The Molossus ( el, Μολοσσός, Molossós; also known as the Molossian hound, Epirus mastiff) was a
breed
A breed is a specific group of domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist several slig ...
of
dog from
Ancient Greece.
History
The Molossus were dogs that were kept by the ancient
Greek tribe and kingdom of the
Molossians, who inhabited
the region of Epirus.
The Molossus were famous throughout the ancient world for their size and ferocity and were frequently mentioned in ancient literature, including the writings of
Aristophanes,
Aristotle,
Grattius
Grattius (or Gratius) Faliscus was a Latin poetry, Roman poet who flourished during the life of Augustus (63 BC – 14 AD). He is known as the author of a ''Cynegeticon Liber, Cynegeticon'', a poem on hunting.
Life
The only reference to Grattius ...
,
Horace
Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 – 27 November 8 BC), known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). The rhetorician Quintilian regarded his ' ...
,
Lucan
Marcus Annaeus Lucanus (3 November 39 AD – 30 April 65 AD), better known in English as Lucan (), was a Roman poet, born in Corduba (modern-day Córdoba), in Hispania Baetica. He is regarded as one of the outstanding figures of the Imperial ...
,
Lucretius,
Martial
Marcus Valerius Martialis (known in English as Martial ; March, between 38 and 41 AD – between 102 and 104 AD) was a Roman poet from Hispania (modern Spain) best known for his twelve books of ''Epigrams'', published in Rome between AD 86 and ...
,
Nemesianus
Marcus Aurelius Olympius Nemesianus was a Roman poet thought to have been a native of Carthage and flourished about AD 283. He was a popular poet at the court of the Roman emperor Carus (Historia Augusta, ''Carus'', 11).
Works
The works belo ...
,
Oppian of Apamea Pseudo-Oppian ( grc, Ὀππιανός, ''Oppianós''; la, Oppianus), sometimes referred to as Oppian of Apamea or Oppian of Syria, was a Greco- Syrian poet during the reign of the emperor Caracalla. His work, a Greek didactic epic poem on huntin ...
,
Plautus,
Seneca,
Statius,
Ovid, and
Virgil. The Molossians issued silver coinage with an image of a Molossus as their emblem.
It is sometimes stated in books and magazines, particularly in Continental Europe and North America, that all
mastiff-type dogs are descended from the Molossus. This theory states that the breed's progenitors arrived in Molossia from Asia and were eventually discovered by the Romans who employed large numbers as guards for the Roman Army; this theory speculates that the various mastiff breeds found throughout Europe descend from dogs left behind by the Romans. This theory has been questioned by many experts who state it relies on guesswork and lacks historical evidence, and that mastiffs likely developed elsewhere.
Another story is that in the course of his military conquests
Alexander the Great discovered some giant dogs in Asia that impressed him so much that he sent some home; as the son of a
Molossi princess these dogs became associated with his mother's people and that it was from these dogs that all mastiffs descend.
It seems most likely that Molossi kept two distinct types of dogs, one a hunting dog with a broad muzzle which resembled something in between a
Great Dane and a heavily built
Saluki
The Saluki, also known as the Persian Greyhound, is a standardised breed developed from sighthounds – dogs that hunt primarily by sight rather than scent – that was once used by nomadic tribes to run down game animals. The dog was origina ...
, the other a large
livestock guardian dog. Aristotle in his ''
History of Animals'' wrote "In the Molossian race of dogs, those employed in hunting differ in no respect from other dogs; while those employed in following sheep are larger and more fierce in their attack on wild beasts." He also added that dogs that are born of a mixed breed between the Molossian and the
Laconian
Laconia or Lakonia ( el, Λακωνία, , ) is a historical and administrative region of Greece located on the southeastern part of the Peloponnese peninsula. Its administrative capital is Sparta. The word ''laconic''—to speak in a blunt, con ...
dogs are remarkable for courage and endurance of hard labour.
Polycrates of
Samos imported Molossian and Laconian dogs to the island.
According to
Greek mythology the goddess
Artemis gave to
Procris a dog,
Laelaps The name Laelaps is a name attributed to the following:
* Laelaps (mythology) Laelaps ( grc-gre, Λαῖλαψ, ''gen''.: means "hurricane") (Lelaps, Lalaps, Lailaps) was a Greek mythological dog that never failed to catch what it was hunting.
...
, that never failed to catch its prey and from this dog derived the Molossian and Laconian hounds.
Modern kennel club classification
A number of modern
kennel clubs, including the
Fédération Cynologique Internationale, group the distinct mastiffs with livestock guardian dogs as a single type they call "molossoid". It has been theorised that this confusion is due to mistranslations of ancient texts and assumptions based solely on size.
See also
*
List of dog breeds
This list of dog breeds includes both Neontology#Extant taxa versus extinct taxa, extant and extinct dog breeds, Designer breed, varieties, landraces, and dog types. A research article on genomics, dog genomics published in Science/AAAS defines m ...
*
List of extinct dog breeds
*
Molossus of Epirus
The Greek Shepherd or Greek Sheepdog (Greek: Ελληνικός Ποιμενικός, ''Ellinikós Pimenikós'') is a breed of livestock guardian dog from Greece. Thought to be ancient in origin, the Greek Shepherd is very closely related to lives ...
References
{{Dog-stub
Extinct dog breeds
Dog breeds originating in Europe
