In many homes, for centuries, humans lived with wonderful beings: cats.They kept houses free of mice and have become one of the favorite pets of the population, but How did cats get to populate all of Europe? Where they came from? Join us to know the history of the cats that accompanied the Roman legions.
The cats that accompanied the Roman legions
The coexistence between humans and cats goes back more than 9,500 years , although according to historians, the first to introduce domesticated cats into their homes officially and popularly were the Egyptians 4,000 years ago .For them the cat was a sacred animal and there were numerous laws that protected them.Among them a singular: it was strictly forbidden to take them out of the country .
The Phoenician merchants and Greeks had already kidnapped some cats and took them from Egypt hidden in their ships, but it was with the conquest of the country by the Romans when the Egyptians they could not prevent them from being taken beyond their borders.For the Roman legionaries the cat was synonymous with victory and they were taken from Egypt as war trophies Cats also kept their boats and camps free of rodents and other animals.For the Romans it was also a symbol of freedom and was often represented by the goddess Libertas . The legions took them with them in their conquests and were quickly introduced throughout Europe. The Egyptian cat mixed with the wildcat that was wild and gave rise to a new breed , recognized in 1983, the «European common cat» .
The Romans admired cats so much that in the first century AD they cited, as the Egyptians had done before, a series of laws to protect them .Of this cat that the Roman legions took from Egypt and on which the European common cat breed is based, the tabby cat, the single color -whose most frequent tones are the ne gro, the white or the orange-, the bicolor and the tricolor .It is a breed of strong, intelligent, good hunters and despite their independence they are usually very Carinosos with their masters.Clean and playful reproduces much more easily than other races.
So you know, if you see a cat in the street, whether brindle, black or bicolor, think that their ancestors came from Egypt from the Roman legions , who appreciated them so much that they have even found shields with the image of a cat.
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