The Judgment of Animals in Classical Greece: Animal Sculpture and ...

of “the animals that possess nails…some have straight ones (e.g., man), others crooked or
curved ones (an example from walking animals is the lion, from flying ones, the eagle)”
(517a-517b) [59]. The sculptor’s attention to the lion’s nails is intriguing, considering
that the animal can in reality retract its claws. Further, the presence of hair on the back
and neck of the statue is consistent with the description of the lion in the Physiognomics
as an animal with a hairy back and neck, and his interpretation of these bodily features as
signs of shamelessness and generosity respectively (812b) [180]. Similarly, the
physiognomic idea that those animals (among them the lion) whose hair near the head
curls backwards are liberal in character appears to find application on the lion-like body
of the statue, whose hair around its head is pushed backward (812b) [181]. The
importance of this sign in the mind of the author of the Physiognomics emerges clearly
when he notes what the opposite appearance signifies: “those [animals] whose hair
inclines to grow down from the head towards the nose are mean; this is appropriate as
this appearance gives a servile look” (812b) [182].
The intention to highlight the character of the animal represented here may be
also seen in its possession of a large chest, large and powerful extremities, and also a
hairy tail. As the author of the Physiognomics suggests, all animals with bushy tails are
aggressive (808b) [171], and with large chests strong in character (810b) [175]. In
addition, this author has human beings in mind when he speaks of large and powerful
extremities as signs of bravery (807a) [169], as noted earlier, but also of a passionate
temperament (808a) [170]. That his idea could equally apply to animals is supported by
the fundamental notion of the Physiognomics, also noted earlier, that similar bodily
features in humans and animals reveal their comparable inner qualities. The connection
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