1830.] 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER AND ARCHITECTS JOURNAL. 



459 



that sort of helmet which defends the face by a guard descending over 

 the nose, and the back by the length of the lupous or crest, or horse- 

 hair, cr/s 'a; the shields are massy and large, they are the Argive 

 as^pis, enkukhi, circular shields, and the handles are nicely framed. 

 The inside of all of them were painted in red colour, and within a 

 circle of the exterior a blue colour was seen, oh which w'as depicted, 

 without doubt, the symbol adopted by the hero, for on a fragment of 

 one of those belonging to this front was in relief a part of a female 

 figure. The remaining figures belonging to this tympanum, the frag- 

 ments of which were found, were principally archers. 



These statues offer the only illusiration now extant of the armour of 

 the heroic ages. The bodies of all the figures of this pediment, with 

 the exception of the archer who is encased in leather armour, are 

 uncovered. The great minuteness of execution in the details corres- 

 ponds with the exactness with Viihicli iEschylus, Homer, and the 

 earlier writers of the heroic age have preserved in their descriptions ; 

 in the whole of these statues this is observable in every tie and fasten- 

 ing ; it would appear that the whole had undergone the strictest scru- 

 tiny, as in each those parts which, from their position on the building, 

 could not have been seen, ai'e found equally exact; in every particular 

 they are tlie same as those which are traced on the vases of the most 

 Archaic style, wliere they are delineated in black on a rod ground, as 

 is seen in the Museum coi'iection. Tiie two female figures on the 

 apex of the pediment are clothed : the drapery falls in thick folds 

 around tiie figure : in their hands they hold the pomegranate flower; 

 the feet are on a small p;inth; they are the Eipus of the Greeks, the 

 goddess of hope, so well known in museums and on coins, and their 

 situation here is peculiarly appropriate, as presiding over an unde- 

 cided combat. It does not appear that any of the figures on either 

 pediment had any support to fix them in position but the cornice 

 where they came in contact with it; they must al! have been easily 

 removable ; and perhaps it may not be unreasonable to suppose, that 

 on particular festivals they were so disposed as to represent the actions 

 then in celebration, to recall to the imagination of the votaries the 

 reason for those sacrifices then offered to the god who presided over 

 the temple ; this would account why almost all the celebrated groups 

 of antiquity which have decorated the fajades of their sacred edifices, 

 among which may be reckoned those of the Parthenon, the Sicilian 

 Adrimetum, and the Mgvia, are so completely finished, and shows 

 how, what viould otherwise seem a waste both of talent and labour, 

 was brought to account. 



It is mucli to be regretted that the pediments which have been 

 erected to receive these statues have been, from want of space, not 

 completed fo t'le extremity of the angles; in consequence, the statues 

 contained on both lose much of their e.tect ; the idea of a shelf cannot 

 be got rid of, neither is there sufficient depth allowed for the figures, 

 which ought to be seen in shadov.'. A considerable exijense ajjpears 

 to have been incurred in the erection of this abortion; had it been 

 placed in a situation wdiere there was sufficient space, which, if this 

 room dues not afford, is to be found in the vestibule at the end of the 

 Egyptian gallery, the object might have been attained ; the columns 

 belonging to the pediment should have been added, and they wou'd 

 much have improved the bare walls of that portion of the building ; 

 and this creation being entirely unconnected with the hails which con- 

 tain the remnants of the E'gin marbles, such a situation could not have 

 been deemed heterodox to their remains. Had an exact representation 

 of the fayade of the temple to which these sculptures belonged been 

 erected, which might easily have been dons, as all tlie parts we.e 

 known and measured, and the additional expense would have been but 

 trifiing, it would have given to those who have no opportunity to view 

 the remains of antiquity abroad, a far more comprehensive idea of 

 their grandeur and beauty than either dilapidated statues or engraved 

 plates can oiTei". The inherent good taste of the public, who see with 

 sorrow the architectural monstrosities which are dignified with the 

 name of public buildings, would have regarded with pleasure the 

 repose of a Grecian edifice adorned with its sculptures, the greater 

 part in an entire state of preservation, and those which time had di- 

 lapidated, as restored by the hands of Thorwaldsen, a/uc simile of 

 antiquity; the lions' heads which adorned the ends of the marble tiles 

 might then have been replaced, the gfitfons or chimeras which were 

 found, restored to their positions, and the whole of the figures and 

 architraves coloured exactly as their remains point out; the eye of 

 the spectator, wearied with tlie sight of nameless monsters, on passing 

 the doors at the end of the Egyptian hall, would have viewed witli 

 admiration the reality of an edifice, seen in the same perfection as if 

 an interval of three and twenty centuries had been recalled. 



The Phigai.ian Makbles. 

 In this saloon are the celebrated bas reliefs found at Mount Cobylus, 



near the ancient city of Phigalia, in Arcadia. They represent the 

 battles of the Greeks and Amazons, and those of Theseus and the 

 LapithcE against the Centaurs. According to Pausanias, they were 

 the w'ork of Ictinus, contemporary of Phidias. The grandeur of con- 

 ception displayed in their composition, the variety of attitude and 

 action shown, is not surpassed by those in the Elgin saloon, though 

 their execution may be inferior. A more particular notice of them 

 than is found in the synopsis of the Museum may not be unacceptaljle. 

 The combat of the Greeks and Amazons occupies 12 slabs of marble, 

 and that of the Centaurs II. Both the history of the Amazons and 

 the battle here represented are obscure. The origin of the name is 

 derived from two words, " Jlma" or " Ma" which in all old languages 

 signifies " mother," — its ubiquity is proof of its antiquity — and the 

 ancient name of the sun, as found in the Temple of Heliopolis, in 

 Egypt, is " On" " Ton" or " Zoan " ; but that any nation of Amazons, 

 in the vulgar acceptation of the word, ever existed, is more than pro- 

 blematical. Fc'.her says that those nations who worshipped the female 

 principle of the world, such as the loevians, the Cimmerians, the 

 Moot;E, the AtalanlicUis of Mauritania, and the loniaiis, were Amazons, 

 and a celebrateil invasion of Attica by them is mentioned. We are 

 told that Eumolphus, an Egyptian, was the leader; and Pausanias 

 mentions an Attic victory or trophy, caUed an Amazonium, erected to 

 their manes ; according to Arri.ai, the Queen of the Amazons, on the 

 borders of the Ci'.spian Sea, sent ambassadors with defiance to Alex- 

 ander. In the time of Pompey they were still supposed to exist, and 

 Dion Cassius says, that in the Mithiddatic war buskins and boots were 

 found by the Roman soldiers, undoubtedly Amazonian. The worship 

 of the male aud female deities in Greece caused peace between the 

 sects, and the origin of their quarrel and their name was forgotten in 

 Europe. In Asia, the j'orsians and the Jews seem still to have formed 

 an exception ; Cainbyses in his invasion destroyed in Egypt every 

 thing connected with' the female worship, he overturned the sphinxes, 

 but he left the obelisks untouched. 



The scene of the combat depicted on these tab'ets is drawn with 

 great force and spirit; some of the Amazons have long tunics, others 

 short vestments, only reaching to the knee; one on horseback has 

 tru\isors and loose sleeves reaching to the wrist; en the head of some 

 is the Archaic helmet, and those without have the hair fastened in a 

 knot on the top ; they all but one wear boots which reach to the knees, 

 their robes are fastened with a zone, some have two belts crossed 

 between the breasts ; their arms are swords, and the double-headed 

 Scythian battle-;ixe, as also spears, bows and arrows ; none of these 

 last are preserved, they being probably of bronze, as the holes remain, 

 and added afterwards, as was the custom with ancient sculpture ; the 

 shields are small, aud of the lunar form, opening at top. The Athe- 

 nian warriors have cloaks or tunics fastened round the neck, and 

 tightened about the waist by a belt; it reaches no lower than the 

 knee ; the right arm is lave, in one group a fierce warrior has seized 

 a mounted Amazon by the hair; he is dr.:gging lier from the horse, 

 wdiich is rearing ; the action of the female figure is very foie; she 

 firmly maintains her seat, till relieved by another, who, with uplifted 

 axe, and shield to protect her from the flying arrows, shall have brained 

 her antagonist. The 18th slab has five figures and two horses; in one 

 the horse has fallen, and an Athenian warrior has his right hand fixed 

 on the throat of the Amazon, while, with the other hand, he has 

 grasped her foot, and drags her, who seems to have lost all recol- 

 lection, from the horse's back. The position of the centre figure is 

 very fine, lie is within the guard of the shield of the Amazon, and is 

 striking a deadly blow with his hand, in which has been a sword. In 

 anoth-er group an Athenian has fallen; he rests on his left hand, and 

 extends his right in supplication to the female warriors who surround 

 him, and is in the act of surrendering, while behind hiin an Amazon 

 is striking him with her batt'e axe. in. the sculptures of the La;iithffi 

 and Centaurs ail the warriors, with the exception of Theseus, are 

 armed with swords, v/ho, as an imitator of Kercules, has a club. The 

 shields are large and circular; they have a broad border round the 

 circumference, and resemble those of the Ephibi of Athens. Of the 

 helmets there are four kinds— one which fits the head closely without 

 either crest or vizor, another with a crest, and one with guards for the 

 ears, and a fourth with a pointed vizor. In one of the sculptures 

 Theseus is seen attacidng a Centaur; he has the head of the monster 

 under his left arm, and with the right, which probably held a club of 

 bronze, as the hole remains, he is'destroying him. He appears to 

 have arrived just in time to save Iiippod'omania, whom the Centaur 

 has disrobed, 'and wdio is clinging to the statue of Diana. From the 

 tiara behind, and the lion's skin,' this figure is supposed to be Theseus ; 

 the Centaur is Eurvtion; a female figiu-e is also seen pleading on her 

 behalf, and in the 'ilistauc(! a goddess is hastening in a car, drawn by 

 stags, to the rescue ; this probably is Diana, as the temple was dedi- 

 cated to Apollo. 



