270 On Animals depicted on Antique Monuments. 



sufficient evidence of this. Other examples may be seen upon a 

 Mosaic, engraved in a work with the following title, Li Antichi 

 Sepolcri ove Mausolii Romani ed Etruschi di Pietro Bartoli, 

 and printed at Rome 1696. Others will be found upon the 

 medals dedicated to Tiberius, and which are described in the 

 work of Bellori, entitled Adnotationes nunc primum evulgatce 

 in XII primomm Ccesarum numismata. Romae, 1730. Fi- 

 nally, upon the reverse of a medal dedicated to Julia Pia Au- 

 gusta, we observe two mules harnessed to a car. There is the 

 same design on a medal of Agrippina's, which is to be found, as 

 is the former, in the work of John Vaillant, entitled, Numisma- 

 ta Imperatorum Romanorum Prastantiora, and published at 

 Rome in 1743. 



We see, then, that the ancients were acquainted with the 

 different crosses of the horse and ass. That between the jack- 

 ass and the mare, they denominated ov^iog mulus, mule, and that 

 between the horse and the ass, iwog hinnus, or ytno? ginnulus. 

 It is not less certain they distinguished the several races of the 

 horse. Judging from the statues, and the descriptions they 

 have left us, we perceive they recognised four principal varieties 

 of the race-horse, the war-horse, and the draught horse. These 

 races are, 1. the African; 2. the Apulian ; 3. the Thessalian ; 

 and, 4. the Sicilian. From these principal races proceeded the 

 various secondary varieties, which are so abundantly figured' 

 on the monuments of antiquity. 



Their acquaintance with the genus Equus, horse, was very 

 extensive, and probably they attached much importance to it on 

 account of the great use they made of these animals. The 

 onager, or wild ass, was also well known to them, which is a 

 proof that the ancients had penetrated into the interior of Asia, 

 and to the west of Africa. This species, so well depicted by the 

 ancients, is now found to exist in its wild state in Persia. The 

 zebra, another species of the same kind, by Dion denominated 

 simply hippotiger, was also familiar to the ancients, consequently 

 they had also opened up communications with the countries of 

 South Africa, the native country of this variety. The zebra 

 which was exhibited in the games of the circus, astonished the 

 Romans as much by its agility as by the colour of its skin, 

 whence among them it received the name of Tiger-horse. 



