PELARGONIUM. 



PELASGIAN ARCHITECTURE. 



Mi 



I'KI.A KI :< > N I I'M. the naineof agreenhoiue plant, not unfrequrntly 

 confounded with the geranium. Tlu-rv i* a large number of genuine 

 ncci* at thi* geou*, chiefly inhabiting the Cape of Oood Hope ; and aa 

 tMMinteroux very readily, a prodigious number of ipurioua specie*, 

 a* well a* acknowledged varietie*, hare found their way into the 

 writing* of antMnatic botanuta. While however science has been 

 ruibarnuMd by thu facility of crossbreeding, the garden* have been 

 ricked by crowd* of the mo*t beautiful object*, in which the features 

 of their cavage progenitor* can no longer be recognised ; and it i* pro- 

 bable that of au the flower* which have been acted upon by the hand 

 of man, the pelargonium in that in which the result ha* been most 

 triking. The tuberuiu-rootcd sorts are the most valued for the bril- 

 liance of their flower*, and they are propagated either by division ol 

 the root*, or by cutting* from the plant. Propagation by seed i* 

 reported to chiefly to obtain varietie*, in which the form of the flower, 

 the *ub*tance of the petal*, and the colour, are the object* aimed at. 

 March i* a good time for cowing, which should be done in small pot*, 

 in a light rich mould mixed with river sand ; and in the division by 

 root* the *ame method may be followed. With cuttings, from the end 

 of February to the end of August, any time will serve, but in the 

 earlier month* the pot* should have moderate bottom heat ; and in 

 the later, and wanner months, they should be well shaded. The 

 cutting* should be made immediately under a bud. they should be 

 placed near the edge of the pot, gently watered, and guarded against 

 lamping off. By care and attention to a few simple points of practice, 

 thaaa plant* may be cultivated and multiplied by any one who has a 

 greenhouse, and hence they have become universal favourite*. Those 

 point* an the following, namely : 1 , water, 2, warmth, 3, a gnntle 

 bottom heat, 4, abundance of air, 5, as much light as the leaves will 

 bear, and 6, a rich *oil during the season of growth ; and a cool atnios 

 phi-re, las* water, abundance of light, and close pruning afterwards. 

 1'KI.ARUYL. [PKLABOOCTC GBOUP.] 



PELASUI (rifXairyof) were the moat ancient inhabitants of Greece, 

 a* far a* the knowledge of the Greeks themselves extended ; whence 

 they came, or what they really were, is quite unknown. They were 

 one of several race*, stated by the Greeks to have been ante- Hellenic, 

 among whom the Leleges are nearest in age and importance to the 

 PeJaagi. The dynasties which include Danaus, Deucalion, and 1 Cad- 

 mus, are entirely legendary. There is no doubt there was a people 

 whom the Hellenes styled Pelasgi ; but nothing is historically known 

 of them ; and it is probable that many of the districts subsequently 

 said to be inhabited by the descendants of the Pelasgi, were merely 

 non-Hellenes, to whom the general term was applied. The whole of 

 Hellas, according to Herodotus (ii. 56), was originally called Pelasgia ; 

 and .Kschylus (' Supp.,' 250) introduces Pelasgus, king of Argos, as 

 claiming for the people named after him all the country through 

 which the Algus flows, and to the west of the Strymon. We find 

 mention of the Pelasgi in the Peloponnesus, Thracia, Thesprotia, 

 Attica, liueotia, and Phocis. (Strabo, vii. 321 ; Herod., viii. 44.) The 

 oracles of Delphi and Dodona were originally Pelasgic (Strabo, ix. 

 402 ; vii. 327 ; compare Herod., ii. 52) ; and Mr. Clinton (' Fast. Hell,' 

 vol. i., p. 22) and Niebuhr (' Rom. Hist.' vol. i., p. 27) have adduced 

 reasons for believing that the Macedonians also were a Pelasgic race. 

 We also find traces of the Pelasgi in many of the islands of the JEgean 

 Sea, as Lemnos, Imbros, Lesbos, Chios, &c. (Strabo, xiii. 621) ; and 

 Herodotus informs us (vii. 95) that the islands were inhabited by the 

 Pelasgic race till they were subdued by the lonians. The neighbour- 

 ing coast of Asia Minor was also inhabited in many parts by the 

 Pelasgi. (Strabo, xiii. 621.) The country afterwards called JEolis 

 wa occupied by Pelaagians ( Herod., vii. 95); and hence Antandros 

 wa* called Pelasgic in the time of Herodotus (vii. 42). Tralles in Caria 

 wa* a Pelasgic town (Niebuhr, ' Rom. Hist.,' vol. i., p. 33), and two of 

 their towns on the Hellespont, Placia and Scylace, were still extant in 

 th time of Herodotus (i. 57). 



The Pelasgians were also widely spread over the south of Italy ; and 

 the places in which they appear to have been settled are indicated by 

 Mr. Maiden (' Rom. Hist.') and Niebuhr (' Rom. Hist.'). 



The connection between the Pelasgic and Hellenic races has been a 

 subject of much controversy among modern writers. Many critics 

 have maintained that they belonged to entirely different race*, and 

 ome hare been disposed to attribute to the Pelasgians an Etruscan or 

 Pbumician origin. It is true that many of the Greek writers speak of 

 the I elaagians and their language a* barbarous, that is, not Hellenic ; 

 and Herodotus (i. 67) informs us that the Pelasgian language was 

 spoken in hi* tune at Placia and Scylace on the Hellespont. This 

 language he describes a* barbarous ; and on this fact he mainly grounds 

 hi general argument as to the ancient Pelasgian tongue. The ancient 

 writer* diner a* much respecting the degrees of civiliaation which the 

 Pelasgi attained before they became an Hellenic people, as they do 

 respecting their original language. According to some ancient writers 

 (all however only repeating traditions), they were little better than a 

 raceof aavage* till conquered and civilised by the Hellenes ; but others 

 represent them, and perbap* more correctly, as having attained a oon- 

 fflderable degree of civilisation previou* to the Hellenic conquest. 

 Many tradition* repreaent the Pelasgian* a* cultivating agriculture and 

 the useful arts; and a modern writer (Thirlwall, 'Greece,' vol. i., 

 p. 69) rather fancifully suppose* that the most ancient form of their 

 n.Ao-ryof) signified inhabitints or cultivators of the plain ' 



Some writers have maintained that the Greeks derived the art of 

 writing and most of their religious rite* from the Pelasgian*; but 

 without entering into these questions, it may be asserted with some 



dag i . . 1 1 ,,i,t\ tii.i: ii,.- ami aBahal iranittotunl monuBMota ie 



Kurope clearly appear to have been the works of their hands ; that is, 

 of a race older than the Hellene*. [PELASUIAN ARCHITKCTUKE.] 



(Marsh's J/ortt Pclatgica ; Niebuhr'* Hi*, of Roau ; Thirlwall'* 

 llitt. of Grteee ; Clinton'* Patti lltUniti ; Grote's Uitlory of Greece ; 

 Wachsinuth'i HMenitdu AUtrtliunukundt). 



PELASGIAN ARCHITECTURE. The vast masses of unhewn 

 and uncernented masonry forming the walls of Tiryns, the ancient 

 Tirynthus, about two miles from Nauplia, on the road to Argos, the 

 oldest human constructions in Greece, were by ancient tradition attri- 

 buted to the fabulous Cyclopes. They, and similar mnnnnn of masonry, 

 have hence come to be generally termed Cyclopean. There can be 

 little doubt that they are of pro-historic date ; but they are moat 

 probably of Pelasgic origin : the oldest examples of a mode of con- 

 struction which is found not only in various parts of Greece, but on 

 the western coasts of Asia Minor and in Italy, wherever, in fact, the 

 Pelasgi settled. [PELABGI.] According to Greek tradition, the walls 

 of Tiryns were built by the Cyclopes for Proetus, as a protection from 

 the attacks of Acrisius ; and the date has been, with a vain affectation 

 of precision, fixed at 1379 B.C. AU that can with confidence be said of 

 these walls is, that they were in existence when Homer wrote, since he 

 designates Tirynthus as the " well-walled " (TipvvOa TI Ttixhtaaav, ' II.' 

 ii. 559) ; and from the mention of them by later Greek writers, and 

 their character, there cannot be any doubt that the existing remains 

 are a portion of the walls referred to by Homer. 



The distinguishing character of the walls of Tiryns (and similar walls 

 occur in Lycia), is that they are built of immense polygonal blocks of 

 stone, irregular in size and form, which are laid together with a certain 

 amount of art, and are held in their places by their own weight, no 

 cement of any kind having been employed to fasten them : the inter- 

 stices between the large blocks are filled by smaller pieces. Some of 

 the largest stones are 9 feet long, 4 feet wide, and nearly as deep ; but 

 a more common size is 7 feet by 3 feet 



Wall of Tirytu. 



At Mycencc, about 12 miles from Nauplia, are extensive walls of a 

 similar character, and which, like those of Tiryns, were also said by 

 the ancient Greeks to be the work of the Cyclopes ; but they, as well, 

 as those at Epirus, are obviously of a later date than those of Tiryns, 

 on which they are a marked improvement. In this case, though the 

 blocks are still large, irregular, polygonal masses, they are fitted care- 

 fully to each other, and present a smooth exterior surface. 



Wal> of a Temple at Epirui. 



Walls of this kind are found in many parts of Greece, and are of 

 great antiquity. Mycenae was designated the " well-built " by Homer ; 

 but its massive wall* were neglected and ruinous when Pausanias and 

 even when Thucydides wrote. A later and more improved style of 

 Pelasgian masonry is that seen in many of the older fortified portions 

 of Greek citie*, and in some of the cities of Etruria. In this mode 

 the blocks are still irregular in size, and more or less polygonal, but 

 they are laid with an approximation to horizontality. From this the 



