Domestic+Dog

The Dog in Ancient Egypt


 * Egyptian Name:**

//Tesem, Tjesem, Thesemu,// or //Tzmu// ("Barker")


 * Hieroglyphics:**



Dogs were part of Egypt from very early times, and were used as pets, guardians, and hunting and war hounds. Amulets in the form of dogs or dog's heads have been found, made of ivory, carnelian, bone, and limestone. In ancient Egypt several breeds of dogs were developed, the two most popular resembling the modern Basenji and Whippet. A large Mastiff-like dog was favored by royalty. Other types of ancient Egyptian dogs resembled the Saluki, Ibizan Hound, or Greyhound, and a curious dwarf variety was quite similar to the Dachshund or Corgi. Tomb paintings reveal that Egyptian dogs were black, white, tan, brown, brindled, and piebald. Ancient Egyptian dogs often wore cloth or leather collars inscribed with their names, some multicolored and decorated with metal studs or bells.

Numerous tomb scenes depict both pet and hunting dogs in close proximity to their masters and mistresses, sitting patiently under chairs or accompanying their owner at the hunt. As a New Kingdom scribal inscription states, "The dog obeys the word and walks behind its master." The dog was the symbol of a faithful retainer. A Middle Kingdom official describes himself as "a dog who sleeps in the tent, a hound of the bed, whom his mistress loves." The motif of the "dog under the chair," like the monkey, had an additional meaning for men - a dog crouching under a man's chair was a symbol of his virility and prosperity, similar to the cat under the chair of a woman.

Dogs were trained to act as watch and police dogs, such as the dogs of Kay. Kay, a member of the desert police, testifies on a stela how he patrolled the Western Desert in search of fugitives. He was subsequently promoted for his loyal service, in which he was assisted by the five dogs depicted on the stela, two standing beside him, three laying in a register beneath. Each member of the pack has a name inscribed alongside and are praised as being faithful helpmates.

The modern saying of (not) biting the hand that feeds you had its ancient Egyptian equivalent. The scribe Amenemope asks rhetorically: "Concerning the ration: the dog of its master, does it bark at him who has given it?"

Pet dogs were often carefully mummified and buried with their owners so that they could be together in the afterlife. A man named Hapyman was buried with his dog curled up at his feet, very much like the medieval tomb carvings of Europe that feature knights and ladies with their respective hounds. Queen Herneith was found with the body of her dog stretched out across the entrance to her tomb, guarding her home in the afterlife. An unidentified man was found lovingly holding the body of a puppy to his chest. According to Herodotus, when a pet dog died the entire family would shave their bodies and cut their hair in an act of mourning.

Dog mummies sometimes have their own coffins and have been found wearing mummy masks made of faience, gold, or bronze. Dogs often had their own mummified food and their belongings buried with them, such as collars and favorite toys. A man named Maiherperi valued his dogs greatly and clearly wanted to have them with him in the Afterlife - he had two richly ornamented dog collars buried with him, made of leather dyed in pink, green, and white, decorated with metal studs and finely set with prancing horses.

If not buried with their owners, then dogs were interred in special "dog cemeteries," under the protection of the god Anubis (although Anubis was a jackal-god, the Egyptians did not generally differentiate between dogs and jackals, sometimes even using the same word for both canines.) "Honored before the great god, Anubis," appears frequently in memorials of Egyptian dogs.

Nearly 80 names have been deciphered on inscriptions identifying pet dog mummies, such as //Menyupu// ("He is a Shepherd"), "Breath of Life to Senbi," //Pehtes// ("Blacky,") "Swift as an Arrow," //Ankhu// ("Living One"), "Reliable," //Neb// ("The Lordly One"), //Behkai// ("Antelope,") "She is Beloved," //Hekenu// ("Exultation"), "North-wind," //Tegra// ("Kettle-black"), "Brave One," //Aya// ("Woofer"), "Anat in Vigor," //Tep-Nefer// ("Beautiful Face"), "The Watchful One," //Abaqer// ("Mighty Hound"), and even "Useless." Some dogs were given numbers as names (such as "The Fifth" and "The Sixth"), on par with the Roman names of Quintus and Sextus, possibly denoting their position in a litter.

An Old Kingdom stela commemorates the burial of a royal guard dog - "Here lies the hound which kept watch over His Majesty, //Abutiyuw// (Pointed Ears) by name." The stela describes the burial ordered by the pharaoh: "A coffin was given to him [the dog] from the Treasury, and very much fine cloth, incense and scented oil. His Majesty had a tomb constructed by the crews of tomb builders. He did this for him [the dog] so that he might become a 'Blessed,' and be honored before the great god, Anubis."

Despite being beloved pets, dogs never gained any religious significance in ancient Egypt - the jackal instead was awarded that honor. Curiously, dogs were never shown being petted or played with, unlike pets such as monkeys or cats. In texts dogs were sometimes despised for their cringing, servile character and for their dirty habits, such as eating food that they had regurgitated. Prisoners of war were referred to as the "pharaoh's dogs." Amenenhat I boasted that he "made the Asiatics do the dog walk." Demons in the Duat sometimes took the form of dogs: "The slavering animals that carry off souls, gulp down decayed matter, live on carrion, that are attached to darkness and dwell in gloom, of whom the feeble are afraid."


 * Modern Influen****ce:**[[image:edog06b.jpg width="202" height="137" align="right" link="Canines"]]

The breed of dog know as the Pharaoh Hound, despite the name, has no conclusive links with ancient Egypt. The dog (which is from the Mediterranean nation of Malta and originally known as Kelb tal-Fenek, or "rabbit hound") was renamed in the 20th century in order to boost its popularity.

The Canines of Ancient Egypt