ABSTRACT
Most wild and domesticated animals have now disappeared from our lives; others have been subsumed in unprecedented numbers into our households as pets. A third group encompassing exotic animals has been relegated to an institution dedicated to the public viewing of animals: the zoo. The modern-day disconnect between humans and animals differs fundamentally from the situation of earlier periods — most notably, perhaps, from classical antiquity. Domestic animals were an important part of everyday life in the ancient Greek city. The prominent role of animals in Greek thought and literature indicates that the appropriation of animals for a variety of cultural and symbolic purposes is not predominantly a symptom of modernity. Rather, the greater proximity of humans and animals in the ancient world also nurtured a desire to engage with animals to explore their lives and their ways of being in the world.
