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

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<strong>in</strong>dicates that it was a term <strong>of</strong> general description for a subject <strong>of</strong> representation <strong>in</strong><br />

sculpture. This evidence exp<strong>and</strong>s the previously encountered mean<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong> zw|~on <strong>in</strong> Plato<br />

as the object or image produced by means <strong>of</strong> pa<strong>in</strong>t<strong>in</strong>g.<br />

<strong>The</strong> presence <strong>of</strong> zw|~on <strong>in</strong> the company <strong>of</strong> a)ndria&j also appears <strong>in</strong> another<br />

passage from the Republic, <strong>in</strong> which zw|~on is used as a blanket term for images <strong>in</strong><br />

sculpture. Here Socrates asks Glaucon to construct mentally the picture <strong>of</strong> people liv<strong>in</strong>g<br />

as cha<strong>in</strong>ed prisoners <strong>in</strong> a subterranean cave. <strong>The</strong>se people are prevented from look<strong>in</strong>g<br />

anywhere other than ahead, but have light from a distant fire burn<strong>in</strong>g beh<strong>in</strong>d <strong>and</strong> above<br />

them. In the space between them <strong>and</strong> the fire, but on a higher level, is a road along which<br />

a low wall has been built. In addition to this image, Socrates asks Glaucon to<br />

picture also, along the length <strong>of</strong> the wall, people carry<strong>in</strong>g all sorts <strong>of</strong> implements<br />

which project above it, <strong>and</strong> a)ndria&ntaj <strong>and</strong> a1lla zw|~a made <strong>of</strong> stone <strong>and</strong> wood<br />

<strong>and</strong> all k<strong>in</strong>ds <strong>of</strong> materials (pantoi=a ei0rgasme/na). As you’d expect, some <strong>of</strong> the<br />

people carry<strong>in</strong>g the objects are speak<strong>in</strong>g, while others are silent.<br />

(Resp. 514c-515a) [149]<br />

Regard<strong>in</strong>g the mean<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong> a)ndria&ntaj <strong>in</strong> the passage, Shorey, suggests that it should be<br />

understood as “human images,” Griffith as “statues <strong>of</strong> people,” <strong>and</strong> Allen as “statues <strong>of</strong><br />

men.” 590 <strong>The</strong> previously seen mean<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong> a)ndria&j as “a figure <strong>of</strong> manhood” <strong>and</strong> its<br />

connection with statuary <strong>of</strong> the kouros type make certa<strong>in</strong> that the context <strong>of</strong> the passage<br />

directly <strong>in</strong>volved the visual arts. As for the term zw|~a, all three translators agree on its<br />

mean<strong>in</strong>g as “animals,” with Shorey, <strong>in</strong> particular, suggest<strong>in</strong>g “shapes <strong>of</strong> animals.” 591 It<br />

seems that the mean<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong> “animals” for zw|~a has been fueled by the belief that this term<br />

contrasts with the perceived mean<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong> a)ndria&ntaj as “statues <strong>of</strong> human figures.”<br />

590 Shorey, Plato. <strong>The</strong> Republic 121; Griffith, Plato. <strong>The</strong> Republic 220; Allen, Plato. <strong>The</strong> Republic 227.<br />

591 Shorey, Plato. <strong>The</strong> Republic 121; Griffith, Plato. <strong>The</strong> Republic 220; Allen, Plato. <strong>The</strong> Republic 227.<br />

301

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