Animals “as if”. Animal Similes and Greek Philosophical Discussion on Animals

What is it about?

Ancient Greek writers employed various literary devices of analogy to acknowledge similarities between humans and non-humans, including metaphors, metonymy, comparisons, similes, and parables. Epic animal similes in Homer feature animals depicted in a lively manner, which can seldom be considered as humanizing them. Instead, they can be viewed as poetic representations of animals qua animals, influencing the way animals were depicted in Greek literature in general. Epic similes were later utilized in the revival of the epic genre during late Antiquity, particularly in the hunting and fishing epics attributed to the two Oppians. Like Homeric similes, Oppianic ones portray animals with emotions, such as agony and joy, suggesting that they have lives of their own. While they compare human and animal situations, they also innovatively (though not uniquely) reverse the comparison, shifting the perspective to that of the animal. Although some Oppianic animal similes may appear highly anthropomorphic, they also reflect an epistemological humility regarding our understanding of animal behavior and our attempts to comprehend the non-human mind. It seems that philosophers observed non-human animals from an external perspective, focusing primarily on differences in an effort to identify the defining quality or qualities that belong only to humans and are absent in other animals. In this article, I suggest that, although epic animal similes may encourage us to see similarities rather than differences between ourselves and other animals, they could also have influenced philosophers to regard the capacities of animals as merely “as if” compared to those of humans. A well-known critique of this attitude appears in Plutarch’s De Sollertia, where the speaker argues, particularly against the Stoics, that animals do not merely “as if” feel or “as if” remember, and therefore “as if” live; they live in the proper sense of the word.

Featured Image

Why is it important?

Greek poetry and philosophy influenced each other both in their literary devices and in their portrayal of animals. However, literary works may also highlight the challenges of perceiving and interpreting animals, and by extension, the difficulty of describing them.