VIGNETTE.--No. 528. Golden Goblet, with Dog's Head Handles 350
No. 529. Gold Rings, Gold Wire (round and quadrangular) in
spirals, and one Silver Ring 353
No. 530. Gold Signet-ring 354
No. 531. Second Gold Signet-ring 360
No. 532. Golden Lion 361
Nos. 533-538. Gold Beads of a Necklace 361
Nos. 539-541. Three Lentoid Gems of Serpentine and Agate
with intaglio-work, found on the site of Phœnicé and
of the Heræum 362
APPENDIX.
ANALYSIS OF METALS. FROM SEPULCHRE IV.
No. 542. Piece of Argentiferous Gold Foil 368
No. 543. Piece of Sheet Gold 369
Nos. 544, 545. Fragments of a Silver Vase 370
No. 546. Piece of a Bronze Sword 372
Nos. 547-549. Plan, side elevation, and end elevation, of a
Bronze Handle of a Vase 375
Illustration to Appendix C--Egyptian Badge 384
Illustration to Appendix D--Two-edged Bronze Sword, after
cleaning 386
COLOURED PLATES OF TERRA-COTTA FIGURES.
(_To follow Index._)
PLATE A. Figs. a, b. Terra-cotta Cows and Idols from Tiryns.
c, d. Terra-cotta Idols from Tiryns.
PLATE B. Figs. e, f, g. Terra-cotta Idols from Mycenæ.
h. A piece of Terra-cotta, with characters resembling
letters.
PLATE C. Fig. i. The Head of an Idol from Mycenæ.
k. A Cow from Mycenæ.
l, m. Idols from Mycenæ. Actual size.
PLATE D. Figs. n, o, p. Fragments of Terra-cotta Cow-headed Idols
from Mycenæ.
PLANS.
(_At End of Volume._)
PLAN A. The Acropolis of Tiryns.
PLAN B. The Circular Agora, with the Five Royal Sepulchres, in the
Acropolis of Mycenæ.
PLAN B B. Vertical Sections of the Hill of the Acropolis of Mycenæ
and the Depths of the Five Tombs.
PLAN C. Plan of the Acropolis of Mycenæ, with Dr. Schliemann's
excavations.
PLAN D. Plan of the whole City of Mycenæ.
PLAN E. Façade, Plan, and Section of the Treasury near the Lions' Gate.
PLAN F. Plan and Section of the Fourth Sepulchre, with the Funeral
Altar above it.
PLAN G. Plan and Section of the Tomb South of the Agora, in the
Acropolis of Mycenæ.
[Illustration: PLATE I.
THE ACROPOLIS OF TIRYNS.
_To face page 1._]
FOOTNOTES:
[26] All the objects figured in the Illustrations to this
Chapter, from and after No. 239, belong to the _Third Sepulchre_.
[27] No. 453 only belongs to Sepulchre V.
[28] Only Nos. 539-541 are not from this Tomb.
[Illustration: No. 1. Map of Argolis.]
CHAPTER I.
EXCAVATIONS AT TIRYNS.
Situation of the City--Description by Pausanias--Cyclopean
Walls: meaning of the epithet--The Quarry--The rock of Tiryns
and its bordering Wall--Galleries, Gate, and Tower--Walls and
Terraces of the Acropolis--Mythical traditions and History of
Tiryns--Its destruction by the Argives--Its connection with the
myth of Hercules--Morasses in the Plain of Argos--The Walls of
Tiryns the most ancient monument in Greece--Pottery a test of
antiquity--Beginning of the Excavations--Cyclopean house-walls
and conduits--Objects discovered--Terra-cotta cows, and female
idols with cow's-horns--Both represent the goddess HERA BOÖPIS--A
bird-headed idol--A bronze figure, the only piece of metal at
Tiryns, except lead--No stone implements found--Pottery--Hellenic
remains outside the citadel, which was the primitive city--Proofs
of different periods of habitation--The later city of Tiryns--The
archaic pottery of Tiryns like that of Mycenæ--Its forms and
decoration denote higher civilisation than the rude walls
would lead us to expect--Older pottery on the virgin soil,
but no cows or idols--Probable date of the second nation at
Tiryns, about 1000 to 800 B.C.; of the Cyclopean walls, about
1800 to 1600 B.C.--No resemblance to any of the pottery in
the strata of Hissarlik, except the goblets--A human skeleton
found--Whorls--Estimate of soil to be moved at Tiryns--Greater
importance of MYCENÆ.
Tiryns, August 6, 1876.
* * * * *
In the south-east corner of the Plain of Argos, on the lowest and
flattest of a group of rocky hills, which rise like islands out of
the marshy lowlands, only eight stadia or one mile from the Gulf
of Argos, was situated the ancient citadel of Tiryns, now called
_Palæocastron_.[29] It was celebrated as the birthplace of Hercules and
was famous for its gigantic Cyclopean walls, of which Pausanias says,
"The circuit wall, which is the only remaining ruin (of Tiryns) was built
by the Cyclopes. It is composed of unwrought stones, each of which is so
large that a team of mules cannot even shake the smallest one: small
stones have been interposed in order to consolidate the large blocks."[30]
[Sidenote: THE CYCLOPEAN WALLS.]
The usual size of the stones is 7 feet long and 3 feet thick, but I
measured several which were 10 feet long and 4 feet thick. Judging by
the masses of fallen stones, I think it probable that the walls, when
entire, were not less than 60 feet high. Had the circuit wall consisted
of wrought stones it would doubtless have disappeared ages ago, because
its stones would have been used for the buildings in the neighbouring
cities of Nauplia and Argos. But the wall was preserved on account of the
enormous size of the blocks, for the later builders found it much more
easy and convenient to cut the material they needed at the foot of the
rocks than to destroy the wall and break up the blocks.
I may here mention that the name "Cyclopean walls" is founded on an
error, being derived from the mythic legend that the Cyclopes were
distinguished architects. According to Strabo (VIII. 6), the Cyclopes,
seven in number, came from Lycia and erected in the Argolid walls and
other buildings, which were known under the denomination "Cyclopean
walls." According to Apollodorus (II. 2, 1) and Pausanias (II. 16, 4)
they built the walls of Tiryns and Mycenæ. Probably in consequence of
this the whole of Argolis is called "Cyclopean land."[31] There is
of course no historical foundation for calling walls of huge blocks
"Cyclopean," after the mythical giant race of the Cyclopes. But as the
word has come into general use, I cannot avoid employing it.
It must be distinctly understood that not every wall built of stones,
without any binding material, may be called "Cyclopean;" and that
under that denomination are only comprised, firstly, the walls of large
unwrought blocks, the interstices of which are filled in with smaller
stones; secondly, the walls composed of large polygonal stones well
fitted together; and, thirdly, the very ancient walls (such as we see
in the Lions' Gate at Mycenæ) where immense quadrangular blocks, rudely
wrought, are roughly put together in horizontal layers, but the joints
not being quite straight, there remain small interstices between the
stones. House or fortress walls of well-cut quadrangular slabs, which are
closely joined without mortar, can never be called "Cyclopean;" and thus,
even the large subterranean Treasuries at Mycenæ and Orchomenus can in
no way claim this denomination, though they may belong to the remotest
antiquity.[32]
The quarry from which these walls were built can easily be distinguished
at the foot of a rock one mile distant, which is crowned by a chapel of
the prophet Elias. But this quarry does not form a pit, such as we see
at Syracuse, Baalbec, or Corinth. At Tiryns, as at Mycenæ, the Cyclopean
builders have contented themselves with cutting away the blocks from the
rocky surface.
[Sidenote: THE CITADEL OF TIRYNS.]
The flat rock of Tiryns, which is 900 feet long, from 200 to 250 feet
broad, and from 30 to 50 feet high, extends in a straight line from north
to south, and its margin is lined by the aforesaid Cyclopean circuit
wall, which is from 25 to 50 feet thick, and in a pretty good state of
preservation; but it is not always massive, being traversed by interior
passages or galleries with ogival vaults, of which four can easily be
discerned. One of these galleries, which is 90 feet long and 7 feet
10 inches broad and high and free from _débris_, has in its external
wall six gate-like recesses or window openings, which reach down to the
bottom. Their pointed arches are formed like the angle in the passage,
merely by overlapping the ends of the courses of the masonry.[33]
These niches were most probably intended for archers, whilst the
galleries themselves must have served for covered communications leading
to armouries, guard-chambers, or towers. Of the other three galleries,
two are in the south-eastern corner and run parallel to each other;
the third, which traverses the western wall, seems to have served as a
sally-port, and was probably concealed in some way or other.[34]
On the eastern side is the only gate, which is 15 feet broad. It is
approached by a ramp 20 feet wide, which is supported by a wall of
Cyclopean masonry.[35] The right flank of the gate is defended by a
tower 43 feet high and 33 feet broad, which may have procured for the
Tirynthians the credit of having been the first to build towers.[36]
In this place the walls are better preserved than anywhere else, and
they rise considerably above the flat summit of the mount within the
Acropolis or citadel.
This citadel consists of an upper enclosure on the south, and a lower
one on the north side; both are of about equal size, and are divided by
an abrupt slope, 14 feet high, which was fortified by a Cyclopean wall
of minor proportions. In this wall I perceive some stones shaped by art,
and some even rectangular, which leads me to think that it belongs to a
later time than the Cyclopean circuit walls. In the upper enclosure are a
number of terraces supported by Cyclopean walls.
Through all antiquity the Greeks themselves looked upon the walls of
Tiryns as a work of the demons. Pausanias[37] regards them as a structure
more stupendous than the Pyramids of Egypt; and Homer manifests his
admiration of them by the epithet "τειχιόεσσα," which he
applies to Tiryns.[38]
[Sidenote: HISTORY OF TIRYNS.]
According to ancient tradition, Tiryns was founded (about 1400 B.C.) by
Prœtus, who was its first king, and whose son Megapenthes ceded the town
to Perseus, the builder of Mycenæ. Perseus gave it to Electryon, whose
daughter Alcmena, the mother of Hercules, married Amphitryon, who was
expelled by Sthenelus, the king of Mycenæ and Argos. Hercules conquered
Tiryns and inhabited it for a long time, in consequence of which he is
often called the Tirynthian.[39] On the return of the Heraclidæ (80
years after the Trojan war) Mycenæ itself, as well as Tiryns, Hysiæ,
Mideia, and other cities, were forced to increase the power of Argos,
and were reduced to the condition of dependent towns. Tiryns remained
nevertheless in the hands of its Achæan population, and, together
with Mycenæ, took part in the battle of Platææ with 400 men.[40] In
consequence of this event the name of Tiryns was engraved, among those
of the other Greek cities which had fought there, on the bronze column
with the golden tripod-stand, which the Spartans dedicated as the tithe
of the booty to the Pythian Apollo at Delphi. The glory which Tiryns
thus acquired excited the envy of the Argives, who had taken no part
in the Persian war, and who also began to consider that city as a very
dangerous neighbour; particularly when it had fallen into the hands of
their insurgent slaves (Γυμνήσιοι), who maintained themselves
for a long time behind its Cyclopean walls and dominated the country.[41]
The insurgents were finally subdued, but soon afterwards (Ol. 78, 1; 468
B.C.) the Argives destroyed the city, demolished part of its Cyclopean
walls, and forced the Tirynthians to emigrate to Argos.[42] But according
to Strabo[43] they fled to Epidaurus. Pausanias[44] mentions that between
Tiryns and the gulf are the "θάλαμοι" of the insane daughters
of Prœtus, of which no vestige is to be seen now; they cannot have been
underground buildings on account of the morass. Theophrastus[45] speaks
of the laughing propensities of the Tirynthians, which rendered them
incapable of serious work.[46]
The myth of the birth of Hercules at Tiryns and the twelve labours
he performed for Eurystheus, the king of the neighbouring Mycenæ,
may, I think, be easily explained by his double nature as hero and as
sun-god.[47] As the most powerful of all heroes, it is but natural that
he should be fabled to have been born within the most powerful walls in
the world, which were considered as the work of supernatural giants.
As sun-god he must have had numerous sanctuaries in the plain of Argos
and a celebrated cultus at Tiryns, because the marshy lowlands by which
it is surrounded, and which even at present are nearly unproductive
from want of drainage, were in remote antiquity nothing but deep swamps
and morasses, which extending far up the plain engendered pestilential
fevers, and could only be made to disappear gradually by incessant human
labour and by the beneficent influence of the sun.
For the existence of the immense morasses in the plain of Argos we have
no less an authority than Aristotle, who says,[48] "At the time of the
Trojan war, the land of Argos being swampy, it could only feed a scanty
population, whilst the land of Mycenæ was good and was therefore highly
prized. But now the contrary is the case, for the latter has become too
dry and lies untilled, whilst the land of Argos, which was a morass and
therefore lay untilled, has now become good arable land." Thus it will
appear but natural that Hercules, as sun-god, should be fabled to have
performed for Eurystheus, the king of Mycenæ, who possessed the whole
plain of Argos, the twelve labours which have been long known to mean
nothing else than the twelve signs of the zodiac, through which the sun
appears to pass in the annual revolution of our globe.
The topography of the plain south of Tiryns appears not to have changed
since the time of Aristotle, for the northern shore of the gulf consists
of deep swamps, which even now extend for nearly a mile inland.
[Sidenote: BEGINNING OF WORK AT TIRYNS.]
I perfectly agree with the common opinion that the Cyclopean walls
of Tiryns are the most ancient monument in Greece; but, having the
conviction that no city or fortress wall can be more ancient than the
most ancient pottery of the site it surrounds, I was very anxious
to investigate the chronology of the Tirynthian walls by systematic
excavations. I therefore proceeded to Tiryns on the 31st ultimo, in
company with Mrs. Schliemann and my esteemed friends, Castorches,
Phendikles and Pappadakes, Professors of Archæology in the University of
Athens.
There I engaged fifty-one workmen, and dug a long broad and deep trench
in the highest part of the citadel, and sank besides this thirteen shafts
6 feet in diameter.[49] I further sank three shafts in the lower part of
the fortress, and four more at a distance of 100 feet outside the walls.
In the higher citadel I struck the natural rock at a depth of from 11½
to 16½ feet; in the lower citadel, at from 5 to 8 feet; and outside the
citadel I reached the virgin soil at from 3 to 4 feet.
In seven or eight of the shafts sunk in the upper citadel I brought to
light Cyclopean house-walls built on the natural rock, and in three
shafts I found Cyclopean water-conduits of a primitive sort, being
composed of unwrought stones, laid without any binding material. Though
these water-conduits rest on the rock, yet I cannot conceive how water
can ever have run along them without getting lost through the interstices
between the stones.
Neither in the long trench nor in the deep twelve or thirteen shafts
did I find any stones at all. I conclude from this that the majority of
the houses consisted of unburnt bricks, which still form the building
material of most of the villages in the Argolid. The houses can hardly
have been of wood, for, if so, I should have found large quantities of
ashes. All my excavations in Tiryns remain of course open, and visitors
are invited to inspect them.
Among the objects discovered I must first mention the small terra-cotta
cows, of which I collected eleven,[50] for they seem to solve a great
problem, and are, at all events, of capital importance to science. Nearly
all of them are covered with painted ornaments of red colour; one only
has a black ornamentation.
[Illustration: No. 2. Terra-Cotta Cow, from Tiryns. (1½ M.) Actual size.]
[Sidenote: COWS OF TERRA-COTTA.]
[Sidenote: IDOLS OF HERA.]
At the same time I found nine female idols, seven of which are painted
with red and two with black or dark yellow ornaments.[51] They have a
very compressed face, no mouth, and a "polos" on the head; of the idol
No. 8 the head is missing, and the idol, No. 10, has a broader face and
an uncovered head. The breasts of all these idols are in high relief,
and below them on each side protrudes a long horn, in such a way that
both horns together must either be intended to represent the moon's
crescent or the two horns of the cow, or both the one and the other at
the same time. I found cows and idols perfectly similar, three years
ago, in the thirty-four shafts I sank in the Acropolis of Mycenæ, which
city was close to the great Heræum and was celebrated for its cultus
of Hera, whose cow-character and identity with the Pelasgic moon and
cow-goddess Io, with the Bœotian goddess Demeter Mycalessia, and with the
Egyptian moon-goddess Isis,[52] I have already sufficiently proved.[53]
My opinion is also shared by the high authority of the Right Honourable
W. E. Gladstone, who says in his celebrated work, 'Homeric Synchronism,'
p. 249: "The goddess Isis, mated with Osiris, is represented with the
cow's head on some of the Egyptian monuments.[54] She is identified by
Herodotus with Demeter: but Demeter and Herè are very near, and Herè
seems in Homer to be the Hellenic form which had in a great degree
extruded Demeter from many of her traditions, and relegated her into the
insignificance which belongs to her in the poems. The epithet Boöpis
seems therefore possibly to indicate a mode of representing Herè which
had been derived from Egypt, and which Hellenism refined.
[Illustration: No. 3. (2½ M.)
No. 4. (2½ M.)
No. 5. (1½ M.)
No. 6. (2½ M.)
No. 7. (3 M.)
Nos. 3-7. Terra-Cotta Cows, from Tiryns. Actual size.]
[Illustration: No. 8. (1 M.)
No. 9. (2½ M.)
No. 10. (2 M.)
No. 11. (1 M.)
Nos. 8-11. Terra-Cotta Idols from Tiryns. Actual size.]
[Sidenote: EXCAVATIONS AT TIRYNS.]
"It must, however, be borne in mind that the Egyptian representation
was not with the eyes, but with the full countenance and head, of the
ox or cow; and further, that the Homeric epithet is not confined to
Herè, but is applied to Klumené, one of the attendants of Helen,[55]
and to Philomedousa, wife of Areithoos.[56] It is likewise given to
Halié, one of the Nereid Nymphs.[57] The inference, probable though not
demonstrative, would seem to be that in Homer's time the epithet had come
to bear its later and generalised sense, and that the recollection of the
cow had worn away."
I therefore do not hesitate to declare that both the cows and the horned
female figures found at Mycenæ and Tiryns must needs be idols of Hera,
who was the tutelar deity of both cities.
All the above idols, in the form of a cow and of a horned female, were
found at a depth of from 3 to 11½ feet below the surface, and none at a
greater depth.
Several terra-cotta idols of a different form were found; one of them
at a depth of 8 feet.[58] This also seems to be a female idol; its two
hands are joined on the breast, as if in the attitude of prayer; the
head, which is uncovered, exactly resembles a bird's head, and at the
first glance one is involuntarily struck by the resemblance of this
idol to those on one of the many painted figures of the Attic vases
with geometrical patterns which are preserved in the small collection
of antiquities in the Ministry of Public Instruction at Athens,[59] and
which have been until now considered to be the most ancient pottery in
Greece. But I hope to prove in the subsequent pages that this is a great
mistake, and that they must belong to a later period.
Of the idol No. 11 there remain only the neck and the head, which very
much resembles an owl's head.
[Illustration: No. 12. Bronze figure, from Tiryns. (3 M.) Actual size.]
Except lead, the only piece of metal found was a beautiful archaic male
figure of bronze, wearing a Phrygian cap, and seemingly in the attitude
of throwing a lance (see No. 12). But copper or bronze at least, if not
iron, must have been extensively used at Tiryns, for I did not find there
a single implement of stone.
The surface of the citadel is scantily strewn with potsherds of the
Middle Ages, and probably of the time of the Frank dominion, for that
period seems to be indicated by the chalk floors of a villa and its
dependencies. These potsherds, as well as entire vases of the same
fabric, are sometimes found as far down as 3 feet, but immediately below
them follow archaic potsherds, which are usually met with at as little as
a few inches under the surface; and thus it is evident that the site of
the citadel of Tiryns was never inhabited from the time of the capture of
the city by the Argives (468 B.C.) to about 1200 A.D.
[Sidenote: POTTERY AND COINS FOUND AT TIRYNS.]
But in the four shafts which I sank outside the citadel I found nothing
but remains of Hellenic household vessels, which, judging by the
potsherds, I am inclined to attribute to the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th centuries
B.C. I am confirmed in this conjecture by quite a treasure of small
Tirynthian copper coins, discovered some years ago at the foot of the
citadel, and evidently of the Macedonian time. These medals, which are of
splendid workmanship, show on one side the head of Apollo with a diadem,
on the other a palm-tree with the legend ΤΙΡΥΝΣ. Thus there can be no
doubt that the most ancient city of Tiryns was confined to the small
space within the walls of the citadel, and that a new city, with the same
name, was built outside of it some time after the capture by the Argives,
and probably in the beginning of the 4th century B.C. This city seems to
have extended especially to the east and still more to the north side of
the citadel, where a number of its house-walls may be seen on the road to
Mycenæ. From the absence of pottery of a later period I conclude that the
new town was already abandoned before the Roman rule in Greece. It seems
to have been quite insignificant, for it is not mentioned by any ancient
author.
The Tirynthian archaic pottery is of precisely the same fabric, and has
the same painted ornamentation, as the pottery of Mycenæ. There are
the same tripods, with from one to five perforations in each foot; the
same large vases, with perforated handles and holes in the rim of the
bottom for suspension by a string; the same fantastically-shaped small
vases, jugs, pots, dishes, and cups--all made on the potter's wheel,
and usually presenting, on a light red dead ground, the most varied
painted ornamentation of a lively red colour, which seems to be quite
indestructible; for the thousands of potsherds with which the site of
Mycenæ is covered have lost nothing of their freshness of colour, though
they have been exposed for more than 2300 years to the sun and rain.
I dug up at Tiryns a large quantity of fragments of terra-cotta goblets,
which, like those found at Mycenæ, are of white clay, and without any
painted ornaments;[60] but they are not found beyond a depth of 8 feet
below the surface. At a depth of from 8 to 10 feet I found only goblets
of a greenish or dark red colour. All of them have the form of the large
modern Bordeaux wine-glasses.
[Sidenote: PROBABLE DATE OF THE POTTERY.]
All this splendid pottery denotes a high civilisation, such as the men
who built the Cyclopean city walls can hardly have reached. Hence,
all this beautiful pottery was either imported, or (and this appears
more likely) it has been manufactured by the nation which succeeded
the Cyclopean wall-builders, and to these latter must belong all the
hand-made monochromatic pottery which I found in Tiryns on and near the
virgin soil. The colour of this pottery is that of the clay itself,
which on the vast majority of the smaller vases has been wrought by
hand-polishing to a lustrous surface; nearly all the black vases have
been hand-polished both on the inside and outside, and are very pretty.
All the larger jars are bulky, as well as many of the other large
vases; and many of them have on each side a very short handle placed
horizontally, with a broad hole, which may have been used for suspension
by a string. In this stratum I found neither cows nor female idols. Of
this hand-made pottery I have been fortunate enough to take out, besides
hundreds of fragments, two entire vases, of which I give the drawings
annexed (Nos. 13 and 14).[61]
[Illustration: No. 13. Terra-Cotta Vessel, from Tiryns. (3 M.) About
half-size.]
[Illustration: No. 14. Terra-Cotta Vessel, from Tiryns. (3½ M.) Size 2:3
about.]
With regard to the chronology of the Tirynthian pottery, if the date
of about 1400-1200 B.C., generally attributed to the most ancient
Attic vases, were correct, we might perhaps assign a like date to the
establishment in Tiryns of the second nation; for to the same period must
be ascribed the bird-headed idol described above,[62] and a quantity
of fragments of very ancient painted vases with similar patterns. But
for several reasons, which will hereafter be explained, I am unable to
attribute these vases to a remoter age than from 1000 to 800 B.C., and I
cannot therefore admit the settlement of the second nation at Tiryns to
have taken place at an earlier epoch. It will probably for ever remain
mere guesswork to what date belongs the stratum of hand-made pottery
on and near the virgin soil; but if we suppose that the most ancient
examples of this pottery are older, by 800 years, than the most ancient
painted vases of the second nation, and that, consequently, the building
of the Cyclopean walls of Tiryns was from 1800 to 1600 B.C., I think we
shall be very near the right date. I have vainly endeavoured to recognise
an affinity between the primitive Tirynthian pottery and that of any one
of the four prehistoric cities of Troy. After mature consideration, I
find that there is no resemblance whatever, except in the goblets whose
form is also found in the oldest prehistoric city on Mount Hissarlik.
Not the least interesting object I discovered at Tiryns was the skeleton
of a man at a depth of 16½ feet. The bones are partly petrified, but I
attribute this merely to the nature of the soil in which the skeleton
has been imbedded. Some of the bones had swollen considerably owing to
the damp, and this may also be the case with the lower jawbone, which is
enormously thick. Unfortunately I have been able to save only part of the
skull.
I have still to mention that in all the prehistoric strata I found very
small knives of obsidian; but, as before stated, no weapon or implement
of stone. Many small conical whorls of blue or green stone[63] were found
in the strata of the nation second in succession, but only two very rude
ones of baked clay.
Taking the average depth of the virgin soil in the upper and lower
citadels, as ascertained by my shafts, to be 11·66 feet, I find by
accurate calculation, that the quantity of _débris_ to be removed at
Tiryns does not fall short of 36,000 cubic metres. From this, however,
are to be deducted the cubic contents of the Cyclopean house-walls, of
the curious water-conduits and of a couple of cisterns (only one of
which, however, I have been able to find), on the south side. I hope
to accomplish this work some day, but first of all I must finish the
much more important excavation in the Acropolis of Mycenæ, and of the
Treasury close to the Lions' Gate, which I intend to commence forthwith.
I know that, after Troy, I could not possibly render a greater service
to science than by excavating at Mycenæ; because if, as is probable, the
Cyclopean walls of its Acropolis belong to the same remote antiquity as
the walls of Tiryns, the architecture of its Treasuries is at all events
more modern, and there can be no doubt whatever that such was in general
use in the time of Homer, who describes it by the phrase
θάλαμοι ξεστοῖο λίθοιο ("chambers of polished
stone").
My esteemed friends, Professors Castorches, Phendikles, and Pappadakes
return to-day to Athens.
[Sidenote: NOTE ON HERA BOÖPIS.]
NOTE A.--"HERA BOÖPIS."
I extract the following from my Paper on Troy, read on the 24th
of June 1875, before the Society of Antiquaries in London.
It has been said by a great scholar,[64] that, whatever else the
Homeric epithet γλαυκῶπις may mean, it cannot mean
owl-headed, unless we suppose that Ἡρη Βοῶπις was
represented as a cow-headed monster. I found in my excavations at
Troy three splendid cow-heads with long horns of terra-cotta,[65]
and I believe them to be derived from Hera idols, but I cannot
prove it. But it is not difficult to prove that this goddess
had originally a cow's face, from which her Homeric epithet
βοῶπις was derived. When in the battle between the gods and the
giants, the former took the shape of animals, Hera took the form
of a white cow, "nivea Saturnia vacca."[66] We find a cow's
head on the coins of the island of Samos, which had the most
ancient temple of Hera, and was celebrated for its worship of
this goddess.[67] We further find the cow's head on the coins of
Messene, a Samian colony in Sicily.[68] The relation of Hera to
the cow is further proved by the name Εὔβοια, which was at once
her epithet,[69] the name of one of her nurses,[70] the name of
the island in which she was brought up,[71] and the name of the
mountain at the foot of which her most celebrated temple (the
Heræon) was situated.[72] But in the name Εὔβοια is contained
the word βοῦς. Hera had in Corinth the epithet
βουναία,[73] in which the word βοῦς is likewise contained.
White cows were sacrificed to Hera.[74] The priestess rode in a
car drawn by white bulls to the temple of the Argive Hera.[75]
Iö, the daughter of Inachus, the first king of Argos, was changed
by Hera into a cow.[76] Iö was priestess of Hera,[77] and she is
represented as the cow-goddess Hera.[78] Iö's cow-form is further
confirmed by Æschylus.[79] The Egyptian goddess Isis was born
in Argos, and was identified with the cow-shaped Iö.[80] Isis
was represented in Egypt as a female with cow-horns, like Iö in
Greece.[81]
[Sidenote: NOTE ON HERA BOÖPIS.]
The cow-shaped Iö was guarded in Hera's sacred grove at Mycenæ
by the hundred-eyed Argus, who was killed by Hermes, by order
of Zeus; and Hera next persecuted Iö by a gad fly, which forced
her to wander from place to place.[82] Thus Prometheus says:
"How should I not hear the daughter of Inachus, who is chased
around by the gad fly?" But the wandering of Iö is nothing else
than the symbol of the moon, which restlessly moves in its
orbit. This is also shown by the very name of Iö (᾽Ιώ), which
is derived from the root I (in εἶμι, _I go_). Even in classical
antiquity Iö was still frequently represented as a cow; as at
Amyclæ.[83] Iö continued to be the old name of the moon in the
religious mysteries at Argos.[84] Apis, king of the Argive
realm, was the son of Phoroneus, and thus the grandson of
Inachus, and the nephew of Iö. From Apis, the Peloponnesus and
also Argos were called _Apia_; after his death he was worshipped
under the name Serapis.[85] According to another tradition,
Apis ceded his dominion in Greece to his brother, and became
king of Egypt,[86] where, as Serapis, he was worshipped in
the shape of a bull. Æschylus makes the wanderings of Iö end
in Egypt, where Jove restores her to her shape, and she bears
Epaphus, another name for the bull-god Apis. The cow-horns of
the Pelasgian moon-goddess Iö, who became later the Argive Hera
and is perfectly identical with her, as well as the cow-horns
of Isis, were derived from the symbolic horns of the crescent
representing the moon.[87] No doubt Iö, the later Hera, had
at an earlier age, besides her cow-horns, a cow's face. Hera,
under her old moon-name Iö, had a celebrated temple on the site
of Byzantium, which city was said to have been founded by her
daughter Keroëssa--i.e., "the horned."[88] The crescent, which
was in all antiquity and throughout the Middle Ages the symbol
of Byzantium, and which is now the symbol of the Turkish empire,
is a direct inheritance from Byzantium's mythical foundress,
Keroëssa, the daughter of the moon-goddess Iö (Hera); for it is
certain that the Turks did not bring it with them from Asia, but
found it already an emblem of Byzantium. Hera, Iö, and Isis, must
at all events be identical also with Demeter Mycalessia, who
derived her epithet "the lowing," from her cow-shape, and had her
temple at Mycalessus in Bœotia. She had as door-keeper Hercules,
whose office it was to shut her sanctuary in the evening,
and to open it again in the morning.[89] Thus his service is
identical with that of Argus, who in the morning unfastens the
cow-shaped Iö, and fastens her again in the evening to the olive
tree,[90] which was in the sacred grove of Mycenæ, close to the
῾Ἡραῖον.[91] The Argive Hera had, as the symbol of fertility,
a pomegranate, which, as well as the flowers with which her
crown was ornamented, gave her a telluric character.[92]
In the same way that in Bœotia the epithet Mycalessia, "the
lowing," a derivation from μυκᾶσθαι, was given to Demeter, on
account of her cow-form, so in the plain of Argos the name of
Μυκῆναι, a derivative from the same verb, was given to the city
most celebrated for the cultus of Hera, and this can only be
explained by her cow-form. I may here mention that Μυκάλη was
the name of the mount and promontory directly opposite to and in
the immediate neighbourhood of the island of Samos, which was
celebrated for the worship of Hera.
In consideration of this long series of proofs, certainly no one
will for a moment doubt that Hera's Homeric epithet βοῶπις shows
her to have been at one time represented with a cow's face, in
the same way as Athena's Homeric epithet γλαυκῶπις shows this
goddess to have once been represented with an owl's face. But
in the history of these two epithets there are evidently three
stages, in which they had different significations. In the first
stage the ideal conception and the naming of the goddesses took
place, and in that naming, as my esteemed friend Professor Max
Müller rightly observed to me, the epithets were figurative
or ideal, that is, natural. Hera (Iö), as deity of the moon,
would receive her epithet βοῶπις from the symbolic horns of the
crescent moon and its dark spots, which resemble a face with
large eyes; whilst Athena, as goddess of the dawn, doubtless
received the epithet γλαυκῶπις to indicate the light of the
opening day.
In the second stage of these epithets the deities were
represented by idols, in which the former figurative intention
was forgotten, and the epithets were materialised into a cow-face
for Hera, and into an owl-face for Athena; and I make bold to
assert that it is not possible to describe such cow-faced or
owl-faced female figures by any other epithets than by βοῶπις
and γλαυκῶπις. The word πρόσωπον for 'face,' which
is so often used in Homer, and is probably thousands of years
older than the poet, is never found in compounds, whilst words
with the suffix ειδης refer to expression or likeness in general.
Thus, if Hera had had the epithet of βοοειδής, and Athena that
of γλαυκοειδής, we should have understood nothing else
but that the former had the shape and form of a cow, and
the latter that of an owl.
To this second stage belong all the prehistoric ruins at
Hissarlik, Tiryns, and Mycenæ.
The third stage in the history of the two epithets is when, after
Hera and Athena had lost their cow and owl faces, and received
the faces of women, and after the cow and the owl had become the
attributes of these deities, and had, as such, been placed at
their side, βοῶπις and γλαυκῶπις continued to be used
as epithets consecrated by the use of ages, and probably with the
meaning "large-eyed," and "owl-eyed." To this third stage belong
the Homeric rhapsodies.
[Illustration: PLATE II.
THE WEST SIDE OF THE ACROPOLIS OF MYCENÆ.
In the background is the principal summit of Mount Eubœa, 2500 feet high,
crowned with an open Chapel of the Prophet Elias.
To face page 23.]
FOOTNOTES:
[29] See Plan A. and Plate I. The etymology of the name Tiryns
(probably a Pelasgic word) is difficult to explain. It is very probable
that the city was originally called Licymnia, for Strabo (VIII. p. 373)
says that a citadel with that name is twelve stadia from Nauplia, and
this distance perfectly agrees with that of Tiryns from the latter city.
He does not distinctly say that he alludes to Tiryns; but this is very
probable, because Pindar says (_Olymp._ 7, v. 47):
καὶ γὰρ ᾽Αλκμήνας κασίγνητον νόθον
σκάπτῳ θένων,
σκληρᾶς ἐλαίας ἔκταν᾽ ἐν Τί-
ρυνθι Λικύμνιον, ἐλθίντ᾽ ἐκ θαλάμου
Μιδέας,
τῖς δέ ποτε χθονὸς οικιστὴρ χολωθείς.
'Because he (Tlepolemus) killed in wrath with a stick of the hard
olive-tree Alcmena's bastard brother Licymnius, who descended from
Midea's nuptial chamber and was the builder of the city.' Apollodorus
(II. 8, 2) confirms this, but says that he killed him accidentally:
Τληπόλεμος οὖν, κτείνας οὐχ ἑκὼν
Λικύμνιον τῇ βακτηρίᾳ γὰρ αὐτοῦ
θεραπεύοντα πλήσσοντος ὑπέδραμε,
'Tlepolemus involuntarily killed Licymnios, who approached him when he
was chastising his servant with a stick.'
Eustathius (_ad loc._) says that the first name of Tiryns was Haliis or
Haleis, fishermen having been the first settlers on the rock; this is
also confirmed by Stephanus Byzantinus (_s.v._ Τίρυνς). Pausanias
(II. 25, 8) says that the city received its name from the hero Tiryns,
a son of Argos.
[30] Paus. II. 25, 8. Τὸ δὴ τεῖχος, ὃ δὴ
μόνον τῶν ἐρειπίων λείπεται, κυκλώπων
μέν ἐστιν ἔργον, πεποίηται δὲ ἀργῶν
λίθων, μέγεθος ἔχων ἕκαστος λίθος ὡς
ἀπ᾽ αὐτῶν μηδ᾽ ἂν ἀρχὴν κινηθῆναι
τὸν μικρότατον ὑπὸ ζεύγους ἡμιόνων·
λίθια δὲ ενήρμοσται πάλαι ὡς μάλιστα
αὐτῶν ἕκαστον ἁρμονίαν
τοῖς μεγάλοις λίθοις εἶναι.
[31] γᾶ κυκλωπία (Euripides, _Orestes_, 965).
[32] Cf. Ch. II. p. 28. It should also be observed that these
forms of construction do not invariably denote successive steps of
antiquity and the art of building. Unhewn boulders, rough quarried
stones, and those which had a polygonal cleavage due to their nature,
were often used for convenience by builders who were quite able to work
quadrangular blocks, as is proved by walls in which the former kinds
are placed _above_ the last. See Mr. E. H. Bunbury's "Cyclopean Remains
in Central Italy," in the 'Classical Museum,' 1845, vol. ii. pp. 147.
_seqq._, and the article MURUS in Dr. Smith's 'Dictionary of Greek and
Roman Antiquities.'
[33] See the margin of Plan A.
[34] Dodwell ('A Classical and Topographical Tour through
Greece') and Prof. Ernst Curtius (_Peloponnes_) consider this gallery to
be a second gate, which I think impossible, as it leads straight out into
the plain.
[35] Colonel Leake states ('Travels in the Morea,' Vol. II. p.
351) that the principal entrance of Tiryns is on the south side, adjacent
to the south-east angle. He is right if he speaks of the present day,
for there has indeed been made at that point in modern times a zigzag
roadway, leading up the steep slope; but there was most decidedly no gate
or entrance whatever here in ancient times.
[36] Aristotle and Theophrastus, _ap._ Plin. _H. N._ VII. 56.
Pliny says that the former of these authors attributes the building of
towers to the Cyclopes, the latter to the Tirynthians.
[37] Paus. IX. 36.
[38] _Iliad_, II. 559:--Οἳ δ᾽ ῎Αργος τ᾽
εἶχον Τίρυνθά τε τειχιόοεσσαν.
[39] Pind. _Ol._ XI. 40; Ovid, _Met._ VII. 410; Virgil, _Æn._
VII. 662.
[40] Herodot. IX. 28.
[41] Herodot. VI. 83.
[42] Paus. II. 17, 5; VIII. 27, 1.
[43] VIII. p. 373.
[44] Il. 15, 9.
[45] _Apud_ Athenæum, VI. 261.
[46] Theophrastus adds that, desirous to get rid of their
propensity to laugh, the Tirynthians consulted the oracle at Delphi, and
got the god's answer that, if they could sacrifice an ox to Poseidon
and throw it into the sea, without laughing, the evil would at once
cease. The Tirynthians, who feared to fail in the execution of the god's
command, forbad the children to be present at the sacrifice. But one of
them having heard this, and having mixed in the crowd, they cried out at
him to drive him away, on which he exclaimed, "How, are you afraid that
I shall upset your sacrifice?" This excited universal laughter, and they
became convinced that the god intended to show them by experience that an
inveterate evil custom cannot be remedied.
[47] Max Müller, 'Essays,' II. 79.
[48] Aristot. _Meteorol._ I. 14.
[49] The exact depths are indicated by the proportional numbers
appended to the sectional plans of the excavations in the margin of Plan
A.
[50] See Nos. 2-7, and the coloured Plate A, figs. a, b.
[51] See Nos. 8-11 on p. 12, and the coloured Plate A, fig. d.
[52] To these may be added the Syrian and Phœnician Ashtoreth.
"Astarte, _queen of heaven, with crescent horns_,
To whose bright image nightly, _by the moon_,
Phœnician virgins paid their vows and songs."--
Milton, _Par. Lost_, Bk. I. vv. 439-441.
[53] See note A.--"HERA BOÖPIS," at the end of this chapter.
[54] See Bunsen's 'Egypt,' Vol. I. p. 420 (Transl.).
[55] _Il._ III. 144.
[56] _Il._ VII. 10.
[57] _Il._ XVIII. 40.
[58] See the coloured Plate A, fig. c.
[59] Published by Dr. G. Hirschfeld ('Vasi Arcaici Ateniesi,
estratto dagli Annali dell' Instituto di Corr. Archeol.,' 1872. Roma).
[60] Such as the goblet represented on p. 70, No. 83.
[61] _To each object is attached a number denoting the exact
depth in meters at which it was found; so e.g. 3½ M. means 3½ meters;
each meter has about 3⅓ feet. I call particular attention to this._
In order to retain the precision of these numbers, and to avoid the
labour and chance of error in converting them into feet and inches, a
comparative table of French and English measures is prefixed to the book.
[62] See p. 13, and the coloured Plate A, fig. c.
[63] These are exactly like the whorls found at Mycenæ. See No.
15.
[Illustration: No. 15. Stone Whorl, found at Mycenæ. (5 M.) Actual size.]]
[64] Professor Max Müller, in the 'Academy,' January 10, 1874.
[65] See 'Troy and its Remains,' p. 294.
[66] Ovid, _Metam._ V. 330.
[67] Mionnet, 'Descr. des Méd. Ant.' pl. lxi. 6.
[68] Millingen, 'Anc. Coins of Greek Cities,' tab. ii. 12.
[69] Pausanias, II. 22, 1, 2.
[70] Plut. _Quæst. Conviv._ III. 9, 2; Etym. Mag. 388, 56.
[71] Plut. Fr. _Dædal._ 3.
[72] Paus. II. 17, 1.
[73] Paus. II. 4, 7.
[74] Paus. IX. 3, 4; Hesych. _s. v._ ἄγαν χαλκεῖος.
[75] Herod. I. 31.
[76] Lucian, Θεῶν Διάλ. 3; Diod. Sic. I. 24, 25;
Herod. II. 41.
[77] Æsch. Suppl. 299; Apollod. II. 1, 3--
Κληδοῦχον Ἡρας φασὶ δωμάτων ποτὲ
᾽Ιὼ γενέσθαι τῇδ ἔν ᾽Αργείᾳ
χθονί,--.
[78] Creuzer, 'Symbolik,' II. 576.
[79] _Prom._ 573, seq. and Hygin. _Fab._ 145.
[80] Diod. Sic. I. 24, 25; Apollod. II. 1, 3; Hygin. 145.
[81] Herod. II. 41.
[82] Apollod. II. 1, 3; Æschyl. _Prom._, 585:
πῶς δ'οὐ κλύω τῆς οὶστροδινήτου κόρης
τῆς ᾽Ιναχείας.
[83] Paus. III. 18, 13.
[84] Eustath. _ap._ Dionys. Perieg. 92, 94,
Ιὼ γὰρ ἡ σελήνη κατὰ τὴν τῶν ᾽Αργείων
διάλεκτον, on which Heyne, _ad_ Apollod. p. 100,
says: "fuisse suspicor nomen hoc caputque feminæ cornutum symbolum Lunæ
apud Argivos antiquissimum." See also Jablonsky, _Panth._ II. p. 4 ff.
[85] Apollod. II. 1, 1; Schol. Lykophr. 177; Schol. Apoll. Rhod.
IV. 263; Steph. Byz.
[86] Euseb. _Chron._ Pars I. pp. 96, 127, 130, ed. Aucher;
Augustin. _de Civit. Dei_, XVIII. 5.
[87] Diod. Sic. I. 11; Plut _de Is. et Os._ 52, compare c. 39;
Macrob. _Sat._ I. 19; Ælian, _Hist. Anim._ X. 27.
[88] O. Müller, _Dorier_, I. 121; Steph. Byz.
_s.v._ Βυζάντιον.
[89] Paus. IX. 19, 4.
[90] Ovid. _Metam._ I. 630
[91] Apollod. II. 1, 3.
[92] Panofka, 'Argos Panoptes,' tab. ii. 4; Cadalvène, 'Recueil
de Méd. Gr.' Pl. III. 1; Müller, 'Denkmäler,' XXX. 132; Duc de Luynes,
'Études Numismat.' pp. 22-25.
[Illustration: No. 16. Ruins of the Cyclopean Bridge at Mycenæ.[93]]
CHAPTER II.
TOPOGRAPHY OF MYCENÆ.
GATE OF THE LIONS AND TREASURY OF ATREUS.
The road from Argos to Mycenæ--The Plain of Argos: its
rivers and hills, horses and vegetation--Myth regarding its
arid nature--Swamps in the southern part; and fable of the
Lernæan hydra--Early social development here--Legend of
Phoroneus--The Pelasgian Argos--The Achæan states of Argos and
Mycenæ--Situation of Mycenæ--The _Citadel_ and its Cyclopean
walls--The term defined--"Gate of the Lions"--The postern
gate--Cisterns--Poetical confusion of Argos and Mycenæ.
The _Lower City_: its house-walls, bridge, treasuries, and
pottery--Its partially enclosing wall--The undefended suburb,
and its large buildings--Its extent--The only two wells in
Mycenæ--Three Treasuries in the suburb--Treasuries in the Lower
City--Description of the "Treasury of Atreus"--Dodwell's Argument
for regarding the building as a Treasury--Uniqueness of these
structures--Excavation of the Treasury by Veli Pasha.
Mycenæ, August 19, 1876.
* * * * *
I arrived here on the 7th inst. by the same road which Pausanias[94]
describes. The distance from Argos is only 50 _stadia_, or 5·8 English
miles. Pausanias saw, on that side of Argos which looked toward Mycenæ,
the temple of Lucina (Εἰλείθυια), and next an altar of the
Sun, which appears to have been on the bank of the Inachus. After having
passed this river he saw, to his right, the temple of the Mysian Demeter,
and further on to his left the mausoleum of Thyestes, the brother of
Atreus and uncle of Agamemnon. This monument was crowned with a ram of
stone, in commemoration of the adultery of Thyestes with his brother's
wife. Still further on he saw, to his right, the temple (ἡρῷον)
of Perseus, the founder of Mycenæ. But of all these monuments not a
vestige now remains.
The first river I passed, in coming from Argos, was the
ancient Χαράδρος, now called _Rema_, an affluent of the
Inachus, on the banks of which, as Thucydides[95] informs us, the
Argives were in the habit of holding a military court on the return
of their armies from abroad, before allowing them to enter the city.
Soon afterwards I passed the very wide bed of the famous river Inachus,
now called _Bonitza_, which traverses the plain of Argos in its entire
length. The beds of both these rivers are dry except when heavy rain
falls in the mountains; and this appears to have been the case also in
the time of Pausanias, who says[96] that he found the sources of the
Inachus on Mount Artemisium, but that the quantity of water was very
insignificant and it only ran for a short distance. This seems to prove
beyond any doubt that the Arcadian mountains were then already as bare of
trees as they are now.
[Sidenote: ROAD FROM ARGOS TO MYCENÆ.]
But as the Inachus plays so important a part in the mythic legends of the
Argolid, which make him the husband of Meleia and father of Phoroneus,
the first king of Argos, and of the moon-goddess Iö (the later Hera),
there can be no doubt that in prehistoric times the Inachus was a river
of some consequence. This, however, seems to be only possible if we
suppose the Arcadian mountains to have been at that time overgrown with
forests. That the Inachus was once, and for ages, an abundant river, is
proved also by the fact that the whole plain of Argos has been formed by
the alluvia of its rivers, but principally by those of the Inachus.
Further upon the road from Argos to Mycenæ I passed another smaller
river-bed, which seems to be the Cephisus mentioned by Pausanias.[97]
In speaking of the rivers of the plain of Argos, I must further mention
the two streams Eleutherion and Asterion, between which was situated the
celebrated Heræum on the lower slope of Mount Eubœa. Both are now dry
and have no water except in heavy and long-continued rains, but they
seem still in classical antiquity to have had an abundance of water all
the year round, for the Eleutherion was the sacred water used in the
religious ceremonies at the temple, whilst the water of the Asterion fed
the asterion-plant (a kind of aster), sacred to Hera, from the leaves of
which wreaths and festoons were made for the goddess. The very name also
of Mount Eubœa seems to indicate that it was once a rich pasture ground,
whilst now it is as completely barren of all vegetation as are the beds
and banks of the two rivers.
The plain of Argos is enclosed on the west and north by the highlands of
Artemisium, on the east by those of Arachnæon. From the former several
parallel ridges of hills advance for some distance into the plain;
the most northerly of them is Mount Lycone, which terminates in Mount
Larissa, 900 feet high, with the Acropolis of Argos, the city itself
being situated at the foot of the mount, in the plain. The second ridge
is the Chaon, at the foot of which the river Erasinus issues in a copious
stream and falls into the Argolic Gulf, turning many mills. This river
was in all antiquity considered to be identical with the Stymphalus,
which disappears by two subterranean channels under Mount Apelauron in
Arcadia. The third parallel ridge is the Pontinus. On the east side much
smaller and more detached hills slope gently into the plain. To the north
the mountains are very rough and abrupt. On the north and south-east of
the Acropolis of Mycenæ are the two highest peaks of Mount Eubœa;[98] the
northern one, which is crowned with an open chapel of the prophet Elias,
is 2500 feet high.
In all antiquity the plain of Argos was celebrated for the breeding of
horses, and Homer,[99] seven times in the Iliad, praises its splendid
horse-pasture grounds by the epithet "ἱππόβοτος."
Owing to the great dryness of the land, wine and cotton can now be grown
only in the fertile lower plain, and a little corn and tobacco is all
that can be produced in the highlands. Even as late as the Greek war of
independence (1821) there must have been much more moisture here, because
at that time the whole plain, and even a large portion of the highlands,
were thickly planted with mulberry, orange, and olive trees, which have
now altogether disappeared.
[Sidenote: THE PLAIN OF ARGOS.]
The epithet πολυδίψιον, "very thirsty," which Homer gives
to the plain of Argos, agrees perfectly with its present condition, and
also with the myth told by Pausanias:[100] "Poseidon and Hera disputed
about the possession of the land (the plain of Argos), and Phoroneus,
son of the river Inachus, Cephisus, Asterion, and Inachus himself, had
to decide; they adjudged the plain to Hera, whereupon Poseidon made the
waters disappear. Hence neither Inachus nor any other of the aforesaid
rivers have any water, except when Jove sends rain (Ζεὺς ὕει);
in summer all the rivers are dry except the (springs of) Lerna." The
epithet πολυδίψιον, however, does not agree with the
passage already cited from Aristotle,[101] which asserts that at the time
of the war of Troy the land of Argos was swampy, whilst that of Mycenæ
was good.
The most southern part of the plain of Argos has at all times had a great
abundance of water, but with little or no profit to agriculture; for the
sea-shore is lined with vast and almost impassable swamps, and the river
Erasinus, which pours down from Mount Chaon, soon empties itself into the
Gulf of Nauplia. Further, the springs at the foot of Mount Pontinus form
the famous swamps of Lerna, where Hercules is fabled to have killed the
Hydra. Probably this myth is the symbolic account of an attempt once made
to drain the swamps and to convert them into arable land.
Owing to its exuberant fertility and exceptional situation on the
splendid gulf, this plain has been the natural centre and the point of
departure for the whole political and social development of the country,
and for this reason it deserves the appellation "ancient Argos."[102]
Here Phoroneus, son of the river Inachus and the nymph Meleia, was
said, with his wife Niobe, to have first united the inhabitants, who
till then had lived dispersed, into one community, and to have founded
a city which he called ῎Αστυ ϕορωνικόν,[103] which was
renamed by his grandson Argos, and became the centre of a powerful
Pelasgic state.[104] Indisputable proofs of this Pelasgic settlement
are found in both the names Argos and Larissa, which are Pelasgic, the
former meaning "plain," the latter "fortress"; further, in the myth of
the ancient Pelasgic moon and cow-goddess Iö, who, as has been said
above, was fabled to have been born here, her father being the river
Inachus. The Pelasgic state comes afterwards under the dominion of the
Pelopids, under whom the country is divided into two states, as we find
it still in the Iliad; the northern part, with the capital Mycenæ, being
under the sceptre of Agamemnon; the southern, with Argos as its capital,
under the dominion of Diomedes, who was, however, only a vassal of the
former. At all events, at the time of the invasion of the Peloponnesus
by the Dorians, Argos was the mightiest state in the peninsula, and
thus tradition allots it to the Heraclid Temenus, the firstborn son of
Aristomachus.
[Sidenote: SITUATION OF MYCENÆ.]
The situation of Mycenæ is beautifully described by Homer,[105] "In the
depth of the horse-feeding Argos," because it lies in the north corner
of the plain of Argos, in a recess between the two majestic peaks of
Mount Eubœa, whence it commanded the upper part of the great plain and
the important narrow pass, by which the roads lead to Phlius, Cleonæ, and
Corinth. The Acropolis occupied a strong rocky height, which projects
from the foot of the mountain behind it in the form of an irregular
triangle sloping to the west.[106] This cliff overhangs a deep gorge,
which protects the whole south flank of the citadel. Through the abyss
below winds the bed of a torrent usually almost dry, because it has no
other water than that of the copious fountain Perseia, which is about
half a mile to the north-east of the fortress. This gorge extends first
from east to west, and afterwards in a south-westerly direction. The
cliff also falls off precipitously on the north side into a glen, which
stretches in a straight line from east to west. Between these two gorges
extended the lower city. The cliff of the citadel is also more or less
steep on the east and west side, where it forms six natural or artificial
terraces.
[Illustration: No. 17. Walls of the First Period.]
The Acropolis is surrounded by Cyclopean walls, from 13 to 35 feet high,
and on an average 16 feet thick. Their entire circuit still exists, but
they have evidently been much higher. They are of beautiful hard breccia,
with which the neighbouring mountains abound. They follow the sinuosities
of the rock, and show three different kinds of architecture. By far
the greater portion of them is built exactly like the walls of Tiryns,
although not so massively; and as this kind of architecture is generally
thought to be the most ancient, I have marked it on the adjoining cut
(No. 17) with the words, "Walls of the first period." A large piece of
the western wall I have marked on the accompanying cut (No. 18) as "Walls
of the second period," because it consists of polygons, fitted together
with great art, so that, in spite of the infinite variety of the joints,
they formed as it were one solidly united and neat wall, as if of rock;
and this sort of building, which can be seen in so many places in Greece
and Southern Italy, is universally acknowledged to be generally of a
later period than the former. I have marked here (No. 19) as "Walls of
the third period" those walls to the right and left of the great gate,
which consist of almost quadrangular blocks arranged in horizontal
layers; but their joints are not always vertical and they present lines
more or less oblique.
[Illustration: No. 18. Walls of the Second Period.]
[Illustration: No. 19. Walls of the Third Period.]
[Sidenote: THREE KINDS OF PRIMITIVE WALLS.]
I have made this division into three periods merely to point out the
different architecture of the walls, and with no intention of maintaining
that the one must be more ancient than the other. On the contrary, after
mature consideration, I cannot think that the one kind of wall should
be considered older than the other, for, after the circuit walls had
once been built of rough stones of enormous size, it is hardly possible
that in after times part of them should have been destroyed in order
to replace them by walls of another type. Or if part of the primitive
walls had been razed by an enemy, there could have been no reason why
they should not be restored in the same style, which was quite as solid
as the other, and was besides much cheaper and easier, because only the
wall could have been destroyed, but not the stones, which lay ready to be
put up again. It appears also to have been the custom of the primitive
builders to pay a little more attention to symmetry and regularity in
the more monumental portions of their work. I conclude, therefore, that
the three kinds of architecture existed simultaneously in that remote
age of antiquity when the walls of Mycenæ were built, but that in later
times the style of architecture marked as of the "first period" went out
of fashion, and the two other modes of building alone remained in use.
Walls of polygonal blocks continued in use in Greece until the time of
the Macedonian dominion; a proof of which is seen, for instance, in the
masonry of the sepulchres at the Hagia Trias in Athens, as well as the
fortifications on the island of Salamis, of which we know with certainty
that they were erected in the fourth or fifth century, B.C.[107] Within
the last sixteen years walls of polygonal blocks have come extensively
into use in Sweden and Norway, particularly for the substructions of
railway bridges.
The first western terrace is bordered on its east side, for a distance of
166 feet, by a Cyclopean wall 30 feet high, which is crowned by the ruins
of a tower, and runs parallel with the great circuit wall; it is no doubt
part of a second enclosure.[108] Remnants of other enclosures are visible
a little higher up the mount to the left, as well as on the eastern side.
A second interior tower appears to have stood at the south-western corner
of the summit.
Near the north-western corner the circuit wall is traversed by an
ogive-like passage 16½ feet long, like those of Tiryns (see No. 20).
Traces of Cyclopean house-walls and foundations can be seen on all but
the first eastern and western terraces.
[Illustration: No. 20. Entrance to the ogive-like Gallery in the Walls of
the Citadel of Mycenæ.]
Notwithstanding the remote antiquity of Mycenæ, its ruins are in a far
better state of preservation than those of any of the Greek cities which
Pausanias saw in a flourishing condition, and whose sumptuous monuments
he describes (about 170 A.D.); and, owing to its distant and secluded
position, and to the rudeness, magnitude, and solidity of the ruins, it
is hardly possible to think that any change can have taken place in the
general aspect of Mycenæ since it was seen by Pausanias.
[Illustration: No. 21. Gate of the Lions.]
[Illustration:
PLATE III.
GATE OF THE LIONS. The Principal Entrance to the Acropolis
of Mycenæ. _To face page 32._
]
In the north-western corner of the circuit-wall is the great "Lions'
Gate," of beautiful hard breccia.[109] The opening, which widens from the
top downwards, is 10 ft. 8 in. high, and its width is 9 ft. 6 in. at
the top, and 10 ft. 3 in. below. In the lintel (15 feet long and 8 feet
broad) are round holes, 6 inches deep, for the hinges, and in the two
uprights, which it roofs over, are four quadrangular holes for the bolts.
Over the lintel of the gate is a triangular gap in the masonry of the
wall, formed by an oblique approximation of the side courses of stone.
The object of this was to keep off the pressure of the superincumbent
wall from the flat lintel.
[Sidenote: GATE OF THE LIONS.]
This niche is filled up by a triangular slab of the same beautiful
breccia of which the gateway and the walls consist: it is 10 feet high,
12 feet long at the base, and 2 feet thick. On the face of the slab are
represented in relief two lions, standing opposite to each other on their
long outstretched hind-legs, and resting with their fore-paws on either
side of the top of an altar, on the midst of which stands a column with a
capital formed of four circles enclosed between two horizontal fillets.
The general belief that the heads of the lions are _broken off_ is wrong,
for on close examination I find that they were _not_ cut out of the same
stone together with the animals, but that they were made separately and
fastened on the bodies with bolts. The straight cuts and the borings in
the necks of the animals can leave no doubt as to this fact. Owing to the
narrowness of the space, the heads could only have been very small, and
they must have been protruding and facing the spectator. I feel inclined
to believe that they were of bronze and gilded. The tails of the lions
are not broad and bushy, but narrow, like those which are seen in the
most ancient sculptures of Egypt.
[Illustration: No. 22. Plan of the Gate of Lions.
(_a_) Wall of Acropolis on E. side. (_b_) Face of projecting masonry on
W. side. (_c_) Gateway and Cill. (_d_) Inner Gateway.]
It is universally believed that this sculpture represents some symbol,
but many different conjectures have been made as to its meaning. One
thinks that the column alludes to the solar worship of the Persians;
another believes that it is the symbol of the holy fire, and a
_pyratheion_ or fire altar, of which the lions are the guardians;
a third conjectures that it represents Apollo Agyieus, that is, the
"guardian of the gateway." I am of this last opinion, and firmly believe
that it is this very same symbol of that god which Sophocles makes
Orestes and Electra invoke when they enter their father's house.[110]
As to the two lions, the explanation is still more simple. Pelops, son
of the Phrygian king Tantalus,[111] migrated hither from Phrygia, where
the mother of the gods, Rhea, whose sacred animal is the lion, had a
celebrated worship. Most probably, therefore, Pelops brought with him the
cultus of the patron deity of his mother-country, and made her sacred
animal the symbol of the Pelopids. Æschylus compares Agamemnon himself
to a lion;[112] he also compares Agamemnon with Ægisthus as a lion with
a wolf.[113] Thus here above the gate the two lions, either as the
sacred animals of Rhea or as the symbol of the powerful dynasty of the
Pelopids, have been united to the symbol of Apollo Agyieus, the guardian
of the gateway. To the left of the sculpture of the lions is a large
quadrangular window in the wall.
[Illustration: No. 22_a_. The Right and Left Door Posts of the Gate of
Lions.]
The great gate stands at right angles to the adjoining wall of the
citadel, and is approached by a passage, 50 feet long and 30 feet wide,
formed by that wall and by another exterior wall, which runs nearly
parallel to it, and which forms part of a large quadrangular tower
erected for the defence of the entrance.[114] Within these walls the
enemy could advance only with a small front of perhaps seven men, exposed
on three sides to the arrows and stones of the defenders. A zigzag road
on immense Cyclopean substructions, now covered with large blocks which
have fallen from the wall, led up to the entrance of the gateway. Leake
rightly says that the early citadel builders bestowed greater labour than
their successors on the approaches to the gates, and devised various
modes of protracting the defence of the interior by numerous enclosures
and by intricacy of communication.
[Illustration: No. 23. Elevation and Plan of the Postern Gate.]
[Sidenote: THE POSTERN GATE.]
The postern-gate[115] consists likewise of three large slabs, namely,
two uprights and the lintel by which these are roofed. The opening of
this gateway likewise widens from the top downward; at the top it is
5 ft. 4 in. wide and 5 ft. 11 in. at the bottom. On the lintel stands
a triangular slab, inclusive of which the gate is 14 feet high. The
grooves for the bolts in the jambs of the door are square and of large
dimensions. The situation of this gate is not very favourable, because
the enemies who attacked it would have their left arm, which was guarded
by the shield, on the side of the Acropolis. On the slope on the west
side are several subterranean cisterns.
According to Plutarch, the first name of the mount of the citadel was
Argion.[116] It is significant that it is never mentioned by ancient
authors under the appellation of "acropolis." Sophocles (_Electra_)
calls it δῶμα Πελοπιδῶν or 'residence of the Pelopids,'
also οὐράνια τείχη, 'heavenly walls.' Euripides[117] also
calls it, "stone Cyclopean heavenly walls," and further[118] "Cyclopean
heavenly walls," and this must refer to the hugeness of the walls and
towers. Strabo[119] justly observes that, on account of the close
vicinity of Argos and Mycenæ, the tragic poets have made a confusion
regarding their names, continually substituting the one for the other.
But this is to be excused, because in antiquity travelling was both
difficult and very unsafe. Besides, people were not archæologists, and
though every one took the very deepest interest in the ancient history of
Greece, no one cared to submit to the trouble and hardship, or to incur
the danger, of visiting even the places which had been the scene of his
country's most glorious actions. This could not possibly be better proved
than by the fact that no ancient author mentions the reconstruction of
Mycenæ after its capture and destruction in 468 B.C.
[Sidenote: MYCENÆ AND ARGOS.]
Homer himself is seemingly guilty of making a confusion regarding the
names of Argos and Mycenæ, because he puts into the mouth of Agamemnon
the words concerning Chryseis:
"Her I release not, till her youth be fled;
Within my walls, in Argos, far from home,
Her lot is cast, domestic cares to ply,
And share a master's bed...."--LORD DERBY.[120]
But by the name Argos Homer understands here the Argolid territory and
perhaps the whole Peloponnesus; a sense of which another passage can
leave no doubt:[121]
"O'er all the Argive coast and neighbouring isles to reign."
The same may be the case, more or less, with the later tragic poets, and
at all events it must be so with Euripides, because he knew Mycenæ too
well to mistake it for Argos. Thus he calls Mycenæ[122] "the altars of
the Cyclopes;" "the Cyclopean Mycenæ";[123] and "the handiwork of the
Cyclopes":--[124]
"Do you call the city of Perseus the handiwork of the Cyclopes?"
In other passages he says, "O Cyclopean houses, O my country, O my dear
Mycenæ!"[125] Again, "Standing _on_ (or _at_) the stone steps, the
herald calls aloud '_To the Agora, to the Agora_, ye people of Mycenæ,
to see the portents and the terrific signs of the blessed kings."[126]
Again, "O mother-country, O Pelasgia, O my home, Mycenæ."[127] Again,
"Dear ladies of Mycenæ, first in rank in the Pelasgic settlement of the
Argives.[128] Again, "I will go to Mycenæ; crow-bars and pickaxes will
I take to destroy with twisted-iron the town, the foundations of the
Cyclopes, which are well fitted together with the chisel and the purple
rule."[129]
This description can only refer to Cyclopean walls composed of
well-fitted polygons, such as we see in the western part of the great
circuit walls.[130] Besides Euripides knew accurately that the Agora,
with the Royal sepulchres, was in the Acropolis; and thus it appears
certain that Euripides visited Mycenæ, and that the grand Cyclopean walls
of the Acropolis, as well as the sacred enclosure of the circular Agora,
with the mysterious tombs of the most glorious heroes of antiquity, made
a profound impression upon him, for otherwise we cannot explain his so
often speaking of the gigantic Cyclopean walls, describing also their
structure and mentioning even the Agora situated in the Acropolis (see
Chapter V.).
Seneca says of the walls of Mycenæ:
"majus mihi
Bellum Mycenis restat, ut cyclopea
Eversa manibus saxa nostra concidant."
and again--
"cerno Cyclopum sacras
Turres, labore majus humano decus."
and in another passage[131]
"Ulixes ad Ithacæ suæ saxa sic properat, quemadmodum
Agamemnon ad Mycenarum nobiles muros."
[Sidenote: THE LOWER CITY.]
Over the space of about a square mile to the west-south-west and south of
this Acropolis, and exactly between the aforesaid deep ravines, extended
the Lower City,[132] the site of which is distinctly marked by the
remnants of numerous Cyclopean substructions of houses, by a Cyclopean
bridge, by five Treasuries, and finally by the fragments of beautifully
painted archaic pottery with which the ground is strewn. The site of the
lower town is traversed in its whole length by a ridge, which to the
right falls off gradually into the plain, and to the left more steeply
into the deep ravine, which issues from between the south end of the
citadel-cliff and the second peak of Mount Eubœa. The summit of this
ridge has evidently been artificially levelled for two purposes; firstly,
for the principal street of the town, which commenced at the Lions'
Gate and ended at the Cyclopean bridge, an engraving of which forms the
vignette to this chapter;[133] and secondly, for the city wall, which ran
to the right of the street as far as the same bridge, and undoubtedly
united it with the Acropolis at its north-west corner, near the Lions'
Gate.
Another branch of this wall extended all along the western bank of the
torrent which the bridge spanned, and doubtless connected the latter with
the south-western corner of the Acropolis. Of both branches of this wall
very numerous traces remain, though with difficulty perceptible. Thus a
part of the lower town, but scarcely one-third of it, was enclosed by a
circuit wall. This was very insignificant, because its thickness on the
ridge is only 6 feet, and it is still less on the bank of the torrent;
so that it cannot have been high, and it was probably intended only to
impart greater strength to the great Cyclopean walls of the Acropolis,
and to prevent the Lions' Gate leading directly into the open country.
After carefully examining the remnants of this city wall in numerous
places, I see, in consideration of its weakness, no reasonable ground to
object to regarding it as of later date than the walls of the citadel.
The remaining part of the town has been, as the remnants of the
house-walls show, a vast and well-built suburb, whence, when attacked by
the enemy against whom their own means of defence were insufficient, the
inhabitants could retire into the fortified part of the city and into the
citadel. Some of the buildings of this suburb are very large, and show a
most splendid Cyclopean masonry. I call particular attention to the vast
building on the very bank of the deep glen in a westerly direction from
the Lions' Gate, of which all the four walls are still visible. It is 93
feet long and 60 feet broad, and may have been a temple. I call attention
also to the foundations of a large Cyclopean building, perhaps a temple,
on the crest of a hill S.S.W. of the Acropolis and north of the village
of Charvati. This hill appears to have been at the extremity of the
suburb in this direction, for the Mycenean potsherds cease beyond it. I
found there two well-polished axes of diorite.
In two glens in the immediate vicinity of this hill are the only two
wells of Mycenæ. The ruins of Cyclopean buildings close to them, and the
Mycenean potsherds which extend beyond them, can leave no doubt that both
wells were within the suburb. Strange to say, Professor E. Curtius has
thought the ancient quarry of Charvati to be ruins of the city wall, and
he has therefore put this village on his map still within the site of
Mycenæ; but this is a great mistake; the city never extended so far.
But not all the Cyclopean walls in the suburb are house-walls, for many
of them are only intended for the support of the terraces.
[Sidenote: TREASURIES IN THE SUBURB.]
Much more interesting than all the other buildings in the suburb are the
"Treasuries," which, owing to their great resemblance to ovens, are now
called φοῦρνοι by the country people. One of them is just without
the line of the town wall, on the slope of the hill near the Gate of the
Lions. The doorway is visible, but it is nearly buried; the entrance is
roofed with three large thick slabs; and the length of the passage is 18
feet, its width 7 ft. 9 in. Only a small part of the lower circular wall
of the dome-shaped building can now be seen, the upper part having fallen
in, probably ages ago.[134]
Descending the slope in a south-westerly direction, we come to a smaller
Treasury, the entrance passage of which is 15½ feet long, and likewise
roofed with three large slabs. The width of the door is 7½ feet; part
of the lower circular wall of the dome-like building is here also above
ground, and shows at the height of the top of the entrance a diameter of
25 feet; so that the diameter on the ground floor may be 32 feet. Turning
thence to the south, and ascending the slope, we come, near the crest
of the ridge, to a third Treasury, of which only the entrance passage
remains. This is 20 feet long, and only 5 ft. 3 in. broad; and is roofed
by five large slabs.
The whole site of the vast suburb being on slopes, and having been but
scantily inhabited, on account of its vast extent, the accumulation
of _débris_ is everywhere small, and seldom exceeds a foot and a half
in depth. A much greater accumulation is found only on the terraces
immediately to the west and north-west of the Lions' Gate.
Though the site of the enclosed city is also on slopes, yet, as it is
but small and must at all times have been more densely inhabited, the
accumulation of _débris_ is in general more considerable there, and
particularly on the western and south-western side of the Acropolis.
But at points more distant from the Acropolis, and particularly on the
steeper slopes whence the remains of houses have been washed away by
the rains, the accumulation does not exceed the quantity general in
the suburb. It deserves particular attention that, except close to the
western circuit-wall of the citadel, the site of the enclosed city shows
far less of Cyclopean substructions or remnants of house-walls than the
suburb; but immediately beyond the Cyclopean bridge on the opposite bank
of the ravine are the ruins of two vast buildings which may have been
forts and may have served for the defence of the bridge. I may here
mention that traces of the ancient Cyclopean highway from Mycenæ to
Tiryns are still visible for some distance beyond the bridge.
On the site of the enclosed city are the two largest Treasuries. One
of these is the famous Treasury which tradition attributes to Atreus.
The other, which is close to the Lions' Gate, appears to have been
entirely under ground, and was therefore unknown in historical times;
the upper part of its dome has fallen in, but I have not been able to
ascertain whether, as some of the inhabitants of the Argolid affirm, this
has occurred accidentally, or whether, as others maintain, it is the
sacrilegious work of Veli Pasha, the son of the notorious Ali Pasha, who
towards the end of 1820 attempted to force an entrance this way, but was
prevented by the outbreak of the Greek revolution from proceeding much
further.
[Illustration: PLATE IV.
THE TREASURY OF ATREUS.
_To face page 43_]
[Sidenote: THE TREASURY OF ATREUS.]
The "Treasury of Atreus," which is about 400 yards further south, was
entirely subterranean, being constructed under the eastern slope of
the ridge which traverses the city, and towards the ravine of the same
torrent which passes the south side of the cliff of the citadel. On the
slope below the Treasury is a large platform of Cyclopean masonry, from
which the _dromos_, or approach--20 ft. 7 in. broad, and lined with walls
of wrought stones--leads to the doorway of the building, which is 8 ft.
6 in. wide at the top and 9 ft. 2 in. at the bottom. Its height is 18
feet; it is roofed by two enormous slabs, beautifully cut and polished,
of which the inner one measures 3 ft. 9 in. in thickness, and 27½ feet
in length on its lower and 29 feet on its upper surface; its breadth is
17 feet, and it is computed that it weighs approximately 300,000 English
pounds.[135]
The great chamber, which resembles a dome or a vast beehive, is 50 feet
high and 50 feet in diameter. It is built of well-wrought blocks of hard
breccia, placed in regular layers, and joined with the greatest precision
without any binding material. The stones, which on the inside are smooth
and well-fitted, are on the outside very irregular, and, contrary to the
general belief, they are not immediately covered with earth, but with
enormous masses of stone, which, by their ponderous weight, keep all
the stones of the circular layers of masonry in their position. Thus
the principle of this construction is, as Colonel Leake justly remarks,
that of an arch-shaped wall resisting a great superincumbent weight, and
deriving its strength and coherence from the weight itself. The same
idea, which suggested the circular shape to the Cyclopean architect,
induced him also to curve the sides vertically, as they derived from that
form an additional power of resistance to the lateral pressure.
The blocks of the lower courses are 1 ft. 10 in. high and from 4 to 7
ft. long; but towards the top of the dome the courses become gradually
narrower. The floor of the vast chamber, which is entirely excavated, is
the natural rock. A number of large stones, which have remained in the
Treasury, make on travellers the erroneous impression that there is still
a great deal of _débris_ left.
From the fourth course of stones upwards there are visible in each stone
two bored holes, and in many of these can still be seen remnants of
bronze nails which, according to Sir W. Gell ("Argolis"), contain 88 per
cent. of copper and 12 per cent. of tin. These nails, of which several
have been found entire, had broad flat heads, and they can have had no
other purpose than to retain the bronze plates, with which the whole
interior was once decorated. We know by the testimony of the ancient
authors that the Greeks in a remote antiquity ornamented their buildings
in this manner, because in no other way can we explain the bronze houses
and chambers which they mention.[136]
[Sidenote: TREASURY AT ORCHOMENUS.]
The only other example extant of walls which had once this kind of
decoration is presented by the Treasury of Minyas in Orchomenus, which
is built of beautiful white marble, but shows in other respects the
very greatest resemblance to the Treasury of Atreus. It is constructed
on the same principle, and appears to be of the same age and to have
been erected for the same purpose. Each stone of this treasury likewise
shows two or more holes, with frequent remnants of the bronze nails
which once retained the brazen plates that decorated the inner walls of
the edifice.[137] Thus it is certain that in a remote antiquity, before
sculpture or painting came into use for wall decoration, polished metal
plates were employed to give both splendour and dignity to the houses of
the rich.
In the Treasury of Atreus, the exterior of the door-lintel is decorated
with two parallel mouldings, which are also carried down the jambs of the
door. Above the lintel numerous holes can be discerned, to which bronze
ornaments must have been attached. There are more such holes in the
flat wall above the entrance, and all testify to the elaborate exterior
ornamentation of the edifice. Above the entrance is an equilateral
triangular niche, each side of which measures 10 feet. It is constructed
like the triangular niche over the Lions' Gate; namely, the courses of
masonry are shaped to the form of the niche, and it can have had no other
purpose than to bear up the weight which would otherwise have pressed on
the lintel.
On the outside, before each door-post, there stood formerly a
semi-column, having a base and capital with fantastical sculptures in the
Persepolitan style. In the middle of the doorway can be seen the holes
for the bolts and hinges of the doors, and in the same line are a number
of round holes, 2 inches in diameter and half an inch deep; in these are
two small holes for bronze nails, of which fragments still exist, to
fasten on ornaments of a circular form.
To the right of the great circular hall, a doorway, 9½ ft. high and 4
ft. 7 in. broad, leads to a second dark chamber, which is nearly square,
being 27 feet long and broad, and 19 feet high. It is entirely cut out in
the rock. Over the door is a triangular niche, which is likewise intended
to bear up the weight of the masonry from the lintel. In this chamber is
an accumulation of rubbish, from 3½ to 4 feet deep, mostly consisting
of the detritus of bats' dung. By means of the two trenches, which I
dug three years ago in this chamber, I found in the centre a circular
depression, in the form of a large wash-bowl, 1 ft. 9 in. deep, and 3
ft. 4 in. in diameter. Near this I found some large wrought calcareous
stones, which seem to indicate that some monument once existed in this
chamber, for otherwise their presence is inexplicable.
This Treasury is the most important and the only complete monument of
prehistoric times in Greece, and the interest attached to it is so much
the greater, as tradition assigns it to Atreus, the father of Agamemnon,
king of men.
[Sidenote: PURPOSE OF THE TREASURY.]
Dodwell,[138] in speaking of this treasury and the smaller ones,
says:--"There is moreover complete evidence that these structures
were called θησαυροί, and belong to ages prior to the origin of
that architecture of which the Doric temple in Europe and the Ionic in
Asia are the crowning invention. As this latter architecture advanced,
temples served for treasuries, or, when buildings were erected solely
for treasuries, they had the ordinary forms of that later style of
architecture, as we learn from the description which Pausanias has given
of the treasuries at Olympia and Delphi.[139] Nevertheless subterranean
buildings, similar in construction to the treasuries of the heroic ages,
continued to serve for containing oil or corn or water, and when attached
to private houses might often be employed for depositing property of
any kind. These are very numerous in Greece, but in no instance are
they entered at the side. The largest I know of is in the Acropolis of
Pharsala. But the strongest reason for designating the constructions
at Mycenæ as treasuries is the evidence of Pausanias,[140] unless
it be denied that he intended those buildings by the words ὑπόγαια
οἰκοδομήματα, which can hardly be alleged, as the ruins
agree too well with his words to render such a supposition reasonable.
Seventeen hundred years ago, therefore, those buildings were believed
to be the Treasuries of Atreus and his sons. Nothing had then occurred
to interfere with the course of the mythology or history of Greece,
as transmitted to the Greeks by their ancestors: and although on many
occasions the reports received by Pausanias from the ἐξηγηταί
may have been inventions of a date comparatively recent, no such
suspicion can well attach to the principal traditions of Mycenæ, which
accord with all that has reached us concerning that city in poetry or
prose. The extant edifice was the largest of the treasuries, and bears
proofs of having been a costly building, highly decorated at the entrance
and lined within with metallic plates. To Atreus himself, therefore, the
most opulent and powerful of the kings of the πολύχρυσος
Μυκήνη, and not to either of his sons, this greatest of extant
treasuries may, with a high degree of probability, be attributed.
Agamemnon dissipated the wealth of Atreus in the expedition to Asia,
passed the greater part of his reign abroad, and returned home poor
and powerless, leaving Μυκῆναι to be, after his time, no more than a
secondary town of Argolis. Nor is it likely, under these circumstances,
that the sepulchre of Agamemnon was a monument of any great magnificence.
Pausanias, who saw it, does not mention it as such, but gives us clearly
to understand that the Treasury and the Gate of the Citadel were the most
remarkable antiquities at Mycenæ."
I think that nothing could better prove the remote antiquity of this
majestic underground Treasury and its companions, than their very
singularity and dissimilarity to other ancient buildings in Greece and
Asia Minor; besides, the barbarian method of securing treasures by
burying them argues a very early state of society.
As a further proof of these underground buildings having been used as
treasuries, I may mention that Mycenæ and Orchomenus are the only cities
which can boast of such edifices, and also the only cities to which Homer
gives the epithet πολύχρυσος, or to which he attributes great
wealth.
[Sidenote: EXCAVATION BY VELI PASHA.]
The Professor of Medicine in Athens, Johannes P. Pyrlas, has kindly
called my attention to an article he published in the Tripolis newspaper,
"Βελτίωσις," of the 19th November, 1857, on the first excavation
of the Treasury of Atreus (commonly called in the Argolid the "Tomb of
Agamemnon"), of which I give here the translation with all reserve.
"THE TOMB OF AGAMEMNON IN MYCENÆ.
"In 1808, as old people relate, in the month of April, a Mahomedan
of Nauplia presented himself before Veli Pasha, who was at that time
governor of the Peloponnesus, and told him that he knew there were
several statues hidden in the 'Tomb of Agamemnon.' Veli Pasha, who was
energetic and ambitious, at once began to excavate the space in front of
the tomb with forced labour. When he had dug down to a depth of three
fathoms, the workmen descended by means of a ladder into the interior of
the dome, and found there a great many ancient tombs, and having opened
these they found in them bones covered with gold, which was no doubt
derived from the gold embroidered drapery. They found there also other
gold- and silver- ornaments, also precious stones in the form of those
called '_antiques_' (gems), but without any incised work. Outside of the
tombs they found about twenty-five colossal statues and a marble table,
all of which Veli Pasha transported to the Lake of Lerna (the Mills),
and having got them washed and cleaned and wrapped up in mats, he sent
them on to Tripolis, where he sold them to travellers and obtained for
them about 80,000 gros (then worth about 20,000 francs). Having gathered
the bones and all the _débris_ contained in the tombs, he got these also
transported to Tripolis, and entrusted them there to the most notable
goldsmiths, D. Contonicolacos and P. Scouras, who, after having cleaned
the _débris_ and scraped off the gold from the bones, collected about 4
okes (4800 grammes) of gold and silver. The stones in form of antiques
as well as the bones were thrown away. I had this account from the mouth
of the two goldsmiths when they were still alive, and from my own father,
who saw the statues at the Mills."
Now not to speak of the improbability that statues of the heroic age
should have been found, the above account is in no way confirmed by the
old men of Charvati, the village nearest to the site of Mycenæ, nor by
those of the other villages of the plain of Argos, all of whom agree that
the excavation took place in 1810, and that the sole objects found in the
Treasury were some half-columns and friezes, a marble table, and a long
bronze chain suspended from the top of the dome, at the end of which was
hanging a bronze candelabrum.[141] I have heard this account repeated so
many hundred times by the old people of the Argolid that I believe it to
be perfectly correct, except, of course, as to the candelabrum; because,
not to speak of candles, even lamps were totally unknown to Homer, and I
never found them either at Troy, or at Tiryns or Mycenæ, in the strata
of prehistoric house remains. Nay, lamps appear not to have existed at
Tiryns or Mycenæ before their capture by the Argives in 468 B.C., because
I only found them in the latter place in the _débris_ of the more modern
city, and none were found at Tiryns. Thus the object which the villagers
had regarded as a candelabrum must necessarily have been something else.
Moreover, this whole story of the excavations by Veli Pasha seems to
relate to a spoliation of the treasury which took place at a much more
remote period; for Dodwell, who began his journeys in Greece in 1801,
and ended them at all events not later than 1806, gives a description
and plans of both the exterior and interior of the great chamber. Gell
(_Argolis_), who visited Mycenæ about 1805, also gives exact drawings
of the exterior and interior of the Treasury. Clarke (_Travels_), who
visited Mycenæ at the same period, says of the treasury of Atreus (vi.
492): "This chamber has evidently been opened since its construction, and
its interior thus revealed; but absolutely nothing certain is known as to
the time when this may have occurred. To judge by the present appearance
of the edifice, it must have been at a very remote epoch." Dodwell,
Colonel Leake, and Ernst Curtius speak also of excavations made by Lord
Elgin in the treasury of Atreus. But in the collection of Lord Elgin's
drawings preserved in the British Museum, nothing is found which relates
to this treasury.
[Illustration: No. 23_a_. A Terra-cotta Vase. (3 M.) Actual size.]
[Sidenote: OBJECTS FOUND AT THE ENTRANCE.]
According to Professor E. Curtius ('Peloponnes,' II. p. 408), the
following fragments of ancient ornaments were found before the entrance
of the Treasury:--
"The basis of a semi-column of greenish marble with wreathed
stripes in relief; further, the fragment of a half round column
with a zigzag decoration; stone tables, the one of greenish, the
other of lustrous red colour, a third of white marble, all with
a relief ornamentation in the form of muscles, fans or spiral
lines, which are distinguished by sharply and neatly chiselled
outlines; finally, a red marble slab, which Gell found in a
neighbouring chapel."
FOOTNOTES:
[93] In the background is the second peak of Mount Eubœa, 2000
feet high, which rises immediately south of the Acropolis of Mycenæ.
[94] II. 18. See the Sketch Map on p. 1.
[95] V. 60.
[96] II. 25, 3.
[97] Κηϕισός. II. 15, 5; the lesser streams are not
shown on the Sketch Map, p. 1.
[98] The accuracy of this name is confirmed by Pausanias, II.
17, § 2.
[99] _Il._ II. 287, III. 75 and 258, VI. 152, IX. 246, XV. 30,
and XIX. 329. Comp. Horat. _Carm._ I. 7, 8, 9:--
"Plurimus in Junonis honorem
Aptum dicet equis Argos, ditesque Mycenas."
[100] II. 15.
[101] _Meteorol._ i. 14.
[102] Soph. _Electra_, 4.
[103] Paus. II. 15, 5; comp. Plato, _Timæus_.
[104] Comp. Æschyl. _Suppl._ 250.
[105] _Od._ III. 263:--"μυχῷ ῎Αργεος
ἱπποβότοιο."
[106] See the large Plate II. and Plan B of the Acropolis.
[107] See Émile Burnouf, 'La Ville et l'Acropole d'Athènes.'
[108] A good view of this wonderful wall is seen in the
background of Plate VI., which represents the Ichnography of the tombs
discovered in the Acropolis. (See Chap. V.)
[109] See Plan B., Plate III., and Nos. 21, 22 (p. 34)
[110] Soph. _Electra_, 1374.
[111] Schol. Eurip. _Orest._ 5; Apollod. iii. 5, 6; Soph.
_Antig._ 818.
[112] _Agam._ 1259: λέοντος εὐγενοῖς
ἀπουσίᾳ.
[113] _Agam._ 1258.
[114] For an account of the discovery of the ground plan of the
Lions' Gate and its enormous threshold, see Chapter V.
[115] See Plan C, and the cut No. 23.
[116] To ῎Αργιον ὄρος. _De Fluv._ 18, 7.
[117] _Troad._ 1088, τείχη λάïνα
κυκλώπια οὐράνια.
[118] _Electra_, 1158, κυκλώπεια οὐράνια
τείχη.
[119] VIII. p. 377.
[120] _Iliad_, I. 29-31:
τὴν δ' ἐγὼ οὺ λύσω πρίν μιν καὶ
γῆρας ἔπεισιν
ἡμετέρῳ ἐνὶ οἴκῳ, ἐν ῎Αργεï, τηλίθι
πάτρης,
ἱστὸν ἐποιχομένην καὶ ἐμον λέχος
ἀντιόωσαν.
[121] _Iliad_, II. 108: πολλῇσιν νήσοισι καὶ
῎Αργεï παντὶ ἀνάσσειν.
[122] _Iphigenia in Aulide_, 152: κυκλώπων
θυμέλαι.
[123] _Ibid._ 265: Μυκῆναι κυκλωπίαι.
[124] _Ibid._ 1500-1501:
καλεῖς πόλισμα Περσέως,
Κυκλωπίων πόνον χερῶν;
[125] _Iphig. Taur._ 845:
κυκλωπίδες ἑστίαι, ὦ πάτρις,
Μυκήνα φίλα.
[126] _Electra_, 710:
πετρίνοις τ᾽ ἐπιστὰς
κάρυξ ιάχει βάθροις,
αγοράν, ἀγοράν, Μυκηναῖοι
στείχετε μακαρίων ὸψόμενοι τυράννων
φάσματα, δείματα.
[127] _Iphigenia in Aulide_, 1498-1499:
ἰὼ γᾶ μᾶτερ ὦ Πελασγία,
Μυκηναῖαί τ᾽ ἐμαί θεράπναι.
[128] _Orestes_, 1246-1247:
Μυκηνίδες ὦ φίλαι,
τὰ πρῶτα κατὰ Πελασγὸν ἑδος
᾽Αργείων.
[129] _Hercules Furens_, 974-944:
πρὸς τὰς Μυκήνας εἶμι λάζυσθαι χρεὼν
μοχλοὺς δικελλας θ᾽, ὡς τὰ κυκλώπων
βάθρα
φοίνικι κανόνι καὶ τύκοις ἡρμοσμένα
στρεπτῷ σιδήρῳ συντριαινώσω πόλιν.
[130] See Plate II.
[131] _Epistul. Mor._ 66, 26.
[132] See Plan D.
[133] See No. 16, p. 23.
[134] All these Treasuries are indicated on Plan D.
[135] See Plate IV., "Treasury of Atreus."
[136] Thus we read in Homer (Od. VII. 84-87):
῞Ὡστε γὰρ ἠελίου αἴγλη πέλεν ἠὲ
σελήνης,
Δῶμα καθ᾽ ὑψερεφὲς μεγαλήτορος
᾿Αλκινόοιο,
Χάλκεοι μὲν γὰρ τοῖχοι ἐρηρέδατ᾿
ἔνθα καὶ ἔνθα,
᾽Ες μυχὸν ἐξ οὐδοῦ· περὶ δὲ θριγκὸς
κυάνοιο.
"Like the sun or the moon beam in bright splendour, so beamed the
high palace of the magnanimous Alcinoüs; for the brazen walls
extended from the threshold of the gate to the innermost part of
the building; their entablature was of blue steel."
Further the palaces of the immortal gods on Olympus must have been
thought to be also ornamented with brazen plates, because Homer says
(_Iliad_, I. 426): Διὸς ποτὶ χαλκοβατὲς δῶ,
"To the brazen house of Jove."
We also read in Pausanias (II. 23):
῎Αλλα δέ ἐστιν ᾽Αργείοις θέας
ἄξια · κατάγαιον οἰκοδόμημα, ἐπ᾽
αὺτο δὲ ἦν ὁ χαλκοῦς θάλαμος,
ὃν ᾽Ακρίσιός ποτε φρουρὰν τῆς
θυγατρὸς ἐποίησεν. Περίλαος
δὲ καθεῖλεν αὐτὸν τυραννήσας
· τοῦτό τε οὖν τὸ οἰκοδόμημά
ἐστι. "In Argos there are
still other remarkable objects: a subterranean vault, over which
was the brazen chamber which Acrisius made for his daughter
(Danaë's) prison; it was destroyed under the dominion of
Perilaüs, but the building still exists."
Further in Horace (_Carm._ III. 16):
"Inclusam Danaën turris ahenea
Robustæque fores et vigilum canum
Tristes excubiæ munierant satis
Nocturnis ab adulteris."
"A bronze tower, solid doors, and the severe watch of the
dogs, had been for the imprisoned Danaë a sufficiently strong
protection against nocturnal lovers."
Another case is the temple of _Athena Chalciœcus_ at Sparta, where King
Pausanias was put to death. The name of this sanctuary can of course
refer to nothing else than to the brazen plates with which the walls were
decorated.
My esteemed friend, Mr. Chas. T. Newton, of the British Museum, calls my
attention to Colonel Mure's article in the _Rheinisches Museum_, VIII.
272, in which the author states that General Gordon told him he had in
his collection in Scotland fragments not only of the bronze nails, but
also of the brazen plates of the Treasury of Atreus. At the same time
Colonel Mure quotes the passage of Sophocles (_Antigone_, 944-947):
ἔτλα καὶ Δανάας οὐράνιον φῶς
ἀλλάξαι δέμας ἐν χαλκοδέτοις αὐλαῖς·
κρυπτομένα δ' ἐν τυμβήρει θαλάμω
κατεζεύχθη.
("The body also of Danaë endured to exchange the heavenly light
against the darkness in the halls covered with brazen plates;
hidden in a sepulchral chamber, she was fettered").
[137] Pausanias (ix. 38) says of this Treasury: "The Treasury of
Minyas is the most wonderful edifice in Greece, and is second to no work
of art abroad; it is built in the following manner: it consists of stone
and has a circular form; the summit is not very pointed; it is said that
the topmost stone holds together the whole building."
[138] 'A Classical and Topographical Tour through Greece.'
[139] Paus. VI. 19, 1; X. 11, 1.
[140] II. 16, 6. See the passage fully quoted in the next
chapter, p. 59.
[141] The reader is warned not to confound this with Veli
Pasha's attempt to rifle the other Treasury, mentioned on p. 42.
[Illustration: No. 24. The first of the Tombstones found above the
Sepulchres in the Acropolis. Size 8:100.]
CHAPTER III.
HISTORY OF MYCENÆ AND THE FAMILY OF PELOPS.
THE SEPULCHRES OF AGAMEMNON AND HIS COMPANIONS.
Traditional foundation of Mycenæ by Perseus--His dynasty
succeeded by the Pelopids--The legend of their crimes unknown
to Homer and Hesiod--The Homeric story of Agamemnon's murder by
Ægisthus and Clytemnestra, avenged by Orestes--Cycle of crimes
devised by the later bards--Dominion of Agamemnon--End of the
dynasty at Mycenæ with Ægisthus--Orestes and his sons--The Dorian
invasion--Part taken by Mycenæ in the Persian wars--The Argives
besiege and take Mycenæ--The walls of the citadel preserved from
religious reverence--Homeric epithets of Mycenæ--Its "abundance
of gold" confirmed by Thucydides--The Treasuries of the
Pelopids mentioned by Pausanias--Treasury at the Heræum, near
Mycenæ--Probable existence of another Treasury at Mycenæ.
The _Royal Sepulchres_ described by Pausanias--General
misinterpretation of the passage--Experimental shafts sunk there
in February 1874--Excavations begun, August 7, 1876--Porter's
lodge at the Lions' Gate--The later habitation of the city after
468 B.C.--No coins of Mycenæ known--Remains below this first
stratum--Painted archaic vases, like those at Tiryns--The vases
almost all made on the potter's wheel--Female idols and cows of
terra-cotta--Other idols and animals--Iron knives and curious
keys of a later period--Bronze knives and arrow-heads--Stone
implements and other objects--A little gold and much lead
found--Fragments of a lyre and flute--Plates of ornamented
terra-cotta for lining walls--Cyclopean house-walls--A remarkable
water-conduit--Twelve tomb-like reservoirs--Two tombstones with
bas-reliefs, probably of the same epoch as that over the Lions'
Gate.
Mycenæ, August 19, 1876.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: THE PERSEIDÆ AND ATREIDÆ.]
Tradition attributes the foundation of Mycenæ to Perseus, son of Danaë
and Jove, who had by Andromeda a son Sthenelus, to whom he left the
kingdom. Sthenelus married Nicippé, the daughter of Pelops, by whom he
had a son Eurystheus, who succeeded him. The dynasty of Perseus ended
with Eurystheus, who was succeeded by his uncle Atreus, the son of
Pelops. The latter left the kingdom to his brother Thyestes, who left it
to his nephew Agamemnon, son of Atreus.
According to tradition, Atreus and his brother Thyestes contended for the
dominion of Mycenæ. Atreus was married to Aëropé, who was seduced by his
brother Thyestes. Atreus, in revengeful fury at this, butchered the two
(or three) sons of Thyestes, and served them up at a banquet to their
father. When Thyestes learnt the fact, in his horror he overturned the
table, vomited the dreadful meal, and ran off, cursing the whole race of
the Pelopids.[142] Aëropé is thrown into the sea. Thyestes consults the
oracle how he can revenge himself on his brother, and gets the answer
that, if he begets a son by his own daughter, Pelopia, this son will
avenge him. To avoid the incest, he intended to leave for Lydia; but
when he was sacrificing in the night to Athena at Sicyon, his daughter
joined him there, and unwittingly he begat by her the future avenger,
Ægisthus, who, exposed by his mother immediately after his birth, was
found by shepherds, and was nursed by a goat, whence his name.[143] He
was afterwards sought for by Atreus, who brought him up as his son, for
Atreus had married Pelopia in the very beginning of her pregnancy and
thought the child belonged to him. But Ægisthus killed Atreus when he was
sacrificing on the sea-shore, because Atreus, thinking him to be his own
son, had ordered him to kill his brother Thyestes. Ægisthus then, with
Thyestes, took possession of the realm.
But Homer knows nothing at all of the bloody brawl in the house of the
Pelopids, for according to him[144] Jove sent the royal sceptre to
Pelops, by Hermes, as a symbol of dominion; Pelops gave it to Atreus,
who dying left it to Thyestes; Thyestes left it to Agamemnon, and there
is not even an allusion to dispute or violence. Hesiod speaks of the
proverbial wealth and the royal majesty of the Atridæ, but he knows
nothing of their crimes. Homer knows only the outrage of Ægisthus
and Clytemnestra. During Agamemnon's absence in Troy, Ægisthus had
succeeded in seducing Clytemnestra, and he was insolent enough to make
thank-offerings to the gods for having succeeded.[145] To avoid being
taken unawares by Agamemnon, he stationed a watchman on the shore, and
when at length he heard of the king's arrival, he invited him to a meal
and, in concert with Clytemnestra, killed him at table.[146] Ægisthus
then reigned seven years over Mycenæ, until in the eighth, as the gods
had foretold to him,[147] Orestes appeared and avenged his father by
killing Ægisthus and his own mother Clytemnestra.[148]
The later Homeric bards, who were followed by the tragic poets, seem
to have formed the myths of the horrid deeds of Atreus and Thyestes by
carrying back the outrages in the house of Agamemnon into the former
generation; and, by the help of other traditions, and particularly from
the history of the kings of Thebes, they devised a concatenation of
crimes and mischief, which had its first origin in the murder of Myrtilus
or in that of Chrysippus.[149]
[Sidenote: AGAMEMNON'S DOMINION.]
It appears from Homer[150] that Agamemnon had brought under his sceptre
nearly all the Peloponnesus. But according to another passage[151] it
would appear that he reigned only over its whole northern part. The
dynasty of the Pelopids appears to have ceased in Mycenæ with the death
of Ægisthus, for tradition says that Agamemnon's son Orestes reigned in
Arcadia and Sparta, but not that he succeeded his father. According to
Strabo,[152] he died in Arcadia. Pausanias[153] states that his tomb was
at first on the roadside between Sparta and Tegea; at a later time his
bones were buried in Sparta.[154] Neither of the two sons of Orestes,
Penthilus and Tisamenus, seems to have reigned at Mycenæ. Strabo[155]
says that they remained in the Æolian colonies in Asia Minor, which had
been founded by their father. According to Pausanias,[156] the invasion
of the Dorians had already occurred in the time of Orestes; according to
Thucydides,[157] it took place eighty years after the Trojan war.
Pausanias seems probably to be in the right, because only a fearful
political revolution and catastrophe can have prevented Orestes from
becoming king in Mycenæ, which was the richest and most powerful state
of Greece, and which belonged to him as only son to the glorious and
universally lamented Agamemnon.
Strabo[158] confirms the statement that the decline of Mycenæ; began
with the death of Agamemnon and particularly from the return of the
Heracleidæ. But, though the city had decayed in power and population and
had sunk to the rank of a small provincial town, yet it kept up a certain
independence; and, inspired by the reminiscences of its glorious past,
it equipped eighty men as its contingent at Thermopylæ,[159] and a year
later, in conjunction with Tiryns, it sent 400 men to Platææ.[160] The
name of Mycenæ was engraved, together with those of the other cities
which had participated in this glorious campaign, on the brazen column
representing three serpents sustaining a golden tripod, which the
Spartans dedicated to the Delphian Apollo as a tithe of the booty taken
from the Persians. This brazen column stands now on the old hippodrome
(the present Maidan) in Constantinople, whither it was probably brought
by Constantine the Great. The Argives, who had remained neutral, envied
the Myceneans the honour of having participated in these battles, and
they feared besides, considering the city's ancient glory, that Mycenæ
might usurp the dominion of the whole Argolid.
For these reasons, in league with the Cleoneans and the Tegeatans, they
besieged Mycenæ in Ol. LXXVIII. (468 B.C.). The powerful walls of the
citadel, behind which the inhabitants had retired, withstood all assaults
of the enemy, but at last the Myceneans were forced to surrender for want
of food. It appears that, in consideration of the past glory of the city,
the victors treated the Myceneans with clemency, for they allowed them to
emigrate whither they pleased; and they settled partly at Cleonæ, partly
in Cerynia in Achæa, but principally in Macedonia.[161] But this account
is not quite confirmed by Diodorus Siculus,[162] who says that on the
surrender of Mycenæ the Argives enslaved all the inhabitants. If this is
correct, then it is to be supposed that the Argives forced the Myceneans
to settle at Argos, because it was very material to them at that time to
increase the population of their city. At all events, as Dodwell says, a
religious fear seems to have prevented the Argives from destroying the
huge Cyclopean walls of the citadels of Mycenæ and Tiryns, because these
were considered as sacred enclosures, and were revered as sanctuaries of
Hera, who was worshipped with equal adoration by all the inhabitants of
the Argolid. The Argives therefore contented themselves with dismantling
only a very small part of the walls of the citadel, whilst they razed
those of the lower city completely to the ground.
[Sidenote: HOMERIC EPITHETS OF MYCENÆ.]
Homer gives to Mycenæ the epithets of the "well-built city,"[163] "with
broad streets,"[164] and "rich in gold."[165] The second of these
epithets can only apply to the wide street which led from the Lions'
Gate, along the ridge, through the enclosed town, to the bridge over the
torrent of the ravine; for all the remaining part of the town as well
as the suburb being on slopes, the other streets must have been more or
less steep, and cannot have been alluded to by the epithet
εἐρυάγυια. Regarding the third epithet πολύχρυσος,
we have the great authority of Thucydides[166] that Mycenæ had immense
wealth under the dominion of the Pelopids, for he says: "Pelops,
having brought from Asia large treasures to the indigent people (of
the peninsula), soon acquired great power, and, though a foreigner,
he nevertheless gave his name to the country, and his descendants
(the Pelopids, Atreus and Agamemnon) became still much more powerful."
Thucydides adds that it appears to him "that the other Greeks joined
Agamemnon's expedition to Troy less out of good will than from fear of
his power; for not only did he himself bring the greatest contingent of
ships, but he also gave ships to the Arcadians, as Homer says, if he
can be considered a trustworthy witness. But in speaking of Agamemnon's
inheritance of the sceptre, he says that he (Agamemnon) reigned over many
islands and over the whole Argolid (πολλῇσιν νήσοισι
καὶ ῎Αργεï παντὶ ἀνάσσειν); but as he
lived on the continent, he could not have reigned over islands, except
those in the immediate neighbourhood (but of these there could not be
many) if he had not had a fleet. From this expedition (to Troy) we must
therefore form an opinion of the nature of those which preceded it. If
Mycenæ was small, and if several other cities of that age do not appear
to us now to be considerable, we could not cite this as a valid reason to
doubt that the expedition was as great as the poets have represented it
and as tradition confirms it to have been."
The port of Mycenæ was not Nauplia, but Eïones (Ηïόνες), which was
likewise situated on the Gulf of Argos, to the south-east of Nauplia.
It seems to have been destroyed as far back as the Dorian invasion.
Strabo[167] mentions that it was entirely destroyed, and was no longer
a port in his time. According to Homer,[168] ᾿Ηïόνες took part
in the Trojan war, and belonged to Diomedes, the king of Argos and vassal
of Agamemnon.
Of the power and riches of the Pelopids we see the most substantial
and unmistakable proofs in the many vast subterranean buildings which
Pausanias,[169] following the tradition, calls their Treasuries, and
which cannot have served for any other purpose than to hoard up the
royal wealth.
I must here mention that, besides the Treasuries before described in
Mycenæ proper and in its suburb, there is still another Treasury close
to the great Heræum, which is, according to Strabo,[170] 10 stadia,
but according to Pausanias,[171] 15 stadia from Mycenæ. Besides, the
conformation of the slopes between the Treasury of Atreus and the Lions'
Gate leads me to think that there is still one more large treasury hidden
about halfway between these two points.
[Sidenote: PAUSANIAS ON THE ROYAL SEPULCHRES.]
Pausanias[172] writes: "Amongst other remains of the wall is the gate, on
which stand lions. They (the walls and the gate) are said to be the work
of the Cyclopes, who built the wall for Proteus at Tiryns. In the ruins
of Mycenæ is the fountain called Perseia and the subterranean buildings
of Atreus and his children, in which they stored their treasures. There
is the sepulchre of Atreus, and the tombs of the companions of Agamemnon,
who on their return from Ilium were killed at a banquet by Ægisthus.
The identity of the tomb of Cassandra is called in question by the
Lacedæmonians of Amyclæ. There is the tomb of Agamemnon and that of his
charioteer Eurymedon, and of Electra. Teledamus and Pelops were buried in
the same sepulchre, for it is said that Cassandra bore these twins, and
that, while as yet infants, they were slaughtered by Ægisthus together
with their parents. Hellanicus (495-411 B.C.) writes that Pylades, who
was married to Electra with the consent of Orestes, had by her two sons,
Medon and Strophius. Clytemnestra and Ægisthus were buried at a little
distance from the wall, because they were thought unworthy to have their
tombs inside of it, where Agamemnon reposed and those who were killed
together with him."
Strange to say, Colonel Leake,[173] Dodwell,[174] Prokesch,[175] Ernest
Curtius,[176] and all others who have written on the Peloponnesus, have
interpreted this passage of Pausanias erroneously; for they thought that,
in speaking of the wall, he meant the wall of the city, and not the great
wall of the Acropolis; and they therefore understood that he fixed the
site of the five sepulchres in the _lower_ city, and the site of the
tombs of Clytemnestra and Ægisthus outside of it. But that such was not
his intention, and that he had solely in view the walls of the citadel,
he shows by saying that in the wall is the Lions' Gate. It is true that
he afterwards speaks of the ruins of Mycenæ, in which he saw the fountain
Perseia and the treasuries of Atreus and his sons, by which latter he
can only mean the large treasury described above, which is indeed in the
lower city, and perhaps some of the smaller treasuries in the suburb. But
as he again says further on that the graves of Clytemnestra and Ægisthus
are at a little distance outside the wall, because they were thought
unworthy to be buried inside of it, where Agamemnon and his companions
reposed, there cannot be any doubt that he had solely in view the huge
Cyclopean walls of the citadel. Besides, Pausanias could only speak of
such walls as he _saw_, and not of those which he did _not see_. He saw
the huge walls of the citadel, because they were at his time exactly as
they are now; but he could not see the wall of the lower city, because it
had been originally only very thin, and it had been demolished 638 years
before his time; nor was he an archæologist, to search for its traces or
still less to make excavations to find them.
The site of Mycenæ presented in the time of Pausanias just the same
bare wilderness of rugged pasture land, interspersed with slopes and
precipitous cliffs, as at the present day. No change can have taken place
there, and the remnants of the lower city wall were undoubtedly in his
time as trifling as they are now. Nay, such is their insignificance, that
only the traces of the wall on the ridge seem to have been remarked by
travellers, and nobody before me appears to have ever noticed the traces
of the wall on the opposite side, which runs along the bank of the ravine
torrent.
[Sidenote: MEANING OF PAUSANIAS.]
For these decisive reasons, I have always interpreted the famous passage
in Pausanias in the sense that the five tombs were in the Acropolis.
I proved this in my work 'Ithaque, le Péloponnèse et Troie,' which
I published in the beginning of 1869, page 97. In February, 1874,
therefore, I sank there thirty-four shafts in different places, in
order to sound the ground and to find out the place where I should have
to dig for them. The six shafts which I sank on the first western and
south-western terrace gave very encouraging results, and particularly the
two which I dug within 100 yards south of the Lions' Gate; for not only
did I strike two Cyclopean house-walls, but I also found an unsculptured
slab resembling a tombstone, and a number of female idols and small
cows of terra-cotta. I therefore resolved at once on making extensive
excavations at this spot, but I was prevented by various circumstances
which I need not explain here, and it is only now that I have found it
possible to carry out my plan.
I began the great work on the 7th August, 1876, with sixty-three
workmen, whom I divided into three parties. I put twelve men at the
Lions' Gate, to open the passage into the Acropolis; I set forty-three to
dig, at a distance of 40 feet from that gate, a trench 113 feet long and
113 feet broad; and the remaining eight men I ordered to dig a trench on
the south side of the Treasury in the lower city, near the Lions' Gate,
in search of the entrance. But the soil at the Treasury was as hard as
stone, and so full of large blocks, that it took me two weeks to dig only
as far down as the upper part of the open triangular space above the
door, from which I could calculate that the threshold would be 33 feet
lower.
I had also very hard work at the Lions' Gate, owing to the huge blocks by
which the passage was obstructed, and which seem to have been hurled from
the adjoining walls at the assailants, when the Acropolis was captured by
the Argives in 468 _B.C._ The obstruction of the entrance must date from
that time, for the _débris_ in which the boulders are imbedded has not
been formed by a series of successive habitations, but it has evidently
been gradually washed down by the rain water from the upper terraces.
Immediately to the left, on entering the gate, I brought to light a small
chamber, undoubtedly the ancient doorkeeper's habitation, the ceiling
of which is formed by one huge slab. The chamber is only 4½ feet high,
and it would not be to the taste of our present doorkeepers; but in the
heroic age comfort was unknown, particularly to slaves, and being unknown
it was unmissed.
No ancient writer mentions the fact that Mycenæ was reinhabited after
its capture by the Argives and the expulsion of its inhabitants. On the
contrary, Diodorus Siculus, who lived at the time of Julius Cæsar and
Augustus, after having described the tragic fate of Mycenæ, adds: "This
city, which was in ancient times blessed with wealth and power, which
produced such great men and accomplished such important actions, was
thus destroyed and _remained uninhabited till the present time_."[177]
That Mycenæ was uninhabited at the time of Strabo (that is, under
Augustus), we must conclude from his remark, "So that _of the city of the
Myceneans not even a vestige can now be found_."[178] It was certainly
also uninhabited at the time of Pausanias (A.D. 170), who describes its
ruins.
[Sidenote: REOCCUPATION OF MYCENÆ.]
But I have brought to light most positive proofs that it had been again
inhabited, and that the new town must have existed for a long period,
probably for more than two centuries; because there is at the surface
of the Acropolis a layer of _débris_ of the Hellenic time, which goes
to an average depth of three feet. Though I cannot fix by the fragments
of pottery the precise period of the re-occupation of the town, yet
as painted pottery of the best Hellenic period is missing, and as the
numerous terra-cotta figures and fluted vases which I find are evidently
of the Macedonian age down to the second century B.C., I presume that
the new colony may have been founded in the beginning of the fourth,
and may have been abandoned in the beginning of the second century B.C.
These two limits seem to be confirmed by the bronze medals found, nearly
all of which show on one side a Hera head with a crown, on the other a
column, having to its left a helmet and to its right a [Illustration].
This character is generally thought to be a [Illustration], and thus the
coin is attributed to the Argolic city of Thyrea. But, in the opinion
of my worthy friends A. Postolaccas and P. Lampros, which I accept, the
[Illustration] is the _spiritus asper_, and belongs to the still unknown
word which records the value of the coin. This coin belongs to the city
of Argos, and is of the Macedonian age, which makes it utterly impossible
that the sign should be a [Illustration], the [Illustration] with this
meaning having only come into use at the time of the Roman conquest.
There was an entire absence of Roman or Byzantine coins. I may here
remark that Mycenæ proper appears to have struck no coins; at least none
has ever been found.
[Illustration: No. 25. Terra-cotta Vase. (3 M.) Size, 3:4, about.]
[Sidenote: ARCHAIC PAINTED VASES.]
Below the comparatively modern Hellenic city I find by thousands the
fragments of those splendidly-painted archaic vases, which I have
already mentioned when speaking of Tiryns. The type of vase which I most
frequently find here is in the shape of a globe with a flat foot, and
terminating above in a very pretty narrow neck, without an opening, the
top of which is joined on each side by a beautifully-shaped handle to the
upper part of the body. The real mouth of the vase is in the shape of a
funnel, and always near to the closed neck.[179] These vases always show
the most variegated painted ornamentation of horizontal circular bands,
spiral lines, or other fanciful decorations, which vary on each vase. In
the centre of the flat top of the closed neck is usually a white point,
surrounded by three, four, six or more red circles; but sometimes there
is a cross painted in the middle of the circles.
[Illustration: No. 26. Terra-Cotta Jug. Ground yellow: lines black. (3
M.) Size, 7:9, about.]
Vases of the same form sometimes occur in Attica; some specimens of them
have also been found in Cyprus as well as in Egyptian tombs. Mr. Charles
T. Newton has called my attention to forty-three vases of exactly the
same form, which have been found in a tomb at Ialysus on the island of
Rhodes, together with other objects which also occur in Mycenæ; but in
the same tomb was also found an Egyptian _scarabæus_ with the cartouche
of Amunoph III., who is thought by Egyptologists to have reigned not
later than B.C. 1400.
[Illustration: No. 27. Vase of Yellow Ware, with black and yellow lines.
(3 M.) Actual size.]
[Illustration: No. 28. A Vase of Black and Yellow Ware. (6 M.) Size 4:5,
about.]
[Illustration: No. 29. A Terra-Cotta Vase. The bands yellow and reddish,
the lines black. (1·15 M.) Actual size.]
[Sidenote: MYCENEAN PAINTED VASES.]
As there are almost as many varieties of painted ornamentation as
there are vases, and as in most instances this ornamentation is most
complicated and has never been found before, it would be a vain
attempt on my part to describe it, and I therefore simply refer to the
engravings.[180] But generally speaking, I may remark that the decoration
with spiral lines prevails; that fragments like the so-called Attic
vases with geometrical patterns are numerous; that flowers, branches,
and leaves occasionally occur; and that bands of wedge-shaped signs,
resembling fish-spines, are frequent, as well as zigzag lines and
circular bands. The cross with the marks of four nails may often be seen;
as well as the 卍, which is usually also represented with four points
indicating the four nails, thus [Illustration]. These signs cannot
but represent the _suastika_, formed by two pieces of wood, which were
laid across and fixed with four nails, and in the joint of which the
holy fire was produced by friction by a third piece of wood.[181] But
both the cross and the 卍 occur for the most part only on the vases with
geometrical patterns.
[Illustration: No. 80. Painted Vase. Ground yellow, lines black, shields
reddish. (2 M.) Actual size.]
Representations of birds and quadrupeds sometimes occur on vases; all
are very archaic, particularly the quadrupeds, of which it is sometimes
difficult to find out what the artist intended to represent.[182] Thus
there often occur animals with very long legs, a body resembling that
of a horse and the head like the beak of a stork, but with two horns
like those of a gazelle.[183] Usually these animals have a uniform red
colour; but sometimes they have an ornamentation of spiral lines. In a
few instances animals are represented which perfectly resemble gazelles
or he-goats.[184] The bird, in the representation of which the Mycenean
artist has succeeded best is the swan.[185] Of the other birds the
species is difficult to discern.[186] In the representation of men also
the artist may be said to have succeeded; but the vases are broken into
so many fragments that there are but few entire painted human figures.
The small vase (No. 80) shows warriors with large round shields; and
on a fragment (No. 47) is represented a man with a helmet on his head,
leading with his right hand a horse, and holding in his left a lance. On
other fragments are only the bodies of men without heads. No. 81 is the
mouth-piece of a jug, on which a human head is modelled. There is also
a human head painted on a fragment of pottery (No. 82); it has a very
large eye, and a head-dress in the form of a Phrygian cap. All these
representations are very archaic.
[Illustration: No. 81. Human Head on the mouth of a jug. (5 M.) Actual
size.]
[Illustration: No. 82. Human Head on a potsherd. (6 M.) Half size.]
[Sidenote: PAINTED POTTERY OF MYCENÆ.]
The greater number of the vases with a large opening are painted both
outside and inside; and in many instances the internal paintings by far
exceed those on the outside in originality and profusion of colours.
Thus, for example, I found the fragment of a vase decorated outside with
representations of deer, and inside with those of men and women.
I often find fragments of tripods of terra-cotta with two large handles,
of which the three feet as well as the handles have two, three, four, or
even five perforations, which can only have served for suspension with a
string. On many vases without feet, the rim of the base is perforated on
either side as many times as the handles.
No perforated lids were found, but I have no doubt that they existed, and
that, as with nearly all those found in Troy, the perforations in the
vases served not only for hanging them up, but also for fastening the
lids, so as to secure the contents.
All the painted vases hitherto found have been made on the potter's
wheel, except the very small ones, which are evidently hand-made. It is
true that I found two fragments of coarse hand-made pottery, which can
only be compared to the rudest pottery of the Danish "kitchen-middens"
(_Kjökkenmöddinge_); but they had evidently been transported hither from
another place.
As at Tiryns, the goblets are for the most part of white clay, and in the
shape of large Bordeaux wine-glasses; nearly all have one handle (see
No. 83). But there are a great many other goblets of the same form which
have a uniform bright red colour, and others which, on a light red dead
ground, have an ornamentation of numerous parallel dark red circular
bands (see Nos. 84, 88).
[Illustration: No. 83. A Goblet of Terra-cotta. (3 M.) Size 5:8, about.]
It deserves very particular attention that goblets of perfectly the
same form were found by me in Troy at a depth of 50 feet (see my 'Atlas
des Antiquités Troyennes,' Plate 105, No. 2311); further, that fourteen
goblets of exactly the same form were found in the tomb at Ialysus in
Rhodes, already mentioned, and are now in the British Museum. Only the
painted ornamentation of these latter goblets is different, for it
represents mostly the cuttle-fish (sepia), but also spirals, or that
curious sea-animal which so frequently occurs on the pottery of Mycenæ
(see No. 213, _a_, _b_, p. 138), but never on the Mycenean goblets.
[Illustration: Nos. 84-89. Fragments of Painted Pottery. Half-size.]
[Sidenote: HERA-IDOLS IN TERRA-COTTA.]
Since the 7th inst. I have been able to gather here more than 200
terra-cotta idols of Hera, more or less broken, in the form of a woman
or in that of a cow.[187] Most of the former have ornaments painted in
bright red on a dead ground of light red, two breasts in relief, below
which protrudes on each side a long horn, so that both horns together
form a half-circle; and, as I have said regarding the idols in Tiryns,
they must either be intended to represent cow-horns, or the symbolic
horns of the crescent moon, or both at once. The head of those idols
is of a very compressed shape, and usually covered by a large "polos."
The lower part is in the form of a gradually widening tube. It deserves
particular attention that a terra-cotta idol of exactly the same form was
found in the aforesaid tomb in Ialysus, and is now in the British Museum.
[Illustration: No. 111. Terra-cotta Idol. (4 M.) Actual size.]
But there were also found idols of this sort with a very low _polos_
(No. 111), and perhaps a dozen idols without any horns; the whole upper
part of the body, as far as the neck, being in the form of a disk (Nos.
90, 91, 92, 93, 112[188]); the head is uncovered, and the hair is often
indicated by a long tress on the back. There have also been found some
idols with a bird's head, covered or uncovered, large eyes, no horns, but
two well-indicated hands joined on the breast (Nos. 99, 100, 101[189]). I
also found the terra-cotta figure (six inches high) of an old and ugly
woman, probably a priestess (No. 113); the features are certainly neither
Assyrian nor Egyptian; the hands are broken off, but they have evidently
been protruding; the figure has a very rude ornamentation of black lines
on a dead ground of strong red; the waist is ornamented with a number of
zigzag lines, which may possibly represent fire. The fragment (No. 110)
seems, from its attitude, to have represented a rider on horseback.
[Illustration: No. 122. Terra-cotta Idol. Actual size.]
[Illustration: No. 123. Terra-cotta Figure. (1 M.) Size 5:6.]
[Sidenote: HERA-IDOLS IN TERRA-COTTA.]
Of idols in the form of a cow hundreds were found, but all are more or
less broken. It is very remarkable that in the sepulchre at Ialysus there
were also found two such cow-idols, which are now in the British Museum;
they are very well preserved, and have the same painted ornamentation as
the cow-idols from Mycenæ.
[Illustration: No. 114-119. Terra-cotta Figures of Animals.
No. 114. (6 M.)
No. 115. (3 M.)
No. 116. (4 M.)
No. 117. (7 M.)
No. 118. (5½ M.)
No. 119. (6 M.)
]
[Illustration: No. 120. Objects in Bronze, Lead, and Iron. Size, 1:3.]
[Sidenote: IMPLEMENTS OF BRONZE AND STONE.]
Iron was already known to the Myceneans, for I found some knives of this
metal; also some curious keys, one of which is very thick, is 5·6 inches
long, has four teeth, each 1·6 inch long, and has a ring at the other
end (see No. 120). But judging by the form of these knives and keys, I
make bold to express the opinion that they belong to a late period in the
history of Mycenæ, and that they date even from the beginning of the 5th
century B.C.
[Illustration: Nos. 121-125. Bronze Knives. Actual size.
No. 121.
(4 M.)
No. 122.
(3 M.)
No. 123.
(3½ M.)
No. 124.
(7 M.)
No. 125.
]
I also found a large number of button-like objects which seem to have
served as ornaments in the house-doors or elsewhere.[190] They have a
lustrous blackish colour, and according to the analysis of my esteemed
friend Mr. Xavier Landerer, Professor of Chemistry at Athens, they
consist of a strongly-burnt clay varnished with a lead glazing. Of bronze
I discovered several well-preserved knives, one of which (No. 125) still
has part of its bone handle; further, two arrow-heads of a pyramidal form
without barbs (γλωχῖνες), like the Carthaginian arrow-heads, which
I gathered last year in my excavations at Motyë, in Sicily.
[Illustration: No. 126. Arrow-heads, hatchets, and other objects of
stone. (3 M.) Actual size.]
Of stone implements, I found two beautifully-polished hatchets of
serpentine (see No. 126, in the lower row); further, a number of weights
of diorite and a number of hand millstones of trachyte, 8 inches long and
5¼ inches broad, in the form of an egg which has been cut lengthwise. The
grain was bruised between the flat sides of two of these millstones; but
only a kind of groats can have been produced in this way, not flour; the
bruised grain could not have been used for making bread. In Homer,[191]
we find it used for porridge, and also for strewing on the roasted
meat.[192] Of gold only a small particle has been found; of silver none
as yet; of lead a large quantity.
I also found a small and thick terra-cotta disk, with a furrow all round
for suspension by a string; on one side, which is well polished, and
seems to have been covered with wax, are engraved a number of 卍's, the
sign which occurs so frequently in the ruins of Troy. Whorls are found
here by hundreds; nearly all are of a beautiful blue stone without any
ornaments (see No. 15, p. 17). Whorls of exactly the same kind were also
found in the tomb at Ialysus. As yet only five whorls of terra-cotta have
been found, and without any ornaments.
[Illustration: No. 127. Fragment of a Lyre of Bone. (3½ M.) Size, 7:8,
about.]
[Illustration: Nos. 128, 129. Lower and Upper Ends of a Flute. Actual
size.
No. 128. (3 M.)
No. 129. (6 M.)
]
[Illustration: ΗΣΑΡΟΜ]
[Sidenote: MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.]
The Myceneans seem to have been musicians, for I found the beautifully
ornamented fragments of a lyre of bone (No. 127), and a flute, of which
we have the three pieces (Nos. 128, 129, 130), which were found at the
same place, though at different depths, and evidently belong to the
very same instrument. No. 129, which is the upper piece of the flute,
consists, according to Professor Landerer, of bone; No. 128, which is
the lower piece, consists of very hard-baked clay: both have a very
symmetrical intaglio ornamentation. The fragment of the tube of the flute
(No. 130_a_) consists of potstone, the _lapis ollaris_ of Pliny, and
we therefore have here a marvellous Mycenean flute consisting of bone,
baked clay, and stone. But potstone seems to have been frequently used
for flutes in antiquity, for I myself possess a flute of _lapis ollaris_
found in a tomb in Ithaca: it bears the inscription ἱερῶθ,[193]
and seems to belong to the 6th or 7th century B.C. Also a fragment of a
crystal vase was found; and a comb (No. 130), which, by the analysis of
Professor Landerer, consists of very hard white baked clay.
[Illustration: Nos. 130-136. Comb and Needles of Terra-cotta. Size 5:8.
130. (3·6 M.)
130_a_. (2 M.)
131.
(4 M.)
132.
(3 M.)
133.
(7 M.)
134.
(3 M.)
135.
(5 M.)
136.
(3 M.)
NOTE.--No. 130_a_ is part of the Flute to which Nos. 128 and 129 also
belong.]
[Illustration: Nos. 137, 139. Terra-cotta Ornaments. Actual size. No. 138
is a Gold Button.
No. 137. (5 M.)
No. 138.
No. 139. (3 M.)
]
[Sidenote: VARIOUS OBJECTS FOUND.]
It was found at a depth of 12 feet; it has in the middle a hole for
suspension with a string. I frequently find here flat pieces of
terra-cotta with painted or impressed ornaments, which must have served
for coating the interior walls of the houses (Nos. 137 and 139). At
a depth of from 10 to 11 feet, and sometimes of only 6½ feet, below
the surface, I am bringing to light Cyclopean house-walls, built of
unwrought stones, joined without clay or cement, and founded on the
natural rock, from 20 to 24 feet below the surface. The corner-stones of
these mansions are remarkable for their massiveness.
[Sidenote: SCULPTURED TOMBSTONES.]
At the north end of my trench I have brought to light part of a Cyclopean
water-conduit, which is still more remarkable than those of Tiryns, for
there at least the water-conduit rests on the natural rock, while here it
is imbedded in the _débris_, and, as the uncut stones are joined without
any binding material, it is really wonderful how a current of water could
have passed along them without being lost through the interstices. Close
to the Cyclopean water-conduit are twelve recesses, consisting of large
slabs of calcareous stone and covered by smaller ones; in my opinion
they cannot possibly be anything else than small cisterns. A few yards
south of these reservoirs I have brought to light two tombstones, which
stand in a direct line from north to south, and are ornamented with
bas-reliefs of the highest interest. Unfortunately the tombstone to the
north consists of a soft calcareous stone, in consequence of which it is
broken in several places, and its upper part has not been preserved. It
is 6 inches thick, 4 feet high, 4 ft. 2 in. broad below, and 3 ft. 8½ in.
above; it shows one undivided picture, encompassed below as well as on
both sides by a broad border, which is formed in the simplest way into
rows, and it represents a hunting scene.[194] On a chariot, drawn by one
horse, stands the hunter, who holds in his left hand the reins, in his
right a long broad sword. Owing to fractures in the stone the upper part
of the chariot is not distinctly visible, but the wheel can be well seen,
with its four spokes forming a cross. The outstretched fore and hind legs
of the horse appear to indicate his great speed. Below to the left is a
tolerably well-formed dog, with a curved tail, chasing a flying deer,
probably a roe, whose tail however is by far too long. Just above the
roe's back, and between the horse's feet, lies an object which cannot be
recognised; it may equally well represent a man lying prostrate, or a
cart with two wheels. On either side, in the broad border formed by two
vertical parallel fillets, are three ovals or _cartouches_, containing a
very curious ornamentation, which at first sight seems to have a symbolic
signification; but on close examination one finds that it is nothing
more than a beautiful ornamentation of spiral lines. At the base are
three horizontal fillets. Behind the chariot is a row of signs resembling
letters, but this also is probably nothing more than ornamentation.
[Illustration: No. 140. The Second Tombstone, found above the Sepulchres
in the Acropolis. (4 M.)
About one-twelfth of the actual size.]
At a distance of one foot from this sepulchral _stêlé_ and in the same
line with it is the other (No. 140), which is of much harder calcareous
stone, and has been therefore much better preserved. It is only damaged
at the top, where a piece 6 to 8 inches high may be missing; its breadth
at bottom is 3 ft. 10 in., and at top 3 ft. 7 in.; its height is 6
feet. It is divided into an upper and a lower compartment, which are
separated by a horizontal fillet, and enclosed on three sides by two
parallel bands. The upper compartment shows four horizontal parallel
rows, each of six spirals, two complete and two imperfect; making in all
twenty-four spirals united with each other and representing a band in
relief, which covers the whole field with a network, and which, as my
friend the well-known archæologist, Dr. Fr. Schlie, rightly observes, is
in principle the same as the filling up with straight lines, horizontally
and vertically combined, into what is called a fret or key-pattern (see
p. 83).
[Illustration: No. 140_a_. Pattern of straight and spiral Frets.]
[Sidenote: MYCENEAN AND HOMERIC CHARIOTS.]
The lower part of the sculpture represents a warrior in a chariot, rather
in a sitting than in a standing posture, for the lower part of his body
is not visible; and whilst, in a very primitive manner, his head is
represented in profile, the front side of his breast is given almost
without any perspective diminution. He holds in his left hand a sword
which is still in the sheath, its handle ending in a large knob. In
his right he holds a long object, which ends at the horse's mouth, and
which, being at first thick and becoming gradually thinner, resembles
much more a lance than the reins; and it is difficult to say which of
the two the artist intended to represent. The chariot is drawn by a
stallion, whose outstretched legs seem to indicate that he is running at
great speed.[195] The tail of the animal stands upright, and its end only
forms a curve. The legs and the tail are so thick in proportion to the
body that, were it not for the head, one would think that the sculptor
intended to represent a lion; the stallion's ears also appear more like
horns than like real horse-ears. Just before the horse is standing a
warrior, apparently naked, who grasps the animal's head with his right
hand, and holds in his uplifted left hand a double-edged sword; he seems
to be full of anguish; his head is represented in profile, while the rest
of his body is shown without the slightest perspective reduction.
To fill up the vacant space, there is represented below this figure
and below the horse a pattern of volutes, whose second, third, and
fourth spirals are much larger, in proportion to the space, than the
other five spirals. Mr. Postolaccas calls to my notice that the curious
relief-band above the horse resembles the _pelta lunata_ of the Amazons
on the ancient vases; this relief-band consists of two horizontal spirals
opposite to each other. The chariot gives us a unique and most precious
specimen of the Homeric chariot, of which we had before but a confused
idea. The body of the chariot (πείρινς) does not form a semicircle,
as we were wont to imagine from the sculptures of classical antiquity and
from the ancient chariot preserved in the museum at Munich, but it is
quadrangular; according to the Iliad,[196] the chariot-box was fastened
on the chariot every time it was used. We see on three sides of the
chariot-box a band or fillet, which is what Homer[197] doubtless means by
the word ἄντυξ, translated by the Earl of Derby 'rail.'
Unlike Homer's chariot of the gods, the wheels of which (κύκλα) had
eight spokes, the wheels of the chariot before us have only four spokes,
which form a cross around the axle (ἄξονι ἀμφίς).[198]
Just behind the warrior in the chariot there is a very curious sign,
the lower part of which forms a long hook, the upper part a spiral line.
M. Postolaccas reminds me that this same sign very frequently occurs on
the medals of Roman families, as, for example, on those of Julius Cæsar,
Marcus Antonius, and so forth, and in his opinion it is nothing else than
the augur-staff, in Latin "_lituus_."
[Sidenote: CHARACTER OF THE SCULPTURE.]
On carefully examining the sculpture of the tombstones, I find such a
marvellous accuracy and symmetry in all the spiral ornamentation, that
I feel almost tempted to think such work can only have been produced by
a school of sculptors which had worked for ages in a similar style. On
the other hand, the men and the animals are made as rudely and in as
puerile a manner as if they were the primitive artist's first essay to
represent living beings. But still there is a great resemblance between
the bodies of the animals and those of the two lions on the gate; there
is the same style of art, and much of the coarseness in the animals on
the tombstones may be due to the inferiority of the calcareous stone;
probably the primitive sculptor who chiselled them would have produced
something better if he had had to work on the beautiful hard _breccia_ of
which the sculpture above the Lions' Gate consists. I have therefore not
the slightest objection to admit that the sculptured sepulchral slabs may
be of nearly the same epoch as the lions over the gate.
[Illustration: No. 141. The Third Tombstone, found above the Sepulchres
in the Acropolis. (4 M.) About one-tenth of the actual size.]
FOOTNOTES:
[142] Horace, _Epod._ V. 86.
[143] From αἴξ (root αἰγ), a _goat_.
[144] _Il._ II. 101.
[145] Homer, _Od._ III. 263-275.
[146] _Od._ IV. 524-535; compare I. 35; III. 234; IV. 91; IX.
387; XXIV. 20, 97.
[147] _Od._ I. 36.
[148] _Od._ III. 305-310.
[149] Welcker, _Gr. Trag._ I. s. 358.
[150] _Il._ IX. 149-154.
[151] _Il._ II. 569.
[152] XIII. p. 582.
[153] III. 3, 6.
[154] Paus. III. 11, 10.
[155] IX. p. 401.
[156] VIII. 5, 1.
[157] I. 12.
[158] VIII. p. 372.
[159] Herod. VII. 202.
[160] Herod. IX. 28.
[161] Paus. VII. 25, 6.
[162] XI. 65.
[163] _Il._ II. 569: ἐϋκτίμενον πτολίεθρον.
[164] _Il._ IV. 52: ἐρυάγυια Μυκήνη.
[165] _Il._ VII. 180: _Od._ III. 305:
πολυχρύσοιο Μυκήνης.
[166] I. 9.
[167] VIII. p. 373.
[168] _Il._ II. 561.
[169] II. 16, 6.
[170] VIII. p. 368.
[171] II. 16, 6: Λείπεται δὲ ὅμως
ἔτι καὶ ἄλλα τοῦ περιβόλου
καὶ ἡ πύλη, λέοντες δὲ ἐφεστήκασιν
αὐτῇ: Κυκλώπων δὲ καὶ ταῦτα ἔργα
εἶναι λέγουσιν, οἳ Προίτῳ τὸ τεῖχος
ἐποίησαν ἐν Τίρυνθι. Μυκηνῶν δὲ ἐν
τοῖς ἐρειπίοις κρήνη τέ ἐστι καλουμένη
Περσεία καὶ Ἀτρέως καὶ τῶν παίδων
ὑπόγαια οἰκοδομήματα, ἔνθα οἱ θησαυροί
σφισι τῶν χρημάτων ἦσαν. τάφος
δὲ ἔστι μὲν Ἀτρέως: εἰσὶ δὲ καὶ
ὅσους σὺν Ἀγαμέμνονι ἐπανήκοντας ἐξ
Ἰλίου δειπνίσας κατεφόνευσεν Αἴγισθος.
Τοῦ μὲν δὴ Κασσάνδρας μνήματος
ἀμφισβητοῦσι Λακεδαιμονίων οἱ περὶ
Ἀμύκλας οἰκοῦντες: ἕτερον δέ ἐστιν
Ἀγαμέμνονος, τὸ δὲ Εὐρυμέδοντος τοῦ
ἡνιόχου, καὶ Τελεδάμου τὸ αὐτὸ καὶ
Πέλοπος, τούτους γὰρ τεκεῖν διδύμους
Κασσάνδραν φασί, νηπίους δὲ ἔτι
ὄντας ἐπικατέσφαξε τοῖς γονεῦσιν
Αἴγισθος, καὶ Ἠλέκτρας: Πυλάδῃ γὰρ
συνῴκησεν Ὀρέστου δόντος. Ἑλλάνικος
δὲ καὶ τάδε ἔγραψε, Μέδοντα καὶ
Στρόφιον γενέσθαι Πυλάδῃ παῖδας ἐξ
Ἠλέκτρας. Κλυταιμνήστρα δὲ ἐτάφη καὶ
Αἴγισθος ὀλίγον ἀπωτέρω τοῦ τείχους:
ἐντὸς δὲ ἀπηξιώθησαν, ἔνθα Ἀγαμέμνων
τε αὐτὸς ἔκειτο καὶ οἱ σὺν ἐκείνῳ
φονευθέντες.
[172] II. 17.
[173] 'Peloponnesiaca,' vol. ii. p. 365.
[174] 'A Classical and Topographical Tour through Greece,' vol.
ii. p. 236.
[175] 'Denkwürdigkeiten und Erinnerungen,' vol. ii. p. 276.
[176] 'Peloponnes,' vol. ii. pp. 411-413.
[177] XI. 65: καὶ διέμεινεν ἀοίκητος μέχρι
τῶν καθ᾽ ἡμᾶς χρόνων.
[178] Strabo, VIII. p. 372: ὥστε νῦν μήδ᾽
ἴχνος εὑρίσκεσθαι τῆς Μυκηναίων
πόλεως.
[179] In the engraving, No. 25, the spout is partly hidden by
one of the handles.
[180] See the Plates of Mycenean Pottery, Nos. 30-78. A Vase
(No. 23_a_) is placed, for the sake of convenience, as a tail-piece to
Chapter II. p. 51.
[181] See 'Troy and its Remains,' chap. vi. pp. 103-4.
[182] See Nos. 31, 35, 41, 46, 50 and 52.
[183] See Nos. 31, 35, 50, and 52.
[184] See Nos. 41 and 48.
[185] See Nos. 33, 40, 42, 45.
[186] See Nos. 30, 43, 44.
[187] See the coloured and plain Plates of Idols; the latter
containing the figures Nos. 90-110.
[188] See also the coloured Plate C, fig. m.
[189] See also the coloured Plate C, fig. l.
[190] They are like those figured under Nos. 137, 139, p. 79,
and No. 165, p. 109.
[191] _Il._ XVIII. 558-560:--
κήρυκες δ' ἀπάνευθεν ὑπὸ δρυï
δαῖτα πένοντο,
βοῦν δ' ἱερεύσαντες μέγαν ἄμφεπον,
aἳ δὲ γυναῖκες
δεῖπνον ἐρίθοισιν, λεύκ' ἄλφιτα
πολλὰ πάλυνον.
"'A little way removed, the heralds slew
A sturdy ox, and now beneath an oak
Prepared the feast; while women mixed, hard by,
White barley porridge for the labourers' meal."
LORD DERBY.
]
[192] _Od._ XIV. 76-77:--
ὀπτήσας δ' ἄρα πάντα φέρων
παρέθηκ' 'Οδυσσῆï
θερμ' αὐτοῖς ὀβελοῖσιν· ὁ δ'
ἄλφιτα λευκὰ πάλυνεν.
And when he had roasted all, he brought it and put it before Ulysses,
still warm
on the spits, strewn over with white flour.
[193] See my 'Ithaque, le Péloponnèse, Troie.'
[194] See the Vignette to this Chapter, No. 24, p. 52.
[195] As we never hear of heroic chariots with one horse, this
may be an imperfect representation of two. The same remark applies to the
next tombstone. See p. 86.
[196] XXIV. 190 and 267. Homer also uses πείρινθα (the word
only occurs in the accusative) for the wicker-basket which held the load
fastened on to a cart (ἅμαξα); and this, its original sense,
may be a guide to its form in the chariot also (comp. _Od._ xv. 131).
[197] _Il._ V. 727-728:--
δίφρος δὲ χρυσέοισι καὶ
ἀργυρέοισιν ἱμᾶσιν
ἐντέταται· δοιαὶ δὲ περίδρομοι
ἄντυγές εἰσιν.
"The chariot-board on gold and silver bands
Was hung, and round it ran a double rail."
[198] My friend, Mr. W. S. W. Vaux, calls my attention to
the fact that this four-spoked chariot wheel, seen also in the cut
No. 120 (p. 74) and on the Mycenean intaglios hereinafter described,
is characteristic of the earliest Greek coins. The early Egyptian and
Ethiopian and Assyrian wheels have six spokes. The Persian Achæmenid
sculptures show chariots with eight-spoked wheels.
CHAPTER IV.
EXCAVATIONS IN THE CITADEL OF MYCENÆ--_continued_.
Wages and worth of labour at Mycenæ--The double circle of
slabs--Two more sculptured _stêlæ_--Unsculptured _stêlæ_--Ashes
and bones, probably of sacrifices--Fragments of other sculptured
tombstones--The style of these _stêlæ_ unique--Their probable
age about 1500 B.C.--A Cyclopean house filled with ashes, bones,
&c.--Objects found there and in the twelve reservoirs--Great
significance of the tombstones found in the Acropolis--They
mark the Royal Tombs, mentioned by Pausanias from tradition
only--Excavation of the Treasury close to the Lions' Gate:
about as large as that of Atreus--Antiquity of the covering-up
proved by the ancient vases, idols, &c. in the _débris_
above--Hera-idols, and others, found in the _dromos_, and in
the Acropolis--Their vast abundance--Cow-heads on handles of
vases, as at Troy--Moulds for earrings and other ornaments of
gold and silver, and curious clay cones--Other ornaments of
glazed clay, potstone, &c.--Numerous objects of bronze--Curious
wheels--Necklace beads of various stones, with intaglios of
animals, and similar objects of other shapes--Two-handled
goblets; the δέπας ἀμφικύπελλον of Homer--Depth of
the _débris_--Breach in the great Cyclopean wall, repaired by an
ancient wall of small stones--The quarry of Mycenæ.
Mycenæ, Sept. 9, 1876.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: WORK AND WAGES AT MYCENÆ.]
Since the 19th of August I have continued the excavations with an average
number of 125 workmen and 4 horse-carts, and have made good progress. As
it may interest the reader to know what wages are paid here, I mention
that the daily wages of a common labourer are 2½ drachmas,[199] the wages
of my overseers 5 to 6 drachmas, and the cost of each cart 8 drachmas,
but the labourers here work much better and are much more honest than
those in the Troad.
In the trench close to the Lions' Gate I have been obliged to stop the
work for a time, the Archæological Society of Athens having promised to
send an engineer to repair the Cyclopean wall above and beside the gate,
and to fasten the sculpture of the two lions with cramp-irons, so as to
secure it against the shock of an earthquake.
In the large second trench I have brought to light a second wall of
smaller stones, 12 feet high, which runs parallel with the great
circuit wall, and thus forms a curve of about the third part of a
circle. It enters the adjoining field, which is now being excavated,
and its direction parallel with the great circuit wall seems to have
been unintentional. It is not, however, vertical, but its western face
slopes at an angle of 75 degrees with the horizon, like the great
tower of Ilium. It deserves attention that here and there we see in
this wall wrought flat slabs, which give the impression that the wall
belongs to a later period than the Cyclopean circuit wall. On this wall
are two parallel rows of large, closely-joined slabs of a calcareous
stone, which show the same inclination as the wall, and appear to form,
with the part in the adjoining field, a full circle. If so, the wall,
on which these rows of slabs stand, can only have been built for the
purpose of supporting them in this lower part of the Acropolis, and
of raising them to the level of their prolongation on the much higher
neighbouring ground. It deserves particular attention that on the inner
side of the supposed circle, namely, on the side towards which the
parallel rows of slabs incline, the vacant space has evidently been
filled up with _débris_ to the very top of the wall immediately after its
completion.[200]
[Sidenote: THE THIRD SCULPTURED TOMBSTONE.]
I frequently found here, at a depth of from three to four feet, ashes of
burnt animal matter, also masses of bones of animals, but no bones which
I can identify as human, for no skull has turned up. The space between
the two slanting parallel rows of slabs was filled with _débris_, mixed
with innumerable fragments of beautiful archaic pottery, and a great
many Hera-idols, but no bones were found there. Within the curve, and
very near to the two parallel rows of slabs, I brought to light two more
sculptured tombstones of a hard calcareous stone (see Nos. 141, 142),
one of which is in the same line with the two sculptured slabs which I
have already described, and only 1 ft. 5 in. south of them. It is 3 ft.
8¾ in. broad at the base, and 3 ft. 7½ in. at top; 6 in. thick, and 4
ft. 2 in. long; and thus the line of the three tombstones together is 13
ft. 8 in. long. This newly discovered third tombstone (No. 141) shows,
like the two others, on its western side, a sculpture in bas-relief,
which is divided by a horizontal fillet into two compartments, and is
encompassed on all sides by two parallel fillets. Of the upper part of
the stone a piece, apparently about one foot high, is missing. In the
upper compartment is represented a warrior, whose head and neck are not
now visible on account of the breaking of the stone. He is represented
standing on a chariot drawn apparently by only one horse[201], the
outstretched hind and fore legs and the uplifted tail of which seem to
indicate that he is running with great velocity, just as on the two
tombstones already described; the fore and hind legs of the horse are
not separated, but appear as one broad leg. In this case the reins with
which the warrior guides the horse are well indicated by one broad band;
also the horse's tail is less bushy and better proportioned, but the
rest of the animal's body is a perfect copy of that of the horse on the
preceding bas-relief. The chariot-box is here exceedingly low, and very
small when compared with that of the chariot on the other tombstone, but
it is not less remarkable, because it is surrounded by a band or fillet
(ἄντυξ), which is double on the lower part. Just behind this
chariot-box is represented an enormously broad two-edged knife, the
handle of which terminates in a very thick knob. As such a knife can
never have existed, I presume that the artist intended to represent here
a two-edged sword with a thick knob at the end of the handle, but that
for want of space he made it very short, without however diminishing its
breadth, for which there was room enough. The one wheel which is visible
is much like that of the chariots on the other tombstones, for it has
also only four spokes, forming a cross round the axle. The adversary on
foot, who is visible on the right side, and whose upper part is likewise
missing owing to the breaking of the stone, does not stand on the same
level as the horse and the chariot, but he appears as if hovering in the
air, on a level with the warrior in the chariot. He assaults the latter
with a long lance, on which can be seen an object of a peculiar form,
which much resembles one of the plain Trojan idols,[202] and must have
served to attach the lance to the shoulder.
In the lower compartment we see two large circles, forming a figure of
eight, lying horizontally, and in each of the two circles six spirals, of
which the adjacent parts are linked together alternately, on the inside
and outside, by curved bands in relief. Below the sculpture at the foot
of the tombstone we see two spiral ornaments imperfectly scratched in the
stone, as if the artist had made a trial sketch of what he was going to
carve on the tablet. Our present artists make their sketches on paper,
but the early Mycenean sculptor had neither paper and pencil nor pen and
ink at his disposal, and so he made his trial sketch on the stone itself,
but on its lower part, which was to be sunk into the ground and was
therefore hidden from the eye.
[Illustration: No. 142. The Fourth Tombstone, found above the Sepulchres
in the Acropolis. (4 M.) About one-ninth of the actual size.]
At a distance of only 10 feet south of the sculptured tombstone last
described, and almost in a straight line with the three slabs, is the
fourth tombstone (No. 142), carved with a bas-relief which likewise faces
the west. This _stêlé_ is also a trapezium, 6 in. thick, 6 ft. high, 4
ft. broad at the lower end, and 3 ft. 10½ in. at the upper end. Of the
upper end a piece, probably about a foot long, is missing. That side of
the _stêlé_ which faces the west has a broad border to the right and
left, and the remaining space is divided into three vertical compartments
of equal breadth, which reach down to more than half the height of the
stone. With the exception of two vertical lines, which form a border to
the right and left, the middle compartment is left unsculptured, and was
probably intended to represent a column. The two side compartments
contain a broad wave-pattern, which represents the coils of a serpent,
and descends vertically from the top to the bottom, following the
direction of the fillets. Though it is only in low-relief, it appears to
be vigorously carved. If, as Dr. Fr. Schlie observes to me, we had to
show this pattern (_a_) by broken straight lines, we should do it in the
manner shown by the pattern (_b_).
[Illustration]
Immediately to the south of this tombstone, in the same line with it, and
separated from it by only one foot, is another tombstone, unsculptured.
Two more unsculptured sepulchral slabs stand close to each other, 23
feet to the east of the first three sculptured tombstones; and at a
distance of 40 feet directly to the south of the former, stand two
more unsculptured tombstones, 4 feet apart. All the unsculptured slabs
likewise stand vertically and face the west.
[Illustration: No. 143. Piece of a Tombstone. (4 M.) Size 1:5, about.]
[Sidenote: ASHES OF SACRIFICES.]
At the foot of the sculptured tombstone first described I found a handful
of black ashes, and among them a large button of wood, covered with a
thick leaf of gold, on which is engraved · a circle, and within it a
triangle containing the representations of three long broad knives, the
handles of which are formed by beautiful spiral lines. I also found at
the feet of most of the tombstones grey ashes of burnt animal matter,
which I at first thought was from human bodies; but as I found together
with them bones which on closer investigation turn out to be those of
animals, I now think the ashes must be from sacrifices. There certainly
appear to have been some more sculptured tombstones here, for I find in
this and in the adjoining field, at a depth of 10 to 13 feet below the
surface, a number of fragments of sepulchral _stêlæ_.
[Illustration: No. 144. Piece of a Tombstone. (4 M.) Size 1:7, about.]
Of these the most interesting (No. 143) consists of hard calcareous
stone, and is 15 in. long, 11 in. broad, and 6½ in. thick. It represents
a boy, apparently naked, who had no doubt been made standing on a
chariot, for he holds in his left hand the reins, indicated by a broad
band: his right hand is also stretched out, but not holding anything: his
head-dress is indicated by two curved lines on the head: the two vertical
lines to the left were part of the border of the _stêlé_. A second
fragment is 22 in. long, 17 in. broad, and 6 in. thick, and consists of
a soft calcareous stone, in consequence of which the sculpture is much
defaced and quite indistinct.
[Illustration: No. 145. Piece of a Tombstone. (3¾ M.) Size 1:5, about.]
[Sidenote: FRAGMENTS OF STÊLÆ.]
The third fragment (No. 144), 2 ft. 6 in. long, 2 ft. broad, and 6 in.
thick, is evidently the upper right-hand part of a _stêlé_. This also
consists of a soft calcareous stone, and the sculpture is consequently
much defaced. It is divided by broad fillets into three compartments, of
which the upper one as well as that to the right contain spirals, whilst
we see the fore-part of two horses in that to the left below.
[Illustration: Nos. 146, 147, 148. Three pieces of Tombstones. (3·4 M.)
Size 1:6, about.]
Another fragment (No. 145) is apparently the left upper part of a
_stêlé_: it is 1 ft. 8 in. broad, 2 ft. 2 in. high, and 4 in. thick, and
likewise consists of a soft calcareous stone. It has to the left a border
of two fillets, at the top the slight remnant of one fillet, and is
divided by a horizontal fillet into two compartments, of which the upper
one has beautiful spirals, forming the same pattern as on No. 140, whilst
of the lower compartment only a small part remains, the sculpture of
which is effaced.
I also show three fragments of tombstones, all of a harder calcareous
stone, and therefore better preserved. The upper one (No. 146), which
is 1 ft. high, 10¾ in. broad, and 4¾ in. thick, has a border of two
broad and three narrower bands, above which only the foot of a horse is
visible. The two lower fragments (Nos. 147, 148) show spirals; the former
is 10¾ in. long and broad, and 4¾ in. thick; the latter is 10¾ in. long,
10 in. broad, and 4¾ in. thick. Of two more fragments of _stêlæ_ of a
soft calcareous stone (Nos. 149, 150), the first represents to the left
spirals, to the right a horse; the second, which has only spirals, is 1
ft. 6 in. high, 16 in. broad, and 4 in. thick.
[Illustration: Nos. 149, 150. Fragments of Tombstones. (3·4 M.) Size
1:12, about.]
[Sidenote: COLUMNS OF PORPHYRY.]
I have also been fortunate enough to discover, only 3 ft. below the
surface, a piece of a quadrangular column of red porphyry, 12⅔ in. long,
10⅔ in. broad, and 8 in. thick, ornamented with a splendid low relief of
palmettos lying horizontally (No. 151). Two of these stand opposite to
each other, and are united by a rectangular middle piece, which, within
an upper and a lower horizontal border, is divided on both sides, to
the right and left, by three vertical band-like cuts into seven upright
rectangular fields, of which the middle one is as broad as the three
on either side. This middle piece reminds one of the Doric triglyphs.
To the right and left of the palmettos we see the fragments of other
ornaments of a similar kind, and it seems that the whole column has been
decorated in this way. Above the palmettos there is a row of denticles,
and there has no doubt been a similar row below. The two middle palmettos
resemble a saloon furnished with seats all round. I further found at a
depth of about 11 ft. 6 in. the fragment of another column or frieze of
red porphyry, 8¾ in. long, 10 in. broad, and 4¼ in. thick, carved with a
beautiful spiral (see No. 152).
[Illustration: No. 151. Piece of a quadrangular Column of Red Porphyry.
(1 M.) Size 1:4, about.]
[Sidenote: STYLE OF THE SCULPTURES.]
Although, as Dr. Fr. Schlie thinks, the technical treatment of the
low-relief of all these stêlæ may not be vastly different from a whole
series of archaic reliefs of ancient Greek art, yet such figures and
such an ornamentation have never been found yet on Greek sculptures. The
stêlæ of Mycenæ are, therefore, unique in their kind. It is true that the
manner of filling up with manifold beautiful spiral ornaments the space
not covered by the forms of men and animals reminds us of the principles
of the painting on the so-called orientalizing vases. But nowhere do we
see on the sculptures of Mycenæ the ornamentation of plants, which is so
characteristic of this class of ancient Greek representations. The whole
style is rather a linear ornamentation with forms in powerful low-relief,
and herein we obtain an interesting guide to that epoch in the
development of Greek art, which preceded the so-called Græco-Phœnician
period, that is the time when its course was determined by oriental
influences. The beginning of this latter period Mr. Newton fixes with
certainty not later than B.C. 800. But these Mycenean representations,
which are decorated exclusively with linear ornamentation in relief,
are again remarkable because we see in them living beings such as man,
the horse, the dog, and the deer, which are not reduced to a more or
less linear design, such as those on the Trojan whorls,[204] but which
are given, though rudely, and in a puerile way, in full bodily form,
precisely as the nature of the relief requires.
[Illustration: Nos. 151, 153, 154. Fragments of Friezes. Size 1:5,
about.[203]]
These reflections lead us to the conviction that the Mycenean reliefs
must be brought into relation with the ancient architecture of Mycenæ.
Let us compare with them only the preserved remnants of the ornamentation
of the gateway of the "Treasury of Atreus" and its semi-column, as
restored by Professor Donaldson.[205] Therefore it cannot appear an
unfounded assumption, if we claim for these ancient monuments the middle
of the second millennium B.C., and if we insert them for the future as
an important link into the history of art. As Mr. A. S. Murray, of the
British Museum, justly observed to me, the spiral ornamentation is no
proof whatever of an orientalizing influence, because every wire must
have given to the early artist the idea of the spiral ornamentation; nay,
we find the spiral ornamentation even on the ancient Mexican and Peruvian
monuments.
Close to the twelve small reservoirs on the north side of my second
trench, is a Cyclopean house without a roof, which even now is on its
south side 24 ft. high. It contains only one chamber, 17 ft. long and
9½ ft. broad; its east wall is 3 ft. 4 in., and its west wall 3 ft.,
thick. On the south side it has two walls, the inner one 3 ft. 4 in.,
the outer one 3 ft. 8 in., thick; against its north wall, which is 3 ft.
thick, leans another, 6½ ft. thick; and thus the passage of the door,
which is on this side, is not less than 9½ ft. long. I excavated in this
house, and found it filled with ashes both of wood and of animal matter,
intermixed with bones, particularly of swine, and with millions of
fragments of painted archaic vases. But I found nothing worth mentioning,
except a certain quantity of baked wheat and vetches, a weight of jasper
with a perforated handle for suspension (No. 155), some well-preserved
archaic vases, the fragment (No. 156) of a vase with sieve-like
perforations, and a certain number of whorls of blue stone. One of these
vases is particularly interesting for its painted ornamentation, showing
two swans, which hold their heads together, much like the two eagles in
the Russian arms.
[Illustration: No. 155. A Jasper Weight, with a hole for suspension. (5½
M.) Actual size.]
I have not been more lucky with the twelve small reservoirs formed of
four large slabs, for they contain nothing else than the remnants of
household utensils, and particularly fragments of archaic vases.
The four sculptured and five unsculptured sepulchral slabs undoubtedly
mark the sites of tombs cut deep in the rock, the exploration of which,
however, I must needs delay until I have terminated all my excavations in
the northern part of the Acropolis.
[Sidenote: TOMBS IN THE ACROPOLIS.]
The presence of these numerous sepulchres near the Lions' Gate, and thus
in the most prominent part of the citadel, in a place where one would
have expected to find the king's palace, is very significant; the more
so, as the slabs of the two parallel rows perfectly resemble the five
unsculptured tombstones and the slabs of the twelve small reservoirs, and
all these monuments appear to have been erected simultaneously.
[Illustration: No. 156. Fragment of a perforated Terra-cotta Vase. (2½
M.) Actual size.]
I know of no example in history of an acropolis having ever served as
a burial place, except the small building of the Caryatides in the
Acropolis of Athens, which was called the Sepulchre of Cecrops, the first
king of Athens. But we now know with certainty that Cecrops is nothing
else than Kacyapa or Cacyapa, who was a sun-god, and thus the story of
Cecrops having been buried in the Acropolis is a pure myth. But here
in the Acropolis of Mycenæ the tombs are no myth, they are a tangible
reality. But who have the great personages been, and what immense
services did they render to Mycenæ, to have received the signal honour of
such a burial place?
I do not for a moment hesitate to proclaim that I have found here the
sepulchres which Pausanias, following the tradition, attributes to
Atreus, to the "king of men" Agamemnon, to his charioteer Eurymedon, to
Cassandra, and to their companions. But it is utterly impossible that
Pausanias should have seen these tombstones, because, when he visited
Mycenæ, about 170 A.D., all the sepulchral monuments had for ages been
covered by a layer of prehistoric _débris_, from 8 to 10 ft. thick, on
which an Hellenic city had been built and had again been abandoned about
four centuries before his time, after having added a layer of Hellenic
ruins, 3 ft. thick, to the deep stratum of prehistoric remains. Thus he
could only have known of the existence of these sepulchres by tradition.
In the Treasury close to the Lions' Gate the work advances but very
slowly, the soil being as hard as stone, and only to-day has my trench
reached a sufficient depth to enable me to begin the excavation of the
triangular space above the door. My supposition that this Treasury would
turn out to be nearly of the same size as the Treasury of Atreus seems
to be confirmed by the width of the approach ("dromos"), which is in the
latter 20 ft. 7 in., in the former 19 ft. 8 in., broad.
These conical buildings, 50 ft. high, were constructed under the slope of
a hill, and were destined to remain subterranean: for, as before stated,
the outside surface of the stones is quite irregular, and the whole
building is covered all round with a thick layer of stones, the weight of
which holds the masonry fast together. I feel certain that the tradition
is correct which says that these mysterious buildings served as the
store-houses of the wealth of the early kings; but there can be no doubt
that as long as they served as treasuries the "dromos" and the entrance
gate were unobstructed, and the great question, therefore, arises, why
and when were the "dromos" and the gate hidden under the tremendous
masses of _débris_?
[Illustration: No. 157. Piece of a Painted Vase, from the "dromos" of the
Treasury near the Lions' Gate. (2½ M.) Half-size.]
[Illustration: No. 158. Fragment of the same Pottery from the "dromos".
(5 M.) Half-size.]
[Sidenote: GEOMETRICALLY PAINTED POTTERY.]
It has been asserted that they were buried at the time of the Dorian
invasion; but did the excavation of the Treasury of Atreus in 1810 by
Veli Pasha, the son of Ali Pasha, produce anything else than a stone
table, a few sculptured slabs, and fragments of brazen plates? and was
it worth while to bury empty treasuries? But it is a fact that they were
buried, and, as to the chronology of the event, the pottery in the layer
of _débris_, which covers the "dromos" of each, gives us fortunately
some clue, for I find there continually very ancient painted pottery
with geometrical patterns, resembling the Attic vases which until now
have been considered as the most ancient terra-cottas in Greece; as well
as very rude terra-cotta idols of Hera in the female and cow forms. The
style of the pottery is seen in the annexed piece (No. 157), which shows
to the right of the handle a 卍 of which only part is visible, and then
follows a row of the frequently recurring animal in form of a crane,
but which may have been intended to represent a horse, and after that
follows a beautiful band of key-patterns. On another fragment (No.
158) is only a row of the same birds or horses between two bands, each
of three parallel circular lines; also a small can, ornamented with
vertical lines, was found there. Of course it is perfectly certain that
the _débris_ which covers the entrance has been brought there from other
places, but as it contains solely fragments of very ancient painted
terra-cottas nearly all of them with geometrical patterns, the filling-up
of the entrance must have been already effected in a remote antiquity,
and the Treasury itself is doubtless more ancient than the Treasury of
Atreus.
[Illustration: No. 159. Idol of Terra-cotta, with a Cow's head, on the
handle of a Vase. (4 M.) Actual size.]
Of the idols found in the "dromos" before the Treasury now in question
the most ancient Hera-idols, in the shape of a woman, are very rudely
made, sometimes without painted ornaments, and they have a head either
oblong or round, with or without a diadem, and large eyes. Some are with
breasts, others without; the hands are either protruding or folded on the
breast. To the same epoch no doubt belong the female idols with a very
compressed bare head, large eyes, outstretched hands, and no breasts; or
with two breasts, below which a horn protrudes on each side, so that both
horns together form a semicircle;[206] also the male idol, with its head
ornamented in front with a diadem, bearing a star, a long aquiline nose,
large eyes, and a long protruding beard;[207] and some very archaic cow
idols, with painted red or black ornamentation (see No. 118, p. 74); also
the fragment of a vase of granite, and a small female figure in silver
with long hair.
[Illustration: No. 160. Idol of Terra-cotta with a Cow's head. (2 M.)
Actual size.]
[Illustration: No. 161. Cow-headed Idols of Hera. (1-5 M.) Half-size.]
[Illustration: No. 163. The two faces of a Granite Mould for casting
various Ornaments. (4 M.) Actual size.]
[Sidenote: HERA-IDOLS COMMON IN ACROPOLIS.]
[Sidenote: COW-HEADS ON VASE-HANDLES.]
In the Acropolis the most common idols are those of Hera as a woman with
horns or in the shape of a cow. In fact, they are so abundant that up to
this time I have been able to gather more than (say) 700 of them, but all
are more or less mutilated. Among the forms of the idols found abundantly
in the Acropolis I must further mention that with a round uncovered
bird's head,[208] and that with a very compressed head, with large
eyes, and a _polos_ in the form of a bowl, on which is often painted a
cross; both these idols hold their hands on the breasts, and have no
characteristic of the cow.[209] I may further mention the very frequently
occurring idol, the whole middle part of which is in the form, or nearly
so, of a disk,[210] and which may have been intended primitively to
represent the full moon, because Hera was originally the moon-goddess,
and her cow-horns, and subsequently her whole cow-character, cannot
but be derived from the symbolic horns of the crescent moon. Lastly, I
have to mention the less frequent female idol with a perfectly modelled
cow-head; but this type is only found on the handles of vases, and the
body of the woman is always incomplete, never reaching further down
than the breast, and frequently finishing with the neck, on which the
necklace is never forgotten.[211] By a strange coincidence the three or
four terra-cotta cow-heads found in Troy were likewise on the handles
of vases.[212] One headless Hera-idol was found, with two well preserved
horns and two breasts. The head is not broken off, for it was never
intended to have a head. I may also mention that many perfectly flat
idols were found, showing on each side a head with a long muzzle and
large eyes in profile, but no indication of horns. (See No. 161.[213])
[Sidenote: ORNAMENTS OF GLAZED CLAY.]
Except the button with a gold plate, already mentioned, no objects
of gold or silver have been found yet; but that these metals were in
extensive use cannot be doubted. I found a mould consisting, according
to Professor Xavier Landerer, of very fine dark red granite; it shows on
both sides together fourteen different fanciful types of earrings and
other ornaments, all of which were probably cast in gold or silver (see
No. 162). I found also a smaller mould, which consists, according to
the same Professor, of basalt, and is in form of a cube (see No. 163):
it has on all the six sides moulds for casting ornaments, of which the
types may be seen in the engravings; amongst others, it has a type for
casting small cones with parallel horizontal circles, of which I find
here a large number. (See No. 164.) They consist of a lustrous blackish
mass, which Professor Landerer has analysed and found to consist of a
hard-baked clay which has been varnished with a lead glaze. Mr. Newton
also kindly showed me, among the objects found in the tomb at Ialysus,
very small cones with parallel horizontal circles of the very same
composition as these Mycenean cones. I also very frequently find here
small disks of the same composition, with impressed flowers or other
ornamentation, which must have served as ornaments on the doors or
elsewhere (No. 165), and these also figure in the British Museum among
the objects from the tomb of Ialysus. The quadrangular piece (No.
166), on which may be seen a very well-represented cuttle-fish between
two vertical borders with teeth-like cuts, has four perforations for
attaching it with pins. As I have already mentioned, the object No. 167,
which has the form of a mushroom, but a perforation in its whole length,
is of the same material; this also must have served as an ornament, while
the whole tube-like lower part was sunk into the object which was to be
ornamented, so that the head alone protruded, and may have served to put
in a flower or something else. Of the same baked clay with a varnished
lead glaze there was further found a large perforated bead (No. 168).
[Illustration: No. 163. Four faces of a six-sided Mould of Basalt. (5 M.)
Actual size.]
[Illustration: Nos. 164, 165, 166. Ornaments of Glazed Clay. (3-4 M.)
Actual size.]
[Illustration: Nos. 167, 168, 169. Ornaments of Glazed Clay. (3-4 M.)
Actual size.]
[Sidenote: VARIOUS ORNAMENTS.]
I also very often find small objects in the form of a cone or with points
more obtuse, and in this case perforated; they are turned from a mineral,
which, according to Professor Landerer, is the Siphnian stone (_lapis
ollaris_), commonly called potstone. The same scholar calls my attention
to a passage of Pliny, who says: "On the island of Siphnos there is a
stone which is hollowed out and turned for vases; these latter are very
useful for cooking victuals or for the preservation of eatables, which,
as we know, is the case with the _Comnes stone_ in Italy. The Siphnian
stone has the peculiarity that, being heated, it becomes black by the
contact of oil and much harder, it being naturally soft. It can be turned
and used for ornaments." The small cones of this stone have in the lower
border two small holes on either side, which must have been made for
the pins by which the object was fastened. A likeness of such a cone is
No. 172; of another object of the same material, No. 169. The curious
object, No. 171, which has almost the form of a Trojan idol, is of
decomposed glass, but its use is inexplicable to me; it has on its lower
side a tubular hole for fastening it to something else, and may have
served as an ornament. The little ball, No. 170, on which we see curious
incised drawings, is of very hard baked clay. I also find very frequently
button-like objects, like those already shown under No. 126,[214] which,
according to Professor Landerer, have been turned out of a stone called
"lapis serpentinus." I cannot explain the use of them otherwise than
that they have served as ornaments in the doors and on the walls, like
No. 167. There was also found a large perforated bead of white glass,
and further a large block of diorite, with circular moulds for casting
various objects.
[Illustration: Nos. 170, 171, 172. Ornaments of Glazed Clay, &c. (3-4 M.)
Actual size.]
[Illustration: No. 173. A double-edged Hatchet of Bronze. (3 M.)
Half-size.]
A treasure of bronze objects was found at a depth of 13 feet. It
consists of five knives (like Nos. 121-125),[215] two small wheels and
an inexplicable object with a ring,[216] two lances, two double-edged
hatchets (No. 173), hair-pins, two vases, and remnants of four others,
and a tripod. It is incomprehensible to me for what purpose the wheels
may have served; they can never have been intended for rotation, for,
as may be seen by the engraving,[217] there is attached to them a
quadrangular handle, which proves that they can never have been turned
round. From one of the wheels[218] this handle is broken off; as for the
rest, the wheels perfectly resemble those represented on the chariots in
the sculptures, for there are four spokes, which form a cross round the
axle. Also two very small and exceedingly curious wheels of lead were
found, the one at the depth of 11 ft. 8 in., the other at 16½ ft.[219]
[Illustration: Nos. 174-181. Lentoid Gems. (4-7 M.) Actual size.]
[Sidenote: LENTOID GEMS.]
There were also found a certain number of lentoid gems of steatite, onyx,
or agate, polished, nearly round, and somewhat convex, with intaglios
of animals, which are very archaic, but show in several instances an
advanced art; all of these have evidently belonged to necklaces. No. 176
is of steatite (_lapis ollaris_); it gives us a very rude and primitive
representation of an animal with a very long tail, long legs, and a
pointed head, which is turned backward, and on which we see a horn
standing vertically: probably we must understand that this horn covers
the second horn: the body of the animal resembles the body of a horse,
the head that of an antelope. No. 178 is of red agate, and this also
gives a rude representation of an animal with its head turned backward;
above its hinder part is a trident, and it is difficult to distinguish
whether the primitive artist intended to represent by this the animal's
uplifted tail or something else. The most beautiful of all the intaglios
is of red onyx (No. 174), showing an antelope perfectly true to nature.
Both horns are well represented, and the head and body are beautiful; the
animal seems to kneel on its two fore-legs; the tail is lifted sideways
above the back. I call particular attention to the object above the back
of this animal; it looks like an overturned flower-pot, with a long plant
lying horizontally. The object on the lentoid gem (No. 183) cannot be
recognised; this gem consists of serpentine. On No. 184, which is of
black agate, we again see a very rudely-engraved animal with the head
turned back, but without horns. No. 185 is a bead.
[Illustration: No. 182-185. Lentoid Gems and a bead. (3-6 M.) Size 3:4.]
[Illustration: Nos. 186-189. Lentoid Gem, cylinder and beads. (3-6 M.)
Size 3:4.]
Another beautiful intaglio (No. 186), on black serpentine, represents an
animal with the head turned back and very large eyes; it seems to run
with great speed. The object No. 189 is also of black serpentine, and
has no intaglio. Similar lentoid gems, with rudely-incised animals, found
in the Greek islands, are in the gold room of the British Museum, and I
call particular attention to them, as well as to the lentoid gem of rock
crystal, representing in intaglio a goat, which turns her head. This gem,
again, was found in the repeatedly-mentioned sepulchre of Ialysus, and
is also in the British Museum. Very pretty is the small parallelopiped
(No. 182), likewise of serpentine, ornamented on two sides with fourteen
lines which cross each other, and on the other two sides with two incised
squares, in each of which we see a small circle with a point in the
centre. No. 187 represents a light green cylinder of opal, on which a
human head is rudely carved, with closed eyes, a very broad nose, a large
mouth, and a necklace, and very much in the ancient Egyptian style of
art. It is cylindrical, and has no hole, and it seems therefore not to
have served as a stick-handle. No. 188 is a bead of white glass; No.
180 is an object of blue glass cast in the form of a long but narrow
mussel-shell, surrounded by horizontal parallel cuts; it is coloured with
cobalt; No. 179 is a small bead of blue glass twice perforated. There is
also a well-polished brown onyx, without any intaglio, and it deserves
attention that a similar one was found in the tomb of Ialysus. No. 181 is
of an artificial glass paste. I repeat that, with the exception of Nos.
175, 180, 187, all these objects are perforated and are beads or lentoid
gems of necklaces.
[Sidenote: INSCRIPTIONS AT MYCENÆ.]
Of combinations of signs resembling inscriptions, I have hitherto
only found three or four; one of them is on both sides of a mutilated
Hera-idol in the form of a woman (see No. 102); another inscription is on
a mutilated cow-idol[220]; and a third is on a disk (No. 190). Of all of
them I have sent copies to Professor Max Müller, who considers them too
indistinct and fragmentary to warrant any expression of opinion for the
present.
[Illustration: No. 190. A Disc of Terra-Cotta, with an uncertain
appearance of an Inscription. (5 M.) Actual size.]
I found at a depth of 6 feet a short Greek inscription:
[Illustration: TOHEROOS]
for which, however, I cannot claim a higher antiquity than the 6th
century B.C.; in fact, the fragment of a vase on which it is scratched
is of the usual black Hellenic pottery, which is so widely different
from the archaic pottery of Mycenæ that I could not venture to attribute
it to a remoter epoch than the 5th century, were it not for the archaic
characters which are decidedly of the 6th century. But this fragment of
black pottery again gives us an idea of the age of the ancient Mycenean
pottery. I suppose that the first Ο stands for ΟΥ, the second Ο for
Ω and that the sign ] is merely a comma. I read it thus: τού
ἥρωός εἰμ(ι), "I belong to the heros."
Besides the goblets already mentioned in the form of large Bordeaux
wine-glasses with one handle,[221] which continue to be found in enormous
quantities, there are also frequently found goblets of the same form with
two handles. Although these goblets have not the slightest resemblance
to the splendid Trojan goblets,[222] yet, like the latter, those with
two handles can fully claim to represent the Homeric δέπας
ἀμφικύπελλον. I think Aristotle[223] is wrong in his theory
that the ἀμφικύπελλον had the shape of a bee's cell. The best
judge, nay, the highest authority, for the form of the Homeric δέπας
ἀμφικύπελλον must necessarily be Homer himself; and according
to him the δέπας ἀμφικύπελλον is always synonymous
with ἄλεισον ἄμφωτον,[224] which latter cannot possibly
mean anything else than a simple goblet with a large handle on each side.
In speaking of the shape of the Homeric δέπας ἀμφικύπελλον,
Athenæus[225] does not even mention the opinion of Aristotle, but he
cites the opinion of Asclepiades of Myrlea, who says that
ἀμφικύπελλον does not mean anything else than that the goblet
is ἀμφίκυρτον. But the following phrase leaves no doubt that the
latter word signifies "with two handles," and this is confirmed by
Passow's Greek Lexicon (ed. Rost and Palm).
As far as my excavations have proceeded, I nowhere find an accumulation
of _débris_ exceeding 26 ft.; and even this depth is only found near the
great circuit wall. Thence the rock rises rapidly, and further on the
depth of the _débris_ is not more than from 13 to 20 ft. On the west side
the Cyclopean wall has been nearly demolished for a distance of 46 ft.,
and on its interior side a wall of small stones joined with earth has
been built to sustain its ruins. It must remain mere guesswork when the
Cyclopean wall was destroyed and the small wall built, but at all events
this must have occurred long before the capture of Mycenæ by the Argives
in 468 B.C., because the small wall was buried deep in the prehistoric
_débris_.
[Sidenote: THE QUARRY AT CHARVATI.]
The great quarry, whence all the stones for the Cyclopean walls, the
Treasuries, and other buildings, were cut, is on the site of and around
the village of Charvati, a little over a mile from this place; but the
rock has in no instance been cut away deeper than the surface. I give a
view of this village, in which the greater part of the ancient quarry is
visible.[226] The name Charvati is no doubt derived from the Arabic word
خراب (ruins), which has passed over into the Turkish language.
Mrs. Schliemann and I superintend the excavations from morning till dusk,
and we suffer severely from the scorching sun and incessant tempest,
which blows the dust into the eyes and inflames them; but in spite of
these annoyances, nothing more interesting can be imagined than the
excavation of a prehistoric city of immortal glory, where nearly every
object, even to the fragments of pottery, reveals a new page of history.
[Illustration: No. 190_a_. PATTERN OF THE SLABS, FORMING THE DOUBLE
PARALLEL CIRCLE ENCLOSING THE AGORA.
A. One of the vertical inner and outer slabs, both being inclined
_inwards_, towards the enclosed space of the Agora, at an angle of 75°.
B. One of the cross slabs with the tenons, _b_, _b_, to drop into the
notches _a_, _a_.
N.B.--The slabs are not all of the dimensions here shown, but vary in
size in different parts of the circle. (See p. 124.)
The slabs of the double circle, which serves both as the enclosure of the
Agora and for its benches, are in a slanting position from the entrance
on the north side all along the east side until a few yards before the
point on the south side where the double circle passes from the rock on
to the wall which supports it in the lower part of the Acropolis. At
this point the slabs have the maximum size, which seems to have been
maintained by all the slabs which stood on the supporting wall, and which
have now nearly all fallen; but their inclination can be recognised by
observing those still standing on the north-west side of the circle. On
the north, on both sides of the entrance, where the Agora is bordered by
those tomb-like recesses in which we have recognised small reservoirs,
the slabs of these recesses are of necessity all perpendicular, because,
had they been slanting, they would not have sustained the pressure of the
water.]
FOOTNOTES:
[199] The Greek drachma is worth about 8½_d._ English.
[200] This most curious enclosure will be more fully described,
and the important question of its use discussed, in the following
Chapter.
[201] See note on p. 83.
[202] See 'Troy and its Remains,' p. 36, fig. 30.
[203] The frieze, No. 153, is described, and its broad face
shown on p. 140, No. 216; the fragment No. 154 is described on p. 121.
[204] See 'Troy and its Remains,' Plates xxvii-xxxi.
[205] See supplementary volume to Stuart's 'Athens.'
[206] See No. 94.
[207] See No. 106.
[208] See No. 100.
[209] See No. 101.
[210] See Nos. 90-93.
[211] See Nos. 159, 160, and the coloured Plate D, figs. n, o,
p.
[212] See 'Troy and its Remains,' p. 294.
[213] I call particular attention to the Egyptian sepulchral
paintings published by Mr. G. A. Hoskins in his 'Travels in Ethiopia and
Upper Egypt,' where we see among the offerings some vases from which
similar heads look out.
[214] See p. 76.
[215] See p. 75.
[216] See under No. 120, p. 74.
[217] See under No. 120, p. 74.
[218] _Ibid._
[219] Also engraved under No. 120. I here again call particular
attention to the fact, _that the depth in which each object has been
found is always marked in metres below each object in the engravings_.
[220] See the Coloured Plate B, fig. g.
[221] See Nos. 83, 84, 88, pp. 70, 71.
[222] See 'Troy and its Remains,' p. 158.
[223] _Hist. Animal._ IX. 40.
[224] See _Od._ III. 41, 46, 50 and 63, and XXII. 9, 10, 86.
[225] Δειπνοσοφισταί, 783.
[226] See Vignette to Chapter V. p. 118.
[Illustration: No. 191. The Village of Charvati, with the ancient Quarry
of Mycenæ.]
CHAPTER V.
EXCAVATIONS IN AND NEAR THE ACROPOLIS--_continued_.
THE LIONS' GATE AND THE AGORA.
The Treasury excavated by Mrs. Schliemann--Older and
less sumptuous than that of Atreus--The entrance, its
ornaments--Archaic pottery found in the passage--Necklace
beads--Fragment of a marble frieze--Threshold of the Lions'
Gate--The great double row of parallel slabs, probably not
of a remote antiquity--The Acropolis only partly accessible
to chariots--The gateway double, like the Scæan Gate at
Troy--Corridors of Cyclopean house-walls--Hera-idols and
arrow-heads of bronze and iron--Door-keeper's lodge--Retaining
walls--Tower of the Acropolis resting on a massive wall--The
double circle of slabs formed the enclosure of the royal tombs
and the Agora--Arguments in proof of this view--Objects of
interest found there--A vast Cyclopean house with cisterns and
water conduit, probably the ancient Royal Palace--The spring
Perseia--No windows in the house--Objects of art and luxury
found there--An onyx seal-ring--Vase-paintings of mail-clad
warriors--Hand-made pottery in the Acropolis.
Mycenæ, Sept. 30, 1876.
* * * * *
Since the 9th inst. I have continued the excavations with the greatest
energy, employing constantly 125 workmen and five horse-carts, and the
weather being beautiful I have made excellent progress. In the Treasury,
in which Mrs. Schliemann is excavating, we work with thirty labourers and
two horse-carts, and find the very greatest difficulty in removing the
hundreds of huge wrought stones which have fallen from the vault.
[Sidenote: MRS. SCHLIEMANN'S TREASURY.]
The interior walls of this Treasury have never been covered with brazen
plates like the Treasury of Atreus here and the Treasury of Minyas in
Orchomenus; at least, I see nowhere in the stones the holes of the
bronze nails by which the metal plates were fastened; but I cannot avoid
mentioning that on the inner east side of the Treasury, there protrudes
from between the stones the fragment of a bronze plate, which sticks
so fast that it cannot be drawn out; I therefore suppose that it was
fastened there when the Treasury was built. It appears hardly possible
that this could have happened merely by accident, but on the other hand I
find it difficult to believe that this bronze plate could be a remnant of
an ancient wall-coating of bronze plates, which were not fastened to the
stones with nails but were attached in the joints between them, because
in this case, I presume, we ought to find remnants of those plates in
many places.
This Treasury is less sumptuous, and appears to be more ancient, than the
Treasury of Atreus here, or the Treasury of Minyas at Orchomenus.
The entrance, which is 13 ft. long and 8 ft. broad, is roofed with four
slabs 18½ ft. in length; the holes for the upper door-hinges are 5 in.
deep. From certain traces in the walls it appears that the entrance
has been ornamented on the right and left with two semi-columns, which
we hope to find by digging deeper. A remnant of an ornamentation with
semicircles is visible on the slab above the entrance, and the same can
easily be distinguished in the engraving of the Treasury.[227] After
having been buried for ages in the damp _débris_, the large wrought
stones of the walls of the approach (_dromos_) and of the façade of this
Treasury have contracted by exposure to the sun, and, as may be seen from
the engraving, a great number of them have crevices.
As in the Treasury of Atreus and in the Lions' Gate, the triangular space
above the entrance is formed by an oblique approximation of the ends of
the courses of stone. On all three sides of this triangle can be seen
cuttings, which make it highly probable that it has once been filled
up by a triangular piece of sculpture similar to that above the Lions'
Gate.[228]
Among the archaic pottery found in the "dromos" before the Treasury,
the very rudely modelled men on horseback holding the horse's neck
with both hands, of which also several were found in the tomb at
Ialysus, deserve particular attention; further, the fragments of
large painted vases profusely covered with an ornamentation of key
patterns, zigzag lines, stripes of ornaments like fish-spines, bands
with very primitive representations of cranes or swans, or circles
with flowers, and occasionally with the sign 卍.[229] Vases with such
geometrical patterns are sometimes found in Athens, and have hitherto
been universally considered to be the most ancient pottery of Attica,
but I perfectly share my learned friend Mr. Chas. T. Newton's opinion,
that the vases with geometrical patterns are later than all the different
sorts of terra-cottas found in the five Royal tombs, and hereafter to
be described. Of vases with other patterns I have found but very few
fragments. Together with these fragments of pottery there was found part
of a necklace with a large bead of white glass (No. 205), two beads of
fluor-spar of a transparent bluish, and three of a red-bluish colour, all
perforated and strung on a thin copper wire (Nos. 206, 207, 208, 209);
also the fragment of a white marble frieze with an ornamentation.[230]
Just above the lower part of the "dromos" are the foundations of an
Hellenic house, apparently of the Macedonian period.
[Illustration: Nos. 205-209. Beads of Glass and Fluor-spar. (4 M.) Actual
size.]
[Illustration: No. 210. Threshold of the Gate of Lions.]
[Sidenote: THRESHOLD OF THE LIONS' GATE.]
The Archaeological Society in Athens has not yet sent an engineer to
consolidate the sculpture above the Lions' Gate, and to repair the
Cyclopean wall close to it; but they intend still to do so. Meanwhile
they have allowed me to continue the excavations at the Lions' Gate on
the condition that I leave to the right and left of it a considerable
portion of the _débris_ _in situ_ in order to facilitate the raising of
the blocks which are necessary for the repairs. Therefore I have been
able to resume the excavations at the Lions' Gate, and I have brought to
light its enormous threshold. Two exact drawings of this are appended.
It consists of a very hard block of breccia 15 ft. long and 8ft. broad.
The ruts caused by the chariot-wheels, of which all guide books speak,
exist only in the imagination of enthusiastic travellers, but not in
reality. The immense double parallel row of closely joined slabs, which
I have brought to light in close proximity to the Lions' Gate, would now
altogether bar the access of chariots to the Acropolis. But as I cannot
ascribe a very remote antiquity to the wall which sustains the double
row of slabs in the lower part of the Acropolis, so neither can I claim
a high antiquity for the circle of slabs itself, and before its erection
chariots could certainly have had access to the Acropolis. But on account
of the precipitous slopes of the cliff, it is impossible that chariots
should ever have penetrated further than the first or lowest of the six
natural or artificial terraces. Thus it is obvious that chariots were
but little in use here, and that beasts of burden, horses, mules, or
asses, were employed in their stead. No doubt the fifteen small straight
parallel furrows, which are cut all along the surface of the threshold
to prevent the beasts of burden from slipping, might have been mistaken
for ruts of chariot-wheels. But again, the threshold having been deeply
buried in the _débris_ for ages, and at all events since the capture of
the Acropolis by the Argives (468 B.C.), no mortal eye can have seen it
for more than 2300 years.
There is a quadrangular hole, 1 ft. 3 in. long and 1 ft. broad, in
the middle of the threshold, where the two doors of the gate met. The
threshold further shows on its east side a straight furrow, artistically
cut, 1 ft. broad, and on its west side another which forms a curve.
Both these seem to have served as channels for rain water, the rush of
which must have been great, the threshold being lower than the natural
rock forming the floor of the passage, which rises gradually. In the
side of the threshold which faces the north is a long artificial hole of
a peculiar form, which must have been connected with the gate in some
way or other, for a cutting of exactly the same form exists in the
large flat stone in the middle of the gate at Troy. At a distance of
11½ ft. from the threshold on either side of the passage there is, as
at Troy,[231] a quadrangular mass of Cyclopean masonry, 2 ft. broad and
high, and 3 ft. long, which marks the site of a second gate of wood.
[Sidenote: A CYCLOPEAN HOUSE.]
Further on to the right I have brought to light, below the foundations of
an Hellenic house, quite a labyrinth of Cyclopean house-walls, forming
a number of parallel corridors from 4 ft. to 6½ ft. broad, filled with
stones and _débris_, which I am now clearing out. One of the corridors
leads straight into the Cyclopean house already described.[232] In
several places the walls retain traces of their clay-coating. I found
here many Hera-idols, also three arrow-heads, all of bronze; two
have barbs (γλωχῖνες); the third has the form of a pyramid, like
the Carthaginian arrows which I found last year in my excavations in
Motyë in Sicily.
To the left of the entrance is, first, the small chamber of the
door-keeper, and then follows a wall of huge stones, intended merely to
sustain the masses of _débris_ (24 ft. to 26 ft. high) which have been
washed down from the mount in the course of ages. Further on, in the same
line, is a Cyclopean wall (166 ft. long and 30 ft. high) of enormous
stones joined together with small ones, which, as already mentioned, is
crowned by the ruins of a tower, and gives the Acropolis a peculiarly
grand aspect.[233] This wall was imbedded from 10 ft. to 12 ft. deep in
the _débris_, and has now been brought to light down to the rock on which
it is founded.
My supposition that the double parallel row of large slabs would be found
to form a complete circle has been proved correct. One-half of it rests
on the wall which was intended to support it in the lower part of the
Acropolis, the other half is founded on the higher flat rock, and touches
the foot of the Cyclopean wall before mentioned; the entrance to it is
from the north side.[234]
At first I thought that the space between the two rows might have served
for libations or for offerings of flowers in honour of the illustrious
dead. But I now find this to be impossible, because the double row of
slabs was originally covered with cross-slabs, of which six are still
_in situ_; they are firmly fitted in and consolidated by means of
notches, 1¼ to 3⅓ in. deep, and 4 in. broad, in the upper edges of the
aslant standing slabs of the two parallel rows, which received similar
projections on the cross stones, forming a mortice and tenon joint.[235]
As these latter exist on all the slabs, there can be no doubt that the
whole circle was originally covered in the same way. The vertical slabs
are from 4 ft. 2 in. to 8 ft. 2 in. long and 1 ft. 8 in. to 4 ft. broad,
and the largest are in the two places where the double row descends from
the rock to the supporting wall. Inside, there is first a layer of stones
1 ft. 4 in. thick, for the purpose of holding the slabs in their place;
the remaining space is filled up with pure earth mixed with long thin
cockle shells in the places where the original covering remains in its
position, or with household remains, mixed with innumerable fragments of
archaic pottery wherever the covering is missing. This circumstance can
leave no doubt that the cross slabs were only removed after the city had
been captured and deserted, because all the fragments of archaic pottery
must necessarily have been washed down by the rain from the five natural
or artificial upper terraces of the Acropolis, and this can of course
only have taken place after Mycenæ had been abandoned by its inhabitants.
[Illustration: PLATE VI.
ICHNOGRAPHY OF THE ROYAL TOMBS WITHIN THE CIRCLE OF THE AGORA. _To face
page_ 124. ]
[Sidenote: CIRCULAR BENCH OF THE AGORA.]
It must be particularly observed that the whole arrangement of slabs
slopes _inwards_ at an angle of 75°; so that, the ground within the
circle being raised, as just described, the horizontal slabs formed
a continuous bench, on which people could sit, looking towards the
enclosure, the inclination leaving convenient room for the feet, as is
the case also with the stone seats for the priests in the theatre of
Dionysus at Athens.
[Illustration: No. 210_a_. Bench of the Agora.]
My esteemed friend, Professor F. A. Paley, has been the first to advance
the opinion, accepted by Mr. Charles T. Newton and by myself, that the
double parallel circle of slabs, having been in the most solid way
covered with cross slabs, must necessarily have served as a bench to sit
upon and as the enclosure of the Agora of Mycenæ. He thinks that the
first idea for the form of an Agora was given by the circular-dances
(κύκλιοι χοροί) and the recitation of the dithyrambs.[236] The
assembled people sat in a circle, and the orator stood in the centre, as
we see in Homer,[237] and in Sophocles[238]; and just in the centre of
this enclosure at Mycenæ I found a rock forming a slight elevation, which
might well have served as the platform (βῆμα), from which the speakers
addressed those sitting on the circular bench.[239]
We therefore know with certainty, in the first place, that the Agora
was round, and, secondly, that people used to sit there. The circular
form of the Agora is also proved by Euripides,[240] who speaks of the
"circle of the Agora" (ἀγορᾶς κύκλον). Professor Paley
infers from the passage of Euripides already cited (_Electra_, 710), that
the poet had known this Agora in the Acropolis of Mycenæ from personal
inspection, and that by πέτρινα βάθρα he means the enormous
circular stone bench by which the Agora is enclosed, and that
consequently on this bench he makes the herald stand, when in a loud
voice he calls the people of Mycenæ to the Agora; he also believes that
Euripides had perhaps in mind the βῆμα in the Athenian Pnyx. I should
not hesitate to accept Professor Paley's opinion, had I not found the
Agora deeply buried in the prehistoric _débris_. But it may very well be
that at the time of Euripides the Agora was not yet entirely covered, and
that the greater part of the prehistoric _débris_, with which I found it
covered, was only after his time washed down by the heavy winter rains
from the five upper natural or artificial terraces of the Acropolis. At
all events it appears from the pottery of the later Hellenic city that
the latter was not built till after the time of Euripides.[241]
Mr. Charles T. Newton calls my attention to the passage in Thucydides,
who says of Corcyra, "the houses which lie in a circle around the
Agora."[242] Also to the following passages in Pausanias, which prove
that the heroic tombs were in the Agora of Megara. "Here they built the
place for council in order that they might have the tomb of the heroes
within the place for council;"[243] for there can be no doubt that this
βουλευτήριον was in the Agora. (It must be borne in mind that
this was done at Megara by the advice of the Delphic oracle.) Further:
"also the tomb of Coroebus is in the Agora of the Megarians."[244]
[Sidenote: ROYAL TOMBS IN THE AGORA AT CYRENE.]
Another esteemed friend also calls my attention to the passage in
Pausanias: "Here is the tomb of Opheltes, with an enclosure of stones
and altars in the walls; (here) is also the tumulus, the sepulchre of
Lycurgus, the father of Opheltes."[245] But Opheltes was a son of the
Nemean King Lycurgus and Eurydice, and he was killed by a serpent whilst
his nurse, Hypsipyle, showed a spring to the seven heroes when on their
expedition to Thebes. Owing to this event the people of Nemea founded in
his honour the Nemean games, and he, as well as his father, was interred
in the sacred grove of the Nemean Jove, where their tombs were seen by
Pausanias, who mentions nothing of an Agora.[246]
Professor Paley reminds me of Pindar's Pythian Ode (V. 69-98), in which
we read:[247] "(Apollo) caused the valorous descendants of Hercules and
Aegimius to dwell in Lacedaemon, and at Argos, and at sacred Pylos. Now
they say that from Sparta came my own much cherished race. Sprung from
thence the heroes called Aegidae came to Thera, even my ancestors,--not
indeed without the guidance of the god, but a certain destiny brought
thither a festive rite attended with much sacrificing; and from thence
receiving thy Carnea, Apollo, we honour at the banquet the grandly
built city of Cyrene, possessed as it is by the brass-loving strangers,
Trojan descendants of Antenor. For they came thither with Helen, after
they had seen their native city become a smoking ruin in the war. And
the horse-driving race is religiously received with sacrifices, and
propitiated by offerings (at their tombs), by the men whom Aristoteles
(Battas) brought, when he opened the deep highway of the sea for his
swift vessels. He founded also larger groves of the gods, and laid down
a paved road, cut straight through the plain, to be smitten with the
feet of horses in processions to Apollo for averting evil from mortals;
and there he lies in death, apart from the rest, at the furthermost end
of the Agora. Happy did he live while among men, and afterwards he was
blessed as a hero worshipped by the people. And away from him, in front
of their palaces [but of course also in the Agora], lie other consecrated
kings that have their lot with Hades."
From this passage in Pindar we see that Battas, also called Aristoteles,
the founder of Cyrene, 640 B.C., and its first king, descended from
Hercules, and that his ancestors, the Heracleids or Dorians, had
emigrated from Sparta to Thera. As Pindar saw his tomb, as well as those
of other consecrated kings (probably the successors of Battas), in the
Agora of Cyrene, Professor Paley thinks that it was an ancient Doric
and not an Achæan custom to bury the kings in the Agora. But this is in
contradiction with the above statement of Pausanias (I. 43, §§ 4, 8),
that the Megarians had the sepulchres of Coroebus and other heroes in
their Agora, because Coroebus was an Elian Olympic victor in the stadium
(Ol. I.), and, according to tradition, he killed Ποινή, sent by
Apollo to the Argives.[248] Besides the Megarians had nothing whatever
to do with Doric customs.
In like manner as at Megara and Cyrene, so in the Acropolis of Mycenæ,
in honour of the illustrious personages who lie buried here, the Agora
was erected in a circle around their tombs. Had the circle of slabs
served only as an enclosure for the five royal tombs there would have
been no necessity either to make it double and slanting and to cover it
horizontally, or to build a huge wall for the sole purpose of sustaining
it in the lower part of the Acropolis, and of raising it to the level of
that part which rested on the rock in the higher part of the Acropolis;
nay, one single circular enclosure, following the sinuosities of the
rock, would in my opinion have done just as much honour to the five royal
sepulchres as the artificially levelled and covered double row.
[Illustration: No. 211. A fish of Wood. (3½ M.) Actual size.]
[Illustration: No. 212. A curious Idol. (4 M.) Actual size.]
[Sidenote: CURIOUS IDOLS.]
It deserves particular notice that between and on both sides of the
double circular row of slabs, there were found many objects of interest,
such as a fish of wood (No. 211), and a large number of Hera-idols of the
various forms already described; also some in the shape of a standing
or a sitting cow without horns, but with a female head-dress,[249] or
with the neck perforated for suspension with a string,[250] which seems
to indicate that they were worn as amulets. Also a female idol having
two feet instead of a tube as usual; it has an uncovered bird's head, no
mouth, very large eyes, protruding hands, and a necklace; the hair is
well represented on the back; the dress is marked with a red colour.[251]
There was also found an unpainted male figure of clay, with large eyes,
an aquiline nose, and no mouth; the head is covered with a cap in form
of a turban. I doubt if this is an idol. There was also found a very
primitive idol, with an uncovered bird's head and two ears; the hands
are on the breast, but not joined; the head is turned towards heaven (No.
212). I here call attention to the large number of idols of Aphrodite in
the British Museum, which are represented touching both breasts with the
hands, probably as symbols of fecundity.
There were also found two knives of lever-opal and three arrows of
obsidian,[252] which are of rare occurrence here; further, a number of
small perforated glass necklace beads, and three whorls of terra-cotta.
I frequently find here, in the prehistoric _débris_, fragments of a
wall-coating of chalk with painted archaic ornamentations of red, blue,
green, or yellow spiral lines. As no trace of chalk is found in any of
the Cyclopean houses, I cannot claim for these wall-coatings a remote
antiquity; and I fancy they are derived from frame houses of the last
century before the capture of the city by the Argives.
To the south of the circular double row of slabs my excavations have
brought to light a vast Cyclopean house, which, so far as it has been
uncovered, contains seven chambers intersected by four corridors of four
feet in breadth (see Plans B and C). Here and there the walls still
retain their clay coating, which, however, nowhere shows a trace of
painting. The walls are from 2 to 4½ ft. thick, and the same wall is in
some places 6 to 8 in. thicker than in others. The largest room is 18½
ft. long by 13½ ft. broad, and its east side is cut out in the rock to a
depth of 16 in.
Below this and the adjoining room is a deep cistern cut out in the rock.
Into it runs a Cyclopean water-conduit, which comes down the hill, and
probably brought water from the spring _Perseia_, half a mile east of
the Acropolis, which has a well-deserved celebrity in the plain of Argos
for its purity and its salubrious properties. Pausanias (II. 16) saw
this spring in the ruins of Mycenæ; but the city never extended so far
east. I suppose, therefore, that what he saw of the water of the Perseia
was nothing but the discharge of an artificial conduit from the natural
source above the citadel. This would also perfectly agree with the word
κρήνη, which he constantly employs with that meaning, in opposition
to πηγή, a natural spring.
[Sidenote: PROBABLE ROYAL PALACE.]
Although there are no windows in the Cyclopean house--and although the
scanty daylight through the doors must have been still further diminished
by the Cyclopean circuit-wall, which is only separated from the west side
of the house by a corridor 4 ft. broad--yet there can be no doubt that
it served as a dwelling-house, and further as the dwelling house of the
most prominent family of Mycenæ, for it is only such a house that we can
imagine close to the Agora in the most imposing part of the Acropolis,
within which the space was very scanty and therefore precious. Professor
Paley thinks that the passage so often cited from Euripides (_Electra_,
710) proves beyond any doubt that it must be the Royal Palace, because
the people of Mycenæ are there called to _the Agora to see the wonderful
lamb with the golden fleece_. But this lamb (which was a portent
symbolical of the monarchy) had been conveyed _to the palace_ by Aëropé,
wife of Atreus. Thyestes then and there told the people that he _had it
in his house_ (ἔχειν κατὰ δῶμα), consequently the palace
was close to the Agora.
If at the time of Euripides the Agora was still partly visible above the
_débris_, such must have been still much more the case with the ruins of
that Cyclopean house, and it is more than probable that tradition pointed
to it as the Palace of the Atridæ, in which Agamemnon and his companions
had been murdered, and that it was shown under this denomination to
Euripides. The objects discovered in this house prove that its inmates
had pretensions even to luxury; for in one of the chambers, at a depth
of 20 feet below the surface, was found a finger-ring cut out of a
splendid white onyx, with a seal, on which are represented in intaglio
two animals without horns. At first sight they certainly appear to be
hinds, but on attentive examination we see that the artist's intention
has been to represent cows; both have their heads turned round looking
at their calves, which suck the milk from their udders.[253] Though in
a very archaic style, the intaglio is nevertheless well wrought; the
anatomy of the animal is tolerably observed, and one feels astonished how
it could have been possible to do the work without a magnifying glass.
On seeing this intaglio, and reflecting that it belongs to an antiquity
preceding Homer by centuries, we are ready to believe that all the works
of art mentioned by Homer, such as the wonderful shield of Achilles,[254]
the dog and the deer in the mantle-brooch of Ulysses,[255] Nestor's
goblet,[256] and others, all existed in his time, and that he merely
describes what he saw with his own eyes. Mr. Achilles Postolaccas calls
my attention to the most ancient didrachms of Corcyra, of the 7th century
B.C., on which a cow is giving milk to her calf, this representation
being similar in style to the cows and calves on the onyx ring.
[Illustration: No. 213. Fragments of a painted Vase, representing armed
Warriors. (5 M.) Size 1 : 3, about.]
[Sidenote: A PAINTED VASE.]
There were further found in the Cyclopean house some beautiful axes of
diorite or serpentine,[257] and many whorls of blue stone, and a great
many painted terra-cottas, among which the fragments of a large vase,
with two or three handles, the ends of which have been modelled into the
shape of cowheads, deserve particular attention. Some of the fragments
which I have been able to readjust represent six full-armed warriors,
painted with a dark red colour on a light yellow dead ground; they are
evidently setting out on a military expedition, and all wear coats of
mail which reach from the neck down to below the hips. (See No. 213).
These coats of mail consist of two distinct parts, which are fastened
round the waist by a girdle, and their lower edge is fringed with long
tassels. Each warrior's back is covered with a large round shield,
which seems to be fastened on the left shoulder, for, though the shield
protrudes far on both sides, it does so much more on the left than on
the right. Its lower end is cut out in the form of a crescent. In their
right hands the warriors hold long lances, to each of which is attached
that curious object resembling a Trojan idol, which I have already
mentioned in describing one of the bas-reliefs.[258] Though it certainly
appears to us that this curious object can have served for no other
purpose than for fixing the lances on the right shoulder, yet it deserves
particular attention that the primitive Mycenean artist has taken care
to represent it a little above the shoulder, in order that it might be
seen separately, for had he represented it leaning on the shoulder, it
would have been confounded with, and partly covered by, the shield, and
it would have been impossible to recognise its shape. For the rest, the
shape of the lances is such as we were led to expect from the Homeric
"δολιχόσκιον ἔγχος,"[259] for they are very long. We
further see that the spear-head has a tube in which the shaft is fixed,
and this appears also to have been the case with the Homeric lances.[260]
Very peculiar are the greaves (κημῖδες) which appear to be of
cloth, and reach from a little above the knee down nearly as far as the
ankles; their upper end is attached by means of a string, which is turned
three times round the lower part of the thigh. In my opinion this string
is in itself a proof that the greaves are of cloth. All the warriors wear
sandals fastened on by straps reaching as far up as the greaves. Of the
highest interest are the helmets, dotted all over with a large number of
points, which may be intended to represent the lustre of the bronze.
The lower part of the helmets is nearly in the form of a crescent, and
protrudes both in front and behind; the upper part of the helmet is no
doubt the Homeric φάλος.[261] On the top of this φάλος was
the λόφος or tube, in which the horsetail crest (ἵππουρις)
was fastened.[262] But unfortunately no space was left for this
λόφος, and thus the artist has been obliged to leave it out and to
represent the crest as fastened on the φάλος itself. What this crest
consists of is not clear, but as it is here shewn in the form of a long
leaf, it is highly probable that the artist meant to represent it as a
horsetail.
[Sidenote: THE HOMERIC HELMET.]
From the fore part of the helmet rises a long and very curious object,
which forms a curve, and is much like a horn. It is altogether
inexplicable to me what it can have been used for, and there is no word
in Homer which might be interpreted so as to indicate its existence on
the Homeric helmet.
Now, with regard to the physiognomy of the six warriors, it is most
decidedly not Assyrian or Egyptian. All have exactly the same type--very
long noses, large eyes, small ears, and a long well-dressed beard, which
ends in a point. Thus, except the beard, there is nothing Asiatic
about them. Five of the warriors are followed by a woman, seemingly a
priestess, who is dressed in a long gown fastened at the waist by a
girdle; her forehead is ornamented with a diadem, and she seems to wear
some kind of a head-dress. Only her right arm remains, which is uplifted,
and by the curve it forms it appears that the woman has lifted her joined
hands and is praying to the gods to be propitious to the departing
warriors, and to grant them a safe return. This custom of lifting both
hands when praying is continually found in Homer.[263]
On other fragments of the same vase (No. 214[264]) are represented two
warriors, who cover their left side with their shields and hold in their
uplifted right hand a lance, which they thrust at their enemies, of whom,
however, the figure of only one is partly preserved. The armour of the
two warriors and that of the opponent is perfectly identical with that of
the six warriors described before, except the head-dress, which, instead
of bronze helmets, consists here seemingly of a low helmet of boarskin,
with the bristles outside. In fact, these helmets vividly remind us of
the low helm of oxskin which Ulysses put on his head when he and Diomed
went in the night as spies to the Trojan camp.[265] I may here remark
that the word κυνέη means dogskin, and that consequently the low
helmets must originally have been made of dogskin. But at the epoch
of Homer the original conception of the word had long disappeared,
and he not only uses κυνέη for a low helm, but also for a large
bronze helmet. Behind the warrior to the left is seen part of the coat of
mail and the shield of another man, and behind the other warrior is seen
a shield; thus it seems that many warriors were here represented fighting
together. Below the first handle is represented a flying bird. On the two
cow-heads, in which the handles terminate, only the place of the horns is
marked, because the artist knew that, if he made them, they would at once
break when the vase was to be used. The clay of this vase, which has been
made on the potter's wheel, is unusually bad and mixed with coarse sand;
the fabric also is extremely rude; inside it is painted red.
There were further found in the Cyclopean house other vases of excellent
fabric, and ornamented with rows of circles, containing numerous signs
which at first sight appear to be written characters, but from the
continual repetition of the same signs one soon sees the mistake. There
were also found in the Cyclopean house two copper vessels, one of which
is a tripod of very large size.
[Sidenote: HAND-MADE POTTERY.]
I now find here in the Acropolis numerous fragments of hand-made pottery,
but not in distinct layers as at Tiryns. It is evident that the layer of
prehistoric hand-made pottery (for there must have been such a layer)
has been disturbed; and I think it probable that it was disturbed when
the huge wall was built, which sustains the circular double parallel
enclosure of the Agora in the lower part of the Acropolis, because this
wall is at all events later than the hand-made pottery. What I find of
this pottery has usually an ornamentation of black horizontal bands or
spiral lines on a light green dead ground; but fragments of monochromatic
lustrous black vases also occur.
[Sidenote: MYCENEAN POTTERY.]
I have explained on pp. 3 and 4 that the name "Cyclopean walls" is
founded on an error, being derived from the mythic legend that the
Cyclopes were distinguished architects, but that the name having come
into use, we cannot help employing it for the different kinds of walls
of huge blocks which I have specified. But in Tiryns as well as here in
Mycenæ, where I am surrounded by the grandest Cyclopean walls in the
world, I am, for brevity's sake and in order to avoid misunderstandings,
bound to use the name "Cyclopean" even for the smallest walls of houses
or water conduits which show the same kind of masonry. But it must be
distinctly understood that I should of course not think of calling them
so if I found them in places where there are no huge walls of that kind,
for the name "Cyclopean" can only be applied to the gigantic.
[Illustration: No. 213 _a_, _b_. A very frequent type of Mycenean painted
Pottery. Half-size.]
* * * * *
NOTE.--The pattern on the two fragments here shown, evidently
representing a sea animal, a sort of cockle, is the most common
pattern at Mycenæ; but it never occurs either in the five royal
tombs, or in the dromos before the Treasury, which circumstance
leads me to conclude that it came into use at Mycenæ both after
the epoch of the tombs and after the covering up of the dromos
of the Treasury. The pottery with this pattern has nearly always
a light yellow dead ground, only in a few instances a light red
dead ground, and the pattern itself is always of a black (or dark
red) colour. Now it is a remarkable fact that this pattern, which
has never been found yet elsewhere, is to be seen, of exactly the
same form, on nearly all the terra-cotta goblets, and on some of
the terra-cotta vases from the sepulchre of İalysus, which are
now in the British Museum. At the same time I remind the reader
that these İalysus goblets have exactly the same shape as all the
terra-cotta goblets of Mycenæ, and that this form has never yet
been found elsewhere, except in the first and most ancient of the
four prehistoric cities at Hissarlik. But then again it deserves
particular notice that this pattern never and in no instance
occurs on the Mycenean goblets, and solely on the Mycenean vases.
FOOTNOTES:
[227] See the Frontispiece, Plate V.
[228] See Plan E, which shows the Plan and Sections of this
Treasury.
[229] See the examples grouped on the two Plates, Nos. 192-204.
[230] See No. 154, p. 98.
[231] See the Plan of the Lions' Gate, No. 22, p. 34. Comp.
'Troy and its Remains,' pp. 303, 321.
[232] Chapter IV. p. 99.
[233] See Plates VI. and VII.
[234] See Plan C and Plates VI., VII.
[235] See the cut No. 190_a_, p. 117.
[236] The Dithyramb was an ancient Bacchanalian performance, as
early at least as Archilochus, who says "he knows how to lead off the
dithyramb, the beautiful song of Dionysus, when his mind is inflamed with
wine" (Frag. _ap._ Athen. XIV. p. 628). It seems to have been a hymn sung
by one or more members of a κῶμος, or irregular band of revellers, to
the music of the flute. Arion, at Corinth, first gave a regular choral
or antistrophic form to the dithyramb (Herodot. I. 24; Pindar, _Olymp._
XIII. 18-25). The choruses, which ordinarily consisted of fifty men or
youths, danced in a ring round the altar of Dionysus. Hence they were
termed _cyclic choruses_ (κίκλιοι χοροί), and dithyrambic
poets were understood by the term κυκλιοδιδάσκαλοι.
[237] _Il._ I. 58, 68, 101; II. 53, 96, 99.
[238] _Oed. Tyr._ 161: ῎Αρτεμιν ἃ κυκλόεντ'
ἀγορᾶς θρόνον εὐκλέα θάσσει.
"Artemis who sits on the Agora's glorious circular seat."
[239] This rock has now partially fallen, in consequence of the
excavation of the third and fourth tombs, which it overhangs.
[240] _Orest._ 919.
[241] See Appendix A.
[242] Thucyd. III. 74: τὰς οἰκίας τὰς ἐν
κύκλω τῆς ἀγορᾶς.
[243] Paus. I. 43, § 4: βουλεντήριον ἐνταῦθα
ᾠκυδόμησαν, ἵνα σφίσιν ὁ ταφος των
ἡρώων ἐντὸς τοῦ βουλεντηρίου
γένηται.
[244] Paus. I. 43, § 8: Κοροίβῳ δί ἐστι
τάφος ἐν τῇ Μεγαρέων ἀγορᾷ.
[245] Paus. II. 15, § 4: ἐνταῦθά ἐστι μὶν
᾽Οφέλτου τάφος περὶ δὲ αὐτὸν θρίγκος
λίθων, καὶ ἐντὸς του περιβίλου βωμοί·
ἔστι δὶ χῶμα γῆς Λυκούργου μνῆμα τοῦ
᾽Οφόλτου πατρός.
[246] Paus. II. 15, § 2; Apollod. I. 9, § 14; III. 6, § 4; Hyg.
_Fab._ 74; Stat. _Theb._ V. 296.
[247] Translation of the Odes of Pindar by F. A. Paley, M.A.
[248] Paus. V. 8, § 3; VIII. 26, § 2; Strabo, VIII. 355.
[249] See the coloured Plate C, fig. k.
[250] See No. 115.
[251] See No. 107.
[252] See No. 126, p. 76.
[253] See No. 175, p. 112.
[254] _Iliad_, XVIII. 478-608.
[255] _Od._ XIX. 224-231.
[256] _Il._ XI. 632-635.
[257] Like those shown under No. 126, p. 76.
[258] See Appendix B, for an ingenious suggestion as to the
nature of these objects.
[259] Literally, 'a spear casting a very long shadow.'
[260] See for example, _Il._ XVII. 297:--
ἐγκέφαλος δὲ παρ' αὺλὸν ἀνέδραμεν
ἐξ ὠτειλῆς.
"And the brain ran out from the wound on the tube of the lance."
[261] _Il._ III. 361-362:--
᾽Ατρείδης δὲ ἐρυσσάμενος ξίφος
ἀργυρόηλον,
πλῆξεν ἀνασχόμενος κόρυθος φάλον.
"Drawing his silver-studded sword and lifting up his arm, Atreides struck
the φάλος off the helmet."
[262] The following passage of the _Iliad_, XIX. 379-383, can
leave no doubt on this point:--
ὥς ἀπ᾽ ᾽Αχιλλῆος σάκεος σέλας
αἰθέρ᾽ ἵκανε
καλοῦ, δαιδαλέου· περὶ δὲ τρυϕάλειαν
ἀείρας
κρατὶ θέτο βριαρήν· ἡ δ᾽, ἀστὴρ ὣς
ἀπέλαμπεν
ἵππουρις τρυϕάλεια· περισσείοντο δ᾽
ἔθειραι
χρύσεαι, ἃς ῞Ἡϕαιστος ἵει λόϕον
ἀμϕὶ θαμειάς.
"So shone up to the sky the glance of the beautiful artistic shield of
Achilles. Lifting then up the powerful helmet, he put it on his head, and
the plumed helmet glanced like a star, and the hairs of gold waved, which
Hephæstus had thickly set round the cone (λόφον)."
See the description of these parts of the Homeric helmets in 'Troy and
its Remains,' pp. 279-281, and 334.
[263] For example, _Il._ I. 450:--
τοῖσιν δὲ Χρύσης μεγάλ᾽ εὔχετο
χεῖρας ἀνασχών.
"Loud prayed for them Chryses lifting up his hands."
[264] See Vignette to Chapter VI.
[265] _Il._ X. 257-259.
... ἀμϕὶ δέ οἱ κυνέην κεϕαλῇφιν
ἔθηκεν
ταυρείην, ἄϕαλόν τε καὶ ἄλλοϕον,
ἥτε καταῖτυξ
κέκληται, ῥύεται δὲ κάρη θαλερῶν
αἰζηῶν.
"On his brows he placed
A helmet, wrought of bull's hide, without crest
Or cone, and commonly cataityx called,
Such as defends the head of blooming youths."--I. CH. WRIGHT.
[Illustration: No. 214. Other Fragments of the Vase (No. 213). (5 M.)
Size 1:6.]
CHAPTER VI.
THE SECOND GREAT TREASURY; ACROPOLIS; AND CYCLOPEAN REMAINS IN THE
NEIGHBOURHOOD OF MYCENÆ.
Further excavations of Mrs. Schliemann's Treasury--The
_dromos_, doorway, and threshold--Objects found
there--Hera-idols--Cyclopean water-conduits and cisterns
in the Acropolis--Bronze rings--Pottery with marks like
letters--Earrings like those found at Troy--Hand-made painted
pottery--New forms of Hera-idols--Terra-cotta tripods and
cradles, probably votive offerings--A comb, stilettos of opal,
beads and buttons--A bronze sword--Iron tongs of late date--State
of the _débris_ left at the Lions' Gate--The excavations
visited by the Emperor of Brazil--Ascent of Mount Eubœa--The
Cyclopean enclosure on its summit; was probably a very ancient
sanctuary--Other Cyclopean remains near Mycenæ--State of the
excavations.
Mycenæ, October 30, 1876.
* * * * *
Since the 30th of September I have continued the excavations with the
utmost vigour, employing constantly 125 labourers and 5 horse-carts. In
the Treasury the difficulties were far greater than I had anticipated,
particularly as the delegate of the Greek Government opposed the removal
of the foundations of the Hellenic house just above the lower part of
the "dromos," which I have mentioned before. Thus we have been unable
to clear the latter of the _débris_, 9 ft. deep, which still covers its
pavement, and have only succeeded in clearing out the entrance passage,
which is 13 ft. long and 8 ft. broad, and the central part of the
Treasury; but we have left a border of huge stones and rubbish, 7 ft. to
9 ft. high, and 10 ft. to 15 ft. broad.
The two semi-columns to the right and left of the entrance were fluted;
one of them (4 ft. 3 in. high and 1 ft. 4 in. broad) was found in the
passage near the door. At 9½ ft. before the latter the "dromos" is shut
up by a wall of square blocks of calcareous stones, 5 ft. high. The door
of the Treasury has the enormous height of 18 ft. 5 in., and is 8 ft. 4
in. broad. On the threshold, which consists of a very hard breccia, and
is 2 ft. 5 in. broad, we found a very thin round leaf of gold. The floor
of the Treasury is the levelled rock covered with a coating of sand and
chalk, traces of which are visible in many places; it slopes towards the
centre, which is 1 ft. lower than the threshold.
[Illustration: Nos. 215, 216. Fragments of Friezes of blue and white
marble, found in the Treasury near the Lions' Gate. Size 1:4 about.]
There was found in the Treasury a large fragment of a frieze of blue
marble, carved with a circle and two rows of a wedge-like ornamentation
in the form of fish-spines; it is 9 in. high, 10 in. broad, and 2 in.
thick (No. 215). There was further found the fragment of a beautiful
frieze of white marble, which is 1 ft. 4 in. long, 8 in. broad, and 3½
in. thick. The engraving here given (No. 216) represents the broad side
of the frieze with an ornamentation of spirals between two small borders.
We have already given the small face, on which we see, between two
fillets on each side, an ornamentation of the same kind of spirals, which
are, however, deeper cut and better preserved.[266] There were further
found five unornamented blades of copper or bronze, 5½ to 6½ in. long,
and a Hera-idol of the usual form, with two horns.
Treasure may be hidden in the large border of stones and _débris_ which I
have been forced to leave behind, but I scarcely believe it. Considering
that very ancient fragments of pottery with geometrical patterns were
found exclusively in the "dromos," and, on the other hand, a variety of
potsherds of different ages in the Treasury itself, I am convinced that
only the "dromos" and the entrance were covered up in remote antiquity,
that the Treasury remained empty, and that the fragments of vases now
found in it were contained in the thick layer of rubbish which covered
the upper vault when, fifty-six years ago, Veli Pasha tried to force an
entrance by this way.
[Sidenote: WATER-CONDUITS AND CISTERNS.]
In the Acropolis I brought to light, at a few yards from the second gate,
a very curious Cyclopean water-conduit leading into one of the long
narrow corridors. I therefore suppose that at least one, and perhaps
two, of these are nothing else than cisterns. There is another Cyclopean
water-conduit and another cistern immediately south of them; and the
latter seems to be connected with the twelve recesses, in which I also
recognize nothing but six small cisterns. These water-conduits, like
that which runs into the two cisterns below the Cyclopean house, have
doubtless brought the water from the copious spring "Perseia," whose
name seems to be derived from Perseus, the founder of Mycenæ.
In clearing out the masses of _débris_, 13 ft. to 20 ft. deep, which
obstructed the passage of the gate, I found three bronze rings. Two of
these (Nos. 217 and 219), which were found close to the surface, may be
of the Hellenic time, but it is impossible to say this with certainty.
The former (No. 217), as shown by the hollow, has had a stone, which
is now missing. The third ring is a seal-ring, and the intaglio is too
archaic not to be derived from a period preceding the conquest of the
city (468 B.C.). On it we see a young woman in a sitting posture, with
extended arms; her head, which is turned aside, has luxuriant hair; to
the right, a little further down, is a male figure, with a broad chest
and extended arms.
[Illustration: Nos. 217-220. Bronze Rings (two with intaglio engravings),
and a twisted Gold Wire. Actual size.
217.
(1/2 M.)
218.
(4 M.)
219.
(1 M.)
220.
(2 M.)
]
There were also found many Hera-idols in the form of a cow or a horned
female, and among the former a fragment showing on a light yellow dead
ground a number of dark red signs, which may be letters, like those
shown on the coloured plate B, fig. h; also large quantities of melted
lead; further a very primitive golden earring (see No. 220), consisting
of a quadrangular golden wire turned twice round. Mr. Chas. T. Newton
concludes from the sharp angles of this and all the other quadrangular
gold wires which I shall hereafter describe, that they have been a strip
or riband cut out of a plate. But it is altogether inexplicable to me how
the primitive goldsmith can have performed this operation, particularly
as his knives must necessarily have been of bronze. The same form of
earrings occurs also in the second of the four prehistoric cities at
Troy,[267] with the sole difference that the wire there is round.
There were also found here, in a hollow of the rock, a great many
fragments of hand-made vases, coloured either of a plain black or red,
both inside and outside, or, on the outside only, of a light green, with
black spiral ornamentation. At only 6 ft. behind the Cyclopean wall, on
the east side of the passage, I have brought to light the remnants of an
evidently much more ancient wall of huge blocks.
[Sidenote: OBJECTS FOUND IN THE PALACE.]
In the large Cyclopean house, which tradition seems to have indicated
as the palace of the Atridæ, immediately to the south of the circular
Agora, were found Hera-idols of new forms: for example, a perfectly flat
cow with only one big hind-leg and two fore-legs;[268] a female idol,
with a very compressed bird's face, and with a Phrygian cap, instead of
the usual "polos;" and a headless idol, with two protruding breasts,
but with two long cow-horns. There was likewise found a terra-cotta
cow-horn, 3½ in. long, which shows that there must have been much larger
idols than those hitherto found. I further collected there a number of
small terra-cotta tripods in the form of arm-chairs and cradles, in one
or two instances even cradles containing children: all are gay-coloured
and may have served as offerings. Among the other objects found there I
may mention two perforated parallelopipeds of variegated colours, 4 in.
long, the use of which I cannot explain;--a comb, which, according to
Professor Landerer, consists of a very hard white clay paste;--several
pointed sticks (stilettos) for female needlework,[269] which the same
scholar recognises to consist of opal;--six small perforated round flat
transparent beads of white stone, belonging to a necklace; and a large
button of alabaster, which seems to have been on the handle of a sword.
There was also found the bronze sword (No. 221). A pair of tongs of iron
was found near the Lions' Gate close to the surface, and may be of the
Macedonian period.
[Illustration: No. 221. Bronze Sword. Size 1:6.]
[Sidenote: THE LIONS' GATE.]
To my very greatest annoyance and displeasure, but by the most urgent
demand of the Greek Archæological Society in Athens, I have been forced
to leave in the Acropolis, on either side of the Lions' Gate, a large
block of _débris_ untouched _in situ_, because this Institution has not
yet sent, as it intended to do, an engineer to consolidate the sculpture
of the two lions with cramp-irons, and to repair the Cyclopean walls to
the right and left of it. But they still intend to do this work sooner or
later, and they believe that the two masses of _débris_ will facilitate
the raising of the blocks and their insertion in the walls. I hope that
this work will be done promptly, so that the two blocks of _débris_ may
not have long to wait for their removal, for they give the excavations a
miserable aspect, and particularly the mass of _débris_ to the right on
entering, because this latter consists of loose ashes, and, should it be
left for a few years more as it is, it will be washed away by the rains
and spread over my excavations. I call particular attention to this,
because every visitor will naturally attribute the leaving behind of
these two blocks of _débris_ to my negligence.
[Sidenote: VISIT OF THE EMPEROR OF BRAZIL.]
Yesterday and to-day my excavations have had the honour of being visited
by his Majesty Dom Pedro II., Emperor of Brazil. Coming from Corinth,
his Majesty rode direct up to the Acropolis, and remained for two hours
in my excavations, which he attentively examined and re-examined. The
immense double parallel circle of slanting slabs, within which are the
three lines of tombstones, and particularly the four sculptured ones,
seemed to be of paramount interest to him, and he requested me to send
him photographs of them to Cairo. The great Lions' Gate, through which
the king of men (ἄναξ ἀνδρῶν) passed when he left for the
most glorious expedition of the heroic age, the wonderful threshold of
this gate, the large Cyclopean house, the three Cyclopean water-conduits,
the immense Cyclopean circuit walls and all the other monuments of
prehistoric times, seemed also to be of very great interest to his
Majesty, who went thence to the Treasury which we have excavated, and
afterwards to the Treasury of Atreus, where dinner was served. This
meal, in the midst of the mysterious, dome-like underground building
nearly forty centuries old, seemed to please his Majesty exceedingly.
He afterwards examined with the deepest interest, in the village of
Charvati, the large collection of prehistoric Mycenean antiquities
produced by my excavations, and he particularly admired the enormous
mass of differently-shaped Hera-idols, the intaglios, the marvellous
Mycenean pottery, and the archaic sculptures. His Majesty also examined
attentively, in and around Charvati, the ancient quarry whence all the
stones for the Cyclopean walls, the Treasuries, and other buildings,
have been extracted, and went thence to Argos and Nauplia. His Majesty
called here again to-day, to see once more the Mycenean museum and the
excavations, and returned hence by Corinth and Calamaki to Athens.
After the departure of his Majesty, Mrs. Schliemann and I ascended, not
without the very greatest difficulty, the very steep northern peak of
Mount Eubœa, now called Hagios Elias, which is situated immediately north
of the Acropolis, and is crowned by an open chapel of the prophet Elias
(see Plate II.). The summit forms a very small triangle, the eastern side
of which is 35 ft., the two other sides, which converge due west, each
100 ft. long. It is full of rugged and pointed rocks, between which it is
difficult even to move, and it can therefore never have been inhabited
by men, the more so as there is no water. The only even and level place
on the summit is in the south-east corner; it is but 10 ft. broad and
23 ft. long, and is occupied by a very small open shrine, dedicated to
the prophet Elias. But in spite of its small dimensions, the summit is
surrounded by Cyclopean walls, which are on an average 4 ft. 2 in. thick,
and from 3 ft. to 6½ ft. high; but the masses of stones which lie beside
them can leave no doubt that they were once much higher.
The entrance, which is on the eastern side, leads to a short passage. In
the large stone which forms the threshold of the door is still visible
the hole in which the lower hinge turned. At a distance varying from 16
ft. to 53 ft. lower are, on all the three sides by which the summit is
accessible, Cyclopean walls, varying from 133 ft. to 266 ft. in length,
and 5 ft. thick, which are still now on an average 10 ft. high, and
appear to have once been much higher. From between the stones of all
these walls I have been able to collect a large number of fragments
of hand-made light green vases with black ornaments, which I consider
as old as the walls of Tiryns and Mycenæ, because in the former place
I found them _in situ_ on and near the virgin soil, in the latter _in
situ_ only on the natural rock in the recesses of the gate-passage, and
in the tombs. I conclude from this that the Cyclopean fortifications on
Mount Eubœa (Hagios Elias) must be contemporaneous with the walls of both
cities, and may perhaps claim even a still higher antiquity.
[Sidenote: SANCTUARY OF THE SUN-GOD.]
The question now naturally arises, for what purpose all these
fortifications have been built. The mountain being so high and steep,
and the summit so exceedingly small and encumbered by protruding rocks,
it can never have served as a fortress. Therefore the only explanation
I venture to give of the origin of these Cyclopean walls is that there
must have existed on the summit a small temple of great sanctity and
immense importance, and by a curious coincidence we may even find in the
present cultus on the summit the name of the deity who was worshipped
there in antiquity. In times of great drought the inhabitants of the
surrounding villages are in the habit of going thither on a pilgrimage
in large crowds, the priests leading, to invoke the prophet Elias to
give rain. And it appears likely that the very site of the present open
shrine of the prophet Elias was in ancient times occupied by a sanctuary
of the Sun-god, who had a celebrated cultus there, and who has given
way to the prophet Elias, with hardly any change in the orthography or
pronunciation of the name, the Sun-god having been originally called
᾽Ηέλιος, pronounced Eëlios. This is a wonderful coincidence,
because, as the name of the prophet is purely Hebrew
(הײלא or יהולא, meaning "Jehovah is God") it can have no affinity
with the Homeric name of the Sun-god, ᾽Ηέλιος' which is probably
derived from the primitive name of the moon's husband (perhaps
Σείριος) and is at all events purely Greek.
Only half an hour's walk in a westerly direction from the Lions' Gate,
and close to the village of Phichtia, are the ruins of a small Cyclopean
building, in the same style of architecture as the walls to the right and
left of that gate, and probably belonging to the same epoch. This also
appears to have been a temple. We likewise see, at an hour's distance in
a north-westerly direction from the Lions' Gate, in a secluded valley,
on the border of a deep glen, the well-preserved ruins of a quadrangular
Cyclopean tower, of which every side measures 40 ft. in length; the walls
are 10 ft. to 11 ft. high. At the south-westerly corner is the door,
which leads into a small corridor and two chambers. On the outer walls
are seen two gutters. The architecture is also very similar to that of
the walls close to the Lions' Gate. Most likely this tower served the
Myceneans for dominating the narrow pass by which the road leads from
Argos to Corinth.
[Sidenote: STATE OF THE EXCAVATIONS.]
The present state of the excavations is represented by the engraved Plate
VII. First we see, to the left of the spectator, the inner side of the
great Cyclopean circuit wall, which is terminated in the background by
the Lions' Gate, of which, however, there is only visible the reverse
side of the great triangular slab, on the exterior side of which is
the famous bas-relief of the two lions. The Cyclopean wall seen in the
background to the right was part of an interior enclosure.
Further down, just behind the last man, is a Cyclopean wall, of which,
however, only the small portion close to the Lions' Gate, with the
chamber of the ancient door-keeper, can claim the age of the circuit
walls; the remainder is much later, but anterior to the capture of the
city by the Argives (468 B.C.). Before this wall is the labyrinth of
corridors, two of which, at all events, are cisterns. To the left, close
to the circuit wall, is the small Cyclopean house so often referred to,
containing only one chamber.
[Sidenote: PANORAMIC VIEW.]
In the foreground, below the feet of the workmen who stand upon it,
can be seen the great double parallel circular row of slanting slabs,
inclined inwards, which were covered with cross slabs, and served
as benches of the Agora and as its enclosure. In the same line with
this double circular row of slabs are the twelve small tomb-like
water-reservoirs which we see in the direction of the Lions' Gate, and
between which is the entrance to the Agora, 7 feet broad. Thence the
circle of slabs slopes to the left of the spectator, from the rock to
the Cyclopean wall (12 feet high), which has been built with no other
intention than to sustain it, and to raise it almost to the level of its
continuation on the rock; but as will be seen, nearly all the slabs in
this part have tumbled down, and only a few have remained _in situ_. The
wall which supports the parallel double row can be well seen, slanting
down at an angle of 15° from the perpendicular, to the left of the
spectator. The four sculptured _stêlæ_ are hidden behind the large
standing slab just in front; of the unsculptured tombstones, two can be
seen to the right, on the side of the entrance to the Agora, and two more
on the side of the two horses. Therefore the ancient Agora of Mycenæ
comprises the whole space which we see enclosed by the great circle of
slabs.
[Illustration:
PLATE VII.
PANORAMIC VIEW OF DR. SCHLIEMANN'S EXCAVATIONS IN THE ACROPOLIS OF
MYCENÆ, WITH THE CIRCULAR AGORA IN THE FOREGROUND, WITHIN WHICH CAN BE
SEEN FOUR OF THE TOMBSTONES; AS DESCRIBED IN CHAPTER VI.]
In the middle is seen, in the background to the left, part of the steep
slope of Mount Eubœa, on whose summit is the open chapel of the prophet
Elias. In front, more to the right, is the great interior Cyclopean
wall, crowned by the ruins of a tower, which gives to the Acropolis a
particularly grand aspect. It forms part of a second enclosure. To the
right there is a good view of the Mount of the Acropolis, on the slope
of which remnants of inner enclosures can be seen in many places. All
the walls which are seen lower down are those of Cyclopean houses,
except the large supporting wall of the double parallel row of slabs,
of which a small part may be seen in the lower left-hand corner. Below,
to the right, are the ruins of the vast Cyclopean house, to which I
have repeatedly referred, and which, though we cannot of course form a
definite opinion, may well represent to an imagination enlightened by
the vivid descriptions of Homer and the tragedians, the Royal Palace of
Agamemnon and his forefathers.
* * * * *
NOTE.--I call the reader's particular attention to the Sectional
Plan, B B, which shows the depths of the Five Royal Sepulchres,
which are described fully in the two following chapters, beneath
the surface of the soil, as it was before my excavations.
FOOTNOTES:
[266] See No. 153, p. 98.
[267] See 'Atlas des Antiquités Troyennes', Pl. 98, No. 2073.
[268] See No. 161, p. 106.
[269] Nos. 131-136, p. 79.
[Illustration: No. 222. Fragment of a wooden Box (νάρθηξ). (5 M.)
Size 6:7.]
CHAPTER VII.
THE FIRST, SECOND, AND THIRD TOMBS IN THE ACROPOLIS.
Discovery of the _Tomb_ indicated by the three sculptured
_stêlæ_--Curious gold-covered buttons, objects of ivory,
baked clay, gold, glass, bronze, &c.--Pottery, both wheel
and hand-made--_Second Tomb_ below the unsculptured
_stêlæ_--Discovery of three human bodies, which had been
partially burnt where they lay--Fifteen diadems of thin
gold plate found on the bodies--Also crosses of golden
laurel-leaves--Other curious objects, proving a knowledge of
the art of glass-working and colouring--Knives of obsidian--A
silver vase with a bronze mouth plated with gold, and other
objects--Terra-cotta vases--The horned Hera-idols found in the
tomb, a proof of that symbolic worship in the earliest times
at Mycenæ--Its duration to the last age of the city--Primitive
painted wheel-made vases of terra-cotta--Further discovery of
sepulchral slabs--Various objects found with them--The _Third
Tomb_--Several skeletons of men, not burnt, and objects found
with them--A curious double-bladed bronze dagger--Narrow escape
from a falling rock--Internal walls of the tomb--Three skeletons
of women in it, evidently burnt where they lay--Laden with jewels
of gold--Layers of round plates of gold with ornamentation
of _repoussé_ work under and over the bodies--Description of
their many types--The other jewels described--Other chased and
embossed beads--Golden griffins--Legend of the griffins of Indian
origin--Heart-shaped and lion-draped gold ornaments--Curious
brooches formed of palm-trees, stags, and lions--Women with
pigeons--Golden cuttle-fish, butterflies, swans, _hippocampi_,
eagles, sphinxes, trees, and birds--The splendid gold crown on
the head of one of the bodies--Signs upon it--The second gold
crown--Five more diadems of gold--Crosses of double leaves of
gold--Golden stars--A gold brooch, and other ornaments--Necklaces
and bracelets--Two pairs of golden scales--Golden plates--A
child's mask of gold--Other ornaments--Balls, &c. of rock
crystal, silver, and bronze, probably the handles of
sceptres--Lentoid gems of agate, sardonyx, &c., with intaglios--A
lentoid gem of amethyst engraved with a cow suckling her calf, as
on the old coins of Corcyra--Gold wheels--A gold comb with bone
teeth, &c.--Amber beads--Other ornaments--Pieces of gold-leaf
strewn below and about the bodies--A gold goblet--A curious gold
box, and gold vases with lids fastened on by wires--A silver vase
and golden sceptre-handle--Boxes of copper plate filled with
wood, perhaps pillows for the dead bodies--Other objects found
in the third sepulchre--Hand-made and very ancient wheel-made
pottery.
Mycenæ, December 6, 1876.
* * * * *
[Illustration: No. 223. Plan of Tombstones in the first Tomb.]
[Sidenote: THE FIRST SEPULCHRE.]
The four sculptured tombstones having been removed to the village of
Charvati, in order to be sent to Athens, I excavated on the site of the
three with the bas-reliefs representing the warriors and the hunting
scene,[270] and found a quadrangular tomb, 21 ft. 5 in. long and 10 ft.
4 in. broad, cut out in the slope of the rock. The earth in this tomb
consisted of the detritus of house remains mixed with natural soil, which
latter had been brought here from another place. At a depth of 3 ft. 3
in. below the place where the tombstones had stood I found a curious sort
of monument, consisting of two long and narrow slabs 5 ft. long, 7 in.
thick, and 12 in. broad, lying the one upon the other, and at their south
end a smaller slab 2½ ft. long in an oblique position, as if to serve for
a pillow to the corpse laid down on the upper slab. (See No. 223.) The
latter stone had a border, and belongs evidently to another monument, of
which the other two slabs may likewise have formed part. Most probably
there was once on this tomb a large monument, ornamented with the three
sculptured tombstones which now marked its site.
[Illustration: Nos. 224-229. Objects of ivory, bone, or metallic
composition. Sepulchre I. Size 7 : 9.]
[Sidenote: OBJECTS OF IVORY, BONE, ETC.]
In digging lower down I found from time to time a very small quantity
of black ashes, and in this very frequently some curious objects; such
as a bone button covered with a golden plate, with a beautiful intaglio
ornamentation, or an imitation of a ram's horn cut out of ivory, having
one flat side with two holes, by which the object must have been attached
to something else, or other ornaments of bone or small plates of gold.
I collected in this way twelve gold buttons covered with gold plates
ornamented with intaglio work, one of which is as large as a five-franc
piece. The ornamentation of the gold plates consists either of spiral
lines or that curious cross [Illustration], with the marks of four nails,
which so frequently occurs on the whorls in Ilium, and which I believe
to be the symbol of the holy fire.[271] All the buttons are in the form
of our shirt-buttons, but larger, and similar to those shown in a later
part of this work. I collected there, besides the buttons, two objects of
ivory in the form of ram's-horns, like No. 225; and four pieces of ivory
in the form of a crescent, one side being convex, the other flat, in
which are four holes for fixing it to something else (see No. 224); six
long and narrow pieces of ivory, like 227, having for ornamentation five
vertical incisions, and in the reverse side two deep vertical cuts for
attaching them on another object. Very probably all these objects have
served as ornaments on horse-trappings. There was found besides the ivory
needle, No. 229; further, six buttons of hard white stone with a circular
hole in the centre, into which is stuck a small blue stone (No. 226). The
round hole in the centre as well as the presence of the small stones in
it are inexplicable to me. There were also found a small button of the
same sort, the gold-plated head of a bronze nail, eight long thin pieces
and four large disks of thin gold plate, two small tube-like pieces of a
glassy substance, containing in the interior a small tube of real blue
glass, of which I shall have occasion to speak hereafter. I also found
there the green object (No. 228), which has small horizontal flutings
all round: according to Professor Landerer it consists of an artificial
substance containing oxide of copper, which has been pressed into its
present form. The earth was intermixed with numerous fragments of very
ancient wheel-made pottery, with a variegated painted ornamentation,
and others of hand-made monochromatic lustrous black or red or light
green pottery with black spiral ornamentation; but to my astonishment
I found also from time to time some fragments of painted vases made on
the potter's wheel, of those sorts which are found even in the upper
prehistoric strata, and which most decidedly belong to a much later
period.
[Illustration: No. 230. Foot of a black hand-made Goblet. Sepulchre I.
Size 6:7.]
Among the most interesting of the hand-made pottery are the large
lustrous black goblets, with a hollow foot and horizontal flutings in the
middle (No. 230), which are frequent in the first prehistoric city of
Troy; also the light green or yellow ones, with a most fantastical black
ornamentation; and the larger vases of a light red dead colour, with dark
red circles, or with two protruding female breasts surrounded by circles
of small black strokes.
Having dug down to a depth of 10½ ft., I was stopped by heavy rain, which
turned the soft earth in the tomb to mud, and I therefore took out the
two unsculptured tombstones of the second line, which stood due east of
the three sculptured ones, and at a distance of 20 ft. from them. One of
these tombstones was 5 ft., the other 5 ft. 4 in., long. In excavating
around them I found another tomb cut in the rock, 11 ft. 8 in. broad, and
in length 21 ft. 3 in. on one side, and 19 ft. 8 in. on the other. It was
entirely filled with unmixed natural earth, which had been brought from
another place. At from 2 to 2½ ft. below the two tombstones I found the
fragments of two other tombstones, also unsculptured, which appeared to
be older.
[Sidenote: THREE BODIES IN THE SECOND TOMB.]
At a depth of 15 ft. below the level of the rock, or of 25 ft. below the
former surface of the ground, as I found it when I began the excavations,
I reached a layer of pebbles, below which I found, at a distance of
three feet from each other, the remains of three human bodies, all
with the head turned to the east and the feet to the west. They were
only separated from the surface of the levelled rock by another layer
of small stones on which they were lying, and they had evidently been
burned simultaneously in the very same place where they lay. The masses
of ashes of the clothes which had covered them, and of the wood which
had partially or entirely consumed their flesh, as well as the colour
of the lower layer of stones and the marks of the fire and the smoke on
the stone wall, which at the bottom of the sepulchre lined all the four
sides--can leave no doubt whatever on this point; nay more, there were
the most unmistakable marks of three distinct funeral piles. The wall,
which at the bottom of the tomb lined its four sides, consisted of pretty
large stones joined without any binding material; it was 5 ft. high and 1
ft. 8 in. thick. The small stones with which the bottom of the sepulchre
was strewn can, in my opinion, have had no other object than to procure
ventilation to the funeral pyres. These could not have been large, and
had evidently been intended to consume merely the clothes and partly or
entirely the flesh of the deceased; but _no more_, because the bones and
even the skulls had been preserved; but these latter had suffered so much
from the moisture, that none of them could be taken out entire.
On every one of the three bodies I found five diadems of thin gold-plate,
like those to be presently described,[272] each 19½ in. long, and 4
in. broad in the middle, from which it gradually diminishes to a point
at both ends. The pointed ends have been broken off, but, as several of
the other diadems have such points, there can be no doubt that all had
been fashioned in the same way. All the diadems were piped with copper
wires in order to give them more solidity, and a great many fragments
of those copper wires were found. All the fifteen diadems show the very
same ornamentation of _repoussé_ work, consisting of a border of two
lines on either side, between which we see a row of treble concentric
circles, which increase or diminish in size according to the breadth of
the diadem, the largest circle being in the middle. Between these treble
circles is on either side a row of smaller double concentric circles,
which likewise increase or diminish in size in proportion to the breadth
of the diadems. As well in the larger treble as in the smaller double
circles, the central or innermost circle is always hammered so as to
protrude, which gives to the diadems a splendid aspect. The diadems had
at one end a pin (ἔμβολον), and at the other a tube
(αἀλίσκος) by means of which they were fixed round the head;
of course in such a way that the largest treble circle was just in the
middle of the forehead.
I further found with two of the bodies ten very thin golden crosses (five
with each body), formed of laurel leaves (No. 231); with the third body
there were only four of them. Each of these crosses is 7½ in. long; the
breadth of the leaves is 1⅔ in. The leaves of all the fourteen crosses
have also been piped with thin copper wire, to give them more firmness.
The ornamentation of the leaves is likewise of _repoussé_ work. It
presents all round the leaves a small border formed by a line, on which
lies an uninterrupted row of double concentric ovals in a slanting
position, which are probably also meant to represent leaves. In this
way the whole leaf is encircled by a broad band of such double ovals or
leaves, and the space left is filled up with three double concentric
circles.
[Illustration: No. 231. A cross of golden laurel leaves. Sepulchre II.
Size 4:5, about.]
[Sidenote: TUBES OF COBALT GLASS.]
I also found with the bodies many curious objects; for example, small
cylinders with a small tube throughout their length, as well as square
pieces composed of four such cylinders, of which however only those
at the two extremities have perforations. All these things have a
greyish-white colour, and consist of a very soft matter, which falls
into dust when pressed but softly with the hand. In the interior of each
cylinder there is a hard, blue transparent tube, which Professor Landerer
has analysed and found to consist of cobalt glass. Within the blue tube
again is a small thin white tube, which shines like silver, and Professor
Landerer has found it to consist of a glassy substance containing lead
(_bleihaltig_). According to Professor Landerer, this discovery proves
that the ancient Myceneans knew the colouring of glass as well as the
art of encompassing a tube of glass with a second and a third one.[273]
He assures me that the analysis of Egyptian glass has given the same
result, and he supposes that the cobalt-glasses were derived from Egypt.
He further mentions that all present blue-coloured glasses are of such
cobalt-glass. All these cylinders and square pieces of four cylinders
must have served as ornaments of the corpses.
The fabrication of glass was evidently in its very beginning at the time
the tombs were constructed; but it seems to have made no progress here,
for, except a few white glass pearls and some small ornaments of a glass
paste, nothing was found of this article even in the upper strata, and it
appears certain that at the capture of Mycenæ by the Argives (468 B.C.)
even the small glass bottles, often found elsewhere, were still entirely
unknown.
I further found a number of small knives of obsidian, many fragments
of a large silver vase with a mouth of copper, which is thickly plated
with gold and splendidly ornamented with intaglio work; unfortunately
it has suffered too much from the funeral fire to be photographed. It
appears that the Mycenean goldsmiths found it much easier to plate on
copper than on silver; hence they made the mouth of this silver vase of
copper. I also found a long and a short rusted bronze knife; a silver cup
(φιάλη) with one handle, much damaged by the fire; four long
perforated necklace-beads (two of agate and two of a glassy composition);
a bronze vase handle; two horned Hera-idols of terra-cotta, of the usual
form; and finally, many fragments of beautiful hand-made and of very
ancient wheel-made pottery, among which was part of a vase with two
tubular holes on either side for suspension with a string, like the vases
in the lowest prehistoric city of Ilium.[274] There are also fragments
of terra-cotta tripods, of which I found such an enormous quantity at
Troy,[275] but which are less frequent at Mycenæ, nearly all the vases
having a flat bottom. In this tomb was also found the fragment of a vase,
ornamented with a sign which is nothing else than a 卍, the four arms of
which have merely been converted into a spiral form.
[Sidenote: ANTIQUITY OF HORNED FEMALE IDOLS.]
The most important objects found in this tomb are no doubt the two
two-horned Hera-idols previously mentioned, because they prove to us
that the goddess was already worshipped, in this shape, in that remote
antiquity to which the sepulchre belongs. As the very same type of the
idol is found in all the strata of prehistoric ruins, and even in the
_débris_ of the houses which just preceded the later Hellenic city, it
appears certain that it was still in use at the time of the capture of
Mycenæ by the Argives (468 B.C.), and consequently it remained here
unchanged for more than a thousand years. It is true that in all the
prehistoric strata of _débris_ above the tombs there are also found
female idols of a different shape, which we cannot but assign to Hera;
but, as their number is only very small as compared to the mass of horned
idols, we may take it for granted that the horned idol was the most
ancient, and that therefore the Myceneans clung with tenacity to that
form.
The most remarkable wheel-made terra-cottas found in this tomb represent
the lower parts of birds, in black colour on a light yellow dead ground.
I also found two fragments of a hand-made vase belonging to the upper
part of the bulge, with two female breasts; a large fragment of a most
ancient wheel-made vase, presenting on a light yellow dead ground a
beautiful and fantastic ornamentation of plants, circles or wave-like
lines, painted in a very dark red colour (see Nos. 232, 233). These two
fragments give a good illustration of Mr. Chas. T. Newton's remarks on
the 9th June in the Royal Institution of London: "The floral ornaments
of the Mycenean vases have a certain vague freedom and straggling
lawless luxuriance, which seems to imply the facility of hand which
long practice gives. The animal forms are ungainly and constrained in
action, and the anatomy is for the most part entirely ignored or most
feebly rendered. The floral and animal patterns seem to be the result of
impressions from nature sufficiently vivid to awaken the mimetic faculty
in an uncultivated mind, but which the untrained hand was unable to
render in art."
[Illustration: Nos. 232, 233. Fragments of a very ancient wheel-made
Vase. Sepulchre II. Size 1:3, about.]
I also found here five fragments of very ancient wheel-made vases,
having an ornamentation, in similar colours, of network, waving lines,
plants, lines of points, &c.; and finally some fragments of very ancient
wheel-made vases. Six of these fragments, which evidently belong to
the same vase, have, on a light red dead ground, an ornamentation of
crosses with four points. One has in its pointed bottom a perforation,
and may have served as a sort of funnel. Another has the most curious
ornamentation of all; it shews above what appears to be intended for the
head of a serpent; to the right is a circle surrounded by points, and
in its centre a crescent and six points; to the left of this is another
circle, filled with and surrounded by points.
[Sidenote: THE THIRD SEPULCHRE.]
Encouraged by the success obtained in the second tomb, I took out the two
large unsculptured tombstones of the third line, which stood almost due
south of the former. One of them is 6 ft. 4 in. long, and 4 ft. broad;
the other is 4 ft. 10 in. long and 4 ft. 4 in. broad. They were extremely
well fastened by square blocks, so that they could not be got out without
great efforts. These tombstones stood precisely 13 ft. 4 in. below the
surface, as I found it when I began the excavations. Two feet below them,
and thus 15 ft. 4 in. below the former surface, I found two large slabs
in the form of sepulchral monuments, lying horizontally. At a depth of 5
ft. lower I brought to light three more slabs, the one lying, the other
two standing, as follows:--
[Illustration: No. 234. Plan of Tombstones above the Third Tomb.]
The soil consisted of black earth, intermixed with fragments of hand-made
and very ancient wheel-made pottery, and masses of small knives of
obsidian. Besides a small number of Hera-idols, I found there a solid
piece of ivory, one inch high and broad, in the form of a beehive, having
in the lower flat side a tubular hole for suspension with a thread;
while on the convex or globular side is an engraved cross, embellished
with five gold pins with flat heads, each of which has a small hole in
the centre of its head (see No. 235); also a piece of wood, 4 in. long
and 2 in. broad, with beautifully carved spiral lines (No. 222),[276]
which seems to belong to a box (νάρθηξ); also two well-polished
pieces of wood with sharp points, but otherwise almost in the form of
long thin cones.
[Illustration: No. 235. Piece of ornamented ivory. (5 M.) Size 3:4.]
In digging deeper I found that, at a distance of 33 ft. from the east
side of the circular double parallel row of large slabs which encloses
the Agora, the rock suddenly slopes, for a space of 30 ft. in length
and width, at an angle of 30 degrees, the perpendicular height of the
slope being 16½ ft. Further to the west the rock forms a platform 30 ft.
long and broad, with two sepulchres, of which I shall first describe
the smaller one, because the aforesaid two tombstones stood at a height
of 16½ ft. above its mouth. This sepulchre, which in the Plan B I call
the Third Tomb, is 16 ft. 8 in. long, and 10 ft. 2 in. broad, and it
is cut into the rock, on the west side 2 ft. 4 in., on the south side
3 ft. 4 in., on the east side 7 ft., and on the north 5 ft. deep.[277]
These different depths find their explanations in the slope and in the
unevenness of the rock, because the bottom of the tomb is of course
perfectly horizontal. At about 9 ft. above the mouth of this tomb I
discovered close to it, on the slope of the rock, at a depth of 21
ft. below the former surface, a number of skeletons of men, which had
evidently not been on the funeral pyre, but were so much destroyed by
the moisture that none of the skulls could be taken out entire. The only
objects I found with them were knives of obsidian and five very pretty
hand-made vases, two of which are of plain light yellow, the three
others of a light green colour, with a rude black ornamentation (see Nos.
236, 237).
[Illustration: Nos. 236, 237. Hand-made Vases of Terra-cotta. Depth 20
ft. Half-size.]
[Sidenote: ROCK IN CENTRE OF THE AGORA.]
Immediately to the north of the tomb in question, and thus in the
centre of the Agora, I brought to light the before-mentioned rock which
protrudes from the plateau, and has, in my opinion, served as the
platform or pulpit (βῆμα) for the orators. It had been split and was
overhanging the great hollow in which are the two tombs just referred
to. Below this rock, at a depth of 22 ft. below the surface, many
Hera-idols, whorls, and other objects were found; also a very curious
sort of bronze dagger (No. 238), consisting of two separate two-edged
blades, which had been soldered together in the middle, so that the four
edges are separated from each other by a quarter of an inch; both blades
are 10 in. long, the whole dagger being 13 inches long. The handle has
evidently been inlaid with wood or bone, fastened by three small nails of
bronze, which are preserved. As I considered one of the overhanging rocks
particularly dangerous, I did all I could to keep my workmen back from
it; however, as, in order to stimulate the workmen to be very attentive,
I am in the habit of giving them a drink-penny for all objects, even
the most trifling, which have any interest for science, and as so many
small objects were found just below the dangerous rock, two of my workmen
always returned to the spot. But seeing that the rock had a crack which
widened, I literally dragged the two men from their perilous position,
when all at once the rock fell with a thundering crash, and we were all
three knocked down by its splinters, but none of us was injured.
The four walls of the tomb which now occupies us were lined with pieces
of schist of irregular size, which were joined with clay, and formed a
slanting wall 5 ft. high and 2 ft. 3 in. broad.
I found in this sepulchre the mortal remains of three persons who, to
judge by the smallness of the bones and particularly of the teeth, and by
the masses of female ornaments found here, must have been women. As the
teeth of one of these bodies, though all preserved, were evidently much
used and were very irregular, they appear to belong to a very old woman.
All had the head turned to the east and the feet to the west. As in the
former tomb, the bodies lay at a distance of 3 ft. from each other; they
were covered with a layer of pebbles and reposed on another layer of
similar stones, on which the funeral piles had been raised; this last
stratum lay on the bottom of the tomb, which, as is shown on Plan B B,
was 29 ft. 8 in. deep below the former surface of the mount.
[Illustration: No. 238.
A large bronze dagger, with two blades soldered together in the middle.
(6½ M.) Size 7:20.]
[Sidenote: SEVEN HUNDRED GOLD PLATES.]
Precisely as in the former tomb, all the three bodies had been burnt
simultaneously, but separately and at equal distances from each other,
nay, in the very place where they now lay. This was proved by the
evident marks of the fire on the pebbles below and around every one of
the bodies, as well as by the marks of the fire and the smoke on the
walls to the right and left, and by the masses of wood ashes which lay on
and around the bodies. The bodies were literally laden with jewels, all
of which bore evident signs of the fire and smoke to which they had been
exposed on the funeral piles.
[Sidenote: PLATES OF GOLD.]
[Illustration: No. 239. Plate of Gold. Sepulchre III.]
[Illustration: No. 240. Plate of Gold: a Cuttle-fish. Sepulchre III.]
[Illustration: No. 241. Plate of Gold: a Flower. Sepulchre III.]
[Illustration: No. 242. A Plate of Gold. Sepulchre III.]
[Illustration: No. 243. Plate of Gold: a Butterfly. Sepulchre III.]
[Illustration: No. 244. Plate of Gold. Sepulchre III.]
The ornaments of which the greatest number was found were the large,
thick, round plates of gold, with a very pretty decoration of _repoussé_
work, of which I collected 701. I found them as well below as above and
around the bodies, and there can consequently be no doubt that part of
them were strewn all over the bottom of the sepulchre before the funeral
pyres were dressed, and that the rest were laid on the bodies before
the fire was kindled. In the following engravings[278] I give all the
different types of these wonderful plates. It is difficult to say how
the Mycenean goldsmiths executed the _repoussé_ work. Professor Landerer
thinks they laid the gold-plate on a block of lead, and hammered and
pressed the ornamentation into it. No. 239 contains broad round waving
bands much resembling those on the fourth sculptured tombstone.[279] The
curious ornamentation in the centre, which so often recurs here, seems to
me to be derived from the [Illustration], the more so as the points which
are thought to be the marks of the nails, are seldom missing; the artist
has only added two more arms and curved all of them. No. 240 represents
an octopus or cuttle-fish (sepia), whose eight arms have been converted
into spirals, the head with the two eyes being distinctly visible.
No. 241 represents a flower; No. 242 a splendid spiral ornamentation;
No. 243, a beautiful butterfly; this type is exceedingly frequent.
Whether, as in the later Greek art, the butterfly is here the symbol of
immortality, as Mr. Chas. T. Newton reminds me, I do not dare to decide.
No. 244 presents a curious ornamentation of spirals in the form of six
serpents, round a central circle. In No. 245 we at once recognise again
the ornamentation of the sepulchral _stêlé_ (No. 142), as in No. 239,
which this one very much resembles. No. 246 has a most curious pattern,
which shows within a broad circular border six spirals, all very cleverly
finished off, each of them surrounding seven concentric circles, and
all united around an ornament likewise of seven concentric circles,
which the artist seems to have vainly tried to unite at the upper part.
Each of the spirals separately very much resembles the hair-springs of
our watches, at least at the first glance, but on closer examination we
find that all the interior lines form separate circles. Nos. 247-250
represent beautiful leaves, all of a kindred pattern. No. 251 represents
a beautiful star-flower; No. 252 shows within a border of three circles a
splendid ornamentation of spirals and concentric circles, such as we have
not seen yet on the Mycenean antiquities.
[Illustration: No. 245. A Plate of Gold. Sepulchre III.]
[Illustration: No. 246. A Plate of Gold. Sepulchre III.]
[Illustration: No. 247. A leaf in Gold Plate. Sepulchre III. Actual size.]
[Illustration: No. 248. A leaf-pattern in Gold Plate. Sepulchre III.]
[Illustration: No. 249. A leaf-pattern in Gold Plate. Sepulchre III.]
[Illustration: No. 250. A leaf-pattern in Gold Plate. Sepulchre III.]
[Illustration: No. 251. A Star in Gold Plate. Sepulchre III.]
[Illustration: No. 252. A Plate of Gold. Sepulchre III.]
I suppose that all these golden leaves are miniature copies of shields,
for though there were shields with a central boss,[280] yet the majority
of them were smooth (ἐΐση)[281]: further most shields were round
(εὔκυκλος),[282] and many of them, if not all, were works of art
and beautifully ornamented.[283] We further find around the Homeric
shields a border (ἄντυξ), which may have been sometimes single, but
which certainly was usually treble,[284] and such a border we also find
represented on several of these golden plates.
[Sidenote: HERCULES AND THE NEMEAN LION.]
In proceeding to describe the masses of other jewels which had covered
the bodies on the pyres and which still lay partly on them and partly
around them, I begin with three perforated massive ornaments of gold,
belonging to necklaces, of which the first (No. 253) appears to
represent, in intaglio, Hercules killing the Nemean lion. The hero is
represented here with long hair (καρηκομόων) and with a long
beard; his dress appears to reach only from the waist to the middle of
the loins, and the rest of the body seems to be naked. Having stepped
forward with his left foot, he leans the whole weight of his body on
it to deal a deadly blow at the lion with a sword which he holds in his
uplifted right hand, whilst with his left he seizes the lion's throat.
The animal stands before him on his hind-legs, and has pounced with his
fore-feet on the left leg of the hero, whom he is going to bite in the
breast when he receives the deadly blow. The body of the lion appears
to me to be faithful to nature, but not the head, which resembles more
a bear's head; the mane is engraved with true art. I call particular
attention to the large round knob at the end of the handle of the
sword, because many such, all of alabaster or wood with golden nails,
and frequently plated with gold, were found in the tombs successively
discovered.
[Illustration: Nos. 253, 254, 255. Perforated Ornaments of Gold, with
engravings in intaglio. Sepulchre III. Actual size.]
[Sidenote: ACHILLES AND HECTOR?]
The intaglio on the following smaller ornament (No. 254) represents two
warriors fighting a deadly duel. The one to the left of the spectator is
a tall, powerful beardless young man with an uncovered head, whose loins
only are covered, the rest of the body being naked. He leans with all
the weight of his body on his advanced left leg, and with his uplifted
right hand he has just plunged his double-edged sword into the throat of
his antagonist, who falls mortally wounded. This latter is represented
with a long beard. His head is covered with a helmet, over which we see
a half-circle, which appears to be fastened into the fore-part of the
helmet and to represent the long curved horn which we see protruding
from the fore-part of the helmets of the five warriors (No. 213).[285]
The horn seems here to be nothing else than a λόφος, into which the
crest was sunk, for this appears also to be visible. But should this
conjecture not be correct, then we can only explain the half-circle above
the warrior's helmet by supposing that the middle part of the crest
was fastened on the top of the φάλος of the helmet, so that there
were properly two crests waving. On the wounded man's body we see a round
shield with a circle of small points, probably meant to represent the
glitter of the brass. The shield being divided into an upper and a lower
compartment, it may be that the artist intended to represent two shields,
of which the lower one belonged to the wounded man, who had just let it
fall, and that the upper shield belonged to the victor, whose left hand
still holds it. The anatomy of the two warriors is represented clearly,
though rudely, and we wonder how this was at all possible without the aid
of magnifying glasses. I ask whether we do not see here in the young,
powerful, handsome man, Achilles, the most beautiful man in the Greek
army; and in his antagonist, "Hector of the dancing helmet-crest;"[286]
for, just as we see represented on this bead, Hector was slain by
Achilles by a stab in the throat. It is true that the fatal stab was
given, according to Homer,[287] with a lance, but the artist may have
substituted a sword for want of space.
The third ornament (No. 255) represents, in good intaglio, a lion
kneeling with his fore-feet on an uneven rocky slope, and turning his
head round to the right; though, like the two other ornaments, this
intaglio is very archaic and rude, it is, like them, tolerably executed,
and the anatomy of the animal is carefully observed. Mr. Achilles
Postolaccas calls my attention to the fact that this lion in its style
perfectly resembles the fore-part of the lion which we see on the gold
staters of Sardis in Lydia, which Borrel attributes to Crœsus (560 B.C.).
[Illustration: Nos. 256-260. Golden Ornaments. Sepulchre III. Actual
size.]
Of the other golden ornaments here shown, No. 256 represents a butterfly
of gold, which has, no doubt, served as an ornament on the dress; but,
as it has no perforation, it is not clear to me how it may have been
fastened; probably it has been glued or pasted on the drapery. Further,
ten golden grasshoppers[288] with chains, of which Nos. 259 and 260
represent two; they appear to have been used as ornaments of the breast
or hair. I collected also eleven very curious large globular ornaments,
of which Nos. 257 and 258 give the engravings of two; all have a tubular
hole at the top, and are evidently from necklaces. These ornaments, as
well as the crickets, are of _repoussé_ work, and consist of two halves,
which were soldered together.
[Illustration: No. 261. Golden Ornament. A Griffin. Sepulchre III. Actual
size.]
[Sidenote: GOLDEN GRIFFINS.]
I further collected there three griffins of gold, of which I represent
one (No. 261); the upper part of their bodies is that of an eagle, the
lower that of a lion; the wing is ornamented with spirals. Each of these
objects has three perforations, which can leave no doubt that they have
been sewn on the clothes as ornaments. The griffins are mythic animals
belonging to India, whence they came over to the West. We find the
griffin on the most ancient fictile vases of a rude Egyptianising style,
in company with sphinxes and winged lions. This fantastical animal has
become the central point of a curious legendary cycle, for we find it
already mentioned in Hesiod and Herodotus as watcher of the gold in
the far north of Europe.[289] Pliny describes the _gryphi_ as _ferarum
volucre genus_, which _mira cupiditate_ dig up the gold _ex cuniculis_
and watch it, likewise in the north of Europe, that is, in the land of
the Scythians.[290] Damis Olear[291] maintains that the griffins have
been derived from India, and gives the following description of them:
"The gold which the griffins dig up consists of stones incrusted with
golden drops like fiery points, which they beat off by the power of their
hard beak. These animals are found in India, where they are sacred to
the sun, whence the Indian painters represent Helios riding on teams of
four griffins. The griffin has the size and strength of the lion, but
is superior to the latter by its wings, and vanquishes even elephants
and large serpents. But he cannot overpower the tiger, who excels by
his rapid motion." Böttiger[292] explains these monsters as simple
productions of the Indian carpet-manufacture, because from a remote
antiquity the Indians delight in compounding their sacred animals. It
appears certain that the griffin came in the retinue of Dionysus from
India to Greece, and that it therefore became here the symbol of wisdom
and enlightenment.
[Illustration: Nos. 262, 263. Golden Ornaments. Heart and Lion.
Sepulchre III. Actual size.]
I further found with the three bodies of the third tomb three ornaments
in the shape of hearts, of which I give the engraving of one (No.
262). As they have no perforations, they must have been glued on to
the drapery. There were also found four golden ornaments (see No. 263)
representing crouching lions, with four or five perforations in the
margin for sewing them on the clothes or drapery. Though rather roughly
made, the body of the animal is true to nature, and particularly the
head. The passion of the Mycenean artist for spirals is shown in the form
of the lion's tail. As Mr. A. S. Murray, of the British Museum, justly
observed to me, the spiral is no proof whatever of oriental influence,
because it is a form which every curling wire would naturally suggest,
and its general existence and independent use is attested by the spiral
ornamentations of the ancient Mexicans, Peruvians, and Egyptians.
[Illustration: Nos. 264, 265. Golden Ornaments. Sepulchre III. Actual
size.]
[Sidenote: GOLDEN BROOCHES WITH STAGS.]
I further found on the three bodies of the third sepulchre twelve
ornaments of gold, each representing two stags lying down, with long
three-branched horns, leaning with the necks against each other and
turning the head in opposite directions, but so that the horns of both
touch each other and seem intended to form a sort of a crown. The two
stags repose on the top of a date-palm tree with three fronds, of which
the two to the right and left extend below the bodies of the animals,
whilst the third stands upright. Two of these ornaments, with double
stags, were soldered together, and in the hollow thus formed at the lower
end was stuck a thick silver pin, with circular horizontal flutings,
which represented the stem of the palm-tree, and which was fastened by a
pin. The hole through which this pin was stuck is seen at the bottom of
No. 264, and part of the silver pin in No. 265, where we also recognise
the horizontal flutings, which seem to have been intended to imitate the
rough bark of the palm-tree. Thus we see before us a beautiful brooch,
presenting on either side two stags lying on a palm-tree. But, the brooch
being rather heavy, the silver pin was perforated, as we see at the lower
end of No. 265, to be fastened with a thread or otherwise. Two of these
ornaments had besides two perforations. Reckoning two such ornaments as
one brooch, there were found in this sepulchre in all six brooches with a
pair of stags on either side. There were also found two golden ornaments
(see No. 266), representing a similar date-tree with three larger fronds,
on which two lion-cubs sit opposite each other and are holding their
muzzles together; the tails of the four cubs form spirals, just as the
ornaments with the double stags. These two ornaments with the cubs were
also stuck together, either by soldering or by pins, through the two
perforations which we see in each of them; and in the hollow below was
fixed a silver brooch, and thus this ornament, like the former, served as
a breast-pin (πόρπη).
[Illustration: No. 266. Golden Ornament. Sepulchre III. Actual size.]
[Illustration: Nos. 267, 268. Golden Ornaments. Women with Doves.
Sepulchre III. Actual size.]
[Sidenote: GOLDEN WOMEN WITH PIGEONS.]
I further found with the three bodies of the third tomb two golden
ornaments, representing two women, each having a pigeon on her head. One
of them (No. 268) has also a pigeon attached to each arm. Both women
are of the same type and have a long pointed nose, which protrudes in a
straight line from the forehead, and large eyes. The heads of both are
crowned with a diadem. Each has a hollow in the left cheek, which is
alone visible; both touch their breasts with the hands, and this must be
a symbol of fertility or abundance. I call attention to the resemblance
in the attitude of these women to that of the numerous terra-cotta idols
of Aphrodite from Cyprus, as well as to the so-called statue of Niobe
on the rock of Sipylos, which also touch their breasts with both hands.
The four pigeons are represented with spread wings, as if they were
flying. The first woman (No. 267) has four perforations and her bird has
two, by which this ornament was sewn on the clothes or drapery. On the
other hand, the woman with the three pigeons has evidently been fixed to
something else with two small gold pins, the broad heads of which we see,
the one between the knees of the woman, the other on her belly.
[Illustration: No. 269. Golden Ornament. Sepulchre III. Actual size.]
[Illustration: Nos. 270, 271. Two Golden Cuttle Fish. Sepulchre III.
Actual size.]
I further found in the same tomb golden ornaments like No. 269, but I
find it difficult to explain whether the artist intended to represent
a horse, a hippocampus, or a dog. Of golden ornaments in the form of
cuttle-fish, or sepias, I found not less than twenty-seven of the shape
of those represented under Nos. 270 and 271. All of them are double, that
is to say, two sepias are always soldered together, so that the ornament
represents a sepia on either side. The Mycenean goldsmith, always eager
to convert everything into spirals, has done so here with all the feet
of the sepias, every one of which forms a beautiful spiral. Some of the
sepias, like No. 270, have in addition four perforations for fixing
them with thread. How these ornaments may have been used is altogether
a riddle to me. No. 272 represents a flying griffin of gold. Like No.
261, it has the body of a lion, the head and wings of an eagle, and is
ornamented with spirals. As it has no perforations, it must have been
fastened with glue on the drapery.
[Illustration: No. 272. A Flying Griffin of Gold. Sepulchre III. Actual
size.]
[Illustration: No. 273. Golden Ornament. Sepulchre III. Actual size.]
Of the highest interest are two little golden figures, one of which is
given under No. 273, each having four perforations in exactly the same
places; they appear, therefore, to have been attached to each other,
so that the same figure appeared on either side. They exactly resemble
each other. Regarding the type of the features nothing can be said with
certainty, for it may as well be Hellenic as Asiatic. Nor is there any
indication whether the figures represent men or women, though their rich
female dress leads us to suppose the latter to be the case. Both have
the hands joined on the breast like Aphrodité, but below them we see an
object in the form of a disk, which seems to be suspended from the neck.
On each side of the breast, as well as on the lower part of the gowns,
we see a number of straps, which probably represent ribbons or gold
lace; also two rows of twelve small circles in each, which are no doubt
intended to represent gold buttons with intaglio work, like those of
which such large quantities were found, as we shall see, in two of the
tombs.
[Illustration: Nos. 274-280. Golden Ornaments. Sepulchre III. Actual
size.]
[Sidenote: VARIOUS GOLDEN ORNAMENTS.]
I further gathered in the same tomb eight golden ornaments in the form
of butterflies, of which I represent one under No. 275. Some of them
have two, others have four, perforations; and, as all are exactly of
the same size and shape, I presume that these also have been fastened
together in pairs with pins, so that there was a butterfly on each side.
This supposition seems to be warranted by the reverse side, which is
hollow. I think the same must have been the case with the other objects
here engraved, of which duplicates were found, but not with No. 274,
which represents two eagles. Very curious are the ornaments represented
by No. 279, of which four were found; two of them have two perforations
each, the other two have none. All of them represent two swans standing
opposite each other with the heads joined. There is something between the
feet of the two swans which has the shape of a table, but I cannot say
what it may be. There were found seven golden ornaments like No. 280,
representing hippocampi; all have the head turned backward, and the tail
is curved; all have perforations.
The golden ornament (No. 274) has also perforations for attachment to
another object; it represents, as before mentioned, two eagles, which
stand opposite each other with the heads turned round. There were found
in the same tomb six sphinxes, like No. 277. They are winged lions, with
beardless human heads, covered with a Phrygian cap, from which a long
crest seems to stretch out; but it cannot be distinguished here whether
the artist intended to represent a female or a male sphinx. I may here
observe that, according to Hesiod, Apollodorus, and Euripides, the Sphinx
is a daughter of Typhon and the Echidna or the Chimæra, or of Orthos and
the Chimæra, and that it has, at all events, been imported from Egypt
into Greece. But the Egyptian Sphinx is male, being the symbol of a king,
while the sphinx in the Theban legend of Œdipus is female. The golden
ornament (No. 278), of which four were found, seems to represent a tree;
all of these have two perforations. Of the small golden jewels of this
tomb, I may mention No. 276, representing two birds, the species of which
cannot be distinguished. They stand against each other, their heads
leaning over in opposite directions, the two being joined by spirals.
[Illustration: No. 281. The splendid Crown of Gold found on the head of
one of the three persons interred in the Third Sepulchre. Size, rather
more than 1:4.]
[Sidenote: SPLENDID CROWN OF GOLD.]
On the head of one of the three bodies was found the splendid crown of
gold (στέμμα, No. 281), which is one of the most interesting and
most precious objects that I collected at Mycenæ. It is 2 ft. 1 in.
long, and profusely covered with shield-like ornaments. The work being
_repoussé_, all the ornaments protrude and appear in low relief, giving
to the crown an indescribably magnificent aspect, which is still
further augmented by the thirty-six large leaves, ornamented in a like
manner, which are attached to it. It deserves particular attention that
the crown was bound round the head so that its broadest part was just
in the middle of the forehead, and of course the leaves were standing
upright around the upper part of the head, for had it been otherwise
it would have shaded the eyes and the greater part of the face. Near
each extremity can be seen two small holes, through which the crown was
fastened by means of a thin golden wire. I call particular attention to
the curious signs between the shield-like ornaments of the lowest row;
five of these signs resemble beautiful flowers, the heads of which give
an additional proof that the crown was worn with the leaves upwards, and
so I found it on the head of one of the bodies. The four other signs
resemble the κηρύκειον, or caduceus, the herald's staff of
Hermes.
[Illustration: No. 282. Golden Diadem found on the head of another body
in the Third Sepulchre. Size 1:5, about.]
[Sidenote: GOLDEN DIADEM.]
Around the head of another of the three bodies was found the magnificent
golden diadem (No. 282), to which was still attached part of the skull;
it is finely worked. It has a border, formed by parallel lines and a
line of protruding points, which is broadest in the middle and gradually
diminishes towards both ends. This border is ornamented with spiral
signs, accompanied by small lines of deep or protruding points. The
space between the two borders is filled up with a row of shield-like
ornaments, the size of which varies according to the breadth of the
diadem, containing a number of concentric circles around a central boss.
The space between the circles is filled up, in the five larger ones,
with a circular row of small leaves or of protruding points. We also see
between the shield-like ornaments all along the border two rows of small
bosses encircled by protruding points. At each end of the diadem is a
perforation, which must have served to fasten it round the head by means
of a thin wire of gold or copper. This diadem being of thick gold plate,
it was not piped.
I further found with the three bodies five diadems of gold, of which I
represent two under Nos. 283 and 284. Two of them (see No. 283) have an
ornamentation similar to the foregoing, but less rich. Both are piped
with copper wire, and have no border; and both consist of two halves,
which seem not to have been soldered together, but merely joined by the
piping wire. As neither of them has perforations in the extremities,
there must have been attached to them thin wires of copper or gold, now
broken off, by which they were fastened around the head. Both these
diadems have suffered much from the funeral fire, which has blackened
them so that the photographs could not take well. The diadem (No. 284),
though not piped, has no border; it is also ornamented with shield-like
circles representing beautiful flowers. We see an ornamentation in the
form of a star at each end, and small shield-like bosses on both sides
between the circles. At the right extremity is still preserved part of
the gold wire with which the diadem was fastened round the head. On all
these six diadems we recognise the fine black ashes of the funeral pyre
sticking to the gold. I may here mention that we find round shields with
an ornamentation of crescents and stars represented on Macedonian coins;
but these can, of course, have no relation whatever to the Mycenean
diadems, which may be twelve centuries older. Although similar diadems
with an ornamentation of rosettes have never been found before, yet there
can be no doubt that they were in extensive use in a remote antiquity,
for the British Museum contains six idols of Aphrodite from Cyprus, two
of terra-cotta and four of marble--all of which have the head ornamented
with similar diadems. I see further in the Assyrian collection of the
same museum four figurettes of ivory representing Hercules, whose head is
likewise ornamented with such diadems.
[Illustration: Nos. 283, 284. Diadems of Gold. Sepulchre III. Size 2:9,
about.]
[Illustration: No. 285. A Cross in Gold Plate. Sepulchre III. Actual
size.]
[Sidenote: APHRODITE IDOLS WITH DIADEMS.]
There are two other diadems with a still simpler shield-like
ornamentation, and having in the middle two vertical rows of spirals.
Both these diadems consist of halves, which were seemingly joined only
by the copper wire with which they are piped. The thin wires at the
extremities are here also broken off.
[Illustration: Nos. 286, 287, 288. Ornaments of Gold. Sepulchre III. Size
3:4, about.]
[Sidenote: GOLDEN CROSSES.]
I found further with the three bodies of the third tomb six crosses
formed of double golden leaves, of which I give engravings of four. The
richest ornamentation is on those represented by No. 285; the leaves
resemble laurel leaves, ornamented with beautiful flowers in _repoussé_
work; and there is an ornamentation of spirals at both ends of each
leaf. In the centre of each of these crosses is fixed a cross of small
unornamented gold-plate. The cross (No. 286) shows a similar pattern,
and I suppose it has been fixed in the centre of the star-like golden
ornament (No. 288); but, not being quite certain in this respect, I
give separate engravings of both. No. 287 represents a small golden
ornament with three flowers. Very curious is the small golden cross
(No. 289), whose leaves show a magnificent ornamentation of circles and
spirals, and in the centre of which is attached another cross of small
richly-ornamented gold leaves. The large gold cross (No. 290) shows a
shield-like ornamentation, and also at the end of each leaf three small
circles containing two inner ones.
[Illustration: Nos. 289, 290. Golden Crosses. Sepulchre III. Size 4:5.]
[Illustration: No. 291. A Cross of Gold. Sepulchre III. Size 4:7, about.]
In several places we see in the leaves of this latter cross very small
holes, which seem to prove that another ornament was attached in
the centre, probably a cross, as we see in No. 285, or a star, such
as No. 288. I also found in this tomb the two large and beautiful
golden stars, of which I represent one (No. 291). They consist of
two differently-shaped crosses, with a magnificent ornamentation in
_repoussé_ work; both crosses are fastened together with a golden pin
with a large round flat head, which is still preserved on the one shown
in the engraving. In the centre of the other star there is only the
impression which the pinhead, now lost, has made on the gold plate. It is
perfectly impossible for me to say how these crosses served as ornaments
of the dead, for I found none of them _in situ_.
[Illustration: No. 292. A Golden Brooch (πόρπη). Sepulchre III.
Actual size.]
[Sidenote: GIGANTIC GOLD BROOCH.]
On one of the bodies I found a gold brooch (πόρπη), with a very thick
silver pin, 8 in. long (see No. 292), which, having seemingly been in
contact with saline matter, has been turned into chloride of silver,
and has, therefore, broken in two. Thus only the upper part of the pin
is seen in the engraving. In the brooch we see a woman with extended
arms, turning her face to the left of the spectator; her features are
decidedly Greek. She has a long nose, which protrudes straight from the
forehead, and large eyes; her hair only reaches down to the neck, which
is ornamented with a necklace; her large breasts are well shown. On her
head we see a spiral ornamentation, from the middle of which rises a
beautiful palm-tree, and from this there hang down to the right and left
long tresses with tassels in the shape of flowers.
[Illustration: No. 293. Golden Ornament from the Third Sepulchre. Size
five-sixths.]
I also found in this tomb the two very curious golden ornaments (see No.
293), which are too large and heavy to have been worn as pendants of
earrings and have probably been used as breast ornaments. Each consists
of two pieces of _repoussé_ work, which are soldered together, and thus
these objects present the same ornamentation on either side.
[Illustration: No. 294. A Golden Cross. Sepulchre III. Actual size.]
There was also found a small golden cross, represented under No. 294,
having an ornamentation of spirals on either side. It deserves particular
mention that the last-named ornaments (Nos. 291-294), as well as some of
the smaller ornaments of this sepulchre,[293] though of gold, have a
reddish bronze-like colour, so that, if I had found them alone, I should
decidedly not have claimed for them a very remote antiquity; but the
conditions under which they lay in the sepulchre make it impossible to
suppose that the objects found there were of different ages.
[Sidenote: GOLDEN HAIR-HOLDERS.]
There were also found on each of the three bodies two golden ornaments
(six in all) almost in the form of earrings, of which two are represented
in the engravings Nos. 295 and 296. But as the two ends of each of these
objects are in the form of spirals turned round four or five times, they
can, of course, not have been used for the ears; besides they would be by
far too heavy for that use, because they are of solid gold. The only use
which, in my opinion, can have been made of them is to hold together the
locks, and I think they perfectly explain the passage in Homer:[294]--
"Those locks, that with the Graces' hair might vie,
Those tresses bright, with gold and silver bound,
Were dabbled all with blood."
LORD DERBY.
I also collected on the three bodies eleven very curious golden
ornaments, of which I give three engravings (Nos. 297, 298, and 299).
All of them have in the middle a narrow tube, by which they appear to
have been strung on a cord, for they can, in my opinion, only have been
used for necklaces. They were made in the following way: to both ends
of a small tube, which, as we see in the engravings, is ornamented with
circular incisions, was soldered a thin golden wire, which was on either
side turned eleven times round, and these spirals were soldered together,
the outside turn of each also being soldered to the tube. Of the same
pattern were found six bracelets like No. 300, each of which consists of
twelve spirals made of the same fine gold wire; they were fastened round
the arm by the small golden staff at the right, and by the spiral at the
left extremity, which latter served as a clasp.
[Illustration: Nos. 295-300. Golden Hair-holders, Bracelets, and
Ornaments of Necklaces. Size 5:6, about.]
[Illustration: Nos. 301, 302. Golden Balances (τάλαντα).
Sepulchre III. Size 5:7, about.]
[Sidenote: GOLDEN BALANCES.]
There were further found two pairs of golden scales, which I represent
in the engraving (Nos. 301 and 302), but I have been able to photograph
the beam of only one pair, the other beam being too much compressed and
out of shape. Both beams consist of tubes of thin gold-plate, through
which was undoubtedly stuck a wooden stick to give them more solidity;
_débris_ of charred wood were even found in some pieces of the golden
tubes. The beams were attached to the scales by long and very thin straps
of gold. Two of the scales are ornamented with flowers, the others with
beautifully-represented butterflies. Of course these scales can never
have been used; they were evidently made expressly to accompany the
bodies of the three princesses into the grave, and they have, therefore,
undoubtedly a symbolic signification. I may here call attention to the
scales in the wall-paintings of the Egyptian sepulchres, in which are
weighed the good and bad deeds of the deceased. At all events these
scales vividly recall to our remembrance the beautiful passage of
Homer,[295] where Jove takes golden scales and weighs the "lots of doom"
of Hector and Achilles.
"But when the fourth time in their rapid course
The founts were reached, the Eternal father hung
His golden scales aloft, and placed in each
The lots of doom, for great Achilles one,
For Hector one, and held them by the midst:
Down sank the scale, weighted with Hector's death,
Down to the shades, and Phœbus left his side."
LORD DERBY.
[Sidenote: CHILD'S MASK AND GOLD PLATES.]
There were further found with the three bodies the golden ornaments
here represented. The golden plate (No. 303) must have been glued on
something else, because otherwise its use is inexplicable. It has a
beautiful ornamentation of _repoussé_ work, such as we have not seen
before in Mycenæ. The child's mask (No. 304) consists of very thin gold
plate; the places for the eyes are cut out, and even in the present
crumpled condition of the mask the nose is slightly protruding. It
appears, therefore, very probable that, together with the bodies of the
three women, a child was burnt and buried in this tomb, and this would
perfectly agree with the tradition cited by Pausanias.[296]
[Illustration: Nos. 303-306. Golden Ornaments. Sepulchre III. Half-size.]
I also found thirteen splendidly-ornamented objects of gold plate, of
which one is represented under No. 305; their style of ornamentation
has never been seen by me here before. At the upper extremity we see
a perforation, which makes it probable that these objects have served
as pendants of earrings. The gold plate (No. 306) must also have been
cemented on some other object, for it shows no perforations. It
represents in defective _repoussé_ work two men, of whom the one, who is
winged and has horse's-feet and appears to play the flute, stands with
his right foot on the head of the other, whose arms are extended and
whose feet are wide apart. Both men have two horns on the head, and those
of the lower figure are particularly conspicuous. To the right of the two
men, and thus to the left of the spectator, is a very strange ornament,
which at first sight appears to consist of written characters, but, on
closer examination, we find that it is mere ornamentation.
[Illustration: Nos. 307, 308. Objects of Rock Crystal. Sepulchre III.
Actual size.]
There was further found here the perforated ball of beautifully-polished
rock crystal (No. 307), which has evidently formed part of the handle of
a sceptre or some weapon, for we see in the perforation a long piece of
metal which appears to be gold, but which is probably only gold-plated
bronze or silver.
The object, No. 308, is also of well-polished rock crystal; it has a
large mouth, and a perforation on the opposite side; the interior has a
lively ornamentation painted in red and white. The use of this object is
altogether a riddle to me.
There were also found two objects of bronze, of which the one appears to
be a fragment and the other the handle of some weapon.
[Sidenote: CURIOUS SCEPTRES.]
I also picked up there the two objects, Nos. 309 and 310, which appear
to be sceptres. The silver staff of each has been plated with gold, as
we see on that part of it which sticks in the beautifully-turned knobs
of rock crystal. The crystal ball of No. 309 is ornamented with small
vertical furrows and quite perforated, and there are evident signs that
another object, probably of gold, has been attached to its lower end;
and such a piece of gold was found lying separately and is added in the
engraving (_a_), the more so as its upper end had evidently been broken
off; it is ornamented on both sides with _repoussé_ work representing
lions.
[Illustration: Nos. 309, 310.
Sceptres of silver plated with gold, with handles of rock-crystal.
Sepulchre III. Size 1:3, about.
_a._ A ball of gold found separately, but belonging to the handle.]
I call the reader's attention to the size of these presumed sceptres,
which is here only about one-third of the actual size. I beg further to
observe that the enormous gold plated silver rods were doubtless stuck
in wooden staves covered with gold plate. For the abundance here of
such staves with gold covers we can have no better testimony than the
numerous tubes of gold plate found in these tombs, many of them still
containing charred remnants of the wood which they once covered; a few
even contained remnants of the wood pretty well preserved.
Further I found fifteen perforated beads of brown agate, like No. 311,
which evidently belong to a necklace; also a number of beads like No.
312: further the magnificent lentoid gem of sardonyx (No. 313), on which
are represented two men, the one sitting, the other standing. The latter
seems to seize the former with his right hand by the hair, while he
thrusts with his left a long sword into his breast.
Very characteristic is the immense shield which we see on the standing
man's back, and which resembles two shields joined at the border; it is
not unlike the shield which we see on the fallen warrior, p. 174, No. 254.
No. 314 is a whorl-like ornament of black agate, with a spiral
ornamentation on its lower side; it has no perforation.
[Illustration: No. 311. Perforated bead of brown agate.--No. 312. Agate
bead.--No. 313. Lentoid gem of sardonyx, cut in intaglio.--No. 314.
Ornament of black agate.--No. 315. Lentoid gem of amethyst. All from
Sepulchre III. Actual Size.]
Very curious is the lentoid gem of amethyst, No. 315, which is of a
transparent violet-blue colour, with an intaglio, representing an animal
turning round its head to look at its calf, which is sucking the milk
from its udders. The body and legs of the animal, and even its head and
horns, are decidedly those of a stag; but I may remind the reader that
the most ancient didrachms of Corcyra represent in a similar style a cow
turning her head and looking at her calf, which sucks the milk from her
udders.
[Sidenote: ORNAMENTED GOLDEN WHEELS.]
I also found there six golden ornaments in the form of wheels, of one of
which I give the engraving (No. 316). Like the wheels of bronze which we
have passed in review, these six wheels have only four spokes, forming
a cross around the closed axle, which is merely indicated; but the
spokes are here curved, so as to form four semicircles. All of them are
ornamented with horizontal incisions; the felloes are very broad, and
have a spiral ornament all round.
[Illustration: No. 316. A Golden Wheel. Sepulchre III. Actual size.]
I also found in this sepulchre a lady's comb of gold, with teeth of bone;
but the latter are so much damaged that I cannot give an engraving of
them; further, a large silver seal-ring, which, having been in contact
with saline matter, has become chloride of silver, so that the engraving
on it has disappeared. Also, twelve tubes of gold plate, which had
evidently once been filled with wood to give them solidity; in some of
the tubes there were still remains of charred wood. The use of these
tubes is difficult to explain; they may have belonged either to sceptres
or to distaffs. Further, a large quantity of small or larger gold beads
of necklaces, and an enormous quantity of amber beads, likewise from
necklaces. These beads have grown dark-brown, probably owing to their
great antiquity, so that we at first mistook them for resin, but the
analysis of Professor Landerer has shown that they consist of the purest
amber. It will, of course, for ever remain a secret to us whether this
amber is derived from the coast of the Baltic or from Italy, where
it is found in several places, but particularly on the east coast of
Sicily; but it is highly probable that it was brought to Greece by the
Phœnicians, its name in Greek being _electrum_ (ἤλεκτρον),
and _elek_ signifying resin in Arabic, and probably also in Phœnician.
Amber was well known to Homer, who mentions it three times in the
Odyssey, as fitted, in lieu of precious stones, in gold ornaments.[297]
Amongst other objects found with the three bodies of the third tomb,
were a square leaf ornament, two golden breast-pins, a golden flower
on a silver stalk, many very small golden ornaments, a large number of
beads of a transparent red stone from a necklace, a gold-plated brooch of
bronze; seven ornaments of gold representing lions, of which, however,
only two are with heads; also, a golden ornament representing an ox
attacked by two lions. I collected there a large quantity of small pieces
of very thin beaten gold, with which the whole tomb, below and above the
bodies, was strewn.
[Sidenote: GOLD GOBLET AND BOX WITH LID.]
With the three bodies of the third sepulchre were also found the gold
goblet (No. 317) and the gold box (No. 318). The goblet has only one
handle, and its outside is divided, by a band in relief of three stripes,
into an upper and a lower compartment, and both are ornamented with
_repoussé_ work of fish, which are very faithful to nature. Very curious
is the gold box (No. 318), with a well-fitting lid, which was fastened
on it with two gold wires, by means of four perforations, one wire being
on either side of the lid, and one on either side of the rim of the box.
A similar contrivance is found in the box which Arêtê, wife of King
Alcinoüs, fills with presents for Ulysses, for she recommends to him:--
"Look now thyself to the lid and tie quickly a knot on it, lest
any one should rob thee on the way, when thou reposest again in
sweet slumber, going in the black ship."[298]
[Illustration: Nos. 317, 318. A Goblet and a Box of Gold. Sepulchre III.
Size 3:8, about.]
Homer says in the verses immediately following:--
"But as soon as the much-enduring, divine Ulysses heard this, he
forthwith fitted on the lid, and quickly put upon it a manifold
knot, which venerable Circe had once prudently taught him."[299]
These passages can leave no doubt that chests and boxes with a similar
contrivance were in general use in the time of Homer. They were also in
general use at Troy, for I collected there hundreds of terra-cotta vases,
and also a box, which shows the same principle.[300] Similar terra-cotta
vases are also to be seen in the small collection of prehistoric pottery
in the French school at Athens. They were found in a prehistoric city on
the island of Thera, below a layer of pumice-stone and volcanic ashes, 60
ft. deep, thrown out by that great central volcano, which, in the opinion
of competent geologists, must have sunk into the sea and disappeared
about 1700-1800 B.C.
[Illustration: No. 319.
Golden Vase, with lid attached by a golden wire. Sepulchre III. Size
7:10.]
Chests and boxes fashioned in the same way, namely, with perforations
in the rim and in the lid through which they were fastened by means of
a string, must have been in general use in Mycenæ, because all the gold
vessels with lids found here show exactly the same contrivance. The box
before us has no ornamentation.
[Sidenote: GOLD VESSELS WITH LIDS.]
The beautiful globular gold vase (No. 319) has a handle on each side and
one on the lid, in which latter can be seen the golden wire by which it
was attached to the vase through the perforation in the rim. The only
ornaments of this vase are the two rope-like bands in relief, with which
its upper part is encircled. I also found with the three bodies of the
third sepulchre the three gold vessels here engraved, all of which have
holes in the rim and in the lid, for tying them together with a gold
wire. No. 320 has a small handle on either side, and a large one on
the lid; it is decorated with curved lines in relief. The handsome box
(No. 321) has only a small handle on the lid, and no ornamentation. The
beautiful vase (No. 322) has a handle on each side, and a very large one
on the lid. It has no ornamentation. There can be seen protruding from
it the long golden wire, by which the lid was bound to the rim of the
vessel. All these and the former golden vases and boxes are of _repoussé_
work. I likewise found in this tomb a plain silver vase with one handle.
[Illustration: Nos. 320, 321, 322. Three Golden Vessels. Sepulchre III.
Size 2:3, about.]
There were found on the eastern side of this sepulchre four boxes of
copper-plate (see No. 323) all filled with wood, which is pretty well
preserved, only the upper part of it being partly charred by the funeral
fire. Each of these boxes is 10 in. long, 5 in. high, and 4½ in. wide.
The side plates of the boxes are soldered together, and nowhere are nails
visible except in the rim of the upper side, which is open, where we see
twenty long copper nails beaten in from the outside and projecting far
on the inside; and the question naturally arises why they are there. I
cannot explain their presence in any other way than by supposing that
there has been on this side a thick wooden plate, which was fastened
by the twenty nails, and which has been burned in the funeral fire. I
conjecture that these copper cases, filled with wood, served probably
as head-pillows for the dead, and perhaps also for the living, because
they are, at all events, not harder, and even a little softer, than the
pillows of alabaster or marble found in the Egyptian tombs, of which
several are in the British Museum. I at first supposed that the wood in
the boxes might be sandal-wood, which might have served to perfume the
sepulchre whilst the funeral pile was burning, but I have given up this
idea, considering that there would have been no use in preserving the
odoriferous wood in the boxes and shutting it up in them with long nails;
besides that, for such a purpose more of it would have burned. But again,
it may be that the sandal-wood has been imported from India in these
small boxes. In the present deteriorated state of the wood it is utterly
impossible to recognise the species of tree that it belongs to. All these
boxes were lying near the heads of the dead, but none under any of them.
[Illustration: No. 323. A Box of Copper Plate, filled with wood.
Sepulchre III. Size 3:10, about.]
[Illustration: No. 324. Vessel of Terra-cotta. Sepulchre III. Size 7:10.]
[Sidenote: HAND-MADE VASE OF TERRA-COTTA.]
There were also found with the three bodies of the third sepulchre the
small hand-made vessel of terra-cotta (No. 324), which shows, on a light
yellow dead colour, the following ornamentation of a dark red colour:
three circular bands and a spiral line interlacing eight circles, each of
which contains a palm-leaf; every two circles are further intersected by
two large round spots.
[Illustration: No. 325. An object of Alabaster. Sepulchre III. Size 7:10.]
No. 325 is of alabaster, but looks as if it were of shell; it represents
two hands joined together in juxtaposition and forming a hollow; all the
fingers are distinctly visible. The use of this object is difficult to
explain, it being too heavy to have served as a spoon or trowel.
In the same tomb I found a second piece of splendidly polished
rock-crystal; its form is more than a hemisphere; it has a perforation
in the middle of the bottom, and another on each side. Its interior has
paintings of a lively red colour. Its use is altogether inexplicable to
me; were it not for the paintings I should believe it to be the handle of
a sceptre; but as it is, it can never have served as such.
There were found in the same sepulchre an entire but quite plain
silver vase, with one handle; a broken silver vessel with a spiral
ornamentation, and a broken plain silver goblet; also a silver vase
ornamented with a horizontal row of twelve golden stars of _repoussé_
work, but unfortunately so much broken that it cannot be photographed. I
may further mention a large bronze knife with a wooden handle.
I also found in this third tomb the copper-plated mouthpiece of a large
vase, which consists, according to Professor Landerer, of a composition
of silver and lead; the mouthpiece has probably only been plated with
copper in order to plate this latter again with gold. Further, an
alabaster cup, a fragmentary bronze vase, two very large copper vases
with two handles, a large copper caldron (λεβης), with two handles,
and two others with three handles. All these objects are similar to those
found in the fourth tomb, of which the engravings will be given in the
next chapter.
There were also found here a large mass of fragments of hand-made or very
ancient wheel-made terra-cotta vases; and lastly, a long well-polished
stone of nearly oval form, which, in the opinion of Mr. Eustratiades, may
have served as a weight to draw to a door.
FOOTNOTES:
[270] See Chapters III. and IV., pp. 80-85, 88-90.
[271] See 'Troy and its Remains,' pp. 103-106.
[272] See Nos. 282-284, pp. 186, 188.
[273] Called in German the 'Umfangsmethode.'
[274] See 'Troy and its Remains,' p. 310, No. 222, where "rings"
should rather have been "tubes" or "tubular rings."
[275] _Ibid._ p. 285, No. 199.
[276] See Vignette to this chapter.
[277] See Plan B B.
[278] All these are engraved in their actual size.
[279] See No. 142, p. 91.
[280] See _Iliad_, XXII. 111, ἀσπὶς ὀμφαλόεσσα; comp.
'Troy and its Remains,' p. 324.
[281] See _Iliad_, III. 357; VII. 250; and in many other
passages.
[282] See _Iliad_, XIII. 715; XIV. 428; and in other passages.
[283] See for example _Il._ XI. 32:--
ἀν δ᾽ ἕλετ᾽ ἀμφιβρότην,
πολυδαίδαλον ἀσπίδα θοῦριν.
"Then he took the man-covering, artistically made, powerful shield."
See also all the wonders which Hephæstus wrought on the shield of
Achilles, _Il._ XVIII. 468-608.
[284] See, for example, _Il._ XX. 275, and XVIII. 480.
[285] See p. 133.
[286] κορυθαίολος ῞Ἑκτωρ. Comp. 'Troy and its Remains,'
p. 281.
[287] _Il._ XXII. 326.
[288] More properly the tree cricket (τέττιξ, Lat. _cicada_, It.
_cigaia_, Fr. _cigale_), of which the Athenians wore golden images in
their hair, to denote their autochthonic origin. Hence it was probably
the common badge of the cognate Achæan and old Ionian races.
[289] Herodotus, III. 13, 14.
Milton alludes to this legend (_Par. Lost_, Bk. II.):--
"As when a gryphon through the wilderness
With winged course o'er hill or moory dale
Pursues the Arimaspian, who by stealth
Had from his wakeful custody purloined
The guarded gold."
[290] _H. N._ VII. 2; XXXIII. 4, 21.
[291] _Apud_ Philostrat. _Vit. Apoll. Tyan._ III. 48, p. 134.
[292] 'Vasengemälde.']
[293] Like Nos. 262, 264, 265, 266, 272, 273, 274, 275, 276,
277, 279, 280, 303, 305, 306, and 316.
[294] _Iliad_, XVII. 51 and 52:--
αἵματί οἱ δεύοντο κόμαι Χαρίτεσσιν
ὁμοῖαι,
πλοχμοί θ᾿, οἳ χρυσῷ τε καὶι ἀργύρω
ἐσφήκωντο.
]
[295] _Il._ XXII. 209-213:--
ἀλλ᾿, ὅτε δὴ τὸ τεταρτον ἐπὶ
κρουνοὺς ἀφίκοντο,
καὶ τότε δὴ χρύσεια πατὴρ ἐτιταινε
τάλαντα·
ἐν δ᾿ ἐτίθει δύο κῆρε τανηλεγέεος
θανάτοιο,
τὴν μὲν ᾿Αχιλλῆος, τὴν δ᾿ ῞Ἑκτορος
ἱπποδάμοιο·
ἕλκε δὲ μέσσα λαβών· ῥέπε δ᾿
῞Ἑκτορος αἴσιμον ἦμαρ,
ᾤχετο δ᾿ εἰς ᾿Αΐδαο· λίπεν δέ ἑ
Φοῖβος ᾿Απόλλων.
[296] II. 16, § 6. See the passage fully quoted in Chapter III.
p. 59.
[297] _Odyss._ XV. 460:--
χρύσεον ὅρμον ἔχων, μετὰ δ᾿
ἠλέκτροισιν ἔερτο.
"Bringing a golden necklace set with amber."
And XVIII. 296:--
ὅρμον δ᾿ Εὐρυμάχῳ πολυδαίδαλον
αὐτίκ' ἔνεικεν
χρύσεον, ἠλέκτροισιν ἐερμένον,
ἠέλιον ὥς.
"He brought immediately to Eurymachus an artistic golden necklace, set
with amber like the sun."
In both cases the _plural_ agrees exactly with the sense of _amber-beads_
set in a gold mounting.
The third passage, _Odyss._ IV. 73--
χρυσοῦ τ᾿ ἠλέκτρου τε καὶ ἀργύρου
ἠδ᾿ ἐλέφαντος--
occurs in the description of the palace of Menelaus; and here the
_yellow_ gold and _amber_ seem placed in poetic parallelism with the
_white_ silver and _ivory_.
[298] _Odyss._ VIII. 443-445:--
Αὐτὸς νῦν ἴδε πῶμα, θοῶς δ᾽ ἐπὶ
δεσμὸν ἴηλον, μήτις τοι καθ᾽ ὁδὸν
δηλήσεται, ὁππότ᾽ ἂν αὖτε εὕδῃσθα
γλυκὺν ὑπνον, ἰὼν ἐν νηῒ μελαίνῃ.
[299] _Ib._ 446-448:--
Αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ τόγ᾽ ἄκουσε πολύτλᾳς
δῖος ᾽Οδυσσεύς,
αὐτίκ᾽ ἐπήρτυε πῶμα, θοῶς δ᾽ ἐπὶ
δεσμὸν ἴηλεν
ποικίλον, ὅν ποτέ μιν δέεδαε
φρεσὶ πότνια Κίρκη.
In _Od._ II. 354, Telemachus, preparing for his voyage to Sparta, bids
his nurse Euryclea to fill twelve amphoræ with wine and fit them all with
lids, but these would need to be very close-fitting for liquids (cf. p.
256):
Δώδεκα δ᾽ ἔμπλησον, καὶ πώμασιν
ἄρσον ἃπαντας.
[300] See my 'Troy and its Remains,' p. 286, No. 200, p. 310,
Nos. 222 and 223, and Plate XVII. Nos. 243 and 244.
[Illustration: No. 326. Golden Mask in the form of a Lion's Head.
Sepulchre IV. Size 3/10, about.]
CHAPTER VIII.
THE FOURTH TOMB IN THE ACROPOLIS OF MYCENÆ.
Further search within the Agora, without the guide of
tombstones--Discovery of an altar of Cyclopean masonry, over
the centre of the great _Fourth Tomb_, containing the bodies of
five men, burnt where they lay, laden with jewels, and covered
with a layer of white clay--Objects found--Copper caldrons, one
containing 100 gold-plated buttons with intaglio work--Homeric
mention of caldrons--A silver cow's head with gold horns and
a gold sun on its forehead: it represents Hera--Cow-heads
with axes--Swords and lances of bronze--Gold-plated wooden
sword-sheaths and hilts with gold pins--Three masks of gold
covering the faces of the bodies--A fourth mask, representing a
lion's head--Two seal-rings and a bracelet, with ornaments--The
state of art corresponds with that described in Homer--Golden
breastplates on two of the bodies--Golden crown by the head
of another--Golden ornament of the greaves--Borax used then,
as now, for soldering gold--More than one δέπας
ἀμφικύπελλον, and other vessels of gold and silver--The
large gold goblet, with doves on the two handles, like Nestor's
cup in the _Iliad_--Two-handled terra-cotta vases, hand-made,
like those at Troy--Ornaments of alabaster--Gold shoulder-belts
(τελαμῶνες)--Other objects found in the tomb, of rock
crystal, amber, alabaster--Golden diadems, some seemingly for
children; also a child's belt and frontlet, or "belle Hélène,"
and other ornaments of gold--Double edged battle-axes--their
use by the Greeks as a symbol, especially at Tenedos--A funeral
fork of copper--Vase-lids of bone--Vessel of silver and lead in
shape of an animal--Buttons of wood, plated with gold, splendidly
ornamented--Their patterns and workmanship--Hundreds of gold
flowers, plain buttons, and other ornaments of gold--Larger gold
buttons splendidly ornamented--Leaves of gold strewn under,
over, and around the bodies--Wooden comb with gold handle--Gold
models of temples--Many golden cuttle-fish--Gold knobs for
sword-hilts, highly ornamented--Arrow-heads of obsidian--Boars'
teeth--Large copper vessels--Custom of placing such vessels in
tombs--A copper tripod--Uses of tripods in Homer--Bronze swords,
lances, and knives--Some swords with parts of their wooden
sheaths, alabaster handle-knobs, golden studs, &c.--Remnants
of linen sheaths--Oyster-shells and unopened oysters--Broken
pottery, indicative of a still existing funeral custom--The bones
of the deceased--Alabaster vases--Hand-made and very ancient
wheel-made pottery--Fragments of a characteristic form of goblet,
both of terra-cotta and of gold--Another type of goblets--Two
whetstones--A handle of unique work, gold encrusted with rock
crystal, 'θαῦμα ἰδέσθαι.'
Mycenæ, December 6, 1876.
* * * * *
Encouraged by my success, I resolved upon excavating the whole remaining
space within the great parallel circle of slabs by which the Agora
is enclosed, and my attention was particularly directed to the spot
immediately west of the sepulchre last excavated, although the site was
marked by no tombstone. But, at marked variance with the colour of the
soil elsewhere, I found here only black earth, which, at a depth of 15
ft., was already intermixed with nothing else than hand-made and most
ancient wheel-made pottery, showing that the site had not been disturbed
since a remote antiquity; and this increased my hopes of making an
interesting discovery.
At a depth of 20 ft. below the former surface of the mount I struck an
almost circular mass of Cyclopean masonry, with a large round opening
in the form of a well; it was 4 ft. high and measured 7 ft. from north
to south, and 5¼ ft. from east to west.[301] I at once recognised in
this curious monument a primitive altar for funeral rites, and was
strengthened in this belief by two slabs, in the form of tombstones, 2
ft. 9 in. long, and 1 ft. 6 in. broad, and a short column, which lay in a
horizontal position below the altar, and which, in my opinion, must have
once been erected on the spot to mark the site of a sepulchre. Fragments
of beautiful hand-made or very archaic wheel-made pottery and knives of
obsidian continued to be the only objects of human industry I met with.
[Sidenote: AN ALTAR UPON A TOMB.]
At last, at a depth of 26½ ft., and at a distance of only 4 ft. 7 in.
from the tomb last described, I found a sepulchre, 24 ft. long, and 18½
ft. broad, which had been cut into the rock to the depth of 6 ft. on its
west side, 10 ft. on the north side, 8 ft. on the south side, and on the
east side 6½ ft. deep, its bottom being 33 ft. below the former surface
of the mount.[302]
It deserves particular notice that the funeral altar marked precisely
the centre of this tomb, and thus there can be no doubt that it had been
erected in honour of those whose mortal remains reposed therein. All
round the four sides of the bottom of this tomb was, on a foundation of
large common stones, a slanting wall, 7 ft. 8 in. high, of large pieces
of schist, of irregular form, which had been joined with clay. This
wall projected 4 ft., and thus considerably diminished the size of the
sepulchre. As in all the other tombs, the bottom was covered with a layer
of pebbles, on which, at about equal distances from each other, lay the
bodies of five men; three of them were lying with the head to the east,
and the feet to the west; the other two were lying with the head to the
north and the feet to the south. The bodies had evidently been burned on
the very spot on which each lay; this was shown, as well by the abundance
of ashes on and around each corpse, as by the marks of the fire on the
pebbles and on the wall of schist. The cremation of all the bodies on the
layer of pebbles on the very bottom of this, as well as of all the other
tombs, has been officially authenticated by the three government clerks,
whom the Director-General of Antiquities at Athens, Professor Panagiotes
Eustratiades, has sent here to assist me in guarding the treasures, as
well as by the Professor of Archæology, Phendikles, who remained here two
weeks with me, and by the thousands of people who flock hither from all
parts of the Argolid to see these wonders; and, therefore, any one who
doubts the exactness of my statements as to the cremation is requested
to apply to the said Director-General or to the Ministry of Public
Instruction at Athens.
The five bodies of this FOURTH TOMB were literally smothered in jewels,
all of which--as in the other tombs--show unequivocal marks of the
funeral fires.
Here, as well as in the first and third tombs, I have noticed that, for
a reason unknown to me, the burned bodies, with their golden ornaments,
had been covered, after the cremation, with a layer (3 in. to 4 in.
thick) of the same white clay which has been employed to join the pieces
of schist of the slanting internal wall. On this layer of clay was put
the second layer of pebbles. Down to about one foot above the upper
layer of pebbles, the work of excavation is not difficult, for we have
merely to direct our labourers to dig here or there. But from that point
we have to do the work ourselves; the task is exceedingly difficult and
painful to us, particularly in the present rainy weather, for we cannot
dig otherwise than on our knees, and by cutting the earth and stones
carefully away with our knives, so as not to injure or lose any of the
gold ornaments.
[Sidenote: COPPER VESSELS: NO SOLDERING.]
Beginning the excavation of the lower strata of this tomb from the
south side, I at once struck on five large copper vessels (λέβητες,
'caldrons'), in one of which were exactly one hundred very large and
smaller buttons of wood, covered with plates of gold, with a splendid
intaglio work of spirals and other ornamentation. Three of the copper
vessels measure 14 to 20 in. in diameter each, and have two upright
handles; the fourth is of the same form, but has three handles; the fifth
is a can, 1 ft. 9 in. high, with two handles, of which the one is nailed
to the mouth-piece and the upper part of the body of the vessel, and the
other to its lower part. These five copper vessels stood all upright,
close to the southern interior wall.
We find copper vessels (λέβητες) continually referred to in the
Iliad, together with tripods, as prizes in the games or as presents.[303]
But they are generally referred to in the Odyssey as basins, in which
the hands were washed at the sacrifice or before dinner.[304] They were
also used for the foot-bath.[305] It deserves particular attention
that three of the five copper vessels, and particularly the large can,
show unequivocal marks of long use on the fire. It deserves particular
attention that there is _no soldering_ in any one of the large copper
vessels found in this or any other of the Mycenean tombs; these large
vessels consist merely of copper plates, solidly joined together with
innumerable small pins. All the handles are likewise attached with
broadheaded nails.
Close to the copper vessel with the gold buttons, I found a cow's head of
silver, with two long golden horns, which I represent in the engravings
Nos. 327 and 328.
[Illustration: No. 327. The Cow's Head of silver, with horns of gold.
Sepulchre IV. Size 7:20, about.
(NOTE.--The slight difference of _size_ between this and No. 328 is
merely accidental, the engravings being by different hands.)]
[Sidenote: WONDERFUL COW-HEAD.]
It has a splendidly ornamented golden sun, of 2⅕ in. in diameter, on
its forehead; in the middle of the head is a round hole, which may have
served for flowers. I here remind the reader that the Egyptian Apis is
represented with a sun between its horns.
[Illustration: No. 328. Another view of the Cow's Head of silver, with
horns of gold. Sepulchre IV.]
The Mycenean goldsmith evidently did not understand the art of plating
silver with gold, for, whenever he had to do it, he first plated the
silver with copper, and then plated the copper with gold. He has done so
with this silver cow-head, whose mouth, eyes and ears he had to plate,
and, therefore, he first plated them with copper and then plated the
copper with gold. On the mouth the gold plating is very well preserved,
but from the eyes and ears it has almost entirely disappeared. There can
be no doubt that this cow-head was intended to represent the goddess
Hera, the patron deity of Mycenæ.
There were also found here thirty-five cowheads of very thin gold plate,
like Nos. 329 and 330, which have a double axe between the horns. Six
of these heads are quite well preserved; the other twenty-nine are all
more or less mutilated. I also collected a great quantity of fragments of
similar cowheads.
[Illustration: Nos. 329, 330. Two Golden Cow-heads with double axes.
Actual size.]
I shall discuss hereafter the symbol of the double axe, which occurs
repeatedly in these tombs. I would here call particular attention to
the three cowheads with long horns, two of which are of gold, and one
seemingly of silver, which figure among the offerings in the wall
paintings of an Egyptian tomb in Thebes, conserved in the British
Museum; the two of gold are brought by Asiatics on golden vases, whilst
the silver cow-head is offered by Egyptians. I further call attention to
Mr. G. A. Hoskins's 'Travels in Æthiopia,' p. 330, where a copy is given
of a wall painting of a tomb in Thebes, representing a grand procession,
in which, among other presents, are rings and four cowheads with long
horns, seemingly all of gold.
[Sidenote: HEAP OF SWORDS AND LANCES.]
In further excavating from east to west I struck a heap of more than
twenty bronze swords and many lances. Most of the former had had wooden
sheaths and handles inlaid with wood, of which numerous remnants could be
seen. Lying all along and in the heap of swords I found a large quantity
of round plates of gold with beautiful intaglio work, and remnants of
flat round pieces of wood, which had once, in unbroken series, adorned
both sides of the sword-sheaths. The largest plate was at the broad
end of the sheath, the smallest at the opposite extremity. The wooden
handles of the swords had likewise been ornamented with large round
plates, covered with rich intaglio work. The remaining space has been
studded with gold pins, and gold nails can be seen in the large alabaster
or wooden hilt-knobs of the swords. On and around the swords and the
remnants of the sheaths could be seen a great quantity of fine gold-dust,
which can leave no doubt that the handles and sheaths had also been
gilded.
Some of the lance-shafts seemed to be well preserved, but they crumbled
away when exposed to the air. Unfortunately the skulls of the five bodies
were in such a state of decomposition that none of them could be saved;
the two bodies with the head to the north had the face covered with large
masks of gold-plate in rude _repoussé_ work, one of which, unfortunately,
has been so much injured in the funeral fire and by the heavy weight
of the stones and _débris_, and, besides, the ashes stick so firmly to
it, that it was impossible to get a good photograph of it. However,
by looking at it for some minutes, one gets a tolerable idea of the
features. It represents a large oval youthful face with a high forehead,
a long Grecian nose, and a small mouth with thin lips; the eyes are shut,
and the hairs of both eyelashes and eyebrows are well marked.
[Illustration: No. 331. Mask of Gold, found on the face of a body.
Sepulchre IV. Size 1:3, about.]
Quite a different physiognomy is represented by the second mask (No.
331), which shews a round face, with full cheeks and a small forehead,
with which the nose does not range in a straight line, as on the other
mask; the mouth is but small, and has thick lips; the eyes are shut, and
the eyelashes, as well as the eyebrows, which are joined, are tolerably
represented.
A third mask of much thicker gold-plate was found covering the face of
one of the three bodies which lay with the head to the east.
[Illustration: No. 332. Gold Mask. Sepulchre IV. Size 3:8, about.]
[Sidenote: GOLDEN PORTRAIT MASKS.]
This mask, of which I give the engraving (No. 332), exhibits again a
totally different physiognomy: the wrinkles to the right and left above
the mouth, and the expression of the very large mouth with thin lips, can
leave no doubt that we have here the portrait of a man of more advanced
age. The forehead is very large and so are the eyes, which are open and
have neither lashes nor brows marked: the nose has been much pressed by
the stones and is out of shape. In this mask is preserved part of the
skull of the man whose face it covered.
The physiognomies represented by these three masks are so widely
different from each other, and so altogether different from the ideal
types of the statues of gods and heroes, that there cannot be the
slightest doubt that every one of them represents the likeness of the
deceased whose face it covered. Had it not been so, all the masks would
have represented the same ideal type.
A fourth heavy golden mask was found at the head of another of the three
bodies which had their heads turned to the east. This object was bent
double, and looked so little like a mask that I took it for a helmet,
and described it as such in my letter published in the _Times_ of the
27th December last; but, having unbent it, I see that it has nothing of
the shape of a cap and can only have been intended for a mask to cover
the face of the body: it had probably been accidentally removed in the
process of cremation. At first sight its engraving (No. 326, p. 211)
resembles more a jacket than anything else; but, on closer examination,
we find that it represents a lion's head, whose ears and eyes are
distinctly seen. Being of the purest gold, it is so soft that several
pieces have been broken away, as, for example, one from the vertex of
the head, another from the nose, a third from the jaws, and a fourth
from the mane, to the left of the spectator; but they are preserved,
and can easily be added by an able goldsmith. But still, even in its
present defective condition, the nose and the large upper jaws of the
lion are distinctly seen. To the right of the spectator we see in the
rim two small round perforations, and there are similar perforations in
the missing piece of the left side. They must certainly have been used
to fasten the mask on another object. I call particular attention to the
disproportionately small and but very rudely represented eyes and ears of
the lion's head.
Neither in Homer nor in any of the later classics do we find any
allusion to the custom of burying the dead with masks representing
their portrait, or with any masks at all. Masks of wood, which however
represent but an ideal type and no portrait, are sometimes found in
Egyptian tombs.[306] In a tomb near Kertch there was also found the mask
of a woman, which may represent a portrait.[307] A bronze mask was found
at Nola.[308]
[Illustration: Nos. 333, A, B. Two Gold Signet Rings. Sepulchre IV.
Actual size.]
[Illustration: Nos. 334, 335. Intaglios on the Signet Rings. Sepulchre
IV. Actual size.]
[Sidenote: ARCHAIC SEAL-RINGS.]
I further found, with the three bodies whose heads were laid towards the
east, the two large golden signet rings (Nos. 334 and 335) and the large
golden bracelet (No. 336). Nos. 333 A and B show the inverse side of the
rings. The surfaces of both signets are slightly convex; the one (No.
334) represents in very archaic intaglio a hunter with his charioteer in
a chariot drawn by two stallions, whose eight feet are in the air and in
a line parallel with the ground, to indicate the great speed with which
they are dashing forward. Their bushy tails are uplifted, and are very
natural, as are also their bodies, except the heads, which are more like
camels' than horses' heads. There are no straps visible to attach the
horses to the chariot, which is of a different shape from the chariots
which we see on the Mycenean sculptures, for here the sides are cut
out in the form of a crescent and are consolidated by three projecting
beadings, which probably go round the chariot, at least on three sides.
But the wheel is exactly like those on the sculptures, for it has only
four spokes, which form a cross round the axle.
The two men are naked, and wear merely a belt round the loins; their
uncovered heads show thick but not long hair; both wear earrings; their
faces are much protruding, and are very archaic, particularly that of the
charioteer, of whose body we see the full front view, though his head is
turned to the right: his shoulders are too broad and angular, and are
disproportionate to the rest of the body. The hunter, who appears to be
much younger than his companion, leans over the chariot, holding in his
left hand a bow; with his right he has drawn the cord, and is just in
the act of shooting an arrow at a stag with long horns, which is running
before the chariot, and seems to turn its head back, full of anguish. It
deserves particular attention that the stag is represented in the air,
and that its hind-feet are on the same level with the men in the chariot,
while its fore-feet are much higher still. Otherwise the body of the
stag is made true to nature. The object just before the horses' feet is
meant to represent the flat ground, though it looks rather like a tree
on account of the curve of the ring. The object above the stag and above
the archer is a mere ornament, and is perhaps intended to represent the
clouds; Mr. Newton thinks it represents mountains.
[Sidenote: BATTLE SCENE ON A RING.]
Still more interesting is the battle-scene on the other signet-ring
(No. 335); where we see four warriors, of whom the one has evidently
vanquished the other three. One of the latter, who is wounded, sits
on the ground to the right of the victor, supporting himself with his
hands. He has only a short helmet (κυνέη) on his head, and is
otherwise completely naked. His beard is well shown, and the Mycenean
engraver has taken great pains to represent the anatomy of the body;
though he is sitting and with his feet stretched sideways to the
spectator, yet we see the full upper part of his body in front without
any perspective diminution.
The second vanquished warrior seems also to be wounded, for he is
kneeling on one knee before the victor, whilst his other foot is
stretched on the ground; but still he is fighting against his antagonist,
whose breast he has seized with his left hand, endeavouring to stab him
with the long sword which he holds in his right hand. I call particular
attention to the large knob at the end of the sword-handle.
The wounded man is not quite naked, because we distinctly see on him a
pair of trousers, which, however, reach only down to the middle of the
thighs. His head would, no doubt, have been quite well proportioned had
not the artist forgotten to remove a small particle of gold; by this a
small white line is produced in the photograph, which makes it appear as
if there were only a helmet and no head. If we imagine this small white
line removed, we at once recognise the true proportions of the head, with
its small helmet, which has an upper part (φάλος), but no λόφος
or crest. Though this man is also kneeling sideways to the spectator,
still we see his whole body in front without any perspective diminution.
The third warrior seems to have taken to flight; we see only his head and
his feet, the rest of his body being hidden by an enormous shield, of a
peculiar form, which, if the man were standing upright, would cover his
whole body from head to foot. We see a border all around this shield,
and there appears to be also some ornament on it, which, however, is
difficult to distinguish. It is only owing to the curve of the ring that
he is not shown standing upright. This shield represents to us, no doubt,
one of the large Homeric shields, which were so enormous that the poet
compares them to towers:[309]
"Ajax approached; before him, _as a tower_,
His mighty shield he bore, seven-fold, brass-bound,
The work of Tychius, best artificer
That wrought in leather; he in Hyla dwelt."
LORD DERBY.
This warrior's head is covered with a helmet, having a broad border
and a large φάλος and attached to it the λόφος, from which a
long and well-represented crest (ἵππουρις) is waving. He appears
to have stopped in his flight, and, having turned his head, he is trying
to thrust his long lance at the victor. This latter is of gigantic
proportions, and has on his head a helmet similar to that of the other
man with the tower-like shield; only the crest is different, consisting
here of three straps which may represent ostrich feathers. He appears to
wear a broad belt, because four long straps are hanging down from his
loins: his body is the best proportioned of all. He seizes with his left
hand the vanquished man before him, whilst with his uplifted right hand
he deals him a deadly blow with a broad two-edged sword, on the handle
of which we again see one of those very large knobs, of which we find
here so many of alabaster or wood. The posture of the victor is perfectly
faithful to nature; he is stepping with his left foot forward and leaning
on it the whole weight of his body, in order to strike a more powerful
blow. Above the four warriors is an ornament in which Mr. Newton may
be right in seeing a rude representation of mountains. I may here add
that both signet-rings are but very small, and could only fit on ladies'
fingers.
When I brought to light these wonderful signets, I involuntarily
exclaimed: "The author of the 'Iliad' and the 'Odyssey' cannot but have
been born and educated amidst a civilisation which was able to produce
such works as these. Only a poet who had objects of art like these
continually before his eyes could compose those divine poems." Mr.
Gladstone has already proved beyond any doubt in his celebrated 'Homeric
Synchronism' that Homer was an Achæan, and I am constantly bringing to
light in the depths of Mycenæ thousands of additional proofs that he is
perfectly right.
[Illustration: No. 336. A Bracelet of Gold. Sepulchre IV. Actual size.]
[Sidenote: MASSIVE GOLDEN BRACELET.]
Highly interesting is also the very heavy, massive, golden bracelet,
which I represent under No. 336. In remarkable contrast with the size
of the signet-rings, it is so enormously large that it would fit on the
loins of an ordinary man. It is ornamented with vertical strokes between
two margins formed by two circular bands; and further with a beautiful
flower of gold, which is not soldered directly on the bracelet, but is
fastened with a silver pin to a plate of the same metal, and this latter
is soldered on the ring. The silver plate, part of which is broken off
all round, appears to have represented four flowers, and there are signs
of its having been plated with copper, which has no doubt been plated
with gold; because, as I have before stated, the Mycenean goldsmiths did
not know the art of plating silver with gold.
The two bodies which are turned with the head to the east, whose faces
were covered with gold masks, had also the breasts covered with large
golden breast-plates. The one is of massive gold, but without any
ornamentation; the other is of a much thinner gold plate and decorated
with a _repoussé_ work of two borders of small circles, within which are
five rows of shield-like ornaments with concentric circles. This latter
breast-cover has, at each of its extremities, a hole for fastening it to
the body. Close to the head of another body, I found the beautiful golden
crown (στέμμα, No. 337), but it must be distinctly understood that
it is represented here head downward, because to that side which is shown
here as the lower, were attached, with very small pins, of which six
can be seen, a number of leaves, a few of which still remain; and if,
therefore, the crown had been put round the head as it is shown here,
the leaves would have hung over the eyes, which can never have been the
case.[310] Thus, this crown had on its upper side the leaves, and on
its lower a small border with small oblique strokes, the intervening
space being filled up in the middle with three rosettes, intersected by
vertical rows of very small shield-like circles, and at both ends with
similar circles or with larger ones. At each extremity, there is a very
small perforation, through which the crown was fastened by means of a
thin gold wire. This crown resembles the one already shown (see No. 281),
but its ornamentation is much less sumptuous.
[Illustration: No. 337. A splendid Crown of Gold found close to the head
of one of the bodies in the fourth Sepulchre. Size 1:4, about.]
[Illustration: No. 338.
A Human Thigh-bone, with a gold ornament of the greaves still attached to
it. Sepulchre IV. Size 1:4, about.]
[Sidenote: SPLENDID GOLDEN CROWN.]
No. 338 represents the thigh-bone of one of the bodies of this sepulchre,
around which was still attached the golden band, which served both for
fastening and ornamenting the greave (κνημίς). The band consists of
two parts, the lower horizontal and the upper vertical; the former being
attached by a fine gold wire, the latter by means of the ring which we
see at its extremity and which must have been fastened to a button fixed
to the short trousers, of which we have seen a specimen on the ring (No.
335). We have already seen[311] that the greaves were attached above the
knee, and the existence of this greave-holder on the thigh-bone can leave
no doubt that such was the general custom. The lower band is decorated
all round with an imitation of leaves, and in front with two rosettes.
On the upper band we see soldered a smaller and thicker one, with the
unmistakeable intention to give it more substance.
[Sidenote: GOLD SOLDERED WITH BORAX.]
While speaking of soldering, I may mention that Professor Landerer
informs me that the Mycenean goldsmiths soldered gold with the help of
borax (borate of soda), which is still used at the present day for the
same purpose. He adds that he was lucky enough to discover this salt
on the border of an ancient false medal from Ægina; that it was called
in antiquity χρυσόκολλα ("gold cement"), and that it was
imported from Persia and India under the name of _Baurac-Pounxa-Tinkal_.
In the Middle Ages, it was imported by the Venetians from Persia to
Venice, where it was purified and exported under the denomination of
_Borax Venetus_.
[Illustration: No. 339. A Golden Goblet with two handles (δεπας
αμφικυπελλον). Sepulchre IV. Size 5:8 about.]
[Illustration: No. 340. Golden Goblet with one handle. Sepulchre IV. Size
5:6, about.]
[Illustration: No. 341.
A Golden Wine-Flagon (οἰνοχόη). Sepulchre IV. Size 7:10.]
[Sidenote: CURIOUS GOLDEN GOBLETS.]
There were further found with the five bodies of this sepulchre nine
vessels of gold; the first (No. 339) being a large massive golden goblet
with two handles, and, therefore, an Homeric δέπας
ἀμφικύπελλον; it has no ornamentation. The two golden
goblets, one of which is shown (No. 340), are, as Professor A.
Rousopoulos observed to me, of the pattern called in Greek αὐλακωτά
("furrowed"), each of them being encircled by nine parallel furrows;
each has only one handle. Another gold vessel (No. 341) found in this
sepulchre, is a beautiful _œnochoë_, with a large handle, and decorated
in _repoussé_ work, with three parallel horizontal rows of spirals,
united with each other and forming an interwoven ornamentation, which
fills the whole body of the flagon with a net-work, and which, as Dr.
Schlie remarked to me regarding the perfectly similar spiral net-work on
the sepulchral _stêlé_ (No. 140)[312] is in principle the same as the
filling up with frets or spirals combined horizontally and vertically.
The foot of the _œnochoë_ is ornamented with small slanting strokes. I
also found a gold goblet with one handle (No. 342), the body of which is
encircled with a broad band of a plain ornamentation in _repoussé_ work,
resembling blades of knives. Further, a plain massive golden goblet of a
new shape (No. 343) having one handle, which, like all the other handles,
is fastened to the vessel with gold nails with broad convex heads, which
can be seen on the inner side of the rim. If we take away the handle,
this goblet resembles our present water-glasses, but its cup is larger
and its foot smaller.
[Illustration: No. 342. A Golden Cup. Sepulchre IV. Size 4:5.]
[Illustration: No. 343. A plain massive Cup of Gold. Sepulchre IV. Size
2:5, about.]
[Illustration: No. 344. A large massive Gold Goblet with two handles
(δέπας ἀμφικύπελλον), weighing 4 lbs. troy. Sepulchre
IV. Half-size.]
I would here call very particular attention to the fact that this golden
goblet more or less exactly represents the form of all the goblets of
terra-cotta found at Mycenæ (see No. 83, p. 70, and Nos. 84 and 88 on
p. 71). It further deserves special notice that, as before stated,
the British Museum contains, of perfectly the same shape, fourteen
terra-cotta goblets found in the tomb of Ialysus. It is also worthy of
particular notice that exactly the same form of goblet was found by me at
Troy (Hissarlik), in a depth of 50 feet, in the most ancient of the four
prehistoric cities.[313]
[Sidenote: WONDERFUL DEPAS AMPHIKYPELLON.]
But the most remarkable of the vessels deposited in this sepulchre
is an enormous massive golden goblet with two handles--δέπας
ἀμφικύπελλον--weighing four pounds troy (No. 344).[314] It is
one of the most splendid jewels of the Mycenean treasure; but,
unfortunately, it has been crumpled up by the ponderous weight of the
stones and _débris_, and its body has been compressed upon the foot,
so that the spectator cannot fully realise from the engraving the
magnificence of this royal cup. Any goldsmith might easily restore it to
its former shape, but I think it would be far better to leave it as it
is, because it has thus a far higher value to science; and, as a general
rule, I may remark that the less ancient jewels of gold are touched and
handled, the better, because their great value lies in the tarnish of
antiquity--the "_patina_"--which no human hand can imitate, and which,
when once lost, can never be restored.
The body of this costly goblet is encircled by a row of fourteen splendid
rosettes, between an upper band of three lines, and a lower one of two;
the foot, by a band of large protruding globular points. Not only the
flat sides of the handles, but even their edges, are ornamented. Here
also may be seen the heads of the golden pins with which the handles are
attached to the rim and body.
No. 345 (p. 236) represents a plain, large, massive golden goblet, with
one handle, of which the side turned to the spectator is much crumpled
and compressed; it has no other ornament than a thick, protruding band,
by which the body is encircled.
The splendid massive golden goblet (No. 346, p. 237) is also defaced,
having been pressed over to the left side of the spectator. It has two
horizontal handles, each formed by thick plates, which are joined by a
small cylinder. The lower plate of each of these handles is attached to
the large round foot by a long broad thick gold band, whose upper part
is embellished with a long opening, the upper end of which is pointed,
the lower being round. The lower part of the band is, for a like purpose,
cut out into three straps, which join again on the foot of the goblet,
where the band is fastened with two golden pins, with broad flat round
heads, which can be seen in the engraving. On each upper plate of the
two handles is soldered a beautiful little golden pigeon, apparently
of cast-work, with the beak turned towards the goblet, so that the two
pigeons are looking at each other. This goblet vividly reminds us of
Nestor's cup.[315]
[Illustration: No. 345. Gold Cup with one handle. Sepulchre IV. Size
11:12, about.]
[Illustration: No. 346. A Golden Goblet (δέπας
ἀμφικύπελλον) with two doves on the handles. Sepulchre IV.
Size 3:8.]
[Sidenote: THE NESTORIAN GOBLET.]
Homer's description of this Nestorian goblet fully answers to the vase
before us, except that the former is much larger and has four handles,
each with two pigeons, instead of only two handles, each with but one
pigeon, as our engraving shows. The Nestorian goblet had two bottoms,
and so has our goblet, because it is impossible to understand by "two
bottoms" anything else than the bottom of the goblet and the bottom of
its foot. The usual explanation of the Nestorian goblet, as having an
upper and a lower cup (the form also attributed to all the Homeric
δέπα ἀμφικύπελλα), is altogether erroneous. A goblet of
such a shape would have only one bottom common to its two cups, and it
could not, therefore, answer the requirements of the Homeric description.
Further, as such a double goblet could at all events be filled only on
one side at a time, there would be no _raison d'être_ for the two cups in
opposite directions. Besides, whenever a goblet with wine is presented
by one person to another, Homer clearly always means it to be understood
that it is a δέπας ἀμφικύπελλον, namely, that it is
double-handled, and that, being presented with the one handle, it is
received by the other. I may mention, besides, that no goblet with an
upper and a lower cup has ever yet been found, while I found twenty
differently-shaped goblets with two handles at Troy, and a large number
of double-handled goblets at Mycenæ, all of which can be nothing else
than δέπα ἀμφικύπελλα.
Athenæus[316] lays great weight on the explanation of the Nestorian
goblet, as given by a certain Apelles, who maintained that it was
nothing else than a goblet with a foot, on two sides of which latter
were soldered two bands (of metal), which had a common base, and stood
vertically not far from each other. These bands reached to above the
mouth of the goblet, and were bent over and joined again in one sole
piece, which was soldered to the rim. Apelles maintained that by the
four handles of the Nestorian goblet, Homer could mean nothing else than
these handles, which were properly but two, but were called four, in
consequence of being divided. Thus, as there were only two pigeons at the
juncture of each of those two metal bands, the Nestorian goblet had in
all only four pigeons. This explanation of Apelles very nearly answers to
the shape of the goblet before us.
I would also suggest that the shape of the Nestorian goblet may be
imagined as perfectly similar to the goblet before us, because this
really has four handles; namely, the two horizontal ones, on which the
pigeons lie, and the two lower ones which are produced by the thick
vertical straps, which join them at the foot. If so, the only difference
would be that Nestor's goblet had one more pigeon on each of these double
handles. But the question is what that goblet was made of. Probably it
was of wood and studded with gold nails; because, if it had been of gold
or some other metal, it is difficult to suppose that it could have been
studded with gold nails.
[Sidenote: SPLENDIDLY ORNAMENTED CUP.]
I further picked up in this tomb the beautiful large golden goblet
represented by No. 347. It has a broad handle, which is attached to
the rim and body by three pins with large flat heads. The outside of
the goblet is divided by vertical lines into seven compartments, in
each of which is represented, in magnificent _repoussé_ work, a flower
which fills the whole space between the rim and the bottom. I found in
this tomb still another large golden goblet with splendid _repoussé_
ornamentation, but, by a mistake quite inexplicable, it has not been
photographed.
[Illustration: No. 347. A large Gold Cup. Sepulchre IV. Size 4:5.]
[Illustration: No. 348. Large Silver Goblet, richly plated with gold.
Sepulchre IV. Size 4:7.]
[Illustration: No. 349. Hand-made Vase of Terra-cotta. Sepulchre IV.
About half-size.]
With the five bodies of the fourth tomb was further found the beautiful
heavy massive silver goblet (No. 348) which is exceedingly well
preserved, and has only one handle, in the form of the golden handle
of the cup No. 346. This handle is fastened to the rim and body of the
goblet by four gold nails having large round flat heads. The piece of
metal, which we see on the body of the vessel, was accidentally soldered
to it by the fire of the funeral pile, and does not belong to it. The
whole body was plated with copper, and this plating was again plated with
gold, and the gold was covered with a splendid ornamentation of intaglio
work, which seems to be very well preserved, but only very little of it
can be seen, on account of the dirt with which the goblet is covered. Mr.
A. Postolaccas reminds me that the spiral band, of which a small part is
visible in the engraving, is also found on the medals of Tarentum, and
represents there the waves of the sea.
[Illustration: Nos. 350, 351. Objects of Egyptian Porcelain, of unknown
use. Sepulchre IV. Size 2:5.]
[Sidenote: OBJECTS OF EGYPTIAN PORCELAIN.]
There were further found in the same tomb three hand-made terra-cotta
vases with two handles, one of which is represented (No. 349); this
form is very common in Troy, but it is very often set on three small
feet.[317]
[Illustration: No. 352. Model of a sort of scarf tied in a noose.
Egyptian porcelain. Sepulchre IV. Size 2:3, about.]
I also found the two objects (Nos. 350 and 351) which Mr. Newton holds
to be of Egyptian porcelain; their use is altogether unknown to me. The
smaller piece has an ornamentation of white and black parallel lines;
the other has, on a dead green ground, parallel bands of four white
lines, which cross each other so as to form a number of small squares.
The lower part of No. 351 has an impressed ornamentation, representing
tassels painted black, in each of which we see a noose perfectly similar
in form to the object represented in No. 352, which is also of Egyptian
porcelain. The perforations show this object to have been an ornament
nailed on something else. These scarfs also have, on a light-green dead
ground, an ornamentation, now nearly obliterated, of parallel bands of
two white lines, which cross each other at right angles and form small
squares. At the lower end of the front piece of both are represented
tassels in very low relief, which are painted black. Both these objects
can be nothing else than ornaments, but the question is how they have
been used as such.[318]
[Illustration: No. 353. A Silver Flagon (οἰνοχόη). Sepulchre IV.
Nearly half-size.]
[Sidenote: SILVER WINE-FLAGON.]
The silver flagon, or _œnochoë_ (No. 353), has a long vertical handle and
a beautiful form, but no ornamentation, at least none that is visible;
but there may be some in _repoussé_ below the dirt with which the vessel
is covered. There were further found three shoulder-belts
(τελαμῶνες) of gold, of which I represent one. Of the other two,
the one is a broad but thin band, without any ornamentation, and it
appears to have been expressly made for the funeral, for it is not solid
enough to have been used by living men; its length is 4½ ft., its breadth
is 2 in. to 2⅓ in.
The golden shoulder-belt here shown (No. 354) is much thicker and more
solid; it is 4 ft. 1½ in. long and 1⅞ in. broad, and has on either side
a small border produced by the turning down of the gold plate, and is
ornamented with an uninterrupted row of rosettes. At one extremity are
two apertures in the form of keyholes, which served to fasten the clasp
which was attached to the other extremity, as is shown by two small cuts
and a small hole. The third golden shoulder-belt presents exactly the
same model and ornamentation, as well as the same keyhole-like apertures
at one end, and cuts where the clasps were fastened at the other
extremity; only this one has suffered much from the fire, and therefore
the ornamentation is less distinct. There were further found in the
same tomb fourteen objects of very pure rock crystal, but their use is
unknown; also a thin disc of alabaster, which must have been the bottom
of a vase.
[Illustration: No. 354. Gold Model of a shoulder belt (τελαμών).
Sepulchre IV. Size 3:16, about.]
[Sidenote: AMBER BEADS.]
At the left side of the head of the middle body of the three which lay
with the heads turned to the east, I found a heap of more than 400 large
and small beads of amber, of which I represent eight (No. 355). About
the same number of similar amber beads were found with one of the bodies
the head of which lay to the north. All these amber beads had, no doubt,
been strung on thread in the form of necklaces, and their presence in the
tombs among such large treasures of golden ornaments seems to prove that
amber was very precious and was considered as a magnificent ornament in
the time of the early Mycenean kings.
[Illustration: No. 355. Amber Necklace-beads. Sepulchre IV. Actual size.]
Among the finest objects found in this tomb were a vase and three handles
of alabaster, which are put together in the engraving (No. 356). Each of
the handles has two or three perforations by which they were attached to
the vase, on which similar perforations are found. But, judging by the
smallness of the perforations, which are only large enough for slight
pins, the fragility of the elaborate handles, and the heaviness of the
vase itself, we become convinced that it can never have been used for
anything else than an ornament, and that it can never even have been
lifted up by the handles.
[Illustration: No. 356. A large three-handled Vase of Alabaster.
Re-composed from the Fragments. Sepulchre IV. Half-size.]
[Sidenote: CURIOUS GOLDEN DIADEMS.]
There were further found four golden diadems, two large and two small
ones, similar to those already represented.[319] The larger one is 1 ft.
8½ in. long and 4 in. broad in the middle. Between two borders of zigzag
lines it has an ornamentation of shield-like double circles in _repoussé_
work, the space between them being on either side filled up by small
circles of the same pattern, whilst both extremities are covered with a
beautiful spiral ornamentation. At the one end is a pin (ἔμβολον)
and at the other a small tube (αἀλίσκος), by which the diadem was
fastened round the head. The smaller diadems are only 1 ft. 5½ in. long,
and 2⅘ in. broad in the middle, and appear to have adorned a child's
forehead. Their ornamentation in _repoussé_ work is most varied and
curious. Between two borders, each of two lines, we see in the middle a
circle surrounded by thirteen small ones, on either side of which follow
two vertical bands filled with small horizontal strokes; next a vertical
row of three circles, and again two vertical bands filled with horizontal
strokes; after that a vertical band of spirals, and two concentric
circles, surrounded by smaller ones of the same shape; then again a
vertical band filled with horizontal strokes; and, lastly, two vertical
bands of concentric circles, between which a horizontal band with oblique
strokes goes to the extremity. Only one end, with a perforation, is
preserved. The other end, probably, was similarly fashioned, and the
diadem was fastened with a fine gold wire round the child's head. No body
of a child was found, but the number of small ornaments which would only
fit a child lead me to think that there has been one, or even more than
one, in this sepulchre. None of these diadems were piped.
There were further found two golden diadems which, like the former, are
of thin gold plate, but neither of them is piped. Both are so small
that they could only fit round the heads of children; one is 1 ft. 4½
in., the other 1 ft. 1/3 in., long. The former is ornamented, between
two borders of points, with five shield-like circles in the middle, of
which three represent rosettes, the other two a wheel in motion. The
remaining space to the right and left is filled up with small shield-like
circles, together with two larger ones representing again a wheel in
motion, and with spirals. The other diadem has, between two borders of
concentric circles, in the middle a shield-like circle representing a
wheel in motion, and to the right and left a similar circle representing
rosettes. Above the second circle from the middle one, to the right of
the spectator, is represented a bird. The remaining space is filled up
with a beautiful and very symmetrical ornamentation of spirals, with two
shield-like circles representing wheels in motion, and again with spirals
or concentric circles. Both these diadems have at each end a fine wire
for fastening them round the head.
[Illustration: Nos. 357, 358.
A Belt and "belle Hélène" of gold. Sepulchre IV. Size ⅓ (one-third
size).]
Nos. 357 and 358 represent from the same sepulchre a small
beautifully-ornamented golden belt and a golden "belle Hélène," that
is, a fillet or frontlet. Both are of strong plate, but so short that
they also seem to have been used as ornaments for a child. The belt is
ornamented with seven shield-like circles, representing wheels in motion;
it has at either end a perforation for fastening it with fine wires.
[Sidenote: ORNAMENTED GOLD RIBBON, ETC.]
The "belle Hélène" is ornamented with rosettes and crosses of _repoussé_
work; it has two perforations in the rim, a little way from either
end, from one of which is still hanging the fragment of a very fine
chain (_a_), and a similar one has, no doubt, been suspended to the
other perforation.[320] Both the chains must have been much longer, and
ornaments must have been attached to them, as to the Trojan diadems,[321]
which Mr. Gladstone is right in identifying with the Homeric
"πλεκταὶ ἀναδέσμαι." Attached to each extremity of
this frontlet is a fine golden wire for fastening it round the head.
I also picked up in this tomb a small golden belt-ornament, a golden
greave-ornament, two golden ribbons, and two golden leaves, all with an
ornamentation in _repoussé_ work, such as we have repeatedly passed in
review, and therefore I do not give the engravings of them here.
There were further found with the five bodies of the fourth sepulchre
the following objects of gold: the richly-ornamented ribbon (No. 359),
having at either extremity five perforations for nailing or sewing it to
some other object. The decoration forms two compartments, one of which
is divided by a multitude of vertical lines into a number of smaller
and larger fields. Three of these show a waving line, having on either
side small strokes which give it the appearance of a feather. In the
other compartment, between two borders, each composed of three or four
horizontal lines, are two rows of beautiful spirals and two straps
ornamented with small oblique strokes. The two objects, Nos. 360 and
361, are heavy massive golden pins, which may equally well have served
as breast-pins or as hair-pins, because Homer's countrymen, the Achæans,
wore very long hair, and were therefore called
καρηκομώοντες ᾽Αχαιοί by the poet. The heads of both
these brooches have almost the shape of helmets, and each of them has
a vertical perforation, which may have been used for putting in an
additional ornament, or perhaps a flower. Both these brooches appear to
be much worn. Much thinner is the third golden pin (No. 362), which is
ornamented with an admirably-represented ram with long horns.
[Illustration: Nos. 359-365. Various ornaments of Gold. Sepulchre IV.
Actual size.]
The rings (Nos. 363 and 364) are also of gold; the former, which is
massive and has no ornamentation, seems to have been a finger-ring; the
latter is a small ornamented ribbon, which was turned round and fastened
in the form of a ring, and may have been used as an earring, similar to
which there were found two.
No. 365 is a lion's cub; it is of massive gold, very heavy, and I share
Mr. Newton's opinion that it is cast and tooled.
[Illustration: No. 366. Highly decorated Golden Cylinder, probably the
handle of a sword or sceptre. Sepulchre IV. Size 4:5.]
[Sidenote: ORNAMENTED GOLD CYLINDER.]
The golden cylinder (No. 366) belonged no doubt, to the wooden handle of
a sword or sceptre, because we see all along its middle part the row of
pin-holes, and even four flat heads of pins, and in the centre the head
of a very large pin, by which it was attached. It is ornamented at both
ends with a broad border of wave-lines, and the whole remaining space is
filled with interwoven spirals, all in magnificent intaglio work.
There was also found an ornament consisting of three double leaves
of gold, which are soldered together in the middle, representing a
magnificent star, ornamented all over with shield-like concentric circles
of _repoussé_ work. The primitive artist has not forgotten to ornament
the borders with small strokes, no doubt with the intention of making the
leaves still more conspicuous. There were found two other stars, each of
two double leaves of gold, which are soldered together in the middle,
and, as the perforation shows, were fastened by a pin on some other
object. The leaves of both stars are ornamented with a _repoussé_ work
of shield-like concentric circles, interspersed with pear-like designs;
the borders of the leaves are also ornamented with small strokes. In what
manner all these stars have been used as ornaments, it is difficult to
say.
I further found with the five bodies of this tomb two small rings (see
No. 367), which have an impressed ornamentation of small circles. There
were further found two small double-headed battle-axes, of thin gold
plate (No. 368). Of the handle of the one shown, only part remains;
that of the other is almost entirely gone. Double-headed battle-axes
of precisely the same form are seen on all the medals of the island of
Tenedos; we see them also on some of the gold ornaments from Mycenæ, on
a lentoid gem from the great Heræum, which will be passed in review in
the subsequent pages, and between the horns of the two small cow-heads
on gold-leaf found in this sepulchre.[322] Mr. Postolaccas calls my
attention to the passage in Plutarch:[323] "But the Tenedians have taken
the axe from the crabs, which are with them abundant about the so-called
Asterion, because it appears that the crabs alone have the figure of the
axe in their shell." The same friend reminds me, besides, that the double
battle-axe is the symbol of the Labrandian Jove, who was worshipped in
Labranda, and it is represented on the medals of the ancient kings of
Caria, as on those of Maussollus[324] (353 B.C.), Idrieus (344 B.C.),
Pixodarus (336 B.C.) and Othomtopatos (334 B.C.). I also find in
Plutarch[325] that the axe, πέλεκυς, was called in the Lydian
language λάβρυς.
[Sidenote: SYMBOL OF THE DOUBLE AXE.]
[Illustration: Nos. 367-370. Golden Ornaments. Sepulchre IV. Size 2:3.]
Professor A. Rhousopoulos writes to me on this subject:
"I suppose the double-edged axe on the coins of
"Tenedos to be a sacrificial or a warlike symbol. I believe
"this from analogy with other coins of a superior class.
"There was a proverb in ancient Greece, Τενέδιος
πέλεκυς,
"'Tenedian axe,' for those who resolve questions in a
"harsh or in a rather short way. The Tenedian Apollo
"held in his hand the double axe, namely, that which is
"represented on the coins of Tenedos; but the interpretation
"of this symbol in antiquity was twofold. Some
"regarded it as the symbol of Tennes, others (and so
"Aristotle) maintained that a certain king of Tenedos
"made a law, that he who surprised an adulterer and adulteress
"had to kill both with an axe. Now, it happened
"that his own son was surprised as an adulterer, and the
"father decreed that the boy should be punished according
"to the common law. In consequence of this event, the
"double axe was put on the medals of Tenedos, in memory
"of the prince's tragic fate." However, as to the signification
of this symbol in the remote antiquity to which the
Mycenean tombs belong, I do not venture to express an
opinion.
The magnificent golden object (No. 369) resembles very much the usual
ornaments for fastening the greaves round the thigh, just above the knee;
but it cannot have served as such, the gold plate being by far too thick
for that purpose; besides, this ornament is perfectly straight, and has
evidently never been bent. It must, therefore, be something else. As
we see the object before us, it resembles a man such as children draw;
the ring above the head may represent a crown. The splendid ornament in
_repoussé_ work on the body we have seen, though less beautiful, in the
border of the sepulchral _stêlé_ (No. 24).[326] The legs show, between
two narrow borders, rows of small signs resembling the letter _koppa_,
which we see on all the Corinthian medals.
There were further found three golden objects, of which I represent one
under No. 370. I do not venture to give an explanation of them; they
cannot have served as brooches, the pin at the foot being too short and
fragile for that use. All three have a border all round, and in the
middle a rosette formed by points.
[Sidenote: FUNERAL FORK.]
There were further found the two objects of copper here represented. For
what purpose the first (No. 371) may have been used, it is difficult to
say; it has a quadrangular hole, which cannot, however, have served to
put in a handle, because the copper-plate is not thick enough. The second
object is a large fork, with three curved prongs, and a tube into which
the wooden handle was stuck; this fork has evidently served to rake the
fire of the funeral piles.
[Illustration: Nos. 371, 372. Objects of Copper. Sepulchre IV. Size 1:3,
about.]
There were also found in this tomb the objects shown in the following
cut. Nos. 373 and 374 are of bone and have the same shape. Both have on
one side a carved ornamentation of spirals, a border, and two or three
concentric circles, and two perforations; in the centre there seems
to have been a knob, which is broken off. On the reverse side, in the
border, are three protruding cones in the form of feet. I represent in
the engraving the upper end of one of these objects, and the reverse side
of the other. The use of them would be almost impossible to explain had I
not found similar ones, but of terra-cotta, and with four feet of conical
shape, in Troy, and one of them still _in situ_, as a lid on the mouth of
a large can or jar. The two perforations served to fasten the lid with a
string to the jars.[327] Four such vase-lids of bone were found in this
tomb.
[Illustration: Nos. 373-375. Two Bone Lids of Jars and a piece of an
Alabaster Vase. Sepulchre IV. Size 5:6.]
No. 375 represents a fragment of an alabaster vase, on which a beautiful
ornamentation is carved, displaying, between two parallel stripes, a row
of spirals, and, below, a row of vertical flutings.
[Illustration: No. 376. A Stag, of an alloy of silver and lead. Sepulchre
IV. Size 3:7, about.]
[Sidenote: STAG OF SILVER AND LEAD.]
In a copper vessel in the south-eastern corner of this sepulchre was
found the animal represented under No. 376, which Professor Landerer has
found to consist of a mixture of two-thirds silver and one-third lead.
It is hollow, and seems to have served as a vase, the mouth-piece, in
the form of a funnel, being on the back. The whole body of the animal is
very coarse and heavy, particularly the feet, which resemble the feet of
a buffalo, but the head resembles a cow's-head. As, however, the head is
crowned with two stag-horns, of which one is preserved, there can be no
doubt that the artist intended to represent a stag. He may be excused for
having made the animal so coarse, because had he given exactly the form
of a stag, the vase he intended to make would have been too fragile.
Vases of terra-cotta in the form of animals were frequent at Troy.[328]
[Illustration: Nos. 377-381. Buttons of Wood, covered with plates of
gold, highly ornamented. Sepulchre IV. Actual size.]
[Illustration: Nos. 382-386. Buttons of Wood, covered with plates of
gold, highly ornamented. Sepulchre IV. Actual size.]
[Sidenote: WONDERFUL CROSS-BUTTONS.]
There were further found with the five bodies of the fourth sepulchre
twelve buttons of wood, in the form of crosses, plated with gold, which
present a most magnificent ornamentation of intaglio and _repoussé_
work (see Nos. 377-386).[329] The largest of them (No. 377) is a little
more than 3½ in. in length and is 2⅛ in. broad. The most curious thing
is, that all the wooden buttons present exactly the same beautiful
ornamentation as the gold plate which covers them, as can be seen on
the aforesaid large button in the place where part of the gold plate is
missing. The question, therefore, naturally arises, in what manner this
effect can have been produced. On mature reflection, we arrive at the
conviction that it cannot possibly have been done in any other way than
the following. The pieces of wood were first shaped, and on them was
carefully and artistically carved in low-relief all the ornamentation
which we now see on the gold plate in _repoussé_ work. After that, the
wooden buttons were covered with the gold plate, which, having been well
attached on the reverse side, was hammered on the buttons, and in this
manner the low-relief ornamentation of the wood was reproduced in the
gold plate. When this had been done, the intaglio work was made in the
gold plate, which being very thin, all the cuts were at once impressed as
deeply into the wood as into the gold. I think this is the only way to
explain this wonderful work.
The form of all these cross buttons is that of a _lozenge_; nine of them
being ornamented at each acute, as well as at each obtuse angle, with two
protruding globular pieces, each of which has four concentric circles
in intaglio. Only two of the cross buttons (Nos. 382 and 384) have on
each acute angle three such protruding globular pieces, and one (No.
380) has three of them at all four corners. The button (No. 378) has, in
its interior lozenge, a broad border, adorned with thirty-two beautiful
little crosses, each of which has a point in the centre, and within this
border, two spirals in the form of an Omega, which stand opposite each
other, and are crowned with branches, apparently, of a date tree; to the
right and left are small rosettes. On the large button (No. 377), the
border of the interior lozenge is filled all round with small circles
in intaglio, and within we see in the middle a double circle, filled
with a spiral ornamentation, likewise in intaglio, and on each side of
the circle a spiral, in the form of an Omega, and some smaller spirals
and signs, all in _repoussé_ work. No. 379 has simply a border of two
lines, within which is a circle with a spiral ornamentation, and in each
acute angle a spiral in the form of an Omega. On this button only the
last-named spiral is _repoussé_, the rest is intaglio. Still more simple
is the ornamentation of No. 381, in which the border consists also of two
lines, and the internal space is filled by two signs in form of Omegas,
and by four small flowers, which latter alone appear to be _repoussé_,
the rest intaglio work. The button (No. 380) has no border; the whole
space is filled by concentric circles in intaglio, with only two or three
small ornaments in _repoussé_.
On the other hand, on the button (No. 382) all the ornamentation is
produced by _repoussé_ work; even to the border line of the interior
lozenge, within which we see a circle filled with small ones, and above
and below it a curious sign, which is very frequent on the Trojan
whorls. On the large button (No. 383) we again see a border filled with
twenty-eight crosses, and in the interior lozenge, in the middle, a
double circle, a 卍 with curved arms, in each of which, as well as in the
centre, is a point to mark the nails by which the two pieces of wood for
the production of the sacred fire were fastened. The two acute angles
are here again filled up with the same sign which we noticed on the
preceding figure. The border with the crosses is of _repoussé_ work; the
circle, with the 卍, of intaglio.
In the figure No. 384, the border of the interior lozenge is ornamented
with horizontal strokes; in the interior we see, in the middle, two
spirals like Omegas, standing opposite each other, and in each acute
angle a small ornament, perhaps a flower; the latter and the border are
here the only work in _repoussé_, the remainder being intaglio. The
button (No. 386) has an identical ornamentation of two spirals which
stand opposite each other, and resemble Omegas. Finally, the large button
(No. 385) has a broad border filled with twenty-eight small circles in
_repoussé_ work, and of the same work is also the small encircled cross
in each acute angle, whilst the large circle with the 卍 in the centre
is of intaglio work. On the reverse side, the wood of all these twelve
cross-like buttons is carved much like our shirt-studs, with the sole
difference that the lower side is here of an oval form. Thus, there can
be no doubt that all of them were used as ornaments on the clothes, but,
of course, they can never have served as real buttons. All these buttons
show unmistakeable marks of the funeral fire, but as the wood has been
preserved, there can be no doubt that the fire was not intended to reduce
the bodies to ashes, or to destroy the ornaments with which they were
laden.
There were further found with the five bodies of the fourth tomb 110
small golden flowers, in the shape of the four represented under Nos.
387-390, and 68 gold buttons without any ornamentation like Nos. 391 and
392; 134 round pieces of gold plate with a border, like Nos. 395 and
396; and 98 large shield-like pieces of gold plate in _repoussé_ work,
with two rope-like borders, like No. 402 (p. 264). Not one of these 410
round pieces of gold plate shows any sign of having been fastened on
wooden buttons, and we conclude from this that they must have been merely
attached with glue to the clothes and drapery of the deceased.
[Illustration: Nos. 387-401. Plates of Gold. Sepulchre IV. Actual size.]
[Sidenote: CURIOUS GOLD BUTTONS.]
In the same place were found 118 gold buttons with intaglio work of
seventeen different types of ornamentation which are represented in the
specimens shown under Nos. 393-401 and Nos. 403-413. All of them consist
of gold plate, fastened either on wood buttons like our shirt-studs, or
merely on flat round pieces of wood; but of a large part of them the
wooden button has disappeared, and only the gold plate remains. I need
not describe the ornamentation of every one of these buttons, because the
reader sees what they represent. I would here only call attention to the
beautiful intaglio on the button, No. 397, which represents four long
broad knives, whose handles are prolonged into spirals.
[Illustration: Nos. 402-413. Gold Buttons. Sepulchre IV. Actual size.]
I further found there 130 large gold buttons with splendid intaglio
work, some like Nos. 414-420, which represent beautiful stars, flowers,
or crosses, and others like No. 421, which has a beautiful spiral
ornamentation. As with the smaller buttons, many of these 130 buttons
have still retained their wooden button, shaped like a shirt-stud; while
many others have only flat pieces of wood, and of a great many others the
wood has disappeared and the gold plate alone remains.
[Illustration: Nos. 414-422_a_. Gold Buttons. Sepulchre IV. Actual size.]
[Sidenote: MAGNIFICENT GOLD BUTTONS.]
Finally I found eight gold buttons of very large size, with beautiful
intaglio work, of two of which I give the engravings (Nos. 422 and
422_a_). The former represents a sun, in the centre of which is a
beautiful 卍 transformed into spirals, without, however, losing the marks
of nails with which it was fastened. The other represents also a sun with
his rays, in the interior of which is the spiral ornamentation which we
have so often passed in review.
All these eight very large buttons have merely flat pieces of wood;
and, as I sometimes find rows of buttons so shaped, and which gradually
diminish in size, lying along the swords, I feel certain that they were
glued in uninterrupted rows to the wooden sheaths of these weapons,
the largest button being fixed where the sword was broadest and the
rest gradually diminishing in size according to the breadth of the
sword-sheath.[330] It also deserves particular attention that, wherever
the gold buttons have retained their pieces of wood, whether flat or
shirt-stud-like, these wooden moulds have, without any exception, exactly
the same intaglio ornamentation which we see on the gold plating; and
there can, therefore, be no doubt whatever that all the intaglio work was
made on the gold plate after it had been fastened on the wooden buttons,
on which the intaglio made on the gold plate was reproduced by the
pressure of the artist's hand.
The whole immense sepulchre was strewn with small gold leaves, of which I
collected about 200 grammes, or more than half a pound troy. I found them
in masses even below the bodies, and I have, therefore, no doubt that
they were spread in the tomb before the funeral piles were dressed there.
I also collected from this sepulchre two silver goblets, two silver
bowls, ten silver vases, which latter are all broken, and finally three
large silver vessels and a small one, which are plated with copper, and
are very flat. I presume, therefore, that they have been used as basins
or as a kind of saucers for large silver vases. I further found a wooden
comb, with a large curved golden handle, which has evidently served for
the forehead, to hold back the hair.
[Sidenote: GOLD MODEL OF A TEMPLE.]
[Illustration: No. 423. Model of a Temple, in Gold. Sepulchre IV. Actual
size.]
Perhaps the most curious objects of all are five small edifices of gold
in _repoussé_ work, of which I represent one (No. 423). They are too
small for dwelling-houses, and I suppose, therefore, that they were
intended to represent small temples or sanctuaries. In this belief I am
strengthened, alike by the four horns on the top, by the pigeons with
uplifted wings which are sitting at either side, and by the column with
a capital, which is represented in every one of the three door-like
niches. I call the reader's particular attention to the similarity of
these columns to the column represented between the two lions above the
Lions' Gate. It is also deserving of special notice that the slanting
lines to the right and left of the columns give to these niches a
striking resemblance with the tombs and their slanting walls. Below the
three niches we see distinctly indicated four courses of masonry of
large wrought stones. Of capital interest is the tower-like upper part
of the building, which appears to represent a wooden structure, and in
the middle of which are three curious signs resembling letters. I would
remind the reader of the coins of Paphos, on which is represented a
temple of Aphrodité, with a pigeon sitting on each gable-end.
[Illustration: No. 424. A Cuttle-fish in Gold. Sepulchre IV. Actual size.]
I also collected from the tomb not less than fifty-three golden
cuttle-fish (sepias), of which I represent one (No. 424). All these
fifty-three sepias are perfectly alike, and have a curious ornamentation
in relief representing spirals; all their arms are likewise curved into
spiral forms. It is difficult to say how these sepias may have been used
as ornaments; probably they were fastened on clothes and drapery; all
appear to have been cast in the same mould, otherwise their _perfect_
resemblance is inexplicable.
[Illustration: Nos. 425, 426. The two halves of a whorl-shaped object of
thick Gold Plate. Sepulchre IV. Actual size.]
There were further found two objects of thick gold plate in the form of
tops, each consisting of two halves; their use is altogether inexplicable
to me.
[Illustration: No. 427. Gold Cover of the Knob of a Sword-handle.
Sepulchre IV. Actual size.]
[Illustration: No. 428. Gold Cover of the Knob of a Sword-handle.
Sepulchre IV. Actual size.]
[Sidenote: GOLD SWORD-HANDLE KNOBS.]
I further found there ten golden plates, with beautiful intaglio
ornamentation, intended to cover the wooden or alabaster knobs of
sword-handles, of which I represent eight (Nos. 427-434). On No. 427 is
represented a lion; No. 428 is profusely covered with a magnificent
intaglio ornamentation, and there is no space as large as a quarter of
an inch vacant. In the centre we see a double circle containing the
beautiful spiral which often occurs at Mycenæ, but here represented with
sextuple lines. Around this circle is another; the space between the
two being filled up with miniature circles. Then follows a circle of a
beautiful spiral ornamentation; after that, a circle filled with small
separate spirals; then a border of three lines, and another circle with
curious spirals; then again a circular band of three lines, and after
that a broad circle of spirals. The golden object (No. 429) evidently
belongs to the upper part of the hilt. The golden plate (No. 430) has
evidently also covered the knob of a sword-handle, and we see in it
the round holes of the gold nails with which it was fastened; it is
ornamented with intaglio work representing beautiful spirals.
[Illustration: No. 429.
Gold Cover of a Sword-handle. Sepulchre IV. Actual size.]
[Illustration: No. 430. Gold Cover of the Knob of a Sword-handle.
Sepulchre IV. Actual size.]
[Sidenote: GOLDEN SWORD-HANDLE KNOBS.]
Not less sumptuous are the golden covers of sword-handle knobs (Nos.
431, 432), the former being ornamented in intaglio work with a number of
concentric circles and spirals; the latter also in intaglio work, with
a border of small beautiful spirals and several concentric circles, the
innermost of which has a border of spirals in the shape of fish, the
internal space being filled with ornaments in the form of horse-shoes. In
a similar way the two golden objects, Nos. 433 and 434, have served as
covers of sword-handle knobs; the former being ornamented with a double
band in the form of ropes, the latter with vertical flutings.
[Illustration: Nos. 431-434. Gold Covers of the Knobs of Sword-handles.
Sepulchre IV. Actual size.]
There were further found in this tomb, in a heap together, thirty-five
arrow-heads of obsidian, which were probably mounted on wooden shafts and
contained in a wooden quiver which has disappeared. I represent under
No. 435 the fifteen different types of these arrow-heads. Nothing could
give a better idea of the great antiquity of these tombs than these stone
arrow-heads, for the Iliad seems to know only arrow-heads of bronze.[331]
Probably there had also been bows deposited in the tomb; but, being of
wood, like the quivers and arrow-shafts, they would have decayed.
[Illustration: No. 435. Arrow-heads of Obsidian. Sepulchre IV. Size 7 :
8, about.]
There were further found here sixty boars'-teeth; of all which the
reverse side is cut perfectly flat, and has two borings, which must have
served to fasten them on another object, perhaps on horse-trappings. But
we see in the Iliad[332] that they were also used on helmets, either as a
protection or as an ornament.
[Sidenote: BOARS'-TEETH AS ORNAMENTS.]
I found there also a large quantity of flat quadrangular pieces cut
out of boars' teeth. They are from 1 to 2 inches long and from 1/2
in. to 3/4 in. broad; and they have two perforations, one at each
extremity, by which they were attached to other objects, most probably
to horse-trappings.[333] I also found a piece of bone, flat and
almost circular, with a round hole in the centre, and with six small
perforations; its use is unknown to us.
I also found there two large copper handles with unequivocal marks that
they had once been plated with gold, and thus it is probable that they
belong to a large silver vase.
Besides the five large copper vessels found (as I have already said) at
the southern end of the sepulchre, I found five more at the eastern
side, behind the heads of the bodies; further, ten on the west side, at
their feet, and twelve at the northern extremity, towards which the heads
of two of the bodies were turned. Thus, the sepulchre contained in all
thirty-two copper vessels, some of which, however, were too fragmentary
to be preserved. The chief types of these copper vessels are shown in the
following engravings.
No. 436 represents a large can, 1 ft. 8 in. deep, and 1 ft. 4 in. in
diameter; it has two handles, of which the one, which is upright, unites
the rim to the body, and the other, which is horizontal, is on the lower
part of the can. Both handles are fastened with large pins to the vessel.
Of this type seven specimens were found in this tomb.
[Illustration: No. 436.
A large Copper Vessel. Sepulchre IV. Size 1:8.]
No. 437 shows one more can of the very same form, but only its upper
part can be seen, because it sticks fast in another large copper vessel,
and seems to have been welded to it by the funeral fire. Of the form of
the lower vessel seven specimens were found; it has two handles standing
vertically, each of which is attached to the rim by four large pins.
[Sidenote: COPPER VESSELS.]
No. 438 represents a large and deep vessel, with three vertical handles,
which are likewise fastened to the rim with thick nails; of this form
also four were found, besides two specimens of a similar form of vessel,
but with only two handles. No. 439 represents a large vessel with two
vertical handles, of which eight or nine specimens were found.
[Illustration: No. 437. Two large Copper Vessels stuck together.
Sepulchre IV. Size 1:8, about.]
[Illustration: No. 438. Large Copper Vessel with three handles. Sepulchre
IV. Size 1:8.]
Other forms, of which engravings are not given, are the following. First,
a basin, or deep pan, with only one handle in the form of a tube, into
which a wooden handle had been fixed; it is 2 ft. in diameter.
Next, a very large kettle with three vertical handles; it measures 2 ft.
6 in. in diameter, and, as is clear from the perforations in the rim of
the bottom, the latter has been fastened with pins. This vessel is so
large that it can only have served for heating water for the bath, and
it would, therefore, have been called λέβης λοετροχόος;
but the poet mentions only such large vessels for heating the water
for the bath with _three feet_, and calls them, therefore, τρίπους
λοετροχόος.[334] There was also a beautifully-fashioned copper
basin of oval form; it has probably had two handles in the two places
where the rim is broken away. Of the last described three vessels no
other specimens were found.
[Illustration: No. 439. A large two-handled Vessel of Copper. Sepulchre
IV. Size 1:4.]
Most of these copper kettles, basins or cans, bear the most unmistakeable
signs of having been for a long time used on the fire; whilst a few have
the appearance of having never been on the fire.
The custom of placing a large number of copper kettles or large copper
vases in the tombs belongs to a great antiquity. The museum of the
Warwakeion at Athens possesses seven funeral urns of copper, with lids
turning on hinges, which contained the ashes of the deceased. This small
number shows how rarely copper vessels were used in Greece, even for this
purpose; but that additional copper kettles should have been placed in a
tomb merely in honour of the dead, is a thing unheard of in Greek tombs.
But that such was the custom in a very remote antiquity is proved by
these Mycenean sepulchres, and by the tomb of Corneto, as well as by the
newly discovered tomb at Palestrina, of which I shall have occasion to
speak hereafter. Copper vessels, as ornaments of the tombs, were found in
the cemetery of Hallstatt, in Austria,[335] which belongs, however, to a
much later period than the Mycenean tombs.
[Sidenote: HOMERIC TRIPODS.]
Of capital interest is the copper tripod (No. 440). It has three handles,
of which two are horizontal and one vertical; to the right of the
spectator is a small mouth. The tripod was used in the Homeric times for
various purposes. In the Odyssey,[336] as well as in the Iliad,[337] we
find it used for presents of honour. In the Iliad,[338] it is given as a
prize in the games, and it also occurs as an ornament of the rooms,[339]
and, further, for the heating of water and for cooking.[340] To indicate
its use for these latter purposes, Homer[341] gives also the epithet
ἐμπυριβήητης to the tripod.
There was further found in this tomb a mass of small thin round pieces
of copper plate, having all around the rim perforations, which show that
they have been used as ornaments, probably on horse-trappings; also, a
copper vase-handle, plated with gold.
[Illustration: No. 440. A Copper Tripod. Sepulchre IV. Size 1:4.]
I collected in this tomb, forty-six bronze swords more or less
fragmentary, also four lances and three long knives, of which I shall
describe the most remarkable. One of the lances is represented under No.
441; like all the Mycenean lances, it has a tube, in which the wooden
lance-shaft was fixed, but, as an exception, there is here a ring on
either side, by which the lance-head was attached to the shaft by means
of a cord, to prevent its being lost. As I have already stated, all
Homeric lances seem to have had a similar tube, in which the shaft was
fixed; on the outside of the tube of the lance we see the broad flat head
of the nail with which the shaft was fastened.
[Sidenote: WEAPONS OF BRONZE.]
[Illustration: No. 441.
A Lance-head of Bronze.
Sepulchre IV. Size 1:5, about.
Nos. 442, 442_a_.
Small one-edged Bronze Swords.
Sepulchre IV. Size 3:16, about.]
Among the swords, ten were short and one-edged, of which I represent two
under No. 442 and 442_a_; they consist each of one solid piece of bronze,
and measure, when entire, from 2 ft. to 2 ft. 3 in. in length. The handle
is too thick to have been covered with wood, and must have been used as
it is: the end of it forms a ring, by which the sword was suspended to
the shoulder-belt (τελαμών) or to the girdle (ζωστήρ or
ζώνη). As these short one-edged swords are, properly speaking, nothing
else than long knives, they evidently represent the original meaning
of the Homeric word, φάσγανον,[342] which is derived, by a euphonic
transposition of the letters, from the same root as that of σφάγη and
σφάζω (_slaughter_), and thus this weapon must primitively have been used
chiefly for slaughtering animals, and, perhaps, also for killing in close
fight; but the name gradually lost its original signification, and in
Homer it is perfectly synonymous with ξίφος and ἄορ.
There was also found a double-edged weapon with a long tube (αὐλός);
but this latter being very narrow, it is hardly possible that it can
be a lance, and I think it is a long dagger-knife, the handle of which
has been made hollow, merely to make the weapon less heavy. No. 443 is
a fragment of the blade of a two-edged bronze sword, whose ridge is
serrated on both sides, either for the sake of ornamentation, or for the
purpose of making the wounds inflicted with the sword more dangerous.
Another weapon (No. 444) is formed by soldering two or three long narrow
thick plates of bronze; and in the interior of the lower part, which is
round, we see a great many small bronze pins, whose presence is just
as inexplicable as the use of the weapon itself. From the point where
the lower crevice ends, it is quadrangular; but its thickness gradually
diminishes towards the end, which forms a small but sharp horizontal
edge. There are sixteen marks of small nails or pins in the left border
of the lower crevice, which lead me to venture the opinion that the lower
round part must have been fixed in a handle of wood or bone, and that the
weapon may have been used as a dagger. I may here mention that the Trojan
Treasure contained two weapons similar in form but of one solid piece of
metal.[343]
[Illustration: Nos. 443, 444.
Fragment of a two-edged Bronze Sword, and another weapon, probably a
Dagger.
Sepulchre IV. Half-size.]
There is also a lance-head, with a tube for the shaft, but without rings
such as those of the lance, No. 441; also a very peculiar fragment of
the blade of a double-edged sword, on which the high protruding middle
part or ridge is very conspicuous; further, the fragment of a blade of
a short two-edged sword, on which we still see remnants of the wooden
sheath. At its lower end there are, on either side, three large round
flat golden pin-heads, by which it was fastened to the handle. I also
mention the fragments of three very long two-edged sword-blades, of
which two have retained remnants of their wooden sheaths. The first is
2 ft., the second 2½ ft., the third 1 ft. 9 in. long; but when entire,
every one of them has probably been more than 3 ft. in length. All show,
at either side of their lower end, the flat heads of the pins by which
they were attached to the handles. On all three we see the protruding
ridge. I must still notice two sword-blades and an alabaster sword-handle
knob adorned with two large flat golden nail-heads (Nos. 445, _a_, _b_,
_c_). Perfectly similar alabaster knobs, but without golden nails, were
found by me at Troy, but I did not know then that they belonged to
sword-handles, and I fancied they had served as handles to house doors,
or on walking-sticks.[344] The two-edged sword-blade (No. 445_a_), at the
top of which are still attached remnants of the wooden sheath, measures
2 ft. 7 in. in length. On either side of its lower end we see the four
bronze nails with flat heads, by which it was fastened to the handle.
The lower end of the sword-blade, No. 445_c_, is adorned with three flat
golden pin-heads on each side.
[Illustration: Nos. 445, _a_, _b_, _c_.
Two-edged Bronze Swords and an Alabaster Sword-Knob.
Sepulchre IV.
Size, 1:6, about.]
[Illustration: No. 446.
Two-edged Bronze Sword.
Sepulchre IV. Half-size.[345]]
I further mention a long knife, with part of its bone handle, the
extremity of which has evidently had a curve; also, the blade of a short
two-edged sword, showing at the lower end, on each side, four large flat
golden pin-heads (No. 446). A gold plate extends all along the middle
part of the blade on both sides, and remnants of the wooden sheath are
visible in the middle as well as at the end. I need only mention the
fragments of four two-edged sword-blades. The middle part of the one is
serrated all along. The lower extremity of another is, on either side,
plated with gold and adorned with three large flat golden pin-heads; the
gold-plated part is very distinct. No. 447 represents one of several
alabaster sword-handle knobs, each ornamented with two golden pins or
nails. Nos. 448 and 449 are sword-blades, of which the longer one (No.
448) is very well preserved, and is 2 ft. 10 in. long. No. 449 has
retained part of its handle, which is plated with gold and attached by
gold pins; all along the surface of the blade we see vertical lines of
intaglio work, which give to the weapon a beautiful aspect.
[Sidenote: MYCENEAN SWORDS LIKE RAPIERS.]
[Illustration: Nos. 447-449.
Two-edged Bronze Swords and an Alabaster Sword-Knob.
Sepulchre IV. Size 1:8, about.]
Another fragment of a large beautiful bronze sword has the blade plated
with gold in its entire length, the handle being also thickly plated with
gold and adorned with magnificent intaglio work. But it has suffered so
much in the funeral fire, and it is so dirty from the smoke and ashes,
that the ornamentation cannot be discerned in the photograph, and,
therefore, I cannot give an engraving of it. Mr. Newton justly remarks
regarding the Mycenean swords: "The ridge or thread on some of the swords
is raised so high down the centre of the blade as to suggest the idea
that this weapon was used like a rapier, only for thrusting."
I here call particular attention to the extreme narrowness of nearly all
the Mycenean swords, and to the enormous length of most of them, which
seems in a great many cases to have exceeded 3 feet; in fact, they are,
in general, not broader than our rapiers. So far as I know, swords of
this shape have never been found before.
With some of the swords I found traces of well-woven linen, small
particles of which were still attached to the sword-blades; and there can
consequently be no doubt that many swords had sheaths of linen.
I further collected in this tomb a large quantity of oyster-shells and
many entire oysters, which had never been opened, from which I conclude
that, as in the funeral customs of ancient Egypt, food was laid in the
tombs of the deceased. There was found in this sepulchre, as well as
in all the other tombs, a large quantity of broken pottery, on seeing
which, Mr. Panagiotes Eustratiades, Director-General of Antiquities,
reminded me of the habit still existing in Greece, of breaking vases
filled with water on the tombs of departed friends. Mr. Eustratiades also
mentioned to me that copper kettles and vases were the great ornaments
of the houses, not only in antiquity, but throughout all the Middle Ages
until the Greek revolution. This is, so far, very well; but, except these
Mycenean sepulchres, the cemetery of Hallstatt, and the tombs of Corneto
and Palestrina, we have not yet found an example to prove that they
served to ornament the abodes of the dead.
One handle of a hand-made vase found in this tomb particularly attracted
my attention by its six perforations, one of which was large enough for
a thick string to pass through, and it may, therefore, have served for
suspension; but the other five would be too small even for a fine thread,
and they can, therefore, never have served for suspension, and I suppose
they were merely used to put flowers in, as an ornament.
[Sidenote: BONES FROM THE TOMBS.]
Of the bones of the five bodies of this tomb, as well as of those of the
bodies in the other sepulchres, I collected all which were not too much
decayed, and they will be exhibited in the National Museum at Athens
together with the treasures. Of course the contents of each sepulchre are
to be kept separate. I give here an engraving of only the best-preserved
jaw (No. 450), with thirteen well-preserved teeth; three only are missing.
There were further found two broken alabaster vases, and a pedestal
of alabaster to stand vases on, besides a very large quantity of
fragments of hand-made or very ancient wheel-made pottery. To the former
category belongs a vase, which has been wrought to a lustrous surface
by hand-polishing. It has had two handles, but only one is preserved.
Another vase is a beautiful specimen of the most ancient Mycenean
wheel-made pottery. It has four handles, and on a light yellow dead
ground an ornamentation of dark-red colour representing spirals, circular
bands, and circles, filled with a network of lines.
[Illustration: No. 450. Human Jawbone. Sepulchre IV. Size 3:4.]
In this tomb, as well as in the four others, were found many fragments
of that kind of terra-cotta goblet which maintained its form here for
more than 1,000 years without any modification; only its colour and
mode of fabrication varied, for, while in the sepulchres we find it of
a light green colour with a beautiful black spiral ornamentation, we
find it afterwards of a plain light green colour, but still hand-made.
In later times we find it either of a uniform lustrous plain dark red
colour or of a light yellow dead colour with numerous dark red and black
bands, as shown in previous illustrations.[346] In still later times we
find it with no other colour than the light yellow or white of the clay
itself.[347] Goblets of this latter sort must have been in use here for
a great number of centuries and until the capture of the city, because
their fragments are found in enormous quantities, and of their feet I
could have collected thousands of specimens. We have also a number of
specimens of this goblet in gold, such as that shown under No. 343.[348]
In Troy I found this very same form of goblet in the first and most
ancient of the prehistoric cities, at a depth of about 50 ft.[349]
As a specimen of the only other type of terra-cotta goblet I refer the
reader to one already mentioned as found in the first tomb.[350] It
represents the lower part of a large hand-made lustrous black goblet,
with a hollow foot and horizontal flutings in the middle. But fragments
of this sort of goblets were found also in the four other sepulchres.
This form of goblet is very rarely found outside of the tombs, and only
here and there in the lowest strata. But I found it in the ruins of the
most ancient prehistoric city at Troy.
In this fourth tomb were found two whetstones of fine hard sandstone.
Both have at the top a perforation for suspension with a string.
[Sidenote: GOLDEN DRAGON, WITH CRYSTAL SCALES.]
I have further to mention among the objects discovered in this tomb the
beautiful golden cylinder (No. 451), and the splendid golden handle
terminating in a dragon's head (No. 452). Both these objects undoubtedly
belong to each other, and most probably composed the handle of a
sceptre, an augur's staff, or something of similar importance, for
both offer the unique example among the Mycenean antiquities of gold
incrusted with a sort of mosaic of rock-crystal. To examine first the
golden cylinder (No. 451); it consists of four-leaved flowers united at
the points of the leaves. Each of the latter shows in all its length a
flat oval hollow incrusted with a piece of rock-crystal, which exactly
fits into it. Between every two flowers is a square space with curved
sides, which is also filled up with well-fitting pieces of rock-crystal.
Of these latter only one can be seen in the engraving before us in the
middle of the right side of the cylinder, as it is represented; the other
pieces, which are mostly preserved, will be put in again as soon as the
Archæological Society shall be able to exhibit the Mycenean collection.
[Illustration: Nos. 451, 452. A Golden Tube; and a Golden Dragon with
scales of rock crystal, both being probably pieces of a sceptre-handle.
Sepulchre IV. Size 3:4.]
The appearance of the cylinder, when all the transparent crystal pieces
were in their places, must have been of marvellous beauty. The golden
handle with the dragon's head (No. 452), which belongs to the cylinder,
is hollow, and still contains _débris_ of the wood with which it was
filled. The head of the dragon, with its large eyes, of which one only
appears in the engraving, as well as its open jaws, can be distinctly
seen. The scales of the dragon have been skilfully imitated by means of
small beautifully-cut pieces of rock-crystal, which fit so well into the
small symmetrical hollows prepared for them in the gold, that only one of
them has as yet fallen out. This is the more astonishing as the handle
represents the most unmistakable marks of the fire to which it has been
exposed on the funeral pile. If Homer had seen this extraordinary handle
when it was entire, he would undoubtedly have ascribed it to the skilful
hand of Hephæstus, and would have uttered his sense of its beauty in the
words θαῦμα ἰδέσθαι, "a wonder to look upon."
NOTE ON THE ROYAL PALACE.
I omitted to mention, in Chapter V., that in my opinion the ruins
extant to the south of the Agora, in which we see no windows, can
be only the _substructions_ of the Royal Palace. I would further
suggest that all these substructions reached only to the level of
the great Cyclopean circuit wall, and that upon them was built
the palace proper, of wood. This opinion seems to be corroborated
by the tremendous quantities of yellow wood-ashes with which the
interior of those substructions was filled up, as well as by the
impossibility of admitting that the Royal Palace should have had
no windows, and should have been built in the deep hollow, so as
to be shut out by the great Cyclopean wall from any view of the
lower city and the plain.
[Illustration: No. 474. Massive Golden Mask of the body at the south end
of the First Sepulchre. Size 1:3, about. (For description, see page 312.)]
FOOTNOTES:
[301] See Plan F for a ground plan, and view of this altar, and
a section of the ground, the altar itself, and the fourth sepulchre.
[302] See Plans B, BB, C, and Plate VI.
[303] See for example _Il._ IX. 123, 265, XXIII. 259 and 267,
XXIV. 233; _Odyss._ XIII. 13.
[304] See _Od._ I. 137, III. 440.
[305] _Od._ XIX. 386, 469.
[306] See Caylus, 'Recueil d'Antiquités,' I. 41, pl. XI.
[307] 'Antiquités du Bosphore Cimmérien,' Planche I.; where also
mention is made of a gold mask found at Olbia.
[308] Tischbein, 'Recueil de Gravures,' II. 1; where also
mention is made of an iron mask from a sepulchre at Santa Agata dei Goti.
[309] See _Il_. VII. 219:--
Αἴας δ᾽ ἐγγύθεν ἦλθε, φέρων σάκος
ἠΰτε πύργον,
χάλκεον, ἑπταβόειον, ὅ οἱ Τυχίος
κάμε τεύχων,
σκυτοτόμων ὄχ᾽ ἄριστος, ῞Ὑλῃ ἔνι
οὶκίια ναίιων.
also XI. 485; XVII. 128.
[310] This explanation is rendered necessary by the way in
which the photograph was taken. To invert the position would require
complete recomposition of the light and shadows; and this has been done
by our artist in the case of No. 281, on account of the importance of the
object.
[311] See No. 213, p. 133.
[312] See p. 81.
[313] See my 'Atlas des Antiquités Troyennes,' Plate 105, No.
2311.
[314] The photograph was unfortunately taken in such a position
as to show only one of the two handles.
[315] _Il._ XI. 632-635:--
πὰρ δὲ δέπας περικαλλές, ὁ οἴκοθεν
ἦγ᾽ ὁ γεραιος,
χρυσείοις ἡλοισι πεπαρμένον· οὔατα
δ᾽ αὐτοῦ
τέσσαρ ἔσαν, δοιαὶ δε πελειάδες
ἀμφὶς ἕκαστον
χρύσειαι νεμέθοντο· δύω δ᾽ ὑπὸ
πυθμένες ἦσαν.
"She placed beside them a splendid goblet, which the old man had
brought with him from home; it was studded with golden pins; it
had four handles, on each of which pecked two golden pigeons; the
goblet had two bottoms."
[316] 'Deipnosophistæ,' XI. 77.
[317] See 'Troy and its Remains,' p. 87, No. 53, and p. 169, No.
192.
[318] With regard to these ornaments, see further Appendix C.
[319] See Nos. 282, 283, 284, pp. 186, 188.
[320] The Cut has to be viewed with the outer edge of the page
downwards.
[321] See 'Troy and its Remains,' p. 335, Plate XIX.
[322] See Nos. 329-330, p. 218.
[323] _De Pythiæ Oraculis_; _Op. Moral._ ed. Didot, vol. i. p.
488.
[324] This name is always Μαύσσολλος on the coins.
[325] _Quæst. Græc._ p. 45.
[326] See the Vignette to Chapter III., p. 52.
[327] See 'Atlas des Antiquités Troyennes,' Plate 21, Nos. 583
and 584. This explains how the nurse Euryclea fastened on the lids of the
amphoræ for Telemachus. (Hom. _Odyss._ ii. 354):--
Δώδεκα δ᾽ ἔμπλησον, καὶ πώμασιν
ἄρσον ἅπαντας.
[328] See 'Troy and its Remains,' pp. 160, 208, 209, 214, 352.
[329] The two remaining buttons have similar patterns.
[330] See the engraving, No. 460, on p. 303.
[331] See, for example, _Iliad_ XIII. 650 and 662.
[332] X. 261-265.
... ἀμφὶ δέ οἱ κυνέην κεφαλῇφιν
εθηκεν,
ῥινοῦ ποιητήν· πολέσιν δ᾿ ἔντοσθεν
ἱμᾶσιν ἐντέτατο στερεῶς· ἔκτοσθε δὲ
λευκοὶ ὀδόντες ἀργιόδοντος ὑὸς
θαμέες
ἔχον ἔνθα καὶ ἔνθα εὖ καὶ
ἐπισταμένως.
"And on his brows a leathern headpiece placed
Well wrought within, with numerous straps secured,
And on the outside, with wild boar's gleaming tusks
Profusely garnished, scattered here and there
By skilful hand." LORD DERBY.
[333] These ornaments of horse-trappings vividly remind us of
the famous passage in the Iliad IV., 141:
ὡς δ᾿ ὅτε τις τ᾿ ἐλέφαντα γυνὴ
φοίνικι μιήνῃ Μῃονὶς ἠὲ Κάειρα
παρήïον ἔμμεναι ἵππων· κεῖται δ᾿
ἐν θαλάμω, πολέες τέ μιν ἠρήσαντο
ἱππῆες φορέειν· βασιλῆï δὲ
κεῖται ἄγαλμα, ἀμφότερον, κόσμος
θ᾿ ἵππω, ἐλατῆρί τε κῦδος·
"As when some Carian or Mæonian maid
With crimson dye the ivory stains, designed
To be the cheek-piece of a warrior's steed,
By many a valiant horseman coveted,
As in the house it lies, a monarch's boast,
The horse adorning, and the horseman's pride."
LORD DERBY.
[334] _Il._ XVIII. 346; _Odyss._ VIII. 435.
[335] See Edward Freiherr von Sacken, 'Das Grabfeld von
Hallstatt.'
[336] XIII. 13; and XV. 84.
[337] VIII. 290; and IX. 122.
[338] XI. 700; XXIII. 264, 485, 513, 718.
[339] _Il._ XVIII. 373.
[340] _Odyss._ VIII. 434; _Il._ XVIII. 344.
[341] _Il._ XXIII. 702; XXII. 164 it is called τριπος instead of
the usual form τρίπους.
[342] Φάσγανον for σφάγανον, from the root σφαγ.
There was also a verb φασγάνω "to kill with the
sword:" Hesych. _Lex. s. v._
[343] See 'Troy and its Remains,' p. 332, Nos. 267 and 268.
[344] See 'Troy and its Remains,' p. 265.
[345] For an engraving of this sword, after cleaning, see
Appendix D.
[346] See Nos. 84, 88, p. 71.
[347] No. 83, p. 70.
[348] See p. 233.
[349] See my 'Atlas des Antiquités Troyennes,' Pl. 105, No.
2311.
[350] See No. 230, p. 154.
CHAPTER IX.
THE FIFTH SEPULCHRE, AND THE FIRST AGAIN.
At length again a guard and watchfire on the Acropolis of
Mycenæ--Exploration of the _Fifth Tomb_--Its sepulchral
_stêlæ_--The tomb described; containing only one body--Golden
diadem and other objects found in the tomb--Hand-made vases
of terra-cotta; one with female breasts, like the prehistoric
vases at Santorin and Troy--Wheel-made pottery--Excavation of
the _First Tomb_ completed--Its position and construction--Three
bodies in it: the middle one has been disturbed and rifled of
its ornaments--Large size of the bodies--Golden mask and state
of the first--Wonderful preservation of the third--Its ponderous
gold mask, face, and teeth--Description of the body--its
remarkable compression--Golden breast-plate, and leaves of gold
on the forehead, eyes, and breast--Excitement caused by the
discovery--Measures taken to preserve and remove the body--Its
shoulder-belt and bronze sword with crystal ornament, and disks
of gold for the sheath: all special funeral ornaments, and not
for ordinary use--Description of the golden breast-covers of
this and the first body--Highly-decorated bronze swords and other
objects found with the third body--Ornamented golden leaves, a
wooden comb, and bronze swords, with the second body--A large
heap of broken bronze swords, with knives and lances--Other
weapons, chiefly in fragments--Amber and gold beads, and various
objects of gold and silver--An alabaster vase--Wonderful plates
of gold--The two massive golden masks of the first tomb--The
skilled work argues a long-trained school of artists--Several
large goblets of gold and silver--Objects in this sepulchre--A
silver vase, with copper and gold plating--A drinking-cup
of alabaster--Plates of gold, in form of double eagles,
&c.--Fragments of silver vases; one with a gold mouth-piece
and handle--A splendidly ornamented plate of gold, covering a
cylinder of charred wood--Hundreds of gold button-plates, large
and small, with various ornamentation--The new types shown--Gold
plates, ribbons, and ornaments for greaves--Tubes and buttons
of bone; their probable use--An ivory plate, and a curious
object of glazed Egyptian porcelain--Hand-made and wheel-made
pottery--Seven large copper vessels, caldrons and cans--A
quadrangular wooden box, with most interesting reliefs.
Mycenæ, 6th December, 1876.
* * * * *
For the first time since its capture by the Argives in 468 B.C., and so
for the first time during 2,344 years, the Acropolis of Mycenæ has a
garrison, whose watch-fires seen by night throughout the whole Plain of
Argos carry back the mind to the watch kept for Agamemnon's return from
Troy, and the signal which warned Clytemnestra and her paramour of his
approach.[351] But this time the object of the occupation by soldiery is
of a more peaceful character, for it is merely intended to inspire awe
among the country-people, and to prevent them from making clandestine
excavations in the tombs, or approaching them while we are working in
them.
Already while engaged in the excavation of the large Fourth Tomb, the
results of which I have described, I explored the _Fifth and last
Sepulchre_, which is immediately to the north-west of it (see Plan B
and the Ichnography, Plate VI.), and which had been marked by the
large _stêlé_ with the bas-relief of frets or key-patterns resembling
two serpents, and by an unsculptured tombstone, both of which were 11
ft. 8 in. below the surface of the mount, as it was when I began the
excavation. At a depth of 10 ft. below the two sepulchral _stêlæ_, or of
21 ft. 8 in. below the former surface, I found two unsculptured _stêlæ_,
evidently much older; and, only 3 ft. 4 in. below these, I found a tomb
11 ft. 6 in. long and 9 ft. 8 in. broad, which had been cut out in the
calcareous rock to a depth of only 2 ft., so that its bottom is 27 ft.
below the former surface of the mount. Unlike the other tombs, the four
inner sides of this sepulchre were not lined with walls, but merely with
large pieces of schist, which were placed in a slanting position against
the low border of the tomb, and had not been joined with clay.
[Sidenote: ONLY ONE BODY IN THE TOMB.]
As usual, the bottom of the tomb was strewn with a layer of pebbles, on
which I found the mortal remains of only one person, with the head turned
towards the east, which, like all the other bodies, had been burned on
the precise spot where it lay. This was proved by the calcined pebbles
below and around the corpse, as well as by the undisturbed masses of
ashes with which it was covered, and finally by the marks of the funeral
fire on the walls of rock. Around the skull of the body, which was
unfortunately too fragile to be saved, was a golden diadem, similar to
those already represented, with an ornamentation in _repoussé_ work,
showing in the middle three shield-like circles, with flowers or a wheel
in rotation; the remaining space being filled up with beautiful spirals.
On the right side of the body I found a lance-head with a ring on either
side, like that already shown;[352] also, two small bronze swords and
two long knives of the same metal. On its left was found the gold
drinking-cup now represented (No. 453). It has only one handle, and its
ornamentation in _repoussé_ work exhibits four horizontal bands, joined
two and two, and ornamented with slanting strokes which converge in the
form of wedges, so that the ornamentation of every two bands conjointly
resembles fish-spines; and in order to enhance still more the beauty of
these bands, the wedges of each two bands point in opposite directions.
The whole upper part is ornamented with a continuous row of pointed
arches, the joined sides of which are adorned with nine horizontal
strokes. The handle is fastened with four nails to the rim and the body
of the goblet. With the swords were found small rags of beautifully-woven
linen, which, doubtless, belonged to the sheaths of these weapons.
[Illustration: No. 453. A richly ornamented Cup of Gold. Sepulchre V.
Size 9:10, about.]
In the same tomb was found a fragmented light green vase, 6½ in. high,
of Egyptian porcelain, ornamented with two rows of protruding bosses,
three in each row; also fragments of a light red vase of terra-cotta,
ornamented with black spiral lines, and with two female breasts
surrounded by circles of black strokes. Professor Landerer, who has
examined and analysed a fragment of the former vase, writes me that
the porcelain is very calcareous, and would be called in mineralogy
"Thonmergel-schiefer" (clay-marl-slate); that the borders, examined with
a magnifying glass in the sun, exhibit a gold-like and silvery glaze,
produced by a lead varnish with which the vase was covered and which was
afterwards burned in.
[Sidenote: VASE LIKE THOSE OF THERA.]
With regard to this vase with the female breasts, similar vases were
found on the islands of Thera (Santorin) and Therassia, in the ruins
of the prehistoric cities which, as before stated, were covered by an
eruption of that great central volcano which is believed by competent
geologists to have sunk and disappeared about 1,700 to 1,800 B.C. They
are also very frequent in the ruins of Troy, where, however, most of them
have also a navel and an owl-face.[353]
There were further found in this tomb, besides a mass of fragments of
hand-made pottery, fragments of beautiful wheel-made pottery, ornamented
with plants turned into spirals; and other fragments, which present on a
light yellow dead colour a magnificent ornamentation of dark red spirals.
The mud in the _First Sepulchre_, whose site had been marked by the
three _stêlæ_ with low reliefs, having dried up in the fine weather, I
continued the excavation there, and struck at last the bottom of the
tomb, which is cut out in the rock, 17½ ft. deep on the north side, and
17 ft. deep on the south-east side. But from these points the slope is so
abrupt that, although the upper breadth of the sepulchre does not exceed
10 ft. 10 in., yet the greater part of its west side needed only to be
cut 11 ft. deep into the rock to make a level bottom. This west side
is close to the Cyclopean wall, with the parallel double row of large
calcareous slabs, which forms the enclosure and benches of the Agora, and
rises vertically over the sepulchre. (See Plans B and C.) For all these
reasons it appeared to me, on first excavating this tomb, that the wall
passed through its north-west angle. But, by propping up with planks
and beams the earth and stones which cling to the wall and overhang the
north-west corner of the tomb, I have now cleared the latter in its
entire length, and visitors will perceive that the wall does not pass
through the tomb but merely touches its brink in the north-west corner.
The length of the tomb is 21 ft. 6 in., its breadth at the bottom is 11
ft. 6 in., and thus 8 in. more than at the top. The four inner sides
were lined with a Cyclopean wall, 3 ft. high and 2 ft. broad; and this
had superposed on it a slanting wall of schist plates joined with clay,
which reached to a height of 6½ ft., and projected on all sides a foot
more than the Cyclopean wall, and thus in all 3 feet on the bottom of the
tomb. The latter was covered with the usual layer of pebbles, which were,
however, more irregularly strewn than in the other tombs, there being
places without any pebbles; which circumstance made me at first believe
that there was no layer of pebbles at all in this tomb. But on careful
examination, I found such a layer, and below the bodies I found it just
as regular as in any other tomb, which circumstance appears to give an
additional proof that those layers of pebbles were merely intended to
procure ventilation for the pyres.
The three bodies which the sepulchre contained lay at a distance of about
3 ft. from each other, and had been burnt in the very same place where I
found them. This was evident from the marks of the fire on the pebbles
and on the rock below and also around the bodies, and to the right
and left of them on the walls, as well as from the undisturbed state
of the ashes. Only with the body which lay in the midst the case was
different. The ashes had evidently been disturbed; the clay with which
the two other bodies and their ornaments were covered, and the layer of
pebbles which covered the clay, had been removed from this body. As,
besides, it was found almost without any gold ornaments, it is evident
that it had been rifled. This opinion is also confirmed by the twelve
golden buttons, the small golden plates, and the numerous small objects
of bone, which had been found together with small quantities of black
ashes at different depths below the three sculptured tombstones which
adorned this sepulchre. It is further confirmed by the fragments of the
usual Mycenean pottery of later times, which in this tomb were mixed up
with the very ancient hand-made or wheel-made vases. Most likely some one
sank a shaft to examine the tomb, struck the body in question, plundered
it recklessly, and for fear of being detected, carried off his booty
in such a hurry that he only thought of saving the large massive gold
ornaments, such as the mask, the large breast-cover, the diadems and the
bronze, swords, and, in remounting to the surface, dropped many of the
smaller objects, such as the twelve golden buttons, etc., which I found
at intervals in digging down. There can be no doubt that this larceny
occurred _before_ the capture of Mycenæ by the Argives (468 B.C.); for,
if it had been committed while the later Greek city stood on the top
of the prehistoric ruins, I should also have found fragments of Greek
pottery in the tomb; but of these I saw no vestige.
[Sidenote: THREE BODIES IN THE TOMB.]
The three bodies of this tomb lay with their heads to the east and their
feet to the west; all three were of large proportions, and appeared to
have been forcibly squeezed into the small space of only 5 ft. 6 in.
which was left for them between the inner walls. The bones of the legs,
which are almost uninjured, are unusually large. Although the head of the
first man, from the south side, was covered with a massive golden mask,
his skull crumbled away on being exposed to the air, and only a few bones
could be saved besides those of the legs. The same was the case with the
second body, which had been plundered in antiquity.
But of the third body, which lay at the north end of the tomb, the round
face, with all its flesh, had been wonderfully preserved under its
ponderous golden mask; there was no vestige of hair, but both eyes were
perfectly visible, also the mouth, which, owing to the enormous weight
that had pressed upon it, was wide open, and showed thirty-two beautiful
teeth. From these, all the physicians who came to see the body were led
to believe that the man must have died at the early age of thirty-five.
The nose was entirely gone. The body having been too long for the space
between the two inner walls of the tomb, the head had been pressed in
such a way on the breast, that the upper part of the shoulders was nearly
in a horizontal line with the vertex of the head. Notwithstanding the
large golden breast-plate, so little had been preserved of the breast,
that the inner side of the spine was visible in many places. In its
squeezed and mutilated state, the body measured only 2 ft. 4½ in. from
the top of the head to the beginning of the loins; the breadth of the
shoulders did not exceed 1 ft. 1¼ in., and the breadth of the chest 1 ft.
3 in.; but the large thigh-bones could leave no doubt regarding the real
proportions of the body. Such had been the pressure of the _débris_ and
stones, that the body had been reduced to a thickness of 1 in. to 1½ in.
The colour of the body resembled very much that of an Egyptian mummy.
The forehead was ornamented with a plain round leaf of gold, and a still
larger one was lying on the right eye; I further observed a large and a
small gold leaf on the breast below the large golden breast-cover, and a
large one just above the right thigh.
[Illustration: No. 454. The upper part of a Body found in the First Tomb.
From an Oil Painting made directly after its discovery.]
[Sidenote: A WELL PRESERVED HUMAN BODY.]
The news that the tolerably well preserved body of a man of the mythic
heroic age had been found, covered with golden ornaments, spread like
wildfire through the Argolid, and people came by thousands from Argos,
Nauplia, and the villages to see the wonder. But, nobody being able to
give advice how to preserve the body, I sent for a painter to get at
least an oil-painting made, for I was afraid that the body would crumble
to pieces. Thus I am enabled to give a faithful likeness of the body, as
it looked after all the golden ornaments had been removed. But to my
great joy, it held out for two days, when a druggist from Argos, Spiridon
Nicolaou by name, rendered it hard and solid by pouring on it alcohol, in
which he had dissolved gum-sandarac. As there appeared to be no pebbles
below it it was thought that it would be possible to lift it on an iron
plate; but this was a mistake, because it was soon discovered that there
was the usual layer of pebbles below the body, and all of these having
been more or less pressed into the soft rock by the enormous weight
which had been lying for ages upon them, all attempts made to squeeze in
the iron plate below the pebble-stones, so as to be able to lift them
together with the body, utterly failed. There remained, therefore, no
other alternative than to cut a small trench into the rock all round the
body, and make thence a horizontal incision, so as to cut out a slab, two
inches thick, to lift it with the pebble-stones and the body, to put it
upon a strong plank, to make around the latter a strong box, and to send
this to the village of Charvati, whence it will be forwarded to Athens as
soon as the Archæological Society shall have got a suitable locality for
the Mycenean antiquities. With the miserable instruments alone available
here it was no easy task to detach the large slab horizontally from the
rock, but it was still much more difficult to bring it in the wooden box
from the deep sepulchre to the surface, and to transport it on men's
shoulders for more than a mile to Charvati. But the capital interest
which this body of the remote heroic age has for science, and the buoyant
hope of preserving it, made all the labour appear light.[354]
[Illustration: No. 455. A Golden Shoulder-belt (τελαμών), with
a fragment of the two-edged Sword. Sepulchre I. Size 1:4.]
[Sidenote: GOLDEN SHOULDER-BELT.]
The now nearly mummified body was decorated with a golden shoulder-belt
(τελαμών), 4 ft. long and 1¾ in. broad, which, for some cause
or other, was not in its place, for it now lay across the loins of the
body, and extended in a straight line far to the right of it. In its
midst is suspended, and firmly attached, the fragment of a double-edged
bronze sword (see No. 455), and to this latter was accidentally attached
a beautifully-polished perforated object of rock crystal, in form of a
jar (πίθος), with two silver handles. It is pierced in its entire
length by a silver pin. This little object has unfortunately been
detached in removing the treasure from Charvati to Athens, and thus I
represent it separately (No. 456). Together with the shoulder-belt
and the little crystal jar was found the small object of rock-crystal
(No. 457), which has the shape of a funnel. In the extremity of the
shoulder-belt, to the left of the spectator, are two perforations; at
the other end there has probably been a clasp, because there are no
perforations; on the fragment of the sword we see one of those small
shield-like or button-like golden disks, with an ornamentation of
_repoussé_ work, which have decorated the sheaths of the swords in
uninterrupted rows, their size being always determined by the breadth of
the sheaths. The disk before us is divided by three concentric circles
into three circular compartments, of which the outer and the central one
represent a number of ornaments resembling horse-shoes. A glance at this
shoulder-belt will convince every one that it is by far too thin and
fragile to have been worn by living men. Besides, I feel certain that no
living warrior has ever gone to battle with swords in sheaths of wood
ornamented on either side with rows of gold plates, which are merely
glued on the wood. Thus, we may consider it beyond all doubt that a great
part of all the golden ornaments have been expressly prepared for funeral
use. There was also found an alabaster stand for a vase.
[Illustration: No. 456. A small Jar of rock crystal. Sepulchre I. Actual
size.]
[Illustration: No. 457. A funnel-shaped object, of rock crystal.
Sepulchre I. Actual size.]
[Sidenote: GOLDEN BREAST-COVER.]
The massive golden breast-plate of this same body is perfectly plain,
and it is therefore unnecessary to engrave it. It is 15⅗ in. long and
9½ in. broad; it has no ornamentation, but two protruding breasts can
be distinctly seen; they are not, however, in the middle, as they
ought to be, but more to the right of the spectator. While speaking of
breast-covers, I may as well give here the breast-cover of the body at
the southern end of this first tomb (No. 458). It is 1 ft. 9 in. long
and 1 ft. 2⅗ in. broad. Here the two breasts are well represented by two
protruding shield-like bosses, and the whole remaining space is richly
ornamented with beautiful spirals in _repoussé_ work.
[Illustration: No. 458. Ornamented Breast-cover of massive gold.
Sepulchre I. Size 26:100, about.]
The best preserved parts of the same body, at the southern end of the
tomb, are two large bones and a small bone. On the latter, which is
probably an arm-bone, is still attached a broad golden ribbon, with a
splendid ornamentation of _repoussé_ work (No. 459).
[Illustration: No. 459.
Small Bone, with the fragment of a splendidly ornamented Gold Ribbon.
Sepulchre I. Size 3:8.]
I return to the body at the northern extremity. To its right lay the
two bronze swords represented under No. 460, and close to them all the
other objects just as we see them in this engraving. The handle of
the upper sword is of bronze, but thickly plated with gold, which is
all over covered with a magnificent intaglio work of the most varied
description. On the upper part of the handle, where the blade issues from
it, is fastened a broad curved gold plate with splendid intaglio work,
similar to that represented below (No. 462),[355] of which we only here
recognise the exact use. No doubt this sword has had a wooden sheath,
which must have been ornamented with the long gold plate, with a ring
and much resembling the shape of a man, which we see to the right of
it. This gold plate is similar to that represented under No. 369.[356]
The sheath must have been further adorned with the golden button, with
engraved concentric circles, which we see close to the blade. Much still
richer has evidently been the ornamentation of the other bronze sword,
for its wooden sheath must evidently have been adorned, in its entire
length, on both sides, with a series of those large golden buttons with a
magnificent intaglio work of spirals which we see below and on the right
side of the sword. The sheath has evidently been also adorned with the
tubular golden plate, ornamented with spirals in intaglio work, which we
still see around the sword.
[Illustration: No. 460. Two Bronze Swords with golden handles; golden
buttons belonging to the destroyed wooden sheaths; two gold plates, &c.;
found lying beside a body in Sepulchre I. Size 1:3, about.]
[Sidenote: WONDERFULLY ORNAMENTED SWORDS.]
The handle of this sword must have been of wood, because it has entirely
disappeared, and it must necessarily have been adorned with the two
quadrangular golden plates which we see lying, still closely joined
together, in the very place where the knob of the handle ought to have
been; only on the small side, which is turned towards the spectator, the
two plates are slightly disjoined. They are perfectly similar in size
and shape to that shown a little later under No. 472;[357] both have
exactly the same ornamentation in _repoussé_ work of interwoven spirals;
and, as on No. 472, we see in their long sides the marks of a number
of small pins, which must have served to attach both plates to a piece
of wood which stuck between them, and of which some traces remain. This
piece of wood must have been very thin, for otherwise the two plates
could not after its disappearance have fallen together so exactly as to
appear still joined. Certainly they must have served as ornaments of the
sword-handle, but how this was done is altogether inexplicable to me. I
find it impossible to suppose that the sword-handle terminated in a thin
piece of wood, so as to be fastened between the two plates; besides, this
is contradicted by their raised borders. With the two plates was found
a bead of amber, the presence of which here must be only accidental,
for of course it can have nothing in common with the swords. To one of
these swords was doubtless attached the golden tassel represented under
No. 461, which I found near them. Probably all these weapons had been
suspended on a belt of embroidered work which has disappeared.
[Illustration: No. 461.
A Gold Sword-tassel.
Sepulchre I. Size 5:8.]
At a distance of hardly more than one foot to the right of the body I
found eleven bronze swords, of which nine had suffered more or less from
moisture; but the other two were pretty well preserved. One of them
has the enormous length of 3 ft. 2 in., the other of 2 ft. 10 in. With
the swords I found the two golden plates represented under No. 462,
both of which have belonged to sword-handles; that to the left having
been on the upper part of the handle, to which it was attached with no
less than twelve gold pins, of which five with large globular heads
are still visible. This object is so thickly covered with ashes of the
funeral fire that but little of its spiral ornamentation in intaglio can
be discerned. The other golden plate has been used as the cover of the
wooden sword-handle, and it is perfectly similar to those which we passed
in review in describing the discoveries in the fourth tomb (see Nos. 430,
431).
[Illustration: No. 462. Golden Covers of Sword-handles, with intaglio
ornamentation. Sepulchre I. Size 4:9.]
[Sidenote: OBJECTS FOUND WITH THE SWORDS.]
I further found with the swords three tubes of gold plate, one 12½
in. long, another 10½ in. long, both containing remnants of wood, and
the third 5⅗ in. long. There were also 124 large round gold buttons,
plain or with splendid intaglio work, two of which are two inches in
diameter, and four of the size of five-franc pieces; the other 118 are
smaller. Further, six large splendidly-ornamented golden buttons in the
form of crosses, three of which are 3 in. long and 2¼ in. broad. All
these buttons consist either of flat pieces of wood covered with gold
plates, and in this case they have invariably been pasted or soldered as
embellishments on sword-sheaths or other objects, or they are real wood
buttons resembling our present shirt-studs and covered with gold plates,
and in this case they must have been used on clothes. The magnificently
engraved ornamentation of both these kinds of buttons can leave no doubt
as to the importance attached to them. I may add that in this tomb not
only all the cruciform gold buttons, but also all the very large round
gold buttons, have on their lower side a flat piece of wood.
[Illustration: Nos. 463-466. Bronze Battle-axe and Swords. Sepulchre I.
Size 1:4, about.]
With the body which lay in the middle of the tomb were found some round
leaves of gold with an impressed ornamentation, and the remnants of a
wooden comb. With the body at the south end of the sepulchre I found
fifteen bronze swords, ten of which lay at his feet. Eight of them are of
very large size, and tolerably well preserved.
[Sidenote: A HEAP OF BRONZE WEAPONS.]
A large heap of more or less broken bronze swords, which may have
represented more than sixty entire ones, was found on the west side,
between the last-mentioned body and the middle one; also a few bronze
knives and lances. Very remarkable is the battle-axe, No. 463, for I
have never yet found this shape here, but I very frequently found it in
Troy, and fourteen of them were contained in the Trojan treasure.[358]
Compared with our present axes, this Mycenean and the Trojan battle-axes
have no hole in which the wooden handle could be fixed, and thus they had
evidently been fastened in or on the handle instead of the handle being
fastened in them. Some of the swords show traces of having been gilded;
several of them have golden pins at the handle. The other weapons shown
under Nos. 464, 465, and 466, are short swords. At the lower end of No.
465 are remnants of gold-plating.
[Illustration: No. 467.
Sword-handle, plated with gold, richly ornamented. Sepulchre I.
Half-size.]
I also found, with the body at the south end of the tomb, the large
handle with a fragment of a bronze sword represented under No. 467. This
handle is covered with thick gold plate richly ornamented with intaglio
work, which can be well distinguished, though the handle is very dirty
from the smoke and ashes of the funeral pyre. The ornamentation is
exactly the same on both sides. In the hollow of the handle is still
preserved part of the wood with which it was once filled.
I also found with the body at the southern end a large quantity of amber
beads and five small plain cylinders of gold plate (in one of which still
sticks a piece of wood), which have evidently covered a stick, perhaps a
sceptre; further seven large sword-handle knobs of alabaster and one of
wood, all ornamented with gold nails; a small piece of gold in the form
of a bar of a watch-chain (see No. 468), which cannot but have served
as a sort of clasp to a shoulder-belt (τελαμών); thirty-seven round
gold leaves of various sizes, twenty-one fragments of gold leaves, two
fragmentary silver vases, a pair of silver tongs or tweezers (see No.
469), and a large vase of alabaster, with a mouthpiece of bronze, plated
with gold. The perforations on three sides in the upper part of the body
can leave no doubt that this vase has had three handles, and the large
round hole with four small perforations in front show that it has had a
pipe. In this vase I found thirty-two small and three large round gold
buttons with rich intaglio patterns, as well as two gold buttons in the
shape of crosses, each with two very small golden handles; further a
large gold button of conical shape, and a wedge-shaped golden tube.
[Illustration: Nos. 468, 469.
A curious Object of Gold, and Silver Tongs. Sepulchre I. Actual size.]
The following engravings represent three more of those wonderful gold
plates, two of which we have already passed in review in explaining the
objects engraved under No. 460. There were found twelve of them in all,
to the right and left of the body at the northern extremity of the tomb.
No. 470 represents a lion chasing a stag; the four feet of the former are
in a horizontal line to show the great speed with which he is running;
he has just overtaken the stag, which sinks down before him, and his jaws
are wide open to devour it. The head of the lion, as well as the mane,
are pretty well represented. On the other hand, the representation of the
stag, which has no horns, is clumsy and indistinct; beyond it we see an
animal with spines and a long fishtail, probably a sea monster. Above the
lion are represented two long palm-fronds, and below it the crowns of two
palm-trees and a palm-frond.
[Sidenote: WONDERFUL GOLD PLATES.]
[Illustration: No. 470. A Gold Plate, with Intaglio of a Lion chasing a
Stag. Sepulchre I. Actual size.]
[Illustration: No. 471. A Gold Plate, with Intaglio of a Lion catching a
Stag. Sepulchre I. Actual size.]
No. 471 represents nearly the same subject: we see again a lion running
at full speed and catching a stag, which is represented with the body
turned towards his pursuer and with his head in the opposite direction;
he stands on his hind-legs, into which the lion, with open jaws, is
just biting. The fore-feet of the stag are uplifted, and his lower feet
protrude at a right angle from the knee. Just before the uplifted loins
of the stag we see the wide-open jaws of a large cow-head with two
long horns of the crescent form and two enormous eyes, to which I call
particular attention. Between the two large horns we see two smaller
ones, the space between which is filled with small objects in the form
of figs; similar objects are seen between the small and the large horns.
Though the artist has given us a front view of the cow-head, yet he
represents its jaws in profile. To the right of the cow-head we see
five long palm-fronds, below which, in the corner to the right of the
spectator, is an object which I cannot recognise; it resembles a bird's
foot.
The whole scene certainly appears to be symbolic.
I think there can be no reasonable doubt that the cow-head represents
Hera Boöpis,[359] the patron deity of Mycenæ, and that when, in later
times, this goddess received a female head, her enormous cow's eyes alone
survived of her former cow-shape; because her sole characteristic epithet
βοῶπις, consecrated as it was by the use of ages, was thenceforward
indiscriminately used for both goddesses and mortal women to designate
large eyes. Thus, for example, Clymene, one of Helen's female servants,
is called by Homer ox-eyed[360] (βοῶπις). Hera's representation
here, with a double pair of horns and the fruits between the four horns,
can, I think, have no other purpose than to glorify her. I further
believe that the lion represents the house of the Pelopids, and perhaps
Agamemnon himself, and that the stag represents a sacrifice offered by
the lion (the house of the Pelopids or Agamemnon himself) to the patron
deity of the town, and the open jaws of the cow-head may have the
meaning that she benignantly receives the sacrifice.
The remaining plate (No. 472) represents the same spiral ornamentation
which we have so frequently passed in review.
To the reverse side of these wonderful golden plates there sticks a good
deal of a blackish matter, perhaps a sort of cement, which must have
served to attach them to flat pieces of wood, on each side of which must
have been one plate. This opinion seems also to be confirmed by the marks
of nails which we see in the rims of the plates, for the nails can, of
course, only have been used to fasten them to a softer substance.
[Illustration: No. 472. Gold Plate, with a spiral ornamentation in
Intaglio. Sepulchre I. Actual size.]
[Sidenote: MASSIVE GOLD MASK.]
No. 473 represents the massive golden mask of the same body at the
north end of the first tomb;[361] unfortunately, the lower part of the
forehead has been so much pressed upon the eyes and the nose, that the
face is disfigured, and the features cannot be well distinguished. Highly
characteristic is the large round head, the enormous forehead, and the
small mouth with the thin lips.
In a perfect state of preservation, on the other hand, is the massive
golden mask of the body at the south end of the tomb (No. 474).[362]
Its features are altogether Hellenic and I call particular attention to
the long thin nose, running in a direct line with the forehead, which
is but small. The eyes, which are shut, are large, and well represented
by the eyelids; very characteristic is also the large mouth with
its well-proportioned lips. The beard also is well represented, and
particularly the moustaches, whose extremities are turned upwards to a
point, in the form of crescents.[363] This circumstance seems to leave
no doubt that the ancient Myceneans used oil or a sort of pomatum in
dressing their hair. Both masks are of _repoussé_ work, and certainly
nobody will for a moment doubt that they were intended to represent the
portraits of the deceased, whose faces they have covered for ages.
The question now naturally arises:--have they been made in the lifetime,
or after the death, of the persons? Probably after their death: but then
we wonder again how the masks can have been made so quickly; because
here, as in all hot climates, the dead are buried within twenty-four
hours after their decease; and this must have been the custom here at
all times. If Homer leaves the bodies of Patroclus and Hector for ten
or twelve days unburied, it was owing to peculiar circumstances; and if
they remained well preserved, it was that Thetis dropped ambrosia into
the veins of the former, and Apollo into those of the latter. However
that may have been with the bodies before us, we are amazed at the skill
of the ancient Mycenean goldsmiths, who could model the portraits of men
in massive gold plate, and consequently could do as much as any modern
goldsmith would be able to perform.
But this skill of the early Mycenean goldsmiths shows a great practice
in similar work, and it can leave no doubt that they were preceded by a
school of artists which had flourished for ages before such work could
be produced.
[Sidenote: CURIOUS GOLD CUPS.]
There was further found to the right of the body at the north end of the
sepulchre the very large gold drinking-cup, with one handle, represented
under No. 475. It is 6 in. in diameter, and as much in height; it has
a beautiful ornamentation in _repoussé_ work, divided by a rope-like
horizontal band into two compartments. The upper one represents a row
of arches, founded as it were on high pilasters of square cut stones,
and much resembling a Roman aqueduct; the lower compartment contains a
wedge-like ornamentation.
[Illustration: No. 475. Large Gold Cup. Sepulchre I. Size 3:7, about.]
In the same tomb I found another very large golden cup, which likewise
has only one large broad handle (No. 476). It is 5⅗ in. in diameter, and
is likewise divided by a horizontal band into two compartments, both
of which are decorated in _repoussé_ work with two parallel horizontal
rows of beautiful spirals. In these occur a large number of that curious
cross, which is so frequently met with in the ruins of Troy, and
which is thought to be the symbol of the holy fire, the Arani of the
Brahmans.[364]
Another large and splendid thick gold goblet found here is represented
under No. 477. It is ornamented in _repoussé_ work with three lions,
which are represented as running with great velocity. This goblet
represents again the type of all the terra-cotta goblets at Mycenæ, with
but one exception. (See Nos. 83, 84, 88.) The handles of all these golden
goblets are fastened to the rim and body of the vessels by gold pins with
large flat heads.
[Illustration: No. 476. Large Gold Cup. Sepulchre I. Half-size, about.]
There were further found two golden goblets, one of which is likewise
of thick gold plate, but it is nevertheless much crumpled; it has a
beautiful massive handle, of a shape which we have repeatedly passed in
review in the fourth tomb. The other gold goblet has an ornamentation
in _repoussé_ work of two double parallel rope-like bands; the upper
compartment representing a horizontal zigzag line, united by vertical
bands of horizontal strokes to the upper double rope-like band. The
ornamentation has a remarkable resemblance to the form of the ogive-like
passages in Mycenæ and Tiryns. In this latter goblet sticks a very thin
and much crumpled smaller golden drinking-cup.
[Illustration: No. 477. A Golden Goblet. Sepulchre I. Size 7:10, about.]
[Sidenote: GOLD AND SILVER GOBLETS.]
There were also found four silver goblets; one of them has a handle,
but no ornamentation; the second is ornamented in _repoussé_ work with
bands of double lines, which terminate at the top in bows. The other
two goblets are very large, but broken and defaced; the one, whose sole
ornamentation is a raised horizontal band, is still filled with ashes
of the funeral pyre. The second of these is ornamented with a number of
furrow-like horizontal bands, and in it sticks a smaller silver cup. To
the bottom of this goblet is still attached one of the pebbles with
which the bottom of the tomb is strewn.
[Illustration: No. 478. The top and lower part of a large Silver Vase,
from the First Sepulchre. Size 4:10, about.]
[Sidenote: A SPLENDID SILVER VASE.]
There was also found in this first sepulchre, close to the body in
question, a large silver vase, 2 ft. 6 in. deep and 1 ft. 8 in. in
diameter in the body; but, unfortunately, it had been in contact with
a saline substance, which had converted the silver into chloride, in
consequence of which the vase is broken into many pieces. No. 478
represents the upper and the lower part of it, put together. Its whole
body was ornamented with a _repoussé_ work of interwoven spirals; the
lower part with horizontal parallel flutings; but it must be distinctly
understood that we see in the engraving only the _inner_ side of the
lower part. The mouth, as well as the band marked with strokes on the
upper part of the body, are plated with copper, and the copper had been
plated with gold. The bottom is entirely of copper, probably in order
to give more solidity to the vessel; very likely the rim of this copper
bottom had also been plated with gold. Of this vase, therefore, it may be
said that the early artist endeavoured to the utmost to combine solidity
with splendour.
There was also found the large drinking-cup of alabaster represented
under No. 479; it is 10¼ in. high, and its form is not unlike our present
glasses.
[Illustration: No. 479.
A large Goblet of Alabaster. Sepulchre I.
Size 3:8, about.]
There were further found five plates of gold in the form of double
eagles, of which I represent two under No. 480; all of them are of
_repoussé_ work, and have exactly the same size and shape. The figures of
the eagles are true to nature, except for a spiral line which protrudes
from their neck; just below this spiral we see a long serpent across the
bodies of the two eagles: both the serpent and the spiral may have a
symbolic meaning. The eagles are leaning against each other with their
whole body, and even with their claws, but are turning their heads in
opposite directions; above the heads we see a long tube, which can only
have served to draw the ornaments on a string for a necklace.
[Illustration: No. 480. Double Eagles in Gold Plate. Sepulchre I. Actual
size.]
[Illustration: No. 481. Gold Plate, with a pattern in _repoussé_ work.
Sepulchre I. Actual size.]
[Sidenote: GOLDEN SHIELD-LIKE DISKS.]
There were also found five large shield-like disks, and a small one, of
thin gold plate, with an ornamentation in _repoussé_ work, representing
in the centre a star, and around it, within a border of two double
circles of points, an ornamentation of spirals (see No. 481). Further,
two whorl-shaped, hollow objects of gold, which fit together, but whose
use is unknown to us. Perfectly similar objects have been represented
under Nos. 425 and 426.[365] Further, a fragmentary silver vase, with the
beautiful golden mouthpiece (No. 482) and the golden handle (No. 483);
both having an ornamentation of _repoussé_ work. In the mouthpiece we see
the six perforations by which it was fastened with pins to the neck of
the silver vase, of which we see a fragment still attached to the handle.
There were further found two fragmentary plain silver vases, of one of
which the lower half is preserved: also a fragmentary silver vase, with a
copper bottom and mouthpiece, which latter may have probably been plated
with gold. Also, a large fragmentary silver vase, with a _repoussé_ work
of spirals; and two large disks of copper, plated with silver, which
probably belong to silver vases.
[Illustration: No. 482. Golden Mouthpiece of a Vase. Sepulchre I. Size
5:7, about.]
[Illustration: No. 483.
Golden Vase-handle.
Sepulchre I. Actual size.]
From the same tomb came the small cylinder of gold plate (No. 484), which
is profusely covered with intaglio work, and still contains a piece of
charred wood, to which the cylinder was attached below with three gold
pins; one of these can still be seen to the right of the spectator. If
we look from the top of the cylinder downward, we see that its upper
part is divided by horizontal bands of three or four lines into four
compartments, of which the upper one has an ornamentation of small
concentric circles[366] the second of vertical strokes, the third again
of concentric circles, and the fourth of vertical strokes; on both sides
of this fourth compartment were golden pins, of which the one to the
right is still in its place. The space below is divided by vertical bands
into three compartments, of which those to the right and left are filled
with an ornamentation of spirals, and the middle one with a tree-like
band, from the top of which project, to the right and left, branch-like
spirals forming circles, in which we again see small spirals: the
remaining space is filled up with spirals and closely joined wedge-like
ornaments. Thus we see on this cylinder not the tenth part of an inch
unornamented.
[Illustration: No. 484.
A Cylinder of Gold Plate.
Sepulchre I. Actual size.]
[Sidenote: NUMEROUS GOLD BUTTONS.]
Inclusive of the gold buttons already mentioned, there were found in
this first tomb in all 340 such buttons, from most of which the wooden
mould has disappeared, so that only the gold plates remain. Of these,
eighty-four are plain and without any ornamentation; namely, thirty-five
very large ones, being 2 in. in diameter, thirty-six of a less size,
measuring 1½ in. in diameter, and thirteen small ones, measuring 1 inch
or less. The remaining 256 gold buttons are ornamented with intaglio
work. The total number consists of thirteen very large ones of 2 in.
in diameter, thirty-nine of about 1½ in. and 194 of 1 in. or less, and
eight large and two smaller ones, in form of crosses; making in all ten
cross-shaped buttons, all of which have retained their wooden moulds.
As before-mentioned, two of the cross-like buttons have each two small
gold handles. Not to fatigue the reader, I give no engravings of the
plain buttons, and even of the richly ornamented ones I represent in
the accompanying plates only those whose ornamentation shows a variance
from that of the types of the buttons of the Fourth Tomb. The reader
may therefore take it for granted that, of the large buttons of this
First Tomb, those represented under Nos. 485-491 are the only ones whose
ornamentation exhibits new types.
On No. 485, we see around three concentric circles, and within a border
of two circles, a star-like ornament with curved sides and obtuse points,
each of the latter containing a small circle, the space between each
curve and the border being filled up by a crescent and a small circle.
In 486 we see six concentric circles around a magnificent central
ornamentation of spirals of a new form; in the border an uninterrupted
row of a sign which resembles the letter _koppa_.
[Illustration: Nos. 485, 486. Ornamented Gold Buttons. Sepulchre I.
Actual size.]
[Sidenote: ORNAMENTED GOLD BUTTONS.]
In No. 487, we see in the centre two spirals standing opposite
each other, and surrounded by five concentric circles, then by an
ornamentation of four signs in the form of a cornucopia, and by four
circles, which form the border. In the following button (No. 488) we
see in the middle a figure approaching the oval form, within which are
spirals impossible to describe, the remaining space being filled up by a
small border and a large number of curved lines and two signs resembling
hand-saws, with handles of a spiral form. In No. 490, we see around
the central circle two borders, of which the outer one is filled with
a circular row of double circles, the inner one with a circular row of
signs resembling a sling with a stone in it. The ornamentation of No. 491
is very beautiful, but I find it impossible to describe. As to the gold
buttons of the second size, the only new pattern I found is No. 489; it
represents in the centre a beautiful spiral in the shape of a coiled-up
serpent, whose head is distinctly visible; around it are three concentric
circles, and a border filled up with an ornamentation resembling a row of
figs.
[Illustration: Nos. 487-491. Ornamented Gold Buttons. Sepulchre I. Actual
size.]
[Illustration: Nos. 492-506. Ornamented Gold Buttons. Sepulchre I. Actual
size.]
Of the small buttons, I represent the new types under Nos. 492-499 and
501-512. I have added a couple of those whose patterns the reader has
seen before, because of superior beauty. In No. 492 we see, within
a small border of two circles, a flower-like ornament, with three
inner and three outer circles; in No. 493, within a border with round
or square signs, a spiral in the form of a serpent; in No. 494, two
concentric denticulated circles; in No. 495, a spiral ornament, which
very frequently occurs both here and at Troy; in No. 496, we see two
concentric circles of small triangles; in No. 497, we again see a flower.
No. 498 is a massive gold button, and represents a beautiful flower; it
is perforated, and it may be that it never served as a button, but as a
lid of a small golden can or bottle. In No. 499, we recognise the shape
of a beautiful flower with two denticulated circles; No. 501 represents
the very same ornament as No. 495; No. 502 and No. 503 represent flowers.
The ornamentation of No. 504 is difficult to describe; if we turn the
figure to the right it resembles the bust of a man; in No. 505, we
see two spirals of a new shape; in No. 506 again a flower. No. 507
exhibits a treble 卐, with the arms converted into spirals, each of them
terminating in a round point, which is joined by a stroke to the usual
points, the marks of the four nails. No. 508 has no other ornament than
four concentric circles; in No. 509, we see only a single 卐, with curved
arms and the marks of the four nails; No. 510 exhibits an ornamentation
resembling three knives with handles in the form of spirals; No. 511 is
identical with No. 501; and finally No. 512 shows us a figure similar to
that of No. 507, with the sole difference that it is here but single and
there treble.
[Illustration:
Nos. 507-512. Ornamented Gold Buttons. }
} Sepulchre I. Size 5:6.
" 513-518. Ornamented Gold Ribbons. }
]
Of the ten large cross-like buttons I give the engraving, under No. 500,
of the only new pattern. As with the cross-like buttons of the fourth
tomb, the wooden moulds, beneath the gold plates of the ten buttons
have exactly the same intaglio ornamentation which we see on the latter,
and there can consequently be no doubt that the intaglio work was made
when the gold plate was already fastened on the wooden buttons, and
that the engraving made on the former was reproduced on the latter by
the pressure of the artist's hand. The ornamentation of the cross-like
button, No. 500, is as follows: it has at each acute angle of the lozenge
three and at each obtuse angle two globular projections ornamented with
concentric circles, and in the interior lozenge two spirals in the form
of _omegas_ standing opposite each other; the four angles being filled up
by small circles.
[Sidenote: ORNAMENTED GOLD RIBBONS.]
Of the other cross-like buttons, not sufficiently different to require
engraving, we have the following patterns. One has at each angle three
globular projections, but the ornamentation consists solely of circles,
which stand together, forming flowers. On another large button there
are only two globular projections at each corner, and the lozenge has a
broad border filled with an uninterrupted row of small circles; in the
centre we see a double circle filled with spirals, of the form we have
so frequently passed in review; the remaining space in each acute angle
being filled up with an _omega_-like spiral and three small figures
similar to those in No. 501. Identical with this is the ornamentation
of another cross-like button, with the sole difference that its border
is wider and that, instead of the sign in No. 500, it has only one
small circle in each acute angle of the interior lozenge. I have no
observations to make on the other cross-buttons, for their patterns are
perfectly similar to those already represented.
In the same sepulchre I found the broad golden ribbons represented under
Nos. 513-518, with a magnificent ornamentation in _repoussé_ work.
There was also found a round gold plate, having in its centre a star,
surrounded by three concentric circles, a circular row of small spiral
ornaments, and a border of three circles. Also another double gold
plate, which has probably formed a cylinder.
[Illustration: No. 519. Golden Ornament of the Greaves. Sepulchre I. Size
10:13.]
[Illustration: Nos. 520-524. Bone Tubes and Buttons. Sepulchre I. Actual
size.]
Of objects of gold there were further found in this tomb two ornaments
for greaves (κνημίδες), of which I represent one under No. 519. It
consists of an upper golden band, terminating in a ring which must have
served to attach it to a button, and a lower golden band, broad in the
middle and gradually diminishing in breadth towards the two extremities,
which has served to fasten the greave round the thigh. There is no
ornamentation on the upper band, where we see only a thicker tube-like
gold plate, which, being soldered to the rim of the ring, becomes
gradually smaller, and is fastened with small pins to the lower end
of the upper band, which it is intended to make more solid. The lower
horizontal band is decorated with _repoussé_ work, showing in the middle
three ornaments, composed of treble concentric circles of protruding
points, and at each end a branch with leaves.
[Sidenote: OBJECTS OF BONE AND IVORY.]
I have further to mention among the objects found in this tomb the
three tubes of bone, Nos. 520, 521, and 522, and the two bone buttons,
Nos. 523 and 524, the latter still having a fragment of the bone-stick,
which must have served as a syringe-handle in the three tubes, which
have undoubtedly been fastened together. We therefore have here in all
probability an ancient Mycenean clyster-pipe.
[Illustration: No. 525. Piece of Ivory: perhaps Handle of a Dagger.
Sepulchre I. Actual size.]
The object, No. 525, is a thick flat piece of ivory, and may have served
as handle to an ornamental dagger. The upper rounded end is slightly
concave, and we see engraved on it a double concentric circle with that
beautiful type of spiral ornamentation which so often occurs here. Below
it are four treble concentric circles and a band of three horizontal
lines.
The object, No. 526, in the form of a horse-shoe, is, according to
Professor Landerer, of Egyptian porcelain, which has been rubbed with
a lead-glazing before being put into the oven; by this process it has
got a glancing greenish colour. On the reverse side it is hollow, and
must therefore have been fastened on something else. All the objects now
described have evidently been much exposed to the funeral fire.
[Illustration: No. 526. An object of Egyptian Porcelain. Sepulchre I.
Actual size.]
This tomb contained a vast quantity of fragments both of beautiful
hand-made and wheel-made pottery. Among the former, particular attention
is claimed by the goblets of the usual Mycenean type, but of a light
greenish colour with black spiral ornaments; also, the much larger black
goblets with a large hollow foot and deep horizontal furrows in the
middle; further, the splendidly-fashioned small monochromatic lustrous
red or black vases, whose fabrication is far superior to any painted
wheel-made vases to be found here; further, the light green vases with
black spirals, likewise hand-made; these vases are rather rudely made,
and their painted ornamentation is still ruder. I found fragments of
the last-named vases in all the tombs, and also among the stones of the
Cyclopean walls on Mount Eubœa. Of the painted wheel-made vases the most
interesting are those with a dark red ornamentation on a light red or
yellow dead ground, of which I represent a specimen under No. 527.
[Illustration: No. 527. A wheel-made Vase of Terra-cotta. Sepulchre I.
Size 1:3, about.]
[Sidenote: POTTERY AND COPPER VESSELS.]
Of large copper vessels I found in this tomb only seven, all of which
stood on the west side; one of them, a λέβης λοετροχόος,
or kettle for heating water for the bath, like the one already
represented (No. 438, p. 275.) It has three vertical handles, and
measures 22 in. in diameter. There is another smaller one of the same
form and also with three vertical handles, and three of the same shape
with only two handles; also two enormous cans with two handles, of which
the one joins the rim to the body, while the other is fastened below.
As perfectly similar cans, found in the fourth tomb, have been already
represented, I abstain from giving any more engravings of them. (See
Nos. 436, 437, pp. 274, 275.)
I may further mention the copper bottom of a vessel; and, among other
objects, a marble disk which may have served as the bottom to a vase of
alabaster, and a large whetstone of very fine sandstone; also 16 flat
quadrangular pieces of bone, having at each end two perforations; they
are 1-10/12 in. long and 7/12 in. broad, and must have served somehow
as ornaments, probably on horse-trappings. Especially characteristic of
this tomb was the large quantity of wood it contained. Besides a number
of half-burnt pieces of wood of the funeral fires, I found there a piece
of cypress-wood, 9 in. long and 4½ in. broad, which had not been touched
by the fire, though apparently it had been on the pyre. There was also
collected in this tomb a very large quantity of cloven wooden instruments
or handles, and three lids of wooden boxes, as well as remnants of
sword-sheaths or domestic utensils.
Perhaps still more important and interesting than all the jewels found in
this tomb was a small quadrangular wooden box (νάρθηξ), of which I
picked up two sides, on each of which are carved in relief a lion and
a dog. Small as these sculptures are, they are nevertheless of capital
interest to science, because they prove to us that the art of carving in
wood flourished in the mythic heroic age.
When first taken out of the grave all this wood was moist and soft like
a sponge, but it is now dry, and I hope that with proper care it can be
preserved. There were also found many larger and smaller pieces of cork,
several of them with a curved border, from which I conclude that all must
have belonged to shields; otherwise their use is quite inexplicable. Food
seems also to have been deposited with the three bodies of this tomb,
for I gathered in it a large quantity of oyster-shells, and among them
several unopened oysters. A very large number of boars' teeth were also
found.
FOOTNOTES:
[351] See the opening scene of the _Agamemnon_ of Æschylus.
[352] See No. 441, p. 279.
[353] See 'Troy and its Remains,' p. 35, No. 13; p. 106, No. 70;
p. 307, No. 219.
[354] I think it my duty to state here that the Archæological
Society in Athens has alone incurred all the trouble and expense of
_drugging_ the body so as to render it hard and solid, and raising it
from the sepulchre and carrying it to the village of Charvati, and that I
have had no trouble or expense from this operation.
[355] See p. 305.
[356] See p. 253.
[357] See p. 311.
[358] See 'Troy and its Remains,' pp. 330, 331.
[359] Homer's βοῶπις πότνια ῞Ἡρη, "our lady Hera with
the head of a cow;" hence "cow-faced;" and then, with
large eyes like a cow, or "ox-eyed." (See Note at the end
of Chapter I.)
[360] _Il._ III. 144.
[361] See Vignette to Chapter X., p. 333.
[362] See Vignette to this Chapter, p. 289.
[363] "There is nothing new under the sun."
[364] See 'Troy and its Remains,' Plate XXIV. Nos. 348, 350,
351.
[365] See p. 268.
[366] Owing to the ashes and smoke with which the cylinder is
covered, the upper row of circles did not appear in the photograph.
[Illustration: No. 473. Massive Golden Mask of the body at the north end
of the First Sepulchre. Size 1:5, about.[367]]
CHAPTER X.
CONNECTION OF THE FIVE TOMBS WITH THE ROYAL HOUSE OF PELOPS; AND DATE OF
THE AGORA.
Discussion of the identity of the five tombs with those
mentioned by Pausanias as the tombs of Agamemnon and his
companions--Opinions of scholars about the Trojan War--The
ancients unanimous for its reality--The author's faith in the
traditions led to his discovery of Troy and of the five Royal
Tombs at Mycenæ--The civilisation of Mycenæ higher than that of
Troy--The pottery of both very primitive--Alphabetic writing
known at Troy, but not at Mycenæ--The different civilisations
may have been contemporaneous--The appearances in the tombs
prove the simultaneous death of those interred, certainly in
each tomb, and probably in all the five--Traditional veneration
for the sepulchres--Monuments repeatedly placed over them--No
tombs between the two circular rows of slanting slabs which
formed the enclosure of the Agora and its benches--Agora probably
erected when the tombstones were renewed, and the altar built
over the fourth tomb, under the influence of the enthusiasm
created by the Rhapsodists--These monuments buried in the course
of time, but the memory of the site was fresh by tradition long
after the destruction of the new city of Mycenæ--Testimony
of Pausanias--The enormous treasures prove the sepulchres
to be _royal_, but royalty at Mycenæ ended with the Dorian
invasion--This must have been much earlier than the received
date, 1104 B.C.--An objection answered--Honours paid to the
remains of murdered princes even by their murderers--Custom of
burying the dead with their treasures--The sepulchral treasure of
Palestrina--The sepulchre of Nitocris at Babylon--Case of Pyrrhus
and the royal sepulchres at Ægeæ--The sepulchre at Corneto.
* * * * *
Having in the preceding pages described the five great sepulchres and
the treasures contained in them, I now proceed to discuss the question,
whether it is possible to identify these sepulchres with the tombs
which Pausanias, following the tradition, attributes to Agamemnon, to
Cassandra, to Eurymedon, and to their companions.
The Trojan war has for a long time past been regarded by many eminent
scholars as a myth, of which, however, they vainly endeavoured to find
the origin in the Rig-Vêdas. But in all antiquity the siege and conquest
of Ilium by the Greek army under Agamemnon was considered as an undoubted
historical fact, and as such it is accepted by the great authority of
Thucydides.[368] The tradition has even retained the memory of many
details of that war which had been omitted by Homer. For my part, I have
always firmly believed in the Trojan war; my full faith in Homer and in
the tradition has never been shaken by modern criticism, and to this
faith of mine I am indebted for the discovery of Troy and its Treasure.
[Sidenote: THE AUTHOR'S FAITH IN THE TROJAN WAR.]
However, the want of ornamentation on the Trojan jewels, the hand-made
uncoloured pottery with impressed or engraved ornamentation, and,
finally, the want of iron and glass, convinced me that the ruins of Troy
belong to such a remote antiquity, as to precede by ages the ruins of
Mycenæ, the date of which I thought I could fix by the result of the
34 shafts which I sank in the Acropolis in February 1874. I therefore
believed that Homer had only known the siege and destruction of Troy
from an ancient tradition commemorated by preceding poets, and that, for
favours received, he introduced his contemporaries as actors in his great
tragedy. But I never doubted that a king of Mycenæ, by name Agamemnon,
his charioteer Eurymedon, a Princess Cassandra, and their followers had
been treacherously murdered either by Ægisthus at a banquet, "like an
ox at the manger," as Homer[369] says, or in the bath by Clytemnestra,
as the later tragic poets represent;[370] and I firmly believed in the
statement of Pausanias,[371] that the murdered persons had been interred
in the Acropolis, differing in this respect, as I have said before, from
Leake, Dodwell, O. Müller, E. Curtius, Prokesch, and other travellers in
the Peloponnesus, who had all misunderstood the statement of Pausanias,
and thought that he meant the murdered persons to have been buried in the
lower town.
My firm faith in the traditions made me undertake my late excavations
in the Acropolis, and led to the discovery of the five tombs, with
their immense treasures. Although I found in these tombs a very high
civilisation, from a technical point of view, yet, as in Ilium, I found
there only hand-made or most ancient wheel-made pottery, and no iron.
Further, writing was known in Troy, for I found there a number of short
inscriptions, in very ancient Cypriote characters; and, so far as we can
judge, in a language which is essentially the same as Greek;[372] whereas
we have the certainty now that the alphabet was unknown in Mycenæ. Had
it been known, the Mycenean goldsmiths, who were always endeavouring to
invent some new ornamentation, would have joyfully availed themselves
of the novelty to introduce the strange characters in their decoration.
Besides, in the remote antiquity, to which the Homeric rhapsodies
and the tradition of the Mycenean tombs refer, there was as yet no
commercial intercourse. Nobody travelled, except on warlike or piratical
expeditions. Thus there may have been a very high civilisation at Mycenæ,
while at the very same time the arts were only in their first dawn in
Troy, and writing with Cypriote characters may have been in use in Troy
more than 1000 years before any alphabet was known in Greece.
I have not the slightest objection to admit that the tradition which
assigns the tombs in the Acropolis to Agamemnon and his companions, who
on their return from Ilium were treacherously murdered by Clytemnestra or
her paramour Ægisthus, may be perfectly correct and faithful. I am bound
to admit this so much the more, as we have the certainty that, to say the
least, all the bodies in each tomb had been buried simultaneously. The
calcined pebbles below each of them, the marks of the fire to the right
and left on the internal walls of the tombs, the undisturbed state of the
ashes and the charred wood on and around the bodies, give us the most
unmistakable proofs of this fact. Owing to the enormous depths of these
sepulchres, and the close proximity of the bodies to each other, it is
quite impossible that three or even five funeral piles could have been
dressed at different intervals of time in the same tomb.
[Sidenote: VERACITY OF THE TRADITION.]
The identity of the mode of burial, the perfect similarity of all the
tombs, their very close proximity, the impossibility of admitting
that three or even five royal personages of immeasurable wealth, who
had died a natural death at long intervals of time, should have been
huddled together in the same tomb, and, finally, the great resemblance
of all the ornaments, which show exactly the same style of art and the
same epoch--all these facts are so many proofs that all the twelve
men, three women, and perhaps two or three children, had been murdered
simultaneously and burned at the same time.
The veracity of the tradition seems further to be confirmed by the deep
veneration which the Myceneans and in fact the inhabitants of the whole
Argolid, have always shown for these five sepulchres. The funeral pyres
were not yet extinguished when they were covered with a layer of clay,
and then with a layer of pebbles, on which the earth was thrown at once.
To this circumstance chiefly are we indebted for the preservation of
so large a quantity of wood and the comparatively good preservation of
the bodies; for in no instance were the bones consumed by the fire,
and on several bodies, which were covered with golden masks and thick
breast-plates, even much of the flesh had remained. The site of each tomb
was marked by tombstones, and when these had been covered by the dust of
ages and had disappeared, fresh tombstones were erected on the new level,
but precisely over the spot where the ancient memorials lay buried.
Only on the large fourth sepulchre with the five bodies, instead of new
tombstones, a sacrificial altar of almost circular form was built.
As before explained, the first tomb had, according to all appearance,
been originally decorated with a large monument, from which came the
three tombstones with the bas-reliefs, and these sculptured tombstones
must have been taken out and erected on the new level.
Before proceeding to what I have further to say of the Agora, I must
here add to the discussion opened in Chapter V. the testimony of Homer
himself to the form and use of the Agora in the heroic age. In that
beautiful passage in which he depicts the trial of a suit, as represented
on the Shield of Achilles, he expressly describes the Agora as _a sacred
circle_, with the elders _sitting round it on polished stones_, or--as
we may now venture to translate--_on smoothed slabs_, like those in the
Acropolis of Mycenæ:--[373]
"But the townsmen, all assembled
In the forum, thronging stood;
For a strife of twain had risen,
Suing on a fine of blood.
All was paid, the first protested,
Pleading well to move the crowd;
Nought was had, upheld the second:
Each to obey an umpire vowed;
And the hearers, as they sided
This or that way, cheered aloud:
And the heralds ordered silence;
And, _on chairs of polished stone,
_Ranged in venerable circle_
Sate the Elders. One by one
Each the clear-toned herald's sceptre
Took, and standing forth alone
Spake his mind. Two golden talents
Lay before them, to requite
Only him, among the Judges,
Straightliest who should judge the right."
[Sidenote: THE AGORA IN HOMER.]
What reader can follow this vivid picture, in the light furnished by my
discovery of the Agora at Mycenæ, without feeling that the poet had often
witnessed such a scene, perhaps on this very spot?
Homer makes the Trojan Agora, the assembly of _all the people_, old and
young, with the _elders_, meet in the citadel of Ilium, at the gates of
Priam.[374]
In several passages of the Odyssey he describes the Agora of the
Phæacians, which was also in the citadel, near the port. Hither the
people were led by Alcinous, to hear the wonderful adventures of Ulysses,
and they also "coming, _seated themselves near on polished stones_ (or
_smoothed slabs_); and the _spaces of the Agora and the seats_ were
quickly filled by the thronging people."[375]
To complete the parallel, this Phæacian Agora (that is, its circular
enclosure) was "fitted together with stones dragged to their places
and sunk in the ground," like the slabs of the Agora at Mycenæ; and it
surrounded "a beautiful Posideüm," which we must naturally suppose to
have been a small open sanctuary in the centre of the Agora.[376]
I may add, as a proof of the great importance of the Agora in the civic
life of the Heroic age, that its absence among the Cyclopes is cited by
Homer to characterize their barbarous state.[377]
I at first thought that every one of the large slabs of the circular
double parallel row, which forms the enclosure of the Agora and its
benches was a tombstone, and marked a grave; but this could not be the
case. There are no real tombs either between the two parallel rows or on
either side of them. The twelve quadrangular tomb-like recesses which
form part of the enclosure of the Agora on the north side, have turned
out to be nothing else than small reservoirs or cisterns. They were
filled with household remains and bones of animals. At all events the
Agora appears to have been erected in honour of those who were buried in
the five sepulchres, but evidently at a later period, though undoubtedly
centuries before the capture of Mycenæ by the Argives. I infer this from
the irregular and careless architecture of the Cyclopean wall which
supports the double parallel row in the lower part of the Acropolis,
and from the number of slabs which it contains resembling those of that
enclosure.
As a further proof, I may mention that between the stones of this wall,
as well as between the two double circular rows of slabs which form the
enclosure and benches of the Agora, and in the tomb-shaped cisterns, I
find only fragments of the usual Mycenean pottery, and no trace of that
ancient hand-made and wheel-made pottery which is found in the royal
tombs. I think it therefore highly probable that the erection of the
Agora coincides with the renewal of the tombstones on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd,
and 5th tombs, and the erection of the sacrificial altar on the 4th tomb;
and that this renewal was occasioned by the immense enthusiasm which the
Rhapsodists, who went from house to house chanting the Homeric hymns,
roused among the people for the heroes of the Iliad and the Odyssey.
Very likely the glorious acts of the king of men, Agamemnon, and his
companions, were frequently chanted here in the Agora on their very
sepulchres. I may here observe that while the whole Acropolis is covered
with remnants of Cyclopean house-walls, I found no trace whatever of any
prehistoric building within the sacred precincts of the circular Agora.
[Sidenote: DATE OF THE AGORA.]
But, nevertheless, the accumulation of _débris_ continued, and in the
course of time the new tombstones, as well as the Agora itself, were
buried and disappeared, while the site of the tombs remained always fresh
in the memory of the inhabitants. I think, however, we may consider it
as perfectly certain that the Agora continued to serve for the National
Assembly until the capture of Mycenæ by the Argives (468 B.C.), because
not only were the Myceneans attached to those sacred precincts by the
most glorious and most affectionate reminiscences, but also because the
Agora was the most imposing and most beautiful situation in the whole
city, whence the Assembly overlooked not only the whole lower city,
but also the whole plain, with Argos, Tiryns, Nauplia, as well as the
splendid Gulf of Nauplia. It is therefore equally certain that until
468 B.C. the Agora was kept clean, and that the accumulation in it only
began after the Myceneans had been forced to emigrate. I think I have
proved by the passages in Euripides[378] that this poet must necessarily
have visited Mycenæ; for he was fully acquainted with the peculiar
architecture of its Cyclopean walls, he perfectly knew the Agora in the
Acropolis, and he was well aware that close to it was the building, laid
bare by my spade, to which tradition pointed as the ancient Royal Palace.
To the above testimony might also be added the passage where the
messenger says to Orestes, "Even if thou camest within the walls (the
Acropolis) thou wouldst not be able" (to kill Aegisthus)[379]; further,
the passage where the messenger says of a person that he "seldom comes to
the city (Mycenæ) and to the circle of the Agora."[380]
From the former of these passages we also infer that Euripides knew
the Palace of Aegisthus to be in the Acropolis, and from the latter we
have an additional proof that he knew the Agora to be of circular form.
I think we might, as a further proof of Euripides' acquaintance with
Mycenæ, also adduce the passage: "I see the people go and sit down on the
height (no doubt the Acropolis) where, as tradition goes, Danaus first
assembled the people on common seats when he was brought to trial for the
offence against Aegyptus."[381] Mr. Newton thinks that the poet speaks
here of Argos, and so it certainly appears by the names of Aegyptus and
Danaus, of whose visit to Mycenæ there is no tradition; besides, the
walls of the Acropolis of Argos were attributed to Danaus. But after
reading all that precedes, I think the passage can only refer to the
Acropolis of Mycenæ. However that may be, at all events the passage gives
us an additional proof that the people were _sitting_ in the Agora.
It is impossible to say how many years after its capture by the Argives
(468 B.C.) Mycenæ was visited by Euripides, who was born in 480 and died
in 402 B.C. But the particulars he gives us of the Agora, as well as his
allusions to the royal palace, seem to leave no doubt that he saw these
monuments, and that consequently they were not yet totally buried in the
_débris_ when he visited the Acropolis.
[Sidenote: EURIPIDES SAW MYCENÆ.]
On the other hand, my excavations have proved that the Agora was already
covered by a deep accumulation of _débris_ when the later Greek city
was built on its top, and for the various reasons I have adduced[382]
there can be no doubt that the new settlement was founded about 400 B.C.
But as all the _débris_ which covered the Agora must necessarily have
been washed down by the rain from the five upper natural or artificial
terraces of the steep mount of the Acropolis, we are led to the
conclusion that Euripides visited Mycenæ in his younger years, and thus
shortly after the city's capture, for otherwise the enormous accumulation
of _débris_ in about 400 B.C. would be altogether inexplainable.
But though buried deep below the new city, the precise site of each tomb
was perfectly remembered by the inhabitants of the Argolid. After an
existence of about 200 years, the new city was, for some cause or other,
again and finally abandoned. But still the tradition remained so fresh,
that nearly 400 years after the destruction of the new town the exact
place of each tomb was shown to Pausanias. Nay, the interest which the
inhabitants of the Peloponnesus felt in the sepulchres was still so great
sixteen or eighteen centuries after the tragic event, that, as Pausanias
states, the Lacedæmonians of Amyclæ disputed with Mycenæ the honour of
having Cassandra's tomb, which they thought they possessed in their own
city. At all events, Pausanias[383] says that the Amycleans had in their
village the sanctuary and the statue of Alexandra, whom they identified
with Cassandra.
The five tombs of Mycenæ, or at least three of them, contained such
enormous treasures, that they cannot but have belonged to members of
the royal family. But the period of the kings of Mycenæ belongs to a
very remote antiquity. Royalty ceased there at the Dorian invasion,
the date of which has always been fixed at 1104 B.C. Thucydides says
that it took place eighty years after the war of Troy, which has been
hitherto supposed to have ended in 1184 B.C. But, in agreement with all
archæologists, I hold to the conclusion that, on the evidence of the
monuments of Troy, the capture and the destruction of that city, and
consequently also the Dorian invasion, must have occurred at a much
earlier date.
It has been objected that the five sepulchres cannot possibly contain the
bodies of Agamemnon, Eurymedon, Cassandra, and their followers, for the
reason that they were killed by their enemies, Ægisthus and Clytemnestra,
who had usurped the power, and who would neither have buried them nor
have permitted them to be buried with immense treasures. But this
objection falls to the ground before the testimony of Homer, that even he
who killed his enemy burned him in his full armour, with all his weapons.
Thus, for example, Andromache says to Hector:[384]
... "Father I have none,
Nor honoured mother; for divine Achilles
My father slew, and sacked Cilician Thebes,
Fair-peopled city of the lofty gates.
Yet stript he not Eëtion of his arms,
Through the restraint of a religious awe,
But burning him with all his panoply,
Heaped high his tomb."
I. C. WRIGHT
That it was the custom in the heroic age to bury the dead with those
objects which had been dear to them in life, is further proved by
Homer, where the soul of Elpenor begs Ulysses to bury his body with
his weapons, and to erect a mound over him.[385] My esteemed friend
Professor Semiteles reminds me that Ajax, in the tragedy of Sophocles,
prays to be buried with his arms.[386]
It would therefore appear that, in burying the fifteen royal personages
with immense treasures, the murderers merely acted according to an
ancient custom, and consequently only fulfilled a sacred duty.
[Sidenote: AGAMEMNON'S IGNOMINIOUS BURIAL.]
On the other hand, the usage of the age appears to have left the
murderers at full liberty regarding the form of the sepulchres and the
mode of the burial, which were consequently as ignominious as possible.
The graves were merely deep irregular quadrangular holes, into which the
royal victims were huddled by three and even by five, and on the bottom
of which they were burnt, but each separately, so that their bones might
not be mixed together.
I perfectly share Mr. Newton's opinion, that all the five immense
and magnificent Treasuries in the lower city and in the suburb must
necessarily be more ancient than the five royal tombs in the Acropolis;
and if we reflect that princes, who used such magnificent underground
palaces as store-houses of their wealth, should have been huddled away
like impure animals into miserable holes, we find in this ignominious
burial alone a powerful argument in favour of the veracity of the
tradition which points to these sepulchres as those of the king of men,
Agamemnon, and his companions, who on their return from Ilium were
treacherously murdered by Aegisthus and Clytemnestra.
Professor Paley reminds me that the excellent Greek scholar, Miss
A. Swanwick, the translator (among other works) of the _Oresteia_ of
Aeschylus, has already made the just remark, that the ancient tradition
made Agamemnon to be buried in _silence_ and _ignominy_; and the same
friend calls my attention to the following passages in the tragic poets
to show how all of them agree upon this. Thus we read in Aeschylus: "By
our hands has he fallen and died, and we shall bury him not with the
lamentations of his household."[387] But we see continually in Homer that
the _lamentations_ of _relations_ and of all those who belonged to the
household were regarded as quite essential to the honour as well as the
peace of the dead. So, for instance, we read in the Iliad[388]: "So spoke
(Briseïs) weeping, and the women (the other female slaves) broke out into
lamentations, seemingly for Patroclus, but in reality every one of them
was merely lamenting over her own misfortune."
We further read in Aeschylus: "O insolent mother, with the funeral of
an enemy thou hast dared to bury your lord, a king without the tear of
his citizens, a husband without his wife's"[389]: and "O father, who
hast not died in the manner of kings."[390] Also in Sophocles: "Having
ignominiously slain him like an enemy, she chopped and hacked his
limbs."[391] Likewise in Euripides: "Certainly like a criminal thou wilt
be buried ignominiously by night, not in the daytime."[392]
I may here observe that Sophocles seems never to have visited Mycenæ,
for he fancied Agamemnon's sepulchre to have the form of a tumulus[393]:
"On the mound of this grave I proclaim this to my father."
[Sidenote: CUSTOM OF BURIAL WITH TREASURES.]
That in a remote antiquity it was the custom to bury kings with their
treasures is proved by various classics. Thus, for instance, we are told
by Diodorus Siculus[394] that Sardanapalus, the last king of Assyria,
erected in one of his courts an immense pyre, on which he burnt himself
together with all his treasures, his royal ornaments, his wives and his
eunuchs.
We further read in Herodotus:[395] "This same queen, Nitocris, committed
the following fraud: Above the most frequented gate of the city (Babylon)
she erected for herself a sepulchre, which projected from the upper part
of the gate. And on this sepulchre she engraved an inscription of the
following tenour: 'Whichever of the kings of Babylon who succeeds me may
stand in need of money, let him open the sepulchre and take treasure
as much as he likes. But let him open it in no other case than when he
really needs money; because that would not be good.' This sepulchre
remained intact until the kingdom passed over to Darius. Darius was vexed
that he could never use the gate, and that, though treasures were lying
there, and though the treasures themselves invited him, he should not be
allowed to take them. But this gate he could not use, because in passing
through he would have had the corpse above his head. Now, on opening the
tomb he found no treasures, but only the corpse, and an inscription which
was as follows: 'If thou wert not insatiable and greedy for treasures,
thou wouldst not have opened the tombs of the dead.'"
This account of Herodotus proves two things; first, that it was the
custom at Babylon to bury the royal dead with treasures, and, secondly,
that the people were prevented by a religious fear from plundering the
abodes of the dead.
We further read in Diodorus:[396] "When Pyrrhus had pillaged Ægeæ, which
was the residence of the Macedonian kings, he left there the Galatians.
These having learned from some people that, according to an ancient
custom, large treasures were buried in the royal tombs together with the
deceased, they excavated all the sepulchres, and having rifled them, they
divided the treasures among themselves, but the bones of the dead they
threw away. Pyrrhus upbraided them on account of this sacrilegious act,
but he did not punish them because he needed them in his wars." This
proves again to us that it was an ancient custom in Macedonia to bury the
dead of royal houses with treasures, and that the people were deterred by
a religious fear from touching them, because, although it had been known
for ages that the tombs contained treasures, yet nobody had dared to
plunder them.
I may further remind the reader of the large treasure of elaborately
ornamented gold and silver vases and other jewels, as well as of
bronze vessels and vases, arms, etc., recently discovered in a tomb at
Palestrina in Italy (the ancient Præneste), and attributed to the seventh
century B.C.,--"that period at which the influence of the civilization
and industry of the East dominated in Etruria and Latium, before those
countries became subject to the force of Hellenic genius--the period
when the two currents of Assyrian and Egyptian luxury and thought had
become intermingled in their effect upon art, and spread by the Phœnician
artisans and traders through the Western countries whither they carried
their productions, ornamented according to the ideas they had imbibed,
from the banks of the Euphrates on the one side, and the Nile on the
other."[397]
I also call attention to the sepulchre of Corneto, the contents of
which, as I have before stated, are in the Museum of Berlin. This tomb,
which belongs to an epoch anterior to the influence of Greek culture in
Italy, and therefore anterior to the seventh century B.C., contains not
only the armour and weapons, but also the whole household furniture,
copper kettles, drinking vessels, and so forth, of a rich warrior. I
hardly think it necessary to remind the reader of the custom in ancient
Egypt of burying the dead with treasures, for all the collections of
Egyptian antiquities in the world are procured from Egyptian tombs.
My learned friend Dr. Karl Blind, in his excellent pamphlet, entitled
'Fire Burial,' cites the Odin Law in Scandinavia, which reads as
follows:--"Odin ordained that the dead should be burnt, and that
everything that had been theirs should be carried to the pyre. He said
that every one should go up to Walhalla with as many riches as would be
heaped upon his pyre, and that he should enjoy in Walhalla all those
things also which he had hidden away in the earth. The ashes should be
thrown into the sea, or be buried deep in the soil; but for illustrious
men a mound should be raised as a token of remembrance."
Dr. Blind also gives in the same pamphlet the description of Beowulf's
funeral, to prove that it was also the habit with the Anglo-Saxons to
burn their dead with treasures:--
"Geatland's men for him then made
A pyre broad, most firmly built,
With helms bedeckt, with war-shields hung,
And armour bright, as he them bade.
In the midst they laid, the sorrowing heroes,
Their mighty ruler, their beloved lord."
Thus we have the proof that in a remote antiquity it was the custom in
Babylon, Egypt, Italy, Macedonia, Scandinavia, and Germany, to bury the
rich with their treasures, and my excavations have proved that this
custom existed also at Mycenæ in the time of the Atridæ.
FOOTNOTES:
[367] Described on p. 311. I call particular attention to the
fact that the engraving represents the mask in only one-fifth of its
actual size.
[368] Thucyd. I. 8-10.
[369] _Odyss._ IV. 530-535, and XI. 409-411.
[370] Æschylus, _Agamemnon_, 1438; Euripides, _Orestes_, 26.
[371] Paus. II. 16, § 6.
[372] See 'Troy and its Remains,' pp. 363-372.
[373] _Iliad_, XVIII. 497-508:--
λαοι δ᾽ εἰν ἀγορῇ ἔσαν ἀθρίοι· ἔνθα
δὲ νεῖκος
ωρώρει· δύο δ᾽ ἄνδρες ἐνείκεον
εἵνεκα ποινῆς
ἀνδρὸς ἀποφθιμένου. Ὁ μὲν
εὔχετο πάντ᾽ ἀποδοὓναι,
δήμῳ πιφαύσκων, ὁ δ᾽ ἀναίνετο μηδὲν
ἑλέσθαι·
ἄμφω δ᾽ ἱέσθην ἐπὶ ἴστορι πεῖραρ
ἑλέσθαι.
λαοὶ δ᾽ ἀμφοτέροισιν ἐπήπυον, ἀμφὶς
ἀρωγοί·
κήρυκες δ᾽ ἄρα λαὸν ερήτυον. =Οἱ δὲ
γέροντες
εἵατ' ἐπὶ ξεστοῖσι λίθοις ἱερῷ ἐνὶ
κύκλῳ,=
σκῆπτρα δὲ κηρύκων ἐν χέρς' ἔχον
ἠεροφώνων·
τοῖσιν ἔπειτ᾽ ἤϊσσον, ἀμοιβηδὶς
δὲ δικαζον.
κεῖτο δ᾽ ἀρ᾽ ἐν μεσσοισι δύω
χρυσοῖο τάλαντα
τῷ δόμεν ὃς μετὰ τοῖσι δίκην
ἰθύντατα εἴποι.
The translation is by Mr. Gladstone, in the _Contemporary Review_ for
February, 1874.
[374] _Il._ II. 788-9; VII. 345-6; where ἀγορά is the
_assembly_, from which _the place of meeting_ took its name; ἀγορά,
from the verb ἀγείρω, "assemble."
[375] _Odyss._ VIII. 4-7, and 16, 17:--
τοῖσιν δ᾽ ἡγεμόνευ᾽ ἱερὸν μένος
᾽Αλκινόοιο
φαιήκων ἀγορήνδ᾽, ἥ σφιν παρὰ νηυσὶ
τέτυκτο.
ἐλθόντες δὲ καθιζον <g>ἐπὶ ξεστοῖσι
λίθοισι</g>
πλησίον· . . . . . . .
καρπαλίμως δ᾽ ἔμπληντο βροτῶν
ἀγοραι τε καὶ ἕδραι
ἀγρομένων.
[376] _Odyss._ VI. 266-7:--
ἔνθα δέ τέ σφ᾽ <g>ἀγορή</g>, καλὸν
Ποσιδήϊον ἀμφίς,
<g>ῥυτοῖσιν λάεσσι κατωρυχέεσς᾽
ἀραρυῖα</g>.
[377] _Odyss._ IX. 112:--τοῖσιν δ᾽ οὔτ᾽ ἀγοραὶ
βουληφόροι οὐδὲ θεμίστες, "But they have neither
_assemblies for council_ nor laws"--each ruling apart in his own family.
[378] _Iphig. Taur._ 845; _Iphig. Aul._ 152 and 1498-1499;
_Hercul. Furens_, 944; _Orest._ 1246-47; _Troad_, 1088; _Electra_,
710-712 and 1158. See Chapter II., pp. 37-38.
[379] _Elect._ 615: τειχέων μὲν ἐλθων ἐντὸς
οὺδὲν ἂν σθένοις.
[380] _Orest._ 919: ὀλιγάκις ἄστυ κἀγορᾶς
χραίνων κύκλον.
[381:
_Orest._ 871-3:
ὁρω δ᾽ ὄχλον στείιχοντα καὶ
θάσσοντ᾽ ἄκραν
οὗ φασι πρῶτον Δαάναον Αἰγύπτῳ
δίκας
διδόντ᾽ ἀθροῖσαι λαὸν εἰς κοινὰς
ἕδρας.
[382] Chapter III., p. 63.
[383] Paus. III. 19, § 6.
[384] _Il._ VI. 413-419:--
... οὐδέ μοί ἐστι πατὴρ καὶ πότνια
μήτηρ.
ἤτοι γὰρ πατέρ᾽ ἁμὸν ἀπέκτανε δῖος
᾽Αχιλλεύς,
ἐκ δὲ πόλιν πέρσεν Κιλίκων
εὐναιετάωσαν,
Θήβην ὑψίπυλον· κατὰ δ᾽ ἔκτανεν
᾽Ηετίωνα
οὐδέ μιν ἐξενάριξε· σεβάσσατο γὰρ
τόγε θυμῷ·
ἀλλ᾽ ἄρα μιν κατέκηε σὺν ἔντεσι
δαιδαλέοισιν,
ἠδ᾽ ἐπὶ σῆμ᾽ ἔχεεν.
[385] _Odyss._ XI. 72-76:--
μή μ᾽ ἄκλαυτον, ἄθαπτον, ἰὼν
ὄπιθεν καταλείπειν
νοσφισθείς, μή τοί τι θεῶν
μήνιμα γένωμαι·
ἀλλά με κακκεῖαι σὺν τεύχεσιν,
ἅσσα μοί ἐστιν,
σῆμα τέ μοι χεῦαι, πολιῆς ἐπὶ
θινὶ θαλάσσης.
"Do not leave me behind, unwept for, unburied, when you go away,
lest I should become the cause of the wrath of the gods against
thee; but burn me with all the arms which belong to me, and erect
over me a mound on the shore of the hoary sea."
[386] Soph. _Ajax_, 555:--
τὰ δ᾽ ἄλλα τεύχη κοίν᾽ ἐμοὶ
τεθάψεται.
"My other weapons shall be buried together with me."
[387] _Agam._ 1552-1554:
... πρὸς ἡμῶν
κάαππεσεν, κάτθανε, ἡμεῖς καὶ
καταθάψομεν
οὐχ ὑπὸ κλαυθμῶν τῶν ἐξ οἴικων.
[388] _Il._, XIX. 301-302:
ὥς ἔφατο (Βρισηῒς) κλαίους᾽· ἐπὶ δὲ
στεναχοντο γυναῖκες,
Πάτροκλον πρόφασιν, σφῶν δ᾽ αὐτῶν
κήδε᾽ ἑκάστη.
[389] _Choëph._ 430-3:
πάντολμε μᾶτερ, δαΐαις ἐν ἐκφοραῖς
ἄνευ πολιτᾶν ἄνακτ᾽,
ἄνευ δὲ πενθημάτων
ἔτλης ἀανοίμωκτον ἄνδρα θάψαι.
[390] _Ibid._ 479:
πάτερ, τρόποισιν οὐ τυραννικοῖς
θανών.
[391] _Electra_, 444:
ὑφ᾽ ἧς θανὼν ἄτιμος, ὥστε δυσμενής,
ἐμασχαλίσθη.
[392] _Troad_, 446:
ἧ κακὸς κακῶς ταφήσει νυκτός,
οὐκ ἐν ἡμερᾳ.
[393] _Elect._ 894: τύμβου δ᾽ ἐπ᾽ ὄχθῳ
τῷδε κηρύσσω πατρί.
[394] II. 21-28.
[395] I. 187.
[396] IV. 22, 23.
[397] From an account of the Tomb at Palestrina in the _Times_,
February 17, 1877.
[Illustration: No. 528. A Golden Goblet (δέπας
ἀμφικύπελλον), with dog's-head handles. From the Tomb
south of the Agora. Half-size.]
CHAPTER XI.
TREASURE OF THE TOMB SOUTH OF THE AGORA.
Discovery and description of another tomb in the Acropolis
outside the Agora--Its Cyclopean masonry like that of the five
sepulchres--The golden trinkets of this tomb--Double-handled
goblets--A plain gold cup (φιάλη)--Spirals and rings of gold and
silver wire, like those of the Egyptian tombs--A golden seal-ring
covered with intaglio-work--Its full description--The face-covers
of the female figures prove the use of masks during life--A
figure meant for a _Palladium_--Six other rude figures resembling
the Trojan idols: their likeness to the "Corinthian helmet" of
Athena--The work of this ring calls to mind Homer's description
of the shield of Achilles--A smaller golden signet-ring, with
four _Palladia_ and three Hera-idols--A beautiful lion of massive
gold--Gold necklace beads--Bones of animals found in this
tomb--The human remains probably removed when the water conduit
was built, but the small jewel-recess escaped being rifled--Three
curious lentoid gems of necklaces, one found on the site of
Phœnicé, the others near the ancient Heræum--The first represents
Phœnician figures--Description of the other two--The Cyclopean
foundations of the ancient Heræum, probably as old as the walls
of Tiryns and Mycenæ--It was destroyed by fire in 423 B.C., and
its site deserted.
Telegrams to and from the King of Greece--Conclusion.
Athens, March 1, 1877.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: DISCOVERY OF THE TOMB.]
My engineer, the Lieutenant Vasilios Drosinos, of Nauplia, having
proceeded on the 20th of January to Mycenæ, in company with the painter
D. Tountopoulos, who had to make for me an Ichnography of the five
large sepulchres and the circular Agora by which they are surrounded,
in verifying the plans he had made for me, recognised, due south of the
Agora the form of a tomb, the site of which is marked with the letter P
on the Flan B, and of which I give a most accurate separate plan.[398]
By the latter it will be seen that the construction of this tomb differs
from that of the five sepulchres within the Agora, for on its north side
the rock is cut vertically for a distance of 2 metres (6 ft. 8 in.) only,
whilst on its east side it is cut for more than double the distance
required for it; the vertical height of this rock being 1 m. 70 c. (5 ft.
8 in.) The eastern rock, which is cut vertically, is lined with a roughly
built wall of stones joined without cement, and the same is the case with
the northern rock, but here the Cyclopean wall continues in a straight
line for 6 metres (20 feet), and thus for 13 ft. 4 in. farther west than
the extent of the rock. On the west and south sides there is no rock at
all, but merely the same kind of rude wall, which is so irregularly built
that, whilst the north side of the tomb is 20 ft. and the eastern side
13 ft. 4 in. long, its southern side is 17 ft. 4 in. and its west side
12 ft. long. In the south-east corner of the tomb the Cyclopean masonry
has been demolished for a distance of 1 m. 80 c. (6 feet), apparently by
those who laid the water conduit, which, built of uncut stones without
cement, runs all along the eastern and northern sides of the tomb, and is
doubtless much later than the latter.
As will be seen by Plan G, I had excavated this site to a depth of 6 m.
70 c. or 22 ft. 4 in., and had penetrated on one side 5 ft., on the other
5 ft. 4 in. deep within the walls of the tomb, in which I had left a
layer of _débris_ only 1 ft. 10 in. deep. But as the tomb is immediately
east of the large Cyclopean house, of which I had excavated many rooms
down to the rock without finding anything particular, I had considered
the sepulchre as a dependency of the house, and had not cared to excavate
the little _débris_ which still covered its site.
But my most excellent engineer was more keen-sighted. Being struck by
the appearance of the walls built in a much ruder way than those of the
Cyclopean house, he at once recognised the identity of the masonry with
that of the masonry in the large tombs, and as he saw the northern wall
partly and the eastern entirely leaning against the rock, he had the firm
conviction that it was a sepulchre. Therefore on his return to Nauplia he
communicated his important discovery to a government clerk of the name
of Stamatakes, who had been sent that very day by the Director-general,
Mr. P. Eustratiades, to Nauplia, in order to choose a place in the
Acropolis of Mycenæ on which to build a wooden hut for the watchmen.
Mr. Drosinos indicated to him on my plans the precise site of the tomb,
and gave him the most minute information in relation to it, so that the
clerk found the place at once, and engaged a workman, at whose first or
second blow of the pickaxe a golden vessel came to light, and in less
than half an hour the following objects were gathered. First, four large
golden goblets with two handles, of which I represent one as the vignette
to this chapter (No. 528). All the four goblets have exactly the same
form and are nearly of the same size. All of them represent the Homeric
δέπας ἀμφικύπελλον, because all have two handles. These are
attached with golden nails to the body and rim, and all of them terminate
in a dog's head, which holds the rim in his jaws and seems to drink
from the cup. Besides the dogs' heads, these four goblets have no
ornamentation whatever, and their form is identical with that of the
cup No. 343,[399] with the sole difference that the latter has only one
handle.
[Illustration: No. 529. Gold Rings, gold wire (round and quadrangular) in
spirals, and one Silver Ring. All of the double size.]
[Sidenote: TWO-HANDLED GOBLETS.]
Together with the four goblets was found a large plain gold cup
(φιάλη). It has only one handle, which is fastened to the rim and
body with four gold pins with large flat heads. There were further found
four spirals of thick quadrangular, and seven spirals of thick round gold
wire, five plain gold rings, and a similar one of silver, of which a
selection is represented under No. 529. I remind the reader that similar
spirals and rings of thick gold wire occur in the wall paintings of the
Egyptian tombs. They are supposed to have served as presents, or perhaps
as a medium of exchange.
[Illustration: No. 530. Gold Signet-ring, from the tomb to the south of
the Agora. Double size.]
[Sidenote: MARVELLOUS SIGNET-RING.]
In this tomb was further found a gold seal-ring of the same form, but
more than twice as large, as those which I discovered in the fourth
sepulchre.[400] From the engraving of this new ring, which is represented
in double size under No. 530, it will be seen that it is entirely covered
with intaglio work. To the left of the spectator is represented a tree,
whose stem certainly resembles that of a palm-tree; it has fifteen short
branches on which we see no leaves, but large clusters of a small fruit,
each cluster resembling a pine apple; below the tree stands a small
female, who is leaning over a little backwards and extends both her hands
just below the lowest cluster of fruit, as if in the act of plucking
it. My esteemed friend the Professor of Botany, Mr. T. Orphanides,
of Athens, says that of all trees in Greece this tree resembles most
a pine, but that, as the little woman is going to pluck one of its
fruits, the fruit must necessarily be eatable, and he thinks therefore
that it must be a breadfruit-tree, because of all the fruits of India
the breadfruit most resembles that of the tree before us. But I do not
remember having ever seen the breadfruit-tree in India. I have only seen
it in Central America. My other esteemed friend, the Professor of Botany,
von Heldreich, in Athens, thinks that the Mycenean artist intended to
represent here simply a vine laden with bunches of grapes, and that,
merely by his ineptitude, the vine has been represented as a thick tree;
and this is also my opinion.
Two long tresses of hair are hanging from the little woman's head down on
the back; her dress below the waist is divided by two horizontal bands
into three compartments, probably to make us aware of its richness; from
her arms there project two bands, which may be intended to represent the
sleeves.
On the other side of the tree, and leaning with her right arm against it,
is sitting a tall woman, with noble Grecian features. Her eyes are large
and her nose projects in a straight line with the forehead, just as we
see it on the sculptures in the Parthenon; her head is covered with a
turban running out into a point, from beneath which a tress of hair is
hanging down on her back; just above this tress we see two ornaments on
the turban. I call particular attention to the curious sign just above
her forehead, which is no doubt meant to represent her diadem; but I have
not found a diadem of this kind in any of the five tombs. The upper part
of her dress is tightly fitted to the body, but nevertheless the woman's
two breasts protrude. The lower part of her dress is ornamented with a
large number of horizontal bands, and is in the form of wide pantaloons
which end at the ankles in crescents. Her right hand rests on her waist,
and she holds in her uplifted left hand three poppies, which she appears
to offer to a tall woman, splendidly dressed, who is standing before her
and extends her right hand towards the flowers.
The head of this tall standing woman is covered with a sort of turban,
which strikingly resembles the turbans now worn in India, with the
difference that here the turban runs out into a point, from which a long
ornament hangs down on the back. A further difference is that from the
forepart of the turban there projects a sort of mask, on which the two
eyes and the nose are well represented, but here this mask is lifted,
and we see the woman's eyes from below it; a third difference between
this and an Indian turban is that from its right side, on the left of
the spectator, hangs down a band which must also represent an ornament;
a fourth difference is the strange ornament which we see just above the
forehead, and which must be a sort of diadem. The features of this woman
are certainly masculine and her hair is cut short, but the artist wished
her sex to be distinctly understood and gave her two large protruding
breasts. Just above her breasts we see two horizontal bands, which may
be intended to represent necklaces; but we ought not to leave unnoticed
the long band which hangs from her right shoulder. Her lower dress seems
also to be in the shape of enormously wide pantaloons, and from the loins
downward we see on the dress of each leg five large curved parallel
bands, which can have no other object than to represent the splendour
and costliness of her attire: these bands become more curved the lower
they are, and the lowest is exactly in the form of a crescent. Below the
extremity of the pantaloons we see that the woman wears drawers, which
are fastened with clasps. Above the forepart of this woman's turban is
again represented an ornament, the nature of which cannot be discerned.
Just below her outstretched right arm we see another small female figure,
probably a child, holding in each of its extended hands an object, the
nature of which we are unable to discern, and which it seems to offer
to the seated woman. The child's head is covered with a turban, and a
long tress of hair, or some ornament, is hanging down its back. It wears
a necklace, and its dress is divided by horizontal parallel bands into
three or four compartments. The features of the child are very expressive.
Just above the extended hand of the tall standing woman we see two double
axes on one handle, exactly like those on the Tenedian medals and those
between the horns of the cows (Nos. 329, 330), but richly ornamented. The
second double axe is seen projecting on both sides from behind the first
one. The handle of these axes, which runs out into a sharp point, is
artistically made.
Behind this tall standing woman stands another, whose dress I shall
not describe, as it is perfectly identical with that of her companion,
and above the forepart of her turban we see the same strange ornament,
the nature of which cannot be recognised. Very visible is her Indian
turban which also terminates in a point, and from which a long band-like
ornament hangs down on her back. The mask, which projects from the
forepart of her turban, closely covers the upper part of her face and
her nose; it contains openings for the eyes, for her large left eye is
glancing out from it. I call very particular attention to the vizors of
both these women, because they give us the most unmistakable proof that
masks were not only used for the dead but that they were also worn by the
living. She holds in her uplifted right hand three objects, whose form
certainly resembles that which we see on the forepart of the turban of
the seated woman. In her left she holds two flowers with long stalks,
which Professor Orphanides thinks to be lilies. From her left shoulder we
see projecting two bands, and another from her left elbow. Like her tall
companion, she is barefooted, but wears drawers, and on her right foot is
distinctly visible the ornament with which the drawers are fastened.
Just above the strange objects which this second tall standing woman
holds in her right hand, we see a curious figure holding a long staff,
meant probably to represent a lance; her head is shown in profile; the
rest of her body, which is given in full view, consists of two circles,
of which the upper one represents the upper part of the body from the
neck to the waist, and the lower one the lower part of the body as far
as the loins; no legs are shown and only one arm is seen; from the back
project two long bands. The two circles of which the body consists have
a small border, and look altogether like shields; but that shields were
not intended to be represented is shown by the two points indicating the
breasts.
This rudely represented figure, in the presence of the splendidly dressed
women, can in my opinion be nothing else than a _Palladium_ of a very
ancient and primitive type, which, like that of the cow-headed or horned
Hera-idols, was, on account of the sanctity attached to it, subject to no
caprice of fashion and remained for ages unchanged.
The border of the seal, between the _Palladium_ and the feet of the
second tall woman, is filled up by six objects of a strange form with
heads and eyes, also with a kind of helmet. From the great resemblance of
these six objects to the Trojan idols[401] we believe that they also are
meant to represent _Palladia_. But Professor Rhousopoulos reminds me of
the great similarity of these six figures to the κράνος
κορινθιακόν, or Corinthian helmet of Pallas
Athena, as represented on the Corinthian coins of the fourth century
B.C., and to the same helmet on the three bronze busts of that goddess,
in natural size, of which one is in the British Museum, the second in
the Ministry of Public Instruction at Athens, and the third in a private
house in the Piræus. The forepart of the helmet is represented, on the
Corinthian coins and on the bust of the goddess, as drawn up, because she
only drew it over her face when she was fighting. On this forepart of
the helmet we see the two eyes, the nose, and the mouth; consequently it
represents a mask, and gives an additional proof that it was customary to
wear masks.
The resemblance between the six figures and the κράνος
κορινθιακόν is certainly striking; the latter was assuredly not
invented in the fourth century B.C., but it has certainly been copied
from a very ancient idol, and I have not the slightest doubt that the six
figures represent this very same idol.
Finally, we see near the top two waving lines which cannot possibly
represent anything else than the sea, which is represented in like manner
on the coins of Tarentum. From the sea rises to the left the sun in full
splendour, the rays being well represented, and to his left (to the
right of the spectator) rises the crescent of the moon. On seeing this
marvellous ring, Mrs. Schliemann and I involuntarily exclaimed, "This
ring must have been seen by Homer before he described all the wonders
which Hephæstus wrought on the shield of Achilles."[402]
Mr. Sayce writes me that in his opinion the seated woman is in the
act of adoration; that the two tall figures are men dressed in the
characteristic costume of early Babylonian priests, and that the sun
and half-moon seen above are ordinary ancient Babylonian symbols. He
declares further that the figures, their grouping and _ensemble_, are a
repetition of what we see on Babylonian gems of the most remote period,
and he decides that this ring must also belong to that epoch. In his
opinion, this period (in so for as regards its influence upon foreign
art) ends with the 13th century B.C., when Assyrian influence began to be
predominant.
I call attention here to two Babylonian figures on pp. 318 and 319 of
Rawlinson's _Herodotus_; they also wear turbans and robes like those of
the figures upon our ring. It appears that at Babylon the engravers made
use of magnifying glasses in cutting fine gems; at all events, they were
already used in Nineveh (Rawlinson's _Herodotus_, I. 512).
[Illustration: No. 531. Second Gold Signet-ring. Same tomb. Double size.]
Lying together with this was found another smaller golden signet-ring,
which I likewise represent in double size (No. 531). We see on this
signet not less than four _Palladia_ and three Hera-idols in good
intaglio work. The former perfectly resemble the Trojan idols of Pallas
Athena;[403] only there is a slight difference in the head, which is
here a little less obtuse, and may be intended to be represented with
a helmet. The _Palladium_ in the lower row to the left is exactly like
the Trojan idols; but it is a little effaced, and above it we see three
ears of corn. Of the Hera-idols in the form of cow-heads with two horns,
we see one in the upper and two in the lower row; the horns of the two
latter are particularly long, and between those of the head to the left
of the spectator we see two smaller ones; therefore this cow-head has
four horns. At the right end of the upper row is represented a curious
object which I cannot well distinguish; if we turn the engraving to the
right, it looks like a bird. Between the two rows are eleven signs,
resembling eyes.
[Sidenote: GOLDEN LION AND BEADS.]
Together with the two signet rings was found the beautiful massive golden
lion, which is represented in double size (No. 532). It is fastened on a
thick golden wire, and is represented lying down, with the head facing
the spectator; and both the head and the rest of the body are perfectly
faithful to nature. I share Mr. Newton's opinion that the lion has been
cast and tooled.
[Illustration: No. 532. Golden Lion, from the same tomb. Double size.]
There were further found fourteen golden beads of a necklace, of which
I represent six (Nos. 533-538); they are ornamented all round with four
rows of globular projecting points.
[Illustration: Nos. 533-538. Gold Beads of a Necklace from the same tomb.
Double size.]
As will be seen by Plan G, all the above-described jewels were found
together in one spot, which was only 2 ft. long and 8 in. broad, and
precisely 6 m. 90 c., or 23 ft., below the surface of the soil before
the beginning of my excavations, or only 8 in. below the surface of my
excavation, as I left it on the 6th of December last. It further appears
by Plan G, that the _débris_ below the site of the jewels was still 1 ft.
2 in. deep.
There were found bones in this tomb, which were at first thought by us
to be human bones, but my esteemed friend Dr. Theodoros Aretæos, the
celebrated Athenian surgeon, who has examined them, declares them to be
the bones of animals. As before stated, the Cyclopean water-conduit,
represented in Plan G, was evidently built at a later prehistoric period
than that to which the tomb belongs, and its builders, who necessarily
had to excavate the tomb down to the virgin rock, no doubt robbed it of
its contents and threw away the bones of the skeleton; but, luckily that
small place near the wall (only 2 ft. long and 8 in. broad), where the
above jewels lay, was not dug up by them, and therefore the jewels have
been saved for science.[404]
Lastly, I represent three lentoid gems of necklaces which I have bought
in Chonika, a village situated in the Plain of Argos, close to the
site of the ancient city of Phœnicé (Φοινίκη), and at a distance
of one English mile from the ancient Heræum. I call the attention of the
reader to the name Chonika, which is nothing but a corruption of the name
Φοινίκη.
[Illustration: Nos. 539-541. Three Lentoid Gems of Serpentine and Agate
with intaglio-work, found on the site of Phœnicé and of the Heræum.
Actual size.]
The two peasants, who sold me the three lentoid gems, said that they had
found the middle one in labouring on the site of Phœnicé, and the other
two close to the site of the ancient Heræum. I have no reason to doubt
their statement to be correct, because, as the name sufficiently proves,
Phœnicé was a Phœnician colony, and the middle gem (No. 540) which is
said to have been found there, most decidedly represents two Phœnician
figures, probably very ancient types of idols. Their heads are marked
by a mere horizontal hollow, and no face is shown; their necks are very
long, and their shoulders, which, like all the rest of their bodies, are
rectilinear, are enormously broad. Very characteristic are their long
legs and their feet, which rather resemble horse-hoofs than human feet;
one man holds in his right hand, and the other in his left, a zigzag,
probably intended to represent a symbol of fire and perhaps lightning.
The very short left hand of the man to the left of the spectator is
uplifted, and seems to hold some object, whilst the left hand of the
other figure is very long and nearly touches the ground. Over the right
shoulder of the man to the left of the spectator is a strange sign,
perhaps a written character, and an arrow-like sign is close to the neck
of the other man; to both these signs I call particular attention. This
lentoid gem is of dark red agate, semi-globular, and has a horizontal
perforation.
[Sidenote: LENTOID GEMS BOUGHT IN CHONIKA.]
The lentoid gem to the left of this (No. 539), as seen by the spectator,
is of greenish serpentine. It is convex on both sides and has likewise a
horizontal perforation. It represents, in beautiful intaglio, two horses
standing on their hind-legs opposite each other, their heads leaning
over in opposite directions. The tail of the horse to the left of the
spectator is represented by a mere band; that of the other is bushy; to
the head of each horse is attached an ornament, which probably belongs to
the trappings. Between the heads of the horses we see two human figures,
of which that to the left of the spectator has a Phrygian cap on its
head, and extends its hands towards the other figure, whose head seems
to be uncovered, and which is holding a round object in its only hand
which is visible.
On the third lentoid gem (No. 541), which is an agate of variegated white
and brown colour, also convex and horizontally perforated, we see a much
more artistic intaglio work, representing a Hera-idol, in the form of a
cow-head, with two long horns, in perfectly faithful imitation of nature.
Between the two horns we see, head downward, an ornamented double-edged
axe, with its handle, the extremity of which is ornamented with two
rings or turned buttons. To the right and left of the cow-head we see
a beautifully ornamented object, the nature of which we are unable to
explain; it resembles a cornucopiæ.
I remind the reader that this lentoid gem, as well as the other with
the two horses, was found close to the ancient Heræum, of which the
foundations, consisting of various courses of Cyclopean masonry of
enormous uncut blocks, still exist, and may be as old and even older
than the walls of Mycenæ and Tiryns. But my explorations on the site, in
February, 1874, have shown that the accumulation of _débris_ there does
not exceed 1½ to 3 ft. in depth, and consequently excavations there are
impossible. The ancient Heræum was accidentally destroyed by fire in 423
B.C., and its site has remained deserted, the new Heræum being built on
the slope, about 50 ft. below the ancient one.
Mr. A. H. Sayce writes to me:--"I am inclined to believe that the
antiquities of Mycenæ are of a much earlier date than that which you
have attributed to them. I should place the most ancient as far back
as the epoch when Babylonian influence began to prevail in the western
Mediterranean basin, after the conquests of the Chaldean king Naram Sin
of Agana (whose successor was the victorious Elamite Khamuragas, who
extended his power to the borders of the Mediterranean, 2000-1700 B.C.).
Further, I believe that the treasuries, the Gate of Lions, etc., are
of prior date to the tombs and the Cyclopean walls. Assyrio-Babylonian
civilization came into Greece not only through Phœnicia, but through
Asia Minor. The drawings of M. Perrot, and of several other explorers,
are like links in the chain which joins ancient Greek to Assyrian (or
rather Babylonian) art. Perhaps in exploring Sardis an art and types
similar to those of Mycenæ will be found. But the great centre from which
this art spread through Asia Minor was Karkhemish, the rich capital of
the Hittites, the ruins of which have been discovered at Jerablus (near
Birajik on the Euphrates) by Messrs. Skene and George Smith. By making
excavations, a second Nineveh might be found there, with sculptures
which would show the transition of Assyrian art to the form which may be
called the Greek, or that of Asia Minor. These are not mere conjectures,
for pieces of sculpture have already been discovered which present this
character. The Hittite domination extended to Cilicia and Lycaonia, as is
proved by recently discovered carvings, and especially by that found at
Ibreez, bearing an inscription in Hittite hieroglyphs. This fact, which
I have pointed out to Mr. Gladstone, confirms the evidences which he
has furnished in favor of the identity of the Hittites and the Keteians
(Κήτειοι).
[Sidenote: DATE OF THE CAPTURE OF MYCENÆ.]
"I see in the Mycenæan antiquities one point of decisive importance: the
art of carving on stone in Western Asia and Europe came from Babylon,
where stone was rare and precious. In archaic Babylon (prior to the
sixteenth century B.C.) civilization had made great progress; yet it was
still in the bronze age. Iron was not used in Babylon, and was probably
unknown. How then can we explain the relatively advanced state of
civilization in ancient Mycenæ, although iron was unknown there, without
supposing that this civilization had its origin in that of archaic
Babylon, or that it was connected with it in some way or other? If it had
been related to the civilization of Assyria, of Egypt, or of the Babylon
of a period _later_ than the sixteenth century B.C., we should assuredly
have found at Mycenæ some trace of a knowledge of iron."
Mr. A. H. Sayce further calls my attention to the learned article of J.
P. Mahaffy, professor in Trinity College, Dublin. This article, published
in the _Hermathena_, V., is entitled "On the Date of the Capture of
Mycenæ by the Argives." I reproduce it here.
* * * * *
"No one seems to have found any difficulty in the statement of Diodorus,
which Pausanias repeats, that the town of Mycenæ was destroyed by the
people of Argos _after the Persian Wars_, though I fancy most scholars,
when they first come to attend to it, are surprised that the ancient city
of Mycenæ should have lasted so long in close neighbourhood to Argos, and
made so little figure in Greek history. I suppose any doubt of this kind
is allayed by the recollection that Herodotus mentions eighty Mycenæans
as having joined the Greeks at Thermopylæ, and that he also enumerates
both Tirynthians and Mycenæans among the cities or tribes of Greeks which
were inscribed on the pedestal of the tripod at Delphi as joining in the
repulse of the Persians. The actual pedestal at Constantinople confirms
him, for we read in the list Μυκᾶνες, and thus the existence of Mycenæans
up to the year 470 B.C. is beyond all doubt.
"I have, nevertheless, grave suspicions whether either historian has
given us a true account of the matter, and therefore propose the
following hypothesis, to invite discussion. If I have overlooked any
decisive evidence, I hope it will be put forth in refutation of my
conjecture. I will first quote all Pausanias' statements on the point,
but will group them into two classes, irrespective of their order, for
the sake of more convenient discussion:--
[Sidenote: DATE OF THE CAPTURE OF MYCENÆ.]
II. 15, 4.
"ἐγὼ δὲ αιτιαν τε γράψω τοῦ οἰκισμοῦ,
καὶ δι᾽ ἥντινα πρόφασιν Αργεῖοι Μυκηναιους
ὕστερον ἀνέστησαν. 16, 5. Μυκήνας δὲ᾽ Αργεῖοι
καθεῖλον ὑπὸ ζηλοτυπιας. ἡσυχαζόντων γὰρ τῶν
᾽Α. κατὰ τὴν ἐπιστρατείαν τοῦ Μήδου, Μυκηναῖοι
πέμπουσιν εἰς Θερμοπύλας ὀγδοήκοντα ἄνδρας οἱ
Λακεδαιμονιοις μετέσχον τοῦ ἔργου [inaccurate].
τοῦτο ήνεγκε σφισιν ὄλεθρον παροξῦναν ᾽Αργείους.
"Then follows the famous passage about the ruins, and about the tombs of
Agamemnon and his party, which M. Schliemann has brought into such fresh
notoriety.
V. 23, 2.
"[In the list of cities inscribed on the monument of the victory over the
Persians, which Pausanias saw at Olympia, and which appears not to have
been an exact duplicate of that at Delphi.]
"ἐκ δὲ χώρας τῆς ᾽Αργειας Τιρύνθιοι,
Πλατ. δὲ μόνοι Βοιώτων, καὶ ᾽Αργείων ὁι
Μυκήνας ἔχοντες. 3. τούτων τῶν πόλεων
τοσαίδε ἦσαν ἐφ᾽ ἡμῶν ἔρημοι. Μυκηναιοι
μὲν καὶ Τιρύνθιοι τῶν Μηδικῶν ὕστερον
ἐγένοντο ὑπὸ ᾽Α. ἀνάστατοι.
VII. 25, 5.
"Μυκηναίοις γὰρ τὸ μὲν τεῖχος ἁλῶναι
κατὰ τὸ ἰσχυρὸν οὐυκ ἐδύνατο ὑπὸ Α.
(ἐτετείχιστο γὰρ κατὰ ταὐτὰ [this is not
accurate] τῷ ἐν Τίρυνθι ὑπὸ τῶν
Κυκλώπων καλουμένων) κατὰ ἀνάγκην δὲ
ἐκλείπουσι Μ. τὴν πόλιν ἐπιλειπόντων
σφᾶς τῶν σιτίων, καὶ ἀλλοὶ μέν τινές
ἐς Κλεωνὰς ἀποχωροῦσιν ἐξ αὐτῶν,
τοῦ δημοῦ δὲ πλέον μὲν ἢ ἥμισυ ἐς
Μακεδονίαν καταφεύγουσιν παῤ
᾽Αλέξανδρον, ᾧ Μαρδόνιος ὁ Γωβρύου
τὴν ἀγγελίαν ἐπίστευσεν ἐς ᾽Αθηναίους
ἀπαγγεῖλαι· ὁ δὲ ἄλλος δῆμος ἀφίκοντο
ἐς τὴν Κερύνειαν, καὶ ἐς τὰ ἔπειτα
ἐγένετο ἐπιφανεστέρα διὰ τὴν συνοίκησιν
τῶν Μυκ.
"Nothing seems more precise than this. Pausanias was evidently quite sure
of his facts, though one of them--the participation of the Mycenæans in
the battle of Thermopylæ--was certainly wrong according to Herodotus.
They went there, indeed, but retired with the other Greeks, who left
the Spartans and Thespians with Leonidas. Apart from this, it seems,
then, that the Argives were so jealous of the fame of Mycenæ on account
of this glorious battle (at which Mycenæans never fought), that they
undertook the siege of the great Cyclopean fort, and having starved out
the population of the place, which they could not storm, they drove them
out of the land to Kleonæ, Kerynea, and to Macedonia. The same lot befell
the Tirynthians for the same reason, though Pausanias adds no details
about the siege of their equally wonderful fort, which excited his
loudest admiration.
"Herodotus corroborates the participation of Mycenæ and Tiryns in the
Persian War, and says they together furnished four hundred men to the
army of the Greeks, which fought at Platæa. He is perfectly silent as to
the consequences of this act.
* * * * *
"Let us now examine a very different passage.
VIII. 27, 1.
"συνῆλθον δέ ὑπὲρ ἰσχύος ἐς αὐτὴν [sc.
τὴν Μεγαλὴν πόλιν] οἱ ᾽Αρκαδες, ἅτε καὶ
᾽Αργείους ἐπιστάμενοι τὰ μὲν ετι παλαιότερα
μόνον οὐ κατὰ μίαν ἡμέραν ἑκάστην
κινδυνεύοντας ὑπὸ Λακεδαιμονίων
παραστῆναι τῷ πολέμῳ ἔπει δὲ ἀνθρώπων
πλήθει τὸ ῎Αργος ἐπηύξησαν, καταλύσαντες
Τίρυνθα καὶ ᾽Ὑσιάς τε καὶ ᾽Ορνεὰς
καὶ Μυκήνας καὶ Μιδείαν καὶ ει δή
τι άλλο πόλισμα οὐκ ἀξιόλογον ἐν τῇ
᾽Αργολίδι ἦν, τά τε ἀπὸ Λακ. ἁδεέστερα
τοῖς ᾽Αργ. ὑπάρχοντα, καὶ ἅμα ἐς τοὺς
περιοίκους ἴσχυν γενομένην αὐτοῖς.
"This passage is corroborated by II. 25, 6 and 8, in which the
destruction of Omeæ and of Tiryns are mentioned in the same way. Thus, in
§ 8, ἀνέστησαν δὲ καὶ Τιρυνθίους ᾽Αργ., συνοίκους
προσλαβεῖν καὶ τὸ Α. ἐπαυξῆσαι θελήσαντες.
"This account appears not only inconsistent with the former, but
contradictory to it. There, the inhabitants of Mycenæ are expelled,
and added to the strength of other cities; here, the special reason
of the dispute is to secure more citizens for Argos, and to increase
and consolidate its power. Any one who considers the conditions of the
question for one moment will not hesitate to prefer this latter--a sound
political view--to the sentimental story about Argive jealousy. The
συνοικισμός of the Argive territory was like that of Thebes,
of Athens, and of Megalopolis; and there can be no doubt that the
importance of Argos in Greek history was wholly due to its early success
in this most difficult and unpopular revolution.
[Sidenote: DATE OF THE CAPTURE OF MYCENÆ.]
"But is it possible that it took place _after_ the Persian Wars? I think
not. In the face of the patriotic conduct of Tiryns and Mycenæ, and at
the moment of Argos' greatest national unpopularity, any such attempt
to destroy free Greek cities would have brought down the vengeance of
all Greece. Moreover, early historians are silent about it. Herodotus
and Thucydides never allude to it. What is still more remarkable, the
contemporary Æschylus, though composing plays which ought to have had
their scene laid at Mycenæ, never once mentions Mycenæ, and transfers
the palace of Agamemnon to Argos.[405] If the more ancient city, whose
inhabitants had fought with him in the great Persian struggle, had only
lost its independence in his mature age, is such a curious ignorance
on his part conceivable? I think, then, that the συνοικισμός
of the Argive territory must have taken place long before, and that
Pausanias was misled by the monuments of the Persian War to transfer it
to an impossible period.
"If we look back into earlier history, and consider at what time Argos
was daily expecting an attack from Sparta, and found it necessary to
strengthen its power, I think the most natural period will be not
immediately after the Persian, but immediately after the Messenian
Wars, that is, the second Messenian War, which was concluded in Ol. 29.
According to our revised chronology, the development of Phidon's power
at Argos must be placed close to this time, and it was probably the
twenty-eighth Ol. which he celebrated with the Pisatans at Olympia to the
exclusion of the Eleans. Of course the Spartans were bound to interfere,
but the Messenian War must have greatly hampered their vigour. When this
war was over, and Sparta had acquired new territory and prestige, the
Argives must have expected that they would be the first to suffer. Hence
I attribute to Phidon, and to his policy, the consolidation of all the
smaller towns in Argos, and perhaps this may have been the secret of his
greatness.
"But how then is the existence of Tiryns and Mycenæ during the Persian
War to be explained? I suppose that these towns, though conquered, and
their gods transferred to Argos, nevertheless continued to exist as
κῶμαι or villages, but inhabited by Argive citizens, and that
accordingly these descendants of the old inhabitants, who took the
patriotic side, and had not forgotten their history, joined the Hellenic
army under these obsolete names, which the nation was glad to sanction as
a slight to the neutral Argives.[406] The very small number of men they
were able to muster (80 from Mycenæ at Thermopylæ, 400 from Mycenæ and
Argos together at Platæa) strongly corroborates this view; for in that
day the smallest Greek towns had a considerable armed population--Platæa,
for example, had 600. It is very likely that the Argives were nettled at
this conduct, and determined to efface these places altogether; and this
change, which was very unimportant, as the real συνοικισμός had been long
accomplished, attracted no notice at the time, but gave rise afterwards
to a distortion of history.
[Sidenote: DATE OF THE CAPTURE OF MYCENÆ.]
"I will quote, in conclusion, what seems to me a parallel case. Pausanias
says (IV. 27, 10), that the Minyæ of Orchomenus were expelled by the
Thebans _after the battle of Leuctra_. We know very well that the power
of Orchomenus was gone long before, but the increased strength of Thebes,
and some offence on the part of the subject city during the struggle with
Sparta, determined its complete extinction by the Thebans. But this was
no great siege or subjugation of a free city. That had been done by the
Thebans long before. So I believe the capture of the great fort at Mycenæ
probably occurred long before the Persian Wars.
"The explicit passage in Diodorus (xi. 65), which seems at first sight
a conclusive corroboration of the ordinary view, only strengthens my
conviction that it is wrong. Diodorus is precise about the date. He says
that in the 78th Ol. (468-4), while the Spartans were in great trouble
on account of a destructive earthquake and rising of the Helots and
Messenians, the Argives took the opportunity of attacking Mycenæ. But
they did so because Mycenæ _alone of the cities_ in their territories
would not submit to them. This distinctly asserts that all the other
towns, such as Tiryns and Midea, had been formerly subdued, and
contradicts Pausanias. Diodorus then enumerates the various claims of
Mycenæ to old privileges about the Heraeon and the Nemean Games, and adds
what Pausanias says about their joining the Greeks at Thermopylæ, alone
among the Argive cities. The share taken by Tiryns with Mycenæ at Platæa
seems unknown to both authors. But after long waiting for an opportunity,
the Argives now collected a considerable force from Argos and the
allied cities, and made war upon Mycenæ--upon Mycenæ, which was only
able, jointly with Tiryns, to supply 400 men at Platæa, and which, when
unaided, sent 60 men to Thermopylæ! The Argives first defeated them in
battle, and then besieged the fortress, which, after some time, through
lack of defenders (which is indeed credible), they _stormed_. Here again
Pausanias is contradicted. Diodorus concludes with stating that they
_enslaved_ the Mycenæans, consecrating a tenth of the spoil, and levelled
the town with the ground.
"I think my theory is perfectly consistent with the critical residue
which may be extracted from this passage. It is probably true that the
Argives chose the opportunity of a Messenian war to make this conquest,
but it was the second, not the third, Messenian war. It is probably
true--nay, I should say certainly true--that they levelled Mycenæ with
the ground in the 78th Ol.; but this was not their first conquest of it.
If they enslaved the then inhabitants, this harsh measure was probably
by way of punishment for the impertinence of a subject town in sending
an independent contingent to a war in which the sovereign city had
determined to maintain a strict neutrality. That the facts related by
Diodorus should have caused no general comment throughout Greece, or that
no echo of it should have reached us, seems to me almost incredible.
There is a possible corroboration of Diodorus' statement that Mycenæ was
the last conquered of the subject cities in the Homeric catalogue, where
Tiryns is mentioned as already subject to Argos, while Mycenæ is the
capital of Agamemnon. But even when that catalogue was compiled, Argos
had conquered all the seaboard of the Argolic peninsula, and Mycenæ lies
at the extreme south of the territory (chiefly Corinthian and Sicyonic)
which is assigned to Agamemnon. Possibly the traditions were still too
strong for the poet to make Mycenæ subject to Argos, but he plainly
denies any hegemony of Mycenæ over the Argive plain."
[Sidenote: DATE OF THE CAPTURE OF MYCENÆ.]
Mr. A. H. Sayce further directs my attention to a passage of Homer,
which, in my opinion, also seems to favor this hypothesis, and which
seems categorically to contradict the stories which Pausanias and
Diodorus have borrowed from Ephorus.[407] This last has seemingly made an
error as to the epoch of Pheidon. The passage pointed out by Mr. Sayce
is in the Iliad, IV., 50-56:
"Τὸν δ´ ἠμείβετ´ ἔπειτα βοῶπις
πότνια ῞Ἡρη:
῎Ητοι ἐμοὶ τρεῖς μὲν πολὺ φίλταταί
εἰσι πόληες,
῎Αργος τε Σπάρτη τε καὶ εὐρυάγυια
Μυκήνη·
τὰς διαπέρσαι, ὅτ´ ἄν τοι ἀπέχθωνται
περὶ κῆρι·
τάων οὔτοι ἐγὼ πρόσθ´ ἵσταμαι οὐδὲ
μεγαίρω.
Εἴπερ γὰρ φθονέω τε καὶ οὐκ εἰῶ
διαπέρσαι,
οὐκ ανύω φθονέους´, ἐπειὴ πολὺ
φέρτερός ἐσσι."
"To whom the stag-eyed Juno thus replied:
'Three cities are there dearest to my heart;
Argos and Sparta and the ample streets
Of rich Mycenæ; work on them thy will;
Destroy them, if thine anger they incur;
I will not interpose nor hinder thee;
Mourn them I shall; reluctant see their fall,
But not resist; for sovereign will is thine.'"[408]
In the opinion of Mr. Sayce, it is clear that Homer meant in this passage
to refer to the destruction of at least one of the three cities which he
names, and as Argos and Sparta were _not_ destroyed, the city which _was_
destroyed could have been no other than Mycenæ. Mr. Sayce believes that
it may be inferred from the word διαπέρσαι that the destruction
of Mycenæ must have been complete. If it was so, nothing can better prove
the great antiquity of the event than this citation from Homer.
I must say that this hypothesis of Messrs. Sayce and Mahaffy, according
to which Mycenæ must have been destroyed at a period of great antiquity,
is but too strongly confirmed by the monuments. I recall to the reader
here what I said on this subject near the end of Chapter IV.:--"On the
west side the Cyclopean wall has been nearly demolished for a distance
of 46 feet, and on its interior side a wall of small stones joined with
earth has been built to sustain its ruins. It must remain mere guesswork
when the Cyclopean wall was destroyed and the small wall built, but at
all events this must have occurred long before the capture of Mycenæ by
the Argives in 468 B.C., because the small wall was buried deep in the
prehistoric _débris_."
I also recall the fact that the following inscription
[Illustration]
which we know positively to belong to the sixth century B.C., is cut upon
a fragment of that black Greek pottery which seems to be of at least
three centuries' later date than the archaic Mycenian pottery, even the
most modern, which is found at Mycenæ just at the bottom of the bed of
_débris_ of the Macedonian city.
Further, I call the special attention of archæologists to the immense
number of idols in the form of cows or of women with cows' horns or
heads, which I collected at Mycenæ (see, for example, figs. 2-11,
111-119, 212, 327-330, 531). These are beyond contradiction the most
ancient types of idols which have been found in Greece. All of them are
discovered down as far as the surface of beds of archaic _débris_; it
is therefore very certain that they were still in use at the time of
the taking of Mycenæ. But it seems to us quite impossible that here the
tutelary divinity of Mycenæ should have been represented as late as the
fifth century B.C., under the form of a cow or of an idol showing the
characteristic features of a cow.
It is evident that in the Homeric poems Hera is a woman, without any of
the attributes of a cow; the only trace of them that she has preserved is
in the epithet βοῶπις, consecrated to her by the usage of centuries,
but certainly not signifying in Homer more than "the large-eyed" goddess.
[Sidenote: DATE OF THE CAPTURE OF MYCENÆ.]
It seems certain that at the time of Homer the habit of representing Hera
under the form of a cow, or with the attributes of a cow, had fallen into
disuse and been abandoned; and that, consequently, the catastrophe of
the complete destruction of Mycenæ should be referred to an ante-Homeric
epoch. In fact, considering the character of the monuments I have
discovered, I see no objection whatever to referring it to the period of
the invasion of the Heraclides. And indeed, the destruction of Mycenæ by
the Heraclides would explain also the singular fact that Orestes never
reigned at Mycenæ.
I cannot discover any trace of Egyptian influence in the art of Mycenæ;
but the multitude of objects which certainly came from Egypt--like the
immense golden cow-heads, the ostrich egg, the sphinx (see fig. 277),
and the pieces of Egyptian porcelain--forces us to the conclusion that
there must have been relations between the city and that country. The
strongest testimony that such relations existed is the worship of the
lunar divinity Hera under the form of a cow--a divinity whom I have
proved (see the note on Hera Boöpis at the end of Chapter I.) to be
identical with the Egyptian goddess Isis, who was similarly worshipped
in Egypt in the form of a woman with the horns of a cow. Further, I may
recall the fact that Isis was said to have been born at Argos (Diodorus
Sic., I. xxiv. 25; Apollodorus, II. i. 3), and that Apis, grandson of
the Argive river-god Inachos, and nephew of the cow-faced lunar goddess
Io, was at first king of Argos; that from his name this town and the
whole Peloponnesus was called Apia; that Apis at length made over to his
brother his Grecian dominion, and became king of Egypt (Eusebius, Chron.
I. 96, 127, 130, edit. Aucher; Augustine, de Civ. Dei, xviii. 5); that
after his death he was worshipped in Egypt under the name of Serapis and
the form of a bull. In the same way the Greek myth makes the Argive
cow-faced goddess to migrate to Egypt, where she brings into the world
Epaphos, which is only a second name for the bull Apis. But, according to
Diodorus Sic. (I. xxiv. 25), Apollodorus (II. i. 3) and Hygin (145), Io
was identical with Isis. All these Greek myths seem to prove, not that
the worship of the cow-faced moon-goddess came into Argos _from_ Egypt,
but that, on the contrary, it was carried _into_ Egypt from Mycenæ or
Argos; and perhaps Egyptologists, by determining the period at which the
worship of Isis began in Egypt, can give us an idea of the antiquity of
the relations between that country and Mycenæ. In fact, the worship of
the moon-goddess under the form of a cow _could_ not have been brought
from Egypt to Mycenæ, but necessarily _must_ have been introduced from
Mycenæ into Egypt, since Io was distinctly a Pelasgian goddess; she had
a celebrated temple at Byzantium, and the legend even attributes the
foundation of that city to her daughter Keroessa, also called "she who
wears horns." The worship of Io seems to have been brought from Asia by
the Pelasgians; at all events they introduced it at a very remote epoch
into Argolis. I would note also that even in classic times the name of Io
continued to be given to the moon in the religious mysteries of Argos,
and that this name is purely Greek (see the note on Hera Boöpis at the
end of Chapter I.).
In conclusion, let me call attention to the fact that in consequence of
the discovery of a sixth tomb in the Agora of Mycenæ, after my departure,
there has been an attempt to deny the identity of these tombs with those
which the tradition reported by Pausanias points out as the burial-places
of Agamemnon, Cassandra, Eurymedon, and their companions. But one need
only re-read the famous passage of Pausanias (II. xvi. 6) to see that
it does not clearly give the number of the tombs. It speaks distinctly
of six; but one may admit that there were even more than six, and yet
do no violence to Pausanias's text:--τάρος δὲ ἔστι μὲν
᾽Ατρέως, εἰσὶ δὲ καὶ ὅσους συν ᾽Αγαμέμνονι ἐπανήκοντας ἐξ
᾽Ιλίου δειπνίσας κατεφόνευσεν Αἴγισθος.
[Sidenote: DATE OF THE CAPTURE OF MYCENÆ.]
My esteemed friend, the celebrated Orientalist, M. Émile Burnouf,
honorary director of the French school at Athens, writes to me:
"I do not think it would be difficult to prove that the tombs at Mycenæ
are certainly those of the Pelopides; their position in the Acropolis and
the quantity of precious objects with which they were filled show clearly
that they are the burial-places of royal and not of private personages.
The circular enclosure, built on a higher level than its surroundings, at
a time when these princes had fairly become tutelary heroes, proves the
same thing; it may have served as an agora, as the texts indicate; but it
was certainly also a burial enclosure where sacrifices were celebrated in
honor of the dead buried below. You have found traces of these national
ceremonies. I do not think that the skeletons found can be considered
the remains of members of dynasties earlier than the Pelopides; these
have no historic character, and belong altogether to the mythology of
the Aryan races. It may be objected that a very considerable part of the
legend of the Pelopides is itself mythological; but this is common to
all the prehistoric dynasties of the Aryan peoples--dynasties whose real
existence is nevertheless not contested by any scholar. Besides, this
particular one actually touched the historic period; for it was brought
to an end by the Dorian invasion, the date of which can be very closely
approximated.
"You ask me also my opinion with regard to the objects found by you at
Mycenæ. There are several categories of these, which it would be unwise
to confuse and consider as one--for they bear marks of different origins.
It is impossible to mistake the Assyrian or Assyrio-Babylonian character
of the gold objects which your fine excavations have brought to light in
such great numbers. These ornaments are identical with those which we see
on the Assyrian carvings in the museums of London and Paris; they have
no resemblances to Egyptian jewelry. Two among them are characteristic,
and may give rise to important discussions,--these are the two golden
signet rings which you have published as figures 530 and 531. The seal of
the first represents a religious ceremony, that of the plucking of the
sacred plant: everything is Assyrian; the sun, with the crescent moon and
the waters of heaven, the six days, the tree, the costume of the persons
represented. The second is a kind of Asiatic hieroglyph, such as is often
met with on the cylinders and carved stones of the countries along the
Euphrates and the Tigris; it relates, beyond doubt, to some event which
happened during the first of the great months of the year--that is to
say, after the vernal equinox; the object at the left seems to indicate
that it refers to some agricultural operation--reaping or sowing. However
this may be, these two signets seem to me to have come to Mycenæ from an
Asiatic country--perhaps from the banks of the Euphrates or Tigris.
"I can tell you nothing in regard to the mass of fragments of pottery
which you have taken from the excavations. They have a great resemblance
to those found on all the shores of the Mediterranean. Their origin is
now attributed to the commerce of the Phœnicians, or, more exactly, of
the Sidonians; but perhaps there is some exaggeration in this. It is not
probable that Sidon furnished all the pottery of the Mediterranean; and
the character of the clay used by its manufacturers varied in different
places; but the process of manufacture is nearly the same, and the
character of the ornamentation changes but little. One is thus led to
believe that the potter's art first came to the Mediterranean from the
East, but that it was almost everywhere established in local factories at
a very early period.
[Sidenote: DATE OF THE CAPTURE OF MYCENÆ.]
"The idols and cows, found in such numbers by you in the ruins of Mycenæ
are, evidently, of local origin. If these rude statuettes had been
Phœnician, and had represented Astoreth, it would not have been Hera,
but Aphrodite, who would have been the principal goddess of Argolis;
there would have been not a Heræum, but an Aphrodisium. Moreover, the
_coiffure_ of many of the Mycenæan idols characterized Hera all through
the succeeding centuries; and, as you very rightly note, the form of the
crescent in others indicates that ancient goddess of the moon, who bore
the name of Io, and who was, _au fond_, identical with Hera. I should say
the same of the terra-cotta cows; it is a manifest error to identify them
with the Egyptian bull. The museums of Europe contain a great number of
specimens of the Apis; they have very distinct forms and characteristics
which are not wanting in a single case;--such are especially the three
large black spots on the crupper, the back, and the hinder part of the
body. The Mycenæan cows are more often yellow, striped with red. It is
true that they have no udders; but neither have they the male organs.
"Apropos of this, permit me to correct an error which has fairly become
classic; the words βοῦς and _bos_ of Greek and Latin mythology are
almost always translated _ox_; but they are generally feminine in the
classic authors, and mean _cow_--the _cows_ of the sun-god, the _cows_
stolen by Cacus--_abstractæque boves, abjuratæque rapinæ_; and we know
also the great supreme cow of the Indian hymns--_i. e._, the heavens
considered as the source of cosmic life, and identical with the Hera of
Greek tradition. I would call your attention to the fact that the ancient
agricultural peoples of Asia and Europe did not raise oxen, but cows;
that they yoked bulls to the plough; and that the ox was almost never
used among them. Thus the absence of sex in the Mycenæan terra-cottas
leaves only the choice between bulls and cows; while religious tradition,
as well as the epithet βοῶπις, constantly point out the _cow_ as the
symbol of Juno. It is this goddess, therefore, who is meant by the
terra-cotta images. And as you have found them in great numbers in your
excavations, this is a new proof of the importance given in Argolis
to that divinity. These conclusions are moreover in perfect agreement
with the Homeric texts and with the religious traditions of all Greek
antiquity. I may add that they come to the support of the often-combated
assertion, that the Trojan idols were meant to signify Athena Glaukopis.
The Mycenæan cow and the Trojan owl are two facts of the same order,
which occupy corresponding places in Greek mythology, and relate to
the same epoch of linguistic development in the religious symbolism of
antiquity."
M. Burnouf also informs me that he has sent to the _Révue des deux
Mondes_ an extended article on the excavations at Mycenæ.
* * * * *
On the discovery of the Treasures of the Royal Sepulchres, I had the
honour of addressing a telegram to His Majesty, the King of the Hellenes,
which I insert here, with His Majesty's gracious reply:
"A SA MAJESTÉ LE ROI GEORGE DES HELLÈNES, ATHÈNES.
"Avec une extrême joie j'annonce à Votre Majesté que j'ai
découvert les tombeaux que la tradition, dont Pausanias se fait
l'écho, désignait comme les sépulcres d'Agamemnon, de Cassandra,
d'Eurymédon et de leurs camarades, tous tués pendant le repas
par Clytemnestre et son amant Egisthe. Ils étaient entourés d'un
double cercle parallèle de plaques, qui ne peut avoir été érigé
qu'en honneur des dits grands personnages. J'ai trouvé dans les
sépulcres des trésors immenses en fait d'objets archaïques en
or pur. Ces trésors suffisent à eux seuls à remplir un grand
musée, qui sera le plus merveilleux du monde, et qui, pendant des
siècles à venir, attirera en Grèce des milliers d'étrangers de
tous les pays. Comme je travaille par pur amour pour la science,
je n'ai naturellement aucune prétention à ces trésors, que je
donne, avec un vif enthousiasme, intacts à la Grèce. Que Dieu
veuille que ces trésors deviennent la pierre angulaire d'une
immense richesse nationale!
"HENRY SCHLIEMANN.
"MYCÈNES, 16 (28) _Novembre_ 1876."
His Majesty's Reply:--
"MONSIEUR LE DOCTEUR SCHLIEMANN, ARGOS.
"J'ai l'honneur de vous annoncer que Sa Majesté le Roi, ayant
reçu votre dépêche, a daigné me charger de vous remercier de
votre zèle et amour pour la science, et de vous féliciter de vos
importantes découvertes, et Sa Majesté espère que vos efforts
seront toujours couronnés d'aussi heureux succès.
"Le Secrétaire de S.M. Hellénique,
"A. CALINSKIS."
[Sidenote: GIFT OF THE TREASURES TO GREECE.]
I cannot conclude without mentioning the names of my esteemed friends,
Professor Euthymios Castorches, Professor Stephanos Coumanoudes, and
Professor Kokkides, of Athens, and thanking them here publicly for
all the kindness they have shown me during the time of my toilsome
excavations at Mycenæ.
I also deem it my agreeable duty to thank here publicly my excellent
engineer, the sagacious Lieutenant Vasilios Drosinos, for his scrupulous
care and attention in making all the plans of Mycenæ, as well as for the
great service he has rendered to archæology by promptly indicating to the
government clerk the tomb which he had discovered in my excavations, so
that its contents could be saved for science.
I further fulfil an agreeable duty in warmly recommending to all visitors
to Athens the most excellent photographers, Messrs. Romaïdes Brothers,
from whose wonderful photographs all the engravings of this work have
been made;[409] in fact, I do not exaggerate if I assure the reader that
their photographs can hardly ever be excelled.
[Sidenote: CONCLUSION.]
It is also my pleasant duty to thank publicly the celebrated printers,
Messrs. William Clowes and Sons, of London, who printed this book, as
well as the most excellent engravers, Messrs. J. W. Whymper and J. D.
Cooper, who made all the engravings, for the superior skill and the
unremitting zeal and scrupulous attention with which they have executed
their part in the work.
Lastly, I here express my warmest gratitude to the learned publisher of
this work, my most esteemed friend, Mr. John Murray, as well as to my
most excellent learned friend Mr. Philip Smith, for all the kind services
they have rendered me and all the valuable assistance they have lent me
in carrying out the present work.
FOOTNOTES:
[398] See Plan G. Tomb south of the Agora.
[399] See p. 233.]
[400] See Nos. 334, 335, p. 223.
[401] See 'Troy and its Remains,' p. 36.
[402] _Il._ XVIII. 483-489:--
"There he wrought earth, sea, and heaven,
There he set th' unwearying sun,
And the waxing moon, and stars that
Crown the blue vault every one;
Pleiads, Hyads, strong Orion,
Arctos, hight to boot the Wain.
He upon Orion waiting,
Only he of all the train
Shunning still the baths of ocean
Wheels and wheels his round again."
From Mr. Gladstone's translation of the "Shield of Achilles" in the
_Contemporary Review_, Feb. 1874; vol. xxiii. p. 337, New Series.
[403] See 'Troy and its Remains,' p. 36.
[404] The spot where the jewels were found is marked by the
letter (_a_), both on the plan and section (Plan G).
[405] This mistake seems to have been noted by critics of an
early date, for both Sophocles and Euripides mention and distinguish the
two cities, though they seem to confuse the inhabitants. I was unable,
when on the spot, to make out the picture suggested at the opening of
Sophocles' _Electra_, which seems, as it were, drawn on the spot, but
is more probably a fancy sketch. But Mycenæ is very prominent in it.
Sophocles even wrote a play called Μυκηναται.
[406] Of course they need not have come directly from Mycenæ,
but may have been exiles, who came together under the name of their old
city.
[407] According to Sayce, who has carefully studied the
fragments of Ephorus, these and certain other indications prove that
Diodorus has almost copied his relation literally from that of Ephorus,
and that he has only reproduced a large part of what Ephorus wrote.
[408] Lord Derby's translation.
[409] Except the body (No. 454, p. 297), and a few diagrams and
new drawings of objects, besides the Plans.
APPENDIX A.
(See page 126.)
In a careful re-reading of Pausanias and Herodotus, I have found a
considerable number of passages proving that the Agora often served as a
burial-place for persons of very great distinction. For example, the tomb
of Orestes was in the Agora of Sparta, near the temple of the Fates; and
near this, in the same Agora, were the tombs of Epimenides of Crete and
Aphareus, son of Perieres. The tomb of Talthybios, Agamemnon's herald,
was pointed out to Pausanias in the Agora of Ægium, in Achaia; and that
of Oxylos in the Agora of Elis. In the Agora of Phigalia was the vast
common burial-place (πολυάνδριον) of the chosen Oresthasians,
to whom funeral sacrifices were offered. The tomb of Podares was in the
Agora of Mantinæa. In that of Tegea Pausanias was shown the graves of
Lycaon and his wife Mæra, and in that of Elæa, the tomb of Thersandros.
It is very interesting to notice that the same honor was conferred upon
Herodotus, for he was buried in the Agora of Thyrium (Θουρία), where his
tomb was preserved for ages. The Agora of Sikyon contained the heroön of
Adrastus; and that of Thebes the Mausoleum of Euphron.
* * * * *
APPENDIX B.
(See pages 133 and 134.)
My lamented friend Dr. Moss, of Arctic celebrity, when serving as
staff-surgeon on board H. M. S. _Research_, which for some months in
the fall of 1878 lay in the Gulf of Besika, visited me daily in my
excavations at Troy. He afterward served as staff-surgeon on board the
_Atalanta_, and with that unfortunate vessel came to an untimely end.
Under date of November 5, 1879, he wrote to me from the _Atalanta_, "My
dear Friend: I cannot leave England without asking you--with reference to
the most curious object attached to the spears of the warriors depicted
on the vase No. 213, p. 133, in your _Mycenæ_--whether the ancient
warriors carried their _water-flasks_ slung on their spears, for the
strange object can mean nothing else, I think. If so, we can understand
why David took Saul's spear and _water-bottle_ (I. Samuel, xxvi. 11 and
16). I fear I may be suggesting what is perfectly well known."
* * * * *
APPENDIX C.
(See page 243.)
Mycenæ must have had commercial relations with Egypt, especially as,
according to Pausanias (IV. xxxv. 2), Nauplia was an Egyptian colony.
[Illustration]
M. Hubert, professor in the gymnasium at Posen, Prussia, writes to me on
this subject: "I find in the _Deutsche Revue_, edited by R. Fleischer
(Berlin, Jaake publisher, second year, number for April 7, 1878, p.
42), the following passage at the end of an essay by Brugsch-Bey on
the religious mysteries of the ancient Egyptians:--'It was customary
for the Egyptians who had been initiated into the mysteries to carry a
token or badge, which consisted of a ribbon tied in a running noose (as
represented in the accompanying engraving). In visiting Egyptian museums,
it will be noticed that a great many of the statues representing kings,
priests, and other prominent personages, carry this mystic ribbon in
the hand, to signify by this outward sign that they have been initiated
into the mysteries.' The idea at once occurred to me that I had lately
seen a similar ribbon elsewhere; and a search confirmed my recollection.
It was in your work on Mycenæ (figs. 351 and 352, objects of Egyptian
porcelain). In your engraving, it is true, the upper part of the noose is
more curved, it being represented in the hieroglyph as entirely upright;
still the forms of the two objects seem to present a close analogy. The
three holes in figure 352 may have served to fasten the noose with nails
to the hand of a statue; but no hand was found in the fourth tomb.
"It seems to me doubtful, but not impossible, that some connection may be
established between these knots and the alabaster object in figure 325,
which comes from the third tomb, and represents two hands placed side by
side, leaving a hollow between them. This hollow may have held two of
these alabaster nooses, and it might be important to see if there are any
traces of nails.
"You, in your book, and Mr. Gladstone in his preface, show that your
discoveries establish in many directions numerous relations between
Mycenæ and Egypt. You will have determined a decisive point, if you can
prove that your alabaster nooses are really the mystic Egyptian badges."
* * * * *
APPENDIX D.
(See figure 446, page 282.)
The sword represented in figure 446, having been carefully cleaned by my
friend the assistant keeper, Mr. Athanasios Koumanoudes, it was found
to be plated with gold on both sides, and to be ornamented on one side
with an incised representation of a lions' hunt, on the other with the
representation of a lion devouring an animal, probably a roe or stag, and
chasing four others. I represent here both sides. Hardly anything more
interesting can be imagined than the lions' hunt, which occupies five men
armed with the same sort of shields as we have seen on the gem No. 313,
or with quadrangular ones such as we saw on page 223, No. 335, and with
long lances. There are three lions; two are running away. The third has
become furious by the wound it received in the haunch, has turned against
its aggressors, one of whom it has already killed; curiously enough the
dead man is represented as having both his feet against the falling
shield. The following man is holding his shield before him so that only
his head is visible above it. The third man's shield is represented as
hanging on his back, and so is the shield of the fifth man. The second,
the third, and the fifth men are in the act of throwing their lances
against the furious lions. Not so the fourth man, who seems to have no
lance, and who is represented as kneeling with one foot and shooting an
arrow from the drawn bow which he holds in his hand. I call particular
attention to the short breeches of the men, and to their curious
decoration; also to the curious signs on one of the shields, as well as
to the crosses with which the bodies of the roes or stags are ornamented.
[Illustration: Two-edged Bronze Sword. Sepulchre IV. Half size. After
cleaning.]
ANALYSIS OF MYCENEAN METALS.
[Sidenote: DR. PERCY'S ANALYSIS.]
Mr. P. Eustratiades, the Director of the Antiquities of Greece, having
kindly given me some specimens of the Mycenean metals, I thought I could
not do better than submit them for analysis to the celebrated chemist and
metallurgist, Dr. PERCY, in London, to whom I cannot adequately express
my gratitude for his invaluable Report. I would especially direct the
reader's attention to the evidence, which is suggested by the analysis,
of the extensive use at Mycenæ of what is probably _native gold_,--to
that use of _gold largely alloyed with silver_ which, when carried
somewhat further, produced the well-known _electrum_, of which I found
several goblets in the ruins of prehistoric Troy,--and to the new light
thrown on the question of the Homeric χαλκός (so largely discussed
by Mr. Gladstone) by the proof that _both copper and bronze_ were in
use in the heroic age of Mycenæ, but that the weapons (and some of the
vases) were of bronze, while the domestic utensils, such as kettles, were
of copper. Thus the metal of a sword from one of the royal sepulchres
contains a little more than 86 per cent. of copper and above 13 per cent.
of tin, and that of a vase-handle contains nearly 90 per cent. of copper
and above 10 of tin; whereas that of a kettle contains 98·47 per cent. of
copper, and a mere trace of tin. I would remind the reader that of the
Trojan bronze battle-axes the one contained only 4 per cent., the second
8 per cent., and the third about 9 per cent. of tin.[410]
The course taken by Dr. Percy to effect the analysis is described in the
following letter with which he has favoured me:--
London, August 10, 1877.
DEAR DR. SCHLIEMANN,
I have now the pleasure of communicating to you the results of
the examination of the various specimens of metal which you
placed in my hands for that purpose. A considerable time and
very great care have been required to complete this work; and
I must ask you to be so good as to state that the analytical
investigation, with two exceptions, has been wholly conducted
by my able assistant, Mr. Richard Smith, in the Metallurgical
Laboratory of the Royal School of Mines, London. Mr. Smith, I
can assure you, has laboured most earnestly and heartily in this
investigation; and whatever credit there may be is due to him.
Some of the results are, I think, both novel and important, in a
metallurgical as well as archæological point of view.
I remain, yours very truly,
JOHN PERCY, M.D., F.R.S.
Lecturer on Metallurgy at the Royal
School of Mines, London, &c.
Dr. SCHLIEMANN.
* * * * *
I.--ARGENTIFEROUS GOLD FOIL. (No. 542.)
[Illustration: No. 542.
A piece of Argentiferous Gold Foil.
Sepulchre IV. Actual size.]
The whole of the specimen weighed 2·177 grains, and its thickness varied
from 1-500th to 1-600th of an inch. It was one of those gold leaves which
were found strewn in vast numbers about the bodies. It was much crumpled,
of a reddish yellow colour, and both surfaces appeared as if they had
been varnished or lacquered. A sketch of the specimen is annexed of the
actual size. By heating, the metal becomes much paler in colour and
assumes a greenish yellow tinge, a volatile substance, probably organic,
being given off at the same time. The colour of the metal is not affected
by digestion in warm alcohol, ether, or benzole; but by boiling it in a
strong aqueous solution of caustic potash, it loses its red tinge, and
becomes paler, though not so pale as when heated. 1·168 grain of the
metal, by cleaning with warm water, dilute hydrochloric acid, and finally
gentle rubbing, lost 0·015 grain, which is equal to a loss of 1·28 per
cent. The 1·153 grain of cleaned metal was submitted to analysis, with
the following results:--
COMPOSITION PER CENT.
Gold 73·11
Silver 23·37
Copper 2·22
Lead 0·35
Iron 0·24
-----
99·29
-----
From the composition of the specimen it may be inferred that it was an
artificial alloy, as the amount of copper and lead present is, so far
as we know, much larger than has ever been found in "native gold" from
any locality. The presence of the lead is probably owing to the fact
of the silver used in preparing the alloy having been refined, though
imperfectly, by means of lead. The large proportion of silver present may
have been used to economise the gold. An alloy composed of 75 per cent.
of gold and 25 per cent. of silver has a distinct gold-yellow colour;
but when the silver amounts to 33·33 per cent. the alloy is much paler in
colour, and alloys containing more than about that proportion of silver
would cease to be designated as gold; the presence of copper would tend
to counteract the paleness imparted by silver to gold.
The alteration in colour produced by heating the metal may possibly be
due not only to the removal of a coating of organic matter from its
surface, but also to the following action. It is well known that an
alloy of silver and gold, which contains so much of the former metal
as to resemble it in colour, may be made to acquire the colour of gold
by superficially removing the silver. This may be effected by various
processes, some of which, there is reason to believe, were known to the
ancients. When such alloys of silver and gold as those above mentioned
are heated to redness for a certain time, after having acquired
superficially the colour of gold by any of the processes in question,
they resume their original silvery colour. The large oval medal-like
coins of the Japanese furnish an excellent illustration of this fact.
Such a coin has been found in the Laboratory of the Royal School of Mines
to consist of about two parts by weight of silver, and one part of gold.
On heating such an alloy sufficiently, it becomes almost silver-white;
and on subsequently treating it with hot sulphuric acid the original
golden colour is restored.
* * * * *
II.--SHEET GOLD. (No. 543.)
[Illustration: No. 543.
A piece of Sheet Gold. Sepulchre IV.
Actual size.]
The total weight of the specimen was 1·702 grain, and its thickness was
about 1-100th of an inch. Its specific gravity at 60° Fahr. was 18·867.
Annexed is a sketch of the specimen, of the actual size. It was yellow,
soft, ductile, and marked or indented on the surface, which appeared
as though slightly tarnished. After cleaning with warm water, dilute
hydrochloric acid, and gentle rubbing, the metal weighed 1·698 grain,
which is equal to a loss of 0·235 per cent. 1·4 grain of the cleaned
metal was analysed with the following results:--
COMPOSITION PER CENT.
Gold 89·36
Silver 8·55
Copper 0·57
Iron 0·20
-----
98·68
-----
The absence of lead suggests that possibly the metal may have been
native gold, or prepared with native gold, of which silver is always a
constituent in varying proportions.
* * * * *
III.--PART OF A SILVER VASE.
A sketch of this, of the same size as the original, is annexed; it was
distinctly curved, having formed part of a hollow thin vessel.
[Illustration: Fragments of a Silver Vase. Sepulchre IV. Actual size.
No. 544. Convex Surface. No. 545. Concave Surface.]
The total weight of the specimen was 44·36 grains. The metal was much
corroded on both surfaces. The convex or outer surface was completely
covered with a somewhat irregular crust while the concave or inner
surface was only partly covered with a similar crust, and partly with a
yellowish tarnishlike film. When broken across, the fractured surface
of the crust on both sides of the metal was found to be in two distinct
layers; that next the metal was black, dull, somewhat sectile, and
easily broken; while the other, or outer layer, was light-grey, soft,
sectile, and wax-like. In some places the metal was corroded completely
through. The crust was removed by warm dilute ammonia-water and gentle
rubbing; the residual metal was found to be very brittle, much pitted
on the surface, dull white in fracture, granular, and containing minute
irregular cavities; no appearance of fibre or crystalline structure was
observed, even with the aid of the microscope. By annealing, the softness
and malleability of the metal were restored in a marked degree. The
thickness of the specimen, inclusive of the crust on one surface only,
was 1-25th of an inch; and where the crust was thickest it was 1-20th of
an inch. The thickness of the metal, after the removal of the crust by
dilute ammonia-water and rubbing, was 1-40th of an inch.
A portion of the specimen was selected for analysis to which the
crust was attached on the convex or outer surface only, and which was
comparatively free from crust on the opposite surface; the quantity
operated on was 15·786 grains. By repeated treatment with warm
moderately strong ammonia-water, gentle rubbing, and washing with warm
water, the crust was easily removed; most of it being dissolved by the
ammonia-water, which became pale blue, while the insoluble part was left
as a brownish black powder, intermixed with some particles of metallic
silver. The metal, after this treatment and drying, weighed 11·823
grains. The metal itself (_a_), the portion of the crust soluble in
ammonia-water (_b_), and the residue insoluble in ammonia-water (_c_)
were separately analysed, with the following results:--
COMPOSITION PER CENT.
(_a_) _Metal._ Silver 71·60
Gold 0·22
Copper 2·42
Lead 0·33
Iron 0·09
Chlorine traces
------ 74·66
(_b_) _Crust._
Portion Chloride of Silver 19·98
soluble in Protoxide of Copper }
ammonia-water. (Black Oxide) } 0·56
Chlorine 0·15
Copper 0·13
Sulphuric Acid traces
Carbonic Acid }
Water } 1·15
------ 21·97
(_c_) _Crust._
Portion Gold 0·05
insoluble in Silver 1·36
ammonia-water. Protoxide of Copper }
(Black Oxide) } 0·09
Carbonate of Lime 1·36
Silica }
Peroxide of Iron } 0·30
Alumina } ------ 3·16
-----
99·79
-----
The composition per cent. of the metal, exclusive of the crust, as
calculated from the above analysis, is given underneath; but it certainly
cannot be inferred that the original metal had the exact composition
shown in that analysis, because some of the ingredients may not have been
carried away during corrosion in the same relative proportions in which
they were present in the original alloy.
COMPOSITION PER CENT.
Silver 95·59
Gold 0·30
Copper 3·23
Lead 0·44
Iron 0·12
-----
99·68
-----
A portion of the crust when heated in a glass tube gave off water, and
the glass was stained yellow.
A portion of the crust treated with dilute hydrochloric acid effervesced,
the acid became pale blue, and was found to contain copper and lime.
The crust was examined under the microscope, but no trace of crystalline
structure could be detected. A qualitative examination was made of a
portion of the inner crust, from which it appeared that its composition
was similar to that of the outer crust.
* * * * *
IV.--PORTION OF A BRONZE SWORD. (No. 546.)
The weight of the specimen, inclusive of the incrustation, was 585
grains; it was about 1½ inch in length, and varied from about 5-8ths to
7-8ths of an inch in thickness. A sketch of a section of the specimen is
annexed.
[Illustration: No. 546.
Piece of a Bronze Sword. Sepulchre IV.
Dimensions stated in fractions of an inch.]
The whole of the specimen was coated with an irregular layer or layers
of matter, varying in chemical and physical characters and in thickness.
In the centre, where the crust was removed, the solid metal varied from
about 4-8ths to 5-8ths of an inch in thickness.
[Sidenote: DR. PERCY'S ANALYSIS.]
One side was chiefly incrusted with irregular patches of dull earthy
non-crystalline matter, of varying shades of green and brown, which
were found to consist of green carbonate and oxychloride of copper in
different proportions; a few minute pale green needle-like crystals
were noticed on the other surface; there were also observed irregular
thin layers or patches of green (found to be green carbonate of copper,
in some places containing more or less of oxychloride of copper) and
blue crystals (found to be blue carbonate of copper) of varying tints
and lustre. One end of the specimen was covered with a dark green crust
with a velvety lustre, which was found to consist of minute transparent
crystals of oxychloride of copper; the opposite end, which was flat, and
had the appearance of having been cut or rubbed, was chiefly coated with
deep red non-crystalline red oxide of copper; and a depression on the
surface was lined with the dark green velvety crust; on the edges, where
the outer part of the crust had been broken off, was a dull white opaque
layer of peroxide of tin, and on either side of it were layers of dark
red compact red oxide of copper, having cavities here and there filled
with ruby-red brilliant transparent crystals of the same substance. When
the outer incrustation had been subsequently removed, these substances
were found to extend more or less over the surface underneath.
The specimen was cut across in the centre when portions of the
incrustation were detached; by this means the structure of the specimen,
and the nature of the substances forming the incrustation, could be well
observed. The substances were generally found to occur in the following
order, from within outwards.
I.--Solid metal.
II.--Particles of metal resembling filings, tarnished on the
surface, and intermixed more or less with a dull greenish-grey
substance, which was found to contain chlorine, copper, and tin.
III.--A pale green dull soft compact layer, which was found to
consist chiefly of carbonate of copper, containing chlorine,
probably in combination as oxychloride of copper, and a little
peroxide of tin.
IV.--Red oxide of copper, varying in colour from brick-red to
dark red, compact, dull and opaque, and in part crystalline.
V.--Peroxide of tin: examined under the microscope it was found
to be veined with minute thin layers of red oxide of copper.
VI.--Red oxide of copper similar in character to No. IV.
VII.--Irregular patches of amorphous and crystalline substances
of various shades of green, blue, and brown, as before described.
The above order of superposition was not always observed; thus, in some
places there was a layer of red oxide of copper in No. III.
When the incrustation had been removed by sawing the specimen across the
middle, and filing, the metal was found to be very sound and free from
cavities. The fracture was yellowish copper red, and finely granular.
Portions of the solid metal perfectly free from incrustation were
selected for analysis.
COMPOSITION PER CENT.
I. II. Mean.
Copper 86·41 86·31 86·36
Tin 13·05 13·07 13·06
Lead -- 0·11 0·11
Iron 0·17 -- 0·17
Nickel 0·15 -- 0·15
Cobalt traces -- traces
------
99·85
------
The specific gravity of the metal was 8·858 at 60° Fahr.
A portion of clean solid metal weighing 24·811 grains was employed for
the experiment.
The substances forming the incrustation could not possibly be separated
from each other with sufficient accuracy to allow of their being
separately analysed.
* * * * *
V.--FRAGMENT OF A BRONZE VASE-HANDLE.
Sketches of this, of the actual size, are annexed (Nos. 547-549). It is
curved, and on the convex side there are three parallel indented lines,
which doubtless were connected with ornamentation. It was everywhere
incrusted with the products of weathering action. On the convex surface
the prevailing colour was green, with here and there patches of grey and
dark blue; on the concave surface the incrustation was much thinner and
more uniformly green. It is quite impossible to describe accurately in
words these appearances. The portion analysed was freed by filing from
incrusting matter. This analysis was made in the laboratory of the Royal
School of Mines by Mr. W. F. Ward.
[Illustration: Nos. 547-549. Plan, side elevation, and end elevation, of
a Bronze Handle of a Vase.
Sepulchre IV. Actual size.]
COMPOSITION PER CENT.
Copper 89·69
Tin 10·08
-----
99·77
-----
This is the most usual composition of ancient bronze. The metal seems to
have been exceptionally pure.
* * * * *
VI.--FRAGMENT OF A COPPER KETTLE.
FROM THE FOURTH SEPULCHRE.
This specimen was in a single piece, much crumpled, irregular in shape,
and ragged at the edges; it weighed about 800 grains, and varied from
1-25th to 1-30th of an inch in thickness. There were three rivets in the
metal, the ends of which protruded on one side to the extent of about
1-8th of an inch; and there was one rivet-hole without its rivet. After
filing, the colour of the metal forming the rivet appeared to be the same
as that of the sheet metal. There was no trace of the article which had
been attached by means of those rivets. On one surface the specimen seems
originally to have been pretty generally encrusted with blue and green
matter, between which and the metal was, as usual, a thin coating of red
oxide of copper; on the other surface, or that showing the protruding
ends of the rivets, the metal was coated first with the red oxide of
copper and then with dark greenish brown matter, with here and there
patches varying from light green to dark blue and dark green, especially
round the ends of the rivets.
Portions of the sheet metal were heated to redness in a current of
hydrogen, whereby they acquired a coppery colour and lustre. The water
evolved in this process was found to contain both copper and chlorine,
thus indicating the existence of oxychloride of copper in the incrusting
matter, a portion of the subchloride of copper (cuprous chloride)
having escaped decomposition by the hydrogen. A piece of the metal,
free from incrustation, was boiled in a flask containing hydrochloric
acid and perchloride of iron, and the vapour evolved was passed into
a refrigerating vessel, when a liquid was obtained in which arsenic
was found in considerable quantity. This process was used for the
quantitative determination of the arsenic as ammoniacal arseniate of
magnesia, and the result was confirmed by several repetitions. The metal
taken for analysis was that which had been heated in hydrogen as stated
above. The analysis was made in the laboratory of the Royal School of
Mines by Mr. W. F. Ward.
COMPOSITION PER CENT.
Copper 98·47
Tin 0·09
Lead 0·16
Bismuth traces
Silver 0·013
Iron 0·03
Nickel 0·19
Arsenic 0·83
------
99·783
------
FOOTNOTES:
[410] See 'Troy and its Remains,' p. 361.
INDEX.
A.
_Achilles_ and _Hector_, intaglio on gold, 175.
_Acropolis_;
citadel of Tiryns, 6;
of Mycenæ, 28, 29.
_Ægisthus_, murder of Atreus by, 54;
murder of Agamemnon by, 54;
death of, 55;
buried without the wall, 60.
_Aëropé_, wife of Atreus, legend of, 53.
_Agamemnon_, son of Atreus, 48;
sepulchre of, 48;
murdered by Ægisthus and Clytemnestra, 54;
his expedition to Troy, 58;
his supremacy in the Argolid and Peloponnesus, 58.
---- _and his companions_, tombs of, 334-337;
their ignominious burial, 345-347.
(_Comp._ SEPULCHRES.)
_Agora of Mycenæ_, 39, 338-341;
slabs forming its enclosure and bench, 124, 125;
circular form of the Greek Agora, 125, 126;
Royal Tombs in the Agora at Megara and Cyrene, 126-7;
Homer's description of the heroic Agora, 338;
of that of Troy, 339;
and of the Phæacians, 339;
age of the Agora at Mycenæ, later than the Five Sepulchres
within it, 340;
no building within its sacred enclosure, 341.
_Alabaster_:
button of, 144;
hand, 209;
model of a scarf, 242;
three-handled vase of, 246;
sword-knobs of, 219, 281, 282;
fragments of vases, 257, 308;
goblet of, 317.
_Amber_, beads of, 203, 245.
----, found in Italy and Sicily, 204;
mention of, by Homer, _ibid._
_Amethyst_, lentoid gem of, 202.
᾽Αμφικύπελλον (see Δέπας).
_Analysis_ of Mycenean metals, 367-376;
argentiferous gold foil, 368;
sheet gold, 369;
silver vase, 370;
bronze sword and vase-handle, 372, 375;
copper kettle, 375.
_Archers_, niches in walls of Tiryns for, 5.
_Argion_: first name of the mount of the Citadel at Mycenæ, 36.
_Argolis_, map of, 1.
_Argos_: road from, to Mycenæ, 24;
plain of, described, 25 f.;
Achæan states of Argos and Mycenæ, 28;
Homer's use of the name, 37.
_Arm-bone_, with gold ribbon, 302.
_Arrow-heads_;
of bronze, only in the upper strata, 76, 123;
of obsidian, 4th Sepulchre, 272.
_Ashes_, of burnt animal matter, 88;
at the foot of tombstones, 92, 93.
_Asterion_, the plant, 25.
_Atreus_, son of Pelops, 53;
legend of Atreus and Thyestes, 53;
killed by Ægisthus, 54. (_Comp._ TREASURY.)
_Axes_, of diorite, 40, 132;
double, as a symbol, 219, 252-254, 357.
B.
_Battle-axes_ of gold plate, 252.
_Battle scene_ on a ring, 224, 225.
_Beads_;
of glass, 111, 120;
of fluor-spar, 120;
of agate, 201, 202;
of amber, 308;
of gold, 361.
_Belt_ of gold, apparently for a child, 248.
_Boars' teeth_, 272;
used on helmets and horse-trappings, in Homer, 272, 273.
_Bodies_ found, all partially burnt where they lay;
_three_ in the 2nd Sepulchre, 155;
_three_, probably of women, in the 3rd Sepulchre, 164;
_five_ in the 4th Sepulchre, 228;
_one_ in the 5th Sepulchre, 291;
_three_ in the 1st Sepulchre, 294, 295;
one of them wonderfully preserved, 296, 297;
its removal, 298;
in all 15 bodies in the five sepulchres, 337;
other skeletons of bodies not burnt, 162.
_Bone_, objects of, 153, 255.
_Bones:_ of animals, 88, 362;
human, in all the five Sepulchres, 284;
thigh-bone, with greave-ornament, in the 4th Sepulchre, 230;
jawbone, 285;
small bone, with gold ribbon, 302.
_Bonitza_: modern name of the Inachus, 24.
_Boöpis:_ title of Hera, its significance, 12, 19 f.
_Borax_, used for soldering gold, 231.
_Boxes_;
of gold, 204, 205;
of copper plate, filled with wood, 207, 208;
of wood, carved, 332.
_Bracelets_ of gold, 196, 223, 227.
_Breast-plates_ of gold, found on bodies in the 4th Sepulchre, 228;
in the 1st Sepulchre, 300, 301.
_Bronze_:
male figure of, at Tiryns, 14;
objects of, 111, 112;
weapons of, 279-283, 299, 303, 306;
of Mycenæ and Troy compared, 369.
(_See_ ANALYSIS.)
_Brooch_ of gold, 193.
_Buildings_, Cyclopean, at Mycenæ, 40.
_Burial with treasures_, 344-349.
_Butterflies_ of gold, 165, 176;
perhaps a symbol of immortality, 166.
_Buttons_;
of gold, 152;
of wood, plated with gold, 4th Sepulchre, 258-262;
of gold, 1st Sepulchre, 305, 321-327;
of bone, 1st Sepulchre, 329.
C.
_Caldrons_ of copper, 215.
_Cans_ of copper, 274.
_Cassandra_, tomb of, and her twin-sons, Teledamus and Pelops, 59.
_Cephisus_, the river, 25.
_Chariots_, sculptured, on tombstones, 80-85;
true form of the Homeric, 84.
_Charvati_, village of, with the ancient quarry of Mycenæ, 117.
_Children_:
objects found in the 3rd and 4th Sepulchres, indicating the burial
of two or three, 198, 247, 248, 337;
in accordance with the tradition, 59.
_Cicadæ_ (crickets or tree-hoppers) of gold, 176;
their significance, _ibid._
_Cisterns_ at Mycenæ, 141.
_Clay_, baked and glazed, ornaments of, 110, 111.
----, white, the bodies in the Royal Sepulchres covered with a layer
of, 214, 295, 337.
_Clytemnestra_, seduced by Ægisthus, murders Agamemnon, 54;
is killed by Orestes, 55;
buried with Ægisthus outside the wall of Mycenæ, 60.
_Cobalt glass_, tubes of, like the Egyptian, 157.
_Coins_, copper, of Macedonian age, found at Tiryns, 15;
of Argos, found at Mycenæ, 63, 64;
none of Roman or Byzantine times, 64;
none of Mycenæ itself, _ibid._
_Column of porphyry_, 96, 97.
_Comb_;
of clay, 78;
of gold, 203.
_Copper_:
a fork and another object of, 255;
vessels of, 273-274, 331;
their use as ornaments of houses, 284;
medium for plating gold on silver, 158.
(_Comp._ ANALYSIS.)
_Cork_, pieces of, 332.
_Cow-heads_:
of terra-cotta, on handles of vases, 104, 105;
the great one of silver, with golden horns, 215;
of gold plate, with double axes, 218.
_Cows_, of terra-cotta, found at Tiryns, 10;
idols, in the form of, at Mycenæ, 73, 74.
(_Comp._ HERA BOÖPIS.)
_Cremation_, partial, of all the bodies in the royal sepulchres, 155;
officially authenticated, 214.
_Crosses_ of golden leaves, 156, 189-192.
_Crowns_ of gold, found with the bodies in the 3rd Sepulchre, 184;
in the 4th Sepulchre, 228.
_Cups_;
of gold, 241, 313, 354;
of alabaster, 317.
(_Comp._ GOBLETS.)
_Cuttle-fish_ of gold, 165, 268.
_Cyclopean Walls_:
their name and nature, 3, 4;
three forms, 29, 30;
of the citadel of Tiryns, the most ancient monument in Greece, 2, 9;
house-walls at Tiryns, 9;
of the citadel of Mycenæ, 4, 29;
substructions and house-walls at Mycenæ, 31, 42, 79, 80, 99, 123,
130;
destruction of portion of, 116;
water-conduit, 141;
tower, 147.
_Cylinders_ of gold, 251, 286, 287, 320, 321.
D.
_Daggers_ of bronze, 163;
ivory handle of one, 329.
_Débris_:
at Tiryns, 19;
at Mycenæ, 42;
in the Acropolis of Mycenæ, 62;
over _dromos_ of Treasury near Lions' Gate, 103;
in the same Treasury, 141.
Δέπας ἀμφικύπελλον (two-handled goblet):
several of terra-cotta, 115, 116;
several of gold, 231, 235, 237, 350, 352;
the true form, not that supposed by Aristotle, 116, 237;
none such found either at Troy or Mycenæ, 238.
_Diadems_ of gold, found with the bodies:
in the 2nd Sepulchre, 155, 156;
in the 3rd Sepulchre, 186-189;
in the 4th Sepulchre, 246, 247;
two of these small, as if for children, _ibid._;
in the 5th Sepulchre, 291.
_Diomedes_, King of Argos, under Agamemnon, 58.
_Disks_ of gold, 319.
(_Comp._ PLATES.)
_Dorians_, invasion of the, 55;
early date of, 344.
_Dragon_ of gold, with scales of rock-crystal, 287.
_Dromos_, or approach to the Treasury of Atreus, 43;
to the Treasury near the Lions' Gate, 103-107.
E.
_Earring_ of gold, 142.
_Egyptian glass_, 157;
_porcelain_, objects of, 242, 330.
_Eïones_, the port of Mycenæ, 58.
_Eleutherion_, the river, 25.
_Elias_, chapel of, at Tiryns, 4;
chapel of, on Mt. Eubœa, above Mycenæ, 26, 145-147.
_Emperor of Brazil's_ visit to Mycenæ, 144, 145.
_Eubœa_, Mount, above Mycenæ, 25, 26;
ascent of, 145;
Cyclopean remains on, probably a sanctuary of the Sun-god, 146-7.
_Euripides_ visited Mycenæ, 38;
his knowledge of the Acropolis, the Agora, and Royal Palace, 341,
342.
_Excavations_:
at Tiryns, beginning of, 9;
of the Treasury of Atreus, by Veli Pasha, 49, 50;
at Mycenæ, in 1874, 61;
at Mycenæ, in 1876, 62;
panoramic view of, before the discovery of the Tombs, 148-9.
F.
_Fish_ of wood, 129.
_Flagons_ (οἰνοχόαι);
of gold, 233;
of silver, 243.
_Flowers_, golden, 165-167, 172, 173, 262.
_Flute_, found at Mycenæ, 77, 78, 79.
_Fork_ of copper, for stirring the funeral fires, 255.
_Fountain_ of Perseia at Mycenæ, 59.
_Frieze_ of marble, 141.
G.
_Galleries_ in the Walls of Tiryns, 51.
_Gate_, the eastern, of Tiryns, 5;
of the Lions at Mycenæ (_see_ LIONS' GATE);
the postern, at Mycenæ, 35, 36.
_Gell, Sir William_, cited, 44.
_Glass_, fabrication of, only in its beginning at the age of the
tombs, 158.
_Goblets_, of terra-cotta, at Tiryns, 16;
at Mycenæ, 70;
two-handled, 115, 116;
black, 154;
of gold, 204, 231-240, 314, 352-353;
of silver, 314.
_Gold._ The objects are described under their several heads.
The quantity found in the sepulchres amounts to about 100 lbs.
troy.
_Gordon, Gen._, his fragments of bronze nails and plates from the
Treasury of Atreus, 45 _n._
_Grasshoppers_, golden. (_See_ CICADÆ.)
_Greaves_ of warriors on a painted vase, 134;
gold ornament of, 230, 328.
_Greco-Phœnician Period of Art_, after about B.C. 800, 98;
the sculptures of Mycenæ anterior to, _ibid._
_Griffins_, of gold, 177;
legend of the griffin of Indian origin, 177, 178.
H.
_Hatchets_;
of stone, 76;
of bronze, 111, 112.
_Hellenic House_, foundations of, 121.
_Hera Boöpis_, note on, 19-22.
_Heræum_, the great temple of Hera, near Mycenæ, 20, 59, 362, 364.
_Hercules and the Nemean Lion_, gold ornament, with intaglio of, 173.
_Highway_ from Mycenæ to Tiryns, 42.
_Horse-trappings_, ornaments of, 153, 273;
described by Homer, 273.
_Hunters_ in a chariot, on a signet-ring, 223 f.
I.
_Ialysus_, in Rhodes; objects found in a tomb there, resembling
those at Mycenæ:
terra-cotta vases, 65;
cow-idols, 73;
whorls, 77;
painted pottery, 138;
terra-cotta goblets, of same pattern as Mycenean gold goblets, 234.
_Idols_, terra-cotta, at Tiryns, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14;
similar to those at Mycenæ, 12;
at Mycenæ, 13, 71, 72, 73;
in "dromos" before Treasury near Lions' Gate, 103-107.
_Inachus_, the river, 24, 25.
_Inscriptions_, signs resembling, 114;
Greek, 115.
_Iron_ keys and knives, probably of the later age of Mycenæ, 75.
_Ivory_, objects of, 152, 153, 161, 162, 329;
stained, for horse-trappings, 273.
J.
_Jar_ of crystal, 299, 300.
_Jasper weight_, 100.
K.
_Kettles._ (_See_ COPPER.)
_Keys_ of bronze, lead, and iron, 74, 75.
_Knives_ of obsidian at Tiryns, 18;
of bronze and iron at Mycenæ, 74, 75, 76, 111, 112, 158;
of obsidian, 158.
L.
_Lamps_, unknown to Homer, and never found at Troy, Tiryns,
or Mycenæ, 50.
_Lances_ of bronze, 278;
mode of fastening to the handle, _ibid._
_Lead_, found at Tiryns, 14;
a large quantity at Mycenæ, 77.
_Leake, Col._, quoted, 5 n.
_Leaves of Gold_, strewn all about the 4th Sepulchre, and even
below the bodies, 266.
_Legend_, of the crimes of the Pelopids, 53, 54;
of the Trojan War and the fate of Agamemnon, the author's faith
in it led to the discovery of Troy and Mycenæ, 334 f.;
confirmations of its veracity, 337.
_Lentoid gems_, 112, 113, 114, 202, 252;
bought of peasants in Chonika, 362, 364.
_Lids_ of boxes and vases of gold, fastened on by gold wires, 206, 207;
of bone for jars, 256.
_Lion_ of gold, 361.
_Lion cub_ of gold, 251.
_Lions' Gate at Mycenæ_, 4, 32, 33, 34, 35;
plan of, 34;
excavations at, 121, 122, 123.
_Lower City of Mycenæ_, 39, 40;
Cyclopean bridge at, 39;
Treasuries, 39.
_Lyre_ of bone, 77, 78, 79.
M.
_Masks of gold_:
a child's, in the 3rd Sepulchre, 198;
on the faces of three bodies in the 4th Sepulchre, 219-221;
a fourth like a lion's head, beside another of the bodies, 222
(_Cut_, p. 211);
discussion of burial with masks, 222, 223;
on two of the bodies in the 1st Sepulchre, 311, 312
(_Cuts_, pp. 289, 333).
_Medals._ (_See_ COINS.)
_Megapenthes_, son of Prœtus, Tiryns, ceded to Perseus by, 6.
_Metals_, found at Tiryns, only lead and one bronze figure, 14;
found at Mycenæ, 74, 75, 77.
_Moulds_, for casting ornaments, 108, 109.
_Mure, Col._, cited, 45 n.
_Mycenæ_, arrival at, 24;
importance of excavations at the capital of Agamemnon, 28;
topography of, 24 f.;
Acropolis, 28 f.;
the lower city, 39;
the suburb, 40;
confused with Argos, 36-38;
history, 53 f.;
decline, 56;
besieged by the Argives and Cleoneans, 56;
its surrender and destruction (B.C. 468), 56, 57;
Homeric epithets of Mycenæ, 57;
remains described by Pausanias, and true interpretation of the
passage, 59, 60, 335;
shafts sunk in 1874, 61;
excavations begun in 1876, _ibid._;
its re-occupation unknown to the ancients, 63.
N.
_Nails_, bronze, in the walls of the Treasury at Atreus, for
holding the lining plates, 44.
_Needle_ of ivory, 153.
_Nestor's goblet_, in Homer, compared with one found in the 4th
Sepulchre, 235-237.
O.
_Orestes_ kills Ægisthus and Clytemnestra; probably the last of
the Pelopid dynasty at Mycenæ; reigned in Arcadia and Sparta, 55.
_Oyster shells_, found in 1st Sepulchre, 332.
P.
_Painted vases._ (_See_ POTTERY; VASES.)
_Palace_:
Cyclopean house-walls, supposed to be the Royal Palace of Mycenæ,
130 f.;
the substructions probably supported a wooden building, 288.
_Palæocastron_, the modern name of Tiryns, 2.
_Pausanias_, his description of the tombs of Agamemnon and his
companions, 59;
general misunderstanding, and true meaning, of the passage, 60,
61, _et passim_.
_Pebbles_, layers of, below and above the bodies, to aid in
ventilating the funeral pyres, and bearing marks of fire,
in all the Sepulchres, 155, 164, 213, 214, 291, 294, 337.
_Pelopids_, dynasty of the, at Mycenæ, 54, 55;
its probable end under Orestes, _ibid._
_Perseus_, builder of Mycenæ, 6, 53;
Tiryns given to Electryon by, 6;
his dynasty, 53.
_Pigeons of gold_, on the heads and arms of female figures, 180;
on the handles of a goblet, 236;
on a model of a temple, 267.
_Pins of gold_, 4th Sepulchre, 249, 250.
_Plates_, large, thick, round, of gold, with patterns in _repoussé_
work, below, above, and round the bodies in the 3rd Sepulchre,
165 f.;
in the 1st Sepulchre, 318, 319;
smaller round plates of sword-sheaths, 219, 302-303;
quadrangular plates with intaglio work, 302, 303, 308-311.
_Plundered body_ in 1st Sepulchre, 295.
_Porter's lodge_ at Mycenæ, 62.
_Pottery_, Tirynthian archaic, 14, 15, 16, 17;
Mycenean painted, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 120;
geometrical, 103 f., 120, 141;
hand-made and wheel-made, 137, 158, 159, 160, 210, 340, &c.
(_Comp._ TERRA-COTTAS.)
_Prœtus_, the founder of Tiryns, 6.
Q.
_Quarry_, of Tiryns, 4;
of Mycenæ, at Charvati, 41, 117.
R.
_Rapier-like swords_, 4th Sepulchre, 283.
_Rema_, modern name of the river Charadrus, 24.
_Reservoirs_, twelve in the Acropolis of Mycenæ, 80, 99, 100, 117 _n._
_Ribbons_ of gold, 249, 327.
_Rings_, of bronze, plain and engraved, 142;
of gold, plain and ornamented, 250, 353, 354;
of silver, _ibid._
(_See_ SIGNET-RINGS.)
_Rock crystal_, objects of, 200, 210;
polished segment of a sphere, 213.
_Royal tombs._ (_See_ SEPULCHRES.)
S.
_Sardonyx_, lentoid gem of, 202.
_Scales of gold_, 197.
_Sceptres_, of silver plated with gold, 201;
rock-crystal knob of a sceptre-handle, 200;
handles, 251;
splendid handle of a sceptre, 286, 287.
_Sculpture_ on tombstones at Mycenæ. (_See_ TOMBSTONES.)
_Seal-rings_;
of bronze, 142;
of silver, 203.
(_See_ SIGNET-RINGS.)
_Sepulchral Slabs_, or _Stêlæ_. (_See_ TOMBSTONES.)
_Sepulchres, the Royal_, at Mycenæ;
described by Pausanias from tradition only, 59, 102;
their position in the Acropolis unique, 101;
traditional reverence for them, 337, 343;
their site indicated by tombstones renewed from time to time, as
they got covered with _débris_, 101 f., 337, 341;
the sacred Agora, erected as an enclosure round them, in honour
of the deceased heroes, probably when the monuments were renewed,
128, 129, 340:
--discovery of the _First Sepulchre_, 151;
work interrupted, 154;
resumed, 293;
the sepulchre described, 294 (_comp._ BODIES):
--discovery and description of the _Second Sepulchre_, 154;
--of the _Third_, 161;
--of the _Fourth_, 212;
--of the _Fifth_, 290.
Evidence of the _simultaneous burial_ of the bodies in _each_
sepulchre, and probably in _all_, 336;
agreement of the sepulchres with the tradition of the burial
of Agamemnon and his companions, Chap. X. _passim_.
_Shoulder belts_, of gold, in the 4th Sepulchre, 243, 244;
one with a piece of a bronze sword attached,
1st Sepulchre, 298, 299;
too slender to have been ever used, 300.
_Signet-rings_:
one of white onyx, engraved in intaglio, in the supposed Royal
Palace, 131, 132;
two of gold, with intaglios of a stag-hunt and a combat, 4th
Sepulchre, 223-227;
too small for any but female fingers, 227;
two of gold, with wonderful symbolic intaglios, from the tomb south
of the Agora, 354-360;
correspondence of the first to a scene in Homer's "Shield of
Achilles," 359, 360.
_Skeleton_ of a man, found at Tiryns, 18;
skeletons above the 3rd Sepulchre, 164.
_Slabs_, double parallel circle of, 87, 88.
(_See_ AGORA.)
_Spiral ornamentation_, characteristic of Mycenean art, 82, 99,
_et passim_.
_Stag_, of silver and lead, 257.
_Stêlæ_, sepulchral. (_See_ TOMBSTONES.)
_Sthenelus_, son of Perseus, 53.
_Stilettos_ of opal, for needlework, 143.
_Stone bench_ round the Agora. (_See_ AGORA.)
_Stone implements_, none at Tiryns, 14;
at Mycenæ, 76;
knives and arrow-heads of obsidian, 158, 272.
_Streets_ of Mycenæ, 57.
_Suastika_, the sign 卍, 77, 165.
_Suspension_, vases with tubular holes for, found at Mycenæ as
well as Troy, 158.
_Swords of bronze_:
two-edged, from the (supposed) Royal Palace, 144;
a heap of, in 4th Sepulchre, with the gold ornaments of their
handles and sheaths, 219;
46 more in 4th Sepulchre, 278;
10 of these short one-edged, 279;
two-edged, with a ridge on each side, gilt, studded, and otherwise
ornamented, 280-283, 302-304, 306, 307;
their extreme narrowness, and the enormous length of some, 283, 304.
_Sword-handles_, wooden, gilt, and ornamented with gold-plates, studs,
and nails, 219;
covers of gold-plate belonging to, 269-271, 305;
knobs of alabaster, 219, 281, 282;
one plated with gold, richly ornamented, and containing a piece of
the bronze sword, 307, 308.
_Sword-sheaths_, wooden, remains of, and the golden plates that
ornamented them, 219, 303, 305 (_comp._ PLATES OF GOLD);
pieces still on swords, 281;
of linen, traces of, adhering to swords, 283.
_Sword-tassel_ of gold, 304.
T.
_Telegram_ to the King of the Hellenes and His Majesty's reply, 365.
_Temple_ of gold, model of, 267.
_Terra-cottas_:
vases, Tirynthian archaic, 17;
archaic at Mycenæ, 51, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68;
compared with those at Ialysus, 65;
figure of a woman, 73;
tripods, 69, 143, 158;
vessels, 209;
cows and a cow-horn, 143 (_comp._ COWS; IDOLS);
objects found in 2nd Sepulchre, 159;
vases in 3rd Sepulchre, 210;
in 4th Sepulchre, 241;
goblets, 285, 286.
_Thyestes_, brother of Atreus, legend of, 53.
_Tiryns_:
excavations at, 1;
site of, 2;
Pausanias on, 2;
Cyclopean walls of, 2, 4, 5;
rock of, 4;
founded by Prœtus, 6;
conquered and inhabited by Hercules, 6;
destroyed by the Argives, 7;
plain south of, 8.
_Tombs._ (_See_ SEPULCHRES.)
_Tombstones_, or _sepulchral stêlæ_, sculptured and plain, in the
Acropolis of Mycenæ, above the Royal Sepulchres:
the 1st sculptured, 80 (_Cut_, p. 52);
the 2nd sculptured, 82;
the 3rd sculptured, 88;
the 4th sculptured, 90;
5 plain, 92;
several fragments of sculptured, 92-96;
they all mark the site of tombs, 100 (_comp._ SEPULCHRES);
plan of, in the 1st Sepulchre, 151;
plan of, above the 3rd Sepulchre, 161;
two plain above the 5th Sepulchre, 291.
_Tongs_ of iron, 144;
of silver, 308.
_Treasures_:
of the Pelopids, 48;
enor-mous
in the Royal Sepulchres, 337;
custom of burial with, 344-349.
_Treasuries_, in the suburb of Mycenæ, underground and dome-shaped,
called "ovens" (φοῦρνοι), 41;
one near the Lions' Gate, _ibid._, excavated by Mrs. Schliemann,
102, 118, 140 f.;
two smaller ones, 41;
of Atreus, 42;
commonly called the "Tomb of Agamemnon," 49;
compared with that of Minyas at Orchomenus, 45;
arguments for their being treasuries, 47, 48;
a sixth, close to the great Heræum, 59 (_comp._ Plan D).
_Tripods_;
of copper, 137, 277;
of terra-cotta (_see_ TERRA-COTTAS).
_Trojan War_, the Author's faith in the, led to his discoveries,
334, 335.
_Tubes_;
of gold plate, 203;
of gold, 1st Sepulchre, 305;
of bone, 1st Sepulchre, 329.
V.
_Vases_, of terra-cotta: one with female breasts, 259;
of crystal, 78;
of silver, 158, 160, 210, 308, 316;
of gold, 206; of alabaster, 245;
of Egyptian porcelain, 292.
(_Comp._ TERRA-COTTAS.)
_Vessels_:
household, at Tiryns, 15;
of gold, 207;
of copper, 274-276;
of terra-cotta. (_See_ TERRA-COTTAS.)
W.
_Wages_ of workmen at the excavations, 87.
_Walls_, Cyclopean, 3, 4, 5, 29 f.;
of Tiryns, 2, 9;
of Mycenæ, 4, 29, 30, 31, 40, 87, 88;
of Treasuries lined with bronze plates, 44, 45;
inner, of the Royal Sepulchres, bearing marks of fire, 155, 213, 294;
none in the 5th Sepulchre, 291.
_Warriors_, armed, on a painted vase, 132-134.
_Water-conduits_, Cyclopean, at Tiryns, 9;
Cyclopean, at Mycenæ, 80, 141.
_Wealth_ of Mycenæ, 57.
_Weapons_ of bronze, 278-280, 291, 307.
_Weight_, of jasper, 100.
_Wells_ of Mycenæ, 41.
_Wheels_ of chariots on sculptures, with four spokes, 84;
small bronze wheels, 111 (_Cut_, p. 74);
of gold, 203.
_Whetstones_, 286, 332.
_Whorls_:
of stone, at Tiryns, 18;
of stone and terra-cotta at Mycenæ, 77;
whorl-shaped object of gold plate, 268.
_Wire_, gold, 142, 354;
used for fastening on lids of boxes and vases, 206, 207.
_Wood_:
objects of, 1st Sepulchre, 332;
quantity of, in a copper box, 207, 208;
piece of cypress, 332;
half-burnt pieces in 4th Sepulchre, _ibid._;
various objects of wood, _ibid._
(_Comp._ BOXES, BUTTONS, SWORD-HANDLES, SWORD-SHEATHS.)
_Writing_ unknown at Mycenæ, so far as the excavations shew, 336.
THE END.
[Illustration: Plate A.
Fig. a. _2½ M._
Fig. b. _3 M._
Fig. c. _2½ M._
Fig. d. _3½ M._
TERRA-COTTA COWS AND IDOLS FOUND AT TIRYNS.
Size 3:4.]
[Illustration: Plate B.
Fig. e. _3 M._
Fig. f. _2 M._
Fig. g. _3 M._
Fig. h. _4 M._
TERRA-COTTA IDOLS FROM MYCENÆ.
Actual Size.]
[Illustration: Plate C.
Fig. i. _3 M._
Fig. k. _4 M._
Fig. l. _7 M._
Fig. m. _5 M._
TERRA-COTTA IDOLS. COW, &c. FROM MYCENÆ.
Actual Size.]
[Illustration: Plate D.
Fig. n. _4 M._
Fig. o. _6 M._
Fig. p. _4 M._
FRAGMENTS OF TERRA-COTTA COW-HEADED IDOLS, FROM MYCENÆ.
Actual Size.]
[Illustration: PLATE VIII.
No. 30. (6 M.)
No. 31. (3 M.)
No. 32. (3 M.)
No. 33. (3 M.)
No. 34. (6 M.)
Nos. 30-34. FRAGMENTS OF PAINTED VASES FROM MYCENÆ.
_Some actual size, and some reduced._]
[Illustration: PLATE IX.
No. 35. (4 M.)
No. 36. (3½ M.)
No. 37. (4 M.)
No. 38. (6 M.)
No. 39. (6 M.)
Nos. 35-39. FRAGMENTS OF PAINTED VASES FROM MYCENÆ.
_Some actual size, and some reduced._]
[Illustration: PLATE X.
No. 40. (5 M.)
No. 41. (3 M.)
No. 42. (5 M.)
No. 43. (5 M.)
No. 44. (4½ M.)
No. 45. (5 M.)
No. 46. (4 M.)
No. 47. (2 M.)
Nos. 40-47. FRAGMENTS OF PAINTED VASES FROM MYCENÆ.
_Some actual size, and some reduced._]
[Illustration: PLATE XI.
No. 48. (4 M.)
No. 49. (3 M.)
No. 50. (3 M.)
No. 51. (2 M.)
No. 52. (4 M.)
No. 53. (3½ M.)
No. 54. (4 M.)
Nos. 48-54. FRAGMENTS OF PAINTED VASES FROM MYCENÆ.
_Some actual size, and some reduced._]
[Illustration: PLATE XII.
No. 55. (3 M.)
No. 56. (4 M.)
No. 57. (4 M.)
No. 58. (3½ M.)
No. 59. (5 M.)
No. 60. (5 M.)
No. 61. (5 M.)
Nos. 55-61. FRAGMENTS OF PAINTED VASES FROM MYCENÆ.
_Some actual size, and some reduced._]
[Illustration: PLATE XIII.
No. 62. (4 M.)
No. 63. (5 M.)
No. 64. (6 M.)
No. 65. (4 M.)
No. 66. (5 M.)
No. 67. (5 M.)
Nos. 62-67. FRAGMENTS OF PAINTED VASES FROM MYCENÆ.
_Some actual size, and some reduced._]
[Illustration: PLATE XIV.
No. 68. (2 M.)
No. 69. (6 M.)
No. 70. (5 M.)
Nos. 71 and 72. (5 M.)
Nos. 68-72. FRAGMENTS OF PAINTED VASES FROM MYCENÆ.
_Some actual size, and some reduced._]
[Illustration: PLATE XV.
No. 73. (2 M.)
No. 74. (5 M.)
No. 75. (2 M.)
No. 76. (5 M.)
No. 77. (5 M.)
No. 78. (5 M.)
Nos. 73-78. FRAGMENTS OF PAINTED VASES FROM MYCENÆ.
_Some actual size, and some reduced._]
[Illustration: PLATE XVI.
No. 90. (4½ M.)
No. 91. (6 M.)
No. 92. (6 M.)
No. 93. (3½ M.)
Nos. 90-93. TERRA-COTTA IDOLS. _Actual size._]
[Illustration: PLATE XVII.
No. 94. (6 M.)
No. 95. (4 M.)
No. 96. (5 M.)
No. 97. (5 M.)
No. 98. (2 M.)
Nos. 94-98. TERRA-COTTA IDOLS. _Actual size._]
[Illustration: PLATE XVIII.
No. 99. (2 M.)
No. 100. (8 M.)
No. 101. (8 M.)
No. 102. (5½ M.)
Nos. 99-102. TERRA-COTTA IDOLS. _Actual size._]
[Illustration: PLATE XIX.
No. 103. (2 M.)
No. 104. (7 M.)
No. 105. (7 M.)
No. 106. (3 M.)
No. 107. (2 M.)
No. 108. (7 M.)
No. 109. (5 M.)
No. 110. (2 M.)
Nos. 103-110. TERRA-COTTA IDOLS. _Actual size._]
[Illustration: PLATE XX.
No. 192. (5 M.)
No. 193. (5 M.)
No. 194. (5 M.)
No. 195. (5 M.)
No. 196. (6 M.)
No. 197. (3 M.)
Nos. 192-197. FRAGMENTS OF PAINTED POTTERY FROM THE APPROACH TO THE
TREASURY NEAR THE LIONS' GATE. _Half-size._]
[Illustration: PLATE XXI.
No. 198. (2 M.)
No. 199. (5 M.)
No. 200. (5 M.)
No. 201. (2 M.)
No. 202. (2 M.)
No. 203. (3 M.)
No. 204. (8 M.)
Nos. 198-204. FRAGMENTS OF PAINTED POTTERY FROM THE APPROACH TO THE
TREASURY NEAR THE LIONS' GATE. _Half-size._]
[Illustration: PLAN A.
THE ACROPOLIS OF TIRYNS.
1, 1.--Shafts sunk by Dr. Schliemann.
2.--Trench dug by the same.
3.--The Tower.
4.--Ruins of two parallel ogive-like Galleries.
5.--Ogive-like Gallery.
6.--Ogive-like Gallery.
7.--Gateway to the Acropolis.
_Note._--(1) The letters A, B, &c., indicate the lines along
which the appended Sections are taken.
(2) To each Vertical Section is appended its exact
proportional scale.
]
[Illustration: PLAN B.
THE CIRCULAR AGORA, WITH THE FIVE ROYAL SEPULCHRES, IN THE ACROPOLIS OF
MYCENÆ.]
[Illustration: PLAN B B.
VERTICAL SECTION OF THE HILL OF THE ACROPOLIS OF MYCENÆ, ALONG THE LINE A
B ON PLANS B AND C.
VERTICAL SECTION SHOWING THE DEPTHS OF THE FIVE TOMBS BELOW THE LOWER
TERRACE OF THE ACROPOLIS OF MYCENÆ.]
[Illustration: _PLAN C._
Plan of the
ACROPOLIS OF MYCENAE
WITH THE EXCAVATIONS
made by
Dᴿ. HENRY SCHLIEMANN
_by Vasilios Drosinos
Lieutenant of Engineers_
_For Dᴿ. Schliemann's excavations enclosed within figures I to IX see
Plan B._]
EXPLANATION OF PLANS B AND C.
NOTE.--PLAN B _shows the Excavations of Dr. Schliemann in the Acropolis,
of which_ PLAN C _gives a General Plan._
I. II. III. IV. V.--Cyclopean Walls of the Inner Enclosure,
dividing the Agora and the adjacent Buildings from the rest of
the Acropolis.
VI. VII. VIII. IX.--Part of the Cyclopean Circuit Wall which
encloses the whole Citadel.
_a_, _a_, _a_.--Double Circle of Slabs, forming the enclosure and
Bench of the Agora (A A A on Plan C).
_b_, _b_, _b_.--Wall supporting the same in the lower part of the
Acropolis.
A, A, A.--Cyclopean Houses.
B, B, B.--Cyclopean Cisterns.
P.--Sepulchral Recess, where Gold Ornaments were found.
No. 6.--Ruins of a large Quadrangular Tower.
(_On_ PLAN C _only._)
M, N.--Traces of the ancient winding Street, which led to the
Lions' Gate.
1, 1, 1.--Shafts sunk by Dr. Schliemann.
4.--Cyclopean Buildings.
5.--Cisterns.
8.--Treasury outside of the Lions' Gate.
DOTTED SECTIONAL LINES.
A B.--Line of the Vertical Section of the Acropolis (see Plan B
B, upper part).
_a'_, _b'_, _c'_, _d'_.--Lines of the Vertical Section through
the Tombs (see Plan B B, lower part).
[Illustration: _PLAN D._
Plan of the whole
CITY OF MYCENAE
_by Vasilios Drosinos
Lieutenant of Engineers_
]
[Illustration: PLAN E.
FAÇADE, PLAN, AND SECTION OF THE TREASURY NEAR THE LIONS' GATE.
VERTICAL SECTION ON A B.
PLAN OF THE TREASURY.
FAÇADE OF THE TREASURY.]
[Illustration: PLAN F.
THE FUNERAL ALTAR ABOVE THE FOURTH SEPULCHRE, SHOWING A VIEW OF THE
ALTAR, AND A PLAN AND SECTION OF THE ALTAR AND SEPULCHRE.
GROUND PLAN.
SECTION ON A B.
_THE SURFACE OF THE PLACE BEFORE THE EXCAVATIONS BEGAN._]
[Illustration: PLAN G.
PLAN AND SECTION OF THE TOMB SOUTH OF THE AGORA, IN THE ACROPOLIS OF
MYCENÆ.
<g>AGORA</g>
3rd TOMB
4TH TOMB
BENCH OF THE AGORA
THE DOUBLE PARALLEL CIRCLE
VERTICAL SECTION ON A B.
SURFACE OF THE GROUND BEFORE THE EXCAVATIONS
PLAN.
_a, b, j, r._--The place excavated.
_a._--(On _Plan and Section_.)
Place where the Jewels lay.
SECTION.
_a, b, c, d._--The _débris_ removed.
_a, d._--Depth 0.35 M., or 14 inches.
_a, e._--Depth 0.20 M., or 8 inches.
_l._--Water Conduit.
]
* * * * *
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| Transcriber notes: |
| |
| P. ix. 'of building Posejdonian', changed 'Posejdonian' to |
| 'Poseidonian'. |
| P. xxxi. 'two o:' is 'two or', changed. |
| P. 38. footnote 4. numbers '974-944' apparently incorrect. |
| Leaving error. |
| P. 98. 'Græco-Phenician' changed to 'Græco-Phœnician'. |
| P. 177. Footnote for Herodotus, III. 13, 14. added. |
| P. 198. 'recal to our', changed 'recal' to 'recall'. |
| P. 205. Added footnote number to [298] footnotes: "...in the black |
| ship." |
| P. 234. 'at Mycenae", changed to 'at Mycenæ'. |
| P. 286. 'of a a light yellow', taken out extra 'a'. |
| Fixed various punctuation. |
| |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+