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

Although not exactly based on cross-breeding, the biological affinity between a
lion and a dog may be also reflected in the mythological idea that one of these animals
can be parented by the other. According to Hesiod’s Theogony (306), for example, the
Nemean lion killed by Heracles is the offspring of Orthus, the dog of the titan Geryon,
and the monster Echidna. Although not conventional, such lineage reflects the idea that
no great biological distance separated the lion from the dog, but rather, the two were
considered ontologically close to one another.
Taken together, the evidence cited so far indicates that Classical Greek zoological
thought considered the lion and the dog two animals that were closely allied in nature.
They shared certain anatomical, behavioral, and personal characteristics, and were also
cross-bred. When transferred to the Kerameikos hound, which combines the body of a
lion and the head of a dog, this evidence suggests that the contradictory elements in the
style of this statue may be interpreted as the result of the contemporary view of the lion
and the dog as ontologically close to one another. This evidence, in turn, highlights the
role of animals in uncovering the conceptual context that helps shape the elements of the
Classical style in ancient Greek art.
Conclusion
The fourth-century statues of the lion and the hound from the Kerameikos suggest
that the presence of naturalistic and non-naturalistic, elements in their inconsistent and
contradictory styles respectively is a direct reflection of the manner in which these two
animals were viewed and thought to be in contemporary life. In this way, animals
emerge as useful guides to the conceptual categories that shape the elements of style, and
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