Description of the Fountain — Excavations which enclose it —
Sculptured Tablet discovered at the entrance of one of the Chambers
— Early Character of its Style — Beautiful Bas-Relief in white
Marble discovered near the Fountain — Indications of Porticoes in
front of the excavated Chambers — Greek Inscription cut over one of
them — Remains in front of the Fountain — Aqueduct above it —
Peripteral Temple, probably of Diana — Female Statue discovered
there — Position of Cyrene — Delightful View from the Town —
Excavated Galleries and Tombs — Nature and Style of the Tombs
— Variety displayed in the disposition of their Interiors —
Remains of Painting discovered in them — Suite of what appear
to be Allegorical Compositions, painted on the Metopes of one of
the Doric Tombs — Practice, at Cyrene, of painting the several
Members of Architecture — Remarks connected with this Practice.
It is not often that an Arab takes an interest in his part when he
finds himself called upon to support the character of a Cicerone;
but Chaous Rabdi had no sooner quenched his own thirst, and allowed
his tired horse to drink as much as he chose, than he was eager
to point out to us such of the wonders as were congenial with his
taste for antiquities. He entered upon his office by desiring us
particularly to remark, that this water was not stagnant like that of
the wells which we had seen in other parts of the country; but that
it actually _ran_, exactly like a river, and afforded a copious and
a constant supply, even in the driest seasons! The exultation with
which our sturdy chaous pronounced the latter part of his harangue
was fully equal to that which the most ardent of antiquaries might
display in pointing out a valuable coin or gem in his collection,
which he considered to be the only one of the kind ever found; and
we were no doubt considered by our worthy conductor as little less
than Goths or Vandals, when, after having given a short assent to
the truth of this remark, we turned towards the mountain from which
the water issued, and entering an excavated chamber which presented
itself, began to examine its connexion with the stream.
We found that a channel had been cut from this apartment far into
the bowels of the rock, (at the height of about five feet from the
level of the chamber,) along which the water flowed rapidly from the
interior, and precipitated itself in a little cascade into a basin,
formed to receive it, on a level with the floor of the apartment:
from hence it passed out into the open space in front of the
mountain. The channel forms a passage of about four feet in height,
and is about three feet in breadth; the sides and roof are flat,
but the bed of the stream, which occupies the whole width of the
passage, is worn into irregular forms by the strong and constant
action of the water.
We inquired of the Chaous how far the channel continued to wind
into the heart of the rock, and what it eventually led to; but he
could only inform us that its length had never been ascertained,
and that it was known to be the haunt of demons and fairies, as
the Arabs of the place (he said) could testify! It would have been
useless to assert our disbelief of this statement, that is, of the
latter part of it; and having satisfied ourselves by examining
this mysterious passage, as far as the day-light extended, and
ascertaining that it continued still farther into the mountain,
we determined to take an early opportunity of bringing lights and
exploring it to the end, and proceeded to examine the other parts
of the excavation. On one side of the cascade are two excavated
chambers, or rather one chamber divided into two compartments;
and in the farther division is a second basin, sunk below the level
of the chamber, which appears to have originally communicated with
the stream by means of a small aperture in the rock just above it;
but no water at present finds its way through this opening, and the
basin would be dry were it not for the rain which washes into it
from without during the winter season. It is probable that this
reservoir was originally devoted to the service of the priests
who had the charge of the sacred stream, in the performance of
their religious ceremonies. Nearly opposite to it is what appears
to have been the principal entrance; and we found here a tablet,
broken in two pieces, which seems to have fallen from over the
doorway, and near it the fragment of a fluted, engaged column. On
the tablet is sculptured three female figures, joining hands as if
performing a sacred dance: the mode of executing the draperies in
this bas-relief would seem to point it out as belonging to a very
early period; and the difference of style between it and another
bas-relief which we found near it, representing a female figure
crowning a term, will be obvious on a reference to the plates of
the two performances given. The last-mentioned tablet is of white
marble, in excellent style, and finished with all the delicacy and
taste of the most refined periods: the upper part of it appeared at
first sight to be naked, but on a more attentive inspection it was
found to be covered with what is evidently intended for a light,
transparent, drapery, the few folds of which are very slightly,
though very clearly defined, and result with great propriety as well
as simplicity from the easy and graceful action of the figure. As
the tablet has lain for ages with its face towards the ground,
the polish still remains very conspicuously upon its surface; and
contributes to give an additional air of finish to this tasteful
and interesting performance.
The group we first mentioned is executed in sandstone; and it will be
seen that the style of it, although characterised by archaism, is by
no means deficient either in sentiment or taste, or distinguished
by an ignorance of the rules of art. The faces in both of these
tablets have been mutilated, and other parts of the compositions,
as will be seen by the plates, are wanting.
In front of the fountain two porticoes appear to have been erected,
if we judge from the channels which are cut in the surface of the
rock, into which the pediments seem to have been inserted; and on
a part of the cliff, at right angles with the face of the rock,
is an inscription in Doric Greek recording the name of a priest
who built one of the porticoes in question[1].
It is probable that the separation of a part of the cliff from
the rest, in consequence of the foundation having given way, was
the cause of the destruction of the portico of Dionysius, (the name
which is mentioned in the inscription;) no other indications of which
now remain except the marks we have alluded to in the surface of the
rock. The front of the fountain is however much encumbered with soil,
washed down by the winter rains from above; and parts of the portico
may yet be found beneath it should this place be excavated at any
future period: the chambers within are also much encumbered with
the same material, washed in through the entrance where the tablet
was discovered, and it is by no means improbable that interesting
remains might be found underneath the soil which is collected there.
There is a good deal of building in front of the mountain (without
the limits which we may suppose to have been occupied by the portico
of Dionysius,) of which it seems difficult to establish the nature;
if it be not in some way connected with the reception of the water,
and its distribution over the town of Cyrene. It appears to us
that the stream was originally confined, and raised by lateral
compression to a height sufficient to allow of its being conducted
into different parts of the town, the level of which is considerably
above that of the fountain itself; but in what precise manner this
object was accomplished we will not here venture to suggest. The
remains of an aqueduct are still visible on the brow of the hill,
from which the cliff descends perpendicularly to the fountain,
leading from thence to the brink of a ravine on the opposite side,
down which also flows another stream of excellent water. From the
traces of building which we perceived about this ravine we should
imagine that the aqueduct had been formerly thrown across it, and
the water distributed over the cultivated grounds which lie without
the walls of the city; at present the stream which flows down it,
as well as that of the fountain already described, finds its way over
the country below into the sea, and is no otherwise serviceable than
as it affords an occasional draught to the Bedouins who frequent the
neighbourhood during the summer, and to the cattle who drink with
their masters. The excavated chambers of the fountain of Apollo[2]
are occupied at this season by flocks of sheep and goats, and the
whole of the level space in front of the mountain is thickly covered
at such times with these animals, as well as with numerous herds of
cattle, attracted thither by the water which now strays over its
surface. When we first arrived at Cyrene these intruders had not
made their appearance; and we rambled about, to our great comfort and
satisfaction, without meeting a single living creature besides those
of our own party in the day time, and a few jackalls and hyænas
in the morning and evening, which always ran off on our approach.
After satisfying our thirst, and, in some degree, our curiosity,
at the fountain, we descended a few feet to some remains which we
perceived on a level piece of ground below it; and found that they
were those of a peripteral temple which, from the fragment of an
inscription that we discovered among its ruins, mentioning the name
of the Goddess, appears to have been dedicated to Diana.
Little more than the ground-plan of this temple is now remaining,
and most of the columns are buried beneath the soil; we were able,
however, to ascertain that the portico was hexastyle, and the columns
about four feet and a half in diameter: those on the south side are
so completely buried that no traces of them whatever are visible;
but from those which are still in their places on the opposite side
we were led to suppose that the number of columns was no more than
ten, instead of eleven, which is the usual proportion in peripteral
temples according to the rules laid down by Vitruvius[3]. As
the number of lateral intercolumniations would not, with this
disposition, be double the number of those in the front, the
whole length of the temple in question could not be equal to twice
its breadth, which we accordingly find to be the case: and it is
probable, therefore, that the ædes, or body of the temple, was built
before the other parts of it, and that the columns and porticoes were
added at a subsequent period, and the number of pillars regulated
by the dimensions of what was already constructed. At the same
time the width of the intercolumniations does not appear to have
been greater than seven feet, which is scarcely more (as compared
with the size of the shaft) than the shortest space allowed between
columns in Greek and Roman architecture[4]. There are no columns,
at either end, between the antæ in this temple; and the walls
of the ædes must have been continued from the angle till they
reached the jambs of the doorways. If the statue of the deity
looked towards the west (as recommended by Vitruvius, chap. v.)[5]
it must have been placed in the pronaos, and not in the cella, to
have been seen through the doorway from without; for the wall which
divides the cella from the pronaos continued too far across the
interior to have allowed of any door in the centre of it, opening
from one of these to the other, (as will appear by the plan;) and
it would be absurd to look for a communication between them in any
other part of the wall. Under this disposition, had the statue been
in the cella, and its face turned towards the west, it must have
looked against the wall in question; and could not have been seen
at all from the western front of the temple[6]. From the portions of
Doric entablature which we perceived among the ruins of this temple,
we may conjecture that it was of that order; but we could no where
discover any parts of the capitals belonging to the columns, and
the bases, if ever there were any, are buried under the soil which
has accumulated about the building. It will be seen by the plate
(page 430) that there is a building attached to this temple on the
northward which has no connection with its original plan; and there
are other remains of building beyond these, and to the westward of
them, which will require excavation to determine their plans. We
have already mentioned the fragment from which we have ventured to
conjecture that the temple was dedicated to Diana; and we may add
that a mutilated female figure (of which we have given a drawing,
page 427) was also found close to its northern wall. The statue, it
will be seen, is in a sitting position; and a part of the chair only
was visible when we first discovered it among the heavy fragments
of building with which it was encumbered, as well as with the soil
which had accumulated about it. We succeeded, however, after some
trouble in clearing it, and were rather disappointed at finding
so little of it remaining. The girdle which encircles the waist
of this figure has been executed with great care and precision;
it is represented as closely tied, and the ends of it, which hang
down in front, are finished with little tassels strongly relieved
from the surface of the drapery; this object, in fact, seems to have
been one of primary importance with the sculptor, and may have been
intended (if we suppose it to have been the statue of Diana) to point
out symbolically the peculiar characteristic of the goddess, her
attachment to (or rather her profession of) perpetual celibacy[7].
It was between the remains of the temple of Diana and the fountain
that we discovered the beautiful bas-relief of white marble which
we have already mentioned above; and near it we found the torso of
a male figure the size of life (also of white marble) executed in
the best style of Grecian sculpture.
A little beyond this temple the level tract of ground stretching
out from the base of the cliff from which the fountain issues is
terminated by a strongly-built wall, the top of which is even with
the surface; it has been built for the purpose of keeping up the
soil, which would otherwise, from the abrupt descent of the ground,
be washed down by the winter rains and the buildings upon it exposed
to be undermined. This wall, which is a very conspicuous object from
below, must have formed in its perfect state an admirable defence,
as it would have effectually precluded the possibility of any
approach to the place from the country beneath. Since the waters
of the fountain have been left to their natural course the stream
pours itself over the top of the wall in a pretty, romantic-looking
cascade; the effect of which is heightened by the trees growing up
against the barrier, amongst whose branches the water dashes in its
passage to the plains below. A few paces beyond the first wall the
ground again descends abruptly and is kept up by a similar structure;
after which it continues to do so more rapidly, each descent being
quickly succeeded by another, till they finish altogether at the
foot of the mountain.
The position of Cyrene is, in fact, on the edge of a range of hills
of about eight hundred feet in height, descending in galleries,
one below another, till they are terminated by the level ground
which forms the summit of a second range beneath it. At the foot
of the upper range, on which the city was built, is a fine sweep
of table-land most beautifully varied with wood, among which are
scattered tracts of barley and corn, and meadows which are covered
for a great part of the year with verdure. Ravines, whose sides
are thickly covered with trees, intersect the country in various
directions, and form the channels of the mountain-streams in
their passage from the upper range to the sea. The varied tract
of table-land of which we are speaking extends itself east and
west as far as the eye can reach; and to the northward (after
stretching about five miles in that direction) it descends abruptly
to the sea. The lower chain, which runs all along the coast of the
Cyrenaica, is here, as it is at Ptolemeta and other places, thickly
covered with wood, and intersected, like the upper range, with wild
and romantic ravines; which assume grander features as they approach
the sea. The height of the lower chain may be estimated at a thousand
feet, and Cyrene, as situated on the summit of the upper one, is
elevated about eighteen hundred feet from the level of the sea, of
which it commands an extensive view over the top of the range below
it[8]. For a day or two after our first arrival at Cyrene a thick
haze had settled over the coast, and we were not aware that the sea
was seen so plainly from the town as we afterwards found it to have
been. When the mist cleared away the view was truly magnificent;
and may be said to be one of those which remain impressed upon the
mind, undiminished in interest by a comparison with others, and as
strongly depicted there after a lapse of many years as if it were
still before the eyes. We shall never forget the first effect of
this scene (on approaching the edge of the height on which Cyrene is
situated) when the fine sweep of land which lies stretched at the
foot of the range burst suddenly upon us in all its varied forms
and tints; and imagination painted the depth of the descent from
the summit of the distant hills beneath us to the coast, terminated
by the long uninterrupted line of blue, which was distinguished
rising high in the misty horizon. If we knew in what the powers of
description consisted we should be tempted to employ them on this
occasion; and would endeavour to convey to the minds of our readers
the same impressions of the beautiful position of Cyrene which the
view of it suggested to ourselves. But one glance of the eye is,
we fear, worth more, in calling up the feelings which are produced
by fine scenery, than all that description is capable of effecting;
and the impressions which time will never efface from our own
minds would never (it is probable) be stamped, by words of ours,
on the minds of those in whom we could wish to excite them. Under
this conviction we will turn from the view before us, and proceed
to describe a very remarkable peculiarity in the northern face of
the heights of Cyrene. We have already stated that the side of the
mountain descends abruptly, in this direction, to the plain below;
not by a single, unbroken descent, but in ledges, or galleries,
one above another, which terminate only in the plain itself. The
Cyreneans have judiciously taken advantage of this formation, and
shaped the ridges alluded to into practicable roads leading along
the side of the mountain, which have originally communicated in some
instances one with another by means of narrow flights of steps cut in
the rock. The roads are to this day very plainly indented with the
marks of chariot wheels deeply sunk in their smooth stony surface;
and appear to have been the favourite drives of the inhabitants who
enjoyed from them the delightful view which we have despaired of
being able to place before our readers. The rock, in most instances,
rises perpendicularly from one side of these aërial galleries, and
is excavated into innumerable tombs, which have been formed with
great labour and taste, and the greater number of them have been
adorned with architectural façades built against the smooth side of
the rock itself, contributing materially to increase the interest,
and to add to the beauty of the drives. When the rock would serve
for the porticoes in front of the tombs, without any addition of
building, it was left in the forms required; and if only a part of
it would serve, the remainder was added by the architect. This mode
of proceeding added greatly to the strength of the work, and was
probably attended, at the same time, with a saving of labour. The
outer sides of the roads, where they descended from one range to
another, were ornamented with sarcophagi and monumental tombs,
and the whole sloping space between the galleries was completely
filled up with similar structures. These, as well as the excavated
tombs, exhibit very superior taste and execution; and the clusters
of dark green furze and slender shrubs with which they are now
partly overgrown, give an additional effect, by their contrast of
forms and colour, to the multitude of white buildings which spring
up from the midst of them. We have endeavoured in the drawing here
annexed, to give some idea of this remarkable scene; but although
we have copied it with fidelity, and with all the care which our
time allowed, the effect of our view falls very far short of that
which is produced by the scene itself[9].
On leaving the fountain and the temple of Diana we descended the
side of the hill and took our course along the galleries we have
mentioned, passing with some difficulty from one to another, through
the thick furze with which the ground is overspread, and entering
the most conspicuous of the excavated tombs which we passed in our
route along the roads.
They usually consisted of a single chamber; at the end of which,
opposite the doorway, was an elegant, highly finished façade,
almost always of the Doric order, cut in the smooth surface of
the rock itself with great regularity and beauty of execution. It
generally represented a portico, and the number of columns by
which it was supposed to be supported varied according to the
length of the tomb. The spaces between the columns themselves also
varied; the porticoes being sometimes monotriglyph, and sometimes
ditriglyph, according to the fancy of the architect. Between the
columns were the cellæ (if we may call them so) for the reception
of the ashes or the bodies of the deceased, cut far into the rock,
at right angles with the façade; and the height of these was
necessarily regulated by that of the columns from the level of
the chamber[10]. As the spaces between the columns were wider,
or otherwise, the width of the cellæ varied accordingly, there
never being more than one of these recesses between any two of
the columns. The cellæ had often separate façades on a smaller
scale than the principal one, but always of the same order; and
they were occasionally made to represent doorways: the entrance to
them appears to have been originally closed with a tablet of stone
on which there was probably some inscription recording the names of
the persons within. In some instances part of such a tablet was left
standing, but we never found one entire in any of the tombs, and very
rarely saw fragments of them at all. As most of the chambers are,
however, much encumbered with soil washed in by the rains through
the doorway of the tomb, it is probable that some of these might
be found entire on excavating either the chambers themselves, or
the ground immediately about the entrance to them[11]. The cellæ
were sometimes sunk to a considerable depth below the levels
of the chambers, and contained ranges of bodies or cineral urns
placed one above another, each division being separated from that
above and beneath it by a slab of stone, resting on a projecting
moulding which was raised on two sides of the cella. There are
also divisions, in many instances, in the length of the cellæ,
some of them containing three and four places for bodies on the
same level, but these are always ranged (to use a naval phrase)
head and stern of each other; and we never saw an instance in which
any two of them were parallel. In fact, the width of the cella,
which, we have already stated, was regulated by the space between
the columns, would have rendered such an arrangement impossible,
since it was of the same breadth in all parts, whatever might be
its extent in length and depth. For a more complete idea of these
elegant mansions of the dead we refer our readers to the plates
containing the ground-plans and elevations of such of them as we
had time to secure on paper. It will be seen that the proportions
of the several members of the entablature varied considerably in
the few instances given; and indeed, we may say that there are
scarcely two façades where the measurements exactly correspond[12].
There were, however, very few instances in which the established
laws of proportion, so far as propriety and apparent security
are concerned, were in any way materially violated, (at least,
we may say, not in our opinion;) and the eye is seldom offended
by an appearance either of weakness or clumsiness in the columns,
or of heaviness or insignificance in their entablatures. There
is at the same time a good deal of variety in the disposition
of the interiors, and the workmanship is usually very good, and
occasionally, indeed very frequently, admirable. In several of the
excavated tombs we discovered remains of painting, representing
historical, allegorical, and pastoral subjects, executed in the
manner of those of Herculaneum and Pompeii, some of which were by no
means inferior, when perfect, to the best compositions which have
come down to us of those cities. In one of the chambers, which we
shall hereafter describe, we found a suite of what appear to be
allegorical subjects, executed with great freedom of pencil and
still exhibiting uncommon richness of colour. The composition and
design of these groups display at the same time great knowledge of
the art, and do credit to the classic taste and good feeling of the
painter. It appears extremely probable that all the excavated tombs
were originally adorned with paintings in body colour representing
either compositions of figures or of animals, or at any rate devices
and patterns. We ascertained very clearly that the different members
of the architecture have also in many instances been coloured;
and these examples may be adduced in further confirmation of what
has been inferred from the recent discoveries at Athens—that the
Greeks (like the Egyptians) were in the habit of painting their
buildings; thus destroying the simplicity and sullying the modest
hue of their Parian and Pentelic marbles! We do not allude to the
representation of figures or compositions, which might rather,
perhaps, be considered ornamental than otherwise; but to the actual
disfigurement of the several members of the architecture by covering
them with strong and gaudy colours; a practice as revolting to
good taste and propriety as that of dressing the Apollo (if we
may suppose such profanation) in a gold-laced coat and waistcoat;
or the Venus of Praxiteles in stiff stays and petticoats. We are
sorry to observe that the practice we allude to does not appear to
be the result of any occasional caprice or fancy, but of a generally
established system; for the colours of the several parts do not
seem to have materially varied in any two instances with which we
are acquainted. The same colours are used for the same members
of the architecture in so many of the tombs at Cyrene, that we
can scarcely doubt that one particular colour was appropriated
by general consent or practice to each of the several parts of
the buildings. The triglyphs, for instance, with their capitals,
were invariably painted blue in all the examples we know of where
their colours are still remaining; and the regulæ and mutules,
together with their guttæ, were always of the same colour, as was
also the fillet which we have described as intervening between the
capitals of the triglyphs and the cymatium below the corona. The
soffit of the corona was also painted blue, in the parts which
were occupied by the mutules; and the space between the latter,
together with the scotia, were at the same time painted red: the
sides of the mutules, and the upper part of the moulding which we
have mentioned as running along the tops of the metopes, together
with the tænia, or fillet, below the triglyphs, were equally of a
red colour. Patterns were at the same time very frequently painted,
chiefly in blue and red, on the cymatia of the entablature and of
the plinths of the capitals; and this was equally the case when the
patterns were cut as well as when they were put in in outline. The
central annulet was usually painted blue and the upper and lower
ones red; and when there were only two they were both painted
red, which was sometimes the only colour employed when there were
three. We could not ascertain what particular colour was used for
the abacus and echinus, for we seldom found any traces of colour
remaining either upon them or upon the shafts of the columns. In
one or two instances, however, the abacus seems to have been red,
and in one which we have given in plate (p. 452), it appears to
have been something of a lilac colour. The colours of the metopes
and architraves must also be left in uncertainty; and, indeed, it
may perhaps be inferred from our never finding any positive colour
remaining upon them, that the larger parts of the entablature were
left plain, and that the smaller, or ornamental, parts only were
painted. We are ourselves inclined to think that this was the case,
as well with regard to the entablature as to the columns; for we
should otherwise have found the parts in question occasionally
painted, which we do not recollect to have decidedly seen.
It may here be remarked, with respect to what appears to have been
the established colour of the triglyphs at Cyrene, that there is
a singular correspondence between this practice of the Cyreneans
and that which is attributed by Vitruvius to the artificers of
early times when wood was used instead of stone in the construction
of their buildings. For the parts which, in the wooden structures
alluded to, corresponded to the triglyphs of later periods, are said
by this author to have been covered with _blue wax_; and we have
already stated that _blue_ was the prevailing colour of the triglyphs
in buildings of all classes at Cyrene. It would thus appear that the
colours, like the forms, of buildings, were adopted in imitation of
early custom; and this circumstance will alone sufficiently account
for the uniformity, in point of colour, of one building with another;
and may be considered as a reason why fancy or caprice were not
allowed, in these instances, to have their usual weight among a
people who were strenuously attached to the practices and customs
of their ancestors. “In imitation of these early inventions,
and of works executed in timber,” (says Vitruvius, in the words
of Mr. Wilkins, his English translator,) “the ancients, in
constructing their edifices of stone or marble, adopted the forms
which were there observed to exist. It was a general practice
among the artificers of former times to lay beams transversely
upon the walls; the intervals between them were then closed, and
the whole surmounted with coronæ and fastigia of pleasing forms,
executed in wood. The projecting parts were afterwards cut away,
so that the ends of the beams and the walls were in the same plane;
but the sections presenting a rude appearance, tablets, formed like
the triglyphs of more modern buildings, and covered with _blue wax_,
were affixed to them, by which expedient the ends, which before
offended the eye, now produced a pleasing effect. Thus the ancient
disposition of the beams supporting the roof is the original to
which we may attribute the introduction of triglyphs into Doric
buildings.” (Wilkins’s Vitruvius, vol. i. p. 63, 4.)
Whatever may be the truth of these remarks of Vitruvius respecting
the origin of the triglyph, it is singular that there should be so
decided a coincidence between the practice which he has mentioned
and that of the Cyreneans; we have in consequence been induced to
lay the passage just quoted before the reader, and to submit to
those who are most competent to decide the question, how far this
analogy may be the result of accident, or how far it may be safely
considered as obtaining in compliance with ancient custom.
Among the tombs which have been excavated on the northern face of the
heights of Cyrene there are several on a much larger scale than the
rest; some of these appear to have been public vaults and contain a
considerable number of cellæ; others seem to have been appropriated
to single families, and in two instances we found large excavated
tombs containing each a sarcophagus of white marble ornamented with
figures and wreaths of flowers raised in relief on the exteriors. We
suspect these to be Roman; but the workmanship of both is excellent
and the polish still remains upon them in great perfection.
We have already mentioned a ravine to the westward of Cyrene,
on the brink of which stands a portion of the aqueduct of which
traces have been described as still remaining above the fountain.
This ravine, which forms the bed of a stream of excellent water,
is highly picturesque and romantic; it deepens gradually in its
course towards the sea, and is thickly overgrown with clusters of
oleander and myrtle which are blooming in the greatest luxuriance
amidst the rocks overhanging the stream. On the western side of the
ravine we found that galleries had been formed, similar to those
already described on the northern face of the rock of Cyrene, and
that tombs had equally been excavated there to which the galleries
in question conducted. The deep marks of chariot wheels along the
galleries prove that these also had formerly been used as roads;
and the romantic beauty of their situation, on the very brink of the
steep descent to the bed of the torrent below, must have rendered
them very delightful ones. There seems to have been originally a
parapet wall along the dangerous parts of the road, (we mean those
where the descent is very abrupt,) for there are considerable traces
of one still extant about three feet from the ground: in some places,
however, (where the road is not more than three feet in width, with
the high, perpendicular rock on one side, and an abrupt descent to
the torrent on the other,) there is no such defence now remaining;
and the passage from one part of the gallery to the other is not
here quite so safe for nervous people as it might be. The steep
sides of the descent are thickly overgrown with the most beautiful
flowering shrubs and creepers, and tall trees are growing in the
wildest forms and positions above and below the roads. The Duke
of Clarence (when the choice of his death was proposed to him)
had a fancy to be drowned in a butt of malmsey; and we think, if we
found ourselves in a similar dilemma, that we should pitch upon some
part of this charming ravine, as the spot from which we could hurl
ourselves through myrtles and oleanders into the pure stream which
dashes below, with more pleasure than one could leap with from life
into death in most other places that we know of. We must, however,
confess that in passing along the dangerous parts of the galleries
here alluded to, no such fancy ever entered our heads; and we took
especial care, notwithstanding the beauty of the descent, to keep
closer to the high rock on one side of the road than to the edge
of the charming precipice on the other.
There is a good deal of building, of very excellent construction,
about the stream which runs along the bottom of the ravine; and
the water seems originally to have been inclosed, and covered in,
and (we think) also raised to a considerable height above its bed,
(as appears to have been the case in the fountain of Apollo,) to be
distributed over the country in its neighbourhood. It is difficult to
say in what precise manner this end may have been accomplished; and
whether or not the water so raised was connected with the aqueduct
which has already been mentioned as running down to this ravine
from the edge of the cliff above the principal fountain; and which
we have also stated appears to have crossed it, and to have been
continued on the opposite side. As the supply from both fountains is
plentiful and constant it would be well worth the labour and expense
of preserving; and the level of both would render them comparatively
useless to the town, as well as to the high ground about it, unless
some means of raising the water were resorted to. They who had
leisure to examine the remains of building connected with these two
streams, attentively; and were able, at the same time, to bring to
the search a sufficient knowledge of the principles of hydraulics
and hydrostatics, would find the inquiry a very interesting one;
for our own part we confess that, without enjoying either of these
advantages, we were usually tempted to bestow a portion of our time,
when passing along the ravine in question, in trying to collect
from the existing remains how far they may have been conducive to
the object we have attributed to them. At something less than a
quarter of a mile from the commencement of this ravine, the stream
which flows down it is joined by another, issuing out from the
rock on its western side, and a basin has been formed in the rock
itself for its reception. In front of this third fountain there are
considerable traces of building, which are however so much buried by
the accumulation of soil, and encumbered with shrubs and vegetation,
that nothing satisfactory can be made out from them. The spot is now
(like that in front of the fountain of Apollo) a favourite retreat
for the sheep and cattle of the Bedouins who occasionally visit
Cyrene; and our appearance often put them to a precipitate flight,
and the old women and children, who usually tended them, to a good
deal of trouble in collecting them together again. These annoyances
(we must say, in justice to the sex) were borne for the most part
very good-naturedly; and we usually joined them in pursuit of the
family quadrupeds with every disposition to assist them to the
utmost. Indeed the Arab women in general, of all ranks and ages,
are remarkable for patience and good nature; and we have often seen
both these qualities in our fair African friends, put to very severe
trials without suffering any apparent diminution. Their greatest
failings seem to be vanity and jealousy; and these are surely too
natural and too inconsiderable to merit any serious reprehension,
more especially in a barbarous nation. Curiosity is at the same
time, with them, as it is said to be with the sex in general, a
quality in very extensive circulation; and if we could have stopped
to answer all the various odd questions which the good ladies of
Cyrene proposed to us, we should have employed the whole day in
replying to them. By the help of a few little trinkets, however,
which we usually carried about with us, we contrived to put an
end to the conversation, without any offence, whenever it began to
exceed moderate limits; and continued our route under a shower of
pious wishes that the blessing of God might attend us.
In passing along the galleries we have mentioned in this ravine,
there are a great many excavated tombs, some of which are very
beautifully finished, and one of them presents the only example
which we remember to have met with at Cyrene of a mixture of
two orders of architecture in the same part of a building—the
portico in front of this tomb being supported by Ionic columns,
surmounted with a Doric entablature. The whole portico is formed
out of the rock itself, which has been left in the manner formerly
alluded to, and advances a few feet before the wall of the chamber
in which the door is excavated. The proportions are bad, and no
part of the tomb has anything particular to recommend it to notice
beyond the peculiarity we have stated it to possess; but as it is
the only instance which we observed of the kind, we have thought
it as well to advert to it. The tympanum is here placed immediately
over the zophorus, without any cornice intervening, and the mutules
are in consequence omitted[13]. Like many other excavated tombs at
Cyrene, the one now in question has no cellæ beyond the chamber;
and the places for the bodies were sunk in the floor itself and
covered with tablets of stone. In such cases we often see that two,
or more, bodies have been ranged parallel with each other round the
sides of the chamber, in the manner represented in the ground-plans
(page 464), a circumstance which never occurs in the cellæ, as we
have already stated above.
The galleries which are formed in one side of this ravine lead round
the cliff into another valley, somewhat broader, in which are also
several excavated tombs. In one of these, which has been furnished
with a Doric portico, Mr. Campbell discovered the suite of beautiful
little subjects which we have given with all the fidelity we could
command in the plate (page 456). They are painted on the zophorus
of an interior façade, of which we have given the elevation; and
each composition occupies one of the metopes, the pannel of which
appears to have been left plain in order to set off the colours of
the figures. The outline of these highly finished little groups
has been very carefully put in with red: the local colour of the
flesh and draperies have then been filled in with body colour, and
the lights touched on sharp, with a full and free pencil, which
reminded us strongly of the beautiful execution of the paintings
at Herculaneum and Pompeii. There is no other attempt at light and
shadow in any of them but that of deepening the local colour of
the drapery in two or three places, where the folds are intended
to be more strongly marked than in others; the flesh being left
(so far as can at present be ascertained) with no variation of
the local colour produced either by light or shade. The colours
employed are simply red, blue, and yellow; but whatever may be
their nature they still are brilliant in the extreme, and appear
to have stood remarkably well. There seem to have been two reds
used in these pictures, (for so we may call the several groups
in question,) one a transparent colour resembling madder lake,
the other like that colour with a mixture of vermilion or of some
other bright, opaque red. These colours appear so rich and brilliant,
when sprinkled with water[14], that one would imagine they had been
passed over gold leaf, or some similar substance, as we observe to
have been the case in pictures of Giotto and Cimabue, as well as
in the earlier works of the Venetian and other schools. We are not,
however, of opinion that this practice was adopted in the paintings
now before us, although the brilliancy of their colours would suggest
the employment of some such expedient. The yellow appears equally to
have been of two kinds; an orange colour was first used to fill in
the outline, and the lights were touched on with a brighter yellow
over it; the whole together presenting that golden, sunny hue,
so delightful to the eye both in nature and art. The same process
seems to have been adopted with respect to the blues; but the lights,
in this instance, appear rather to have been made by a mixture of
white with the local colour than by a second blue of a lighter shade.
It may be inferred from the copies which we have made of these
designs, (which, although they are as good as we could make them,
naturally fall very short of the perfection of the originals,)
that the drawing of the figures is in excellent style, and the
actions at once expressive, easy, and graceful; what we have most
failed in is the expression of the countenances, which, though
produced merely by a single outline, we were wholly unable to
copy at all to our satisfaction. The characters and features are
what are usually called Grecian, and remind us strongly, in the
originals, of those of the figures represented on some of the most
highly finished Greek (or in other words, Etruscan) vases. The
draperies are well arranged, and executed with great taste and
freedom; they appear, like the other parts of the compositions,
to have been painted at once, without any alteration, and with
the greatest facility imaginable. It will be observed that the
turban has in several instances been adopted; and the shape of
some of these is more oriental than any which we remember to have
seen in Greek designs. It is singular also that all the figures
appear to have been black, with the exception of that of the old
man in the last group, which has certainly been red; yet there is
nothing either Moorish or Ethiopian in the characters represented;
which, from the outlines, we should suppose to be Grecian. We have
no solution to offer for this apparent inconsistency; and will not
venture to suggest what may have been the subjects of the several
pieces. They appear to represent some connected story; yet the same
persons are not certainly introduced in all, if indeed in any two
of the compositions. In the first group two females, both of them
young, appear engaged in some interesting conversation. The second
may perhaps represent the same persons, but it is difficult to say
whether the rod in the hand of the standing figure is raised for
the purpose of chastisement, or whether it is intended to represent
the performance of some magic ceremony. The finger which is raised
towards the lips of this figure seems rather to be indicative of
imposing silence than of conveying admonition; and the arm and hand
of the person kneeling appear to be more expressive of veneration
or submission, than of either alarm or supplication. There is
a curious appearance on the head of this figure which somewhat
resembles in form the twisted lock of the Egyptian Horus, but
its colour is decidedly red, while that of the other parts of the
head are uncertain. The lower part of this figure has been so much
rubbed as to be nearly unintelligible, and the face has disappeared
altogether. A similar accident has happened to one of the preceding
figures, the lower part of which is not now distinguishable. In the
third group we see a female figure with a helmet closely fitted to
the shape of the head, bearing on her shoulder an ark, or canistrum;
a second female, attired in white, is represented walking, and
looking back towards the other, whom she is beckoning to advance. The
folds of the white drapery have nearly disappeared, and little more
is left of it than the outline. The helmet of the first-mentioned
figure of this group is painted red, and the back part of it, with
a portion of the arm, is rubbed out. The fourth design represents
a young man asleep, and a matron apparently watching over him,
who appears, from her countenance and action, as well as from the
garment which is thrown over her head, to be labouring under some
affliction. In the fifth we observe a female figure sitting, and
apparently employed in spinning; by her side is a youth of ten or
twelve years old, with a turban of a different form from those with
which some of the other figures are furnished: this appears to be
merely a family-party, and the careless and schoolboy-like action
of the youth whose thumbs are stuck into the folds of his garment,
is well expressive of youthful unconcern. The last group represents
an old man in a reclining position, who appears to be welcoming or
taking leave of his son, who is kneeling by the side of his couch:
the complexion of the old man is decidedly red, but that of the youth
is very uncertain, as this picture has suffered more than any of
the rest. The head and trunk of the old man, so far as they remain,
are designed in the best style of Grecian art, and, indeed, we may
say of the groups in general that they exhibit a perfect knowledge
of the figure, as well as great taste in the mode of displaying it;
and we cannot but regret that the rude hands of barbarians, rather
than those of time, have deprived us of any part of these beautiful
compositions. Enough however remains to make them very interesting;
and we present them to the public as examples of Grecian painting at
Cyrene, with the impression that they will not be thought unworthy
relics of the genius and talent of the colony.
The colours employed in the architecture of this tomb (so far as
they at present remain) are faithfully given in the elevation of
the interior façade, (page 452), and appear to have been confined
to the entablature, and to the capitals and plinths of the columns
and pilasters.
There is only one cella, in this instance, for the reception of the
dead, and it appears to have been allotted to a single body only;
but as the interior is much incumbered with soil washed in through
the door-way from without, we could not say decidedly that there
is no place for a second body beneath the upper one, without some
previous excavation.
The cella is not placed opposite to the entrance of the tomb,
as is usual in other examples, but on the right hand side of it
in entering; and this arrangement has been made in conformity with
the position of the rock in which it is excavated, and not from any
caprice on the part of the architect. The date of this tomb would
appear, from its architectural details, to be posterior to the time
of the Ptolemies; but no degeneracy of style is observable in the
paintings, which would not disgrace the best periods of Grecian
art. We must at the same time recollect, that the architecture
employed in the decoration of excavated tombs is not to be judged by
so severe a standard as that which is applicable to the exteriors of
_buildings_; the details in the first case are purely ornamental,
and may be placed in the same scale with those of interiors, in
which the fancy of the architect is always left more at liberty
than it can be allowed to be in external decoration: and what would
therefore be bad taste in one of these instances is not necessarily
such in the other. Neither does it appear to have been the practice
of the ancients to give an air of gloom or sadness to the abodes
which they allotted to the service of the dead, and on which they
have bestowed, at all periods, so much labour and expense. We
find historic, allegorical, and pastoral subjects represented on
such occasions in the gayest colours; as if it had been their wish
to disarm death of its terrors, and to moderate the intensity of
affliction by diverting the mind from the loss of the deceased to the
honours which are paid to their memory. The shades of the departed
were also supposed to take delight in the attention bestowed upon
their mortal remains; and to wander with complacency over the gay
and costly chambers which piety and affection had consecrated to
their use. A departure from the established practice of the ancients
in the exterior decorations of their temples and public buildings,
ought not then perhaps to be received, in the instances mentioned,
as a mark of vitiated taste, or of the recent date of the fabric in
which such anomaly may be observed: and in applying this remark to
the excavated tombs at Cyrene (scarcely any two of which are alike
in their proportions) we have the more reason to regret the almost
total absence of inscriptions, by which the dates of the several
fabrics might be clearly ascertained. It is probable that many of
these might be found on tablets, once let into, or placed over,
some part of each tomb; and now buried beneath the soil and the
wrecks of the exterior façades, which incumber the chambers and the
approaches to them. In many instances busts have been placed over
the pediments of the outer porticoes, and we often found fragments
of statues in the chambers and cellæ within. So many of the tombs
are however filled up to a considerable height above the level of
their pavement with an accumulation of soil from without, that it
is scarcely possible to say what they contain; while the entrances
are usually incumbered with the fragments of the fallen porticoes
which once formed the ornaments of the exteriors. On the day of our
arrival at Cyrene we perceived the marble bust of a female figure,
from which the head had been recently broken, lying in front of
one of the excavated tombs; and on inquiring of some straggling
Arabs, who had preceded us, what was become of the remainder, they
at first pleaded ignorance on the point altogether; but on our
proving to them, from the whiteness of the fractured parts, that
we were certain the head must have been very lately broken off,
they asked us what we would give them if they should find it. A
bargain was now made that if the head were at all perfect, so as
to be worth our taking it away, they should have a Spanish dollar
for bringing it; but if we left it in their possession they were
only to have the head for their pains. The words were no sooner
uttered than one of the fellows scrambled into a tomb close at
hand, and brought out with him the relic in question; which was,
however, so much defaced by the process which had been employed in
severing it from the body, as to be wholly unworthy of removal,
and it was left by the side of the trunk with the full and free
consent of both parties. We are sorry to say that the practice of
breaking heads from the figures has been very general at Cyrene; and
has been occasioned in many instances by the inability of the Arabs
to carry off a whole statue to Bengazi or Tripoly (where they might
have a chance of disposing of it to advantage) and their eagerness to
secure the profits which might result to them from the transport and
sale of a part of it. We took care to make it generally understood,
after this discovery, that we would never purchase anything that
had been recently mutilated; and that we should certainly complain
to Bey Mahommed at Derna whenever we heard that any injury of the
kind had been committed on his Highness’s property.
If the excavated tombs of Cyrene have been pointed out as objects of
no trivial interest, those, also, which have been _built_ in every
part of its neighbourhood are no less entitled to our attention and
admiration. Several months might be employed in making drawings
and plans of the most conspicuous of these elegant structures;
and the few examples which our short stay allowed us to secure them
(as given in the plate, page 464) will give but an imperfect idea
of the variety observable in their forms and details. Many of these
are built in imitation of temples, although there are scarcely
two of them exactly alike; and their effect on the high ground on
which they mostly stand, as seen from different parts of the city
and suburbs, is more beautiful than we can pretend to describe. A
judicious observer might select from these monuments, as well as
from the excavated tombs above mentioned, examples of Grecian and
Roman architecture through a long succession of interesting periods;
and the progress of the art might thus be traced satisfactorily,
from its early state among the first inhabitants of Cyrene, to its
degeneracy and final decay under Roman colonists in the decline of
the empire.
The larger tombs were usually divided in the centre by a wall
along the whole length of the building (which is the case in one
of those represented in the plate, p. 464), and several bodies
were disposed one over the other in each of the compartments thus
obtained. Every place containing a body was covered with a slab of
marble or stone, in the manner of those described in the excavated
tombs; and there were sometimes two of these places abreast of
each other, and the same number at their head or feet, according
to the size of the tomb. Innumerable busts and statues originally
adorned the constructed tombs (as we have already observed to be
the case in those which have been excavated in the mountain), and
many of these are still seen half buried beneath heaps of rubbish
and soil, at the foot of the buildings they once surmounted. Those
entirely above ground we usually found broken in several pieces,
or mutilated so as to be much disfigured; but we have not the least
doubt that there are many of them still existing in a perfect state,
within a few feet, and often a few inches, of the surface, which
might easily be obtained by excavation.
Two Arabs of the place, who had one day observed us looking
at some of the statues here alluded to, came the next morning
to our tent, and gave us to understand that they knew of one,
in a perfect condition, which they could point out to us for an
adequate reward. We made the only bargain with them which it would
have been safe to conclude, among so many mutilated pieces, lying
round us in all directions, which was simply, that if it proved
to be worth taking away we would give them a certain number of
dollars for the information which they had afforded us. On our
accompanying them to the place where the figure lay, they soon
cleared the earth from a female statue, in very good style, and
tolerable preservation, excepting that the surface of the face
and upper part of the body had entirely lost its polish and become
extremely rough. As the statue was of larger dimensions than life,
and consequently very heavy, it would not, under these circumstances,
have been worth our while to remove it from the place where it was;
and we accordingly gave the Arabs a _bakhshees_ for their trouble,
and told them that we did not think it good enough to remove; but
that if we should ultimately take it away we would give them the
reward before specified. With this arrangement, however, (though a
perfectly just one,) they proved to be so little satisfied, that on
the following morning in passing by the place, we found that the
statue had been placed upright, and pelted with stones for their
own or their children’s amusement. The lips were knocked off,
and the face and body otherwise mutilated; though not to the degree
which we expected when we first observed the figure placed up as a
mark for every idle passenger to amuse himself with throwing at. We
were not a little concerned to see the mischief which we ourselves
(however innocently) had in fact been the cause of, and gave out
that we intended to write to Mahommed Bey that he might discover and
punish the delinquents! adding, that if any similar outrage should
be practised in future, the severest retaliation might be expected.
After this we were careful, when we discovered a good statue, to
bury it an inch or two in the soil which surrounded it, effacing at
the same time all traces of our work; and never indulged ourselves
in looking at any object of importance when we thought ourselves
observed by the Arabs. For such is the inconsistency of Arab
character, that the very same statue which they would walk over
continually without ever honouring it with more than a glance en
passant, would in all probability be broken in pieces the moment it
became an object of particular notice. The style of architecture in
which the monumental tombs have been constructed varies according to
the dates of the building, and apparently, also, to the consequence
of the persons interred in them; the order employed is almost always
Doric, particularly in the earlier examples. It seems probable that
the custom of burying the entire body obtained very generally in
Cyrene and other cities of the Pentapolis; and this is one of the
few instances in which we perceive any analogy between the customs
of the Cyreneans and those of the Egyptians. It is certain, however,
that the practice of burning the bodies, and of preserving the ashes
in urns, prevailed also among the inhabitants of the Cyrenaica as
it did in other Grecian states[15]. At the present day there are no
remains either of bodies or of cinereal urns in any of the tombs with
which we are acquainted, one of them only excepted: in which a leg
and foot, which appeared to have been rather dried than embalmed,
was found in a very perfect state. There are places formed in the
wall, at the extremity of one of the cellæ in an excavated tomb,
for the reception, apparently, of cinereal urns, as will be seen in
the elevation we have given of it; but this is the only example of
the kind we have met with, and we are left to determine, in other
cases, from the dimensions of the cellæ, whether they contained
bodies or ashes. The reason of this is that (from whatever cause)
all the tombs, whether excavated or constructed, have been opened
and rifled of their contents; and we never saw a single instance in
which this had not been the case. In the constructed tombs, when
the cover was too heavy to remove without a great deal of labour,
a hole was always found knocked in the side of the sarcophagus;
and the tablets or slabs of stone or marble which closed the cellæ
and the places for the bodies, in those which were excavated, were
in no instance found in their places entire by any individual of our
party. The tombs of persons of distinction, at Cyrene, appear to have
been erected in conspicuous positions without any regard to order
or arrangement; at the will, perhaps, of the deceased themselves,
or of those at whose expense they were interred: but the sarcophagi
of those of inferior consideration were ranged in line, whenever
the ground would allow of it, so as to take up as little space as
possible, and to present an appearance of regularity; the sizes
of the latter very seldom varied materially, and their forms were
usually alike. The arrangement of the sarcophagi was not always the
same; but they were almost invariably placed at right angles, in
the manner represented (page 464) in the ground-plan and elevation
which we have given of them. The sarcophagus itself was generally
composed of a single block of stone, hollowed out roughly for the
reception of the body; and its cover consisted of another single
stone shaped into the form represented in the plate, without any
great attention to finish, but always with considerable regularity.
This form of sarcophagus was common among the ancients in other parts
of the world, and continued in very general use to a late period
of the Roman empire. In the plain below the city (to the northward)
there is a considerable number of handsome tombs, both excavated and
constructed (those of the latter sort naturally preponderating); and
among these there must be many (we are sorry to say) which we never
had an opportunity of examining: our route over this tract of country
having chiefly been confined to the road from Cyrene to Apollonia
(now Marsa Susa) its port; situated at the foot of the range of
high land the summit of which forms the plain in question: and as
the ground in this part is thickly wooded, and crossed by ravines
in different directions, the buildings which might still exist upon
it would not be seen by passengers unless they lay immediately in
their track. There are also many to the southward of the town which
we had no leisure to examine; our researches among the tombs having
for the most part been limited to the more immediate neighbourhood
of the city, where there is still a very ample field for inquiry,
without trespassing on the ground we have just mentioned.
The summit of the mountain on which Cyrene is built has been cleared
of the wood which no doubt once incumbered it, and we easily found a
convenient place for our tents, which were pitched, on our arrival
near the centre of the town. The whole of this tract, as far as
the eye could reach, was thickly covered with the most luxuriant
vegetation, to the height of four and five feet; and as the place had
not been visited since the rainy season, we found none of the grass
trodden down, and were obliged to commence the operation of levelling
it before we could make ourselves comfortable in our abodes.
The heavy dews which fell immediately after the sun was down made our
passage through this obstruction rather inconvenient from five or six
in the evening till nearly mid-day, and there was no part of Cyrene
which we could pass to between those hours without being completely
wet through. In a few days, however, we had formed several footpaths
to the principal points of attraction, and many of these led over
fallen columns and statues which wholly escaped notice till our feet
struck against them. Indeed so much was the whole town encumbered
with vegetable matter that very few objects were presented to the
eye when first we arrived at the place: and we almost despaired of
finding any matter of interest unconnected with the fountain and the
tombs. Every wetting that we got, however, added to our satisfaction,
by augmenting the list of the remains; and we soon perceived that
we had established ourselves in the neighbourhood of two theatres
and of several other objects well worth attention. The road to the
fountain was (it may be imagined) one of the first which was made;
and the passage of our servants and horses along it, as they went
to fetch water for the consumption of the party, soon rendered it
the most practicable of any. It led also to the galleries which
we have already mentioned along the northern face of the mountain;
and became very shortly such a favourite path to every individual
of our number, that each of us, in first coming out of the tent,
turned as naturally into it as if there were no other. About midway
between our tents and the fountain, the track which had been made
through the high grass about us passed close along the scene of one
of the theatres, the largest of the two just alluded to; but before
we proceed to the description of this building, and of others which
engrossed our attention at Cyrene, we shall turn from the subject
and lay before our readers the contents of the following chapter.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 1:
[Illustration]
]
[Footnote 2: In speaking of the fountain to which the Libyans conducted
the founders of Cyrene, Herodotus says, αγαγοντες δε σφεας επι κρηνην
λεγομενην ειναι Απολλωνος, ειπαν—“Ανδρες Ελληνες, ενταυτα υμιν
επιτηδεον οικεειν· ενταυτα γαρ ὁ ουρανος τετρηται.”—(Melp. ρνηʹ).
And as the stream here alluded to is the principal fountain of the
place we may suppose it with probability to have been that of Apollo.]
[Footnote 3: There are, however, many exceptions to this rule,
which does not appear to have been by any means generally adopted by
the Greeks. The number of columns on the flanks of temples seem to
have been usually (at the same time) _more_ than double the number
in front, and seldom _less_ by more than one, the proportion given
by Vitruvius.]
[Footnote 4: The pycnostyle is the least intercolumniation allowed
by Vitruvius, and is one diameter and a half of the column at
the bottom of the shaft; but neither this proportion, nor that of
the systyle, which is equal to two diameters of the column, are
recommended by him for general adoption: since “the matrons (he
adds) who go to their supplications, mutually supporting each other,
cannot pass through the intercolumniations (those of the pycnostyle
and systyle dimensions are intended) unless they separate and walk
in ranks. The view of the entrance, and of the statues themselves,
is also obstructed when the columns are placed so little apart; and
the ambulatory, whose width is governed by the interval between the
columns, is inconvenient from its being so narrow.”—Wilkins’s
Vitruvius, vol. i. p. 11, 12.]
[Footnote 5: “The temples of the gods ought to be so placed that
the statue, which has its station in the cella, should, if there be
nothing to interfere with such a disposition, face the west; in order
that those who come to make oblations and offer sacrifices may face
the east, when their view is directed towards the statue: and those
who come to impose upon themselves the performance of vows, may have
the temple and the east immediately before them. Thus the statues
they regard will appear as if rising from the east and looking down
upon the suppliants.”—(Wilkins’s Vitruvius, vol. i. p. 79.)]
[Footnote 6: The most ancient position of temples appears to have
been east and west, with the entrance, or frontispiece, towards the
west; and the statue of the deity looking towards the same point;
so that they who worshipped should have their faces turned towards
the rising sun. The contrary aspect was, however, adopted at an
early period, and appears to have been universal in later ages
whenever local causes did not interfere with such an arrangement.]
[Footnote 7: The closely-drawn girdle of the ladies of antiquity,
like the snood of the Scottish maidens, was symbolical of an
unmarried state; and to loosen it was part of the nuptial ceremony.]
[Footnote 8: The height of the upper range from the level of
the sea, as obtained by Captain Smyth from a sea base, was 1575
feet.—The dip of the visible sea horizon, repeatedly measured
by us with a theodolite from the summit, was 42′ 00″, which,
adding ¹⁄₁₄ for terrestrial refraction, gives 2003 feet for
the height—the mean of these, which we have adopted, is 1805 feet.]
[Footnote 9: We may add, that the circumstance of being obliged to
reduce our drawing (which is a large one) to the size of a quarto
plate, has, at the same time, operated to its disadvantage, as
might naturally indeed have been expected.]
[Footnote 10: It must be recollected that these façades were merely
representations of porticoes, and that the columns did not project
farther from the surface than half their own diameter.]
[Footnote 11: All the excavated tombs were not provided with
antechambers, and the cellæ in such cases commenced from the
surface of the external façade.]
[Footnote 12: The metopes are often far from being square, and
the mutules are placed at different distances from the triglyphs
according to the fancy of the architect. The capital of the
triglyphs is very rarely continued, in the same line, across the
metopes; but is almost always deeper in the last-mentioned division,
forming a moulding in the space between the triglyphs, which gives
an air of finish to this part of the entablature. Above the capital
of the triglyphs, between it and the cymatium below the corona,
there is usually a band or fillet, of the same depth, for the
most part, with the capital, and on the same plane with it; and
the capital itself sometimes projects a little beyond the femora
of the triglyph, and sometimes is on the same level with it. The
cymatium below the corona is for the most part much deeper than the
usual proportion of that member; which appears to have been done
in order to show the ornament upon it, which would not otherwise,
from the projection of the corona and the depth of the mutules,
be conspicuous. The proportion of the corona itself also varies,
and the scotia beneath it is sometimes introduced, and sometimes
omitted altogether. Much difference exists in the depth of the
cyma, as well as in that of its fastigium; and the lions’ heads,
which are often sculptured upon it, are sometimes introduced and
sometimes omitted. Whenever these are placed, as they usually are,
over the axes of the columns, an ornament representing the end of
a tile is often found to accompany them, placed on the fastigium,
exactly over the centre of the metopes. There is also a difference
in the depth of the regulæ and mutules, as well as in the thickness
and depth of the guttæ, the form of the latter being sometimes
conical and sometimes cylindrical, and on some occasions almost
square. The upper part of the two outer channels of the triglyphs
are sometimes cut parallel with the line of the capital; but more
frequently inclined a little downwards, so as to meet the bottom
of the moulding above the metopes, which we have already stated is
not often in a line with that of the capitals of the triglyphs. The
depth of the tænia, also, and that of the epistylium (or architrave)
varies in different instances; as well as the proportions of the
columns themselves, and those of their abaci, or plinths: the latter
are generally surmounted with an elegantly proportioned cymatium,
which is itself almost always crowned with a fillet. We may add
that the curve of the echinus also varies, but is usually of a light
and elegant proportion; and the annulets sometimes follow the line
of the curve, and sometimes range with that of the hypotrachelium:
the number of these occasionally two, but more frequently three;
and the upper and lower ones (in the last-mentioned instance)
are frequently cut square, while the central one forms an angle,
the apex of which projects beyond the two others. This, however,
only occurs when the annulets range with the shafts of the columns,
for when they range with the line of the echinus they are generally
cut like the teeth of a saw, as the central one is in the instance
just mentioned. We observed that for the most part when annulets
were adopted there were no channels, or grooves, hollowed in the
hypotrachelium, and this equally obtained whether the annulets
followed the line of the echinus or that of the shaft. There was
commonly a fillet dividing the channels, or fluting of the shaft,
the proportion of which was not always the same, and we rarely saw
any fluting where these were not adopted, and very seldom any columns
where the shafts were left plain. The difficulty of preserving the
edges of the fluting with nicety, and of keeping them from being
chipped and broken, appears to have been the reason for adopting
the fillet; for as the proportions of the façades, particularly
those of the interior ones, were necessarily on a small scale,
the edges of the fluting, where no fillet was used, must have been
nearly as sharp as the edge of a sword, and consequently very liable
to accident. We may add that the width of the fillet accommodated
itself to the entasis of the shaft, and was continued round the upper
part of the channels, so as to form the crown of the hypotrachelium,
when no annulets were made use of; for in that case the channels
finished in these, forming an elegant curve from the line of the
column to the lowest of the annulets, which sometimes projected
considerably from the upper part of the shaft. With regard to the
disposition of the triglyphs with respect to the columns, we usually
found them placed over the axes of the latter, with sometimes one,
and sometimes two intervening, as we have already mentioned above;
with the exception, however, of those at the extremities of the
zophorus, which were sometimes placed in the angle, and sometimes
a little removed from it, being in the latter case placed over
the joint centre of the half column and pilaster which usually
terminated the façade at both extremities. We must remark, with
respect to the introduction of the pilaster conjointly with the
columns at the angles, that the shafts and the capitals were not
wholly relieved from the surface, although they were more so than
half their diameter. It must be recollected at the same time that
the whole façade was generally formed in the rock itself, and had
consequently no weight to support, and no internal arrangements to
which it was necessary that it should be accommodated. The placing of
the triglyphs was therefore purely optional, and might be adapted
to the taste or the fancy of the architect, who was thus enabled
to follow his own ideas of proportion and arrangement, without
reference to any standard but the eye.]
[Footnote 13: In the tomb of Theron at Agrigentum we have a similar
instance of a Doric entablature supported by Ionic columns.]
[Footnote 14: An operation which is at present necessary, in order
to make them bear out.]
[Footnote 15: Each of these customs (as practised by the Greeks)
had well-founded claims to great antiquity; for interment appears
to have been in use in the time of Cecrops, and burning must
at any rate be allowed to have been practised by the Grecians,
as far back as the Trojan war, if we rely upon the testimony of
Homer. The custom of burning was perhaps the most peculiar to the
Greeks, of the two modes in question; for Lucian, in enumerating
the various methods resorted to by different nations in the
disposal of their dead, expressly assigns burning to the Greeks,
and interment to the Persians—διελομενοι κατα εθνη τας ταφας,
ὁ μεν Ἕλλην εκαυσεν, ὁ δε Περσης εθαψεν . . . (περι πενθους,
§ 21.) Some, however, considered the former as an inhuman custom,
and philosophers were divided in their opinions on the subject:
each sect esteeming that method the most reasonable by which bodies
would, according to their tenets, be soonest reduced to their first
principles.—See Potter’s Archæologia, vol. ii. p. 207-8, &c.]
[Illustration: Plan of DERNA,
BY _Captn. F. W. Beechey R.N._]
[Illustration: Plan of MERSA ZAFFRĀN,
BY _Captn. F. W. Beechey R.N._
_J. & C. Walker Sculpt._
_Published as the act directs, April 1827, by J. Murray, Albemarle
St. London._]
[Illustration: Plan _of the PORT and RUINS of_ APOLLONIA,
_now called MERSA SUZA:_
BY _Captn. F. W. Beechey R.N._
_J. & C. Walker Sculpt._
_Published as the act directs, April 1827, by J. Murray, Albemarle
St. London._]
[Illustration: Engraved from a Drawing taken on the spot by H. Beechey.
SINGULAR POSITION OF TWO INHABITED CAVES IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD
OF APOLLONIA.
_Published March 1827, by John Murray, London._]