1890.] Archeology and Ethnology. 1093 
period had come to an end long before. The wide diffusion of the 
custom of hetairism could prove by itself alone that the Vedic hymns, 
in which it is mentioned, are ofa relatively late period. 
Though the volume is mainly addressed to critical and philological 
specialists, many points in Pischel’s remarks will be of use to every one 
interested in literary history,—the following for instance : 
No one, says he, should start out upon Vedic studies before having 
laid a firm foundation for these by the perusal of the classical master- 
pieces, and for a better understanding of the Veda even Pali and 
Prakrit are indispensable. Mythologic comparisons taken from non- 
Aryan or from other Aryan nations are of very limited use, on account 
of the difference in time, manners, and ideas. They are likely to 
lead to very erroneous conclusions. The old Aryan religion, repre- 
senting powers of nature and centering in Varuna, was on the wane in 
the Rigveda period ; Sürya, Parjänya, are still in vogue, but a new 
and purely national religion, with Indra as its central figure, was just 
coming into ascendency, and even then was more popular, because 
more thoroughly national and Hindooic, than the Varuna deities. 
Therefore we cannot expect to find in every god, myth, or folk-tale in 
the Rigveda a reminiscence of some Aryan god or idea, but have to 
compare as well the myths of modern India for their Indra folk-lore. 
Here the natural powers have given way entirely to human feelings 
and popular humor. The Agni and Soma hymns, with their stiff, mys- 
tic, formal, and priestly poetry, are generally superseded by the Indra 
hymns, with their lively imagination and humoristic vein.—A. S. G. 
Schliemann’s Ilion.—Those who suppose that the modern Tro- 
jan war—that is, the fiery contest between Schliemann and Captain 
Boetticher—has come to an end are entirely mistaken. Hector- 
Schliemann is defending his Pergamos as valiantly as ever, though 
Achilles-Boetticher is invoking all the help he can get from the gods to 
storm the citadel, In 1889 Schliemann invited Boetticher, with 
Virchow, Dérpfeld, and other competent men to visit the place person- 
ally, and the ruins were viewed on the spot. The report made on 
'Schliemann’s side claimed that at the time all difficulties had been 
settled, for Boetticher had declared that mistakes had been made on 
his part. Boetticher claims that the ruins, with the seven “cities” 
Boetticher believes that the huge pithoi or vats of pottery, often twelve 
feet high, were used for slow cremation of whole bodies of persons. 
