Cats in Athens

Funeral Monument (Circa 430-420 BC)

In the National Archeological Museum in Athens, a particularly moving display examines the private funerary monuments of the first decade of the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC). Many of the monuments created for children depict the child accompanied by their toys or dogs. Often the child will hold an object aloft and the dog will be jumping after it. In several other monuments, the dead are depicted shaking hands with their friends and relatives. One that I found particularly moving was of a young man, mourned by his young attendant and his cat. Unfortunately, the sculpture of the cat is damaged. The inclusion of animals on peoples’ funeral monuments is a reminder of the importance of pets to humans, whether today or two and a half millennia ago.

A friendly resident of Athens I met near the Acropolis

Walking around central Athens, what one could classify as “homeless” cats lounge and rely on humans for food and affection. They roam the backstreets and avenues drinking from dishes left by their human neighbors. Several cats are amenable to a quick scratch behind their ears and reciprocate by nuzzling humans’ hands. It is nice to think that the cats’ ancestors and the human who lived here 2,500 years ago knew one another and offered each other support and affection.