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 The famous historian of antiquity Plutarch, who lived in the 1st century AD, has the words filled with spiritual nobility:
“You cannot treat living things the same way as with sandals or pots, which are thrown away when they are worn out from a long service and become unusable, and if not for any other reason, then at least in the interests of philanthropy, one should treat them softly and affectionately. I myself, not only a decrepit person, but I would not even sell an old ox, depriving him of the land on which he was brought up and his usual way of life ... "
How long ago it was said, and at the same time how modern it sounds, isn't it? Compare at least the above statement with the provision contained in the World Charter for the Conservation of Wild Animals: "Love and respect for living beings should always flow from love and respect in general, as the highest qualities and aspirations inherent in man.".
Plutarch told the facts known to him of exactly this - respectful, even loving - attitude of the ancients to animals. For example, the horses of the Greek Cimon, with whom he won three times at the Olympic Games, were buried near the tomb of the champion himself. According to another historian, Eliana, "In Athens, there were also copper images of Kimon's mares, like two drops of water similar to those that belonged to him".
 When the Athenians, having embarked on ships, left their city occupied by enemies, one loyal dog could not bear the separation from the sailing master and swam on the sea in pursuit of him. Subsequently, he was honorably buried on the cape, for which the name Kinossem (Dog's Grave) has since been fixed. So people paid tribute to the loyalty of the four-legged friend.
Plutarch told about one unusually hardworking mule who distinguished himself in the construction of the Parthenon in Athens. This mule, because of his decrepitude, was released from work. However, the animal did not want to part with the usual work. Every morning the mule voluntarily came to the construction site and during the whole working day diligently walked along the road side by side with his fellows, although without any luggage (the hard worker couldn't load himself). By his example, this amazing old mule, as it were, encouraged the young. And the fame of him spread throughout the district. Admired by the extraordinary diligence of the animal, the Athenians adopted a special decree: from now on, the society took upon itself all the costs of maintaining it until its death.
Here is what Elian said:
“A certain Kolophon merchant went to the city of Teos. He had money with him, and he walked accompanied by a slave and a dog. When they were on their way, natural need made the slave turn back; the dog followed him. The youth put the purse on the ground; when he finished his business, he forgot about the money and went on, and the dog lay down on his wallet and never got up. The master and slave, having reached Teos, were forced to return home with nothing, because they had no money. They went back along the same road where the slave had left the purse, and saw that the dog was lying on it and was barely alive from hunger. Noticing his own, he got up and said goodbye at the same time to his service and to life ".
The writings of ancient authors abound in similar stories. Here is the story of the boy's extraordinary friendship with the snake, and the case of a certain Karan from Miletus, who was rescued during the shipwreck by the very dolphin, whom he had previously released from the nets to freedom, and the message about the tender affection of the elephant to the baby who was left without a mother. A certain Androcles, a fugitive slave of a Roman senator, lived for three years in a cave with a lion.Caught later, he was thrown to be eaten by wild animals, among which, by a lucky coincidence, there was a lion, who shared a cave shelter with a man for three years. The king of the doors recognized Androcles, began to caress him, and then, protecting his friend, tore a panther who had rushed at him.
The Persian king Cyrus immortalized the memory of his deceased horse in a very peculiar way. His horse drowned while crossing the Diala River (it flows in what is now Iraq). Cyrus's upset is understandable. The vengeful despot, who considered himself omnipotent, could not leave the culprit unpunished - in this case it turned out to be ... the river. With the royal anger, jokes are bad: Cyrus pronounced the death sentence on Diale. On the orders of their ruler, the Persians dug 360 canals to divert the waters of Diala into the sands. Ceased to exist for a whole millennium "Guilty" river, until finally the sultry desert dried up and covered the canals with sand, thereby returning Diala to its former channel.
 The small village of Tel Gomel in Mesopotamia is much better known under the ancient name of Gaugamela: here in 331 BC a decisive battle took place between the troops of Alexander the Great and the Persian king Darius III. In Persian "Gaugamela" meant "Camel stable"... According to legend, one of the ancient Persian kings, having suffered a crushing defeat on the battlefield near this place, happily escaped from pursuing enemies by galloping away on a dromedary - a one-humped riding camel. As a token of gratitude to the animal-savior, the king placed the dromedary here and donated income from several nearby villages for his maintenance. In connection with this event, the village received the name - Gavgamela.
Alexander the Great had a favorite dog, Perita. Having lost his favorite, the commander founded the city and named it after Perita. It was truly a royal monument.
Alexander the Great did the same with regard to his horse, the legendary Bucephalus. This tall, cool-headed stallion did not recognize anyone except the owner, whom he obeyed unquestioningly. By the time of Alexander's campaign in India, Bucephalus was already old, and therefore the commander took care of him: he rode a different horse during exercises and reviews. Bucephalus was brought to the king only before the battle. The owner treated the horse as a comrade and friend and grieved greatly when the years eventually broke Bucephalus. In honor of his faithful friend, Alexander the Great named the city Bucephalous, which he founded on the Hydasp River (a tributary of the Indus).
This is how the ancients told, and it is easy to conclude that the devotion and disinterested service of "our younger brothers" in ancient times were able to value no less than we value today. In the essay On the Nature of Animals, Claudius Elian wrote solemnly and with conviction: "The animals have been given a great blessing - the gods do not despise them and do not neglect them: after all, if animals are speechless, then they still possess reason and wisdom".
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