The mythology I found is Argos in Homer’s Odyssey. Argos is Odysseus’
faithful dog. Odysseus has been exiled out of his homeland for twenty years and
eventually manages to come back. He only told this message to his son and no others
in order to make a “surprise attack on the suitors”. He disguises as a beggar
to blend in the crowd; however, when he passes by his home, his dog Argos, who
used to be strong, fast and superior in tracing. but now old and tired,
recognizes him in a moment and wags his tail to greet Odysseus. However,
Odysseus can’t greet his beloved dog because he has the surprise attack to
accomplish and can’t be recognized by anyone. He just walks by and leaves Argos
behind, but full of tears in his eyes. Argos, after seeing his owner, the man
he has been waiting for twenty years, dies. What is noteworthy is that Argos is
the only one who recognizes Odysseus; even Odysseus’ lifelong friend does not
recognize him when he disguises as a beggar.
It is hard to find what impact this
mythology had on people at Homer’s time, but a probable guess would be forming
the dogs’ images as loyal companions. However, scholars do argue that the story
of Argos reflects the usefulness of dogs and its worth of keeping as companions
in Ancient Greece. According to researchers, though a strong human-animal bond
was seen in this mythology, dogs were not merely pets at that time—they were
still initially kept for their functions. It reflects the relationship and
interactions between dogs and ancient Greeks and also acknowledges the good
characteristics of dogs and makes them more popular. To conclude, researchers
say dogs were regarded as “man’s best friend” at that time, but men still kept
an eye on them because ancient Greeks thought dogs were just one step from
wolves.
Here are some pictures of imaginative scenes of Argos and Odysseus's reunion.
As for the impact that this mythology may
have today, it emphasizes the human-animal bond between dogs and their owners
through portraying the precious loyalty that Argos exhibits. I think the images
of Argos greatly impacted (and is still impacting) how people view and interact
with dogs in the society. First of all, the deep bond between Odysseus and
Argos and the loyalty of Argos deeply impact the roles that dog play in the
society as faithful companion animals. This mythology, along with many other
similar stories, help form the view that dogs are passionate and trustful companions
of human beings, emphasize dog’s characteristics of loyalty, and strengthen the
dogs’ main “functions” in the society as companion animals that have special
bonds with human beings. At the same time, ancient mythologies like this one
also influence how dogs are depicted in modern literature and movies (virtual
image of dogs). Many modern literatures, like The Art of Racing in the Rain, and movies, like Hachiko: A Dog's Story, also focus on
the faithfulness and loyalty of dogs as well as the deep bond between them and
their owners, and the stories are just as touching as the story of Argos.
Sources
Used:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argos_(dog)
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/OdysseusArgos.jpg
http://arkanimalcentre.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/argos.gif
http://www.aaskolnick.com/argos/argos_odysseus.jpg
http://www.garthstein.com/arr/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1028532/
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-b8J2vhCzrEryrf6tBvFt9rFdM1hTm83Mw5SzbgVD995rfaqpccjIytLXUQAl2brCHGv_kRD7olkbTHB62_S-laOOhSGLeYdFdELszDTGgCpkrIHFxBYL7nKC5BAkrrsaGdsrORom_Es/s1600/hachiko+a+dog+story.jpg
http://www.garthstein.com/media/images/racing-cover.jpg
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