The Greyhound, Favored pet of Kings, sporting companion of the gods. Superior rabbit hunter to farmers, and cherished pet of children. The greyhound has played many parts throughout the centuries. It's easy to see why, both now and then, the greyhound is truly a prince of dogs.
The Greyhound has always been the prince of dogs, and the dog of princes. It's claimed descent from the desert dogs of the pharaohs and the Arabian sheiks; and has been so enthusiastically documented by writers on the breed that you begin to wonder sometimes, whether they are trying to compensate for the less than regal image of the Greyhound today. It is almost as if the canine historians feel that the medium of millions of dollars and pounds of betting turnover needs a few smart relations from the past. These ancient dogs of the Egyptians and Arabians were the companions of princes. They rode on his camels, wore his lucky charms and amulets, and most significantly in a nomadic culture, shared his tent.
There is no doubt from archaeological remains that a dog very similar to the Greyhound existed in the middle east 4,000 years ago. Whether this was definitely the root stock from which sprang the Greyhound, the Saluki, and the Afghan Hound would be difficult to establish. We know from nineteenth century paintings of Greyhounds that art can take some dreadful liberties with reality, and the dog on the walls of Egyptian tombs and on Greek vases could well be a dead ringer for the greyhound - or any other hunting long dog. (A long dog being a dog with a long body, greyhounds, wolfhounds, etc.)
The accepted wisdom is that the Greyhound
type originated in Egypt, spread through Arabia, then fanned out through Persia in the east to Russia and India, and through Greece in
the west, passing through Imperial Rome on its way
to the edges of the Empire in Britain and Ireland.
