Dogs in Mythology - Tales from the Ancient World
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Pets, Pals and Psychopomps
Psychopomps appear in many and diverse forms, but no form has more impressed us than that of the Dog.
The Significance of the Crossroads
Denoting a Threshold
The crossroads serves as a liminal space,a threshold, where the veil between the worlds is thinner.
You may meet a ghostly hound at the crossroads, his natural place, for he is beloved of Hekate, the Queen of Night. For the pathways of Hekate are the pathways of the night.
Accompanied by barking dogs, she leads a ghostly retinue, and awaits you at the crossroads.
Hounds of Annwn
The eerie Cwn Annwn
In Welsh mythology, Arawn rides with his white, red-eared hounds (the Cwn Annwn or Hounds of Annwn) through the skies in autumn, winter, and early spring.
The baying of the hounds is identified with the crying of wild geese as they migrate, and the quarry of the hounds are the souls of the damned, being chased back to Annwn.
Although visible to earthly dogs that howl with fright when encountering the Cwn Annwn, the Hounds of Annwn can't be seen by ordinary human beings.
But we can certainly hear them (I pray that you do not!)
Do dogs have supernatural abilities?
Fact or superstition
While we may no longer believe that dogs can see the death-bringing hounds of Annwn or are aware of Hecate at the crossroads foretelling death, our faithful companions are credited with the ability to detect ghosts, and their barking, whimpering or howling is the first warning of supernatural occurrences.
When a dog howls in an otherwise silent night, it is said to be an omen of death, or at least of misfortune.
My grandmother used to say that a howling dog at night meant somebody close would be very sick.
The Guardians
Dogs are natural guardians
Hercules capturing Cerberus
Dogs are natural guardians.
Hades' guard dog, Cerberus, was carried up from the Underworld by Heracles in one his Labours. The similarly-named Cerbura is the three-headed infernal dog of the Krishna legend and a faithful dog named Katmir remained alert and guarded seven Muslim boys while they slept for 309 years.
Some black dogs are said to be unquiet ghosts of wicked souls, but others are friendly guides and protectors to travelers.
The Ancient East
Association with the Threshold
Early Sumerian people paid homage to the dog-headed goddess Bau and she has a close parallel in Anubis of Egypt.Bau, principal goddess of the Lagash area, was associated with healing, and her alter ego was a dog. (Her name is onomatopoeic, it sounds like a barking dog - try it!).
Anubis is portrayed as a man with the head of a jackal-like animal.
Unlike a real jackal, his head is black, representing his position as a god of the dead. There is a beautiful statue of him as a full jackal in the tomb of Tutankhamun.
Anubis was a psychopomp, said to guide the souls of the dead for their judgement.
Both gods are associated with death and the liminal zone.
Another Egyptian Deity
Ghostly Hounds
Dogs in folklore and legend
These canine guardians can be frightening too.There are many instances of black dog ghosts haunting lanes, bridges, crossroads, footpaths and gates, particularly in England and the Isle of Man. Packs of ghostly hounds have been recorded all over Britain, often heard howling as they pass by on stormy nights rather than actually seen.
In the folklore of old Europe, the dog is seen as both the guardian and consumer of dead spirits, as in the 'Wild Hunt' where a pack of dogs with a master of the hunt flies through the sky looking for lost souls. He also turns up in Egypt, Siberia, and North America.
According to the Vedic mythology of ancient India, the dead must pass by the four-eyed dogs of Yama, king of the dead, and Greek mythology tells of the dog Cerberos, popularly endowed with three heads, who watches the entrance to Hades and there is the Egyptian Anubis, with the head of a dog.
The Celts have their legends also, of white, red-eared hounds. But the concept of the underworld watchdog reached its fullest and most complex expression among the Germanic peoples.
;
These hounds generally foretell death if they are seen and to be safe, you must drop face-down onto the ground to avoid the sight of them
.The Phantom Black Dogs of Britain
And a dreadful thing from the cliff did spring,
and its wild bark thrill'd around,
His eyes had the glow of the fires below,
'twas the form of the spectre hound ..
Whatever the origin of the Black Dog, beware of him, for it is said he is still to be found in the wild lonely places of North England today.
The Black Dog pub in Bouley Bay, Jersey, where a monstrous black dog is reputed to haunt the locality
In Yorkshire he is known as The Barguest and is most commonly a huge black dog with large eyes and feet which left no prints.
The Black Dog most likely originated from the Vikings who feared the hound of their god Odin All-Father, and brought their tales and lore to England.
The name Shug seems to go back to Old English (at least pre-1000 CE). In the Old English epic poem Beowulf, the monster Grendel is described as a Scucca (demon)- would Scucca have been pronounced like Shuck? The poem also says of Grendel that him of eagum stod ligge gelicost leoht unfaeger , 'a fire-like, baleful light shone from his eyes'.
Sounds like the Black Shug to me.
Black Shug, from 1577
Tales of the Black Dog
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GaelicForge
Jan 6, 2012 @ 2:49 pm | delete
- Dogs were very important animals in the ancient Celtic societies. Dogs were bred and cared for as members of the family.
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Sherry
Dec 28, 2011 @ 11:15 pm | delete
- looking for legends on dogs that walk on their back legs like a person, have long snout and are sinister in appearance that disappear quickly and make eye contact before doing so.
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jimmyworldstar
Dec 26, 2011 @ 3:42 pm | delete
- Interesting facts! I heard of the Cerberus from reading about Greek mythology. It makes sense they would be the guardians of the underworld because dogs have been used as guards for such a long time.
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Lucy2004
Dec 10, 2011 @ 5:36 pm | delete
- very interesting and entertaining
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skeffling
Nov 15, 2011 @ 12:02 pm | delete
- Excellent and fascinating! Lens blessed.
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About Susanna Duffy
by susannaduffy
There's something magical, even eerie, about dogs ... especially black dogs
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