46 THE FINE ARTS. 
adorned it on the outside with 450 statues, which doubtless had no reference 
to religion, as the use of sacred effigies was not introduced in the early 
times of Christianity. This church was afterwards burnt down; and when 
Justinian caused it to be rebuilt, there were found on one side buried in the 
rubbish more than seventy statues of Greek divinities and a few of Christian 
emperors, which statues were then set up again in different parts of the city. 
In the reign of Julian the Apostate the heathen temples were restored 
and built up again, and new statues of the gods erected. Taste was not yet 
utterly extinct; for artists were still accustomed to visit Elis for the 
purpose of copying Phidias’s statue of Jupiter Olympius. After Julian’s 
early death nothing scarcely was done for art; and Theodosius the Great 
was the first who caused a few plastic monuments to be erected. Among 
them were two columns resembling Trajan’s Column. One of them, placed 
in the Tauric Forum, bore reliefs relating to the emperor’s exploits against 
the Goths and Vandals. Bajazet caused it to be totally destroyed. The 
other column is still standing, but is so surrounded by the buildings of the 
Harem as to be inaccessible. Gentile Bellini made a drawing of it in the 
time of Mohammed I., and it was described by Menestrier. Many statues 
in short were erected to Theodosius, his wife, and his son, but just as many 
to charioteers, actors, and buffoons. 
The destructive zeal of the Christians increased with time. Not content 
with demolishing all the statues, paintings, and mosaics of mythological 
import, they also attacked other objects of art. Everything pagan was for 
the most part utterly destroyed; but if a thing was put to some use, it had 
first to be purified. Thus Harald, king of Denmark, by the advice of 
abbot Hermold of Languedoc, had two statues of Jupiter and Neptune 
melted down, to cast church vessels out of them. When materials were 
needed for building new churches and basilicas, heathen temples and even 
profane edifices were pulled down to furnish them. 
The fifth century was the most fatal of all for the remains of ancient art 
and civilization, for then the barbarian hordes invaded and laid waste the 
Roman provinces. The first were the West Goths under Alaric, who 
captured Rome in the year 409, but spared the works of art. Then followed 
in the year 487 the persecution of the Catholic Christians by Genseric the 
Arian. In the year 445, under the reign of Pope Leo I., Attila, who called 
himself the Scourge of God, invaded Italy; and in 455 Genseric set fire 
to Rome, on which occasion the palace of Sallust with all its treasures of 
art perished in the flames. The imperial palace was plundered; and a 
ship laden with bronze statues foundered on her voyage to Carthage. And 
when, in the year 476, under the reign of Pope Simplicius I., Odoacer, 
king of the Heruli, dethroned the Roman emperor Augustulus and put 
an end to the Western Empire, many other treasures of art were 
sacrificed. It is hardly necessary to say that in such times artists created 
nothing new. Al] that was then accomplished in the department of 
sculpture was confined to reliefs and a few insignificant portrait-statues. 
Especial pains were taken in adorning the graves in the catacombs ; and if 
we wish to behold the remains of art of that period, we must betake our- 
430 
