the coinage was set on a new basis. Gold was introduced to meet the
needs of the metropolis of the world, and two new coins, the _Aureus_
and its half, were struck in this metal. They were modelled on the
silver pieces. The standard silver coin was still the _denarius_,
and the only change which it experienced was in type. The head of the
emperor took the place of those of deities, with a superscription,
which was the forerunner of modern coin-legends. It consisted of
the name and titles of the emperor, often with the date of striking,
arranged in a circle round the edge of the coin. The minting of gold
and silver was assumed by the emperor, but the lower denominations
were left to the senate, whose authority is expressed on each piece by
the letters +S·C+ (_Senatus Consulto_, "by decree of the Senate"). The
senatorial series consisted of the _Sestertius_, the equivalent of the
smallest silver coin, now valued at 4 _asses_ instead of the original
2-1/2; the _Dupondius_, of 2 _asses_; the _As_, and fractions of the
_as_, _Semis_ and _Quadrans_, which are of less frequent occurrence.
These coins sometimes differed as to the metal used, the _as_ and
_semis_ being of copper, and the _dupondius_ and _sestertius_ of
brass; or in the style of the emperor's head; or, as in the case of
the coins exhibited, the _as_ is marked +I+ and the _dupondius_ +II+
(fig. 15_h_ and _i_). Usually, however, the two pieces are confused,
and are loosely termed by collectors "second brass," the sesterce
being "first brass," and all denominations lower than the _as_ "third
brass." The reverse types were very numerous, and, with the exception
of the mark +S·C+ on the senatorial issues, none of them was peculiar
to any denomination. The series which is selected here to illustrate
the Imperial coinage is of the reign of Nero (54-68 A.D.); all the
pieces, therefore, bear the image and superscription of that Caesar,
and their reverses have complimentary references to the emperor and
his family, or topical allusions to current events (No. =41=; fig.
15_e-l_).
[Illustration: FIG. 15.--ROMAN COINS. 1:1.]
Nero was the first emperor to reduce the weight of the _denarius_, and
from his time the degeneration was rapid. A series of seven pieces,
from Tiberius to Probus (14-281 A.D.), illustrates the debasement of
the metal, which is apparent to the eye (No. =42=). By the time of
Gordianus Pius (238-244 A.D.) no trace of silver is visible, and the
coin of Probus here exhibited is plainly copper. Yet these pieces
represent the only silver money which was then coined.
Many of the coins which have come down to us have been preserved by
the care or avarice of their former owners, who hid their wealth for
security and were unable to recover it. Portions of two such hoards
are shown at the end of the case. One consists of Athenian staters of
the late fifth century B.C. (No. =43=), which were found in the Greek
settlement of Naukratis, and the other is a large collection of late
Roman coins of the fifth century A.D. (No. =44=). These were buried
in another Egyptian town, Hawara, in the egg-shaped jug which is shown
with them. At Pompeii, a city which was overwhelmed by the volcano in
the midst of its daily life, money, like all other things, has been
found ready to hand and actually in use. There is in this Case all
that the fire has left of a Pompeian money-box, and among the coins
which it contains is a brass sesterce of Nero, whose reign ended
eleven years before the catastrophe. Shreds of a net purse are also
visible in the box (No. =45=).
=Special uses of Coins.=--A silver stater of Sikyon (No. =46=), is
marked by an inscription punctured by the dedicator--_To Artemis in
Lakedaemon_. A religious character attaches also to the bronze coin of
Laodikeia in Phrygia, which is pierced and suspended from a wire loop
for wearing as a charm against sickness, by virtue of the figures
which it bears of Asklepios and Hygieia, the deities of health (No.
=47=).
A curious coin, struck for a special religious purpose, is the copper
piece of Nemausus (Nîmes, in the South of France), which is made in
the shape of a ham for dedication to the deity of the local fountain
(No. =48=). The offering was probably originally paid in kind.
=Ancient false Coins.=--With the exception of the Italian heavy
copper, which was cast, nearly all ancient coins were struck in dies,
and most of the false pieces which have survived are defective in the
quality of the metal, while the fabric is good. In the later Roman
Empire, when all the standard money was of base metal, the surface was
so bad that the coins could easily be counterfeited by casting, and
great numbers of the clay moulds used by forgers or by the monetary
authorities date from this period. Among the large collection here
exhibited (No. =49=) there are some unbroken moulds, and some with the
run metal still adhering. Base metal was detected by the use of the
touch-stone, and pieces of doubtful weight were tested by the balance.
An ivory folding balance is shown (No. =49*=). The long arm is made
just too light to counterpoise a good denarius--the test being that if
the coin were heavy enough it would fall off the plate at the end.
For Greek and Roman coins in general, see Hill, _Handbook of
Greek and Roman Coins_ (with the Bibliography there given);
G. Macdonald, _Coin Types_ (Glasgow, 1905); Head, _Historia
Numorum_ (2nd ed. 1911.)
[Footnote 8: i. 94.]
[Footnote 9: Michel, _Recueil des inscr. grecques_, No. 8.]
[Footnote 10: Livy, iv. 60.]
[Footnote 11: Macr. _Sat._ i. 7, 22. pueri denarios in
sublime iactantes capita aut navia exclamant.]
III.--DRAMA.
(Table-Case K and Glass Shade above.)
The antiquities illustrating the ancient drama are placed in one half
of Table-Case K, and under the glass shade standing above it.
=Greek Drama.=--This was in its origin essentially religious, and
retained up to the decline of tragedy at the end of the fifth century
B.C. the character of a religious ceremony. Thus tragedy gradually
developed out of the rude dances in honour of the wine-god Dionysos,
which were performed at country vintage festivals. The name tragedy
means "goat-song," and is probably to be associated with the sacrifice
of the goat, the enemy of the vines.
The dramatic part of a tragedy was at first confined to a dialogue
between a single actor and the leader of the chorus, with long musical
interludes, but the number of actors was gradually increased, with
the result that more stress was laid on the dramatic action. Aeschylos
introduced a second actor, Sophokles a third, and Euripides, the last
of the great tragedians, reduced the lyrical element of the play to
comparatively insignificant proportions.
Comedy underwent a development not unlike that of tragedy. It also
had its origin in the coarse buffoonery common at the rustic festivals
which celebrated the vintage. Introduced into Athens from the
neighbouring Megara early in the sixth century B.C., it did not
receive recognition from the state until the middle of the fifth
century. The comedy of the closing years of that century is
inseparably connected with the name of Aristophanes, who combined
merciless political satire with exquisite poetry.
In the fourth century B.C. a great change came over comedy at Athens.
The later plays of Aristophanes mark the beginning of the comedy of
manners, which took the place of the old political comedy. The master
of this new comedy was Menander. Through Roman translations and
adaptations of Menander and his fellow poets by Plautus and Terence,
comes the comedy of Molière and modern Europe.
The theatre, in which these ancient plays were performed, was of slow
development. The grassy slopes of a hill, bordering on a circular
dancing-place (_orchestra_), satisfied the earliest audiences. Later
on, a definite place was set apart for theatrical performances, and a
wooden structure erected for the actors. It was not until the fourth
century that permanent stone seats were laid down in the Theatre of
Dionysos at Athens, although performances had been given there for
more than a century.
=Roman Drama.=--The drama at first met with a determined opposition
from Romans of the old school as a new-fangled thing from Greece. The
taste of the people, also, was not inclined to favour so cultured an
amusement as the drama. The Romans preferred to see a fight between
men or beasts rather than to listen to a play, and on one occasion,
when listening to a play of Terence, they rushed pell-mell from the
theatre, because a rumour arose that a combat of gladiators was going
to take place.[12]
The more important Roman comedies were adapted from the New Comedy of
the Greeks. These adaptations are familiar to us from the surviving
plays of Plautus (254-184 B.C.) and Terence (ca. 185-159 B.C.). Actors
at Rome had long to be content with temporary wooden structures, which
were pulled down when the performances were over. A permanent theatre
was not erected in Rome till 55 B.C.
The objects illustrating the ancient drama can conveniently be divided
into (_a_) representations of scenes from plays, and (_b_) figures of
actors and masks.
(_a_) =Scenes from Plays.=--The vase (No. =50=) placed under the glass
shade is valuable as an illustration of the beginnings of Athenian
drama. It is a plate of Athenian fabric of the sixth century B.C.,
with designs which probably represent the sacrifice made to Athena at
the Panathenaic games, and two scenes relating to dramatic contests.
The first of these scenes shows a tragic chorus with the goat, which
was the prize of victory. The second shows a comic chorus, in which a
man seated at the back of a mule-car appears to be making jests at the
expense of another man who follows. This "jesting from a car" became a
regular phrase to express ribald joking.[13] None of the men who took
part in these contests is distinguished by any peculiarity of costume.
Another early vase, however (No. =51=), gives a lively picture of two
actors dressed up as birds. Before them stands a flute-player.
Though this vase is many years earlier in date than the _Birds_ of
Aristophanes (414 B.C.), yet it may serve to give us some idea of the
appearance of the chorus in that play.
[Illustration: FIG. 16.--SCENE FROM A MOCK-TRAGEDY. COMBAT BETWEEN
ARES AND HEPHAESTOS BEFORE HERA (NO. 52).]
[Illustration: FIG. 17.--MARRIAGE SCENE FROM A ROMAN-COMEDY (NO. 54).
2:3.]
The two large vases illustrate Greek dramatic performances of a
considerably later date. They give us scenes from _phlyakes_, a class
of burlesques which were in vogue in the Greek cities of Southern
Italy, especially at Tarentum, at the end of the fourth and the
beginning of the third century B.C. They are associated with the name
of Rhinthon, a Syracusan poet. These plays dealt in the wildest spirit
of farce with subjects drawn from Greek mythology and legend, as well
as with scenes from daily life. One of the vases (No. =52=; fig.
16) shows a contest upon the stage, between actors representing Ares
([Greek: Eneualios]) and Hephaestos ([Greek: Daidalos]) fighting in
the presence of Hera. The grotesque mask, the padded figures, and the
general air of exaggeration are indicative of the character of these
plays, which earned for them the title of mock-tragedies ([Greek:
hilarotragôdiai]). The other vase (No. =53=) is a parody of the myth
of Cheiron cured by Apollo. The blind Centaur, whose equine body
is represented pantomime-fashion by a second actor pushing behind,
ascends the steps leading up to the stage, where stands the slave
Xanthias. Behind is the Centaur's pupil Achilles, and looking on from
a cave are two grotesquely ugly nymphs.
[Illustration: FIG. 18.--SCENE FROM A ROMAN TRAGEDY. HERCULES
DISPUTING WITH MARS (NO. 55). 1:1.]
Case K contains two interesting representations of Roman comedy and
tragedy respectively. The oblong lamp (No. =54=; fig. 17) gives a
scene from a comedy, not improbably the mock-marriage scene from the
fourth act of the _Casina_ of Plautus. The steps leading up to the
door of the house divide the actors into two groups. On the left
is the bridegroom (Olympio?) with his mule, in preparation for his
departure into the country. On the right comes the marriage procession
approaching a woman (Pardalisca?) who stands by the steps. First walks
a Silenus, carrying a Cupid on his shoulders; next comes the bride,
carried aloft by a man, in order that she may be lifted over the
threshold in conformity with the usual Roman marriage rite (see below,
p. 212). Behind is an altar in the courtyard of the house. A Cupid
waits at the door to receive the bride.
[Illustration: FIG. 19.--IVORY STATUETTE OF A TRAGIC ACTOR.]
[Illustration: FIG. 20.--TERRACOTTA STATUETTE OF COMIC ACTOR
(MONEY-LENDER?) (NO. 60). Ht. 7-7/8 in.]
The Gallo-Roman medallion (No. =55=; fig. 18) is from a vase. It gives
a picture of a Roman tragedy. On a high stage sits Jupiter enthroned,
with Victory and Minerva on his right and left hand respectively.
Before the stage stand Hercules and Mars, disputing. Hercules has
slain Cycnus, the son of Mars, and the irate father stands exclaiming:
"Be assured that I am come as the avenger of my son." To which
Hercules replies: "Unconquered valour can ne'er be terrified."[14] The
characters speak in iambic verse.
[Illustration: FIG. 21.--TERRACOTTA STATUETTE OF COMIC ACTOR (SLAVE?)
(NO. 61). Ht. 8-1/2 in.]
(_b_) =Figures of actors and masks.=--In tragedy the actors probably
wore a dress differing from that of the spectators only in a certain
richness of material and colour, and in an adherence to the fashion
of an earlier period. Two features, however, distinguished them in
appearance from ordinary men, the buskin ([Greek: kothornos]) or
high-soled boot, and the tragic mask. The use of the former (which
increased in height as time went on) was due to a desire to enhance
the wearer's dignity by raising him somewhat above the common
height of men. The wearing of the mask was brought about chiefly
by tradition, partly by the great size of ancient theatres, which
rendered some easily recognized type of face a practical necessity.
The tragic mask (fig. 22 below, right) was usually surmounted by a
high projection over the forehead, called the _onkos_, on which the
hair was raised to a height varying with the social position of the
character. The mask illustrated (No. =56=) is of ivory and finely
worked. It is a mask such as would have been worn by some king in
tragedy, an Agamemnon or a Kreon. The general appearance of a tragic
actor is finely brought before us by an ivory statuette (not in the
Museum) which was found near Rieti, a place about 35 miles N.E. of
Rome (fig. 19). The elaborately embroidered robe is coloured blue, and
the _onkos_, mask, and buskins are clearly seen. (_Mon. dell' Inst._
xi. pl. 13.)
[Illustration: FIG 22.--COMIC, SATYRIC, AND TRAGIC MASKS (NOS. 65, 66,
56). Ca. 5:8.]
The figures of actors and the comic masks exhibited under the glass
shade and in Table-Case K bring before us the different characters
prominent in Athenian comedy of the fourth and third centuries B.C.,
and in the Roman comedy derived from it. It was a comedy of everyday
life, in which the same well-known types were constantly reappearing.
Such were the parasite (No. =57=), who bears all the marks of a
fondness for good living, and carries a flask and a ham; the glutton
(Nos. =58= and =59=), distinguished by his large padded stomach;
the money-lender (No. =60=), with his acute and cunning expression,
grasping his purse tightly by his side with both hands, and partially
concealing it beneath his cloak (fig. 20). The adventures of the
slave and his punishments were a favourite theme with poets of the
new comedy. No. =61= (fig. 21) may represent the trusted elderly slave
aghast at the misdoings of his young master. A still greater favourite
is the runaway slave who seeks refuge from his irate master in the
protection of the altar. The bronze statuette (No. =62=), and the
terracotta (No. =63=) show him seated on the altar, and in No. =64=
his hands are tied behind him. A typical comic mask (No. =65=) is
illustrated above (fig. 22, left), characterised by its exaggerated
features, especially the wide open mouth, the snub nose and thick
bushy eyebrows. The satyric play, which of the three kinds of Greek
drama kept nearest in spirit to the early Dionysiac village revel,
is illustrated by the satyric masks (No. =66=; fig. 22, centre), with
their high upstanding hair and semi-bestial features, as well as
by the masks of the bald-headed Seilenos, the constant companion of
Dionysos in his revels.
Most of the examples of masks shown in the case are merely
representations. A few such as No. =67= with pierced eye and
mouth-holes, and of life size, may have been intended for use. Two
heads of actors from marble reliefs (Nos. =68=, =69=) show to what
extent the face of the actor could be seen, within the apertures of
the mask.
(50) _Cat. of Vases_, II., B 80; _Journ. Hell. Stud._, I.,
pl. 7; (51) _Cat. of Vases_, II., B 509; _Journ. Hell. Stud._,
II., pl. 14; (52) _Cat. of Vases_, IV., F 269; cf. Heydemann
in _Jahrb. d. arch. Inst._, I. (1886), p. 260 ff.; (53)
_Cat. of Vases_, IV., F 151; (54) _Cat. of Lamps_, 446; Cf.
Froehner, _Hoffman Sale Cat._, 1886, p. 38, No. 127; (55)
_Cat. of Roman Pottery_, M 121; _Gazette Arch._, 1877, p. 66,
pl. 12.
On the ancient theatre generally, see Haigh, _The Attic
Theatre_, edn. 3, where references to literature will be
found. For Masks, see Daremberg and Saglio, Dict., _s.v._
Persona.
[Footnote 12: _Hecyra_, _prolog._, 30 ff.]
[Footnote 13: Cf. Dem., _de Cor._, 122: [Greek:
kai boas rhêta kai arrêta onomazôn, hôsper ex hamaxês].]
[Footnote 14:
Adesse ultorem nati m[e] credas mei.
[Invic]ta virtus nusqua(m) terreri potest.
]
IV.--SHIPPING.
(Wall-Cases 94-97.)
As early as the eighth century before Christ the Greeks possessed
powerful war-vessels propelled by numerous oarsmen. These appear on
vases of that date, as for example on a large bowl of Boeotian fabric
(described below in connection with chariots, p. 169), which shows
such a ship with its double line of rowers and a man at the stern
managing the big steering-oars. The crew of this vessel seems to have
numbered some forty men.[15] A more finished representation of early
Greek ships is seen on a cup (No. =70=) of the end of the sixth
century B.C. (figs. 23, 24), where the contrasted builds of the war
galley and the merchantman are clearly indicated. The war galley has
two rows of eleven and twelve oars respectively. The merchantman has
no rowers, but is entirely dependent on its sail. It has a high-built
hull, suited for holding cargo. In each we see the steersman at
the stern with his two steering-oars. Beside him is the ladder for
embarking and disembarking. A terracotta model ship from Cyprus (No.
=71=; fig. 25) of about this period shows the socket for the mast and
the high poop for the steersman, with the remains of an iron oar. This
vessel is doubtless intended for a merchantman. The numerous small
terracotta boats (No. =72=) found with this merchant vessel at Amathus
give a good idea of the fishing boats of the time (Case 94; see
frontispiece). These boats are also interesting as reminding us of the
legend that Kinyras, king of Cyprus, promised Menelaos to send fifty
ships to help the Greeks against Troy. He sent but one, carrying
forty-nine others of terracotta, manned by terracotta figures. After
the taking of Troy, Agamemnon is said to have made it his first
business to punish Kinyras for his trickery. It would seem that the
story must have been based on knowledge of the fact that terracotta
boats were a product of Amathus. It is hard to suppose that it is
merely a coincidence. The small model war-galley (No. =73=) from
Corinth, containing warriors armed with circular shields, is
interesting from the place of its discovery, for Corinth was
traditionally an early shipbuilding centre, and triremes are said to
have been first built at that city.[16]
[Illustration: FIG. 23.--EARLY GREEK WARSHIP (NO. 70).]
[Illustration: FIG. 24.--EARLY GREEK MERCHANT-SHIP (NO. 70).]
The use of triremes (ships with triple arrangement of oars) did not
become common among the Greeks till the earlier part of the fifth
century B.C. This was the typical Greek warship of the period of the
Peloponnesian war, and the arrangement of the rowers in it has given
rise to much controversy. The crew (according to one view) consisted
of two hundred rowers, sixty-two on the highest tier ([Greek:
thranitai]), fifty-four on the middle ([Greek: zygitai]), and
fifty-four on the lowest ([Greek: thalamitai]), as well as thirty who
were apparently stationed on the highest deck ([Greek: perineô]). The
best ancient representation of the rowers in a trireme is that given
on a relief in Athens, of which a cast is shown here (No. =74=; Case
94). The upper oars pass over the gunwale, the second and third lines
(if these are oars) through port-holes. In the trireme the ram was
of the greatest importance, and much attention was devoted to
strengthening it. An excellent illustration of the prow of a trireme
is to be seen in the terracotta vase from Vulci (No. =75=; fig. 26).
Here are an upper and a lower ram, each armed with three teeth; the
curved ornament above the ram has been broken away. The projections on
either side of the handles of the vase, decorated with a woman's head,
would serve as a protection to the oars. The eye on the side is a
prominent decoration in Greek ships. It is seen on the ship painted
on the vase B 508 in Case 95 (No. =76=), from which the diver is
preparing to jump, and has survived even to the present day, for eyes
are still found painted on the bows of Mediterranean fishing boats.
The eyes are often supposed to be a defence against the evil eye, but
the exact position they occupy on each side of the prow is suggested
by the almost inevitable analogy between the prow of a vessel and the
head of an animal. Roman ships did not differ very materially from
Greek ships, but a special class of swift ships with two banks of
oars was adopted from Liburnian pirates who inhabited the islands off
Illyria, and these ships were called Liburnian galleys. A figure-head
in bronze from a Roman ship, found in the sea off Actium, is shown in
Case 96 (No. =77=). It represents Minerva, and probably belonged to
some ship sunk in the great battle between Octavian and Antony in 31
B.C.
[Illustration: FIG. 25.--TERRACOTTA MODEL OF MERCHANT-SHIP (NO. 71).
L. 12 in.]
[Illustration: FIG. 26.--VASE IN THE FORM OF A PROW OF A TRIREME (NO.
75). L. 8 in.]
A fragment of a relief from a sarcophagus shows a Roman trireme, with
a figure of a swan in relief on the prow (No. =78=).
[Illustration: FIG. 27.--ROMAN SHIP ENTERING A HARBOUR (NO. 79). Diam.
4 in.]
Some lamps placed in Cases 96, 97 give interesting pictures of Roman
harbours. In one (No. =79=; fig. 27), a ship is seen entering the
harbour, which is indicated by a light-house on the left. Of the crew
of six, one is seated high on the stern, blowing a trumpet to announce
the ship's approach; before him is the steersman, and next come three
men furling the sail. The man in the bows is preparing to let down
the anchor. Another lamp (No. =80=; fig. 28) shows a harbour with
buildings on the quay. A fisherman in a small boat holds a rod and
line in his right hand, and a fish which he has just caught in his
left. Before him is a man on shore just about to cast a net into the
water. In the third lamp (No. =81=) Cupid is seen in a boat, hauling
in his net from the water.
A marble laver (No. =82=), originally decorated with a relief of
Asklepios, Hygieia and Telesphoros, has been subsequently sculptured
with votive dedications for a fair voyage. On the left, Poseidon
stands on a ship, with a suppliant before him, on the right is a ship
running before the wind. The inscriptions invoke good voyages for
Theodoulos and Pedius Psycharios.
[Illustration: FIG. 28.--ROMAN FISHERMEN IN A HARBOUR (NO. 80). Diam.
3-5/8 in.]
(70) _Cat. of Vases_, II., B 436; Daremberg and Saglio, fig.
5282; (71) _Excavations in Cyprus_, p. 112, fig. 164, No. 12;
(72) _ibid._; (74) _Cat. of Sculpture_, III., 2701; (75) _Cat.
of Terracottas_, D 201; (76) _Cat. of Vases_, II., B 508; (77)
_Cat. of Bronzes_, 830; Torr, _Ancient Ships_, pl. 8, 41; (78)
Daremberg and Saglio, fig. 5277; (79) _Cat. of Lamps_, 1140;
(80) _Cat. of Lamps_, 527; (81) _Cat. of Lamps_, 634.
On ancient ships generally, see Torr, _Ancient Ships_, and
art. _Navis_ in Daremberg and Saglio; W. W. Tarn in _Journ.
Hell. Stud._, XXV., pp. 137, 204 ff.; A. B. Cook in _Camb.
Comp. to Gk. Stud._, 3 ed., p. 567 ff.
[Footnote 15: _Journ. Hell. Stud._, XIX., pl. 8.]
[Footnote 16: Thuc., i. 13.]
V.--RELIGION AND SUPERSTITION.
(Wall-Cases 98-106.)
The wide subjects of Religion and Superstition are naturally
represented in a fragmentary way in the few cases devoted to them
in this collection. They are roughly classified in the following
description, into groups, viz.:--
(1) Implements and methods of worship.
(2) Votive offerings.
(3) Superstition and Magic.
=Implements and methods of worship.=
_Altars, etc._--The larger altars (and sepulchral chests of altar
form) will be found in the sculpture galleries. Here we have (No.
=83=) a small altar, from Dodona, inscribed as belonging to all the
gods,[17] and various model altars, probably used in some cases for
the burning of incense.
[Illustration: FIG. 29.--ALTAR DEDICATED FOR THE SAFE RETURN OF
SEPTIMIUS SEVERUS AND HIS FAMILY (NO. =84=). Ht. 2 ft. 7 in.]