ὁ/ἡ βοῦς, βοός – a bull, ox, or cow
αἱ βόες χρησιμώταται τοῖς ἀνθρώποις εἰσὶ παρέχουσαι κρέας τε καὶ γάλα· εὑρίσκομεν οὖν αὐτὰς ἤδη παρὰ τῷ Ὁμήρῳ ἐν αὐτῇ τῇ άρχῇ τῆς Ὀδυσσείας ὅπου ὁ ποιητὴς λέγει περὶ τῶν τοῦ Ὀδυσσέως ἑταίρων ὅτι μωροὶ ἦσαν ἐσθίοντες τὰς βοῦς αἳ ἱεραὶ ἦσαν τῷ θεῷ τῷ Ἡλίῳ·
νήπιοι, οἳ κατὰ βοῦς Ὑπερίονος Ἠελίοιο ἤσθιον·
αὐτὰρ ὁ τοῖσιν ἀφείλετο νόστιμον ἦμαρ.
Cows are very useful for humans since they give meat and milk. We find them, therefore, already in Homer right at the beginning of the Odyssee when the poet says about Odysseus’ comrads that they were foolish for eating the cows that were sacred to the sun-god Helios:
Fools, who devoured the cattle of Helios Hyperion;
whereupon he took from them the day of their returning home.
(Odyssey 1.8-9)
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