72 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



tity of the oxide of iron contained in it. Until lately this marble was 

 known only through its remains, and it has generally been ascribed 

 to Egypt. The largest ancient specimens preserved are the fourteen 

 slabs composing the double flight of steps in the church of San Pras- 

 sede, Rome. Napoleon I. at oue time intended to carry these to Paris 

 to ornament his throne. There are several statues of rosso antico, 

 including the " Antinous " in Paris and the " Marcus Agrippa " in the 

 Grimani Palace, Venice, and many medallion portraits. It is now as- 

 certained that this beautiful marble was not Egyptian, but Greek. It 

 was quarried on the coast of the gulf of Laconia, near what is now 

 the bay of Scutari. The quarry lies near the sea, and large blocks 

 cut by the ancients are still to be seen there. In 1851 the Greek Gov- 

 ernment sent specimens from it to the London Exposition, and it was 

 fully recognized as the famous rosso mitico. 



There are many varieties of the marble called red and white an- 

 tique, but they are so near alike that it is impossible to distinguish 

 them by description alone. They are variously called by the Italians 

 rosso annulato, serpentelo, vendurino^ fiorito, cotonello^ etc. They are 

 found only in the Roman ruins, and their quarries are unknown. The 

 marble called cervelas is of a deep red, with numerous gray and white 

 veins. It is supposed to have been brought from Africa. 



The ancients were acquainted with many kinds of green marble, 

 one of the most noted of which was the marmor Atraciwn, called by 

 Julius Pollux Thessalian, and identical Avith the verde antico of the 

 Italians, The quarries were on Mount Ossa, near the entrance of the 

 vale of Tempe, and not far from Atrax in Thessaly, whence it de- 

 rived its name. It is a species of breccia, whose paste is a mixture 

 of talc and limestone, interspersed with fragments of white marble. 

 But the verde antique marbles differ from the modern breccias in that 

 the colors are, so blended that the line of demarkation is not percep- 

 tible. Tlie Erechtheum in Athens was adorned with columns of 

 verde antique, and it was one of the marbles selected by Justinian 

 for the decoration of St, Sophia, The eight splendid columns of it 

 still to be seen in the mosque are said to have been taken from the 

 temple of Diana at Ephesus, 



Tlie celebrated Carystian marble, the cij)olmo verde of the Ital- 

 ians, derived its name from Carystus, a town at the foot of Mount 

 Oche, in the island of Euboea, where it was quarried. The temple of 

 Apollo Marmarinus of Carystus was named from this quarry. It is 

 a true steatitic limestone or cipolin, and is of a beautiful grayish 

 green, with white zones and spots, and sometimes sprinkled with dif- 

 ferent colors. It was easily obtained in very large blocks, suitable for 

 columns, and was largely used in the temples and other public build- 

 ings in Athens and Rome. An English traveler, who visited the 

 quarry lately, found seven entire columns on the site, about three miles 

 from the sea, just as they were left by the ancient workmen. 



