Cattle

Cattle (Bos taurus), colloquially called by their feminine name cows, are a domesticated species of bovine and one of the most commonly kept large herbivores.
History
5th century BCE
In Greece cattle entered the myths most prominently in the form of the Minotaur, a half-man, half-bull creature said to be born from the union of the Kretan Bull and Pasiphaë. By the time of the Peloponnesian War the myth of the creature had spellbound the people of Pephka, and they had turned the city of Lato into a shrine to the beast, erecting statues of it and even emblazoning their banners with its visage.[1]
Eventually, the Spartan misthios Kassandra hunted down the Kretan Bull in Messara and slew it.[2]
1st century BCE
During the 1st century BCE, many cattle were kept by Egyptians living in the rural countryside, where they were used as a source of meat and milk and for grazing.[3]
Trivia
- The cows in Assassin's Creed: Origins are of the Sanga cattle subspecies.
- Cows' importance to the Egyptian culture can be seen in how many deities either had some of their features, or could be represented by bovines. Notable among these are Hathor crowned with cow horns and Ptah as the Apis bull.
Gallery
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Promotional shot of the Kretan Bull charging at the Misthios in Odyssey
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A cow in Greece
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The banner of Pephka
Appearances
- Assassin's Creed III (first appearance)
- Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag
- Assassin's Creed: Rogue
- Assassin's Creed: Origins
- Assassin's Creed: Odyssey