θήρ, θηρός,
Epic dialect dative plural θήρεσσι, ὁ: later also ἡ, [[ 2nd-3rd c.AD: Aelianus “De Natura Animalium - Ar.Byzantine Epit.” 6.24, etc.: (see. entry near the end)] Refs 2nd c.AD+]:— beast of prey, especially a lion (so used in Cephallenia, [[ Scholia 8th c.BC: Ilias Homerus Epicus “Illiad” 15.324), 8th c.BC: Ilias Homerus Epicus “Illiad” 15.586, etc.] Refs 8th c.BC+]; ὁ Νέμειος θ. [[ 5th c.BC: Euripides Tragicus “Hercules Furens” 153: coupled with λέων, [prev. work] 465, 6th c.BC: Epimenides Philosophus 2: with λέαινα, “Anthologia Graeca” 14.63.4 (2nd c.AD: Mesomedes Lyricus) ] Refs 6th c.BC+]; of the wild boar, Ἐρυμάνθιος θ. [[ 5th c.BC: Sophocles Tragicus “Trachiniae” 1097 ] Refs 5th c.BC+]; of Cerberus, [[ [prev. author] “OC” 1569 (Lyric poetry)] Refs]; ὁ θ., of a hind, [[ [prev. author] “El.” 572 ] Refs]: plural, generally, beasts, opposed to birds and fishes, ἠέ που ἐν πόντῳ φάγον ἰσθύες, ἢ ἐπὶ χέρσου θηρσὶ καὶ οἰωνοῖσιν ἕλωρ γένετ᾽ [[ 8th c.BC: Odyssea Homerus Epicus “Odyssey” 24.291; ἰχθύσι μὲν καὶ θηρσὶ καὶ οἰωνοῖς πετεηνοῖς 8th-7th c.BC: Hesiodus Epicus “Opera et Dies” 277; ἐν θηρσίν, ἐν βροτοῖσιν, ἐν θεοῖς ἄνω 5th c.BC: Sophocles Tragicus “Fragmenta” 941.12; ἐν ἄγρῃ θηρῶν 5th c.BC: Herodotus Historicus 3.129; ἄφοβοι θῆρες 5th c.BC: Sophocles Tragicus “Ajax” 366: _metaphorically_, θῆρες ξιφήρεις] Refs 8th c.BC+], of Orestes and Pylades, [[ 5th c.BC: Euripides Tragicus “Orestes” 1272, compare “Ph.” 1296 (Lyric poetry)] Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἡ σφοδρότης.. θηρός (i.e. Ἔρωτος) [[ 2nd c.AD: Alexander Rhetor 245.12: proverbial, ἔγνω θὴρ θῆρα 4th c.BC: Aristoteles Philosophus “Rhetorica” 1371b16. ] Refs 4th c.BC+]
__2 of any living creature, πλωτοὶ θῆρες, i.e. dolphins, [[ 6th c.BC: Arion Lyricus 1.5 ] Refs 6th c.BC+]; of vermin killed by birds, [[ 5th-6th c.BC: Aristophanes Comicus “Aves” 1064 (Lyric poetry) ] Refs 5th c.BC+]; of gnats, [[“Anthologia Graeca” 5.150 (1st c.BC: Meleager Epigrammaticus) ] Refs 1st c.BC+]; of the sacred animals in Egypt, ἀρχιστολιστὴς θηρῶν [[ “Sammelb.” 4011.4. ] Refs]