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

to consider the concept of lifelikeness in Greek art on the basis of the ancient Greek
understanding not only of form but also of inner emotional states. At the same time, the
fact that the exact representation of emotions in art created, according to Socrates, “a
sense of satisfaction in the spectator” is explicit indication of not only what was
considered convincing in art, but also how highly convincing ancient Greeks found their
art to be. This evidence contrasts sharply with the idea that dissatisfaction with
unconvincing images fueled the development of Greek naturalism, as asserted by Löwy,
Gombrich, and Boardman.
Of great importance in this passage is also the fact that lifelikeness is not
conflated with mimesis, but rather defined as a quality resulting from this process.
Socrates, for example, uses two cognates of mimesis: first, the word a)pomimei=sqai,
translated above as “exact imitation,” to talk about the representation of emotions that
affect bodies in action as lifelike and thus satisfying to the eye; and second, mimhte/a,
translated above as “imitated,” to exclaim that in order for a victorious figure to be
perceived as lifelike, its facial expression has to convey the emotion of victory. In both
cases, lifelikeness emerges as a quality of works of art directly dependent on represented
emotions. It is therefore to be understood as the result of a process of representation
(mimesis) rather than as the process itself. This evidence serves as a good reason to cast
doubt, for example, on Pollitt’s equation of mimesis with realism, and further suggests
that such an equation may not be as straightforward as previously thought. This function
along with the aforementioned traits of lifelikeness present Xenophon’s passage as a
study of emotions in ancient Greek culture, see D. Konstan, The Emotions of the Ancient Greeks: Studies in
Aristotle and Classical Literature (Toronto, 2006).
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