The Maltese is a breed of dog in the toy group. It is thought to have originated in south-central Europe from dogs of spitz type. Despite the name, it has no verified historic or scientific connection to the island of Malta.

History

Little is known about the origin and spread of the Maltese dog. It probably did not originate from the island of Malta, the town of Melita in Italy, nor the island of Melita in the Adriatic, but from spitz-type dogs in south-central Europe, where it may at first have resembled the modern Pomeranian.

Melitaie

The Maltese dog was a lapdog favoured by both the ancient Greeks and Romans, especially their children, and appears on amphorae with the word Μελιταιε (Melitaie). References to the dog can also be found in Ancient Greek and Roman literature. Aristotle mentions the dog around 370 BC. Early writers attribute its origin to Melita, however there were two islands named Melita at that time with one being in the Mediterranean and the other being in the Adriatic sea near Dalmatia, which confuses where the dog originated from. Strabo wrote about the Canes Melitei that came not from Malta but from a town named Melita in Sicily, which is in contrast to English writers who give Malta, as the place of origin, considering that Melite is also the old name of Mdina, former capital of Malta.

Pliny suggests the dog as having taken its name from the Adriatic island Méléda, however Strabo, in the early first century AD, identifies the breed as originating from the Mediterranean island of Malta.

During the first century, the Roman poet Martial wrote descriptive verses to a lap dog named “Issa” owned by his friend Publius. It is proposed that Issa was a Maltese dog, and various sources link Martial’s friend Publius with the Roman Governor Publius of Malta, though others do not identify him.

John Caius, physician to Queen Elizabeth I, also claimed that Callimachus was referring to the island of Melita “in the Sicilian strait” (Malta). This claim is often repeated, especially by English writers. The dog’s links to Malta are mentioned in the writings of Abbé Jean Quintin d’Autun, Secretary to the Grand Master of the Knights of Malta Philippe Villiers de L’Isle-Adam, in his work Insulae Melitae Descriptio.