Dogs in Antiquity

Book excerpt: Unlike cats which have remained almost uniform in shape throughout their history dogs have developed into a myriad of different breeds, ranging from the diminutive Chihuahua to the massive Irish Wolfhound. This book traces the origins of the domestic dog from its first beginnings as a wolf and then explores how the varieties came about. When looking for the origins of breeds we concentrate on those areas from which we have the earliest and most complete information, notably Egypt and the Middle East, which saw the birth of the earliest urban civilisations. The direct successors to the rulers of Egypt and the Middle East were the Greeks and then the Romans to whom Europe owes so much of its thought, culture and material civilisation. It is to these ancient peoples, perhaps, that we owe the spread of so many breeds into such a wide area.