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

limestone mantle. 441 Its poor condition partly accounts for our inability to verify the
statement of Herodotus regarding its measurement of forty o)rguiai/ (tesserakonto&-
rguioj). Lloyd states that Herodotus never makes clear whether the figure of forty
o)rguiai/ refers to the height of the pyramid or the length of its side. 442
Along with this measurement, Herodotus also mentions zw|~a in connection with
the pyramid. All that can be understood from his description is that these zw|~a were
images of some kind. That their appearance is not described, along with the use of the
plural, again suggests that zw|~a was a term of general description. That these zw|~a were
mega&la suggests that they were big in size, but the possibility of being great in a
metaphorical way as opposed to actual size cannot be ruled out. 443 In addition, the word
e0gge/gluptai, which defines zw|~a, derives from e0gglu/fw and again appears to refer to
sculpture, most likely, in relief. Thus the context of these zw|~a seems again directly
involved with the arts, in the context of a funerary/religious building, as suggested by the
prepositional phrase e0n th|~ (“in it”), the dative case referring to the pyramid. In view of
Herodotus’ previous preference for prepositional phrases that refer to location, this phrase
should be also understood as defining the exact location of zw|~a, that is, in or at the
pyramid itself, but not necessarily inside it. Against the latter possibility is Herodotus’
subsequent comment, which shows change of thematic direction by pointing out that
access to the pyramid was through an underground passage. In sum, the picture that
441 For a description and an illustration of the pyramid, see Lehner, The Complete Pyramids 182; for a
discussion of its location, see Lloyd, “Herodotus on Egyptian Buildings,” in Powell, The Greek World 282.
442 Lloyd, “Herodotus on Egyptian Buildings,” in Powell, ed., The Greek World 282, where he also states
that the actual height of the existing structure is c. 58 meters and the actual length of its side c. 106.6
meters.
443 For a discussion of the literal and metaphorical meaning of the term me&geqoj with which mega&la is
directly associated, and the difficulty to determine which meaning is appropriate in connection with the
visual arts, see Pollitt, Ancient View 199-201.
251