The Colossus Molossus of Epirus

The Molossus of Epirus, admired, and feared across the Ancient World. The History of the Molossus begins with the Molossi tribe of Epirus.
Epirus was an ancient region located in parts of modern day Greece, Macedonia, Albania, and Montenegro. The Molossi were regarded as one of the most powerful of all the Epirote tribes, largely on the basis of their war dogs. These dogs were said to be extremely ferocious in battle and were greatly feared by the Molossi’s enemies.
The Molossus was one of the most popular and famous dogs of the ancient world, and was the primary war dog of both the Ancient Illyrians and the Ancient Romans. The breed makes numerous appearances in ancient literature over a period of 800 years, and was known to some of history’s most famous men, including Aristotle, Alexander the Great, Pliny the Elder and Virgil. The earliest known reference to a, “Molossian Dog,” comes from a play written by the Athenian, Aristophanes in 411 B.C.
Originally kept almost exclusively by the Molossi tribe, the Molossus was eventually kept across the entirety of ancient Illyria. Close allies of their neighbors the Macedonians, the Molossi and their war dogs joined Philip II on his conquest in the Fourth Century B.C. More famously, the Molossus dog Peritas, accompanied Alexander the Great (whose mother was actually a Molossian) when he conquered all the lands from Egypt to India.
The Romans were highly skilled dog breeders and recognized that the Molossus had many talents, including hunting, herding, property guarding, and warfare. The breed spread wherever the Roman Legions went, but perhaps became most popular and numerous in Italy. Although the breed makes frequent appearances in literature, there are no depictions that are universally accepting as belonging to the breed. Modern thought commonly holds that the Molossus was a Mastiff-like dog.
There is one piece of art that is generally, if not universally, agreed to depict the Molossus. It is a statue from Britain known as the Jenning’s Dog (Henry Constantine Jennings, acquired the statue around 1758-1759, may be associated with Pyrrhus, the king of Epirus, whose faithful hound leapt on his funeral pyre when he died in 272 BC). The dog shown looks vaguely like a number of modern breeds supposedly descended from the Molossus, especially the Rottweiler. However, the Jenning’s Dog has a medium-to-long coat and a significantly less exaggerated “Mastiff-head.” The Jenning’s dog is almost identical to at least one modern breed, the Deltari, better known in English as the Illyrian Shepherd. A very ancient breed native to Albania, Kosovo and Macedonia, the Deltari is primarily used as a livestock and property protection animal, and is said to be a courageous and fearless defender. Not only does the Deltari look almost identical to the Jenning’s Dog, but it is also used for the same purposes as the Molossus, is described in a nearly identical fashion, and perhaps most importantly is native to the exact same region.
Music by: Devaldi
Track: Memories