The domestication of the horse in the fourth millennium BC altered the course of mankind's future. Formerly a source only of meat, horses now became the prime mode of fast transport as well as a versatile weapon of war. Carolyn Willekes traces the early history of the horse through a combination of equine iconography, literary representations, fieldwork and archaeological theory. She explores the ways in which horses were used in the ancient world, whether in regular cavalry formations, harnessed to chariots, as a means of reconnaissance, in swift and deadly skirmishing (such as by Scythian archers) or as the key mode of mobility. Establishing a regional typology of ancient horses - Mediterranean, Central Asian and Near Eastern - the author discerns within these categories several distinct sub-types. Explaining how the physical characteristics of each type influenced its use on the battlefield - through grand strategy, singular tactics and general deployment - she focuses on Egypt, Persia and the Hittites, as well as Greece and Rome. This is the most comprehensive treatment yet written of the horse in antiquity.

"Some cultures had extensive equestrian records, others very meagre deposits. Working through the centuries we see how the horse was utilised from early domestication on the Eurasian Steppes, in the Mesopotamian civilisations, in Egypt, Assyria, Urartu, Iran, Media, Persia and Greece until under Alexander the Great the horse became a vehicle for his world expansion. Aspects not usually considered are strongpoints of the text. These include breeding, horse husbandry, control mechanisms, veterinary and hazard aspects, and the different systems of training for chariot and cavalry warfare."--Jacket.

The twin deities known by the ancient Greeks as the Dioskouroi, and by the Romans as the Gemini, were popular figures in the classical world. They were especially connected with youth, low status and service, and were embraced by the common people in a way that eluded those gods associated with regal magnificence or the ruling classes. Despite their popularity, no dedicated study has been published on the horse gods for over a hundred years. Henry John Walker here addresses this neglect. His comparative study traces the origins, meanings and applications of the twin divinities to social and ritual settings in Greece, Vedic India (where the brothers named Castor and Pollux were revered as Indo-European gods called the Asvins), Etruria and classical Rome. In the Bronze and Early Iron Ages of Vedic India, the young horse gods are seen to have markedly similar characteristics to their Greco-Roman counterparts. Quick to come to the rescue of those in trouble, the Asvins are ready to assist the old, the weak and the humble. Charting the parallels and correspondences between these ancient myths, Walker uncovers not a single, universal coda but rather a great variety of loosely related beliefs and practices relating to the sibling deities. He demonstrates, for example, that, just as the Dioskouroi were regarded as being halfway between gods and men, so young Spartans – undergoing a fierce and uncompromising military training – saw themselves as standing midway between animal and human. Such diverse and creative interpretations of the myth seem to have played a central role in the culture and society of antiquity.

The remarkable relationship between people and horses has been evoked in art from the beginning of the bond between them. In this beautifully illustrated book, Catherine Johns explores the horse in art from the ancient world to the modern era, from the Horse of Selene to Persian miniatures and prints by Duerer, Stubbs, and Hokusai.

"The symposium was held in June 1-3, 2010 at the International Museum of the Horse (IMH) in Lexington, Kentucky..." -- Preface.

Although there are many publications which discuss the history of the ancient horse, few focus their attention on the origin and development of the various breeds. Most publications examine the horse’s contribution to human history through its role as transport facilitator and military machine, and concentrate mainly on subjects such as the origin and development of chariot and cavalry equipment and changes in military tactics over time. This book examines what happened when humans took the horse from the wild and domesticated it for their own use. This focus was taken as it was felt that the understanding of the huge role which the horse played in human history can only be improved by gaining an understanding of the equally huge role which humans played when they took horses from the wild and, through many hundreds of years of daily interaction, cross-breeding, and training, facilitated the development and spread of many breeds across the ancient world. This book takes as its chronological focus the Greco-Persian world of the second and first millennia BC. This time period was selected for examination as it was during these two millennia that the vital role which the horse was to play in human history became fully apparent. The second millennium BC saw the development of the vast chariot forces which were to form an important part of the armed forces of numerous lands, from Mycenaean Greece in the West to India and China in the far East, while the following millennium saw the gradual replacement of chariots with cavalry forces, which continued to play a vital role in military warfare right up until the beginnings of the twentieth century AD. Part One traces the history of the horse from its evolution to the development and spread of chariot and cavalry forces. Parts Two and Three examine the famous horse-breeding regions of the ancient world and, through an analysis of archaeological, iconographical, and literary evidence, attempts to determine why these regions were famed for horse breeding and what were the physical characteristics and given attributes of the various breeds.

The domestication of the horse in the fourth millennium BC altered the course of mankind's future. Formerly a source only of meat, horses now became the prime mode of fast transport as well as a versatile weapon of war. Carolyn Willekes traces the early history of the horse through a combination of equine iconography, literary representations, fieldwork and archaeological theory. She explores the ways in which horses were used in the ancient world, whether in regular cavalry formations, harnessed to chariots, as a means of reconnaissance, in swift and deadly skirmishing (such as by Scythian archers) or as the key mode of mobility. Establishing a regional typology of ancient horses - Mediterranean, Central Asian and Near Eastern - the author discerns within these categories several distinct sub-types. Explaining how the physical characteristics of each type influenced its use on the battlefield - through grand strategy, singular tactics and general deployment - she focuses on Egypt, Persia and the Hittites, as well as Greece and Rome. This is the most comprehensive treatment yet written of the horse in antiquity.