Greek Pups

Welcome! It appears some of our Greek dogs are coming over to greet you in the Dog Park of the Afterlife. Hopefully they can spare a moment of fetch to tell us their stories.

A peppy, medium-sized mutt approaches you:

"Hi! My name is Argos! What's yours?! Oh, my life? Well, there isn't much to say there. I was a handsome fellow if I may add, and a loyal companion. When I was just a young hound, my human, Odysseus, had to leave and fight in the Trojan War. I sat around the family land lonely. Sure, my Odysseus had a tiny human, but that tiny human was busy with other things. Besides the house was taken over by mean strangers and I don't really like strangers. Except for you! But we aren't strangers now! Oh, anyway, I waited for ten years until I heard the war was over. I patiently and joyously awaited the return of my dear human, but I waited years, ten more to be exact. I was old, frail, and could not move. I lay in the barn covered in filth and fleas until one day I saw him! Well, it didn't look like Odysseus but it was him! He wore some silly costume. I could not get up to greet him nor did he try to greet me, but I wagged my tail and looked at him. At that point I understood, Odysseus could not pet me for he had a greater mission and was in disguise as an old man so he could save our home from those mean strangers. I succeeded in life. I protected my human and saw him home safe. I could finally leave the mortal world in peace, and so I did. I woke up here and in prime condition."

As Argos walks away, an athletic-looking hound emits a faint light as she comes up to you:

"I am Laelaps or Canis Major, but only astronomers call me that. In my time in the mortal world, I was a gift from Zeus himself to Europa, the queen of Crete (who was also the lover he kidnapped while disguised as a bull). She then gave me to her son King Minos. I lived in bliss as the best hunting dog ever. I always caught anything I sought after, which makes me great at fetch. One day Procris's husband, Cephalus*, borrowed me to hunt the Teumessian Fox. I love a good fox hunt. The problem with this hunt was that the Teumessian Fox could never be caught, but I caught everything. The hunt went on and on until Zeus himself was too confused. At that point the Fox and I were turned to stone and then later transformed into the constellations Canis Major and Canis Minor. When I am not guiding astronomers in the evening sky, I am here at the park playing fetch or chasing rabbits. It's a pretty sweet deal. Good chat, I smell a rabbit I must catch."

As Laelaps bounds away, the light around you dims. When you look up you see a large three-headed Cane Corso. This could only be one canine.

"I am the mighty Cerberus," the middle head says. One of the other heads drops a ball the size of a basketball at your feet. "The Pupper of Darkness demands fetch. I guess I should tell you what I do for a living. I guard the Greek Gates to the Underworld. No souls who are not dead come in, and absolutely no soul comes out. I am very good at my job. I think the large teeth do most of the work. When I am not guarding the gates to the Underworld, I like to come here and 'convince' visitors to play fetch with me. Speaking of, I believe you have my ball..."

Seems like these lovable canines are getting back to their own business. Let's visit some other dogs.

Author's Note:

I decided to have all the dogs tell their stories. It is a mythical afterlife, so why not? I chose to give each dog highlighted from Greek mythology their own personality. Argos is excited and loyal just as he was with Odysseus. Many of us are familiar with the Odyssey and all of Odysseus's adventures. However, all we know about Argos is that he died weak and frail in a pile of manure after waiting two decades for Odysseus to return. I wanted to give Argos his own point of view. I also purposely did not add any solo adventures. I did this to show how loyal Argos is, so loyal that he cannot bear to do anything else until he knows his human is safe and sound. I made him a peppy dog because he seems like the type that is just so happy is owner is back home from work no matter how sad or bored they were before. I made Laelaps a more refined type of dog. She is calm and well-mannered as she was meant to be a hunting dog not a lap dog. I wanted to give the feeling that she was a very proud canine, without being snobbish. I also gave her a sort of occupation beyond the Dog Park of the Afterlife. She also lives among the stars at night, just like the mythology states. Finally, I wanted Cerberus to be this big lovable, oaf who acts tougher than he is. I also gave him a tad bit of arrogance because, after all, he is the Lord of the Underworld's furry friend.