Animals in Roman Life and Art

Abstract

Professor Jocelyn Toynbee has produced the first comprehensive survey on this topic.It is a scholarly work, teeming with information which is all carefully documented in over 1,800 end-notes, and it is well very illustrated.There is first a general survey followed by a detailed consideration of animals from Roman literature and art, arranged by species.It is not, however, a complete account of the fauna of the Roman world, and some groups, such as insects and worms have been excluded, and fish, for example, are dealt with only briefly.Nor, of course, does the author attempt to compile a corpus of literary passages and artistic representations relating to animals.A veterinary surgeon, R. E. Walker, adds an appendix on 'Roman veterinary medicine' (pp.301-343).Altogether this is a remarkable work of reference which will remain the authorita- tive source for some time to come.It is, therefore, a pity that more attention could not have been made to animals in the history of Roman medicine: as experimental subjects in physiology, as dissecting material, as therapeutic agents, etc. Occasional reference is, however, made to animals associated with healing, such as the dog and the snake.Perhaps it was felt that the subject is large enough as it is.However, if an inaccurate author like Pliny is cited, it is a pity that the remarkable genius, Galen, who so encapsulated medicine that it remained in the form he gave it for thirteen centuries, and who spent much of his time with animals, alive and dead, is not referred to.The significance of the apparent absence of the rat might also have received some attention.When looking for these topics it becomes obvious how little the indices help.