Dog

Irawaru

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Tradition / Region: Māori Mythology
Alternate Names: —
Category: Dog

The Myth

In the ancient stories of the Māori, Irawaru is remembered as the origin of the dog.

He was the husband of Hinauri, who was the sister of the trickster hero Māui. One day Māui and Irawaru went out together, and during their time together Māui became angered with his brother-in-law. Some say Māui envied Irawaru’s success in fishing. Others say he was offended by Irawaru’s greed, or angered when Irawaru refused him a cloak. Whatever the cause, Māui resolved to punish him.

When they returned home, Māui seized Irawaru and stretched out his body. He pulled his limbs until they changed shape, lengthening and bending them. In this way he transformed the man into the first dog.

Afterward, Hinauri searched for her husband and asked Māui where he had gone. Māui told her to stand and call out, “Moi! Moi!”

When she called, a dog came running toward her. Only then did she realize the truth — that the animal was her husband, changed by Māui’s hand.

Overcome with grief, Hinauri left the world of people. She cast herself into the sea, into the domain of Tangaroa, and was not seen again.

Other traditions tell that long after these events, when the voyager Kupe reached Aotearoa, three sacred dogs came with him from Hawaiki. These were not ordinary animals but spirit guardians. They were sent to the far northern headland to watch over the path of souls, guiding the dead as they departed for the afterlife. The people who settled there later became known as Ngāti Kurī, the people of the dogs.

From these stories it is remembered that dogs were not merely animals but sacred companions. They guarded homes, warned of danger, and stood watch against unseen spirits, bound to humankind since the first transformation of Irawaru.

Gallery

Sources

Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Irawaru. In Wikipedia, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irawaru

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Hecuba

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Tradition / Region: Greek Mythology
Alternate Names: Hekabe
Category: Dog, Transformation figure, Tragic queen

The Myth

Hecuba was the queen of Troy, wife of King Priam and mother of many children. During the war with the Greeks, her sons and daughters were slain, and her city was destroyed. When Troy finally fell, she was taken captive by the victors and led away into slavery.

In one tale, as she was handed over to Odysseus, grief and fury overcame her. She cursed him, snarling like a wild beast. Because of her rage and the depth of her suffering, the gods transformed her into a dog. In this form she escaped her captors, and it is said that the goddess Hecate later took her in as one of her sacred companions.

Another story tells that her transformation came after an even greater sorrow. When the war ended, Hecuba learned that her daughter Polyxena had been sacrificed at Achilles’ tomb. Soon after, the body of her son Polydorus was discovered on the shore, murdered despite having been sent away for safety. Seeing the corpses of her children, the queen’s mind broke beneath the weight of grief. She cried out and howled like a dog, and her voice lost all human sound.

In some tellings, this madness became a true change. Driven beyond reason, she threw herself into the sea. There she was transformed into a she-dog with blazing eyes. Her body was later said to rest at a place called Kynosema, the “Dog’s Grave,” a headland known to sailors who passed that shore.

Yet another version says that after her transformation she did not perish, but was taken by the goddess Hecate. The goddess made her one of the spirits that follow her, a canine presence moving between the world of the living and the dead.

So Hecuba, once queen of mighty Troy, was remembered not only for her sorrow, but for the strange fate that turned her from a grieving mother into a creature of the night.

Gallery

Sources

Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Hecuba. In Wikipedia, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hecuba

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Dog King

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Tradition / Region: Danish Mythology, Swedish Mythology, Icelandic Mythology
Alternate Names: Raka, Rakke, Rakken, Saurr
Category: Dog: Mock king / royal animal

The Myth

In the old northern histories, there are tales of a strange and humiliating rule — the time when a dog was made king over men.

One version tells that after the deaths of the Danish rulers Haldan and Helgi, the Danes fell under the power of a foreign king from Sweden. Instead of sending them a prince or governor, the conqueror sent them a small dog and commanded that it should be their king. He warned that anyone who brought him news of the dog’s death would pay with his life.

The Danes were forced to accept the animal as their ruler. For a time the dog was treated with ceremony and obedience. But one day, when larger dogs began fighting, the small royal dog leapt among them and was torn apart.

No one dared announce what had happened. At last a herdsman named Snyo went to the foreign king’s court. Speaking in riddles and clever words, he maneuvered the king into declaring the dog dead himself. Because the king had spoken it, Snyo was spared and was then made king of Denmark in the animal’s place.

Another northern tale tells of a conqueror who invaded Norway and defeated its aged ruler. To shame the defeated people, he placed a dog upon the throne and ruled the country through officials who acted in the animal’s name. The dog was surrounded by nobles and guards, and strict laws were given that anyone who failed to show it proper honor would be punished. Thus the land was forced to bow before a beast.

A further story speaks of King Eysteinn, who conquered the region of Trondheim. After the people killed the son he had set over them, the king returned in anger and gave them a cruel choice: they must take either his slave Thorer or his dog Saurr as their new ruler.

Believing a dog would be easier to endure, the people chose Saurr.

The dog was treated as a true king. He was given a golden collar, a throne, attendants, and a great hall to dwell in. Judgments were issued in his name, and decrees were marked with the print of his paw. For three years the land lived under the rule of the animal king.

At last wolves broke into the fold where Saurr was kept and tore him to pieces. So ended the strange reign of the dog king.

Yet the memory of these tales remained strong enough that poets spoke of the time when men bowed to a dog, and songs were even sung in honor of the beast who had once worn a crown.

Gallery

Sources

Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Dog king. In Wikipedia, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_king

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Argos

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Tradition / Region: Greek mythology
Alternate Names: Argus
Category: Dog

The Myth

Argos was the hunting dog of Odysseus, king of Ithaca.

He had been bred as a strong and swift hound, and while Odysseus was still young, the dog was raised with care and trained for the hunt. Though the king departed for the Trojan War before they could hunt together, Argos grew into a fine dog. In those days he was used by other young men to track deer, wild goats, and hares, and none could outrun him.

But Odysseus did not return when the war ended. Years passed, and then more years still. Believing their master dead, the household fell into disorder. Servants grew careless, and the palace filled with arrogant suitors seeking the hand of Odysseus’s wife, Penelope.

With no one left to care for him, Argos was cast aside. Once a proud hunting dog, he was left to lie neglected outside the palace. Old age overtook him, and he lay upon heaps of dung near the gates, his body weak, his fur matted, and parasites clinging to him. There he waited, barely able to move.

Twenty years after he had left home, Odysseus at last returned to Ithaca. The goddess Athena disguised him as an old beggar so that he might enter his own house unseen and judge the situation within.

As he approached the palace with the swineherd Eumaeus, Argos lay nearby. Though nearly blind and too weak to rise, the dog heard the voice of his master. At once he knew him.

Argos dropped his ears and began to wag his tail. He tried to rise, but his strength failed him, and he could only stretch out where he lay.

Odysseus saw the dog and knew him as well. Yet he dared not show recognition, for fear of revealing himself too soon. Turning his face aside so that Eumaeus would not see, he wiped away a tear.

He asked the swineherd about the dog, speaking as though he were a stranger. Eumaeus told him that the animal had once belonged to Odysseus and had been unmatched in the hunt, but since the king had gone to Troy, no one had cared for him.

As they spoke, the two men went inside the palace.

Argos, having seen his master return at last, closed his eyes. His watch was over. There, at the gate of the house he had guarded all his life, the faithful dog died.

Gallery

Sources

Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Argos (dog). In Wikipedia, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argos_(dog)

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Aralez

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Tradition / Region: Armenian mythology
Alternate Names: Arlez, Yaralez (Haralez)
Category: Dog

The Myth

The Aralez are winged, dog-like spirits spoken of in Armenian tradition. They are said to descend from the sky onto the bodies of fallen heroes. By licking the wounds of the dead, they are able to restore life to those whom fate has taken in battle. Because of this power, they are remembered as beings tied to war, kingship, and the hope that a great warrior might yet rise again.

Their most famous appearance is in the tale of Ara the Handsome, the legendary king of Armenia.

Ara was renowned for his beauty and strength, and his fame spread far beyond his kingdom. The Assyrian queen Semiramis, called Shamiram, heard of him and desired him for herself. She sent envoys offering riches and power if he would come to her, but Ara refused, unwilling to abandon his homeland.

Enraged and determined to possess him, Shamiram gathered her army and marched against Armenia. She commanded her soldiers not to kill Ara, but to capture him alive. Yet in the chaos of battle, he was struck down and killed.

When the fighting ended and Ara lay dead among the fallen, Shamiram was filled with grief and fury. She ordered that his body be taken and placed high upon a platform. Then she called upon the Aralez, the spirits who revive the dead. She prayed that they would descend from the heavens, lick the wounds of the slain king, and restore him to life.

It is said that she waited, hoping the winged spirits would come and raise him again, but Ara did not return to the living.

Stories of the Aralez did not end with Ara. In later times, when the noble Mushegh Mamikonian was killed, his relatives placed his body upon a high tower. They believed that if the corpse were left exposed to the sky, the Aralez might descend and bring him back to life, just as they were once called upon for the ancient king.

Because of such beliefs, towers and high places were sometimes linked with the hope that the Aralez might come, for they were thought to travel from the heavens and seek out the fallen who were worthy of resurrection.

Thus the Aralez remain in Armenian memory as sacred beasts of the sky, watchers over the dead, who come only for heroes whose fate may yet be undone.

Gallery

Sources

Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Aralez (mythology). In Wikipedia, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aralez_(mythology)

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Adlet

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Tradition / Region: Inuit mythology Canadian Mythology, Greenlandic Mythology
Alternate Names: Erqigdlet, Adlit
Category: Dog, Hybrid

The Myth

The Adlet are a race of beings spoken of in Inuit tradition. They are said to be taller than ordinary people and to live inland, away from the coast. Their form is half human and half dog: from the waist up they resemble a man, but their lower bodies are those of dogs. They run swiftly across the land and are often remembered as fierce enemies of humankind. In some stories they are cannibals, and encounters with them are dangerous and violent.

Their origin is told in an old story about a young woman named Niviarsiang, who lived with her father, Savirqong. Though many men wished to marry her, she refused every suitor. Because she would not take a husband, people came to call her “she who would not marry.”

At last, instead of choosing a man, she took a dog as her husband. The dog, named Ijirqang, had white and red spots on his coat. From this strange union ten children were born. Five of them were fully dogs, but the other five were unlike any people before them: their upper bodies were human, while their lower halves were those of dogs. These children were the first Adlet.

Ijirqang did not hunt, and the household was soon starving. The hungry children cried constantly, and Savirqong, their grandfather, was forced to bring them food. At last he grew weary of this burden. He carried his daughter, her husband, and their children out to a small island and left them there, saying that he would provide meat if the dog swam to shore each day to fetch it.

To help her husband, Niviarsiang hung a pair of boots around Ijirqang’s neck so he could carry the meat back across the water. The dog swam to shore as instructed. But when he arrived, Savirqong did not fill the boots with food. Instead, he filled them with stones. Weighted down, Ijirqang drowned in the sea.

When Niviarsiang learned what had happened, she sought revenge. She sent her young dogs across the water to attack her father. They gnawed off his hands and feet as punishment for killing their father.

Later, when Niviarsiang herself came near Savirqong in his boat, he seized his chance. He pushed her overboard. She clung to the side, trying to pull herself back in, but he cut off her fingers one by one. As they fell into the ocean, each finger changed form and became a sea creature. From them came the seals and the whales that fill the waters.

Fearing that her father might next destroy her strange children, Niviarsiang sent the Adlet away from the coast and into the interior lands. There they multiplied and became a great inland people.

Her dog children she placed in a makeshift boat and sent them across the sea. It is said that when they reached the far shore, they became the ancestors of distant northern peoples.

From that time on, the Adlet lived inland, remembered as swift, powerful, and dangerous beings whose blood was both human and animal.

Gallery

Sources

Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Adlet. In Wikipedia, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adlet

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Prikulich of Stolzenberg

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Tradition / Region: Romanian Mythology
Alternate Names: Prikulitsch; The Stolzenberg Dog Fiend
Category: Dog

The Myth

One night, a villager was walking along the path near the clay pit known as the Leimkel. As he paused beside one of the deep holes, something suddenly tumbled out into the path. It was a thick, black creature, as large as a wolf, rolling from the pit and plunging into the ditch beside the road.

Terrified, the man folded his hands and began to pray the Lord’s Prayer. The prayer protected him, and the creature did not approach. Later he learned what it had been — a Prikulich.

He saw the being again in Stolzenberg itself, once more around midnight. He had just come from his mother’s house when a dark shape slipped out of a courtyard and crossed the street only a few steps in front of him. Its large, dark eyes rolled strangely in its head as it passed.

People in the village said the creature was none other than a Galician Jewish tradesman who had settled there. At night he wandered in the form of a beast, and many claimed to have seen him fighting with the village dogs. They said this was why the man’s face was often torn and scratched.

Once, the gendarmes seized him and stabbed him until he bled. At that moment the creature’s power broke, and he stood before them again in human form. Instead of cursing them, he spoke with relief:

“Thank you for doing this to me. Now I am redeemed.”

Gallery

Sources

sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Der Prikulitsch in Stolzenberg. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/rumaenien/siebenbuergen/stolzenberg.html

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Prikulich of Giesshübel

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Tradition / Region: Romanian Mythology
Alternate Names: Prikulich; The Dog Prikulich
Category: Dog

The Myth

In the village of Giesshübel there once lived a reckless young man known for chasing after the maids and living without restraint. One day, when he returned home, something uncanny happened. As he entered, he suddenly flipped over, and in that instant he was no longer a man but a white dog marked with grey spots.

From then on, the creature lived a double existence. By day the dog stayed quietly in the stable, keeping out of sight. But each night, when midnight came, it slipped out into the street. There it ran through the village and fought fiercely with the other dogs, as if driven by some restless and savage urge.

One night, when the dog returned home, his mother was waiting. Suspecting what he truly was, she struck him in the side with an awl. At the touch of the iron, the dog tumbled over once, twice, and a third time.

With the last turn, the animal vanished, and the young man lay there again in human form, freed from his strange condition.

Gallery

Sources

sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Der Prikulitsch in Giesshübel. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/rumaenien/siebenbuergen/giesshuebel.html

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Prepelitsch

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Tradition / Region: Romanian Mythology
Alternate Names: —
Category: Dog, Shapeshifter

The Myth

Near Agnetheln, a young married couple once worked together in the fields. When their drinking water was gone, the husband told his wife he would fetch more. Before leaving, he warned her that if a dog should come and attack her, she must defend herself bravely.

No sooner had he gone than a large dog appeared and rushed at the woman. It was fierce and relentless. She fought back as best she could, struggling to drive it away, but the beast managed to seize her apron and tear off a corner before finally running off across the fields.

Some time later her husband returned with the water. As she turned toward him, she froze in horror. Caught between his teeth was the very piece torn from her apron.

From that moment it was clear that the dog had not been an ordinary animal, but the man himself in another form.

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Sources

sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Prepelitsch. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/rumaenien/siebenbuergen/prepelitsch.html

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Bachhund of the Stöckelter Moor

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Tradition / Region: Luxembourg Mythology
Alternate Names: Moor Hound, Black Dog of Stöckelts
Category: Dog

The Myth

Near the Stöckelter Moor, which lies between the districts of Sandweiler and Itzig, people long believed that an evil spirit dwelt in the marsh. This being was called the Bachhund.

It was said to roam the heights of Stöckelts at night in the form of a large black dog. At times, a terrible roaring could be heard across the moor and in the surrounding woods, a noise that rose like a distant thunderstorm and filled the place with dread.

One story tells of a woman from Kontern who, near the moor, heard someone calling out “Hoo! Hoo!” Thinking it was a lost traveler, she answered with the same call. The exchange happened three times. But when she called out the third time, a large black dog suddenly leapt from the air beside her and stared fixedly at her. Terrified, she hurried away as fast as she could.

Thus the Stöckelter Moor was remembered as a place haunted by the Bachhund, whose presence was feared and whose roaming was said to continue even in later times.

Gallery

Sources

sagen.at contributors. (n.d.). Der Bachhund. In sagen.at, from https://www.sagen.at/texte/sagen/luxemburg/Bachhund.html

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