He may here take a seat for a few moments and read the points of
history which belong to this saloon, before he commences his
examination of it. One year, while the present century was young,
fifteen gentlemen encamped round about the ruins of a temple, known to
the neighbouring inhabitants as the "columns." These columns were
those believed to be the ruins of a temple of Apollo Epicurius, built
by the citizens of ancient Phigaleia, in Arcadia. These "columns" were
situated upon a shelf of land, high up the side of Mount Cotilium, and
surrounded by a rich and various landscape. Lying scattered about were
the shattered fragments of the sculptured frieze of the temple; and,
with infinite labour the camp of explorers succeeded in gathering
together and arranging the slabs which are now deposited in this, the
Phigaleian saloon. To the sound of Arcadian music, workmen excavated
in the neighbourhood of these ruins; and in 1814 the Prince Regent
obtained a grant of 15,000£. to purchase them for the British Museum.
The subjects represented by these sculptures are, the battle of the
Centaurs and the Lapithae, and the war between the Amazons and
Athenians--mythical struggles upon which Greek sculptors were fond of
exercising their imagination. THE BATTLE OF THE CENTAURS is the first
to which the visitor should direct his attention. The origin of this
myth is thus described by Sir Henry Ellis: "The story of the Centaurs,
it is remarked, is of Thessalian origin. The people of Thessaly were
remarkably expert in horsemanship, and were supposed to be the first
in Greece who practised the art of riding on horseback. Pelion, and
other mountains in this part of Greece, abounding in wild bulls, these
ferocious animals were frequently hunted by the people of the country
on horseback, and when overtaken were seized by their pursuers, who
caught hold of them by the horns, in a manner not less dexterous than
daring. Hence, these hunters acquired the name of Centauri and
Hippocentauri. The novel sight of a man seated on a horse, and
galloping over the plains with more than human velocity, might easily
suggest to the minds of an ignorant peasantry, the idea of an animal
composed partly of a man and partly of a horse; and it was from this
simple origin, according to some explanations, that the fable of the
Centaurs sprung. We must remark, that we place no confidence in the
proposed etymology of the word Centauros, and almost as little in the
explanation of the story. The centaur Chiron in Homer was a model of
justice, and the poet appears to have had no idea of the monstrous
combination of two animals. Pindar, in his second Pythian Ode, first
makes us acquainted with the Hippocentaur, or half horse and half man.
Though it cannot be imagined that the Greeks ever regarded this
tradition otherwise than as a fable, so far as the double nature of
the animal was concerned, yet it is curious, to observe, with what
care and devotion they recorded the particulars of this fiction in
their poems, sculpture, paintings, and other monuments of art. The
Centaurs were invited to the nuptials of Pirithous, king of the
Lapithae. During the marriage feast, one of the Centaurs, named
Eurytion, or Eurytus, with the characteristic brutality of his nature,
and elated by the effects of wine, offered violence to the person of
Hippodamia, the bride. This outrageous act was immediately resented by
Theseus, the friend of Pirhitous, who hurled a large vessel of wine at
the head of the offender, which brought him lifeless to the ground. A
general engagement then ensued between the two parties; and the
Centaurs not only sought to revenge the death of their companion,
Eurytus, but likewise attempted to carry off the females who were
guests at the nuptials. In this conflict, sustained on both sides with
great fury, the Centaurs were finally vanquished, and driven out of
Thessaly; after which they took up their abode in Arcadia, where they
provoked the anger of Hercules, who completely destroyed the whole of
their race. Such is the general outline of the mythic history of the
Centaurs."
Bearing this outline of the classical story in his mind, the visitor
may at once proceed to examine the first eleven slabs upon which the
incidents in the story of the Centaurs and the Lapithae are
elaborated. The visitor will, of course, begin with tablet No. 1, and
proceed to the others in the regular order in which they are marked.
On approaching the first slab (1) the visitor will perceive a Centaur
overcome by two Lapithae, and about to be dispatched. Another Centaur
from behind, however, arrests the uplifted arm of one Lapitha. The
battle proceeds fiercely on the second slab (2). A Centaur is tearing
the shoulder of a Lapitha with his teeth, while the Lapitha drives a
stout sword direct into his assailant's body. A dead Centaur lies in
the foreground, and the heels of the stabbed Centaur strike against
the shield of a second Lapitha. The origin of the battle begins to
appear on the third slab (3), where a woman is represented with a
child in her arms resisting the violence of a Centaur, while another
Centaur at the further end of the slab is getting the better of a
kneeling Lapitha. The fourth tablet would be probably unintelligible
to the general visitor without special explanation. Here the Centaurs
are endeavouring to crush an enemy with huge blocks of stone. This
particular enemy is the Caeneus of Greek fable, whom Neptune had
rendered invulnerable to the effect of swords and clubs, and whom
Centaurs are endeavouring to overcome by crushing his body with masses
of rock. The fifth slab (5) presents a more cheerful view of the
battle for the Lapithae; here two Centaurs are being overcome by two
of their enemies in revenge for their brutal conduct at the bridal
banquet. The sixth tablet (6) again illustrates the hazards of war.
Here a female is between two of the brutal Centaurs, one of whom has
felled a Lapitha to the ground; but the left hand part of the slab is
so mutilated that the merits of the sculpture are here hardly
appreciable. The seventh (7) slab also represents the Lapithae losing
ground. Here, it has been shrewdly conjectured the chief personages of
the battle are represented. The female in the arms of the Centaur is
supposed to be Hippodamia; and the figure struggling from the grasp of
another Centaur, that of King Pirithous fighting for his outraged
bride. The next tablet (8) is in a very dilapidated condition. The
central figure is that of a muscular Centaur, with his mantle flowing
from his neck, in the act of hurling something at a Lapitha who stands
stoutly on the defensive, while in the further corner a female with
her child is flying from pursuers. The ninth tablet (9) discovers two
vanquished Centaurs, and Lapithae in the act of dispatching their
mongrel enemies. The battle is represented at its climax on the next
slab (10). Here, as the wicked Centaur, Eurytion, is disrobing the
King's bride, and her bridesmaid is indulging in exaggerated attitudes
of despair, a figure supposed to be that of the renowned founder of
Athens, Theseus, springs upon the Centaur's shoulders, and drags back
his head, that the brute may not gaze upon the charms he would
pollute. The figure behind the bride is supposed to represent Diana,
the goddess of Chastity. It is a pity that the leg and arm of the
Theseus, and one arm of the bridesmaid are fractured. The last slab of
those sculptured with the battle of the Centaurs, represents Apollo
and Diana in a car--Apollo the deliverer; Diana the guardian of female
chastity. Having fully examined these beautiful specimens of Greek art
of the time of Pericles, the visitor should turn at once to the
remaining slabs, which are devoted to the illustration of