Divine symbols and adored pets in ancient Greece

From cats and dogs to singing insects and drunken parrots, the ancient Greeks and Romans shared a deep and intimate connection with the animal kingdom.

Rabbits, dogs, snakes and birds… Everywhere we look in the archaeological and literary records of the classical world, it seems we find animals of almost every variety. Clearly, animals in ancient times featured commonly in people's daily experiences, in popular storytelling and in mythological beliefs; their likenesses appear in vase paintings, frescoes, mosaics, stone sculptures and ceramic figurines, as well as on utilitarian or decorative objects of intricately carved ivory or hammered gold. Living in an age prior to mechanization, much of the ancient Greek and Roman populations resided in rural areas outside cities, so they had more regular contact and firsthand familiarity with animals than most of us do today.