GREYHOUND TRIVIA.
Greyhounds were highly regarded by ancient Egyptians and often were mummified at death so they could join their masters in the after life.
It is argued that the Egyptian God Anubis the Guardian of the Dead has the head of either a jackal or greyhound type dog.
The birth of a Greyhound in early Arabian culture was second only in importance to the birth of a son.
Greyhounds are one of the oldest breeds of dogs. They are recorded in pictures dating about 8,000 years ago. Dogs similar in appearance to the greyhound appear appear in temple drawings from 6,000 BC in the city of Catal-Huyuk, Turkey.
Greyhounds are the only breed of dog mentioned in the Bible (Proverbs 30:29-31 KJV).
"There be three things which go well, yea, are comely in going; A lion, which is strongest among beasts, and turneth not away from any; A greyhound; An he goat also; and a king against whom there is no rising up."
The phrase that was translated from Hebrew literally meant "girt in the loins". As greyhound coursing was very popular in the Court of King James it was probably considered an appropriate description of the ancestor of the Greyhound.
Greyhounds appear in both Greek and Roman mythology.
The Greek Goddess Diana is often pictured with a greyhound at her side.
One of the best known mythological stories is of the hunter Actaeon. Actaeon happen to come across the Goddess Artemis, goddess of the hunt, bathing. Artemis in anger turns him into a stag who was then killed by his own 48 Greyhounds. The names of the greyhounds are Alce (strength,) Amarynthos, Asbols (shoot), Banos, Boreas, Canache (Ringwood), Chediatros, Cisseta, Corran (cropped), Cyllo, Draco (dragon), Dromas (the courser), Dromios (seize), Echnobas, Eudromas (runner), Harpies (tear), Inchoate (tracer), Labors (furious), Lacana (lion), Lachne (glossy), Lacon, Lampos (shining one), Lelaps (hurricane), Leucos (gray), Lyncea, Machimos (boxer), Melamp (black), Malachite (black haired), Melanea, Menelea, Molossos, Napa (wolf sired), Microphones (fawn killer), Docudrama (swift), Oresitrophos (mountain born), Oribasos (mountain ranger), Pachtos (think skinned),Pamphagos (hungry), Pomenis (leader), Pterelas (winged), Stricta (spot), Theravadas (tamer), Theron (savage face), thoos (swift), and Urania (heavenly one).
Ancient Greek coins and Art show short-haired hounds that are almost identical to modern greyhounds. This means that the greyhound breed has changed little since 500 BC.
Macedonian Alexander the Great (356-323 BC) favorite dog was a male greyhound named Perita. His beloved grey Perita died in battle while fighting an elephant. His brave dog was given a state funeral. A city was named after Perita and a statue was placed in the city’s square.
In Homer's “Odyssey,” Argus, Odysseus faithful greyhound was the only one to recognise Odysseus in disguise on his return to Ithaca after a 20 year absence. Argus had been waiting 20 years to see his master again. Old and decrepit, Argus did his best to greet his master by dropping his ears and wagging his tail, but due to Odysseus not wanting to be found out he ignored poor Argus. Argus having set eyes on his beloved master one last time, laid down and died.
The origin of the name “greyhound” is unknown, but most certainly is not related to color. The grey colour is refered to as 'blue' and only a very small percentage of greyhounds are blue, due to it being a recessive gene. The name greyhound may be drived from one of the folowing.
The Latin word "Gracillis" meaning slim/slender.
The Latin word "Graius" meaning Greek. The Saxon words "Grech" or "Greg" meaning Greek.
It may come from the old English "grei-hundr," supposedly "dog hunter"
It may also derive from the term "gazehound" another name for sighthound.
In the 10th Century, King Howel of Wales made killing a greyhound punishable by death.
King Canute 'The Great' (r. 1016-1035) wrote and enacted a the Canute Laws in parliament. The 31st law states "No meane person may keepe any greyhounds, but freemen may keepe greyhounds" The punishment for breaking this law should be the same as that for murdering a man.
Greyhound-like dogs appear in a hunting scene in the Bayeux tapestry.
Greyhounds were saved from extinction by Priests who bred them for the nobilty during the disease and famine of the Dark Ages.
In the Middle Ages and the Renaissance period, a white greyhound symbolized power and majesty.
Historians tell us that King John of England (of Magna Carta fame) would willingly accept greyhounds instead of taxes.
In heraldry the Greyhound - represents courage, vigilance, loyalty, and fidelity.
St. Guinefort - a 13th century marytr from Lyon, France who saved an infant from being killed by a snake - was a greyhound. The greyhounds Knight owner returned from hunting to be greeted by Guinefort who had blood around his mouth. Finding the room upturned and the infant missing, he wrongly accused the greyhound of devouring the infant and had the hound put to death. It was only after that the Knight realised his mistake on finding his son under an upturned cot next to a dead snake, that the Guinefort had in fact been protecting the infant. The family intured the greyhound in a well and set up a shrine in its honour.
The Monk in Chaucers Canterbury Tales spent large sums of money on his greyhounds.
Greyhounds he hadde as swifte as fowel in flight; Of prikyng and of huntyng for the hare Was al his lust, for no cost wolde he spare.
In 1486 Dame Juliana Berners, Abbess of Sopewell, and authoress of “The Booke of St. Alban’s,” penned the rhyming description of a greyhound.
The properties of a good greyhound.
A grehounde shold be heeded lyke a snake
And neckyd lyke a drake,
Footed lyke a catte,
Tayllyd lyke a ratte,
Syded lyke a teme,
And chynyd lyke a beme.
The fyrst yere he must lerne to fede,
The second yere to felde him lede,
The thyrde yere he is felowe lyke,
The fourth yere there is none syke,
The fyfth yere he is good enough,
The syxte yere he shall holde the plough.
The seventh yere he woll avaylle,
Grete bytches for to assaylle,
The eygthe yere licke ladyll,
The nynthe yere cartsadyll;
And when he has comyn to that yere
Have him to the tannere,
For the best Hounde that ever bytche had
At nynthe yere he is full badde.
Greyhounds accompanied Christopher Columbus when he set sail from Spain in September 1493 on his second expedition to the New World.
Greyhounds were a favourite of King Henry VII. His wife Anne Boleyn owned a pet greyhound named Satan.
During the Renaissance, Greyhounds were a favorite of royalty, including Queen Elizabeth I of England (1533-1603). She was so fond of her hounds that she had Thomas, Duke of Norfolk, draw up rules judging competitive coursing.
William Shakespeare mentions Greyhounds in 11 of his plays - The Taming of the Shrew, MacBeth, Much Ado About Nothing, 1 King Henry IV, 2 King Henry IV, 3 King Henry IV, King Henry V, Love's Labours Lost, Timon of Athens, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Coriolanius.
The Spaniard Conquistador Coronado (1510 – 1554) was acompanied all the way to present-day New Mexico by a greyhound.
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra wrote the novel Don Quixote in which the protagonist imagined that his flea bitten mutt was a fine Greyhound.
Owning a greyhound was the exclusive right of the nobility up until about 1700.
Joseph Banks brought 2 greyhounds along on Captain Cooks voyage to Australia aboard the ship The Endeavour in 1770.
In 1776, the Earl of Orford crossed the Greyhound with several breeds including the English bulldog to give us what is the modern greyhound.
Frederick the Great of Prussia (r. 1740 - 1786) asked in his will to be buried with his beloved greyhounds.
Australia issued a proclamation in 1804 ordering the destruction of all dogs, except for greyhounds and sheepdogs.
It is generally believed that every racing greyhound in America, Australia, England, and Ireland alive today can trace its lineage back to one dog, King Cob, whelped in England in 1839.
President Abraham Lincoln had a greyhound on his family coat-of-arms.
General George Custer coursed his pack of 14 greyhounds the night before the Battle of the Little Big Horn in 1876.
During his England ‘Wild West Show’ visit in 1889, Buffalo Bill (William Cody) bought a greyhound dog and bitch pup. The pups from the matings of these two greyhounds appear in the American Stud Book.
Prince Albert, the husband of Queen Victoria had a pet black and white greyhound named Eos.
American Owen Patrick Smith invented the mechanical lure in 1912. He opened his first greyhound track in Emeryville, California.
There was an American Company called Greyhound Motorcycles based in New York State in 1910.
The American make of car the Lincoln had a greyhound as its hood ornament for quite a few years.
In 1926 an American bus company was formed and name Greyhound was aquired due to a competition. The bus company in Australia has no relation to the American company.
If you look at a greyhounds paw you will see webbing between their toes. This is possibly an evolutionary leftover from running in the sands of Egypt thousands of years ago.
A Greyhound has 321 bones in its body.
A Greyhound has 55 bones in its tail.
A Greyhound has 22 teeth.
A Greyhound can see clearly for over a kilometre.
The Greyhound is one of the fastest living animals, second to the cheeter.
When running at top speed, the greyhound spends more than 75% of its time in the air, that’s almost flying.
The racing gait of the greyhound is a double suspension gallop, in which all four feet are off the ground twice during each full stride.
Due to greyhounds having a more universal blood type, they are often used as blood doners for other dogs.
Greyhound’s stereoscopic vision is great for seeing movement, but often fails in seeing stationary objects.
Greyhounds have 18 different primary colours and 55 colour combinations for their coats.
In the animated series "The Simpsons", the family dog 'Santa's Little Helper' is a greyhound.
In the video for the Nine Inch Nails song "The Perfect Drug", the lead singer, Trent Reznor holds the leash of a brindle greyhound.
If you own a greyhound you are in famous company. Some of the people who have owned greyhounds over time include Pharoah Amenhotep II, Pharoah Tuntankhamen, Pharoah Thutmose III, Queen Hatshepsut, Cleopatra VII, Alexander the Great, Frederick the Great, King John, Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, James II of England, Louis XV of France, General Von Stuben, Babe Ruth, Al Capone, Bo Derek, Jackie Gleason, Merv Griffin, Ed Sullivan, Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis, Jerry Lewis, Frank Sinatra, John Barrymore, Dean Martin, Leonard Nimoy, Jack Palance, Jane Goodall, Danny Thomas, and Betty White