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

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automatically rule out Herodotus’ statement that Darius commemorated his royal status<br />

with an <strong>in</strong>scribed work <strong>of</strong> art allud<strong>in</strong>g to a historical event. <strong>The</strong> tendency <strong>of</strong> Darius to<br />

commemorate those <strong>of</strong> his acts that had historical value with works <strong>of</strong> art is further<br />

evidenced <strong>in</strong> a now-headless, granite statue that depicts him <strong>and</strong> was found at Susa. 486<br />

<strong>The</strong> tril<strong>in</strong>gual cuneiform texts (Old Persian, Elamite, Babylonian) <strong>and</strong> Egyptian<br />

hieroglyphs <strong>in</strong>scribed on its base state that Darius had it made <strong>in</strong> Egypt to show that a<br />

Persian man had taken this country. 487 <strong>The</strong> dom<strong>in</strong>ant scholarly op<strong>in</strong>ion is that the statue<br />

was <strong>in</strong>tended to st<strong>and</strong> at the shr<strong>in</strong>e <strong>of</strong> god Re <strong>in</strong> Heliopolis. 488 <strong>The</strong> fact that it was found<br />

at Susa along with many other works <strong>of</strong> art <strong>of</strong> many periods <strong>in</strong>dicates a special<br />

circumstance, but, at the same time, highlights that works <strong>of</strong> art could travel throughout<br />

the Achaemenid Empire, or be transported from its fr<strong>in</strong>ges to the center. 489 It is,<br />

therefore, not unreasonable to suggest that the issue <strong>of</strong> location may have not been <strong>of</strong><br />

primary importance for Herodotus. In light <strong>of</strong> this evidence, the fact that Herodotus does<br />

not mention the exact location <strong>of</strong> the monument <strong>of</strong> Darius does not serve to impeach the<br />

reliability <strong>of</strong> his account. As was seen above, the surviv<strong>in</strong>g literary <strong>and</strong> visual evidence<br />

suggests a strong presence <strong>of</strong> the image <strong>and</strong> subject <strong>of</strong> the horseman <strong>in</strong> both Achaemenid<br />

language/narrative <strong>and</strong> m<strong>in</strong>or arts.<br />

preparation for the chariot race between Pelops, a hero (father <strong>of</strong> Atreus) worshipped at Olympia <strong>and</strong><br />

O<strong>in</strong>omaos, the ruler <strong>of</strong> neighbor<strong>in</strong>g Pisa. Accord<strong>in</strong>g to the story, Pelops, although skilled <strong>in</strong> horsemanship,<br />

won by brib<strong>in</strong>g O<strong>in</strong>omaos’ charioteer Myrtilos to substitute wax for metal lynch-p<strong>in</strong>s on his chariot.<br />

O<strong>in</strong>omaos was thus killed, but <strong>in</strong> dy<strong>in</strong>g he cursed Pelops; or Pelops killed Myrtilos who, <strong>in</strong> turn, cursed him<br />

<strong>and</strong> his house. For further discussion <strong>of</strong> the story <strong>of</strong> Pelops <strong>and</strong> its association with the east pediment <strong>of</strong> the<br />

temple <strong>of</strong> Zeus at Olympia, see Boardman, Greek <strong>Sculpture</strong>. <strong>The</strong> <strong>Classical</strong> Period 36-38.<br />

486<br />

D. Stronach, “La statue de Darius découverte à Suse,” CDAFI 4 (1974) 61-72; Root, <strong>The</strong> K<strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong><br />

K<strong>in</strong>gship <strong>in</strong> Achaemenid Art 68-72; also, Curtis <strong>and</strong> Tallis, Forgotten Empire 99, no. 88.<br />

487<br />

Curtis <strong>and</strong> Tallis, Forgotten Empire 99.<br />

488<br />

Boardman, Persia <strong>and</strong> the West 115, n. 55.<br />

489<br />

For a discussion <strong>of</strong> these ideas on the basis <strong>of</strong> the statue <strong>of</strong> Darius, see Paspalas, “ On-Persian Style<br />

Furniture <strong>in</strong> Macedonia” 544, n. 84.<br />

262

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