hercules. Orthos was the brother of Cerberus.             

Ancient breeds

Assyria                          : Great Dane type for hunting lions, bull, wild ass.

Egypt                             : Hounds (Pharoah And Afghan type). Types like dachshund and greyhound. Creamy
                                         mastiff war dog.

Greece                           :Wolfdogs. Beagle type of scenting hound. Ferocious large guard dogs for livestock
                                         and home.

Rome                             : Three major categories: Canes villatici(house)
                                                                                   C.venatici (mastiff type)
                                                                                   BoarHound, Grey Hound, Italian GreyHound

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Man meets dog

The dog has been domesticated for some fourteen or fifteen thousand years. it was man's first true companion among the many creatures with whom he shared this earth. All over the world, men have tamed members of the dog family. Wolves, jackals and coyotes can still be bred with domestic dogs and they share many characteristics of physiology and behaviour.

Chance proximity led the North American Indians to tame the coyote, while the South American Indians tamed the fox-like Dusicyon genus, halfway between the true vulpine foxes and the canid wolves. The ancestors of most of today's domesticated dogs are wolf and jackal.


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About dogs as human's best friend

This site is dedicated to dogs- containing a delightful mixture of serious and zany facts and fancies about man's best friend. There are blushing dogs and singing dogs; war heroes and life savers; beasts and beauties; venerated and despised dogs; royal and presidential dogs.

Raj Prateek Verma