CATACOMBS OF ALEXANDRIA. 



385 



of Theseus; the ground appears to have been a sky-blue; the interior 

 frieze of the Parthenon also had been painted ; for which he accounted 

 by the flatness of the sculpture, and the want of light from * above. 

 Many architectural ornaments, (Mr. Hawkins adds,) in these temples 

 and in the Propylea were painted ; for instance the cima recta of 

 the cornice of the latter, and the cieling or rather the compartments 

 of the cieling; in the Parthenon." 



In some of the excavations made near Athens, Mr. Fauvel discovered 

 the tiles or covering of tombs painted with ornaments. II y en a 

 de peintes avec de beaux ornemens, comme t toient aussi celles en 

 marbre des grands temples, chose difficile a, faire entendre a, nos 

 architectes, qui ne veulent pas croire aux statues, et aux bas-reliefs 

 peints. Mag. Ency. Mars. 1812. Yet Euripides mentions in very 

 express terms, " the painted bas-reliefs on the pediments f ," y^x-movs h 

 aieroKn ir^oa-Q.Ki-nav tv7tovc. Vale. Diatr. c. xx. 



It might be curious (says Mr. Browne, the traveller, in speaking of 

 the paintings in Egypt), to inquire of what materials these colours 

 were composed, which have thus defied the ravages of time. X With 

 respect to the Greeks, some information may be collected from 

 the ancient writers. Yellow ochre was found in different countries ; 

 but the most esteemed was that of Attica. (Plin. lib. xxxv.) It 

 is stated by Vitruvius that in his time the mine which produced 

 this substance was no longer worked. The blues brought from the 

 mines of Egypt and Cyprus were preparations of lapis lazuli, and of 



* Millin speaking of a bas-relief brought from the frieze of the cella of the Parthenon, 

 observes, avant que ce marbre eut ete nettoye, il conservoit des traces, non seulement de 

 la couleur encaustique dont, suivant l'usage des Grecs on enduisoit la sculpture, mais encore 

 d'une veritable peinture dontquelques parties etoient couvertes. 



f Templorum fastigia dtsrovc fuisse, et cur ita fuerint dicta, docuerunt P. Leopardus 

 Emen. Poesius in CEcon. Hipp, in v. et imprimis lectu dignissima animadversione, P. 

 Scriverius in Martial. Epig. xix. — Valckenaer. 



% The blue colour of some of the painted hieroglyphics is owing to copper. M. Desco- 

 tils a observe une couleur d'unbleu tres-eclatant et vitreux sur les peintres hieroglyphiques 

 d'un monument d'Egypte; et il s'est assure que cette couleur etoit due au cuivre. — 

 Memoires de llnstit. 1808. 



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