[1] The base, perhaps already without the krater, was also seen by Pausanias, who describes its construction,[2] and by Athenaeus,[3] who says that it was chased with small figures of animals, insects, and plants.
Perhaps it is this passage that has led Meyer[4] and others into the mistake of explaining κόλλησις as that kind of engraving on steel which is now called damascene work.
Actually there is no doubt that κόλλησις meant a mode of uniting metals without the help of nails, hooks, or dovetails.
Stephanus Byzantinus (s. v. Αἰθάλη) and Suda (s. v. γλαῦξ ἴπταται), who appear to confuse these two persons of the name Glaucus.
Though these dates appear inconsistent, there is nothing in Herodotus to exclude the supposition that the iron base had been made some time before Alyattes sent it to Delphi.