Historical background

Prehistoric man’s survival as a hunter defined his relation to other animals,

which were a source of food and danger. As man’s cultural heritage developed,
animals were variously incorporated into man’s folklore and philosophical
awareness as fellow living creatures. Domestication of animals forced man to
take a systematic and measured view of animal life, especially after
urbanization necessitated a constant and large supply of animal products.

Study of animal life by the ancient Greeks became more rational, if not yet
scientific, in the modern sense, after the cause of disease—until then thought
to be demons—was postulated by Hippocrates to result from a lack of
harmonious functioning of body parts. The systematic study of animals was
encouraged by Aristotle’s extensive descriptions of living things, his work
reflecting the Greek concept of order in nature and attributing to nature an
idealized rigidity.