486 KANSAS CITY REVIEW OF SCIENCE. 



The art was known at a very remote period in Italy. Among the Etruscans 

 bronze statues were common before the foundation of Rome, 750 b. c, and 

 Romulus is said to have placed a statue of himself, crowned by Victory, in a 

 four-horse car of bronze, in the new city. Pliny states that " King Numa Pompi- 

 lius, the immediate successor of Romulus, founded a fraternity of brass founders 

 and bronze workers." 



By the Romans a compound was used under the name of " oncalchum " or 

 " auncalchum," which appears to have possessed the composition and properties 

 of brass. 



A brazen bull is traditionally said to have been contrived by Pericles at 

 Athens for Phalaris, Tyrant of Agrigentum, 570 b. c. It had an opening in the 

 side, to admit the victims, and a fire was kindled underneath to roast them to 

 death. The throat was so contrived as to make the groans of the victims resem- 

 ble the roaring of a bull. The artist was made the first experiment, and the 

 tyrant for whom it was made was roasted in it, 549 b. c. 



The oldest seat of bronze founding to any extent was the island of Delos, and 

 next to that the island of ^gina. Between these two there existed a rivalry in 

 the times of Myron and Polycletus, of whom the former used the bronze of Delos, 

 the latter that of ^gina. More celebrated than either was the bronze of Corinth, 

 about which it is said " that when Lucius Mummius burnt Corinth, 146 b. c, all 

 the metals in the city melted during the conflagration, and, running together, 

 formed the valuable composition called Corinthian brass. This is exceedingly 

 doubtful, but there may be spice of truth in it, as long before this period the 

 Corinthian artists had obtained great credit for their method of combining copper 

 with gold and silver. Pliny says of it : "It consisted of gold, silver and copper, 

 and was considered more precious than silver, and little less valuable than gold." 

 There were three kinds of it, varying in color from white to dark yellow. 



Corinthian brass appears, for the most part, to have been used for the man- 

 facture of drinking cups and ornamental utensils. The Syriac translation of the 

 Bible says: "Hiram made the vessels for Solomon's Temple of Corinthian 

 brass." Pumps were invented by Ctesibus, of Alexandria, 224 b. c.,and were 

 wholly or partially of cast brass or bronze. The most distinguished colossal 

 statue of ancient times was the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the seven wonders of 

 the world. In the days of its prosperity the capital of the island of Rhodes was 

 adorned with over 3,000 statues, but this one exceeded them all. It was erected 

 at the port of Rhodes, in honor of the- sun, by Chares of Lindus, a disciple of 

 Lysippus, 290 b. c, or 288 b. c, out of the spoils which Demetrius left behind 

 him when he raised the siege of the city. 



It is asserted to have spanned the entrance to the harbor of the island, and 

 to have admitted the passage of vessels in full sail between its wide-spread legs. 

 Its height was about 105 feet, the time taken for its construction was twelve years, 

 and the cost amounted to 300 talents — about ^70,000. 



This stupendous work was thrown down by an earthquake about 224 b. c, 

 and for nearly nine centuries lay in ruins on the ground. Pliny says : "It was 



