Xorijiy lingvistika va lingvodidaktika –
Зарубежная лингвистика и
лингводидактика – Foreign
Linguistics and Linguodidactics
Journal home page:
https://inscience.uz/index.php/foreign-linguistics
The image of the dog in early written literary sources
Gulmera KURBONOVA
1
Samarkand State University named after Sharof Rashidov
ARTICLE INFO
ABSTRACT
Article history:
Received October 2024
Received in revised form
10 November 2024
Accepted 25 November 2024
Available online
25 December 2024
The dog is considered the first domesticated animal by man,
and its use as an image in stories and epics dates back to 2150-
1400 BC. The Epic of Gilgamesh from ancient Mesopotamia is the
earliest written source that reflects the image of a dog. After that,
the image of a dog began to appear in cultures of various periods.
In Egypt, the dog was deified, and the Vendidad section of the
ancient Persian holy book "Avesta" also specifically mentions
dogs. In Greece, there was a school of Cynicism, and the works of
Socrates "Republic" and Homer "Odyssey" also include the image
of a dog. This article focuses on the image of a dog in the earliest
known oral and written sources of humanity.
2181-3701/© 2024 in Science LLC.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47689/2181-3701-vol2-iss6
This is an open-access article under the Attribution 4.0 International
(CC BY 4.0) license (
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.ru
Keywords:
Epic of Gilgamesh,
Avesta,
Vendidom,
Cynic school of philosophy,
Socrates' dialogue
"Republic",
Homer's "Odyssey",
"Mahabharata".
Ilk yozma adabiy manbalarda it obrazi
ANNOTATSIYA
Kalit so‘zlar:
“Gilgamish” dostoni,
“Avesto”,
“Vendidod”,
Kinizm falsafiy maktabi,
Suqrotning “Respublika”
dialogi,
Gomerning “Odisseya” asari,
“Mahabharat”.
It insonning eng birinchi qo‘lga o‘rgatgan hayvoni hisoblanib,
uning hikoya va dostonlar ichida obraz sifatida qo‘llana
boshlashi miloddan avvalgi 2150–1400-yillarga borib taqaladi.
Qadimgi Mesopotamiyaga oid Gilgamish dostoni it obrazini
o‘zida aks ettirgan eng dastlabki yozma manba hisoblanadi.
Shundan so‘ng it obrazi turli davrlarda madaniyatlarda paydo
bo‘la boshladi. Misrda it ilohiylashtirilgan, qadimgi forslarning
muqaddas kitobi “Avesto”ning Vendidod qismida ham itlarga
alohida to‘xtalib o‘tilgan. Yunonistonda kinizm maktabi mavjud
bo‘lgan, shuningdek Suqrotning “Respublika” va Gomerning
“Odisseya” asarlari ham it obrazini o‘z ichiga oladi. Ushbu maqola
insoniyatning hozirda ma’lum bo‘lgan eng dastlabki og‘zaki va
yozma manbalarida uchraydigan it obraziga e’tibor qaratadi.
1
Doctoral student, Samarkand State University named after Sharof Rashidov. E-mail: Asalakbarova97@gmail.com
Xorijiy lingvistika va lingvodidaktika – Зарубежная лингвистика
и лингводидактика – Foreign Linguistics and Linguodidactics
Special Issue – 6 (2024) / ISSN 2181-3701
34
Образ собаки в первых письменных литературных
источниках
АННОТАЦИЯ
Ключевые слова:
Эпос «Гильгамеш»,
«Авеста»,
«Вендидод»,
философская школа
цинизма,
диалог Сократа
«Республика»,
«Одиссея» Гомера,
«Махабхарата».
Собака считается первым животным, прирученным
человеком, а использование ее в качестве образа в рассказах
и былинах датируется 2150–1400 годами до нашей эры.
Эпос о Гильгамеше древней Месопотамии – самый ранний
письменный источник, содержащий образ собаки. После
этого образ собаки стал появляться в разных культурах. В
Египте собаку обожествляли, а в вендидодской части
древнеперсидской священной книги «Авеста» конкретно
упоминались собаки. В Греции существовала школа
цинизма, а «Республика» Сократа и «Одиссея» Гомера также
содержат образ собаки. В данной статье основное внимание
уделяется образу собаки, встречающемуся в самых ранних
известных устных и письменных источниках человека.
In the oldest story in the Near East, the Epic of Gilgamesh in ancient Mesopotamia
(dated 2150–1400 BC), dogs feature prominently as companions of one of the region's
most popular goddesses; the goddess Innana (Ishtar). Seven hunters travel with their dogs
in the forest. Although dog collars were invented in Egypt, they originally appeared in
Sumer.
This suggests that the development of dog collars occurred in Mesopotamia, long
after dogs were domesticated before Egypt. Gold dog-shaped pendants (similar to the
Saluki breed) have been found in the Sumerian city of Uruk (3300 BC) dating back to 3000
BC. The fact that this pendant depicts a dog with a wide collar is further evidence that dog
collars were used at that time.
In the "Descent of Innana" (a story older than Gilgamesh) about the descent of
Innana (Ishtar) into the underworld, her husband Dumuzi keeps domesticated dogs as part
of his royal retinue. Dogs played an important role in the daily life of the Mesopotamians.
The historian Wolfram von Soden writes: "We can say that there were only two main
breeds of dogs: large dogs used mainly for hunting, and very strong dogs in the ancient
East (similar to the Great Dane and Mastiff). They were also able to fight smaller wolves
and were therefore very suitable for herding. Many smaller breeds are also mentioned in
the sources, but we can only partially identify them. The dog was often the companion of
the gods of goodness. [3:283] This historian also writes that the goddess of health and
healing, Gula, also emphasized the healing properties of dog saliva and was regularly
depicted in front of her dog.
In Mesopotamia, dogs guarded the home, and dog amulets, such as those at Uruk
mentioned above, were carried for personal protection. The famous Nimrud clay figurines
of dogs found at Kalhu were buried on or near the thresholds of buildings for their
protective power. Five other dog figurines have been found in the ruins of Nineveh, and
inscriptions tell of the dog's protective power against danger.
The ancient Persians also associated dogs with divinity. The Avesta (Zoroastrian
scriptures) includes a section known as the Vendidom, which discusses the benefits of
Xorijiy lingvistika va lingvodidaktika – Зарубежная лингвистика
и лингводидактика – Foreign Linguistics and Linguodidactics
Special Issue – 6 (2024) / ISSN 2181-3701
35
dogs, how dogs should be treated, punishments for those who mistreat them, and the
afterlife consequences of those who abuse or neglect them. Indeed, dogs guard the bridge
between the worlds of the living and the dead; how a person treats a dog during life is said
to affect their chances of entering heaven. Therefore, people were encouraged to care for
dogs as they would for other people. Dogs were buried like humans and played an
important role in human funeral ceremonies.
Cynicism was a philosophical school in ancient Greece, the name of which means
"dog" in Greek. Its followers were called Kynikos (dog-like) because they were determined
to follow the one path, not to deviate from it. The great Cynic philosopher Antisthenes
trained in a place known as Kynosarge (place of the white dog), which is probably another
reason for their name.
Dogs are also depicted in Socrates' famous dialogue "The Republic", and in the
second part of the dialogue, Socrates argues that a dog is a true philosopher, because he
"distinguishes the face of a friend and an enemy only by the criterion of knowledge and
ignorance" and concludes that dogs must love to learn, because they determine what they
like and what they dislike only based on knowledge.
The most famous story about dogs in ancient Greece is that of Argos, the loyal friend
of Odysseus, king of Ithaca, in Book 17 of Homer's Odyssey (c. 800 BC). Odysseus returns
home after 20 years in distant lands, and thanks to the help of the goddess Athena, he is
not recognized by his wife Penelope, nor by the others who are trying to win his heart.
Argos, however, recognizes his master and, having waited faithfully for so many years,
wags his tail and caresses him. Odysseus, afraid that his true identity will be revealed, does
not pet the dog and ignores his old friend. Argos, however, returns to his place and dies.
This story, like the Mahabharata, a Hindu epic from 400 BC, highly values the loyalty
of dogs. Although the two stories are told in different cultures and hundreds of years apart,
the dog is depicted as a loyal friend to its master.
In ancient Rome, dogs were valued as guardians of the home, as they had been in
previous cultures. The great Latin poet Virgil wrote: "If dogs are on guard, you need not
fear at all that thieves will break into your shops at midnight" [1:404], and the writer Varro,
in his work on country life, says that every family should have two kinds of dog, a hunting
dog and a guard dog. [2:21] Dogs were believed to protect people not only from wild
animals and thieves, but also from supernatural threats. In Rome, the dog began to appear
in mosaics, paintings, poetry, and prose.
Thus, dogs were popular in many cultures of the ancient world and were largely
accepted as they are today. Dogs were seen as loyal companions, hunters, guardians,
spiritual guides, and valued family members. Because dogs evolved alongside humans,
they are now considered capable of understanding us more deeply than many animals.
REFERENCES:
1.
P. Virgil Maro, Georgics, Book III, line 404
2.
Varro, De Re Rustica I.21
3.
Wolfram von Soden. The ancient Orient. An introduction to the study of the
ancient near East. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co, Published February 11, 1994. 283
pages.
