Swineherd

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Swineherd

A swineherd is a person who looks after pigs

Domestic pig

The 'Domestication pig' is normally given the scientific name Sus scrofa scrofa, though some taxonomists use the term S. domestica, reserving S....
. The term has fallen out of popular use in favour of pig farmer.

Pig farming today is still carried out in a manner that can be compared to that practiced in Roman times. Marcus Terentius Varro

Marcus Terentius Varro

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A swineherd is a person who looks after pigs

Domestic pig

Marcus Terentius Varro

Marcus Terentius Varro , also known as Varro Reatinus to distinguish him from his younger contemporary Varro Atacinus, was a Ancient Rome scholar and writer....
recommended waiting until sows are one year and eight months old before mating them and recommended continuing to breed them until they were seven years old. Today sows can be mated at six or seven months, but it is not recommended to breed them more than three times. Mortality and parasite infections were more frequent in antiquity. Farmers therefore waited until they knew which sows were healthy before breeding from healthy sows. Modern pigs can breed earlier, possibly due to selective breeding but they weaken after the third litter.

Swineherds in literature

Hans Christian Andersen
Hans Christian Andersen

Hans Christian Andersen , also known as simply H. C. Andersen ); was a Denmark author and poet, most famous for his fairy tales. Among his best-known stories are "The Steadfast Tin Soldier", "The Snow Queen", "The Little Mermaid", "Thumbelina", "The Little Match Girl", "The Ugly Duckling" and "The Red Shoes "....
wrote a Fairy tale
Fairy tale

A fairy tale is a fictional story that may feature folklore characters such as Fairy, goblins, Elf, trolls, giant , and talking animals, and usually enchanted, often involving a far-fetched sequence of events....
called, "The Swineherd
The Swineherd

"The Swineherd" is a fairy tale by the Denmark poet and author Hans Christian Andersen about a prince who disguises himself as a swineherd to woo an arrogant princess who spurns his humble gifts....
".
In Greek mythology
Greek mythology

Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the Ancient Greece concerning their List of Greek mythological figures#Immortals and Greek hero cult, Cosmology#Metaphysical cosmology, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices....
, Eumaeus
Eumaeus

In Greek mythology, Eumaeus, or Eumaios , was Odysseus's swineherd and friend before he left for the Trojan War. He was brought up with Odysseus and his sister Ctimene as a family slave, although he was treated by Anticleia, their mother, almost as Ctimene's equal....
(or Eumaios) was Odysseus
Odysseus

Odysseus or Ulysses , in Greek mythology , was a legendary Greeks king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's Epic poetry, the Odyssey. Odysseus also plays a key role in Homer's Iliad and other works in the Epic Cycle....
' swineherd before he left for the Trojan War
Trojan War

In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans after Paris of Troy stole Helen from her husband Menelaus, the king of Sparta....
.
In the Parable
Parable

A parable is a brief, succinct story, in prose or Verse , that illustrates a moral or religious lesson. It differs from a fable in that fables use animals, plants, inanimate objects, and forces of nature as characters, while parables generally feature human characters....
of the Prodigal Son, the younger son wastes his inheritance
Inheritance

Inheritance is the practice of passing on property, Title s, debts, and obligations upon the death of an individual. It has long played an important role in human societies....
and eventually has to become a swineherd.
In Lloyd Alexander
Lloyd Alexander

Lloyd Chudley Alexander was a widely-influential United States author of more than forty books, mostly fantasy novels for children and adolescents, as well as several adult books....
's books based on Welsh mythology
Welsh mythology

Welsh mythology, the remnants of the mythology of the pre-Christian Britons , has come down to us in much altered form in Medieval Welsh literature such as the Red Book of Hergest, the White Book of Rhydderch, the Book of Aneirin and the Book of Taliesin....
, The Chronicles of Prydain
The Chronicles of Prydain

The Chronicles of Prydain is a five-volume series of children's fantasy novels by author Lloyd Alexander. The stories detail the adventures of a young man named Taran , who is awarded the honor of Assistant Pig-Keeper but dreams of being a grand hero, and his companions Princess Eilonwy, Fflewddur Fflam the wandering bard and king, a fe...
, the hero
Taran (character)

Taran the assistant pig-keeper is the fictional protagonist of Lloyd Alexander The Chronicles of Prydain series of books, as well as in the The Black Cauldron and The Black Cauldron named after the second novel, The Black Cauldron ....
is a pig keeper, or swineherd.
In Terry Pratchett
Terry Pratchett

Sir Terence David John Pratchett, Officer of the Order of the British Empire is an England novelist, known for his frequently comical work in the fantasy genre....
Discworld
Discworld

Discworld is a comedy fantasy book series by the British author Terry Pratchett, set on Discworld , a Flat Earth balanced on the backs of four elephants which, in turn, stand on the back of a giant turtle, Discworld #Great A'Tuin, the star turtle....
novel Guards! Guards!
Guards! Guards!

Guards! Guards! is the 8th Discworld novel by Terry Pratchett, first published in 1989. It is the first novel about the Ankh-Morpork City Watch....
The character Gurth, in Sir Walter Scott's book "Ivanhoe" is a swineherd.
The main character in the Disney movie "The Black Cauldron" is a swineherd.

Swineherd

Swineherds in literature

See also