Paw prints found on artifacts in the ancient Greek city of Heraclea (Herakleia) in today’s southwestern Turkey show that local inhabitants loved their animals.
The excavations unearthed artifacts such as figurative mosaics, oil lamps, bricks with paw prints, and tombs containing animal skeletons buried beside humans, which are considered indicators of the love for animals and nature among the people who lived in Heraclea 2,000 years ago.
Paw prints discovered on bricks in the Herakleia Ancient City in the Milas district of Muğla – Türkiye 🇹🇷
On 8th January 2025; the figured mosaics, lamps, bricks with paw prints and animal skeletons buried next to humans unearthed during excavations reveal the Herakleians’ love… pic.twitter.com/yLQhFIaltj
— Dr. M.F. Khan (@Dr_TheHistories) January 9, 2025
The ancient city located near Milas in the Mugla Province of Turkey was originally called Latmos. It was renamed Heraclea in honor of the mythical hero Heracles (Hercules) during the Hellenistic period when the region came under the control of the Macedonian general Lysimachus.
The city is surrounded by well-preserved Hellenistic walls that stretch over 6 kilometers, featuring 65 towers and gateways. It includes the ruins of a central marketplace that served as a hub of social and economic activity and the Temple of Athena. A small yet well-preserved amphitheater is also carved into the hillside.
During the Byzantine period, the area became a center for monastic life, with several hermitages carved into the surrounding mountains.
Latmos and Heraclea excavation director Gider Büyüközer said that Heraclea and the surrounding Latmos region are extraordinary due to their 500-million-year geological history and natural landscape.
People in the Ancient Greek city regarded animals as an integral part of their lives
Noting that the people of Heraclea utilized nature efficiently without damaging it while building their structures, Büyüközer said, “Archaeological excavations show that the people of Heraclea lived intertwined with nature, regarded animals as an integral part of their lives and expressed this love through art and rituals.”
She recounted that during the 2022 excavations in Heraclea, a dog buried beside a human was found in a cemetery near the southern Hellenistic tower.
“This reflects the importance Heraclea’s inhabitants placed on their pets. The preference of individuals to be with their dogs in the afterlife highlights how valuable dogs were to them and the strength of the bond they shared. Furthermore, we found paw prints belonging to dogs on many clay bricks from the Roman bath during the excavations,” she explained.
The approximately 2,000-year-old paw prints were created when the bricks were molded and laid out in the open to dry under the sun, during which domestic animals stepped on them, Büyüközer said. She added that these prints demonstrate the affection Heraclea’s people had for their animals and their close coexistence with them.
The love of animals in ancient Greece
Ancient Greeks loved and respected their animals especially dogs, cherishing them as companions, protectors and hunters, as evidenced by several dog tombstones discovered over the centuries.
The most well-known story of the relationship between Ancient Greeks and their pet canines comes from Homer and his Odyssey. Written as early as circa 800 BC, it is a story of the unending loyalty of dogs to people.
Argos is the loyal friend of King Odysseus. His master finally returns home after being away on his adventure for twenty years and is not recognized by the hostile suitors who are vying to win the hand of Odysseus’s wife, Penelope. However, Argos recognizes his master and rises up from where he has been faithfully awaiting him, wagging his tail to greet him.
The great philosopher Socrates himself saw wisdom in dogs. He claimed that dogs are true philosophers because they “distinguish the face of a friend and an enemy only by the criterion of knowing and not knowing.”
