ExtinctZoo - Extinct Animals The Ancient Romans & Greeks Saw

Episode Date: September 14, 2024

The ancient Greeks & Romans did a lot during their times, spreading far and wide, which also led them to seeing a lot too. These sights included landscapes, other civilizations, and even exotic animals too, some of which are sadly no longer around today….

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Fit for your ambition for Citizens Bank. Since the dawn of humanity, vast amounts of civilizations have arose across the globe, each with their own distinct culture, beliefs, and military. And while each one is integral to history and fascinating with their own regards, there have been a few that have gripped people's imaginations more than others. Some of these include ancient China, Egypt, the Mayans, and so forth. But perhaps the two that amystify people the most are ancient Greece and Rome, whose histories were extremely entwined thanks to their geographical closeness.

Through these two civilizations, the world saw many great inventions, people in art. And at the same time, they and themselves saw a lot of the world, as both have roots that trace far back. With the Roman Empire starting out in 753 BC, while some think that ancient Greece, has a history that extends to 3,200 BC, with the cyclatic civilization. And along with being old, both achieved significant expansion too, which resulted in their presence being seen in Europe, Asia, and Africa. Naturally, this led them to encounter many things now lost to time,

including these six long-gone animals. The first creature up is one that many civilizations encountered, but few chose to write about, the Orak. Thankfully, the Romans and Greeks are one of the same. small handful who detailed their extensive history with the Oroch, which is considered to be the wild ancestor of domestic cattle, as well as one of the largest animals to have lived during the Holocene, with large adults regularly weighing over one and a half tons. To go along with their body size, orrocks had giant skulls and horns too, which were supported by powerful necks,

giving them quite an intimidating appearance. Their personality, based on records, seems to have complemented this rough appearance as well, as they were described as highly aggressive of animals, especially for a herbivore, that showed no mercy during gorings and it would even kill their own kind during competition. To most, these would be enough reasons to steer clear of orrochs. But to the Greeks and Romans, it only made them more interesting to hunt. And the hunting of orrochs seems to been widespread across both civilizations, with oroc horns in particular being of extreme interests, which were used as hunting and drinking horns. Their powerful personas made them the perfect gift to notable individuals as well.

And in the case of the Greeks, horns were routinely offered at temples, with Philip V of Macedon, having given horns to the Temple of Hercules on multiple occasions. Romans, on the other hand, seem to have done less offerings to gods and heroes, and instead preferred to utilize the Orox might in Venatios, a kind of sport in Roman arenas which involved the hunting of wild animals, where it proved to be a very economic choice given its wide range across Afro-Eurasia. Clearly, the oracle got the short end of the stick when it came to its relations with humans. Yet its prowess in size did lead to it gaining occasional upper hands,

as demonstrated by a cup found in Vafio-Gris, which dated to the Mycenaean age. Its engravings depicted a hunting scene where an orac had turned onto the hunters themselves, flinging one of them to the ground while impaling the other with its giant horns. And while being the best example, this cup is not the only demonstration of aurocks getting a last laugh, as they also far out survived the ancient Greeks and Romans, with the last known individuals only dying out 397 years ago in 1627, after a string of human overhunting and habitat loss led to an end to this tempered bovid. But the Oroch wouldn't be the only menacing animal to have encountered the Greco-Roman civilization,

as during the ancient ages, Europe was still home to one of the mightiest predators around, the lion. Now, even though lions are still present on Earth, the ones seen in Europe are not, Though what they were specifically is blurry, meaning we aren't sure if they were a local population of an extent of subspecies or a distinct subspecies. Though, artistic impressions indicate that at the very least, they were a bit distinct in appearance, notably having less developed mains. Even the famed Roman author, Pliny the Elder, pointed out some differences, as in the first century he commented on how European lions were stronger and more robust than those found in Syria or Africa. And besides looks, their range was of course different too, with the European population being heavily concentrated in the southeastern part of the continent, especially ancient Greece,

leading to lions and Greeks running into each other quite a bit. And it seems that most of these encounters were not peaceful ones, as old art often depicted humans taking down lions in grand hunts that stretched far back into Greek history, with one of the oldest examples coming from a Mycenaian dagger dating to 1500 BC that showed four individuals killing a lion. These hunts were especially popular among nobles, and even Alexander the Great got in on some of the action, as according to a 4th century BC mosaic. It wasn't all about hunting, though, as historical accounts tell of the usage of these lions within special games.

Most interestingly, the ancient Olympics, where humans were occasionally pitted against lions. One prominent case comes from the Greek traveler, Bosanias, who tells of how Polydamas, Oskotusa, one of the Olympic winners, managed to kill a lion with his bare hands in the 5th century BC, while another lion was apparently killed by a trophy thrown at it while it was running down Mount Olympus. This may make it sound like all Greeks were overpowered Terminators. Yet other writings suggest that in general, European lions were clearly the top dogs, or cats, rather, with Aristotle himself stating that while lions were common in North Africa, they appear to be more of a problem in Greece, approaching towns and praying an elderly,

people, as well as those with poor dental hygiene. So, brush your teeth. And it wasn't just commoners who got the short end of the stick sometimes, as Falikos, a tyrant of what is today Arta, was allegedly killed by a female European lion after he picked up a lion cub during a hunt. Not even armies appear to have been safe. For when Zirxes of Persia invaded Greece, it's reported that European lions disrupted movement by preying on wandering soldiers and the army's camels. These antics definitely left an impression on the Greeks, and lions became revered for their might, often showing up in art and mythology, with the Nemean lion, who fought Hercules being probably the most famous mythological lion. The Greeks obviously had a close relation with European lions,

but the Romans, despite not living side by side with them, also had their fair share of run-ins, as they were prime choices for exotic animal trade to support their gladiatorial games, with Greece, in fact being one of the biggest sources. This had a profound, impact on lion populations, and basically all that wound up in Rome never made it out, either being used to fight voluntary armed men or to dispatch people condemned to death by beasts. As a form of execution, it was said that a lion was turned loose on naked and unarmed prisoners who seldom put up any meaningful fight. An observers report that frequently a single lion would take out multiple men, with one notable lion even having managed to kill over 200 people.

Of course, though, if the humans were armed, the lions had a much worse time. And over the course of the Roman Empire, thousands were killed. Pompey alone is said to have killed 600 lions for a single event, and it wasn't even uncommon for emperors to do the killing themselves. With communists, for example, having dispatched 100 lions on a single day. Unfortunately, European lions weren't the only ones to suffer, as Romans also had Barbary lions shipped in as well, another extinct feline in the wild.

Thankfully, we do know more about this fallen cat, which was a distinct population of Panthera Leo Leo, who inhabited the deserts and mountains of the Maghreb in Africa. Modern reports before its extinction say that the Barbary lion was about 37% heavier than modern ones and had large, lush manes that stretched from their heads and necks to their bellies. Their striking appearance in size made them one of the more favorite spectacles in Rome, where along with games they were often used in lion baiting, A cruel sport where lions were pitched against dogs. Yet this game may have been more punishing for the dogs, who were almost always outclassed.

Lions were also pitched against other exotic animals, and were routinely starved in order to make them more aggressive. And their extensive use has often led to researchers wondering if the Romans had a hand in either the Barbary or the European lion's demise. Most think that they didn't impact the Barbary Lion too much, though, as they survived well past the Roman Empire, only succumbing in the 20th century after the widespread introduction of firearms. On the other hand, it is widely agreed that the extinction of the European lions may have been their doing, with their quote-unquote games taking out large portions of the population. However, we don't know exactly when they died out in Europe. And the last word on them came during the second century AD,

when lions were reported to still live east of the Nestos River in Thrace. The urge of the Romans to acquire exotic animals not only made them frequently encounter lions, but also the other now extinct feline, the Caspian tiger. While alive, this large cat was primarily native to Iran, Mesopotamia, Turkey, the Caucasus, and was partially found in other regions of Asia too, including Afghanistan and China. Studies on its remains suggest that its closest living relative is the Siberian tiger, and the two were remarkably similar, including in size, with Caspian tigers weighing around 240 kilos or 530 pounds. Some individuals even reached exceptional sizes, as one killed in Azerbaijan was reported to measure 11.8 feet or 3.6 meters from head to tail, longer than the longest recorded Siberian tiger.

This giant specimen was further described as being equal in size to the local horses. It said that despite being alike in stature, Caspian tigers differed from their Siberian counterparts by possessing brighter and more uniform coats that grew longer as well. With such size and presumably striking coats, the Caspian tiger no doubt left a lasting impression on Greco-Romans. Yet their first run-in with the tigers wasn't with the Caspian, but rather the still-breathing bengal tiger, who was first spotted by the Greek physician Stesias won India during the 5th century BC. However, he described it as being a mantacore, a mythical animal, which he depicted as a feared man-eater that could kill great numbers of men, and was both supernaturally fast and agile.

Later Greek historians would go on to generally agree that this Manticor was really an exaggerated account of a tiger. And the next confirmed case of another Greek singing tiger wouldn't come until 326 BC, when Alexander the Great was presented with tigers in India during his conquests. It's thought that he viewed these creatures with great respect and awe. Yet since he was in India, the large cats were presumably still Bengal tigers, and Bengals would continue to be the main tiger in Greco-Roman history, as they were the first tigers to be displayed in Athens and then Rome in 11 BC, where they were said to have been savage.

It isn't until around 43 BC that we get what could have been the first mention of Caspian Tigers, after the Roman author Varro seems to have indirectly mentioned Caspian Tigers in Armenia that were feared for their savagery, speed, and up until the point of his writing, had never been captured alive. After this brief mention, not much else is said on the mysterious extinct tiger until 100 years later, in 43 AD, when geographer, Pomponius Mella, wrote that these extinct tigers were frightfully fast, being so swift that even men on horses were not safe. He also wrote how capturing tiger cubs at that time had become popular, but it was seldom successful given the Caspian tiger's

ferocious maternal instincts that was only quelled if the cub was returned or if the writer managed to enter a heavily populated town. This sentiment was further pushed by Pliny the elder roughly 35 years later, who said that the Caspian tiger was an animal of frightening speed, equal to a swift arrow, and could overtake even the fastest of horses. He also mentioned that in attempts to outpace tigers, cub trappers would often switch horses to ensure maximum stamina, and yet still, the tiger would catch up. To get an edge, Pliny said that people decided to take multiple cubs at a time, who were then slowly released one by one to slow down the mother tiger, allowing for at least one cub to be taken.

Based on other sources, it seems that it was this speed, an extreme eternal instinct, that made Caspian Tigers somewhat of a legend in Graco Rome, with some even using it as an inspiration for being a good parent. While less reported, it's thought that in addition to being good mothers, own it all. Pay off your home, travel for life, drive a Ferrari. In celebration of the world premiere of the Monopoly Big Board Buckslot Machine by Aristocrat Gaming, Yamava Resort and Casino at San Manuel is giving.

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Co-pilot shows Hank where the money's going and which little extras make the dollar slice work. Now, Hanks has a line out the door. Hank makes the pizza. Co-Pilot handles the spreadsheets. Learn more at M365 copilot.com slash work. Caspian tigers were ambush hunters who primarily preyed upon deer and pigs, though we're not hesitant to go after other animals as well, including other predators, such as jackals and jungle cats.

And during winters, it's thought to have turned on livestock and domesticated dogs for calories. Even elephants, namely in Syria, were prone to attacks. But according to this Roman Syrian mosaic, it didn't always go as planned for the Caspian tiger. Runans may also have occurred with the Asiatic lions as well, though the relationship between the two is poorly understood. Overall, the Caspian Tigers' trades made it a hit amongst people and fan favorites in Rome. Yet they were much more limited than lions, not because of population necessarily, as they were said to be extremely plentiful in the forests of Hercania. Rather, they were just very hard to catch, leading to them being a rare sight.

Still, though, certain Roman emperors were successful at gathering large amounts, with comidus having killed one himself, and the lag of Baylis, killing 51 within a day, a record amount, according to authors of the time. It's within these games that people further describe the Caspian tiger as being being at its largest, twice the size of a lion, and so strong that even when tamed, a group of four men could not prevent one from attacking and mauling a fully grown mule. Circumstantial evidence seems to also suggest that in force fights against other animals, the Caspian tiger was quite favored, namely against lions, though no detailed accounts

on such fights are known of. Suffice to say, though, these tigers' impressiveness left a mark on Greco-Roman society, they often inspired bravery and courage. Like the Barbary line, the Caspian tiger seemed to escape extinction during the Greco-Roman period, but it did not make it to the present, with its extinction likely having nothing to do with its usage in the Roman Empire, but rather Russia's colonization of Turkestan. During colonization, the tiger was hunted en masse for its skin or to prevent livestock loss, and with the invention of firearms, its speed was no longer an obstacle. Additionally, much of its habitat was eventually converted to cropland or cleared for settlements, adding more fuel

to its demise. And by the mid-1950s, it was critically endangered. Then slowly from then to now, populations disappeared from their last strongholds, with the last sighting coming from Afghanistan's Lagman Province in 1997, when it was reported that two Caspian tigers were captured. However, their fates are mysteriously unknown, and it's thought that the war in Afghanistan may have cleared out what little remained of the Caspian tiger. And while Gion, its ferocity has given it a respectable legacy, but not every animal has to be fierce to be interesting, and this includes one fascinating, albeit harmless creature that may have been encountered by the oldest Greek civilizations, and that is the dwarf elephant of Tilos. Tilos is one of Greece's many islands,

and it was here that fossils belonging to a fairly tiny elephant were located. Studies in the bones suggested that they had belonged to the paleooxidon, and now extinct genus of elephant, which was composed of over 10 different species, all ranging in size and distribution. Ironically, some species of paleoloxidon are absolutely giant, were the biggest even being considered the largest known terrestrial mammals. However, certain populations of these giants would occasionally migrate over various land bridges during times of lower water levels, and then find themselves marooned on islands once the water rose again. And on these islands, with limited resources, the elephants eventually shrunk, experiencing insular dwarfism, and soon enough,

various dwarf species emerged. These new species made up the smallest elephants ever, with the smallest kind, paleo-oxidon falconary, sometimes being less than one meter or 3.3 feet tall. However, it died out before the Holocene, meaning the Greeks never saw it. Though one type, Paleoloxidon Tilliansis, could have been seen, as some individuals were dated to just 1840 BC, making it not only the last known dwarf elephant, but also the last elephant in Europe, period. And this date also puts it within the time frame of the Minoans, and possibly the Mycenaans, assuming it survived a bit longer than its last fossil. Its range also fits, as Telos, where it lived, was visited and at least temporarily inhabited

by both groups. And while there is no direct evidence of interactions, it's definitely plausible that if they did meet, that the elephant was likely hunted, since large adults were still smaller than small oron. There is even speculation that their disappearance was due to human exploitation, with the fact their population was likely already small given the size of the island. That being said, they might have endured longer than we typically think. As weirdly enough, a mosaic out of Egypt of all places has been cited by some as being evidence for their survival and association with humans.

Specifically, an art piece from some time in the 1400 BCs shows a group of Syrians presenting tribute to Egyptians. One of the gifts appears to be a miniature elephant, dubbed by certain researchers, to represent a dwarf elephant, and thus implying that they were definitely around during the time of the earlier Greeks. Keep in mind, though, that this claim is very controversial, and many other animals have been proposed to represent this enigmatic animal, including a pygmy mammoth. It's fun to imagine the ancient Greeks running into dwarf elephants, and speculating on their reactions. But what we don't have to imagine is there, or the Romans' experiences, with another extinct proboscidian, the North African elephant. This was a distinct subspecies of African

bush elephant that inhabited certain parts in North Africa, and is believed to have evolved approximately 11,700 years ago during the start of the Holocene. Due to its ancestry, the North African elephant was no doubt big, although not as large as its living relatives, with estimates giving it a shoulder height of 2.5 meters or 8 feet, making it roughly 39% smaller than African bush elephants. Nevertheless, its height still made it much bigger than anything the Greeks or Romans saw before. However, like the tiger, their first run-in, at least for the Greeks,

came from an elephant still alive, the Indian elephant, which was first seen by Alexander the Great and his army in the early 300 BCs during his time in India. There, he both faced them in battle and was presented with them as gifts. It's thought that he regarded these elephants with respect and awe given their mighty sizes, and very quickly adopted them into the military. The lines are blurry, but between then and 300 BC, the Greeks encountered North African elephants, with the likeliest possibility being that they were met once the Tollmake Empire,

in ancient Greek polity, was established in Egypt in 305 BC. There, North African elephants became integrated once more into armies through large rating parties that would conduct wide-scale searches for elephants to be captured, with many coming from the Kushite kingdom. During this time, elephants were considered in many ways as living tanks, and were revered for their size and imposing appearance. However, they were still described as being gentle, easy to tame, and highly intelligent, actually being likened to the intelligence of a human, or at least being the smartest non-human animal. their seemingly friendly traits did not protect them from being exploited.

And in 280 BC, North African elephants found themselves in mainland Greece, when 20 it had been given to Pyrus of a Puris for his war against the Romans. This was an important moment in history, as it marked the first time elephants returned to Europe after originally having gone extinct there. And it also marked the first time Romans saw North African elephants, or any elephant, for that matter. Historical accounts paint a disastrous meeting between the two, as the Greeks were their giant elephants defeated the Romans during the Battle of Heraclea, who were terrified by the, quote,

ugliness and sheer sighs of the elephants. Their horses, too, were frightened and fled before even engaging the elephants. It's also worth mentioning that the Romans described them as having a strange smell and were disturbed by their trumpeting sounds. With this defeat, whispers of elephants soon reached Rome, where they quickly mystified and became regarded as undefeatable giants. The army, however, was in some ways optimistic, as they held unto the belief that no animal, no matter its size, was superior to man in intelligence. Additionally, North African elephants had one crucial weakness, and that was their easily startled nature.

And this was witnessed just five years later in another battle, where a single elephant that had been injured by a javelin panicked and caused the entire collapse of the Greek's elephant unit, causing mayhem and their eventual defeat. In this loss, some were even captured and brought. to Rome for a victory parade, where it is said that civilians watched the elephants with greater pleasure than anything before, as it made them seem more like animals instead of indestructible monsters. It wouldn't be long, though, until the Romans would again face the subspecies, as Carthage famously used war elephants against Rome, most of which were North African elephants.

In fact, it's believed that all but one of the 37 elephants that crossed the Alps in 218 BC with Hannibal were of North African origin. Like the elephants before them, they had mixed success against Rome, but were eventually defeated, thanks to their startled nature, once more. After this point, the Roman Empire would slowly but surely use elephants themselves and start to describe their behaviors more, stating they were fierce protectors of their own and had voracious appetites that were quelled by the use of their trunks to gather large amounts of leaves. They also made some presumably exaggerated claims, including that they could live for 300 years,

and only mated once in their lifetime. Eventually, North African elephants were being widely used in the Roman military, but were also killed en masse for their ivory. Additionally, these long-gone elephants became extremely popular in the Roman games, as most exotic animals did, and they were regularly pitted against other animals, including each other. They fought humans too, and sometimes did so in one v-ones, which were reportedly the peak of a Bessiari's career.

Many stories about their usage in the games are known of, But one that sticks out was a battle between a North African elephant and an enraged rhino, in which the elephant achieved victory by apparently picking up a spear with its trunk and blinding the rhino. Unfortunately, while the elephant many times held the advantage, thousands still died. And one emperor himself, Augustus, saw the deaths of over 3,500 elephants during his reign. This extensive use, coupled with hunting, plus their role in war, proved too much for the North African elephants. and it disappeared going extinct sometime in the 4th century AD. Greco-Roman civilization also saw their fair share of another extinct animal somewhat associated with elephants,

and that was Stryotheos Syriacus, more commonly known as the Arabian or Syrian ostrich. This extinct flightless bird belonged to the common ostrich species, and was found throughout the Arabian Peninsula for the entirety of ancient history. Researchers think that it was extremely similar to the common ostriches alive today. and was only distinguishable by its size, as it tended to be a bit smaller, however, was still giant by bird standards, with adults being about seven feet or 2.1 meters tall. What we don't know, though, is when this flightless bird first met Greco-Romans, an issue that isn't helped by its similarity to other ostriches, as it led to historians rarely distinguishing between the subspecies.

Therefore, the best bet is that, once again, the first ostrich introduced to these ancient civilizations were of the still living kind, and were most likely encountered. through Ptolemaic Egypt. Nonetheless, as Greco-Roman influence spread throughout the Middle East, the Arabian ostrich assuredly became a large part of culture, being featured in the Venatio games and being used for gifts, especially its eggs, given their large size. Like others, many Arabian ostriches fell to humans.

Although uniquely and unfortunately for the Arabian ostrich, it seems that it became somewhat of a goal for people to try and headshot it, given its small and narrow head. And for more bad luck, it seems that out of all the ostriches, the Arabian kind was the preferred one to cook or process, as its meat was softer and its plumes more easily to manipulate. That being said, not all of its interactions with humans were bad, as it did become somewhat of a hit amongst naturalists, who were interested in its almost alienish look and features. Some described it as having had an extremely powerful neck and was large enough to be ridden,

while still being very fast despite its size. Other interesting reports reflect on its voracious appetite, as individuals would supposedly swallow anything they found, and would occasionally even die after eating rather questionable items, mainly man-made ones. Thankfully, for the Arabian ostrich, it did not have to worry much about encountering men or their creations, as their range was limited to areas that were deemed by Greco-Romans as unruly, making the ostriches in Africa much easier to import. And this played a large part in the Arabian subspecies survival, as they did relatively fine,

up until the mid-20th century, when both firearms and motor vehicles were introduced into its habitat. These two inventions essentially took away the Arabian ostrich's only advantage against humans, which was speed, allowing hunters to take out large groups in one go. At the same time, the Arabian Peninsula had been experiencing increased aridity for a while, leading to severe habitat loss. This all culminated with the Arabian ostrich going extinct sometime during the mid-to-late 1900s, with one of the last sightings consisting of two lone individuals who were killed by some hungry pipeline workers in Saudi Arabia.

And that about wraps it up, but given the sheer extent of Greco-Roman expansion, there are more extinct animals that could be included on this list, but their stories are for another time. Thanks for watching, and until next time. Enjoy more ways to save at Ralph's, like low prices in every aisle. And when you download the Ralph's app, you can clip and save more with digital coupons.

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