This sourcebook presents nearly 200 specially-translated Greek and Roman texts from Homer to Plutarch, revealing the place of the animal in the moral consciousness of the Classical era. Philosophical, historical, dramatic and poetic texts explore how animals were regarded in all aspects of ancient life, from philosophy to farming.

List of IllustrationsPreface Series Editors' Preface Introduction PART I: DEFINING 'ANIMAL': ANCIENT WRITERS ON ANIMAL NATURE 1. Animal Origins, Minds and Capacities 2. Animal Justice and Morals 3. The Ancient Idea of Vegetarianism 4. Observing and Imagining Animal Behaviour 5. Animals and Cultural Identity 6. Bucolic Ideals and The Golden Age PART II: THE TREATMENT OF ANIMALS IN THE CLASSICAL WORLD 7. Animal Study and Experimentation 8. Animals and Warfare 9. The Economic Animal: Farming, Food and Trade 10. Sacrifice and Sacred Animals 11. Hunting Animals 12. Animals and Public Entertainment Notes Bibliography Index Locorum General Index

Alastair Harden works at the Beazley Archive, Oxford University, and teaches at the Universities of Oxford and Reading, UK. He attended Belfast Royal Academy and studied Classical Archaeology and Ancient History at Oxford University, and Classics at the University of Reading. He is an Associate Fellow of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics and has written on animals in Classical Art.