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

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must have been 0.58m., whereas that <strong>of</strong> the north portico 0.65m. 570 When taken this<br />

evidence <strong>in</strong>to account, it is possible to speculate that the zw&idia <strong>of</strong> the <strong>in</strong>scription<br />

referred to the smaller <strong>of</strong> the sculptures that formed the decoration <strong>of</strong> the friezes <strong>of</strong> north<br />

wall <strong>of</strong> the Erechtheion. <strong>The</strong>se sculptures would correspond to those <strong>of</strong> the frieze <strong>of</strong> the<br />

cella.<br />

<strong>The</strong> second <strong>of</strong> the <strong>in</strong>scriptions (XVII; col. II; IG I 3 . 476) that attests to the use <strong>of</strong><br />

the word zw&idia <strong>in</strong> the build<strong>in</strong>g accounts <strong>of</strong> the Erechtheion (408/7 B.C.), records<br />

purchases <strong>of</strong> specific materials for operations related to the frieze <strong>of</strong> the build<strong>in</strong>g:<br />

two talents <strong>of</strong> lead were bought<br />

for the fasten<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong> zwidi/wn,<br />

from Sostratos, liv<strong>in</strong>g <strong>in</strong> Melite. 10 dr.<br />

(IG I 3 . 476 [fr. XVII, col. II, 296-299]) [90]<br />

Zwidi/wn is the genitive plural <strong>of</strong> zw&idia <strong>and</strong> belongs to a restored section <strong>of</strong> the<br />

<strong>in</strong>scription. As was mentioned earlier, zw&idia are the dim<strong>in</strong>utive form <strong>of</strong> zw~ia, which<br />

automatically qualifies these zwidi/wn to be read as “<strong>of</strong> little zw~ia.” Like the previous<br />

<strong>in</strong>scription, however, this one does not comment on the appearance <strong>of</strong> zwidi/wn, which<br />

aga<strong>in</strong> makes it difficult to ga<strong>in</strong> an underst<strong>and</strong><strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong> their mean<strong>in</strong>g. This lack <strong>of</strong><br />

description <strong>in</strong> comb<strong>in</strong>ation with the use <strong>of</strong> the plural re<strong>in</strong>forces the impression that<br />

zwidi/wn was a term <strong>of</strong> general description for a group <strong>of</strong> th<strong>in</strong>gs. What helps underst<strong>and</strong><br />

what were these th<strong>in</strong>gs is the clear statement <strong>of</strong> the <strong>in</strong>scription that lead was purchased<br />

<strong>and</strong> used <strong>in</strong> the fasten<strong>in</strong>g (pro&sqes<strong>in</strong>) <strong>of</strong> these zwidi/wn. Judg<strong>in</strong>g from the extant<br />

archaeological evidence, which refers to the widened bottom surface <strong>of</strong> the frieze <strong>of</strong> the<br />

570 For the height <strong>of</strong> the blocks, see Fowler, “<strong>The</strong> <strong>Sculpture</strong>,” <strong>in</strong> Paton, ed., <strong>The</strong> Erechtheum 239; for the<br />

height <strong>of</strong> the sculptures, see Boulter, “<strong>The</strong> Frieze <strong>of</strong> the Erechtheion” 7; Palagia, “<strong>Classical</strong> Athens,” <strong>in</strong><br />

Palagia, ed., Greek <strong>Sculpture</strong> 141.<br />

290

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