- The Oxford Handbook of Animals in Classical Thought and Life
- Acknowledgements
- List of Illustrations
- List of Contributors
- Introduction
- Aesop and Animal Fable
- Animals in Classical Art
- Good to Laugh With: Animals in Comedy
- Animals in Epic
- Animals in Tragedy
- Domestication and Breeding of Livestock: Horses, Mules, Asses, Cattle, Sheep, Goats, and Swine
- Animal Husbandry
- Value Economics: Animals, Wealth, and the Market
- Fauna of the Ancient Mediterranean World
- Insects
- Ancient Fishing and Fish Farming
- Hunting
- Animal Communication
- Origins of Life and Origins of Species
- Civilization, Gastronomy, and Meat-Eating
- Pets
- Animals in Warfare
- Animal Magic
- Animals and Divination
- Animal Sacrifice in Antiquity
- Animals in Late Antiquity and Early Christianity
- Part-Animal Gods
- Metamorphosis: Human into Animals
- Wondrous Animals in Classical Antiquity
- Animals in Egypt
- Spectacles of Animal Abuse
- Horse Racing and Chariot Racing
- Animals and Triumphs
- Being the One and Becoming the Other: Animals in Ancient Philosophical Schools
- Philosophical Vegetarianism and Animal Entitlements
- Zoological Knowledge in Ancient Greece and Rome
- Ancient Fossil Discoveries and Interpretations
- Veterinary Medicine
- Index
Abstract and Keywords
This chapter examines the tensions between the symbolic valence of anthropomorphic animals and authentic concerns about real animals in fables of ancient times. It provides an overview of sources and scholarly approach in this study of the Graeco-Latin fable and explores the boundaries between human and animal in early Greek fable-telling. This chapter suggests that the fable tradition occasionally eschews symbolism and anthropomorphism entirely, which reveals a deep and abiding interest in animal behaviour and in material that could be considered as natural history. It also mentions that the fable was linked to the lower classes and affiliated with slaves in antiquity.
Keywords: fables, anthropomorphic animals, symbolic valence, Greek fable-telling, natural history, lower classes, slaves, antiquity
Jeremy B. Lefkowitz, Swarthmore College.
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- The Oxford Handbook of Animals in Classical Thought and Life
- Acknowledgements
- List of Illustrations
- List of Contributors
- Introduction
- Aesop and Animal Fable
- Animals in Classical Art
- Good to Laugh With: Animals in Comedy
- Animals in Epic
- Animals in Tragedy
- Domestication and Breeding of Livestock: Horses, Mules, Asses, Cattle, Sheep, Goats, and Swine
- Animal Husbandry
- Value Economics: Animals, Wealth, and the Market
- Fauna of the Ancient Mediterranean World
- Insects
- Ancient Fishing and Fish Farming
- Hunting
- Animal Communication
- Origins of Life and Origins of Species
- Civilization, Gastronomy, and Meat-Eating
- Pets
- Animals in Warfare
- Animal Magic
- Animals and Divination
- Animal Sacrifice in Antiquity
- Animals in Late Antiquity and Early Christianity
- Part-Animal Gods
- Metamorphosis: Human into Animals
- Wondrous Animals in Classical Antiquity
- Animals in Egypt
- Spectacles of Animal Abuse
- Horse Racing and Chariot Racing
- Animals and Triumphs
- Being the One and Becoming the Other: Animals in Ancient Philosophical Schools
- Philosophical Vegetarianism and Animal Entitlements
- Zoological Knowledge in Ancient Greece and Rome
- Ancient Fossil Discoveries and Interpretations
- Veterinary Medicine
- Index