16 THE FINE ARTS. 
sides there is placed on each side of the main group a harpy carrying off a 
young girl. While these accessories are perfectly suitable and intelligible 
as sepulchral designs, the main groups seem incapable of explanation with 
reference to the native mythology and symbolism. Of colored ornament 
nothing is perceived besides the blue ground, except a little red on the peak 
of the helmet, and also on the edge of the plinth and on the throne. 
If we now cast a glance at the style of art at this period, we find that 
the forms of the body are excessively muscular, the joints and sinews 
exceedingly prominent, and the contours consequently hard and trenchant. 
This very boldness in design led to that truth to nature which has been so 
much admired in the sculptures of Avgina for instance; still the proportions 
are short and somewhat stumpy. The gestures are rather violent, although 
along with great animation there is always a certain stiffness, something 
abrupt and angular. On the other hand a great deal of delicacy is — 
exhibited in the neatly and regularly folded garments; the nicely braided, 
wire-like curling, andsymmetrically arranged hair; in the peculiar position 
of the fingers constantly observed in taking hold of sceptres or staves, 
and with female figures in holding up their dresses; in the gliding move- 
ment on the extremities of the feet; and in numerous other particularities. 
In the shape of the head there reign at this period certain fundamental 
forms, which owe their origin partly to the ancient imperfection of art and 
partly to an inelegant conception of the national features, and which became 
so firmly settled into a type as to be retained even aftera persevering study 
of nature had greatly improved the drawing of the other parts of the body. 
To this belong (pl. 1, jig. 5) the far retreating forehead, the peaked nose, 
the mouth drawn in with the corners elevated, the flat elongated eyes, the 
angular chin, the lank cheeks, and the ears placed very high. 
Of the statues of wood of this period nothing has come down to us; and 
of the works in bronze, with the exception of analogous works in Etruria, 
only a very ancient stiff bronze figure has been preserved. On the other 
hand, besides the above mentioned sculptures, there exist a few others 
which belong to this period. Prominent among these is the statue of 
Athene in the Dresden collection of antiquities, on whose peplus the 
Battle of the Giants is represented in relief. There are also a number of 
reliefs of this period distributed through various museums. Of these we 
will mention here only the Theft of the Tripod, which was a favorite subject. 
In Dresden there is a three-footed stand for a tripod, one side of which we 
have copied in pl. 3, fig. 11. Here the tripod, which on one side of the 
stand Hercules is represented as stealing and Apollo endeavoring to prevent 
the theft, has been brought back to the temple and set upon the altar; a 
priestess is decking it with sacred fillets, and a priest as Neocorus (temple- 
servant) stands by, holding a broom, the sign of his office. The third side 
represents the preparation of the altar for giving responses, by a priestess 
and a priest or soothsayer. To this period also belong the altar of the 
twelve gods now in Paris, and the decoration for a fountain preserved in 
the Capitoline Museum. We have copied a portion of it (pl. 3, Jig. 10), 
on which Vulcan, Neptune, Mercury, and Vesta are represented with their 
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