THE BEGINNINGS OF METALLURGY, 93 



the front as the useful metal. We have already mentioned that the 

 weapons of ancient times were almost exclusively made of bronze. I 

 now say, besides, that the Greeks were acquainted with iron even in 

 the mythological period. Whether any of the Grecian tribes worked 

 in iron of itself is, however, doubtful. The blacksmiths of Crete and 

 Lemnos are described as Phrygians ; and we know nothing more exact 

 with reference to the origin of the Boeotians, who worked in iron in the 

 most ancient times. We know, indeed, that they had trade relations with 

 the Phcenicians, but this gives us no light respecting the iron art among 

 them, for the Phcenicians of ancient times excelled only in bronze* 

 working. It is also possible that they may have acquired some knowl- 

 edge of metal-work in their Asiatic home. Whether this was the 

 case, or the Boeotians learned to work in iron from the islanders, it is 

 certain, first, that this primitive iron industry produced nothing of im- 

 portance ; and, second, that although foreign weapons of steel were 

 known and famous, bronze still prevailed for a long period as the metal 

 of use. Homer, indeed, speaks of an iron that the country-people 

 used in covering their plowshares ; he was likewise acquainted with 

 the blue iron of which spear-heads were made, and with the temper- 

 ing of steel ; and excellent weapons of iron are described in the 

 Iliad ; but never, to my knowledge, is it mentioned that they knew 

 how to make good steel weapons in Greece. The warriors were almost 

 entirely armed with bronze, rarely with iron, and large articles of iron 

 were very costly. It must not be concluded from this that small, 

 simple vessels requiring neither a handsome shape nor a particular de- 

 gree of hardness were not made out of native iron. In Homeric times, 

 as I have said, plowshares were shod with a strip of iron of black- 

 smith's work. The iron reaping-hook came into use afterward. In 

 Hesiod's time iron had gained the predominance over bronze among 

 several tribes. I content myself with giving the history of metal- 

 working in this single nation. With respect to the other European 

 peoples we have a right to suppose that several of the tribes were ac- 

 quainted with metallurgy in their original homes. They brought the 

 knowledge of metals to Europe, which till then had been acquainted 

 only with stone art. The greater number of the immigrants belonged 

 to a lower grade of civilization, and the masses were still armed with 

 weapons of stone ; but among them were a few individuals or families 

 who brought some skill in metal-work from their Asiatic homes. In 

 the course of time the people who lived near these metal-workers ob- 

 tained metals from them, and the further diffusion of those materials 

 was promoted by trade and war. 



The most favorable situation was that of the dwellers on the south- 

 ern sea, who enjoyed the opportunities afforded by the Phoenician trade. 

 The ships of this people frequented the Black and Adriatic Seas, and 

 the Spanish and Gallo-Britannic waters. Their goods were carried to 

 the iN'orth by the inland routes. Foreign and domestic fabrics and 



