People have been keeping pets for millennia. Dogs and cats have always been popular pets, and cats even domesticated themselves more than 10,000 years ago in Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt. But some animals were kept as pets by ancient civilizations that are more exotic than just cats and dogs.
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Many of the animals that were kept as pets are now illegal to own in America and elsewhere around the world. We know more about these animals now and how dangerous they can be or how hard they are to domesticate.
But that didn't stop the ancient Egyptians, Romans, and other civilizations from keeping them. Here are eight surprising creatures that ancient civilization kept as pets.
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8 Monkeys
Monkeys were popular pets in the European Middle Ages and Ancient Egypt
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It may not be super surprising that monkeys were kept as pets in ancient times. After all, some people still keep monkeys as pets today.
Ancient Egyptians were known to keep monkeys as pets for entertainment and as a status symbol. They primarily kept baboons, which were often mummified and buried with their owners.
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But monkeys used to be popular pets in the European Middle Ages after they were reintroduced to Europe from Africa. Monkeys were mostly kept by wealthy people, and they were often kept in childless households due to their human-like behavior. However, monkeys fell out of favor because people realized they have advanced care needs and can become aggressive in adulthood.
Even though monkeys don't make great pets today, there are plenty of places you can see them in the wild, including a colony of macaques at Silver Springs State Park in Florida.
Scientific Name
Cercopithecidae
Lifespan
Up to 45 years (depending on species)
Civilizations That Kept Them As Pets
Middle Ages Europe and Ancient Egypt
7 Gazelles
Ancient Egyptians often kept herds of gazelles
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The ancient Egyptians were known to keep a lot of different animals as pets, mostly because they felt that they were gifts from the gods. One surprising animal that ancient Egyptians kept as pets were gazelles. They would often keep herds of gazelles, and their gentle nature made them preferred pets for many.
Gazelles were often beloved pets in Ancient Egypt, and one queen was even buried with her pet gazelle. Queen Isiemkheb created a special sarcophagus for her pet gazelle that was form-fitted to the gazelle's body. The mummified gazelle was found alongside Queen Isiemkheb in her tomb.
Scientific Name
Gazella
Lifespan
Up to 15 years (depending on species)
Civilizations That Kept Them As Pets
Ancient Egypt
6 Eels
Ancient Romans kept eels as pets
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Eels were often used as a food source in ancient Rome and other civilizations, but the ancient Romans also started keeping eels as pets. Eels were often found in fishponds, which were invented in ancient Rome, and were kept by wealthy people.
One person from ancient Rome that famously owned an eel was Marcus Licinius Crassus. He kept a moray eel in his pool and often adorned it with jewelry such as earrings and small necklaces. Antonia, the daughter of Mark Anthony, was also said to have a pet eel that she adorned with jewelry.
Scientific Name
Anguilliformes
Lifespan
Up to 20 years
Civilizations That Kept Them As Pets
Ancient Rome
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5 Peacock
Peacocks were treated almost as well as dogs
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It shouldn't come as a surprise that the ancient Romans kept peacocks as pets. Rome's forums were full of monuments and other notable architecture that were extravagant, so it makes sense that they wanted pets that were extravagant as well. The ancient Greeks were also known to keep peacocks, and it is thought they they were actually introduced to ancient Rome through ancient Greece.
Peacocks were popular pets due to their beauty, and they were often treated almost as well as dogs. Peacocks were often allowed to roam the gardens and grounds of their owners freely.
They were depicted in art and poetry, and some were even buried with their owners. However, some ancient Romans raised peacocks for food, and they were often sacrificed to the goddesses Juno (Rome) and Hera (Greece), which is why they are also a symbol of marriage and fertility.
Scientific Name
Pavo
Lifespan
Up to 20 years
Civilizations That Kept Them As Pets
Ancient Rome, Ancient Greece
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4 Mongooses
Ancient Egyptians kept mongooses, and they were sometimes buried with their owners
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Another surprising animal kept as a pet by the ancient Egyptians was mongooses. Egyptian mongooses were known as the "Pharaoh's cat" and were considered holy animals.
They were often housed in temples and there are many depictions of mongooses in ancient Egyptian art. Like other pets in Ancient Egypt, mongooses were often mummified and buried with their owners.
The ancient Greeks and Romans also kept mongooses as an effective form of pest control, as mongooses helped to get rid of mice and snakes. However, even people in modern times keep mongooses as pets, because they are still an effective form of pest control.
People in India and Nepal are known to still keep mongooses as pets, and other countries throughout Asia and Africa also let mongooses into their homes.
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Scientific Name
Herpestidae
Lifespan
Up to 10 years
Civilizations That Kept Them As Pets
Ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome
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3 Hippos
Ancient Egyptians kept hippos as pets, but not for companionship
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Hippos are known for being dangerous and one of the deadliest land animals in the entire world, so it may come as a surprise that ancient Egyptians used to keep them as pets.
The ancient Egyptians knew the dangers of hippos also, and hippos were kept only by elite members of Ancient Egypt, who likely kept them more as a show of dominance rather than having them as a companion animal.
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Hippos were often worshiped in Ancient Egypt, as they were symbols of the Nile goddess Taweret. But they were often hunted in rituals or sacrificed. Evidence from a 5,000-year-old cemetery near the Nile shows that animals such as hippos weren't treated as well as other "pets" were in ancient Egypt, and skeletons were found with marks from beatings and restraints.
Scientific Name
Hippopotamus amphibius
Lifespan
Up to 50 years
Civilizations That Kept Them As Pets
Ancient Egypt
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2 Lions
Many civilizations kept lions as pets and were even able to tame them
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Although lions are now best seen by going on an African safari, many ancient civilizations used to keep them as pets. Some were even successful at taming them for their personal use, such as the ancient Mesopotamians and Ethiopians, who used to ride them.
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But ancient Egyptians also kept lions as a status symbol and because they believed lions warded off evil. They believed that two lions guarded the horizon where the sun rose and set.
The Sphinx that still stands in Egypt today has the body of a lion. Ancient Romans were also known to keep lions as pets, as well as using them in theaters and to fight gladiators.
Scientific Name
Panthera leo
Lifespan
10-15 years
Civilizations That Kept Them As Pets
Ancient Egypt, Ancient Rome, Mesopotamia, Ethiopia
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1 Crocodiles
Ancient Egyptians kept crocodiles and even dressed them in jewels
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You should know by now that the ancient Egyptians kept some questionable animals as pets, including perhaps the most questionable: crocodiles. Crocodiles are one of the most dangerous animals in America's national parks, but the Nile crocodiles found in Egypt are larger and even more dangerous. So why did the ancient Egyptians keep them as pets?
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Crocodiles were often kept by pharaohs as a status symbol, but crocodiles were also symbols of the Egyptian god Sobek, the god of fertility and war. Crocodiles were often kept in temples dedicated to Sobek, and they were even decorated with jewels.
Some crocodiles were even mummified, and based on the number of crocodile mummies that were found, it is suspected that the ancient Egyptians used to breed them as well. But as you can imagine, crocodiles were hard to keep as pets, and they were aggressive, so they eventually fell out of favor.
Scientific Name
Crocodylidae
Lifespan
Up to 70 years
Civilizations That Kept Them As Pets
Ancient Egypt
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