GREEK ARCHAEOLOGY 275 



Athens. In. Athens itself (E. B. ii, 832 et seq.), and in connection with the Parthenon 

 (E. B. xx, 869) and Pheidias (E. B. xxi, 361) fresh facts have come to light. Mr. Hill, 

 the director of the American School at Athens, has re-examined the foundations of the 

 earlier Parthenon and shown that previous reconstructions of it were wrong. It was a 

 temple with sixteen columns on the sides and six at the ends instead of nineteen and 

 eight. This is proved by re-measuring the foundations themselves which form part of 

 those of the later Parthenon, and by the discovery of several marble blocks built into 

 the north wall of the Acropolis on which the curved lines drawn to guide the masons in 

 putting the columns in position are still visible. Further evidence derived from papyri 

 and inscriptions tells us that Pheidias made the Zeus at Olympia after the completion 

 of the Parthenos at Athens. Also since the records of the payments for the making of 

 the pediments of the Parthenon continue after the date of his exile, it appears that he, 

 although their designer, cannot have taken part in their completion, which was probably 

 left to his pupils. Excavations on the Pnyx have shown that the supporting wall of the 

 theatral area in front of the bema or platform dates from the fourth century. Conse- 

 quently the problem of where and how the Athenian Assembly met during the fifth 

 century remains unsolved. At the Dipylon cemetery excavations have shown that the 

 graves were in family groups, each being enclosed by a high boundary wall. The tops 

 of the platforms within these walls stood about six feet above the level of the roadway 

 and consequently the marble grave reliefs, many of which are still in situ, were meant 

 to be seen from below. This cemetery was in use during the fourth century, but nearer 

 the city gates is a series of monuments erected over the graves of men who were given 

 public funerals, and these date from the latter part of the fifth century. During the 

 excavations many potsherds that had been used for voting during ostracism were found. 

 Thirty of them bear the name of Thucydides, the son of Melesias, who was exiled in 442 

 B.C. ; and is well known as an opponent of Pericles. 



.Olympia. At Olympia (E. B. xx, 93) the results of recent excavations have been 

 surprising. It has been shown that underneath the centre of the shrine of classical times 

 lie the ruins of a prehistoric Olympia. This extended below the Heraeum, the Pelopium, 

 the Metroum, and the terrace on which the treasuries stood. This was a small village 

 of the later bronze age and is marked by the presence of ellipsoid houses. One of these 

 was in fact found during the original excavations and called the Altar of Zeus. Above 

 the prehistoric stratum comes another of the Dipylon age which is characterised by num- 

 bers of small votive, offerings in bronze similar to those found in the earlier excavations. 

 Finally the third or uppermost stratum is the classical Olympia which we know. This 

 discovery is typical as showing how much the science of excavation has progressed and 

 emphasizes the necessity of the careful examination of the stratification of a site. 



Corfu (E. B. vii, 145). At Corfu (the ancient Corcyra) the chance find of a sculp- 

 tured slab has led to excavations which have resulted in the discovery of practically the 

 whole of the pedimental sculptures of a temple of the sixth century. Eight of the eleven 

 slabs have been found; for, as is the case with nearly all early pedimental groups, the 

 sculpture is in high relief. In the centre is a great Gorgon over six feet high with snakes 

 on her hair and about her waist. : On either side is a figure on a much smaller scale; on 

 her left a nude youth, probably Chrysaor, and on her right her offspring Pegasus. The 

 next places on the right and left are occupied by two great panthers with their heads en 

 face, but with their bodies in profile. They separate the central group from the smaller 

 scenes which fill the angles. On the left is a fallen warrior. His opponent was probably 

 represented on a slab which is missing, and between this gap and the panther is a slab 

 with an altar and an enthroned goddess. On the right the two corner slabs are lost, but 

 that next to the pianther is occupied by a nude Zeus and a giant at whom he is hurling a 

 thunderbolt. The striking feature of the pediment is the great size of the Gorgon and 

 of the panthers compared with that of the other figures. At a distance the group must 

 have appeared merely as a Gorgon supported on either side by a panther. This composi- 

 tion bears a strong resemblance to one of the favourite motives of Minoan art, as shown 

 for instance by the Lion Gate at Mycenae, and goes to confirm the theory, which is 



