Culturally Significant Companions
An Analysis of Human-Animal Relationships in Greek and Roman Literature
Focusing on three connected texts, which range from technical treatises to poetry, I explore the emerging emotional intimacy between humans and large working-animals, particularly in times of crisis. First, I explore the arc of horses and humans becoming war companions by changing their own natures to match each other in Xenophon’s On Horsemanship. Xenophon presents a leadership-type relationship with horses that appears fairer due to its direct engagement with hierarchy. I then turn to Vergil’s Georgics, examining how farm animals are rendered emotionally and sympathetically significant during an epic plague, highlighting a firm interdependence of humans and animals, but also an unstable hierarchy of whose lives are valued when we consider the enslaved perspective. Vergil provides a model for companionship with livestock animals who at first glance do not fit neatly in the companion species framework. Finally, I analyze Vegetius’s Digesta Artis Mulomedicinae to show an early instance of the moral consideration of animal emotions in veterinary care that serves to deepen the human-animal bond. Yet, Vegetius’ focus on animal emotions and healing them despite the painful procedures also shows an imposition of human emotions onto animals and medical paternalism that continues to be an issue in veterinary practice. Ultimately, my research highlights a historical moment when human lives were more deeply intertwined with animals, and challenges models of human-animal fellowship.
From my dissertation, I investigated the emotional connection between humans and animals in veterinary interactions. At the University of Zürich’s conference Human-Animal-Studies in Classics: Emotions in early September, I analyzed Vegetius’ interpretation of animal pain in “Animal emotions in ancient veterinary medicine.” This paper is scheduled to be published in a conference anthology through De Gruyter (planned for 2027).
One Health in Hippocrates
Article in progress
This paper discusses how the Hippocratic work Airs, Waters, and Places influenced a prominent U.S. scientist of the nineteenth century who was at the root of One Health, the idea that human, animal, and environmental health are interdependent (CDC). This paper will also explore how effective this classical connection is, as well as the effectiveness of One Health. Calvin Schwabe was a parasitologist trained in veterinary medicine. He wrote Veterinary Medicine and Human Health which is full of “practical recommendations for the joint practice of human-non-human medicine” (Schwabe 163).
In Veterinary Medicine and Human Health, Schwabe traces the appearances of veterinary medicine and the idea of One Health in history. Schwabe brings up the Hippocratic work Airs, Waters, and Places to highlight examples of how a physician might use their analysis of the environment in their diagnosis. Schwabe states, “Hippocrates was one of the first epidemiologists, one of the first persons to apply the ecological approach to medical problems of populations” (Schwabe 568) termed “One Medicine” which later became One Health in 2003 following the global outbreak of SARS in 2002 (Schwabe 194).
My investigation of Schwabe and his book revealed how Hippocrates inspires scientists and scholars who promote environmentalism and interdisciplinary medical practice, albeit they often misinterpret ancient works and perpetuate problematic agendas such as environmental determinism. Examining classical connections in medical agendas is imperative for a critical understanding of the current state of medicine and to close the gap between classics and STEM.
Refugee Children in Greece (2017)
During study abroad, I researched the different ways the government and grassroots groups have provided educational opportunities for refugee children in Greece in 2017. This research was concerning the success of the Greek government’s program to educate the refugee children within the Greek state. The process of researching this subject was very eye-opening and valuable.
I visited the refugee camp in Rhitsona, a refugee housing called the Welcommon Project, and a refugee community center called Khora. I spoke to refugees and volunteers regarding their past experiences and thoughts on education. Many spoke about the difficulties in accessing educational programmes, but how invaluable education is to looking toward the future.
I also interviewed Nikos Filis, the former minister of education and the creator of the program to educate refugee children, who enlightened me on the statistics and government’s perspective of the refugee crisis and the program. Filis stated the goal of the education program is to teach students the Greek language, another foreign language and, if possible, their own mother language. In sum, several organizations and government groups were attempting to address the concern of education among the refugee population in various ways and with varying success.
Classical Reception in Contemporary Art
During my graduate studies, I analyzed how artists from marginalized backgrounds have engaged directly and indirectly with classical themes to discuss race, oppression, misogyny, and colonialism. From that project, I plan to produce publications around a few authors. First, will engage the artist Jane Jin Kaisen and her poignant work Loving Belinda (2006-2015). Kaisen’s work considers her identity as a transracially and transnationally adopted woman through a mockumentary chronicling an Asian American couple’s journey adopting a white Danish girl, elucidating the complexity of adoption and cultural identity.
I plan to continue this research by bringing Kaisen’s work into conversation with ancient ideas of identity, adoption, and race, particularly in connection with Roman declamation and imperial culture. My future research plans also include investigating how Stephanie Syjuco and her work Vanishing Point (2021) enables us to reflect on how the ancient civilizations of Greece and Rome were used in the formulation of this country. Syjuco’s work considers how the past haunts us through monuments and commemorative statuary through draped “five historically charged 19th-century objects” with sheer cloth and lit the pieces in the cloth evoking the ghosts of our history’s past haunting the present day, including a bust of a founding father.
Tashi Treadway 