342 IVORY AND THE ELEPHANT 



50 ft. in length. These and many other such instances 

 are thought by Sloane to have referred to the finding of 

 bones of extinct European elephants. Of course no single 

 elephant skeleton could have been of such immense size, 

 but the dimensions given by report may either have been 

 the result of pure exaggeration, or may have arisen from the 

 finding together of the bones of several elephants in an in- 

 distinguishable mass, which might suggest the idea of a 

 single skeleton of colossal size. 



In the ancient Greek world healing virtues were sometimes 

 attributed to the bones of dead heroes, just as, in a somewhat 

 similar way, virtues were and still are believed to exist in 

 the relics of Christian saints. Thus a supposititious rib 

 of the mythical hero Pelops was greatly honoured for its 

 remedial power, and the fact that the supposed bone was 

 really a piece of ivory only enhanced its value instead of 

 causing any doubt of its authenticity. A similar curative 

 power was accredited to the great toe of King Pyrrhus of 

 Epirus, if we are to credit Pliny's report.* When the 

 King's body was cremated this toe would not burn, and 

 it was preserved as a temple treasure. Virgil, indeed, 

 writes of the "wonderful ivory shoulder-blade of Pelops." 

 A "gold and ivory" thigh bone of the philosopher Pythag- 

 oras was another object of reverence; this probably refers 

 to a gold setting of the ivory, just as some of the more 

 famous medieval relics were provided with a rich golden 

 setting. That the bone should be of ivory was perhaps 

 thought to indicate the supreme and almost miraculous 

 beauty of the hero's or philosopher's physical form. 



The Konigliches Naturaliencabinett in Stuttgart can 

 boast of having some of the finest remains of extinct ele- 

 phant species, for the deposits of Wlirttemberg are excep- 



*Plimi, "Historia naturalis," Lib. VII, cap. 2; cited in Petri Friderici Arpe, " De prodigiis 

 naturse," Hamburgi, 1717, pp. 19, 20. 



