Though Greece is traditionally seen as an agrarian society, cattle were essential to Greek communal life. This title explores why these animals mattered to the Greeks, how they came to be a key element in Greek thought and behavior, and how the Greeks exploited the symbolic value of cattle as a way of structuring social and economic relations.

Includes selections translated from the Ancient Greek.

"In yet another instance, Princeton University Press must be commended for making an important, powerfully argued book available at a very reasonable price. . . . [T]his book must be a worthwhile accession to major college and university libraries, where all interested in the lately flourishing field of human-animal relations as well as antiquarians who study Greek religion and/or other early cultural-civic institutions and ancient economy may wish to consult it, if in fact they do not take advantage of its attractive price to acquire it for themselves."---Victor Castellani, European Legacy