metal work. A Greek vase of the sixth century B.C. depicts a man in
the act of thrusting a mass of metal into a blazing furnace.
Anvil, tongs, and hammers are visible (No. =526=). Beside it is a
reproduction of a Vase in the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford, showing an
armourer at work on a helmet (No. =527=). Two limestone moulds of a
very early period are for casting primitive implements (No. =528=).
Note also a mould (No. =529=) for a metal weight of a type similar to
that with the head of Herakles in Case 41. The mould shows a female
head with a cornucopia before it, apparently a personification of
Profit ([Greek: Kerdos]), whose name appears above the head. Another
mould (No. =530=) is intended for a series of lead weights of values
[Greek: a'] to [Greek: ê'], that is, 1 to 8. (Compare a similar set in
Case 42.) It should be observed that the moulds seen here are, for
the most part, only half-moulds, or in some cases even less. A
corresponding half-mould had to be placed in position before casting
could be effected. This is well shown by a limestone half-mould from
Rome (No. =531=; fig. 214) for casting lead counters, with designs
representing Victory, Fortune, and Athena. Here can be seen the
channels by which the molten metal was introduced, and the holes for
the studs joining the two half-moulds together. In one of these a lead
stud still remains.
[Illustration: FIG. 215.--PART OF MOULD FOR A RING OF THE SHAPE
INDICATED (NO. 532).]
The steatite mould for a ring of the Mycenaean period (No. =532=; Fig.
215) required a counterpart piece, and a third piece at the bottom to
complete it. Some of the steatite moulds which have no channels for
the molten metal, were probably used for the production of ornaments
by pressing and rubbing thin foil into the forms.
[Illustration: FIG. 216.--GREEK POTTER AT WORK (NO. 533). Ht. 4-1/2
in.]
[Illustration: FIG. 217.--POTTER'S WHEEL IN TERRACOTTA (NO. 534).
Diam. 9-3/4 in.]
[Illustration: FIG. 218.--GREEK POTTER ATTACHING HANDLE TO VASE (NO.
535).]
[Illustration: FIG. 219.--POTTER'S KILN (NO. 536).]
[Illustration: FIG. 220.--CLAY LAMPS SPOILED IN BAKING (NO. 538). Ca.
1:2.]
[Illustration: FIG. 221.--STAMPS FOR MAKING MOULDS FOR VASES IN RELIEF
(NO. 545).]
=The Potter.=--At the end of the case are exhibits connected with
potters and pottery. Here is seen the limestone figure of a Greek
potter from Cyprus (No. =533=; fig. 216), seated and modelling clay on
the wheel. He reminds us of Homer's description of the potter's action
when he compares the whirling motion of dancers to the revolving of a
potter's wheel--"a motion exceeding light, as when a potter sits and
makes trial of a wheel fitted to his hands, to see whether it will
run."[64] Immediately behind is a potter's wheel in terracotta
(No. =534=; fig. 217), which has in the centre a depression for the
insertion of the pivot on which it turned. It was found on a primitive
site at Gournià in Crete. As the clay spun round on the wheel the
potter moulded it into shape inside and outside with his hands. The
foot, the handles, and the neck of the vase were moulded separately
as a rule and attached afterwards to the body. A design on a sixth
century Greek vase here exhibited (No. =535=; fig. 218), depicts a
Greek potter in the act of attaching a handle to a cup which rests
upon a wheel. When the vase or other object had been modelled in clay,
it then had to be fired. For this purpose a kiln was required, such
as one (probably Roman) excavated at Shoeburyness, a model of which is
here exhibited (No. =536=). It consists of a barrel-shaped chamber,
at about half the height of which is a horizontal table on a conical
support, with eight round openings pierced in its circumference to
allow the heat to penetrate above. Fuel was introduced below through a
small fire-chamber constructed at the side (fig. 219). The packing of
the objects to be fired required considerable care. For this purpose
the so-called "cockspurs" (No. =537=) were used for the larger pieces.
But sometimes there were failures, such as the two batches of Roman
lamps seen in this Case, which have become fused together in the
baking (No. =538=; fig. 220). If it survived the risks of manufacture,
the pot often needed repair when in use, and several examples are
shown of rivets, large and small, employed for this purpose (No.
=539=). The cover of a toilet-box (No. =540=) shows the method of
painting employed in the Greek red-figured vases; here the grotesque
head has been outlined in black, but the background has not been
filled in with black in the usual way. Two terracotta heads with
projecting stumps (No. =541=) show the manner in which the terracotta
figurines were built up of several parts. The heads were inserted into
holes in the trunks, and were then fastened in position with clay. An
unfinished clay relief (No. =542=) of a man with his dog, shows the
first process in the production of modelled relief, such as those in
the Room of Terracottas, Case 8.
A mould (No. =543=) for making a bowl of the ware called Arretine from
its place of manufacture, Arretium in Central Italy, is shown, with a
cast from the mould beside it. An impression is also shown of the
mark of M. Perennius, the most noted of the Arretine potters, in
combination with his slave Bargates (No. =544=). Near the mould are
stamps, one with a design of a slave heating some fluid in a caldron,
and others of a bear and lion (No. =545=; fig. 221). These stamps were
used for producing the designs in the moulds, being impressed in the
clay while it was soft. Several specimens of these moulds and bowls,
which are of about the first century B.C., will be seen in Cases 39-40
of the Fourth Vase Room.
[Illustration: FIG. 222.--MOULD FOR LOWER PART OF CLAY LAMP (NO. 546).
L. 4-1/4 in.]
The moulds for parts of Roman lamps, show the way in which these
objects were produced. The clay was pressed into the lower mould (such
as No. =546=; fig. 222) and also into a corresponding upper mould
(compare No. =547=), and then the two halves were joined together and
ready for baking.
(=526=) _Cat. of Vases_, II., B 507; (=528=) _Excavations in
Cyprus_, p. 26, fig. 50; (=531=) Cf. _Bull. della Comm. Arch._
xxxiii. (1905), p. 146 ff; (=532=) _Cat. of Jewellery,_ No.
609; (=533=) _Excavations in Cyprus_, p. 93, fig. 145; (=535=)
_Cat. of Vases_ II., B 432; (=536=) _Proc. of Soc. of Ant._,
Ser. II., xvi., p. 40; (=542=) _Cat. of Terracottas_, B 376.
pl. 20; (=545=) _Cat. of Roman Pottery_, M 82, 83; (=546=)
_Cat. of Lamps_, 1401.
=Gems and Pastes.=--In the next division of Case H are objects
illustrating the processes of producing Gems and Pastes. These include
a series of scarabs, scarabaeoids, and other beads at various
stages of manufacture (No. =548=); a series of clay moulds for
Graeco-Egyptian porcelain scarabs from Naukratis (No. =549=) and a
fine specimen of a paste cameo head of Silenos (No. =550=). Here also
are examples of stone socket-handles for a bow-drill (No. =551=). In
this and the next compartment several pieces of work are incised with
designs intended to be filled in with inlay (No. =552=). See also
a series of fragments of an acanthus pattern in ivory, evidently
intended to be inlaid. A piece of rock crystal is carved with ears
of corn in intaglio, gilded (No. =553=). See also examples of enamel
work, of the period of the Roman empire, on studs, seal boxes, etc.
(cf. p. 135, 155).
=Woodworking, etc.=--An interesting wooden box of Roman date is
derived from Panticapaeum, in the Crimea (No. =554=). This has two
sliding lids, above and below respectively, each furnished with two
catches. The interior was divided by a horizontal partition, and was
again subdivided into numerous small divisions. An inlaid pattern
decorates the border of the box. Another box of simpler construction
(No. =555=) was found in a grave in Bulgaria. Various specimens of
fretwork in jet and ivory are shown, and two pieces of an egg and
tongue moulding, carved in wood, and coloured with scarlet and
gilding, from a sarcophagus, also found at Panticapaeum (No. =555*=).
=The Lathe.=--In the next division are examples of work finished on
the lathe, in a variety of materials, as marble, alabaster, coloured
stones, crystal, bronze, ivory, bone, and wood; also a rough piece of
alabaster from Cyprus, derived from a lathe mandrel.
[Footnote 64: _Il._ xviii. 600 ff.]
XIX.--MEDICINE AND SURGERY.
(Table-Case H.)
=Greek Medicine.=--From the earliest times, as indicated by passages
in the Homeric poems, the Greeks practised simple forms of surgery in
such matters as the treatment of the wounded.[65] In the historic
age of Greece we find temple or wonder-working medicine, practised in
temples of Asklepios, especially at Epidaurus; and at the same time a
school of medicine, of the Asklepiadae, seated in the island of Kos.
A lively account of temple-healing is given in the _Plutus_ of
Aristophanes, where the slave Karion relates the experiences of his
master and himself when passing the night in the temple.[66] Examples
of the votive offerings deposited in the temples by those who had
been made whole have been mentioned in the section on Religion and
Superstition, p. 47 ff., and are to be seen in Cases 103-106.
[Illustration: FIG. 223.--GREEK SURGEON AT WORK (NO. 556).]
The more serious side of Greek medicine is inseparably connected with
the name of Hippokrates (born 460 B.C.), though the Koan school had
existed some time before his birth. The Asklepiadae were originally
members of a single clan, but the admission of persons from outside
soon made the clan into a medical school. The famous Hippokratean
oath, imposed upon members of the Koan school, shows the standard set
up before the medical profession: "I will conduct the treatment of the
sick for their advantage, to the best of my ability and judgment,
and I will abstain from all evil and all injustice. I will administer
poison to none, if asked to do so, nor will I ever make such a
suggestion. I will pass my life and exercise my art in innocence and
purity." In Greece there were both public and private physicians.
There were further dispensaries, or perhaps more accurately surgeries,
called [Greek: iatreia]. These were furnished with the necessary
surgical and medical appliances. The scene from a fifth century
vase-painting (No. =556=; fig. 223)[67] depicts a young surgeon at
work in an [Greek: iatreion]. He is operating on a patient's arm
(perhaps bleeding him), while another man, also wounded in the arm,
sits before him. A dwarf slave is ushering other patients into the
surgery, where bleeding-cups are seen hanging on the wall. Patients
also went to the [Greek: iatreia] to get draughts of medicine.[68]
Before the Alexandrian age it is probable that medicine was in advance
of surgery, for up to that time no scientific study of anatomy had
been attempted. Aristotle observes that the internal organs of the
human body were in his time very little known,[69] and what dissection
there was must have been practised on animals. The terracotta model
(No. =122=; fig. 36, above) of the heart, liver, lungs and kidneys
shows how vague the ancient idea as to the position of these organs
sometimes was.
=Roman Medicine.=--Medical science for a long time made but little
progress in Rome. The Greek physician Archagathos, who began to
practise there in 219 B.C., became extremely unpopular owing to his
bold methods of surgery.[70] The Roman doctors were chiefly of Greek
nationality, and not infrequently were slaves or freedmen. Julius
Caesar encouraged foreign physicians to settle in Rome by granting
them citizenship, and under the early Empire Rome was overcrowded with
medical men, if we may believe Pliny and Martial.[71]
The objects illustrating Greek and Roman Medicine and Surgery are
exhibited in part of Table-Case H. First in importance are the
surgical instruments, a selection of which is shown in fig. 224.
With rare exceptions these instruments are of bronze. The principal
varieties are here represented. There are several knives or
bistouries, an excellent example being the one from Myndos in Asia
Minor, with the upper part of the handle inlaid with silver (No.
=557=; fig. 224_g_). The lower part of the handle was in iron, and has
fallen away. The heavier bronze blades must have been used for various
purposes in connection with dissecting. The forceps is fairly common.
The interesting variety seen on the right of the illustration (_k_)
with its fine toothed ends (No. =558=) is probably an uvula forceps,
used for crushing the part intended to be amputated. An instrument
frequently found is the spatula or "spathomele" (No. =559=; fig.
224 _a-c_, _e_, _f_), so called from its flat broad end. This was
principally employed for mixing and spreading ointments, while the
olive-shaped ends were used as probes. Other instruments which call
for notice are the fine-toothed surgical saw (No. =560=; fig. 224_h_),
the sharp hook (No. =561=; fig. 224_d_), used for "seizing and raising
small pieces of tissue for excision, and for fixing and retracting the
edges of wounds." The bifurcated probes (No. =562=) were perhaps used
for the extraction of arrows and other weapons. A curious instrument
(No. =563=), the use of which was for long a puzzle, appears to be a
folding drill-bow and has been completed accordingly.
More elaborate than any of these are the examples of surgical
appliances which have been found in the excavations at Pompeii,
and are now at Naples. These are represented here by a group of
electrotype reproductions, including anal and vaginal specula, and
other objects (No. =564=).
[Illustration: FIG. 224.--BRONZE SURGICAL INSTRUMENTS (NO. 557, etc.).
1:2.]
The bronze cupping-vessel (No. =565=) should be noticed. Similar
vessels are seen suspended on the walls of the surgery depicted in
the vase-scene figured above (fig. 223). Burning lint or some other
lighted substance was placed in the vessel to rarify the air, and
its mouth was then applied to the part from which blood was to be
extracted. One such cupping vessel appears on the marble relief in the
Phigaleian Room, representing a physician named Jason treating a boy
with a swollen stomach (Fig. 225). Compare a similar consultation on
an engraved gem, under the immediate superintendence of Asklepios.
The bronze box (No. =566=), probably from the Cyrenaica, was almost
certainly used by a Roman physician for his drugs. It is divided into
several compartments, each furnished with a separate cover, and has
a sliding lid. Boxes of a precisely similar character have been found
with surgical instruments. Compare also the cast from Athens of a
votive relief with a fitted case of instruments (No. =567=).
[Illustration: FIG. 225.--MARBLE RELIEF. PHYSICIAN TREATING PATIENT.
Ht. 2 ft. 7 in.]
A very interesting class of antiquities is furnished by the stamps of
oculists (No. =569=). These take the form of square or oblong
plates, generally of steatite or slate. On the edges are engraved
inscriptions, giving the name of the oculist, the name of his
specific, and its purpose. These salves were pounded on the stone
into a paste. They generally bear a Greek name, such as Diasmyrnes,
Crocodes, etc., indicating their composition. They appear to have been
made up into the form of sticks impressed with the engraved edge of
the stone, and put into cylindrical bronze boxes, which have from
time to time been found with Roman surgical instruments. One or two
examples of the stamps may be given: "Saffron ointment for scars
and discharges prepared by Junius Taurus after the prescription of
Paccius"[72] (fig. 226, bottom). "The anodyne of Q. Junius Taurus for
every kind of defective eyesight."[73] Puff names for the drugs, such
as "Invincible," "Inimitable," also occur. An engraved gem, from a
drug compounder's ring has a seated Athena and the legend +HEROPHILI
OPOBALSAMUM+--"Balsam of Herophilus" (No. =570=). Whether the balsam
was named in honour of the founder of scientific anatomy, or of a
more obscure oculist of the first century B.C., or of an unknown
drug-seller cannot be determined. A set of Roman lead weights,
probably used for the weighing of drugs, is here exhibited. They are
marked 1 to 10, the unit probably being the _scripulum_ of 18 grains
(No. =571=). Two small lead pots placed near the weights were used for
holding eye-salves. One from Corfu bears the letters +A T+; the other,
from Athens, has the tripod of Apollo, the god of healing, and is
inscribed "The Lykian salve from Musaeos" (No. =572=). Near these
pots are spoons with channels for melting and pouring the salves
into wounds (No. =573=). A piece of stone with corrugated surfaces
is thought to be for rolling pills (No. =574=). The ivory figure of
a dwarf afflicted with a peculiar form of spinal curvature causing
pigeon-breastedness is a work of considerable spirit, probably of the
third century A.D. (No. =574*=).
[Illustration: FIG. 226.--STAMP OF THE OCULIST JUNIUS TAURUS (NO.
569). 4:5.]
(=563=) _Cat. of Bronzes_, 2674; _Journ. of Hellenic Stud._
34, p. 116; (=567=) Svoronos, _Athen. Nationalmus._
xlvii, 1378; (=568=) Cf. Espérandieu, _Signacula Medicorum
Oculariorum_; (=574*=) _Papers of the Brit. School at Rome_,
iv, pp. 279-282.
See on ancient medicine and surgery generally, Daremberg
and Saglio, s.v. _Chirurgia_, _Medicus_; Milne, _Surgical
Instruments in Greek and Roman Times_; Deneffe, _Étude sur la
trousse d'un chirurgien gallo-romain du III^e siècle_ (found
near Paris, 1880).
[Footnote 65: Cf. _Il._ iv. 218; xi. 844.]
[Footnote 66: Ar. _Plut._ 653 ff.]
[Footnote 67: See _Mon. Piot_, XIII. (1906), pl. xiii.,
p. 149 ff. From a vase in a private collection in Paris.]
[Footnote 68: Plat., _Leg._ i. 646: [Greek: tous eis ta
iatreia autous badizontas epi pharmakoposian].
]
[Footnote 69: _Hist. An._ i. 16.]
[Footnote 70: Plin., _H.N._ xxix. 12 f.]
[Footnote 71: Plin., _H.N._ xxix. 11:
hinc illae circa aegros miserae sententiarum concertationes,
hinc illa infelix monimenti inscriptio: turba se medicorum
periisse. Cf. Martial, v. 9.]
[Footnote 72: _Juni Tauri crocod(es) Paccian(um) ad
cicat(rices) et reum(a)._]
[Footnote 73: _Q. Jun(i) Tauri anodynum ad omn(em)
lippit(udinem)._]
XX.--MEASURES AND INSTRUMENTS.
[Illustration: FIG. 227.--ROMAN BRONZE FOOT-RULE (NO. 578). L. 292
mm.]
[Illustration: FIG. 228.--BRONZE PROPORTIONAL COMPASSES (NO. 579). L.
7-1/2 in.]
=Measures.=--In Case H are a few examples of ancient measures and
geometrical instruments. A Greek clay cup (No. =575=), inscribed
[Greek: hêmikotylion], contains exactly half a pint. The Greek kotyle,
therefore, according to this standard, measured exactly a pint. A copy
of a well-known Roman standard gallon, the so-called Farnese Congius,
is in Case 44 (No. =576=). Nos. =577= and =578= are two Roman bronze
foot-rules, measuring respectively 294 mm. (11·6 in.) and 292 mm.
(11·5 in.). The normal Roman foot measured 296 mm., and was adopted
under Greek influence, whereas the early Italic foot had only measured
278 mm. (slightly under 11 in.). Fig. 227 (No. =578=) shows the
subdivisions of these foot rules. One side is marked by dots into
sixteenths (_digiti_); another into twelfths (_unciae_); another into
fourths (_palmi_). The foot-rule illustrated has the remains of a
catch (indicated in the fig.) for keeping it rigid, when opened. There
are several pairs of ordinary compasses and dividers, and also two
pairs of proportional (2:1) compasses (No. =579=). One of these is
figured here (fig. 228). Notice the method of tightening by means of
a wedge, with the object of keeping the compasses fixed in any
particular position.
=Measures.=--(=575=) _Cat. of Vases_, IV, F 595; (=577=) Cf.
Daremberg and Saglio, s.v. _Pes_; _Hermes_, XXII., p. 17 ff.
and p. 79 ff.; _Ath. Mitt._, IX. (1884), p. 198 ff.
=Bronze Stamps.=--The large bronze stamps shown in Case H are somewhat
akin to seals in their intention. But while the engraved ring was
usually employed for purely personal purposes, such as the sealing
of a letter or document, and the device of the seal was more or less
ornamental, the bronze tablets were used for commercial or domestic
purposes and seldom bear anything but the name of the person using
them.
[Illustration: FIG. 229.--ROLLING STAMP, WITH THE NAME OF ALEXANDER
(NO. 584).]
These tablets are of various forms, but the majority are rectangular,
and bear the owner's name, like the one in this Case from Arles
(No. =580=), with the name of Q. Julius Renatus; others have merely
initials. Some are made in the form of a shoe or the sole of a foot,
and this is a shape frequently employed by the potters of the Roman
period in Italy for stamping their names on vases. Other forms to be
here observed are a leaf (No. =581=), a ship (No. =582=), and a fish
(No. =583=). The letters in most cases are in relief, producing an
impression in _intaglio_ on a soft substance such as unbaked clay.
They were probably used for the most part for stamping the plaster
stoppers of wine jars, loaves of bread and such like objects.
An example of a rare form is the rolling stamp with the name of
Alexander (No. =584=; fig. 229).
The remainder of the guide is devoted to the personal life of the
individual from the cradle to the grave. Successive sections are
devoted to Infancy and its Amusements; to Education and School
Life--to which sections on Writing and Painting are annexed; to games,
marriages, music, dancing, pet animals; and, finally, to objects
bearing on death and burial.
XXI.--INFANCY. TOYS.
At the end of Case J are four terracotta models of cradles (No.
=585=) with young children in them. One is a winged Eros, and one is
swaddled. Beside the cradles are three cups (No. =586=), with spouts
shaped as mouth-pieces, which may be supposed to be for milk or pap.
Here also are two clay rattles (No. =587=), and a child's wooden
clapper (No. =588=).
[Illustration: FIG. 230.--CHILD IN HIGH CHAIR (NO. 590).]
A set of small trefoil-lipped jugs (No. =589=) is painted with designs
closely connected with child life. Children are shown playing with
jugs of this type, with animals and toy carts, or other objects. It
is probable that these jugs were given to Athenian children on the
festival day of the wine god Dionysos, which went by the name of
[Greek: Choes] ("Jugs"). Note No. =590= (fig. 230), with a child
confined in a turret-shaped high chair, and No. =591= (fig. 231), with
two children with draw-carts, each holding a jug.
=Toys.=--Children of all ages and nations bear a great resemblance to
one another; consequently, it is not surprising, though it is always
interesting, to find that Greek and Roman toys are often very similar
to those of modern times. At the corner of Case J is a series of small
reproductions of furniture, implements and the like in lead, bronze,
pottery and terracotta (No. =592=). Often no doubt, they are simply
toys, like the furniture of a doll's house. Sometimes, however, they
must be supposed to have had a more serious votive character in a
temple. In some cases, perhaps, they were of both kinds. Among the
treasures of Hera at Olympia, the traveller Pausanias saw a small
couch said to have been a plaything of Hippodameia,[74] and it was
not uncommon for children on growing up to dedicate their toys in a
temple.
[Illustration: FIG. 231.--GREEK TOY JUG (NO. 591). 1:1 and 1:2.]
[Illustration: FIG. 232.--GREEK TERRACOTTA DOLL (NO. 593). Ht. 5-1/8
in.]
[Illustration: FIG. 233.--OLD WOMAN ON MULE (NO. 596). 1:1.]
[Illustration: FIG. 234.--SEATED DOLL, WITH MARRIAGE-BOWL, EPINETRON
AND SHOES (NO. 599). Ca. 1:2.]
[Illustration: FIG. 235.--TERRACOTTA MODEL TOPS AND DESIGN FROM
VASE-PAINTING. (NO. 600). Ht. of Model on right, 4-1/4 in.]