Greek Rabbits and Interview with Evaggelia Giagozoglou

Hare of the rabbit podcast

English - August 14, 2018 10:00 - 39 minutes - 26.3 MB - ★★★★★ - 5 ratings
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Previous Episode: Sherman's Rabbit Breed Long and Short Hair - Cataracts in Rabbits - The Musician's Friend - Sowing

Next Episode: Glavcot Rabbit Breed - Rabies - Golden Rabbit Folktale

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Jeff Hittinger.

I took a month long hiatus to be able to search for a new job, and enjoy the summer. I was laid off at the end of June from the company I worked for, for over 9 years. I have licked my wounds and I am ready to get back to the podcast, and I am still searching for a new position. Over the break I traveled to the Outer Banks were the water was crystal clear during our stay, as well as a visit to Washington DC to check out the museums.

Today we are going to look at rabbits in Greek culture. We have an exchange student from Greece staying with us, and we will have a brief interview about her perspectives on rabbits and hares.
Now with Greece culture being as old as it is, I was surprised to find that they did not have there own rabbit breed.
(Modern) Greek: κουνἐλι (kouneli).
(Ancient) Greek: λαγος (lagos, with a hard "a" and a hard "o") means "hare", I don't know if they had a specific word for rabbit. The modern scientific name for the European rabbit is Oryctolagus cuniculus- the genus name (first part) is Greek for "digging hare", and the second part is Latin for "rabbit".
In Greece pet rabbits are something quite new. People started getting rabbits as pets the last 5 or 10 years. The only information they have been able to get was from British or American forums and sites, and it's very difficult to find a savvy vet, even in Athens. Most vets have no idea about rabbits. During the last 3 years, one or two Greek rabbit forums have been created so that Greeks at last can get informed about their furry friends in their own language. From these forums, and the experience of their members, in the show notes is a list of Vet's who handle rabbits.
https://www.rabbitsonline.net/threads/greece-rabbit-savvy-pets.62323/
The European rabbit (scient. Oryctolagus cuniculus) is a closely related species to hare, which has been introduced on the island of Crete by humans (many confuse that with hare). Despite the many predators on Crete, the rabbit reproduced rapidly and is now spread across the island of Crete and several smaller islets around it. For this reason, the authorities have several times tried to lower its population.
The rabbit is a favorite game animal in the Greek islands. It is nocturnal and gregarious, with smaller size than the hare, and usually does not weigh more than 2kg. Moreover, its skeletal structure is quite different from the hare, while it has smaller and rounder ears. The rear legs are also shorter. Its coat color hues vary according to habitats, with gray-brown coat color, white belly and tail.
Like the hare, it digs burrows in the ground where its hides all day long. It has the same eating habits with the hare, feeding on roots, bulbs, weeds and grass. Moreover, sometimes it eats bird droppings to receive their vitamins.
The rabbits hunt at night, not too far from its nest. Being very coward, it is always ready to run into its burrow. There are always rabbits observing the surrounding area, while other animals eat. When they feel danger, they immediately stand up on their rear legs. If the danger is real, they start hitting their feet on the ground and all rabbits disappear at time.
As mentioned, rabbits reproduce very quickly. Indeed, females (does) can give birth 8 times a year, 4-12 bunnies per time! Does can give birth at the age of 4-5 months, while it is impressive that they have a double uterus. This means that while being parturient, they may become pregnant again with their other womb! Their pregnancy lasts only 30-31 days.

Similar to Japan, there is a Rabbit Island, but it is know as rabbit island for a differnet reason.
Souda (island)
Souda (Greek: Σούδα) is an islet in Souda Bay on the northwest coast of Crete. In ancient times this islet was one of two islets that were referred to as Leukai. The second islet is known today as Leon.
On the northwest side of the islet, a small distance away, there is another islet which is almost round in shape, which used to be referred to on medieval Venetian maps as Rabbit Island (known as Nisi and Leon today)
There is another place that the Greek's have give a rabbit name to, and that is in the stars.
The Lepus Constellation
Lepus constellation lies in the northern sky, just under the feet of Orion. The constellation’s name means “the hare” in Latin.
Lepus is not associated with any particular myth, but is sometimes depicted as a hare being chased by the mythical hunter Orion or by his hunting dogs, represented by the constellations Canis Major and Canis Minor. Lepus was first catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century. The constellation is home to the famous variable star R Leporis, better known as Hind’s Crimson Star, and it contains several notable deep sky objects: Messier 79 (NGC 1904), the irregular galaxy NGC 1821, and the Spirograph Nebula (IC 418).
This constellation was known to the Greeks as Λαγωός (Lagoös), the Greek word for hare; Lepus is the more recent Latin name. Eratosthenes tells us that Hermes placed the hare in the sky because of its swiftness. Both Eratosthenes and Hyginus referred to the remarkable fertility of hares, as attested to by Aristotle in his Historia Animalium (History of Animals): ‘Hares breed and bear at all seasons, superfoetate (i.e. conceive again) during pregnancy and bear young every month.’
The celestial hare makes an interesting tableau with Orion and his dogs. Aratus wrote that the Dog (Canis Major) pursues the hare in an unending race: ‘Close behind he rises and as he sets he eyes the setting hare.’ But judging by its position in the sky, the hare seems more to be crouched in hiding beneath the hunter’s feet.
Hyginus tells us the following moral tale about the hare. At one time there were no hares on the island of Leros, until one man brought in a pregnant female. Soon, everyone began to raise hares and before long the island was swarming with them. They overran the fields and destroyed the crops, reducing the population to starvation. By a concerted effort, the inhabitants drove the hares out of their island. They put the image of the hare among the stars as a reminder that one can easily end up with too much of a good thing.
The constellation’s brightest star, third-magnitude Alpha Leporis, is called Arneb, from the Arabic al-arnab meaning ‘the hare’. It lies in the middle of the animal’s body. The stars Kappa, Iota, Lambda, and Nu Leporis delineate the hare’s prominent ears.
In Greece, the gift of a rabbit was a common love token from a man to his male or female lover. In Rome, the gift of a rabbit was intended to help a barren wife conceive. Carvings of rabbits eating grapes and figs appear on both Greek and Roman tombs, where they symbolize the transformative cycle of life, death, and rebirth.
Now with the Greek's being know for their Mythology, I was surprised that there was not a lot about rabbit's or hare's in the myth's
Hermes (Greek) – God of the spoken word; the rabbit was sacred to Hermes as a fleet-footed messenger
Now we are going to discuss the hare in coinage and as a city badge.
The Hare in Magna Graecia
Many ancient Greek cities adopted symbolic or mythical animals as badges or totems. Athens chose the owl due to its association with Athena. Corinth chose the Pegasus. For Cyzicus in Anatolia, it was the tuna fish. And so on.
Americans have a similar custom: the dolphin for Miami, the colt for Indianapolis, the bear for Chicago. Several cities in “Magna Graecia” (the region of southern Italy and Sicily settled by Greek colonists beginning in the eighth century BCE) adopted the leaping hare as a distinctive symbol on their classical-era coinage.
bunny1
Anaxilas, Tyrant of Rhegium
The story begins with Anaxilas, son of Cretines. In 494 BCE he seized power at Rhegium (or Rhegion, known today as Reggio Calabria at the tip of the boot of Italy) and soon extended his rule to Sicily. Anaxilas is credited with importing Greek hares to Sicily for the aristocratic sport of hunting. A leaping hare appears on his small silver litra at Rhegium as early as 480 BCE.
When his mule-chariot (biga) team won in the Olympic games, he placed that image on his coins. Coinage is conservative, and this basic design – mule chariot obverse, leaping hare reverse – was continued for generations.
Neighboring cities that allied with Rhegium or came under its control soon adopted the leaping hare as a symbol, notably Messana. Early coinage of Messana closely copied Rhegium’s design, changing only the “ethnic” (the inscription giving the name of the city). About 420 BCE, Messana issued a magnificent silver tetradrachm depicting the nature god Pan, seated on a rock playing with a leaping hare[1]. Another tetradrachm from this period shows the hare leaping over a head of Pan.
Messana Tetradrachms
On a coin dated after 460 BCE, the nearby city of Lokroi[2] shows a hare leaping over an overturned amphora. A century later (ca. 360) the city of Croton placed the hare on the reverse of its small silver diobols, with its own traditional symbol of the tripod on the obverse.
A very different representation of the hare makes its appearance on Greek coinage about the year 400 BCE. The hare appears as a victim, being torn by the beak of an eagle as it grips the hare in its talons.

The magnificent silver decadrachm of Akragas is perhaps the most famous example.
On the reverse of this large coin, a pair of eagles perch on a rocky crag, about to dine on a dead hare. One bends down toward the prey, the other stretches its neck upward to screech in triumph. A cataloguer of the Hunt collection relates the image to a chorus in the play Agamemnon:
“The eagles are an omen sent from Zeus to Agamemnon and Menelaus commanding the sacrifice of Iphigenia before the Greek fleet might set sail for the Trojan War.” (Lorber, 182)
Attributed to engravers named Myron and Polykrates, less than 10 examples of this coin are known.
A similar design appears on the less rare Akragas tetradrachms of the same period, and was eventually copied at Lokroi, Croton and other cities.
Akragas Silver Decadrachm
The Greek town of Elis controlled the sacred site of Olympia and was responsible for managing the Games held there every four years. This responsibility included issuing special coinage for the use of visitors attending the event. In the fifth century BCE, this coinage reached a high standard of artistic excellence. The obverse of a silver stater struck for the 87th Olympiad (432 BCE) depicts an eagle tearing with its beak a hare held in its talons. Two centuries later, we see the same design (executed with less grace, perhaps) on a silver drachm of Elis.
About 400 BCE, the very obscure town of Atarneus (or Atarnios, now Dikili, on the Aegean coast of Turkey opposite the island of Lesbos) issued charming tiny silver half obols with a hare on the reverse. Only a few examples are known; one sold for US$700 in a February 2014 auction[3].

Greek island declares war on wild rabbits
Athens - Farmers on the Greek island of Lemnos have declared war on a plague of wild rabbits which they say is destroying thousands of hectares of wheat and vines, local officials said on Thursday.
Under pressure from landholders, who claim to have lost over 2 000 hectares of planted crops to the rabbit scourge, local officials want the government to lift restrictions on hunting to enable an island-wide cull.
"There's thousands of them," Lemnos deputy prefect Thodoris Baveas said on Thursday. "Just by driving at night you can hit a couple each time, there's that many."
The Lemnos authorities want to permit night-time hunts, which are banned in Greece, as the rabbits stay hidden during daytime.
Speaking after a meeting with farmers on Thursday, Baveas said the prefecture was also considering importing weasels from Germany to deal with the problem.
"They are expensive, I've heard that each costs about €4 400," Baveas said, noting. "We would need at least 10 weasels," he added, noting that the prefecture would like European Union funds to assist crop rehabilitation.
The Greek branch of the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) reacted cautiously to a hunting initiative, arguing that it could encourage attacks on other types of game on the island.

Rabbits are more than companion animals to many in the House Rabbit Society. They are also living symbols of a life style, a philosophy and a value system. For example, many people who live with a house bunny have chosen a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle. In America we usually define animals as "pets" or "food" more succinctly than people from other countries. A Frenchmen may be as comfortable riding a horse from their stable, as eating horse at a restaurant and likewise, dogs and cats are seen as food in some Asian societies. Similarly, in Iceland the horse is used for traditional sheepherding work in its native country, as well as for leisure, showing, and racing and some horses are still bred for slaughter, and much of the meat is exported to Japan, or eaten as a delicacy in Iceland.
People who live with rabbits may be more acutely aware of this dichotomy than are people with other companion animals, because rabbits are seen as either food or companions here while dogs, cats and horses are strictly companions. So on that note there is a popular rabbit dish in Greece called Lagos Stifado (Λαγός στιφάδο) — hare stew with pearl onions, vinegar, red wine and cinnamon — it is a much-prized dish enjoyed in Greece and Cyprus and communities in the diaspora, particularly in Australia where the hare is hunted as a feral pest.
In the case of stifado (stee-FAH-do), debate centers on the tomatoes and wine. Simple chopped tomatoes? Or tomato paste and crushed tomatoes? Red wine or white? Sweet or dry? Now fi you can get ahold of the incomparable Greek sweet wine Mavrodaphne, that is what is recomended. Without Mavrodaphne the stifado is a shadow of itself, although you can use a Port in a pinch.
What does stifado taste like? The Orient, in its classical sense. It must have been quite the treat when it was invented, most likely in the Middle Ages when Greece was under Venetian rule. Any combination of sweetness with exotic spices such as cinnamon and allspice in an otherwise savory dish screams the 1300's or 1400's.
Stifado uses a lot of olive oil, so it is smooth going down. This keeps the rabbit moist as well, which is braised slowly until it is about to fall off the bone. You can pull the meat off the bone before serving, or just leave the pieces in the stew. The Greeks typically leave the pieces as is.
The spices give the stew zing without heat, and the tomatoes, which are obviously a post-1500's addition, add a bit more sweetness as well as needed acidity. There’s a reason stifado is such a strong part of Greek cooking.
You’ll want either a nice Greek red wine, a lager beer, or ouzo with a glass of water as a chaser to go along with this stew. And don’t forget to have lots of good crusty bread around, too.

Greek Rabbit Stew. Kouneli Stifado
Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
1 hr 30 mins
Total Time
1 hr 50 mins
I have not yet made this rabbit stew, but if you are freaked out about rabbit, you could substitute chicken. Keys here are browning the rabbit really well, including sweet wine (Mavrodaphne if you can find it), as well as allspice and cinnamon.
Course: Soup
Cuisine: Greek
Serves: 6 people
Author: Hank Shaw
Ingredients
2 cottontail rabbits or 1 domestic rabbit
Kosher salt
2 medium red onions, sliced
5 cloves chopped garlic
10 allspice berries
1 cinnamon stick
4 bay leaves
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons tomato paste
4 large tomatoes, grated, or 1 14-ounce can of crushed tomatoes[/ingredient]
1 cup dry red wine
1/2 cup sweet red wine
1/2 cup chicken or rabbit stock
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil

Instructions
Cut up the rabbits and cut into serving pieces. Be sure to include little bits, like the belly flaps, the front legs, the kidneys and such; they become yummy surprises in the finished stew. Salt the rabbit pieces well and set aside for 30 minutes.
Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a frying pan and brown the rabbit well. As each piece browns, move it to a brazier or Dutch oven or other heavy, lidded pot. When the rabbit is browned, saute the onions for 4-5 minutes over medium-high heat, until they begin to brown. Add the garlic and saute for another minute. Sprinkle with salt. Do not let the garlic burn.
Turn the contents of the frying pan into the brazier or a Dutch oven, then arrange the bay leaves, oregano, allspice berries and cinnamon stick over them.
In the pan you browned the rabbit and the onions, add the wine, sweet wine, vinegar, stock, tomato paste and grated tomatoes — cut tomatoes in half and run them through your coarsest grater to leave the skins out of your pot. Cook this down over high heat for 3-4 minutes, then pour over everything in the pot.
Cover the pot and bring to a simmer. Cook slowly for 1 hour, then check. It may need up to another hour. You want the rabbit to be just about falling off the bone. You can pull the rabbit meat off the bone, as I do, or just let your guests do that. Grind some black pepper and drizzle some really good olive oil over everything right when you serve.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Souda_(island)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icelandic_horse
https://www.rabbitsonline.net/threads/greece-rabbit-savvy-pets.62323/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hare
https://honest-food.net/greek-rabbit-stew/
https://www.cretanbeaches.com/en/fauna-and-animal-species/mammals-in-crete/rabbit
https://rabbit.org/journal/4-11/symbol.html
http://www.ianridpath.com/startales/lepus.htm
http://www.constellation-guide.com/constellation-list/lepus-constellation/
http://www.terriwindling.com/blog/2014/12/The-Folklore-of-Rabbits-Hares.html
http://forums.xkcd.com/viewtopic.php?t=20160&start=40
https://www.iol.co.za/business-report/technology/greek-island-declares-war-on-wild-rabbits-239336
http://mythsymbolsandplay.typepad.com/my-blog/2017/03/deities-associated-with-hares-and-rabbits.html
https://coinweek.com/ancient-coins/bunny-money-rabbits-hares-ancient-coins/

Assessment of Genetic Structure of Greek Brown Hare (Lepus europaeus) Populations Based on Variation in Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD)
Abstract

The RAPD method was used to assess the genetic differentiation of brown hare (Lepus europaeus) populations from Central Greece. Greek wild populations were compared with samples from Austria, Poland, Germany, France, and Bulgaria, as well as with reared/released hares to investigate the impact of the releases on the native populations' genetic structure. The absence of diagnostic bands distinguishing between L. europaeus populations confirmed the high level of gene flow between brown hare populations over long geographic distances reported by other authors. Phylogenetic trees, derived from genetic distances estimated by RAPD band frequencies, suggested one major partitioning event of nuclear DNA lineages found in the samples. The reared individuals clustered with the Austrian, Polish, German, and French populations, whereas the Greek populations clustered apart with the Bulgarian population. Within Greece the distribution of the six wild populations did not follow any geographical trend, since their genetic divergence did not seem to correlate to geographic distances. However, RAPD profiles of some reared and wild specimens were different from the common RAPD pattern observed in the vast majority of sampled hares, probably reflecting an admixture of genetically differentiated individuals. The RAPD analysis indicates that releases might have begun to affect Greek population structure and reinforces the view that appropriate management is needed, adjusted to the local populations' biology and ecology.
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023%2FA%3A1020260819629

The Greek Harehound is a rare breed of dog that only comes in a black and tan color, originally bred as a scent hound for tracking and chasing hare in Southern Greece. Wikipedia
Scientific name: Canis lupus familiaris
Origin: Greece
Color: Black & Gold
Temperament: Outgoing, Friendly, Affectionate, Intelligent, Passionate, Brave
Weight: Female: 37–44 lbs (17–20 kg), Male: 37–44 lbs (17–20 kg)
Height: Female: 17–22 inches (43–55 cm), Male: 18–22 inches (45–57 cm)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_Harehound

How do you say your full name?
Where are you from in Greece?
How do you say Rabbit in Greek?
How do you say Hare in Greek?
Tell us about where you live in Greece? the climate? the tereain?
What have you enjoyed gthe most about visitining the United States?
Have you seen wild rabbits in Greece?
Do people eat rabbits in Greece? Are they kept as pets?
Have you ever eaten or kept a rabbit as a pet?
Are there any stories about rabbits? Any myths or Folktales?
Are there any cities that use the rabbit or Hare as their symbol?
Is the Rabbit or Hare on any of the coins?

https://lyricstranslate.com/en/%CE%B5%CE%BB%CE%B5%CF%8D%CE%B8%CE%B5%CF%81%CE%BF%CE%B9-%CF%80%CE%BF%CE%BB%CE%B9%CE%BF%CF%81%CE%BA%CE%B7%CE%BC%CE%AD%CE%BD%CE%BF%CE%B9-%CE%B2-%CF%83%CF%87%CE%B5%CE%B4%CE%AF%CE%B1%CF%83%CE%BC%CE%B1-%CE%B1%CF%81%CF%87%CE%AE-free-beleag.html

The Free Beleaguered (Act II- Beginning)
The silence reigns in the greenhill beyond the burial ground.
The bird speaks, takes a seed, and the mother is jealous of it.
The famine blackened the eyes. The mother is swearing onto the eyes.
The good soldier from Souli stands aside and cries:
"Lone dark rifle, why do I hold you in the arm,
where you became heavy for me and the Muslim knows it ?"

April and Cupid are dancing and lauging together,
and as many blossoms and cores come out, so many weapons enclose you.
A small white hill of sheep yells in movement,
and gets thrown deep within the sea again,
and, being vast white, it merged with the beauties of the sky.
And into the waters of the lake, which it reached in fast,
a blue butterfly played with its shadow,
that felt its sleep within the wild lilium.
The petite worm is also being in its sweet hour.
The nature is magic and a dream in beauty and grace,
the black stone and the dried up grass are vast golden.
It spills itself with a thousand faucets, it speaks on a thousand languages:
"Whoever dies today, dies fo a thousand times."

https://fablesofaesop.com/the-hare-and-the-tortoise.html
A Hare was making fun of the Tortoise one day for being so slow.

“Do you ever get anywhere?” he asked with a mocking laugh.

“Yes,” replied the Tortoise, “and I get there sooner than you think. I’ll run you a race and prove it.”

The Hare was much amused at the idea of running a race with the Tortoise, but for the fun of the thing he agreed. So the Fox, who had consented to act as judge, marked the distance and started the runners off.

The Hare was soon far out of sight, and to make the Tortoise feel very deeply how ridiculous it was for him to try a race with a Hare, he lay down beside the course to take a nap until the Tortoise should catch up.

The Tortoise meanwhile kept going slowly but steadily, and, after a time, passed the place where the Hare was sleeping. But the Hare slept on very peacefully; and when at last he did wake up, the Tortoise was near the goal. The Hare now ran his swiftest, but he could not overtake the Tortoise in time.

Moral

The race is not always to the swift.

Hello Listener!

Thank you for listening. If you would like to support the podcast, and keep the lights on, you can support us whenever you use Amazon through the link below:

It will not cost you anything extra, and I can not see who purchased what.

Or you can become a Fluffle Supporter by donating through Patreon.com at the link below:

Patreon/Hare of the Rabbit

What's this Patreon? Patreon is an established online platform that allows fans to provide regular financial support to creators. Patreon was created by a musician who needed a easy way for fans to support his band.

What do you need? Please support Hare of the Rabbit Podcast financially by becoming a Patron. Patrons agree to a regular contribution, starting at $1 per episode. Patreon.com takes a token amount as a small processing fee, but most of your money will go directly towards supporting the Hare of the Rabbit Podcast. You can change or stop your payments at any time.

You can also support by donating through PayPal.com at the link below:

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The links below are to a shops with items with the Hare of the Rabbit Podcast Logo. There are items such as mugs, stickers, and t-shirts. Your purchases support the podcast! Thank you for the support! Click here to go directly to the store.

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http://tee.pub/lic/PS7QqY1xC7Q

Thank you for your support,

Jeff Hittinger.

Today we are going to look at rabbits in Greek culture. We have an exchange student from Greece staying with us, and we will have a brief interview about her perspectives on rabbits and hares. Now with Greece culture being as old as it is, I was surprised to find that they did not have there own rabbit breed. (Modern) Greek: κουνἐλι (kouneli). (Ancient) Greek: λαγος (lagos, with a hard "a" and a hard "o") means "hare", I don't know if they had a specific word for rabbit. The modern scientific name for the European rabbit is Oryctolagus cuniculus- the genus name (first part) is Greek for "digging hare", and the second part is Latin for "rabbit". In Greece pet rabbits are something quite new. People started getting rabbits as pets the last 5 or 10 years. The only information they have been able to get was from British or American forums and sites, and it's very difficult to find a savvy vet, even in Athens. Most vets have no idea about rabbits. During the last 3 years, one or two Greek rabbit forums have been created so that Greeks at last can get informed about their furry friends in their own language. From these forums, and the experience of their members, in the show notes is a list of Vet's who handle rabbits. https://www.rabbitsonline.net/threads/greece-rabbit-savvy-pets.62323/ The European rabbit (scient. Oryctolagus cuniculus) is a closely related species to hare, which has been introduced on the island of Crete by humans (many confuse that with hare). Despite the many predators on Crete, the rabbit reproduced rapidly and is now spread across the island of Crete and several smaller islets around it. For this reason, the authorities have several times tried to lower its population. The rabbit is a favorite game animal in the Greek islands. It is nocturnal and gregarious, with smaller size than the hare, and usually does not weigh more than 2kg. Moreover, its skeletal structure is quite different from the hare, while it has smaller and rounder ears. The rear legs are also shorter. Its coat color hues vary according to habitats, with gray-brown coat color, white belly and tail. Like the hare, it digs burrows in the ground where its hides all day long. It has the same eating habits with the hare, feeding on roots, bulbs, weeds and grass. Moreover, sometimes it eats bird droppings to receive their vitamins. The rabbits hunt at night, not too far from its nest. Being very coward, it is always ready to run into its burrow. There are always rabbits observing the surrounding area, while other animals eat. When they feel danger, they immediately stand up on their rear legs. If the danger is real, they start hitting their feet on the ground and all rabbits disappear at time. As mentioned, rabbits reproduce very quickly. Indeed, females (does) can give birth 8 times a year, 4-12 bunnies per time! Does can give birth at the age of 4-5 months, while it is impressive that they have a double uterus. This means that while being parturient, they may become pregnant again with their other womb! Their pregnancy lasts only 30-31 days.

Similar to Japan, there is a Rabbit Island, but it is know as rabbit island for a differnet reason. Souda (island) Souda (Greek: Σούδα) is an islet in Souda Bay on the northwest coast of Crete. In ancient times this islet was one of two islets that were referred to as Leukai. The second islet is known today as Leon. On the northwest side of the islet, a small distance away, there is another islet which is almost round in shape, which used to be referred to on medieval Venetian maps as Rabbit Island (known as Nisi and Leon today) There is another place that the Greek's have give a rabbit name to, and that is in the stars. The Lepus Constellation Lepus constellation lies in the northern sky, just under the feet of Orion. The constellation’s name means “the hare” in Latin. Lepus is not associated with any particular myth, but is sometimes depicted as a hare being chased by the mythical hunter Orion or by his hunting dogs, represented by the constellations Canis Major and Canis Minor. Lepus was first catalogued by the Greek astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century. The constellation is home to the famous variable star R Leporis, better known as Hind’s Crimson Star, and it contains several notable deep sky objects: Messier 79 (NGC 1904), the irregular galaxy NGC 1821, and the Spirograph Nebula (IC 418). This constellation was known to the Greeks as Λαγωός (Lagoös), the Greek word for hare; Lepus is the more recent Latin name. Eratosthenes tells us that Hermes placed the hare in the sky because of its swiftness. Both Eratosthenes and Hyginus referred to the remarkable fertility of hares, as attested to by Aristotle in his Historia Animalium (History of Animals): ‘Hares breed and bear at all seasons, superfoetate (i.e. conceive again) during pregnancy and bear young every month.’ The celestial hare makes an interesting tableau with Orion and his dogs. Aratus wrote that the Dog (Canis Major) pursues the hare in an unending race: ‘Close behind he rises and as he sets he eyes the setting hare.’ But judging by its position in the sky, the hare seems more to be crouched in hiding beneath the hunter’s feet. Hyginus tells us the following moral tale about the hare. At one time there were no hares on the island of Leros, until one man brought in a pregnant female. Soon, everyone began to raise hares and before long the island was swarming with them. They overran the fields and destroyed the crops, reducing the population to starvation. By a concerted effort, the inhabitants drove the hares out of their island. They put the image of the hare among the stars as a reminder that one can easily end up with too much of a good thing. The constellation’s brightest star, third-magnitude Alpha Leporis, is called Arneb, from the Arabic al-arnab meaning ‘the hare’. It lies in the middle of the animal’s body. The stars Kappa, Iota, Lambda, and Nu Leporis delineate the hare’s prominent ears. In Greece, the gift of a rabbit was a common love token from a man to his male or female lover. In Rome, the gift of a rabbit was intended to help a barren wife conceive. Carvings of rabbits eating grapes and figs appear on both Greek and Roman tombs, where they symbolize the transformative cycle of life, death, and rebirth. Now with the Greek's being know for their Mythology, I was surprised that there was not a lot about rabbit's or hare's in the myth's Hermes (Greek) – God of the spoken word; the rabbit was sacred to Hermes as a fleet-footed messenger Now we are going to discuss the hare in coinage and as a city badge. The Hare in Magna Graecia Many ancient Greek cities adopted symbolic or mythical animals as badges or totems. Athens chose the owl due to its association with Athena. Corinth chose the Pegasus. For Cyzicus in Anatolia, it was the tuna fish. And so on. Americans have a similar custom: the dolphin for Miami, the colt for Indianapolis, the bear for Chicago. Several cities in “Magna Graecia” (the region of southern Italy and Sicily settled by Greek colonists beginning in the eighth century BCE) adopted the leaping hare as a distinctive symbol on their classical-era coinage. bunny1 Anaxilas, Tyrant of Rhegium The story begins with Anaxilas, son of Cretines. In 494 BCE he seized power at Rhegium (or Rhegion, known today as Reggio Calabria at the tip of the boot of Italy) and soon extended his rule to Sicily. Anaxilas is credited with importing Greek hares to Sicily for the aristocratic sport of hunting. A leaping hare appears on his small silver litra at Rhegium as early as 480 BCE. When his mule-chariot (biga) team won in the Olympic games, he placed that image on his coins. Coinage is conservative, and this basic design – mule chariot obverse, leaping hare reverse – was continued for generations. Neighboring cities that allied with Rhegium or came under its control soon adopted the leaping hare as a symbol, notably Messana. Early coinage of Messana closely copied Rhegium’s design, changing only the “ethnic” (the inscription giving the name of the city). About 420 BCE, Messana issued a magnificent silver tetradrachm depicting the nature god Pan, seated on a rock playing with a leaping hare[1]. Another tetradrachm from this period shows the hare leaping over a head of Pan. Messana Tetradrachms On a coin dated after 460 BCE, the nearby city of Lokroi[2] shows a hare leaping over an overturned amphora. A century later (ca. 360) the city of Croton placed the hare on the reverse of its small silver diobols, with its own traditional symbol of the tripod on the obverse. A very different representation of the hare makes its appearance on Greek coinage about the year 400 BCE. The hare appears as a victim, being torn by the beak of an eagle as it grips the hare in its talons.

The magnificent silver decadrachm of Akragas is perhaps the most famous example. On the reverse of this large coin, a pair of eagles perch on a rocky crag, about to dine on a dead hare. One bends down toward the prey, the other stretches its neck upward to screech in triumph. A cataloguer of the Hunt collection relates the image to a chorus in the play Agamemnon: “The eagles are an omen sent from Zeus to Agamemnon and Menelaus commanding the sacrifice of Iphigenia before the Greek fleet might set sail for the Trojan War.” (Lorber, 182) Attributed to engravers named Myron and Polykrates, less than 10 examples of this coin are known. A similar design appears on the less rare Akragas tetradrachms of the same period, and was eventually copied at Lokroi, Croton and other cities. Akragas Silver Decadrachm The Greek town of Elis controlled the sacred site of Olympia and was responsible for managing the Games held there every four years. This responsibility included issuing special coinage for the use of visitors attending the event. In the fifth century BCE, this coinage reached a high standard of artistic excellence. The obverse of a silver stater struck for the 87th Olympiad (432 BCE) depicts an eagle tearing with its beak a hare held in its talons. Two centuries later, we see the same design (executed with less grace, perhaps) on a silver drachm of Elis. About 400 BCE, the very obscure town of Atarneus (or Atarnios, now Dikili, on the Aegean coast of Turkey opposite the island of Lesbos) issued charming tiny silver half obols with a hare on the reverse. Only a few examples are known; one sold for US$700 in a February 2014 auction[3].

Greek island declares war on wild rabbits Athens - Farmers on the Greek island of Lemnos have declared war on a plague of wild rabbits which they say is destroying thousands of hectares of wheat and vines, local officials said on Thursday. Under pressure from landholders, who claim to have lost over 2 000 hectares of planted crops to the rabbit scourge, local officials want the government to lift restrictions on hunting to enable an island-wide cull. "There's thousands of them," Lemnos deputy prefect Thodoris Baveas said on Thursday. "Just by driving at night you can hit a couple each time, there's that many." The Lemnos authorities want to permit night-time hunts, which are banned in Greece, as the rabbits stay hidden during daytime. Speaking after a meeting with farmers on Thursday, Baveas said the prefecture was also considering importing weasels from Germany to deal with the problem. "They are expensive, I've heard that each costs about €4 400," Baveas said, noting. "We would need at least 10 weasels," he added, noting that the prefecture would like European Union funds to assist crop rehabilitation. The Greek branch of the World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) reacted cautiously to a hunting initiative, arguing that it could encourage attacks on other types of game on the island.

Rabbits are more than companion animals to many in the House Rabbit Society. They are also living symbols of a life style, a philosophy and a value system. For example, many people who live with a house bunny have chosen a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle. In America we usually define animals as "pets" or "food" more succinctly than people from other countries. A Frenchmen may be as comfortable riding a horse from their stable, as eating horse at a restaurant and likewise, dogs and cats are seen as food in some Asian societies. Similarly, in Iceland the horse is used for traditional sheepherding work in its native country, as well as for leisure, showing, and racing and some horses are still bred for slaughter, and much of the meat is exported to Japan, or eaten as a delicacy in Iceland. People who live with rabbits may be more acutely aware of this dichotomy than are people with other companion animals, because rabbits are seen as either food or companions here while dogs, cats and horses are strictly companions. So on that note there is a popular rabbit dish in Greece called Lagos Stifado (Λαγός στιφάδο) — hare stew with pearl onions, vinegar, red wine and cinnamon — it is a much-prized dish enjoyed in Greece and Cyprus and communities in the diaspora, particularly in Australia where the hare is hunted as a feral pest. In the case of stifado (stee-FAH-do), debate centers on the tomatoes and wine. Simple chopped tomatoes? Or tomato paste and crushed tomatoes? Red wine or white? Sweet or dry? Now fi you can get ahold of the incomparable Greek sweet wine Mavrodaphne, that is what is recomended. Without Mavrodaphne the stifado is a shadow of itself, although you can use a Port in a pinch. What does stifado taste like? The Orient, in its classical sense. It must have been quite the treat when it was invented, most likely in the Middle Ages when Greece was under Venetian rule. Any combination of sweetness with exotic spices such as cinnamon and allspice in an otherwise savory dish screams the 1300's or 1400's. Stifado uses a lot of olive oil, so it is smooth going down. This keeps the rabbit moist as well, which is braised slowly until it is about to fall off the bone. You can pull the meat off the bone before serving, or just leave the pieces in the stew. The Greeks typically leave the pieces as is. The spices give the stew zing without heat, and the tomatoes, which are obviously a post-1500's addition, add a bit more sweetness as well as needed acidity. There’s a reason stifado is such a strong part of Greek cooking. You’ll want either a nice Greek red wine, a lager beer, or ouzo with a glass of water as a chaser to go along with this stew. And don’t forget to have lots of good crusty bread around, too.

Greek Rabbit Stew. Kouneli Stifado Prep Time 20 mins Cook Time 1 hr 30 mins Total Time 1 hr 50 mins I have not yet made this rabbit stew, but if you are freaked out about rabbit, you could substitute chicken. Keys here are browning the rabbit really well, including sweet wine (Mavrodaphne if you can find it), as well as allspice and cinnamon. Course: Soup Cuisine: Greek Serves: 6 people Author: Hank Shaw Ingredients 2 cottontail rabbits or 1 domestic rabbit Kosher salt 2 medium red onions, sliced 5 cloves chopped garlic 10 allspice berries 1 cinnamon stick 4 bay leaves 1 tablespoon dried oregano 2 tablespoons tomato paste 4 large tomatoes, grated, or 1 14-ounce can of crushed tomatoes[/ingredient] 1 cup dry red wine 1/2 cup sweet red wine 1/2 cup chicken or rabbit stock 1/4 cup red wine vinegar Freshly ground black pepper 1/4 cup olive oil

Instructions Cut up the rabbits and cut into serving pieces. Be sure to include little bits, like the belly flaps, the front legs, the kidneys and such; they become yummy surprises in the finished stew. Salt the rabbit pieces well and set aside for 30 minutes. Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a frying pan and brown the rabbit well. As each piece browns, move it to a brazier or Dutch oven or other heavy, lidded pot. When the rabbit is browned, saute the onions for 4-5 minutes over medium-high heat, until they begin to brown. Add the garlic and saute for another minute. Sprinkle with salt. Do not let the garlic burn. Turn the contents of the frying pan into the brazier or a Dutch oven, then arrange the bay leaves, oregano, allspice berries and cinnamon stick over them. In the pan you browned the rabbit and the onions, add the wine, sweet wine, vinegar, stock, tomato paste and grated tomatoes — cut tomatoes in half and run them through your coarsest grater to leave the skins out of your pot. Cook this down over high heat for 3-4 minutes, then pour over everything in the pot. Cover the pot and bring to a simmer. Cook slowly for 1 hour, then check. It may need up to another hour. You want the rabbit to be just about falling off the bone. You can pull the rabbit meat off the bone, as I do, or just let your guests do that. Grind some black pepper and drizzle some really good olive oil over everything right when you serve. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Souda_(island) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icelandic_horse https://www.rabbitsonline.net/threads/greece-rabbit-savvy-pets.62323/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hare https://honest-food.net/greek-rabbit-stew/ https://www.cretanbeaches.com/en/fauna-and-animal-species/mammals-in-crete/rabbit https://rabbit.org/journal/4-11/symbol.html http://www.ianridpath.com/startales/lepus.htm http://www.constellation-guide.com/constellation-list/lepus-constellation/ http://www.terriwindling.com/blog/2014/12/The-Folklore-of-Rabbits-Hares.html http://forums.xkcd.com/viewtopic.php?t=20160&start=40 https://www.iol.co.za/business-report/technology/greek-island-declares-war-on-wild-rabbits-239336 http://mythsymbolsandplay.typepad.com/my-blog/2017/03/deities-associated-with-hares-and-rabbits.html https://coinweek.com/ancient-coins/bunny-money-rabbits-hares-ancient-coins/

Assessment of Genetic Structure of Greek Brown Hare (Lepus europaeus) Populations Based on Variation in Random Amplified Polymorphic DNA (RAPD) Abstract

The RAPD method was used to assess the genetic differentiation of brown hare (Lepus europaeus) populations from Central Greece. Greek wild populations were compared with samples from Austria, Poland, Germany, France, and Bulgaria, as well as with reared/released hares to investigate the impact of the releases on the native populations' genetic structure. The absence of diagnostic bands distinguishing between L. europaeus populations confirmed the high level of gene flow between brown hare populations over long geographic distances reported by other authors. Phylogenetic trees, derived from genetic distances estimated by RAPD band frequencies, suggested one major partitioning event of nuclear DNA lineages found in the samples. The reared individuals clustered with the Austrian, Polish, German, and French populations, whereas the Greek populations clustered apart with the Bulgarian population. Within Greece the distribution of the six wild populations did not follow any geographical trend, since their genetic divergence did not seem to correlate to geographic distances. However, RAPD profiles of some reared and wild specimens were different from the common RAPD pattern observed in the vast majority of sampled hares, probably reflecting an admixture of genetically differentiated individuals. The RAPD analysis indicates that releases might have begun to affect Greek population structure and reinforces the view that appropriate management is needed, adjusted to the local populations' biology and ecology. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1023%2FA%3A1020260819629

The Greek Harehound is a rare breed of dog that only comes in a black and tan color, originally bred as a scent hound for tracking and chasing hare in Southern Greece. Wikipedia Scientific name: Canis lupus familiaris Origin: Greece Color: Black & Gold Temperament: Outgoing, Friendly, Affectionate, Intelligent, Passionate, Brave Weight: Female: 37–44 lbs (17–20 kg), Male: 37–44 lbs (17–20 kg) Height: Female: 17–22 inches (43–55 cm), Male: 18–22 inches (45–57 cm) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_Harehound

How do you say your full name? Where are you from in Greece? How do you say Rabbit in Greek? How do you say Hare in Greek? Tell us about where you live in Greece? the climate? the tereain? What have you enjoyed gthe most about visitining the United States? Have you seen wild rabbits in Greece? Do people eat rabbits in Greece? Are they kept as pets? Have you ever eaten or kept a rabbit as a pet? Are there any stories about rabbits? Any myths or Folktales? Are there any cities that use the rabbit or Hare as their symbol? Is the Rabbit or Hare on any of the coins?

The Free Beleaguered (Act II- Beginning) The silence reigns in the greenhill beyond the burial ground. The bird speaks, takes a seed, and the mother is jealous of it. The famine blackened the eyes. The mother is swearing onto the eyes. The good soldier from Souli stands aside and cries: "Lone dark rifle, why do I hold you in the arm, where you became heavy for me and the Muslim knows it ?" April and Cupid are dancing and lauging together, and as many blossoms and cores come out, so many weapons enclose you. A small white hill of sheep yells in movement, and gets thrown deep within the sea again, and, being vast white, it merged with the beauties of the sky. And into the waters of the lake, which it reached in fast, a blue butterfly played with its shadow, that felt its sleep within the wild lilium. The petite worm is also being in its sweet hour. The nature is magic and a dream in beauty and grace, the black stone and the dried up grass are vast golden. It spills itself with a thousand faucets, it speaks on a thousand languages: "Whoever dies today, dies fo a thousand times."

https://fablesofaesop.com/the-hare-and-the-tortoise.html A Hare was making fun of the Tortoise one day for being so slow.

“Do you ever get anywhere?” he asked with a mocking laugh.

“Yes,” replied the Tortoise, “and I get there sooner than you think. I’ll run you a race and prove it.”

Moral

The race is not always to the swift.