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40 Animals that Changed History

Tim Flight November 5, 2019 26 min

Medieval Dogs - Dog — King John of England with his dogs, England, c.1307-27. British Library

34. Fighting roosters inspired Greek soldiers to save their country from the Persians

Mosaic depicting fighting cocks, Pompeii, 1st Century AD. Rome Art Lover

The great Greek general, Themistocles, is most famous for being a commander in the Battle of Marathon (490BC). This battle saw the Greeks soundly defeat the Persians, and marked a turning point in the Greco-Persian Wars. According to the historian Aelian, however, Themistocles had some surprising assistance. Leading his men to Marathon, he spotted a pair of fighting cocks, and made an impromptu speech to his troops. ‘These undertake this danger, neither for their Country, nor for their Country Gods… but that they may not be worsted, or yield one to the other’. Themistocles’s words certainly did the trick.

Written by

Tim Flight

I am a freelance historical and literary writer based in West Yorkshire, UK. I read for a funded PhD in English at the University of Oxford (Magdalen College) and graduated in 2016. I am a former lecturer in Medieval English Literature at Royal Holloway, University of London. My publications include peer-reviewed articles in academic publications, and pieces in mainstream magazines such as History Today and Fortean Times. For more information, please see www.drflight.co.uk