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14
LucynaKostuch
IntheGraeco-Romanwold,foxesrarelyperformedareligiousrole.Infact,
theyplayedaroleinonlyoneRomanritualheldtoworshipthegoddessCeres,
whichinvolvedtyingatorchtothefox)stail.
Iftheancientsourcesaretobebelieved,humanssometimesusedtheabil-
itiesofthefoxforpracticalpurposes.Allegedly,theTraciansusedfoxesto
checkthethicknessofice,becausehumansnoticedthattheseanimalspress
theireartotheicebeforecrossingafrozenwaterbodyandlistentothemur-
muroftherivercurrents23.Also,atalewastoldaboutAristomenes,thechiefof
theMessenians,whowasshownthewayoutofaquarrybyafox24.
Generallyspeaking,theancientauthorsmentionedthefoxmostlybecause
theanimalwascommonlyattributedwithcunning,insidiousness,malicious-
ness,andperfidiousness,andconsequently,withpracticalintelligence(mētis)25.
LetusaddthatinPhysiognomica,humanswithredhairwereattributed
withvillainy,duetoanassociationwiththefox26.
Aroundthefox’sden
Unfortunately,theancientsourcestelluslittleaboutthefox)sden.Aesop)s
tale,knownalsoinaLatinversionbyPhaedrus,tellsastoryoffoxcubsbeing
kidnappedfromthedenbyaneagle;thedenitselfis,however,notdescribed27.
TesametaleisfoundintheextantfragmentsofArchilochus)spoetry,which
alsodonotprovideadescriptionofthefox)sshelter28.Teancientauthors,
whenwritingaboutthemythicalvixenbredtobecometheTebans)undoing,
whichlaterhadadogsetuponher,triedtolocatethedenneartheBoeotian
mountaincalledTeumessus29.InoneofHerondas)smimes,theprotagonist
L.Llewellyn-Jones,TeCultureofAnimalsinAntiquity,p.367,seehowever:K.T.Witczak,
Martial)slagalopex<Long-EaredBat),„ClassicaCracoviensia”21,2018,pp.195-207;seealso
theparagraph:Domesticationofthefoxinthisarticle.
23
Plinius,Naturalishistoria8.42;Aelianus,DeNaturaanimalium6.24,ed.A.F.Scholfield,
London-CambridgeMass.1958-1959.
24
Plinius,Naturalishistoria11.70;Pausanias,GraeciaeDescriptio4.18.6-7,eds.W
.H.S.Jones,
H.A.Ormerod,London-CambridgeMass.1918.
25
Forexample:Aristophanes,Pax1067,eds.F.W
.Hall,W
.M.Geldart,Oxford1907;Aristote-
les,Historiaanimalium488b,eds.L.Peck,D.M.Balme,London-CambridgeMass.1965-
1991;Aelianus,DeNaturaanimalium4.39;6.24;6.64;13.11;see:M.Detienne,J.-P
.Vernant,
Lamétisdurenardetdupoulpe,„Revuedesétudesgrecques”82,1969,pp.291-317.
26
Pseudo-Aristoteles,Physiognomica812a,ed.W
.S.Hat,London-CambridgeMass.1936.
27
Aesopus,Aesopica1;Phaedrus,Fabulae1.28.
28
Archilochus174-181,ed.M.L.West,Oxford1971,rev.ed.1989.
29
Forexample:Apollodorus,Bibliotheca2.4.6-7,ed.J.G.Frazer,London-Cambridge
Mass.1921;Ovidius,Metamorphoses7.762-792,ed.F.J.Miller,London-Cambridge
