'The Odyssey’ dog is among the legendary pups of mythology
'The Odyssey’ dog is among the legendary pups of mythology
Maddie Rhodes, USA TODAYFri, July 24, 2026 at 9:56 PM UTC
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Movie theaters are selling out as people flock to see “The Odyssey” and its star-studded cast. The film included Hollywood icons like Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Zendaya, Anne Hathaway and Robert Pattinson, but one furry actor took on a role of his own.
A Portuguese podengo hit the big screen as Argos in the epic film, who *spoiler alert* waited 20 years for Odysseus to return home before dying beside his master.
While Portuguese podengo’s ancestors date back to 600 BC, Argos wasn’t the only famous dog during the time period. Throughout Odysseus’s arduous trek home, director Christopher Nolan made sure to bring the figures of Greek mythology to life during the nearly three hour movie.
Diving deeper into stories of sirens, nymphs, and of course gods, several ancient dogs had stories of their own.
The tales of dogs in Greek and Roman mythology
According to Dr. Sarah Linn, an expert in Mediterranean archaeology at the Penn Museum, Greek and Roman mythology are similar, with Greek coming before Roman mythology. During the time period of “The Odyssey,” which was believed to be written around the 8th century BCE and takes place in in the late Bronze Age, the epic referred to Greek mythology. That said, there are many pups in both Greek and Roman mythology.
Cerberus: The three-headed dog
You may have heard of the three-headed dog that guards the gates to Hell. According to Perseus Digital Library, which translates Greek and Roman mythology to English, some writers refer to Cerberus as the hound that guards the gates of Hades, where the dog allows people to enter, but never lets them out. In "The Odyssey," Odysseus summons the dead, but he never entered Hades and encountered Cerberus.
Linn said dogs were often seen in the Bronze Age and mythology as protectors, often guarding the house. In this case, Cerberus guards the underworld. Cerberus didn’t get any screen time, but the dog is prevalent in old stories like "Orpheus in the Underworld," along with new ones like "Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief."
Laelaps: The dog turned into stone
Argos’ breed in the movie is historically considered a hunting dog, but there’s actually another dog whose claim to mythical fame was its hunting prowess. Laelaps was a dog gifted to Procris from Minos. It was considered a dog that could catch anything, according to James George Frazer's translation of "The Library" by Pseudo-Apollodorus.
Laelaps was sent to chase a fox that was terrorizing the Cadmea, a citadel. However, the fox was fated that no one could catch her. With the paradox of the dog that could always catch something chasing a fox that couldn't be caught, Pseudo-Apollodorus wrote that Zeus turned them into stone to resolve the situation.
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She-wolf of Rome: The 'symbol of the city'
One of the most well known dogs whose story is still told around the world today is the she-wolf of Rome. According to Livy’s “Ab Urbe Condita,” where an ancient historian details the history of Rome, a king cast twins Romulus and Remus to be abandoned in the river. A she-wolf found them floating in a basket and fed them until they were rescued. The twins ended up founding Rome.
The iconic sculpture featuring a wolf with the twins underneath her has a ubiquitous presence in Italy. Rome’s Capitoline Museums said the sculpture, which lies in the Italian museum and was built in the fifth century BC, is the “symbol of the city.”
Maera: The star of Procyon
Maera was a dog of Icarius, as described in "Astronomica," an ancient guide later translated into English. Maera lead Icarius' daughter, Erigone, to Icarius' body. After finding Icarius dead, Erigone and the dog died as well. Zeus, taking pity, then represented the three in the stars, with Maera being known in the stars as Procyon by the Greeks.
Orthrus: The two-headed dog
Speaking of dogs with several heads, Orthrus was also a hound that was described as a watchdog with two heads, according to Frazer's translation of "The Library." If a second head wasn't enough to make him a strong watchdog, Orthrus also had a serpent for a tail.
The dog watched over a three-bodied giant's red cattle, and was ultimately killed by Heracles as the demigod hero sought to complete his 12 labors.
The dogs of Scylla: The monster by the sea
Part of Scylla's story was in "The Odyssey," although dogs weren't necessarily involved. In the epic poem, Scylla sounds like a dog, but she is monster that waits for sailors. While the poem and movie didn't feature any dogs in the narrow straight where the monster resides, in "The Metamorphoses of Ovid," written in the 1st century CE, Scylla was described as being surrounded by dogs.
There are many more stories in Greek and Roman myth involving dogs. Linn said there's anything from dogs associated with deities like Hecate, to dogs found in Mycenaean tombs.
Although there are many dogs in mythology, Argos is getting most of the attention now that “The Odyssey” has premiered in theaters around the country. Odysseus’ tale isn’t restricted to text or the big screen, either. Linn is leading a series of tours at the Penn Museum focused on “The Odyssey,” which are already sold out as people learn more about the epic through its original oral medium.
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