CLASSICAL PERIOD, CIRCA MID TO LATE 5TH CENTURY B.C.

Waterspouts lining the sima, the gutter-like element that encircled Greek buildings, were used to channel rainwater away from the structure to prevent flood damage. As J. Neils remarks (p. 158 in A.P. Kozloff, ed., Animals in Ancient Art from the Leo Mildenberg Collection), “Effective functionally as well as visually, lion head spouts were ubiquitous in the ancient Mediterranean.” For a similar example from Taras, see no. 54 in M. Mertens-Horn, Die Löwenkopf-Wasserspeier des griechischen Westens im 6. und 5. Jahrhundert v. Chr.