Wildlife Depletion: Hunting, Fishing, and the Arena

, though cer-nt from rivers

ts, managed toancient timestury. Even so,and economic

Wildlife Depletion:Hunting, Fishing, and the Arena

An awareness of the possibility that wildlif.e might

be totally extirpated is found in a Greek myth.According to it, the mighty hunter Orion offendedArtemis, goddess of the wild, or as some versionshave it, Gaia (Ge, Mother Earth) by boasting that

he would kill every wild beast in the world. In retaliation, thegoddess sent a giant scorpion to sting him. Before this couldhappen, Zeus set both the hunter and his arachnid enemy in thesky as constellations opposite one another. I Mythological evidencereveals some telling aspects of ancient attitudes. The recognitionthat wildlife might be eliminated, at least from certain areas, isapparent also in the fact that many emperors, kings, and affluentlandowners set aside animal preserves where only they could huntor provision their tables, and also in the reservation of sanctuarieswhere wildlife was sacred to the gods and could not be killedexcept under carefully prescribed conditions. Poets sang about thedisappearance of wild animals: "Oh distant Nasamonian lands ofthe Libyans, your barren plains are no longer visited by flocks ofbeasts of prey, you no longer tremble at the lion's roaring in thedesert; for Caesar has caught a vast number of them in nets ...and the former lofty lairs of wild beasts are now pasturages.,,2

Human use of animals and plants began long before the historicalperiod. As noted in chapter 3, hunting, fishing, and gathering werethe major occupations of ancestral people for the majority of theirexistence on Earth. Eons before the classical period, the ancestorsof the Greeks and Romans were hunters and fishers who lived inbalance with the species on which they depended, and the attitudesof these preagricultural people survived as relics in religion andfolk practices, and in doctrines such as Orphism and Pythagorean-ism. In spite of this, wildlife was depleted in ancient times. Al-though hunting done in moderation need not reduce wildlifepopulations, attitudes changed, moderation was not always prac-ticed, and other factors besides hunting were involved.

Hunting and the Gods

Writers of Greco-Roman times thought that hunting might be apurer way of life that had survived from a better time. As notedearlier, Dio Chrysostom described a family of hunters as livingclose to nature on Euboea, where the greed and injustice of city-dwellers had not as yet corrupted them.3 Even later hunters whoseways were not so primitive believed that hunting was controlledby and practiced by the gods and goddesses, Artemis in particular.The gods were protectors of game species, allowing them to betaken solely when need existed and when permission had beenasked and granted. Thus a wise hunter would not heedlesslyslaughter prey, but took the gods into account. When a huge stagwandered across the path of the hungry Odysseus, he concludedthat it had been sent by one of the gods, so he killed it in gratitude,but when his men slaughtered the sacred wild cattle of the sun-god Helios, he knew that evil would overwhelm them.4 As anexample of the survival of earlier attitudes of reverence towardanimals, a sixth-century Athenian law provided that anyone whokilled a wolf must pay for its public burial.s In antiquity, Phintias,tyrant of Acragas, had a dream warning him that Artemis wouldsend a wild sow to kill him because he had omitted her sacrifices.He immediately promised to issue coins with the goddess's headon one side and a wild boar's head on the other.6 Arrian, the writer

re the historicalgathering were~orityof their

, the ancestorswho lived in

d the attitudesin religion and

Pythagorean-'ent times. Al-

uce wildlifealways prac-

ved.

of a hunters' handbook, advised his readers never to ignore thegods:

Men interested in hunting should not neglect Artemis of the wild, orPan, or the Nymphs, or Hermes, god of the ways and pathfinder, orany other god of the mountains. If they do neglect them, then theirendeavors shall fall short of completion. Their hounds will be injured,their horses lamed, their men suffer. ... One must ... dedicate first-

fruits of the chase.7

The gods and goddesses inspired respect for animal life, andenjoined practices that would make hunting less destructive, butdid not forbid hunting as long as the hunters obeyed the rules thatjustified a human who obtained nourishment by the sacrifice ofanimal life. Before taking an animal, the prudent hunter wouldconsider whether the act would offend a deity like Artemis, andwould have been moved to avoid killing pregnant females andyoung animals, thus encouraging the reproduction of game species.Xenophon says that the good hunter would spare young hares forArtemis's sake.8 He also dedicated the first share of his kill or catchto the goddess, and provided her with an altar on his huntinggrounds.9

Not only did the gods protect some animals, but they appearedin their forms when it suited their purposes. Dionysos changed hisshape to that of a lion or bull to frighten his enemies or drive theminsane, and Zeus became a swan, an eagle, a bull, and countlessother creatures including an ant, usually when it suited his amorouspurposes. As noted earlier, the appearance and movements of birdsin particular were held to reveal the intenti<;ms of the gods, andthere were augurs skilled in interpreting them. 10 But the protectionthat birds and animals might receive from their close associationwith the gods is problematic; John Pollard remarks concerningbirds whose appearances were taken as omens: "They revered thembut ate them just the same. "ll

Sacred Groves as Wildlife Refuges Protection within the hiera tem-ene, lands set aside as sacred precincts of the gods, was given tothe animals that lived there and enforced by laws of the local

communities to which the shrines belonged. Hunters were forbid-den to enter them with their dogs and weapons. On Mount Ly-caeus, if a hunter saw his quarry go into the precinct of Zeus, hehad to wait outside, believing that if he entered he would diewithin the year. 12A cautionary tale said that the huntress Atalantahad been turned into a lioness for violating a sanctuary of Zeus. 13In some sanctuaries there were deer or wild goats sacred to Perse-phone or Artemis, none of which could be hunted, although specialpermission might be given to capture a victim for sacrifice to thepertinent goddess. Sacrifices of wild animals were rare in Greekbut not in Roman times; however, most sacrifices in both periodsconsisted of domestic animals.14 As a rule, wild animals in thesanctuaries were preserved as sacred to the gods, and to kill themincurred punishment. Mythology, literature, and art are full ofexamples, such as Artemis's destruction of the hunter Actaeon bythe horribly appropriate method of having his own hounds tearhim to bits. 15Although the usual version says this was because hesaw her naked, that story is not found until late in Greek history. 16If, as seems likely, there was an earlier version of the myth thatsaid his offense had been to hunt a deer in the goddess's sacreddemesne, then the form of his punishment truly fit the crime. Hehad, in any case, boasted to Artemis of his hunting prowess. I?

Bragging was also a fault of Agamemnon, the best-known literaryfigure to be punished for hunting in a holy place. As Sophoclessays, "when taking pleasure in [Artemis's] sacred grove, he startledan antlered stag with dappled hide, shot it, and shooting madesome careless boast. ,,18In vengeance Artemis caused winds thatprevented the sailing of the fleet against Troy until Agamemnonsacrificed his daughter "in quittance for the wild creature's life.,,19The evidence of inscriptions shows that it was not only in literaturethat penalties were exacted for hunting in the groves.

To provide another example of a site where animals were giventhe protection of a temenos, tortoises were preserved on a peak inArcadia where "the men of the mountain fear to catch them, andwill not allow strangers to do so either, for they hold that they aresacred to Pan. ,,20Similarly, the Athenians would not let anyoneharm the little owls of Athena that nested on the Acropolis, or the

ters were forbid-· On Mount Ly-inct of Zeus, he

d he would die. huntress Atalanta

ctuary of Zeus. 13

.~ sacred to Perse-•although special

:'forsacrifice to there rare in Greekin both periodsanimals in the

.,and to kill theman are full of

nter Actaeon byhounds tear

was because heGreek history. 16

of the myth that.goddess's sacred

" fit the crime. He" 'ng prowess. I?

-known literary· As Sophoclesve, he startled

',shooting maded winds that

· Agamemnonture's life.,,19

y in literaturees.ls were givenon a peak in

tch them, andthat they are

"i,not let anyoneopolis, or the

snake that had a den there, and to which offerings of honey-cakeswere made.21 No fishing was allowed in the waters of sacred groves,under penalty of death. In some it was lawful for priests, but thepriest of Poseidon at Lepcis abstained from fish, probably becausethey were sacred to the sea god.22 Artemis's eels were taboo in thespring of Arethusa, and at Pharae fish sacred to Hermes could notbe caught. 23

The Arktoi of Brauron An initiation into the mysteries of humans'relationship to animals was celebrated every four years for thechildren of Athens. This was the Arkteia, a festival dedicated toArtemis at the rural sanctuary of Brauron. Little girls, and perhapslittle boys too, were covered with symbolic bearskin robes andcalled "bears" Carktoi). Although there were bears in Attica at leastas late as the first century A.D., they had become rare by the GoldenAge of Athens, and saffron-dyed textile robes were substituted forthe bearskins.24 Such a festival was appropriate for Artemis, sinceshe was believed to care for the young of both humans and animals,and myths said she sent wild animals as foster mothers to suckleinfants that had been exposed.2s Sculptures and vase paintingsfound at Brauron show children holding small animals such ashares and doves in poses of affection, even kissing them. These

only a symbolic drop of the animals' blood from a small cut. Littlegirls performed a dance with slow, solemn steps imitating themovements of bears. Children sometimes wore bear masks.26 Thedominant idea of this initiation was the inculcation of respect andeven love for wild creatures. A renewal of the festival was held inthe city for young women near the age of marriage. The Arkteiashows that the worship of the gods had a positive side; Artemismight be seen as an early patron of environmental education.27

Kinds of Hunting

The exalted view of hunting as the pastime of the gods, under theeyes of the gods as protectors of animals, is not the only or eventhe most prevalent concept of hunting that can be found in the

surviving evidence of the Greeks and Romans. It was also regardedas a means of obtaining food and other resources, as a form ofcommercial gain, as a way to prepare for and support militaryactivities, as a safeguard for agriculture and herding, and as a sportor entertainment.

Subsistence Hunting Although ancient civilization was foundedon an agrarian base, and cultivated plants and domestic animalsprovided the bulk of the diet and materials for clothing, wildlifewas still sought as a source of food, leather, furs, feathers, and soon. For many families, hunting was a direct means of support, orof supplementing the diet, especially in rural areas and earlierperiods before many species had become rare or disappeared. Deer,boars, hares, and goats were among the mammalian species huntedfor food in Homeric times and after. Turtles, frogs, and a widevariety of birds also graced the rustic table. Fishing is known fromart as old as the Minoan frescoes, and seafood, including shellfish,was a major source of protein for the common people.

Commercial Hunting and Fishing Those who did not hunt forthemselves could purchase animal products from a Widespreadtrade supplied by professional hunters, who organized game driveslike those seen in North African mosaics.28 Small-scale commercialhunters also supplied the marketplaces of towns. There one could

venison an many in s a birds, frompeacocks and flamingos to small songbirds.29 The furs of beaversand other animals from distant mountains could be had, as wellas ostrich feathers and various kinds of leather.

Greek and Roman demand brought wild animal products evenfrom beyond the Mediterranean basin. Ivory from African andIndian elephants was used in works of art ranging from hugechryselephantine statues to delicate miniatures, and was inlaid infurniture of every kind, writing tablets, desks, spoons, and otherobjects. Ivory in incredible quantities went into statues such asPhidias's 40-foot Parthenon sculpture of Athena and that of Zeusat Olympia, so large that it was one of the Seven Wonders. In oneday's exhibit in Ptolemaic Alexandria, 600 elephant tusks were

not hunt for;a widespread

game drivesIe commercial

re one couldf birds, from.rs of beavers

had, as well

roducts even. African and

from hugewas inlaid in

ns, and otherJ:

tues such asthat of Zeusders. In onetusks were

shown, indicating that at the least 300 of the mighty beasts haddied.30 Wild animal skins were worked into clothes and furnish-ings, and hair and feathers served as decorations on fine ladies'costumes and military uniforms.

Urban tastes supported a large fishing industry and providedwork for entire villages. Fresh fish came daily to market from localfleets, and importers brought salt fish from Egypt, the Black Sea,and the Atlantic coast of Spain. Among the favorite species werered mullet, parrot wrasse, sturgeon, turbot, brill, common bass,hake, sole, and eels.3l The Romans loved fish sauces with namessuch as alec, garuum, and putrilago.32 Commercial interests not onlyoperated fishing fleets to meet these demands, but also culturedfish in fresh and salt ponds. C. Sergius Grata ran a business onLake Lucrina that raised fish for the elegant table. 33Beds of shellfish,such as oysters, were carefully tended and protected against com pet -itors. Products of the sea were collected for purposes other thanfood, sponges for example, or the murex mollusc that producedthe famous purple dye for the robes of kings and Roman senators.

Military Uses of Wildlife The Roman Army employed militarymethods in hunting to provision troops with meat. Soldiers orpaid professional hunters scoured the countryside in hostile oruninhabited regions. Hunting was often regarded as a form ofwarfare and art portrayed humans in battle with animals. Xeno-phon said, "Hunting ... is ... excellent training in the art ofwar.,,34 His friends the Spartans deliberately used it in this way.Perhaps this explains the strange Spartan story of the boy who wascarrying a fox under his cloak. It was said he met his militarytrainer and stood talking to him; the fox got loose under the cloakand gnawed at the boy's abdomen, and the boy continued to standwithout showing a sign of pain until he fell over dead.35 The storywas told to illustrate the ability of a young Spartan to bear painand his willingness to die rather than admit he had stolen, but whyhe should have had a fox can perhaps best be explained in thecontext of hunting as preparation for war.

Elephants were captured, trained, and used on the battlefield,resulting in a constant drain on the wild population. At the battle

of Raphia in 217 B.e., 102 Indian elephants deployed by AntiochusIII of Syria defeated 73 African elephants of Ptolemy IV, collapsingthe left wing of Ptolemy's battle formation, although Ptolemy man-aged to win the battle. Strange to say, although in modern timesAfrican elephants are known to be considerably larger than Indianelephants, the reverse was stated by every ancient author whocommented on the question. 36 Perhaps this was because the Africanelephant then known was a smaller North African race that isnow extinct. The Carthaginian elephants that invaded Italy withHannibal in the third century Be. came from the north slopes ofthe Atlas Mountains, but there are none there now.37

Defense of Agriculture and Herding A reason often given by ancientwriters for the destruction of wildlife was as a safeguard for agricul-ture and herding, and this was doubtless a major motive both forgovernments and the common people. Predators were killed toprotect animals on farms or herds in the countryside, while birdsand herbivorous mammals were persecuted because they competedfor the same vegetation as domestic animals, or invaded croplands.Homer often uses the simile of lions pursued by herders in describ-ing battle.38 Elsewhere relentless attempts to extirpate wolves, jack-als, foxes, and bear are described. These efforts promoted hunting,but the desire to protect cropland also may have had the oppositeeffect, bringing enactment of laws in some places against huntingon horseback. 39

Hunting and Fishing as Sport Hunting for its own sake as a sport,or in order to collect trophies and boast of one's own proficiencyand success, is a pastime that probably developed soon after peoplebegan to live in urban conditions. Plato approved of such huntingto develop skill and courage in young men, but would have forbid-den netting, trapping, and night hunting in his utopia, as well asall forms of fishing. 40

In art and history, hunting of various animals was portrayed asa sport of kings and heroes such as Alexander the Great.41 Theemperor Hadrian loved hunting; it is said that he killed a bear atHadrianoutherae (a name meaning "Hadrian's beasts"), a lion in

n given by ancientguard for agricul-r motive both forrs were killed toside, while birds

.. they competed·,invadedcroplands.

erders in describ-ate wolves, jack-

tomoted hunting,had the oppositeagainst hunting

Egypt, and a boar elsewhere.42 He, and Marcus Aurelius later,showed themselves engaged in the hunt on their coinage, a valuablepropaganda image. The lion was held to be royal prey, and lawsoften forbade anyone other than the monarch to hunt them. JuliusAlexander, a Syrian of ordinary rank, was condemned to death inA.D. 189 for usurping the emperor's privilege by slaying a lion fromhorseback.43 It was not until A.D. 414 that an imperial law permittedcommoners to kill lions.44 Boar hunts were also engaged in bykings, as they had been by epic heroes.45 Kings sometimes fishedfor sport: Anthony and Cleopatra did so, and the Egyptian queentricked her lover by having one of her slaves attach a salted fish tohis hook. Their conqueror, Augustus Caesar, also enjoyed an-gling.46 Not everyone thought fishing was a royal sport, however.Aristotimus in Plutarch's Whether Land or Sea Animals Are Clevererdisparaged it as an ignoble activity.47

Kings and emperors often reserved hunting lands for themselves;in the case of Greek and Roman potentates, this was in part animitation of the Persian King of Kings and his satraps, whose parkscalled paradises were as a rule "full of wild beasts" to hunt.48

Xenophon, and later Alexander, saw many of these parks. Sincemany sport hunters were affluent landowners, they too createdpreserves for their favored activity, as Xenophon did. There weregame parks, aviaries, and large fish ponds in Rome. Varro had aplace near Tusculum where he fed wild boars and roe deer, butwas far outdone by Quintus Hortensius, whose Laurentum estatehad a game preserve of fiftyjugera (35 acres) surrounded by a wall.At feeding time, Hortensius had a horn blown to attract the animals,and an actor dressed like Orpheus who played a lyre as if his songwere enchanting the wild beasts.49 He gave his preserve the Greekname therotrophion, but there were others called in Latin roboraria,vivaria, and leporaria. These precincts preserved many animals,since common hunters were excluded, there were defenses againstpoachers, and the owners wanted to have large numbers to showoff to their guests.

A series of ancient handbooks, some of which have survived,purported to give advice to sport hunters. These are usually entitledCynegetica, from Greek words meaning "to lead dogs," since hunt-

sake as a spon,, own proficiency!soonafter people

of such huntingould have forbid-

<utopia, as well as

< was portrayed as'the Great.4! The

killed a bear atts"), a lion in

ers often used packs of dogs in pursuing game. Authors of thesetreatises include three Greeks: Socrates' friend Xenophon and Epic-tetus's disciple Arrian, both of whom were avid hunters, andappian, who probably was not. The Latin writer Nemesianus ofCarthage is represented by fragmentary works on hunting and birdcatching. The sport of fishing also has its literature, the Halieuticaof the famous Latin poet Ovid, which actually contains little aboutfishing, and a similarly titled work by Oppian. Ausonius, writingin Gaul, devoted much of one of his poems to fishes and fishing. 50

All these works portray hunting or fishing as sports of the well-bred gentleman, and they sometimes advise him to limit his catch,spare certain animals, and avoid unworthy methods for sportsman-like reasons.

Wildlife Used as Entertainment: The Arena

Wildlife served to entertain large numbers of people in severalways. An animal or bird that was rare, exotic, or beautiful mightsimply be exhibited. Animals were tamed and taught tricks, asbears and lions commonly were. Small, popular shows where oneanimal fought another, such as cockfights or dogfights, usuallyinvolved domestic species, although sometimes wild birds or beastswere baited to combat or to devour each other. Fights were stagedbetween partridges or quails. In a strange game called "quail-tapping," popular in Athens, a quail was put in a ring and theowner offered bets that it would stay there even if knocked onthe head.51 But for sheer spectacle, exploitation of animals andspectators, and waste of life, nothing could surpass the Roman

arena.The shows put on for popular amusement first in Roman cir-

cuses, and later in amphitheaters, exhausted the ingenuity of theirproducers. Sometimes these were pageants or plays in which ani-mals played a part, often involving violence or sexual perversionin addition to acrobatics. Even the rarer animals, at first exhibitedas curiosities, were afterward mutilated and killed. From at leastthe middle years of the Roman Republic, criminals were executedby being exposed to wild beasts that had been starved or were

uthors of thesehon and Epic-hunters, and

Nemesianus ofunting and bird, the Halieutica

tains little aboutnius, writingand fishing. 50

rts of the well-limit his catch,for sportsman-

in Roman cir-genuity of their

in which ani-al perversion

.' t first exhibited. From at leastwere executedrved or were

goaded into attacking them. Venationes, or mock hunts, in whicharmed men on foot or horseback chased and killed animals, consti-tuted a major part of the shows. The arena, so called because ithad a floor covered with sand, became soaked in blood. Thesecontests were the subject of many mosaics and paintings.

The first venatio in Rome apparently was held in 186 B.C. byMarcus Fulvius Nobilior, conqueror of Aetolia.52 For whateverreason, a law forbade the use of African beasts for this purpose,but Cnaeus Aufidius allowed exemptions in 170.53 In the followingyear, the aediles (the magistrates responsible for the shows) exhib-ited sixty-three leopards, forty bears, and some elephants. Ele-phants had been seen for the first time in Rome in 275 B.C., whenManius Curius displayed at his triumph a number he had capturedfrom Pyrrhus of Epirus, who had brought them to Italy for hismilitary campaign. Romans jokingly called them "Lucanian cows,"after the province where they had fought Pyrrhus. Elephants werefirst "hunted" in the circus in 99 B.C., and were pitted against bullstwenty years later.

In the late Roman Republic, the variety of wild animals and thenumber killed increased dramatically. Scaurus, in 58 B.C., broughtcrocodiles and hippopotami from the Nile. Soon afterward, Pom-pey had 20 elephants and 600 lions killed by armed Gaetulians.Caesar at various times showed a lynx from Gaul, 40 elephants,and a giraffe he had received as a present from Cleopatra. Numberscontinued to rise as the early emperors attempted to gain popularityby entertaining the people. Augustus held twenty-six venationes inwhich 3,500 animals were killed, including tigers from India.54

Claudius was another emperor who enjoyed watching the beastfights. Nero, in addition to his more infamous shows, flooded anarena and displayed polar bears catching seals. At the dedicationof the Colosseum under Titus, 9,000 animals were destroyed in 100days, and Trajan's conquest over Dacia in A.D. 107 was celebrated bythe slaughter of 11,000 wild animals. To these hecatombs in thecity of Rome must be added the numerous venationes held in othertowns throughout the empire. 55

The "hunters" in these sadistic spectacles were called bestiarii,and were trained in schools like that of Domitian on the Caelian

Hill.5~ Sometimes they used dogs or horses in the arena. Many otthem were proud of their skill, and there were families who fol-lowed the occupation through generations. A technology of deathsupported them; for example, cages were constructed under amphi-theaters, complete with elevators and ramps to bring the beasts upto the arena without endangering the attendants too much.

The demand for a constant supply of animals was enormous,supported by an organized business for their capture and transpor-tation. Many found employment in this enterprise. It was far fromeasy, since the beasts had to be kept in good condition in pits,nets, cages, or boxes, and carried or led from place to place untilthey were delivered. For the most part it was a private business onwhich the government levied an import tax of 2.5 percent. 57 Romanofficials and the military amply assisted the trade, however, andsoldiers were dispatched to round up the animals. Those trans-porting animals destined for the emperor's shows could requisitionfood and accommodations from towns through which they passed.This was no small expense for towns on the usual routes, consider-ing the size and number of the animals, and late imperial edictslimited the time they could stay in one city to seven days. 58 Thosedestined for Rome landed at wharves in the Campus Martius andwere held temporarily in the enclosure for wild animals outsidethe Praenestine Gate.59 There were extensive imperial menageries,including one for the elephant herd at Ardea under the care of anofficer titled the procurator ad elephantos. A large proportion of thecreatures collected for this trade must have died along the way.

Romans of every social level from emperor to common peopleattended the games, and most Romans who wrote about themapproved. There were few protests against the bloody "sport" ofthe venationes, which is perhaps not surprising in light of thefact that objections to the killing of humans in the gladiatorialexhibitions were also rare. In 55 B.C., the elephants in Pompey'sshow at the dedication of his theater gained the crowd's sympathywhen, wounded by javelins, they defended themselves bysnatching the shields of their attackers, attempting to break out oftheir enclosure, and trumpeted piteously. Cicero protested at thisincident, "What pleasure can it possibly be to a man of culture,

arena. Many ofmilies who fol-ology of deathunderamphi-

g the beasts uptoo much.was enormous,re and transpor-. It was far fromndition in pits,

to place untilte business on

rcent. 57Roman, however, and. Those trans-uld requisition

'ch they passed.utes, consider-imperial edicts

days.58Thoseus Martius and

;animals outside. I menageries,r the care of an

portion of theong the way.mmon people

te about th'emy"sport" of

,'in light of the(the gladiatorialts in Pompey's

d's sympathy. themselves byto break out ofotested at thisn of culture,

when ... a splendid beast is transfixed with a hunting-spear ...the result was a certain compassion and a kind of feeling that thehuge beast has a fellowship with the human race. ,,50When hegoverned Cilicia, Cicero refused to make his provincials collectleopards for the games; by the way, this proves the existence ofthe species in Asia Minor as late as the first century B.C MarcusAurelius, the Roman "philosopher-king," also disliked the crueltyof the games. In earlier times, a few writers voiced opposition tohunting of any kind; this was a teaching of the Pythagoreans, whorefused to have anything to do with hunters, butchers, or priestswho sacrificed animals. Varro also was antihunting: "There you go,chasing wild boars on the mountains with your spears, or stags,which never did any harm to you, with your javelin. What a'splendid' art!,,51Even a confirmed hunter such as Arrian said oneshould not take pleasure in the sight of the kill. 52

The Technology of Hunting and Fishing

Achilles outran deer, said Pindar, and caught them with his barehands. 53 This Simplest form of hunting is not unknown amongprimal people, but Greeks and Romans generally used assistance.Sometimes other animals were pressed into service, such as thehunting dogs that are known from Mycenaean times, and whosedomestication for this purpose probably goes back to the Paleo-lithic era.54Various breeds were trained for the work; a fresco fromTiryns shows hunters with a huge hound. Hunting from horsebackis not as ancient as with dogs, but certainly dates from pre-Homerictimes. It was widespread in classical days, described by Xenophonand Perses.55 Falconry, regarded as a sport of Persians and otherbarbarians, was practiced among the Greeks, according to Aristotle,and became popular with the last of the Roman aristocrats. 55Theuse of prey animals as bait, such as tethering goats to catch lionsin a pitfall, was a common technique. 57But sporting hunters likeXenophon denounced the use of a female animal's own young totrap her: for example, tying up a fawn to decoy a doe.58A repertoireof hunting implements developed.

The idea that hunting and warfare are similar and use the same

weapons is tound betore the classIcal penod; a dagger trom tironzeAge Mycenae shows shield-bearing warriors attacking lions withtheir spears, and a ring of the same period bears the design of anarcher shooting a stag from a chariot.69 Spears and javelins areoften mentioned in the literature of hunting, and were redesignedfor use against specific prey such as boars.

Nets have been used from time immemorial; a wild bull caughtin a net can be seen on one of the Vapheio cups dated to Mycenaeantimes. In Greece and Rome, nets of strong linen ropes were pre-ferred. Deer and boar, as well as many other animals, were takenin nets of various designs.70 Xenophon lists three types: purse,road, and long nets, but there were doubtless others. A pursenet was a large bag with a mouth that could be closed by anoose, a road net was a rectangular one used to block gametrails, and a long net was crescent-shaped with a belly and wasusually set up in a forest where it could be hidden. Footsnares,devices that combined hidden nooses with wooden or ironspikes set in plaited circles of twigs, often over small pits, werealso common.71

Birds were caught in nets, snares, cages, and on rods or branchessmeared with sticky birdlime. They were decoyed, called by cleverimitators, attracted by mirrors, or lured with food. As an instanceof the latter, a small pit was dug, filled with berries, and twopotsherds were balanced over it by a peg; when the bird dislodgedthe peg, the potsherds covered the hole and trapped the bird.72

Birds were also brought down with small arrows. A huge bird likethe ostrich was a considerable exception; Arabian ostriches werechased on horseback. 73

Fishing technology is a subject unto itself. Nets and spears wereutilized; as Homer says of the cannibalistic Laestrygonians, "likefolk spearing fishes they bore home their hideous meal.,,74 Notonly hand-lines, but poles of cane or light elastic woods, often 6to 8 feet long, were known.75 These had fixed lines made ofhorsehair, flax, or a fiber called spar ton taken from the stems ofthe genista shrub, a plant common on Mediterranean hills. Floatswere carved of cork. Hooks were fashioned of iron or bronze, andbaited with real insects or with feathers and other materials to

'ld bull caughtto Mycenaean

'topes were pre-, were taken

types: purse,';others. A purseibe closed by ato block game

.a belly and wasen. Footsnares,oden or iron

11pits, were

d spears weregonians, "Like

meal.,,74Not

oods, often 6"lines made of

the stems ofn hills. Floats

or bronze, andmaterials to

make an artificial fly.76 Poisonous vegetable substances such ascyclamen root were used to kill fish in small bodies of water, apractice condemned by Plato.n Commercial fishermen erectedtowers on shore to Sight schools of tunny and other large fishes.At night, torches were carried on fishing boats to attract the catch. 7BFinally, it is reported that skates and other fish were attracted bymusic and dancing. 79

The Ownership oj Wildlife

The ownership of game and fish in enclosures or ponds wasvested in those with title to the land; outside private places, it wasconsidered to rest in the sovereign authorities, or in those to whomthey delegated it, as was the case also with unoccupied, virgin, orabandoned land.Bo Rivers, and the fish in them, were consideredpublic property in Roman law.B!But poaching by common peoplehappened constantly, whether on public, private, or sacred land.The prevailing attitude was that wild animals belonged to "no one"until they were caught, and then they belonged to those whocaught them. The state asserted its interest only in exceptionalcases, as in protecting the animals inside a sacred temenos, butgenerally its policy was to encourage agriculture, grazing, and thereduction of the number of wild animals.

Depletion and Extinction

The surviving evidence gives the impression of declining popula-tions of wildlife, and the gradual extinction of certain species inone area after another. Writers often remark that animals are nolonger to be found where they were once abundant. Lion boneshave been unearthed in archaeological sites such as the Mycenaeanpalace of Tiryns.B2 Herodotus reports that when the Persians in-vaded Greece, lions came down from the mountains to attack thecamels in their baggage trains. B3Aristotle also notes their presencein his homeland, but lions were gone by the first century B.C

B4

Leopards and hyenas also disappeared from Greece, and lynxes,wolves, and jackals were limited to the mountains, where they

hold out today in small numbers. Bears could be found in thePeloponnesus up to A.D. 100, and probably much later; a few stillexist in mountainous northern Greece.8S Hunting reduced wildcattle, sheep, and goats to remnant herds, and eliminated themfrom some islands in classical times. This was only one of a seriesof extinctions of island fauna, following the earlier disappearancebetween 6000 BC and 2000 BC of dwarf forms of elephants,hippopotami, antelopes, and deer; giant forms of shrews, hedge-hogs, and dormice; and still other endemics.86

Procurement of animals for the Roman arena cleared largermammals, reptiles, and birds from the areas most accessible toprofessional hunters and trappers. They exhausted the huntinggrounds of North Africa, where elephant, rhinoceros, and zebrabecame extinct. The hippopotamus and crocodile were banishedfrom the lower Nile to upper Nubia. By the fourth century A.D., awriter could lament that there were no elephants left in Libya, nolions in Thessaly, and no hippopotami in the Nile. Lions had beenextirpated from western Asia Minor, although the king of beastspersisted in Syria, where the emperor Julian hunted them, and inthe Taurus Mountains; in both these areas a few could be foundas late as the nineteenth century. In the Atlas Mountains theirnumbers were reduced in antiquity; a few lions remain theretoday.87 Distant areas felt the Roman demands; tigers disappearedfrom Armenia, and from Hyrcania in northern Iran, the closestsources to Rome.88 Collection of animals for the games was not theonly cause of disappearance; all these creatures were hunted andkilled for other reasons as well. Among the causes of the extinctionof the North African form of the elephant, for example, were theuse of the animal in warfare and, more important, the ivory trade.The Romans were persistent, efficient, could pay well, and cameto dominate the commerce in animals and animal products through-out the Mediterranean basin, so the major responsibility for extinc-tions was theirs.

Bird populations also diminished. The former richness of Medi-terranean bird life can be sensed today in such relatively undis-turbed areas as the French Camargue near the mouth of the RhoneRiver, with its flocks of flamingos; or Coto Dofiana in Las Marismas

country, natural underground channels often existed that could becleared or widened.

The Study oj Animals

Observation of animals in the wild or captivity helped philosophersto gain knowledge of the natural world. Aristotle, the greatestancient commentator on animal anatomy and behavior, believedin the importance of direct observation, and some of his commentshave been vindicated in modem times. For example, he recordedthat the male catfish guards the eggs that he has fertilized, as wellas the young up to forty or fifty days old. This was disbelieved byearly nineteenth-century European biologists, since the catfish theyknew did not behave in this way, but it was subsequently noticedthat Greece has a species (Parasilurus aristotelis) that does so, whichwas undoubtedly known to Aristotle or his informants. Aristotlealso reports facts that could have been discovered only by meansof dissection.93 On the other hand, many of his statements aresimply wrong and could have been corrected by observation.

The Peripatetic School of philosophy strongly shaped the Mu-seum of Alexandria, a research institute founded by Ptolemy I Soterand Ptolemy II Philadelphus with the aid of Demetrius of Phalerumand Strato of Lampsacus, both followers of Aristotle and Theophras-tus. This unique institution continued Aristotle's interest in observa-tion of animals by maintaining a large zoo. Among the manyanimals and birds exhibited were elephants, Saiga antelope fromnorth of the Black Sea, oryxes, hartebeests, ostriches, camels, par-rots, leopards, cheetahs, and a chimpanzee. In addition, duringthe reign of Ptolemy II alone, there were "twenty-four great lions,leopards, lynxes and other cats, Indian and African buffaloes,wild asses from Moab, a python forty-five feet long, a giraffe, arhinoceros, and a polar bear (whose journey south must have beeneXCiting), together with parrots, peacocks, gUinea-fowl, pheasants,and many African birds.,,94 To collect such animals for study, theGreco-Macedonian rulers of Egypt sent out far-ranging expedi-tions, some of which penetrated into Ethiopia by way of the RedSea. Numerous animals from India were brought to Mediterranean

ong the manyantelope from, camels, par-

dition, duringur great lions,

'can buffaloes,g, a giraffe, a

must have beenowl, pheasants,

for study, theranging expedi-way of the RedMediterranean

cities by Indian or Greek merchants and ambassadors. An Indiandelegation, with wild animals including tigers, tortoises, and apython, was welcomed by the emperor Augustus on Samos in21 B.C95 Augustus "took especial delight in 'untold numbers andunknown shapes of beasts.' ,,96 One can imagine his delight incapturing the Ptolemaic menagerie when he conquered Egypt;doubtless many of the animals killed in the excessive venationes athis celebrations came from that source. Thus did scientific curiosityyield to bloodthirsty prurience, but the two kept company inRome. The medical writer Galen says that physicians assembled atdissections of elephants, and presumably other animals killed inthe games, to gain anatomical knowledge.97

Pets and the Love of Animals

The bond between humans and domestic animals is well knownin classical literature from Homer onward; Achilles' horses weptfor Patroclus, their driver, and Odysseus could not suppress a tearwhen his old hound Argos recognized him after so many years.

98

The cat came to Greece from Egypt, where it had been domesticatedfor more than a thousand years. But wild animals, too, were some-times loved and respected. Arion was not the only individualsaid to have been rescued from drowning by dolphins, who were

i 11 fond of children. tha oras is said tohave had a bear that kept him company, and an eagle that wouldfly down and perch on his shoulder. These stories mayor may nothave been true, but it is certain that the Greeks and Romanscaptured and tamed an amazing variety of wild animals and keptthem on their land or in their homes. Only emperors could ownelephants or lions, but in Republican times at least one privatecitizen had impressed his friends by riding an elephant when hecame to dinner at their homes99 Among the mammals and reptilesattested in private households or collections are Barbary apes,monkeys, ferrets, hedgehogs, deer, giraffes, gazelles, captive wildgoats, and harmless "house" snakes. Many birds including pea-cocks, various pheasants, parrots, cranes, storks, flamingos, rails,crows, starlings, magpies, thrushes, and nightingales were kept

individually or in aviaries; some were valued tor theIr song, anaothers because they could be taught to talk. 100Captive animals,especially smaller ones, could have escaped and established wildpopulations in areas where they had not existed before, but thereseems to be no record of this.

An ancient animal rights movement, if so one might term it,existed among writers, mostly of Pythagorean bent, who honoredthe sanctity of all forms of life and maintained that animals possessrational souls. Ovid made Pythagoras himself a character in theMetamorphoses and had him advise King Numa against animalfood, since it was through eating the flesh of living creatures thatthe Golden Age came to an end, and against animal sacrifice asmaking the gods into partners of mortals in wickedness.lOl

Plutarch also spoke on behalf of animals. In the dialogue WhetherLand or Sea Animals Are Cleverer, set as a learned debate amongcultured huntsmen, he argues that animals possess a degree ofreason. Human beings, he adds, also have reason only to a degree;if what we wish to demonstrate is "true reason and wisdom, noteven man may be said to exercise it.,,102But since animals arerational, we are unjust if we kill them when they have not injuredus. Plutarch does not go as far as the Pythagoreans, however; hewould permit killing animals "in pity and sorrow," as well aseating meat as an unfortunate necessity.103 But Plutarch's mostentertaining comments on this subject are contained in a briefdialogue between Odysseus, Gryllus, and Circe. With her magicarts, Circe had changed many men into various species of animals.Odysseus won the right to have his sailors retransformed andfurthermore asked Circe to do the same for the other Greeks. Circeagreed on the condition that Odysseus convince a spokesman forthe beasts that it was better to be a human than an animal. Chosento speak for the beasts was Gryllus, a hog granted the power of speechby Circe. He refused the chance to return to human form becauseanimals, he maintained, are superior to mankind in every virtue:courage, temperance, and intelligence. Besides, animal virtues arenatural; humans must cultivate theirs. Odysseus, in spite of his fameas a persuasive speaker, lost the contest. Driven to use the argumentthat beasts cannot be rational because they have no inborn knowl-

, for their song, and"100 Captive animals,

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,',one might term it,. ',bent, who honored

t animals possess.a character in the

against animal'ving creatures thatanimal sacrifice as·ckedness.101

dialogue Whether" ed debate among

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rrow," as well ast Plutarch's most

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species of animals.transformed ander Greeks. Circe

a spokesman foran animal. Chosen

epower ofspeechn form becausein every virtue:

;animal virtues arein spite of his fameuse the argument

no inborn knowl-

edge of God, he left himself open to Gryllus's riposte that Odysseus'sfather was Sisyphus, a notorious atheist. 104 That the dialogue was nota mere set piece is clear from Plutarch's serious objections elsewhereto hunting, animal slaughter, and the excesses of the arena. Rejectingthe propOSition of Hesiod and the Stoics that "human beings haveno compact of justice with irrational animals," Plutarch exhibitedadmiration and sympathy for the myriad forms of living things andwas an early defender of animal rights. 105 Unfortunately, neither inhis case nor in any other known from ancient times does it seem thatsuch ideas resulted in practical programs to help wildlife.

The major problem of wildlife in the ancient world was its depletionand disappearance in many areas. The combined evidence of litera-ture, archaeology, and distribution of fauna in more recent timesindicates that some species became extinct, while the ranges ofothers were restricted due to habitat alteration and to killing forvarious purposes. The process of wildlife depletion was not uni-form, however. Due primarily to the lower human population inancient as compared to modern times, refuges existed where habi-tats had not been altered and hunting pressure was low. Also, asthe palynological evidence indicates that deforestation occurred incycles with periods of recovery, so it must also be true that wildspecies rebuilt their numbers during intervals when human de-mands and environmental impacts relented. Fluctuations in num-bers of animal species occur even without human intervention, asecological interactions occur among species and with environmen-tal changes. Still, some of the effects of Greek and Roman explOita-tion of wildlife were irreversible, as when species were made totallyextinct, or extirpated from islands or other areas where their naturalreintroduction was impossible. On the other hand, the introduc-tion of domestic and feral species such as goats and cats to formerlyisolated places initiated predation and competition with nativespecies and the destruction of the vegetation on which they de-pended. The result of all these factors was depletion and extinctionof wildlife and an impoverishment of ecosystems.