called the Harpy Tomb. This tomb, which occupied the highest point of
the hill on which Xanthus stood, is described by Sir Charles Fellows
in his account of the Xanthian marbles, published in 1843. The tomb
was a square shaft, in one solid block, weighing no less than eighty
tons. "Its height," says Sir Charles, "was seventeen feet, placed upon
a base, rising on one side six feet from the ground, on the other but
little above the present level of the earth. Around the sides of the
top of the shaft were ranged bas-reliefs in white marble, about three
feet three inches high; upon these rested a capstone, apparently a
series of stones, one projecting over the other; but these are cut in
one block, probably fifteen or twenty tons in weight. Within the top
of the shaft was hollowed out a chamber, which, with the bas-relief
sides, was seven feet six inches high, and seven feet square. This
singular chamber had probably been, in the early ages of Christianity,
the cell of an anchorite, perhaps a disciple of Simeon Stylites, whose
name was derived from his habitation, which, I believe, we have
generally translated as meaning a column, but which was more probably
a _stele_ like this. The traces of the religious paintings and
monograms of this holy man still remain upon the backs of the marble
of the bas-reliefs." By reference to the model of the tomb, of which
the bas-reliefs are in the room (1), the visitor may verify the
remarks of Sir Charles, who goes on to say that the monument was never
finished, having been only half polished, and that it bears the traces
of a shake from an earthquake. The general conjecture is that the tomb
is the labour of a Lycian Greek sculptor. The subjects of the
bas-reliefs have been variously interpreted: they decorated, as the
visitor will perceive by reference to the model, the four sides of a
square shaft. First, let the visitor turn to the western face, marked
(B). Here the scene represented is supposed to be Juno holding a cup
before the sacred cow Io, and Epaphus, Aphrodite, and the three
Charites, which have been interpreted also as the three Seasons, and
the Erinnyes or Furies. The eastern side marked (A), is supposed to
represent Tantalus, bringing the golden dog stolen from Crete to
Pandarus in Lycia: Neptune seated, with a man leaning on a crutch, and
a boy offering a bird before him, and Amymone and Amphitrite behind
him; and AEsculapius seated with Telesphorus in front, and two of the
Graces behind him. The northern side (C), shows at the corners, two
Harpies making off with two of the daughters of Pandarus, while their
sister Aedon, on her knees, is deploring their abduction. Here, too,
is a god seated, conjectured to be Pluto, holding a helmet with the
help of another figure, and having a wild animal under his chair. The
south side (D), discloses two Harpies bearing off the daughters of
Pandarus; and in the centre is a god, to whom a female figure is
offering a dove. By the side of these bas-reliefs, the visitor cannot
fail to remark the tomb of a Satrap of Lycia from Xanthus. From the
fact of horses being clearly traceable among the figures sculptured
upon this interesting relic, Sir Charles Fellows christened it the
Horse Tomb, and by this appellation it is popularly known. Its strange
shape, with its highly decorated roof and plain base, makes it an
object of curiosity to most visitors. It appears to be of the time of
the Persian dominion in Lycia, and was, as two inscriptions record,
erected by the satrap Paiafa. Upon the roof are groups of fighting
warriors, and at each side are figures in chariots and four. Sphinxes
occur in the lower sculptures, and on the north side below, is a mixed
combat of foot and horse soldiers; and the Satrap Paiafa himself,
attended by four figures, is here represented. The roof is drained by
water-spouts in the shape of lion's heads. The visitor, having now
examined the two most remarkable remains of Lycian tombs in the room,
should rapidly notice the fragments of sepulchres placed here and
there, but legibly numbered. First, let him remark (17-21), a frieze
conjectured to be from a tomb found inserted in the wall of the
Acropolis of Xanthus. Here he will find in bas-relief a procession
consisting of a horse and horseman, priest and priestesses with wands,
an armed female figure, and two chariots, with youthful charioteers
and old men. A triangular fragment of a tomb will next occupy his
attention (23); this has distinct vestiges of colour, and represents a
male and female figure separated by an Ionic column, surmounted by an
harpy, and other fragments in the immediate neighbourhood; (24-27)
have representations of the Sphinx, with a woman's head, wings, and
the body of a lion, as the daughter of the Chimaera, from the Xanthian
Acropolis. A curious relic is the _Soros_, discovered placed on the
top of one of the Xanthian pillar tombs. Here, amongst the
bas-reliefs, the visitor will notice a man stabbing an erect lion; a
lion playing with its young; and a figure on horseback followed by a
pedestrian; and on the next fragment (32), a lioness is again
represented fondling her progeny. The roof of a tomb (143), closely
resembling that which covers the Horse Tomb, is worth observing. It is
part of the tomb of an individual named Merewe, from Xanthus, and the
scenes represented include that of an entertainment, divinities, and
sphinxes, warlike encounters, and on the sides Bellerophon attacking
the Chimaera. Those casts marked (145-149), may next engage the
visitor's attention. They were taken from a tomb carved in solid rock
at Pinara, and include the frieze, upon which warriors are carved
leading captives, the walls representing a walled city, and the
Gorgons' heads which decorated the extremities of the dentals. The
three next casts that demand particular remark (150-152), were taken
from the decorations of a rock tomb at Cadyanda. To the learned these
groups are particularly interesting, because the figures are
accompanied with inscriptions in the Greek, as well as the pure Lycian
language. The first cast is that from the panel of the tomb door, upon
which Talas is represented standing: the second represents a group of
females; and the third an ancient entertainment with figures reclining
on couches with children; a figure playing the double flute, and to
the right a nude figure called Hecatomnas. Six casts from tombs
hereabouts (153-6), exhibit inscriptions, two of which are in two
languages--the Lycian and the Greek, declaring that the owners have
built the tombs for themselves and their relations; the second marked
156, in the Lycian language, expresses a threat that a fine will be
imposed on any person who may violate the tomb. Bellerophon, riding on
Pegasus, may be remarked launching his dart at the Chimaera, upon the
cast (158); nymphs are dancing upon the gable end marked (160); and
upon that marked (161), which is a cast from the gable end of a tomb
discovered at Xanthus, near the Chimaera tomb, two lions are
represented devouring a bull. The casts of the sculptures which
decorate an ancient rock tomb at Myra, are interesting. Here a young
man, attended by a boy, is offering a flower to a veiled woman,
attended by two women; in another part a boy attends with wine upon a
figure, conjectured to be that of Pluto, and a veiled female form,
supposed to be either Proserpine or Venus, is draped by an attendant,
in the vicinity of a nude youth. The remains of sarcophagi are marked
(168-171). The first of these are the relics of a Roman sarcophagus,
discovered in a mausoleum, containing three other sarcophagi, at
Xanthus. On the top have been reclining figures of a male and female,
and at the sides combats of warriors. The next relic is a fragment of
a sarcophagus, amongst the ornaments of which boys are shown at play;
and the third fragment discovers the lower part of the representation
of a hunt. An exceedingly explicit inscription is that marked (176,)
and found at Uslann, near the mouth of the Xanthus, which informs
modern generations that some two thousand years ago, Aurelius Jason,
son of Alaimis, and Chrysion, daughter of Eleutherus, purchased a tomb
for themselves, in the thirteenth month Artemisios, during the
priesthood of Callistratus, and dwelling upon this piece of
information, which is striking as a voice from the tomb of unknown
people speaking to us of the present century, not from any remarkable
deed achieved by Aurelius Jason, but simply because his name occurs
upon his tomb, plainly written in his own language. A strange
immortality! Having examined these relics of the ancient tombs of
Lycia, the visitor should take a general glance at