Laconian (dog)

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For other uses, see Laconia.
Laconian
Marble statue of Laconian dog crouched and facing the bottom right corner of the picture. The sculpture is missing its ears, left arm, left leg and right foot.
Statue of a hunting dog with Laconian characteristics found on the Acropolis c. 520 BC[1]
Other names
OriginLaconia, Ancient Greece
Breed statusExtinct
Traits
Colour tan with white markings or black with tan markings
Litter size 8
Dog (domestic dog)

The Laconian (Ancient Greek: Λάκαινα, romanized: Lákaina)[2], also known as the Spartan, is an extinct dog breed from Ancient Greece, famous for their sense of smell, typically used for hunting.

The breed originated in Laconia, a region of Ancient Greece, famous for its city state, Sparta.

Reputation

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Laconian hounds were renowned and highly valued for their hunting skills.[3][4][5][6] They were depicted in classical sculptures,[7] mosaics, gravestones, coins,[8] vases,[9] and drinking cups.[10][11][12][13]

Contemporary fragments include writers such as classical writers Pindar,[4] Sophocles,[14] Xenophon,[15] Plato,[16] Aristotle,[17] Theophrastus,[3] as well as later Roman writers such as such as Horace,[18] Petronius,[19] Pliny The Elder,[20] Oppian,[21] and Pollux.[22] Late antiquity writer Claudian[23] and Elizabethan playwright Shakespeare[24] also make allusion to the breed.

Characteristics

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Two principal surviving sources describe the breed: Xenophon (c.350 BC) and Aristotle (c.350 BC).[25][26]

Both sexes gained sexual maturity at eight months old and remained sexual active throughout their lives. Gestation lasted sixty to sixty-three days. Typical litter was of eight pups.[17][20][27] Puppies typically opened their eyes after twelve days.[17] The female would restart sexual activity six months after she had littered. The male lived ten years and the female twelve.[17][20]

Described as "tawny",[18] typically either tan with white markings on the face, throat, chest, legs, and stern or black with similarly placed tan markings.[28] Their eyes were dark.[28]

Based on artistic depictions of the breed, the Laconian was estimated to be about eighteen inches high at the shoulder and weighed between thirty and forty pounds, or roughly the size of a "very large beagle or small harrier."[28]

  • A dog oriented to the right, his shoulder reaches to the knee of the man behind him.
    Attic red-figure lekythos of a hunter and a Laconian. Early Classical, c.475–450 BC. [29]
  • Photograph of the back of a Greek vase: the vase is shaped like a head of a dog. The dog has lean pointy ears that are folded backwards.
    Attic red figure kantharos in the shape of the head of a dog. made in Athens, by Brygos, c.500–475 BC [30]
  • dog scratching itself with its hind leg.
    Attic red-figure kylix of a Laconian scratching itself by Euergides, Late Archaic, c. 500 BC.[31]
  • low-relief sculpture in stone of a dog pointing to the left of the square. A man and a horse precede it. The dog's head is angled up and just reaches the mid-femur of a horse and its shoulder is inline with the knee of the horse and the knee of the man.
    Detail on a votive relief depicting a 'Lakonian' hound accompanying the seated Artemis, c.400 BC [32]

Hunting traits

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alt:a small dog with lean ears is pictured biting a deer.
A deer hunt mosaic from Pella, late 4th century BC. Often attributed to being a depiction of Alexander the Great and Hephaestion.

Oppian lists the breed as one of the best hunting dogs and gives the characteristics for dogs best suited for "the swift chase of the gazelle and deer and swift-footed hare".[21] Xenophon also covers in detail the appearance and temperament of the best hunting dogs and the specific methods of hunting that use Laconians.[15]

Both authors agree that for the best hunting dogs: the head should be light with dark eyes with a long neck; Ears should be small and thin with little hair[33]; The chest and shoulder blades should be broad with sloping ribs; The forelegs should be shorter than the hind legs and the tail should be long, straight and prominent. Both recommend selecting larger dogs above their smaller counterparts.[15][21][28]

Names and confusion

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There are multiple terms used to describe the Laconian.[34]

The term Laconian refers to the region of Laconia in ancient Greece and, when applied to dogs, may denote either a general geographic origin, or, more likely, a specific breed or an "entire family of hounds 'of Laconian pedigree'".[35] When referring to the breed, the most frequent names seem to be variations on "Laconian" (Spartan, Lacedaemonian), which were used synonymously.[35] Other epithets are more "open to debate".[35]

Geographic

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Spartan village-based names like Amyclaeus[36][37][38] (from Amyclae) or Cynosuran[39][38] (from Cynosura) may have been used to refer to the same breed but bred in that village, or to identify different local variants, though the limited nature of the sources leaves some ambiguity.[35]

Vulpine and Castorian

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Hierarchical confusion regarding Xenophon's classification

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In his treatise, Xenophon clears distinguishes the larger Castorian[a] (Greek: καστορίδες, romanized: kastorides) and the smaller fox-like Vulpine (Greek: ἀλωπεκίδες, romanized: alopekides) stating that "there are two breeds of sporting dogs: the Castorian and the fox-like".[15]

Hull and most scholars classifies both as sub-types of the overall Laconian breed.[40] Margariti rebuts this view, stating Xenophon does not specify that he is speaking of sub-types on Laconian, but rather dogs in general. Margariti states that the belief may have come about due to Xenophon's reference to "the Spartan Castor in connection with the Castorians".[41]

Vulpine

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Aristotle describes the Laconian as the result of a cross between a dog and a fox.[b][17][40] Pollux supports this, stating that Laconians, since they were originally bred from foxes and dogs, were also alopekides.[22][42] Most scholars agree that Vulpine is a valid way of the describing the Laconian, either as a variety of the Laconian breed[35][40] or as an predecessor to the breed.[41]

Later merging of Vulpine and Castorian

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Pollux, echoing Nicander of Colophon, in his 2nd Century AD thesaurus Onomasticon, merges the Castorian and the Vulpine. He states that kastorides are alopekides, since he claims that it was Castor himself who crossed dogs with foxes and thus create a new breed.[22][42]

Hull[40] and other scholars[35] noted this contradiction and theorized that both Xenophon and Pollux's observations may be true if either,

  1. kastorides and alopekides interbred and, over time, became indistinguishable,[43] or
  2. one of the sub-types became extinct.[44][45]

Castorian alternatives

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Pollux also lists two alternative names for the Castorian: the Menelaid (after Menelaos)[22][35][41][38] and the Harmodian (after Harmodius)[c][22][41]. Margariti puts forward that since the "only well-known Greek" names Harmodius was one of the Athenian Tyrannicides, the Castorian were "not thought of as having exclusively originated in Sparta".[41]

Speculated Laconians

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Speculated descendants

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Photo of a dog outdoors. Tan with black markings. Ears are flat and broad and tail is upright.
A modern day Hellenic Hound, speculated to be a descendent of the Laconian dog.

It is speculated that the Hellenic Hound may be the modern-day descendant to the Laconian.[46] Both breeds have similar lifespans, litter sizes, and colouring.[47][17][48]

Hull speculated that as the Laconian, after loosing favor to the greyhound, may have been cross bred with the Segusiae by Bishop of Liege, St. Hubert, to make the hounds of his kennel from which "came the four royal races: the white hounds of the king, the hounds of St. Hubert, the gray hounds of St. Louis, and the fawn hounds of Brittany." From these four lines "came all of the modern tracking hounds—the bloodhound, the basset hound, the beagle, the harrier, and the foxhound."[49]

Speculated individuals

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It has been speculated that Alexander the Great's favourite dog, Peritas, may have been a Laconian.[50]

It has also been theorized that Odysseus's dog's Argos may have been a Laconian.[51]

In A Midsummer Night's Dream, Theseus brags: "My hounds are bred out of the Spartan kind [...]",[24] which is interpreted to be an intended reference to the Laconian breed. However the description more closely matches the basset hound, a breed contemporary to Shakespeare.[52][53]

Notes

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  1. ^ The Castorian's name was derived from the myth that they were bred from hounds that Castor was said to have received from Apollo. See Xenophon, Cynegeticus.
  2. ^ Margariti notes that Aristotle does not reference the Castorian or the Vulpines but rather describes the Laconian as the offspring of dogs and foxes.
  3. ^ According to Margariti, the "only well-known Greek" was one of the Athenian Tyrannicides.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Walter-Herwig Schuchhardt in H. Schrader, ed., Die Archaischen Marmorbildwerke der Akropolis (Frankfurt 1939), pp. 262–264, no. 377. "Es handelt sich um den lakonischen Jagdhund, […]"
  2. ^ Walter-Herwig Schuchhardt in H. Schrader, ed., Die Archaischen Marmorbildwerke der Akropolis (Frankfurt 1939), pp. 262–264, no. 377. "Es handelt sich um den lakonischen Jagdhund, […]"
  3. ^ a b Theophrastus, Characters, book XXI. chapter vii: The Man of Petty Ambition "For himself he will buy nothing, but will make purchases on commission for foreign friends — pickled olives to go to Byzantium, Laconian hounds for Cyzicus, Hymettian honey for Rhodes; and will talk thereof to people at Athens"
  4. ^ a b "From mount Taygetus cometh the Laconian hound, the cleverest creature in chasing the quarry" p.631 Pindar. Fragments.
  5. ^ Hull D.B. (1964), Hounds and Hunting in Ancient Greece p.104
  6. ^ Rajewicz, Sebastian (2020-01-01). "Gennaiai kynes. Laconian hounds". Studies on Ancient Sparta, ed. R. Kulesza, N. Sekunda, Gdańsk 2020, 65-84. p.71, p.76
  7. ^ "Statue of a hunting dog". Acropolis Museum. Retrieved 2025-05-19.
  8. ^ "Dog Days". Coin Talk. Retrieved 2025-05-19.
  9. ^ Marina Haworth. The Wolfish Lover : The Dog as a Comic Metaphor in Homoerotic Symposium Pottery. Archimède n°5. 2018 p.14 fig 5, Archéologie et histoire ancienne, 5, pp.7-23. Interior tondo of an Athenian red-figure kylix, c. 480 B.C. Attributed to the Dokimasia Painter. BA 204493*, ARV2 412.11, 1651, Ferrara, Museo Nazionale di Spina T931A. Drawing: Michelle Ranta.
  10. ^ "200982, ATHENIAN, St. Petersburg, State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, State Hermitage Museum, Canino, Lucien Bonaparte, Prince of Canino, St. Petersburg, State Hermitage Museum, B2009". carc.ox.ac.uk. Retrieved 2025-05-19.
  11. ^ "Rhyton with the Head of a Laconian Dog - Workshop of the Patera and Baltimore Painters". Google Arts & Culture.
  12. ^ Attic red-figure cup, detail of a Laconian hound scratching his head, by the Euergides Painter, c.500 BC (ceramic), Greek, (6th century BC) / Ashmolean Museum, University of Oxford, UK / The Bridgeman Art Library
  13. ^ An athlete and his dog. (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston acc. No. 01.8038) Kylix interior; Brygos Painter, 500–450.
  14. ^ Sophocles, Ajax 8 "Athena: [...] Right well thy sense Hath led thee forth, like some keen hound of Sparta! [...]" P.43 gutenberg.com See also: Sophocles: The Plays and Fragments, with critical notes, commentary, and translation in English prose. Part VII: The Ajax. Sir Richard C. Jebb. Cambridge. Cambridge University Press. 1907.
  15. ^ a b c d Xenophon, Cynegeticus. Translated by Henry Graham Dakyns. "There are two breeds of sporting dogs: the Castorian and the fox-like. (1) "Kastoriai", or Laconian, approaching possibly the harrier type; "alopekides", i.e. vulpocanine, hybrid between fox and dog."
  16. ^ Plato, Parmenides 128C. "You follow the arguments with a scent as keen as a Laconian hound's, [...]" Plato. Plato in Twelve Volumes, Vol. 9 translated by Harold N. Fowler. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press; London, William Heinemann Ltd. 1925.
  17. ^ a b c d e f Aristotle, Historia Animalium. "The Project Gutenberg eBook of Aristotle's History of Animals, translated by Richard Cresswell". www.gutenberg.org. Retrieved 2025-05-19. Classics MIT editionBook IX, Chapt. I. Book IX, Chpt. XXVII. Book IX, Chpt. XX.
  18. ^ a b Horace (circa 66 BCE-9 BCE). Epodes. Original latin quote: "nam qualis aut Molossus aut fulvos Lacon, amica vis pastoribus" Translated: "For, like a Molossian, or tawny Laconian dog, that is a friendly assistant to shepherds" (alternate location)
  19. ^ Petronius, Satyricon 2, 40 "We were still at a loss what to expect when a tremendous shout was raised outside the doors, and lo and behold! a pack of Laconian dogs came careering round and round the very table."
  20. ^ a b c Pliny the Elder, Historia Naturalis 10 CHAP. 83. (63.) – Generation of All Kinds of Terrestrial Animals. "There are several kinds of dogs; those of Laconia [...]"
  21. ^ a b c Oppian, Cynegetica 1, 396 Select quotation: "These among dogs are the most excellent and greatly possess the mind of hunters: [...] Lacedaemonian [...]"; "Such are the dogs which should be arrayed for the swift chase of gazelle and deer and swift-footed hare."
  22. ^ a b c d e Pollux Onomasticon Book 5, Chapter 37. "And the Kaatorides, the offspring of Kaator, were the gift of Apollo." alternatively see Hull's book's appendices for translation.
  23. ^ Claudian, Stilicho 3, 302 "[...] there follow them dogs of various shape, breed and character; some whose heavy jowls fit them for big game, some swift of foot, some keen of scent; shaggy Cretans bay, splendid Spartans, and Britons that can break the backs of mighty bulls."
  24. ^ a b Shakespeare, William "A Midsummer Night's Dream - Act 4, scene 1 Folger Shakespeare Library
  25. ^ Rajewicz, Sebastian (2020-01-01). "Gennaiai kynes. Laconian hounds". Studies on Ancient Sparta, ed. R. Kulesza, N. Sekunda, Gdańsk 2020, p.66
  26. ^ Margariti, Katia. Dogs in Athenian Sculpture and Vase Painting of the Archaic and Classical Periods. Archaeopress Archaeology, 2025. https://doi.org/10.32028/9781803279978. Also available at: https://books.google.ca/books?id=kB5eEQAAQBAJ.
  27. ^ Rajewicz, Sebastian (2020-01-01). "Gennaiai kynes. Laconian hounds". Studies on Ancient Sparta, ed. R. Kulesza, N. Sekunda, Gdańsk 2020, p.73
  28. ^ a b c d Hull D.B. (1964), Hounds and Hunting in Ancient Greece p.32
  29. ^ Hull D.B. (1964), Hounds and Hunting in Ancient Greece. P.211
  30. ^ Hull D.B. (1964), Hounds and Hunting in Ancient Greece. P.223
  31. ^ Waern-Sperber (2001:fig. 8) from Trantalidou, Companions from the Oldest Times: Dogs in Ancient Greek Literature, Iconography and Osteological Testimony p.110
  32. ^ Katia Magariti, Dogs in Athenian Sculpture and Vase Painting of the Archaic and Classical Periods (Archaeopress 2025), pp. 10–11, note 119. Included under "probable depictions of Laconian hounds"
  33. ^ The Dakyns translation states that the dog should have "ears long and thin". Other translations (Marchant and Bowersock, 1925) translates it as "ears small and thin". Hull describes it as "small, upright, prick ears, more like those of a terrier than those of a hound". Original greek: "ὦτα μικρά."
  34. ^ Rajewicz, Sebastian. "Gennaiai kynes. Laconian hounds". Studies on Ancient Sparta, ed. R. Kulesza, N. Sekunda, Gdańsk 2020, p.66.
  35. ^ a b c d e f g Rajewicz, Sebastian (2020-01-01). "Gennaiai kynes. Laconian hounds". Studies on Ancient Sparta, ed. R. Kulesza, N. Sekunda, Gdańsk 2020, p.67.
  36. ^ LATIN: Virgil. Georgics, Book 3, line 405. ENGLISH: Virgil. The Georgics, Book 3, line 405. Translated by John Dryden, Project Gutenberg, 1995.
  37. ^ Plutarch, Quaestiones Convivales, 748B. Gregorius N. Bernardakis, Ed. "κύνα Ἀμυκλαίαν" Note: Plutarch did not state the name of the original author of this fragment.
  38. ^ a b c Hull D.B. (1964), Hounds and Hunting in Ancient Greece p.33
  39. ^ Callimachus, Hymns 3, To Artemis, 93-97. translated by A.W. Mair and G. R. Loeb. "[...] Κυνοσουρίδας [...]" "And he gave thee seven Cynosurian bitches swifter than the winds – that breed which is swiftest to pursue fawns and the hare which closes not his eyes; swiftest too to mark the lair of the stag and where the porcupine hath his burrow, and to lead upon the track of the gazelle."
  40. ^ a b c d Hull D.B. (1964), Hounds and Hunting in Ancient Greece p.31
  41. ^ a b c d e Margariti, Katia. Dogs in Athenian Sculpture and Vase Painting of the Archaic and Classical Periods. Archaeopress, 2023. Laconian hounds p.6-7
  42. ^ a b Rajewicz, Sebastian (2020-01-01). "Gennaiai kynes. Laconian hounds". Studies on Ancient Sparta, ed. R. Kulesza, N. Sekunda, Gdańsk 2020, p.68.
  43. ^ Gaza, Timothée de (1950). Timotheus of Gaza. On Animals, @, Fragments of a Byzantine Paraphrase of an Animal-book of the 5th Century A.D. Translation, Commentary ... by ... F.S. Bodenheimer ... and A. Rabinowitz ... Académie internationale d'histoire des sciences.
  44. ^ Hull D.B. (1964), Hounds and Hunting in Ancient Greece
  45. ^ Anderson, J. K. (1985). Hunting in the Ancient World. doi:10.1525/9780520349735. ISBN 978-0-520-34973-5.
  46. ^ Athens Bureau (4 September 2023). "The 6 dog breeds with ancient Greek roots". Greek City Times.
  47. ^ "FCI-Standard N° 214 - Hellinikos ichnilatis (Hellenic Hound)" (PDF). Fédération Cynologique Internationale.
  48. ^ "Greek Harehound Breed Guide - Learn about the Greek Harehound". Pet Paw. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
  49. ^ Hull D.B. (1964), Hounds and Hunting in Ancient Greece p.38
  50. ^ "The eccentric dog breeds that vanished". BBC. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
  51. ^ White, David Gordon (1991-05-07). Myths of the Dog-Man. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-89509-3. [The Laconian], a light hunting variety, was probably represented in Homer by Odysseus's faithful hound Argos (Swiftfoot).
  52. ^ Hull D.B. (1964), Hounds and Hunting in Ancient Greece p.21, p.31
  53. ^ "The Breed As Described by The Bard". National Purebred Dog Day. 2017-08-19. Retrieved 2025-06-06.