182J.] 



Museum Account of the Phigaleian Marbles. 



considerable distances from the slabs to 

 which they belonged, cannot be too 

 highly commended." They were pur- 

 chased <at Zante, in 1814, for the British 

 Mnsenm, and arrived in England in 

 1815. " Tile great numl)er of frag- 

 ments,-' says the .author of (he voluiue, 

 "of which they are composed, have 

 been carefully united, and firmly se- 

 cured by bolts of copper, under the 

 direction of Mr. Richard Westmacott; 

 but the sculptures remain perfectly in 

 theii- genuine state, not the slightest 

 attempt to restore them having been 

 made in any instance." This is a 

 praiseworthy rejolutioii, and the trus- 

 tees have ac;ed like men of taste in not 

 sutTering such fine remains of ancient 

 art to be touched by modern restora- 

 tures. We know wluit we see to be 

 true, and are not dazzled by the fictions 

 of modern restorers. Michael Angelo 

 would not restoie the Torso of Apollo- 

 nius, and Cauovahas issued his anathe- 

 iria asaiust any attempts at I'estoring 

 the divine fragments of Phidias, which 

 we owe to the good taste and persever- 

 ance of Lord Elgin. 



" A circumstance," says Mr. Combe, 

 *' which greatly adds to the interest 

 of these bas-reliefs, is the informa- 

 tion we possess of the precise time 

 when they were executed : Pausa- 

 nias, who describes the temple of Apollo 

 Epicurius, at Phigalia, mentions that 

 it was built by Ictiuus, the archi- 

 tect that superintended the construc- 

 tion of the Parthenon, at Athens. 

 This temple was erected, therefore, in 

 the time of Pericles, when the arts had 

 reached their higliest state of perfec- 

 tion in Greece." Tiie same author adds 

 " that on account of the elegance of its 

 architecture, it was more admired than 

 any of the temples in Peloponnesus, ex- 

 cepting that only of Tegea ; and also 

 that it was dedicated to Apollo Epicu- 

 rius, or the deliverer, because he had 

 freed the inhabitants from a severe 

 j)estilence." Of this excellence, both 

 of sculpture and of architecture, when 

 compared with the Parthenon and 

 other structures of Athens, I have be- 

 fore spoken. 



The subject of tliese sculptures, 

 which are placed in a room adjoining 

 tiie Elgin nxmi, at the Museum, repre- 

 sents liie battle between the Centaurs 

 and Lapithae, .and the contest between 

 the Greeks and the Amazons. The 

 story of (he Centaurs is well known, 

 and the battle here represented, which 



15 



was a favourite subject among the 

 Greeks, took place at the nuptials of 

 Pirothous, King of the Lapithfe, with 

 IIippod(^me!a. during the banquet, 

 to which the Centaurs, or Tliessalian 

 horsemen were invited. Being in- 

 flamed by wine, some of them offered 

 violence to the females of the company, 

 and one of them, Eurytus, or Eurytion, 

 even attempted to carry off the bride. 

 This breach of hospitality was immedi- 

 ately resented by Theseus, the friend 

 of the bridegroom, who hurled a large 

 vessel of wine at the head of theofien- 

 der, which stretched him lifeless on the 

 floor. The combat became general; 

 anil is finel)'^ repiesented in the sculp- 

 tures of the Phigaleian temple. 



The battle between the Amazons, a 

 warlike race of females, and the Atlie- 

 nians, like those of the Centaurs and 

 Lapithae, were also popular and favou- 

 rite subjects with the Greeks, and often 

 repeated by their poets, painters, and 

 sculptors. Pliny informs us that the 

 combat between Theseus and the Ama- 

 zons was represented on the shield of 

 the statue of Minerva, which stood ia 

 tlie temple of Theseus at Atliens, which 

 WAS also painted, says Pausauias, on 

 the walls witii the same subject. Pau- 

 sauias also relates that the same sub- 

 ject was sculptured on the base of the 

 statue of Jupiter, at Olympia. 



Among other highly useful advan- 

 tages to be drawn from these valuable 

 relics of antiquity, that, of giving us 

 correct ideas of their costume and 

 arms, and thereby illustrating the poets 

 and historians, is not the least valuable. 

 To persons at a distance, and who can- 

 not afford room or tlie expense of casts, 

 this publication must be a grateful and 

 cheap sidjstilute. The drawings by 

 Mr. Menry Corbould ai'c correct ana 

 finely characteristic ; the engravings by 

 the Messrs. Landseer, father and son, 

 (in the latter of whom the able style of 

 drawing acquired in the school of Hay- 

 don, is peculiarly visible.) Finden, G. 

 Cooke, C. Hea(h, J. Mitchell. G. Cor- 

 bould, F. Engieheart, J. Romney, 

 J. U. Robinson, W. Skelton, P. Au- 

 dinet, W. Bromley, J. T. Wedgwood, 

 and H. Moses, are in tiie higliest style 

 of excellence, and equally honorable to 

 tlie liberality of the trustees and the 

 talents of the artists. 



As an illustration of the composition 



of these exquisite remains of ancient 



art, I hp.ve annexed one entire slab 



from the battle of the Athenians and 



Amazons, 



