He-Goat, Rochester Bestiary, c.1230

The he-goat was connected to the worship of Artemis, the Goddess of wild animals and of Pan, the God of shepherds and flocks: the animal was given as a reward to actors who thrived on the stages of Greek theatres.

The he-goat was also associated with sin and temptation, particularly due to its reputed lascivious behaviour. This association draws from biblical imagery, such as the scapegoat in Leviticus 16:21-22¹, which symbolically carried away the sins of the people. In Christian interpretation, the he-goat could symbolize the temptations of the flesh that lead humans astray from God's path.

The reputation of this beast for promiscuity and excessive sexual behaviour made it a symbol of lust and carnal desires. This association is found in various medieval texts and artworks, where the he-goat often represents the indulgence in worldly pleasures that distract from spiritual pursuits.

The stubborn and sometimes aggressive nature of the he-goat could symbolize rebellion against authority or resistance to divine will. This interpretation is less common but is found in some allegorical writings where animals are used to represent human characteristics and behaviours.

In the Bible, there are several references to goats, though not specifically to he-goats, that carry symbolic significance:

In the Old Testament, goats were sometimes used as sacrificial animals, such as in Leviticus 16 where one goat was chosen for the Lord and another as a scapegoat.

In the New Testament, particularly in Matthew 25:31-35², Jesus uses the imagery of separating the sheep from the goats as a metaphor for the final judgment, where the righteous are likened to sheep and the unrighteous to goats.

Hircus lascivum animal est et petulcum. et fer-
vens semper ad coitum. cuius oculi ob libidinem
in transversum aspiciunt. Unde et nomen traxit;
Nam hirci sunt oculorum anguli secundum suetonium. cuius na-
tura adeo calidissima est; ut adamantem lapidem quem
nec ignis nec ferri materia domare valet; solus huius
cruor dissoluat. Hedi ab edendo vocati. Parvi enim
pinguissimi sunt. et saporis iucundi. Unde edere et edu-
lium inde vocatur.

The he-goat is a wanton animal, it gores with its horns and is always longing for copulation. Its eyes look sideways owing to lust, wherefrom its name derives. According to Suetonius³, hirci are the angles of the eyes. Its nature is so passionate and the blood alone of this beast can dissolve a diamond stone, which neither fire nor iron can dissolve. Young goats are called haedi from eating, edendum, for the small ones are fat and taste delicious. Hence, the act of eating, ĕdēre, and the food, ĕdūlĭum, are named after them.

Further Reading

David Badke, The Bestiary Blog: Animals in the Middle Ages, He-goat, November 6 2023, https://bestiary.ca/beasts/beast196.htm

Josh Goldenberg (BA 2012) and Matt Shanahan (BA 2014), Logeion, November 2022, https://logeion.uchicago.edu/

Castiglioni, L. and Mariotti, S. (1996). Vocabolario della Lingua Latina: Latino-Italiano Italiano-Latino. Terza Edizione. Loescher Torino

Felice Moretti, Mondi Medievali, Immaginario medievale, Il sabba: il demonio è rappresentato come caprine, 2003, https://www.mondimedievali.net/Immaginario/caprone.htm

Curley, M. J., Physiologus: A Medieval Book of Nature Lore (University of Chicago edition 2009)

Rackham, H., M.A., Pliny Natural History Volume III, Libri VIII-XI (London: William Heinemann Ltd, 1949)

Collins, A. H., M.A., Symbolism of Animals and Birds (New York: McBride, Nast & Company, 1913)

Henderson, C., The Book of Barely Imagined Beings (London: University of Chicago Press, 2013)

White, T. H., The Bestiary: A Book of Beasts (New York: G.P Putnam’s Sons, 1960)

Barney, S. A., Lewis, W. J., Beach A., Berghof O., The Etymologies of Isidore of Seville (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006)

Endnotes

1 Leviticus 16:21-22 NKJV: “Aaron shall lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, confess over it all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions, concerning all their sins, putting them on the head of the goat, and shall send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a suitable man.”

2 Matthew 25:31-35: 31 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the [a]holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in;”

1 Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus was a Roman historian who wrote during the early Imperial era of the Roman Empire. His most important surviving work is a set of biographies of 12 successive Roman rulers from Julius Caesar to Domitian, properly titled De Vita Caesarum. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suetonius