Greek and Latin Words for Human-Animal Bonds: Metaphors and Taboos

Traditional classical studies do not take stories of interspecies relationships very seriously, confining them to the realm of anecdotes, paradoxography, myth, or ‘literary sentimentalism’ unworthy of consideration. An investigation into the vocabulary of the human-animal bonds seems to be a necessary step towards balancing the historical reconstruction of the ancient experience with other animals. Greek and Roman linguistic usages and traditional stories present us with some surprising aspects – such as the preference for metaphors and tales of erotic attraction (animals as ‘lovers’) instead of kinship (animals as ‘babies’ and the owner as their ‘mum’ or ‘dad’) – which question our understanding of that experience and call for a reflexive approach to the sources. Moreover, this paper suggests that interspecies love stories from Greece and Rome – myths and legends of animals in love with human beings as well as iconographic representations of human-animal intercourse – should be interpreted in light of the linguistic metaphors that shaped the conceptual domain of the human-animal bond in ancient peoples’ lives.