In Roman society, dogs were popular household animals, valued as watchdogs, hunting dogs, and pets. The name of Valeria’s dog, Scylax, is a Greek word meaning “puppy.”
Scylax was also the name of a 6th-century BCE Anatolian explorer who sailed around the Arabian Peninsula. The Roman author Columella recommends “Scylax” as an excellent dog name in his work Dē Rē Rūsticā (“On Agriculture”), written in the first century CE. The name also appears in Petronius’ Satyricōn, a Roman novel written around the same time. In the Satyricōn, Scylax is an enormous guard dog whose master proudly exclaims, “No one in my house loves me better than Scylax does!”
Although dogs were popular, the Romans also enjoyed keeping birds, fish, and—in later times— cats as pets. Some wealthy Romans built elaborate fishponds in their gardens, and Roman emperors were particularly fond of raising eels. Maybe Valeria’s neighbors had birds, fish, or cats as pets!
Cave Canem mosaic, Pompeii