Did Odysseus have a dog and what kind was it?

Answer 1

Odysseus did have a dog named Argus. Odysseus did not take Argus to Troy, the dog stayed in Ithaca, where he was badly neglected. When Odysseus returned to Ithaca Argus was still alive and was the only one to recognize the returning king. Argus wagged his tail and immediately died--he was only waiting for his master to return home.

Ancient breeds of dogs were not comparable to modern ones, so Argus would not be the same breed as any modern breed. However, he would almost certainly have been some kind of large hunting hound. I imagine him as looking much like a modern wolfhound, but of course there's no telling what he actually looked like.

When I say "actually," of course, I'm using the word very loosely. There were certainly kings in ancient times, although not much like the kings we think of in the medieval and modern world. Hunting has been a popular sport for royalty and aristocracy down through many centuries. There is no real proof that Odysseus, Argus, Ajax, Hector, or any of them were real. The Iliad and Odyssey may well be based on actual events and people, however, and if Odysseus was ever real, he would have had hunting hounds. Big ones, since the best animals to hunt were boars, stags, wolves, lions, (yes, in Greece, that long ago--meaning 1150-1250 BC) etc. Retrievers hadn't been "invented" yet. Archaeology books or books on the history of domestication of dogs can show you pictures of hunting dogs from ancient times.

Answer 2

yeah his faithful old dog that dies at his feet after greeting him one last time.

Answer 3

argos