Q: "Can you enlighten me on the Greek reference to ferrets that you've
mentioned?  Why do you think they are talking about ferrets?"
 
A: Because they are not talking about frogs or wasps?  (ok, a pretty
obscure Aristophanes joke...)
 
The triple-A of early Greek ferret references were Aristophanes, Aesop,
and Aristotle.  All three mention a mustelid in association with humans,
with Aristophanes being the most descriptive.  Aristophanes wrote a
number of plays (about 425-415 BC) in which he refers to an "ictis"
living in a human setting.  He actually pokes fun at politicians by
comparing them to stinky robbers, someone who would steal the meat from
the table (he was implying they would steal the food from the people's
plates, leaving them to starve).  In some older translations, the animal
is called a marten, in others as a weasel, and in some as a cat (there
was no cats in Greece during the time of Aristophanes!).  However, today
"ictis" is generally translated as polecat.  Some ferret historians
are aware of the mention of ictis in at least one play, but Aristophanes
actually mentions the animal in four different plays.
 
Aesop also uses the word ictis in his fables.  Many of the fables were
translated during the Middle Ages and different animals were substituted
in some fables to reflect the religious and cultural beliefs of the
translators.  There are at least three Aesopian references to "ictis"
that in medieval translations were changed to "snake," "weasel," or
"cat."
 
You can argue if the animals mentioned by Aesop and Aristophanes are
actually ferrets, but the word 'ictis" is used by Aristotle to describe
animals most scientists consider to be polecats.  Since these guys are
essentially contemporaneous, give or take a century or two, it is
unlikely the word would have taken on a different meaning.  It is a safe
bet Aristotle is referring to the same animal mentioned by both Aesop
and Aristophanes.  So the big question is, was the animal a polecat or
a ferret; that is, was it domesticated?
 
I think the plays by Aristophanes holds the answer; all his references
are similar in that they refer to an animal habituated to human presence,
living in human homes, and therefore presumably tamed towards humans.
That part is important, but even MORE important is that Aristophanes was
a satirist and playwright.  Not many satirists would refer to an obscure
animal when poking fun at the traits of a group of people.  When
Aristophanes mentioned the robbing habits of the ictis, his audience
would immediately understand what he was suggesting of politicians
(similar to calling MASH's Frank Burns "ferret face," or a politician a
weasel).  This is a clear indication that the habits and traits of the
ictis were known to a wide population of people.  What you have is an
animal in a tame state, and in the service of people.  If that isn't
early domestication, it is certainly on the road.
 
As for the problem that there was no word for ferret in ancient Greek,
that isn't a problem.  How long does it take to invent a word for a
domesticated animal?  Do we have a separate word for domesticated mink?
How about domesticated rabbits?  Rats?  Llamas?  Turkeys?  Get the point?
The fact that ferrets have a different name than polecat is evidence of
a long history of domestication.  It is very likely the Greeks used the
same name for both polecat and ferret.  Even in many modern East European
languages, the same word is used for both ferret and polecat, so the
practice isn't unusual.
 
Bob C
[Posted in FML issue 4128]