=Questions to arouse interest.= What nationality is represented in this
picture? Why do you think so? To what are they listening? What do their
expressions indicate their feelings to be? What musical instruments do
you see in the picture? From the picture, would you say that the people
are outdoors or indoors? why?
=Artist=: Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema (ăl´m_ä_-tăd´ēm_ȧ_).
=Birthplace=: Dronrijp, the Netherlands.
=Dates=: Born, 1836; died, 1912.
=The story of the picture.= Let us imagine ourselves in that great
walled-in city of Athens at the time of its greatest prosperity (fourth
century B.C.). At whatever gate we enter—and there are many of them—our
attention will be drawn toward the high, steep hill called the
Acropolis, around which the city is built. We may reach the top of this
hill in a chariot driven over a road of marble, or climb the marble
steps, entering the magnificent gateway where we find many beautiful
statues, temples, and altars. From this height we obtain a fine view of
the city, the sea, other small hills, temples, and flat-roofed houses.
As we look about us, we are surprised at the absence of spires or
towers. There are no high towers or tall buildings. Most of the houses
we see are one-story. The reason for this, it is said, is the frequency
of earthquakes. The exterior of the houses is very plain. They are built
of common stone, brick, or wood, coated with plaster, and so close to
the street that if the door opens outward, the owner is compelled to
knock before opening it in order to avoid injuring the passer-by in the
street. There are no windows on the lower floor at the front of the
house.
Beside the door is a statue of Hermes (god of highways, doorways, and
boundaries and the bringer of good luck), or an altar to Apollo (god of
light and the sun, and the protector from all evil); and over the door
we may notice an inscription such as “To the good genius,” followed by
the name of the master of the house. We raise the handle of the great
knocker, and scarcely has the sound echoed back to us when the door is
opened by the porter. We must be careful to step in with our right foot
first, as it is considered unlucky to cross the threshold with the left
foot. A long corridor or hall leads us to the open court, where all is
as beautiful as the exterior is plain. Usually a fountain and flowers
brighten the marble court, while on each side of it are the banqueting,
music, sitting, and sleeping rooms, picture galleries, and libraries.
But the Greeks spent so much time out of doors that a house was to them
only a safe place for their families and their property—a shelter from
storm. Most of the houses had porticoes or porches, and often the second
story consisted of nothing but these porches around the open court. The
flat tiled roofs were used as promenades.
Probably the Greeks in our picture are seated on one of these porches,
or they may be in one of the summer pavilions which so many wealthy
Greeks had erected in their yards or grassy plots back of the house.
Here they spent their afternoons and were entertained with music or by
the tales of wandering minstrels or readers.
The scene in the picture is represented as if it were in the open air;
the column and stone wall behind the reader suggest a part of a house.
In the distance we catch a glimpse of the blue sea. The slightly raised
seat of the reader indicates that it is a place built expressly for this
purpose.
Before the Greeks wrote their stories it was the custom of certain bards
or readers to go about from place to place singing or reciting the
stories of events which have made their national history. Even when the
stories were written, these bards were in great favor, for the Greeks
preferred to hear the music of verse recited, and to feel the thrill of
enthusiasm which could be aroused by the human voice, and not by a
lifeless tablet or book.
The swaying form of the reader, his rapt expression, his flashing eye,
his musical voice rising and falling like the sea,—these were the result
of inspiration and had power to arouse men to noble actions. In our
picture we see such a reader giving an interpretation or reading, much
as our best elocutionists do now. In his hand he holds a long scroll
from which he reads.
The Greeks used the Egyptian papyrus, and later the more expensive, but
finer, parchment, to write upon. The reed pen was used, and double
inkstands for black and red ink, which could be fastened to the belts or
girdles of the writers. In libraries, the scrolls were arranged on
shelves with the ends outward, or in pigeon holes. The reader unrolled
one end of the scroll with one hand, while with the other he rolled up
the part he had read.
Of all the Greek stories none were more fascinating than those of the
immortal Homer. According to tradition, Homer was a schoolmaster who,
growing tired of teaching, began to travel. Wandering about from place
to place, he finally became blind. After this great affliction came upon
him, he returned to his native town, where he dictated his two great
poems, the _Iliad_ and the _Odyssey_. Afterwards he wandered about from
town to town, singing them, and adding to them as inspiration came. It
is not even known where he was born, but, according to an old Greek
epigram,
“Seven rival towns contend for Homer dead,
Through which the living Homer begged his bread.”
He was a beggar, and yet he was a welcome guest at every home, for he
could play upon his four-stringed harp and sing of the wonderful deeds
of the Greek gods and heroes.
The subject of Homer’s _Iliad_ is the story of the siege of Troy. In a
contest between Aphrodite (Venus) and two other goddesses, Aphrodite,
the goddess of love and beauty, had promised Paris, son of the King of
Troy, that if he would declare her the most beautiful of the goddesses
he should have for his wife the handsomest woman of his time, Helen,
wife of the King of Sparta. Paris granted her request and, going to
Sparta, with Aphrodite’s aid he carried off Helen to Troy.
Of course her husband, the King of Sparta, objected. He appealed to all
the Grecian princes to help him, and soon a hundred thousand men sailed
away in eleven hundred and eighty-six ships across the Ægean Sea, and
camped before the walls of Troy. The siege lasted ten years.
Troy was finally taken by stratagem. The Greeks pretended to abandon the
siege, leaving behind them a great wooden horse as an offering to Athena
(Minerva), goddess of wisdom, and the special defender of citadels.
The Trojans could not find out their reason for building the monster;
but while they were talking about it and gazing at it some shepherds
brought into the town a young Greek named Sinon, whom they had captured.
He told a pitiful story. He said the Greek leader hated him, and had
induced the Greek soothsayer to declare that he must be put to death as
a sacrifice for their safe return to Greece. He had escaped, and hidden
in a swamp until the Greeks had gone.
The Trojans were ready to be kind to any man whom the Greeks hated, and
he was set free at once.
“But tell us,” said the king, “why that monster of a horse was built.”
Sinon declared it was a sacrifice to Athena because she was angry with
them. He said, “It was made too large to pass through your gates, for
they knew that if it was once within your walls it would protect you,
and victory would come to you instead of to the Greeks.”
The Trojans believed every word of this, and ordered the huge horse
brought within their city, even though they were obliged to take down
part of the wall in order to make the opening large enough. That night
the treacherous Sinon opened a door in the body of the horse and let out
the armed Greeks who were hidden inside. They quietly slipped to the
ground by means of a rope, killed the watchmen, and opened the gates to
the Greek army which had returned and was waiting outside. A terrible
battle followed, in which nearly all the Trojans were killed. Helen was
taken back to Greece.
In Homer’s _Odyssey_ he tells the adventures of Ulysses, King of Ithaca,
during the return journey from Troy. Ulysses had been one of the bravest
of the Greek leaders, and was one of the heroes concealed in the wooden
horse. The poem is full of vivid description and noble sentiments, both
pathetic and sublime, and it stirred the hearts of the Greeks with pride
and joy.
It is easy to see the interest in the faces of the listeners in the
picture. Partly robed in a rose-colored garment, the reader sits on a
chair of marble, holding on his knees a roll of papyrus, from which he
is reading to a group of four persons before him. A wreath of bay leaves
crowns his head, and as he leans forward his face expresses enthusiasm
while he tells the thrilling adventures of the hero of Homer’s story.
In the center of the background we see a woman. On her hair is a crown
of daffodils, and in her left hand something resembling a tambourine.
She half sits, half reclines, on a marble bench, a resting place which
the Greeks always preferred to chairs. On the floor near her, in an
attitude of careless ease, sits a young man who is very likely her
lover, since he is holding her hand. His face expresses his interest in
the story. In his right hand he holds a lyre, which suggests that the
company has been listening to music, and that they will enjoy it again
after this recital.
How intent their faces are as they follow in imagination all the
adventures of their sturdy ancestors! Near the center of the picture and
stretched out gracefully on the marble floor is a youth who appears
anxious not to lose one word of the story. At the left we see a man
standing. He wears a crown of flowers on his head, and wraps his long
cloak closely about him. His face is wild and sad. His appearance seems
to tell that he has duties elsewhere and ought to leave, but is being
held by the story.
The people are all dressed in typical Greek costumes. The dress of Greek
men and women was very much alike. When they appeared on the streets
they wore a cloak which consisted of a large square piece of cloth so
wrapped about them as to leave only the right arm free. It required much
skill to drape it gracefully, and the manner in which this was done
decided the taste and elegance of the wearer. The women and men of the
higher classes wore what they called a _chiton_, or dress which
consisted of two short pieces of cloth sewed or clasped together and
fastened over the shoulder, leaving open spaces for the arms. It was
fastened at the waist with a girdle. A man usually wore this _chiton_,
although he was considered fully dressed in the cloak alone. It was the
lower classes who wore the tanned skins, so the young man lying on the
floor is probably a servant.
A touch of bright color is added to this picture by the flowers in the
girl’s hair and those scattered on the bench beside her.
The flesh painting in this picture is claimed to be the most perfect
that Alma-Tadema ever did, and the painting of the girl and her lover,
one of his highest efforts. The reader is the center of interest in the
picture. The light, the lines, and the position of the figures make this
apparent.
The painting of these five large figures occupied the artist only eight
weeks, but the preliminary studies before he began painting took eight
months.
Alma-Tadema excelled in his painting of marble, and this picture gave
him every opportunity to display his genius, since nearly the entire
background is of marble. The delicate colors of the young girl’s
costume, with the few bright touches of color in the flowers; the
darker, richer colors of the men’s cloaks; and back of it all the clear
opalescent colors of marble and the deep blue of the sea beyond give the
picture a distinctive beauty which is most pleasing to the eye. A close
student of Greek history, Alma-Tadema has been particular to see that
every little detail is in harmony, and consistent with the age and
country.
=Questions to help the pupil understand the picture.= What is the center
of interest in this picture? What lines in the picture direct your eye
to the reader? How does the light do this? the position of the figures?
Tell something of Greek life; of Homer; of the siege of Troy. Why did it
take the artist eight months to get ready to paint this picture?
=To the Teacher=: Each pupil may be asked to draw one Greek ornament
from some history, encyclopedia, or dictionary.