Summary:
The content of this work concerns the Greek fauna of classical and late antiquity and the change over time of populations to date.
The main sources for the fauna of antiquity is, apart from historical, geographical and zoological texts of the time, the animal motifs on vases, coins, frescoes and mosaics, various statues of animals and animal residues (mainly bones) from archaeological excavations.
The study of the texts of classical and late antiquity (5th century BC - 3rd century AD) in the following 8 classical authors: Xenophon, Aristotle, Aristophanes, Aristophanes Byzantios, Plinios, Dion Chrysostom, Plutarch, Pausanias and Aelianus, found reports of 163 different animal species or taxa. The knowledge of the people of that time for the animal kingdom, as revealed by the texts, refers mainly on the following four animal divisions: Mollusks, Arthropods, Echinoderms and Chordates, with overwhelming superiority of Chordates (152 species or 74.15% of all species). Regarding the division Chordates prevail Birds, Fish and Mammals with rates 37,50% (57 species), 33.56% (51 species) and 21.05% (32 species), respectively.
Some items included in the Greek fauna of classical and late antiquity, such as the lion, the leopard and the Grouse (Otis), today are extinct from Greece; some other species that today are common, such as the cat, the chicken and the peacock, were introduced about that time or a little earlier from other regions; and some other species that today are also common, such as the wild rabbit and the pheasant, were unknown at that time (not mentioned in the texts), because they appeared later in Greece from other regions.
The various species of animals mentioned in ancient texts for various reasons, which can be divided into two major categories. One category is the study of the animals themselves and their relationshionship with man, eg description, behavior, geographical distribution, habitat, etc, while the other category concerns the relationship of animals with people and especially the use of animals by humans, eg farming, transport, food, hunting, sacrifice, mythology, and so on.
As a result of our work, the Greek landscape until the late 19th century was an area of incomparably rich fauna and several species of animals now extinct or in much smaller numbers. For the current state of the environment and the fauna of our country, human activities and interventions are responsible almost exclusively.
The main causes for the deterioration of the Greek fauna in the classical and late antiquity were mainly the increase in human population, the destruction or reduction of habitats of wild animals due to human interventions (eg deforestation), intense hunting activity and generally thoughtless collection and consumption of wild animals from the Greeks and Romans. In the early to mid20th century, the situation was led close to the brink of disaster.
In earlier threats were added new ones, such as industrial pollution, contamination by pesticides, careless tourism development, creating thousands of provincial and forest roads, increasing urbanization, the extermination of large animal numbers because they were considered pests by farmers and breeders etc. However, over the last 30-40 years there have been many efforts to conserve and protect national parks and endangered habitats, animals and plants due to the development of greater environmental awareness and to the changes in legislation relating to the environment and the establishment of protection measures. Today, the Greek fauna, despite the environmental disasters remains one of the richest in Europe and the Mediterranean, both in number of species, and in population sizes of specific species and animals. Overall in our country, there have been recorded according to recent data about 23,130 species of land and freshwater, and 3,500 species of the sea, and when fully studied, it is likely to include up to 50,000 species.
Regarding the future of the Greek fauna, it can be promising, if public awareness is heightened and more effective enforcement of protection measures is adopted by national and international legislation.
