ζῷον

A. living being, animal, Hdt. 5.10 (of bees), Ar. V. 551, Pl. 443, etc.; πᾶν ὅ τι περ ἂν μετάσχῃ τοῦ ζῆν ζῷον ἂν λέγοιτο Pl. Ti. 77b; ζῷα, opp. φυτά, Id. Phd. 70d, 110e, etc.; ζ. θαλάττιον, χερσαῖον, Phld. Rh. 1.98S.; contemptuously, ὅπως ἡ χώρα τοῦ τοιούτου ζῴου καθαρὰ γίγνηται may be free from this kind of animal (i.e. beggars), Pl. Lg. 936c; ζ. πονηρόν, of women, Secund. Sent. 8.

II. in art, figure, image, not necessarily of animals (cf. ζῴδιον), ζῷον δέ οἱ ἐνῆν, ἀνὴρ ἱππεύς Hdt. 3.88: mostly in pl., ζῷα ἐς τὴν ἐσθῆτα ἐγγράφειν Id. 1.203, cf. 2.4,124,148, Pl. R. 515a, etc.; ζῷα γράψασθαι τὴν ζεῦξιν τοῦ Βοσπόρου to have pictures of the bridging of the Bosporus painted, Hdt. 4.88; cf. ζωγραφέω: ζῷα ποιεῖν Plu. Per. 13.

III. sign of the Zodiac, Man. 2.166.—The word is post-Hom., no generic word used for animal being found till after the middle of the fifth cent. B.C. (ζώϊον Semon. 13, whence Att. ζῷον by contraction: ι is found in IG 12.372.42, al.,11(2).161 B 76 (Delos, iii B.C.), Phld. Rh. 2.166S., and in codd. opt. in the Noun; the Adj. ζωός (q.v.) had no ι: for the compds. (exc. ζωγλύφος, ζωγράφος) decisive evidence is lacking: ζῳάγρια with ι was read by Aristarch. in Il. 18.407.)