transported to Palermo; but Mr. Samuel Angel, an architect, and one of
the party, took casts from them, which may now be seen at the British
Museum; and of which we present the reader with an account, drawn up, we
believe, by a gentleman named Hamilton.—“Within a temporary building
opening from the fifth room, are the casts from the marble metopæ of the
great temple of Jupiter Olympius, at Selinus, in Sicily. Valuable as
they are, as belonging to a school of art prior to that of Ægina, and
probably of a date coeval with the earliest Egyptian, a short notice of
them may not be unacceptable, as no account of them is to be found in
the Synopsis, although to the public in general subjects of great
curiosity and inquiry. The legend which they tell and their appearance,
are altogether as unaccountable as mysterious. At Selinus, in Sicily,
there are the remains of six temples of the earliest Doric, within a
short distance of each other, and it was during the researches into the
ruins of the largest, called the Western, and the one farthest from it,
named the Eastern, by Messrs. Harris and Angell, in 1832, that these
ancient sculptures were found: among them there were no single and
perfect statues as in the temple of Ægina, which probably arose from the
neighbourhood being well peopled, and they had no doubt been repeatedly
ransacked. These temples may be reckoned among the largest of antiquity,
being equal in their dimensions to those at Agrigentum, in the fluting
of whose columns there is sufficient space for a man to stand.
Immediately after the discovery, application was made to the Neapolitan
Government to allow them to be shipped for England; but permission was
refused, and they are now in the Royal Gallery at Palermo. Casts were,
however, allowed to be taken, and they are these we now describe.
“They are probably of as early a date as any that have reached our
times, and are of different styles of art; those which belonged to the
temple called Eastern, whence the sculpture of the head of the dying
warrior, and the chariot drawn by horses, were taken, possess much of
the Æginitan character; those of the Western are of a ruder age. In most
of the figures the anatomy resembles that of the earliest coins, but
differs in many respects from the Greek sculptures; and there is a short
and full character in the faces approaching the Egyptian. From the short
proportions, the fleshy part of the thigh overcharged, and the peculiar
manner in which the hair is arranged, they might be taken for specimens
of Æginitan art; but on a close inspection it will be found, that they
are the work of artists educated on different principles. At a much
later period it is known that the artists of Ægina were employed by the
kings of Sicily; and these, therefore, are not unlikely to have been the
work of Carthaginian sculptors brought to decorate a city in alliance
and newly founded, which will account for the Egyptian character given
to the whole.
“The cast, which consists of the body and head of a dying soldier, a
part of a female figure behind, formed the third metope of the Eastern
Temple, and is a most valuable and curious fragment, and determines the
style and character of the sculpture of the temple. It bears a marked
resemblance to some of the heads in the Ægina marbles, but it has much
more expression; the artist has evidently intended to mark the agonies
of death, by the closed eyes, the mouth slightly opened, and the tongue
appearing between the teeth; the hair and beard are most carefully and
symmetrically arranged and most elaborately finished; the helmet is
thrown back, and is of the kind called ‘γεῖσον’—part of the crest
‘λόφος’ is visible under the left shoulder of the figure. The fragment
of the female is very spirited, and evidently in strong action. Those
metopes, like those of the Parthenon, are in high relief, and in some
parts detached. Thorwaldsen has pronounced them equal in execution to
the Ægina. The next, which consists of three figures, one of which has a
horse under the arm, is particularly interesting, from the illustration
it presents of the death of the Gorgon Medusa. Perseus, emboldened by
the presence of Minerva, is represented in the act of slaying Medusa;
his eyes are averted from the object of his honour, while his right arm,
guided by the goddess, thrusts his sword into the throat of the monster.
Pegasus, a winged foal, springs from her blood, and Medusa presses him
to her side with apparent solicitude. The monstrous face of the Gorgon
is finely represented; the large round head and hideous face rise from
the shoulders without the intervention of a neck; all the features are
frightfully distorted, the nose is flat and spreading, and the mouth is
nearly the whole width of the face, and is armed on each side with two
immense tusks; the hair over the forehead is curiously shown, and almost
appears to have represented the serpents to which it was changed. The
figure of Minerva on the right is draped with the ‘πέπλον,’ and has the
Mæander ornament on the edge. The figure of Perseus is in the centre; he
is armed with the harp of Mercury and the helmet of Pluto, which latter
has a pendant falling on each side; the ‘πτηνὰ πέδιλα,’ or _talaria_,
are represented as covering the feet entirely, and bear some resemblance
to the ancient greaves; the front part is attached to the ancle by
thongs. The form of the young Pegasus is exceedingly beautiful; he seems
bounding from the earth. The metope, containing the figure bearing two
others on its shoulders, represents the adventure of Hercules, surnamed
Melampyges, from the black and hairy appearance of his loins. The story
is as follows:—Passalus and Achemon, two brothers, reviled their mother,
who warned them to beware of a man whose loins were covered with black
hair. They attempted to rob Hercules while asleep, and from that had the
name of Cercopes; in the attempt they failed and awoke him, and he bound
them hand and foot to his bow, with their heads downwards, and carried
them in that manner. They began laughing on the accomplishment of their
mother’s prophecy; Hercules asked them why they laughed, and on their
telling him the reason, he also laughed and liberated them. The figure
of the god is represented as strong and muscular, and the two prisoners
have a very ludicrous appearance; in the reversed position, the hair
falls in a curious manner; the whole group has been painted in various
colours, and in the countenances much of Egyptian expression is to be
observed. The horses which draw the chariot formed part of the centre
metope of the Eastern Temple; it is very imperfect, and is supposed to
represent the celebration of the race of Pelops and Œnomus; they are
drawn full of fire and courage, and are finely fore-shortened; they have
the cropped ears and manes which are observable in those of the
Parthenon.
“These sculptures are valuable as specimens of the third period of the
art, the earliest of which is probably the Hindoo; the great resemblance
both these and the Egyptian bear to that style is remarkable, and gives
warrant to suppose that it was the original school. Of Hebrew sculpture
there are no remains; the command to form no graven images prevented the
art attaining the perfection which it reached in the neighbouring
country of Syria, and would seem to confirm the account, that within the
land of Judea no statue bearing marks of great antiquity has been
discovered. The Egyptian, the Etruscan, the Selinuntine, and the Ægina
schools, furnished the models for the Grecian; and the careful observer
has it in his power, within the walls of the Museum, to trace, step by
step, the progress of the art; till it attained its meridian splendour
in the production of those sculptures, whose dilapidated remains are
there preserved, and which the accumulated knowledge, genius, labour,
and talent of two thousand five hundred years has never yet been able to
surpass[218].”
The neighbouring country is interesting, as having been the scene of
many of the memorable events recorded by the ancient historians. A few
miles to the west of the ruins, on the banks of a little river, that
now, unless when swelled by the winter torrents, creeps gently into the
sea, was fought, amidst thunder, lightning, and rain, one of the most
celebrated battles of ancient times, in which the “Immortal Timoleon,”
the liberator of Corinth, and the saviour of Syracuse, gained a glorious
victory over the Carthaginian invaders. The events are preserved in
popular traditions; and the names of Mago, Hamilcar, Hannibal,
Agathocles, Dionysius, and Timoleon, are common in the mouths of the
country people, though not unfrequently confused with one another, and
subjected to the same laughable mutilation as the name of Castor and
Selinute[219].
NO. XXIX.—SICYON.
The most ancient kingdom of Greece was that of Sicyon, the beginning of
which is placed by Eusebius 1313 years before the first Olympiad. Its
duration is believed to have been about a thousand years; during which
period it is said to have had a succession of kings, whose reigns were
so equitable that nothing of importance is recorded of them. It sent,
however, 3000 troops to the battle of Platea, and fifteen ships to that
of Salamis. It is now only a village.
Of these monarchs the most remarkable was Sicyon, who is supposed to
have built, though some say he only enlarged, the metropolis of his
kingdom, and to have called it by his own name.
It became very powerful in the time of the Achaian league, which it
joined, at the persuasion of Aratus, A. C. 251. It was destroyed by
Demetrius, son of Antigonus, who afterwards rebuilt it, and endeavoured
to impose upon it the name of Demetrius; but it soon sunk under its
ancient and more memorable appellation.
Sicyon was in great reputation for the arts, and painting in particular;
the true taste for which was preserved there in all its ancient purity.
It is even said, that Apelles, who was then admired by all the world,
had been at Sicyon, where he frequented the schools of two painters, to
whom he gave a talent; not for acquiring a perfection of the art from
them, but in order to obtain a share in their great reputation. When
Aratus had reinstated his city in its former liberties, he destroyed all
the pictures of the tyrants; but when he came to that of Aristratus, who
reigned in the time of Philip, and whom the painter had represented in
the attitude of standing in a triumphant chariot, he hesitated a long
time whether he should deface it or not; for all the capital disciples
of Melanthus had contributed to the completion of that piece; and it had
even been touched by the pencil of Apelles. This work was so inimitable
in its kind, that Aratus was enchanted with its beauties; but his
aversion to tyrants prevailed over his admiration of the picture, and he
accordingly ordered it to be destroyed.
In the time of Pausanias, Sicyon was destroyed by an earthquake. It was,
nevertheless, not long after, not only one of the noblest cities of
Greece, on account of its magnificent edifices, many of which were built
of marble, and ingenious workmen, but it was a distinguished place when
the Venetians were masters of the Morea. The period, however, when it
fell from that eminence is unknown.
Sicyon[220] was the school of the most celebrated artists of antiquity,
and was sumptuously decorated with temples and statues. Pausanias
enumerates seventeen temples, a stadium, a theatre, two gymnasia, an
agora, a senate-house, and a temenos for the Roman emperors, with many
altars, monuments, and numerous statues of ivory and gold, of marble, of
bronze, and of wood.
Its present condition, in respect to population, may be, in a great
measure, attributed to its having, about twenty years before Sir George
Wheler visited it, been afflicted by the plague. “This final
destruction,” said one of the inhabitants, “is a judgment of God upon
the Turks for turning one of the Christian churches into a mosque. The
Vaywode fell down dead upon the place, the first time he caused the
Koran to be read in it. This was followed by a plague, which, in a short
time, utterly destroyed the whole town; and it could never afterwards be
repeopled.”
So little is known[221] concerning this ancient seat of Grecian power,
that it is not possible to ascertain in what period it dwindled from its
pre-eminence to become, what it is now, one of the most wretched
villages of the Peloponnesus. The remains of its former magnificence
are, however, still considerable, and in some instances they exist in
such a state of preservation, that it is evident the buildings of the
city either survived the earthquakes said to have overwhelmed them, or
they must have been constructed at some later period.
“The ruins of Sicyon,” says Mr. Dodwell, “still retain some vestiges of
ancient magnificence. Among these a fine theatre, situate at the
north-east foot of the Acropolis; having seats in a perfect state. Near
it are some large masses of Roman brick walls, and the remains of the
gymnasium, supported by strong walls of polygonal construction. There
are several dilapidated churches which, composed of ancient fragments,
are supposed to occupy the site of the temples. Several fragments of the
Doric order are observable among them; also several inscriptions.”
“In respect to the temple of Bacchus,” says Dr. Clarke, “we can be at no
loss for its name, although nothing but the ground-plot now remains. It
is distinctly stated by Pausanias to have been the temple of Bacchus,
which was placed beyond the theatre to a person coming from the citadel,
and to this temple were made those annual processions which took place
at night, and by the light of the torches, when the Sicyonians brought
hither the mystic images, called Bacchus and Lysius, chanting their
ancient hymns.”
The theatre is almost in its entire state; and although the notes were
made upon the spot, did not enable Dr. Clarke to afford a description of
its form and dimensions equally copious with that already given of the
famous theatre of Polycletus in Eidausia; yet this of Sicyon may be
considered as surpassing every other in Greece, in the harmony of its
proportions, the costliness of the workmanship, the grandeur of the
coilon, and the stupendous nature of the prospect presented to all those
who were seated upon its benches. If it were cleared of the rubbish
about it, and laid open to view, it would afford an astonishing idea of
the magnificence of a city, whose treasures were so great, that its
inhabitants ranked amongst the most voluptuous and effeminate people of
all Greece. The stone-work is entirely of that massive kind, which
denotes a very high degree of antiquity.
The stadium[222] is on the right hand of a person facing the theatre,
and it is undoubtedly the oldest work remaining of all that belonged to
the ancient city. The walls exactly resemble those of Mycenæ and Tiryns;
we may, therefore, class it among the examples of the Cyclopean masonry.
It is, in other respects, the most remarkable structure of the kind
existing; combining at once a natural and artificial character. The
persons by whom it was formed, finding that the mountain whereon the
coilon of the theatre has been constructed, would not allow a sufficient
space for another oblong cavea of the length requisite to complete a
stadium, built upon an artificial rampart reaching out into the plain,
from the mountain toward the sea; so that this front-work resembles half
a stadium thrust into the semicircular cavity of a theatre; the
entrance to the area, included between both, being formed with great
taste and effect at the two sides or extremities of the semicircle. The
ancient masonry appears in the front-work so placed. The length of the
whole area equals two hundred and sixty-seven paces; the width of the
advanced bastion thirty-six paces; and its height twenty-two feet six
inches.
Besides these there are some few other antiquities, but of too minute a
kind to merit description.
Even her ruins[223] speak less emphatically of the melancholy fate of
Greece than her extensive solitudes. Oppression has degraded her
children, and broken her spirit. Hence those prodigious plains, which
God hath given for their good, are neglected; hence, too, the beauteous
seas are without a sail; the lands of ancient Sicyon so thinly peopled!
’Tis Greece, but living Greece no more!
So coldly sweet, so deadly fair,
We start—for soul is wanting there!
Hers is the loveliness in death,
That parts not quite with parting breath;
But beauty with that fearful bloom,
That hue which haunts it to the tomb—
Expression’s last receding ray,
A gilded halo, hovering round decay,
The farewell beam of feeling past away;
Spark of that flame, perchance of heavenly birth,
Which gleams, but warms no more its cherished earth![224]
NO. XXX.—SIDON.
Phœnicia comprised Sidon, Tyre, Ptolemais, and Berytus. Its mountains
were Libanus and Anti-Libanus. Its most ancient city was Sidon; which
was an opulent city even at so early a period as that in which the
Greeks are said to have lived upon acorns. It is situated on the shores
of the Mediterranean, at a distance of about twenty miles from Tyre, and
fifty from Damascus.
Sidon is supposed to have been built by Canaan’s first-born, whose name
was Sidon[225]. It is, therefore, celebrated as the most ancient of the
cities of Phœnicia. It is frequently mentioned in holy writ. It is named
by Jacob[226], in his prophetic speech concerning the country which his
sons were to inhabit; and it is stated as a place for some of the kings
who were driven out by Joshua. Its remote origin, however, is perhaps
still uncertain, though Justin speaks of it in the following
manner:—“The nation of the Tyrians, descended from the Phœnicians,
being shaken by an earthquake, and having abandoned their country, did
first inhabit the Assyrian marsh; and, not long afterwards, the shore
next unto the sea, where they built a city, and called it Sidon, from
the abundance of fishes that were there: for the Phœnicians call a fish
_sidon_. After the process of many years, being overcome by king
Ascalon, they took shipping again, and built Tyre in the year before the
destruction of Troy.”
“I cannot help thinking,” says Mr. Drummond, “that the city, called
Tsidon by the Hebrews; Tsaid or Tsaida, by the Syrians; and Said or
Saida, by the Arabians; originally received its name from the language
of the last. The Tsidonians were celebrated for their skill in
metallurgy, and for the art with which they worked in gold, silver, and
brass. Much iron and brass existed in Phœnicia, and the possession of
this country having been once intended for the tribe of Ashur, Moses
said to that tribe, ‘under thy shoes shall be iron and brass:’ (Deut.
xxxiii. 25.): that is, the soil under thy feet shall abound with iron
and brass. Now I consider Sidon, or rather Saida, to have been so called
from its abounding with _saidi_ or _saidan_, viz. brass.”[227]
During the administration of Joshua, and afterwards, Sidon was governed
by kings. He calls it “Zidon the great.”[228] In the division of
Palestine it was allotted to Ashur; but this tribe could never get
possession of it.[229]
The inhabitants are said to have assisted Solomon, in his preparations
for the building of the temple; their skill in hewing timber being
superior to that of all other nations.[230]
That Sidon was celebrated for its women being skilled in embroidery, we
learn, in the first instance, from several passages in Scripture; and
secondly, from a curious passage in Homer:
The Phrygian queen to her rich wardrobe went,
Where treasured odours breathed a costly scent.
There lay the vestures of no vulgar art,
Sidonian maids embroider’d every part,
Whom from soft Sidon youthful Paris bore,
With Helen touching on the Tyrian shore.
Here as the queen revolved with careful eyes
The various textures and the various dyes,
She chose a veil that shone superior far,
And glow’d refulgent as the morning star.[231]
To the Sidonians, also, are attributed the inventions of glass,[232]
linen, and purple dye. They were also greatly celebrated for their
industry. They were highly commercial, and were famous for the many
voyages some of their fellow-citizens undertook. It was the most ancient
of maritime cities: illustrious for its wealth, for the sobriety and
industry of its inhabitants; for the wisdom of its councils, and for its
skill, not only in commerce and geography, but in astronomy.
The Sidonians were often engaged in war; but we can afford space only to
a few instances. The origin of that with Artaxerxes Ochus, is thus
related by Diodorus:[233]—“The king’s lieutenants and generals then in
Sidon, carrying themselves, by their severe edicts, rigorously and
haughtily towards the Sidonians, the citizens, being so abused, and not
being able longer to brook it, studied how to revolt from the Persians.
Upon which, the rest of the Phœnicians, being wrought upon by the others
to vindicate their liberty, sent messengers to Nectanetus, the king of
Egypt, then at war with the Persians, to receive them as confederates,
and so the whole nation (Phœnicia,) prepared for war. And being that
Sidon exceeded all the rest of the cities in wealth, and even private
men, by the advantage of trade, were grown very rich, they built a great
number of ships, and raised a potent army of mercenaries; and both arms,
and darts, and provisions, and all other things necessary for war were
prepared; and that they might appear first in the war, they spoiled and
ruined the king’s garden, cutting down all the trees, where the Persian
kings used to recreate and divert themselves. Then they burned all the
hay, which the lieutenants had laid up for the horses. At last they
seized upon the Persians, who had so insulted them, and led them to
punishment, and in this manner began the war of the Persians with the
Phœnicians.”
Ochus Artaxerxes acted in a manner so contrary to all the best notions
of government, that some historians have not hesitated to regard him as
the most cruel and wicked of all the princes of his race. Not only the
palace, but the empire was filled with his murderers. Several nations,
over whom he exercised sway, in consequence revolted. Amongst these,
Sidon and the other Phœnician cities. Ochus hearing of this, resolved to
go in person to reduce the rebels. He repaired to Phœnicia with an army
of 300,000 foot, and 30,000 horse. Mentor was at this time in Sidon with
some troops from Greece. He had come thither to assist the rebels. When
he learned how great a force the Persian king had, he was so alarmed,
that he sent secretly to the king to offer to deliver up Sidon. This
offer Ochus accepted; and the king of Sidon having come into the
treason, the city was surrendered into his hands.
When the Sidonians saw themselves betrayed, and that the enemy had got
entire possession of their city, they gave themselves up to despair,
shut themselves up in their houses, and set them on fire. In this manner
40,000 men, besides women and children, perished in the flames! At this
time, Sidon was so immensely rich, that the cinders, among which a vast
quantity of gold and silver had melted, were sold by the conqueror for a
large sum of money.
This judgment had been prophesied by Ezekiel[234].
“20. Again the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
“21. Son of man, set thy face against Zidon, and prophesy against it.
“22. And say, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold I am against thee, O
Zidon; and I will be glorified in the midst of thee: and they shall know
that I am the Lord, when I shall have executed judgments in her, and
shall be sanctified in her.
“23. For I will send into her pestilence, and blood into her streets;
and the wounded shall be judged in the midst of her by the sword upon
her on every side; and they shall know that I am the Lord.”