24.04.2013 Views

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

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

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

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.

B. Inscriptions<br />

<strong>The</strong> fifth century is also the period when both the words zw|~on <strong>and</strong> its dim<strong>in</strong>utive<br />

zw|&dion appear for the first time <strong>in</strong> the epigraphical record. <strong>The</strong> words occur <strong>in</strong> direct<br />

association with architectural sculpture <strong>and</strong> carry the mean<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong> representations <strong>of</strong> both<br />

animate <strong>and</strong> <strong>in</strong>animate subjects taken from the real world. In addition to this mean<strong>in</strong>g,<br />

zw|&dion is used <strong>in</strong> the <strong>in</strong>scriptions to refer to the dist<strong>in</strong>ct method <strong>of</strong> attach<strong>in</strong>g works <strong>of</strong><br />

sculpture by rivets to a background. As <strong>in</strong> the case <strong>of</strong> the literary texts, the <strong>in</strong>scriptions<br />

<strong>in</strong>dicate that the term zw|~on <strong>in</strong>dicated the absence <strong>of</strong> a dist<strong>in</strong>ction between image <strong>and</strong><br />

subject.<br />

Erechtheion<br />

<strong>The</strong> earliest epigraphical attestation <strong>of</strong> zw|~on <strong>in</strong> the fifth century is <strong>in</strong> the build<strong>in</strong>g<br />

accounts <strong>of</strong> the Erechtheion on the Athenian Acropolis. <strong>The</strong>se accounts, which were<br />

<strong>in</strong>scribed on marble stelai, date from 409/8 to 406/5 B.C., <strong>and</strong> detail the state <strong>of</strong> the<br />

unf<strong>in</strong>ished parts <strong>of</strong> the build<strong>in</strong>g <strong>and</strong> expenditures for their completion. 544<br />

A fragment <strong>of</strong> one <strong>of</strong> these stelai—also known as the Ch<strong>and</strong>ler stele—bears an<br />

<strong>in</strong>scription that identifies its date as that <strong>of</strong> the first prytany <strong>of</strong> the year 409/8 B.C. 545 <strong>The</strong><br />

544<br />

L. D. Caskey, “<strong>The</strong> Inscriptions,” <strong>in</strong> J. M. Paton, ed., <strong>The</strong> Erechtheum (Cambridge, Mass., 1927) 277-<br />

422; also IG I 3 .474-479.<br />

545<br />

For the date <strong>of</strong> the Ch<strong>and</strong>ler stele identified as that <strong>of</strong> the archonship <strong>of</strong> Diokles <strong>in</strong> 409/8 B.C., see<br />

Caskey, “<strong>The</strong> Inscriptions” <strong>in</strong> Paton, ed., <strong>The</strong> Erechtheum 283. Caskey (277-321) expla<strong>in</strong>s that the<br />

Ch<strong>and</strong>ler stele comprises six different fragments, which <strong>in</strong> his discussion are given the numbers II-VII (IG<br />

I 3 .474.2). Fragments II, III, IV, <strong>and</strong> VA are on the obverse <strong>of</strong> the stele, whereas fragments VB <strong>and</strong> VII are<br />

on the reverse. Fragment II, which is the largest (1.08 m. high, 0.505 m. wide, <strong>and</strong> 0.09 m. thick) <strong>and</strong> the<br />

one discussed here, was found by Richard Ch<strong>and</strong>ler built <strong>in</strong>to the steps <strong>of</strong> a house on the Acropolis <strong>in</strong> 1765.<br />

Ch<strong>and</strong>ler took it to Engl<strong>and</strong> for the Society <strong>of</strong> the Dilettanti <strong>and</strong> later presented it to the British Museum:<br />

Caskey, 283; also Ferrari, “<strong>The</strong> Ancient Temple on the Acropolis at Athens,” AJA 106 (2002) 18, n. 48.<br />

Fragment III was found between the Erechtheion <strong>and</strong> the Parthenon: Caskey, 281; Fragment III was “found<br />

<strong>in</strong> [an] excavation on the Acropolis <strong>in</strong> 1836 (Ross) <strong>and</strong> re-discovered between the Erechtheum <strong>and</strong> the<br />

Parthenon <strong>in</strong> 1838 (Pittakis)”: Caskey, 284; Fragments IV, V, <strong>and</strong> VI are <strong>of</strong> unknown provenance: Caskey,<br />

276

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!