\
" SANTA BARBARA "
>| L
r
J^
LIBRARY
THE UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA
SANTA BARBARA
/
o OF CAUFOR
\
PRESENTED BY
NICHOLAS DUMAS
W-* I K
3f\
AllSaaAINO 3H1 o.
±i
c^f^
o VINdOdnVD JO o
»
/
° SANTA BARBARA °
\
V»V9!)V8 VINVS
Sft
AIIS)13AlNn 3Hi o
\
o OF CALIFORNIA o
\ava8ii 3Hi o
/
THE UNIVERSITY o
/
as
THE UNIVERSITY o
o VSVfl))V9 VINVS o
\
o OF CALIFORNIA
SANTA BARBARA °
o JO AKVdB
V!)V98V9 VINVS
g
5fi
AllSaaAINO 3Kl o
\
o THE LIBRARY OF o
^K
o VINHOJIIV^ JO o
«■ SANTA BARBARA °.
o OF CAIIFC
° JO AaVoBli JHi
3n
S» M 5
y
papers of llje ^rtljirolojical Institute of ^tinerita,
CLASSICAL SERIES.
II.
REPORT ON THE INVESTIGATIONS AT
ASSOS, 1882, 1883,
Part I.
By JOSEPH THACHER CLARKE.
W^\X\ an Sppentiii.
Printed at the Cost of the Boston Society of Architects.
NEW YORK:
PUBLISHED BY THE MAC.MILLAN COMPANY,
66 Fifth Avenue.
1898.
University Press :
John Wilson and Son, Cambridge, U.S.A.
ARCH.€OLOGICAL INSTITUTE OF AMERICA.
(Council, 1897-98.
Presitient.
Professor JOHN WILLIAMS WHITE, Ph.D., LL. D , Harvard
University^ of the Boston Society.
I^onorarg ^restljents.
Professor CHARLES ELIOT NORTON, Litt. D., lA^.V)., Harvard
University, of the Boston Societj*.
President SETH LOW, LL. D., Columbia University, of the New
York Society.
Utc£=^r£StliEnt0.
President DANIEL C. OILMAN, 'LL.Ti., Johns Hopkins University,
President of the Baltimore Society.
Dr. WILLIAM PEPPER, LL. D., University of Pennsylvania, Presi-
dent of the Pennsylvania Society.
Mr. martin a. RYERSON, LL.B., Chicaoo. of the Chica.s;o Society.
Hon. STEPHEN SALISBURY, A. M., LL.B., IVoreester, of the
Boston Society.
Professor THOMAS DAY SEYMOUR, LL. D., Yale University, of
the New York Society.
iStitor in Cljicf of Hjc Journal.
Professor JOHN HENRY WRIGHT, A. M., Harvard University,
of the Boston Society.
©tfjrr fRcmbcrs of tijc Council.
Mr. GEORGE A. ARMOUR, A. M . Chicago, of the Chicac:o Society.
Mr. SELDEN bacon, A.m., LL. B., 7\Vw York, of the Wisconsin
Society.
iv ARCH^OLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
Mr. DAVID L. BARTLETT, Baltimore, of the Baltimore Society.
Mr. CHARLES BUNCHER, Detroit, of the Detroit Society.
Mr. clarence H. CLARK, Philadelphia, of the Pennsylvania
Society.
Professor MARTIN L. D'OOGE, Ph. D., LL. D., University of Mich-
iga/i, President of the Detroit Society.
Professor HAROLD N. FOWLER, Ph. D., Western Reserve Uni-
versity, of the Cleveland Society.
Professor ARTHUR L. FROTH INGHAM, Jr., Ph. D., Princeton
University, of the Baltimore Society.
Mr. MALCOLM S. GREENOUGH, A. B., Cleveland, President of the
Cleveland Society.
Professor WILLIAM GARDNER HALE, LL. D., University of
Chicago, President of the Chicago Society.
Mr. CHARLES L. HUTCHINSON, LL. D., Chicago, of the Chicago
Society.
Mr. GARDINER M. LANE, A. B., Boston, of the Boston Society.
Mr. JAMES LOEB, A. B., (Treasurer,) New York, of the New
York Society.
Mrs. NICHOLAS LONGWORTH, Cincinnati, President of the Cin-
cinnati Society.
Professor ALLAN MARQUAND, Ph.D., h.U.D., Princeton Uni-
versity, of the New York Society.
Miss ELLEN F. MASON, Boston, of the Boston Society.
Professor EDWARD DELAVAN PERRY, Ph. D., Columbia Uni-
versity, President of the New York Society.
Mr. FREDERIC J. de PEYSTER, A. M., LL. B., A^eiv York, of the
New York Society.
Professor DANIEL OUINN, Ph. D., Catholic University of America,
President of the Washington Society.
Mr. EDWARD ROBINSON, A. B., Boston, of the Boston Society.
Professor MOSES STEPHEN SLAUGHTER, Ph.D., University
of JVisconsin, President of the Wisconsin Society.
Professor FITZ GERALD TISDALL, Ph. D., College of the City of
JVew York, of the New York Society.
Professor JAMES R. WHEELER, Ph. D., Cohimbia University, of
the New York Society.
Mrs. H. WHITMAN, Boston, President of the Boston Society.
Mr. CLARENCE H. YOUNG, Ph. D., (Secretary,) Columbia Uni-
versity, of the New York Society.
INTRODUCTORY NOTE.
THE Report on the Investigations made at Assos in 1881,
by the expedition sent out by the Archaeological In-
stitute in charge of Mr. Joseph Thatcher Clarke, was issued
in 1882. The investigations were still in progress, and it was
intended that so soon as possible after their completion a
final Report should be prepared and published. The work
of the expedition ended in the spring of 1883. Most of the
members of the party which had been engaged in it returned
home, and Mr. Clarke at once began the preparation of a
Report designed to give a complete and thorough account of
the unexpectedly important and interesting results of the first
American expedition for archaeological investigation in the
field of classical antiquity. Mr. Clarke's Preliminary Report
had already given evidence, not only of his high qualities as
an investigator, but also of his possession of learning ade-
quate to enable him to set forth the discoveries made by the
expedition in a manner fitted to meet the demands of modern
scholarship.
During the next two or three years a considerable part of
the work was accomplished and put into type.
The pages which now follow have been ready for publica-
tion for more than ten years. But the publication has been
delayed, greatly to the disappointment of the Institute, in
hope that the portion remaining to be written might be
completed.
By a series of calamities, for which he was in no wise per-
sonally responsible, Mr. Clarke was compelled to give up labor
vi INTRODUCTORY NOTE.
upon the Report, and to devote his whole time to other pur-
suits. From year to year he has hoped to be able to renew his
labors on the work which it was the object of his just ambi-
tion to complete, — year after year he has been disappointed.
It has finally seemed best to the Council of the Institute
to issue that portion of the Report which has been lying
ready so long, in order that the account which it contains
of the results of the expedition, although it be but partial
and imperfect, should no longer remain inaccessible. They
have come to this decision with reluctance, both on Mr.
Clarke's account and on account of the Institute. It is
matter of serious regret that a full record of the results of
the expedition should not be made by the person most com-
petent to describe the discoveries and to exhibit their impor-
tance. The Council cannot but hope that Mr. Clarke may
yet find opportunity to conclude his work.
But, unfortunate as the delay in the issue of the Report
has been, the investigations to which it relates have not lost
interest. The peculiar character of many of the buildings
at Assos, and their remarkable preservation, making possible
a complete recovery of the plan and elevation of civic struc-
tures quite unique in design and plan, give to the work
accomplished there such permanent im.portance that ten
years more or less in the date of its publication are of
comparatively small concern.
Meanwhile it is proposed to publish very shortly, under
the auspices of the Institute, a work edited by Mr. Francis H.
Bacon, the companion of Mr. Clarke in the Assos expedition,
which shall present on a large scale the plans and elevations
of the more important edifices investigated, and shall give all
those details and measurements which may be desired by the
students of ancient art, and especially by those of architecture.
The preparation of this work, in which Mr. Bacon has re-
ceived the valuable assistance of Mr. Robert Koldewey, who
also took part in the original investigations, will afford mate-
rial for a full study of the monuments of various kinds which
LETTERS. vii
specially distinguished the site of Assos, and will be a con-
tribution to classical archaeology of unusual novelty and
extent.
The letters which follow this Note explain themselves ; they
form part of the documentary record of the expedition.
C. E. NORTON.
Ffebruary, 1898.
Charles Eliot Norton, Esq.,
President of the Archczological Institute of America.
Dear Sir, — The Boston Society of Architects has charged me
with the agreeable duty of conveying to you, as President of the
American Institute of Archeology, the congratulation of the profes-
sion upon the work accompHshed by your expedition to Assos. We
desire also, through you, to thank our brethren, Messrs. Clarke and
Bacon, and the other members of the expedition, by whose skill,
energy, and fine spirit of self-denial this valuable acquisition to our
knowledge of Greek architecture has been rendered possible. The
contribution of the Boston Society of Architects to the expenses of
Mr. Clarke's first expedition in search of new evidence concerning
the Doric order was intended as an expression of its desire to know
more of the principles underlying the development of Greek archi-
tectural forms ; for to these principles, in the midst of the complica-
tions and sophistications which inevitably beset all modern works of
design, we must continually repair for correction, inspiration, and re-
freshment. The later and more fruitful expedition was the logical
continuation of the first.
These successes, therefore, are grateful to this Society, not only
because they seem in a manner to justify its first expenditure of
means, but principally because this new exposition of the Greek spirit
has proved far more complete than the most sanguine friends of the
enterprise had anticipated. It has shown us the Greek arcliitect ex-
perimenting with forms, and profuse in invention, yet always with self-
denial and a just reserve of force ; it has given us, perhaps, the best
lesson yet derived from Greek antiquity in the grouping of buildings ;
it has thrown new light upon the divine virtue of simplicity in art ; it
Vlll ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
has given us substantially the only examples of the practice of the
Greeks in domestic and civic works, and, in short, it seems to have
brought nearer to our sympathies and comprehension that spirit which
the conditions of modern architecture require as a corrective and
purifying force. We therefore anticipate with interest the moment
when the results of this expedition shall be made practically available
to the profession in the forthcoming Report, which we hope may be
as full and complete as possible, especially in respect to drawings.
This Society, in continuation of its policy of contributing to the
extent of its limited means to the advancement of architectural knowl-
edge, has authorized me to convey to you its offer to appropriate the
sum of five hundred dollars towards defraying the expenses of printing
the Report of the Expedition to Assos, and to indicate its intention
to raise such additional sum, if any, as may be needed for the pur-
pose, it being understood that the total amount is not to exceed one
thousand dollars.
Respectfully yours,
EDWARD C. CABOT, President.
Boston, March 20, 1884.
Edward C. Cabot, Esq.,
President of the Boston Society of Architects.
Dear Sir, — I have had the pleasure to-day of laying before the
Executive Committee of the Archaeological Institute of America your
letter to me of the 20th instant, and I am charged by them with the
expression of the gratification which its contents have given them,
and of their grateful acknowledgment to the Boston Society of
Architects for the substantial and timely contribution it proposes to
make toward defraying the expense of printing the second Report ot
the Expedition to Assos. The income of the Institute is so much
narrower than its opportunities for service in its field of work, that
such a contribution is especially welcome. Its chief value, however,
is in the testimony it affords of the sense of your Society of the im-
portance of the work accomplished by the expedition to Assos, of the
novel character of the acquisitions made by it in the domain of Greek
LETTERS. IX
architecture, and of the permanent worth of its results to students of
the art.
This testimony, coming from a body so eminently qualified to speak
with authority on the subject as the Society over which you preside,
and expressed by you in terms at once decisive and convincing, while
it is in the highest degree gratifying to the Institute, as a proof that
it has succeeded thus far in accomplishing one of the chief ends of
its existence, is equally stimulating to it to undertake fresh investiga-
tions upon classical soil which may make still further additions to knowl-
edge of that ancient art which remains so full of instruction and
interest to students and artists of the present time.
The Executive Committee of the Institute recognize their past debt
to the Boston Society of Architects for its contribution to the original
expedition of Messrs. Clarke and Bacon, and their further indirect
but essential obligation to it in the fact that these gentlemen were
members of the Society, — a fact which gave assurance of their char-
acter and ability. The Committee will have pleasure in transmitting
a copy of your letter to each of these gentlemen. They venture to
request you to bring the services of Mr. Robert Koldewey, of Ham-
burg, who has had charge of some of the most important investiga-
tions at Assos, to the attention of your Society, in the hope that it
may think proper, upon consideration of his part in the joint labors
on the site, to convey to him a distinct expression of its appreciation
of the excellence of his work.
The Committee desire me to state that the fact that the means for
the publication of the forthcoming Report have been provided by
your Society will be stated upon its titlepage, and your letter to me
will be printed as prefatory to the Report itself. The great mass of
material to be digested, and the large number of drawings to be pre-
pared for the Report, will probably delay its appearance for at least a
year.
1 have the honor to be, with great respect, faithfully yours,
CHARLES ELIOT NORTON,
President of the Archceological Institute of America.
Cambridge, March 25, 1884.
CONTENTS.
I.
Page
Course of the Excavations i
II.
Acropolis and Temple 40
III.
Temple Sculptures 141
IV.
Date of the Temple 292
Appendix : — Relations of Modern to Ancient Life . . 335
LIST OF CUTS AND PLATES.
Page
1. Archaic Bronze Arrow-head 44
2. Bronze Arrow-head 45
3. Iron Mattock 45
4. Plan of the Temple of Assos. — Present Condition . 57
5. Stone in Foundations of Temple, with Bed-moulds
FOR Metal Castings. — Isometric 58
6. Employment of Lifting Dog in laying the lower
Steps. — Isometric 61
7. Pry-holds and Levers employed in laying the Steps.
— Isometric 62
8. Perforation of the lower Step, Eastern Front . . 67
9. Detail of Mosaic Pavement, Southeastern Corner . 70
10. Outlines of Echinos Curves, Anta Capital, and
Hawk's-bill Moulding of Corona 81
11. Upper Surface of an Abacus 83
12. Section of the Entablature and Coffered Ceiling
OF THE PtEROMA 88
13. Fragments of inner Epistyle Beams, showing Shift-
holes AND Mason's Marks 92
14. Triglyph, Face and Side 96
15. Ends of Cornice Blocks, showing Attachments of
Derrick Tackle : A, for Looped Rope ; B, for
Iron Dog 98
16. Cornice Block, as tilted in Lifting. — Release for
Turning Grapple 99
17. Cornice Block from Southeastern Corner. — Upper
Surface and End 102
18. Rejected Cornice Block, Recut for Employme.vt i.n
Ty.vipanon Veil 109
19. Beam fro.m the Coffered Ceiling of Pteroma . . . 115
20. Beam from the Coffered Ceiling of Vestibule . . 117
21. Beam from the Coffered Ceiling of Pronaos ... 121
22. General Plan of Coffered Ceiling 123
xiv LIST OF CUTS AND PLATES.
Pace
23. Section of Pteroma 124
24. Section of Vestibule and Pronaos 124
25. Section of Vestibule Ceiling Beam, showing Lewis
Tackle 126
26. Fragment of Tile, with Ornamented Edge, from a
Course interposed between lowest Imbrices and
Corona 129
27. Antefix. — From a Photograph 130
28. Antefix Section 131
29. Corners of Imbrices, roughly cut for Jointing . . 133
30. Constructive System of Pteroma. — Isometric . . . 134
31. Fragment of Gutter. — From a Photograph . . . 135
32. Fragment of Gutter. — Section and Scale .... 135
33. Fragment of Ridge Acroterion 136
34. Fragment OF Acroterion. — Paw of Sphinx or Griffin 137
35. (Plate.) Retreating Centaurs To face 142
36. Human-legged Centaur 146
37. (Plate.) Heracles and Pholos To face 150
38. Herakles and the Centaurs of Mount Pholoe . . 165
39. Fragment of a Metope. — Hind Legs of a Centaur . 171
40. (Plate.) Heraldic Sphinxes. Western Facade.
To face 172
41. (Plate.) Heraldic Sphinxes. Eastern Facade.
To face \ 73
42. Ionic Capital, with Upright Volutes 176
43. Couching Sphinx on Sherd from Ophrynion .... 182
44. Squatting Sphinx. — Figurine from Aqkieui .... 183
45. A, Archaic Coin of Assos. — B, Bronze Head of
Griffin, found at Olympia 187
46. Coin of Assos 188
47. Coin of Assos 189
48. Mosaic Pavement from a Building South of the
Agora, showing Eagle-headed and Leopard-headed
Griffins 192
48a. Heraldic Sphinx upon engraved Seal, found at
Assos 200
49. Epistyle Relief from the Temple 210
50. The Struggle of Herakles with Triton 237
51. Epistyle Relief from the Temple 241
52. Epistyle Block above the Northernmost Interco-
lumniation of the eastern facade 250
53. Epistyle Block above the Southernmost Interco-
LUMNIATION OF THE WESTERN FaCADE 252
LIST OF CUTS AND PLATES. XV
Page
54. Epistyle Block above the Southernmost Interco-
lumniation of the eastern facade 253
55. Schematic View of the Southeastern Corner of the
Entablature. — Isometric 256
56. Epistyle Block above the Central Intercolumnia-
tion of the western facade 261
57. Epistyle Block above the Central IntercoluxMnia-
TiON of the Eastern Facade 261
58. Epistyle Block above the Second Intercolumniation
FROM THE South of the Eastern Facade .... 263
59. Epistyle Block above the Easternmost Intercolum-
niation of the Southern Side 265
60. Epistyle Block above the Second Intercolumniation
FROM the East of the Southern Side 267
61. Reconstruction of the Eastern Corner of the South-
ern Side, showing three Epistyle Blocks relating
TO the Centaurs of Mount Pholoe 268
62. Reconstruction of the Southern Half of the East-
ern Facade, showing two Epistyle Blocks relat-
ing to the Centaurs of Mount Pholoe, and the
Central Panel with the Coat of Arms of Assos . 269
63. Restoration of the Central Acroterion, the Re-
maining Fragment dotted and shaded 271
64. Epistyle Block above the Second Intercolumniation
from the North of the Western Facade .... 271
65. Epistyle Block above the Westernmost Intercolum-
niation OF THE Northern Side 273
66. Epistyle Block from the Western Group of the
Northern Side 274
(iT. Epistyle Block from the Westernmost Intercolum-
niation of the Northern Side 275
68. Epistyle Block from the Western Group of the
Northern Side 276
69. Fragment of an Epistyle Block of the Series re-
lating TO the Erymanthian Boar 277
70. Epistyle Block from the Entablature of the Cella.
above the Pronaos 278
71. Epistyle Block forming the Pendant to that shown
IN Figure 70 279
72. Metope of the Eastern Entablature occupying the
Fourth Field from the South 2S5
73. Metope showing the Coat of Arms of Assos . . . 2S5
xvi LIST OF curs AND PLATES.
Page
74. Metopf, rf.lated in Subject to the Series of the
Ekymanthian Boar 285
75. Fragment of a Metope, related in Subject to the
Series of the Centaurs of Mount Pholoe .... 286
76. Metope of uncertain Location and Subject .... 286
77. Fragmentary Metope of uncertain Location and
Subject 286
78. Plan of the Epistyle of the Temple of Assos, show-
ing IN Black the Position of the known Reliefs . 289
79. Plan of the Temple of Aigina 302
80. Plan of the Theseion at Athens 303
81. Plan of the Temple of Assos 304
82. Plan of the later Temple of Sounion 305
83. Diagrammatic Plan and Dimensions of the Temple
of Assos 320
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS.
CHAPTER I.
COURSE OF EXCAVATIONS.
IN October, 1881, the di gging of the first year at Asso s
was brought to a close by the unwelcome official inter-
ruption to which reference has been made in the First Report.^
After the retreat of the would-be commissioner, M r. Bacon an d
Mr. Diller remained upon the site with the writer, until the
beginning of December. By that time the winter had fairly
set in. The prevalent north winds were so heavy that few
of the small vessels of the country found their way to the
port of Behram, while none were ready to venture from it.
It was therefore necessary to leave the coast of the Troad in
the Myzethra, the open sail-boat belonging to the expedition,^
and the passage of the Gulf of Adramyttion was attended
with much difficulty. The little craft, being heavily laden with
chests of the specimens collected by the indefatigable geolo-
gist, shipped so much water over her low gunwale, that two
Greeks, who had been admitted as passengers, gave up bailing
in despair, and, wrapping themselves in their blankets, lay
1 Clarke (Joseph Thacher), Report on ike Investigations at Assos, 1881.
Papers of the Archaeological Institute of America, Classical Series, I., Boston,
1882, p. 44.
2 Report, p. 131.
I
2 ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
down in the wet. The Musconisi ^ and Tokmakia^ Islands
aftorded some shelter during the latter part of the voyage,
and in the harbor of Mytilene the full force of the gale was
not felt
This northern wind is one of those whose effect upon the
Lesbian capital is described by Vitruvius ^ as most deplora-
ble. What he says of it is, at least, true in December : when
the Septentrio blows, the inhabitants do not lounge about the
streets because of the biting cold. As part of the town is
built upon a neck of swampy land, and as in antiquity a canal
ran through its midst, Mytilene may not always have been so
salubrious as the description of Cicero^ and the charming
account of Longos ^ would lead us to believe. It is possible
that some unfavorable report had reached the Roman archi-
tect, which he, in his desire to exemplify the disadvantages
attending an unwise orientation of streets, has curiously
exaggerated and distorted. Still, the north-northwest wind,
coming from the interior of this famous and pleasant island,^
and the south wind, wafted across the narrow strait from the
orange groves of neighboring Chios, can hardly have occa-
sioned the coughs and distempers which Vitruvius attributed
to them.
In exceptionally rough weather the regular steamers from
Smyrna to Constantinople do not pass through the channel
between Lesbos and the mainland, but put directly out into
the open Aegean from Cape Kara Burnu.^ This being the
1 The ancient Hekatonnesoi, the islands of Apollo Hekatos.
2 Four small and uninhabited islands lying in the Channel of Mytilene, to
the southeast of Cape Argenon, the northeastern point of Lesbos.
3 Vitruvius, I. 6. i.
* Cicero de Lege Agrar., II. i6.
5 Longos, I. I.
6 " Insula nobilis et amoena." Tacitus, Aftti., VI. 3.
t The ancient Cape Melaina,
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1882. 3
case at the time, the members of the expedition took advan-
tage of the passage to Constantinople kindly offered them by
the captain of a Turkish man-of-war, then about to leave the
island.
The three winter months were spent in the preparation of
the First Report, and the drawings which it contained.
The wQik ^of archaeological investigation during the seco nd
and third years, 1882 and j88^. was carried on by Mr. Francis
Henry Bacon, Mr. Robert Koldewey, and the write r. Particu-
lar acknowledgment is due to Mr. Ko ldewey. — an architec t
of the_ Prussian government and a thoroughly trained archg e-
ologist, — who, during the first year of his stay, devoted his
services to the undertaking without remuneration. The sur-
veys and restorations made at Assos were, roughly speaking,
so divided that Mr. Baco n, besides general topographical work,
i nvestigated the Ne cropolis, the Gymnasio n, and the Greek
Br idge . M r. Koldewey was occup ie 3~wTth the Agfora and t h e
buildi ngs in its vicinity , inclu ding the S toa, Bouleuterion^_anfJL
Gree k Bath ; while the writer, besides keeping a j ^enera l
chronicle of all the results ~obtamed" by the "expedition, m ade
s pecial studi_ es_of_the fortifications o f the city, the Templfi^any*^
the Mosque upon the Acrop olis, and t heJTheat re a nd Atrium
of the lower town.
Mr, Joseph Silas Diiler, then holding a scholarship of
Harvard University, returned to the Troad in 1882 for ten
weeks, and completed his geological studies of the country.
John R. S. Sterrett, Ph. D., to whose charge the editing of
the inscriptions discovered at Assos had been confided, made,
during May and June, 1883, a careful search for epigraphical
materials upon the site, while studying also the inscribed
stones previously removed to the port. Mr. John Henry
Haynes, renewing his voluntary services, took nearly one
4 ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
hundred and fifty photographs of the antiquities discovered,
and of picturesque features of the city and its vicinity which
lent themselves to this manner of representation.
During the first three weeks of the second year the excava-
tions were under the charge of Mr. Bacon alone, the writer's
return to Assos having been delayed until the end of March
by the preparation of the First Report. Digging was recom-
menced on the 8th of March, 1882, with ten men, — a number
gradually increased during the fortnight following to twenty-
five. They w ere se t to work in the^Street of TombSjjvhere the
substructure of the larg e^ or name nted sarcophagus (No. XVI.)
was first freed from the earth. The coffer itself had been
exposed during the excavations of the preceding year,^ but
the extent and the important character of the monument had
not then become apparent. The summit of the pedestal had
been supposed to be the pavement of the street7which_was, in
r eality, 2.3 metres~Belowl t, so that more than one half of the
structure still remained^ to be excavated." TlTe^altaifwhich
adjoi ned the pedestal was found lymg directly upon the pave-
ment^while fragments of the sculptured sides of the sarcopha-
gus were deeply buried in the earth, showing that the ancient
Greek road was kept clear from debris at the time when the
sarcophagus was broken into. A further indication of the
comparatively late use of the way is the fact that the stones
at the base of the pedestal, before being covered by the earth
washed down from the upper terraces and from the city
walls, had been shattered with a heavy hammer, in order to
extract the lead with which the cramps of the steps had been
set : a vandalism hardly to be ascribed to a time before fire-
arms had come into general use. The lid of the sarcophagus
seems to have remained balanced upon the broken sides until
1 Report, p. 127, figs. 33 and 34.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1882. 5
very recently, as the enormous stone, — one of the heaviest
in Assos, — was found lying upon the surface of the earth.
A Doric column. formerly standin ^ of up on the eastern inner
cor ner of the pedestal, lay at a considerable dept h, broken in
__two__byJts_iaIL' Several of the steps adjoining the substruc-
ture of the tomb, and once leading from the paved street to
the terrace above, were still in position. Two archaic Greek
pithoi (Nos. 6 and 7), lying close to the native rock, had, at
the time of the erection of the tomb, been cut through in
digging trenches for the foundation walls of the pedestal and
for those of the terrace behind it. The Greek builders, how-
ever, evidently disturbed these archaic jars as little as possible;
the remaining bones, although covered with earth and stones,
not having been moved.
In the first_yg ar the excav ations in the Necropolis, carried
on for little more than a week, had been almost entirely
restricted to the_Jmposjng_monument^ near the_main gateway.
Few sarcophagi were buried in that vicinity after the erection
of the vaulted receiving-tombs, — the foundations of which
had necessitated the removal of all earlier remains. Hence
no discoveries of note had been made in the cemetery dur-
ing 1 88 1. The first of the one hundred and twenty-four Un-
opened sarcophagi unearthed in 1882 and 1883, were found
at the north of the large ornamented sarcophagus. The
objects in one of these monolithic coffers (No. 2), notably
three vessels of fine transparent glass, were among the most
valuable discoveries of the kind made by the expedition.
Towards the end of March a number of trenches were
opened on the lowest — the western — side of the Necropo-
lis, and were subsequently carried across all the terraces in
a northeasterly direction. The original levels of the street,
and the position of the larger burial enclosures, were thus
determined. This digging brought to light many ostothckai,
6 ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
containing the crumbling fragments of burnt bones. These
remarkable urns, of great age, were found only within a lira-
'ited area, and always rested directly upon the native rock.
So closely together did they lie, and so delicate and fragile
was the pottery of which they were made, that it was neces-
sary to use knives for the removal of the earth around them,
after the two specimens first found had been shattered by the
heavy picks.
In the mean whil e, p laster rasts p f thnsejtemple sculptures
^hich had_ been discovered du ring the first year were rnade
by a marble worker from the island of_Tinos, Jani Laludis,
who had been w ith Dr.T^u mann at Pergamon.^ Three sets
ofltTTese casts were prepared, and forwarded respectively to the
w Boston Museimi of Fine Arts, the Louvre, and the Museum of
' ' Berlin. But a s the only plaster to _be_p rocured was _ofJniJ£Dor
qu ality, and the inadequ^ f appHanrps Rt hand rnnld not- pje-
vpn t^ the warping of thfr* Huft moulds , the results were far
from satisfactory. This is the more to be regretted, as it^
no w impossible to obtain new_ moulds from those reliefs
whic h, in the official di vision, fell to the share of the Turkish
governmeot.
Several days in March v^^re^o^old_t hat w ork had to be
suspended. On the 15th of the month a storm of snow and
hail drove the workmen from the trenches, and even as late
as the 8th of April the temperature was so low that standing
water in the lowlands of the Troad was covered with ice.
The want of comfortable quarters at Behram during this
inclement season, together with the attractions of the Easter
festival upon the island of Mytilene, caused the Greek labor-
ers to desert the site in a body, and excavations could not be
recommenced until their return on the 17th of April. Dur-
1 Humann (Carl), Die Efgebnisse der Ausgi-ahmgen zii Pergatnon. GescJiichte
der Unternehmung, Berlin, i8So, p. 20.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1SS2. 7
ing this interval the surveys and measurements were dili-
gently carried on. Th e e n tire field of ruins Vas search ed
foot by foot, and the writer had the pleasure of finding the
third block of the sphinxes from the western front of the
temple, lying half buried in the earth, face downwards, upon
the slope of the Acropolis. New wheelbarrows were made
by carpenters in Molivo, and the blunted pickaxes were sharp-
ened by a gypsy blacksmith who had encamped in the neigh-
boring village of Pasha-Kieui.
After the Easter holidays so many men were engaged that
it was often found impossible to collect enough small money
to make out the weekly wages. A great part of the business
of this primitive country is carried on by barter, and all the
small coins of silver and copper obtainable from the bakhals
of Behram and the neighboring villages were not sufficient
for the needs of the expedition, — obliged on every pay-day
to disburse from one hundred to one hundred and fifty med-
jids in small sums. As the expedient of paying several men
together with a gold piece proved unsatisfactory, the example
of the parochial churches of Mytilene was followed, and a
quantity of paper money, of small denominations, was issued
by the expedition. The bits of green cardboard, signed and
stamped, were readily accepted, and circulated so widely
throughout the southern Troad that some difficulty was ex-
perienced, at the close of the work, in calling in the out-
standing amount.
When the digging was recommenced, the entire force was
employed upon the terrace before the Stoa. The temple at
the wes tern end of jLll£_3 f^^''^ wag thoroug hly examined, and
the position of the neighbQring_-Stmets_and__pav^ements deter-
mined^siiffisi£iilIy_to_^nable Mr. Kojdewey to begin his detailed
syrvey of^44ve^ Stoa-and-the adjoining buildings. The rnar-
ble pedestal of a statue with an inscription to the Emperor
8 ARCH^OLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
Constantine (II. a. d. 337-340) wasjbur
vestig ationSj lying buried beneath the debris accumulated in
the street upon the north of the temple. A new road was
made from the eastern side of the Acropolis^ to the port, and
the spliinx relief was dra.gged_down upon the sledge.
Awaiting the advance of the survey, the men were again
removed to the Necropolis, where the so-called Larichos
enclosure was thoroughly excavated. The work here re-
sulted in the discovery of numerous sarcophagi and cinerary
urns, the former containing pottery, glass, strigils, coins, and
some few ornaments of gold and silver. Together with these
were the two best preserved and most ancient skulls found at
Assos, — discoveries of far greater value to science than could
have been the richest treasures of precious metal. The one,
antedating the Persian war, was in a large pithos (No. 5) ;
the other, referable to the second century b. c, in a mono-
lithic sarcophagus (No. 32) of the Larichos enclosure. Sev-
eral inscribed stones were also unearthed. On the 22d of
April, thirteen, and on the 24th, no less than seventeen
previously unopened sarcophagi were brought to light.
TiTjjie following week excavajions were resumed upon the
Ac ropolis, whe re was found the largest of t heepistylel^efs
of the temple, — the four centaurs with horses' fore-legs! The
workmen remained upon the Acropolis until the 13th of May,
the diggin g being fu rther_re warded ^y^^^econd block of the
ce ntaur relief, the paw_ of the acroterion griffin, an important
fragment of the ornamented terra-cotta gutter of the temple,.
and_ajijnscri^tion-mnf3lJaIii°;la n invent^ ry_of the chattels of
the buildmgjtsslf.
Greek-festivals oc currin g during the first part of_May^inter-
rupted the work for several days. This opportunity was
taken by Mr. Koldewey and by the writer to make a journey
through a previously unvisited tract in the interior of the
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 18S2. g
Troad, lying between Assos and Lecton on the south, and
Alexandreia Troas and Neandreia on the north. Besides the
ruins of the three towns last mentioned, those of Sminthe,
Tragasa, and Larissa, were explored, as well as those of sev-
eral ancient villlages the names of which are not known, — j
especial attention being devoted to their bearing upon the
remains at Assos. The most important discovery was that
of the site of Polymedion, on the coast, opposite Methymna.
A month later instruments were brought to this interesting
locality, which was carefully surveyed, some digging being
necessary in order to follow the circuit of the fortifications,
and to ascertain the extent of the sacred grove which occu-
pied the summit of the Acropolis in place of the customary
temple. Eight days were devoted to these investigations at
Polymedion, the results of which will be given in a separate
publication of the Archaeological Institute.
On the 17th of May excavations w ere beguj i_ ?^i- the ^ ,^<if-
ern end of th e Agora, the foundatio ns of_ th e Bo uleulerion
bei ng laid ba re7 wh ile the stairways at the south and w est
were cleared. A mass of debris was removed from the
Greek cistern on a lower terraceTthe existence of which had
become known during~tHe first year.^ Within this sub t^-
raneanva ult were d iscovered, in a fine state of preservation,
thejmarble h ead of a heroic statue, and several additional
fragments— of thfi insrrihed_stele_£ublished as^No. 3 in the
First Report.^ The accumulated earth was found to be mixed
l yith man y sherds of water vessels of the Byzantine period,
and with the bones of domesti c an i ma ls. It was removed
through the narrow orifice by means of baskets and ropes,
and was carefully sifted in the open air.
1 Report, p. 37.
2 Report, Appendix, No. 3. Also, Sterrett (John Robert Sitlington), Tiiscrip-
tions 0/ Assos ; Archa;ological Institute of America, Boston, 1SS5, No. XXVllI.
lO ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
The Bouleuterion proved to be a construction of much in-
terest and importance. Upon its plan were discovered sev-
erajLiiiscribeiLsipne^some of which had been built into the
d iagonal w alls of a late res t oratio n. All of the men could
not be employed upon this spot, and a part of the gang was
removed to the front of the Stoa and to the terraces below its
retaining walls. The detailed examination of the long__col-
onnade, the place of assemblage before the bema, and the
ramps and steps leading to the upper town, was a work of
great_exl£lit, which thenceforthjreceived uninterrupted atten-
tion for more Jthan a year, two or three men being always
here employed to clear the pavements, stairways, pedestals,
and water-courses, and to aid in the surveys and measure-
ments, Tl^e intimate 3cquaiftta{ice^J:hus obtained with the
closflxTiirL^^^lsd group_of_ structures s urrounding the market-
place has proved to be on e of the_most important results of
thejnvestigations.
During the latter days of May and the first week of June
the greater part of the force was engaged at the theatre, the
thorough investigation of which occupied twenty men for
three weeks. The marble columns which support ed t he
st age, th e-Wal£rrWork s for cool ing anJTIraining the enclosure,
and both the vomitoria, were thus discovered, while a con-
siderable extent of the seats and jjassages of the auditorium,
and of the encircling stairs and streets outride the structure,
wPTf ; frppd _iro m earth . On the completion of this task most
of the laborers were again set to work in the Necropolis.
Only a few remained within the town, where, on the loth of
Ju ne, they had the good fortune to bring to light the longest
inscription f"un d g t A & sos^ buried be neath the pavement of
a Christian__apg£L.bui lt into the small templ e at the western
^end of the Agora.
While excavating those monumental tombs and burial en-
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASS OS, 1882. u
closures which were situated at some distance from the prin-
cipal gate, thirty unopened sarcophagi (Nos. 52 to 82) were
found. The number of cinerary urns was by this time nine-
teen ; of pithoi, seven. The coffers contained the usual
quantity of small articles ; the figurini, the coins of Assos,
and the neckband, ring, and beads of gold, belonging to this
series, all being of especial value.
Notwithstanding the heat and stifling dust of July and
August, the excavations were actively carried on, the number
of men being gradually increased to forty-one. The outfit
of the expedition did not furnish picks and wheelbarrows for
more. After the 27th of June this force was directed to the
most extensive task of the undertaking, namely, the thorough
examination of the enormous mass of earth and stones which
had accumulated beneath the terrace of the Agora, between
its retaining wall and the upper seats of the theatre. For
nearly ten weeks, until the 9th of September, the whole at-
tention of the expedition was directed to this locality, from
which much had been expected. There was, indeed, every
probability that many antique remains would be found in this
enormous heap of rubbish, where all the public records and
works of art which must once have stood upon the Agora and
in the adjoining buildings would naturally have been cast
by pillagers of the city. The experience of all previous in-
vestigators upon ancient sites had shown that considerable
deposits of antiques, especially fragments of sculpture and
inscriptions, existed in the chutes formed by the overthrow
of the smaller monuments adorning such centres of civic life.
In so far as the earth beneath the Agora of Assos had been
examined during the first year, the results had borne out this
presumption. Almost all the inscriptions published in the
first Report, among them the valuable bronze tablet with the
oath taken by the Assians on the accession of Caligula, were
12 ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
found in the ruins of Byzantine buildings, situated just below
the Bouleuterion. But, however well grounded, these expec-
tations were almost entirely disappointed, during the long
work of the second year. The movable objects discovered,
marble carvings, inscriptions, and the like, were few, — in
themselves not sufficient to repay the expense of the work.
- TrvRPJiit-'gct'irn^ re^ppri- s, on theotherJtiaiid^_thi^
eminently productive. At the east were found two rooms,
paved with exceptionally fine and early_mosaics, the one rep-
resenting the coat of arms of the_ city, tw o crouching griffins ,
t he other a y enderjjf Cupids, with Nikes and tripods at_eith^er
side^ T he monu m ental flight of s jeps leading from the street
belo w to J:h p mi d dl e of the Agora, the Heroon. a nd, above a ll,
thejiniqu e Gree k-JBath, wi th its three stories sur mounted by
a broad col onnad e, must be considered a m ong the most strik-
ing result s of the exp ^dilion.
Five of the nine weeks were devoted to this edifice. The
greater part of the cisterns, and three of the lowe r chambe rs
were thoroughly excavated. This was a work of considerable
difficulty, as the heavy sto nes of the_ ^upergtructure entirely
covered th e plan . Near the northwestern corner, on the level
of the Agora, was found the remarkable standard of roofing
tiles, but no objects of interest were brought to light within
the building itself.
On thesouth of the. adjoining street thejemains of_a_Ro-
man b Mh were discov ered. These had been too much injured
by their continued employment during Byzantine ages, and es-
pecially by the reconstruction of the chief halls as a Christian
church, to warrant the expenditure of much time and labor
in their exploration. Still, four chambers were excavated
which appeared to have been buried at an earlier epoch than
the rest. In them were found the fragments of two inscrip-
tions, dedicatmg the bath and its belongings to Julia Aphro-
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1882. 13
dite.'^and thus giving an accurate date for the construction.
The workmen highly approved of researches in this vicinity,
as they were allowed to carry off such of the large coarse
paving tiles and drain pipes as were of no value in the inves-
tigation. At the end of the day each of the Greeks went
down to the port laden with as much of this earthenware as
he could carry upon his shoulders. The tiles were used to
pave bakers' ovens ; the pipes, as gutters for roofs. When
the writer passed along the northern coast of the island of
Mytilene, some months afterwards, every village seemed to
be thus provided.
I n th e caldarium of the bath the spa ce between the sus-
pensurge ^beneath the floor, was found to be still filled w ith
fine wood ashes, which, being whirled into the air by the
high winds, covered everything in the neighborhood with a
thick white coat. It was a picturesque sight, at nightfall
after work in this locality, to see the men standing in a long
row on the large stones of the ancient mole which still pro-
ject above the water. Here they washed before their evening
meal, which, like the laborers of classic antiquity, they not
unfrequently ate in the dark.
On the 4th of September, as the funds at the disposal of
the expedition ran low, it was necessary to dismiss a great
number of the men. A week later, those remaining were
transferred to the Gymnasion and its vicinity ; but on the
1 8th, many of these had also to be sent away. During Octo-
ber only seven men were employed, chiefly in removing small
banks of earth, and in aiding the surveys and detailed meas-
urements. In an undertaking directed merely towards treas-
ure-trove, such a diminution in the number of laborers would
have been equivalent to an entire cessation of work. This
was not the case at Assos. The delay rendered it possible
for the explorers, released from the superintendence of the dig-
H
ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
ging, to carry on the investigations necessary for determining
the character of the most recent discoveries. The members
of the expedition were at no time more busily or more prof-
itably employed than during these weeks, when the results
previously obtained were collected and systematized.
Asgns_i p this resp ect present ed peculiar_difficulties. The
degree of demolition was such as to make it seem, at first
sight, that architectural investigations were here altogether
hopeless. The wall s within the c it y had everywhe re been
levelled to the present surface of the earth, and in those cases
where the buildings were_elevatediipQrL^artificia]_ terraces the
foundatiojis the mselves had be en washed away by torrents_of
winter rain. Throughout the entire city, lessjhan half a-dozefiL
c^umns vvere_stilLerect, and even these were without entabla-
tures and capitals. Notjine stone r emained in posilTon abo ve_
the^^feps of the great temp le. Retaining walls_and ramparts,
sufficiently-heavy to withstand the wanton destruction of man,
had_beejilhrowrLguL_ofjDositipn by the many^evere earth-
quakes which Assos4ias-experienced. An enormous mass of
masonry, for instance, bordering the Agora upon the south,
overhung the bath by more than half a metre ; while t he be d-
joints of_a fortificati on wall t lii£e--jnetr£S^J±djckjEQrniing part
of t he eastern enclosur ejjyerg_iifte.d^tojLn^ angle oL n^ol^less
tjiaiTi^ifteen_degrees.
The vestiges which had surv ived this terri bl e dem olitjon
were buried beneath stoaesialkft-fr&m^4Jie,up£ex jajt of the
bjJiTr[;ngc^ qnH gppprall y also beneat h some accumulationjpf
earth. This had been overgrown by dwarf oak bushes, inter-
twined with briers, and as these are the only forms of vege-
tation spared by the browsing goats and camels, they had
covered the heaps of debris with low, impenetrable thickets.
Such was the aspect of the entire site on the writer's first
visit to Assos in 1879. .
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1882. 15
The work of recovery was begun by burning the bushes.
In the dry season the tangled mass took fire readily, and the
roaring and crackling flame quickly swept away the patches
of green which covered the heaps of moss-grown ruins. The
formless rubbish was then removed, and, when the position
of the ancient walls became recognizable, trenches were dug
on either side to determine their character and extent. Every
block still retaining_^ts original sliapg, whether belonging or
not to the ed^ce^uppnjvhose plan it^ was found, was meas-
ured and drawn to a unifo rm^ scale, generally i : 20. It was
wonderful how this "o rder gave each thi ng view." While
the plan of a b uil ding could be followed by_ the^J^oundation
walls, if not by marks upon the pavement, the elevations
were recomposed . upon paper , bit by bit, froi ii_LhgJ[ragments
br ought to li.2|h tu_^ The height_gf_the columns, and conse-
quently also that of the stories in which they were employed,
b ecame evident from a comparison of the proportional dimi-
nuti on of all the drums with the diameter traced upon the "^ ^
stylobate, and with that of the necking of the capitals. The
_Kole s for dovv els__ajnd._cramps of metal provided the most
absol ute proof of contiguity; and even the position of the
sep arate stones in cour ses long overthrown c ould be deter-
mined_from the shift.,.holes which it was customary through-
out Greek antiquity to cut upon the beds beneath them. In
short, it is not too much to say that one intimately acquainted —
-with the architectural methods and details of the ancients
can reconstruct their edifices with absolute certainty through
a close study of overthrown and widely scattered stones, —
just as a naturalist, from a handful of fossil bones, can pre-
sent the image and describe the very habits of an animal
which for thousands of years has had no living represent-
ative.
The task of tracing the con nection between the architec-
C^nij
1 6 ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
UmaLjli£nibexs_was_complicated, in this case, through their
having been scattered over the entire site by later Byzantine
RnH Turkish builders. Stones o£th^ju£]3eri_storx i)f the Stoa
h ad been u^ed for the Christia n churc h on the terrace below
Q^ j the Agora; a c apital, an entab lature, and the lintel and jambs
o? a d oor from the lower town , together withj nany blo cks
from th e summit qf_ the Acropolis, had been built into the
mosgiie ; beams of the coffered ceiling of the great temple
had been employed in late structures that stood at the east of
the Bouleuterion, and at the south of the Gymnasion. The
fitting together of such disjecta membra in some cases in-
volved more than a thousand measurements. The homo-
gen eous cha racter— of -the material was the source of even
greater difficulty. Without a single exception, the buildings
of Assos, from the archaic Greek temple to the most recent
hovels of Behram village, were built of the second andesite.
Thus, while in the investigations among other ruins — for
instance, those of the neighboring Pergamon — th e color an d
gr ain o f the various lim estones were among the most readily
r ecognizab le and trustvvprthy indications, at Assos all w as
indistinguishable. To this may be added the fact tha t the
andesite, although in "general suffering but little from weather-
ing, is easily chipped and split, so that projecting mouldings
were frequently broken off altogether.
During the second and third weeks of September, the
writer profited by the presence of Mr. Diller to visit with
him a large part of the western and southern Troad, the
Theban plain to the south of Adramyttion, and the tract
between this and Kisthene known as Aphrodisias. The
route included all the coasts of the mainland bordering the
gulf. A rapid survey was made of the ruins on Qozlou-dagh,
referred to in the.first Report as Lamponeia, and a remark-
able fastness was discovered upon the very summit of Mount
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1882. I'j
Ida, enelosing a spring which rises but a few steps from the
highest peaks. These explorations, interesting alike in geo-
logical and topographical respects, were continued beyond the
head-waters of the Aisepos, to an ancient site where various
fragments of marble sculptures in relief were found, and sub-
sequently removed to Assos.
On the 26th and 27th of September, while the digging was
being carried on with but few workmen, a number of most
welcome guests were entertained at Assos : Prof. W. W.
Goodwin, of Harvard University, then on his way to Athens
as first director of the American School, Prof. R. C. Jebb, of
the University of Glasgow, Frank Calvert, Esq., and three
ladies. Professor Jebb has published an interesting account
of his journey through the Troad on this occasion, making
also some comment upon the work at Assos. ^
This opportunity may not pass without mention of the
obligations under which the expedition stands to Mr. Calvert.
His friendly assistance was given on all possible occasions,
— to the undertaking itself, as well as to every member of
the exploring party who was so fortunate as to visit the
well-known farm at Thymbra, or the hospitable house at the
Dardanelles. A familiarity with all parts of the Troad, com-
bined with exceptional interest and information in various
branches of scientific research, rendered his aid of the great-
est value. To say this is but to repeat the testimony of every
scholar of our generation who has worked in this part of
Asia^ Minor.^ _
1 Jebb (Richard Claverhouse), A Tour in the Troad. Fortnightly Review,
No. CXCVI., London, 1SS3.
2 Stark (Carl Bernhard), Jenaer Literatiirzeituns^, Jena, 1877, No. XLIV.
" Jeder der seit Jahrzehnten . . . Gelegenheit gehabt hat an den Dardancllen und
in der troischen Ebene zu weilen, kennt den Namen der Familie Calvert, und
weiss dankbar zu riihmen was bcsonders Frank Calvert durch immcr neue
Untersuchungen und durch uneigenniitzige Unterstiitzung und Bcrathungen
der Reisenden der Erforschung jener Gegend und ihrer Alterthiimer geniitzt
1 8 ARCHJEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
A ssos is SO far aside from the more freqijented highways
that visitors w ere rare. The next were two very humble
German HandwerksburscJien, brewers by trade, who were pur-
suing a somewhat devious course homeward from Smyrna.
In default of the wonted Zehrpfennige of their native villages,
they had supported themselves on the road by peddling small
packages of polishing-powder of their own manufacture. One
had walked all the way from Persia, across Asia Minor. They
were glad to work for a time in the survey, and made them-
selves exceedingly useful.
After the 6th of November, funds having been received,
the full force was again engaged, and the digging at the
Gymnasion was at last completed. Towards the close of the
month the men were divided into small gangs, and were em-
ployed upon the Agora, in the Street of Tombs, and upon
several parts of the fortifications. As it was then thought it
might be necessary to end all excavations at Assos with the
season of 1882, every exertion was made to complete the most
important investigations before the advent of that midwinter
month of Lenaion, the cold of which is as terrible to the
modern as to the ancient laborer.^ The men dug on Sun-
days, feast-days, and even on Christmas, for, great as the
superstition of the Greeks certainly is, it yields to their ambi-
tion and their love of money. It was not even found neces-
sary to increase the wages on these days, as had been done
hat." Compare also the same writer in his N'ach dent griechischat Orient,
Heidelberg, 1874.
Prof. Dr. Ascherson, director of the Botanical Museum of Prussia, says, in
his Beih-ag zur Flora des nordwestlichen Kleinasiens (Jahresbiicher des Botaui-
schen Museums, Berlin, 18S3) : "Calvert, dessen vielseitiger wissenschaftlicher
Bildung und lebhaftem Interesse Naturwissenschaften und Archaologie schon
manchen dankenswerthen Beitrag verdanken. . . ."
1 See Hesiod's fine description of the rigors of Lenaion in the Works and
Days, 504-563-
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1882. 19
by Dr. Schliemann at the neighboring Hissarlik ; ^ the Chris-
tians at Assos were unable to demand such a discrimination,
as the Mohammedans had, from the first, worked for the
usual pay on Fridays.
The orthodox Greeks had, indeed, far greater objections to
working on the many saints' days than on Sundays, always
declaring that, if they should fail in honoring him, the saint
in question would do them some evil. Their convictions in
this respect were very decided. It happened that on such a
iravijyvpa, earlier in the year, the writer was helping a num-
ber of Turkish workmen to move one of the inscribed epistyle
blocks of the Bath, when it fell upon his foot, which was so
crushed as to prevent his walking for three weeks. The
accident was regarded by the Greeks as a clear evidence
that the offended saint had interceded, not for good, but
for ill. It proved of but little moment, since, by following
a roundabout ascent, the field of ruins could be visited on
horseback.
That the greatest care was taken in laying out and super-
intending the work will be evident from the fact that, in
spite of the danger of digging in deep pits and trenches, from
the sides of which enormous beams of stone often projected, no
serious accident occurred during the three years. One Greek
laborer was knocked down by a slide of earth beneath the
retaining wall of the Agora, and, as his complaints were so
pitiful that internal injuries were feared, he was at once taken
across the strait to the village doctor of Skamnia. But he
returned in a fortnight, asking to be employed again. Even
apart from the relatively greater risk of the excavations, this
compares favorably with the general statistics of earthwork
and railroad building. The official records of France, for in-
^ Schliemann (Heinrich), //ios, City and Country of the Trojans, London,
iSSo, p. 661 ; and Troja, London, 1884, p. 11.
20 ARCH^OLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
Stance, show an average of one individual maimed in the
expenditure of each $40,000.
The Greeks were light-spirited, and even somewhat fool-
hardy, in the work ; but the Turks, while of greater strength
and bravery, were more quiet and careful. The latter were
always chosen for posts requiring especial steadiness and en-
durance, such as the tottering upper courses of the towers
and walls, and the narrow pits sunk between overthrown
blocks in order to examine the sills of the great gateways.
After the trustworthiness of Omer, the head workman of the
Turks, had become known, he was permitted to carry the
heavy and extremely delicate transit instrument from place
to place, over heaps of rocks and up steep ascents. His
strength and fineness of touch in this responsible task were
remarkable.
Notwithstanding all the efforts made to hasten the work
after the arrival of funds, it was still found impossible to bring
the investigations to an entirely satisfactory conclusion by the
end of the second season. The removal of the deep earth ac-
cumulated beneath the Agora had occupied the busiest months
of the year, and had required more time than could have been
foreseen in laying out the work. As has been explained, the
small force of men employed during September and October
had been able to accomplish but little. And yet it was the
intention of the promoters of the undertaking, as well as the
great desire of those intrusted with its execution, to leave
nothing henceforth to be done upon the site of Assos, — even
by the most careful gleaner.
Therefore, in a letter addressed to the committee of the
Archaeological Institute shortly before the suspension of the
excavations in December, 1882, it was recommended that
the work should be prosecuted during a third season, — as
long as was permitted by the irade, which had been granted
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1882. 21
in May, i88i, for a term of two years. The responsibility
of this proposal was seriously felt. It threw a great burden
upon the members of the committee, who, with limited means,
were then, in addition to the work at Assos, carrying on
extensive researches in the field of American archaeology.
The considerations upon which the recommendation was
founded were, however, of decisive weight. Much remained
to be freed from earth before the investigations could be
regarded as absolutely thorough, and the recovery of the
ancient city as complete as it could be made. Upon the
Agora it was necessary to remove a mass of debris accumu-
lated between the Stoa and the Bouleuterion, south of the
great flig ht of st airs, in_ordeiL_io det grmTnpr jh e ch aractex of
the monument there existing, — which subsequently proved
to be the chief bema of the town. The ends of the reservoir,
also, and the juncture between it and the Stoa, were yet to
be examined. The unique importance of the market-place
at Assos rendered the thorough investigation of all points in
its vicinity a matter of the greatest moment. As it had al-
ready proved to be the most complete and interesting Greek
Agora known, no stone should be left unturned which could
throw further light upon the arrangement and appearance of
the buildings surrounding it. Equal in importance and
extent was the work still to be done upon the fortifications of
the city. No digging had hitherto been attempted at several
of the gates of the ancient enclosure. They were constantly
used by the Turkish inhabitants of Behram, and it was
thought advisable to defer the trouble which must arise from
any interference with these thoroughfares until towards the
close of the undertaking. At the Gymnasion, work remained
sufficient to occupy a large body of men for two or three
weeks ; the same was the case with the main street of the
city, between the great eastern gate and the Agora. The
22 ARCH^OLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
exceptionally well preserved ruins of a structure in the lower
town, called, upon the map of the first year, a Roman portico,
had not been examined at all. And, finally, the investigations
at the Necropolis were incomplete, there still remaining, at
some distance from the city walls, a mausoleum, which subse-
quently proved to be among the most interesting structures
of its kind. To this it must be added, that no photographs
fit for publication had been taken during the past summer, as
the gelatine was frilled by the great heat ; and also, that no
professional epigraphist had visited the site to examine those
inscriptions which could not be carried away at the close of
the work.
Circumstances of recent occurrence, not immediately con-
nected with the undertaking, gave exceptional emphasis to this
recommendation. The Turkish Ministry of Public Instruction
had, a short time before, annulled the existing laws con-
cerning excavations within the limits of the Ottoman Empire,
and had resolved thenceforth to grant no further permission
to excavate, and even to forbid the sale and exportation of
all antiques discovered in the Turkish dominions. It thus
appeared more than probable that the Archaeological Insti-
tute was engaged in its last, as well as its first undertaking
upon classic soil, from which the acquisition of ancient re-
mains could be hoped ; the laws of Greece having long
restricted freedom of archaeological investigation, and for-
bidden the export of antiquities. This made it especially
desirable that the explorations at Assos should be completed
with the utmost thoroughness, — even though the resources
of the Institute should be taken up for some years to come.
The recommendation was adopted by the committee, and
the requisite funds were promptly subscribed by a number of
gentlemen interested in the progress of the work. It was
soon learned by telegraph from Boston to Assos that ample
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1SS3. 23
means had been provided for the continuation of the excava-
tions during a third season.
During the first three weeks and a half of December, the
staff of men, gradually decreasing in number from twenty-
three to twelve, was employed in the Street of Tombs. But
the progress was not rapid, as many rainy days interfered
with the work, and water stood deep in the pits and trenches.
On the 26th of the month Mr. Koldewey and the writer left
the site for Athens. Digging and sledging went on for ten
days longer, under the superintendence of Mr. Bacon, after
which time the investigations were suspended. Even six
weeks before, the streets of the little village and the landing
at its port had ceased to be a place of assemblage for the
country people. The patrons of the various cafes sat in the
smoky interiors, huddled together over basins of burning
charcoal. The doors of the windowless hovels, always open
during the warm season, were now tightly closed ; within
hibernated the women and children, wrapped in the gaily
colored rugs which they had woven during the long rain-
storms of the early winter. The very dogs had hidden them-
selves away, seeking shelter in corners of the many unoccupied
houses which attest the greater extent of Behram in former
ages. To one riding into the squalid village during this bit-
terly cold season, the place seemed uninhabited, — the settle-
ment of the Turkish conquerors itself a ruin.
The writer returned to the Troad alone, on the 2Sth of
January, 1883. The beginning of the digging was delayed
for more than a week by the slowness of the Kaimaqam of
Alvadjyq in appointing a successor to the official supervisor
of the work, who was prevented by illness from resuming his
functions. The post was ultimately assigned to Hadji Chris-
tos, the Greek merchant living at the port, whose friendly
24
ARCH^OLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
service to the members of the expedition, on their first arrival
at the site, has been referred to.^
With eighteen men, all that could be brought together at
this time of the year, work was commenced at that structure
of the lower town designated upon the plan of the first Re-
port as a Roman portico. As the excavations advanced,
this proved to be the atrium of a large palace-like dwelling.
With exception of the Christian churches and the Turkish
mosque, it was the building of latest date examined at Assos ;
but it was well constructed, and, in design, proved of interest
as exemplifying the persistent retention of Hellenic forms
late into the ages of Roman rule. It furnished an additional
example of the civic architecture of the Greeks, the devel-
opment and adaptability of which is so well shown by the
monuments of Assos.
During February the work was carried forward under great
difficulties. The loth of the month was the coldest day of
the year, and a fortnight later there were long-continued
storms of hail and snow, which put a stop to all digging.
Nevertheless, it was found possible to advance the excavation
of the Atrium so rapidly as to allow a part of the gang to be
transferred to the Stoa, and to the small aediculas at the west
of that building, — thus preparing the way for the further
surveys of Mr. Koldewey, who arrived at Assos on the ist
of March. The digging at the Atrium being by that time
entirely completed, all the men, now over forty in number,
were employed in the vicinity of the market-place and among
the tombs. In both of these fields the work was richly re-
warded : at the Stoa, Hereon, and Greek Bath, by finding
inscriptions and architectural fragments which went far to-
wards solving the various problems of arrangement and con-
struction presented by these edifices ; in the Necropolis, by
1 Report, p. 20.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1883. 25
the discovery of the finest figurini, vases, and coins obtained
during the entire course of the excavations. The 24th of
March was a day of good fortune. Several sarcophagi of
great age were found, among them No. 87, containing a num-
ber of archaic figures. Six hours digging on that day resulted
in more valuable discoveries than had been made in this lo-
cality for half a year.
Mr. Bacon having returned to the site early in April, all
the workmen were, during this last month of the undertaking,
engaged in the Street of Tombs. The number of laborers
was maintained at the maximum of forty-five until the 24th
of April, when the Easter holidays caused the usual break in
the ranks of the Greeks. The minor Greek festivals were
not permitted to interfere with the work, which was prose-
cuted with the utmost diligence, all the men being employed
on Sundays whenever showers had caused any considerable
interruption during the week.
Finally, on the ist of May, the excavations were brought to
a close. Throughout the ancient city, every point which it
had seemed advisable to expose had been freed from earth, —
excepting only one small corner, about seven by five meters, at
the western end of the Stoa, beneath the ramp which ascends
to the terrace above. So closely had the work been calculated
that forty-eight hours more would have sufficed to clear this
spot. But the fear of giving the Turkish officials even the
slightest pretext for delaying the division of the objects dis-
covered, or perhaps even for refusing the grant of those to
which the promoters of the undertaking were entitled by the
terms of the agreement, prevented any removal of the earth
after the expiration of the iradc^ — although for some time
there had been no attempt whatever on the part of the
Turkish government to keep track of the movements of the
explorers. Thus it is not known, and in all probability never
26 ARCHALOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
will be known, what treasures may lie concealed beneath that
heap of debris near the entrance to the ancient market-place,
left for the last because of its comparative unimportance.
Early in the year the Turkish Ministry of Public Instruc-
tion had been formally requested to send an agent who should
make the prescribed division and allotment of the antiques
discovered by the expedition.^ The delay of a decision in
this matter for some six weeks after the close of the excava-
tions was more than compensated for by the excellence of
the official appointment. Demetrios Bey Baltazzi, a gentle-
man who has rendered many services to classical archseology
in the Levant, was named as commissioner, and, during two
visits to Assos, — from the i6th to the 2ist of June, and
from the 27th of June to the 2d of July, — effected a settle-
ment entirely just and satisfactory to both parties.
The iradc under which the excavations had been under-
taken was framed in accordance with the laws concerning
antiquities promulgated by the Porte in 1874.^ In regard to
the final division these laws determined that one third of the
objects discovered should be granted to the owner of the land
where they are found, and one third to the finder, while the
remaining third should become the property of the Turkish
government.^ At Assos the entire extent of the ancient city,
1 Article XXIX. of the Turkish laws relative to antiques, referred to in the
following note, determines that the excavators and the Ministry of Public In-
struction shall each appoint an expert to estimate the value of the indivisible
objects discovered, and to effect a division of them, — provision being made
that a third shall be called as umpire in case of disagreement.
2 The laws on antiques, promulgated Sefer 20, 1291, are given by Aristarchi
Bey, Legislatio7i Ottomane, vol. iii., troisieme division, Constantinople, 1875,
pp. 161-167.
3 " Article III. Toute antiquite non decouverte (gisant sous sol), dans
quelque endroit qu'elle se trouve, appartient au gouvernement. Quant aux
antiquites trouvdes par ceux qui effectueraient des fouilles par autorisation, un
tiers appartiendra au gouvernement, un autre tiers au trouveur et le reste
au proprietaire du terrain ou les antiquites ont ete trouvees. Si le trouveur a
INVESTIGATIONS AT AS SOS, 1883. 27
within the walls, is vakoiif} — a domain set apart for the main-
tenance of the mosques, — and hence, in so far as the point
in question is concerned, a domain of the state. Two thirds
of all the objects discovered were therefore exacted by the
Ministry of Public Instruction. The only private enclosure
where excavations had been made was the level field lying to
the west of the Street of Tombs, the site of the ancient Sta-
dion, which had been recently reclaimed and sown with wheat.
The owner of this ground had sold to the expedition, for the
sum of three Turkish pounds, the right to dig in certain parts
of the field, ceding also that portion of the antique objects
which would by law fall to his share. But the discoveries
here, apart from the important mausoleum with the barrel-
vaulted ceiling, were only some half-dozen vessels of coarse
pottery, not of sufficient value to render it advisable to enter
a protest against a general division on the terms before men-
tioned.
Attention was first devoted to the coins, — of which nearly
three thousand had been discovered. Those of gold were at
once set aside for consideration with the ornaments of pre-
cious metal. Sixty of the coins of silver and bronze were of
especial interest on account of the positions in which they
had been discovered : in sarcophagi, the ages of which were
thereby determined ; under walls and pavements, thus refer-
able to subsequent dates ; and in accumulations of Byzantine
and mediaeval debris, attesting the overthrow and desertion
of the various sites. As these coins were of greater impor-
trouve ses antiquites dans sa propriete, les deux tiers seront a lui et le reste
au gouvernement."
1 The laws governing vakoiif proi^erty are given in the Lcs^islation Otto-
mane, before quoted, vol. i., section dcuxieme, Constantinople, 1873, PP- -4^~
249. There is still no better popular explanation of this peculiar institution of
the Turks than that given by Mouradja d'Ohsson (Ignace de), Tableau ghiiral
de r Empire Othoman, Paris, 178S-1824.
28 ARCH^OLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
tance to the expedition than to the Turkish Museum, the
bulk of them was kindly granted to the investigators by
Baltazzi Bey, who chose as an equivalent one hundred and
twenty of the best preserved specimens remaining. He did
not think it worth while to sort and count the oxidized and
defaced coins, but weighed out the twenty-five pounds or more
with scales borrowed from the village bakhal, allotting alter-
nately one oke to the American, and two to the Turkish share.
This method of division was, it is true, somewhat crude ; but,
as the pieces were well mixed together, it was impossible to
complain of it as unjust. Nine hundred and eight coins thus
became the property of the expedition, two hundred and fifty-
seven of which were of numismatical interest, and had been
identified without the aid of a specialist. Among these were
no less than one hundred and twenty-two coins of Assos it-
self, many of them of silver : the finest specimens, and all the
imperial types minted by the city, being obtained in exchange
for certain coins of the Diadochi and Byzantines, of greater
intrinsic, but of less scientific value.
On the 28th of June a division was made of the temple re-
liefs. In this important matter it was more difficult to reach
a satisfactory conclusion, and it was only after much persua-
sion, and by giving up to the Porte all the fragments of
bronze sculptures discovered during the excavations, that the
expedition secured the two finest blocks of the epistyle, —
namely, the Herakles with the human-legged centaurs, and
the two heraldic sphinxes from the eastern front of the build-
ing, superior to all the others in workmanship and of better
preservation.
An especial arrangement was made in regard to the in-
scriptions. The commissioner considered the value of the
bronze tablet, with the oath of the Assians to Caligula, as
equal to twice that of all the inscribed stones together, and »
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1883. 29
could not be prevailed upon to make any allotment by which
the Porte would be obliged to relinquish this treasure. The
possession of the tablet was, indeed, greatly to be desired,
as it is one of the largest and best preserved among the few
bronze inscriptions remaining from Greek antiquity. Al-
though its patina of brilliant green and blue had been almost
entirely lost through its two years' exposure to the air in the
Turkish custom-house, where it had been placed under seal
by the first Maimouri, its appearance was still so striking
as to make it in this respect also an acquisition to be prized
in any museum of antiques. Nevertheless, it was felt that, in
the division of all the seventy-four inscriptions discovered at
Assos, those cut in stone which it was possible to remove
from the site formed, in essential value, decidedly more than
one third. In historical interest, for instance, the bronze tab-
let is certainly not equal to either the inventory of the great
temple, the dedicatory inscriptions of the Bath, or the epitaph
of Hellanikos and Arlegilla. The proposed division of the
inscriptions, by which the bronze alone was taken by the
Porte, was therefore accepted without demur.
The marble sculptures, figurini, pottery, glass, and miscel-
laneous objects were divided, class by class, by Baltazzi Bey,
each into three approximately equal lots, the choice of one
of these being allowed to the investigators. This was fair,
and indeed favorable to the choosers. It would certainly have
been much more trying if the commissioner had required the
finders to make the division, and leave to him the selection
of two of the thirds. Baltazzi Bey, however, arranged his
lots with surprising equality, so that the advantage of the
first choice was not so great as might have been expected.
He was uniformly obliging in putting into the same share
objects which in any wise belonged together, whenever this
was possible without disturbing the relative values.
30 ARCHALOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
The attention of the explorers was invariably directed
towards the acquirement, in so far as was possible in this
small fraction of the whole, of representative types, — of sci-
entific rather than material value. Thus, of the minor an-
tiques, as of the coins and reliefs, the Americans secured the
most interesting specimens, — although not quite one third
of them in number. This will become evident by a compari-
son of the objects which have been removed to America
with those remaining in the possession of the Turks. Both
will be described in detail in the subsequent pages, and the
former will be referred to according to the numbers attached
to them in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.
The division could not be otherwise than a painful task to
the explorers. Series of figurini, glass, vessels of terra-cotta,
and many minor objects illustrative of the industries of the
city during various ages, — even the trifling memorials buried
together within one grave, — had often to be separated, not-
withstanding the obliging readiness of Baltazzi Bey to comply
with our wishes. It was with sadness that two thirds of the
antiques which had been acquired by such long and hard
labor, and had come to be viewed almost with a feeling of per-
sonal attachment, through the familiarity of close study, were
given up to the unheeded corners of a Levantine museum.
It is but just that attention should be called to the fact, —
exceptional, if not unparalleled in dealings of this kind with the
Turks, — that not the smallest object, not a single coin or sherd
of pottery, was kept back from the division by the explorers.
The instructions given in this respect by the executive com-
mittee of the Archaeological Institute had been explicit, and
were carried out by their agents with scrupulous exactness.^
1 It should be stated that these instructions were in conformity to the obliga-
tions entered into by the Institute in the acceptance of the iradi ; the executive
committee being bound in honor, no less than in morals, to issue them.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1S83. 31
The only antique removed from the site during the progress
of the work — a gold coin found during the first year, and
submitted to an eminent American numismatist for deter-
mination — was returned by mail before the division, and
ultimately fell to the share of the Turks, who have it now
in possession. Only those experienced in Oriental methods
of dealing can fully understand what this means. An entirely
different procedure would have been quite in accordance with
the accepted laws of human intercourse in the Levant ; and
this being naturally taken for granted by the authorities, it
was utterly impossible to convince them that the usual pro-
testations of fair dealing were in this case literally true. A
certain license of appropriation enters into the calculations of
all Turkish business ; and, as in most instances of individual
deviation from established usages, the consciousness of abso-
lute rectitude was here purchased at the expense of great
disadvantages. In itself, this position may be regarded with
pride by those who planned, as by those who carried out, the
work ; but, as a moral lesson to the Turkish official, the fiat
justitia of the Archaeological Institute was certainly futile.
On the other hand, it is certain that some few antiques
were stolen from ,the excavations by the Greek workmen, in
spite of all precautions. The men were narrowly watched
during the work, and received, in addition to their regular
wages, gratuities for such small objects as they brought to
the explorers. The obliterated and less valuable coins were col-
lected every Saturday night, when the pay-roll was called, and
were bought in at a fixed scale of prices, — incommensurate,
it is true, to their worth for the purposes of investigation, but
still rather more than they would have fetched if sold to the
bakhalsy or to the travelling Jews, who usually carry on a
modest speculation in ancient gems, coins, and fragments
of figurini. No instance of an antique being secreted by
32 ARCHyEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
a Turkish workman was detected during the three years ;
but the Greeks were often tale-bearers, as well as petty
thieves, and exposed various acts of dishonesty on the part
of their fellows.
The lower classes of Mytilene, from which the greater
number of the Greek laborers were recruited, are notorious
throughout the East for their sharp practices, as attested by
the well-known rhyme :
Kai KaKol M.vTtXrjva'ioL,
"AAAa Xeyovv to /SpaSv
Ki aAAa kci/xvow to ra^.
Indeed, the inhabitants of this island have often been stig-
matized as among the most unprincipled of the modern,^ as
their ancestors were among the most depraved of the ancient
Greeks. Hence it could be no surprise that pilfering was
attempted, notwithstanding every incentive to fair dealing,
and that some small thefts passed without detection, despite
the strictest surveillance. Whether any of the objects taken
were of real importance cannot, of course, be known. It was
at least impossible to steal from the trenches anything which
could not have been concealed upon the person during the
day's work, and the most important investigations — those
concerning the architecture, sculpture, and epigraphy of the
ancient city — cannot have suffered in the slightest. Some
fragments of terra-cotta figurini, said to have been brought
from Assos, were in the hand of a dealer at Smyrna, in
May, 1883, and were offered for sale at an exorbitant price.
But Professor Ramsay, from whom this information is de-
rived, states that these were of little value, and certainly
1 Compare the remarks of Finlay (George), A History of Greece from its Con-
quest by the Romans to ... A. D. 1864. (New Edition.) Oxford, 1877, etc.,
vol. V. p. 60.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASS OS, 1883. 33
much inferior to the specimens which he had seen at As-
sos itself. Even should it prove — and this is a mere hy-
pothesis — that any of the better images, which have since
come into European and American collections of antiques
by way of Smyrna, were originally stolen from the excava-
tions at Assos, it will in that case also be borne in mind
that the science of archaeology is not the less, because indi-
rectly, indebted for these contributions to the promoters of
the undertaking.
The only unauthorized attempt to dig upon the site, dur-
ing the two years designated by the irad^, was made by one
of the Greek valonea merchants, in a spot where nothing
but sherds of pottery and broken terra-cotta figures could be
found : a terrace adjoining the lower fortifications, filled in
with debris during antiquity. Some few basketfuls of earth
were here removed. This should not be considered as any
intentional infringement of the rights of the expedition, but
rather as a continuation of the desultory digging which had
been carried on upon the ancient site for many years. In
this instance the objects discovered, ultimately handed over to
the expedition, were of no great value ; but before the com-
mencement of the systematic excavations the treasure-seekers
had often been more successful. In 1878 a Turk of Behram,
while digging among the ruins, discovered twelve silver spoons
of curious shape. These he carried across to the island of
Mytilene, and sold in Skamnia. An attempt was made to
find them, but they had passed from hand to hand and had
finally been melted up for the manufacture of the hideous
images of sheet silver suspended as votive offerings at the
shrines of popular Greek saints, — just as certain of the
prehistoric gold ornaments stolen from Hissarlik were trans-
formed into modern jewelry.
So firmly did the inhabitants of Behram believe an endless
3
34
ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
wealth of precious metals to be hidden among the foundations
of the ancient city, that every now and then one of the old
men of the village would come to tell the explorers how he
had seen in a dream a treasure, generally a pot of money,
buried beneath a certain spot, — offering to indicate the
locality if, when the prize was found, he might be allowed a
share.
This belief in hidden treasure was not without its ludicrous
aspects. One of the subordinate officials sent by the govern-
ment as Maimouri long entertained the most extravagant
hopes. He would jump into the trenches whenever a sar-
cophagus was unearthed, in order to seize the gold which he
confidently expected it to contain. This became troublesome
to the workmen, who could hardly be seriously reproved for
causing him the transient delight once excited by the pre-
tended discovery of a heavy and shining bowl of yellow
metal.
No damage was done by the excavations to any property,
public or private, for which the expedition could have been
held responsible according to the fifteenth and sixteenth
articles of the Turkish code. And in no case was there con-
flict or disagreement with owners of fields or sheep-folds, —
jealous as the villagers naturally were concerning any disturb-
ance of their enclosures.
By the night of the 30th of June, Baltazzi Bey had packed
up all the movable antiques which had fallen to the share of
the government, and had deposited them under seal in the
magazine of the customs official of the port.
It had been hoped that the Turks would be readily induced,
after the division, to sell the greater part of the antiquities
which had thus become their property, — more especially the
remaining blocks of the temple epistyle. The Boston Mu-
seum of Fine Arts had set aside the sum of $2,000 for this
INVESTIGATIONS AT AS SOS, 1883. 35
purpose. But it soon appeared that the Ministry of Public
Instruction, in extreme pursuance of the principles adopted
shortly before, had determined to forbid the sale of antiques
to foreigners, as well as to prohibit the exportation of all works
of ancient art from the Ottoman Empire. No proposals
relative to the purchase of the Turkish share of the objects
discovered at Assos would be entertained ; and, as the govern-
ment had exercised the option allowed by the fifth article of
the code then in force,^ and had divided all the antiques en
iiaticre, and not e7i valeur, no further claims could be made.
The sum voted by the Boston Museum of Fine Arts was there-
fore unused.
An anonymous writer in the New York Nation^ has since
urged the Archaeological Institute to undertake legal pro-
ceedings against the Turkish Ministry of Public Instruction,
on the ground that, as he asserts, the law of 1874 "enacts
that indivisible sculptures shall not be divided, but valued
and given up to the finder in exchange for their estimated
value." Unfortunately, there is nothing in the law in question
to bear out this assertion. The finders were by no means
thus favored with the certainty of ultimate possession, the
decision as to any proposed purchase being left wholly to the
option of the government. The code of 1874 had been re-
pealed before the division was made at Assos, and the laws
at present in force, although not promulgated until February,
1884, had already been determined upon. This of course
altered nothing in regard to the terms and pri\'ilcges of the
trade ; but the commissioner had been instructed to negotiate
no sale, and to allow the exportation of no antiques excepting
those which the government was pledged to give up according
1 " Article V. La repartition des antiques se fera, selon la dcmandc du
gouvernement, en nature ou en valeur."
- The Nation, New York, Nov. 13, 1SS4.
36
ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
to the original agreement. It was in conformity with this
policy that Baltazzi Bey had made out all the lots in kind.
Even if the law of 1874 had actually contained any such
clause as that upon which the well-meaning critic in the
Nation would have based a legal claim, it would, under these
circumstances, have been impossible to persuade the Turks
that the sculptures from the epistyle of the temple were to
be considered as indivisible, — they being well aware that at
that very time a considerable part of this disconnected series
of representations was in Paris.
In conformity with the thirty-second article of the code,
detailed lists of the antiques belonging to the American share
were made out and submitted to the customs officials of
Behram and of the Dardanelles, — the chief station of the
Vilayet. Export duties are levied by the Turks even upon
fragments of ancient works of art, eight per cent being as-
sessed on the assumed value, the determination of which is,
of course, in such a case, altogether arbitrary.
While awaiting a decision in this matter, and the issue of
the teskere which should permit the rem.oval of the antiques
belonging to the expedition, all the objects were packed in
wooden cases : the inscriptions and smaller stones being
wrapped in hay, the vases and figurini in a fine dried sea-
weed. The greatest care was required in preparing the glass
vessels for the long transit, as many of these had become
exceedingly fragile through the flaky oxidization of two thou-
sand years, the iridescent material being in some places al-
most as thin as paper. Indeed the side of one delicate glass
pitcher, now in Boston, was found to have fallen in from its
own weight while still in the sarcophagus, so that this
exceptionally fine specimen was excluded from the division
by the commissioner, on the ground that it could not possibly
be removed from the site. In packing things of this kind an
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 18S3. 2>7
expedient was adopted which proved entirely successful, and
may be recommended for similar cases. Fleeces of cotton
were lightly held over the object while a spray of thin muci-
lage was blown upon them through an atomizer. After this
had been allowed to dry, further layers of cotton were wrapped
about the whole, which was then wound around with thread
and dipped into thick glue. The firm shell thus formed
proved a perfect protection, especially as each ball was
packed in a separate box that it might not be exposed to
pressure. In opening, the outer layers were cut off with
shears and the innermost fleeces slightly moistened. Three
ancient skulls, which seemed so ready to crumble into dust
that even their removal from the Necropolis to the magazine
at the port was at first thought hardly possible, were also
thus prepared, and when placed in the hands of that emi-
nent specialist, Dr. Virchow of Berlin, they were in precisely
the same state as when taken from the tombs. In all the
long voyages and many transshipments between Behram and
Boston the only one of the antiques injured was a vase which
separated in the lines of an old crack.
Every article belonging to the American share being
packed, the export duties paid, and the permission to remove
the cases having been received by telegraph from the customs
officials of the Dardanelles, the writer left the site on the
14th of July, 1883. Mr. Bacon and Mr. Koldeway remained
for some time longer, in order to complete the detailed surveys
of the Necropolis and Agora.
Difficulties were subsequently raised by the Turkish offi-
cials in regard to the removal of the architectural fragments.
These consisted of a complete order from the great temple of
the Acropolis, the stump of an archaic column, and specimens
of various mouldings from the Street of Tombs, capitals from
the Stoa and Bath, and portions of the two chief mosaics of
38 ARCH^OLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
the lower town. They had not been included in the division,
but had all been left to the Americans, as Baltazzi Bey did
not consider them of sufficient value to the Imperial Museum
to warrant the expense of carrying them to Constantinople.
After the local officers of the customs had permitted the ship-
ment of the other objects, they found a pretext for interference,
and stubbornly refused to allow the removal of those blocks,
because they had not been specified in the division lists.
These stones had been admitted to be of no value to the
Turks, and their retention by the customs officials was simply
an act of obstructiveness, — an abiis de pouvoir, as the before-
mentioned writer in the Nation has justly characterized it.
The commissioner could not again be summoned to the site ;
and, in spite of the repeated efforts of the Archaeological
Institute through the American Legation at Constantinople,
nothing has since been obtained but promises from the Direc-
tor of the Imperial Museum, and from the Minister of Public
Instruction, to whom the ultimate decision is referable.
The total cost of the investigations at Assos, including
every expenditure at all connected with the undertaking, from
November, 1880, until May, 1884, was $19,121.16. Of this
sum $3,344.53 was directly spent in earth-work, — no small
proportion of the whole, in view of the remoteness of the site
from the home of the explorers, and the fact that attention
was at all times directed rather to a scientific investigation
of the monuments of the ancient city, than to a mere sifting
of great mounds of rubbish in the hope of discovering an-
tiques. The remainder was devoted to the purchase of the
household and excavating outfit, to the maintenance of the
party of explorers upon the site, to the transportation of
the chattels of the expedition and the antiques discovered
by it, to the travelling expenses and the salaries of the agents
of the Institute, and, finally, to the expensive official relations
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1883. 39
inseparably connected with all work carried on under Turkish
jurisdiction. The entire outlay, although a heavy tax upon
the resources of a newly formed society of private individuals
cannot be thought excessive, considering the extended and
complex nature of the task:
It has pleased the executive committee of the Institute to
express its entire satisfaction with the detailed accounts ren-
dered by the agents employed in this work, and to praise their
constant economy, upon the exercise of which the success of
the expedition was in great measure dependent.^
1 Used proverbially by Hesiod, IVorks and Days, 456, and quoted by Plato,
Theaitetos, XLII. 17.
2 Arch(Eological Institute of America. Fifth Annual Report of the Executive
Comtnittee, p. 26. Cambridge, 1884.
CHAPTER II.
ACROPOLIS AND TEMPLE.
THE volcan ic crater which forms the Acropolis of Assos
is one of the most striking natural features of the
Troad. Rising precipitously o n a narrow strip of land be -
twe en the _,s£a^_aiKL the river valley, it is the,highest point
between the m ountain of Qozlou-dagh (Gargara), ten kilome-
ters to the east, and the great plateau above Polymedion, an
equal distance to the west. Its topographical isolation is
hence very marked. To repeat the words of the First Re-
port : in all the wonderfully picturesque lands inhabited by
the Greeks, no site was more majestic or more be autiful than
that of Assos. The cliffs upon the seaward s ide are so steep,
that, standing on the Acropolis, one can look down into the
holds of the vessels moored in the little port beneath, — and
so high, that the summit is at times in or above the clouds.
On a morning in early spring, while drops of rain were fall-
ing at the port, the writer has climbed through a thick bank
of vapor, hanging between the Agora and the Acropolis, and
has found the sky blue overhead, and the ruins of the temple
lighted up by the first rays of the sun.
The finest views of the Acropolis are to be had from the
southeast and the southwest, a mile or more out to sea. It
was, without doubt, partly on this account that the temple
whix:Ji_cr^wnedjthe_Jheight was placed close to the southern
edge ofjthe summit. The building must have formed a land-
mark from every part of the Gulf of Adramyttion and the
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1883. 41
Strait of Mytilene ; the sailor nearing the port could grad-
ually distinguish the quiet lines of its c olumns and entab-
lature, thrown into relief by their dark shadows upon the
cjlla_wall. Thej bw, medigeval towers now surmounting the
Acropolis caQ_be distinc tly seen fro m the fortress of Molivo,
twenty kilometers away, ^1 though at^this distance the hill of
As_so^Ts^lK)t~dirfliried against the sky. But its full grandeur,*"
dependent in great measure upon its isolation, is felt when
the observer stands upon the heights separating the river
valley from the sea, — for instance, at the village of Bourgas,
upon the west-northwest, or on the road to Sonoba, to the
east of the Acropolis.
On the nort h, the slo ^peJ. s more gradual, b ut even here the
cli ffs are often twentyi^m eters high. Towards the sea, the
grade is almost one in two ; towards the river plain, it is one
in four. While, on the one side, the crater and its surround-
ing dikes have been scarped by the action of the waves, on
the other the great ravine between the two ranges has been
filled in with the detritus brought by the Satnioeis from the
heights of Ida since the close of the tertiary period, so that
the stream now flows at an elevation*bf one hundred meters
above the level of the sea.
The earliest inhabitants of the land cannot have failed to
take advantage of the protection afforded by this great natu-
ral stronghold. Geological revolutions, which in one epoch
plunged the entire range beneath the sea, had truncated the
cone of the crater. The level summit thus formed could
easily be rendered impregnable by the erection of walls at
those ^ew po ints where the foot of man could make the as-
cenL-JPoe-limited circuit could be defended by a small num-
b er of b esieged against the attacks of an army ; and yet the
enclosed area was of sufficient extent to accommodate a
considerable garrison.
42
ARCHyEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
As if to give every possible advantage, iic-^rejiaLoply
surrounded therocky— heights- with the most fertile fields,
but created ^within the very confines of the citadel, an inex-
haustible reservoir of water.^ A large cavity in the rock
which forms the northern terrace of the Acropolis retains a
provision of water until midsummer, without the slightest
effort on the part of man to increase its supply. At the
present day, when no buildings stand upon the Acropolis
from whose roofs the rainfall could be collected, — when no
furrows, even, are made along the earth to carry the winter
torrents into the well, and no care is taken to keep it unde-
filed, — the inhabitants of Behram can fetch their drinking
water from this cistern as late in the season as July.
It is not possible to say at what period this cavern was first
enlarged and rendered accessible. The masonry now remain-
ingL_uppn its__sidesj^the reyetement_Qf. the deep fissure at the
bottom, a nd th e flight of steps by which the Turkish women
descend to the water with their jars, all date from the Middle
A^es, The total width of the cistern is 6.8 m., its length 8 m.,
and its depth, measured from the floor of the eastern chamber
to the spring of the vault, 7.5 m. A_ longitudinal division
wall h as been bu ilt,, aiid^-the_ta[0-subterranean chambers thus
formed have been covered with rude barrel-vaults, the im-
posts of which are nearly on a level with the ground. These
enormous reservoirs, once filled, would contain enough water
to supply, for an entire year, the needs of a garrison of more
than six hundred men. Replenished by every rain, they must
have been capable of providing drinking water for all the
twelve or fifteen thousand inhabitants of ancient Assos, at
the time of its greatest extent.
It is plain that the walls of defence erected upon the
1 Shown on the plan of the Acropolis, given in the First Report, Plate 2, as
" Cisterns."
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1883. 43
Acropolis were in great part razed to the ground after every
successful attack. Their stones have gone to increase the
great slopes of rubbish which have accumulated at the foot of
the cliffs. Nowhere, throughout their entire extent, have the
fortifications of the town been so thoroughly demolished as
upon this height. The investigations concerning the mili-
tary architecture of ancient Assos — of which the surround-
ing walls supply so many examples in perfect preservation —
derive no materials whatever from this strongest retreat.
Only here and there are vestiges of polygonal masonry to be
seen, these generally forming low retaining walls in clefts of
the native rock. T he only courses .o J..acciiral£lV- squared
st ones in p osition are those beneath the huge tower of rubble,
erected in the Middle Ages, which, with the other mediaeval
fortifications of the Acropolis, will be described in a subse-
quent chapter. Even the latest and rudest ramparts, con-
sisting of small stones set in thick mortar, have, with few
exceptions, been levelled to the ground by the Turks, who,
of the successive inhabitants of the place, seem to be the
only ones that have done nothing to increase its defensive
strength.
Evidences of-the^Jt tacks made upon the fortress are seen
in a number of human skeletons, found buried in the rubbish
which had accumulated around the foundations of the enclos-
ing wall upon _the^ southeast. These must be the remains
of besiegers who had fallen in assault, and whose bodies,
covered with the stones and earth thrown over the brink, had
not received the rites of sepulture. Fragments of at least
three skulls were here brought to light, but the bones crum-
bled at a touch, and could not be removed from the site for
osteological study. The period at which one of these war-
riors had perished was, however, determined, with some
degree of certainty, by the character of the weapons found
44
ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
near the bones, to be that of the conquest of Assos by the
Persians in the sixth century before Christ. In the well-
defined stratum in which these remains were buried, three
bronze arrow-heads were discovered, one in particular lying
close to the skull. The arrow-heads found
at this depth were all of precisely the same
type, and of a shape exemplified by the
specimen last referred to, now preserved
in Boston (Museum, No. A, 50, Fig. i).
They resemble in every particular the
arrow-heads found by Ouseley among re-
mains referable to the age of the Achae-
menidae,^ and those picked up by Gell
upon the field of Marathon.^
■^' Bronze arrow-heads continued, it is
Archaic Bronze
Arrow-head. true, to be employed until a much later
From the Acropolis. period of antiquity. This is proved by
their presence in the tombs of Greek warriors at Kertsch,
in Southern Russia, dating from the age of Alexander the
Great,^ as well as among the remains brought to light at
Naukratis^ and in the Altis of Olympia. But the arrow-
heads in use subsequent to the Persian wars are readily to
be distinguished from such archaic ones as those found in
the lower stratum.
Specimens of a three-bladed variety were also found upon
the slopes of the Acropolis of Assos. One is now in Boston
(Museum, No. A. 49, Fig. 2). Its form illustrates the term
1 Ouseley (Sir William), Travels in various Countries of the East, more
especially Persia, London, 1S19-23, vol. ii. PL 39.
2 Gell is quoted, and the arrow-head in question is engraved in the work
referred to in the preceding note.
^ Academie de St. Petersbourg, Compte-rendu de la Com7?iission Imperiale,
St. Petersbourg, 1876, Plate II.
■* The objects in question were examined by the writer at the exhibition of
antiques from Naukratis, held in the Oxford Mansions, London, 1885.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1883.
45
rpL^'\(o-)(i<i, applied to an arrow by Homer.^ These heads of tri-
angular section seem, like the ones before
mentioned, to have been imitated from a
Persian type.^ Indeed, the Greeks ap-
pear to have derived much of their knowl-
edge of the fittings of archery from the
well-equipped bowmen who made up the
main force of an Oriental army/^ Witness
their " Parthian" and " Scythian" bows.
Among the weapons found around
the walls of the citadel are also an iron
spear-head with a long and thin blade of
fine workmanship, now much corroded
(Museum, No. M. 598, a, b), and a
heavy double-headed axe or mattock,
excellently preserved, which, notwithstanding its modern
appearance, was found in a situation and at a depth proving
Fig. 2.
Bronze Arrow-head.
From the Acropolis.
Fig. 3. Iron Mattock.
From the Acropolis.
it, at all events, to have antedated the Middle Ages
(Museum, No. M. 603, Fig. 3).
1 liiaJ, V. 393, XI. 507. Elsewhere in the Iliad the fittings of arrows are
especially referred to as of bronze (e. g. XIII. 650, 662).
- Compare the ancient Persian arrow-heads given by James P. Morier, A Scx-
ond Journey through Persia, Armenia, and Asia Minor, etc., London, iSlS.
2 Almost all the troops which formed the army of Xer.xes were armed with
the bow. Compare Herodotos, VII. 61-S0. Bronze arrow-heads of this three-
bladed kind are, however, said to be found in Greece upon every spot where
a battle is known to have been fought. See Dodwell, A Classical and Topo-
graphical Tour through Greece, London, 1S19, vol. ii. p. 160.
46 ARCHAEOLOGICAL hXSTITUTE.
Within the enclosure of the Acropolis no such arms or
implements were found, and the only human remains were
the crumbling bones of one individual, contained in a cist
neatly constructed of large tiles, which had been buried in
the deep earth at the north of the temple, 80 cm. above the
native rock.
The coins picked up in the trenches furnished specimens of
the mintage of every age, from the time when coined money
was first employed in the Troad until the advent of the Otto-
man Turks. Remarkable among these were a fine electron
of Michael VIII., Palaiologos,^ and a silver coin of the Ve-
netian Dandolo, one of the few memorials of the occupation
of Assos by the Latins after the fifth Crusade.
It appears that no buildings have ever been erected by the
Turks within the walls of the Acropolis. On the other hand,
there can be little doubt that many small dwellings and store-
houses did stand within the enclosure during the two centu-
ries which intervened between the first Seldjukian conquest
Inland the Ottoman occupation. The southern terrace of the
nA^ citadel was covered at this period by a pavement of cement,
'%\^^ which were embedded small stones and bits of pottery.
"O^^^av yhis pavement was on a level with the stylobate of the
ternple, the massive blocks of which served as the founda-
tions for a confused group of hovels and magazines. At the
nn ftbp^'^t-; ttimilar Structures of rubble _walls without mortar
were_ built directly upon the native rock ; and near the high-
est peak were discovered the lower courses of an apse, —
partof a small sanctua ry^^ such as the Byzantine Christians
erected upon many of the neighboring eminences. A.U these
str uctures w ere enclosed by rude ramparts, consisting, on the
west, almost entirely of blocks of the entablature of the
1 Compare First Report, p. 32. In the official division this coin fell to the
share of the Turks.
^
w
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1883. 47
temple, aiicl, on the souths of a long array of its capitals,
^lacgjd on J he_sides of their abaci. At the east, ample de-
fence had been provided by somewhat earlier mediaeval walls,
the stones of which were set in mortar ; and, at the north,
the precipitous cliffs rising from the lowest to the highest
terrace of the Acropolis were crowned only by a low parapet.
The e ntranx j£- to this enclo^iire^at the_westj^ was -flanked_j3y
upri£ht_b^jTls^of the inner epistyle of the temple. Alost of
the_reli£fs_discQiier€d by the expedition had been built into
t hese_walls : the lion and boar, the lion and hind, and the
entire metope, standfng at the^west, th'e^sphinxes from the
eastern front of the temple_at the east, and the Herakles and
Cen taurs at the south.
The cemetery of the Byzantine garrison was just outside
the Acropolis at the northeast. Here the bodies of the
defenders were buried in the shallow earth, without being
enclosed in coffers of any kind. A number of these graves
were opened, but in them were found no coins or weapons
by which their age could be determined. Still, we may
venture to suppose that the most recent and hasty ramparts
were erected at the beginning of the fourteenth century,
under Machrames, the last defender of the Greek town,
whose pathetic history will be recounted in a subsequent
chapter.
How _completely the tem ple had by this time been destroyed,
even the^pavement of the temenos being torn up and washed
away, became evident from the position of one of the capitals,
which was found lying with its abacus nearly half a meter
below the rise of the lower step.
— It is now impossible to determine the original plan, or even
the extent, o f the upper terrace ; but it is evident, from the
size of the boulders which have fallen upon the floor of the
1 First Report, Plan of Acropolis, Plate 2, " Gate."
48 ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
temple , that the bank of earth must have been of consider-
able height. So large were several of these stones, that the
most recent occupants of the citadel, in building upon the
plan of the edifice, did not even roll them away, but piled
up the wretched masonry of their dwellings around and
against them. It seems improbable that the upper terrace
was ever the site of any important monument, as some ves-
tiges of it would certainly have been found. It was probably
overgrown with verdure in ancient times, and served as the
peribolos of the fane. Here must have stood the inscribed
stones relating to the temple, one of which, containing an
inventory of chattels, was brought to light by the excava-
tions in the vicinity.^ The pedestal of another inscription
was also found upon the Acropolis, and, as its projecting
mouldings rendered it useless as a building stone, it can
scarcely be supposed to have been carried up the steep in
later times.
Hr — The st ylobate of the temple is fully three_ meter s lower
th an the highest point of the rock, and must consequently
have been at least so much below the level of the upper ter-
race. Fro m the se a^-tli e whol e structure was visible ; but
from the river valley, at the north, little more than the roof
could have been seen.
In view of the ample space provided by the level bed-rock
of the southern terrace, it may be conjectured that the orien-
tation of the temple, with its longitud inal axis deviating f rom
the east,- _was due to the consideration that this position of
the buijding permitted the gable of the front, as well as the
long horizontal^ lines of the s ide entablature, to be seen fropi
tk^-€hi <;f plac e s of the lo w€I^^towa, — the agora, the theatre,
and the direct ascent from the port. There can at least be
no doubt that this exceptional relation of the plan to the
^ Inscriptions of Assos, No. III.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 18S3. 49
points of the compass should be ascribed either to this inten-
tion of exhibiting the foreshortened front, or to a similar
rnotj ye-_o£ artisti ccomposition ; na_melYx- Jhe desire_ to_place
the building near the seaward brink of the Acropolis, in order
that as much as possible of the superstructure should be vis-
ible from below. Foundations considerably deeper would
have been necessary beneath the southwest corner, if the
front had faced due east, and had not been set eight and a
half meters back upon the summit.
This was, in truth, a fitting site for the te mple of the pr o-
tecting_^odd£SS, the Virgin Patroness. of the town. For the
fane was not only visible from afar, but was so placed that the
Assians, while offering sacrifices for the welfare of their state
within thesacred enclosure, could look far beyond the fortifi-
cation walls, the fertile fields of the suburbs, and the port
beneath the cliff, to the most distant approaches by land and
by sea. On one side, the view commanded the rugged paths
winding across the ranges of the interior, whence, in the evil
days preceding the establishment of the supremacy of Per-
gamon, came devastating hordes of Gauls ; on the other, the
deep blue waters of the Lesbian Straits, the great high-road
of Aeolic commerce. Even the tiny islets of the Arginousai
can be distinguished from the Acropolis of Assos ; and if, on
the day of that victory so disastrous to the best interests of
Greek culture, the horizon was not veiled by the rack of the
storm which delayed the Spartan attack, and served as an
excuse for the inhumanity of the Athenian admirals, a sharp-
sighted observer, standing on the steps of the temple, might
have followed the movements of the rival fleets, exulting over
the victory of that power with which his Demos was then
allied.
From stereobate to corona, tlje stQne.af whi£li_Lli e_ temp le
wa s built was the same as the native rock upon which it
4
50 ARCH^OLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
Stood. The only other stone employed in connection with
the edificewa s a light volcanic _tiifa, of the same geological
formation, from which were carved the gargoyles and acro-
teria of the roof. T he m os aic o f later date, in^the^ijiterior of
t he naos, formed of small cubes of_black and white marble, is
r ather to be regarded as a furnish mg, than as an integral part
o f the struct^ ure.
Before entering into a detailed consideration of the plan
and elevation of the tem pje^t wil l be vy ell to give some ac-
count of the rock of the Acropolis, the peculiarities of which
exercised a decisive influence upon the architectural style of
Assos, as well as upon the topographical character of the site,
inasmuch as this material was exclusively employed in the
construction, not only of the most ancient and most impor-
tant monument, but of almost all the other edifices of the
Greek town. Tjus__£]ime,_J±i£_.se£Qlid. ilL point of age among
th e three formations- nf-.thp kind in the Southern Tro^d. and
t he produc t of the most rec en t eruption o f_th e volc ano of
Assos, , figures in Mr. Diller's geological notes ^ as a trachyte.
His subsequent examination of thin sections of the rock,
under a microscope, has shown, however, that it is more cor-
rectly to be described as an andesite. The groundmass,
which commonly forms but a small portion of the whole, is
of a fine granular and porous structure, and of a gray or
occasionally p urplis h-gray color, the general appearance being
rendered lighter in toneby~the presence of innumerable por-
phyritic crystals of an opaque or glassy white. These crys-
tals, which at times attain a length of eight or ten millimeters,
give the stone a -su perficial r esem bian££ t o gr anite, — for
which, indeed, the formation at Assos has been taken by
nearly all the earlier visitors to the site, and even by those
who have examined the reliefs removed from Assos to the
1 The Geology of Assos, by J. S. Diller ; Appendix to the First Report.
INt^ESTIGATIONS AT AS SOS, 1SS3. 5 I
Louvre.^ This resemblance is increased by a quantity of
small crystals of mica and other iron-bearing minerals, the
alteration of which often produces small pits and stains.
In topographical and architectural respects, the most im-
portant characteristic of this andesite is the conformityol~its
cleavage to two distinctly^ marked joint planes, the one nearly
h orizo ntal, the other nearly vertical, Mr. Diller has observed
that the longer axes of the larger crystals, and in particular
1 Hunt, Leake, Richter, Prokesch von Osten, Poujoulat, Texier, and Welcker
(in the works cited in the chapter on the Archaeological History of Assos) all
term the stone a granite ; the last mentioned, in a very vivid and humorous
account of the ruins, characterizing the material as "der hassliche . . . trau-
rige, rauhe, graue Granit von Assos." The earliest traveller who has left us
any account of the site (Manuscript Journal of John Covel, 1677) speaks of the
stone as " a sort of gray marble." Among all those who visited the site previous
to the American investigations, the only ones to recognize the all-important vol-
canic character of the Acropolis, and to designate the stone as a trachyte, are
Webb, Tchihatcheff, and Purearitis. Abbot approaches the truth in calling the
formation a basalt, and in describing the walls as built of granite or trachyte.
He is followed in this respect, as in many others, by Schliemann.
It may be pardonable that travellers who could devote but few hours to the
examination of such extensive remains should thus entirely mistake the nature
of the stone of which they are built. But what can be said in excuse of the
Comte de Clarac (Musee de Sctilpture, Antique et Moderne, vol. ii. part ii.,
Paris, 1841), who, writing as the keeper of the Louvre at the time when the
Assos reliefs were removed thither, and describing the sawing asunder of the
blocks by lapidaries under his personal supervision, asserts the stone to be a
granite, — even basing upon this statement an argument in respect to the age
of the temple. This statement has been accepted by many writers upon Greek
sculpture for half a century, and, notwithstanding the fact that the reliefs have
during this period been exposed to public inspection in the most frequently
visited capital of Europe, Overbeck {Geschichte der Plastik, 2d edition, Leipzig,
1869, vol. i p. 98) says the material of these important monuments is "Gra-
nit nach den Einen, grober aschgrauer Kalkstein nach den Andern " ; while
Liibke, in his History of Sculpture, simply calls it "an ash-gray, coarse-grained
limestone."
Fully to appreciate these errors, it must be borne in mind that — while the
difference between andesite and trachyte is so slight as to render a definite
determination possible only after microscopical examination, the distinction
being based upon the percentage of certain of the constituent minerals — the
volcanic Assos stone differs fundamentally alike from a primary crystalline rock,
such as granite, and from a metamorphic rock like limestone.
52 ARCHJSOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
those of feldspar, are not only approximately parallel to one
another, but are parallel also to these joint planes. This ar-
rangement is, indeed, sufficiently marked to suggest a con-
nection between the jointing and the direction in which this
volcanic product flowed at the time of its extrusion from the
crater.
The horizontal plane divides the rock into layers, which at
times closely resemble the stratification of rocks of sedimen-
tary origin. The terraces of the Acropolis owe their exist-
ence to this peculiarity, while in like manner the upright
surfaces of the cliffs, and of the pinnacles of rock which rise
in the midst of the modern village, were determined by the
vertical cleavage. So variable is the resistance of the layers
to the disintegrating action of water, that the surface of the
cliffs is often deeply furrowed, and in building stones quarried
from this formation a series of parallel depressions is de-
veloped, resembling those of a weathered sandstone composed
of strata of different degrees of durability.
Thf infliipnrp r>f fhi<; andesi tf, npnn the architecture of an-
Ci^at^Assos is noticeable chiefly in two ways, determin£d_gn^
nAhf^ opp HanrI hy the natural cleavage planes, on the other by
/^the extrem e hardness^and grittiness of the stone.
^JThe first of these peculiarit ies affected the general design
and the constructive framework. It was possible to quarry
hug e paral lelopi pe dons j)f the material by the simplest meth-
ods of wedgmg. From this fact resulted the massiveness of
all the edifice s, the perfection of the city walls, — due also
to the comparatively early adoption of accurately squared
b locks for their escar ps, — and hence, in particular, the
frequency of monolithic sarcophagi in the Street of Tombs.
It appears very probable th at the inhabitants of Assos w ere
the first among the Greeks systematically to employ such
enormous coffers, at once re ceptacles of the bodies and mon-
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1883. 53
umen ts to_ the memory of _ihe dead. Indeed, the sarcoph-
agus seems to have received this name from the famous
flesh-devouring stone, found in the vicinity of Assos ; this
material, as will be shown in a subsequent chapter, being
used to hasten the decomposition of corpses thus elevated
above the surface of the earth. Be this as it may, monolithic
sarcophagi were of greater prominence in the cemetery of
Assos than in that of any other Greek town. The size of the
blo cks obtainable permitted t he builders of the temple to ce il
the pronaos — a space having a clear span of nearly three
meters — with beams and coffers of stone. In the lower town
the col umns o£ jhe B ouleuterion and Palace Atrium were
rn onolithic . There was thus httle need to res ort to vaulting ;
all the gates of the town were trabeate, or terminated by the
false arch ; and even subterranean passages, such as that upon
the southwest of the Agora, were covered by lintels. An in-
exhaustible supply of the stone was tobe had just outside the
walls. The ancient fortifications alone must have contained
at le ast one hund red thousand cubic meters of this material.
(3^ The second peculia rity of the and esite.jjms of influence "
chiefly in the carve d details of architectural decoration. A
series of experiments which have lately been made upon this
stone by a lapidary, under the supervision of the writer, have
shown it to be one of the most intractable materials ever
chosen for architectural purposes. While the granular and
porous structure of the groundmass gives to smaller blocks
a rough and angular fracture, the great number and variety
of crystals embedded in it make the stone excessively gritty.
To give a homely illustration, it was often remarked that Jine
da y's walking among the v olcanic rocks of the Southwestern .'V
Trngjj, or over the ruins j Tf_Assns, would wear the soles of
shoes more^than.a week's excursion among the limestone for-
mations ori the southe rn slo pe of Ida. Even with the sharp-
54 ARCHJEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
est tools, it is a difficult task to cut the andesite to exact
surfaces or to delicate forms, and without emery wheels it is
impossible to render it smooth. The£f£e£is_ofjthis_cliaracter-
isti c are evid ent alike in the choice of the architectural style,
and in the design and proportion of subordinate features. It
\vould have been altogether out of the question to adopt Ionic
forms for edifices constructed of such a material, and in no in-
stance is this more ornate style — sufficiently common on the
island of Lesbos and in the Northern Troad — known to have
been adopted at Assos. From the same cause, the primitive
stone- cutters of this temple found it necessary altogether to
omit certain features^ of the entablature, notably the trunnels
oX_the reg:ulas__ajid mutules and the terminal plinths of the
triglyphs, and to a dopt, Jn all small members, forms of greater
t hickn es s and Jesg^jprDJection than those which, at the time
of b uilding, had come_to be regarded as normal. Thus the
arrises of the shaft were blunt, the tainia and regulas exces-
sively flat ; the drip of the corona was not undercut, and its
kyma was much larger and simpler than in other examples
of the style. Similar peculiarities are to be observed in all
the edifices of Assos.
The resistance of the andesite to weathering depends
greatly upon the stratum from which it is quarried, and the
position in which it is placed. Thus, some of the stones
of the lower wall of the great eastern gate, having been
exposed to the action of percolating water for the last five
hundred years, may readily be crumbled with the finger-nail.
This softening of the andesite is plainly due to the degenera-
tion of the feldspar which enters so largely into its composi-
tion. Being unprotected by crystals of quartz, the feldspar is
hydrated by long exposure to the atmosphere, and thus trans-
formed into kaolin clay. On the other hand, those carved
stones which have been buried in dry earth, or which, remain-
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1883. 55
ing above ground, have been sheltered from the storms of
dust that among the volcanic formations near Assos exercise
the well-known action of the sand-blast, display forms nearly
as sharp and firm as they can have been when newly cut.
In regard to the temple J tseI£^Tian y of the a jrises o f th e col-
umns, and the rings of the cap itals, are still perfectly sharp.
It may even be doubted whether the outlines of the sphinxes
from the eastern front, or of the lion and hind, have been ap-
preciably blunted during the twenty-three centuries or more
which have elapsed since they received the last strokes from
the chisel of the provincial sculptor.
The following account of the arrangement and of the con-
structive details of the temple supplements and corrects the
description given in the First Report.^ So far as possible, rep-
etition will be avoided; still, the minute investigations made
during the two years subsequent to the publication of those
preliminary notes have afforded so much further information
concerning the design and execution of this monument, that
it will be necessary to touch upon several points treated in
the previous volume.
The aberration of the magnetic needle, especially noticeable
in the vicinity of the Acropolis, proved to be so great, that no
process of reversion could warrant entire dependence upon its
indications. The true pole was hence determined at the mo-
ment when the north star passed the meridian, on the night
of November 28, 1881. The angle thus obtained proved the
1 First Report, pp. S0-121. Compare the reservations which were there
made : " The following account . . . must be prefaced by a reminder that the
time has not come for a thorough and conclusive publication. It is evident
the descriptions of monuments but recently discovered, and in part still hidden
beneath the earth, will be extended, and possibly corrected as the studies
upon the site advance. Indeed, many points are touched upon in this report
only to indicate the direction and scope of the work."
56 ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
deviation of the main axis of the temple, south of east, to be
15° 14' 40".
The ri ght angles at the corn ers of the plan were laid out
by the Greek architect with an accuracy surprising even when
exa mined by modemjinstrurnents of precision. A deviation
of but six minutes could be detected, the corners of the
northeast and southwest being this much too small. This
deviation in the length of _the temple stylobate amounts to
an error of_only 54 mm., or about two inches, in the length of
one hundred feet.
The foundations of the walls and columns were, without
exception, placed directly upon the native rock, which was not
more than half a meter beneatb the pavement of the naos, and
at its greatest depth, not more than 1.15 m. beneath the lowest
step. At the point last mentioned, namely, the southwest
corner of the building, a mass ive substructure was provided
b y four cours es of squared stones, measioring respectively
35, 30, 25, and 25 cm. ia_thkkne§s^ each- of . vyh jch proje cted
ab out 3 cm. bey ond that resting upon it. Elsewhere the
long blocks forming the first step were placed directly on
the rock, a level bed being cut to receive them. This was
the case along the greater extent of the northern and west-
ern sides ; indeed, throughout exactly one half of its length,
tl;e juncture^etvveen the pavement of the temenos and the
stepsof U]iejte_mple was_a_juncture between the tooled surface
o f the native rock and accurately squared blocks quarried
froiji--k: ~
The plan of the building, in its present condition (Fig. 4),
exhibits some points which were omitted from the drawing of
the floor published as Plate 7 in the First Report ; — notably
the important pry and dog ho les, the_re. mains oLthe-^on-
crete foundation of the mosaic exteriding beyond the cubes
o f colo red stone, the weathered standpoints of various bases,
■ TW»rk I Ft I i:^y[_V^I
J
..:.Li|:^..:k^.:4-.4:..4;-,sp.
L
Fig. 4. Plan ok the Temple of Assos. — Present Condition.
Y
58
ARCHJEOLOG/CAL INSTITUTE.
whj_ch_4iroba J-jljL^suppor ted votive statues or inscriptions, the
bed_lines_oLlh£Liiin£r course of the cella wall, a nd, fi nally,
the fractures of the paving slabs.
The stones of the steps vary in length from one to some-
what over three meters. In width the dimensions are more
regular, seldom being less than 0.9 or more than i.i m. In
the case of the st jlobate b locks, t he, "pp i^rjiiirfarp formkig
part of the pteroma floor, was planned to have a regular
width of I.I m., and upon the northern side, which was evi-
FiG. 5. Stone in Foundations of Temple, with Bed-moulds for Metal
Castings. — Isometric.
dently laid first, no deviation from this measurement is to be
observed. The supply of accurately quarried stones seems to
have given out, however, as the work advanced, and upon the
southern side there is much irregularity in the shapes and
sizes. Some of the inner bjocks of the lower step bear a
bordering fillet, which proves them to have been originally
intended for the outside, and to have been rejected on ac-
count of some defect. Instances of this are the fifth stone
upon the eastern, and the fifth stone upon the western side,
counting from the north.
A most interesting case of the employment ofolderjnc
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1883. 59
rials J— in default of the regularly hewn stones which had,
without doubt, been prepared in the quarry — is presented by
one of the inner blocks of the southern lower step, exp ^ed by
t he displ acement of the superposed stylobate during the ex-
cavat ioiis. In the stone in question are cut two bed-moulds
for the casting of primitive sledge-hammers or battle-axes
(Fig. 5). These moulds are in shape almost exactly alike,
but they differ in size ; the larger being 40 cm. long, and
20 cm. on the heft, the smaller being 32 cm. long. The depth,
5 cm., in both cases, must have given the full thickness of the
object ; there were no ducts by which the molten metal could
be run into the hollows, and consequently there can have been
no corresponding upper mould. The pro cess of casting must
ha ve b een of tlie rudest kind. The beds, after having been
filled, can have been covered only with a flat stone, so as to
render the upper side of the hammer-heads as even as pos-
sible ; and the newly cast implements, after having cooled,
must have been so loose in the stone that they could easily
be pried out. It was, of course, impossible to heat so large
a block in the manner usually employed by the bronze-
founders of primitive times.
A mould of the same kind, for a battle-axe of much smaller
Size, was unearthed by Dr. Schliemann at Hissarlik ; ^ others
are reported to have been found in the lacustrine settlements
of Switzerland,^ and among the prehistoric remains of Hun-
gary,3 and of Sardinia.^ There are no definite indications
1 Schliemann (Heinrich), Ilios, the City and Country of the Trojans, London,
18S0, F"ig. 601.
2 Gross (Victor), Rhnltats des Recherches dans hs Lacs dc la Suisse occideutah;
Zurich, 1876, Plate 17 ; and a later publication of the same author, Les derni^res
Trouvailles dans les Habitations Lacustres du Lac de Bienne, Porrentruv. 1870
Plate I. ^ -^
» Hampel (Joseph), Antiquith PrMstoriques de la Houi^rie, Esztercom,
1877, Plate 14.
* Crespi ( Vincenzo),.// Miisco d' Antichit^ di Cagliari, Cagliari, without date.
6o ARCHMOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
to prove the age of the mould thus curiously preserved
among the foundation stones of the temple of Assos ; but
the fact that the block, although regarded as unfit for its
original use at the time of the Persian wars, was never-
theless thus ready at the builder's hand, gives some ground
for the belief that it had been employed by the primitive
Greeks themselves, rather than by any prehistoric race. If
this supposition be deemed inadmissible, it must be assumed
that the squared stone containing the moulds had been
found by the Greeks of the fifth century before Christ,
while digging for the foundations of the temple.
It is interesting to observe, that, although the block was
enclosed upon all sides, (not even its outer edge having been
used as a step,) the hollows were accurately filled in with
pieces of stone cut tothe exact^^ape of the objects once
cast, — in the true antique spirit of admitting no imperfect
member in the construction of the sacred edifice.
The stylobate blocks were invariably so t ooled that the
lateral surf ace_of juncture did not comprise the entire side
of the stone, but was restricted to narrow bands adjoining
the edges. To effect this, a slightly depressed middle field
was cut upon the end of the block with a brush hammer,
this rougher plane being bordered by fillets, varying ia
width from five to ten centimeters, which were tried and
smoothed until an accurate joint was obtained. This emi-
nently rational method of jointing was universally, and in
every age, employed by the architects of Greece. As we
learn from the celebrated inscription of Lebadeia,^ which
relates to the stone-cutting and laying of a like pteroma
1 First published by Koumanoudes (Stephen A.) in the 'AO-hvaiou, vol. iv.
(Athens, 1876); more'readily accessible in Fabricius (Ernestus), De Arckttec-
tura Graeca Comvientatioiies Epi.^raphicae, Berolini, 1S81 ; and in Choisy (Au-
guste), Etudes Epis^raphiqiies siir V Architecture Grecqne, Paris, 1884. All the
details of the stone-work of Greek pavements are fully described in this most
INVESTIGATIONS AT AS SOS, 1883.
6i
pavement, joints thus cut were designated by the term
anathyrosis, — evidently on account of a fanciful resemblance
of the central field to a door-opening, framed by its lintel
Fig. 6.
Employment of Lifting Dog in laying the lower Steps.
Isometric.
and jambs. Surfaces of contact thus tooled may be seen in
the illustrations of the step construction (Figs. 6 and 7), and
in those showing blocks of the inner epistyle (Fig. 13) and
corona (Fig. 15). The last touch was given by grinding the
interesting antique specification, from the dimensions and forms of the stones,
the tools for cutting them, and the rulers and reddle for testing the accuracy
of their surfaces, to the methods of casting the metallic cramps and washing
the joints with a solution of nitre. The verb avaQvpovv occurs in lines 121
and 142 of the inscription.
62
ARCHJEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
fillets with a flat stone, or by cutting into the joints with a
sand-saw.^ The process of adjustment was the more easy,
as the face of the stone which it was necessary thus to re-
FiG. 7. Pry-holes and Levers employed in laying the Steps.
Isometric.
move had been greatly decreased in extent by the sinking
of the middle field. Notwithstanding the coarseness of the
material used at Assos, it was possible by these means to
1 In the Lebadeia inscription the terms employed for these processes are
TpifxtMaTo\oye7y (line 162) and dno^ia) (line 125).
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 18S3. 6
o
abut the stones so closely that not even a needle can to-day
be inserted between them.
The blocks of the stylobate were lifted, and set as nearly as
possible in place, by powerful derricks. This is proved by
the presence upon the end surfaces of deep, square holes,
which were cut to receive the hooks of the tackling, and were
so placed that the stone would swing with its bed in a hori-
zontal plane. In exceptional cases, two of these holes appear
upon either side.
The case was different with the blocks of the lower step,
and of the foundations upon the same level with them. The
upper surfaces of these not being exposed to view, it was possi-
ble to chisel upon them an oblique slot, — about in the middle
of the upper edge of the stone, on that side against which the
next v^as to abut, — and through this to disengage the inner
arm of the iron dog by which the adjoining block was lifted
and set. This will be made clear by Fig. 6. Where the
stones of the stylobate, or of the pteroma pavement, are re-
moved, the greater number of those beneath them are seen to
have cut upon the upper side one of these slanting notches of
rectangular section, about 4 cm. deep, from 5 to 6 cm. broad,
and 7 to 10 cm. long. A small portion of the lateral joint
surface of the adjoining stone is hereby exposed, and across
the lower half of this is seen a sinking of sufficient depth to
receive and firmly hold one of the sharply pointed arms of the
lifting tongs employed in connection with the derrick tackle.
To the notches and sinkings cut upon the stones for this pur-
pose the name dog-holes may be given.
Although they appear to have hitherto escaped the atten-
tion of inquirers into the details of antique architecture, these
marks are of importance, inasmuch as they indicate the direc-
tion from which the process of laying the courses was carried
on. In the temple of Assos, for instance, it may thus be seen
64 ARCH/EOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
that the masons commenced work upon the northwestern
corner of the building, where the native rock was highest, and
continued from this point, in one direction along the northern
side and eastern front, in the other along the western front.
The courses met not far from the middle of the southern side,
where the last stone laid may be recognized in the eleventh
from the southeastern corner. This last stone was accu-
rately fitted in between those adjoining it, and was hence pro-
vided on both ends with sinkings to receive the claws of the
dog-iron, but with no oblique slots for their release. It is fur-
ther evident, upon the eastern front at least, that the blocks
which served as the lower step were laid earlier than the inner
ones of the same course ; this being the natural consequence
of the outer stones following an alignment determined by the
architect.
When a shifting of the blocks to their final position was
necessary, this was effected by means of a heavy crowbar, the
purchase for which was provided by cutting a groove, one or
one and a half centimeters deep, upon the upper surface of the
subjacent stone, at a distance of ten or fifteen centimeters from
the edge of the block to be moved. By the leverage thus ex-
erted, the largest stone could be slid along upon the level bed
provided by the course beneath, from the position in which it
had been set by the derrick to the closest contact with the ad-
joining block. It cannot be determined, from the marks left
upon the stone, whether the crowbar was straight, and em-
ployed with a block of wood or metal to transmit the power, or
whether it was curved, so as to exercise its pressure directly
upon the stone. The former method, shown at A in the
illustration (Fig. 7), would seem to be the more natural and
easy ; but the presence of two grooves in exceptional cases,
when the stone may have had to be moved a greater distance,
would, on the other hand, indicate the adoption of a lever of
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1883. 65
peculiar shape, such as that shown at B. An instance of two
grooves, cut for a single leverage, is to be observed upon a
stone in the foundations of the cella wall, on the western
side, and next but one to the southwest corner. See Plan,
Fig. 4.
Like the anathyrosis, the grooves cut for the purpose
of thus shifting the separate stones of a course appear
iipon the remains of Greek buildings of every province
and of every age. They may be observed upon all the
varieties of rectangular masonry which form the city walls
of Assos, and belong to periods widely remote, — to cen-
turies anterior to Alexander, and subsequent to Constan-
tine the Great. The indications of this method of prying
stones were first noticed by Dorpfeld,^ by whom they have
been termed " Stemmlocher." So far as the present writer
is aware, they have not been referred to by any English
writer upon the details of antique architecture, and the name
pry-Jioles may be proposed as the technical name of these
grooves. Their great importance to the investigator of Greek
remains will be evident from the fact that it is possible to as-
certain, from a comparison of the spacing, the position of
blocks once resting upon the course in which such marks
appear. In the temple of Assos, for instance, although the
stylobate of the eastern and western fronts has entirely dis-
appeared, it may thus be determined that the one was com-
posed oJ_suc, the other of seven stones, of greater length than
theaverage of those upon the sides ; while^ the sh ortness of
the blocks which are in like manner seen to have formed the
lower~~course of the ceTIiTwall indicates this to have begun
with a plinth of considerable height, as was the case with the
cella wall of the Parthenon.
^ Dorpfeld (Wilhelm), Untersuchimgen am Parthenon, \r\ \\\<i Mittheilungen des
deutschen archdologischin Institutes in A then, vol. vi., Athen, iSSl.
66 ARCHAEOLOGICAL LWSTITUTE.
In the case of both the steps, the joints were bordered up-
on the exposed face by fillets, averaging 5 cm. in width, and
often rising not less than 5 mm. These projections were cut
upon the tread of the lower step to within about 35 mm. of
the following riser ; and on the stylobate, when not under a
column, they were continued across the entire stone. Their
purpose was evidently to obviate, in so far as possible, the
chipping and defacement of the edges during the construc-
tion of the building. And, as was the case with the similar
makeshifts observable upon the pavements of the Propylaia
of Athens and the great temple of Paestum, their subsequent
obliteration does not seem to have been considered necessary
to the completion of the edifice.
The blocks of the stylobate, and some of the outer stones
of the lower step, and those of the foundation course be-
neath them, were bonded together by cramps of wrought
iron. These cramps, averaging 21 cm. in length, were thin
and hght, seldom exceeding 12 by 16 mm. in section. Their
ends were bent over to more than a right angle, so that,
when once set, they could not possibly be loosened from the
stone. The ends of the slots cut for cheir reception were
often curved and pointed, as shown in Fig. 6. Although
the floor of the temple was trodden under foot and exposed
to weathering for wellnigh two thousand years before being
covered by the earth, the majority of these irons are still in
position, and have suffered little from rust. On the other
hand, the lead in which they were set has been in great part
transformed into a white oxide, through the action of the car-
bonic acid of the atmosphere. One cramp, in an exception-
ally fine state of preservation, was taken from the southern
side of the stylobate, and is now in the Boston Museum
(No. M. 581). The only stylobate blocks not thus bonded to-
gether upon either end were four in the middle of the northern
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1SS3.
67
side. As these were among the first to be laid, it would ap-
pear that the precaution came to be regarded as more neces-
sary the further the work advanced. At the corners of the
plan two cramps are attached to each end of the first one or
two stones. Such a joining of the steps by bars of metal was
of course a disfigurement of the finely tooled surface of the
pavement, aiid the temple of Assos is in this respect entirely
exceptional amongthe constructions "oFThe Greeks. It is to
be remarked, howeve rt_ that th e dar k color of the stone ren-
dered the contrast between the materials less apparent than it
woiTraTrave been in the case of buildings of marble or poros.
The^TRIrdl stone upon the southern side of the stylobate,
counting from the west, was cracked in setting, and was pro-
vided upon its vertical face with a cramp
of iron of the same shape as those employed
upon the upper surface. So well did this
repair answer its purpose, that the fissure
.. 22 — ^ would not have been detected
but for the presence of the
iron.
In the case of the fifth block
of the lower step on the main
front, counting from the
north, ahole iscut through
the stone in an oblique
line, or, to si)eak more
correctly, in the arc of
a circle (Fig. 8). This hole, opening upon both the riser
and the tread at a distance of 20 cm. from the edge, is of
oval section, the axes measuring 9 and 12 cm. Its position
corresponded to the side of the column next to the central
intercolumniation. There can be little doubt that the pur-
pose of the eyelet thus carefully chiselled was to provide a
Fig. R. Perforation of the lower Step
Eastern Front.
68 ARCH^OLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
hold for the rope by which the animals intended for sacri-
fice before the fane were tethered. Holes of the same kind
were cut through the lower step of the Heraion at Olympia,^
before the columns, and the scholars who have called atten-
tion to this fact give for it this explanation.
The stylobate blocks of the front and of the rear of the
building had all been displaced, and, as but two of them could _
be found throughout the entire city, appear to have been re-
cut for building purposes, or deeply imbedded in late fortifi-
cation walls. Of the two brought to light upon the slopes
of the Acropolis, one, measuring 0.93 by 2.245 m., was from
the east, and by the aid of the shift-holes could be identified
as the third block from the north ; the other, measuring 1.15
by 1.72 m., was from the west, and adjoined the southwest
corner. On neither were the traces of the columns sufficiently
distinct to indicate the width of the front intercolumniations
more accurately than had been possible by a calculation based
on analogy.
The most careful levellings, repeated and reversed, failed to
show the slightest trace of an intentional and regular curva-
ture of the horizontals. On the contrary, the steps and floor
were found to be surprisingly even, and the displacement of
the blocks by the many earthquakes which have overthrown
the cities of this part of Asia Minor much less than might
have been expected. This immunity is to be ascribed to the
fact that the pavement of the building rested, in great part,
directly upon the native rock, without the intervention of
deep foundations.
In regard to the construction of the pteroma floor, and the
laying of the bed of chips beneath it, little need be added to
^ Die Aicsgrabtmgen zu Olympia. Vol. III. Uebersicht der Arbeitemind Finide
vom Whiter tend Friihjahr 1S77-78. Herausgegeben von E. Curtius, F. Adler,
und G. Treu. Berlin, 1879.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1883. 69
the account given in the First Report. On jnore mature con -
sideration, howev er, it appear s questionable whether the origi-
nal intention was to cover the stone pavement by a layer of
cement, as was customary in the Doric monuments of Sicily,
Th^ irregularity of the jointing in the pteroma floor of the
temple of A s.sos is not greater than that noticeable through-
out the building ; and the slight differences in level between
the upper surfaces of the inner blocks and that of the stylo-
bate, as well as the interstices next to the cella wall, now so
plainly seen, are, at least in part, to be ascribed to the settling
of those stones which did not rest immediately upon the na-
tive rock, or upon massive foundations. At Assos, as at
Lebadeia, that portion of the lower surface of the pavement
blocks which was above the bed of chips was somewhat more
roughly tooled than the band next to the outer edge and in
contact with the inner stones of the lower step ; but this dif-
ference in treatment was much less marked in the archaic
than in the later construction. At Lebadeia the stones of
the pavement were not allowed to rest upon the filling at all,
a space " not wider than a little finger " ^ intervening. At
Assos this precaution was impossible, inasmuch as no solid
bearing was provided for the inner ends of the blocks, even
in those cases where they extended across the entire width of
the pteroma.
Th e stone sill of the naos door is upon exactly the same
l evel as t he upper surface of the stylobate. Th e mosaic
pavement in the interior is 13 cm. above this, — the difference
in height havm^rwith'out' doubt, been equalized by a revetting
sill of bronze or of marble.
The pattern of the mosaic has already been described ; a
detailed drawing of the corner which remains may, however,
be given to show the shape of each small stone (Fig. 9).
1 Lebadeia Inscription, line 115.
^o
ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
Fig. 9. Detail of Mosaic Pavement, Southeastern Corner.
These__separate pieces of black and white marble, embedded
Jn-ar-tiuck layer of cement, were about 5 cm. in depth, and
were originally flushed over with a fine stucco, which com-
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASS OS, 1883. 7 1
pletely filled the joints between them. C ubes of a br ight
yellow ston e and_of a har d-burnt red brickjyere also found in
the vicinity. Their place in the composition cannot now be
determmed ; it is only certain that the narrow band which
separated the wave ornajnent-from the field of diamond pat-
tern was of one of these col ors.
The arrangement of this flooring of the naos has already
been made to^figure in the controversy carried on by the ad-
vocates of various modes of illuminating the interior of Greek
temples. It has even been held to indicate the form of the
imaginary hypaithron, or other opening in the roof for the ad-
mission of daylight. In the latest contribution to this subject,
Fergusson ^ remarks concerning the pavement of the temple
of Assos : "The ornamental part of it is 13 feet wide, and the
space between the outer face of the cella walls and the pave-
ment is between 6 feet 6 inches and 6 feet 9 inches, or as
nearly as may be the distance between the outside of the walls
and the inner lines of the cella at Bassae. From this I gather
that there were internal pillars or pilasters, which thickened
the external walls of the cella to the extent of 7 feet at least,
which could only have been done if it were wanted to support
an opaion or some contrivance for lighting the cella." To
this it must be replied, that, as was shown upon the plan of
the temple given in the First Report (Plate 7), the remains of
the mosaic itself extend so far beyond the ornamental field, on
both sides, as to preclude the possibility of pilasters or other
supports having stood where Mr. Fergusson supposes. More-
over, the layer of cement, in which the separate pieces of
marble were imbedded, remains, as was explicitly stated in the
text (p. 83), to a considerably greater extent than the pattern
shown upon the plan ; reaching quite to the inner side of the
1 Fergusson (James), T/ie Parthenon ; an Essay on the Mode by which Light
was introduced into Greek and Roman Temj>lcs, London, 1883, p. 90.
72 archalOlogical institute.
enclosing wall. That such supports as Fergusson is obliged
by his theory to assume can never have existed at Assos is
also proved beyond a doubt by the entire lack of substructures
for them. The foundations for all the masonry are invariably
placed upon the native rock ; while, as was likewise stated,
the entire area of the naos was found to be covered beneath
the ancient floor with fine earth, which is plainly the original
bedding of the pavement. In other words, it is certain that
the ceiling and roof of the naos extended from wall to wall
in a single span, and that such a clerestory as Fergusson
imagines was impossible.
The suggestion made in the First Report, that the mosaic
floor is of a period later than the building itself, was fully con-
firmed by the investigations of the second year. At several
points the filling of earthen chips beneath the cement bedding
of the mosaic was removed and sifted, and the objects taken
therefrom were compared with those which were, in like man-
ner, found immediately under the stone pavement of the
pteroma. From the latter deposit, which had remained un-
disturbed since the construction of the temple, were taken a
number of rude sherds of pottery. These were all unglazed,
several being of the lustrous, rubbed variety met with in the
two oldest " cities " of Hissarlik. On the other hand, the
majority of the sherds from under the mosaic were glazed.
Among them were fragments of a moulded vessel, repre-
senting a tragic mask, and the handle of a delicately painted
vase, evidently of the fourth century before Christ. Also a
piece of one of the original black roofing tiles of the building
itself.
A further and most fortunate discovery in this connection
even renders it possible to assign an approximate date to the
repaving of the interior. This was a bronze coin of Gargara,
struck during the first half of the fourth century before
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1883. y^
Christ, — so excellently preserved that we may suppose the
mosaic above it to have been laid within one generation, at
most, after the date of its emission. This coin is now pre-
served in the Museum of Boston (No. A. C. 64). From these
indications the restoration of the temple, which provided new
tiling for the roof as well as a new floor for the naos, seems
to have taken place at the time of the greatest political emi-
nence of Assos, — when Aristotle was living as the guest of
its ruler, the wealthy Hermeias.
The foundations of the temple are destined to a speedy
destruction, its squared stones being much in demand among
the Greek masons of the Southern Troad. But the greatest
care was taken by the explorers to remove as little as possi-
ble of the structure found still in position. The pits men-
tioned in the previous Report were dug only under those
parts of the bed of cement where the mosaic itself had been
destroyed, and only two of the paving slabs of the pteroma
were lifted for the purpose of these examinations. It was as-
certained that the cement had been cast upon a thick layer
of stone chips and large pieces of pottery ; between this and
the native rock there still remained the fine earth which must
have covered the summit of the Acropolis in prehistoric ages.
From the pteroma, as well as from the interior, several hun-
dred sherds were collected ; yet nothing was brought to light
which tended to contradict the opinion advanced by the writer
in regard to the date of the original construction.
Two dowel-holes on a block of the pavement immediately
in front of the northern door-jambs show a narrow stone of
square plan — without doubt a stele — to have occupied this
prominent position. The holes are cut with runs for a lead
casting ; these show the dimensions of the base to have been
28 by 55 cm.
A detailed description of the foundations of the cella wall
74
archj'EOLogical institute.
has been given in the First Report. The superimposed ma-
sonry was two stones thick, and it is noticeable that the bed
for the outer course was much more carefully tooled than
that for the inner, the former surface being thus sunk a few
millimeters below the latter. Pry-holes appear only beneath
the outer stones, those within not having been accurately
jointed by means of this expedient. Both of these indica-
tions make it probable that the inside of the wall was cov-
ered with stucco. On the southern side the foundations of
the wall are fully 6 cm. below the level of the stylobate.
From the width of the stone sill of the naos door, namely,
60 cm., it was at first wrongly concluded that this was also
the thickness of the division between naos and pronaos, and
of the enclosing walls of the sides. It has since been ascer-
tained that the stone in question was cut of this width in
order to provide space for the lip of the revetting sill placed
upon it, and that the jambs on either side were rebated for
the same reason. All the walls of the temple were, in fact, of
a uniform thickness of 66 cm., agreeing in this respect with
the antae. At one or two points on the northern side, the
line of juncture between the inner surface of the wall and the
foundation stones could be seen at night-time by the light of
a lamp so held as to send its rays in almost the same plane
with the tooled beds.
The masonry of the wall itself was, as before said, two
courses in thickness, the ashlars being consequently only
about 33 cm. in depth. The length of the outer stones of the
lowest course is seen, from the pry-holes upon the foundations,
to have varied between 0.6 and i.i m., averaging about 84 cm.
The walls of the temple must have been demolished at a
comparatively early period. The blocks of which they were
formed, being of a convenient size and squared on all faces,
provided a most excellent material for the Christian and I\Ios-
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASS OS, 1883. 75
lem builders upon the ruins of the ancient town. So thor-
oughly had the Acropolis been cleared of these stones, that
only four specimens were found which could be identi-
fied with certainty. They belonged to different courses, the
measurements of the exposed faces being, respectively, 0.82
by 1.58, 0.81 by 1.48, 0.79 by 1.25, and 0.76 by 0.97 m. The
thickness of each was within a few millimeters of 33 cm
The blocks were thus from three to five times as high as
thick, and often twice as high as broad. Pry-holes appeared
in all the stones, but there were no indications of dowelling or
cramping.
It is plain that a wall thus composed must have been fre-
quently bonded by headers ; but, notwithstanding this, it can
never have been really secure, in this land of earthquakes.
The mass of masonry, it is true, was not weakened by aper-
tures, was but 6.38 m. high, and was anchored to the entabla-
ture upon all sides by the stone beams of the pteroma ceiling.
On the other hand, the ratio of its thickness to its height —
namely, i : 9§ — is rather below than above the average of
that obtaining in Doric constructions, which, however large,
are in this respect seldom less than i : 10, and often as much
as I : 9. Moreover, in regard to the length of the wall be-
tween transverse supports, the height being taken as the unit,
we have at Assos a ratio of more than 2| ; whereas in the
Doric temples of Greece, Sicily, and Magna Grecia we find
the corresponding figures to be not larger than from 2 to
2h, and the strength of the structure consequently much
greater. Calculated according to the formulas in practical
use to-day, we find the stability of a wall such as that of
the temple of Assos scarcely equal to the requirements of
the case.
A renewed scrutiny of the marks of the columns upon the
weathered upper surface of the stylobate furnished some ad-
76 ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
ditional indications in regard to the position of the shafts.
The last block of the upper step upon the southern side, next
to the southeastern corner, is now displaced, but it still shows
traces of the drums which so long stood upon it. The outer
intercolumniation, thus ascertained, was found to be wider
than the average of the others upon the sides, its clear open-
ing being 1.568 m. There was undoubtedly considerable ir-
regularity in the spacing of the columns, the width of the
third opening from the southeastern corner not having ex-
ceeded 1.5 m. Otherwise those intercolumniations which
could be measured with accuracy did not deviate appreciably
from the normal width of 1.532 m., or 2.447 '^- from centre to
centre, determined by calculation.
The drums unearthed in the vicinity of the temple, during
the digging of the second and third years, were of the same
general proportions as those which had been found before the
preparation of the First Report. They lend additional weight
to the conclusions in regard to the height of the shaft, and its
entire lack of entasis, which have been set forth in that pub-
lication. It is needless to adduce in detail the several hun-
dred measurements upon which these conclusions are based,
as these would merely give a list of the accidental and unes-
sential lengths of the separate drums, and of the upper and
lower diameters dependent thereupon. Suffice it to say, that
the diminution was found to average as nearly as possible
6"] mm. in the meter, or i : 15, — this factor being precisely
the same in the upper as in the lower drums.
The total height of the column, calculated from these
data, is found to have been within a few centimeters of
4.78 m. The maximum of this dimension cannot have been
more than one third of the width of the lower step, while
the minimum cannot have been less than one third of the
width of the stylobate. We thus recognize in the temple
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1SS3. 77
of Assos that ratio which Pliny,^ following Greek traditions,
asserts to have been observed in ancient times between the
height of the Doric column and the width of the temple plan.
So far as the present writer is aware, attention has not hith-
erto been called to any instance in which the adoption of this
archaic canon is demonstrable.
The lower diameter of the column, with an average of
91.5 cm., varied from 90.8 to 92 cm. ; the upper, averaging
62.8 cm., from 60 to 63.8 cm.
In so far as regards its significance in the history of archi-
tectural development, the exceptional relation of the chan-
nelling to the axes of the plan and of the abacus will be
considered, in a subsequent chapter, in connection with the
proto-Doric shaft found in the Necropolis of Assos.
While the beds of the drums were invariably tooled to
an anathyrosis, the lower surfaces of the capitals were, with
a single exception to be mentioned hereafter, perfectly plane.
This was, without doubt, due to the fact that the joint was
in this case not ground down to an almost imperceptible
line ; but was, on the contrary, emphasized by the charac-
teristic Doric incision which marked the commencement of
the slightly concave necking. This single incision, which
increased the opening of the joint to an even width of six or
eight millimeters, was formed by bevelling the edge of the bed
surface of the capital ; the slant following the outline of the
channels, and having a width in plan of from 4 to 7 cm.
As regards methods of workmanship, no detail of the tem-
ple is of greater interest than the capital. The question as to
whether this most characteristic member of the Doric edifice
was turned upon a lathe, as has been assumed by Botticher,^
1 riiny, N. //., XXXVI. 23 (56).
* "Das m'achtige Echinuskyma des Capitelles, ist wohl durch Axendrchung
78
ARCILEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
or was cut entirely by hand, is one of much importance, in
regard to which the evidence, material and literary, seems not
to be fully conclusive. On the one hand, the mark of some
centring is visible upon the bed surface of every one of the
capitals ; and the most accurate measurements of the echinos,
made with a cymograph and with strips of lead bent to the
shape, proved the curve in every case to be absolutely identical
upon all sides of the capital ; a result which it would have been
exceedingly difficult to obtain by hand-chiselling. Moreover, a
passage of Pliny, which seems to have escaped the attention of
writers upon the constructive methods of the ancients, shows
the Greeks of the sixth century before Christ to have possessed
lathes which were capable of turning, not only capitals as heavy
as those of Assos, but even entire columns. The one hun-
dred and fifty shafts of the labyrinth upon the neighboring
island of Lemnos were turned by a machine of such perfect
construction, that, as the author tells us, almost in the words
of a modern advertisement, " a child could work it." ^
But, on the other hand, there is not a trace upon any one of
the echinoi of such concentric markings as would have re-
sulted from a turning of the stone upon a lathe. The groove
between the greatest projection of the echinos and the under
surface of the abacus even shows lines cut by the chisel in a
contrary direction ; so thai, if the capital was turned, at least
this quirk of the profile was subsequently cut by free-hand.
In view of the difficulty which must have been experienced in
turning so sharply marked a groove against the square of the
auf dem Bauplatz gearbeitet." Botticher (Karl), Die Tektonik dcr Hellenen,
2d edition, Berlin, 1874, etc., vol. i.
1 Pliny, N. //"., XXXVI. 19. 3. The words of the author are : " Lemnius,
(labyrinthus). . . . columnis tantum centum quinquaginta mirabilior fuit :
quarum in officina turbines ita librati pependerunt, ut puero circumagente
tornarentur." This was probably effected by means of a vertical mandrel.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 18S3. 79
abacus, this would not, indeed, seem to be an unnatural way
of executing the work. And the same considerations would
account for the chisel marks which, on some of the capitals,
are to be seen upon the portion of the echinos immediately
adjoining the upper annulet. As for the mark of a centring
upon the bed surface, it is to be borne in mind that the deter-
mination of this point was quite as necessary in the free-hand
cutting of the necking as in the fitting of the entire block
upon a lathe. The sinking itself cannot be supposed to have
served for the reception of so gigantic a back-centre as would
have been necessary to support these ponderous masses. In
fact, stones of this size cannot well be turned without the em-
ployment of chucks upon both ends. Thus it must reluctantly
be admitted that the capitals of the temple of Assos do not
furnish a proof for either view. While the marks upon the
stones still admit of the assumption that the echinos was
turned from the rough, and the quirk adjoining the abacus,
with the zone contiguous to the annulets, retouched by hand,
they present no decisive indication of the use of the lathe.
Owing to irregularities in the upper diameter of the shafts,
and in the width of the abaci, the echinoi projected at very
different angles. Indeed, scarcely two examples were alike
in this respect, and the capitals consequently differed greatly
in general appearance. Yet it was found, on graphical com-
parison, that, with a single exception presently to be men-
tioned, the curves of the echinoi were absolutely identical.
This may be seen from Figure 10. By drawing the outline
of the first echinos upon a slip of tracing-paper, and laying
it over the second, the lines will be found to coincide exactly.
The third echinos, belonging to a capital of unusual projection,
was lengthened at its base by a straight line, 22 mm. long ;
but between the points indicated by asterisks the curve will
be found to agree entirely with the first two. Among all the
So ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
capitals of the temple of Assos, the only one whose echinos
did not conform to this curve is that shown as the fourth
in Figure lo. As may readily be seen, it differs from all
the others, not only in the outline of the echinos, but in the
formation of the annulets, and the extreme shortness of the
necking.
An explanation of these deviations from the general rule
will readily suggest itself to those familiar with the methods
of modern architects and their workmen. Each of the stone-
cutters intrusted with the making of the capitals must have
been furnished by the designer with a templet, in all proba-
bility of sheet-metal, by which the curves were tested. The
abaci must have been previously hewn upon the blocks of
stone by the quarrymen, who delivered them to the masons
in the shape of slabs, somewhat more than 43 cm. in thick-
ness, the plan of which averaged 1.193 m. in length and in
breadth. These latter dimensions, however, like those of all
the details of the temple, which may be supposed to have
been tooled by masons in the quarry, varied considerably in
different cases; the minimum observed being 1.18 m., the
maximum 1.238 m. Thus the templet, when applied to the
stone, had to be inclined from the axis, not only so as to
adapt itself to the given width of the abacus, but so as to
make the base of the necking, bevelled for the incision, of
exactly the same diameter as that of the uppermost dfum
of the shaft for which the capital was intended. These
drums, as has been stated, were themselves subject to a
variation amounting to not less than 38 mm. The angle
which the spring of the echinos formed with the horizontal
plane was hence in the first capital shown in Fig. 10 as large
as 22°, in the second as small as 15°. Beyond twenty-five
degrees the mason did not venture to go, and when the middle
of the abacus projected more than 28 cm. beyond the upper
Fig. io. Outlines of Echinos Curves, Anta Capital, and Hawk's-bill
Moulding of Corona.
S2 ARCH^OLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
diameter of the shaft, as in the case of the third capital (Fig.
lo), he was obHged to cut an echinos with an outline con-
siderably longer than that indicated by the templet with which
he was provided. A share of this equalization was borne also
by the projection of the necking curve, and by the width of
the annulets; the former varying from lo to 25 mm., the
latter from 50 to 55 mm. In the case of the exceptional capi-
tal (shown as the fourth in Fig. 10), it is evident that the
stone-cutter was without such a templet as that according to
which every other echinos throughout the building was shaped.
The curve wa§ here determined only by the workman's eye.
That this was not particularly accurate can be seen from a
comparison between the actual form, shown by the continuous
line, and the normal curve, indicated by dots. The annulets,
too, are of a different design; and it is to be remarked that in
this capital alone is the bed surface tooled, uselessly, to an
anathyrosis.
It further resulted from this method of adjustment, that,
while the height of the necking is one of the most constant
dimensions of the structure, the height of the abacus varies
exceedingly ; namely, from 185 to 216 mm. In one instance,
where the abacus was felt to be altogether too high, and yet
could not be cut down on account of the impossibility of
shortening the altitude of the column, the vertical faces were
diminished by so toojing the upper surface that the epistyle
beams rested only upon a scamillus, about 80 cm. square, left
in the middle of the field, by which they were raised fully
25 mm. above the upper outer edge of the abacus. A broad
crevice between the sides of the capital and the superincum-
bent lintels was thought to be less offensive, when seen from
below, than too great a height of the abacus, which could
readily be perceived on account of its projection.
The upper surfaces of all the abaci were bevelled upon
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, ISSS.
83
those sides which were placed at right angles to the entabla-
ture, in order to obviate a chipping of the edges by the heavy
beams laid upon them. This slant had a width of 6 or 8 cm.,
and a fall of 8 or 10 mm. Compare the drawing of the top of
an abacus, Figure 11.
^"
--
"^
A
.. 1
J
;
B
/.
i ■ ■ ^
=
u
u
1^
Fig. II. Upper Surface of an Abacus.
On the annulets of the three best-preserved capitals dis-
tinct traces of a deep vermilion pigment were to be seen.
This tint did not extend beyond the vertical faces of the an-
nulets, neither to the necking nor to the echinos. It may be
taken as an indication that at least all the smaller mouldings
of the building were colored. It proves also, and this is a
point of much importance, that the surface of the andesite
was not thickly primed with stucco, but that the body pig-
ments were applied directly upon the tooled surfaces of the
stone. The temple of Assos, though built of so hard and
84 ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
gritty a material, is in this respect to be compared with the
Attic monuments of the perfected style, rather than with the
archaic structures of the Peloponnesos and of Sicily. The
andesite was treated like the marble of Pentelikos, rather
than like the poros, which its grain more resembles. The
accurate jointing, effected throughout by means of the ana-
thyrosis, pointed indeed to the same conclusion ; but the
lack of trunnels, and of delicate details in the sculptures of
the epistyle, might otherwise have permitted the assumption
that the minor members were supplied, and the plane surfaces
coated and smoothed with the aid of some plastic composition.
The blocks of the entablature are so weathered that it is not
possible to affirm the employment of pigments upon them.
Still, the traces upon the capitals suffice to furnish proof that
in the temple of Assos, as in all other Doric monuments, the
architectural forms were modified and perfected by a poly-
chromatic treatment.^
That decorative objects of some light material were affixed
to the columns is evident from the rust marks of iron pins,
once inserted in the groove between echinos and abacus, and
in the joint between the upper surface of the capital and the
epistyle beams. It is not possible to determine whether these
objects were of metal, and fixtures, — like the shields which
once were fastened upon the entablatures of the Parthenon
and the temples of Apollo at Delphi and Zeus at Olympia, —
or were merely garlands of leaves and flowers with which the
building was adorned on festival days.
Among the most interesting discoveries of the second
year relative to the temple is a corner of one of the antae
capitals (Fig. lo a). This differs from all other members of
the kind, hitherto known, in having the curve of an Ionic, not
1 The most careful examination of the capitals of the temple of Assos failed
to show traces of any painted pattern upon the echinos.
INVESTIGATIONS AT AS SOS, 1SS3. 85
a Doric kyma. The fact that it was not undercut to a beak-
moulding can scarcely be attributed to the difficulty of tooling
the stone to this more delicate profile, inasmuch as the Doric
kyma appears in full perfection upon the upper edge of the
corona. It is plain that we have here to deal, either with a
provincial confijsion of the normal details of the two great
styles, or with a deliberate retention of archaic forms.^ In
either case we may suppose the characteristic leaves of the
Doric anta capital to have been painted upon the member.
Viewed at a height of some five meters above the eye, in the
dim and diffused light of the pronaos, this capital must have
been of good effect : its well-rounded curves and the in-
clined and projecting face of the abacus ^ bear witness to
the intelligent care of the designer. The small fragment
shows no traces of dowelling, or of other metallic attach-
ment.
The epistyle beams were somewhat less finely tooled upon
their bed surfaces than upon their exposed soffits. From this
difference in workmanship it is possible to determine, with a
certain degree of accuracy, the position of the end joints, as
relative to the axes of the column. It is thus found that the
lintels were by no means so planned as to extend exactly
from centre to centre of the supports, — the deviation in this
respect amounting in some cases to not less than 15 cm., or
one quarter of the upper diameter of the shaft. On the other
hand, it is evident that the triglyphs directly above the col-
1 That the form of the anta capital was among the last details of the Doric
style to be definitely established by architectural custom, is indicated by the sin-
gularly clumsy and archaic moulding with which it is ornamented in the other-
wise fully developed Great Temple of Paestum.
2 This treatment of the face of the abacus of the antae as a slightly inclined
and projecting surface is a refinement scarcely to have been expected in an
archaic monument. Although adopted in the Parthenon and Propylaia, and ex-
aggerated in the archaistic temple of Bassai, it does not appear in the Theseion
or in the temple of Aigina.
86 ARCHAEOLOGICAL LNSTLTUTE.
umns did not vary from the normal axes in the same manner
as did those above the intercolumniations, — a fact which will
be referred to in the description of the frieze. The height of
the epistyle is, naturally enough, almost constant ; irregular-
ity in this respect would have entailed se-rious constructive
difficulties. But in all other dimensions, and in the form of
every detail, the variations observable in the epistyle, and
indeed throughout the entablature, are so great that it is
impossible to believe that scaled drawings were prepared by
the architect. Nor can the masons have worked according to
an accurately determined system of measurement. The final
shape must evidently have been given to the blocks after
they had been placed in position. The width of the tainia,
for instance, while averaging 95 mm., varies from 85 to
100 mm. So great an irregularity in this simple fillet is only
explicable by the assumption that the total height of the
stones was altered after the projecting members had been
carved upon them ; that is to say, their tops were cut down
to a uniform level.
The epistyle beams, after having been placed upon the
columns and released from the tackling of the derrick, were
shifted to an exact position and to a close juncture with the
adjoining stone by means of a lever purchasing in pry-holes
cut upon the top of the abacus. To facilitate this process
the beam was slightly uplifted, or rather tilted, by a crowbar,
the sharp point of which was inserted between the epistyle
and the abacus, in slots, or shift-holes, cut for the purpose
upon the bed surface of the former. These shallow sinkings,
of rectangular profile, generally 3 J by 4I cm. in plan, and from
I to 1 1 cm. deep, are disposed at a distance of from 24 to
50 cm. from the ends of the epistyle beams. They may be
observed, either in Pans or Boston, upon the sculptured
epistyle blocks removed from Assos. The same method of
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1883. 8/
shifting will be noticed in connection with the stone beams of
the coffered ceihng.
Those blocks of the epistyle which were ornamented with
reliefs are bordered along the lower edge of their face by a
narrow fillet corresponding to the tainia upon the upper edge,
and of about the same dimensions. This fillet forms an
architectural framework for the sculptured composition, and,
inasmuch as reliefs do not elsewhere appear upon the epistyle
of Greek buildings, is not to be found in any other Doric
monument. The unsculptured lintels of the temple of Assos
were cut, conformably to the principles of the style, without
such a lower fillet. It is evident that, in its ideal form, the
epistyle, like the wall of which it is the representative, should
have no architectural divisions, — no memberment upon the
face beneath the tainia, or wall-plate.
The regulas did not have the trapeze shape assigned to
them by Texier.^ Their ends were straight and vertical.
As has been stated in the First Report,^ the outer blocks
of the epistyle were provided, along the upper half of their
inner side, with a rough boss, occupying nearly one half of
the total height of the beam, and projecting from 5 to 20 cm.
This peculiar formation at first led to the supposition that
the epistyle beams were three in number, as in the Par-
thenon, — a view which was set forth in the preliminary de-
scription of the building. The investigations of the second
year have, however, given proof of the contrary. In the
entablature of the temple of Assos a constructive system is
now recognizable which is without a parallel in similar fab-
^ Texier (Charles Felix Marie), Descriptioii de TAsie Miiieiti-e, fait par Ordre
dn Gonverneme7tt Fran^ais de 1832 ^ 1837, et publi^e par U Miiiistire de P Instruc-
tion Publique, deuxieme partie, deuxieme volume. Paris, 1S49. The incorrect
statement concerning the shape of the regula has been repeated in many text-
books on Greek architecture.
^ Preliminary Report, p. 9a
88
ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
rics. The epistyle was but two stones in thickness, the inner
beam occupying nearly two thirds of the width of the soffit,
yet being less than one half as high as the outer lintel. The
block resting upon it — that is to say, the second member of
the inner side of the entablature — was at least 20 cm. less in
Fig. 12. Section of the Entablature and Coffered Ceiling of
THE Pteroma.
thickness, and hence it was not necessary to tool away from
the upper half of the back of the outer epistyle beam, and
from the lower half of the back of the triglyph blocks, those
rough and projecting faces which still show the marks of the
quarrying. Indeed, these bosses, keyed in, as it were, to the
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1883. 89
second course of the inner entablature, are in the transverse
section seen to have practically formed a broken joint, and
must have considerably increased the resistance which the
mass of masonry above the columns could offer to the thrust
constantly exercised against it by the roofing timbers, and to
the dislocating effects of earthquakes. This will be clear
from the section of the entablature. Figure 12.
It was remarked in the First Report, that it would be diffi-
cult to advance any satisfactory explanation of the triple con-
struction then assumed. The saving effected in the weight
of the facing blocks would have been more than counterbal-
anced by the additional labor required to cut stones, naturally
cleaving to parallel and rectangular planes, into the irregular
shape thus determined ; and the difficulty of assuring exact
joints upon the soffit would have been increased through such
a duplication of the surfaces of contact.
On the other hand, the more correct information relative
to the composition of the entablature gained during the sub-
sequent investigation is entirely in agreement with the gen-
eral character of the design, and again permits us to recognize
the wise economy with which the construction was planned.
The inner lintel, and the two courses above it, were formed
of the parallelopipedons, most readily obtained in the quar-
ries of Assos, while the rough projections upon the back of
the single outer epistyle naturally resulted from the cutting
necessary upon the lower edge alone in order to bring it to
a straight and close joint upon the soffit. Although the
sculptured epistyle block was greatly decreased in weight,
and could consequently be more readily provided and more
easily worked, there were still the fewest possible surfaces of
contact, and a triple memberment of the entablature was
thus secured upon the inner side, without the necessity of
introducing for this purpose a low and narrow string-course
90 ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
behind the corona, and upon the same level with it; an expe-
dient which would have presented far greater difficulties in
the coarse andesite of Assos than in the fine-grained and firm
limestones elsewhere employed by Greek builders.
The true arrangement of the epistyle beams is evident from
the position of the pry-holes on the top of the capital. Deep
pry-holes of oblique section, a a and 7 7', Fig. ii, were cut
upon the outer and inner projections of the abacus. They
provided a purchase for the heavy lever by which the stones,
while hanging from the derrick tackle, were guided to their
positions upon the bed. From the depth and the broad out-
ward slant of these sinkings it may be assumed that they also
served to receive the ends of the upper timbers of a staging,
subsequently erected to facilitate work upon the higher parts
of the entablature. The epistyle beam, a, of the outer side,
was first swung into position. This stone set, and released
from the tackling of the derrick, it was shifted into close con-
tact with the epistyle above the next column, already in place,
by the help of a crowbar, purchasing in the transverse pry-
hole /3. The corresponding inner lintel, b, was similarly set,
being pried against the outer epistyle by means of a lever
bearing in the slot 7, and against the adjoining inner lintel by
placing the lever in the pry-hole 8. In some cases it was
necessary to shift forward the outer epistyle from the position
in which it was first laid upon the abacus, so as to bring it
into the exact alignment determined for the face of the entab-
lature. This was effected, as in the case of the beam c. Fig.
II, by a leverage exercised from a longitudinal pry-hole, e. It
was rare, however, that recourse was had to this expedient, it
having almost always been possible to guide the blocks while
hanging from the derrick with sufficient precision by means
of the outer slots, a and a . The beam a, for instance, is seen
to have required no such lateral correction, no pry-hole ap-
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1883. 91
pearing at w. The last stone to be laid upon the capital was
the second inner epistyle, d. This was shifted into an exact
position, laterally by a leverage applied at 7', and longitudi-
nally by a purchase provided upon the next capital in that
direction in which the construction was carried on. The last
of all the epistyle beams to be laid must have been at one of
the corners of the building. Accurate jointing was assured
by cutting an anathyrosis upon all the surfaces of contact.
The indications thus obtained from the pry-holes upon^he
top of the abacus were sufficient, not only to prove that the
lintels were two in number, but also to determine the width
of the blocks which formed the inner epistyle. The height
of these was evident, within certain limits, from that of the
tooled surface beneath the projecting boss of the outer epi-
style. The acquisition of these facts permitted, during the
work of excavation on the Acropolis subsequent to the first
year, and during the remeasurement of all the squared stones
whose original destination had not already become evident, the
recognition of one entire inner epistyle beam, and of six others
more or less fragmentary. In height these members, with an
irregularity of but a few millimeters, averaged 385 mm. Their
width, complementary to that of the outer epistyle blocks, va^
ried from 495 to 550 mm. The length of the one entire stone,
evidently belonging to the side entablature, was 2.39 m.
This block now serves as one of the jambs of the gateway
to the Turkish fortifications which once occupied the sum-
mit of the Acropolis ; it still stands upright. That so few
fragments should remain of the thirty-four inner epistyle
beams — which formed a total length of eighty-four meters
(or eighty-eight meters, if the inner epistyle was cut to a
mitre at the corners, as in the temples of Aigina and Olym-
pia) — is readily explicable by the consideration that these
stones, having been without projecting members, and accu-
92
ARCH^OLOGICAT. INSTITUTE.
rately squared upon all sides, were eminently suited to the
purposes of later builders, Christian and Mohammedan, who
looked upon the ancient monuments as a convenient quarry.
The blocks of the inner epistyle, like those of the outer,
were somewhat less finely tooled upon their bed surfaces
than upon their exposed soffits, and were likewise provided
with shallow rectangular notches, destined to receive the point
^yt
■■^. ^r
y..-'.
• ^ ''\ ■
•'.'. £
n'-'
'-■'j
_^_^
€'■■
I:, LJ-_..,,-^
V'> -.4- •■■■ E-
x
Fig. 13. Fragments of inner Epistyle Beams, showing Shift-holes
AND Masons' Marks.
of the crowbar by which they were raised while being shifted
into position. As it was necessary that the widths of the
outer and inner lintels should together make up the total
thickness of the epistyle, namely, 82 cm., they must have
been fitted together upon the ground. Those which had
been matched were occasionally designated by masons' marks.
Three of these signs, the only ones found, are shown in
Figure 13. They will be referred to in the discussion of
the age of the building.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1883. 93
The members of the frieze show irregularities in point of
size, which far exceed those observed in other parts of the
structure. The triglyphs and metopes found during the
course of the investigations, as well as the spacing of the reo-u-
las upon the blocks of the epistyle, prove the dimensions —
even of those details which were in immediate proximity, and
could easily be compared by the observer — to have varied,
in some instances, in the enormous proportion of seven to
ten. The width of the smallest triglyph found was 480,
that of the largest 575 mm. The former dimension was ex-
ceptional, the nearest to it being 51 cm. ; the latter was not
uncommon, four of the thirty-eight triglyphs recognizable
measuring over 57 cm. In general, the triglyphs may be
divided into two classes ; those of the fronts, averaging 56,
and those of the sides, averaging 52 cm. The corner tri-
glyphs, three of which were found, were of the smaller size, —
a fact which is of importance in determining the relative
position of the sculptured epistyle blocks.
In the metopes considerable variations were naturally to be
expected, inasmuch as the equalization of the corners of the
frieze, and of the front and side intercolumniations, devolved
mainly upon them. Still, this fact by no means suffices
to explain the great differences in the size of these members.
The narrowest metope found was 6^ cm. ; the broadest,
nearly half as large again, namely, 905 mm. The nearest
approach to the minimum was 680, to the maximum 835 mm.
It is to be borne in mind that these blocks were of exactly
the same height, and that a variation of, let us say, 5 cm.
could readily be detected by the eye. Particularly worthy of
remark is the fact that adjacent metopes, which can be meas-
ured from one and the same epistyle block, differed in
width as much as 13 cm., namely, from 68 to 81 cm. This
is proved by the spacing of the regulas on the epistyle sculp-
94 ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
tured with horse-legged centaurs, discovered during the
course of the excavations. Nor was this an altogether ex-
ceptional case. On the large relief of two bulls, in the Louvre,
the adjacent metopes are seen to have varied 5 cm. in width,
namely, from 63 to 68 cm.
Under these conditions it appears probable that the exact
position of the regulas was determined after the members of
the frieze had been set in place above the epistyle. This was
without doubt effected by leaving the ends of the regulas, as
carved while the epistyle blocks were still upon the ground,
somewhat longer than the required dimension, (namely, the
width of the triglyphs to which they appertained,) thus se-
curing the possibility of a subsequent correction. There
does, indeed, seem to be a difference in tooling between cer-
tain of the patches adjoining the regulas, and the rest of the
epistyle face, although the weathering of the coarse stone
renders it difficult to judge of this point with certainty.^
Truly, the execution of a Doric entablature in primitive
times, without the aid of working drawings on a large scale,
or of accurately computed measurements, was a complicated
and difficult work. The architects Tarchesios, Pythios, and
Hermogenes,^ were not without good grounds when they
complained of the irksomeness of laying out the Doric mem-
berment, especially the division of the frieze, and the other
details of the entablature thereupon dependent.
Fortunately, we are provided, by the difference in tooling
^ The probability that the triglyphs and metopes were placed in position
before the ends of the regulas were cut upon the epistyle tends to disprove
the etymological note of Botticher, Tektonik, p. 204 : " Regula ist wohl Uebertra-
gung von Kavwv, also Richtscheid oder Norm fiir die Statte der Triglvphen."
Even viewed solely in the light of constructive development this is an altogether
arbitrary assumption. The word Regtila, employed by Vitruvius (IV. 3. 4), needs
only to be taken in its literal meaning, — a straight piece of wood, a ruler.
2 Quoted by Vitruvius, IV. 3. i. Tarchesios is probably identical with
Argelios, the builder of the temple of Asklepios at Tralles (Vitr., VII. Pref. 12)
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1S83. 95
on the beds and on the soffits of the epistyle blocks of the tem-
ple of Assos, with a means of ascertaining that the triglyphs
situated above the columns were but little out of the axes ;
the maximum error in this respect amounting to less than
5 cm. A greater irregularity than this would, indeed, have
been intolerable. In the jointing of the epistyle beams them-
selves, on the other hand, so little attention was paid to a
correspondence with the axes of the supports, that the half-
regulas cut upon the ends of the blocks vary in length from
II to 46 cm. ; the joints themselves must have been so close
that this want of agreement did not force itself upon the
attention of the observer, as did the irregularities in the
width of the triglyphs and metopes. Thus no jesthetic con-
sideration required an equalization of the lintels, which were
worked, as chanced to be convenient, from the stones pro-
vided by the quarrymen. The differences in length have,
however, to be taken into account in the attempt to determine
the arrangement of the reliefs upon the fronts and sides of
the building.
The backs of the triglyphs were so cut that the lower half
formed a rough boss, which corresponded with the projection
upon the upper half of the epistyle beams, and, together with
it, came into bond with the second course of the main entab-
lature. This boss, retaining the marks of the quarrying,
projects from 8 to 12, and varies in height from 22 to 35 cm.
Compare Figures 12 and 14.
as has been assumed by Schneider and Marini in their editions of Vitruvius,
Pythios worked at Prieiie (Vitr., I. i. 12) and Halikarnassos (Vitr., VII. Pref.
12, and Pliny, I/ist. Nat., XXXVI. 5- 4, § 31) ; Hermogenes at Magnesia (Vitr.,
III. 2. 6) and Teos (Vitr., VII. Pref. 12). All three are thus seen to have
been Asiatic, and their remarks concerning the Doric system without doubt
express the opinion as to that style prevalent in Asia Minor. This is a point of
much interest in the present connection, for it is to be borne in mind that the
temple of Assos (with exception of the small fane, of much later date, at Perga-
mon) is the only known Doric temple on the eastern coast of the Aegean.
96
ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
Both triglyphs and metopes were shifted to an exact posi-
tion by means of levers applied in pry-holes cut upon the
upper surface of the outer epistyle beams, and show upon
their beds the shift-holes, or rectangular slots which provided
a hold for the lifting crowbar, the function of which has been
described in connection with the epistyle. The pry-holes
visible upon the top of the epistyle beams conclusively prove
that triglyphs and metopes were placed in position alternately.
r
Fig. 14. Triglyph, Face and Side.
The triglyphs were not laid first, and the metopes then slipped
in between them from above, as has been frequently assumed
by writers upon Greek architecture.^ The joints between the
two were hidden by inserting the edges of the metopes into
rabbets, cut upon the sides of the triglyphs in such a manner
that the faces of the former came to be 6 cm. farther back
than those of the latter. The form of these rabbets — which
^ This time-honored error has been illustrated by a steel engraving in the
Expidition Scientifique de Moree, vol. iii. plate lo. Paris, 1831.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1883. 97
were shaped to receive the projecting band along the upper
part of the metopes, but not the delicate havvk's-bill moulding
terminating them — is shown in the side view of a triglyph,
Figure 14.
The general arrangement of the cornice has been described
in the First Report. So great are the inevitable irregulari-
ties in the distribution of the mutules, as to make it probable
that at least the soffit of the corona was not carved until the
members of the frieze had been laid upon the epistyle, and
the position of the individual cornice blocks in relation to
them exactly determined.
The spacing of the mutules — the lacunaria, which in
the passage of Vitruvius, before quoted,^ is referred to as so
troublesome — could not well be laid out, or even corrected,
by the stone-cutter, after the blocks of the cornice had been
placed in position. For it was requisite that the length of
the separate stones which formed the cornice should exactly
correspond with the divisions determined by the irregular
widths of the triglyphs and metopes. Moreover, the inclina-
tion of the soffit, forming an acute angle with the vertical face
of the entatjfeture, would have cramped the workmen, and
would of itself alone have rendered it necessary to cut the
deep interstices between the mutules before the blocks were
set in place.
The surfaces of lateral contact formed by the anathyrosis
upon the cornice blocks averaged 55 mm. in width; the sink-
ing between them being, in some cases, as deep as three
centimeters.
From the marks upon the overthrown stones we may
recognize two distinct methods of lifting these heavy cornice
1 The word lacnnaria in this passage, IV. 3. I, should not, I think, be trans-
lated "ceiling," as it usually is, (for instance by Brunn, Gcschichte der Griechischen
Kiinstkr, vol. ii. p. 359, Stuttgart, 1859,) but rather the soffit of the corona, or the
viutulcs.
7
98
ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
blocks into position ; the one by means of ropes looped into
broad and deep U-shaped grooves cut upon the lateral joint
surfaces, a, Figure 15 ; the other by means of iron hooks, or
dogs, grappling into comparatively small and shallow slots in
the same position, b, Figure 15. The first of these, the deep
grooves, are observable in other Doric edifices of early period,
— as, for instance, the temples of Aigina, Paestum, and Se-
linous. Although
C^7 '^ ''"^ ' - ■ ^ they required much
more stone to be
cut from the block
than did the slots of
the second method,
they were far less
secure. When the
projection was not
sufficiently great, or
sufficiently under-
cut, there was dan-
ger of the loop slip-
ping off ; and by
the swinging of the
heavy blocks the
rough edges of the
stone must always
have sawed upon the fibre of the rope. In one instance at
Assos, that of an exceptionally heavy corner piece, the entire
U-shaped boss had broken away, and was replaced by a deep
slot, into which the end of a beam could be inserted. Of the
second variety, a square or oblong slot, about 8 cm. in width, is
the most simple form, and is, as a general rule, employed upon
one end of all those stones which were lifted by grapples.
Stones upon both ends of which were simple slots of this kind
i,„
Fig. 15. Ends of Cornice Blocks, showing
Attachments of Derrick Tackle : A, for
Looped Rope ; B, for Iron Dog.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASS OS, 1883.
99
could not, of course, be laid to a close joint, on account of the
bar of the lifting-iron intervening. It was necessary to cut,
upon one at least of the two surfaces meeting at a joint, a ver-
tical channel, through which the grapple could be released and
withdrawn. This channel was made either suffciently deep
in plan for the hook of the iron — the dog — to pass freely
when slipped backwards, towards the joint ; or sufficiently
Fig. i6. Cornice Block, as tilted in Lifting. — Release for
TURNING Grapple.
broad to permit the grapple to be turned 90^ on its vertical
axis, and to be withdrawn in that position, as shown in Figure
16. The latter arrangement, complicated as it appears, was
somewhat the more economical in respect to stone-cutting,
as it did not require the horizontal slot to be sunk to so great
a depth as did the former.
One of the blocks of the cornice, upon the southern side
of the building, deserves particular remark. It evidently
lOO ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
adjoined a stone, inserted between two others already in po-
sition, which is to be considered as the very last laid. This
last stone seems to have been swung into the air, above the
entablature, before it was noticed that in this case both of
the ends ought to have been provided with vertical channels
through which the lifting-irons could be withdrawn, and that,
as it was, it could not be set. The difficulty was ingeniously
met, not by lowering the stone and cutting the second chan-
nel upon it, but by sinking the release upon the corresponding
joint surface of the adjoining block, here in question.
It appears from the position of all the grooves and slots
in the ends of the cornice blocks, that these stones were
so balanced as to incline slightly towards their front edge,
which thus touched the bed first, and could be adjusted with
great accuracy upon the given line above the triglyphs and
metopes. Compare Figure i6. The tilt requisite for this
expedient was determined by the position of the lifting slots,
which were cut somewhat farther back from the face than the
centre of gravity ; the exact point being without doubt ascer-
tained by some graphic method based upon the section, as
actual experiment was scarcely possible. It may be remarked,
parenthetically, that modern research constantly tends to
prove that the unequalled refinements of classic architecture
— perhaps the most striking instances of which are presented
by the corrections of optical illusions, namely, the curvature
of the horizontals, and the inclination and entasis of the col-
umns — were, like the solution of static problems such as
those in question, arrived at rather by the means of architec-
tural drawings on a large scale than by any system of arith-
metical calculation. This was in accordance with one of the
dominant traits of Greek intelligence, which delighted in the
expression of an idea by some material representation.
In the variety of methods employed in lifting the cornice
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1883. lOI
blocks of the temple of Assos, we have another indication
of the many independent hands engaged upon the structure.
Throughout the edifice there was as entire a lack of con-
structive as of artistic unity, — a fact which is to be borne
in mind in the consideration of the provincial character and
the archaic semblance, yet comparatively recent age, of the
sculptures, so unequal in point of style.
Having been set in position, the cornice blocks were united
by iron cramps, sunk into the upper surface of the stone at
about the middle of the bed, namely, 70 cm. from the face
of the corona. These cramps, averaging 2 cm. in section,
were formed of exceedingly tough wrought iron, and were set
by a lead casting. A specimen is preserved in the Museum
at Boston, No. M. 578.
The profile of the hawk's-bill moulding which terminated
the cornice is shown on a large scale in Figure 10, b.
The cornice block from the southeastern corner of the edi-
fice, Figure 17, is of particular interest, inasmuch as it dis-
plays almost all the marks of dowels, cramps, lifting holes, etc.,
occurring upon the course to which it belongs. It may hence
be considered somewhat in detail, as an example of the many
indications which may be derived even from a single displaced
block.
The holes for the grapple irons of the derrick tackle by
which this heavy stone was lifted are to be seen upon both of •
its ends. One of these ends is exceptional, in being, not a joint
surface, but the exposed face of the eastern corona. It was
thought preferable to disfigure this member by cutting a deep
square slot upon it, rather than to depart from the regular
method of attaching the tackle by the adoption of some other
form of iron hook, which might, indeed, have been made to
find a hold upon the outer edge of the corner mutule, but would
have been liable to slip unless a dog-hole had there been cut.
I02
ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
o
Fig.
A further disadvan-
tage of the plan adopt-
ed was that the hawk's-
bill moulding of the
front had to be cut
quite through at a,
Fig. 17, in order to al-
low the grapple, when
hooked into the slot
B, to lie flat against
the vertical face of the
corona. It is, of course,
to be assumed that the
hole in the face of
the corona, and the
unsightly notch in the
moulding above it, were
filled in and bridged
over with a stucco of
the same color as the
stone. Upon the in-
ner western end of the
block — a joint surface
— the grapple slot is
provided with a release
channel, c, for turning
the iron, like that pre-
viously described, and
illustrated in Fig. 16.
_____^ This proves that the
1™- adjoining stone of the
17. Cornice Block from Southeastern southern cornice was
Corner. — Upper Surface and End.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASS OS, 1SS3. 103
set before the corner block was swung into position. On
the other hand, the adjoining block of the eastern cornice,
which was laid afterwards, cannot have had a release of any
kind, for we see at d, Fig. 17, that a broad channel for this
purpose was cut upon the corner block, without doubt after it
had been placed in position, and the equilibrium of the next
stone ascertained by a graphic method, as before explained.
The iron cramps which attached the block to those adjoin-
ing it were sunk in carefully cut grooves at e and f. In order
to profit by the stability which was afforded to the next stone
of the front by the great depth of bed, from east to west, of
this corner block, and more particularly in order to' anchor
the stones of the front cornice together for the purpose of
resisting the lateral thrust exercised, as will presently be
shown, in this line by the inclined course of the pediment
cornice, the cramp at f was placed much farther in from the
face of the corriice than was that at e.
In the tooling of the upper surface the bed, g, for the
stone carved with the gargoyle, serving also as a base for the
corner acroterion, was permitted to project above the rest,
having the full slant of the gable, requisite for the continua-
tion of the gutter channel to the orifice in the lion's mouth.
The inclination of this surface, g, may be seen in the drawing
of the end of the cornice block, Fig. 17. The superposed
stone, subjected as it was to the thrust of the terra-cotta gut-
ter of the front, was securely attached to the cornice block
by four vertical dowels at h, h', h", and h' , On all the
cornice stones of the front a plane bed, level with the top
of the hawk's-bill moulding, was cut to receive the blocks
which formed the tympanon veil, — the face of which was
situated in the line j. The first of the stones of the pedi-
ment cornice, cut to an acute angle, rested directly upon the
corner block, having a bearing against an exceedingly stout
I04 ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
dowel, the large hole for which is to be seen at k. This
dowel must have been quite sufficient to prevent any slipping
of the pediment cornice block along its bed, to which it was
exposed through the thrust of the other stones of this course,
lying as they did upon an inclined plane. At no point in the
entire structure did more depend upon the expedient of metal
bondings, and nowhere is greater forethought and care dis-
played in their arrangement and execution. In recognition
of the fact that the force tending to outer displacement was
mainly exercised against this dowel, it was placed in a line
with the cramp f, by which the corner block was anchored
to the other stones of the front cornice ; the cramp f having
for this purpose been removed fully one third farther from
the corona edge than was the cramp e. In the intimate
relations of these bondings, bearing upon different courses
and fixed at different times, we have a striking proof of the
thought bestowed by the designer, before the erection of the
building, upon constructive details apparently of little signifi-
cance, whose disposition would, in a modern work, probably
be left to haphazard.
From the sinking of right-angled plan cut in the untooled
boss of stone remaining, at l, between the bed for the pedi-
ment cornice and the bed for the wall-plate and rafters, m,
it must be assumed that the thrust of the pediment cornice
was exercised, in its lowest block, not directly against the
small surface of the dowel at k, but against the bar of iron
interposed between dowel and stone, and affording a broader
surface for the pressure. From the size of the sinking in
the boss L, this bar may be judged to have had a width of
about 10 cm. It was probably not longer than 60 cm., and
did not extend farther to the east than to the west of k, being
imbedded in a socket cut upon the lower outer edge of the
first pediment cornice block, so that the end of the metal bar
was not exposed upon the face of the gable.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1883. 105
The plane bed for the roof timbering, m, extended along
the sides of the building, upon a level with the upper edge
of the havvk's-bill moulding, from which it is distant about
53 cm. Upon this bed lay the wall-plate, n n', into which
were mortised the main rafters, the first of these being situ-
ated, as will presently be shown, in the line o o'. The upper
surface of the cornice, which remained between this plane bed
and the outer edge of the stones, namely, a strip about half a
meter in width, is roughly split to the slope of the roof tiles ;
that is to say, somewhat less than the 15° slant of the gable,
owing to the overlapping ends of the tiles. The nature of this
difference in slope will be readily understood by a glance at
the section of the entablature and roof above the pteroma,
Fig. 12. The line of inclination is shown by dots upon the
drawing of the end of the corner cornice block, Fig. 17.
Along this rough-split surface, at a distance of 18 cm. from
the edge, is cut a groove, p p', averaging 3 cm. in depth,
the purpose of which was to receive the bent inner edges of
a course of ornamental tiles, subsequently to be described.
These tiles were attached to the cornice blocks by iron dowels
of peculiar shape, two of which, q and q', appear upon the
cornice block. The dowels of the gargoyle were of square
section, those of the antefixes and that receiving the thrust of
the pediment cornice were round rods and bars ; those of the
lighter terra-cotta course, on the other hand, arc of oblong sec-
tion, considerably thinner than the ones elsewhere employed,
as they were not called upon to resist any considerable strain,
but merely to prevent an accidental displacement of the long
and narrow strips of terra-cotta interposed between the im-
brices and the stone.
The antefixes which terminated the lines of teguloe were
each attached to the cornice by two dowels, the corner block
showing borings for them at r r' and s s'. The position of
I06 ARCH^OLOCICAL INSTITUTE.
these irons furthermore indicates the axes of the tegulae
at T and t', and consequently the situation of the rafters,
upon which the imbrices were placed without the interven-
tion of purlins or slots. The first rafter above mentioned is
shown by dotted lines at o o'. The most easterly of the
antefixes are thus seen to have been removed exactly the
width of one imbrex from the terra-cotta gutter of the gable.
We must, however, here terminate our examination of this
interesting corner cornice block, reserving the more detailed
description of the roofing for a later section.
On the gable ends of the building the cornice blocks were
smoothly tooled upon their upper surfaces, in order to receive
the upright slabs which formed the tympanon wall. One of
the stones in question, from the western front, is so stepped
that the bed thus provided rises to a height of 6 cm. above
the tympanon floor. From these indications it is evident
that the depth of the gable field, exclusive of the beak
moulding of the corona, was 41 cm. The reveal was con-
sequently not greater than the projection of the main cornice,
differing in this respect from the Parthenon and the temple
of Aigina, where it was necessary to increase the width of
the tympanon floor because of the gable groups standing upon
it.^ At Assos the wall veil was very nearly (within 2 cm.)
in the same plane as the face of the entablature.
From the traces upon the cornice blocks before mentioned,
it is further possible to ascertain that the tympanon wall
itself was formed of stones which varied from 36 to 40 cm. in
thickness. During the excavations of the second year three
of these stones, belonging to the western gable, were brought
to light. Of equal width, varying in this dimension but a
^ In the Parthenon and in the temple of Aigina the width of the tympanon
floor is greater than the projection of the main cornice by respectively one eighth
and two elevenths of the entire thickness of the entablature.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASS OS, 1883. 107
few millimeters from 92 cm., they were respectively 0.59 and
0.837, 0-837 and 1.084, and 1.084 and 1.33 m. in height. The
proportions and constructive arrangement of the tympanon
wall became perfectly clear through this discovery. The tri-
angular veil, with a total length of 12.64, l^ad a total height
of 1.695 m., — the rise in the three stones recovered being ex-
actly 0.268 to the unit of length. It is furthermore evident,
that a single slab, of pentagonal shape, occupied the centre
of the field, and that the three stones found were the sec-
ond, third, and fourth upon the north of this. The entire
wall must consequently have been formed of thirteen stones.
This would seem to be a more perfect arrangement than that
attained by the adoption of any even number of slabs, which
must result, as in the Parthenon and Theseion, in a central
joint, with two acute angles at the apex of the wall veil, in-
stead of the one obtuse angle, more easily cut, and less liable
to fracture.
In the restoration of the temple, given in the First Report,^
it was assumed, from a comparison of Doric temples of about
the same age, that the inclination of the gable was as one in
four. The difference between this assumption and the ttuth
now ascertained, namely, between 0.25 and 0.268 in the unit,
amounts to but 11 cm. in the total height of the gable. This
deviation is nevertheless sufficient to make it certain that
the slant of one in four, so easily laid out with entire accu-
racy, was not fixed upon by the architect. Indeed, no simple
arithmetical ratio corresponds with the proportions now rec-
ognized. But on examination it will be seen that the angle
of inclination is, with extraordinary accuracy, fifteen degrees,
there being hardly the error of a single minute involved in
the dimensions of these blocks, which themselves represent
nearly half of the entire slope.
1 Prelimiinuv Report, Plate 14.
I08 ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
It will be remembered that the right angles at the corners
of the building were found, when tested by instruments of
precision, to have deviated but one tenth of a degree from the
true square. The geometrical accuracy of the tympanon tri-
angle is hence not surprising. Its angle of inclination, just
one sixth of that which had been employed in the plan,
could readily be, and doubtless was, laid out by dividing the
arc of the quadrant into equal parts. We have here a fur-
ther instance of the preference so generally shown by Greek
architects for graphic methods of design, — for geometrical
rather than arithmetical proportions. In such a gable no
eye could have detected the difference between the height
resulting from the ratio of one to four, and that determined
by an angle of inclination equal to fifteen degrees. It is a
significant fact, that the designer chose the latter, rather
than the former, method of approximation to a purely aes-
thetic ideal.
The largest of the three gable blocks (Fig. i8) presents a
curious peculiarity. The stone is a rejected cornice block,
and still shows upon the back, which was hidden from view,
the mutules and rectangular steppings of the corona soffit.
It appears to have been rendered unserviceable, before the
completion of the entablature, through some fracture of the
end which has been cut off, or through the mutilation of
the projecting hawk's-bill moulding. None of those cornice
details which still remain upon the stone, now reduced to
six sevenths of its original length, show defects sufificient to
account for its condemnation. One of the end joint sur-
faces became the bed of the gable block, the other being
cut to the required slope, while the back was straightened,
and the moulding removed from the front, so as to allow of
close jointing upon the sides. A deep slot, 75 mm. square,
was sunk into the face of the former corona, and into the
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1883.
109
opposite side, so as to afford a hold for the lifting tackle.
The two other slabs of the tympanon wall were raised by
the same means. After being released from the grapples, the
stones were shifted into close contact by means of levers
applied in pry-holes, which are to be observed upon the
■' ,./•/- ■'••' II'- ... ^..:,„ ■• '
^llllllllllllllieMHlSllllllllllllfllMMliMimiTlllllll^
1
." : '|[
iiMiiiiiiKiliiiiiiifiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiifliiiJiMiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiii
Fig. 18. Rejected Cornice Bi,ock, recut for Employment in
Tympanon Veil.
smoothed tops of the cornice blocks of the eastern and
western fronts of the temple.
The tympanon corona was provided with the customary
hawk's-bill moulding, to separate its soffit from the upright
surface of the tympanon wall. It was undercut not less than
73 mm. in a projection of 41 cm. At the re-entering angle
JIO ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
thus formed the stones were only 15 cm. in thickness, — too
little for such a coarse-grained material, although they were
required to support no weight except the light gutter of terra-
cotta. Almost all those which were found had been broken
at this point by their fall.
It is worthy of especial remark, that the system of effecting
an accurate jointing by means of leverage was adopted even
in the case of the gable cornice, which rested upon an in-
clined bed. Pry-holes are visible upon the slanting upper
surfaces of the three blocks from the tympanon wall. The
joints themselves, as in all Greek gables, were not vertical,
but at right angles to the slope.
There were no indications whatever which could lead to
a belief that the tympanon was ornamented by sculptures.
On the contrary, the entire lack of such an extensive dowel-
ling as would have been rendered necessary by the presence
of statues is quite sufficient to prove that gable groups never
existed. Upon the upper surfaces of two of the cornice
blocks of the main front, that is to say, upon the floor of the
eastern tympanon, small pins of metal were found to have
been driven into the stone ; without doubt for the purpose
of afTfixing votive offerings, of no great size or weight. Un-
fortunately, these indications do not suffice to convey any
idea of the actual character of such decorations, which may
have been permanent agalmata, or merely festive garlands
of leaves and flowers.
The inner side of the entablature appears to have been
entirely plain. That this was the case with the inner epi-
style is rendered certain by the lintels brought to light during
the digging of the second year ; and that the upper blocks
were likewise without memberment is to be assumed from
the fact of there being no fragment of string-courses or
mouldings appertaining to the structure to which a position
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1883. Ill
is not elsewhere assignable. In this respect the temple of
Assos agrees with the Attic Doric of the fifth century, rather
than with the archaic style of the farther West.
The character of the inner lintel has already been set forth.
As to the second and highest course of the inner entablature,
its dimensions may be determined with a certain degree of
accuracy by the maximum heights and projections of the
bosses upon the upper half of the outer epistyle and upon the
lower half of the triglyphs, the results thus obtained being
checked by comparison with the corresponding measurements
of the blocks of the inner lintel actually discovered. Thus it
becomes evident that the second course was of very nearly the
same height as the outer epistyle (82 cm.), and that the third
or uppermost course was, both in height and average M^idth,
the same as the first, or lowest (namely, the inner epistyle),
the variation in no respect having been greater than half an
inch. There can be but little doubt that this agreement was
intentional, especially in view of the fact that the total thick-
ness of the entablature was in like manner equal to the height
of the epistyle. It appears probable that some unit of meas-
urement was here embodied. The thickness of the second
course did not exceed 35 cm.
The pteroma, vestibule, and pronaos of the temple were
covered with a ceiling of coffered stone beams, the recog-
nition and restoration of which was entirely a work of the
second year. Small fragments of two of these beams were
brought to light during the digging upon the site of the
temple ; two remaining in their entire length are to be seen
built into the walls of the Mosque which stands upon the
northernmost terrace of the Acropolis,^ and twelve others,
more or less perfect, were found among the debris of the
lower town ; namely, seven near the foundations of a portico
1 J're/imiiiary Kc/'ort, p. 93, Plate 23.
112 ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
situated one hundred meters west of the Greek Bath, and five
in a modern enclosure about the same distance southeast of
the Bouleuterion.
Three considerations make it evident that these stones be-
longed to the temple. A strong presumption is supplied, in
the first place, by the presence of several of these beams
among the ruins upon the summit of the Acropolis, where
the remains of no other antique building are to be found.
Carved blocks known to have been derived from the lower
town — among them a marble capital from the Greek Bath
and an inscribed lintel from a Christian church — have, it is
true, been incorporated into the Mosque which stands upon
the lower terrace of the Acropolis. Stones so shaped as to be
of service to the Turkish builders were undoubtedly removed
from a considerable distance to the site of the Mosque ; but
with the fragments of coffered beams before mentioned the
case is altogether different. It v.^ould be misleading to
refer to the marble blocks in the fagade of the Mosque in
explanation of the remains of a stone ceiling buried in the
earth which covered the plan of the ancient temple, amongst
the ruins of this one edifice, and of no other. It is more than
improbable that useless blocks belonging to any structure in
the lower town would ever have been carried up this great
height. On the contrary, the materials of the temple fur-
nished enough and to spare for the rude mediaeval fortifica-
tions of the citadel, and, having in part been rolled over the
steep, are met with in various parts of the enclosure below,
A number of the drums, for instance, lie upon the slopes of
the southeast, are half buried among the ruins of the Turkish
village at the north, and were dug out of the debris which
chokes the reservoir beneath the Agora. Thus the coffered
beams, before mentioned as having been found upon the lower
level, show, by the very fact of their discovery nearly half a
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1SS3. II3
kilometer one from another, that they must have been re-
moved from some common centre. Of exceptional length,
and plane upon three long sides, they were admirably adapted
to serve the later builders as jambs and lintels. Nothing
could be more easy than to drag these blocks down the in-
cline from the Acropolis, to be used in the construction of
the Christian edifices among whose ruins they were found ;
nothing more unnatural than to carry them to a height
where no building other than the Doric temple ever stood.
The wide distribution of the coffered beams is fully explained
by the consideration that they must have been the first blocks
of the temple to fall. The evenly squared stones of the cella
wall must have been regarded with covetous eyes by all those
who profited by that edict of Theodosius which authorized
the destruction of heathen temples for the purpose of employ-
ing their materials in the erection of Christian dwellings ;
and these stones could not be removed until the ceiling above
the pronaos and pteroma had been overthrown.
The second point is the character of the stone-dressing.
The marks of hammer and chisel, still to be seen upon some
of the coffered beams, are precisely the same as those observ-
able throughout the temple. The untooled upper surfaces
were split in the quarry in the same manner as were the
backs of the main lintels ; the brush-hammered finish upon
the sides, forming a shallow anathyrosis, is like that upon all
the blocks of the entablature ; and, finally, the beds of the
beams frequently show near their ends those peculiar rectan-
gular notches, cut to receive the end of the lifting crowbar
during the process of shifting the stone, which have been
described as existing upon the epistyle blocks and the tri-
glyphs. These indications are sufficient to furnish a definite
proof.
In the third place, there was not in the ancient town any
8
114 ARCH^OLOCICAL INSTITUTE.
other building to which a stone ceiHng of these dimensions,
or of such a variety of span, could have belonged. All our
knowledge of Greek architectural remains leads us to the
belief that these coffered beams appertained to a temple, and,
judging from their proportions and style of workmanship, to
an archaic Doric peripteros. It cannot be that a building of
such importance as that which is attested by this monumental
ceiling should have so entirely disappeared that no traces
whatever of it should have been brought to light during the
course of investigations so thorough as those at Assos. The
small size of the town itself scarcely allows us to assume
the existence of two temples of this grandeur within its walls.
The proofs that these beams belonged to the coffered ceil-
ing of the temple are stated thus in detail, because the fact of
the discovery of the stones in such remote localities — the
majority even in the lower town — might otherwise give rise
to doubts in regard to the correctness of the identification, in
spite of the agreement of every dimension with the plan of
arrangement which the writer believes to have ascertained.
As in the Theseion, and other Doric temples, the coffers
must have been supported upon transverse beams extending
from the entablature, above the third course of the inner side,
to the cella wall, — a distance, including the projection of the
mouldings upon either side, of 2.14 m. in the pteroma, and
4.06 m. in the vestibule. No remains of these supports were
recognized. Tooled as they were upon all four sides, and
provided at most with a narrow kyma along the upper edges,
it is easy to account for their entire dispersion by later build-
ers, as well as for the impossibility of identifying them among
fragmentary remains. From a comparison with the corre-
sponding members of other Doric ceilings, however, they may
be assumed to have been about two feet in width. In point
of fact, the dimension of 0.615 m., including the projecting
INVESTIGATIONS AT AS SOS, 1883.
115
mouldings, if such existed, is found to fit exactly the present
case.
In those beams referable to the pteroma and vestibule the
coffers varied from 325 to 335 mm. square, averaging 33 cm.,
while the bridges, which separated them, varied from 16 to
19 cm., averaging a millimeter or so less than 17 cm. Thus
the panels were almost exactly half a meter on centres.
The dimension of any set of three or more never varied
more than one centimeter from the length calculated accord-
ing to the given mean. This difference, small as it is, quite
suffices to allow of the slight adjustment requisite in the total
extent of the compartments. And, on the other hand, the
agreement of the entire plan to the average dimensions of
the lacunaria is so striking as to place the intention of the
designer, and the restoration of the ceiling, altogether beyond
question.
The width of the pteroma from entablature to wall is, as
before stated, 2.14 m. To ascertain the clear span of the
Fig. 19- Be.vm from the Coffered Ceiling of Pterom.\.
(For Scale, see Fig. 20.)
ceiling we have to deduct from this twice the projection of
the cyma moulding upon the third course of the inner entab-
lature and upon the wall plate. This dimension must have
been about 5 cm. Now, in a compartment four coffers in
length, the four sinkings (together, 1.32 m.), the three whole
and two half bridges (together, 0.68 m.), and the extra fifth
fillet (0.035 m.) very nearly make up the requisite 2.04 m.
Il6 ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
The width of these compartments may be determined by the
two coffered beams which were found entire. Their clear
span from fillet to fillet was, in one case, 1.53 m. ; in the
other, 1.52 m. One of these beams from the pteroma ceiling
is shown in Figure 19.
The number of compartments on the sides and at the rear
of the building is at once determined by the known length
of beam. From the total length of the cella wall (namely,
22.33 m.) is to be deducted the width of the transverse inte-
rior epistyle, which divided the ceilings of the pteromas from
that of the vestibule. Like that of the Theseion, this lintel
may be assumed to have had the same width as the entab-
lature, namely, 82 cm. The entire length of the pteroma
ceilings upon the sides of the building was, consequently,
21.51 m., — exactly ten times the width of the compartment
plus the main beam.
In like manner, the ceiling of the rear pteroma is found to
have contained six compartments of the same size, each with
twelve coffers. Its actual length of 12.25 "^m when thus di-
vided (duly omitting the non-existent sixth beam, and sub-
tracting the kymas upon the side entablatures), shows the
compartments to have had a mean width of 1.5 1 m. The
discrepancy here observable, amounting to less than an inch,
is entirely negligible in a construction which, as has been
seen, everywhere displays much greater irregularities than
this in the dimensions of individual members.
In regard to the details of the construction, it can only be
presumed, from the striking analogy of the Theseion, that a
strong under-tie, higher, but not of greater width, than the
other transverse beams, was carried across the sides, in the
line of the rear wall of the cella.
As in all other Doric temples, the beams were arranged
entirely without reference to the axes of the supports. Con-
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1883.
117
trary as this is to our own statical, and too often mechanical,
system of design, it is by no means unjustifiable upon aesthetic
considerations. The transverse beams, it must be borne in
mind, were situated more than five feet above the tops of the
columns, and the want of agreement with these is much
more apparent in the drawn plan (Fig. 22), than it can have
been in reality.
The coffered beams which formed the ceiling above the
vestibule were longer than those of the pteroma, each con-
O 1 2 m.
Fig. 20. Beam from the Coffered Ceiling of Vestibule.
taining five coffers. This is proved by the remains of three
of these stones, found among the ruins of the lower town.
The first and best preserved, shown in Figure 20, contains
four entire panels and about half of the fifth, — only 37 cm. of
the total length of the block being missing. The lifting holes,
which will be referred to hereafter, were cut upon either end
of the upper surface ; the one remaining consequently affords
no indication of the original length of the stone. But that
the coffer beams of this series did actually contain five panels,
Il8 ARCH^OLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
and no more, is fully proved by the second and third speci-
mens discovered, both of these showing a single lifting hole
cut in the middle of the block, so as to balance it from a
single rope, and disposed exactly above the centre of the third
sinking. The length of these coffer beams, thus determined,
makes it evident that the ceiling above the vestibule was
divided into four compartments, there consequently being
three beams of support extending from the entablature of the
eastern front to the entablature above the pronaos columns.
These main beams, being of so much greater span than those
above the pteroma, would, a priori, be supposed to have had
a somewhat greater thickness. And in fact, when we sub-
tract from the total length of the vestibule ceiling, namely,
12.25 rn-> the projecting cymas upon the side entablatures
(together about 10 cm.), and the width of four compartments
each containing five coffers of the average size (4 X 2.535 m.),
we find that there remains to the beams of support a thick-
ness of 67 cm. each, — just that increase of strength which the
greater span would seem to require. It will be observed that
the division of the ceiling of the rear pteroma into eighteen
coffers and five beams, and of the equally long front pteroma,
or vestibule, into twenty coffers and three beams, permitted
this greater thickness to be assigned to the supports of the
latter, — the dimensions of two coffers with their bridges
being less by about 20 cm. than that of three pteroma beams.
And it may be assumed that the choice of four compartments
in the vestibule, instead of six, was in some measure influ-
enced by this consideration, — certainly an extremely rational
and ingenious method of design.
The division of the vestibule ceiling into an even number
of compartments requires a main beam above the central in-
tercolumniation in the longitudinal axis of the building ; an
arrangement which seems to have been generally followed in
INVESTIGATIOXS AT ASSOS, 1S83. 119
Greek architecture, appearing in the temples of SeHnous, the
Theseion, the Parthenon, the little fane of Nike Apteros, and
the temple of Bassai. The vestibule ceiling of the temple
of Assos differs, however, from those of all these temples in
the much greater span of its coffered beams ; a peculiarity
which may have been determined by the before mentioned
considerations relative to the thickness of the supports, or
may be in part referable to a desire to gain breadth of effect
by increasing the size of the compartments in this largest
and most important section of the ceiling.
The width of the vestibule ceiling, from the entablature of
the front to that above the pronaos columns, was 4.06 m.
This agrees very accurately with the length of the compart-
ments, which is to be computed from the size of eight coffers,
with their seven whole and two half bridges, plus the width
of the extra fillet. Eight coffered beams consequently lay side
by side, making a total of forty panels in each compartment.
The three lintels which crossed the vestibule must ha.ve
been the longest stones employed in the construction of the
temple. That they could be quarried without insuperable dif-
ficulty is evident from the existence, in the much less carefully
built Bouleuterion, of monolithic shafts of the same material,
which exceeded the clear span requisite for these temple beams
by more than two feet and a half, being 4.8 m. long. Elsewhere
in the lower town, among the ruins of ordinary dwelling-
houses, is to be seen a door lintel ^.y m. long. Nevertheless,
there are many indications of the care which was taken to di-
minish as much as possible the weight imposed upon these
supports. The coftercd beams, already relieved of fully one
eighth of their material by the sinkings, were made as thin as
was at all consistent with strength ; and in the case of those
at the ends of the compartments adjoining the entablatures,
the stone was cut away from the ends and outer edge of the
I20 ARCHyEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
upper side so as to form deep steps. In regard to the beams
of support, however, little could be gained by this latter ex-
pedient, which will be readily understood from a reference to
Figure 20. The sinkings of the coffers have the boldness pe-
culiar to Doric ceilings of the best period, being cut to a depth
of 17 cm., more than half as much as their total width. Only
those practically acquainted with the details of stone-cutting
can understand how enormous a work is involved in the exe-
cution of so deep a reveal, in so refractory a material. So
great an expenditure of time and labor in details so unosten-
tatious is only to be met with in monuments antedating that
debasement of the style which may be said to hav^e commenced
immediately after the attainment of its greatest perfection in
the age of Iktino.'J. To illustrate this by Assian examples,
the shallow coffers of the Prostylos Temple at the west of the
Bath, or those of the Tomb of Apollonios in the Necropolis,
differ as distinctly from the lacunaria of the temple, both as
regards design and workmanship, as do the superficial and
pretentious sculptures of the third century from the archaic
works of the sixth century before Christ. It is noticeable that
in the panels of the temple the depth of the steps, both upper
and lower, is made exactly equal to their width, including fillet,
the individual beams being thus conceived as square in sec-
tion. Compare the detail, Figure 25. This is the case with
the small coffers of the pronaos, as well as with those of the
pteroma and vestibule. Throughout the ceiling the inner
coffered beams, that is to say those not adjoining the wall or
the entablature, were cut so that each included, at least upon
one of its sides, the fillet running along the middle of the
bridge ; the greatest possible width and strength thus being
assured to those stones which were supported only at the
ends. This is evident from all the fragments of outer, as
well as of inner beams, — the former being always without a
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1883.
121
fillet, while one of the latter in each compartment has two
fillets. In this way the junctures between the separate beams
were in great measure concealed, the bands being slightly
sunk, and without doubt painted up to the edges with some
bright color.
Reference has already been made to the fact, that in the
coffered beams of the pronaos ceiling the sinkings and bridges
were made of a much smaller size than in those of the pteroma
and vestibule, thus following a principle of design which is
evident also in the panels of the Parthenon. Several frag-
ments of these smaller coffers were met with in various parts
of the town, one, in particular, being preserved from further
5SS5>MS^
fc%m\m^^
Fig. 21. Beam from Coffered Ceiling of Pronaos.
(For Scale, see Fig. 20.)
injury by its position in the walls of the Mosque. A single
beam remained in its entire length, Figure 21. The sinkings,
21 5 mm. square, were separated by bridges 135 mm. broad, with
fillets 2 cm. in width, — these dimensions being the average
of all the specimens found. The one entire beam contained
four coffers, and had a clear span of 1.42 m. This makes it
probable that the pronaos ceiling was divided into three com-
partments, the two adjoining the antae being each four panels
in width, while the central field was square, and seven panels
in length. Assuming the transverse beams to have been of
the same size as those in the pteroma, or a trifle smaller, this
arrangement would very accurately conform to the given
122 ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
space : the projection of two cyma mouldings upon the antse
walls (together lo cm.), the two compartments of four coffers
(2 X 1-42 m.), two beams of 62 cm. each, and the central field
of seven coffers (2.47 m.) making up the total length of the
pronaos, between the antae, namely, 6.65 m. The only other
possibility is that there may have been four compartments,
two of four, and two of three coffers each ; but such an ar-
rangement must be regarded as extremely improbable, on
account of its irregular and awkward character. A square
central field, on the other hand, must have been of good
effect. The design of the pronaos ceiling would thereby be
brought into connection with that of the vestibule, as the main
beams of the former would lie almost exactly in the axes of the
two middle compartments of the latter. The triple division
would also have been the more economical from a construct-
ive point of view, only two transverse supports being re-
quired. In regard to the width of the pronaos ceiling, from
the entablature above the columns in antis to the wall above
the door, it is plain that this must have been occupied by
seven coffered beams laid side by side ; the dimension of this
number of sinkings and bridges agreeing very accurately with
the total of 2.48 m.
The plan of the entire ceiling, as seen from below, is shown
in Figure 22 ; while sections of the pteroma and of the vesti-
bule and pronaos are given in Figures 23 and 24, drawn to a
uniform scale for the purpose of comparing the very dissimi-
lar proportions of these spaces. For a representation of the
ceiling of the pteroma on a larger scale, see also the section.
Figure 12, and the isometric elevation. Figure 30.
The arrangement of the coffered ceiling, thus demonstra-
ble, is of fundamental importance in the consideration of the
ground plan of the temple. It is plain, not only that the size
and number of the compartments must have been determined
i
oaoyro
/-vo a a n o
v^aainiaa
Fig. 22. General Plan of Coffered Ceiling.
124
ARCH^OLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
Section of Pteroma.
upon before a single stone of the
building could be laid, but that
the design of the panels must
have been drawn out, or figured,
by the architect earlier than the
plan of the stylobate. The in-
dependent ceiling of the ves-
tibule required the anta^ and
columns of the pronaos to stand
in precisely the same transverse
axis as those columns of the sides
to which they corresponded, be-
cause of the epistyle beam which
was carried above them. And
the fact that, contrary to the
normal development of the Do-
ric plan, the pteroma of the rear
,.^^
Fig. 24. Section of Vestibule and Pronaos.
INVESTIGATIONS AT AS SOS, 1883. 125
was made equal in width to that of the sides, can only be
explained by the adoption, in these spaces, of compartments
containing the same number of coffers. More than this :
the arrangement of the ceiling must have been determined at
the same time as was that simple system of numerical propor-
tions which is to be traced throughout the plan. The width
of the compartments was so calculated as to give, when taken
six and ten times respectively, the width of the peripteros
and the length of the cella. The factor is here of such mag-
nitude, exceeding two meters, that it is not possible to be
mistaken in the recognition of its multiples. The known
irregularities of the structure, amounting at most to some
centimeters, have scarcely to be taken into consideration
in this regard. An agreement of the main dimensions, so
exact as that set forth in the points in question, certainly
furnishes a convincing proof of the correctness of the recon-
struction.
In respect to the constructive details of the ceiling, one
peculiarity still requires attention. While — fortunately for
the proof of the identification — some of the coffered beams
were shifted by the same lever as the stones of the stylobate
and entablature, and bear the rectangular notches indicative
of that method, others were attached to the derrick rope by
a lewis precisely like that in use to-day. Upon the upper
surface of these latter is to be seen the narrow slot, in sec-
tion of inverted wedge shape, peculiar to this form of tackle.
Such a lewis-hole is shown in the plan and top view of the
vestibule beam. Figure 20. From a careful consideration of
the sectipn of these blocks, it appears that the slots were
so disposed that the centre of gravity should fall between 25
and 35 mm. inside the inclined edge : this proving the chief
iron of the lewis to have been about 6 cm. in width at its
narrowest part. Figure 25. As far as it was possible to as-
126
ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
certain from the fragmentary material under examination, the
coffered beams of the pteroma and pronaos were invariably-
lifted by dogs, and only the longer ones, belonging to the
vestibule, by the lewis. Certain it is, at all events, that
lewis-holes never appear upon those remains of the former,
and dog-holes never upon
those remains of the latter
which could be identified
with certainty. Hence it
may be concluded that the
derricks erected above the
wide span of the vestibule
differed from those em-
ployed elsewhere in the con-
struction, — having wedge-
shaped irons, instead of
crampoons, for their tackle,
and being, without doubt,
considerably lighter in the
wood. When possible, as
in the case of the pteroma,
the lifting apparatus which had been in use for the sub-
structure was employed also for the laying of the coffered
beams. But when a new derrick was required b}' the exigen-
cies of the vestibule, its form was altered to suit the case.
The light stones of the ceiling did not need to be attached
to the ropes by methods so strong and clumsy as the U-
shaped grooves, or as the deep slots observable upon the
massive cornice blocks. Under these conditions the choice
of a lewis was perfectly natural.
It may be assumed that those five-coffered beams upon
which only one lewis-hole was cut, and which were conse-
quently lifted from a single support, belonged to the two
Fig. 25. Section of Vestibule Ceil-
ing Beam, showing Lewis Tackle.
INVESTIGATIONS AT AS SOS, 1SS3. I 27
outer compartments of the vestibule ceiling, — where the
erection of two derricks, one at either end of the beams,
would have been impossible on account of the insufficiency
of the standing space afforded by the side entablatures.
The beams of the two inner compartments, on the other
hand, must have been lifted and set by the help of two
derricks, two legs of each of which rested upon the entab-
lature above the pronaos columns. The employment of two
complete sets of tackle, hence to be assumed, is further in-
dicated by the fact that the lewis-holes situated at the ends
of the beams, such as that shown in Figure 20, were not cut
slanting towards a common centre, but exactly vertical to
the bed surface.
On the first discovery of the coffered beams among the
ruins of Assos, it was thought that these stones could not
be identified with the temple, inasmuch as the lewis does
not appear to have been employed in any other part of the
structure. This view seemed to find confirmation in the
opinion, entertained at the time, that this mode of lifting,
so modern in appearance, necessarily indicated a later age
than that to which the temple can be assigned. The only
lewis-holes which the writer had previously seen among
ancient remains were those in the marble epistyle of the
Olympieion at Athens, six centuries more recent than the
temple of Assos.^ The first of these objections, not in itself
unreasonable, is fully met by the above considerations, which
have on this account been set forth at length. And that this
mode of lifting was known to the Greek architects of the sixth
and fifth centuries before Christ has been proved, since the
1 The lewis may possibly be that lifting-iron " the teeth of which fit into
holes cut in the stone " mentioned by Vitruvius (X. 2. 2). This, at all events, is
the opinion of Piranesi (Giovanni Battista), Zj- Aittichita Romatie, (Roma, 1756,)
vol. iii.
128 ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
commencement of the investigations at Assos, by the excava-
tions at Olympia, where, as the writer can testify from recent
examination of the remains in the Altis, lewis-holes are to be
seen on fragments of the oldest ruins. Lewis-holes appear
also upon blocks of the archaic Doric temples a, r, d, and t,
of Selinous.^ It is particularly worthy of note that the last
named of these — perhaps the most recent of the temples of
Selinous, but still erected in the fifth century before Christ —
offers an example of that very appearance of the lewis-hole
and the U-shaped groove, side by side, which is so remark-
able in the temple of Assos. So far, indeed from being an
invention of the Diadochi, it can be shown that the lewis
was in common use among the Egyptians,^ — those earliest
teachers of the Greeks in all that appertains to the working
of stone.
The arrangement of the temple roof is clear in its main
features, more or less complete remains having been found
of the terra-cotta bands, antefixes, tiles, and gutter, and of
the stone acroteria. But as this part of the building was
evidently subject to frequent repairs, and even extensive
restorations, there is uncertainty in regard to some details
of its construction.
The upper surfaces of the corona blocks of the sides are
regularly tooled to a slope somewhat less than that of the
roof for a space of about half a meter from the outer edge.
The ends of the rafters rested upon the horizontal bed behind
this projection, all downward pressure upon the projecting
portion of the corona being thus avoided. The imbrices, lying
1 Hittorff and Zanth, Architecture Antique de la Sicile, 2d ed., (Paris, 1S70,)
Books 3, 4, 5, and 8, Plates 16, 44, 47, and 89.
2 Representations of the lewis appear among the sculptures in the sandstone
quarries of Silsilis. Compare Long (George), Egyptian Antiquities, vol. i. (Lon-
don, 1S32,) or other books upon Egyptian remains.
IN VES TIG A no AS AT ASSOS, 1883.
129
directly upon the rafters, must in the lowest course have
overlapped the stone so far as effectually to have prevented
water from penetrating to the interior. Along the sloping
upper surface of the cornice, at a distance of 18 cm. from
the front, there is cut a groove, from two to four centimeters
deep, the purpose of which was evidently to hold the bent
inner edge of a course of ornamental tiles, interposed be-
tween the cornice and the terra-cotta antefixes, A single
fragment of this original course, now in the Museum at Bos-
ton (P. 4258), was found upon the site of the temple during
the digging of the second year (Fig. 26). It is of dark gray
clay, primed with black, is 54 mm. thick, and bears in relief
the lines of a meander
ornament. During a res-
toration of the roof, which
appears to have been made
at least two centuries af-
ter the completion of the
building, this moulding
was replaced by a band
of terra-cotta, of about the
same thickness, but of an
entirely different material,
much more porous and
lighter in color. The peculiarity of this band is that only
those parts of its edge which were situated immediately be-
neath the antefixes were ornamented, these sections, exactly
as long as the original antefixes were wide, having a wave
pattern, of the usual Greek type, but quite foreign to the
Doric grammar of ornament.
The discovery of one of the painted antefixes of the temple,
Figure 27, was mentioned in the First Report.^ This fine
54
Fig 26. Fragment of Tu.e, with or-
namented Edge, from a Course in-
terposed BETWEEN LOWEST IMBRICES
AND Corona.
1 Preliminary Report, p. 96.
I^O
ARCH^OLOCICAL INSTITUTE.
specimen of archaic Doric terra-cotta, now in the Museum at
Boston, No. 4149, is remarkable for the richness of the colors,
deep red and black, still to be seen upon it. It is formed of a
coarse and porous kernel, coated with a priming of fine clay and
powdered flint, technically known as a slip, the oxide of iron
Fig. 27. Antefix. — From a Photograph.
contained in which gives to the surface its delicate reddish
fawn tint. The inner mass contains numerous crystals of the
andesite of Assos, which is thus seen to have been employed
by the local potters in the same way as was crushed granite
and quartz in those specimens of terra-cotta from the North-
ern Troad analyzed by Dr. Landerer.^ The principle of an
1 Landerer, in Schliemann's llios, p. 21S.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1883.
131
anathyrosis jointing, so consequentially carried out in all the
stone-work of the structure, appears even in the antefixes,
which were moulded with a slight projection along the edge
of the bed surface. Compare the section, Figure 28. In view
of the tendency of terra-cotta to warp in the
baking, this precaution must here have been
of particularly good effect, inasmuch as these
narrow rims could easily be filed to an exact
plane. Each of the antefixes was attached
to the cornice by two circular dowels
of iron, about i cm, in diameter, these
evidently having been carried through
the intervening plates of terra-
cotta. The holes in which these
pins were inserted were
neatly bored to a depth of
not less than 7 cm. Their
positions upon the upper
surfaces of the cornice
blocks show the antefixes
to have been spaced at a
distance averaging be-
tween 63 and 64 cm. from
centre to centre, and thus
consequently to have been
arranged without the
slightest reference to the mutules beneath them.
The roofing of Doric temples seems always to have been
constructed without purlins or cross slats, — the tiles lying
directly upon the inclined timbers. The spacing of the ante-
fixes consequently determines also the distance of the rafters
from centre to centre, and the total width of the imbrices.
There can be but little doubt that these latter were intended
Fig 28. Antefix Section.
132 ARCH^OLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
to be exactly two Greek feet in width, — that is to say, of a
dimension commonly employed in all parts of the ancient
world. ^ The flat tile shown upon the sculptured slab which
was set up in the market-place of Assos as the official standard,
has precisely this width of 63^ cm. with a length of 71 1 cm.
It is not possible to ascertain the exact age of this interesting
gauge, which will be described in detail hereafter, but it is
evident that either the slab is as old as the building of the
temple itself, or that the size of roofing tiles common at the
beginning of the fifth century before Christ was retained until
the period when this official standard was sculptured.
No remains of tegute belonging to the temple were found
in a state of preservation sufficient to show their dimensions,
or their exact shape. It is only certain that they were of
angular section, like that sculptured upon the standard, from
which they cannot have materially differed in width.
The fragments of three imbrices belonging to the temple —
the only ones referable with certainty to that structure —
form part of the collection in the Museum at Boston, P. 4175,
4180, 4186. All these are of a coarse-grained terra-cotta,
coated with a lustrous black glaze. No two are precisely
alike. The side lips of the first and third are of a curved
section at the juncture with the body, like that shown by the
standard, while the lip of the second is sharply angular. The
material of the third also differs from that of the others in
being of a yellow color, and having a tinge of purple in the
glaze. The varieties of contemporary manufacture, and of
the tiles employed in the slight repairs so frequently neces-
sary, quite suffice to account for these differences, which can
scarcely warrant the assumption of so many complete resto-
rations of the roofing. As no notches were moulded upon
1 Dorpfeld, Graber, Borrmann, und Siebold, Ueber die Verwenduiig von Terra-
cottenam Geison und Dache griechischer Bauwerke. Berlin, 188 1.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1883. I 33
the corners of these imbrices to receive the ends of those
in the courses above or below them, the jointing was rudely
effected by cutting off the angles on the inner edge of the
upper and outer edge of the outer lip, so as to form a tri-
angular base (Fig. 29).
This clumsy makeshift
is visible upon the spe-
cimens numbered 4175
and 4180.
The constructive sys-
tem of the temple thus Fig. 29. Corners of Imbrices, roughly
, . , 1-1 CUT FOR Jointing.
far considered is shown
in Fig. 30. The gable ends of the building were provided with
gutters, in order altogether to prevent, above the entrance,
that dripping which was not considered objectionable upon
the sides. At the time of writing the First Report, the mere
fact of the existence of such a gutter was evident from the gar-
goyle brought to light during the digging of the first year. In
the restoration of the temple which is figured in that volume,^
this moulding was represented as an anthemion band, — ac-
cording to the analogy of other Doric temples, which show the
crowning member to have been ornamented in the same fash-
ion as coronets, such as that worn by the Juno Ludovisi. The
correctness of this restoration was confirmed during the second
year by the discovery of a portion of the original sima, now
in the Museum at Boston, P. 4152. This important fragment,
Fig. 31, is formed of a kernel of coarse and exceedingly hard
terra-cotta, coated upon the face with a slip of fine clay, in
which the details of the ornament — an archaic astragal and
anthemion — are carefully moulded in high relief, projecting
II mm. from the background. (Compare the section, Fig. 32.)
Traces of a dark red glaze are still visible upon the diamond,
^ Preliminary Report, pi. 14.
Fig. 30. Constructive System of Pteroma. — Isometric.
INVESTIGATIONS AT AS SOS, 1883.
JO
while the slip itself is of a light red tint. The inner side is
primed with a hard stucco, 2 mm. thick, of a yellowish color.
The thickness of the upright
body is 3 cm., that of the base
something over 4 cm. The
separate lengths were attached
to the upper surfaces of the
tympanon corona by iron pins,
the distance between which in
the single instance capable of
measurement was 53 cm. It
will be remarked that the pro-
file of the gutter is perfectly
straight-lined, having nothing
of the vigorous and graceful
curve which characterizes the
simas of the perfected style.
Fig. 31. Fragment of Gutter.
From a Photograph.
Fig 32. Fragment of Gut-
ter — Section and Scale.
The small amount of water col-
lected by these gutters was dis-
charged through four gargoyles at
the corners of the building. One
of the fine lion's heads of volcanic
tufa which performed this function
was found during the first year, and
has been fully described and illus-
trated.^ It is now preserved in the
Museum at Boston, S. 1162.
Fragments of the acroteria were
found sufficient to convey an under-
standing of the nature of these prom-
inent ornaments, although not to
permit of a complete restoration.
^ Preliminary Report, p. 94, pi. 12.
I ^6
ARCH^OLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
Fig.
Fragment of Ridge Acroterion.
The ridge acroterion is represented by a block of the same vol-
canic tufa employed for the gargoyles, having a regular thickness
of 1 8 cm., and cut to the form of a scroll (Fig. 33). The inner
convolutions are indicated by rectangular incisions, about 8 mm.
broad, which deepen as they retreat from the centre, varying
from a shallow notch to a cut fully 5 cm. deep. The spiral
line thus varies in appearance from a light gray to a perfectly
black shadow. The
circular perforation
in the centre of the
volute, correspond-
ing to the 6(f)da\/x6(;
of the Ionic capi-
tal, is cut completely
through the stone,
and probably served
for the insertion of
disks of some more brilliant material, such as colored glass
or gilded metal. A branch is thrown off from the scroll at
a point situated one entire revolution from its inner termina-
tion, the juncture being marked by four narrow lines, nearly
parallel, incised across the volute. The treatment is the same
upon both sides of the slab.
It is plain that we have here to deal with the upper scroll
of a central acroterion, closely resembling that of the temple
of Aigina, now in the Glyptothek of Munich. Remains of a
similar kind have also been found among the overthrown
stones of the Parthenon ; and, taking these facts in connec-
tion with the representations of archaic temples upon vases,
gems, etc., there is good ground for the belief that a monu-
mental anthemion, dccoupe irova a slab of equal thickness, was
regarded as the normal decoration of the apex of Doric gables.
The sky line of the building was thus emphasized at its most
INVESTIGATIONS AT AS SOS, 1883.
^2>7
salient point by an ornament having the forms which appear
in the terminations of sacred steles, and frankly treated in
profile alone.
In technical respects the fragment closely resembles the
Proto-Ionic capital discovered by the writer upon the site of
Neandreia, in the Troad.^ The material is the same, and
seems to have been employed at no other period by the Greek
builders of this country. The surfaces are dressed with a fine
brush-hammer of the same kind. In both cases the scrolls
seem to have been laid out by unwinding a cord, to the free
end of which was attached a chisel-point, from a cylinder fixed
in the centre of the scroll as an involute, — the opJitJiahnos,
perhaps for this purpose, having been cut entirely through
the stone. Above all, the spiral lines are in both indicated
by peculiar incisions of rectangular section, varying in depth
from a slight sinking to a cutting nearly equal to one third
the thickness of the stone. In short, the workmanship is
that of one and the same school of masonry, and is to be re-
ferred to about the same period of artistic development, —
a fact which will be re-
ferred to in the discussion ■^.■•i- i^'^r>
of the age of the temple.
Of the corner acrote-
ria, the single fragment
brought to light was the
fore paw of a sphinx or
griffin, standing upon a
portion of the base by
which the figure was
attached to the end of ^ ^
Fig. 34. Fragment OF AcROTERioN. Paw
the sima, above the gar- of Sphinx or Griffin.
1 Clarke (Joseph Tliacher), A Pioto-lonic Capital from the Site of N'eandrcia.
Baltimore, 1S86. Reprint from the American Journal of Archicology, vol. ii. p. i.
138 ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
goyle (Fig. 34). The stone is now in the Museum at Boston,
S. 1 105. The carving of the paw displays that mastery in the
rendering of animal forms which is so evident in all the sculp-
tures of the temple ; and it is much to be regretted that noth-
ing remains of the body, which would have been especially
interesting as an example of the work of the sculptors of
Assos in the full round.
It will be remarked, that in the choice of subjects for the
corner, as well as for the central acroteria, the temple of
Assos agrees with that of Aigina. But in Assos there was
particular reason for the representation of the sphinx or
griffin in connection with the fane of Athena Polias, one
or the other of these animals having formed the heraldic
symbol of the city.
The corner acroterion, like the central scroll, the lion's
head, and the before mentioned Proto-Ionic capital from Nean-
dreia, is carved of a fine-grained tufa, obtained from quarries
in various parts of the Southern Troad. This stone, though
stratified by the action of water, is of the same volcanic for-
mation as the andesite of which the temple is constructed.
But it is much softer and more easily worked, and was there-
fore better adapted to the requirements of the earliest Greek
stone-cutters. So far as the writer is aware, tufa is never
found among remains of a later date than the first half of
the fifth century before Christ. It thus bears the same rela-
tion to the archaic architecture of the Troad as poros does
to that of the Peloponnesos and Sicily. As poros because of
its coarseness, so tufa seems to have been discarded by the
masons of later ages on account of its friability. This was
not wise ; for, though crumbled by a blow, the resistance
of this stone to the disintegrating effects of the weather is
far greater than that of the andesite. The forms of the
lion's head and the delicate fillets of the Proto-Ionic capital
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1883.
retain a sharpness unequalled in the sculptures or archil
tural details executed in other materials. \
A most careful search was made for materials which might
serve to prove the existence of any aperture in the roof of the
building for the purpose of admitting light to the interior.
But nothing was found which could possibly be brought into
connection with such a feature.
All the dimensions of the temple were remeasured at the
close of the excavations, and the averages of those members
which show perceptible variations were recalculated. The
final results are given in the following table : —
Meters.
Length of lower step 30.86
Breadth oflovver step i4.58
Tread of lower step 0.2 7|-
Length of stylobate 30.31
Breadth of stylobate i4'03
Exterior of cella, length 22.33
" " breadth 7.97
Walls of cella and antae, thickness 0.66
Door of naos, breadth of opening 1.65
Interior of naos, length i7-7i
" " breadth 6.65
Ant?e walls, length 3.30
Total width of vestibule, before antre 4.95
" " pteroraa, sides and rear 3.03
Columns on centres, sides, average 2.45
" " front, average 2.61
Lower diameter of shaft, average 0.9 li-
Upper diameter of shaft, average 0.64
Height of steps, each 0.28
" column, calculated 4.78
" shaft, calculated 4.3
" capital, average 0.48
" epistyle 0.82
140 ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
Meters.
Height of frieze 0.78
" cornice 0.42
Total height of order/ including steps, calculated . . 7.36
Thickness of entablature (epistyle) 0.82
Dimensions of coffered ceiling, vestibule . . 4.06 X 12.25
" " " sides . . . 2.14 X 21.51
" " " rear . . . 2.14 X 12.25
" " " pronaos . . 2.4S X 6.65
Angle of gable slope 15°
The remeasurement led to the conviction that it is not
practicable to express the general dimensions of an edifice
constructed of so rough a material as the Assos andesite in
units smaller than half a centimeter.
On comparing these figures with those given in the First
Report,^ slight corrections will be remarked. These have be-
come necessary, partly through the greater number of meas-
urements which have gone to make up the averages, and
partly through the comparison of the steel tape used by the
expedition with an accurate standard, — a task kindly under-
taken by Professor William A. Rogers, of Cambridge, Mass.
Attention has already been called to the fact, that throughout
the structure the dimensions exhibited variations greater
than those of any other Greek temple with which the writer
is acquainted. The above table in all cases states the aver-
age computed from every recognizable block. The labor in-
volved in its preparation may be judged from the fact, that
in the case of the columns" alone more than one thousand
measurements were taken with rod and tape.
1 In an anonymous review of the First Report, published in the American
Architect, Boston, 1882, it was asserted that the height of the order does not
agree with the total obtained by adding together the dimensions of the steps,
column, and entablature. The critic, however, omitted to include the low-er
step in his computation. His total of 7.0S m. increased by the neglected figure
gives the 7.36 m. of the original table, here repeated.
2 Preliminary Report, p. 96.
CHAPTER III.
TEMPLE SCULPTURES.
NOTWITHSTANDING the fact that during the first
year of the work at Assos the plan of the temple had
been entirely laid bare, and the greater part of the rude
mediaeval fortifications which surrounded the upper citadel
examined, hopes were still entertained that additional reliefs
might be brought to light by further digging in this vicinity.
The eleven fragments of the sculptured epistyle which had
been already found constituted one of the most valuable re-
sults^of^the undertaking, and nothing was to be left undone
from which an extension of this series could be expected.
A thorough search was consequently made upon all parts of
the Acropolis during the early months of the second year, as
has been related in the first chapter of the present volume.
The faces of all walls known to have been built after the
temple was overthrown were exposed to their lowest courses,
while those masses of masonry which were of sufficient thick-
ness to hide sculptured blocks between scarp and counter-
scarp were broken up with wedge and hammer. '!^he__g^reat
square tower adjacenttothe mosque was found to contain
no recognizable stones of the temple whatever, while the
spTifnxes from the eastern facade proved to be the only work
of sculpture emBeddcd in those masses of rubble and mor-
tar which protected the uppermost step of the Acropolis
upon the northeast. But in the most recent of the fortifi-
142 ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
cation walls, hastily piled up of large stones without mortar,
namely, those at the south of the temple site, severaLepistyle
blocks^^ were discovered, one of them sculptured. A block
sji owing the body^f one of the sphinxes from the western
front of the temple was found, face^ownwards, upon the sur-
face of the e arth, outside..-th£ citadel gate. In short, five fur-
th.er_fragments of the temp le reliefs were-^i^eav-ered during
the_workof the second year. Three of these form an entire
lintp], withp rppxesen Tation of _ horse-l egged centaurs ; one
completes the heraldic sphinxes from the western front ; and
the last, a part of a new metope, shows the hind legs of a
galloping centaur. Meagre as these results appear in them-
selves, they are yet of scientific importance, as throwing new
light upon the significance and arrangement of the sculptures
previously known. The total count of the fragments discov-
ered by the expedition is thus brought up to sixteen, — within
one of the number of those removed to the Louvre in 1838.^
The pieces in the Louvre represent thirteen separate reliefs ;
those found by excavation, ten.
The la rgest and most important of the newly found sculp-
tures (Fig . 35 ) represents four centaurs,^ gallopinigLwith up-
li frpd fnrp f pptanfl outstretched arms. The design is frankly
^ Clarac [li/nsee, vol. ii. part ii.) repeatedly refers to the fragments of sculp-
tures removed from Assos to Paris as seventeen in number. But if we consider
the relief of the Banquet to be composed of four separate pieces, the total
number of fragments would be eighteen.
2 The archaeological literature upon the subject of centaurs is extensive.
The chief authorities in regard to it are referred to by Colvin (Sidney) in his
Representations of Centaurs in Greek Vase Painting, yournal of Hellenic Stitdies,
vol. i., London, iS8o. But although he goes as far back as Bochart (Samuel),
Hierozoico7t, sive de Animalibus Sacra Scriptiirce, Londini, 1663, and Bachet (Claude
Caspar), Commentaires sur les Epitres d'Ovide, La Haye, 17 16, his list is far from
complete. The most thorough and learned contributions to the subject in recent
years have certainly been those of Stephani (Ludolf), in the Conipte Rendu de la
Commission Itnperiale d' Archeologie de St. Petersbourg, 1865 and 1S73.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 18S3. I43
decorative, the differences in position being so slight that
the mon sters, p laced as^lKey^wereTiT^a^aixhitecUlral frame-
work, and at some height above the eye, must at the first
gla.noe_h ave appea red^almost like-repetitions of a convention-
alized ^rn amen t. The bodies, entirely similar in outline, are,
like the heads, shown exactly in profile ; yet, in a childlike
striving after clearness of representation, the front legs of
each centaur are placed before, while the hind legs are be-
hind, those of the individuals which they adjoin. The pattern-
like effect of the composition is greatly augmented by this
overlapping. With a single exception, the arms are held
out at length ; the thumbs of the left hand all point up-
wards, the thumbs of the right downwards. The right and
left legs are precisely parallel, being, as it were, shown in
perspective. The tails, made prominent in the relief by too
great a projection from the background, fall in the same
curve, nearly to the ground.
The third centaur roars, open-mouthed, with a peculiarly
na'ive and archaic expression. He alone has bent one of his
arms, as if carrying a club or stone ; yet nothing is grasped
in his clenched fist.
The body of the second centaur has been split off with
clean fracture. Ot-hervvise the preservation of the relief is
excellent, — much superior, for instance, to that of the frag-
mentary and weathered centaur-blocks which have been re-
moved to Paris. Coarse as the stone is, the fillets around
the heads, the twisted curls of the hair and beards, and the
outstretched fingers, are quite distinct. It will be shown,
in a subsequent discussion of the arrangement of the
sculptured lintels, that this block was probably situated
upon the main fa9ade, above the second intercolumniation
from the southeastern corner, and adjoining that relief —
discovered by the expedition during the first year — which
144
ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
represents Herakles in combat with the centaurs who had
fallen upon him in the cave of Pholos/ presently to be re-
ferred to. There can hence be no doubt in regard to the
action in which these four centaurs take part : they are flee-
ing from the arrows of the hero.^ Their precipitous haste
is well expressed by the arms flung into the air, and by
the position of the heads ; the foremost three of which are
stretched forwards in headlong flight, while the last is turned
1 Some account of this myth was given in the First Report, p. 107 ; but the
passages of the ancient authors referring to it were not there cited. Those
known to the present writer are as follows. The story of Herakles and Pholos
is not mentioned in the Iliad or Odyssey, though evidently referred to in the
pseudo-Homeric Ka^iz'os % Kepafils, 18. There is, however, reason to suppose
that it was included in the narratives of the epic poets and chroniclers of the
seventh and sixth centuries before Christ, — notably in those of Peisandros of
Kameiros, Panyasis, and Herodoros the Pontian. Quintus of Smyrna {Posthom.,
VI. 273, and VII. 107), imitating the manner of Homer, towards the close of the
fourth century of our era, is without doubt following an ancient epic prototype
when he describes the labors of Herakles wrought in relief upon the shield of
Eurypylos, and among them the combat of the hero with the centaurs of Mount
Pholoe, " when wine and the spirit of strife stirred up these monsters to fight
a2;ainst him in the house of Pholos." A passage of Stesichoros, preserved by
Athenaios, XL 499 B, is the most ancient reference which has been handed down
to us. It will be quoted in a subsequent passage of the text. Among the Attic
tragedians this exploit of Herakles is referred to by Sophokles (Trachin., 1095)
and Euripides (Here. Fur., i8t, 364, 1272). We learn from Eustratios (Com-
mentary to Aristotle, Et/i. Nicom., III. 5, ed. Camerarius, Francofurti, 1578,
p. 126) that one of the comedies of Epicharmos was entitled 'Hpa/cA^s 6 iropa
*oA.9). The story is alluded to also by Aristophanes (Frogs, 38, and the scho-
liast), and told at considerable length by Apollodoros (II. 5. 4), Diodoros (IV.
12. 3-6), and Tzetzes (Chil., V. 111-137), who are our chief authorities for the
details of the exploit. Other references are to be found in Theokritos (Idyll.,
VII. 149), Lykophron (Alex., 670, with the commentary of Tzetzes), Ptolemy
(A'ov. Hist., v., ed. Westermann, p. 192), Lucian (Jitp. Tragoed., 21), Orpheus
(Argon., 410), Philostratos the Lemnian (Imag., XVI.), Polyainos (Strateg., I.
3. i), Stephanos of Byzantion (p. 670, ed. Meineke). Further, among the Ro-
mans, Virgil (Aen., VIII. 294, with the commentary of Servius, and Georg., II.
456), Juvenal (Sat., XII. 45), and Lucan (Pharsal., VI. 388, 391).
^ The French authorities attached a much less tragic significance to the two
reliefs of centaurs, belonging to this representation, which were removed from
Assos to the Louvre. The clubs and stones with which the devoted combatants
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1883. 1 45
backwards, in full profile, to cast a glance of terror at the
pursuer.
In point of style this block presents a marked contrast to
its more archaic neighbor. The most striking difference is
that — while the centaurs upon the corner block are repre-
sented in that primitive combination of man and beast in
which an entire and perfect human being is joined to the
trunk and hind legs of a horse, the front legs being human —
in this relief the centaurs show the improved form of the
monster, with equine fore legs. While centaurs with human
fore legs are not unfrequently figured upon archaic vases ^
are armed were held to be the instruments of pastoral music, and the attack-
ing column itself but a festive train. The official account of the Director
of the Louvre (Clarac, Musee, vol. ii. part ii.) is delightfully idyllic: "Ceci pa-
rait une course de plaisir, et ce que ces centaures tenaient presque tons a la
main gauche et pres de leur bouche, pourrait bien etre une sorte de trompette
ou de cornet dont les sons champetres accompagnent et excitent leur course
joyeuse."
1 Representations of human-legged centaurs upon archaic vases have been met
with by the writer in the following works : Dorow (Wilhelm), Voyage Archeolo-
gique dans rAticienne Etrurie, Paris, 1S29, PI. I. 6, and IV. 2. Witte (Jean
Joseph Antoine Marie de), Pelee et Thetis, Atmali, Roma, 1832, pp. 91-127,
engraved in the Mofttimenti Inediti for 1832, vol. i., Roma, 1829-32, pi. 37.
Micali (Giuseppe), Storia degli Antichi Popoli Italiani, Firenze, 1832, pis. 19,
20, 95. Inghirami (Francesco), Etriisco Museo Chmsino, Firenze, 1833-34,
pi. 84. Maximis (Franciscus Xaverius de), Musei Etri'isci quod Gregoriits XVI.,
in Aedibiis Vaticanis Constituit Monimenta, Romae, 1842, vol. ii. pi. 100. Roulez
(Joseph Emmanuel Ghislain), L' Education d^Achille, pi. i. E. Acadimie de
Bruxelles, Bulletin, vol. ix., 2me partie, 1842. Campana (Giovanni Pietro),
Antiche Opere in Plastica, Roma, 1842-52, part 2, pi. 22. Micali (Giuseppe),
Monumenti Inediti, Firenze, 1844, pi. 27. 4. Michaelis (Adolph), Atheuische
Vasen, Archaologischer Anzeiger, No. 149, 150; Archdologische Zeitung, Perlin,
1861, No. 14. Gamurrini (G. F.), Un Antico Sepolcreto in Arezzo, Annali,
Roma, 1872, p. 279; compare the notes entitled Scavi d^Arezzo, by the same
writer, in the Bullettino, Roma, 1S69, p. 72. Heydemann (Heinrich Gustav
Dieudonne), Vasensammlung des Afuseums zn Palermo^ Archdologische Zeitung,
Berlin, 1871. Salzmann (Auguste), Necropole de Camiros, Paris, 1875, P'^- -6'
27. 39' Colvin, Centaurs in Greek Vase Painting, quoted above, pis. i and 2,
fig. 4. Puchstein (Otto), Kyren'dische Vasen, Archdologische Zeitung. Berlin,
1881. Special search among the catalogues of vase collections would with-
10
146 ARCH.^EOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
and gems/ in sculpture they are exceedingly rare. The
Assos relief of Herakles and Pholos, discovered by the ex-
pedition, is the only known example of the occurrence of such
forms in any work of considerable size, or of monumental
character. A figurine, found by Ross upon the Acropolis
of Athens, and a small bronze relief, lately unearthed at
out doubt reveal many others. Li the Museo Etrusco, Rome, is an inedited
vase with representations in low relief, one of the human-legged centaurs of
which is shown in Fig. 36. Besides two fragments from Kameiros, published by
Salzmann in the work quoted above, and the vase given by Colvin, pi. 2, there
are in the collection of the British Museum two fine inedited vases with repre-
sentations of human-legged centaurs. These are numbered B. 116, and B. 420.
The scene illustrated by the latter is the reception of
Herakles by Pholos. The writer has observed un-
published vases showing human-legged centaurs in
the Louvre and the Museum of Berlin ; but as the
purpose of the present note is merely to provide
proof for the statement in the text, a further enu-
meration is unnecessary.
A curious uncertainty of form — a hesitation be-
tween human and equine members — is noticeable
in some representations referable to a period of tran-
sition. Thus centaurs with human fore legs termi-
FiG. 36. Human-legged
Centaur. rating m horse s hoofs are shown upon an archaic
Upon a Vase in the Museo Etrusco, vase published by Hclbig ( Wolfgang), Imitazioni di
^°"^- Vasi Corintii, Annali, Roma, 1863, tav. i. The
same combination appears upon one of the gems in the British Museum, re-
ferred to in the following note.
1 In the British Museum are two gems representing human-legged centaurs ;
one from the Hamilton, the other from the Castellani collection. At the time of
writing they are not designated by catalogue numbers. Woodcuts of them are
given by Colvin in the Essay before quoted, figs. 2 and 3. Two other gems are
illustrated by Micali, Storia, pi. 46. A striking peculiarity of these latter is
that both of the human-legged centaurs are winged ; the one, with the front legs
terminating in talons, having the wings extended from the human shoulders, the
other from the horse's back, Pegasos-like. These additions open a wide vista of
monstrous formations, and prove the agglutinative character of such types, which
may very probably have arisen, as Mr. Murray has suggested to me, through the
combination of various heraldic symbols, like the quarterings of our coats of
arms. A fifth gem, showing a human-legged centaur, and published by Gori
(Antonio Francesco), Museum Florenthmm, Florentiae, 1731-66, vol. ii. pi. 39,
appears, as well as can be judged from the exceedingly mannered engraving, to
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1883. 147
Olympia, have been mentioned in the Preliminary Report ^ as
being the only parallels to this representation which are to be
found in the wide field of Greek decorative sculpture. To
this may be added two Etruscan bronzes,^ between three and
four inches in height, and, notably, a terra-cotta figurine
from Cyprus, now preserved in the Metropolitan Museum of
New York.3
The combinations of human with animal forms, which played
so great a part in the sculpture of Egypt and Mesopotamia,
were rarely adopted, and never favorites in that of Greece.
It is hence the more remarkable that, in this type of centaur,
as in the primitive gorgones (/jiop/j,oXvKeta), the archaic art of
Hellas and Etruria even exceeded the malformations in vogue
among the barbarians. Oriental art does not appear to have
ever figured a quadruped with human legs. Such a form was,
however, too monstrous to be long retained by the rapidly
advancing sculpture and painting of the Greeks, and was soon
proscribed as disgraceful. Entirely apart from its horrid
be a forgery of the later Renaissance. A gem in cr3'stal, representing a female
centaur of this type drinking from a rhyton, in the National Library at Paris
(Chabouillet, Catal. des Camecs, No. 16S9), is engraved in A. Bougot, Philostrate
I'ancien. Une Galerie ajifiqtte, p. 361.
A bronze vase with a representation of this kind is given by Helbig (Wolf^
gang), Ciste Preiiestine, Bullcttnio, Roma, 1S66, p. 144, No. 16 ; and a large cylinder
of ivory ornamented with reliefs, is published by the same writer in the Bullettino,
1874, p. 210, in an article entitled Scavi di Chiusi. This highly interesting cylin-
der is now in the Terrosi collection, Cetona.
1 FtJ-st Report, p. iio, notes i and 2.
2 The one published in Gori (A. F.), Afusetim Etntsaim, F\oreut\ae, 1737-43,
pi. 65; the other by Braun (Emil), Bronzi Etruschi, Annali, 1B36, p. 61, en-
graved in the Monumcnti Inediti, Roma, 1836, vol. ii. pi. 29. Compare the refer-
ences in the Bullettino for 1835 '"^"^ ^<^'' '^36. It is apparently the latter of these
to which reference was made by Helbig, in a paper read at an archajological
meeting and reported in the Bullettino for 1871, No. IV. ; if this be not the case,
then a third bronze, closely resembling the other two, is to be added to the list.
2 See Note on a Terra- Cotta Figurine from Cyprus of a Centimr icith human
Fore Legs, by Thomas W. Ludlow, in Bulletin of the Arehiroloqieal Institute of
America, I., Jan., 1883, Boston; with a photograph of the object.
148 ARCHAEOLOGICAL lASTITUTE.
nature, this combination was at a disadvantage, because not
lending itself to the exigencies of artistic representation. In
a state of rest, the dissimilarity of the legs might not be found
intolerable, but any vigorous movement became at once un-
manageable and ludicrous, — the mode of locomotion of the
human members being entirely unlike that of the equine.
The awkward sprawl of the human-legged centaurs upon the
Assos epistyle, for instance, must have formed a striking con-
trast to the easy gallop of their neighbors. Thus the primi-
tive conformation of the centaur, in which a horse's trunk and
hind legs were attached as an outgrowth to the complete
body of a human being, was given up after but few experi-
ments. The more perfect structure seems to have come into
general use some time before the building of the Assos
temple, — as early, at all events, as the time of Pindar, who
refers to centaurs as horse-legged, " from their dam inheriting
the parts below, from their sire the parts above." ^ In fact,
the earlier conception, which in monumental stone-carving is
represented only by our relief, ultimately became altogether
foreign to the Greek mind, as is evident from a forcible,
albeit somewhat coarse, epigram preserved in the Anthology
of Planudes :
'AvSpo^ev Ikk^^vQ^ iTTTTos ' ave^pafie S 'nnrodev dv^p,
avrjp v6a(pt ttoSwi', K^pakrjs S urep aloXns ittttos •
"ttttos fpevyerai avhpa, dvfjp 8 drroTTep^erai lttttov.-
And even more directly from another :
"imros erjv aKaprjvos, dvfjp S' dr eXeaTos eKeiTO
ov ■ye (bvais nai^ovcra Bow iveicivrpicrev Lirivca?
1 Pindar, Pythia, II. 8S, ed. Ileyne. IMuller (Archdologie dcr Kiinst, ed. 1S78,
§ 389) seems to place too late a date for this transformation of the human-legged
to the horse-legged centaur, stating that it took place " etwa seit Pheidias."
Schmitz (Article Centauri, in Smith's Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography
and Mythology, London, 1876) likewise states that the latter form " was probably
not used before the time of Phidias and Alcamenes."
2 Anth. Palat., Append. Planud., 115. ^ Ibid., 116.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 18S3. 149
The appearance of three human-legged centaurs upon the
Assos relief sufifices to disprove the assumption of Klug-
mann/ who has argued that this form was not that in which
the archaic designers figured to themselves the entire race
of centaurs, but was a distinction with which the more hu-
mane and mild-mannered among them were alone honored :
Cheiron, and occasionally Pholos, being thus anthropomor-
phized, as it were. Still it must be admitted that the human
members were retained until a somewhat later date in the
case of Cheiron, who, from the nature of those mythological
scenes in which he appears, was not commonly represented
in violent action.^
While the Herakles relief is unquestionably the more char-
acteristic and interesting work, the block newly discovered
displays a great advance in respect to technical ability. The
bodies of the horse-footed centaurs are much more correctly
formed ; the curves of back and belly show a direct observa-
tion of the living animal, and contrast strongly with the lank
and almost cylindrical bodies of their human-footed neighbors.
The action of the hind legs, though entirely conventional, is
more true to nature ; and the same may be said of the human
trunks, which are better proportioned, and modelled with a
greater understanding of the muscular development. These
remarks apply also to the arms, — much too short in the
more archaic relief. The heads are of a like type, — the hair
1 Klugmann (Adolph), Sulla Maniera di Rappresoitare i Caitattri, Bullet-
tino, 1876, p. 140. It i.s interesting to note in this connection that the ancient
tradition (Aelian, Var. Hist., IX. 16) represented Mares, the centaur of the Auso-
nes, to have been human-legged.
2 Ahiiost all those vases of later date which have been referred to as
showing human-legged centaurs represent the single figure of Cheiron. It is
worthy of especial notice that on the Fran9ois vase (Rraun, Emil, luiso di
Clitia ed Ergolinto, Aiiiiali, 1S4S, engraved in the Mctiutnoid Iticditi, 1X44-48,
vol. iv. pis. 54, 55) Cheiron has human legs, while all the other centaurs are
horse-legged.
150
ARCH^OLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
looped above the ears and falling in a thick mass upon the
back of the neck, while lying so closely upon the skull itself
as clearly to show its round outline. In the new relief they
are smaller and in better proportion with the figures, but
much less expressive, being almost entirely free from that
uncouth and goblin-like aspect which is so attractive in the
centaurs of the corner block, because so well in keeping with
the wild nature of this mountain roaming race, infuriated by
the odor of the wine which Pholos had broached for the hero.
The most interesting, and in scientific respects by far the
most important, of all the Assos reliefs, namely, that represent-
ing Herakles, Pholos, and the three human-legged centaurs
(Fig. 37), fell to the share of the explorers in the official divis-
ion, and is now in the Museum of Boston, No. S. 1157. The
main features of this work have been referred to in the Prelim-
inary Report.^ In one respect that description was at fault.
It was stated that, judging from the position of the middle
regula, and the width of the intercolumniations, this block
is, upon its upper surface preserved in its original length.
Hence it was concluded to be hardly possible that the body
of a horse could have been sculptured upon the missing
portion of the relief, and that the figure standing imme-
diately behind Herakles was consequently not a centaur, but
a human being.^ In conformity with this view the figure in
1 First Report, ■p-p. 107-111, PI. 15.
2 A curious argument is advanced by an anonymous writer in the A'ew York
Critic, July i, 1882, in respect to this figure. The author of a review of the
First Report states that there exist ancient representations of centaurs which
show them not as quadrupeds, but as perfect human beings with the sole addi-
tion of a horse's tail. Hence, it is argued, the individual standing behind Her-
akles on our relief, although destitute of a horse's trunk and hind legs, may
nevertheless be held to be a centaur, and in fact Pholos himself, who is " thus
represented to distinguish him from the other centaurs." It is scarcely necessary
to enter into a criticism of such a confusion between the clearly differentiated
forms of satyrs and of centaurs.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASS OS, 1883. 15 I
question was identified as lolaos, the companion of the hero,
who not infrequently appears in ancient representations of
this scene. A calculation of the original length of the blocks,
with reference to the positions occupied by the separate re-
liefs upon the epistyle, — in this case to be determined with
certainty, — has shown the incorrectness of the identification
at first adopted. Owing to the excessive irregularity of all the
members of the entablature, no estimate of dimensions can
pretend to greater accuracy than that which may be expressed
in decimeters, but even this is sufficient to furnish a proof.
To ascertain the width of the intercolumniation, from centre
to centre of the columns above which the block was placed
we have to add to the total length of the two fragments
found the length of the half-regula which is missing upon
the left-hand side. The result thus obtained — namely, a
minimum of 2.7 m. — makes it evident that this relief was
above one of the corner intercolumniations of the front,
which alone are of so great a dimension. Now the position
in which the two fragments were discovered — close to the
southern corner of the eastern front — leaves little doubt as
to which of the four corner intercolumniations it is to be as-
signed. The exact spot in which the Herakles relief was
unearthed is indicated upon the plan of the Acropolis given
in the First Report.^ It may be here remarked that those
sculptured epistyle blocks which were incorporated into the
rude masonry which surrounded the temple plan seem never
to have been moved, after their fall, from the front to the
rear of the building, or vice versa. This fact, naturally to
be assumed in the absence of contrary evidence, is actually to
be proved in the case of all those other reliefs of which the
position upon the entablature is recognizable from other con-
siderations ; namely, the two fragments of the sphinxes now
1 Fust Kiport, PI. 2, B.
152 ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
in Boston, and the horse-legged centaurs of the eastern front,
and the two fragments of the other sphinxes, and the lion and
boar from the western front. In the case of the Herakles
relief the conclusion drawn from the place of discovery is
confirmed by the general direction of the composition, which
would naturally have been advanced towards the centre of
the fagade, rather than towards the sides of the building.
The movement from left to right, so decidedly pronounced,
would thus indicate the relief to have occupied either the
northern corner of the rear, or this southern corner of the
front. To contain the full body of a centaur behind the trunk
of the individual standing next to Herakles would, indeed, re-
quire the panel to have had a length of about three meters, —
greater by 20 cm. than any intercolumniation in the building,
— so that the identification set forth in the First Report was
not without a semblance of reason. The difficulty is, however,
entirely removed, and a further argument to prove the position
of the relief gained, by the recognition of the fact that the
corner epistyle was lengthened be3'ond the axis of the cor-
ner column by one half the thickness of the entablature, so
that there must have been a length of three meters from the
right-hand side of this relief to the corner of the building.
It does not, of course, follow that the lintel itself was of this
length, for the corner epistyle blocks were not mitred, but
overlapped, and, as the lap and true corner seem, as will be
subsequently explained, to have been cut upon the beams
of the side, we have to deduct from the given total the
width of these overlaps, which, judging from the lower thick-
ness of the epistyle beams, and the length of the two other
corner beams, was planned to equal somewhat less than one
half of the corner regula, or about 20 cm. The original
length of the relief representing Herakles and the centaurs
may thus be asserted to have been very nearly 2.8 m., — or,
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1883. 153
in other words, of just that dimension which, taken together
with the overlap, would be necessary to contain the body of
a centaur behind the hero. The figure called lolaos in the
Prehminary Report is hence, beyond all doubt, that of Pholos,
whose presence is scarcely less necessary for the identification
of the scene than that of Herakles himself.
Pholos holds in his left hand the drinking vessel which, in
the most ancient reference to the story that has come down to
us, the friendly centaur is described as handing to his guest :
lKvn(f)fiov Se Xn^wi' 8fnas (fifieTpcv a)? TptXdyvvov,
ir'itu iTTKTxpjxevos, tJ pit o'l TTcipeO'jKe 4-6Xos Kepdaai.^
1 Stesichoros in Athenaios, XI. 499 B. The form of drinking vessel illus-
trated by Jahn (Otto), Beschreibung der Vasensammlung A'onig Ludwig's in dcr
Pinakothek zu Munchen, Miinchen, 1854, pi. i. 6, (re-engraved and more gen-
erally accessible in Guhl and Koner, Das Lebeii dcr Griechen tiiid Rbnier, ed. 3,
Berlin, 1S72, fig. 19S. 4,) as a skyphos, is precisely like that held by Pholos in
the relief discovered at Assos. This form of drinking vessel is termed by Pa-
nofka (Theodor), Kechcrchcs siir les veritablcs Noms des Vases Grecs, Paris, 1829,
pi. 4, a kotyle; but that this identification is incorrect may be plainly seen from
the testimony of Athenaios (XI. 478 B), who expressly states that the kotyle
has but a single handle. Stephani, Cotnpte Rendu, 1873, '^ likewise in fault
when describing the skyphos as a henkelloses Gefdss, — for that the skyphos
was provided with handles is plain from a reference of Simonides (in Athenaios,
XI. 498 E) to an ovarSevTa aKJrpov. The correct identification of the ancient
name is due to Gerhard (Eduard), Intorno le Forme di Vasi Volcenti, Annali,
1831, p. 257, and Moniunenti Inediti, \'&y, pi. xxvii. 46-49; also, Ultitne
Ricerche siille Forme di Vasi Greet, Annali, 1836, pi. c. 24, 25, and 47, and Ber-
lin's Antike Bildwerkc, Berlin, 1836, Beilage A, No. 28. Compare the critical
remarks upon this point by Letronne (Jean Antoine), Observations Philologiques
et Archeologiqnes stir les Noms des Vases grecs, Paris, 1833.
The skyphos, a homely substitute for the kantharos, seems to have been par-
ticularly in use among country people. Thus Asklepiades of Myrlca (in Athe-
naios, XI. 49S F) says, " None of those who live in towns, not even citizens who
are but moderately well off, use the skyphos, — which is employed only by
swineherds and shepherds, and men in the fields generally." Alkman (in Athe-
naios, XI. 499 A) speaks of a huge skyphos "such as is owned by shepherds";
and Eumaios offers wine to Odysseus in a cup of this kind [Odyss., XIV. 114).
Theokritos (Idyll., I. 143) even uses the word for wooden milk pails: evidently
such two-handled vessels as are still employed by the herdsmen of Sicily and
Calabria in dipping out whey from the enormous caldrons in which the milk is
154
ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
The left hand is raised as if in deprecation of so rude an
interruption of his hospitality. The quiet and almost stately-
attitude of Pholos contrasts strongly with the wild gestures of
the other centaurs. His head is of a higher type than theirs,
being smaller and better formed. He is bearded like the
others, but his beard is shorter and more comely. The chest,
which is shown in direct profile, is full and well formed ; and
though the head, supported upon too short a neck, droops
slightly forward, as if to indicate the physical weakness of
this aged centaur, the carriage of the shoulders is erect and
dignified. In fine, the endeavor of the sculptor to give a
certain nobility to this personage is clearly apparent.
The other figures were correctly identified in the Prelimi-
nary Report. Hence the following remarks concerning them
should be taken in connection with the general description of
the relief, and of the scene which it represents, given in that
volume.^
The chief attention of the sculptor was evidently devoted to
the figure of Herakles, which displays a closer observation of
nature, and greater care in execution, than do the centaurs.
In spite of the surface weathering, the details of the head are
still distinct, and prove how firmly the outlines must origi-
nally have been marked. Though elevated considerably more
boiled. In short, the vase is precisely such a one as might be supposed to be in
the hands of the more civilized of the centaurs, and is fitly representative of the
rude hospitality which Pholos offered to the Doric hero.
To this it may be added that the skyphos had come to be peculiarly identified
with the gluttonous Herakles, who was said to have originally used this kind of
a cup while on his expeditions (Athenaios, XI. 500 A). Macrobius {Sat., V. 21)
says, " Scyphos Herculis poculum est." "To drink the cup of Herakles" evi-
dently came to mean excessively large potations. (Plutarch, Ahx. 75.) Com-
pare Virgil {Aen., VIII. 27S) and the commentary of Servius on this passage.
Lucian (Conviv., 14) particularly refers to the position in which the ancient
Greek painters were wont to represent Herakles, drinking in the cave of Pholos,
and holding this cup in his right hand.
^ First Report, ■^•^. 108- no.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1883. I 55
than seven meters above the eye of the beholder, every feature
must have been readily distinguishable, even without the
emphasis of color. The hair, though by no means so closely
cropped as that of Herakles is usually shown in later times,
is comparatively short, as becomes an athletic hero. Masses
of clustering curls, the separate locks of which were without
doubt represented by painted spirals, are indicated by a broad
welt above the brow, and by a short chignon. Between these
a sharply pronounced curve displays the outline of the skull,
high and short, — in fact of the same hypsibrachycephalic
type as the crania of the ancient Assians themselves. The
features are those of a young man. The receding forehead is
higher and somewhat more convex than that customary in
the more advanced style, forming with the coarse and promi-
nent nose a profile resembling that of the heads of such stat-
ues of athletes as the so-called Apollos of Thera and Tenea-
The eye, standing in a slightly oblique position, is full and
almond-shaped, almost as if drawn de face. The lips are
thick and pouting, nearly touching the lower surface of the
nostrils ; the corners of the mouth are still drawn upwards,
but the archaic smile has almost vanished. The inferior jaw
is massive ; the chin round. In short, the face is that of a
vigorous, unintellectual athlete, excellently characterized.
Although the energetic movement of the body has evidently
been studied from the living model, and is rendered with con-
siderable freedom and technical skill, it is in the forms of the
trunk and lower limbs, rather than in the head, that we meet
with distinct reminiscences of archaism. Thus the waist is un-
naturally compressed ; the buttocks are too small, and yet too
protruding ; the upper part of the legs is of too convex a curve
upon the front side; the knees, especially the left, are insuffi-
ciently indicated, and too much rounded in outline. The feet
are small, the heel and ankle having but little projection,
156 ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
while the toes are too long and too flat. Now all these fea-
tures are characteristic of black-figured vases of a style which,
without taking into account the influence of provincial back-
wardness, would be ascribed to the end of the sixth, or first
decade of the fifth century before Christ. On the other hand,
a highly intelligent observation of nature is no less noticeable
in those parts which are in action, and in the representation
of which no set model of forms and proportions can have been
employed by the designer of this figure. Indeed, the treat-
ment is here extremely skilful. The swift yet cautious stride
upon the slippery ground ; ^ the inclination of the trunk,
thrown forward in pursuit ; the outstretching of the arms, so
as to hold the bow entirely free ; the slight lowering of the
head, in order to take sight of the arrow; — all these move-
ments are clearly expressed, while the body is brought into
perfect equilibrium. The muscles of the right upper arm are
distended with the effort of drawing the stout bow ; the left
arm is stiffened in full resistance. The chest, expanded as if
by a deep breath, is excessively thick, this effect being pro-
duced by a greater exaggeration of the muscles of the back
than of those of the breast. This peculiar formation evidently
resulted from an attempt to indicate the displacement of the
right shoulder by the strain of the arm, but even taking this
into account, the back appears too round, and even slightly
humped. The difference in plane between the lower ribs and
the abdomen is so marked as to cause the latter to appear
unnaturally contracted. This extreme development of the
trunk is, however, entirely in accord with the character of the
hero, who was conceived by the Greek sculptors of all ages
1 Nephele, the cloud mother of the centaurs, had during the combat deluged
the earth with torrents of rain, so that Herakles could hardly stand upright upon
the slippery ground, while his four-footed opponents were not thereby discom-
forted. Diodoros (IV. 12. 6) makes particular mention of this picturesque de-
tail of the legend.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1883. 1 57
as a human being of extraordinary strength and energy,
rather than as a demigod endowed with supernatural powers.
It has been truly remarked that the testimony of Greek
writers ^ clearly shows us that what seems an undue exag-
geration in such figures as these was but the emphasized
idealization of the athletic form as it appeared in reality.
Herakles attacks the affrighted centaurs with the bow so
closely connected with several of his exploits. His peculiar
skill in the use of this weapon was renowned in the Homeric
poems,^ and was, throughout antiquity, so striking a charac-
teristic of the hero that the bow must be regarded as his
original attribute. As Preller^ has ingeniously surmised, the
'OfMTjptKr] cToXrj of the Herakles of the poet Xanthos * signifies
this accoutrement of the hero as an archer, as distinguished
from his further equipment with a club, which, if we are to be-
lieve the statement of Mcgakleides, preserved by Athenaios,^
was first introduced by Stesichoros. Thus the reference of Pau-
sanias^ to the primitive (^XW*^ o^ Herakles upon the chest of
Kypselos in Olympia asserts the hero to have there appeared
as a bowman, — of the same type, doubtless, as the 'HpaK\Tj<i
^ For instance, Aristophanes, Clouds, 1009-1014.
2 It was with the bow that Herakles wounded Aides, and even Hera herself
(//., V. 395). Compare also the renown of Herakles as an excellent bowman in
the Odyssey (VHI. 224 and XI. 606). It is quite possible that the last mentioned
of these passages, relating to the descent of Herakles to the infernal regions, is
the interpolation of a later age (compare the special literature of this question, in
particular Lauer, Quaestiones Homericae, Berolini, 1S43) ; but we may nevertheless
recognize in the tradition there recorded a true exponent of the primitive concep-
tions obtaining in regard to the hero, who is described as " armed with a naked
bow, and an arrow at the string, . . . always like unto one about to let fly a
shaft." The peculiar skill of Herakles in archery was celebrated also in later
ages; e. g. Euripides, Here. Fur., 157-164, 18S, etc.
8 Preller (Ludwig), Griechisehe Mytkoh^ie, Leipzig, 1875, '• i-9> "•
* Xanthos in Athenaios, XII. 512 F.
5 Ibid. For the costume of Herakles see Miiller's Dorians, B. ii. ch. 12, § i.
* Pausanias, V. 17. 11.
158 ARCH^OLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
To^oTT]'; in combat with a human-legged centaur, shown upon
the archaic bronze rehef before mentioned as having been
recently unearthed at Olympia, or as the Herakles of the
Assos relief of the same subject, now under consideration.
By its contrary flexure we recognize the weapon which he here
holds in his hand to be that given to him by the Scythian
shepherd Teutaros, earliest instructor of the Dorian hero in
archery,^ — a legend significant, it may be surmised, of the
Oriental origin of all that was known to the primitive Greeks
in regard to the bow and its fittings.^ No doubt can exist
concerning the peculiar form of this Scythian bow. Its double
curve, re-entering to the bar grasped by the hand, is compared
by Agathon^ to the shape of the cursive ^, as written towards
the close of the fifth century before Christ. Moreover, the
ancient geographers * were accustomed to compare the outline
of the Black Sea to that of a Scythian bow ; the northern
coast, with its two great gulfs separated by the promontory
of the Crimea, standing for the bow itself, the comparatively
straight southern coast for the string. This graceful contrary
1 Scholiast to Theokritos {Tdyll., XIII. 56), quoting from Herodoros. Com-
pare Lykophron, Alex., 56 and 45S, with the commentary of Tzetzes, and also on
V. 50.
^ The Oriental origin of Greek archery has been referred to in the previous
chapter, p. 45, in connection with the bronze arrow-heads of Persian shape found
upon the Acropolis of Assos. Raoul-Rochette [Diswi), Siir T Hercule assyrien
et phenicien, considSri dans ses Rapports avec VHei-cide grec, {Memoires de I'Aca-
dettiie des Inscriptions, Paris, 1848, voh xvii., deuxieme partie,) has called atten-
tion to the striking similarity between the 'Hpa/cXfjs to%6ti]s of the archaic coins
of Thasos, and the types of the royal archer upon the darics of Persia.
8 Agathon, in Athenaios, X. 454 D. This was, of course, not the later
sigma of segmental shape. Euripides and Theodektes (in the same passage of
Athenaios), the one writing in the same age as Agathon, the other nearly a cen-
tury later, both compare the form of the letter sigma to that of a wavy lock o
hair. The contrary flexure of the letter, and of the bow which it is said to
resemble, is thus fully assured.
* Dionysios Periegetes, 156. Strabo, II. 5. 22, p. 125. Ammianus Marcellinus,
XXII. 8. 10.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1883. 159
flexure, so foreign to the nature of wood, must have resulted
from the employment of the horns of animals in the manu-
facture of bows, — the bases of two horns being attached by
a spHcing of a metal ferule to a short, straight middle piece.
Such were the weapons so accurately described by Homer ; ^
while the bow thus came, even in later ages, to be termed
The Scythian bow was the favorite arm of Herakles, and
continued to be a characteristic attribute of the national hero
until the latest ages pf Greek literature and art.^ As will be
remembered, this was the very weapon given by Herakles
to his friend and armor-bearer Philoktetes,^ which, after
conquering the islands near the Troad and expelling from
them the Carian (Lelegian) population,^ finally terminated
the Trojan war by killing Paris.^ And it is not impossible
that the Aeolic colonists of Assos, the Greek inhabitants of
the ancient capital of the Leleges, may have chosen this epi-
sode of the Centauromachia from among the many deeds of
Herakles on account of the connection of this invincible bow
with the traditional history of the land which they occupied.
As shown upon our relief, it is a stout and very short weapon,
— scarcely more than half as long as the bow of Pandaros
described in the Iliad. So diminutive is it, indeed, that we
1 Iliad, IV. 105; Odyssey, XXI. 395.
2 As, for instance, in the passage of Strabo before quoted, and Theokritos,
Idyll., XXV. 2c6.
8 A reference of the twelfth Christian century to the Scythian bow as an
attribute of Heralcles is contained in the commentary of Tzetzes to Lykophron,
Alex., 917.
* Diodoros, IV. 38. 4. Philostratos, Her., V. i. Philostratos the Lemnian,
Imag; 17. Scholiast to the Iliad, II. 724, ed. Bekker, 90 B, 6. Hyginus, Fab.,
36, 102, and other ancient authorities.
6 Philostratos, Her., V. 3.
8 The ancient authorities in support of this version of the legend, ranging as
they do from Sophokles down to Kedrenos, are too numerous, and in part at
least too well known, to be quoted here
l6o ARCH^OLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
are led to suspect that archery was but little practised by
the Assians at the period to which this sculpture is to be
ascribed. There is ample space upon the relief for the in-
troduction of a larger bow, and the careful observation of
nature, so evident in the muscular development of the bow-
man, could not otherwise have failed to be extended to this
important adjunct, which thus appears rather as a model,
a plaything, in short a conventional attribute, than as a
really effective weapon. Some acquaintance with the na-
ture of the bow is shown in the thickqning of the tips by
the ends of the cord wound around them ; but the curved
horns do not taper sufficiently, and the string is stretched
to much too acute an angle. Moreover, the arrow is not
represented, as it should have been, with a bow thus bent in
actual use.
The fact that Herakles is depicted at Assos without the
lion's skin is exceptional among archaic works of art, — there
being but very few instances of this guise upon black-figured
vases,^ — and may perhaps be adduced in support of the belief
that the date of the temple is to be placed at least as late as
the close of the Persian war. A more forcible argument to
the same effect is to be based upon the adoption of a youth-
ful and beardless type in this figure. We have in the head
of Herakles a very definite indication that the sculptures of
Assos are to be assigned to the first half of the fifih century
before Christ, rather than to a more remote date; for, while
upon black-figured vases belonging with certainty to the sixth
century before Christ, Herakles is almost invariably shown
as bearded, he has here the beardless youthful form in which
^ One is shown by Welcker (Friedrich Gottlieb), Rappreseittazioni dell' Idra
Lernea, Annali, 1842, p. 103, and Motmmenti Inediti, pi. 46, Roma, 1836 ; also
in the Alte Denkmaler of the same author, vol. iii. pi. 6, Gottingen, 1849-64.
The hero attacking the hydra is armed only with quiver and sword.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1883. i6l
he appears in the gable group of the temple of Aigina and in
the metopes of the Parthenon, — works which, in respect to
style, must certainly have been in advance of the sculptures of
provincial Assos. This manner of depicting Herakles may
have been introduced by the Argive sculptor Ageladas, whose
youthful Herakles, preserved in Aigion, is mentioned by Pau-
sanias ^ in a manner which seems to show that the represen-
tation of the hero without a beard was an innovation in the
age when that artist was at work. The determination of the
exact date of Ageladas is, as Brunn has remarked in his dis-
cussion of this point,^ one of the most difficult questions in
the history of ancient art. For our present purpose, it will,
however, suffice to bear in mind that Ageladas, having been
alive at least as late as the eighty-second Olympiad, cannot
well be assumed to have created this type of Herakles, which
subsequently became common, before the termination of the
Persian wars.
In regard to the comparative iconography of the Assos
relief, a striking parallel presents itself in the well-known
Karapanos relief of Herakles drawing the bow. Attention
has been called to the similarity of these figures by Emer-
son,^ who has engraved them side by side for the purpose of
comparison. The genuineness of the Karapanos relief, as-
signed by Rayet ^ to the first years of the fifth century before
Christ, has been questioned by Emerson, who nevertheless
conceded this work to have retained many features of some
original very similar to the Assos sculpture. Furtwangler,^
1 Pausanias, VII. 24. 4.
- Brunn, Griechische Kiinstler, 1857, i. 64.
3 Emerson (Alfred), Two Modern Antiques. American Journal ofArchaology,
vol. i. p. 152, pi. 5. Baltimore, 1S85.
* Rayet (Olivier), Momiments de VArt Antique, pi. 23. Paris, 18S0-S4.
5 Furtwangler (Adolf), American Journal of Archa:ology, vol. ii. p. 52.
Baltimore, 1886.
IX
1 62 ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
on the other hand, believes the Karapanos relief to be, not a
modern, but an ancient imitation, ranking it among the finest
known examples of archaistic art, and suggesting the first
century before Christ as the probable date of its execution.
Furtwangler bases his argument wholly upon the style of
the relief. He compares it with another slab of the same
size (showing Herakles with his knee upon the neck of a
stag), which he holds to have belonged to the same series of
representations of the labors of Herakles. A direct proof of
this view, which asserts the Karapanos relief to be an antique
but archaistic work, may be derived from the fact, that, while
the similarity between it and the sculpture of the Assos epi-
style is so great as to exclude the assumption of chance
resemblance, no other figure of this type is known to be in
existence, and at the time of the discovery of the Kara-
panos relief the Assian sculpture was still buried beneath the
earth.
It is scarcely possible to assume the archaistic relief to
have been imitated directly from the decorations of the
temple of provincial Assos, especially as it appears to be but
one of a series of representations of the labors of Herakles,
We have hence to seek for some common original from which
the leading features of both these works were derived. Furt-
wangler suggests that these archaic originals were statuary
groups of the series of Kritios and Nesiotes, inasmuch as the
head of the Karapanos Herakles bears a close resemblance
to that of Harmodios in the group of the Tyrannicides at
Naples, — itself a copy of the work by Kritios and Nesiotes,
dedicated in 477 b. c. by the Athenians.^ This striking re-
semblance, to which attention was called by Rayet, has been
1 Marmor Parium, C. I. G., vol. ii. No. 2374, Epoch, i. line 70. Compare
Bergk (Theodor), Zur Periegese der Akropolis von Atheti. Zeitschrift fiir Alter-
thujtiswissenschaft, vol. iii. p. 972. Giessen, 1S45.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 18S3. 1 63
fully recognized by both Furtwangler and Emerson. When
critics of opinions so various — the one seeing in the Kara-
panos relief a work antedating the Persian wars, the second
ascribing it to the age when Greece was a Roman province,
and the third even terming it a modern forgery — are so
unanimous in fixing upon the type from which it must have
been imitated, it is certainly difficult to avoid the conclusion
that the original from which these characteristics were de-
rived is indeed to be referred to the school in question.
Moreover, the peculiarities of the style of the Kritios and
Nesiotes, as described by Lucian,^ (a most competent observer,
himself trained as a sculptor,) are certainly recognizable in
both the Assos and Karapanos reliefs. VVe have in the figure
of Herakles a clear illustration of the term d7rea(^i'yfieva,
tightly drawn in, compressed like the abdomen of our hero ;
vevpcoSr] koI aKXr^pd, sinewy and rigid, of firm rather than
lithe and supple muscles ; and in the execution of the entire
relief, that sharply cut composition of tfie outlines and some-
what exaggerated emphasis of the physical development result-
ing from a too distinct demarcation of the protruding muscles,
which is referred to as a/cpt/^co? diroTeraixeva raU ypafifxals.
We thus have good grounds for the belief that the style of
the Assos relief now under consideration was influenced by
that of Kritios and Nesiotes, and may perhaps even go so far
as to assume that the type of the Herakles which here ap-
pears was a direct creation of these sculptors. The converse
cannot be admitted for a moment. It is obviously impossible
to entertain the supposition that the work of Athenian artists,
who represented the highest contemporary development in
the modelling of the human figure, can have been in any
way influenced by the rude decorations of a building in a
provincial town of Asia Minor.
1 Lucian, A'/nf. Praec, 9.
164 ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
This identification is entirely in harmony with the date
which other considerations would lead us to assign to the
temple of Assos. If the building was in reality erected
during the age immediately succeeding the Persian wars, —
let us say between the seventy-fifth and eighty-fifth Olym-
piads, — nothing would have been more natural than that its
sculptures should have displayed in the better figures some
traces of the contemporary art of Athens, with which city
Assos was then politically allied, and to which she must have
looked as the great leader of intellectual and artistic advance.
Even as the plan of the temple was copied almost exactly
from that of the Theseion, the types of its most perfect
sculptured decorations were derived from contemporary
works of the Attic school.
While the Karapanos relief thus supplies us with an indi-
cation as to the artistic style of the work from which this
figure of Herakles was derived, other parallels make it plain
that this original was a relief of considerable extent, depicting
the combat of Herakles and the centaurs of Mount Pholoe in
the same general composition as that which appears in the
sculptured epistyle found at Assos. There exist a number of
painted vases with representations of this scene in which the
grouping of the figures evidently was determined, in greater
or less measure, by reminiscences of some archaic work of
art known throughout the Hellenic world, and regarded as
typical of the subject. The composition and forms of this
popular original were imitated, not only in the monumental
decorations of a provincial temple, but in the paintings of
those exquisite vases which were to be found in the dwellings
of every Greek citizen ; even as to-day a popular picture —
such as, to take an example, Rubens's Trinity — is not only
copied in the altar-pieces of the churches of small towns, but
is more or less recognizable in the coarse prints which in
o
u
O «
1 66 ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
Catholic countries enliven the walls of the most humble
cottages.
Chief among the vases of this class is an archaic amphora,
probably of Attic manufacture, found at Caere, and now in
the Museum of Berlin.^ Upon it the chief figures of the
Assos relief are readily to be distinguished (Fig. 38). So
great is the similarity that no doubt can obtain in regard
to the fact that both of these representations were influenced
by some common model. The composition, advancing from
left to right, is almost exactly the same. Herakles, bending
the Scythian bow, strides with body bent forward, the ad-
vanced left foot flat upon the ground, while the right is par-
tially raised, as in the Assos and Karapanos reliefs. The
retreating centaurs are in the same peculiar position as those
shown upon the newly discovered block, — their front legs
overlapping, while their hind legs are behind those of their
neighbors. In general outline the likeness is quite sufficient
to establish the point in question ; for, in a comparison of
this kind, it is obviously the similarities, and not the differ-
ences, of design which require to be taken into consideration
as proof of a relation to some common model. When these
features of similarity surpass the narrow limits of chance
resemblance, the fact of some imitation, conscious or un-
conscious, is at once fully established. This remains true,
whatever may be the variations in the treatment of detail, —
dependent, it may be, upon the exigencies of the space to
which the composition is adapted, or upon the individual
taste of the designer. In consideration of the further fact
that these representations are not supposed to have been de-
1 Gerhard (Eduard), Auserlesene Griechische Vasenbilder, Berlin, 1839-58,
vol. ii. pi. 119. The tracing reproduced above (Fig. 38) was made by me from
the vase, for the purpose of this illustration, as the lithograph given by Gerhard
is incorrect in certain details.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1883. 167
rived the one from the other, but from a third and still more
archaic composition, the general agreement must certainly be
admitted to be surprisingly close.
Another painted vase, representing this scene, and appa-
rently deriving some of its features from the common proto-
type, is that found at Akrai, and published by Judica.^ The
fiofures of Herakles and his antagonists are here shown in
much the same arrangement, the composition being hkewise
from left to right. One detail, altered in the Caere vase,
is here preserved, — Pholos standing behind the hero, with
arm uplifted, as at Assos. Other vase paintings of this type
would doubtless be found on examination of all those repre-
senting the subject, few of which have been published in
plates, or are distinctly recognizable from the short descrip-
tions given in the catalogues of the various collections.^
1 Judica (Gabriele), Le Antichita di Acre, Messina, 1S19.
2 As was mentioned in the First Report (p. loS, note i), seventeen antique
illustrations of the combat of Herakles with the centaurs of Mount Pholoe have
been quoted by Stephani, Compte Rendu, 1873. This list has been unquestioningly
referred to as correct by both Colvin and Puchstein, in the works quoted above,
p. 142, note 2, and p. 145, note i. An examination of these representations will,
however, make it evident that many of them are, in reality, not at all referable to
the subject. Thus, the most important in monumental respects, the sculpture
upon the Roman sarcophagus published by Braun [Y.m\\),Sarcophago rappresen-
taiite Combattimento tra Ercole e Centauri, Monumenti Iiiediti, 1855, pi. 19, which
figures as No. 15 of Stephani's list, shows one of the centaurs to have seized upon
a woman, one of whose feet and some folds of whose drapery, visible upon the
shattered side of the coffer, were evidently overlooked by the learned Russian
archaeologist. The rape thus indicated cannot possibly be brought into connection
with the combat of Herakles with the centaurs of Mount Pholoe, who were on that
occasion attracted solely by the odor of the liquor. It is probable that the sculp-
tor of the sarcophagus has illustrated an episode from the wedding of Peirithoos,
— one of the most popular subjects of ancient art. The same objection is appli-
cable to the bronze of Antoninus Pius, which Stephani cites as his si.xtecnth in-
stance. (Published by Foy-Vaillant (Jean), Selectiora Numismata, Parisiis, 1694,
pi. 25; Beger (Laurentius), Ilerctdes Ethnicoriim, Berlin, 1705, pi. 18; Millin de
Grandmaison (Aubin Louis), Galerie Alythologiqiie, Paris, iSii, pi. 195, No. 437 ;
Guigniault (Joseph Daniel), Religions de P Antiquity, Paris, 1825-51, pi. 170, No.
659 ; Cohen (Henri), Description Historique des Monnaies frappies sous P Empire
1 68 ARCHJEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
By putting these various indications together we can gain
a tolerably definite idea of the characteristics of that archaic
work of art, now lost, whose fame is attested by so many
imitations. The general outlines of its composition, and
some of the peculiarities of its style, are clearly recognizable,
and have been set forth at sufficient length. In other re-
spects we can only assert that the original representation
occupied a field much longer than broad, and was, in all
probability, a relief composed within the limits of some archi-
tectural framework. Ancient writers have left us no account
of any works of Kritios and Nesiotes representing Herakles ;
and Furtwangler's identification of the Karapanos relief, as
derived from " the series " of those artists, should, without
doubt, read a series.
A celebrated work in relief, representing the labors of
Herakles, in an architectural framework, and fully answering
Ro7nain, Paris, 1859-68, vol. ii. p. 338, No. 436.) Here also a centaur is shown
carrying off a woman, — perhaps Homados with Alkyone, the sister of Eurys-
theus, as identified by Guigniault. In this case the objection has been antici-
pated, but by no means fully met, by Stephani, who errs also in describing the
coin as silver. With the representations of the wedding of Peirithoos we have,
furthermore, to class the red-figured vase published by Inghirami (Francesco),
Pittiire di Vast Etruschi, Firenze, 1852-56, 2d ed., vol. i. pi. 79, and Hugues
(Pierre Franfois), Antiqiiites Etrusques, Paris, 1785, pi. 124; Stephani's list,
No. 12. The fine silver vessel now in Munich, published by Arneth (Joseph
Calasanza von), Die Antiken Gold und Silbernionnmente des k. k. Miinz, und
Antiken Cabhiettes in IVien, Wien, 1850, pi. S. II, Stephani, No. 17, also does
not relate in any way to the legend of Herakles and Pholos, merely showing
the struggle of two Lapithae with two centaurs before an image of Ares; and the
vase published by Moses (Henry), A Collection of Antique Vases, Altars, Patera,
Tripods, Candelabra, Sarcophagi, etc., London, 1814, pi. i, represents Herakles
between two centaurs, with nothing to identify the site of the combat. Still an-
other of Stephani's references (No. 13, quoting Maximis, Mtis. Etrusc, vol. ii.
pi. 77) is erroneous, there being no such representation shown upon the plate in
question. Several of the rest are catalogue entries, so vague that the real char-
acter of the scenes depicted upon the vases cannot be fully ascertained there-
from. Even taking these latter into account, as correctly identified, Stephani's
list is to be reduced from seventeen to eleven examples.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1SS3. 1 69
the requirements of the case in point of date, was the sculp-
ture of the temple of Athena Chalkioikos at Sparta, the work
of Gitiadas. We learn from Pausanias ^ that these reliefs,
evidently arranged in compartments upon the wall, repre-
sented, not only those labors which Herakles was com-
manded to perform by Eurystheus, but also those exploits
in which the hero engaged of his own free will. In the latter
category, the combat with the centaurs of Mount Pholoe can
scarcely have been lacking. The fame of the decorations of
this sanctuary was widely extended ; for instance, coins were
struck, not in Sparta alone, but in other towns, with the
type of the sacred effigy preserved within the building.^ But
beyond the suggestion that a connection may have existed
between these reliefs and those of Assos, our present entire
ignorance concerning the artistic style of Gitiadas and its
relation to the contemporary work of Attica, does not permit
us to go.
Little remains to be said concerning the other figures
shown upon this relief, namely, the three human-legged cen-
taurs who hasten away from the arrows of Herakles. A
general description of them has been given in the First Re-
port, and the chief peculiarities of their form have already
been discussed. Although evidently the work of another hand
than the horse-legged centaurs, they display indications of
having been imitated from one and the same model with
them. The arrangement of hair and beard, and of hind legs
and tail, is entirely similar ; and, in particular, the position of
the outstretched arms of the middle centaur upon the corner
block closely resembles that of the others, the juncture with
the body showing the same malformation of the muscles,
1 Pausanias, III. 17. 3.
2 Compare Koner (Wilhelm), Darstelhing des Standbildes der Athene Chalki'
oekos zu Lacedaemon, in Koehne's Zcitschrift fiir Miitiz, Siegel und Wappaikittide,
vol. v., 1845.
170 ARCHAEOLOGICAL IXSTITUTE.
while the thumbs of the left hand are turned up, and those of
the right down, in the same way. These peculiarities of
agreement are the more remarkable, because of the great
technical superiority and general correctness of form notice-
able in the relief now first published. The centaur nearest
to Herakles, turning back his head to aim his missile, holds a
stone in his uplifted right hand ; the foremost bears upon his
shoulder a thick club, — these being the weapons with which,
according to the legend, the centaurs of Mount Pholoe carried
on the combat.^
Among the discoveries of the second year is the fragment
of a metope, about 44 cm. long and 27 cm. high, represent-
ing the hind legs of a running centaur. (Fig. 39.) Being
the lower left-hand corner of the slab, it shows a rebate, in
plan, about 25 by 15 mm., cut upon that side of the stone
which was to be hidden behind the projecting edge of the ad-
joining triglyph. A fillet 7 cm. broad forms a plinth for
the feet, and corresponds to the tainia upon the lower edge
of the epistyle blocks. This emphasis of the architectural
framework of the metopes — a decided drawback in assthetic
respects, as it cramps the field available for sculptured repre-
sentations — is an archaic feature, omitted entirely from the
1 That the centaurs were armed with the branches of trees is attested by
Hesiod {Scut. Here, i8S), Pindar [Frag., 144, ed. Bergk), Apollonios Rhodios
(Argon., I. 64), Orpheus (Argon., 173), Diodoros (IV. 12. 5), Apollodoros (II. 5.
4. 3), and Ovid (Metam., XII. 507). We learn from the three authorities last
named that they also threw stones.
Upon the shield of Eurypylos, described by Quintus of Smyrna [Posthom.,
VI. 273), the centaurs of Mount Pholoe were represented as fighting with clubs,
attacking Herakles. The poet, without doubt following an ancient epic proto-
type, says, " Some were shown prostrate upon the pines which they grasped, while
others still carried on the fight with like weapons."
The names of two centaurs, written out upon a vase published by Gerhard
(Eduard), Etruskische uud Kampanische VasenbilJer des Museitms zu Berlin,
Berlin, 1843, pi. 13, viz. TAAIGS and nETPAIOS, are evidently derived from the
wooden club and the rock with which they threaten Herakles.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 18S3.
171
Theseion and Parthenon. It had, however, certain practical
advantages, protecting in some measure the raised portions
of the relief from being split away during the process of lift-
ing and setting the block, and is more tolerable in the coarse
stone of Assos than it would have been in the marble of
Attica.
The small portion of the figure which remains is perfectly
sharp and free from weathering, and shows the sculpture to
have been executed with
much care. The hoofs and
legs are in the conven-
tional position, but some-
what farther apart than
any of those represented
upon the other reliefs of
centaurs. It will be recol-
lected that one of the three
metopes removed from As-
sos to the Louvre also rep-
resents the single figure of a centaur, galloping, with a club
upon his shoulder. The hind legs shown upon the newly dis-
covered fragment are of the same size as those upon the
block in Paris. It is hence evident that this metope also did
not contain a second figure, — in this respect differing most
disadvantageously from the metopes of the Attic monuments
before mentioned.
The last of the reliefs found during the second year which
remains for our consideration is a fragment of the heraldic
sphinxes once decorating the western front of the temple.
The greater part of the other sphinx sculptured upon this
epistyle block was removed from Assos by the French in
1835, and has since been preserved in the Louvre. A
second fragment, found by us upon the surface of the
Fig. 39. Fragment ok a Metope.
Hind Legs of a Centaur.
172 ARCHAEOLOGICAL hWSTITUTE.
earth, where it had apparently been seen and drawn by
Texier, was pubHshed in the First Report.^ The third frag-
ment, with which we are now concerned, contains the body
and wings of the sphinx upon the left-hand side ; it com-
pletes the sculptured subject, — the panel now lacking but
a small portion of the tainia, split from the second fragment.
(Fig. 40.)
Before going further, it should be explained that the fact
of this relief having been situated above the central inter-
columniation of the western front, and not in the correspond-
ing position of the eastern front, can be determined from the
lengths of the half-regulas cut upon the ends of these blocks,
which, together with those adjoining, must have exactly made
up the total widths of the triglyphs above them. As has
been already set forth, there can be little doubt that the
epistyle block sculptured with the four centaurs, found dur-
ing the second year, was placed next to the relief of Herakles
and Pholos, and consequently adjoined one of these sphinx
reliefs upon the left-hand side. Now the half-regula upon
the right-hand end of the relief of the four centaurs is ex-
ceptionally long, namely, 33 cm., and cannot have been com-
plementary to the corresponding moulding upon the newly
discovered sphinx, which is itself 27 cm. long. It agrees
entirely, however, with the space remaining for a half-regula
upon the shattered end of the other sphinx block, discovered
during the first year, and published in the First Report as
Plate 16. We are thus as fully justified in assigning these
heraldic reliefs to the front and rear of the building, respect-
ively, as we are in the assumption that the four centaurs
formed a continuation of the file retreating before the bow-
man Herakles. They will hence be distinguished as the
eastern and western sphinxes.
1 Preliminary Report, p. 115, pi. 19.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1S83. 173
It is interesting to compare the sculpture of this epistyle
from the less important facade, to which our newly discov-
ered fragment appertains, with that of its pendant from the
front of the building. A glance at the photogravures of the
two reliefs (Figs. 40, 41) will suffice to show that the figures
were executed from the same design, but by different hands,
differing widely in technical skill. The variations in position
manifestly resulted from the sphinxes being framed in panels
of unequal dimensions, that of the front measuring less than
2.5 m., while that of the rear was considerably more than
2.6 m. in length. The sculptor of the latter placed his fig-
ures quite as near to the ends of the block as they were in
the former, the entire difference in length falling between
the heads and breasts of the animals. Thus the fore legs
of the western sphinxes were disproportionately lengthened,
while the angle of their elevation was correspondingly de-
creased. It was without doubt in conformity with this
change of angle that the wings were made to lie somewhat
lower upon the back. With these exceptions, the outlines of
the two reliefs are almost identical.
In modelling, however, the sphinxes of the west are de-
cidedly inferior to those of the east. Although projecting
quite as far from the background, they yet appear flat and
undefined, — betraying in technical respects a more marked
influence of the sphyrelaton style. The western relief is, in-
deed, an especially good example of that clumsiness of form
in the masses, the protuberances being of basket-shaped
rather than of oval section, and of that angular and strap-
like rendering of the details, so indicative of a practice of
beaten-metal work in which the sculptors of Assos were evi-
dently versed. The curves of trunk and haunch are not so
true to nature as in the eastern sphinxes, while the edges of
the relief are too thick and cushion-like to permit of the
174 ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
rotundity of the body being effectively rendered. Thus the
fine gradations of light and shade within the outhnes of the
figures are almost entirely lost. The thigh-bone does not
project sufificiently from the flank, the hind legs are too
weak and thin, the tail too little prominent and too sharply
curved. In short, the western sphinxes are of a dull and
heavy sleekness, while those of the east are sinewy and
vigorous. Although the main outlines are, as before said,
substantially identical, there are still slight differences in the
curves and relative positions of the members. Even if we
suppose the design to have been transferred to the surface
of the stone from an original cartoon by a tracing, or other
mechanical means, there must have remained a certain scope
for the sculptor to display his taste and technical skill,
A noticeable deviation in the western sphinx from the forms
of the eastern is the decorative scalloping of the outer edges
of the wings. More important and less successful are the
straightening and flattening of the outlines of the belly,
through which much of the grace and force of the original
has been lost. It is evident that the architect or artistic
superintendent of the decoration of the temple was well
acquainted with the relative abilities of the sculptors work-
ing under his directions, and assigned the execution of
those reliefs which were to be placed upon the front of the
building to the more intelligent and skilful hands.
We may even venture the supposition, that the less pro-
ficient sculptor of the western sphinxes was, as compared
with his rival, an artist of the old school, clinging to con-
ventional methods. As has already been pointed out, the
style of the sphyrelaton is more apparent in his work, while
the wings are scalloped in conformity with a highly archaic
decorative practice. Another feature of much interest, lead-
ing to the same conclusion, is the shape assigned to the terrai-
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1S83. 175
nation of the vertical shaft upon which the sphinxes rest their
uplifted paws, and which marks the centre of the symmetrical
composition. In the relief from the rear of the building this
termination has the form of an archaic Ionic capital with
upright volutes, — an architectural member which was cer-
tainly antiquated at the period to which we must assign the
execution of these sculptures. The outline of the volutes
and of the anthemion surmounting them is clearly indicated,
and there still remain upon the weathered surface of the
stone traces of the engraved spiral lines which mark the con-
volutions of the heUx. The member thus represented is of
precisely the same shape and proportion as the proto-Ionic
capital, found by the writer upon the site of Neandreia, in the
interior Troad, and described in a separate publication of the
Archaeological Institute.^ The significance of this form in
architectural history has been fully discussed in that connec-
tion. In regard to its place in the composition of this relief
it will suffice to observe that the heraldic sphinxes of Assos
rest their paws upon a diminutive proto-Ionic stele, in the
same manner as the heraldic lions of Mykenai face a small
column having proto-Doric characteristics.
This arrangement was a common one in every age of
Oriental art, and has by some historians been directly re-
ferred to an Asiatic origin. We may trace it, in examples
too numerous to mention, from Assyria and the highlands of
Asia Minor, through Phoenicia and Cyprus, to Attica and the
Peloponnesos. It had certainly been adopted by the Greeks
at a period long anterior to the building of the temple of
Assos, appearing not only above the gate of Mykenai, but in
many ornaments of precious metal found in the still more
ancient sepulchres of that citadel,^ and among the remains
* Clarke, Proto-Ionic Capital, fig. 2.
2 Schliemann, Mycence, Nos. 175, 264-266, 274, 279, 4S0, and 539.
176
ARCH^OLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
unearthed at Menidi in Attica.^ Sphinxes and griffins with
uplifted paws, in precisely the same attitude and relative
position as those of Assos, occur upon the well-known
Francois vase,^ and are frequently to be observed upon vessels
of the early Corinthian style.
The archaic Ionic capital with upright volutes — evidently
a favorite in the Troad and its neighborhood/ whence the
majority of the known ex-
amples have been derived —
finds still another illustra-
tion among the minor dis-
coveries at Assos, which
may appropriately be no-
ticed in this connection.
The object in question is a
fragment of a terra-cotta
vessel, apparently the han-
FiG. 42. Ionic Capital, with upright ^^t of a large amphora (Fig.
Volutes. .
42). The upright scrolls are
boldly modelled, the anthe-
mion, too small a feature to be fully indicated, being replaced
by a knob-like abacus. The spiral lines of the volutes are
deeply ploughed out with some pointed instrument. Scrolls
and abacus are lightly touched with a white pigment, the sur-
face of the red clay being elsewhere covered with a dull red
priming. The decorative effect of the detail is striking ;
1 Deutsckes archdologisches Institiit. Das Kuppelgrab bei Menidi. Ausgrab-
ungsbericht von H. C. Lolling. Athen, 1880.
'- Moti. hied., vol. iv. Roma, 1844-48, pis. liv., Iv.
3 Shortly after the discovery upon the site of Neandreia, Ionic capitals with
upright volutes were found upon the coast of Lesbos, opposite the Troad,
These capitals have not as yet been published, but they are referred to by
Puchstein (Otto), Das lonische Capitell. Siebemtndvierzigstes Programvi zum
Winckelmanjisfeste der Archdologischen Gesellschaft zu Berlin. Berlin, 18S7,
P-SS-
Portion of the Handle of a large Jar found at Assos.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASS OS, 1883. I J J
and, though slight in execution, it is evidently the work of
a skilled hand. The fragment is now in the Museum at
Boston, and is numbered P. 41 21.
In regard to the fragment of a sphinx from the western
front of the temple, among the reliefs removed from Assos
to the Louvre in 1835, it should be remarked that the litho-
graph published in the Monumenti errs in omitting the up-
lifted paw.i The engraving given by Clarac ^ makes good this
defect, while the accompanying text supplies us with an all
too elaborate explanation of the significance of these mythi-
cal animals in this connection. As types of intelligence and
perspicacity, Clarac holds that the sphinxes have reference to
the story of Proteus, with whom he would identify the marine
monster of another relief, and are to be taken as significant
of the astuteness displayed by the hero Menelaos in over-
coming the wiles of this prophetic old man of the sea. In the
exposition of this view Clarac draws a parallel between the
feat of Menelaos in discovering Helen in her Egyptian re-
treat, and that of Oedipus in solving the riddle of the The-
ban sphinx, even going so far as to suggest that the latter
episode may have been represented upon the walls of the
temple of Assos. We could scarcely point out a more
striking instance of the far-fetched interpretations, based
merely upon vague suppositions, which were in favor among
classical scholars as recently as the middle of the present
century.
The researches of more modern archaeologists have thrown
so clear a light upon the wide scope of the mythical repre-
sentations of the sphinx, and its general use in this form
1 Monumenti Inediti puhblicati dclF Istituto di Correspondenza archeologica, vol.
iii. Roma e Parigi, 1839-43, pi. 34.
- Clarac, Musie de Sculpture antique ct nioderne. Paris, 1841, tome ii. seconde
partie.
12
178 ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
by ancient decorators, — whether Mesopotamian, Egyptian,
Syrian, or Greek, — that we need no longer thus grope after
some episodical connection in order to justify the appearance
of the sphinx among the Assos reliefs. As will presently be
shown, a sphinx, in later ages generally transformed to a grif-
fin, was the heraldic symbol — the coat of arms, as it would
to-day be termed — of Assos. It was on this account that
these figures, in heraldic position and duplication, were sculp-
tured above the main entrances to that sanctuary which was
dedicated to the guardian deity of the town. Apart from this,
in its independent significance, we need seek in this symbol
nothing beyond those characteristics of supernatural force,
wisdom, and ever-blooming youth which were ascribed by
popular belief to the sphinx as a combination of the bodily
forms of the strongest animal of the earth, the strongest bird
of the air, and the intelligent head of a human being. These
picturesque attributes of mysterious, almost demonic power,
seem to have been gradually connected with the sphinx
through the observation of a definite image, which had itself
arisen through the agglutinative methods of heraldry, rather
than to have been originally based upon any specific tradi-
tion. Among the ancients, no composite form was more
widely known, none more frequently employed. From that
oldest Egyptian sphinx, the Colossos of Gizeh, a work of the
fourth dynasty, and from the winged Assyrian sphinxes of
the palace of Esarhaddon (681-668 b. c), we may trace the
migration of the monster, and the development of the various
types of its representation in every part of the ancient world,
and in every age of ancient history. The original home of
the human-headed and lion-bodied sphinx seems to have
been Egypt. In the demonology of Mesopotamia the form
was never of more than secondary importance. The Assyrian
images always bear a foreign stamp, more or less distinct.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASS OS, 1883. 179
The winged type seems, however, to have been derived from
Assyrian art by the Greek designers of the archaic period,
and in the lack of direct communication we are led to seek
for some intermediate stage of development and transference.
This can have taken place only upon those southeastern
coasts of the Mediterranean where the hieratic forms of both
Egyptian and Mesopotamian art were blended in merely
decorative types, free from all fetters of religious symbolism.
It is a well known fact that the favorite subjects of Hittite
and Phoenician decorators were constantly repeated in every
branch of Greek art-workmanship, during the archaic period,
and were retained long thereafter in distant Etruria. The
hybrid art of Phoenicia, so widely disseminated through the
commerce of Tyre and Sidon, is, without doubt, responsible
for the introduction of the sphinx to Greek culture. Beyond
the recognition of this fact, it is for the present scarcely
possible for us to go ; the threads of artistic history which
from the tenth to the seventh century before Christ con-
nected the civilization of Phoenicia with that of Asiatic and
European Hellas are so inextricably entangled that we cannot
attempt to assign to the races of Cyprus and southern Asia
Minor, more closely allied to the Greeks, their direct contri-
butions to the transformation and introduction of this ancient
form. We may recognize in the sphinxes of Euyuk ^ a
transitional stage, — a link between the sphinxes of Nimroud ^
and those of archaic Spata^ and Etruscan Vulci,* — but we
are as yet far from possessing even so clear and succinct a
1 Pcrrot (George), Exploration Archeologiqicede la Galatie et de la Bithynic',trinie
Partie de la Mysie, de la Cappadoce et du Pont; exkutce en 1861. Paris, 1862-72,
pi. 65-67.
2 Layard (Austin Henry), The Monuments of Nineveh, vol. i. London,
1849, pi. 44.
8 Milclihbfcr, in the Mittheiltmgcn dcs dcutschen archdologischai Instituts
vol. iv. Athen, 1S79.
* Micali (Giuseppe), Momimenti Inediti. Firenze, 184^, pi. v.
l8o ARCH^OLOGICAL INSTITUTE,
history of the artistic development of this form as we have,
for instance, in the case of the similar evolution of the Ionic
capital.
It is only certain that in the sphinxes of Assos we have
already to deal with a fully developed type, determined by
long familiarity with the composite form. The wings,
rounded and bent forward at the tips, are of a peculiar shape,
frequently met with in the oldest black-figured vase paint-
ings. This conformation, most excellent in decorative effect,
however much at variance with all natural wings, whether of
feathers or membranes, is evidently the result of two distinct
tendencies. In the first place it was necessary to adapt the
projecting members to the panels upon which such figures
were drawn or sculptured. Thus it became particularly im-
portant that the wings should rise but little above the crown
of the head, which was to be made as prominent as possible.
In the second place, the conventionalization of the forms of
the living model for the purposes of decorative design made
itself particularly felt in such irregular terminations as the
tips of wing feathers. As the wings of the most ancient
Mesopotamian and Syrian sphinxes and grififins are not thus
rounded, this improvement is undoubtedly to be ascribed to
that Greek genius for conventionalization which everywhere
left its mark upon the material borrowed from the East.
The beginnings of the change in formation are to be traced
upon many painted vases and sherds of the early Rhodian
style, as well as upon some few Phoenician works, referable
to the period when the art of that country was influenced by
Hellenic traditions and methods.
In various other details already referred to, both reliefs
bear the stamp of that well trained yet somewhat conven-
tional school of archaic design which in remote and provincial
parts of the ancient world but shortly preceded the highest
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1S83. l8l
development of sculpture in Attica and the Peloponnesos, or
was even contemporary with it. The very type and the du-
plication of the sphinxes adopted as the coat of arms of Assos
are not infrequently met with in other parts of the ancient
world during the archaic period. The design on the Fran-
cois vase has already been referred to, and, to name another
example, a tripod vase recently discovered at Tanagra, and
now in the Museum of Berlin,^ shows couchant sphinxes face
to face, in almost exactly the same position as those sculp-
tured above the entrances to the temple of Assos. In the
Troad itself, such figures were naturally favorite subjects
with the painters of vases and the modellers of figurini.
Two sherds of decorated vessels, showing the heads and
wings of sphinxes of this design, have been found among the
Greek remains of Hissarlik,^ the first being a fragment of
hand-made ware. The second of these heads, in particular,
is much like those of the Assos sphinxes ; the hair is arranged
in a similar manner, and bound by a tainia, which, after
encircling the forehead, falls behind the wings in the same
way as the fillet upon our reliefs. Among the earlier dis-
coveries at Hissarlik^ was the figurine of a sphinx squatting
upon its haunches, in form and position exactly resem-
bling the sphinx sculptured upon one of the metopes of
the temple of Assos, now in the Louvre. To these may
be added seven further examples of squatting and couching
sphinxes, found by Calvert in various parts of the Troad.
Among these the most striking parallel to the figures of
the Assos reliefs is the sphinx painted on a sherd found
1 Loschckc [Gcox^, Dreifussvase aus Tanap-a, in the Archdologischc Zcitung,
Berlin, 1881.
- Schliemann, Ilios, figs. 1432 and 1434. The former of these now bears the
number 2379 in the collection at Berlin.
"^ SchViemcLnn, Trojcim'sc^e Al/c'r/Ziiimer. Atlas. Leipzig, 1S74, no. 3362. This
figurine is now numbered 2433 '" ^'^'^ collection at Berlin.
l82
ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
upon the ancient site of Ophrynion^ (Fig. 43). The figure
here shown might almost pass as a direct copy of the couch-
ing sphinxes of the Assian reliefs, so close is the resem-
blance. We may notice the same fillet-bound hair, falling in
a convex curve, the same bordering tainia, the same wings
bent forward at the ends, and membered by a rib at the con-
ventionalized juncture between flesh and feathers, the same
doubly curved turn of the tail, and, in particular, the same
Fig. 43. Couching Sphinx on Sherd from Ophrynion.
excessive emphasis of the rising curve of the belly, which
along its entire length is arched above the ground in exagger-
ation of the natural appearance of recumbent animals. The
painting upon this sherd is mainly dark brown upon a light
red ground, the pigment being applied very thinly. Another
color makes its appearance in the fleshy part of the wing,
between neck and wing feathers, this being of a dull deep
red, similar to dragon's blood. The length of the sherd
is 15 cm.
1 Near Erenkieui, between the sites of Troy and Abydos. Compare Virchow,
Alt-Trojatiische Griibcr und Schddel. Berlin, 1882.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1883.
83
^■:
A resemblance nearly as close is observable between the
squatting sphinx of one of the metopes of the Assos temple,
before referred to, and a figurine from Aqkieui, identified by
Calvert as the site of Berytis (Fig. 44). This small image,
II cm. high, is formed of a light red clay, hollowed within,
and primed with a slip of grayish black. It is carefully and
intelligently modelled, belonging to the same category as the
figurine from Hissarlik, before re-
ferred to, and as another, somewhat
ruder, image of a sphinx found by
Calvert at Bounarbashi (Lecheva-
lier's Troy). Almost the only dif-
ference between this form of the
sphinx and that shown upon the
Assos metope is the high head-gear,
of Oriental appearance, which is
seen upon the Berytis figurine, but
could not find place in the low
frieze of the temple. The list of
sphinxes discovered in the Troad by
Calvert further includes four speci-
mens on black-figured sherds from
Akshi-Kieui, the site of the later
(Hellenic) Thymbra.
Turning now from the coat of
arms of Assos as it appears among the ornamental sculptures
of the chief sanctuary of the town, to the heraldic symbol
stamped upon the coins, from the earliest to the latest Assian
mintage, we are at once struck by the fact that in the latter
case the image of a griffin is substituted for that of the sphinx.
In formation and position the bodies of the two mythical
animals are precisely alike, but upon the coins the head of a
human being is exchanged for that of an eagle.
.--- _^
Fig. 44. Squatting Sphinx.
Figurine from Aqkieui.
184 ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
It is perhaps impossible to adduce a decisive reason for this
change of type. The most probable explanation which the
writer is able to advance is, that the coins of Assos, circu-
lating widely throughout the Troad, were, from the first, im-
printed with a griffin in order to distinguish them from the
coins of another town of the province. Upon the coins of
Gergis, a sphinx forms the symbol of the obverse. References
by ancient writers to matters of this kind are extremely rare,
but the fact of its appearance upon the Gergithian coinage
is specially mentioned by Stephanos^ of Byzantion.^ The an-
tiquity of Gergis, renowned as a stronghold of the Teucrians,^
and as the native place of one of the Sibyls, is beyond ques-
tion, and the fact that it was one of the first towns of the
Troad to establish a mint is attested by the archaic coins
preserved in all large collections. Thus no difficulty stands
in the way of the assumption that coins of Gergis, bearing
the image of the sphinx, had been issued prior to the
emission of coins by Assos. The adoption of this symbol
would naturally have precluded its repetition elsewhere in
the Troad. Every precaution would, moreover, be taken
to prevent the confusion of the coinages by the country
folk, inasmuch as the values of the Gergithian pieces were
based upon a different standard from that adopted by the
Assians.^
Brandis is certainly justified in speaking of the griffin as
das eigentliche Stadtwappen of the city, but he is at fault in
assuming that the Assians did not issue coins before the
fourth century. Coins of an archaic series, probably dat-
ing from the middle of the fifth century, are to be found in
most of the numismatical cabinets of Europe, under various
1 Stephanos of Byzantion, s. v. Tepyis.
2 Herodotos, V. 122, VII. 43.
8 Brandis (Johannes), Das Miinz-, Mass- und GewicJitswesen in Vorderasien,
bis auf Alexander den Grossen. Berlin, 1S66, pp. 310, 313.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1SS3. 185
classifications. They bear upon the reverse a lion's head in
an incuse square, and upon the obverse a couching griffin.
The discovery, during our excavations, of a coin of this type
with the inscription AXX, leaves no doubt as to the true
attribution. In the British Museum the rearrangement of
the coins of Assos thus indicated has already been made.
The form of the griffin stamped upon the oldest known
coins of this series is shown in Figure 45 A. We here see a
creature precisely like the sphinx of the temple reliefs, ex-
cepting that the head is that of an eagle. So close is the
resemblance of the body in attitude and modelling, that we
are tempted to believe that the die-cutter intentionally fol-
lowed the design so familiar to Assians from its prominent
position among the sculptures of their temple. The action
of the fore legs is the same : the nearer one lying extended
on the ground, the one beyond being so uplifted as to rest
against the circular framework of the coin, in place of the
upright support. The belly rises in the same compressed
curve ; the hip is similarly salient. In like manner, the tail
has the single turn, and the wings are rounded at the ends
and bent forward at the tips, being bordered along the fore
edge by that fillet which may be regarded as a convention-
alized and elongated representative of the wing-bone. The
short head, on the other hand, is that of the oldest known
type of Greek griffin. Its features are peculiar, and in part
unnatural. The mouth is widely opened, the lower jaw being
disproportionately long ; so long, indeed, that if closed it
would project much beyond the hooked beak. The pro-
truding tongue curves upward ; the outline of the jawbone
is prominently indicated. The one ear visible is a formida-
ble appendage, entirely foreign to bird nature, and rather
resembling that of a hare. It stands erect, as if in e.xcite-
ment and vigilance. A further abnormal addition appears
1 86 ARCH^OLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
in the shape of a knobbed projection, rising from the
centre of the skull, just above the large round eye. This
projection is perhaps a reminiscence of the single horn
upon the lion-headed proto-griffins of Mesopotamia.^ It
effectively enhances the energetic and defiant aspect of the
monster.
In all these details the head closely resembles the fine
archaic bronze discovered at Olyrapia,^ which is sketched
in Figure 45 B. On comparing this and the representa-
tion upon the Assian coin, certain features of the latter
which might otherwise have appeared inorganic and inex-
plicable are made clear. Thus, it is evident that the down-
ward curve of the lower jaw, which, as before mentioned,
could not possibly fit into the beak if closed, is derived
from an exaggeration of the similarly curved, but too short,
lower jaw of some head similar to the Olympian bronze.
Another point of the same character is the strap-like con-
ventionalization of the swollen cheek-pouch, which results
upon the coin in a distinct line, running downwards from
1 Witness the figure upon the relief of a small temple near the palace of
Nimroud, referable to the age of Assurnasirpal (8S5-860 B.C.). Layard, Monu-
ments of Nineveh, second series, London, 1853, pi. 5 ; and Discoveries in the
Ruins of Nineveh and Babylon, (Second Expedition,) London, 1853, p. 348 et seq.
Compare Perrot and Chipiez, Histoire de I'Art dans rAntiguiti, Vol. IL Assyrie,
Paris, 1883, p. 408. The horn appears upon similar images of archaic coins
of Asia Minor (ascribed to Miletos) referable to the seventh century {A^umis-
matic Chronicle, new series, vol. xv., London, 1875, P^- '^'ii)> ^""^ upon the lion's
head of the Kroisos mintage (Head, Barclay Vincent, A Guide to the Principal
Gold and Silver Coins of the Anciefits, pi. i.). Furtwangler (s. v. Gryps, in
Roscher's Lexikon der Griechischen und Romischen Mythologie, Zehnte Lieferung,
Leipzig, 1886) is inclined to ascribe the adoption of this feature in the head of
the griffin to the Ionian Greeks of the Asiatic coast.
2 Ausgrabungen zu Olympia, pi. xxvii. This head is the most perfect repre-
sentative of a distinctly pronounced and widely known type. Among other
examples of the same form may be mentioned that shown by Salzmann (Au-
guste), Nkropole de Camiros, Paris, 1875, P^- 43> ^"^ two in the Museum of
Berlin, Nos. 2935 and 1023.
INVESTIGATIONS AT AS SOS, 1SS3.
187
the eye, and gradually approaching the outline of the
jawbone.
Furtwangler^ has shown this peculiar form of griffin's
head to have been developed by Greek designers from the
Phoenician image of the
. . A B
monster. He mamtams
that the open mouth,
with curved and pro-
jecting tongue, is a spe-
cifically Greek device,
referable to the seventh
century before Christ.
The form of the griffin
which appears upon the
earliest known coins of
Assos thus belongs to
a distinctly pronounced
and widely known archaic type. The appearance of this
type, so different from that in general use throughout the
Greek world at the period when this coinage was issued,
may with good reason be considered as the retention of a
still older stamp, and thus be held to indicate the employ-
ment of the griffin during the sixth century side by side
with the sphinx, and perhaps interchangeably with it, as the
civic symbol. Be this as it may, it is certain that in all
representations of this kind upon the coins of Assos the
image of the griffin is exclusively adopted.
Upon Assian coins of subsequent issues the form of the
griffin is that which is known to have been employed in Euro-
pean Greece as early as the fifth century before Christ, and
which continued in vogue, without material alteration, until
Fig. 45. A, Archaic Coin of Assos.
(Enlarged two and a half diameters. )
B, Bronze Head of Griffin, found
AT OlYMPIA.
^ Furtwiingler (Adolf), Die BrouzefunJe aus Olympia und dcrcn kunst-
geschichtlUhe Bcdeutung. Berlin, 1880.
i88
ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
the latest ages of classic art. (Fig. 46.) The unnatural ap-
pendages, top-knot and upright ears, are here omitted, their
place being taken by a jagged comb. The entire head has
been so lengthened and flattened as more closely to resemble
that of a bird. The wings are turned backward, and divided
along their entire length into distinct feathers. The tail is
often flung into the air in a double curve. A curious remi-
niscence of the older grifBns and sphinxes is retained in the
farther fore leg, which, though
not supported by a stele, or
pressed against the framework of
the coin, is lifted aimlessly in the
air. As the anatomist recognizes
the derivation of one species of
animal from another in the exist-
ence of rudimentary and useless
muscles, so also may the student
of decorative forms trace the
development of one type from
another by the appearance of
features such as these, otherwise inexplicable.
With the exception of a single variety, presently to be re-
ferred to, this form of the griffin remained unaltered until the
latest ages of Assian mintage, even appearing upon coins
which bear the heads of Tiberius and Claudius. It is how-
ever to be remarked, that on such imperial coins the griffin,
which in earlier ages invariably faces to the left, is occasion-
ally turned to the right.
In the early years of the third century before Christ a
temporary fashion completely altered the stamp of the Assian
coinage, and led, as before mentioned, to the adoption of a
griffin of entirely different appearance. The head of Athene
upon the obverse, previously in profile, here turns to three-
FiG. 46. Coin of Assos.
(Enlarged two diameters.)
INVESTIGATIONS AT AS SOS, 1883.
189
quarters face ; the griffin upon the reverse arises from his
recumbent position, and strides upon all fours. (Fig. 47.) A
striding griffin of this form appears upon contemporary coins
of the neighboring town
of Phokaia, and evidently
served as model to the die-
cutter of this Assian series.
A single issue only seems
to have been made of this
novel type, the mintage im-
mediately afterwards revert-
ing to the accustomed im-
ages. We are enabled to
assign an approximate date
to this experiment through
the close resemblance of
the three-quarters face of
Athene, which appears upon the obverse, to the head upon
a coin of Antiochus I. (b. c. 280-262)}
It is not possible to advance an entirely adequate explana-
tion of the reasons which led to the temporary abandonment
of the time-hallowed Assian type, but we may be permitted
to assume that it was due to those political motives which
were of so great importance in this age of the fusion and
centralization of the Greek states of Asia Minor. The
change in the civic symbol may have been brought about
through agents of one of the earlier rulers of Pergamon, with
the intention of breaking down, in this as in many other
ways, the autonomous spirit of a town destined to be annexed
to that kingdom. From the first revolt of Philetairos (c. c.
283) the Pergamene dynasty had made its influence felt on
Fig. 47. Coin of Assos.
(Enlarged two and a third diameters.)
1 Gardner (Percy), TAe Seleucid Kings of Syria. London, 1878, pi. iv.
no. 12.
190 ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
the coast of the Gulf of Adramyttion, rapidly extending its
power throughout the Troad by reason of the services it
rendered in repelling the continual inroads of the Gauls.
The absolute dominion of Eumenes and Attalos must have
been preceded by many such attempts to counteract the indi-
vidual and separatist spirit of towns which clung obstinately
to the rights of local independence. In few matters was
this conservative feeling of the Greek citizen more strongly
evinced than in the unaltering retention of the civic symbol
upon coins, as indicated by the archaic character of many
Greek mintages. An entire change of the Assian symbol per-
haps being found impracticable, something might at least be
effected by altering the design, and assimilating it to that of
a town upon the farthermost confines of the advancing state,
This town, Phokaia, had originally been a stronghold of the
lonians, and it was in the interest of the cosmopolitan power
at Pergamon to break down the distinctions of race, as well as
the tenacious hold of autonomous feeling.
A highly remarkable combination of the forms of the two
varieties of griffin which appear upon the Assian coinage,
namely, the couching and the upright or striding, is met with
in the figures of a mosaic pavement of a building unearthed
in the lower town. This building, which stood in close com-
munication with the Agora, was evidently employed for some
administrative purpose, and was therefore ornamented with
the civic symbol. It is situated at a distance of only 23 m.
from the Bouleuterion, but on a much lower level, access be-
ing provided to it from the market-place by a subterranean
passage and staircases, designated J J upon the general plan
of this quarter of the town, and shown in section upon the
drawing of the western fagade of the Bouleuterion. The
edifice forms a quadrangle of 12.6 by 5.4m., and is divided
into two rooms of unequal size, the larger and easternmost
INVESTIGATIONS AT AS SOS, 1S83. I91
of which, paved with the mosaic, has a clear space of 6.3 by
4.6 m. That the building was not a dwelling or shop, but
was devoted to the transaction of some public business, is
evident from the entire lack of fireplaces, as well as from the
simple division of the plan, and the character of the interior
decoration. The masonry is substantial, but exceedingly
rough, having been hidden from view by a revetment of
plaster, painted with brilliant colors, which will be described
in detail in a subsequent chapter. The southern wall, to-
gether with the terraced street upon this side, has been en-
tirely destroyed, — carried away by the masses of earth and
debris which, falling from the Bouleuterion and other build-
ings upon a higher level, deeply buried the re-entering angle
of the rooms, and left the masonry upon the north standing
to a height of from 1.2 to 0.5 m. Traces of an entrance
doorway from the street are, however, still to be perceived
near the eastern end of the southern wall, from which side
the chambers must have been lighted through windows. As
the hillside is particularly steep at this point, almost the en-
tire plan of the structure had to be quarried from the native
rock, which is here of a bright red color, resembling ochre,
and is occasionally used as a pigment by the Turks of
Behram. Specimens of this material are preserved in the
Museum at Boston, under the number S. 1155. The pave-
ment was, in part, laid directly upon the quarried surface of
the native rock. The flooring consists of a thick substratum
of mortar, upon which the mosaic pattern is formed by
rounded pebbles of various colors, imbedded in a fine cement.
The lime of this cement was mixed with minute particles of
pounded brick, for the purpose of diminishing the brightness
of the white background visible between the pebbles, — a mode
of preparation known to Roman builders as opus signininn}
1 Vitruvius, II. 4. 3. Columella, I. 6. 12.
192
ARCH^OLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
-^wm.
'" ^r^^-
S <
5 9
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1883. 193
A plain border, one meter in width, formed of mixed light
gray and olive-green pebbles, surrounds the central pattern,
which occupies an oblong measuring 4.3 by 2.66 m. This
pattern itself, shown in Figure 48, consisted of two borders
of considerable width, separated by narrow white bands, and
surrounding a central field which measures 2.53 by 0.89 m.
The outermost border, 51 cm. wide, contains upon each side
two griffins face to face; the inner border, 22cm. wide, a
wave ornam_ent with large scrolls of many convolutions.
The central field was broken away in so great part that
it was not possible to make out the subject represented
therein. It is only certain that brilliant colors, red, yel-
low, and white, were here employed in comparatively broad
surfaces on a dark green background.
The outermost and broadest border — our interest in the
subject of which has led to the consideration of the mosaic
in this connection — is fairly well preserved throughout one
half of its extent. Almost everywhere the background of
dark olive-green was found to have held together better than
the figures, and in several patches where the pebbles had
been broken away the pattern could still be traced by the
impressions left on the bed of mortar and the cement of the
interstices. Every detail of the two griffins upon the longer
side remaining was thus clearly recognizable.
The monsters, alike in formation and posture of body, are
dissimilar in their heads, the one having the crest, elongated
skull, beak, and wattles of a bird, the other a head resem-
bling that of a leopard or lioness, with widely open mouth
and protruding tongue, and with curiously conventionalized
horns and beard. ^ It will be recollected that similar pairs
1 Furtwangler (s. v. Gryf>s, in Roscher) has pointed out that the Greeks derived
this horned panther-hcadcd or lion-headed t)-pe of the griffin from the Persians,
who in their turn had taken it from the Chaldean image of Tiamat, the enemy
of the gods. Compare the characterization of this monster given by Delitzsch,
13
194 ARCH^OLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
of eagle-headed and leopard-headed griffins appear among
the sculptured decorations of the temple of Miletos/ and
formed favorite subjects in later ages.^ The feathered wings,
turning slightly forward at the tips, are similar to those of
the griffins represented upon the more common coins of
Assos, while the farther fore legs are uplifted in the air like
those of the sphinxes sculptured upon the temple : this imi-
tation of the posture, while omitting the supporting stele,
resulting in the same aimless and inorganic character which
has been noticed in the corresponding feature of the coins.
The hind legs, on the other hand, are erect and striding, like
those shown upon these coins, which, as before said, belong
to the first half of the third century before Christ. The tail,
abnormally long and thin, is flung into the air in a graceful
curve. So fine is the execution of the mosaic that even such
Wo lag das Paradics ? Leipzig, i8Si, p. 88. A sufficient number of Meso-
potamian and Persian representations of the figure have been quoted by Furt-
wangler. This lion-headed and horned griffin undoubtedly found its way to the
northern coasts of the Aegean by way of Lycia, where it appears upon coins
assigned to the first half of the fifth century B. c. (Gardner, Percy, Types of
Greek Coins, Cambridge, 1883, pi. iv., and Fellows, Charles, Coins of Anciejtt
Lycia before the Reign of Alexattder, London, 1855, pi. xi.), as well as upon
mintages of later date.
1 Chandler (Richard), Ionian Antiquities, London, 1769, vol. iii. pi. vii.-x.
Rayet et Thomas, Milet et le Golfe Latmiqtee, Fouilles et Explorations Arche-
ologiqnes, Paris, 1877, pi. 17, 49-51.
- Eagle-headed and leopard-headed griffins form pendants upon the reliefs
of one of the fine bronze helmets found in the Caserma dei Gladiatori at
Pompeii (Niccolini, Fausto e Felice, Le Case ed i Monumenti di Pompeii,
Napoli, 1854, fasc. 19, tav. ii. 2, and ii. 7), upon the vase of Xenophan-
tos (Gille and Stephani, Antiquites du Bosphore Cimmerien, St. Petersbourg,
1854, pi. 45, 46), upon a vase in the Museum of Berlin (Gerhard, Eduard,
Neuerzvorbene antike Denkmdler des kbniglichen Museums zu Berlin, Berlin,
1836-40, vol. iii. no. 1791), and in a wall-painting (Zahn, Wilhelm, Die schdn-
sten Ornamente und merkwurdigsten Gemdlde aus Pompeji, Herkulaneum und
StabicE, Berlin, 1828-56) and on a marble table of Pompeii (Niccolini, Case e
Monnmefiti, fasc. vi.). They are likewise common upon Roman sarcophagi ;
compare Zoega (Georg), Abhandlungett, herausgegeben . . . von T. G. IVclcker,
Gottingen, 1817, and Guattani (Giuseppe Antonio), Monumenti Antichi,
Roma, 1785, tav. iii.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1883. 1 95
small details as the claws are distinctly indicated. In ar-
tistic respects the design of the griffins is exceedingly good.
They are drawn with a clear understanding of animal move-
ment, — see the outstretched hind leg, and the swell of the
muscles in all parts of the body, — as well as with a full
appreciation of the principles of conventionaliasm. A trained
skill is likewise displayed in the adaptation of the figures to
the exacting methods of mosaic-work. Thus, while there is
no attempt to give roundness to the limbs by shading, the
concave curve of the wing and the distance of the farther
hind leg are ingeniously indicated by means of darker local
tints. The outlines are everywhere vigorous and graceful.
These griffins rank among the finest works of ancient mo-
saic known, and are without doubt to be assigned to that
period in which this branch of art attained its very highest
development.
Between the griffins, and in the corners of the border,
are six-pointed stars, of the shape familiar to all who have
amused themselves with striking arcs from centre to centre
with a fixed radius. It is with figures such as these that
modern carpenters delight to decorate architectural drawings
intrusted to their care. There is a singular fascination to
the human mind in this use of a pair of compasses, — so
accurately can the periphery of a circle be divided with six
strokes of the opening by which it was generated. The
mechanical and inartistic character of these ornaments does
not, however, stand in contradiction to the antique spirit of
design. The same six-pointed star appears not infrequently
upon Greek vases, and is to be seen, in monumental execu-
tion, upon the sacred buildings of Eleusis.
Enough remains of the griffins upon the shorter sides of
the border to make it apparent that they were, pair by
pair, precisely like those already described. The dotted line
196 ARCH^OLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
A A (Fig. 48) indicates the longitudinal axis of the pattern,
and will convey an idea of the proportions of the whole. The
fore legs and claws of one of the griffins beyond this line will
be perceived upon the left-hand side. The monster shown
upon the right-hand side of the drawing has an eagle's
head. The corresponding feature of the griffin upon the
left has been almost entirely obliterated, yet from curved
lines above it, undoubtedly representing the peculiar crooked
horns, we may safely conclude it to have been that of the
quadruped.
This altogether unnatural combination of the typical out-
stretched and uplifted fore legs with erect and striding hind
legs — that is to say, with conventional forms which elsewhere
appear only during the early ages of Pergamene supremacy —
leads to the supposition that the mosaic was executed during
the third century before Christ. All other indications to be
gathered concerning the age of the pavement and the build-
ing which contained it are in entire agreement with this
view. Apart from the artistic style of the design itself, the
chief argument for this date is the close relation of the edifice
to the Agora, known to be a creation of the Pergamene period.
There is thus little doubt that we have in the fine figures
of the mosaic a further evidence of that period of the monu-
mental renaissance of Assos. It was under this dynasty that
figured mosaics, which had previously been restricted to sa-
cred edifices, were generally extended to profane buildings.^
A civic hall such as this would naturally have been among
the first of the latter class to profit by this extension. The
flinty pebbles are deeply worn, and must have been trod-
den under foot for generations. Although not restored, the
figured pavement may even have remained in sight until
^ See upon this point Becker (Wilhelm AdolphJ, Ckarikles, neubearbeitet
T071 Hermaim Goell, Berlin, 1S77, vol. ii. p. 143, with the ancient authorities
there quoted.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1883. 1 97
the Christian era. Moreover, the hall continued to be used
for a considerable period after the mosaic had been con-
demned as no longer serviceable, for it was found to be
covered with other floorings of plain stucco, the removal of
which from the surface of the design was a work of some
difficulty.
The fact that the conventional colors of the griffins, as well
as their forms, are indicated in the mosaic, permits us to con-
sider them from another point of view, rarely to be obtained
in relation to ancient works of art, and peculiarly interesting
when it is borne in mind that the conclusions thus derived
are without doubt directly applicable to the polychromatic
treatment of similar subjects in sculpture. All the back-
grounds of the patterns, as also the pavement outside the
design, were formed, as has been said, of grayish green peb-
bles, shading from a tint such as that shown by the inner
side of an olive leaf to an almost perfect black. The darkest
of these pebbles were selected for the background, so that
the general effect of this was much deeper and more solid
than that of the outer border.
The bodies of the grifflns themselves were of round whitish
gray pebbles, of two distinct shades. It is apparent that an
attempt was thus made to indicate the spots which were at-
tributed to the griffins by ancient mythographers. Pausanias ^
describes these markings as similar to those of a leopard,
an animal still common in Asia Minor, and it may well be
that the substitution of the head of a leopard for that of
an eagle was thus rendered more natural. An indication
of such spots may be observed upon various other works
of ancient art.-
1 Pausanias, VIII. 2. 7.
2 For instance, upon the highly remar]<able Etruscan relief, published by
Braun (Emil), Pittiire Etrusche Vulcenti, Annali ddV Institiito di Corrispondenza
Archeologica, Rome, 1859, and figured in the Monumenti Inediti, vol. vi., Roma,
1 98 ARCH^OLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
The wings are of a very light bluish gray, edged along the
front line of the bone with a bright yellow. The same yel-
low appears upon the beards, as well as upon the crest of
the eagle-headed and the horns of the lion-headed monster.
The beak of the former and the tongue of the latter are of a
brilliant red jasper. Fragments of the mosaic showing these
colors, as well as illustrating the method of adjoining the
separate stones, are preserved in the Museum at Boston
(No. in). In general, it is to be remarked that the mosaic-
work of the figures is composed of carefully selected stones,
finer and smoother in texture than those of the background,
as well as brighter and clearer in color.
The prevalent white tint of the bodies of the grififins is in
accordance with the descriptions of the traditional colors of
these monsters given by ancient writers.^ It may likewise be
observed, that in the rare specimens of ancient vase paintings,
where a number of pigments are employed on which griffins
are represented, their bodies are white. Upon a vase pub-
lished by Jahn,^ the resemblance of the colors to those of
our mosaic is very close, the wings of the griffin being blue,
while the rest of the body is white. The same colors appear
upon the well known painted vase of Xenophantos,^ and upon
the fragments of an antique wooden sarcophagus,* as well as
1S57-63, as well as in Des Vergers (A. Noel,) UEtrtirie et les JEtrtisques, dix
Ans de Fouilles dans les Maremmes Toscanes, Paris, 1862, vol. iii. pi 27. Com-
pare also the Pompeian helmet referred to in a preceding note.
1 Concerning the conceptions of the ancients in respect to the conventional
colors of griffins, compare Aelian, De Nat. Anim., IV. 27, quoting from Ktesias
and preserving the fragment of the Indica numbered xxvi. in Lion's edition.
Aelian is in turn followed in the mediaeval tract De Anim, Propr. of Manuel
Philes, II., ed. Pauw, p. 15. A different description, altogether at variance with
the colors of our mosaic, is given by Ktesias, Ind., xii.
2 Jahn (Otto), Ueber bemalte Vasen niit Goldschmuck, Leipzig, 1865, pi. 15,
No. 29.
^ Stephani, Antiqitites du Bosfhore Cimmerien, pis. 45. 46.
* Published in the same work, pi. 84. Further examples are supplied by
various painted sherds found in the same locality. PI. 70 A.
INVESTIGATIONS AT AS SOS, 1883. 199
upon various less, important keramic specimens, too numer-
ous to mention. Great stress should not, however, be laid
upon this point, as the instances of a different usage are
common ; witness the red and dark green plumage of two
inedited sphinxes in the Barbakion and Central Museum of
Athens. It is possible that, as the specimens referred to
would tend to show, the Asiatic and the European usages
differed in this particular.
The appearance of the sphinx above the main entrance to
the temple of Assos led to the remark that the figure of this
monster may have been employed interchangeably with that
of the griffin as the symbol of the city. This assumption
derives further support from the appearance of the sphinx, in
its characteristic crouching position, upon an engraved seal
discovered at Assos. The gem in question, broken from the
setting in which it had originally been secured, was found
among the debris of the lower town by a peasant of Behram,
some years before the arrival of the American explorers. It
was purchased from the custom-house official of the little port
by the present writer, who, after mounting it in a gold ring,
copied from an antique of about the same age and character,
gave it to the Museum of Boston, where it is preserved under
the number S. 1020.
The stone is a carnelian, — a material much more highly
prized in ancient than in modern times. It is worthy of note
that Pliny 1 particularly mentions Assos as one of the two
places in the Greek world whence were derived supplies of
carnelian, described by him under the name Sarda. The
geological researches of the expedition did not lead to the
discovery of any deposit of this stone in the vicinity of Assos,
and it appears probable that the carnelians known to the
ancients as Assian were merely brought into commerce from
1 Pliny, Nat. Hist., XXXVII. 31, ed. Delph.
200
ARCH^OLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
this port, and were found at some place in the interior Troad
where the formation is not of a volcanic origin.
The gem is of an oval shape, measuring 12 mm. on its
longer axis, and is but slightly convex. The intaglio engrav-
ing upon it (Fig. 48'"*) is carefully executed, being decidedly
superior to the average work of the class to which it belongs.
With exception of the farther fore leg, which is not uplifted,
and of the tail, which is thrown straight up into the air, the
attitude is that of the sphinx sculptured upon the epistyle of
Fig. 48^ Heraldic Sphinx upon engraved Seal found at Assos.
(From the Impression. — Enlarged six diameters.)
the temple. The wings, fully feathered, turn backwards like
those upon the later coins of Assos. The female breasts are
distinctly indicated. Evident reminiscences of the archaic
image of the Assian sphinx are to be seen in various details,
such as the modelling of the haunch, and the fillet binding
the head and falling upon the shoulders, as well as in the
general position. There can be little doubt that this gem
was engraved with definite reference to the civic symbol
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1SS3. 20I
of Assos. We cannot, indeed, adduce direct proof that the
seal was actually used in this significance by city authorities,
but there is nothing in the nature of the case to render this
view unlikely. The identity of the words employed by the an-
cients for coat of arms and seal ring (or the use of the same
root, as in the Latin signuni and sigilhini) shows that the fun-
damental idea of such an image was heraldic ; and there
can scarcely be a doubt that seals bearing the symbol or de-
vice of a boar were made use of not infrequently. There
is thus an entire agreement between the ancient and
the mediaeval usage in this respect, and it may well be
that we have become possessed of an actual seal of the
Greek city.
We are reminded by this gem of one of the most interest-
ing episodes in the history of the town. When Hermeias,
tyrant of Assos and Atarneus, fell into the hands of the
Persians (b. c. 345), his enemies possessed themselves of his
ring, and by sending letters bearing the impression of its seal
to the governors left in charge of those towns beguiled them
into giving up the citadels and garrisons, under the belief
that an amicable arrangement had been effected between
King Artaxerxes and their former ruler.-^ We may imagine
this ring of Hermeias to have borne the image of the sphinx,
inasmuch as the rulers of such small states commonly
adopted for this purpose the symbol which they stamped
upon their coins. ^
1 Diodoros, XVI. 52.
- It may be mentioned as a coincidence, that the Emperor Augustus likewise
employed seal rings bearing the image of a sphinx, two of which he had found
among the jewels of Atia (Pliny, Aa/. Hist., XXXVII. 4, ed. Delph. ; Suetonius,
Octav., I.; Dion Cassius, LI. 3). In the absence of the Emperor from Rome,
during the civil wars, his agents were authorized to use the duplicate to seal
official documents which had to be sent from the capital. Pliny informs us that
it was a common jest among those who received such edicts that this sphinx
was ever the bearer of some enigma. On account of this mockery, Augustus
subsequently exchanged the sphinx upon his seal for another image.
202 ARCHJLOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
The interchangeable employment of sphinxes and griffins
as the heraldic symbols of Assos, surprising as it appears at
first sight, is thus to be traced in the Hellenistic as well as
in the archaic period. While, on the one hand, we have a
parallel between the oldest coins of the town and the coat of
arms sculptured above the entrances to the temple, on the
other, we have the figures of the civic hall and of the seal
ring. Even a cursory examination into the relations between
the sphinx and the griffin, intimate in all ages of antiquity,^
will fully explain this interchange. We may even recognize
in it a constant tendency.
In mythological significance, griffin and sphinx were most
closely allied, and in that conventional artistic usage with
which we are at present concerned they were often regarded
as actually identical. The fundamental idea in both is that
of a supernatural, irresistible force, ascribed to these mon-
sters because of their combining the characteristic features
1 The parallelism between sphinx and griffin formed the subject of learned
investigations as early as the of time Turnebus (Adrianus), Adversariorum,
vol. iii., Basileae, 1581, x. 62 ; xxiii. 26; xxiv. 23. It has been treated at great
length by Voss (Johann Heinrich), Mythologische Briefe, Stuttgart, 1827-34,
Theil i. p. 305, Anhang, Ueber den Ursprutig der Greife, and Theil ii. p. 189 ;
and more particularly by Stephani (Ludolf), Erkldrung einiger hn Jahre 1863
im siidlichen Russland gefundenen Gegefistdnde, Compte Rendu de V Acadeniie de
St. Petersboiirg, St. Petersbourg, 1864, p. 64.
The most important materials for a consideration of the position and develop-
ment of this type in ancient literature and art have been collected, among others
by Ukert (Friedrich August), Geographie der Griechen tind Rotner, Weimar,
1816-46; Welcker (Karl Gottlieb), Hekate ti7td Eros, von Grei/efi gezogen, in
his Alte Denktndler erkldri, Gottingen, 1849-64, vol. ii., and in another paper
entitled Sarcophag im Museum zu Koln, Zeitschrift fur Alterthumskunde des
Rhemlandes, Bonn, 1S45 '■> Baehr's note to Herodotus, 2d ed., Lipsiae, 1856-61,
vol. ii. ; Bruuet's Recherches sur quelques Animaux fantastiques, in the Revue
Archeologique, vol. ix., Paris, 1853 ; Brunn's Ititorno ad alcune rappresenianze
della Sfinge, in the Bulletino deW Instituto, Roma, 1853 ! ^"'^> ™ore particularly,
Stephani, in the works already quoted and in the volumes of the Compte Rendu
de PAcademie de St. Petersbourg for the years 1863 and 1867; Langbehn (J.),
Flilgelgestalten der dltesten griechischen Kunst, Miinchen, 18S1 ; and Furtwangler
as quoted above.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1883. 203
of the most powerful animals of earth and air. Hence both
are among the most common apotropaic symbols.^ Sphinx
and griffin being identical in formation with the sole excep-
tion of the head, it is not difficult to account for their similar-
ity of attributes and exchange of functions. The alternation
of the head of a leopard with that of an eagle, in the griffins
of our mosaic, indicates the readiness with which the human
head might be exchanged for that of the bird.
As the result of this we may frequently notice in ancient
literature a failure clearly to distinguish between these mon-
sters, while in ancient decorative art we constantly see sphinx
and griffin employed as the most natural pendants, and often
used interchangeably.
Thus it is worthy of note that in one of the earliest refer-
ences to the griffin Aischylos terms it 6 ^varofio^ Z7)v6<;
uKpajr)^ KVQjv,^ a designation which closely corresponds with
that applied by the same author to the sphinx, SvaijfxepLdv
Trpiirava kvcov.^ The Romans certainly conceived sphinx
and griffin to be identical, designating both by one and the
same word.* So direct literary proof of this particular con-
fusion is, it is true, wanting in the case of the Greeks them-
selves ; but a noteworthy parallel is presented by their
identification of the griffin with the hippalektryon.^
We reach these same conclusions more directly, and with
1 For much that concerns the prophylactic signifiance of sphinx and griffin,
see Jahn (Otto), I?ie Lattersforter Phalerae, Bonn, 1S60. Sphinxes are very
frequently represented upon apotropaic vases.
2 Aischylos, Prom., 803.
8 Aischylos, Frag., No. 232. Sophokles {Ocd. R., 391) applies to the sphinx
the word paypipSbs Kvtxiv.
* " Piceis," " Pices," or " Phices," (Fesfus, ed. Miiller, p. 206 ; Isidorus, Orig.,
XX. 2, 3 ; Nonius Marcellus, De Profr. Scrm., p. 152. 7, Leipzig ed., who refers
to the important passage of Plautus, Aul., IV. 3. i), from the Boeotian form of
the word sphinx, (pl^, as used, for instance, by Hesiod, Theos^., 326.
' This is done by Photios, Lex., and by Hcsychios, both s. v. 'iTrraXeKTpuwv.
204 ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
greater certainty, in surveying the wide field of ancient deco-
rative art, a small number of characteristic examples from
which will sufBce for illustration. The potency in warding
off malign influences, attributed alike to sphinx and griffin,
led to the employment of both forms in the sculptured decora-
tions of arm-chairs, couches, lamps, and other furnishings of
the dwelling, as well as upon the helmets and breastplates of
the warrior, and it was without doubt through this common
significance of an occult protection, quite as much as through
the resemblance of form, that the identity of character was
established. In one of its commonest functions, as the guar-
dian of funeral monuments or of sacred edifices, the grifiin
formed a pendant to the sphinx, or even replaced it alto-
gether. It will be recollected that in the case of the
acroterion of the temple of Assos we were in doubt as to
which of these monsters the fragment of a paw was to be
ascribed.
In apotropaic vases, of the earliest as well as of the most
recent styles, the grifiin is constantly found in combination
with the sphinx. Apart from Oriental examples of this
parallelism ^ well known Greek examples of the appearance
of both monsters in figure compositions are afforded by the
Francois vase, before instanced, by a vase of the Ermitage,
published by Micali,^ and by one firom the Castellani collec-
tion.^ It must have been as such pendants that sphinxes
and grififins stood together in the palace of the Scythian King
Skyles at Olbia,* — if, indeed, we may not conclude, from
^ Layard, Monuments of Nineveh, vol. i. pi. 89; vol. ii. pi. 69. Cesnola
(Alessandro Palma di), Salaminia, London, 1884, 2d ed., fig. 115. Lajard (Jean
Baptiste Felix), Recherches stir le Culte publiqtte et Us Mysteres de Mithra en
Orient et en Occident, Paris, 1867, fig. 58, et al. For an Etruscan example, see
Micali, Moniimenti, tav. xliii.
2 Micali, Monumenti, tav. xl. * Herodotos, IV. 78.
3 Frohner (Wilhelm), Collection Castella7ii, Rome, 1SS4, No. 368.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASS OS, 1883. 205
the frequency of griffins and the entire lack of sphinxes
among the remains of this part of the ancient world, that
Herodotos himself affords us an example of that confusion
between the two forms which appears to be frequent among
ancient writers.^
The griffin, like the sphinx, with which it was so readily-
confounded, by no means originated amongst the Greeks.
This fact is substantiated not only by the constant appear-
ance of griffins upon Oriental monuments of the highest
antiquity ,2 but also by the traditions of an Eastern derivation
1 Compare upon this point the note to this passage given by Ravvlinson in his
translation of Herodotos, London, 1875, '^'°^- i"'' ^^^ '^^e authorities in regard to
the discovery of griffins in Scythia there cited.
2 An outline history of the employment of this form in ancient art may be
recognized from, the facts already adduced. To sum up concisely. The griffin,
like the sphinx, undoubtedly had its origin in the agglutinative methods of
mythology and heraldry. The earliest formal combination of the kind known
to the writer is that Chaldean image of the winged lion with bird's talons upon
its hind legs which Assyriologists identify as the enemy Tiamat. In Assyrian art
we see this figure assume the eagle's head (Lajard, Culte de Mithra, figs. 54 B,
56, 57; Menant (Joachim), Les Pierres Gravees de la Haute Asie, Paris, 18S3-S6,
vol. ii. fig. 7 ; Perrot and Chipiez, Histoire de PArt dans PAutiquite, vol. ii. fig.
11), and finally adopt the characteristic form of the griffin with the hind legs
of a lion (Layard, Moniimenls of Nineveh, vol. i. pis. 8, 43, 46 ; Discoveries in the
Ruins of Nineveh and Babylon, p. 200, et al.).
An adequate investigation into the further history of the type would here
lead us too far afield. Attention should, however, be called to the fact that
griffins, closely approaching in form those depicted by the Greeks of the archaic
period, and differing in certain important respects from the Tiamat type of
Mesopotamia, appear upon the most ancient engraved cylinders of the Hittites.
Lajard, Culte de Mithra, fig. 58 ; Wright (William), The Empire of the Hittites,
London, 1884, pi. i. ; Seal from Marash in the Museum of Berlin, No. "894.
Perhaps the next stage in the further migration is presented by the sitting
griffin so frequently met with upon Cyprian seals, such as that referred to in a
former note. In general it may be remarked that the griffin quietly posed as a
guardian, and not in attack as a beast of prey, forms the Syrian, as contrasted with
the Mesopotamian type. It is this guardian which appears upon the seals of the
very earliest Greek period, such as the "island stones" in Copenhagen, Breslau,
and the British Museum, published in the Archdolo^ische Zcituvg, Berlin, 1S83,
pi. 16; and upon the Boeotian tablet mentioned by Milchhtifcr (Arthur), Z>/>
Anfdnge der Kunst in Griechcnland, Leipzig, 1S83, p. 48, and now in the Museum
2o6 ARCH^OLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
dwelt upon by almost all those classic writers, before quoted,
who make mention of the monster. The task of the Greek
archaeologist is hence rather to follow the changes which
altered and perfected the primitive Oriental type, than to
seek for direct explanations of its origin, or original mytho-
logical signification. Taken from this point of view, the
great diversity of the sphinxes and grififins of Assos renders
them of peculiar interest.
The attributes of the chief deities of ancient towns were
commonly adopted as civic symbols ; for example, the owl of
Athenian Pallas, the steeds of Delian Apollo, the peacock of
Samian Hera, the cock of Epidaurian Asklepios, the stag of
Ephesian Artemis, the goat of Ainian Hermes, and many
others. This usage leads us to inquire whether the sphinx or
griffin may not have been — upon this Asiatic coast, at least,
where these monsters were early received from the East,
and possibly connected with an orientalized cult — associated
with the protecting deity of Assos. Some indications do, in
fact, point to the existence of such an association. Chief,
as also most famihar among these is the general adoption
of sphinx and grifQn as symbols upon the helmet crest of
Athena, as in the chryselephantine statue of Pheidias,^ a work
in which all such details were most carefully considered.
Some other points, capable of supporting this argument, have
been referred to by Stephani.^ But after examination of all
instances of such association, we are forced to the conclusion
that the available materials do not suffice for a definite attri-
bution of either sphinx or griffin to Athena, or indeed any
of Berlin, No. 7548. The small griffins of beaten sheet gold found among the
most ancient remains of Mykenai (Schliemann, Mycenae, No. 261) are more
Oriental in character.
1 Pausanias, I. 24. 5.
' Stephani (Ludolf), Der atisruhende Hcrakles, pp. 147, 1S2, and the other
publications of this author already quoted.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASS OS, 188S. 207
one Greek deity. Perhaps the closest relation recognizable is
that existing — doubtless in great measure by virtue of their
attributes of invincible force — between these Oriental mon-
sters and Phoenician Herakles. The exploits of this hero, as
will be borne in mind, formed the subjects of the sculptures
of our temple. Whether it was in any wise through this
intimate connection of Herakles with the official worship of
Assos, natural enough in an Aeolian colony, that sphinx and
griffin were adopted as civic symbols, can, in the present state
of our information, be no more than a conjecture.
Here we may terminate our consideration of those temple
sculptures which were discovered during the excavations of
the second and third years, and of those other works of art
which by reason of their subjects are connected with them.
The following observations upon the reliefs previously known
have the sole purpose of correcting and supplementing the
accounts hitherto published.
Of the epistyle blocks and metopes seen upon the site of
the temple by earlier investigators, there is one which it has
been impossible to discover, or at all events to identify.
Prokesch von Osten, in the two descriptions of his visit to
the site of Assos in the year 1826,1 enumerates eleven frag-
ments of the reliefs which were at that date to be seen upon
the surface of the earth. Of these the eighth is described as
"ein sitzender Amor, der die Hand auf den Bogen stiitzt"
Nothing exactly corresponding with this was found either
by the French or by the American explorers. We are thus
left in doubt whether a relief showing a subject of this
nature actually disappeared during the nine years which
1 The earlier of these accounts was given in the Anzeii^cbhitt of the Wiener
Jahrbuch der Literatur, vol. Iviii., Wien, 1S32, under the title, " Mittheilungen
aus Kleinasien von Oberstlieutenant von Prokesch Osten : I. Reise von Smvrna
durch Mytilene nach Alexandria-Troas und Assos," July, 1826 ; and subsequently
in his Dcnkwiirdigkeiten und Erinnerun^en aus dcin Orient, before quoted.
2o8 ARCH.-EOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
elapsed between the visit of Prokesch and that of Texlcr, or
whether Prokesch may have seen a portion of the rehef of
Herakles and Pholos (Fig. 37), — discovered at no great depth
beneath the surface during the American excavations, — and
have entirely mistaken the position of the body and failed
to discriminate between the two personages. That a figure
of Eros should have been represented among the sculptures of
the temple is, in itself, exceedingly improbable, and we are
perhaps warranted in assuming the bowman seen by Pro-
kesch to have been the Aeolic hero. It is, moreover, well
known that some carved blocks belonging to the temple have
been removed from the site by Turkish builders of the pres-
ent generation. Indeed, it is surprising that so much still
remains.
The one complete metope relief discovered during the first
year was referred to in the Preliminary Report as represent-
ing a man pursuing a woman. Further examination of the
block has, however, made it apparent that the figure upon the
left, supposed to be that of a female, is entirely nude. This
amounted to a proof that it was also male ; for, as is well
known, naked female figures were not depicted by the Greeks
in the age to which these sculptures belong. Even as late
as the time of Praxiteles the nudity of the Knidian Venus
required to be explained and justified by the suggestion of
the bath. Close scrutiny of the stone showed that the figure
of the pursued, like that of the pursuer, had been originally
provided with male organs, which must have been obliterated
at some period subsequent to the displacement of the frieze.
Several of the other reliefs have sufifered similar mutilation.
In order to complete our view of these sculptures, we must
now give our attention to two of the reliefs from the temple
of Assos, removed from the surface of the ground by the
French in 1835, and now preserved in the Louvre. The sub-
jects of these remarkable works, in the writer's opinion, have
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1883. 209
not hitherto been correctly explained. A determination of
their significance is of importance, not merely on its own
account, but because it has a bearing on the age and dedi-
cation of the temple, and on the artistic relations of its
sculptured decorations.
The chief of these reliefs, upon the longest known epistyle
block of the temple, represents a marine monster, a kind
of merman with human body and fishy tail, who has been
seized from behind by a naked hero. (Fig. 49.) The mon-
ster occupies considerably more than half the panel, the
space beyond and above the tail being filled in with six
human figures, retreating with outstretched and uplifted
arms, as if affrighted at the struggle. As the trunks of
the merman and hero are inclined to an angle of about
thirty degrees, and as all the heads rise to precisely the
same level, the six upright figures are of less than half the
size of the hero. This want of scale results from the de-
signer having adhered to the conventional principle known
as isocephalism : a method of composition regardlessly fol-
lowed in many archaic works, and often recognizable, though
skilfully disguised, even in reliefs of the perfected style. In
this case the naive violation of relative proportions is not
without advantage; for the figures of the chief actors in the
scene are thus rendered prominent in the same striking fash-
ion as are the heroes of those monumental wall-paintings
and reliefs of Egyptian and Assyrian art, in which a giant
king strides victorious through hosts of pygmy assailants, and
warriors outtop the fortification towers which they defend.
The surface of the stone is so chipped and corroded
that it is scarcely possible to determine the sex of the six
retreating figures. Texier^ and Clarac^ describe them as
1 Texicr, Description de VAsie Mineure, vol. ii.
2 Clarac, Miisie de Sadpture, vol. ii.
14
i 1^1. "^
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASS OS, 1883. 21 I
female ; De Witte, as male.^ The writer inclines to the
former view, and it is at least certain that the engravings
published in \.\\q. Mommtenti'^ are incorrect in showing these
bodies as nude. As indicating the terror inspired by the
struggle, these fugitives effectively emphasize the main ac-
tion. In decorative respects, they contrast strikingly with
the slanting trunks of the combatants, being erect, or slightly
inclined from the group, the arms of the first five outstretched
in a contrary direction, while those of the last, terminating
the relief, are held vertically aloft. The regularity of the
postures is almost that of a conventional ornament ; even
the turn of the heads, towards or from the dreaded spectacle,
is in unvaried alternation.^
The attacking hero, though entirely naked, bears upon his
back a quiver, seemingly rather as an attribute than as part of
his equipment, and is thus sufficiently designated as Herakles.
Such was not, however, the identification of this figure given
by the earliest editors of the relief. Both Texier and Clarac
conceive the wrestler to be King Menelaos, and the monster
to be one of the shapes of Proteus, the Egyptian, whom the be-
reaved husband is constraining to prophesy, as recounted in
the Odyssey.* In conformity with this view, Texier supposes
the six fugitives (whose figures are, as he declares by way
of support for the identification, toitt a fait Egyptiennes) to
represent Helen and her maids, at that time domiciled with
Proteus, after having been driven to Egypt by contrary winds,
while on the voyage from Sparta to Troy.^ Clarac, on the
other hand, conjectures that the six subordinate personages
1 De Witte, Annali, 1842.
2 Monuniciiti, vol. iii., 1839-43.
3 It is a further error of the engraving in the Momimenti, that the fourth fig-
ure from the combatants is shown looking forwards.
* Odyssey, IV. 435-460.
6 Herodotos, II. 112, 118.
212 ARCH^OLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
may be taken for the daughters of the Old Man of the Sea,
" among whom we may recognize the divine Eidothea" (the
only daughter of Proteus known to Homer, by the way) ;
or, again, six of the Nereids ; or, if one prefer, the Pleiades,
or the Hyades, — " constellations which, by reason of the
changes produced by them in the seasons of the year, may
be brought into relations with Proteus, the variable god, to
whom they may have been compared, and with whom they
may have been associated."
Yet, perplexed by the fact that Menelaos is not known
to fame as a huntsman, while a variety of animals, lions,
boars, bulls, and the like, are figured among the sculptures
of the temple, Clarac offers as an alternative an entirely
different identification of the hero, who he suggests may be
Aristaios, son of Apollo^ and Kyrene. Virgil,^ in evident
imitation of the Homeric episode, has described this bucolic
divinity as questioning the prophetic Proteus concerning bee
culture, and Aristaios thus might be represented in the strug-
gle with the marine monster quite as naturally as Menelaos.
Clarac calls attention to the fact, that the attribute of the
quiver is decidedly more in keeping with the functions of
Aristaios than with those of the Lacedaemonian king ; while
the six fugitives of the relief may remain, as before, the
daughters of Proteus, the Nereids, the Pleiades, or the Hyades,
or they may be taken as representatives of the Muses, or
of the Seasons, from whom Aristaios had received his train-
ing in the arts of husbandry. Every indication afforded by
the decorations of the temple is readily brought into line
with this explanation. Thus, the lion is that beast which
ravaged the country around Mount Pelion, and attacked
Kyrene, the mother of Aristaios ; the Centaurs are Thessali-
ans, naturally connected with the nymph and her son, inas-
1 Georgics, IV. 3S7 et seq.
INVESTIGA TIONS A T ASSOS, 18S3. 2 I 3
much as Cheiron had himself instructed the boy ; the pairs
of bulls are those offered by Aristaios in sacrifice before enter-
ing upon the struggle with Proteus ; and, finally, the pig and
the stag are peaceable animals, significant of the agricultural
renown of this mortal, who attained to the dignity of a god
through the benefits bestowed by him upon mankind. An
exegesis such as this is too perfect and too characteristic to
be passed without mention.
On the other hand, the sufficiently obvious fact that the
hero represented upon our relief is none other than Herakles
was fully recognized by De Witte, one of the earliest editors
of the Assos sculptures, and, as compared with Texier and
Clarac, a trained archaeologist. The monster whom the hero
attacks was, in De Witte's view, Nereus,i — a being gifted,
like that other Old Man of the Sea, Proteus, with powers of
prophecy and of transforming his shape to elude the grasp
of mortal hands. Herakles was, as is well known, fabled by
the later Greeks to have sought from Nereus advice concern-
ing the whereabouts of the Hesperides and golden apples,
and for this purpose to have fallen upon him while he was
asleep, holding him firmly during his various transforma-
tions.^ This identification of the monster as Nereus, correct-
ing as it did the most obvious error of the Menelaos-Proteus
version, was generally accepted, found its way into many
handbooks, and has been reiterated in recent years by author-
ities such as, among others, Lenormant^ and Murray.'*
The fact was, however, soon recognized that the scene thus
1 In respect to this marine opponent of Herakles, De Witte, though naming
Nereus first, still leaves the choice open between him and Triton. The same
failure to decide between the two candidates is noticeable in the description of
the relief given by Guigniault.
- Apollodoros, II. 5. 11. Scholiast to Apollonios of Rhodes, Arg., IV. 1396.
8 Lenormant (Fran9ois), Iniailles Archaiques de I'An/iipd Grec, Revue
Archeologiqiie, vol. xxviii., Paris, 1S74, pi. 12.
4 Murray (Alexander Stuart), History of Greek Sculpture, London, 1SS0-S3.
2 14 ARCH^OLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
appearing among the sculptures of Assos belongs to a well
defined category of archaic representations, and Gerhard,^
republishing in the year 1843 a vase painting which resembles
the Assos relief in several characteristic features, satisfactorily
proved that the monster suffering under the rough embrace
of Herakles is not Nereus, but Triton. His argument was
based upon the observation, that in no case does the group
display indications of that illusory change of shape by which
Nereus resisted Herakles, as Proteus did Menelaos, and The-
tis did Peleus. To this is to be added, that upon three of the
vases depicting this struggle the name of the monster is given
by accompanying inscriptions as Triton.^ Moreover, Nereus
himself, identified by an inscription, appears in several of
these representations as a spectator of the combat.^ Hence
Gerhard justly concludes: "■ Dass ein wirklicJier Triton in
1 Gerhard, Auserlesene Griechtsche Vasenbildcr, vol. ii. pi. cxi. This vase
had, in the previous publications of De Witte, Descriptioji des Antiqtiitcs et Ob-
jets d'Art qui cofnposeiit le Cabinet de Feu M. le Chevalier E. Durand, Paris,
1S36, No. 302, and Dubois (Leon Jean Joseph), Description des Antiques fai-
sant Par tie des Collections de M. le Comte de Potirtales-Gorgier, Paris, 1841,
No. 196, passed as representing Herakles and Nereus. Gerhard, in his Berlin's
Antike Bildwerke beschriebeft, Berlin, 1836, had in like manner called the
monster of the vase No. 697 " Nereus," in spite of the inscription " Tritonnos "
upon it. Compare also the same author's Etruskische tmd Kampanische Vasen-
bildcr des Museums zic Berlin, Berlin, 1843, P^- ^v. 5, 6.
2 One of these is the vase in the Berlin Museum, referred to in the preced-
ing note, which has been more recently described by Furtwangler (Adolf), Be-
schreibung der Vasensammlung im Antiquarium, Berlin, 1885, No. 1906. For
the second, see Brondsted (Peter Oluf), Description of thirty-two Ancient Greek
Fainted Vases, lately found in Excavations made at Vulci, in the Roman Territory,
by Mr. Cainpanari, London, 1832, No. 7; also in the Archdologische Zeitung, 1856,
p. 24S. For the third, see De Witte, Description d'une Collection de Vases Feints
et Bronzes Antiques provenant des Fouilles de I'Etrurie, Paris, 1837, No. 84.
3 As, for instance, on the vase last referred to in the preceding note. That
on another vase, published by Dubois, N'otice d'une Collection de Vases Antiques,
Paris, 1843-48, the name Nereus does not appertain to the monster, but to one
of the lookers on, has been pointed out by Jahn (Otto), Berichte der K. Sdch-
sischen Gesellschaft der Wissenschaften, Leipzig, 1854, p. 173. An excellent
r'esuml of the argument for this change of names is given by Roulez (Joseph
INVESTIGA TIONS A T ASSOS, 1883. 2 I 5
dtesein gequdlten Me ergot t gcmehit sei Icidet somit diircJiaus
keiiien Zweifel."
Reasons for questioning the appearance, upon such archaic
works of art, of Nereus engaged in a struggle with Herakles,
are likewise to be derived from purely literary sources. Long
before the publication of Gerhard's argument, Welcker^ had
advanced the theory that the legend of Nereus prophesying
to Herakles was merely an imitation of the Homeric story of
Emmanuel Ghislain), Lictle d^Hercule et de Triton, Bulletin de r Acadhnie
Royale des Sciences et Belles Lettres de Bruxelles, vol. xi., Bruxelles, 1S44.
^ Welcker (F. Q.), Die zw'olf Kdmpfe des Herakles bey Pisander, Rheinisches
Museum filr Philologie, Geschichte und Griechiscke Philosophic, Bonn, 1833, re-
printed in the second edition of his Akademische Kunstmtiseum zii Bonn, 1841,
and in his Kleine Schriften, vol. i., Bonn, 1844-50. Welcker apparently over-
looked the fact that the scholiast to Apollonios of Rhodes [Argon., IV. 1396), in
repeating the tale of Nereus prophesying to Herakles, refers to Pherekydes as
his authority for this version of the story. Pherekydes the logographer (not to
be confounded with the better known philosopher of the same name) lived dur-
ing the first half of the fifth century before Christ, and it is hence evident that
this episode of the Herakles legend is older, at all events, than that large class
of literary embellishments and duplications for which we are indebted to the
plagiarists of the Hellenistic age. On the other hand, we learn from Athenaios
(XI. 38, p. 469 d), that Panyasis the poet, a contemporary of Pherekydes, relates
that Herakles received the sun-bowl for the voyage to Erytheia from Nereus.
This may well have been the original version of the tale, which but loosely con-
nected the adventurous hero with the Old Man of the Sea. Athenaios himself
remarks, that " perhaps, as Herakles was fond of large cups, the poets and his-
torians, jesting because of the great size of this one, may have invented the
fable of his having gone to sea in a cup." This vessel was naturally reputed to
have been given to Herakles 'by Okeanos, as stated by Peisander (Athenaios,
XI. 38), — a much older and better authority than either Pherekydes or Panyasis,
— and in this business Nereus is obviously nothing more than a deputy for Okea-
nos. From this genesis of the tale of Herakles and Nereus it is plain that the
connection between the two was neither sufficiently primitive nor sufficiently
close to serve as the basis for a scene so popular as that represented upon such
numerous works of archaic art must have been.
In regard to the marine monster itself, Welcker, though rejecting all connec-
tion between this combat and the expedition to the Hesperides, yet fails to make
any advance towards the true solution of the jiroblem. He still follows the iden-
tification of the merman shown upon the ancient vase-paintings as Nereus, con-
tenting himself with the generalizing remark that the labcrs of Herakles led him
to subdue the monsters of the sea as well as those of the land.
2i6 ARCH^OLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
Menelaos and Proteus, invented as an embellishment of the
exploits of Herakles.
Gerhard's identification of the monster is now regarded as
so firmly established, that Klein ^ has based upon it the bold
yet plausible suggestion that the scene sculptured upon the
highly archaic throne of Amyklai, described by Pausanias'-^
as the struggle between Menelaos and Proteus, in reality
belonged to the wide-spread category of works of art depict-
ing the combat of Herakles with a Triton. The antique
sight-seers would thus have fallen into precisely the same
error with respect to this representation, so entirely obsolete
in his day, as did the French archaeologists upon its redis-
covery in modern times.
Judging from the great number of archaic Greek works of
the kind which have come down to us, this victory of the
national hero over the emissary of Poseidon must have been
one of the most popular exploits of the cyclus. Gerhard ^
had collected twenty-three representations of the struggle at
the time of his publication, and this list was increased to fifty
by Stephani.^ Seventeen further examples have recently
been added by Petersen,^ and, finally, seven more by Stud-
1 Klein (Wilhelm), Bathykles, A7-chdologisch-epigraphische Mittheibmgeit aus
Oesten-eich-Ungarn, vol. ix., Heft 2, Wien, 1885. In basing his argument upon
the Olympian bronze, which forms so excellent a parallel to this representation
upon the throne of Amyklai, the author justly remarks that this change of iden-
tification removes the relief described by Pausanias from its inexplicable isola-
tion, placing these two works side by side, at the head of a long and typical
series of archaic designs.
2 Pausanias, III. 18. 15.
^ Gerhard, Aitserlesejie Griechische Vasenbilder, vol. ii. p. 95, note 12. This
list is not without important errors. Thus No. 9, the pi. xxxii. of Millingen
(James V.), Pcintnres Antiques et TnSdites de Vases 6"^^^^, Rome, 1S13, is inco:-
rectly referred to as showing two female figures beside the combatants.
* Stephani, Compte Rendu de la Commission Imperiale Archiologique, St. Peters-
bourg, 1S67, p. 21, and Nachtrag, p. 209.
5 Petersen (Eugen), .fi'r.ro/,? ^ Tritone, Annali,vo\. liv., Roma, 1882. Petersen
overlooks one of the representations given (in the Appendix to the Compte
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1SS3. 2 I "J
niczka,^ bringing the total up to not less than seventy-four.
Among these we have, in works of monumental sculpture,
the poros gable, recently unearthed upon the Acropolis of
Athens,^ a bronze fragment found at Dodona,^ the Olym-
pian bronze* and the Assos relief now under consideration.
Probably no single subject in all the wide range of ancient
mythological scenes is known to have been so frequently
illustrated.
In not one of these representations is Herakles shown as
attacking with his accustomed weapons, the club or the bow.
In accordance, doubtless, with some detail of the legend now
lost, the hero wrestles with the monster naked-handed, seizing
him from behind, and employing those devices of the palais-
tra known to the sport-loving Greeks as afju^ara. Moreover,
Rendu) by Stephani, to whom he refers as having collected forty-nine examples
only. The same remark applies to Studniczka. The example thus omitted in
these recent lists is No. 416 of Dubois (L. J. J.), Catalogue des Vases Grecs for-
viattt la Collection de Mr. C. L. F. Panckoucke, Paris, 1835.
1 Studniczka (Franz), Attische Porosgiebel, Mittheilungen des Deutscheti Ar-
chdologischen Instituts, vol. xi., Athen, 1S86.
^ Described in the essay quoted in the foregoing note. Other fragments of
this gable relief have since been discovered, and were examined by the writer in
the small museum upon the Acropolis of Athens.
3 Carapanos (Constantin), Dodotie et ses Ruines, Paris, 1878, pi. xvi fig. 4.
This fragmentary relief, published by Carapanos as Herakles and the Lernean
Hydra, was identified as Herakles and Triton by Studniczka in the essay before
quoted. It is a work of the second half of the fourth, or even the first half of
the third century, and is of interest as one of the very few works of so late
a date which depict this scene. So little remains of the body of the monster
upon this fragment, that it appears scarcely sufficient to afford a conclusive
refutation of the original assumption of Carapanos ; nevertheless Furtwiinglcr
(in Roscher's Lexikon, art. Herakles) unquestioningiy adopts Studniczka's
identification.
* Aus^rabungen zti Olymfia, vol. iv. pi. 25, p. 19. Engraved also in Curtius
(Ernst), Das archaische Bronzerelief von Olympia, Abhandluiigcn der k. Al-a-
demie der Wissenschaften, Berlin, 18S0, p. 13, No. 6. Compare especially Furt-
wangler (A.), Die Bronze funde atis Olympia und deren Kttnstgeschichtliche
Bedeuiiing, Abhandlungen der k. Akademie der Wis sense haf ten, Berlin, 1880,
p. 96.
2l8 ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
two classes of these numerous works are to be distinguished,
as well by the formation of the merman as by the different
action and grip of the hero. In the more primitive and by
far the larger category the fishy portion of the triton extends
as high as the navel, or even higher. Herakles sits astride
of the monster's back, the farther leg being concealed from
view, and chokes or hugs him with interlocked arms. In the
later works, among which the Assos relief is to be classed,
these features are considerably altered, and, from an artistic
point of view, improved. The human portion of the fish-man
has been extended to the hips, while Herakles, shown in en-
tire figure in front of the monster, no longer bestrides and
garrotes his victim, but grasps him firmly by the wrists, as at
Assos, or otherwise holds him in subjection. It is in some
measure possible to trace the development of the older works
towards this type. In the most ancient representation of the
scene, upon an "island stone" now in the British Museum,^
the scales of the Triton extend quite up to the armpits, only
head and arms being human. Herakles, on the other hand,
naked, yet with the quiver slung across his back, is shown in
substantially the same guise and action as at Assos. It would
be difficult to find a more striking illustration of the persis-
tency with which artistic traditions were retained by the
Greeks than the identity of this type upon works of such
widely different epochs ; the gem referred to being perhaps
the very earliest known instance of a mythological subject
represented by Hellenic art. Even in the movement of the
struggle from left to right, as shown upon the Assian relief,
we may note the retention of an archaic feature, which may
1 Lenormant (F.), Intailles Archaiques de PArckipel Grec, quoted above,
page 213, note 3. Re-engraved in Milchhofer (Arthur), Die Anfanqe der Kinist
in Griechenlajtd, Leipzig, 1 883, fig. 55. Lenormant, as has been noted, still
follows the identification of the figures as Herakles and Nereus. Mythological
representations are of extreme rarity upon gems of this class.
INVESTIGATIONS AT AS SOS, 1S83. 219
be traced from the island stone, through the long series
of black-figured vases, to the red-figured vase of free style
v^hich closes the list.^
That the advance in artistic composition which led to
the changes above enumerated had been made in Euro-
pean Greece a century or more previous to the building
of the temple of Assos, is rendered probable by the tran-
sitional character of the gable relief recently discovered
upon the Acropolis of Athens. The hero shown upon it,
though still garroting the Triton, no longer sits astride of
the monster's back, but stands in front, entirely naked, like
the Assian Herakles. There can be little doubt that these
improvements were the result of the execution of the scene
on a monumental scale. Postures which were tolerable, and
in some respects even advantageous, in the outline drawings
of the vases, were felt to be altogether unsuitable when en-
larged and rendered in relief.^ These changes, when once
1 Described by Brunn (H.), Viaggi in Etruria, IV. Vasi e SpeccJii Chiushii,
BjiUettino, 1859, p. 105, and engraved by Petersen in the paper before referred
to, Aimali, 1882, tav. K. The entire class of archaic black-figured vases dis-
plays a marked tendency, almost amounting to a rule, to turn the profiles and
direct the action of the composition towards the right. On this point compare
Loschcke (G.), Darstdlung def Athenagebiirt, Archdologische Zeitiing, 1S76,
Berlin, 1877.
2 Studniczka advances the contrary view. (See p. 75 of the essay before
quoted.) It will be remarked, however, that he is forced to contradict his own
theory in treating of the red-figured vase, the design of which, though depicting
an archaic subject, is wholly free from archaistic mannerism. As has been ob-
served in connection with the human-legged centaurs, it was the steady tendency
of Hellenic art to free itself from those monstrous combinations of human and
animal forms which had, in early ages, been adopted from the Orient, and to
relieve, so far as might be possible, such of these images as were retained from
their horrid and unnatural character. Thus the extension of the human trunk
of the Triton from the armpits to the waist, as in the Attic gable, the Assos
relief, and the red-figured vase, is a distinct advance. The assumption that
these figures appertain to a more ancient type than that of the black-figured
vases, or of the island stone, is at variance with leading principles of historic
criticism.
2 20 ARCH^OLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
made, were readily adopted by designers of all classes, as is
shown by the painting of the red-figured vase before referred
to. In view of the fragmentary condition of the Athenian
gable, it is difficult to determine how far the Assian relief
was directly influenced thereby. That the provincial artists
who decorated our temple depended largely upon prominent
works of Attica and the Peloponnesos is certainly to be
assumed, as we have had occasion to observe in connection
with the relief of Herakles and Pholos. The main point of
difference — the adoption of the wrist grip instead of the
interlocked arms — may possibly, as Petersen has suggested,^
be ascribed to a misunderstanding of the wrestling hold of
the older type, through which the arms of the combatants
were interchanged. The readiness with which this might
happen may be judged from a comparison of the illustra-
tion of the relief, Fig. 49, with the drawing of a black-
figured vase. Fig. 50. Yet the present writer hesitates to
adopt this explanation, in view of the otherwise intelligent
character of the design, and the evident purpose of the sculp-
1 The observations of Petersen (Essay in the Annali, 1882, before referred to)
in regard to this relief are so interesting as to deserve quotation in full: "£
d' uopo gettare uno sguardo di confronto anche sul rilievo d'Assos. Fu gia
osservato che la forma di Tritone e quivi analoga a quella della tazza a figure
rosse ' R' [published as plate K of the Amiali, 1S82]. Con lo stesso \sic\ e con
pochi altri esso ha comuni le donne che corron via. II gruppo dei combattenti
poi non mostra mai altrove deviazioni si notevoli dal tipo antico se non in
'R'; ma vi contribui forse anche la necessita dello spazio. Ercole non ca-
valca piu Tritone ; vedesi pero ancora serbato il gran passo ; egli non abbraccia
piu Tritone, ma gli afferra le braccia, non si sa bene con quale scopo. Chi
sa che 1' autore di esso rilievo non abbia frainteso 11 tipo Greco, come pure e
accaduto a recenti osservatori, ed abbia scambiato il braccio destro di Tritone
con quello di Ercole ? Ammesso questo, e imaginandoci che la sinistra di Ercole
abbracciasse il petto di Tritone e fosse quindi intrecciata coll' altra, allora
anche la sinistra alzata di Tritone e stringente senz' alcun dubbio un pesce
avrebbe il suo esemplare nei vasi. L' ammetter questo abbaglio diminuirebbe
r affinita con ' R,' ma gioverebbe a mettere in luce il carattere semigreco del
rilievo."
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1883. 22 1
tor to bestow upon the Triton his attribute, — the conch held
in the uplifted right hand.
For despite the weathered and battered surface of the
relief, and the consequent uncertainty of outline, there can
be little doubt that this object is actually a shell trumpet,
through which the distressed merman is about to blow a call
for aid. No different explanation was offered by Texier, Cla-
rac, De Witte, and Guigniault, the first four editors of these
sculptures, and no other possibility suggested itself to the
mind of the present writer, during a close scrutiny of this
rehef. Yet Stark ^ speaks of the object as a ring ; TiimpeP
sees in it a handle of the sun-bowl which Herakles received
from Nereus ; and Petersen and Wolters ^ have recently pub-
lished it as their opinion, that the attribute is not a conch,
but a fish, seemingly basing this view rather upon the fre-
quent appearance of a fish in other representations of Tritons
than upon an examination of the work itself Furthermore,
Studniczka,* following the same method of determination, and
arguing from an ancient description of a certain " statue of
a Triton, carved of wood and holding a silver kratanion in
its hand,"^ believes the object to be a drinking-vessel. He
quotes in this regard the statement of De Villefosse, the
present Director of the Louvre, in reply to inquiries made by
Purgold, that the attribute in question is at all events not a
fish, and may be either a drinking-horn or a conch. Were
1 Stark (C. B.), Gaza und die Philisldische Kiisle, Jena, 1S52.
^ Tiimpel, Die Aithiopetildnder des A ndromedaniythus , Siipplemoitband der
yahrbikher fUr classische Philologie, Leipzig, 18S7, p. 199.
8 Friedrichs and Wolters, Die Gypsabgiisse antiker BildiMrke in historischer
Folge erlddrt, Berlin, 1S85.
* Essay in the fliitthcilinigen des Deittschen Archdologischen Institutes, 18S6,
before quoted, p. 67, note i.
^ Polcmon (or the author of the Manners and Customs of the Greeks) quoted
by Athenaios, XI. 59, p. 4Soa. The Triton thus described, evidently a xoanon»
stood in the treasure house of the Byzantines at Olympia.
22 2 ARCH^OLOGICAL INSTITUTE,
it necessary to bring forward literary and archaeological ar-
guments to explain the appearance of a shell in the hand
of a Triton, it would not be difficult, on the one hand, to
adduce a great number of classic references to this attribute,^
while, on the other, besides the ancient account of figures of
Tritons blowing conches in the gable of a temple far older
than that of Assos,^ we have examples of the kind upon well
known coins of Corinth, Akragas, and Askalon, as well as in
vase paintings, and on reliefs, engraved gems, mosaics, etc.,
too numerous to mention.^ It is worthy of remark, that the
great majority of these representations show the conch as of
a curved form, like that of the Assian relief.
Recent investigations have given us much information con-
cerning the origin of this monster, graphically designated
by an inscription upon the archaic Olympian bronze as the
"Old Man of the Sea" (AAI02 TEPfiN). Like his adversary,
Herakles, he is of Oriental, and, as it appears, Phoenician
extraction.^ The similarity of the formation of this fish-man
to that of the deities Dagon and Derketo, especially wor-
shipped in Askalon and Gaza,^ must strike every observer.
The prototypes of the Greek Triton appear upon Assyrian
1 Pausanias (VIII. 2. 7) states as particularly characteristic of Tritons that
they blow through perforated shells. Compare also Moschos, Idyll., II. 120;
Nonnos, Diofzys., I. 61, VI. 270, XXXVI. 93; Virgil, Aen., X. 209; Lucan,
Phars., IX. 347; Ovid, Meta?n., I. 333; Pliny, Hist. Nat, IX. 9; Hyginus, Fab.,
II. 23 ; Appuleius, Metavi., IV. 85 ; and many others.
2 This was the temple of Saturn, in Rome, destroyed by fire in the year of
the city 257. The account referred to is given by Macrobius, Sat., I. 8. 4.
^ A list, far from complete, of such representations of Tritons and their
conches, is given by Stephani in the Compte Rendu de la Commission Imperiale
Archeologiqiie, St. Petersbourg, 187 1.
* Compare, upon the course of this development, the remarks of Milchhofer,
Anfdnge der G^iechischen Ktinst, p. 84.
5 A discussion of this point is to be found in Stark, Gaza, p. 249. For
examples, see Lajard (J. B. F.), Reckerches siir le Cidte, les Syrnboles, les Attri-
buts et les Moimments figures de Venus, en Orient et en Occident, Paris, 1S37-49,
pi. 22, 24.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASS OS, 1883. 223
reliefs and seals ;^ and upon that class of painted vases
termed by keramic specialists of the older school Tyrenian,
Phoenician-Babylonian, or Syrian-Phoenician,^ we see mon-
sters of similar shape, the offspring of the same artistic
tradition. Furtwangler^ believes this image to have been
introduced to Hellenic art by the Ionian inhabitants of the
Asiatic coast during the eighth century before Christ. Cer-
tain it is that the island stone, before referred to as repre-
senting the struggle of Herakles with the monster, shows
distinct traces of the Phoenician influence.
The Attic vase painters who inscribed their representa-
tions of this monster with the name " Triton " undoubtedly
followed an identification of this Oriental type made by Greek
mythographers of a much earlier age. The image of the
Phoenician sea-god was readily made to serve for that of a
corresponding member of the Hellenic theogony. It is inter-
esting to observe, as illustrative of the Greek conception,
even at the early date when this adoption took place, that
such a monstrous combination of human and animal forms
1 As, for instance, the relief from the palace of Sargon, which dates from the
close of the eighth century, engraved in Botta and Flandin, Monument de JVinive,
Paris, 1849-50, pi. 32, 34. Babylonian seals representing the subject are shown
in Lajard, IMithra, pi. 62, i, 2; 17, 2; 31, 5; Layard, Discoveries in the Ruins of
Nineveh and Babylon, London, 1853, P- 343? King (Charles William), Antique
Cetns and Rings, London, 1S72, vol. ii. pi. 3, 6; and others.
- On this class of vases compare De Witte, Cabinet Dioand, Pref. IL and
in. ; Gerhard, Archdologisches Intelligenzblatt, Berlin, 1836, p. 307 ; Raoul Ro-
chette, Nouvelles Observations siir les Anciennes Fabriqucs de Vases Feints, yournal
des Savants, Paris, 184 1, p. 356.
Human figures ending in fishes' tails are shown upon the so called Phoenician
vase published by Gerhard, Ueber die Kunst der Plionicier, Berlin, 1S4S, pi. 47 ;
and upon those given by the same author in his Berlin's Anti.le BiLkoerke,
Nos. 480 and 542. Upon a vase now in the collection of Munich, published by
Micali, Moinnncnti Inediti, Firenze, 1844, pi. 43, sphinxes and griffins closely re-
sembling those of Assos appear, together with a winged figure provided with a
similar appendage.
'^ Furtwangler, Die Bronzefundc aus Olympia, pp. 96, 97.
2 24 ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
was never employed to represent the mighty Poseidon him-
self, but was, from the first, restricted to an inferior order
of beings, the frightful emissaries of the Earth-Encircler.
The name Triton, as we may observe in such compound
forms as Amphitrite and Tritogeneia,^ is directly signifi-
cant of the element inhabited by these creatures, having, as
has been recently pointed out, a common origin with the
Sanscrit word trita, water.
Pausanias^ has given us a description of the appearance of
these beings, which corresponds closely with their portraits
upon the archaic works of art, and furthermore indicates
various details which upon the reliefs of Athens and Assos
were undoubtedly supplied by color. He remarks that their
hair resembled the frog-grass seen in swamps, falling in
masses so that the separate hairs were not distinguishable;
that they had a human nose, eyes of a bluish tint, hands with
fingers indicated and with finger-nails similar to mussel shells,
and that they had below the belly, instead of legs and feet,
a tail like that of a dolphin.
When the conception is confined to a single individual, this
Triton,^ as is well known, takes his place in the mythology of
1 It is interesting to observe how entirely the Greeks themselves were igno-
rant of the derivation and the true significance of this word, referring its first
two syllables to the Lake Tritonis in Libya, near which Athena was born, —
to the stream Triton in Boiotia, — to the head of Zeus, — or to the numeral Tpets,
either because the goddess was born on the third day of the month, or v»'as the
third child born (after Apollo and Artemis), or, finally, was the author of the
three main bonds of social life. The references to the classic authors who have
thus explained the word will be found in Stephani's, Thesatiros, s. v. Tpiro-
yiveia. Compare upon this point also Wekker, Die Aeschylische Trilogie, Darm-
stadt, 1824, pp. 164, 2S2. The recognition of the Sanscrit root can leave no doubt
as to the real significance of the epithet, of which not one of the ancients seems
to have been aware.
2 Pausanias, IX. 21. i.
3 Triton is said to have been the son of Poseidon by Amphitrite (Hesiod,
Tkepg,^T,o, and Apollodoros, I. 4. 6), or by Kelaino (Tzetzes, commentary to
Lykophron, 8S5), or by Salakia (Servius, commentary to Virgil, Ae7i., I. 144).
INVESTIGATIONS AT AS SOS, 18S3. 225
the Greeks as a son of Poseidon, dwelling with his parent in
a golden palace beneath the waves. ^
But why is this son or satellite of the sea god so frequently
depicted as thus struggling in the rough embrace of Hera-
kles ? Not one of the archaeologists who have treated of the
subject has had the slightest explanation to advance in this re-
gard. Welcker, Gerhard, and Stephani alike remark that the
ancient authors make no mention whatever of such a combat,
popular as it was in the earliest ages of Greek art. Baumeis-
ter and Furtwangler speak of the legend as altogether un-
attested by the mythographers. In short, all those who have
treated of the subject are in agreement with the concise
conclusion of Petersen, " abbiamo freqitentissime rappreseii-
tazioni, ma nessitna menzione nei siiperstiti monnmcnti let-
tcrariiy
Yet in spite of this great weight of authority, the present
writer believes it possible to explain the nature of the strug-
gle, and to connect this large class of ancient works of art
with one of the most notable exploits of Herakles, recounted
by classic authors of every age. The conclusion at which he
has arrived is, briefly stated, that the combat represented is
that known to have taken place between Herakles and the
sea monster who devastated these very coasts and threatened
the life of Hesione, in visitation of the wrath of Poseidon upon
Laomedon, king of Troy.^
This legend is one of the oldest of the Trojan Cyclus,
^ Thus described in the passages of Hesiod and Apollodoros referred to in
the foregoing note. According to the Homeric idea [Iliad, XIII. 20), this palace
was situated at Aigas, — the name of half a dozen Greek towns near the sea,
derived, without doubt, from the same root as kl-yaoiv and alyta\6s.
- This explanation was suggested in the Prelhninary Report, p. 106, — the
ground for the reason there assigned being the local character of the Ilesione
legend. It is perhaps fair to state that the identification would not have been
advanced at that time had the writer then been aware of the difficulty of sup-
porting this bold hypothesis in the lack of many arguments since collected.
15
2 26 ARCH^OLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
connected with the most primitive traditional history of the
country, and repeatedly referred to by the singer of the
Homeric epics as if familiar to all his hearers. Poseidon,
together with Apollo, had been bound over to serve Laome-
don, king of Ilion, for a full year, whether in punishment for
a revolt against the power of Zeus, or voluntarily, in order
to test the presumptuousness of this mortal ruler.-^ During
this year, Poseidon, obviously in his character as Asphalios,
built the fortification walls of the city. When this task was
performed, Laomedon refused to give the gods the wages
which had been promised them, and drove them from his
dominions, threatening to cut off their ears, to bind them
hand and foot, and to sell them in some distant island as
slaves. In revenge for this ignominious treatment Poseidon
sent a sea monster, which destroyed those who ventured
upon the sea-shore, and even those whom it caught tilling
the fields near the coast. ^ Laomedon, in distress at the suf-
fering which had thus befallen his people, inquired of the
oracle of Apollo for a remedy, and was told that a virgin
must be sacrificed to the monster as a propitiatory offering.
The lot fell upon Hesione, daughter of the king, who was
accordingly exposed to her fate upon the promontory of
Agamias or Agammeia,^ — a spot to-day recognizable in the
steep and desolate point of land which forms the northern
1 Iliad, VII. 452 and XXI. 443. Apollodoros, II. 5. 9; Hesiod, quoted by
the scholiast to Lykophron, 393 ; Horace, Carvi., III. 3. 21 ; Valerius Flaccus,
Argon., II. 491 ; Servius, commentary to Virgil, Aen., II. 610.
2 Of this vengeance, the fullest account, and that preserving most of the fea-
tures of the archaic legend, is given by Diodoros, IV. 42, 49. For other refer-
ences to the story of Herakles and Hesione see Lykophron, Cass., 34, with the
commentary of Tzetzes ; the scholiast to the Iliad, XX. 145 ; Apollodoros, II
5. 9 ; Dictys of Crete, IV. 22 ; Philostratos Jr., Imag., 13 ; Eudokia, Viol., p. 344;
Isaac Porphyrogenitos, preserved in Allacci (Leone), Excerpta Varia, Romae,
1641, p. 272; Hyginus, ivz/^., 89; Valerius Flaccus, /4r^^«., II. 497-533; Servius,
commentary to Virgil, Aen., I. 550, III. 3, VIII. 157.
8 Hesychios, s. v. 'Aya/xias, and Stephen of Byzantion, s. v. 'Ayd/j-ixeia.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1883. 227
boundary of Beshika Bay. At this moment it chanced that
Herakles, proceeding on his expedition against the Amazons,
passed that way, and, releasing Hesione, took her with him
into the city. Here Laomedon induced the hero to go forth
to battle against the monster, offering as a reward, in case
of success, the immortal horses which his grandfather, Tros,
had received from Zeus in compensation for Ganymede. The
details of the struggle have been variously related. The onl}-
archaic account, that of Homer, tells of a wall of earth which
the Trojans, with the help of Athena, piled up for the pro-
tection of the hero " when he should be driven back from
the coast to the fields." ^ Other and later descriptions of
the encounter will subsequently be referred to.
Setting aside that late imitation of the Homeric story of
Menelaos and Proteus, by which Herakles was connected
with Nereus, — a legend excluded, moreover, from the present
consideration by inscriptions upon archaic vases, as before
mentioned, — this exploit of the hero in subduing the mon-
ster sent by Poseidon against Laomedon is the only feat of
the kind which the ancients attributed to Herakles. It can
be no other than this deed to which Euripides refers, when, in
connection with the twelve labors, he describes Herakles as
^ Iliad, XX. 145. The same statement in regard to the wall is made by the
scholiast to this passage, who refers to Hellanikos as having related the story.
Welcker (F. G.), yasoti der Drachentodter, Rheiiiischcs Museum fur Pliilologie, etc.,
Bonn, 1835, III., subsequently reprinted in his Alte Dcnhndkr erkldrt, Gbt-
tingen, 1S49-64, — followed by Wicscler (Friedrich), Herakles in den Rachen des
Meerungehetiers tretend und die befreilc Hesione, Zcitschrift fiir Alterthitmsivisseit-
schaft, Giessen, 1851, Nos. 40 and 41, and Flasch (Adam), AnqeNic/ie Argona/t-
tenbilder, Miinchen, 1S70, — emends the scholion by substituting reCxoi for refxos.
preferring to believe that Herakles was supplied by his patroness with means
of attack rather than with means of defence. But in view of the clear account
of the wall and its purpose given in the Homeric te.\t, and of the fact that the
word Ttixos is repeated by Tzetzes (commentary to Lykophron, 34) this change
appears altogether inadmissible.
2 28 ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
" entering a bay of the sea and establishing with his oars a
calm for mortals,"^ — or which is meant by Pindar,^ Sopho-
kles,^ and Euripides in another passage,* when they speak
of the hero as clearing the sea of its monsters.
It would, indeed, be an altogether unparalleled case in the
mythology of art, if a deed so celebrated as to have formed
the subject of some seventy of the black-figured vase paint-
ings known to us should have been passed by entirely without
mention by the ancient poets, playwrights, and mythogra-
phers. But here we have full accounts of a legend, of ex-
ceptional popularity and of the highest antiquity, which is
applicable to this scene, or is in its turn wholly unrepresented
by Greek art.
The fact that this identification has not hitherto been pro-
posed is undoubtedly due to two considerations, which will
suggest themselves to every archaeologist as objections. The
first of these is that the marine monster sent by Poseidon
was called by a word (/<:?/to?) which in later ages, and espe-
cially in its Latin form, gradually came to be restricted to
large sea animals having an actual existence, such as whales,
sharks, and the like ; the second, that, in consequence of
this change of idea, works of ancient art of a later period —
among the Romans, though not among the Greeks — actually
^ Euripides, Here. Fur., 399 : TrovTias ff a\hs fj.vxovs elaelSaLve, Qvarols yaXaveias
This passage shows that the exploit was not performed with the intention of
forcing the sea-monster to prophesy, but rather for the purpose of establishing
peace for mortals. The figurative words of the poet fully characterize the deed
as the deliverance of some human sufferer.
'^ Pindar, Tsthm., III. 75 ; and Nem., I. 62.
^ Sophokles, Track., 1012.
* Euripides, Here. Fur., 225. These references are in entire contradiction
with the only explanation of the purpose of the combat between Herakles and
Triton hitherto advanced, namely, that of Furtw'angler (in Roscher's Lexikon,
art. Herakles, section iii. p. 2192), who speaks of the Triton as "subdued and
held in restraint until he imparts his secret knowledge to Herakles."
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1SS3. 229
represented the monster to which Hesione was exposed as
a large fish or sea-dragon.
That, however, the word Ketos, as employed by Homer, is
not necessarily to be taken to mean a fish of any kind, is evi-
dent from the context of other passages, in which the word
is applied to sea-dwelling monsters of entirely different na-
ture.^ Elsewhere, the word is used for such frightful beasts
as crocodiles and hippopotami.^ And, finally, that Triton was
himself considered to be one of these monsters is evident from
the reference of Lykophron to him as Poseidon's Kap^apo^
Kvwv? to which the scholiast adds, that this Triton is the Ke-
tos subdued by Herakles.* This passage is conclusive, and
completes the chain of evidence. To it may be added another
and most curious instance of the employment of the word in
this signification, to which attention has not, in so far as I
am aware, hitherto been drawn. It appears, namely, from
the accounts of Demostratos^ and Pausanias,^ that a show
monster, purporting to be the embalmed body of a Triton,
formed one of the chief sights of a temple at Tanagra, in
precisely the same way as the mummies of mermaidens and
sea-serpents are exhibited in the booths of country fairs at
the present day. So famous w^as this ancient curiosity,
1 The word is, for instance, applied to the sea-calves (seals) of Proteus
{Odyssey, IV. 446, 552). It is correctly rendered "sea-beasts" by Butcher
and Lang in their version of the Odyssey, and by Voss, still more correctlv,
"Meerscheusal"; but Buckley (London, 18S0) translates the word "whales,"
absurdly mistaking the obvious sense of the passage. The translator last named
thus exemplifies the error into which the mythographers of later antiquity had
themselves been led.
2 Euthymenes, quoted by Athenaios, II. 90.
* Lykophron, Cass., 34, with the scholion of Tzetzes to this passage.
* Preller [Griechische Mythologie, vol. ii. p. 163, note 2), in referring to the
passage of Lykophron quoted in the text, remarks concisely, " Triton also be-
longs to the category of the /c^ttj."
6 Demostratos, Ilalieutics, preserved in Aelian, Dc Animal., XIII. 21.
* Pausanias, IX. 20. 4.
230 ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
that its effigy was frequently impressed upon the coins of
Tanagra as one of the symbols characteristic of the tovvn.^
The bloated appearance of the stuffed animal evidently be-
came proverbial; and Athenaios, in adducing it as an illustra-
tion of excessive obesity, has referred to the defunct Triton
as "the Ketos of Tanagra,"^ thus leaving no doubt as to the
direct applicability of this term to the being in question.
The instance of his evil deeds afforded by the adventure
of Hesione is quite in accord with what the ancients have
otherwise reported in regard to the nature of Triton. At
Tanagra he was believed to have attacked the women who
went down to the sea to bathe, and to have carried off the
herds grazing near the coast,^ even as he had at Troy in
the days of King Laomedon. And without doubt such a
Triton was in the mind of Odysseus, when he dreaded lest
Poseidon should send an evil Ketos against him.'*
It is nevertheless undeniable, that, through the gradual
restriction of the word to members of the fishy tribe, the
conception of the monster to which Hesione was exposed
came more and more to resemble a whale, rather than a mer-
man. Thus the scholiast to the Venetian manuscript of the
Iliad ^ relates that Herakles entered the body of the sea beast
1 A number of such coins have been collected by Wolters, Der Triton von
Tanagra, Archdologische Zeitiing, 1885.
^ Athenaios, XII. 75, p. 551 a : ni^cr&i ovv Ka.\\i6v ianv, dyaOe Tifj.6Kpares,
■jrevSfj.ei'ou elvai XeTrrSrepov wu KaTaXeyei "Epfiiinros iy KepKcofiv ^ virepTrXov-
TovpTus Tw Tava-ypaiip ktit€i iotKivai, KaBdirep 01 irpoeipriix^voi &vdpes. Meineke,
in his edition of tlie Deipnosophists (vol. iv. p. 253), has questioned the correct-
ness of this passage, basing his doubts upon a corrupt gloss of Hesychios. The
question raised has been adequately discussed by Wolters in the essay quoted
in the foregoing note.
^ Pausanias, IX. 20. 4. This legend appears, indeed, to be a duplication of
the Hesione story.
* Odyssey, V. 421.
^ Scholiast to Iliad, XX. 146. The commentator remarks that the story of
Herakles and Hesione had been related by Hellanikos, but it by no means fol-
INVESTIGATIONS AT AS SOS, 1883. 23 1
and pierced its ribs; while Theophylaktos^ and Tzetzes,- writ-
ing in the eleventh and twelfth Christian centuries, go still
farther in this direction, asserting, in obvious imitation of the
Biblical legend of Jonah, that the hero remained in the belly
of the monster for the space of three days. That the archaic
conception of Herakles having wrestled with the monster
bare handed had been entirely forgotten, even in the classic
period of Latin literature, may be gathered from the long
account of the combat given by Valerius Flaccus,'^ who de-
scribes the hero as killing the monster with a rock, after
vainly attempting to wound it with arrows. And that some
uncertainty in this respect began to creep into the legend
early in the epoch of the red-figured vases of Greece may be
surmised from the fact, that, upon the single representation
of the subject belonging to this category, Herakles is shown
armed, although not attacking, with his club.
Probably no other ancient legend became, as time went
on, more entirely perverted. The later writers confounded
the deliverance of Hesione with that of Andromeda, the Triton
with the dragon and with Jonah's whale, and the tactics of
Herakles with those of Menestratos the Thespian.'* The ven-
geance wrought by mighty Poseidon upon the presumptuous
Laomedon and his subjects appears, in the account preserved
by Diodoros, as the visitation of a divine emissary, — "a Sea
God who destroyed the people by a plague, and blasted all
the fruits of the field." This original conception had some-
what of the mystical character of the Oriental mythology
from which it was derived ; its vagueness rendered it the
more superhuman and terrible. But when this Sea God
lows from this fact that all the details of the talc are to be referred to the more
ancient authority.
1 'Yheo\:>\\y\3.\iXos,, Expositio in Prophedim JoHiirn, cap. ii. i (ed. Mignc, p. 1S9).
^ .Scholion to Lykophron, 34.
'^ V'alerius Flaccus, II. 497-533- * Pausanias, IX. 26. 5.
232 ARCHu£OLOCICAL INSTITUTE.
reappears, in the decrepitude of Greek culture, the archaic
idea is wholly lost, and we see nothing but an ugly beast :
the hungry, carnal monster depicted in the shape of a con-
ventional dragon.
Thus it came about that in Roman art, when the story of
the exploit was again popularized and freely paraphrased by
Latin mythographers, the Ketos became at last a true ceta-
cean, or sea-dragon. Subsequent to the isolated red-figured
vase and the Dodona relief, we do not find this scene depicted
in any work of ancient art until after the advent of the Chris-
tian era.-^ When, after this long break, the subject is again
taken up, the change has been fully effected. No less than six
1 This is a highly remarl^able fact, for the story of Herakles and Hesione
was, in the third century before Christ, still sufficiently popular to have been
chosen as the subject of a comedy, called Hesione, by the poet Alexis. Rib-
beck (Otto), Die Romische Tragbdie im Zeitalter der Republik, Leipzig, 1S75,
p. 46, is thus in error when he asserts that no Greek drama is known to have
treated of this legend. From the fragment of the play preserved by Athenaios
(XI. 41), we may see that the struggle with the monster was related in detail,
the lines in question describing the exhaustion and great thirst of the hero after
the exploit.
From two of Pliny's lists {Nat. Hist., XXXV. 1 14 and 139) we know that
the subject was treated by Antiphilos and Artemon, artists of the Hellenistic
epoch, but the mention throws no light whatever upon the nature of these repre-
sentations. That the exploit was not forgotten in the subsequent ages would
likewise be proved by the painting upon an Apulian amphora in the Museum
of Berlin, if we are to accept the explanation given by Gerhard {Aptdische Va-
senbilber, Berlin, 1845, pi. xi., described in the same author's Berlin^s Antike
Bildwerke, No. 1018), who identifies the figures as Herakles, after the struggle
is over, approaching Laomedon to ask for his reward, — ■ the rescued, yet still
fettered Hesione following with Telamon. This vase has however been referred
by Furtwangler {Beschreibimg der Vasensa7timlung, No. 3240) to an entirely dif-
ferent subject, Laomedon appearing in this identification as Kreon, and Hesione
as Antigone. Compare the critical literature to the subject cited in the volume
last mentioned.
It is likewise uncertain whether we should include among these examples the
painting upon an Etruscan vase, found at Perugia, of late yet fine style, en-
graved in the Moniinienti, vol. v., Roma, 1S49-53, pi. ix., in the Atmali, vol. xxi.
1849, pi. A, and in Welcker's Alte Denhndler, vol. iii. pi. 24 (compare the re-
marks in the Adunanze, Biillettino, 1.S46, p. 87), which depicts a hero advancing
INVESTIGATIONS AT AS SOS, 18S3. 233
of the Pompeian wall-paintings, hitherto unearthed, represent
the deliverance of Hesione, and in those in which its form is
distinguishable the monster is a veritable sea-serpent, wholly
without human semblance.^ In two of these instances it is
with drawn sword into the mouth of an enormous fish or dragon. This scene
was identified by Welcker {Jason der Drac/ientodter, quoted above, p. 227, note),
and by Emil Braun {Iiigresso di Giasone nclle Fauci del Dragoiw, Aniiali, vol.
xxi., 1849), as Jason and the dragon, but has since been held by Wieseler [Hera-
hies in den Rachen des AIeerungeheiie7-s tfetend, before quoted) and by Flasch
(Angebliche Argonauten Bilder, III.) to represent Herakles and the sea monster.
Flasch even goes so far as to detect in the mantle which the hero has thrown
over his head the Tivxos of Welcl^er's emendation, before referred to. Although
there is nothing whatever upon the vase peculiarly characteristic of Hera-
kles, recent writers, e.g. Baumeister, Dcnkmdler, Art. Herakles, (Furtwangler,
in Roscher^s Lexikon, Art. Herakles, is less committal,) incline to the latter
identification, which, were it susceptible of proof, would render this Etruscan
vase-painting the earliest known representation of that version of the legend
which is given by the scholiast to the Iliad.
^ No. I. Reale Accademia Ercolanese di Archeologia, Pitture Antiche d'Erco-
lano, Napoli, 1757-92, vol. iv. p. 62 ; Helbig (Wolfgang), Wandgemdlde der vom
Vesuv verschiittetejt stddte Campaniens, Leipzig, 1S6S, No. 1129. A hero upon
the shore, identified as Herakles by Wieseler, but as Telamon by the Neapolitan
Academicians and by Helbig, hurls a rock at the monster. In the background
another hero armed with a club (Telamon according to the former view, Hera-
kles according to the latter) converses with two women, one of whom, naked,
is doubtless Hesione. Notwithstanding the indorsement of so high an authority
as Helbig, the view of the Academicians, which would attribute the destruction
of the monster to Telamon, appears altogether inadmissible.
No. 2. Helbig, Wandgenidlde, No. 11 30. The monster is slain by a rock in
like manner. This fresco had been identified by the Academicians as Perseus
and Andromeda, but was correctly explained by Wieseler, to whom Helbig has
adhered.
No. 3. Helbig, Wandgemdlde, No. 1131. Herakles armed with the club;
the image of the monster defaced.
No. 4. Helbig, Wandgem'dlde, No. 1132, pi. xiv. Compare Schone, Scavi
di Pompei, Bidlettino, 1867, p. 83. Herakles standing as victor, armed with club
and bow, while Telamon releases Hesione with a hammer from the shackles
which bind her to the rocks.
No. 5. Helbig, ?f^z;/a^v/«a7i/f,Appendi.\, p. 45S ; Sogliano (Antonio), /'///«r^
Mtirali Cafnpane, Napoli, 18S0, No. 494 ; Kekule, Scavi di Pompei, Btillettiuo,
1867, p. 165. Herakles armed with bow and club ; the monster entirely, and
Hesione in greater part defaced.
No. 6. Robert, Adunanze deW Instituto, Bidlettino, 1S75, p. 40, identifies as
2 34 ARCH^OLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
killed by a rock, as described by Valerius Flaccus;^ in the
third, it lies pierced by an arrow ; while in the others Herakles
is armed with club and bow. We may perceive from this
variety, among works nearly contemporaneous, how freely the
details of the legend had been treated by mythographers of
the period, and how entirely the original conception had be-
come obsolete. In conformity with the account of the exploit
given by Hyginus,^ who had at this very time brought the
story again into vogue, Telamon appears as the companion
of Herakles in two of these frescos, as he does upon the
later terra-cotta relief of the scene engraved by Campana^
and upon the well known mosaic of the Villa Albani. published
by Winckelmann.* Upon a fragmentary paste cameo, of
Roman workmanship, belonging to Gerhard and published by
him,^ Herakles bends his bow against the dragon guarding
Hesione, the monster having here the head of a serpent
rather than that of a fish. A relief of debased style upon a
marble discus in the Museum of Vienne ^ likewise shows
the struggle to have been carried on with the bow.
Herakles and Hesione the painting given in the Pitture d^ Ercolano, vol. iv. p. 6r,
and in Helbig, Wandgetndlde, No. 1184, where it had in both cases been de-
scribed as Perseus and Andromeda. The hero wades into the water to meet
the monster.
As proof of the popularity of the subject early in the first Christian century,
there may be added to these pictures of the deliverance of Hesione the presen-
tation of Priam to Herakles by Hesione (Helbig, Wandgetndlde, No. 1147, upon
which identification compare the extensive literature there quoted).
1 Valerius Flaccus, Argon., H. 533 : " Alcides saxo surgentia colla obruit."
^ Hyginus, Fab., 89.
3 Campana (Giovanni Pietro), Antiche Opere in Plastica, Roma, 1842-52, pi. xxi.
* Winckelmann, Motmmenti Antichi, Roma, 1767, vol. i. pi. 66. Engraved
also by Guignault, Religions de I'Antiquite, pi. clxxxii. No. 663 ; and by Millin,
Galerie Mythologiqiie, pi. cxv. No. 443.
5 Gerhard, Getntnenbilder, Arc/idologische Zeitung, 1849, pi. vi. No. 4. This is,
I presume, identical with the gem representing the subject, referred to as in-
edited in Gerhard's Apulische Vasenbilder, p. 18.
^ Stark (K. B.), Museographisches, Archdologischer Anzeiger, 1S53, No. 52.
INVESTIGATIONS AT AS SOS, 1883. 235
It appears to have been an immediate result of the rep-
etition of the story by Latin poets, that this delivery of
the Trojan princess was adopted by the decorative art of
the Romans as one of the most characteristic exploits of the
heroic age, and perhaps even regarded with a certain na-
tional pride in the mythical origin of the earliest rulers of
Latium, It was introduced, obviously in this significance,
and as typical of the valor of Trajan, that second Herakles,
among the reliefs of the Triumphal Arch at Treves, frag-
ments of v/hich have recently been brought to light. ^ That
the legend retained its place in popular favor until the very
latest ages of antiquity is furthermore proved by its appear-
ance upon a Roman sarcophagus, referred by inscriptions
to the beginning of the third century of our era, which is pre-
served in the Museum of Cologne;^ by an altar of similar
character in the palace garden of Durlach;^ and by a frag-
ment of a rude sandstone relief also discovered in the Rhenish
Provinces,^ which shows the figure of the chained Hesione.
1 Wilmowsky (J. N. von), Die rbmische Villa zii N'ennig, fig 4. Trier, 1868.
2 Welcker (F. G.), Sarkophag im Museum zu Kdln, Jahrbuch des Vereins von
Alterthumsfretmden im Rheinlande, vol. vii., Bonn, 1845, Plates iii. and iv. ; re-
published in the same author's Alle Denkmg,ler, vol ii. Wieseler, in the paper
in the Zeitschrift fur Altertlmmswissenschaft, 1851, before quoted, has pointed out
that the object held in the hand of Herakles is the stone which plays a part
in the story as told by Valerius Flaccus, — not an apple, as supposed by
Welcker m his contemptuous remarks concerning the sculptor.
^ Urlichs, Neicster Ziiiuachs des k. Musetims, Jahrbuch des Vereins von Alter-
t/iumsft-etcnden im Rheinlande, vol. ix., 1846, p. 153.
* Engraved in the paper referred to in the foregoing note.
Upon a Roman sarcophagus m the Villa Borghese, apparently inedited, Hera-
kles is shown forcing open the jaws of a sea-dragon, this deed standing next in
order to the Battle with the Amazons in a series of the Twelve Labors.
Weizsacker, in Roscher's Lexikon, Art. Hesione, refers to a relief at Nime-
guen, representing Andromeda chained, as published in the Bonner Jahrbuch,
vol. xxxiii. p. 66, and vol. vii. p. 39, No. 6. These volumes have not been
accessible to me. On the other hand, both Weizsacker and Baumeistcr have
failed to include in their lists the highly important relief for the Arch of Trajan
at Treves, representing the subject in a manner similar, yet decidedly superior,
236 ARCH.-EOLOGICAL IxVSTITUTE.
Upon sarcophagus and altar the form of the monster has re-
mained that of a dragon, with curled tail and fin-like feet.
Let it be observed that, without a single exception, these
late works of ancient art — all that have hitherto been iden-
tified as bearing upon the archaic Greek story of Herakles
and the sea monster — are creations of the Roman Empire.
Homer recounts but two of the exploits of Herakles : this
is one of them. It is referred to by the great lyric poet of
Boeotia, by the Attic writers of tragedy and comedy, and by
prose authors of every Greek race and of every age ; yet not
a single work of Greek art has hitherto been admitted to
illustrate it. Surely this is a fact not less remarkable than
the existence of so large a class of vase-paintings and reliefs
unconnected with any known myth.
If the conclusions now advanced in respect to this ex-
ploit be correctly drawn, it results that the subordinate
figures shown upon representations of Herakles and Triton
must frequently be otherwise explained than has hitherto
been done. Thus, to give a single typical example, the
painting upon a vase formerly in the Durand and Pourtales
collections, reproduced on a small scale in Figure 50, displays
the combat in a manner fully characteristic of the large cate-
gory of black-figured vases. We see Herakles, clothed with
the lion's skin but wholly without weapons, bestriding the back
of the fish-tailed monster, and holding him tightly around
the chest with hands interlocked in the labyrinthine grasp of
the palaistra. Three dolphins beneath show the struggle
to that of the Cologne sarcophagus, and published in the work mentioned in a
preceding note.
Altogether uncertain is the Trojan coin of Septimius Severus, retouched in
modern times, and thus rendered most untrustworthy, which Mionnet, Descrit-
tioit de Mcdailles, vol. ii. p. 664, No. 224, describes as representing Herakles
crowned by Hesione.
This completes the list of representations of this subject known to me.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1S<
m
to take place in the water. Upon the left, Poseidon, accom-
panied by Amphitrite, hastens with uplifted trident to the
aid of his distressed emissary. On the right, an interested
but powerless spectator, stands the white-haired Laomedon,
his royal state designated by the ruler's staff which he holds
in his hand, by the coronet upon his head, and by his wide-
FiG. 50. The Struggle of Herakles with Triton.
Painting upon a Black-figured Vase.
folding and sleeved mantle. Behind him stands the coro-
neted princess Hesione, awaiting, with archaic impassiveness,
the issue of the conflict. Beneath this scene race the horses
of Tros, the promised reward of the victor, which play so
prominent a part in the subsequent story. The appearance
of these horses, upon this as upon other representations of the
struggle,^ may possibly serve as a further argument in favor
^ As, for instance, the I^funich vase, described by Jabn, Beschreihung der
Vasensammht7tg, No. 391, and that published by Brondsted, Description of thirty'
two Ancient Greek Painted Vases, No. 7.
238 ARCHAZOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
of this identification of the exploit, — the only one with which
they can be connected.
In the first descriptions of this vase-painting, by De Witte^
and Dubois,^ the monster was identified as Nereus, the king
as Proteus, and Hesione and even Amphitrite as Nereids.
Nereus was correctly called Triton by Gerhard,^ as before
stated, but the two figures upon the right were, in the
opinion of the present writer, wrongly designated as Nereus
and Dons. Gerhard could not but feel the difficulty of ex-
plaining the quiet spectator-like posture of this pair, which
contrasts so strikingly with the active advance of the other
sea gods upon the opposite side, and to justify this he was
forced to the altogether baseless and unnatural assumption
that the combat between Herakles and Triton did not take
place until after Nereus had in some way been induced to
favor the interests of the hero. Although these subordinate
figures seem so evidently intended for Laomedon and He-
sione, this identification as Nereus and Doris has been un-
questioningly repeated by all modern authorities.*
Too large a number of vase-paintings would require revision
in this sense to permit of a complete treatment of the sub-
ject in this place. Suffice it to note that the very next plate
of Gerhard's work^ shows the reward of the victor in the
quadrigas represented above, the fact of the struggle taking
place upon the coast being indicated by dolphins and by
trees; and that, finally, on the isolated red-figured vase, so
frequently referred to, Laomedon, characterized by the royal
staff and mantle, appears as a spectator of the struggle,
1 De Witte, Cabinet Dicrand, No. 302.
2 Dubois, Collections Potirtales-Gorgier, No. 196.
8 Gerhard, Anserlesene griechische Vasenbilder, vol. ii. pi, cxi.
* As, for instance, by Baumeister and Furtwangler.
5 Gerhard, Auserlesene griechische Vasenbilder, vol. ii. pi. cxii., also described
in De Witte, Cabinet Durand, No. 304.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1883. 239
standing before his palace, naively indicated by a single
column.
That upon the Greek representations of the struggle He-
sione is never shown as chained to the rock, and is generally
omitted altogether, is due to the fact that the Greek legend
does not describe her as present upon the shore on this occa-
sion, she having been previously released by Herakles, and
taken by him from Cape Agamias to Troy. In the accounts
given by the Latin writers this is otherwise, and Hesione is
in consequence invariably seen upon the Roman works.
Laomedon having defrauded Herakles of the promised re-
ward, the hero revenged himself, as well as Poseidon and
Apollo, by killing the deceitful monarch and demolishing
Troy, as mentioned in the Iliad. ^ It is particularly worthy
of note, as an evidence of the importance attached to this
legend by natives of the country during the historic period,
that Strabo^ found the inhabitants of Ilion offering no wor-
ship to Herakles, because, as they explained, of a feeling of
resentment which they entertained on account of this de-
struction of their town. Nothing could better illustrate that
antique spirit of local patriotism which leads us to attach
great weight to specifically localized traditions in the exe-
gesis of works of art such as this. At Assos, with its Aeolic
population, Herakles was the object of peculiar veneration,
and it is not strange that the one exploit of the national
hero which was intimately connected with the province
should have been represented upon the walls of the chief
temple of the Southern Troad. The defeat of the Triton
which threatened Hesione, and the consequent dethronement
of the unjust Trojan king, cannot but have been regarded as
1 Iliad, V. 640. Compare also the other authorities for the legend, quoted
above, especially Diodoros, IV. 49.
2 Strabo, XIII. p. 596.
140
ARCH^OLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
significant of the emancipation of the country by Hellenic
valor. It certainly presented the most fitting subject for
the decoration of the first monument erected by the Greek
colonists of the Troad after their deliverance from Persian
tyranny.
The choice had, moreover, a religious as well as a national
relevancy. It was Athena who participated with the hero
in the performance of this exploit, by erecting the rampart
which was to serve for his protection : it was upon the walls
of Athena's temple that the struggle was depicted.
The second in size and importance among the Assos reliefs
of the Louvre — a corner block, like that which we have just
considered — represents four men reclining at a symposion
(Fig. 51). They are waited upon by a fifth, who, standing
upright, is, by reason of the isocephalism, of much smaller
proportions than the others. As the chief figures are more
inclined, the difference of scale is even more marked in this
composition than in that of Herakles and Triton.^ Each of
the banqueters holds in his left hand a drinking cup, the fore-
most, at the left, being provided with two such vessels, one
of which the attendant fills from an oinochoe, replenished
from a huge krater standing behind him.
The only notable act depicted upon the relief, and that
which evidently forms the subject of the scene,, is the pre-
sentation of a strap-like girdle by the second figure on the
1 Texier {Description, vol. ii.) remarks that the cupbearer is made smaller be-
cause of his less dignity •, but this subordination is obviously the result of, rather
than the reason for, the great difference in proportions. In compositions such as
these, archaic artists displayed their ability by so arranging the positions, while
adhering to the principle of isocephalism, as to give prominence to the chief fig-
ures. Upon Etruscan reliefs and wall paintings representing funeral banquets,
a more perfect scale of proportions was rendered possible, while keeping all the
heads upon the same level, by elevating the reclining figures upon couches.
Compare, for instance, the relief found at Chiusi, and published by Micali,
Moniimenti, pi. xxiii. Even here the upright figures are too small.
C4
w
242 ARCHyEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
right to the first. The recipient places his hand upon his
heart in an eloquent gesture of humble and almost hypocrit-
ical obligation. The scene thus depicted is conceived by the
present writer to be the delivery by Herakles to Eurystheus
of the girdle of Hippolyte, well known as the trophy of the
expedition against the Amazons.
If this identification be correct, the subject forms a contin-
uation of the one represented upon the corresponding block ;
for it will be borne in mind that the contest of Herakles with
the sea monster, and the deliverance of Hesione, by which
the hero was so intimately connected with the Troad, was an
episode of that expedition which resulted in the defeat of the
Amazon queen. -^ Apollodoros makes particular mention of
the fact that the girdle was given to Eurystheus by Herakles
himself.^ And it is an accepted belief among critics of the
text, that, in his concise relation of the exploits, Apollodoros
has given us an abridgment of the work of Hellanikos of
Lesbos, greatest of the early logographers, who, as a native of
the parent city of Assos, writing in the very age to which the
building of this temple is referable, would certainly be the best
possible authority for the version of the legend followed by
the designer of these sculptures. That, moreover, the de-
livery of the girdle in the residence of Eurystheus was a
detail of the story regarded with peculiar satisfaction by the
Greeks, is apparent from the words of Euripides concern-
ing this expedition : " For Hellas received the rich spoils of
the barbarian maid, and they are safely kept at Mykenai."^
1 Apollodoros, II. 5. 9. It was related by Hellanikos (Frag. 33, ed. Miiller,
p. 49, preserved by the Scholiast to Pindar, Nem., III. 64) that the Argonauts
accompanied Herakles in his expedition against the Amazons, and thus the ex-
ploit gradually came to be treated as a mere episode of this cruise. Compare
Diodoros, IV. 42, 49; Apollonios of Rhodes, II. 967 ; Valerius Flaccus, V. 132.
2 Apollodoros, II. 5. 9 : KOfilcras 5e rhv i^'warripa fls MuKT)vas. eSwKsv Evpvadu.
^ Euripides, //ere. Ftir., 416 : -rh. kXuvo. 8' 'EWas (\a0e 0ap0dpov Kopoi \d(pvpa,
Kal acv^er' iv MvKTjvats.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 18S3. 243
These direct references to the delivery of this prize may be
held to outweigh an isolated account of late date as to the
strained relations existing between Herakles and Eurystheus,
according to which the cowardly king, after the fright ex-
perienced in receiving the Erymanthian boar, — on which
occasion he had crept away to hide himself in a brazen jar,^ —
refused to give personal audience to the hero.^
The feat of Herakles in obtaining the girdle was one popu-
lar in archaic art,^ and upon the few vase paintings which
display the girdle itself this object is of a form entirely sim-
ilar to that shown upon our relief.* With exception of the
1 Thus related by Diodoros, IV. 113. ApoUodoros (II. 5. i) refers the
fright of Eurystheus to the sight of the Nemean lion. This picturesque story
of the king hiding away from the terrible beasts brought into his house is un-
doubtedly of great antiquity, being shown upon archaic vases referable to the
close of the sixth century. That the event was not, however, originally held
to have resulted in the entire exclusion of Herakles from the presence of his
royal cousin is evident from the fact that ApoUodoros, in his subsequent ac-
count of the delivery of the Erymanthian boar (II. 5. 4) and of the mares of
Diomedes (II. 5 8), as well as of the girdle of Hippolyte, describes the hero as
entering Mykenai, and on one such occasion, when returning with the Cretan
bull, as himself showing the animal to Eurystheus (II. 5. 7).
Diodoros gives a similar account of interviews between the two, and makes
no mention of any refusal to grant personal audience.
2 Venetian Scholiast to the Iliad, XV. 639, following the passage of ApoUo-
doros (II. 51), commented upon m the foregoing note. The Victorian Scholiast
to the same passage of the Iliad gives another explanation of the relationship
between the hero and the king, which is in like manner recognizable as a per-
version of the original legend, and well illustrates how freely such alterations
and additions were circulated during the later ages of antiquity. This is that
Eurystheus was the pederast of Herakles, who executed the labors at his behest
on account of this unnatural affection. If any weight at all be attached to these
late embellishments of the tale, it must be admitted that the latter asserts the
continuation of personal intercourse denied by the former.
3 Compare the review of this subject given by Jahn (Otto), Ercole com-
battente le Amazzoni, Annali, vol. xxxvi., Roma, 1S64.
* As, for instance, upon the vase referable to the close of the fifth cen-
tury, published by Welcker, Herakles und die Amazonenkbnigin, Archdologische
Zeitintg, Berlin, 1856, pi. 89. The extensive ancient literature in regard to the
girdle is fully given by Kliigmann (Adolf), Die Amazonen in der Attischen Lite-
ratiir und Kunsi, Stuttgart, 1S75, particularly in notes 19 to 23. The classic
244 ARCH^OLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
girdle no attributes are represented, and no peculiar features
distinguish the four reclining figures ; unless, indeed, we may
put this interpretation upon the fact that Herakles alone is
provided with a deep-lipped drinking bowl,^ each of the
others holding in the left hand a kantharos of the ordinary
type. The shallow vessel without handles, uplifted by the
right hand of the foremost figure, and filled by the attendant,
is a phiale, such as was customarily used for libations ; and
that it had this significance in this case seems evident from
the fact that the jnember of the banquet who holds it has,
like the others, a drinking vessel for his own use in his left
hand.
An identification of the two figures at the left, who thus
appear as guests at the royal table of Eurystheus, is neither
requisite nor possible. It is obvious that they were intro-
duced for the sole purpose of filling out the elongated panel.
They belong to that class of figurants of which the ancient
designers and vase painters possessed so large a retinue.
The variety and elegance of the seven vases represented
upon the relief may, as will be argued in a subsequent con-
nection, be taken as an indication of the fact that the work is
not referable to any period more remote than the Lydian and
Persian invasion ; and the same conclusion, if any, is to be
drawn from the reclining postures of the banqueters. The
Greeks of the Homeric poems, as is well known, sat at their
authors, however, devote their descriptions rather to the brilliancy and great
value of the trophy than to its shape.
1 It may be observed that Herakles holds a cup of the same shape in his
symposion with Pholos, as represented upon the archaic vase published by Ger-
hard, Herakles bei Pholos und Busiris, Archdologische Zeitimg, 1865, and that
his position there is precisely that of Eurystheus upon the Assian relief, — the
left elbow leaning upon a cushion, the right arm crossing the breast. The ex-
ceptional direction of the composition, from right to left, is also the same, and
likewise points to some common prototype. The peculiar attitude is doubtless
that to which Lucian [Conviv., XIV.) refers as customary in paintings of the
banquet of Herakles and Pholos.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1883. 245
meals and drinking bouts ;i and upon the celebrated vase of
Sosias in the Berlin Museum, — a work of severe style, yet
red-figured, — the gods of Olympos are shown seated at their
carousal.^ Reclining at table was originally an Oriental
usage as may be gathered from the domestic scenes depicted
upon Assyrian monuments, and it has been plausibly assumed
to have been introduced to Hellenic life by the lonians.^ At
just what period this custom became general is, however, by
no means certain, and no definite tennimis post qicem can be
derived from the adoption of this posture upon the Assian
relief. Still it appears worthy of further consideration in this,
sense, that all the banqueters are here shown as leaning luxu-
riously upon cushions, in like Oriental fashion. Long after
the Greeks had accustomed themselves to recline at table,
they continued to employ plain couches for this purpose,*
Even in the third century the Spartans " were wont to lie
upon bare benches during the whole banquet," and " hesi-
tated to put their elbows upon the pillows " which had come
into fashion at court during the reigns of Areus and Akro-
tatos.^
Notwithstanding the obvious indication afforded by the
girdle, none of the writers who have discussed the subject of
1 Iliad, XXIV. 475, 515; Odyssey, VII. 203, XXI. 89.
2 Furtwangler, Beschreilnuig der Vasensamniluug hn Aittiijuariitm, Berlin,
18S5, No. 227S, where see the very extensive literature concerning this vase.
3 By Miiller (Carl Otfried), Geschichten Helleiiischer Stdmme tend Stddte :
Die Dorier, 2d ed., Breslau, 1844, IV. 3. i. The author further concludes, from
a passage of Alkman preserved by Athenaios (III. 75), that the Greeks of the
age of that poet reclined at meals, inasmuch as klinai are mentioned as being
provided for the guests. Alkman, however, who was himself a Lydian by birth,
appears to have described in these lines the lavishness of some Oriental banquet.
The similar change in the customs of the Romans was effected at a much later
date, and was particularly mentioned by Varro. Compare Servius, ad Aett.,
VII. 176, and Isidorus, Orii^., XX. 11. 9.
* Plutarch, Lycurg., XVIIJ. , Athenaios, XII. 1 1;, p. 51S; Souidas, j. v.
^iK[rioL and Ay/coDp7os ; Cicero, Pro Afitraeua, XXXV.
^ Phyiarchos, Hist., XV. and XX., preserved by Athenaios, IV. 20, p. 142.
246 ARCHAEOLOGICAL hYSTITUTE.
this relief have connected it in any way with the expedition
of Herakles against the Amazon queen and the possession
of this trophy. Indeed, none of the rehefs has been more
misunderstood. Thus, Poujoulat conceived it to represent
" women upon a couch, their long hair, which forms their
only covering, floating carelessly upon their shoulders." ^ The
block happens to be so fractured as to form two chief pieces,
each containing two banqueters, and it was attached to the
walls of the Louvre joint surface to joint surface, so that Eu-
rystheus rested his elbow against the krater at the other end
of the relief. It was thus displayed to the public for half a
century, until, in 1886, the writer called the attention of M. de
Villefosse to the matter, and the fragments were correctly
adjoined. This failure rightly to connect the figures natu-
rally rendered the subject still more unintelligible. Clarac
was thereby led to consider the relief as containing two sepa-
rate representations, — Menelaos and Proteus en pourparlers
(right half), and Menelaos and Proteus d' aceord {\q.I\. half).^
Texier, who correctly combined the groups in his engraving,^
described the scene as the feast of Perithoos, which, in view
of the huge wine jar, and the centaurs of the other reliefs, was
not so bad a guess. More modern critics and historians of
1 Michaud et Poujoulat, Corj-esfoiidaiice d'Oriejit, vol. iii., Paris, 1S34,
Lettre LXIX.
2 Clarac, Mtcsee, vol. ii. seconde partie, Paris, 1S41. The account is too good
not to be given as a last quotation from this delightful book : " Nous retrouvons
encore ici Menelas et Protee ; ils sont a peu pres d'accord, et le heros I'a emporte
sur la resistance opiniatre du dieu marin qui semble deja lui avoir appris une
partie de ce qui I'interesse et qui, partageant avec lui la coupe de I'hospitalite,
cherche par ses demonstrations, et en posant sa main sur son cceur, a le con-
vaincre de sa franchise. Le Roi de Sparte n'a pas une entiere confiance en ses
protestations, et I'espece de bandelette qu'il presente d'un air serieux a Protee,
n'indiquerait-elle pas que, s'il ne lui tient pas entierement ses promesses, il va
revenir encore a la force, et I'entourer de liens dont il ne lui sera pas si facile
de se degager ? "
•* Texier, Description d'Asie Mineiire, vol. ii. pi. 114; re-engraved in the vol-
ume of UUnivers entitled Asie Mineure, Paris, 1S62, pi. 15.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1883. 247
Greek art have been less committal in regard to the subject,
concerning which, in the entire lack of parallel representa-
tions among the known works of ancient art, an absolute
certainty is perhaps not attainable.
The positions originally occupied by many of the sculp-
tured epistyle blocks are ascertainable from an elaborate
calculation, having for its base the various widths of the
intercolumniations of fronts, sides, and corners, the various
lengths of the regulas and half-regulas carved upon the pan-
els, and that peculiarity of the Greek Doric entablature by
which the corner metope is removed from the axis of the
corner column to the corner of the frieze. To these definite
facts there are to be added, as secondary indications, the
kindred nature of the subjects represented in certain cases
upon adjoining reliefs, the direction of the compositions to-
wards the central panels of the fronts, and, finally, the rela-
tive positions in which the overthrown blocks obtained by
the American excavations were discovered. In the case of
those reliefs which were removed from the site by the
French, the last mentioned of these indications has, unfor-
tunately, not been put on record. Moreover, these blocks
have been deprived of many of their characteristic features,
such as pry-holes, corner joint surfaces, and relative thick-
nesses of boss and sofht, by bemg sawed to thin slabs, in
order to facilitate their attachment to the walls of the
Louvre.
In view of the shattered and defaced condition of the great
majority of these stones, the results attained through this
examination cannot but be regarded as surprisingly full. Of
the forty-four epistyle beams of the temple, only fifteen sculp-
tured panels are now known ; and of these fifteen, but a single
one remains entire. Only four arc sufficiently represented
248 ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
by fragments to permit the measurement of their original
lengths, and three of these, again, are deprived of one or both
of those half-regulas which alone can supply trustworthy in-
dications as to width of span. Yet, notwithstanding this, the
relative position of every one of the reliefs is now known.
Thirteen may be assigned to their exact positions ; and in
regard to but two small fragments, belonging to the series of
wild beasts, can any doubt obtain as to the particular inter-
columniation which they occupied.
The lengths of the entablature, side and front, not includ-
ing the projection of the tainia, or of the band bordering the
panels upon the lower edge, may be accurately ascertained
by subtracting from the corresponding dimensions of the
stylobate the lower diameter of the column, plus twice the
distance of the arris from the rise of the upper step, and
adding to this result the thickness of the epistyle. For the
fronts the dimension thus obtained is 13.89 m. Assuming,
for the purpose of preliminary examination, the columns of
the facades to have been equally spaced, it is evident that the
corner panels would have a length of about 3.03 m., while
the three inner beams would have averaged 2.61 m. The
length of the side entablature is in like manner found to have
been 30.17 m. As it is known from the marks upon the
stylobate that the corner intercolumniations of the sides were
somewhat larger than the others,^ — the clear opening between
the shafts being in one instance 1.568 m., — the corner blocks
must have been 2.9 m. long, and the others have averaged
2.44 m. We might hence expect to find four distinct classes
of epistyle beams, respectively 2.44, 2.61, 2.90, and 3.03 m. in
length.
It is to be borne in mind, in this examination, that the half-
regulas carved upon the ends of the panels are often consid-
1 See page 76 of the present volume.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1SS3. 249
erably longer or shorter than one half the width of the
triglyphs, thus proving the joints of the lintels to have been
displaced from the axes of the columns. While the triglyphs
average 52 cm. upon the sides, and 56 cm. upon the fronts,
the half-regulas vary from 11 to 38 cm., showing the joints to
have been occasionally as much as 15 cm. out of centre.^ In
the calculation of the corresponding intercolumniations, the
plus or minus, thus definitely ascertainable, has of course to
be taken into account.
The first fact to be recorded is, that the unsculptured epi-
style blocks discovered upon the site were, without exception,
of a length corresponding to an intercolumniation not greater
than 2.45 m., and are consequently to be assigned to the
sides of the building.
Turning to the reliefs,^ we find three which, including the
corner lap, must have had a total length of over three meters,
and consequently must have occupied three of the four cor-
ners of the fagades. These are the Herakles and Triton, the
Banquet, and the Herakles and Pholos.
1 A further proof of this fact, derived from differences in the character of
the tooling upon the soffits of the epistyle beams, has been given on page 85 of
the present volume
2 The twenty-two drawings of the Assos reliefs following in the text are
given, not as adequate illustrations of the sculptures, but as displaying all these
blocks in their character as architectural members The total length of each
lintel when complete is given in centimeters by the figures beneath, those above
indicating the length of the regulas, and of the spaces betwen them, which cor-
respond to the metopes. The writer is responsible for these measurements,
which were taken in Paris and at Assos from the blocks themselves. In the
outlines of the sculptures which are preserved in the Louvre he has, however,
followed a series of sketches made by Mr. Bacon prior to the commencement of
the excavations These sketches were not drawn to strict scale, and those who
desire to verify the arguments dependent upon the dimensions of these reliefs
should base their calculations upon the figures accompanying these cuts and
given in the text. The dots follow the architectural lines obliterated from the
blocks, and give the probable length of the missing members. They furthermore
show the deviation of the lintels from the normal lengths by indicating the a.\es
of the columns.
250
ARCHyEOLOCICAL lASTITUTE.
The first mentioned (Fig. 52), though fractured, is pre-
served in its entire length, which measures not less than
2.9s m. The half-regula at the left-hand side of the block is
about 8 cm, too long, and this amount is to be deducted in
calculating the width of the corresponding intercolumniation.
But, as an entire regula is not cut at either end, at least
20 cm. must be added in order to make up the length of the
lintel from axis to angle; and this total of 3.05 furnishes a
decisive proof that the stone was above one of the corners of
Fig. 52. Epistyle Block above the northernmost Intercolumniation
OF THE Eastern Facade.
Series relating to the Rescue of Hesione.
the fronts, and not one of the corners of the sides. It is fur-
thermore evident that the laps forming the corners of the
entablature were cut upon the epistyle blocks of the sides,
and not upon those of the fronts. Ample grounds for the
adoption of this arrangement are to be found in the consid-
eration that the quarrymen were thus required to provide,
and the builders to handle, eight blocks of but 2.90 or 2.95,
instead of four of 2.70, and four of not less than 3.10 or
3.15 m.. — an immense saving in practical respects, of which
the primitive builders, ill provided with machines for trans-
porting and lifting such heavy stones, must have well been
aware. Even as it is, these front corners of the epistyle are
the heaviest and most awkward stones employed in the edi-
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1883. 25 1
fice, weighing half as much again as the bulky corner cornice
blocks, and being much more clifiEicult to set. The fact that
another relief is known to have occupied the southern corner
of the eastern front, while two reliefs of an entirely different
subject adjoined the northern corner block of the western
front upon either hand, and, above all, the grouping and move-
ment of the composition, leave little doubt that the right-
hand end of this panel, and not the left, was outermost. The
hero has driven the monster into a corner ; the affrighted
spectators fly towards the middle of the entablature. From
a decorative point of view, also, the broad masses formed by
the bodies of the combatants are of decidedly better effect at
the outer end, the upright lines of the smaller figures at the
inner. Hence the lap has been drawn in Figure 52 upon the
right hand of the lintel ; and we only remain in doubt whether
to assign the block to the northern corner of the eastern, or
the southern corner of the western facade, — a point in re-
gard to which no immediate decision is possible, as we have
no information concerning the position in which these reliefs
were found. Certain indications derived from the spacing
of the metopes, and pointing to the probability that the
Herakles and Triton occupied the eastern, and the Banquet
the western facade, will be adduced in another connection.
The distance from the central regula to the joint sur-
face upon the right hand of the lintel is 1.12 m. At this
end the half-regula has been split away, but it appears
scarcely possible that the member can have had a greater
length than 27 cm. As th^ corner triglyph is known, in
one instance at least, to have been 52 cm. square in plan, it
follows that 25 cm., or thereabouts, is to be added to the
actual length of the lintel. Thus it is evident that the entire
panel, from joint to angle, cannot have been less than 3,2 m.
in length.
25^
ARCH^OLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
It was more difficult to obtain an accurate measurement of
the relief of the Banquet, this being broken into four pieces,
which were, at the time of examination, arranged upon the
walls of the Louvre in incorrect sequence, and not very
closely fitted together. Still, the total length of 2.86 m.,
given upon the drawing (Fig. 53, compare Fig. 51), can
hardly involve a greater error than one inch. The half-
regulas in this case are both excessive, measuring 36 and
38 cm. The larger of these was outermost, and adjoined
Fig. 53. Epistyle Block above the southernmost Intercolumniation
OF THE Western FAgADE.
Series relating to the Girdle of Hippolyte.
the lap, the thickness of which hence cannot have exceeded
18 cm., while it may not have been greater than 14 cm.,
being in either case the thinnest block of andesite employed
in the construction of the temple. The object of thus re-
stricting the width of the lap was evidently to extend the
sculptured surface of this panel as nearly as possible to the
corner. The length of the epistyle from axis to angle was
about 2.96 m. ; of the entire* panel, including lap, about
3.04 m. That the right-hand end of the block, and not the •
left, adjoined the corner is indicated by the direction of the
composition, — the banqueters naturally facing the middle of
the facade, — as well as by the points referred to in connec-
tion with the relief of Herakles and Triton, which is thus
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1883.
253
seen to have been placed upon the corner of the building
diagonally opposite.
The third front corner block is that sculptured with the
figures of Herakles and Pholos, discovered during the Amer-
ican excavations. (Fig. 54.) It presents fewer factors for
the calculation than do the others, inasmuch as the two frag-
ments remaining do not constitute the entire lintel, a con-
siderable portion, including one of the half-regulas, being
missing from the left hand side. Furthermore, the half-
Fig 54. Epistyle Block above the southernmost Intercolumniation
OF the Eastern FAgADE.
Series relating to the Centaurs of Mount Pholoe.
regula from the other end has been split away from the sur-
face. From the end of the central regula to the joint upon
the right is 1.05 m. ; and it is 83 cm. from the other end to
the fracture upon the left, where no commencement of the
half-regula is visible, although the tainia is perfectly sharp.
Measured along the lower edge of the tainia, the total length
recovered is 2.43 m. ; and if the dimension of the missing
member be added to this we have a lintel of not less than
^.7 m., — much too long to permit us to assign it to any of
the inner intercolumniations. That it furthermore occupied
a front, and not a side corner, is evident from the fact that a
half, and not a whole regula, was cut upon the end remaining
intact, which, as may be concluded from the direction of the
composition, and from other indications, would be that occu-
254 ARCHJSOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
pying the angle of the building, if the relief had been assigned
to a side corner. All these considerations are in agreement
with the theory that this relief was placed at the southern
corner of the eastern front, beneath which it was found. By
adding to the extent of the remaining fragment the dimension
of the corner regula, we see that the entire panel, from joint
to angle, must have been at least 2.95 m. in length, and may
have been more.
It will subsequently be shown, by a calculation based upon
the lengths of the two adjoining blocks, that, assuming the
middle triglyph of the front to have occupied the exact centre
of the entablature, this corner stone, plus the width of the
angle lap, must have had a length of exactly 3.085 m. ; or, in
other words, that the panel from axis to angle was precisely
the 3.03 m. requisite according to the width of the correspond-
ing intercolumniation. It is thus susceptible of proof, that
a fragment of the relief has been broken away just large
enough to contain the equine body of Pholos, — a fact to
which reference has been made in the consideration of the
sculptured subject.^
A similar calculation, if it be not affected by a want of
symmetry in the position of the central triglyph of the front,^
proves that the disproportion between the widths of the two
metopes above the relief even exceeded the very considerable
1 Page 151 of the present volume.
2 The probability that some slight correction in this sense is necessary in
order to determine the exact dimensions of these epistyle blocks, is indicated by
the fact that the stele upon which the confronting sphinxes of the eastern fa9ade
rest their paws, and which marks the centre of the symmetrical composition, is
itself removed about two centimeters from the axis of the regula above it. It is,
however, impossible to make allowance for a variation of this nature, in the ab-
sence of one of the epistyle blocks of the front. The dimensions given in the
text must approximate very closely to the actual sizes, and serve the most impor-
tant purpose of this consideration, namely, the determination of the positions of
the known reliefs, and the projected widths of the intercolumniations.
INVESTIGATIONS AT AS SOS, 1883. 255
amount already evident from the spacing of the regulas upon
the fragmentary block. The metope on the right hand can-
not have been broader than 74 cm. ; that upon the left is seen
from the space remaining upon the relief to have exceeded
83 cm., and is now shown to have been not less than o.i m.
more than this. The difference between them of nearly
0.2 m. is at first sight astounding; yet it is proportionally
little more than that between the metopes above the adjoin-
ing block, measuring 68 and 81 cm. respectively. In the
latter case, the unequal dimensions can be taken from the
relief itself, and thus admit of no possible doubt. Moreover,
it is ascertainable, even from the few metope slabs found
upon the site, that these members varied still more in width
than is indicated by this calculation, namely, from 62, cm. to
905 mm.
An explanation of such inequalities in the division of the
frieze, particularly above these two front epistyle beams, will
suggest itself in reviewing the method of construction adopted
by the builders. It has been seen, from marks upon the sty-
lobate, that the laying of the stones which form the steps
was commenced near the northwestern corner of the edifice,
and was continued in both directions until they met upon the
southern side.^ The same sequence appears to have been fol-
lowed in the construction of the entablature. Thus, the lin-
tels and frieze members of the eastern front were laid in the
direction from north to south. The work having evidently
been carried on in the most primitive and irregular manner,
without the aid of scaled working drawings, or accurately de-
termined tables of dimensions, everything had to be done by
^ Page 64 of the present volume. The considerations wliich determined this
course of construction were undoubtedly connected with the facts that the stone
was brought to the site of the temple from the northwest, there being no ap-
proach to the Acropolis from the south, and that the native rock reached the
highest level at this part of the plan.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1SS3. 257
testing and fitting. The temple was built in the same way as
were the polygonal city walls of that epoch, with their irregu-
lar angles and unequal lengths of the separate stones. For
the width of every second metope, at least, independent
measurements had to be taken from the edifice in the course
of construction. The want of agreement between the joint
surfaces of the lintels and the axes of the columns was one
result of this system, and we have been forced to conclude
that the exact lengths of the regulas were cut upon the face
of the reliefs after the members of the frieze had been placed
in position above them. The only fixed principle in the ar-
rangement of the frieze was that every alternate triglyph
should be placed as nearly as possible in the line of the col-
umn beneath it. Thus it was brought about that the entire
correction rendered necessary by the elongation of the mem-
bers of the frieze to correspond with the longer beams of the
fronts, and especially of the corners, was thrown upon the
second metope laid on each lintel, — this being in the case
under consideration that upon the left hand.
This will be rendered clear by retracing the steps naturally
taken by the masons. As shown in Figure 55, which gives
in isometrical projection the dimensions of the southeastern
corner of the building, the triglyph A' was placed as nearly
as possible in the axis of the column A, regardless of the
jointing of the lintels beneath it. To this triglyph adjoined
the metope A" , for which no width could be directly meas-
ured upon the epistyle, and which was consequently cut of
the mean dimensions, about 0.7 m. ; those upon the right-
hand sides of the reliefs of Herakles and Pholos, and the four
horse-legged centaurs being but about an inch longer and an
inch shorter, respectively, than the average of the side meto-
pes. Then followed the triglyph B', for which likewise no
direct measurements were available, and which was made of
17
258 ARCH^OLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
the width of 56 cm. determined for these members. In con-
firmation of this, it may be observed that not one of the inner
entire regulas appearing upon the fagade reliefs varies an inch
from the average. The second triglyph being set, the ques-
tion of adjustment could no longer be ignored, inasmuch as
the width of the next metope, B'', determined the position of
the columnar triglyph C, Any perceptible deviation of this
member, the ideal continuation of the line of support in the
entablature, from the axis of the column C, would have been
intolerable. Hence the location of C, thus fixed, was marked
upon the upper surface of the epistyle, and the width of B''
deduced therefrom. It is obvious that so ill-considered a
manner of adjustment inevitably resulted in differences be-
tween B" and A''. And it is entirely in accord with this
explanation that the maximum irregularity should occur be-
tween the metopes above the front corner block, Q," and D'',
upon which devolved the equalization of the displacement of
the corner triglyph E' from the axis of the corner column E
by not less than 15 cm., or half the thickness of the entabla-
ture minus half the width of the corner triglyph, as seen from
the calculation of the tainia and regula lengths of the relief
of Herakles and Pholos, Figure 54.
This observation concerning the two metopes situated
above one and the same elongated epistyle beam, according
to which that last placed in position tends to become the
broader, has direct bearing upon the assignment of the corner
blocks of the Banquet and the Herakles and Triton to the
eastern or western facades. Of these reliefs, that represent-
ing the m^Lrine monster has been seen to be the more im-
portant, in respect both to its national significance for the
Greeks of Assos and to its connection with that deity to
which the temple was dedicated. It is also superior in picto-
rial treatment, while in decorative composition it balances the
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1S83. 259
relief of Herakles and Pholos, which occupies the southern
corner of the front, far better than would the Banquet. The
six figures of the affrighted spectators who fly from the scene
of the struggle correspond well to the discomfited and re-
treating centaurs of the pendant. These considerations alone
might have sufficed to justify the relegation of the Banquet to
the western facade. That the arrangement is correct is fur-
ther indicated by the spacing of the regulas upon the epistyle
beams in question. The construction of the frieze having,
according to our hypothesis, been carried on above the Her-
akles and Triton from right to left, and above the Banquet
from left to right, we should expect to find the left-hand
metope above the former and the right-hand metope above
the latter to be larger than their fellows. This is actually
the case, by the amounts of 4 cm. and 5 cm. An exchange
of the positions of the reliefs would involve the assumption
of a double exception to the natural law which they thus
exemplify.
We may deduce the width of the corner intercolumniations
of the fagades from the data already acquired. If from the
smallest possible length of the Herakles and Triton panel,
namely, 3.15 m., we subtract 8 cm. for the excess of the half-
regula at the inner end, and 42 cm. for half the thickness of
the entablature, we shall have a spacing of about 2.65 m. on
centres ; and if from the total length of the Banquet panel
from joint to angle we make a similar deduction, we have
about 2.54 m. The difference between these results is to
be ascribed to the irregularities in the spacing of the frieze
members. It is to be borne in mind, that the position of the
triglyphs in respect to the axes of the columns often varied
even more than this, as has been seen from the bed toolings
visible upon the soffits of the epistyle beams.^ Now the cor-
1 Compare page 85 of the present volume.
2 6o ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
ner columns of the fronts are known, from traces upon the
stylobate, to have been 13.07 m. distant from centre to centre ;
if the shafts between them had been placed at perfectly regu-
lar intervals, we should have an intercolumniation of 2.614 rn-
This is very nearly the distance represented by the average
of the two corner beams preserved in their entire length,
the one of which is, from axis to axis, but two inches shorter,
the other two inches longer ; and with this dimension the
length of the relief of Herakles and Pholos, determined by
a method entirely independent, is in perfect agreement. Had
the temple followed the customary proportions of the Doric
plan in this particular, a very considerable difference between
the intervals, say 0.2 m., would have been observable. Thus
there can be no doubt concerning the fact that the design
called for an equal spacing of the columns of the fronts, con-
trary to the general usage of the style. The want of this
refinement is entirely in accord with the general character
of the edifice. The inequality of its dimensions, especially
in the division of the frieze, was so great, that the aid in the
adjustment of the corner metope, commonly derived from a
diminution of the corner intercolumniations, was not felt to
be requisite. This neglect of one of the most characteristic
features of the style is, as will subsequently be shown, by no
means an evidence of great age, but merely the result of pro-
vincial rudeness.
The equal spacing of the intercolumniations being thus
determined, we can proceed with greater certainty to a con-
sideration of the other epistyle blocks of the fronts. I\Iost
readily recognizable among these are the reliefs of heraldic
sphinxes. That assigned, for reasons already adduced, to the
western front, is preserved in its entire length. (Fig. 56.)
The block is broken into three fragments, two of which were
found during the American excavations, while the third is
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1883.
261
among the reliefs of the Louvre, so that it was not possible to
fit the fractures together for the purpose of accurate measure-
ment. The given total of 2.58 m. cannot, however, vary more
than two centimeters from the original length. Fortunately
Fig. 56. Epistyle Block above the Central Intercolumniation
OF THE Western Facade.
Coat of Arms of Assos.
both half-regulas are preserved, and these, as has been seen,
have sufficed to determine to which of the fagades this relief
appertained. As these members are short, about 8 cm. is to
be added to the length of the stone in order to obtain the
Fig. 57. Epistyle Block above the Central Intercolumniation
OF the Eastern Fa^'ade.
Coat of Arms of Assos.
width of the corresponding intercolumniation, which is thus
seen to have been some 5 cm. longer than the average, as-
suming, for the purpose of this calculation, the axes of col-
umns and triglyphs to be exactly identical. The relief from
the eastern front (Fig. 57) is lacking a considerable portion,
262 ARCH^OLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
including the right half-regula, while the left half-regula has
been split away from the surface. It is nevertheless ascer-
tainable, both from the space remaining upon the stone and
from the length of the complementary half-regula upon the
adjoining block, that the member was about 23 cm, in length.
The distance from the remaining joint surface of the lintel
to the centre of the middle regula, and of the symmetrical
composition, is 1.26 m. By adding to this a supplementary
5 cm. for the short half-regula, and doubling the result, we
have 2.62 for the width of the central intercolumniation. It
is thus proved that both these reliefs of sphinxes were above
inner intercolumniations of the fronts, and that these can
have been no others than the central openings is sufficiently
obvious from the absolute symmetry and heraldic character of
the figures upon them. So little doubt is possible in regard
to this point, that the sphinxes were assigned to this position
even by Texier's restoration of the fagade of the temple, upon
which every other relief is wrongly placed.^
It is worthy of note, that the three half-regulas which may
be measured upon the two sphinx reliefs are all too short, the
deficiency amounting in one case to 7 cm. The blocks in
question are thus seen to have intentionally been made smaller
than those adjoining them, and shorter than the intercolumni-
ations over which they were placed. An explanation of this
lies near at hand. The sculptured subject, consisting only of
two figures, was without doubt felt to be too small, or at all
events proportionally too high, to fill a panel of the normal
length and proportions. While this difficulty was met, in so
far as was possible by such adjustment, a corresponding ad-
vantage was gained by transferring the deducted length to
1 Texier, Description, vol. ii. pi. 112. The author especially refers to the
relief of the Banquet, one of the two largest blocks removed to Paris, as having
been upon the side of the building.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1883.
263
the neighboring epistyle blocks, containing a greater number
of figures. Of the two sphinx reliefs, that upon the eastern
front was the more shortened in this manner, the half-panel
measuring 1.26 m. ; and it has been pointed out, in consider-
ing the style of these sculptures, of what decided advantage
to the design even this slight diminution proved to be.
As a still further, if slight, indication of the correctness
of the assignment of the Herakles and Triton to the eastern
fagade, it may be observed that the longer corner relief thus
Fig. 58. Epistyle Block above the second Intercolumniation from
the south of the eastern pagade
Series relating to tlie Centaurs of Mount Pholoe.
becomes complementary to the shorter central beam, and vice
versa, excess and deficiency corresponding very closely.
Fortunately for our understanding of the arrangement of
the reliefs upon the building, one of the sculptured blocks
discovered during the American excavations fills the gap be-
tween the Herakles and Pholos and the eastern sphinxes, hav-
ing formed the lintel of the second intercolumniation of the
main front from the southeastern corner. This is the relief of
the four horse-legged centaurs fleeing from the arrows of the
hero (Fig. 58). The stone, preserved in its entire length, and
with all its mouldings intact, is 2.6 m. in length. That it
belonged to an inner intercolumniation was thus evident at
once. Despite the striking difference presented by the horse-
264 ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
legged and human-legged monsters of the two blocks, it was
further assumed that it adjoined the Herakles and Pholos
group, next to which it was found, at the southeastern corner
of the building, just beneath its original position. And this
assumption has been confirmed through a comparison of the
half-regulas carved upon its ends with the corresponding
members upon the blocks on either hand. That on the right,
measuring 33 cm., is exceptionally long, in agreement with
the small space remaining for the other half upon the inten-
tionally shortened sphinx block (Fig. 57) ; that on the left,
measuring 24 cm., in like manner corresponds to the space
upon the right-hand end of the Herakles and Pholos relief.
Still another proof of contiguity is supplied by the total
length of the half front entablature represented by these
three reliefs, — an accurate test, inasmuch as no great vari-
ation is here conceivable. The total length of the corner
panel, 3.085 m. from joint to angle, as before determined,
added to the 2.6 m. of this relief of the four horse-legged
centaurs, and to the 1.26 m. represented by the half-panel
of the eastern sphinxes, gives just that total of 6.945 m. re-
required for the half-entablature length, definitely determined
by measurements of the plan.
Continuing the examination of those reliefs which are to
be assigned to the southeastern corner of the building, we
have next to deal with two epistyle beams in the Louvre rep-
resenting centaurs (Figs. 59 and 60). Their regular gallop
in the same direction, their conventional positions, so similar
to those of their brethren upon the reliefs of the front, natu-
rally lead to the supposition that they were connected with
the exploit of Herakles against these monsters, of which the
chief scene is depicted upon the front corner ; and that, as
the line of retreating centaurs is known to have been termi-
nated by the heraldic sphinxes occupying the middle of the
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1883. 265
fagade, these wine-attracted disturbers of the hospitality of
Pholos are hastening to the assault, around the corner, upon
the side entablature. It may furthermore be observed, that
the sculptor has shown all but one of the centaurs retreating
discomfited before the arrows of the hero to have lost their
weapons, while all but one of those advancing have their
weapons still in their hands. Convincing indications of the
correctness of this view of the incident, and of the arrange-
ment of the blocks in accordance therewith, may be derived
Fig. 59. Epistyle Block above the easternmost Intercolum-
NIATION of the SOUTHERN SiDE.
Series relating to the Centaurs of Mount Pholoe.
from the dimensions of the two Louvre reliefs under consid-
eration. The first (Fig. 59) is recognizable as having belonged
to a side corner by the great length of its central regula, and
by the distance of this member from the remaining joint sur-
face. While the inner side lintels averaged, as has been
shown, but 2.44 m. in length from axis to axis, the corners
were not less than 2.9 m. long from axis to angle. Discrimi-
nation between them is hence neither difficult nor uncertain.
From the ideal axis, 15 cm, beyond the left joint surface of
our block, to the centre of the middle regula, is 1.32 m.; twice
this, plus the length of the half corner regula which is to be
included in the calculation, gives precisely the required di-
mensions. It will be noticed in connection with this ideal
axis, that the stone presents a further peculiarity indicative
266 ARCH^OLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
of its position above one of the corner intercolumniations :
the half-regula at the left is the shortest member of the kind
cut upon any of the epistyle blocks known, being only ii cm.
in length. It is evident that the beam was thus shortened
through the same desire to spare the labor of quarrymen
and masons which determined the cutting of the laps upon
these corner blocks of the sides, rather than upon those of
the fronts. It was much easier to provide and handle two
blocks of 2.6 and 2.75, than two of 2.45 and 2.9 m., respect-
ively. The length of the whole regula is over 57 cm., con-
siderably more than the ordinary width of the side triglyphs,
which appear to have averaged about 52 cm. For a corner
block this is entirely normal, such an extension being the
most natural method of effecting an adjustment between the
different lengths of the two classes of lintels. For the same
reason, the metope was allowed a width of 76 cm., while the
average width of the metopes above the inner intercolumnia-
tions of the sides cannot have exceeded 71 cm. Still another
indication, and one of an entirely different nature, may be
adduced to prove the position of the block. If the panel ex-
tended to the corner of the entablature, with an entire regula
at the right-hand end, as indicated by the dotted lines in
Figure 59, just sufficient space would have been provided to
contain the figures of two centaurs in advance of the fore-
most now remaining. This would by no means have been the
case had the lintel been above an inner intercolumniation, and
terminated by a joint surface in or near the axis of the next
regula upon the right. It is true that the body of the last
centaur upon the left is divided by the joint ; but this single
instance of the kind in any of the reliefs was due, as will pres-
ently be explained, to this very elongation of the corner block
by a lap, owing to which nine centaurs could be represented
upon two adjoining panels, instead of four upon each.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1S83.
267
The second of the Paris centaur reliefs (Fig. 60) is of the
small dimensions which prove it to have been above one of
the inner intercolumniations of the sides. The length of the
half-panel remaining intact is only 1.2 m. from the right-hand
axis, 2 cm. beyond the point to the centre of the middle reg-
ula. The latter moulding is considerably shorter than the
average of its class, measuring but 48 cm. in length. This
block obviously did not adjoin the corner lintel ; the missing
hind quarters of the last centaur upon that relief are not
Fig. 60. Epistyle Block above the second Intercolumniation
FROM the east OF THE SOUTHERN SiDE.
Series relating to the Centaurs of Mount Pholoe.
sculptured upon it, while the half-regulas are by no means
complementary. It is to be assigned, without doubt, to the
third intercolumniation of the southern side, from the east.
If we assume the joint surface upon the left-hand side, now
lost, to have been displaced a few centimeters beyond the
ideal axis, as would naturally have been the case in the first
sculptured lintel, ample space would have been provided for
the body of a fourth centaur. Even had joint and axis co-
incided, this figure might have found room. It appears
probable that this fourth centaur terminated the long line
of advancing assailants, and that the adjoining epistyle block
upon the left was unsculptured ; yet this point cannot be
definitely determined.
The arrangement of the reliefs upon the six epistyle beams
o
2;
&
o
«3
:a
^
r.
u
►4
o
o
U3
X
^
o
r/1
H^
o
w
g
b
<!
O
f-
Z
pj
u
H
u
Z
«
w
O
a
U
H
?;
o
(a;
H
2
<
<
w
X
C<
h
t«
fe
Si
o
c;
n
k;
►J
o
M
c^
w
>
J',
h
O
M
u
td
u
Pi
X
\o
f)
1:^
Zi <
X ^
270 ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
nearest to the southeastern corner, thus ascertained, is shown
in Figures 61 and 62} Observe the difference between the
easy canter of the centaurs advancing in regular file to the
attack, and the headlong flight of those who retreat in terror
before the victorious arms of the hero ; the node of the ac-
tion, so to speak, being the comparative repose of the upright
figures of Pholos and his guest, emphasizing the vertical lines
at the corner of the entablature in excellent architectural
effect.
One other epistyle relief can be proved to have appertained
to a front of the building; namely, that of the lion and boar,
discovered during the first year of the American excavations.
(Fig. 64.) The fragment, comprising about three quarters of
the entire panel, measures 1.34 m. from the remaining joint
surface to the middle of the central regula. Deducting 4 cm.
^ The restored elevation of the gable and gable ornaments, given in
Figure 62, introduces architectural features which require some words of fur-
ther explanation.
The three stones of the tympanon wall veil, referred to in the description
of the edifice, pages 106-109 of the present volume, are indicated by dots. It
is not absolutely certain that the blocks recovered appertained to the eastern,
and not the western gable ; yet the position in which they were found favors
the former attribution, while the fact that the three stones belonged together
and originally adjoined is evident from the exact agreement in height of their
corresponding sides.
The relief decoration of the terra-cotta gutter is based upon the indications
afforded by the fragment discovered during the second year of the excavations.
(Compare page 133, V\g. 31.) The height of this member is the chief feature
which remains uncertain-
In respect to the grifSn drawn as the corner acroterion, it is obvious that a
single paw (page 137, Fig. 34) is by no means sufficient to warrant a trustworthy
restoration. The figure is introduced merely for the purpose of indicating the
ascertained fact that a monster of this nature, whether griffin or sphinx, occu-
pied this position. Its height, which may appear excessive, is but one meter,
and has been made proportionate to the dimensions of the acroterion surmount-
ing the apex of the gable.
This central acroterion, decoiipe from a slab eight centimeters in thickness,
may be reconstructed with reasonable certainty as to its main features from the
existing fragment of its left-hand lower convolution. (Page 136, Fig. ^iZ-) The
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 18S3.
271
for the excess of the half-regula, and doubling the remainder,
the Hntel is found to have corresponded exactly to an inter-
columniation of 2.6 m., or one of the inner spaces of the
Fig. 64. Epistyle Block above the second Intercolummation
FROM the north OF THE WESTERN Fa^ADE
Series relating to the Erymantliian Boar.
fronts. It is plain that it cannot have occupied a corner,
for the direction of the composition shows that a longer half-
fragment in question, indicated by siiading, is shown, together with the outline
of the suggested reconstruction, upon a larger scale in Figure 63. As the volute
sends off a main branch upon the side opposite to the incised parallel lines
which evidently designate a horizontal juncture,
it is plain that the ornament must have consisted
of at least two pairs of scrolls. The fragment
remaining is not less than 55 cm. broad, showing
the width of the scrolls to which it belonged to
have been very nearly one meter. The given
dimensions of the acroterion are thus by no means
too large. At first sight, so broad and bulky
a mass will appear disproportionate to the gable.
But it is to be borne in mind that the temple of
Assos was at once archaic and of small size,
both of which characteristics commonly led, as
will be recognized by students of Greek archi-
tecture, to a comparatively large acroterion or-
nament. In the restoration of gutter anthemion
and central acroterion, the indications of deco-
rative style afforded by the known antefix have
been followed as closely as possible.
It is instructive to contrast the heavy acro-
terion of poros stone from the temple of Assos
with the graceful and refined ornament of marble
Fig. 63. Restoration of the
Central Acroterion, the
remaining fragment dot-
ted and shaded.
272 ARCH^OLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
regula would in that case have been cut upon the left-hand
end, remaining intact, in order to make up the complement
to the lap. On the other hand, the slight excess of the
actual member was evidently determined by the desire of
the masons to diminish the length of the corner block, which
adjoined it upon this side. The corresponding lintel of the
eastern front being already known, we may safely conclude
that the relief of the lion and the boar, one of the finest in
point of execution, was situated above the intercolumniation
of the western fagade second from the north, having on its
right the heraldic sphinxes, and on its left the missing corner
block which would have figured as the fourth in our list.
This conclusion is borne out by the position in which the
relief was discovered, — close to the western end of the
temple, and directly opposite the intercolumniation to which
it has been assigned.^ The mass of rude mediaeval masonry
in which the stone was embodied was found to consist almost
wholly of cornice blocks from the western entablature and
gable. This circumstance would of itself almost suffice to
determine the original position of the relief.
Among the smaller fragments in the Louvre is a portion of
that epistyle which was situated above the westernmost inter-
columniation of the northern side of the building, and over-
lapped the missing corner of the western facade. This is the
relief of the lion springing upon the back of a hind. (Fig. 65.)
Upon it is seen, extending from the end surface at the right
across three quarters of the short length remaining, an entire
which occupied the corresponding position upon the temple of Aigina. As the
present writer has become aware through a study of the fragments of the latter
member, now preserved in the Glyptothek of Munich, none of the published res-
torations of the Aiginetan acroterion are altogether correct ; still they suffice,
in such comparison, to illustrate the characteristic differences between Euro-
pean and Asiatic, between advancing and provincial, design of one and the
same age.
^ Prelhninary Report, plate 2. N.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1SS3. 273
regula, fully equal to the known width of one of the corner
triglyphs to which it must have corresponded. The relief
which formed the easternmost corner of the southern side
being known, it is evident that this lintel can only have been
situated diagonally opposite to it. This block with the cor-
ner lap is the only one of its kind which has come to light.
When found by the French explorers it must have clearly
displayed the method followed by the ancient builders in cut-
ting the lap with reference to the narrow soffit and peculiar
Fig. 65. Epistyle Block above the westernmost Intercolumniation
OF THE Northern Side.
Series relating to the Erymanthian Boar.
boss of the epistyle beams. Hence it is a matter of great
regret that, by the sawing of the lintel to a thin slab, these
indications have been altogether obliterated, while no record
was kept of the original formation of a member so important
in architectural respects.
As the three corner blocks of the fronts preserved to us
represent three of the deeds of Herakles, it is natural to as-
sume that the subject of the fourth was of a similar nature.
The reliefs adjoining the missing scene, and doubtless stand-
ing in connection with it, display the struggle of a number of
wild beasts, — the lion and boar, and the lion and hind, —
" ces animaux feroces dechirant les paisibles botes des forets,
dont la v^locite ne peut les d<^rober h leur insatiable soif de
18
2 74
ARCHyEOLOCICAL IXST/TC/TE.
sang," as Clarac poetically describes thcm.^ Hence, the as-
sumption is ready at hand, that the missing scene was the
combat of Herakles with the Nemean lion, or with the Ery-
manthian boar. It has been observed that two of the chief
subjects were connected with one and the same expedition,
and as the adventure of the hero with the centaurs of Mount
Pholoe was an episode of the pursuit of the Erymanthian
boar, the latter suggestion enjoys the greater probability.
Three of the remaining reliefs evidently belong to the same
series of representations, and may be supposed to have orna-
FiG. 66. Epistyle Block from the Western Group of
THE Northern Side.
Series relating to the Erymanthian Boar.
mented the northwestern corner of the edifice. These are
the two lions and stag (Fig. 66), the lion and bull (Fig. 68),
and the lion with the legs of a deer thrown over his back
(Fig. 69). That the first of these was upon the side of the
building is rendered wellnigh certain by the exceptionally
small size of the central regula, which measures scarcely
48 cm. in length. In calculating the width of the inter-
columniation to which it appertained, we find the distance
from the middle of the central regula to the axis of the col-
umn upon the left hand, about 7 cm. beyond the actual joint
surface, to be equal to 1.34 m. Thus, if the block be assumed
to have been above an inner side intercolumniation of 2.44 m.
1 Clarac, Musee, vol. ii., seconde partie.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1SS3.
-V5
on centres, as is indicated by the dotted lines of Figure 66, it
is evident that the central regula has been displaced at least
12 cm. to the right. Although irregularities even greater
than this have been observed in other lintels, this feature,
taken together with others capable of a like interpretation,
leads us to the conviction that this relief of the two lions and
stag is the left-hand half of that side corner panel of which
the other end is represented by the fragment of the lion and
deer shown in Figure 65. The half-regula at the left is less
than 20 cm. long, being the smallest member of the kind
Fig. 67. Epistyle Block from the westernSiost Intercolumnia-
TioN OF the Northern Side.
Combination of Fragments shown in Figures 65 and 66. Series relating
to the Erymanthian Boar.
known, with the exception of that occupying the correspond-
ing position upon the other side corner block of the advan-
cing centaurs, Figure 59. Reference has already been made
to the practical considerations which in the case of lintels
placed above side corners led to such curtailment of the inner
half-regulas. Shorter stones could thus be utilized than would
be possible had the joint surfaces conformed to the axes of the
columns. The small size of the detail in question may hence
serve as an argument in support of the combination of the
two fragments shown in Figure 67. Computing the length of
the panel thus constituted, and assuming the two metopes
above it to have been of equal size, we find the stone, from
joint surface to corner of lap, to have been of a dimension
276
ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
closely agreeing with the 2.9 m. required for the lintel occu-
pying this position. In combining the fragments in the
manner indicated, we are struck with the agreement in de-
sign of the groups thus brought together. Just sufficient
space remains upon the missing portion to contain the trunk
and hind quarters of the lion whose head and shoulders are
seen upon Figure 65. The beasts of prey spring upon their
booty in the same way, and with bodies inclined in the same
direction, forming in their conventional regularity a pendant
Fig. 68. Epistyle Block from the Western Group
OF THE Northern Side.
Series relating to the Erymanthian Boar.
to the monotonous file of the advancing centaurs upon the
other end of the building.
The second relief belonging to this series represents a lion
dragging a bull to the ground. (Fig. 6Z?) That this is to
be assigned to one of the inner intercolumniations of the
sides is susceptible of little doubt, as the distance between
the two remaining regulas exactly corresponds to the dimen-
sions requisite for such a lintel had the two metopes been
equal in size, and the triglyphs of the normal side width.
The half-regula at the right is slightly excessive, and it is
quite possible that the block may have adjoined the side cor-
ner panel, shown in Figure Gj. In this case the third tri-
glyph from the northeastern corner, though slightly broader
than the second, and than that above one of the epistyles of
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1883. 277
the southern entablature, would still have been two or three
centimeters narrower than the average.
In regard to the third relief, that of the hind quarters of a
lion with the legs of a deer thrown over his back (Fig. 69),
we have a further indication of its connection with the series
of the northwestern corner in the position in which it was
found, immediately adjoining the relief of the lion and boar.^
The only measurement which can be taken from the small
fragment is that of the half-regula, 33 cm. in length. The
excess is here so great that we are led
33
to consider the possibility of this block ^7JQ~~~~~^
being the end of the corner lintel of the \r-
western fagade, complementary to the (n C \\
lap. Its evident superiority in design ){x\ /^~~^'
and execution might be put forward in M'-^^ d' /
support of this identification. But, on i-^^^:^.-^^^ ZIJ~Z''.'"i
the other hand, we cannot fail to observe Fig. 69. Fragment of
,1 , • • -1 •*. r i-t- • 1 • AN Epistyle Block of
the entire smiilarity of the anmials in ^„^ s^^,,3 ^^^,^^,^^
scale and action with those sculptured "^o "^^e erymanthian
Boar.
upon the two blocks of the northern
side, and the want of any indication of a struggle of either
boar or lion with Herakles. The stone represents too small
a portion of the panel to allow of any decision in this matter;
and it might, upon grounds quite as convincing, be deemed
to have formed the left half of the side block of the lion and
bull (Fig. 68).
There remain but two sculptured epistyle blocks, which
cannot be brought into connection with either of the four
chief scenes depicted upon the corners of the temple. These
are the reliefs of the butting bulls, Figures 70 and 71. Bear-
ing in mind the perfectly regular manner in which the se-
quence of subject was carried out in all the reliefs of the
^ PrcUmiuarv Report, plate 2, N.
:78
ARCH.'EOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
entablature hitherto considered, — a sequence in favor of
which the fundamental law of the Doric style forbidding the
decoration of the epistyle had been sacrificed, — it appeared
at first sight impossible to assign a position to these blocks.
On the one hand, it was difficult to conceive their having
adjoined either of the series depicting the deeds of Herakles ;
on the other, the number of lateral epistyle beams being
even, there was no possibility of the bulls having occupied
the middle of the sides, in that absolute symmetry and dis-
connection from the other scenes which would have been
Fig. 70. Epistyle Block from the Entablature of the Cella,
ABOVE THE PrONAOS.
Subject related to the Cult of Assian Athena.
demanded by the subject and composition of these reliefs.
Such difficulties are, however, entirely avoided by their re-
moval from the peripteros. That these two epistyle blocks
were, in fact, situated within the colonnade, upon the wall
of the cella, can be proved from indications of so different
nature that the argument is free from those dangers of a
vicious circle against which we must constantly be on our
guard in reconstructions of this kind.
One of the reliefs, shown in Figure 70, is remarkable as
being the only lintel, preserved in its entire length, upon
which the extent of all the mouldings can be measured. Its
half-regulas, respectively 31 and 37 cm. long, are both ex-
cessive. Deducting from the actual length of the stone the
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1883.
279
16 cm. thus determined, we find the axes of the columnar
triglyphs to have been only 2.35 m. apart, or 9 cm. less than
the average of the side intercolumniations. In like manner,
the fragmentary relief of the same subject (Fig. 71) measures
but 1.14 m. from the remaining joint surface to the middle of
the central regula. The span thus indicated is not less than
16 cm. narrower than that of the side lintels; and although
this dimension was without doubt slightly increased through
a want of correspondence between joint surface and ideal
Fig. 71. Epistyle Block forming the Pendant to that
SHOWN IN Figure 70.
Same subject and corresponding location.
axis, we have good grounds for believing that the amount of
such correction cannot have exceeded six or eight centimeters
in the total length. This lintel is unfortunately deprived of
both half-regulas, so that no direct information is obtainable
upon this point from the stone itself. But if the metopes
above it be assumed to have equalled those above its pendant,
the joint surface is found to have been removed from the axis
of the support by not more than three or four centimeters.
An indication leading to the same conclusion is furnished by
the subjects represented upon these panels. The animals are
so entirely similar in posture and proportions that the out-
lines actually appear to have been transferred to the stones
from one and the same drawing. This may be tested by
laying a strip of tracing-paper bearing the outlines of Figure
28o ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
yo over Figure 71, when the forms will be seen to agree
in a manner otherwise inexplicable. The only variations
are those rendered necessary by the different height of the
tainias, this member measurmg in one case but eight and a
half, in the other fully ten centimeters. The lengths, with
which alone we are at present concerned, are absolutely iden-
tical. Hence, it is impossible to assume that the figures upon
the fragmentary block occupied a more elongated panel.
It is thus evident that we have to deal with lintels placed
above considerably narrower intercolumniations than those
of the sides, which, with the exception of the corners,^ are
known, from the traces of the columns upon the stylobate, to
have in no case varied more than a centimeter or two from
the average of 2.44 m. In short, the reliefs of the butting
bulls formed no part whatever of the entablature of the
peripteros. They can only be assigned to the two side inter-
columniations of the pronaos, between the antae and the col-
umns in antis, inasmuch as the lintels above these openings
are the only ones of a smaller span than those hitherto
considered.
The exact widths of these intercolumniations are not ascer-
tainable from the plan, the traces upon the stylobate being
too indistinct to permit of an accurate measurement. The
columns in antis stood upon blocks larger, and without doubt
deeper, than those of the surrounding pavement, having ex-
posed surfaces of 1.2 m. square and i.i by 1.4 m. (Compare
1 The deviations of the corner intercolumniations of the sides from the nor-
mal width, evident from traces upon the stylobate referred to upon page 76 of
the present volume, are themselves not equal to the difference in length between
the epistyle blocks sculptured with the two bulls and the lintels placed above
the inner intercolumniations of the sides. The increased span indicated by
these traces is readily explicable by the consideration that the corner passages
of the sides were intentionally approximated to those of the fronts ; while it is,
on the other hand, impossible to assume that a restriction of such amount can
have existed in the case of any intercolumniation of the peripteros.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1883. 28 1
the plan, Fig. 4.) Upon these blocks are to be seen the dis-
colored patches in slight relief resulting from the presence
upon them for wellnigh two thousand years of the lowest drums
of the shafts. The outlines of the arrises, here eighteen in
number, could be followed in but one case, and even there
with no certainty in respect to the demarcation. All that
could be definitely determined was that the circular patches
occupied about the middle of the slabs, in their axes from
east to west. The central opening may in this wise be seen
to have been at least 1.9 and possibly 2 m. in the clear, and
the columns in antis 2.8 or 2.9 m. on centres. This shows
the side intercolumniations to have been spanned, from centre
of anta wall to axis of column, by lintels but 2.2 or 2.25 m. in
length, and to have been even narrower than we should have
been led to assume from the dimensions of the blocks now
under consideration. It is, however, probable that the ad-
justment of the members of the frieze led to some displace-
ment of the columnar triglyphs from the axes of the supports
beneath them. Although the central intercolumniation was
thirty, or even forty, centimeters wider than the intercolumni-
ations of the fronts, the average of the three pronaos lintels
was almost exactly equal to that of the side lintels of the
peripteros. Thus the average width of the metopes and tri-
glyphs, determined by the dimensions of the outer entabla-
ture, would naturally have been retained, and the axes of
these members have tended to a displacement in the sense
indicated. This is precisely the conclusion which might have
been drawn from the exceptionally short distance between
the columnar axes and the excessive lengths of the half-
regulas upon these blocks of the butting bulls. Lintels of
the normal length supplied by the quarrymen were, from
constructive reasons presently to be adduced, adjusted with-
out curtailment to agree with the details of a frieze cor-
282 ARCHAEOLOGICAL IXSTITUTE.
responding to somewhat narrower intercolumniations than
those of the peripteros. It is obviously impossible to assume
any fundamentally different division of the pronaos frieze.
Broad as the central intercolumniation was, the lintel above
it was still much too short to permit of the introduction of
a supernumerary metope and triglyph. We need not, of
course, suppose the spacing to have been perfectly equal ;
the increase of ten or fifteen centimeters, apparent from the
lintels in question, would have sufficed to effect the equaliza-
tion in a manner perfectly satisfactory to any eye which
would tolerate the irregularities known to have existed upon
the fagades. In the light thus thrown upon the construction
of the cella front, we can readily perceive the reasons which
led the ancient builders to permit a very considerable exten-
sion of these lateral epistyle beams beyond the axes of the
columns in antis. This can only have been done for the pur-
pose of decreasing the length of the central lintel spanning
the widest intercolumniation of the building.
It may further be noticed that the two epistyle beams with
the reliefs of the butting bulls asie the only ones which do not
display upon the edges of their soffits those shallow sinkings
of rectangular plan intended to receive the end of a crowbar
during the process of shifting the stone to its exact position.
Although scarcely of itself sufficient to furnish a definite proof,
this peculiarity suggests the employment of another means for
the lifting and setting of these lintels of the pronaos than that
adopted to meet the different requirements of the peripteros,
and may hence be advanced in support of the arrangement
proposed upon other grounds.
That the entablature upon the front of the cella should
have been distinguished by sculptures, is entirely in keeping
with the importance assigned by ancient architects to the
portal of the inner fane. Doric temples, in which sculp-
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1SS3. 2S
o
tured decorations were, from motives of economy, not extend-
ed to the entire edifice, invariably display their finest reliefs,
whether metopes or consecutive frieze, above the pronaos.
Well known instances of this are the temple of Bassai,
the temple of Sounion, and that most striking analogy, the
Theseion.
Moreover, the subject represented upon these two lintels,
so entirely unconnected with the extended scenes of the
outer entablature, is such as to render them eminently suit-
able to the decoration of the inner house of the goddess. It
relates, not to the exploits of the Aeolic hero there depicted,
but, as will be set forth in a subsequent connection, to the
peculiar cult of Trojan and Assian Athena.
And, in conclusion, the argument may be enforced by a
reference to the strictly symmetrical and almost heraldic
manner in which the animals are depicted. It is at once
obvious that these panels were intended to be seen as pen-
dants. So decisive is the indication thus afforded, that it
induced the designer of the French restoration of the temple
to assign these shortest known epistyle beams to the widest
intercolumniations of the building, at the corners of the main
fagade.^ It is impossible not to recognize the correctness of
the instinct which led to this error, readily to be detected by
a measurement of even the few fragments removed to the
Louvre ; and it is satisfactory that the principle, though in a
different application, may now be justified by the most careful
comparison of the actual dimensions.
' Texier, Description, vol. ii. pi. 112. In the volume of L'Univers, referred
to ill a foregoing note, the author explicitly remarks, " Les deux extremites de
la fa9ade etaient ornees de deux couples de taureaux dans I'attitude de combat."
The lion and bull, and the two lions and deer, occupy the intermediate lintels.
In order to make them fit the given spaces, these blocks have been subjected to
a truly Procrustean elongation, even the reliefs of the wild beasts last men-
tioned being of that short length which proves them to have belonged to the
sides of the building.
284 ARCH^OLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
Six sculptured metopes belonging to the temple are now
known, three of these having been removed from Assos to
the Louvre, and three brought to light during the American
excavations. Four are preserved in their entire width, yet in
only one of these can the exact distance between the edges
of the bordering triglyphs be ascertained. This is due to the
fact that rebates, of slightly variable depth, were generally
cut upon the ends of the projecting bands, so as to fit into
the corresponding reveal of the triglyphs, in order to prevent
the appearance of open joints. In such cases the exposed
face was, of course, narrower than the slab itself, and no
conclusions are to be drawn in this regard concerning four
of the metopes, the edges of which have been so weathered
and defaced that the extent of the overlap cannot now be
determined.
Accurate measurements in this respect are to be taken only
from the relief of the running centaur. Figure "ji. While the
total width of the slab is a fraction over "j^^ cm., that of the
face visible between the rebates is 68 cm. The latter dimen-
sion is exactly that of the exceptionally narrow space remain-
ing between the regulas of one of the epistyle blocks of the
eastern front ; and there can be little doubt that this metope
was placed above the right-hand side of the second inter-
columniation, from the south, of this facade, as shown in
Figures 55 and 62. The sculptures upon the epistyle, and
the metope above it, are thus seen to have agreed, in this
instance, both in subject and direction of composition ; and it
is natural to assume that this was the case with all those
metopes where such an agreement is indicated by repetition
of type.
According to this principle, the relief of the two squatting
sphinxes repeated in heraldic symmetry. Figure 73, would be
assigned to the central intercolumniation of either the eastern
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1883.
2S5
or western front Unfortunately, the width of but one of the
metopes placed above the epistyle blocks in question can
be measured from the lintels, while the edges of the sphinx
metope are so rounded that it is impossible to determine the
exact width of the exposed face of this slab. Hence, no means
of proving this contiguity are at hand. The dimensions as
far as they can be ascertained do not, however, render it
improbable. The width of the left-hand metope, above the
central epistyle of the eastern front, was 75 cm., somewhat
Fig 73-
Fig- 74-
Metope of the Eastern Entablature occupying the
Fourth Field from the South.
Related in subject to the series of the Centaurs of Mount Pholoe.
Fig. 73. Metope showing the Coat of Arms of Assos.
Probably placed above the central epistyle block of one of the facades.
Fig. 74. Metope related in subject to the series of the
Erymanthian Boar.
less than that indicated by the 82 cm. of the sphinx metope,
if the rebate upon this slab be assumed to have been of the
same depth as those upon the two centaur metopes. The
right-hand metope above the central intercolumniation of the
eastern front was undoubtedly somewhat wider than the left,
averaging, together with the two metopes following towards
the north, above the missing epistyle block, fully ^6 cm.
In like manner the metope of the boar. Figure 74, agreeing
as it does with one of the reliefs of the western front, both
in subject and direction of composition, may be supposed to
286
A RCH^OL OGTCA L INS TITUTE.
have occupied one of the first four panels, counting from the
north, of the frieze of that facade. Here, again, proof is
lacking, as the edges of the slab are rounded, and the space
between two of the regulas of the relief of the lion and boar
cannot be measured. We must, furthermore, admit the pos-
sibility of this metope having been above the missing lintel
of the northwestern corner, the subject of which was in all
likelihood that of Herakles and the Erymanthian boar.
In the case of the three metopes brought to light by the
American excavations, we have such additional information as
SL
Fig. 75- Fig 76.
Fig. 75. Fragment of a Metope, related in subject to the Series of
THE Centaurs of Mount Pholoe.
Probably from the southern half of the eastern entablature.
Fig. 76. Metope of uncertain location and subject.
Fig. 77. Fragmentary Metope, of uncertain location and subject.
may be derived from a record of the position in which these
reliefs were found. The small fragment showing the hind
legs of a centaur, Figure 75, was unearthed close to the south-
eastern corner of the temple, together with a jiumber of blocks
known to have appertained to that part of the entablature.
There is thus good ground for the belief that this centaur
metope, like that other one already considered, stood in con-
nection with the series renting to Herakles and Pholos, and
occupied one of the three southernmost panels of the eastern
facade. It will be observed that the galloping position and
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1SS3. 287
the direction of the course are in both cases the same as
those of the centaurs depicted upon the epistyle.
The entire metope, Figure ^6, was found to have been re-
moved from the spot where it had fallen, and to have been
incorporated into the rude Byzantine fortifications erected
upon the west of the citadel. The exact point is marked
D upon the plan of the Acropolis, Preliminary Report,
Plate 2. Inasmuch as both the other reliefs found in this
rampart are known to have belonged to the western facade,
it appears probable that this metope ornamented that end
of the building. It certainly was not placed above the relief
of Herakles and Triton, the regulas of which correspond to
slabs of considerably greater width ; and the movement of
the composition, from left to right, renders it unlikely that
it was above the southern half of the eastern front.
The two fragments of a metope shown in Figure yj were
found buried in the earth which had accumulated upon the
stylobate of the temple itself, and, as the original width of
the slab is not apparent, we possess no indications whatever
in regard to its original position.
The two metopes last considered apparently represent com-
bats of Herakles, and form further illustrations of the theme
chosen for the decoration of the peripteros. Standing in no
direct connection with the four great scenes of the epistyle,
they open a wide field for conjecture in regard to the number
of exploits thus depicted. It is highly improbable, if not
absolutely impossible, that all six of these reliefs are to be
assigned to the metopes of the eastern front, the widths of
which, enumerating them in their order from south to north,
are known to have been 93, 74, 81, 62,^ 75, three unknown
averaging y6, and, finally, 90 and 85 cm. It is hence to be
assumed that all the metopes of both fronts were sculptured,
and that fourteen of the twenty slabs thus distinguished have
288 ARCH^OLOCICAL INSTITUTE.
disappeared. That a proportionately smaller number of meto-
pes than of epistyle blocks should have survived the ruin
of the edifice, is readily explained by the consideration that
their smaller size, square shape, and plane backs adapted
them better to the needs of Byzantine and Turkish builders.
Restriction of the sculptured metopes to one or both fronts
was a common practice m Greek architecture, as, for in-
stance, in two of the temples of Selinous. The metopes of
the sides, like those of the fronts, may be supposed to have
been painted, the differences between the reliefs and the
unsculptured surfaces being rendered less apparent by this
means.
Here we may terminate our investigation into the positions
occupied by the sculptures of the temple. For the benefit of
those who may not have cared to enter into all the details of
the argument, the conclusions are graphically set forth in the
plan of the entablature, Figure 78. The sculptured epistyle
blocks now known are shown in solid black, and the names
of their subjects are given in the larger lettering. The
smaller lettering indicates the probable sequence of the series.
The arrows drawn between the lettering and the entablature
denote the direction of the composition of the sculptured
blocks, and show the entire regularity of the arrangement in
this respect.
The question which naturally arises as to the proportion of
sculptured blocks, known and unknown, is best answered by
an analysis of this plan. One lintel is certainly lacking from
the eastern, and two from the western facade. If the reliefs
were extended over an equal number of intercolumniations
upon the two sides, at least six sculptured epistyle blocks of
the shorter span are missing. The loss which we most de-
plore is that of the central lintel of the pronaos entablature,
the subject of which doubtless had reference to the cult of
o
s
C/1
a:
CO
UJ
D
(^
X.
<
_i
;^
H
O
X
Cu
CO
Z
u
X
cu
=?1
5
2
o
z
<
a:
CO
<
HESIONE MYTH
H ESI ONE MYTH
HESIONE MYTH
WILD BEASTS
WILD BEASTS
{advancing centaurs
ADVANCING CENTAURS
JADVANCING CENTAURS
HIPPOLYTE MYTH
HIPPOLYTE MYTH
<
o
CO
L' 1
UJ
-J
X
a
z
<
X
H
CO
z
X
a:
o
H
<
Cu
s
<
LU
CQ
C/5
Ul
=«
>-
Ul
«8
D
-J
U
Q
o
CL
a.
CO
LU
-J
I/)
LU
—1
P
<
a:
I
<
Fig. 78. Plan of the Epistyle of the Temple of Assos, showing
IN Black the Position of the known Reliefs.
290 ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
Assian Athena. From these imperfect indications we should
assume the epistyle of the peripteros to have had twenty
sculptured panels, of which twelve now exist, in more or less
considerable fragments. Of the unsculptured epistyle blocks,
the remains of eleven, or possibly of twelve, were found upon
the site. If twenty-four of the forty-four lintels of the perip-
teros were plain, this is a somewhat smaller proportion than
that of the known to the unknown reliefs. It is, however, to
be supposed that the stones with plane faces would be se-
lected by Byzantine and Turkish builders in preference to the
others, — the Mohammedan antipathy to graven images de-
termining this preference no less than the practical consider-
ations of unskilled masons.
The most significant fact which has been elicited through
this examination is, that the sculptured face of the epistyle
was not broken up into independent and disconnected panels,
as has been assumed in the French restoration, and in all
those text-books which treat of this subject, so exceptional in
the history of Greek architecture. The reliefs formed four
extended compositions, with their chief scenes at the corners
of the building, separated in the middle of the fagades by the
coat-of-arms of the city. A canon of the Doric style, embody-
ing one of the principles of architectural propriety, forbade
the decoration of members directly functional in the construct-
ive framework, but, in this instance, this canon was set aside
for a definite purpose, that of securing for the sculptures the
continuity of the Ionic zophoros. It was a similar purpose,
coupled with the determination to respect the laws of the
style, which induced Iktinos to hide the frieze of the Par-
thenon behind the columns of his peripteros. In aesthetic
respects we must condemn the expedient adopted in the
temple of Assos. Yet, in tardy justice to the unknown and
much maligned architect, we may now recognize the fact that
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, ISL. 293
the decoration of the epistyle was decided upon, not a's^"^
altogether purposeless innovation, but in the desire of secur-
ing a recognized advantage ; and, as in every genuine en-
deavor to effect an improvement, the design, with all its
faults, thereby attained a high degree of individuality and
interest. In connection with a plan of absolute regularity,
this provincial attempt to extend and connect the sculptured
decorations, undisciplined and injudicious as it was, must
have given to the temple an air of rude picturesqueness
analogous to that which we find so attractive in the earliest
edifices of the Romanic style in Northern Europe.
/
^
CHAPTER IV.
DATE OF THE TEMPLE.
THE Temple of Assos is of unique interest in the history
of ancient art, not only because of the enigmatic char-
acter of its sculptures, but because of the fact that it is the
only kn own D orjc edifice in Asia Minor which antedates the
decadence oi-tbat style. The determination of its date is
therefore a matter of signal importance. A definite settle-
ment of the disputes which have arisen in this regard would
of itself justify the direction of the American expedition to
this site.
Prior to these investigations little information of a posi-
tive nature was to be gathered, either from the fragmentary
and disconnected reliefs removed to Paris, or from the_, alto-_
geth er incorre ct and mislea dingf engravings of the archi-
tect ural_j;emaijTS_jvh^^
explorers.^ Notwithstanding ihi&r— th e, age of the monu-
menr~an3 its position in the development.„oJL_Hellenic
sculpture_and^ architecture have been discussed with extra-
ordinary_ boldness of aasumptiDn by those scholars whose
deli ght it i s ^ to red uce every phenomenon of the classic
world to a categ orized system. Almost every archaeologist
who has had occasion to refer to the Assos reliefs stands
committed to some opinion on these points. A date,
expressed with greater or less precision, is to be found
^ Instances of Texier's perversions of fact in his description of the architec-
ture of the temple have been adduced in sufficient number in the Prelitnimiry
Report, pp. iS, 99, etc.
INVESTIGATIONS AT AS SOS, 1883. 293
in almost every book which deals with the history of ancient
art. It was inevitable that such assumptions should be char-
acterized by a high degree of incompatibility, and we have lit-
tle ^ausejor^urprise when we find them ranging even from
the twelfth cen tury to the fifth js^ntury before Christ, — from
semi-mythical ages preceding the Dorian migration to the
years which witnessed the rivalry of full-grown Hellenic states,
and the outbreak of the Peloponnesian War.
Bursian ^ brackets the sculptures of Assos with the Gate
of the Lions at Mykenai and with works of Assyrian art at
the period of its highest development. In a more recent
history, Perry 2 lays stress upon their " most primitive char-
acter, ... in the highest degree archaic," conceiving them to
be " among the very earliest works of the relief style."
Friedrichs,^ followed by Wolters,* refers them to the seventh
century, remarking that they are among the most ancient
works of Greek art, and that they cannot have been pre-
ceded by any development extending over a considerable
period of time. Studniczka^ assigns the reliefs to the
seventh century ; Furtwangler,^ describing them as " hoch-
alterthiimlich," classes them with monuments of the seventh
and first half of the sixth century ; Murray" thinks them not
later than the middle of the sixth century ; and Llibke^ char-
1 Bursian, s. v. Griechische Kunst, in ErscVi unci Gruber's Allgemeine Eucyclo-
pddie, vol. Ixxxii., Leipzig, 1862.
2 Perry (Walter Copland), Greek and Roman Sculpture, London, 1SS2.
3 Fiiedrichs (Carl), Berlin's Antike Bildwerke {Baiisteine), Diisseldorf,
1868-71, vol. i., and in Schnaase's Gcschichte der Bildeiiden KUnste, 2d ed.,
Diisseldorf, 1866-79, vol. ii. p. 126.
* Wolters, in Friedrichs's Gypsabgusse antiker Bildwerke in historischer Folge
erkldrt, 2d ed., P.erlin, 1885.
5 Studniczka, Attische Porosgieheh Mittheiltingen des deiitschen archdologischen
Institiits, vol. .xi., Athen, 1S86, p. 75.
•5 Furtwiingler, s. v. Herakles, in Roscher's Lexikon, p. 2193.
^ Murray, History of Greek Sculpture, London, 188D-83.
8 Liibke, Geschichte der Plastik, 3d ed., Leipzig, 1S80, vol. 1.
294 ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
acterizes them as the most primitive among those works of
sculpture which have come down to us from the archaic age.
Krell 1 refers the building of the temple to the period
immediately succeeding the Lydian conquest of the Troad
(b. c. 560), but adds that, judging from the sculptures, it
may be somewhat more recent ; while Durm,^ expressing a
decided opinion that the building was anterior to the invasion
of Kroisos, fixes the date, with a single note of interrogation,
at the year 000 b. c. A certain allowance is, however, to be
made in the case of the two authorities last named, inasmuch
as these viewed the problem mainly in its architectural as-
pects. The drawings and restorations of Texier, upon which
their judgments were based, undoubtedly do bestow an air of
extreme rudeness upon the temple. The excessive, and, as
Krell terms it, " baggy " entasis of the shafts (which are in
reality perfectly straight-lined), — the fictitious course of
mouldings interposed between the frieze and the corona, in
strange disaccord with the normal forms of the Doric en-
tablature, — the supernumerary steps upon the fronts, —
the lack of an incision between hypotrachelion and upper-
most drum, — the trapeze-shaped regulas, — combine with a
host of similarly incorrect features of plan and elevation to
give to the edifice a grotesque and primitive aspect, which
would, indeed, be wholly inexplicable in any known period
of Greek architectural history.
Contrasted with these extreme views, we have the opinions
of two historians of Greek art, whose writings have been
distinguished in a high degree by penetration, lucidity, and
independence, and who have been the first to advance well
1 Krell (Philipp F.), Geschichfe des dorischen Styls, Stuttgart, 1S70, p. 20.
2 Durm, Bankunst dcr Griechen, Darmstadt, 1S81, p. 5, and p. 135. Obvi-
ously mistaking the sense of the word which he employs, Durm speaks of the
•'pronounced archaistic \sic\ character " of the temple of Assos.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1883.
295
founded doubts concerning the great antiquity so generally
attributed to the sculptures of Assos. The earlier of these,
Reber,^ has contended, in words exactly contradictory to
those of Furtwangler, that the " keineswegs so hochalter-
thlimlicher Fries " does not warrant the assignment of the
temple of Assos to the most archaic period of the Doric
style. The second, Overbeck,^ quoting Reber, has enforced
this view with definite arguments, carrying the examination
into greater detail. He has pointed out that representations
analogous to the relief of Herakles and Triton, in point of
style as well as of subject, are found, not among the works
of immature Greek art, but in a class of vase paintings of
comparatively late date, remarkable because of the frequency
with which they depict figures with mclmed bodies. This
class of vase paiHrngs'Tie~^ [mainTams fo~ije the'earlTest in
whjrh gnrh jp^g niously desig ned subjects, fully developed
in org anic respects, albeit so mew hat exagg erated in move-
ment^ are known to appear.^ Indications derived from
parallels such as this, from the formation and action of the
smaller figures of the same relief, and from the appearance
of horse-legged centaurs upon another block, have led
1 Reber (Franz), Geschichte der Bauktmst im Alterthume, Leipzig, 1866,
and Kunstgeschichte des Alterthums, Leipzig, 1871, p. 213. In the American
edition of the latter work, Histoy of Ancient Art, by Dr. Franz von Reber,
translated and augmented by Joseph Thacher Clarke, New York, 1882, the
translator omitted the words above quoted, thinking it advisable to be less
committal in respect to the age of the sculptures, in view of the decisive in-
formation so soon to be expected from the excavations at Assos, then about to
commence. This omission he has now cause to regret.
2 Overbeck (Johannes), Geschichte der griechischen Plastik, 3d ed., Leipzig,
1881-83.
8 The chief argument to this effect is based upon the fact that designs of this
nature are not to be found in archaic compositions of the style represented, for
instance, on the vases published in plates 95 and 96 of Gerhard's AuserUsenc
Griechische Vasenbilder, while they correspond well with later paintings, such
as those shown on plates 94, 102, 105, iii, and 113 of the same work, and on
plate D of Gerhard's Etruskische und Kampanische Vasenbilder.
296 ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
Overbeck to deny to the Assos sculptures that great an-
tiquity attributed to them by so many antiquaries, and to
doubt whether they are, at all events, earlier than the six-
tieth Olympiad. This is the first and only attempt to deter-
mine the age of the temple by the comparative methods of
historical science ; for we can scarcely give precedence in
this respect to Clarac,^ who supported his opinion that the
reliefs of Assos were contemporary with the gable group of
Aigina by arguing that, as Pliny ^ informs us, it was not until
the fiftieth Olympiad that the Daidalian sculptors Dipoinos
and Skyllis employed marble in statuary. We may conse-
quently assume that the hard and coarse stone of Assos
could not have been worked by the Greeks before the ac-
quirement of considerable experience in the tooling of more
tractable materials.
In view, however, of the scanty and untrustworthy data
at the disposal of the scholars whose opinions have been
cited, no surprise can be felt at the want of agreement be-
tween their estimates, or at their failure to hit upon the
actual truth. The American investigations have been the
first to provide materials fully adequate for a solution of
the problem. The reliefs known are now nearly twice as
numerous as before, and are, moreover, seen to have stood
in definite relation, as parts of a mythological series, the sub-
jects of which were carefully considered and highly significant.
Above all, a defi nite determ ina tion of th e architecturaLchar::^
acteristics of the edifice enables us to establish the exact
position of its design in the history of the Doric style.
1 Clarac, Musie, vol. ii. 2d partie, Paris, 1841. Clarac, as will be remem-
bered, believed the trachyte of the Assos reliefs, which were sawed into thin
slabs under his personal supervision, to be a granite. Compare note i, page 51,
of the present volume. It seems unnecessary to enter into a serious refutation
of an argument such as this.
2 Pliny, Nat. Hist., XXXVI. 4. i.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1883. 297
The conclusions thus reached may be concisely stated at
the outset. The jemple of Assos was erected di2nn^Mjhipj)gp
which had seen the termination of the Persian .wars, towards
the niTdHT^ oFthe 1fiTnr~centufy before Christ, at that period
when the Greeks of the Asiastic coast were in the first en-
joyment of their relief from Oriental oppression. XheJiuikl-
ing wa Funquesti onably somewhat later in date than either the
temple of Aigina or theTheseion, and contemporaneous with,
or somewh^at 6Tder~than, the temple of Sounion, The archaic
appearaiTce oi the sculptures," to which many advanced fea-
tures present a marked contrast, is to be attributed to the
influence of local and conservative tendencies, favored by the
refractory character of the material in which they were exe-
cuted. Paradoxical as itjjiay appeaFp-the te,mplfi_QC .Assos is
o,f nearly the. same date as the Parthenon.^
That rude and primitive character, which so many writers
on Greek art have sought to explain by the assumption of a
remote date, is to be attributed to provincialism ; a factor
which, be it observed, has by no means received due weight
in the estimates of many similar archaeological problems.
1 Are we actually to believe, it may be asked, that the rude figures of the
temple of Assos were sculptured at the same period as the incomparable gable
groups of the Parthenon ? Not necessarily. We have to take into considera-
tion in this connection the revolutionary hypothesis of Puchstein, — first pub-
lished in the Berli)ier philologische IVocheiischrift, IVinckelmannsfest der archd-
ologiscken Gesellschaft zic Berlin, January 18, 1890, and subsequently elaborated,
with highly interesting sections of the draperies of the different schools, in the
[ahrbuch des preussischeii archdologischen Instituts, vol. v., 1890, Heft 2, Die Par-
thenoHskiclpturen. According to this view, which in the opinion of the present
writer has been established by scientific methods of comparison, the sculptures
of the Parthenon were not the work of Pheidias, or of his generation. They are to
be ascribed to some date subsequent, at all events, to 430 n. c, and are possibly
more recent by half a century than the architectural design. If we are to seek,
among the contemporary works of European Greece, a parallel to the sculptures
of the temple of Assos, a more fitting example, itself displaying marked inequalitv
of treatment, would be the central group of the eastern gable of the temple of
Zeus at Olympia, which must be very nearly of the same age.
298 ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
From the point of view of the practical investigator, it is
peculiarly unfortunate that the foundations of the temple of
Assos should have been laid directly upon the native rock,
and have thus precluded the possibility of a discovery, be-
neath the stylobate, of vestiges of an earlier occupation of
the site, such as those which proved of decisive importance
in the exploration of the Olympian Altis. The on l y spot j n
which any considerable bed of earth existed b eneatlLjhe
stones of the temple was within the cella, and here the laying
of the mosaic pavement, apparen tly to be referred to the
fourth century before Christ, led to disturbances of the soil
which make it irnpossible to draw conclusions from objects
discovered therein respecting the epoch of the origiryal con-
struction.^ The inconsiderable deposits of earth which exist
beneath the paving stones of the pteroma, and which may,
or may not, have^beerT'HIsturbed at a "subsequent period,
were, when accessible, carefully sifted by the explorers, but
were found to contain nothing beyond a few small sherds of
an unglazed pottery, such as was in every-day use from the
earliest to the latest ages of Greek antiquity.
In the entire absence of direct indications, the only defi-
nite proofs as to the age of the building are to be derived
fr om a compajison of the leading features of the temple of
Assnajvith_those of temples of the same style and of kngwn
date^ Architecture, as has been generally recognized, is less
influenced by personal and local conditions than sculpture,
and is hence that art in which a regular growth is best to be
traced. This is due to the fact th at developme nljn th^ art
of hni'jdi'ng — in cesp ect to de sign, as well as in j'esp^t to
1 The discovery, beneath the mosaic floor of the naos, of various fragments
of painted and moulded vessels, as well as of a bronze coin, — all of which
probably belonged to the fourth century before Christ, — has been mentioned in
a former chapter, page 72.
INVESTIGATIONS AT AS SOS, 1883. 299
those improvements of plan andjconstruction which are insep-
arabl3/_connected^therewith — is dependent upon the regular
advance of technical invention, an d upo n Jhe degree of civil-
ization and culture of a race or community, rather than upon
any stimulation or refinement of the imaginative and percep-
tive faculties of individual members of such race or commu-
njty*- The works of the formative arts, in the historical view,
are always affected in a marked degree by local and individual
influences. Throughout the long vista of- artistic history,
sculp ture and painting are naturally divided into countless
schools, working in more or less restricted fields, while
architecture is, on the other handj^group ed in styles, —
like the Roman, the~Byzantine, and the Gothic, — extend-
ing, with comparatively slight and superficial variations,
throughout the entire world influenced by a kindred civili-
zation. Hence it follows that reliefs or wall paintings can-
not provide us with so direct and so valid arguments in
respect to the age of the monuments with which they
are connected, as the plan and the constructive details of the
architectural framework.
These conclusions are of especial force at Assos, where the
sculptures are extraordinarily provincial in character, — works
of different hands, displaying the greatest dissimilarity of con-
ception and execution ; as, for instance, the horse- and human-
legged centaurs of adjoining panels, — yet where the arch i-
tectural feat ures^ f a most pronounced and regularly devel-
oped style, are directly depende nt upon the contemporary
advances of the Doric peripteros in European Greece. , Hence
the synthetical methods of architectural history here find a
most direct and most trustworthy application.
This will become evident from a comparison of the temple
of Assos with its immediate prototypes.
Towards the close of the sixth century, before the in-
300 ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
terruption of the development of archaic Greek art by the
inroads of the Persians, architects of Attica and Aigina had
effected signal improvements in the arrangement and propor-
tions of the Doric peripteros.
Recent researches have shown that the excessive elonga-
tion of the archaic plan, so noticeable in the temple of
Corinth/ had been greatly reduced in the older temple
upon Cape Sounion,^ an edifice which appears to have been
unfinished at the time of its demolition by the barbarians.
The length of the stylobate, which was at Corinth twice
and a half its width,^ was at Sounion less than twice and
a third its width ; the appearance of the edifice being more
affected thereby than might be conceived from the bare
statement of the proportions of the oblong. Thus, while
there were fifteen columns upon the side of the temple
of Corinth, there were at Sounion but thirteen, the fronts
of both edifices being hexastyle. The absolute dimensions of
the temple were at the same time reduced to about three
fifths of those previously in vogue, this reduction proving of
excellent effect, in sesthetic as well as in economic respects.
^ Dorpfeld (Wilhelm), Der Tempel I'on Koritith,m Mittheilungen des deiiisc/ten
archdologischen Institiits, vol. xi., Athen, 1886.
2 Ibid., Der Tempel von Siittion, in Mittheilungen des deiitschen archdologischen
Instituts,vo\. ix., Athen, 18S4. The plan of this temple given by Blouet, Expedi-
tion scientifique de Moree,vo\. iii., plate 32, is altogether untrustworthy as regards
the plan and dimensions of the edifice, and gives no indication of the existence of
an older temple upon the site.
3 The proportion of two to five in the width and length of the stylobate
was evidently brought about through the employment of round numbers of the
units of measurement adopted in the design of the edifice. This proportion
is so absolutely accurate, — namely, 21.32 by 53 30 m., according to Dorpfeld's
measurements, — that it is impossible to suppose it to have been due to mere
coincidence.
The temple of Corinth is by no means exceptional in this respect among
Greek ruins of its class. The exact dimensions of the lower step of the The-
seion, which are given by Penrose as 14.462 by 32.516 m., were obviously de-
rived from some round number of feet having the ratio of four to nine.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1883. 3OI
Unfortunately, the exact conformation of the cella — that all-
important nucleus of the Doric plan — is not ascertainable
from the vestiges of the older temple of Sounion which have
been brought to light beneath the stylobate of the more re-
cent temple. Still it is certain that in its width, and prob-
able that in its length also, the cella of this building presents
the earliest known instance of the employment of those fixed
dimensions (twenty-five by seventy Greek feet, or approxi-
mately eight by twenty-two and a half meters) which, as we
shall see, were adhered to almost as a hieratic canon in the
Doric temples of the first half of the fifth century.
In the temple of Aigina (Figure 79), — probably the
first edifice of its class erected after the retreat of the Per-
sians, and consequently but a few years later than the first
temple of Sounion, — these dimensions of the cella were
closely followed, while a still further reduction of the length
of the plan was essayed. The stylobate is here but little
over twice its width, and the flank has but twelve shafts. In
evident recognition of the fact that the eleven intercolumnia-
tions of the side colonnade were scarcely sufficient to give the
best proportions to the plan, these intercolumniations were
extended as much as possible, being wider even than those
of the fronts, and greatly exceeding those of any other Doric
peripteros. Notwithstanding this, the spaces remaining be-
tween the end of the cella and the columns of the facades
were much cramped. The hyperoun galleries within the
naos, which had formed so important a feature of the tem-
ples of the archaic period, were retained, though here ren-
dered practically useless by reason of the smallness of the
scale. F'inally, it may be observed, and this is a point of
particular importance, there is in the temple of Aigina no
attempt whatever to bring the cella into organic connection
with the surrounding peripteros, either by means of the
302 ARCH^OLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
agreement of main lines, or by the introduction of epistyle
beams extending from wall to outer entablature. The ori-
ginal fane, the naos, around which the colonnades had been
erected as an embellishment, still formed a distinct and al-
together independent feature of the plan, the architectural
unity of which was as yet incomplete.
Fig. 79. Plan of the Temple of Aigina.
20"
This last great advance of the Doric style towards perfec-
tion was reserved for the designer of the Theseion at Ath-
ens (Figure 80), and was more immediately brought about
through the introduction, above the pteroma and vestibules,
of a coffered ceiling constructed of stone. The dimensions
of the cella, before referred to, having been found of good
effect in the temples of Sounion and Aigina, and possibly
having acquired some ritual significance now unknown, were
adopted in the Theseion without alteration. On the other
hand, the excessive width of the side intercolumniations at
Aigina was recognized as a blemish. In the Theseion, the
columns upon the flank were again made thirteen in number,
the length of the stylobate being increased by five Greek
feet, although the interval between the shafts was reduced
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1SS3.
303
to its most advantageous dimensions. The organic con-
nection of cella and peripteros was thereby the more read-
ily effected, the front of the cella being thrown back so far
from the eastern facade that the columns in antis of the
pronaos were brought into line with the third columns of
the sides, with which they were connected by two transverse
20 M
Fig. 80. Plan of the Theseion at Athens.
epistyle beams, on a level with those of the outer entabla-
ture. An important vestibule was thus created at the east-
ern end of the edifice, emphasizing the approach to the portal
of the sacred interior. The diminutive galleries within the
naos were wisely omitted, and do not appear in any Doric
hexastyle of subsequent date.
It was this building, the Theseion at Athens, which was
regarded as the most perfect model by the designer of the
temple of Assos. The information placed at our disposal
by the American excavations warrants the assertion, that
the provincial architect was in the possession of accurate
plans of the Attic masterpiece. lie exactly reproduced the
dimensions of the cella. He adopted a slightly simplified
and more economical form of its ceiling of stone coffers and
304
ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
beams. He introduced the same trabeate connection be-
tween the columns of the pronaos and the corresponding
shafts of the sides, — hesitating, in like manner, to effect a
similar connection between the rear of the cella and the
peripteros, and being thus constrained to support this por-
tion of the coffered ceiling by the same inorganic undertie,
ffi!^ooGr sjm'^rg o
I — k
' H
^SViHSVrWWWVinSirrRWfl^ irWi-rTW n^ A
Fig. 8i. Plan of the Temple of Assos.
20 M
which cannot but be regarded as an inadequate and unsuc-
cessful expedient.
The peculiar features which the Theseion and the temple
of Assos possess in common altogether exceed the possibil-
ities of coincidence. It is obvious that one of the edifices
was copied in its main features from the other, and we can-
not for a moment doubt in which of the two it was that
the great and original improvements were first effected.
Athens, in the age of Perikles, did not seek its artistic in-
spiration from remote and backward towns of the Asiatic
coast. Assos was, moreover, at this very period in political
confederation with Athens, to whom she looked as the guar-
dian of her newly acquired liberty, and whom she cannot
but have regarded as the most brilliant pattern of artistic
excellence.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1883.
]05
We have abundant proof that, throughout the Hellenic
world, the Theseion was recognized as a decided success.
Not only were certain features of its sculptures imitated in
the remote Lycian village of Trysa ; ^ its coffered stone ceil-
ing, constituting as it did the most striking architectural
innovation which the generation had witnessed, is now found
20 «
Fig. 82. Plan of the later Temple of Sounion.
to have been reproduced upon the eastern coast of the
Aegean, as well as in the extreme west, where an adaptation
of this type is recognizable in a reconstruction of the Tem-
ple G (otherwise R) of Selinous,^ probably of about the same
date as the building which we have now under consideration.
1 Between Kyaneai and Myra, near the modern village of Gieulbashi. The
reliefs of the heroon of this place were removed, in the year 1SS2, to the
Museum of Vienna, and are to form the subject of an elaborate monograph,
now in the course of preparation. Some account of them is contained in the
second volume of Bcnndorfs Siidiuestluhe Kleiiiasien, by Petersen (Eiigen) and
Luschan (Felix von), Rcisen in Lykicn, Milyas unci Kibyratis, Wien, 1SS9.
- Hittorff, Architecture antique de la Sicile, plate 36 of the original publi-
cation, plate 41 of the new edition. Compare the discussion as to the age of
this building given in Benndorf (Otto), Die Metopen Ton Se/inunt, tnit Cuter-
suchuns;en iiber die Geschickte, die Topo^^raphie und die Tempel von Selniunt,
Berlin, 1S73.
20
306 ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
In a former chapter, treating of the design of the coffered
ceiling of the temple of Assos, stress was laid upon the fact
that the proportions of panelling and beams must have been
determined before the plan of the peripteros could have been
laid out. This plan, like the ceiling upon which it depended,
may now, in comparison with the corresponding features of
the Theseion, be clearly seen to be a simplification, and not
a prototype. The relative ages of buildings so closely allied
in point of design cannot be a matter of doubt to the student
of architecture.
Apart from the arguments which may "be derived from
parallels such as these, we have inherent in the temple of
Assos itself indubitable indications of its eclectic character.
With features of the most rude and helpless archaism it com-
bines a highly organic and perfected disposition of plan. By
an attentive consideration of the details of the elevation, we
may clearly distinguish where the builder neglected to follow
his model, and, from motives of economy, or from the require-
ments of the material in which he worked, fell back upon his
own conventional methods and mediocre powers of design.
Hence arose that inequality of architectural expression which
may well be compared to the provincial dialect of a highly
cultivated speech : that curious compound of good and bad,
of antiquated and perfected, which has been noticed in a
foregoing chapter.
In European Greece the contemporary development of the
hexastyle Doric peripteros can be traced in a fourth example,
the later temple of Sounion (Figure 82).^ The plan of this
building, like that of the temple of Assos, was directly in-
fluenced by the design of the Theseion, but its independent
features, instead of reverting to the practices of the archaic
style, still further pursued that course of development in
^ Dorpfeld, Der Tempel von Siinion, quoted in a previous note, page 300.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1883. 307
which the Aiginetan and Attic prototypes had made so suc-
cessful an advance. The organic connection between the
supports of the peripteros and those of the pronaos is here
extended to the columns in antis upon the back of the cella,
the vestibule before the epinaos becoming equal in size and
importance to that before the pronaos. The two fronts were
thus exactly alike. This was a disadvantage in se;^thetic
respects, inasmuch as it detracted from the pre-eminence
of the main portal of the sacred naos, and deprived the tem-
ple of the only outward feature which had served to indicate
its true orientation. The change was nevertheless in keep-
ing with the formal tendencies of the age, and may be taken
as an evidence that the designer was bent upon effecting
original improvements in consonance therewith. It betrays,
perhaps, the first taint of that academic formalism in mat-
ters of architectural design which was destined so to debase
the Doric style during the following centuries. Evidently
aware of the ambiguous duplication which his change had
involved, the architect of the later temple of Sounion dis-
tinguished his eastern vestibule by a sculptured frieze, the
slabs of which are shown in solid black upon the plan (Fig-
ure 82). This wealth of detail, invisible from without, could
not, however, relieve the general composition from its bi-
frontal character, and is noteworthy in the present connec-
tion chiefly as a proof that the disadvantages attendant
upon the adherence to the system were in some measure
recognized at the time. The ends which the designer had
in view were, at all events, fully attained ; his changes
brought the main lines of cella and peripteros into the
most intimate connection, and resulted in absolute unity of
plan.
Purposes of comparison do not render it necessary for us
to trace the subsequent development of the Doric temple;
308 ARCHALOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
suffice it to note that the next stage of advance, appearing at
about this same date in both the Parthenon and the temple
of Bassae, and hence undoubtedly to be ascribed to the genius
of Iktinos, was the entire omission of transverse supporting
beams in the pteroma ceiling, the coffered slabs of which were
made to extend from wall to entablature. A lighter and
more airy effect was hereby attained. That the builders of
the temple of Assos were acquainted with this simplification
appears improbable, inasmuch as the narrow span of their
pteroma ceilings, and the readiness with which slabs of
trachyte of the requisite dimensions were obtainable, would
doubtless have induced them to take advantage of so eco-
nomical a method of construction.
The four hexastyle Doric temples, so closely related in
pointoT date^ dimensions, and style, are shown by Figures 79
to 82 in plans drawn to the same scale. In each of these
structures the dependence upon those preceding is clearly
apparent. No mere coincidence can be held to account for
resemblances so striking, or for dimensions so uniform. Were
the arrangement of the cella in the older temple of Sounion
evident from the ruins, we should doubtless be in possession
of a fifth plan of this class, which would have ranked as the
most primitive in point of development.
The actual measurements of these edifices, to the close
agreement of which attention has not hitherto been drawn,^
may be tabulated in the following form.
1 The similarity of the dimensions of the temple of Aigina and the Theseion
is referred to, in a general way, by Cockerell (Charles Robert), The Temple of
Jupiter Panhellenius at A egina, London, iS6o.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1883.
309
^
Older Tem-
ple of
Sounion.*
Temple
of
Aigina.^
Theseion,
Athens."
Temple
of
Assos.
Later
Temple of
Sunion.2
Widthof Cella3
m.
abt. 8.00
m.
(M.) 8.054
(C.) 8.115
(D.) 8.006
m.
(S.) 7-93
(B.) 7-93
Ml.
7-97
m.
8.13
Length of CellaS
abt. 22.50
(M.) 22.628
(C.) 22536
(D-) 22.555
(S.) 22.38
(B.) 22.25
2=-33
20.78
Width of Stylobate
13.12
(M.) 13.S20
(C.) 13.714
(s.) 13-79
(i:-)i3 82
(P.) 13.72
1403
13.48
Length of Stylobate
30-34
(M.)2S.790
(C ) 2S.660
(S-) 31-77
(P..) 31.77
(P.) 31.76
30-31
31-15
1 According to the measurements and estimates of Dorpfeld, published in the
essay before quoted.
2 According to the accurate measurements of Dorpfeld. The figures in-
scribed upon the plan of Blouet are so incorrect as to be useless in this
parallel.
'^ The dimensions here given are those of the cella walls, exclusive of the
projections of base and capital mouldings.
* The dimensions of the temple of Aigina appearing in this table are taken
from Blouet's Expedition de Moree (plate 48), and from the work of Cockerell
quoted in the note on the preceding page (plate 3), and from the Antiquities of
Ionia, published by the Society of Dilettanti, vol. ii., London, 1797 (plate 3), the
given measurements in English feet, inches, and hundredths of inches being re-
duced to meters. These authorities are designated, in the order mentioned, by
the letters M, C, and D.
Cockerell's plan displays a slight discrepancy, amounting to half an inch.
The corner columns of the fa9ades, namely, are marked as 41' 5" distant from
centre to centre, and as standing 7' 4I" from the face of the cella wall, exclusive
of plinth moulding. This makes the width of the cella 26' 7I". But, on the
other hand, the width of the interior of the naos is marked as 21' 3^", and the
thickness of the walls, exclusive of mouldings, as 2' 8;^", which would make
the width of the cella equal to 26' 8". In one case we have a width of 8.1 153,
and in the other 8.128 m. for this dimension.
In the plan given in the Antiquities of Ionia the figures marked in the second
intercolumniation of the eastern fa9ade, from the north, namely, 8' 7".55, are
obviously intended for 8' 7".45, as the amount of the total shows.
5 The dimensions of the Theseion appearing in this table are taken from
Stuart and Revett, Antiquities of Athens, London, 1762-1816, vol. iii. (plate 2),
3IO ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
The striking similarity of the cellas, both in length and
width, is deserving of particular notice. The later temple
of Sounion presents the only instance of an appreciable di-
vergence in this respect, and in this instance constructive
considerations can be proved to have been directly responsi-
ble for the departure from the normal size. The steps of the
later temple were laid, it has been found, directly upon those
of the older edifice which had been demolished by the Per-
sians, — length and width of the new stylobate being thus de-
termined by an adventitious and unalterable gauge. While
in the other temples of this category the cella extended con-
siderably beyond the third pteroma columns from the west, it
had at Sounion to be brought back into line with these shafts
for the purpose of introducing a connecting epistyle beam be-
tween the supports of the peripteros and those of the epinaos.
Hence the length of the cella became at Sounion directly de-
pendent upon the width of eight lateral intercolumniations,
which had in their turn been determined by the available
extent of the older steps. The deviation from the normal
length of seventy feet is thus accounted for. The limit of
from Biihlmann (Joseph), Die Architektur des classischeit Alterthums, Stuttgart,
1872 (plate 4), and, after reducing to meters the given dimensions in English
feet, from Penrose, An Investigation into the Principles of Athenian Architecture,
2d ed., London, 1888. These authorities are designated, in the order mentioned.
by the letters S, B, and P.
In the measurements of the cella length given by Biihlmann there is con-
siderable discrepancy. The separate dimensions of pronaos, naos, epinaos,
and walls amount, when added together, to but 22.077 rn-. while the length
obtained by subtracting the width of the pteromas, front and rear, from the
length of the stylobate is 22.56 m. The latter result is obviously the more
correct.
The dimensions of the cella of the Theseion are not given by Penrose, whose
work is concerned only with the peripteros. A new and complete publication of
this important monument is much needed. The methods of architectural re-
search have fully kept pace with the growth of scientific investigations in other
fields, and almost all those surveys and restorations which antedate the middle
of the present century may, in a sense, be regarded as obsolete.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1SS3. 31 i
possible compromise had here been attained. The more the
archaic plan had been altered in favor of an organic connec-
tion between cella and peripteros, the more had the cella lost
its fundamental and independent importance. In the later
temple of Sounion, where transverse epistyles connected
both pronaos and epinaos with the outer entablature, its
length was altogether dependent upon that of the stylobate.
When the size of the frame is taken as the starting point of
a design, the size and proportions of the picture must, of
course, conform themselves thereto.
From these observations we may conclude that the archi-
tects of the temple of Aigina, the Theseion, and the temple
of Assos began their designs with a definite nucleus, the
cella, the measurements of which were fixed by some hieratic
statute, concerning which we have no direct testimony. The
fundamental importance thus assigned to this portion of the
building is, however, entirely in accord with what may be
ascertained from other sources concerning the conceptions
of the Greeks in respect to the ideal character of the temple.
The naos alone corresponded to the holy of holies of the
Jewish sanctuary. The oblong cella, with its columns in
antis, had originally formed the entire fane. The colonnades
of the peripteros did but provide a canopy-like roof for the
protection and embellishment of this house of the deity,
emphasizing its dignity and sacred character by that " most
ancient symbol of terrestrial and celestial authority." ^ This
1 Semper, Dc-r Sfil, 2^ Aui., u. 3S9 : "Die Idee, der nackten, rriumlich klei
nen, Cella die ihr fehlende Autoritat zu verschaffen, fiihrte darauf, fiir sie einen
Tcmpel zu bauen, d. h., einen geweiheten und bedeckten viereckigen Bezirk
(Temenos), dcssen Saulendach die Cella (welcheihre voile alte Heiligkeit behait)
nicht ersetzt, sondern nur bestimmt ist aufzunehmen, auch in struktiver IJeziehung
vollstiindig von ihr unabhangig ist, vvie das Sanctuarium von dem agyptischen
Sekos Oder das jiidische Tempelhaus von der Bundeslade. Eine monumentale
Kapsel fiir das Heiligthum, — aber eine offene Kapsel, die das Alierheiligste,
Oder vielmehr dessen nachste Hiille, die Cella, nicht verbirgt, wie der agyptisch-
312 ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
attractive suggestion of the greatest modern investigator into
the origin and principles of architectural style may be said to
have received direct and final proof from the present investi-
gations, and more especially from our recognition of the fact
that the design of these temples under discussion had been
crystallized, so to speak, around a cella of given form and
dimensions.
A further indication of the fact that the ancients them-
selves attached chief importance in this matter of dimen-
sions to the cella, and not to the stylobate, is to be found in
the application of the epithet " hundred-footed " to the Par-
thenon, the term " hekatompedon " designating, not, as was so
long believed, the upper step of the facade, which very nearly
corresponded to this length, and might readily have been ac-
curately adapted thereto, but the length of the naos.^ The
most carefully elaborated fane of Greek antiquity may thus
be cited as a parallel instance pointing to the correctness of
our assumption.
This is not the place to enter into an adequate discussion
of the bearing which the facts thus elicited may have upon
jlidische Tempel es thut, sondern sichtbar lasst, indem sie ihm Schutz gewahrt,
vor allem aber seine Autoritat raumlich und zugleich symbolisch hervorhebt und
vermehrt ; — ein machtig monumenlales Schirmdach (Baldachin) als uraltestes
Symbol irdischer und himmlischer Macht und Hoheit."
Admiration for the insight into the principles of architectural growth which
is evinced by such passages as this does not, of course, commit us to any
acceptance of Semper's untrue and contradictory theory that the Doric peripteros
was originally developed as a pseudodipteros, any more than admiration of the
contents of Semper's book commits us to approval of his literary style.
1 The belief that the upper step of the Parthenon displays the exact length of
one hundred Attic feet has been current, and almost universally adopted, since
the time of Stuart and Revett. The error of this assumption has been made
clear by Dorpfeld, Uiitersiichungen am Parthenon, Mittheihingen des detitschen
arch'dologischen I>istituts, vol. vi., Athen, 1881 ; Beitrdge zur antikcn ATctrologie,
Miitheilungen, vol. vii., 1882; and Fusstnaasse griechischei- Tetnpel, Archaologische
Zcitung, vol. xxxix, Berlin, 1S81. The phraseology of the well known Parthenon
inscription is such as to leave no doubt upon this point.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1S83. 313
the earlier history of the Doric style. It must sufifice to
point out that they afford direct and trustworthy evidence
concerning the derivation of the Greek peripteros, tending to
strengthen our belief in the development of the Doric entab-
lature upon a wall, and not upon free-standing supports, —
from a wooden rather than from a stone prototype, — while
it altogether controverts a host of artificial modern theories
concerning systems of arithmetic and geometric proportions
alleged to have been followed by the ancients in the design
of their temples.
The four edifices which have been illustrated in Figures 79
to 82 display a development of plan far more regular than
that, for instance, of the systems of the similarly related
cathedrals of Mayence, Speyer, and Worms, or of the ca-
thedral of Amiens, the cathedral of Seez, and the church of
St. Ouen at Rouen, inasmuch as the development of the
Doric style during the fifth century before Christ was the
result of a more intimate connection, and was marked by
greater regularity and unity, than that of the Romanic or the
Gothic style at any period of the Middle Ages. To speak
of the temple of Assos as a link in the chain of Doric de-
velopment would be to employ a metaphor not altogether
applicable, for while it was directly dependent, in its most
essential features, upon the design of other monuments, it
was not a creation in which any generally recognized advance
was effected, or from which the forms of any subsequent
works were derived. Hence, if the simile be permissible, it
may be likened rather to a childless uncle than to a direct
ancestor of the Doric temples of later generations. Its pecu-
liarities found no imitators. This isolation, albeit limiting
the scope of our conclusions in one direction, by no means
detracts from the value of the historical argument for the
present purpose. The marked dependence of the design upon
314
ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
Other works affords a perfect terminus post, though its isola-
tion restricts the terminus ante qucm.
What, then, is the positive outcome of the recognition of
the fact that the design of the temple of Assos was subse-
quent to that of the temple of Aigina and that of the
Theseion, and doubtless contemporary with the rebuilding of
the temple of Sounion ? To what date are these edifices
themselves to be assigned ?
With regard to the temple of Aigina we may feel reasona-
bly certain that its construction is to be referred to the
comparatively short interval which elapsed between the de-
feat of the Persians at Salamis, in 480 b. c, and the subjuga-
tion of Aigina by the Athenians, which began twenty years
later. It is hardly to be assumed that the inhabitants of the
island could, after the severe losses which they sustained in
their naval encounters with the Athenians at this period, and
especially after the siege of their chief city,^ have devoted the
very considerable amount of time and money which were
required for the construction of an edifice such as this. The
surrender of the island, and the entire loss of the indepen-
dence of its inhabitants, took place four years after the open-
ing of hostilities, in 456.^ Few modern archaeologists admit
the assumption of Stackelberg,^ repeated by Curtius,'* which
identifies the ruins of the Doric edifice in question as those
of a certain temple of Athena which Herodotos ^ mentions as
having been built by the Aiginetans after their triumph over
a band of Samian pirates, in 520 or 519 b. c. Still less ac-
ceptable is the argument adduced by Smith ^ to prove that this
1 Thucydides, I. 105. 2 i^ij^ \ jog.
8 Stackelberg (Otto Magnus vor\),Der Apollofempet Z2( Bassae,Fr3.nkiuTt am
Main, 1826, Beilage III., Das Panhellenium mif Aegina.
* Curtius (Ernst), Griechische Geschichte, ed. 3, Berlin, 1S6S-74, Book III., i.
5 Herodotos, III. 59.
^ Smith (William), Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography, London, 1S73,
S. V. Aes'ina.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 18S3. 315
temple was built before 563 b. c. ; namely, that the Aiginetans
had, previous to this date, erected at Naukratis a temple to
Zeus, assumed, altogether without grounds, to have been an
imitation of this particular fane of their own island. Since
the publication of Brunn's suggestive essay on the age of the
Aiginetan sculptures,^ in which these works are shown to be
of later date than the battle of Salamis, the opinion of scholars
has been in practical unanimity, and it is rare that the pos-
sibility of an earlier origin ^ is admitted. Overbeck ^ even
names a precise date, Olympiad 76.4 to 77.1 or 77.2, — 473
to 471 B. c, — which would be as difficult to disprove as to
verify.
That the building of the Theseion took place after the fourth
invasion of Greece by the Persians, 479 b. c, is likewise beyond
question. Its exact age is, however, still a disputed point.
This temple, — the best preserved monument of classical an-
tiquity, not only in Athens, but in all Hellenic lands, — still
presents itself to us as a nameless stranger in a city where
1 Brunn (Heinrich), Ue&er das Alter der dgmetischen Kunstiverke. SitziingS'
berichte der k'oniglich bayrischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. Miinchen, 1867,
Heft 4.
- Prior to the appearance of the essay quoted in the preceding note, an ex-
treme antiquity was often attributed to the temple of Aigina. Thus, Ross (Lud-
wig), Reisen des K'oiigs Otto wid der K'onigin Amalia in Griechenlaiid, Halle,
1S48, vol. i., and Brbndsted (Peter Olaf), Die Brotizen von Siris, Kopenhagen,
1837, thought the building to be more ancient than the time of Peisandros and
the thirtieth Olympiad (660 B.C.). Among those writers who, since the publi-
cation of Brunn's paper, have had occasion to refer to the age of the temple of
A\gm2L,^lvi.xr3.y, History of Greek Sctdptitre, has been almost alone in even ad
mitting the possibility that the gable sculptures are as ancient as 4S5 or 480 B. c,
and may thus antedate the battle of Salamis.
An excellent ristimi o\ the arguments which have been brought forward in
regard to the age of this building is to be found in Overbeck's Geschichte der
griechischen Plastik, 3d ed., Leipzig, 1881-S3.
8 Compare the work quoted in the preceding note. Overbeck had, in a
previous essay, Ueber das Datum der dginetischen Giebelgruppe)i, {Zeitschrift far
Alterthninswissenschaft, Giessen, 1856, No. 51,) assigned the completion of the
temple of Aigina to Olympiad 64.2 (523 B. c).
3l6 ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
every other nook and corner is known by its ancient epithet.
After having been assigned successively to Theseus, Ares,
Apollo, Hephaistos, Herakles, as well as to Herakles and
Theseus and to Hephaistos and Athena in joint proprietor-
ship, it has lately been restored to the hero by whose name it
is generally called.^ Were it indeed definitely identifiable with
that fane, which is known to have been erected after the
removal of the relics of Theseus from Skyros to Athens by
Kimon, we should have a fixed date, 469 b. c, for the founda-
tion of the edifice.^ The opinion of the best judges of style
agrees, however, in referring its construction to a somewhat
later period, little if at all anterior to the erection of the
Parthenon. Michaelis^ speaks of the building of the two
great Doric monuments of Athens as contemporary. Adler *
believes that work upon the Theseion was carried on from
468 to 440, or even 429 b. c. Gurlitt^ concludes a long and
detailed examination into the subject with the conviction that
the construction extended from 450 to 440 B.C. Certain of
Gurlitt's arguments have been traversed by Julius,^ who as-
serts the architectural forms and sculptured decorations of
the Theseion to be more ancient than those of the Parthenon ;
1 For a review of the various identifications of the Theseion, compare the
work of Gurlitt, quoted below, note 5. Gurlitt himself assigns the temple to
Theseus, and Hultsch (Friedrich) — Bestimmung des attischen Fusses nach dem
Parthenon und Theseion, Archdologische Zeitiing, vol. xxxviii., Berlin, 1881 — re-
fers to this point as definitely settled. Dorpfeld, in the work of Miss Harrison
quoted in note i, page 317, identifies the Theseion as the Athenian temple of
Hephaistos.
2 Plutarch, Theseus, XXXVL, and Kimon, VHI.
8 Michaelis (Adolph Theodor Friedrich), Der Parthenon, Leipzig, 1871.
* Adler (Friedrich), Untersuchung am Thesetistempel zu Athen, reported in the
Chronik der Winckelmannsfeste, Archdologische Zeitung, 1873.
5 Gurlitt (Wilhelm), Das Alter der Bildwerke und die Bauzeit des soge^iannten
Theseion in Athen, Wien, 1875.
8 Julius (Leopold), Z^ Metope del Tempiodi Teseo in Atene, Annali deW Insti-
tuto di Corrispondenza Archeologica, vol. 1., Roma, 1878.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASS OS, 1883. 317
but Dorpfeld^ has, on the other hand, thrown the great
weight of his authority in favor of a subsequent date. It will
be borne in mind, that the Parthenon, as we now know it, was
begun about the year 447 b. q? A favorite assumption with
those scholars who have been unwilling to adopt so late an
age for a Doric temple which undeniably displays a tentative
and experimental character in certain architectural details,
has been that the sculptures of the Theseion were executed
at a period subsequent to the completion of the edifice. This
is clearly inadmissible, for the sculptured frieze of the pronaos
may be seen to be in bond with the constructive members of
the entablature. We must, in like manner, exclude the chief
argument which was advanced by Ross ^ to serve as a proof
that the temple antedated the middle of the fifth century ;
namely, the appearance, upon the coffered ceiling beams, of
masons' marks having forms of Greek letters which after the
eightieth Olympiad were no longer employed in inscriptions.
It is futile to put this argument aside, — as has been at-
tempted by Miss Harrison,'^ — by a resort to the groundless
and improbable assumption that the beams thus marked once
formed a part of some more ancient edifice, the materials of
which, after its demolition, were employed again in the con-
1 Dorpfeld's opinion upon tliis subject has been publislied by Harrison
(Jane E.), Mythology and Monuments of Ancient Athens, London, 1S90.
2 Tiie last and best review of the data which we possess concerning the age
of the Parthenon has been given by Koepp (Friedrich), Z>/> Ilerstelliing der
Tevipel nach den Pcrserkriegen,Jahrbnch des preussischen archdologisehen Insti-
ttits, vol. v., Berlin, i8go, Heft 4.
^ Ross (Ludwig), T6 Or/treiof koX b Na6s rov "Apevs, iv 'KO-fivais, 1S38. Re-
published, with additions, in a German form: Das Theseion und der Tern pel des
Ares in Athen, Halle, 1852. Certain masons' marks which had been overlooked
by Ross are given by Gurlitt, in the work quoted above. Ross concluded from
the forms of these letters that the temple could not be, in any event, more
recent than Olympiad 80 (460 n. c).
* In the work quoted in the preceding note.
3l8 ARCHJEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
struction of the Theseion. The position in which the letters
in question appear upon the stones is such as to make it evi-
dent that they were cut during the erection of this very
building. The true explanation doubtless is that masons'
marks such as these were retained by workmen from the
time of their first apprenticeship to their craft, and pos-
sibly even handed down from father to son, thus naturally
preserving the palaeographical characteristics of a some-
what earlier age.^ A parallel instance of the employment of
obsolete letters of the Greek alphabet as masons' marks late
in the Pergamene period is to be found in the market-place
of Assos, and will be discussed in a future chapter of this
book.
If, then, it be susceptible of proof that the building of the
temple of Aigina took place in the first or second, and that
of the Theseion not earlier than the third decade succeeding
the final repulse of the Persians from European Greece, it
follows that the temple of Assos was not much, if at all, an-
terior to the middle of the fifth century before Christ. As
will be demonstrated, there is nothing in the sculptured
decorations of the temple to contradict this view, and much
to support it, while the political history of the town shows
that during the forty-four years intervening between the
two subjugations of the Troad by the Persians the citizens of
Assos were at the height of their power and independence.
The invading barbarians led by Xerxes showed little respect
for the national sanctuaries of the Hellenes. Where, in all
1 Specimens of writing from right to left also occur among the masons' marks
upon the stones of the same building ; yet inscriptions of this character were
considered by Herodotos (II. 36) to be barbarous. It is to be borne in mind, in
this connection, that Onatas, supposed to be the sculptor of the Aiginetan gable
groups, wrote from right to left in the same manner. Compare Pausanias,
V. 25. 9.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASS OS, 1883. 319
the Greek lands overrun by these hosts, is any Greek temple
known to have stood the conquest uninjured? Yet the
temple of Assos, as we know it, can be proved to have
remained intact until the advent of the Christian era.
Before turning from the architectural features of the build-
ing to its sculptures, it will be of interest to trace, in the light
obtained by the foregoing analysis, the method of laying out
the plan which must have been adopted by the provincial
designer, and to seek, in connection therewith, for an ex-
planation of the archaic and peculiar features which appear
in the constructive framework, as well as in the decorative
details of the edifice. It is now possible for us to follow,
step by step, the evolution of the plan and dimensions of
the temple of Assos, even as it was inscribed, some twenty-
three hundred and fifty years ago, upon the abakos of the
provincial designer.
The chief features of the calculation involved are diagram-
matically set forth in Figure 83. The architect began by
laying out an oblong celia, having the exact dimensions
noted upon some tracing of the plan of the Theseion which
had been procured as a pattern. These dimensions we find
to equal in length at A exactly 70, and in width at B ex-
actly 25 Assian feet.^ Around this cella was drawn the
plan of the peripteros, the determination of the width of
the pteroma being the next step. Early in the develop-
ment of the hexastyle Doric temple, the eye of the Greek
architect had perceived that the best proportions of the
lateral colonnades were secured when the two outermost
columns of the facade framed the vista obtained in looking
^ The grounds upon which this assertion relative to the numlicr of Assian
feet embodied in the length and breadth of the cella are based, will be set forth
in full detail in the succeeding pages.
H-44'
D O O O I O : O
o
G=92V
O
O
■F=124
o I
^
o
o-
O
Df8'
\
K
O
O
:-e-f-G-'
&
t^
B=25'
t Q ^ Q j ©
O
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Q
6
D ,>.. C
€■
C^-'^. D /
Fig. 83. Diagrammatic Plan and Dimensions of the Temple
OF Assos.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 1883. 32 I
along the side wall of the cella, thus displaying but one
intercolumniation of the distant front, and not permitting
the inner side of the aperture to be outlined against the
bright sky by the vertical line of the cella corner or anta.
In the temple of Aigina and in the Theseion the desired
effect had been obtained by placing the second and fifth
columns of the faqades exactly in line with the outer face
of the cella wall. This method was followed by the Assian
designer. The three intercolumniations between the axes
of the second and fifth columns of the facades, C, O, and
C^, thus determined, were consequently equal to the width
of the cella, or twenty-five feet. The width of the adjoin-
ing corner intercolumniations, D, which were, for static and
aesthetic reasons, to be made somewhat narrower than those
adjoining, naturally became eight feet from axis to axis. It
is apparent, however, that the employment of round num-
bers was here somewhat disadvantageous, inasmuch as the
interval between the outer shafts should have differed in
width from those between the inner by more than one
third of a foot. Both in respect to the ideal balance of the
supports and the equal spacing of the members of the frieze,
the outermost columns thus came to stand too far apart.
The width of the side pteroma, D, from the axes of the
columns to the face of the cella wall, being thus fixed at
eight feet, the distance between the corner columns of the
facades, from axis to axis, E, was found to amount to forty-
one feet. The distance from the axes of the columns of the
peripteros, F, was next fixed at one foot and a half, or, in
other words, six palms, and the width of the pteroma pave-
ment from the rise of the upper step to the face of the
cella wall, G, became equal to nine and a half feet, the
total width of the stylobate itself, H, becoming equal to
forty-four feet.
21
32 2 ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
Before setting out the intercokimniations of the sides, the
width of the rear pteroma — if so we may term the space be-
tween the western end of the cella and the columns of the
western fagade — remained to be deterfnined. Here the
Assian architect failed to profit by the example of the The-
seion, and adopted a dimension much too small. Doubtless
having in mind the difficulties and complications presented
by a coffered ceiling having a width different from that of
the lateral pteroma, and possibly aware that the vestibule
at the rear of the temple of Aigina did not exceed the side
pteroma in width, he here adopted for D' precisely the same
dimension as for D, namely eight feet. The want of a suffi-
cient reveal upon the rear of the building cannot but have
been apparent to the observer who approached the Acropolis
from the western side, for the bare wall at the back of the
cella of the Assian temple formed a background to the col-
umns of the western facade very different from the Aiginetan
epinaos with its deep shadows. The entire omission of col-
umns in antis at the rear of the temple of Assos was, as will
presently be seen, undoubtedly due to hieratic considerations
peculiar to Asia Mmor; but this defect should have been
concealed as much as possible by setting the columns of
the peripteros at a greater distance from the rear than from
the side walls of the cella.
Inasmuch as the second columns of the flanks were placed,
for the purpose of receiving the transverse epistyle which
connected the front of the cella with the outer entablature,
in exact line with those of the pronaos, and consequently at
a distance, F", of one foot and a half from the front face of
the antae, and inasmuch as the axis of the columns of the
western fagade was eight feet from the rear wall of the cella,
it is evident that the ten westernmost intercolumniations of
the sides occupied together an extent of seventy-six and a half
INVESTIGATIONS AT AS SOS, 188S. 323
feet. The spaces from centre to centre of the columns from K
to K^*' were naturally determined by an equal division of this
lensfth, and the second columns of the sides from the west-
ern corners thus failed to come in a line with the outer sur-
face of the rear wall of the cella by seven twentieths of a
foot, or more than one palm. This affords an explanation
of an irregularity which was a source of much perplexity to
the investigators during the measurement of the plan, other-
wise so regular. The width of the two succeeding or east-
ernmost intercolumniations of the sides, L and L^, were made
of the nearest possible dimensions to the others which could
be expressed in a round number of palms ; thus becoming
seven and three quarters, instead of seven and thirteen
twentieths feet from centre to centre. Thus the width of
the vestibule before the cella, from the front face of the
antse to the axes of the columns of the eastern facade, at
M, became exactly fourteen feet, the distance between the
corner columns of the sides, N, being ninety-two feet from
axis to axis, and the total length of the stylobate, O, ninety-
five feet.
By this arrangement it was brought about that the length
of the stylobate was exactly ten times the width of the pte-
roma. The existence and intentional character of this pro-
portion was recognized during the investigations of the first
year, and the dimensions in question were correctly assumed
to embody a round number of units of the standard em-
ployed by the ancient architect in laying out the measure-
ments of the edifice. But ignorance of the facts now as-
certained rendered it then impossible to determine logically
the number of feet or palms thus embodied, and the writer's
guess that the dimensions were respectively ten and one
hundred ancient feet was quite as far from the truth as
324 ARCH^OLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
that of Bohn, who assumed these numbers to have been
nine and ninety,^
The further steps involved in the calculation of the plan
by the ancient architect, the chief of which relate to the
divisions of the cofifered ceiling, have not been indicated
in Figure 83, but follow in direct sequence from the data
already obtained. The determination of the sides of the
square coffers and stiles was dependent upon the width of
the pteroma ceiling. The thickness of the entablature was
fixed at two feet nine dactyls, this dimension perhaps being
chosen so as to make up the length of the corner epistyle
panels, with the lap, to exactly nine feet and a half. Sub-
tracting from the distance between the cella wall and the
axis of the columns (namely, D, or eight feet) one half of
the thickness of the entablature plus the projection of the
cyma mouldings which crowned both wall and inner entab-
lature, there remains a clear span of six feet six dactyls. In
the pteroma ceiling of the temple of Assos, as in that of
the Theseion, this space was divided into four panels, each of
1 It was remarked in the Preliminary Report, that "in comparing these dimen-
sions with the intention of recognizing the unit of measure employed in the
building, it is noticeable that the width of the side and rear pteroma is as
nearly as possible one tenth of the length of the stylobate. This relation of
the most important divisions of the plan is so strikingly exact as to exclude the
assumption of a coincidence. It is hence extremely probable that a system of
decimal feet was employed, or that 3.0335 meters contains an entire number of
the original unit of measure." The latter alternative is now proved to be cor-
rect, the former erroneous.
The succeeding paragraph of the Preliminary Report contains mere ground-
less suppositions, but, inasmuch as they are referred to in the present text as
the evidence of an accuracy of those measurements upon which the identifica-
tion of the Assian foot is founded, they must be quoted in like manner : " If
the plan be supposed to be 100 feet long, and the pteroma 10 feet, a foot of
0.30335 meter would result. ... A suggestion, perhaps more plausible, has
been made by my friend Richard Bohn, architect of the excavations at Perga-
mon, that the dimensions were respectively 9 and 90 feet, of a consequent length
of 0.337 meter."
INVESTIGATIONS AT AS SOS, 1883. 325
which was one foot and nine dactyls square. These panels
were divided in such wise that each sinking was exactly one
foot square, and each stile nine dactyls broad, the fillet run-
ning along the centre of the stiles being two dactyls wide.
Thus four sinkings, four stiles, and the supplemental fifth
fillet, exactly made up the extent of one hundred and two
dactyls, or six feet six dactyls, required by the span of the
ceiling from wall bed to entablature bed, above the pte-
romas of the sides as well as above that of the rear. The
aggregate width of the ceiling compartments above the side
pteromas was found, from data already given, (namely, the
length of the cella minus the thickness of one epistyle beam,)
to be sixty-seven feet seven dactyls. This extent was divided
into ten fields, each being, together with its beam, six feet
twelve dactyls wide, within a small fraction amounting to
less than one twelfth of an inch. One foot and fifteen dac-
tyls was assigned to the thickness of the transverse support-
ing beam, together with its cyma mouldings, — a dimension
from which constructive considerations permitted no wide
departure. The remainder, four feet thirteen dactyls, was
divided into three coffers of the dimensions previously de-
termined, according to the width of the pteroma : three
coffers of one foot each, three stiles of nine dactyls each,
and the supplementary fillet of two dactyls, amounting to
just the space remaining between the beams.
The first departure of the design of the temple of Assos
from the arrangement of the Theseion plan is to be observed
in the number of fields into which the ceiling of the side
pteroma was thus divided, — an alteration for which the
intractable nature of the stone employed was evidently re-
sponsible. It is to be remarked, however, that the impossi-
bility of dividing the length into compartments having, like
those of the Theseion, only two coffers in width, may have
326 ARCH^OLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
furnished the occasion for this independent step. The six-
teen fields of the Theseion, if made of the dimensions requi-
site at Assos, would not have permitted the employment of
supporting beams more than fifteen dactyls wide, including
their mouldings, and practical considerations rendered this
most inadvisable.
The length of the ceiling above the rear pteroma, which
had been determined by the Width of the plan, proved to be
readily capable of division by the factors thus obtained. The
space of thirty-eight feet seven dactyls between the inner
sides of the lateral entablatures, further diminished by the
projection of the cyma mouldings to about thirty-eight feet
two dactyls, could be apportioned into six fields of nearly the
same size, and having the same number of sinkings, as those
of the side compartments. An adjustment of but about three
quarters of an inch in each compartment was all that was
necessary to permit the continuation of the same system of
coffers in this ceiling. The necessity of such adjustment,
small in amount though it be, affords a proof that, as has
been shown in the foregoing pages, the dimensions of the
ground plan were not originally and directly based on exact
multiples of the ceiling compartments, but had been deter-
mined irrespective of these, by the length and width of the
cella.
Owing to constructive and aesthetic considerations, which
have been fully set forth in an earlier chapter, the ceiling
of the vestibule was otherwise designed than that above
the rear pteroma. Its length was divided into four fields,
each containing five, instead of three coffers, — the thick-
ness of the supporting beams being increased in proportion
to their greater span. Five sinkings of one foot each, five
stiles of nine dactyls each, and the supplementing fillet of
two dactyls, required each of these compartments to be
INVESTIGATIONS AT AS SOS, 1883. 327
seven feet and eleven dactyls in length. Deducting three
such compartments, plus the projection of the cymas wpon
the inner sides of the lateral entablatures, from the dis-
tance between these sides, there remained six feet four dac-
tyls to be divided between the three supporting beams,
these supports thus becoming about three dactyls wider than
those of the pteroma. The ingenuity displayed in this
method of division has already been commented upon.
Thus it was found that the width of the vestibule ceiling,
although independently determined, called for no alteration
of the dimensions of the coffers. The space between the
inner side of the eastern entablature and the front wall of
the cella, equal to the distance between the columns of the
facade and those of the pronaos, from axis to axis, or fif-
teen feet eight dactyls, minus the thickness of the entabla-
ture, amounted to twelve feet eleven dactyls, which was fur-
ther reduced to twelve feet six dactyls by the projection of
the cyma mouldings. Only a small adjustment was required
to adapt eight sinkings, eight stiles, and the supplementary
fillet, to this span, and the design of the ceiling of the pte-
roma and vestibule could thus be carried out with coffers of
the same size.
In the ceiling above the pteroma, which was seven feet
eight dactyls in depth and twenty feet fourteen dactyls in
length, including the cyma mouldings, we may trace a simi-
lar principle of division, .but on a smaller scale, the dimen-
sion of the square panelling — or in other words of the unit
formed by coffer and stile together — being here reduced to
a factor of one foot one dactyl.
It would have been unreasonable to hope, at the com-
mencement of the investigations, that so clear an insight
could be gained mto the workshop of the builders of Assos.
But what would have been the amazement of the provhicial
323
ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
architect, methodically laying out his plan, had he been in-
formed that, after the lapse of nigh two and a half millennia,
his work would be thus retraced, step by step, by fellow crafts-
men of barbarous race and of an unknown continent!
The chief dimensions of the temple of Assos, expressed
in Assian feet, and compared with calculated and with actu-
ally measured lengths in meters, may thus be tabulated : —
Length of cella
Width of cella
Axes of columns from wall, side and rear
Axes of columns from edge of stylobate
(Width of pteroma, side and rear) . .
Axes of front columns from antse . .
(Width of front vestibule)
Corner columns of sides, axis to axis .
Corner columns of fa9ades, axis to axis
(Length of stylobate)
(Width of stylobate)
Length of naos interior
Thickness of cella walls and antce . .
Height of each step
Tread of lower stepi
Height of column
Height of capital
Length of corner epistyle panel . . .
Thickness of entablature (epistyle) . .
Height of epistyle
Height of frieze
Height of corona
Length of roofing tile
Width of roofing tile
.
Calculated
Actual
Dimeti-
Measure-
Feet.
Palms.
Dactyls.
Meters.
Meters.
70
22.330
22.33
2S
—
—
7-975
7-97
8
—
—
2.552
2-55
I
2
—
0.479
0.4.S
9
2
—
3-030
Z-^l
14
—
4.466
4-47
IS
2
—
4-945
4-95
92
—
29.348
29-35
41
—
13.079
1307
9S
T—
—
30-305
30-31
44
—
14.036
1403
SS
2
—
17705
17.71
2
I
0.65S
0.66
—
,3
2
0.279
0.2S
—
3
2
0.279
0.27I
IS
4.785
4.78
I
2
0.478
0.48
Q
2
3031
3-03
2
I
0.818
0.82
2
2
I
0.81S
0S2
2
I
3
0.778
0.78
I
I
I
0.419
0.42
2
I
—
0.718
0.711
2
—
—
0.638
o.63i
1 It is plain that the rise and tread of the lower step was intended to be
equal ; yet the tread, from edge to angle, actually measures about five millimeters
less than the rise, and appears upon both tables as equal to but 27^ cm. An
explanation of this small difference will have suggested itself to those who have
closely followed the account of the methods of construction adopted by the As-
sian builders, given in an earlier chapter. In setting the stones of the stylo-
bate the tread of the lower step was evidently scaled from its rise to those
narrow fillets which, having a projection equal to about four millimeters, border
the joints of the stylobate blocks. These fillets have been described upon page
INVESTIGATIONS AT AS SOS, 1883. 329
With sole exception of the width of the cella door, which
is apparently incommensurable/ and of the height of the
gable, which was determined, not by arithmetical, but by
geometrical methods,^ all the main dimensions of the build-
ing will be found to be included either in this table or in
the preceding analysis of the method followed in laying out
the intercolumniations of the peripteros and the compart-
ments of the coffered ceilings. Some of these dimensions
did not, however, require independent determination by the
architect, but could be directly deduced from a preceding
step of the design. These are, in the table, enclosed in
parentheses. They are given, not only as proofs of the sys-
tem followed in laying out the plan, but as indications of
the accuracy with which the ancient unit of measurement
is embodied.
No less than sixteen of the dimensions above enumerated —
and these sixteen include every length over a meter — em-
body an entire number of feet, or of half-feet. The deter-
mination of the fundamental unit is hence neither difficult
nor uncertain. We may estimate the length of the foot rule,
so accurately employed by the Assian architect, to have been
as nearly as possible 319 millimeters (i foot and 0.56 inch
English). The closeness of the agreement between the
lengths now calculated as multiples of this common factor
and those which have been actually measured from the ruins
of the temple is indeed extraordinary. The average devia-
66 of the present volume, and are illustrated in Figures 6 and 7. The allowance
thus made was evidently responsible for the discrepancy in the dimensions.
1 The entire width of the door, together with its jambs, is not ascertainable
from the ruins, and it may well have been that this dimension was laid out by
the architect with some round number of Assian feet.
2 The fact that the architect designed the slope of his gable to form an angle
of exactly fifteen degrees with the horizon has been ascertained and discussed in
a former chapter, page 106.
r'^^O ARCHyEOLOCICAL INSTITUTE.
tion from the standard adopted, as ascertained by an analysis
of the twenty-four items of the above table, is but about one
fifth of a millimeter (less than one hundredth of an inch) in
the foot, while the average variation of the actual measure-
ments from the calculated, adding both plus and minus to-
gether, is but about three millimeters in the total distances,
these having a mean of nearly seven meters. This is an
amount too small to have figured in the table of dimensions,
which, as has been remarked in an earlier chapter,^ can make
no pretence to a micrometrical accuracy such as this. The
maximum deviation is less than a centimeter, and this ap-
pears in one of those dimensions most difficult of practi-
cal determination, either by builder or investigator, namely,
in the distance between the corner columns of the facade
from axis to axis. As this dimension, moreover, exceeds
seven meters, the relative error is less than one seventh of
one per cent.
It must be frankly admitted that so close an agreement
between theory and measurement as that now demonstrated
appears most extraordinary in a structure displaying so great
irregularities in respect to the spacing of the members of the
entablature. Such a coincidence may even appear suspicious
to those investigators who are practically familiar with the
inexactitude of architectural dimensions, ancient as well as
modern, and who, like the present writer, entertain a deeply
rooted distrust of those artificial systems of harmonic propor-
tions, whether arithmetic or geometric, which are being con-
tinually put forward as a solution of the problems and a key
to the excellence of Hellenic design. It is, therefore, just
1 It has been remarked, in connection with the table of measurements given
in a former chapter, page 140, that the remeasurement of the temple during the
second and third years of the investigations led to the conviction that it is not
practicable to express the general dimensions of an edifice constructed of so
rough a material as the Assos andesite in units smaller than half a centimeter.
INVESTIGATIOXS AT AS SOS, 1883.
00
that especial attention should be called to the fact that the
embodiment in the dimensions of the temple plan of an
Assian foot of any particular length was not recognized at all
until after the table of measurements given upon pages 139
and 140 of the present volume had been put into print and
stereotyped. In proof of the truth of this, it may be noticed
that a table of dimensions, identical in all essential particulars
with those here repeated, was published in the Preliminary
Report,^ and that in connection therewith the writer ventured
a different suggestion, now proved to have been erroneous.^
The coexistence in one and the same structure of meas-
urements of such exceeding accuracy, and of a spacing of the
frieze members so irregular that metopes and triglyphs occa-
sionally varied by amounts equal to one fifth of their re-
spective widths, may, however, be fully accounted for by a
consideration of the methods of construction which were
adopted by the builders of the temple. The dimensions of
the stylobate, and the site of walls and columns, were laid out
in conformity with a regular design, which must have been
traced and figured before the work itself was begun. The
ruins of the temple show the ancient architect to have en-
graved upon the planed surface of the native rock, and upon
the smooth slabs of the stereobate laid thereon, a series of lines
indicating the position of the outer face of the cella walls y^
the krepidoma of the temple, thus characterized technically,
as well as ideally, as an dSa^, being actually employed as a
drawing board. On the plan, Figure 4, these delicate incisions
are shown in broken lines, being thus distinguished from the
1 Pn/im/iiarv Report, p. 96. - Compare above, p. 200, note.
8 It may be observed that the lack of such engraving upon the inner side of
the cella walls furnishes a clear indication that the dimensions which were more
directly followed by the builders, and which might hence, a priori, be supposed
to have embodied a round number of ancient feet, were those of the exterior of
the cella, and not those of the naos interior.
332 ARCH^OLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
traces of weathering at the bottom of the columns, and along
the inner face of the cella wall, which are dotted.
A high degree of accuracy, both in survey and measure-
ments, was rendered possible by this method. It will be
recollected that the right angles at the corners of the plan
were found, when tested by the instruments of precision at
the service of the investigators, to have been laid out with
surprising exactitude. A deviation of six minutes from the
theoretical ninety degrees was all that could be detected, this
error amounting to but fifty-four millimeters in a length of
over thirty meters. Now it is well known that, for bajilders
working with measuring rods alone, the laying out of angles
is a matter of far greater difficulty than the direct deter-
mination of dimensions, and it is hence not surprising that
the length and breadth of stylobate and cella should vary
but little from the calculated amounts.
The case was altogether different with the spacing of the
frieze m'embers, this having been effected, not by any direct
application of a predetermined scale, but by testing and fitting
each lintel, metope, and triglyph upon the entablature in the
course of erection. The extent and tendencies of the devia-
tions resulting from this system of construction have been
fully discussed in the section of this work which treats of the
location of the sculptured epistyle blocks/ and to the argu-
ments therein set forth the attention of the reader must now
be referred.
The unit of measurement employed in the building of the
temple at Assos being thus determined, we are naturally
led to inquire whether a foot of similar length is known,
from other investigations, to have been in use among the
Greeks. The affirmative answer to this question, which is
given by the most trustworthy data of classical metrology,
1 Compare above. Chapter III. pp. 255 to 258.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS, 18S3. ^oZ
provides a conclusive proof of the correctness of the present
identification.
The foot of 319 millimeters, now ascertained to have been in
use in the Troad towards the middle of the fifth century be-
fore Christ is clearly identical with that chief unit of measure-
ment among European Greeks at this period, the so called
Olympian foot, which has been determined with great ac-
curacy, by the recent excavations in the Altis, to have had a
length of from 320.1 to 320.6 millimeters.^ Both must have
been derived from one common prototype, the Assyrian foot
of 319.68 millimeters,^ a unit of that system to which the
tttJ^^u? yLter/oto? of Herodotos^ is known to have belonged.
The historical connection which is to be traced between
the metrical systems of Assyria and Hellas has been ably
set forth by Lepsius* and by Brandis,^ whose belief that
1 See the deductions of Adler and Dorpfeld in vol. iii. pp. 26 and 29, and
vol. V. pp. 23 and 37, of Die Ausgrabungeti zu Olympia. Compare also the con-
clusions of Lepsius (Carl Richard), Die Langenmaasse der Alien, Berlin, 1884,
and of Hultsch (Friedrich), Z>/V Grii7idmaasse der grieckiscken Tempel, Arch'do-
logische Zeitung, vol. xxxviii., Berlin, 1S81.
2 The most accurate determination of the length of the Assyrian foot is that of
Lepsius, in the work quoted in the preceding note; his estimate is that adopted
in the text. Oppert (Jules), A/issioti de la Bahylonie, in U Athenamm Fran-
(^ais, Paris, 1854, No. 16, deriving his conclusions from the average measurements
of 550 bricks, first fixed the length of this unit at 315 mm., but subsequently, in
his Expedition scientifiqiie en ]\Iesopotamie, Paris, 1859-63, vol. i. p. 229, found
a unit of 320 mm. to be more nearly correct. This does not appear surprising,
in view of the well known shrinkage of burnt clay. Brandis (Johannes), Das
Munz-, Mass- und Gewichtswesen in Vorderasien, Berlin, 1866, gives 320 mm.
in round numbers ; but Hultsch, Griechische und Romische Metrologie, § 8,
prefers 315 mm., with variations ranging between 314 and 316.6 mm. Petrie
(W. M. Flinders), Inductive Metrolos;y, or the Recovery of Ancient Measures from
the Monuments, London, 1877, apparently following the earlier determination of
Oppert, assumes the Assyrian foot to equal 12.40 English inches, or 314.95 me-
ters. Compare also upon this point Queipo (Vasquez), Essai siir les Systimes
Mifriqnes et Mo7tStaires des anciens Pcuplcs, Paris, 1859, vol. i. p. 279.
8 Herodotos, L 178.
^ Lepsius, work quoted in a foregoing note, p. 73, et passim.
^ Brandis, work quoted in note 2, above.
334
ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
the Mesopotamian units of length were received by the
European Greeks through the intermediation of the Greek
colonists of Asia Minor is fully confirmed by the discoveries
at Assos. The difference observable between the Assyrian
and the Assian foot, namely, three fifths of a millimeter, or
two per mille, is altogether negligible in a comparison of
this nature. Even to-day, when measuring rods are divided
by the scientific process of engine ruling, the foot and meter
measures in use by practical men frequently display a varia-
tion much greater than this.^
1 Dorpfeld, in illustrating this truth, relates that the meter sticks offered for
sale in the shop of one optician at Athens, a few years ago, varied fully three
millimeters. I have now before me two finely divided foot measures, stamped
U. S. Standard, which, doubtless from shrinkage, vary not less than three sixty-
fourths of an inch. A hair-splitting measurement of architectural members,
such as has been assumed by certain writers upon ancient metrology, would
not only be practically impossible in stone-work of any kind, but would have
been inconceivable to the mind of the Greek workman, untrained in the Ameri-
can system of interchangeable parts. For information concerning the discre-
pancies in dimensions which are to be detected even in the Parthenon, — the
most perfectly e.xecuted building which the world has ever seen, — compare
Penrose, Principles of Athenian Architecture, pp. 9, 141, etc.
APPENDIX.
I.
RELATIONS OF MODERN TO ANCIENT LIFE.
TO an intimate knowledge of Greek civilization, derived from
the material remains of antiquity and from the passages of
classic literature bearing upon them, archaeological science should
add a feeling of immediate, and, so to speak, personal acquaintance
with the life of the ancients. In the endeavor to gain this, there
can be no greater aid than that resulting from a thoughtful obser-
vation of the Greeks of to-day, — notably from a comparison of the
Romaic with the Hellenic peasant, — certain primitive conceptions
and customs having been retained by the country people, under
peculiarly favorable circumstances, through unbroken traditions.
Among the modern representatives of the Greek race, debased as
it has been by centuries of Byzantine ecclesiasticism, and by subju-
gation to Tartar conquerors, we have an occasional glimpse of the
well-known figures of antiquity, — not as historical abstractions, but
as living beings, dwelling beneath the same clear sky, their horizon
bordered by the same sharp outlines of volcanic crests.
In none of the lands occupied by the ancient Greeks have the
peculiar features of their daily life been better preserved than on
the islands of the Archipelago and the coasts of Asia Minor. The
Turks of the fifteenth century, landing upon the Sporades to
enforce tribute, saw the inhabitants scamper away to the moun-
tains, without an attempt at resistance, and called them taushan-
lar (hares), by which name the Rayahs are still derided. Yet this
very timorousness, this bending of the weaker but more supple
336 ARCH^OLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
race before the stronger, — of the reed before the storm-wind, —
has saved the civilization of the Byzantine Greeks from being
altogether swept away before the resistless advance of the Moham-
medan power. Communities such as those in the interior of Lem-
nos, or upon the remote height of Samothrace, continued to exist
in an almost entire seclusion lorrg after Turkish arms had subju-
gated the southern coast of the Mediterranean, and had even ap-
peared beneath the walls of Vienna. The self-centred life of the
Greek peasants in these forgotten corners may be compared to an
eddy at the side of some great stream, keeping within its slowly
revolving circles vestiges of materials, of which the mass was long
since borne down by the main current.
The exceptionally favorable character of the Sporades, and of the
northern coasts of Asia Minor, in this respect, has often attracted
notice. As early as 1677, Georgirenes, Archbishop of Samos, re-
marked, in the words of his English translator : " Scarce any part
of Greece has less intermixture with the Turks than these isles,
where the Greek language and religion is less intrench'd upon."^
Douglas''^ thought that pure Greek blood was more generally to
be found on the islands of the Archipelago than on the continent
of Europe. Wachsmuth -^ compares the Sporades, and that portion
of Asia Minor which has retained its Greek population, with the
fastnesses of Maina; while Schmidt* declares the civilization of
these districts to be more free than that of the Peloponnesos from
the influence of Albanian and Bulgarian immigrants, and in support
of his position offers various proofs derived from etymological
comparisons.
The maintenance of Byzantine traditions on the shores of the
Gulf of Adramyttion is attested by the numerous contributions to
Greek folk-lore which have been derived from these districts.
1 Georgirenes (Joseph), A Description of the Present State of Samos, AUcaria,
Patmos, and Mt. Athos. London, 1678. There appears to be no Greek original
of this valuable tract.
2 Douglas (Frederic Sylvester North), Essay on certain Points of Resem-
blance between the Ancient and Modern Greeks. Second edition. London,
1823.
3 Wachsmuth (Curt), Das alte Griechenland im N'euen. Bonn, 1864.
* Schmidt (Bernhard), Das Volksleben der Neugriechen nnd das hellenische
Alterthum. Leipzig, 1S71.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS. -^t^^
Three of the Marchen in Hahn's collection ' were told in Aivaly,^
almost within sight of Assos ; and two of the shorter tales given by
Schmidt 3 are from Mytilene.
Language and Superstitions.
The Greeks of the Asiatic continent maintain a most creditable
pride in their national traditions and language, even in cases where
the Romaic idiom has been in great measure lost. The villagers
on the southern slope of the range of Ida, between Assos and
Adramyttion, speak a curious jargon, the names for objects in
every-day use being chiefly Turkish. Traces of the Genoese occu-
pation of the Lesbian principality are also apparent. The Rayah
peasants, when asked the name of some rude agricultural imple-
ment, would almost invariably reply by a Turkish word ; but they
would not fail to speak of themselves as y]\j.€i% to FpeKo !
In the interior the case is often still more striking. A friend of
the writer, a Frank engaged by the Porte as a civil engineer, on a
journey through the province of Hodavendigiar,* came to a small
town, so completely severed from communication with the Greek
population of the coast that its inhabitants, though of Greek descent,
had, after six centuries of subjugation to the Turks, altogether
forgotten their native language. The visitor was waited upon by
a deputation of the chief men of the place, who asked him, in
Turkish, to do them the favor of conversing in Greek with their
new schoolmaster, that he might be able to tell them whether this
person spoke a good dialect, and was competent to teach their
1 Hahn (J. G. von), Griechisclie tmd Albanesische Marchen. Gesammelt,
ubersetzt und erldutert. Leipzig, 1864. Numbers 49, 50, and 72. The second
of these is, however, not a true Marchen, but a reminiscence of the novel of
Apollonius of Tyre. Attention has been called to this origin of the tale by
Liebrecht, in the Heidelbcrger yahrbiicher, Jahrgang 1864, No. 14. It should
be particularly observed that the tenure of Byzantine civilization in the modern
town of Aivaly is wholly dependent upon the Greek inhabitants of the island of
Mytilene and the neighboring Adramyttion.
'^ On the site of the ancient Herakleia.
8 Schmidt (Bernhard), Gricchische Marchen, Sagen und VolksUeder. Leipzig,
1877. Marchen No. 22, and Sage No 2.
* Comprising the greater part of ancient Mysia.
22
338 ARCH.-EOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
children well. It appeared that these men, being possessed of
some little property, had, in order that their descendants might
again become Greeks, sent for a schoolmaster from Athens, with
whom they were themselves unable to talk.^ So deeply rooted are
the national sympathies, even in those Rayahs among whom the
traditions of Byzantine culture have been lost for twenty genera-
tions! It would be impossible to find, in modern times, a better
illustration of those sentiments of the inhabitants of ancient Posei-
donia, described by Aristoxenos : " For it happened to them, who
were originally Greeks, that they were utterly barbarized, becoming
Tyrrhenians or Romans, so that they changed their language and
all their customs. But even at the present day they observe one
Hellenic festival, on which occasion, coming together, they call to
memory their ancient names and usages, bewailing them one to
another ; and having wept for the loss of them, they separate." -
The Christian communities in the vicinity of the Gulf of Adra-
myttion retain many of those reminiscences of the religious ob-
servances of the Pagans which have so often been referred to by
writers upon the origin of the rites of the Church. On festival
days the churches of the modern, like the temples of the ancient
Greeks, are decked with leaves and flowers ; ever-burning lamps
are still placed before the sacred images ; offerings of cakes, still
known as KoWvfSa, are laid upon the altars ; and even to-day the
country people parade saintly relics from field to field, to drive away
the enemies of the harvest. In districts remote from the great
commercial centres, exorcism is practised with rites singularly re-
sembling those of classical antiquity. Not only human beings, but
flocks and herds, even fields of grain and orchards of olives, are
believed to be liable to the baneful influence of bewitchment and
demoniacal possession. During the summers of 1881 and 1882
the inhabitants of Eren-Kieui,^ one of the few villages of the Troad
1 The Greeks throughout the interior of Asia Minor, parts of Kappadokia
alone excepted, have lost their language, and are now making the most strenu-
ous efforts to regain it. Their success is remarkable. In Konia, for instance,
all the Greek children under fifteen years of age speak Romaic well, while their
parents know only Turkish. — J. R. S. S.
2 Quoted by Athenaios, XIV. 31.
3 Close to the site of the ancient Ophryneion.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS. 339
populated exclusivelyby Greeks, went in solemn procession through
all the fields of the neighborhood. They were led by a priest, who
bore aloft certain relics, brought from the island of Lemnos, which
were considered efficacious against the swarms of locusts then de-
vouring the young wheat.^ So firm was the belief of the villagers
in the potency of this charm, that they went to considerable expense
in order to obtain the sacred remains for such occasions. The
same desire to ward ofif these pests induced the dwellers on Mount
Oite, two thousand years ago, to invoke the aid of Herakles Kor-
nopion,^ — the locust-scarer, — and even the Athenians of the time
of Perikles to erect, near the Parthenon, a statue of bronze dedi-
cated to Apollo Parnopios.^
Names and Personal Characteristics.
As was customary in the days of Homer, the Greeks of the lower
classes are usually known by one name only. When a more exact
designation is necessary, either the paternal name or that of the
native place is added. The latter combination is the more fre-
quent. Thus, the Christian name John being particularly common,
almost every village in the vicinity had its representative at Assos,
called Jani-Chipni, -Stypsis, -Skamnia, etc. So entirely lost are the
higher forms of the language, that the genitive is in Asia Minor
never employed in these additions.
Among the workmen the well-known names of classical antiquity
were not wanting. In one of the gangs there was a Themistokles
and a Perikles ; in another, a very degenerate Aristeides.* The
laundress of the expedition, a woman of Mytilene, was known as
Eriphyle, — a name of especial interest because its rare occurrence
1 The similar employment of a picture of the Virgin, brought to the coast of
Asia Minor by a monk of Leros in order to charm away the locusts which were
devouring the grape-vines, is related by Ross (Ludwig), Reisen aiif den Gric-
chischen Inseln des Aegdischen Meeres, vol. ii. p. 117. Stuttgart, 1840-43.
- Strabo, p. 613. ^ Pausanias, I. 24. 8.
* An extended, but still very incomplete list of the names of classical an-
tiquity which have survived among the Greeks of to-day is given by Boltz
(August), Die Hellenischcn Taitfnamcn der Gegen'wart, so7ueit dieselben antikiii
Ursprungs sind. Leipzig, 1SS4. The consideration of these names is not
without philological importance.
340 ARCIL'EOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
in classic literature may almost be taken as a proof of its having
been retained in unbroken tradition from the earliest ages of Hel-
lenic culture, from the legends of the necklace of Samothracian
Harmonia, or those of the house of Theban Cadmus. At least three
generations of her family, natives of the interior of the island, had
borne this name. They were illiterate people, and could not have
chosen it from books. Moreover, the words of Odysseus, " Hateful
Eriphyle, who accepted precious gold for her dear husband,"^ —
the only passage of ancient literature containing this name to which
even the most learned Mytilenean of the last century could have
had access, — are hardly such as to make it attractive.
As was the case also in ancient times, the men were known on
all hands by nicknames, generally derived from their personal ap-
pearance. One hard-working and good-natured giant, for instance,
was invariably called cnrav6<i, — the poorly-whiskered. Any scanti-
ness of the hairy covering of the face is held in great disfavor by
the modern Greeks. Thus the puny tailor of our nursery tale, who
kills seven flies at one stroke, becom-es sufficiently contemptible in
the Romaic^ rendering of this Indo-European myth through being
called "the beardless one." The extreme aversion felt for this
defect appears, however, of Mohammedan or of Slavonic rather
than of Hellenic origin, and is to be traced in legends which cannot
have been derived from classic sources. The pride taken by the
Turks in a full and flowing beard may also have influenced the
views of the Rayahs in this regard.
By far the greater part of the conceptions and customs of the
modern Greeks are, however, such as were introduced by Chris-
tianity. The names of the saints and fathers of the Eastern
Church are today much more numerous than those of classic
origin. These latter are limited, on the one hand, to the most
humble of the country people, — who, being entirely illiterate, have
retained them through persistent family traditions, — and, on the
other, to the educated and unbelieving classes, who adopt them
through an affected archaism. Between these extremes, almost all
the names are Christian. A characteristic instance is that of our
friend, the wealthy valonea merchant, the official Commissioner of
1 Homer, Od., XI. 325.
2 Hahn, Mdrchen, quoted above, No. 18.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS. 34 1
the third year. He himself was christened Nikolaos Hadji Chris-
tos, — perhaps in honor of that eminent leader of the Servian and
Bulgarian cavalry who fought against Ibrahim at Krommydi in
1825 ; but his sons, enjoying the advantages of an academic edu-
cation in Athens, bear names famous in the fifth century before
Christ.
Among the Turkish workmen were examples of nearly all the
well-known names of Ottoman history, — Osman, Ali, Hassan,
Houssein, Veli, Mehmet, and others. Omer, the foreman of his
gang, a native of Behram, and a typical representative of his power-
ful and noble race, was known as Choush, he having been a ser-
geant in the Turkish army during the late war with Russia. From
the first until the last day of the excavations he was regarded, with-
out question, as a leader, and fully justified the steadily increasing
confidence which was reposed in him. Ahmet Sudji, the water-
carrier, was equally faithful in service, as were, indeed, all the other
Turkish villagers who were employed. Their energy and ability,
their unvarying faithfulness and personal attachment, inspired a
high opinion in regard to the physical and moral nature of the un-
corrupted Turk. One would hesitate in bestowing commendation
upon men of such simple dignity, were it not improbable that these
words should ever come to their knowledge. Not one of the
Turks, and only two among the sixty Greeks, who from time to
time worked for the expedition, could read.
The Rayahs were, in general, found to be more active, but less
enduring; more ambitious, and generally more intelligent, but far
less trustworthy, than the Turks. They are characterized by the
same elasticity of body and mind which was so prominent a trait of
the ancient Greeks, — by the same fickleness, and the same pride
in superior cunning and dissimulation. Throughout Greece the
exclamation, ^ei'^ara Xeyci?/ is merely a cajoling flattery, quite free
from the insulting rudeness of its English equivalent ; and the
Romaic, like the Hellenic Greek, acts in perfect conformity with
the famous apophthegm of Theodoros,^ that a man ought to appro-
priate all he can, but ever to sing the praises of justice and moder-
ation. During the course of the work two exceedingly efficient
Greek foremen had to be dismissed, for deceit and for theft,
1 In Athenaios, III. 94.
342 ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
although they had only been promoted to their positions of trust
after long and intelligent service.
All the men were hard workers. The ruins were not often pro-
tected by a deep soil, and much time and labor had to be spent in
disengaging and rolling away the large building stones, which lay
as they had been overthrown. The late Atrium of the lower town
was the structure most deeply buried, by earth carried down upon
it from the terraces above. Calculations made at this point, and at
the great chute beneath the retaining wall of the Agora, showed
that the average work of the men compared favorably with the
seven cubic meters of gravel which the convicts of Siberia are
daily required to move.
Wages and Cost of Living.
During 1881 the number of men employed was so small, that it
was found expedient to pay all of them at the uniform rate of one
half a medjid a day. The digging of the first season was not begun
until August, when it is always more difficult to obtain workmen
than in the earlier summer and spring. The crop of valonea,
the all-important staple of the Troad, requires no care whatever
during the greater part of the year, but in the autumn attracts
laborers even from the olive gardens of Mytilene. At the begin-
ning of the second year's work, in March, 1882, tliere was no lack
of hands. Every one of the Turks who had been employed during
the preceding year, and the majority of the fickle Greeks, though
often living at a considerable distance from the site, returned to ask
for re-engagement. In the dull season, after the Easter holidays,
over one hundred applicants presented themselves.
Favored by this state of the labor market, the wages were gen-
erally reduced. At the same time, the employment of a more
numerous force rendered it advisable to grade the amounts paid,
according to the efficiency of the individuals. New hands, shov-
ellers or barrow-trundlers, received thirteen piasters cherouk,^ or
1 Cherojik, or long money, signifies that the medjid is divided into thirty-
three piasters, in contrast to gera, according to which it is divided into twenty.
The distribution of these two systems in the various provinces of the Ottoman
Empire is very peculiar, adjoining towns often employing the same coins at
INVESTIGA TIONS A T ASSOS. 343
$0.32,^ a day; the original wages of one half a medjid (sixteen and
a half piasters cherouk), or $0.40, being allowed only to the car-
penter and one or two chief pickmen, whose reliability had been
proved during the first season, and who were held responsible for
the work of their gang when employed in positions which rendered
a constant supervision impossible.
Small as these sums may seem to persons unacquainted with
Oriental values, they were nevertheless a fair return even for the
hard ten hours' work required. The cost of living at Behram, for
a single man, was but about thirty piasters cherouk per week, this
providing the simple food and paying the bakhal or cafddji for the
privilege of sleeping under shelter. Thus, unless the outlay was
increased by an unreasonable consumption of tobacco, — to be had,
contraband, for about twelve cents a pound, — the workmen might
easily lay by from one half to two thirds of their earnings.
An interesting comparison may be made between the wages paid
during the excavation of Assos and those customary in Greek an-
tiquity, the value of both being expressed in the necessaries of life.
Considering that such a parallel between the economics of the ancient
and modern Greeks has not hitherto been made, — so far as the writer
is aware, — and that the disbursements of the expedition and the ex-
penses of the workmen at Behram provide an excellent basis, a detailed
examination of the question will not be without importance.^
It cannot involve any considerable error to assume, in the com-
putation of ancient prices, the sum of four obols (13 cents metallic
value) as the average daily pay of a common laborer two thousand
years ago. Lucian,^ referring to the age of Timon the misanthrope,
different valuations. The complication is increased by the maintenance of
other systems still, for official customs, banking calculations, etc. The accounts
of the expedition in Turkish money, begun in Mytilene where ^^ra is universal,
were continued in that reckoning, although at Behram cherouk is alone in use.
1 In this calculation the Turkish pound (lira) is reckoned at its gold value,
^4.37, and the medjid consequently at about Jo.Si.
- I scarcely need to remind the reader of the words of Adam Smith: "Labor
alone, never varying in its own value, is the ultimate and true standard by which
the value of all commodities can at all times and places be estimated and com-
pared. It is their real price ; money is their nominal price only."
^ Lucian, Timoit, VI. It is of little moment, in the present consideration,
whether the writer be assumed to state here the wages of his own day, or those
which were customary at the earlier period.
344 ARCH^OLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
speaks of the wages of a digger with the spade as equal to this amount,
and the same also appears as the daily earnings of a porter in a frag-
ment of Aristophanes.^
The stone-cutters who sawed the beams of the coffered ceiling of
the Erechtheion were paid at the rate of one drachma, or six obols, a
day,'^ while the carpenters who framed the roof of the same building
had five obols.^ This is but one half and one quarter as much again,
respectively, as the average amount assumed for a day laborer. More-
over, throughout antiquity, the expenses of living were greater in
Athens than elsewhere,'* — even as at the present day the necessaries
of Ufe, and consequently also the wages, rule somewhat higher in large
towns than in the country. It is difficult to account for the ex-
ceedingly small pay of these thoroughly trained artificers, one
might almost say artists.^ The salaries paid to the architect and
the clerk of the works were little more than nominal, the former
receiving no more than a stone-sawyer, one drachma a day ; the
latter no more than a carpenter, five obols. ^
Of greater importance in the present calculation than the wages of
such skilled hands, is the hire of marines and mercenary soldiers.
The pay of common sailors in the navies of Greece and Persia, shortly
before the beginning of the fourth century before Christ, seems to have
been three obols a day."' This was in time of war, when able seamen
were in great demand, and when, as is evident from the extraordinary
1 Preserved by Pollux, VII. 133 (XXIX.). Aristophanes elsewhere [Ekkles.,
310) mentions wages of three obols a day.
2 Corpus Imcript. Attic, No. 324.
3 Compare upon this point the restoration of the inscription given by Rhi-
zos Rhankabes (Rangabe, Alexander), Antiqtiites Helleniqties, vol. i. p. 68, § 2.
Athenes, 1842-55. His conclusions are accepted by Boeckh (August), Die
Staatshaushaltung der Athener, vol. i. p. 165. Second edition. Berlin, 1S51.
* The authorities for this statement have been collected by Boeckh, Ibid.,
vol. i , quoted above.
5 These low salaries can hardly be e.xplained by supposing that the honor
which labor upon the noble monuments of the Athenian Acropolis might imply
was regarded as a compensation, as might possibly be inferred from the state-
ment that the very beasts of burden which had borne the stones employed in
the building of the Parthenon were thereafter freed from all labor, and permitted
to graze at liberty for the rest of their lives. Plutarch, Caio Maj., V. 5.
6 See the explanation of this interesting passage given by Rangabe, Anti-
quites, quoted above, vol. i. p. 67, § 14, and p. 78, § 4.
7 Plutarch, Alkib., XXXV. 5.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS. 345
gratifications obtained for his men by Lysander,^ every effort was made
to render the service attractive. It is, of course, to be borne in mind
that no expense was here incurred for food and lodging, and that, con-
sequently, fully half as much again is to be added in computing the
pay of those living under ordinary circumstances. In accordance
herewith, the usual hire of soldiers maintaining themselves was fixed
at four obols a day.- So general, and so long continued was this
rate, that the phrase rerpoj^SoAov /8tos became proverbial for a trooper's
hfe' The hnes of the Stratiotites of Theopompos,'*
KaiTOL TLS ovK av (LKus ev TrpUTTOl TeTpOO^oXl^OiV,
El vvv ye Stco/SoXof (pepcov avrjp rpe'cfiei yvvaiKa,
are of especial interest, not only as showing that four obols a day was
an average wage, — the hire of the mercenary necessarily having been
made equivalent to the ordinary pay of the agricultural laborer, — but
that the expenses of living for a single individual during antiquity^
stood in the same relation to his earnings as that which obtains to-day
among the Greek peasants.
It is more difficult to arrive at a precise estimate of the price of
grain during antiquity. One of the inscriptions found at Assos,''
relates to this very subject, but the stone in question is, unfortunately,
mutilated, and the text so incomplete as to afford almost no direct
information concerning the most important point. Could one more
letter be deciphered at the beginning of the eighth line, it would
be possible to determine the price asked for the imported grain
sold at Assos by the benefactor of tlie town in whose honor this
stele was erected. A calculation of the gap, according to the res-
toration of Professor Ramsay," who assumes that four or five letters
only are missing from the left side of the stone, would indicate
1 Plutarch, Lysand., IV. 4, and the passage quoted in the preceding note.
2 Eustathios, on Iliad, XIII. 636, Leipzig edition, vol. iii. p. 178, I. 10.
3 Pausanias, quoted by Eustathios, Od., I. 156, vol. i. p. 41, 1. 23.
* Preserved by Pollux, IX. 64 (VI.).
^ Two obols each, a day, was also the amount set apart by the inhab-
itants of Troizen for the maintenance of the Athenians who had taken refuge
with them during the Persian invasion. (Plutarch, Tlicmist., X. 3.)
*■ Assos Inscriptions, No. XXV.
"^ Ramsay (William '^.), Notes and Inscriptions from Asia I\[i7ior. VI. The
Inscriptions of Assos. American yournal of Arcluvology, vol. i. p. 149. Baltimore,
1SS5.
346 ARCH.'EOLOCICAL INSTITUTE.
a number expressed by two letters, — that is to say, the sign for
some number greater than ten. It is certainly more probable that
the medimnos of wheat was sold for six than for eleven drachmas.
But this method of determination is altogether too uncertain to
form the basis of any further calculation. Moreover, the gratuitous
distribution of food among the populace, and the sale of ten thou-
sand drachmas' worth of grain at a rate so low as to be put on
record as a public benefit, makes it almost certain that the inscrip-
tion refers to a time of dearth. Hence the prices obtaining under
such exceptional conditions could not have a direct bearing on the
present question, even were the numeral known with certainty. A
case strikingly parallel to the public-spirited action commemorated
by the Assos inscription is that of certain clients of Demosthenes.'^
The orator relates that, in order to relieve the suffering of the poorer
classes during the general distress occasioned by the assault of Alex-
ander upon Thebes, Chrysippos and his partner, wealthy merchants
of Athens, had sold a large quantity of grain at the usual price, ^ — five
drachmas the medimnos, — although it had then risen to sixteen
drachmas. The grain market of the ancients, still more than that of
the moderns, was subject to great fluctuations, dependent upon the
yield of the harvest, the effects of wars and blockades, and, in par-
ticular, the artificial values resulting from speculation and usury. Thus
a passage in Pollux^ refers to the payment of thirty-two drachmas
for the medimnos of wheat, — apparently in connection with the
" corner " which resulted from the infamous commercial operations of
Kleomenes. Such prices can enter as little into a calculation of the
normal value of cereals, as can the fabulous sums paid for small
quantities of grain in besieged towns. The six or more drachmas for
which the medimnos of wheat was sold to the Assians, if the proposed
restoration of the inscription be correct, would thus be ruled out by
the same principle which excludes the two hundred drachmas paid
for the medimnos of grain by the inhabitants of Praeneste when be-
1 Demosthenes, Adv. Pkorm., XXXVIII. (91S).
2 The words of Demosthenes, Kade(TTT]Kv7a rifxjj, can in this case only be
taken to signify the normal price. Boeckh {Staatshatishaltimg, vol. i. p. 132), at all
events, refutes the assumption of Letronne (Considerations, p. 113), who trans-
lates the phrase in question "prix taxe."
^ Pollux, IV. 165. Compare Boeckh 's note [Staaiskajts/ialtiing, vol. i. p. 135)
on the reading of this passage.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS. 347
sieged in Casilinum by Hannibal/ the three hundred drachmas paid
by the Athenians during the attack of Uemetrios upon their city,- or
the thousand drachmas said to have been paid during the siege of
Athens by Sulla, when the inhabitants were reduced to eating their
leather bottles, and even their shoes.^
It is thus necessary to base the present calculation upon the ref-
erences concerning the value of grain in Greece during times of
peace and plenty, which are to be derived from the writings of
the ancient authors, and from inscriptions. A comparison of many
such indications, though often widely divergent, leads to the belief
that the price of wheat, during the last four centuries before Christ,
maintained an average of three drachmas a medimnos, — that is
to say, $0,585 (metallic value) for 52.35 litres, or $11.17 "^^
stare.
Only the more important passages which have led to this conclu-
sion need here be quoted. In the Ekk/esiazousai^ we hear Blepyros
complaining of having failed to receive a hectos of wheat, which he
refers to as the equivalent of a triobolon, — thus estimating it at three
drachmas the medimnos. This value is quite in accordance with the
price of barley at about the same time. We learn from passages of
^ Strabo, p. 249. The present writer has followed Boeckh in rejecting the
emendation of Casaubon, who would read tJiv6s for fj.e5i/xvov, — a conjecture
adopted by many editors. No serious difficulty is presented by the mention of
the measure, without further specification ; and it is evident that, while the
buyer may have saved himself from dying of hunger, during the continuation
of the siege, by the consumption of a bushel and a half of grain, it is scarcely
possible that he could have supported life upon a mouse ! Nevertheless, the tale
was widely circulated throughout antiquity, that, during this siege, a mouse was
sold for a large sum : stated as two hundred denarii by Pliny (VIII. 82) and by
Valerius Maximus (VII. 6. 3), and as one hundred by Frontinus {Slratei:^emati<:a,
IV. 5. 20). The identity of these traditions with that given by the Greek writer
is evident from the repetition of the same phrases. In view of these objections,
it can only be assumed that the manuscripts of Strabo have preserved the true
account of a transaction which the Latin authors have misrepresented.
'■^ Plutarch, Demetr., XXXIII. 2. Boeckh's emendation, fieSi/nvos for /llSSios,
is adopted in the text ; otherwise the price of grain would have been nearly
double that which obtained during the much greater famine caused by the siege
of Sulla. It is doubtless owing to a misprint that Boeckh's remark [Shiats/iauS'
haltuno, vol. i. p. 135) reads "/x<^5»oj statt u.fSiixvos."
8 Plutarch, SiMi, XIII. i.
* Aristophanes, Ekkks., 547.
348 ARCH^OLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
Plutarch ' and of Arrian,^ relating to the time of Sokrates, that the
latter grain cost one obol the half-hektos, or two drachmas the medim-
nos ; barley being without doubt considered in Attica, as elsewhere
throughout the ancient world,^ to be worth two thirds as much as
wheat. The same estimate for barley may be derived from Diogenes
Laertios,"* who speaks of the choinix as selling at two chalkoi, —
certainly cheap for so late a period, as we learn from a passage of
pseudo- Aristotelian Economics^ \\\2X four drachmas the medimnos
was a not uncommon price for pearl barley at Lampsakos, on the
highway of the grain trade from Scythia to the Peloponnesos, and
that the price was raised by the state, in an exceptional case, to
half as much again.
The most important of the inscriptions bearing upon this point is a
tariff of the income of certain Attic priests, dating from the first quarter
of the fourth century before Christ.'* In this interesting document the
price of the hemihektos of wheat is fixed at three obols ; but in con-
sideration of the small quantity sold, and the practice of privileged
dealers in sacrificial requisites at all periods, it is not too much to
assume, with the learned editor, that the profit taken was large, — at
least one hundred per cent, if we may trust the indications derived
from the passages before quoted. Calculations based upon Koppen's
celebrated inscription'' show the medimnos to have been sold, among
the Borysthenians, in the last half of the third century before Christ,
for two and for four drachmas. Still, little weight can be attached
to the inscription in this respect, as, unless the reading of the lines
be at fault, similar calculations lead to prices possible only under
exceptional conditions.
It is evident that, from the time when barter was first superseded
1 Plutarch, De Tranqiiillitate Animi, X.
'•2 Stobsus, Flor., XCVII. 28.
3 Compare the Sicilian prices given by Polybios, XXXIV., apud Athen.,
VIII. I.
^ Diogenes Laertios, VI. 2. (35).
5 Aristotle, Oecon., II. 7.
^ Published by Boeckh, De Inscriptione Attica Res sacras spectante, in the
Verzeichniss der Vorlesimgen der Berliner Universitdt, 1835-36. Berlin, 1S36.
Reprinted in his Gesammelte kleine Schriften, vol. iv. Leipzig, 1S74.
"^ Koppen (Peter von), Olbisches Psephisina zit Ehren des Protogeiies. Wien,
1823. Corpus Inscript. Grace, No. 205S.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS. 349
by the use of coined money, and when Solon fixed the price of the
medimnos of wheat at one drachma/ the value of grain relative to
that of the precious metals steadily continued to increase. Letronne,-
in his admirable investigations concerning the coinages of antiquity,
reaches the conclusion that the average price of the medimnos of
wheat, at the end of the fifth century before Christ, was two and a half
drachmas. He estimates the value of wheat, compared with silver,
weight for weight, to have been enhanced from i : 3146 in 400 b. c. to
I : 2681 in 50 B. c. This increase is only between five and six per
cent for each hundred years, and though Letronne's assumption of
two and a half drachmas the medimnos may be a fraction too small,
even for the eminently productive period preceding the outbreak of
the Peloponnesian war, it is impossible to adopt for any subsequent
age, under normal conditions, a higher estimate than three drachmas
the medimnos.
This argument is borne out by an examination into the price of
cereals in Rome and its dependencies. The value of wheat cannot
have differed greatly in Italy and Greece, supplied as both these
countries were by importation. In Rome we find, at the same period,
an average price of three sesterces the modius, that is to say, $0,127
(metallic value) for 8.72 litres, or _^ 14.49 ^'^^ stere. The difference
between this price and that which resulted from a comparison of the
passages of the Greek writers before quoted is fully explained by
the later dates of most of the Latin accounts entering into the esti-
mate. The best authority is Cicero, who states that in Sicily, in his
time, the modius of wheat was valued by law at three sesterces. The
orator also refers to the price having, in some cases, been as low as
two and two and a half sesterces,^ but it should be borne in mind that
this was in an exceptionally fertile and well-cultivated country, which
supplied a great part of Italy with grain.^ Moreover, we learn from
1 Plutarch, Solofi, XXII 1. 5.
2 Letronne (Jean Antoine), Considerations ginSrales snr revaluation des
Monnaies Grecques et Romaines. Paris, 1S17.
8 Cicero, In Verrem, Act. II. Lib. III. 75, et seq. * Ibid., 74.
5 How great weight is to be attached to this consideration is evident from
the fact, that in Cisalpine Gaul — a province extraordinarily fertile, and so re-
mote from the great grain markets of antiquity that the produce could not be
transported to them — the medimnos of wheat was sold in the time of Polybios
(II. 15) for the equivalent of four obols.
350 ARCHJLOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
the same authority that four sesterces the modius was paid by the
government for a i]^uantity of wheat furnished in compliance with a
levy.^ In subsequent ages, under Nero, the price of three sesterces
was considered remarkably low,'- the value of the Roman coinage being
only seven eighths of that in use before the imperial epoch.
According to the two averages thus obtained, the pay of the com-
mon laborer of antiquity, determined above, would be equivalent to a
daily wage of 1 1.6 or of 9 litres of wheat, the mean being 10.3 htres.
From 18S1 to 1883 the price of wheat at Behram varied from one
and a quarter to one and a half medjids the kilo (a Turkish measure
of capacity equal to 35.266 litres), that is to say, from $28.72 to $34.17
the stere. The sum of thirteen piasters paid by the expedition to
the commonest laborers was thus equivalent to a daily wage of from
9.26 to I I.I litres, the mean being 10.18 litres.
A comparison between these results shows that the average earn-
ings of ancient and modern workmen, upon the same soil, differ only
about one per cent : a fraction which in a calculation of this kind is
not worthy of consideration. There could be no more striking illus-
tration of the unvarying standard of human productivity maintained
under circumstances almost identical.^
1 Cicero, In Verrem, Act. II. Lib. III. 70.
- Tacitus, Amtales, XV. 39.
3 It is evident that the comparison must be strictly limited to these condi-
tions. The differences between the modes of life in Asia Minor and in our own
country to-day are infinitely greater than are those between the circumstances
of the ancient and of the modern agricultural laborers in Greek lands. In the
social economy of the United States and of Northern Europe we meet with
factors which have no parallel in the sparsely populated tracts of the Orient, —
factors which, like the high rents of dwellings and fields in congested districts,
are of the utmost importance in every estimate, and forbid a comparison based
upon any single item. Thus the expression of the average wages in the amount
of grain for which they are exchangeable, would here be altogether misleading.
The English laborer, for instance, compared with the leisurely tiller of the
Trojan plain, is forced to a much more grinding toil, while obtaining a more
scanty and precarious livelihood. In Great Britain, as is well known, 10,000
landlords receive from the soil an income equal to more than twice the wages
paid to their 850,000 servants. Nothing can be more certain than that the
English workman is underpaid. Yet, judging from the item of bread alone, he
receives nearly half as much again as does the Turk or Greek. The laborers
at Assos who earned least had the equivalent of 4.74 kilograms of bread, —
the oke costing three and a half piasters gera, or $0,086. The poorest farm
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS. 35 I
A similar correspondence becomes evident from a comparison of
the ancient and the modern prices of wine, which, as an article of con-
sumption grown upon the soil, is, for comparison, second in impor-
tance only to the cereals. During the ages of antiquity for which the
preceding calculations were made, the ordinary cost of native wine
seems to have been about four drachmas the metretes, or, expressed in
metallic value, two cents the litre. In the speech against Phainippos,
the speaker tells us that the price, which had then risen to thrice
the usual amount,^ was twelve drachmas the metretes. ^ This is a fair
average between, on the one hand, the excessively low values of Upper
Italy 3 and Sicily,'* where the metretes was sold for two obols and for
one drachma respectively, and, on the other, the exceptionally fine
and expensive varieties,^ such as the vintage of Chios, sold at Athens,
even as early as the time of Sokrates, for one mina the metretes.^
The laborer of antiquity, for his four obols a day, would thus have
received six litres and a half of wine. The same quantity would be
equivalent, also, to the average daily wages of the workmen employed
in the excavation of Assos. The fluid oke of Tenedos or Mytilene
wine was sold, in 1883, for one piaster and a half gem (three fortieths
of a medjid), — that is to say, for about six cents the litre. Six litres
and a half would consequently have cost somewhat less than half a
medjid.
The relative cost of meat cannot be so accurately determined ; still
it is sufficiently evident that in this article of food, as in grain and
wine, there was a general agreement between the ancient and modern
values. No beef is now to be had in the Troad, cattle being kept
laborers in Essex, Suffolk, and Norfolk, hired for twelve shillings a week, and
buying the quartern loaf for fivepence, or, as at present, for fourpence, receive
6.9 or 8.6 kilograms a day. Notwithstanding this, the latter is decidedly the
worse off.
1 Demosthenes, Aa'-j. Phaen., XXXI. (p. 104S. 24).
2 Ibid., XX. (p. 1045. 4).
8 Polybios, II. 15. * Ibid., XXXIV., apud Athen., VIII. i.
8 A fragment of Alexis (in Athenaios, III. S6) shows the chous to have
been retailed at ten obols. At this rate the metretes would have cost twenty
drachmas. But this price is given by the play-writer as an instance of the
extortionate charges of the Athenian cooks ; moreover, it was asked for wine
provided at a banquet, and doubtless of superior value.
•^ Plutarch, De Tranquillitate Animi, X.
352 ARCH^OLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
solely for the purpose of drawing the plough and treading out the
grain. The ample information possessed concerning the value of
oxen, in ancient times, is thus not directly available for this com-
parison. The flesh of goats is that most commonly eaten by the
present inhabitants ; but the passages of the classic authors refer-
ring to the price of these animals do not afford a basis for trustworthy
calculation. As to sheep, a laborer can to-day earn a fine animal,
costing about three medjids and a half, by the work of from seven to
nine days. This would lead us to expect the value of a sheep to have
been, in ancient times, between five and six drachmas. About the
same amount results from computations based upon the exceptionally
low prices obtaining in Greece in the age of Solon, ^ and in Lusitania
at a later period,"^ if we may suppose these values to have compared
with those of the fourth century, under normal circumstances, in the
same ratio as did the prices of cereals. The estimates based upon
these values, recorded by Plutarch and Polybios, agree perfectly ; they
are more applicable to the present case than are such of the prices
given in ancient literature as refer to exceptionally fine animals, to be
offered upon the altars of the deities. It does not conflict with the
assumption of an average cost of between five and six drachmas, that,
for instance, in a fragment of Menander,^ the price — and, let it be
observed, the maximum price — of a sacrificial sheep is estimated at
ten or twelve drachmas.
The expense of clothing, extremely small in both cases, seems to
be even less in modern than it was in ancient times. According to a
passage preserved in Pollux,^ a chlamys cost the weight of three
(silver) staters, — that is to say, twelve drachmas; a mantle is re-
ferred to by Aristophanes ^ as worth four staters, — sixteen drachmas ;
and Sokrates ^ thought ten drachmas cheap for a workman's sleeve-
less exomis. But these are only portions of the ancient dress, and
the gala costume of a Mohammedan potter of Chanak Kalessi," strik-
1 Plutarch, Solon, XXIII. 5.
2 Polybios, XXXIV., apud Athen., VIII. i.
3 In Athenaios, IV. 27, and VIII. 67.
* Pollu.x, VI. 165 (XXXVII.). 5 Aristophanes, Ekkles., 413.
^ Plutarch, De Tranqidllitate Animi, X.
^ For a photographic illustration of this costume see Hamdy Bey and De
Launay, Costumes fofiilaires de la TnrqiUe en 1S73, ^^''t- 2, Plate III. Con-
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS. 353
ing and even magnificent as it is, costs, all in all, only about three
medjids and a quarter (^2.63). If the peasant of ancient Attica
could earn one of his garments by the work of two or three weeks,
the modern inhabitant of the Troad can procure his serviceable and
picturesque suit by the work of Httle more than eight days. It is true,
the costume of the fashionable Greek of Mytilene,i with its rich em-
broidery, is rather more expensive, costing about ten medjids, but this
is a far more elaborate dress than the simple garb which the palikaria
wore while at work, and is treasured up in chests of cypress-wood,
to be displayed only on saints' days and wedding feasts.
Dress, Food, and Modes of Life.
The costumes of the Turkish workmen were bright in color, and
gracefully worn. The sway of changing fashion is unknown in the
East, and the garments and accoutrements of the country people
are still the same as those engraved by Manno, three centuries
ago.^ The turban is reduced in size, and is now worn only by old
men ; but the red fez is generally wound around with some wisp
of colored stuff. A good Mohammedan never bares his head in
public, — the only exception on record being the act of Selim I.
after the conquest of Cairo, — and the Turk has certainly found in
the fez and turban cloth the most becoming, as well as the most
comfortable covering.
So great has been the influence of the conquering race upon its
cringing subjects, that the dress of the Greeks is now of the same
general character as that of the Turks. Few reminiscences have
been retained of the costumes of the Byzantine Empire, or of those
of the Frankish occupation of Mytilene.
In respect to one article, however, the Greeks have preserved
s^antinople, 1873. The expense of the suit is here estimated at fourteen francs.
As usual, the dress of the potter's wife, more richly ornamented, costs consider-
ably more than his own.
^ Ibid., Plate VIII. The writer must admit that he has never known a Greek
of Mytilene, or indeed of any of its neighboring islands, to wear such a fusta-
nella as that shown in this photograph. Notwithstanding this, the estimate of
the cost of the gala dress may be admitted without question.
- These engravings, published in Denmark and signed F. Manno, are dated
between 1570 and 15S2.
23
354 ARCHyEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
a manner of make well known in classical antiquity. While the
Turks depend altogether upon cobblers for their shoes, — the
pointed and turned up toes of which are characteristic of a deriva-
tion from the Far East, — every Greek workman makes his own
foot covering; forming, from a single piece of untanned ox-hide,
the same brogues as those described by Hesychios ^ as dypoLKiKov
vTTohrijxa jxovoSepixov, — which froze to the feet of Xenophon's sol-
diers," and are referred to in the Pastorals of Longos ^ as having
been worn by the peasants of this very neighborhood. These san-
dals, to-day called r^apovxt-a, are the Kapftarivai of the ancients.
The skin, after being thoroughly dried, is soaked in oil until it is
pliable ; the edges are turned up at the sides of the foot, perforated,
and laced into position with thongs of the same material, the ends
of which are long enough to be wound around the ankle and lower
leg. The hair is left upon the outside, curiously enough, and soon
wears off from the sole. Such simple articles of daily use, made
by the common people according to traditional forms, are much
less liable to the innovations of improvement than are the manu-
factures of trained workmen. This peculiar foot covering offers
one of the best instances of the continuity of ancient customs
among the modern Greeks.
In October, all the men, Turks as well as Greeks, began to knit
diligently upon their stockings of coarse undyed wool, spending
their evenings, and even the shorter pauses of the day, in this
employment, which naturally called to mind the fact that many
varieties of work now considered fit only for women — such as
embroidery* — were, in Greek antiquity, practised by men.
'1 he Greeks of this unfrequented coast are, indeed, as a writer of
the time of James I. has described them : " A happie people that
Hue according to nature ; and want not much, in that they couet
but little. Their apparrell no other than linnen breeches ; ouer
that a smocke close girt unto them with a towell ; putting on some-
times long sleeuelesse coates of homespun cotten. Yet their backs
1 Hesychios, stid voce Kapirdrtvov. Compare also the definitions given by
Photios s. V. Kap^aTLv-q, and Pollux, VII. 88.
2 Xenophon, Anab., IV. 5. 14.
•* Longos, II. 3.
* Aischines, In Timarch., XL.
INVESTIGATIONS AT AS SOS. 355
need not enuie their bellies : Biscot, Oliues, Garlicke, and Onions
being their principall sustenance. Sometimes for change they will
scale the rocks for Sampler, and search the bottome of the lesse
deepe seas for a certaine little fish (if I may so call it) shaped like
a burre.^ Their ordinarie drinke being water : yet once a day they
will warme their blouds with a draught of wine, contented as well
with this, as those that with the rarities of the earth do pamper
their uoracities." ^
The food of the workmen has been referred to in the First Re-
port,^ where it was pointed out how closely the present ways of
life resemble those of antiquity. The alimentary resources of
Behram are scant, even for Asia Minor. The chief meat is the
stringy flesh of goats. The sheep of the country, which are of the
KovpiovKo. or fat-tailed variety {Ovis sieatopygos), are not to be had
at all seasons. In classic times Assos was famed for its enormous
swine ; ■* but, owing to the religious prejudices of the Turks, there
are now no tame pigs in the Southern Troad. The Turkish hus-
bandmen on the upper Touzla kill great numbers of the wild boars
which descend from the wooded heights of Ida to ravage the culti-
vated fields ; yet the savory meat is never eaten, and the bodies
are left as they fall. Occasionally, Greek villagers were induced to
bring the young and tender boars to the port, — a task which they
undertook with many precautions. But during the second year an
unfortunate incident altogether stopped this supply. A small ani-
mal was brought at night to Behram, and left for some hours in the
shop of a Greek bakhal. Here it was discovered by an orthodox
Mussulman, and for some time thereafter the premises which had
harbored the unclean flesh were avoided by all the Turks of the
neighborhood. It resulted from this species of boycotting that the
corpus delicti was' the last eaten at Assos by the explorers.
1 The edible sea-urchin [Echinus csailenttis), a favorite food of the ancients.
Compare the passages collected in Stephanus's Thes., s. v. ^x^''"^-
2 Sandys (George), A Relation of a Journey begun IGIO. Foure Bookes.
Containing a Description of the Turkish Empire, of Aigypt, of the Holy Land,
and of the remote Parts of Italy and Islands adjoining. (First edition.)
London, 161 5. This well-known and once popular book went through four
editions during the reign of Charles I.
* Report, p. 26.
4 Ptolemy VII., Physkon, quoted in Athenaios, IX. 17
356 ARCH.'EOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
Fresh and salted fish are to be had in abundance, and are still
as important an article of food as in classical antiquity. On two
occasions, during the stay of the expedition, great schools of fish
played along the coast, so closely crowded together that they could
actually be caught by hand. The villagers, lounging in the caf^s
and shops of the little port, were informed by a general clamor of
the appearance of the prize, and rushed into the water waist-deep,
using their garments as casting nets, and dragging the fish on
shore by hundreds. Naturally, the Gulf of Adramyttion is much
frequented by fishermen, craft coming to it even from Apulia and
Malta. The variety of the fish caught within sight of Assos is very
great ; investigations made in this region by a scholar as learned, in
the present state of science, as was Belon in the sixteenth century,
or Sibthorp a hundred years ago, could not fail to throw much light
upon the ichthyology of the ancients.
Not only can we trace the classic origin of almost all the names
by which the fish are still called, but we may recognize, in the
means employed for their capture, those in use among the ancients.
The methods of the modern fishermen form in many ways an inter-
esting commentary on the Halieutics of Oppian, of Pankrates, and
of Ovid.^ At nightfall, in calm weather, the fishing boats left the
little port, each having, in a cresset projecting beyond the prow, a
bright fire of resinous wood. Attracted and dazed by the glare,
the fish were speared in great numbers. The beats were kept near
to the shore, and the flames lighted up the field of ruins upon the
slope towards the sea. Far in the distance could be seen the fires
kindled by the fishermen of Mytilene and of Aivaly. This spear-
ing by torchlight, now known as ■n-epifjidvevfj.a, was customary in
antiquity, served Plato as an illustration in one of his Dialogues,^
and has been described by Oppian.^
The wholesale poisoning of fish, which excited the repugnance of
the poet, and gave occasion to one of his finest similes,* is also
1 Tchihatchef (Aste Miiieiire) remarks, with great truth : " Les operations des
pecheurs de I'Anatolie sont encore au point ou elles se trouvaient il y a plus de
seize siecles (du temps d'yElien)." Unfortunately, the work of the great Rus-
sian naturalist and explorer does little more than record a few disconnected
observations concerning this subject.
2 Plato, Sophist., V. (p. 221, d.).
3 Oppian, Hal., IV. 640-643. * Ibid., IV. 644-693.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS. 357
practised to-day, although more frequently in the mill-races of the
Touzla than in the open sea. The plants employed for the pur-
pose are those whose fish-poisoning qualities were known to the
ancients: a kind of mullein {Verbascum phiofnoides ?), referred to
by Aristotle ; ^ and the spurge ^ {Euphorbia characias ?), seven vari-
eties of which are described by Dioskorides.^ The first of these
is still called <f)Xofj-6 by the common people. That this method of
killing fish has been handed down from ancient times in unbroken
tradition is proved by the occurrence of the expression (^A-o/xo/xeVw
ij/dpr] in the Byzantine version of the novel of Apollonius of Tyre,*
dating, according to Hagen,^ from the thirteenth century.
The vertebrce of sharks were often found among remains refer-
able to the classic period. One specimen, taken together with
various playthings from the tomb of a child (sarcophagus No. 97),
was cut to serve as the hub of a wheel for a toy cart. This whit-
1 Aristotle, I/isi. AnhnaL, VIII. 20. (13).
2 Schliemann states, in his Heise in der Troas im Mai 1881, Leipzig, 1S81
(translated and reprinted in his Troja, London, 1884, Appendix I.), that his
horses, when crossing the range of Ida, were muzzled to prevent their cropping
the herbage by the wayside. He gatherered that this was on account of a mys-
terious plant, known as Agil, which within a few hours causes the death of any
animal eating of it, but which is harmless after flowering in the month of July.
It may be observed, in reference to this "hochwichtige Thatsache," that the
Turkish word Agol signifies spurge. As animals instinctively avoid this plant,
no fear of poisoning is entertained by herdsmen of experience. Moreover, the
plants of the genus Euphorbia have the same qualities in the autumn as in the
spring. Schliemann's statement, upon the authority of his guide, that no animals
whatever are allowed to graze on the heights of Ida before the middle of July,
is, at all events, incorrect. Great herds are driven to the mountain pastures
long before that season.
8 Dioskorides, CLXIL, ed. Kuehn, 162.
^ This work, reminiscences of which are still to be traced in a popular tale of
the Gulf of Adramyttion (compare p. 003, note i ), has been accessible to the writer
only in the form of a chap-book, printed at Venice in 1778. A copy of the origi-
nal edition, in the library of Munich, which Dr. A. Emerson had the kindness
to examine, bears the title, l^i-r\yt\ai% wpatwTaTTj, 'Airo\oviov (so written through-
out) r7)v (sic) iv Tvpo), l>tiJ.6Sa, and concludes, " Stampato in Vinegia per Christo-
foro Zanetti, MDLIII." The passage in r|uestion, line 896 of the poem, reads,
Kai fvy'iKfu fls rh niKayoi aaf (pKojj.ofXffw tfapTj, — " And he came up to the
surface like a poisoned fish."
•^ Hagen (Hermann), Dcr Roman vom A'onii^ Apollonius von Tyrus, in scincn
verschiedenen Bearbcitungen. Berlin, 1666.
358 ARCH.^EOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
tling of an Assian father is now preserved in an archa^clogical
museum, after having lain with the ashes of the dead for more
than twenty centuries. The investigations of Reichert and Peters ^
have shown that sharks formed a common article of food in the
northern Troad, during the earliest ages of antiquity ; but the mod-
ern Greeks expressed abhorrence at the idea of eating this fish.
There can be no doubt, on the other hand, that the /xe'ya k^tos
which devoured the unfortunate Thrasis in these waters^ was a
shark. A pointed fin was occasionally seen above the surface,
unpleasantly near the bathing-place of the expedition ; and, within
the memory of the present generation, sponge divers have been
killed by sharks. A case in point, which happened off the neigh-
boring Tenedos, is related by Ross.^ Still, the divers seem to
apprehend no danger, although the light rubber armor with
which they are now generally provided could afford no adequate
protection.
Few sponges are to be gathered on the northern coast of the
Gulf of Adramyttion, and only once during the stay of the expe-
dition was a professional diver seen at Behram. His visit was
brought about by an accident which attracted the entire population
of the village to the shore, but this was of a more harmless nature,
and of a happier issue than those before mentioned. The case
was as follows. In the summer of 1882 a Turk of Behram, in
charge of a small coasting vessel, returned from Smyrna with the
money of his employer, received in payment for a cargo of valonea.
Fearing that his gold pieces might be stolen, he had tied them in a
bag and stowed them away among the stones of his ballast. By
some neglect this bag was left in its hiding-place after coming into
port, and was cast out with the stones. Now, because of the in-
creasing shallowness of the little port, the leading men of Behram
enforce a rule that nothing shall be thrown overboard within the
mole. The vessels have consequently to be rowed outside, in order
to discharge ballast. Thus it came about that the gold was sunk
at a great depth. The sum, eighty pounds, was a fortune to the
1 IwWxc^av} {'^Vi'SioM), Beitrdge ziir Laiidcshmde der T)-oas. Berlin, 1880.
2 Leonidas, in Aiitkol. Palat., VII. 506.
^ Ross (Ludwig), Reisen aiif den griuhischen Inscln dcs dgdischcn MeereSy
vol. ii. Stuttgart and Tiibingen, 1840-43.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS. 359
poor captain. After desperate attempts to pull himself down to the
bottom by means of an anchor chain, he rowed at night to Aivaly,
in search of help. There he fortunately found a diver, who came
to Behram on the following day, bringing with him all the appa-
ratus of his profession. The search was rendered difficult by the
depth of the water, but in about an hour the precious bag was
found. Those who were with the Turk in the vessel, and shared
his anxious expectation, will not forget the expression of his face,
and his joyful outcry, when the diver, looking in his armor like
some monster of the sea, rose to the surface with the gold in his
hand.
On days when there was no work the Greeks diligently gathered
a species of acephalous mollusk, undoubtedly the same Ascidia
described by Aristotle,^ and used as food in the time of Homer.-
Heaps of shells among the refuse thrown outside the city walls
during ancient times show that the oysters of the Hellespont — so
highly praised by Archestratos,^ that Hesiod of epicures, and famed
as late as the time of Virgil^ — were appreciated by the ancient
inhabitants of Assos as well as by those of Ilion and Thymbra.^
But, as the Turks eat no shell fish of any kind, the beds are little
cultivated, and oysters are not now to be had in the Southern
Troad.
The bread was always good, — as might naturally be expected in
a district which from the earliest ages has been celebrated for the
superior quality of its cereals. So highly prized was the wheat of
Assos, that it was chosen from among all the varieties of the East-
^ Aristotle, Hist. Animal., IV. 6.
2 Homer, //., XVI. 747. Notwithstanding the direct testimony of Athenaios
(III. 39) and Suidas {stib voce) there can be little doubt that the tt\Qos of Homer
is not, as commonly rendered, the oyster, but is identical with the mussel de-
scribed by Aristotle.
8 Archestratos, in Athenaios, III. 44.
* Georg. I. 206 :
"... in patriam ventosa per aequora vectis
Pontus et ostriferi fauces tentantur Abydi."
^ The Ostrca cristata, or flicattila, was found at Hanai-Tepeh ; the Ostrea
lamellosa, at Hissarlik. An interchange of these names in Appendix IV. of
Schliemann's //wj is corrected by Virchow (KvidoM), Alttrojanische Graber utid
Schadtl. Berlin, 1SS2.
360 ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
ern world to supply the table of the luxurious kings of Persia, and
was exported even to Susa,^ a distance, by sea and land, of over
two thousand miles, — enormous for the commercial relations of
the time. The fields which now produce the finest wheat are those
upon the north of Behram, just beneath the walls of the ancient
city, in the alluvion brought down by the little river from the
detritus of the limestone and volcanic formations of Ida. The
celebrity of the harvests of Assos was shared by those of the neigh-
boring Gargara, its colony, the fertility of this country having been
renowned even in distant Italy : —
" Hinc grata Cereri Gargara, et dives solum,
Quod Xanthus ambit nivibus Idaeis tumens." 2
Equally renowned in antiquity was the grain of the opposite island,
by which the supply of the ill-cultivated Troad has now to be eked
out. Chief among the bounteous gifts of Demeter, Archestratos ^
reckoned the bread of Lesbos, made of flour whiter than driven
snow; such were the loaves of which the gods themselves did
eat, obtaining them through Hermes, their steward and their mes-
senger.
The wheat grown in the valley of the Touzla is mostly ground
in a mill of primitive construction, the overshot wheel of which is
turned by the stream. Handmills are, however, still in use, and a
number of saddle-querns, found beneath the pavement of the tem-
ple during the course of the excavations, were carried off by the
Turkish villagers to be again put to the use for which they were
roughly hewn in prehistoric ages.
The dairies of the country are almost altogether in the hands of
the Yuruks, a nomadic race whose tents are pitched in all parts of
Asia Minor,* and who, attracted by the wide expanses of uncul-
1 Strabo, p. 735. Strabo probably derived his information concerning the
habits of the Persian kings from Poseidonios. The latter is quoted by Athenaios
(I. 51) as stating the facts in regard to the wine of Chalybon, which are also
mentioned by the geographer.
2 Seneca, Phoen., IV. 608. Compare also the lines of Virgil, Georgics, I.
102, 103.
3 Archestratos, in Athenaios, III. 77.
* A picturesque account of the Yuruks is given by Choisy (Auguste), VAsie
Mineure et les Turcs en 1885. Paris, 1876.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS. 36 1
tivated land and the excellent pasturage of Mount Ida, are partic-
ularly numerous in the Troad.^ Although undoubtedly of Tartar
origin, they are quite distinct from the Osmanlis, who look down
upon them as an inferior race.
The Greeks eat little butter, and, like their ancestors, regard it
rather as a medicine than as a food."'^ Its place upon the table, and
especially in the cuisine, is taken by olive oil. This was also true
of the ancients, being in great measure due to the exigencies of
the climate. As in antiquity, butter is looked upon as an aliment
peculiar to the barbarians, — to the Turks of the present, as to the
Scythians of former times, — and among them its use, to repeat
the words of Pliny,^ still distinguishes the rich from the poor. The
Yuruks, at least in the Troad, themselves consume but little of
this much-esteemed fat, which is produced in small quantities, and
is taken by the wealthier villagers in exchange for the few manu-
factured articles required by these primitive tribes.* It is at best
only to be had during the early months of the year. The fierce
heat of summer so completely destroys the herbage, that the cattle
would perish of starvation were they not driven from the arid
plains to the cool and green heights of Ida. Among the Yuruks
the churning is effected by means of a goat-skin, which, being filled
with milk and securely tied, is rocked about until the globules are
deposited upon its sides.^ The butter thus obtained is scraped
from the skin, mixed with an excessive quantity of salt, and melted
into earthenware pots. From these it can be generally poured,
and eaten rather as a liquid than as a solid.
Far more appetizing is the yaourt, or curdled milk, the o^r^yaXa
of the classics, which is one of the chief articles of food of the
^ Photographs of Yuruks of the Troad are given in Ilamdy Bey and De
Launay, Costutnes, Part. 2, Plates IV. and V.
2 Compare the references in Dioskorides, II. 81, ed. Kuehn, p. 200 ; and in
passages of Galen, too numerous to quote.
^ Pliny, N'at. Hist., XXVIII. 35 : " E lacte fit et butyrum barbararum gentium
lautissimus cibus, et qui divites a plebe discernat."
* The chief employment of butter, by the Turks of Asia Minor, is in the
cooking of the pilaf, or btilgur, a dish of unsweetened rice which forms a staple
article of food. — J. R. S. S.
5 These skins are in some cases suspended, and the churning is then done
with an upright dasher. — J. R. S. S.
362 ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
Turks, as it was of the ancient Persians^ and Scythians.^ The
two methods of making it practised by the Yuruks are precisely
the same as those known in antiquity.^ Actual delicacies are the
myzethra, or fresh cream-cheese, and the kaimak, or clotted cream.
The secret of these preparations, which apparently were unknown
to the ancients, and are unequalled by the products of the most
renowned dairies of Europe, must have been brought by the Turks
from their original homes in the far interior of Asia.* The kaimak,
at all events, is described by a hungry traveller in this country, a
generation before the Mohammedan conquest of Constantinople."
During the past five centuries the customs of the Turks have
changed even less than those of the Greeks.
The wine of this district was famed throughout antiquity equally
with its wheat ; the produce of the parent city, and of the colony of
Assos, being classed together by Ovid in an extravagant parallel :
" Gargara quot segetes, quot habet Methymna racemos,
Aequore quot pisces, fronde teguntur aves,
Quot caelum Stellas, tot habet tua Roma puellas." ^
The praises bestowed by the ancients upon the wine of Lesbos
were endless, and exhaust the commendatory adjectives of the
classical dictionary.'^ The vintage of Methymna, in particular, was
1 Plutarch, Artax., III. i ; and also Ctesias, Ind., XXII., ed. Lion, p. 193.
2 Strabo, p. 311.
8 Pliny, Nat. Hist., XXVIII. 36. The more common of these methods is
mingling a portion of old curds with the fresh milk.
* The best kaimak is made from sheep's milk, which is boiled for several
hours while being constantly stirred. A considerable part of its water is thus
evaporated. It is then permitted to cool very gradually, and the cream is
removed by skimming.
5 La Brocquiere (Bertrandon de}, Voyage d'Outremer et Ketour de Jerusalem
en France par la Voie de Terre, pendant 1432 et 1433. Ouvrage extrait d'un
Manuscrit de la Bibliotheque Nationale, remis en Fran^ais vioderne. Par Le-
grand d'Aussy. In Hakluyt (Richard), Collection of Early Voyages, etc, vol.
iv. New edition. London, 1S09-12.
6 Ovid, Ars Amandi, I. 56-58.
■? Many references of ancient authors to the wine of Lesbos are given by
Plehn (Severus Lucianus), Lesbiacorum Liber, Berolini, 1S26. The verdict of
antiquity may be summed up in the words of Alexis (in Athenaios, I. 51) :
Aec/Siou TrcifiaTOS
OuK icTTlV &\\0S olvOS TjSici)!' TTIUU.
INVESTIGATIOXS AT AS SOS. ^^^
regarded as one of the choicest;^ and the grapes of this town
were extolled even by Virgil,^ whose testimony in their favor is of
especial interest, as that of a tiller of the fertile soil of Italy.
There can be little doubt that, during antiquity, the vine was
extensively grown on the slopes of Assos. The importance of this
cultivation, on the continent as well as on the island, is attested by
the wide repute of the extract of vine leaves made in the neighbor-
ing town of Adramyttion.^ The nature of this preparation is not
fully known, but it was believed by the ancients to be good for the
stomach, and to have the admirable effect of keeping the mind
clear. As Edremit has a considerable Greek population, the vine-
yards in that neighborhood are still of great extent ; but Behrarn
is altogether dependent upon the opposite coast for grapes and
wine. The change of race which is gradually taking place through-
out the Troad is destined to effect a revolution in the agricultural
conditions of the country.
Asia Minor is so mountainous that few of its larger towns are
without a supply of snow, which is used, as in antiquity,* to cool
the wines of the Greeks, and the sherbet, milk of almonds, and
other sweet drinks of the orthodox Turks.
Near the highest peaks of Ida the writer has seen, as late in the
season as the middle of September, great quantities of snow, stored
in enclosures of stone and brushwood, and covered with thick layers
of leaves and earth. A fragment of a contemporary history of the
campaigns of Alexander^ shows that this was the very method of
preserving snow practised by the Greeks during the siege of the
Indian city of Petra. This snow, packed in great saddle-bags of
felt, is carried upon the backs of mules from the heights of Ida
1 Galen ranks the wine of Methymna second only to that of Eressos, Method.
MeJeiuL, XII. 4, ed. Kuehn, vol. x. p. 832.
2 Gcorgics, II. 89 :
"Non eadem arboribus pendet vindemia nostris
Quam Methymnaeo carpit de palmite Lesbos."
» Athenaios, XV. 38.
* The custom of cooling wine with snow is referred to by Xenophon [Mem.,
II. I. 30), and by a host of authors quoted in Athenaios (III. 97-99). Thus
we learn from a fragment of Euthyklcs (loc. cit.) that snow was regularly sold
as a commodity.
^ Chares of Mytilcne, in Athenaios, III. 97.
364 ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
to the market-places of Eclremit and Bergama. Its gathering and
removal is a business of such importance that rude huts are built,
high above the timber line, for the shelter of those engaged in the
work ; while beacons of stone are erected to mark the site, which
would otherwise be trackless after the autumn storms have covered
the earth. But there was not sufficient demand for snow among
the poor villagers of Behram, or indeed in any part of the Troad,
to repay its transportation from the Qazdagh towards the west.
The workmen, unable to obtain the luxuries of Alexander, resorted
to the method of cooling known to King Antiochus.^ The water
was kept in vessels of porous earthenware, sprinkled from time to
time, and placed by day in the shadow of some great stone near
the working-place, and by night upon the house-tops, where a light
breeze was generally stirring. The evaporation kept the contents
so cool that on very dry and windy days the water seemed almost
to have been iced.
None of the Greek workmen lived in the village. They were all
immigrants, and found more congenial company among the bak-
hals, petty traders, and fishermen at the port. Accommodations
were provided by the four small houses at the water side, which
were at the same time caf^s, shops, and bakeries. Here the Myti-
leneans hung up the bags of goat-skin containing their Sunday
apparel ; and here, during the colder months of the year, they
slept, closely packed together upon the dais of the cafes, or stowed
away upon the shelves of the grocers and bakers.
In midwinter this life was decidedly uncomfortable. The cold
was bitter, and the winds searched through the badly built houses.
Although one of the two rooms occupied by the expedition had the
exceptional advantage of glazed windows, it was still found impos-
sible to warm it by means of the matigal, — a modern representative
of the charcoal brazier held by Skiron in the relief upon the Tower
of the VVinds.^ In February, 18S3, the dwelling was so cold that
1 Protagorides, in Athenaios, III. 9S.
2 A chapter in Rigler [Die Tiirkei, Erster Theil) deals with the mangal, and
with the tandur, — an arrangement of wadded blankets, like a gigantic tea-cosey,
used in connection with it. The work of this eminent physician, long a resident
of Constantinople, gives one of the best accounts of Turkish customs ever pub-
lished. It is, however, not entirely free from plagiarism ; the author has copied
extensively from the very books which he criticises with so much asperity.
INVES TIG A TIONS AT A SSOS. 365
it was impossible to write or to draw for any length of time. At
this season the digging itself was delayed through hardships which
would seem rather in keeping with an Arctic than with an Oriental
expedition. Great fires were kept up during the day within the
Atrium, which was then being freed from earth, and the men ate
their midday meal at the bottom of a large trial pit, singeing the
hair upon their sandals in the endeavor to keep warm. At night-
fall they huddled around the baker's oven, a comfortable lounging-
place corresponding to the "seat at the smith's forge," against
whose temptations Hesiod warns the country laborer.^
In the summer time these uninviting quarters were exchanged
for the flat house-top of the oldest caf6. But as its timbers were
weak, and sagged in a threatening manner under the weight, the
number of sleepers was strictly limited by the proprietor. Those
excluded from the roof lay around the fountain, and between the
houses and the shore. As they were here liable to be disturbed
by sniffing dogs, or by a troop of camels on a stampede, they
would often, in the middle of the night, steal upon the roof from
the slope behind, and for a while sleep peacefully with their fel-
lows. Presently a cracking of the timbers would alarm the caf^dji,
who, becoming aware that the number of those licensed to lie upon
his house-top had been exceeded, would drive off the intruders
with imprecations and blows. In the clamor which ensued, the
chorus of dogs played an important part, appearing promptly upon
the scene, and continuing its noisy discourse long after the origi-
nal interlocutors had been silenced.
Indeed, the dogs generally whined and howled the whole night
long, giving warning of the approach of any stranger by especially
savage barks. The plaintive grumbling and spluttering of the
camels, of which no less than sixty or seventy were often to be
seen together at the port, the bleating of tightly packed ship-loads
of sheep and goats, awaiting in extreme discomfort a wind favor-
able to their passage across to Skamnia, and the occasional shriek
of an owl or howl of a jackal from the ravines above, united with
the hoarse voices of the dogs in a most discordant nocturne.
1 Hesiod, Works and Days, 493. That the brazier's forge was even regarded
as an inn, in the earliest ages, is evident from the words addressed to Odysseus
by Melantho, Homer, Od., XVHI. 328.
366 ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
One might suppose that this ceaseless disturbance would render
the dogs useless as a watch. The experience of the natives
throughout the East has, however, taught them otherwise. There
is a well-known Turkish saying, that a dog does not whine and
sleep at the same time ; moreover, the fury of his bark, and the
entire change of its tone, when a suspicious person does ap-
proach, is quite sufficient to warn the entire community. There
is nothing really startling in the usual vociferations of the Turkish
dogs, and the villagers think it well that whoever may be prowling
around their dwellings by night should be informed afar off that
these sentries are awake. Their ordinary whine is nothing more
than a continual report to the garrison that all is well. The
student of history will recollect that it was through this very
change of tone in the voices of the dogs that the citizens of ancient
Messene became aware of the presence of the Lakedaimonians
within their walls. ^
The breed of ownerless and half-wild dogs in the Troad is the
same as that of Constantinople, so often described. Still, the
difference in the appearance of the animals is astonishing. The
wretched curs who are kicked aside in the dirty streets of Galata
are spiritless and pitiful ; but in the interior of Asia Minor, where
the dogs are esteemed as the guardians as well as the scavengers
of the village, they are fierce and upright of bearing, although
usually half famished.
Flora and Fauna.
The admirable contributions of Webb, Tchihatchef, and Yirchow
to our knowledge of the natural history of the Troad leave little
to be said by the non-professional writer concerning the animals
and plants of this district. Still, the field is so extensive, and of
such exceptional interest, that much remains to be done by well-
equipped specialists. The American expedition esteemed itself
fortunate in being able to entertain at Assos, for some weeks dur-
ing the spring of 1883, Mr. Paul Sintenis, a gentleman sent out by
the Botanical Museum of Berlin to make a thorough investigation
^ Pausanias, IV. 21. i.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASS OS. 367
of the flora of the Troad.^ The publication of his reports, and
of the descriptions of his extensive collection, will throw more
light upon the botany of this part of Asia Minor than do all the
works relating to this subject which have been cited and compiled
by Ascherson.^
The long sojourn of the American explorers in the country gave
them, however, the opportunity of observing a number of wild
beasts, — such as boars and bears, — which, as they are seldom to
be seen in the lowlands except when driven from their native for-
ests by extreme cold, did not come under the notice of the writers
before referred to, most of whom made but a comparatively short
stay in the Troad, visiting the remote and sparsely populated dis-
tricts only during the pleasant months of the year. Some observa-
tions concerning the wild boars, which still roam the upper valley
of the Satnioeis in great herds, have been made in connection with
the representations of this animal upon the reliefs of the chief
temple of Assos. The bears of the Ida range, "mother of wild
beasts," ^ seem to have escaped notice by modern travellers. Two
fine specimens, a she bear and her cub, were met with by the
writer in the autumn of 1SS2, near the headwater of the Qoja
Tchai.'' They were of the common brown variety, and appeared to
differ in no respect from the shaggy and short-snouted animals
which are led through Hungary and Lower Austria by strolling
players. During the later ages of antiquity these bears of the
Troad were renowned for their fierceness and strength, and were
especially prized by those great showmen among the ancients, the
contractors of the amphitheatre, whose task it was to supply the
savage beasts baited in the arenas. One of the letters of Libanios ^
expresses the intense interest felt by that distinguished sophist in
an attempt made by his fellow citizens to obtain from Mount Ida a
number of bears for a gladiatorial combat to be held at Antioch.
1 A preliminary notice of the researches of Mr. Sintenis is given in the Vc-r-
handlungen von dem bota^iischen Verein fur die Proviiiz Brandenburg, vol. xxv.
Berlin, 1884.
2 Ascherson (Paul), Catalogue of the Plants hitherto known in the Troad.
Appendix VI. to Schliemann's Ilios.
'^ ■'IStjc 5' Ikuv^v Tro\vwiSaKa, /UTjre'pa drjpoiiv. II. , VIII. 47.
* The ancient Aisepos. *
* Libanios, Epist., 1454, ed. Wolfius, p. 665.
368 ARCHAEOLOGICAL hXSTITUTE.
A kind of large black snake, common at Assos, has been iden-
tified as the Coluber acoiitistcs. Two specimens, killed by the
men while at work, were found to measure not less than two and
two and a half meters in length. Although not poisonous, they
were much dreaded by the Greek laborers, and it was undeniably
disagreeable to the surveyor, occupied with a large drawing-board
upon his lap, to have one of these enormous reptiles glide forth
from a heap of ruins beneath him, and across bis leg. These ser-
pents are without doubt the same as those of Pella, described
by Lucian ^ as having been employed with success in the juggling
tricks of Alexander of Abonouteichos. Although not tamed, as in
ancient times, they still come without fear into the houses, which
are overrun with rats and mice, and join in the destruction of these
pests with the great weasel, or stoat. It is a curious fact concern-
ing this weasel, that it changes the color of its fur in winter, —
even as do its relatives inhabiting more northern latitudes. This
change has generally been attributed to some harmonious relation
between the lighter color of the animal in winter and that of its
environment of snow, and the conformity to this law in the case of
the weasel of the Sporades — where snow never lies upon the
ground — is certainly worthy of remark as an indication of the
northern origin of the genus. Inquiry among the country people
of Samos and Chios proved the difference between the winter and
the summer coat to be quite as marked in those islands as it is in
the colder Troad.
The size of the serpents killed at Assos is, however, as nothing to
that of a species which is said occasionally to make its appearance
in the upper valley of the Satnioeis. The Turks of Avdjylar^ tell
of a reptile killed in this region some years ago, the body of which
was " as large round as a man's waist," and measured sixteen piks
(nearly eleven meters!) in length. Improbable as the tale may
sound, the existence of such latter-day pythons on the coasts of the
Aegean is well authenticated. Dr. Erhard, long a resident of the
Greek islands, in his work on the fauna of the Cyclades ^ gives
several instances in point. One of these — which may well serve
1 Lucian, Alex.^ VII.
2 Near the site of the ancient Antandros.
8 Erhard (Dr.), Fauna der Cycladen, Theil I. Leipzig, 185S.
INVESTIGATIONS AT AS SOS. 369
as a parallel to the great deed of Apollo Pythios — relates to a
serpent of enormous size that had taken up its abode on a moun-
tain of Kephallenia, and had rendered the district literally unin-
habitable for miles around. Two brothers, armed with spears and
axes, attacked and killed the monster, and were rewarded for this
performance by a remission of taxes during lifetime, and by hav-
ing the mountain renamed in their honor ; these privileges being
set forth and assured by a document drawn up by the civil authori-
ities. It is characteristic of the degenerate spirit of modern days,
that these heroes are reported to have long watched the reptile,
and to have fallen upon him while asleep.
Landscape and Climate.
A short distance inland, at the north of Assos, is an extensive
tract of hilly country, traversed by none of the Turkish bridle-
paths, and hitherto unvisited by any of those travellers who have
given accounts of the Southern Troad. Lying between the towns
of Neandreia, Larissa, Assos, and Kebrene, this tract is a blank upon
the ancient map, and was evidently as sparsely populated in an-
tiquity as it is to-day. It still remains in a condition almost pri-
meval : it has been alike spared by the conquerors, and neglected
by the settlers of the fertile valleys of the Kebren and the Satnioeis.
Its arid heights are covered with a stunted growth of ilex, oak, and
conifers. Along its scant water-courses grow the wild fig, the wild
almond, and the wild olive, the gray green of whose foliage is re-
lieved in the early spring by the bright pink of the oleander, and
the delicate violet-blue of the agnus castus, "ancient garland of the
Carians." ^ Here sing at evening an endless choir of nightingales,
so fearless of man that they might almost be taken by hand. Here
are found Hocks of wild doves, and occasionally the shy roller-bird
{Garrulus glandarius) is seen, the brilliancy of whose plumage,
streaked with tlie colors of ultramarine beryl and changeable fawn,
no pigments can represent. Every aspect of nature is the same
as it must have been to that band of Cretan Teukrians, who,
1 Nicainetos, in Athenaios, XV. 14. The myth which was adduced in ex-
planation of this custom is related by Mcnodotos of Samos, quoted in Athenaios,
XV. 13.
24
370 ARCH^OLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
following the oracle of Apollo, wandered through this land until,
attacked by the hordes of earth-born mice, they rested upon the
appointed site of Hamaxitos.^
Throughout the greater part of its extent, this region is without
streams and springs, and during the heat of summer the appear-
ance of many a wide expanse is that of a desert. There is an al-
most entire lack of one all-important family of plants, the grasses,
which on the heights of Ida, and in the meadows watered by the
chief streams descending from it, provide nourishment for great
herds of cattle and flocks of sheep. A few stalks of the Cynodon
or Panicum species spring up from the rocky soil, as if to prove
that it is possible for the Gramines to exist, despite unfavorable
conditions. But they do not suffice even for the maintenance of
omnivorous goats, and cannot satisfy the eye accustomed to the
greensward of Northern lands. It is only in favored spots that thin
patches of verdure appear for some weeks after the autumn rains
have set in. On these wind-swept heights the cold of winter is
severe. The range upon the north of the Satnioeis forms a distinct
climatic division between the southern coast and the interior of the
Troad. At the beginning of March, while the vegetation in the
valley of the Scamander, and even in that of the Kebren, shows no
sign of recovering from its winter's sleep, — while the lowlands are
often covered with snow, — the banks of the river flowing by the
walls of Assos are again decked with the brightest green, and with
countless varieties of low-growing flowers : the yellow, white, and
blue crocus, the saffron, the delicate iris, and many-colored tulips.
These high hills seem to mark the northern limit, in Asia Minor, of
the wild pomegranate and rhododendron ; and it is a point of the
greatest importance in the agricultural economy of the Troad, that
the olive, which is so wonderfully productive on all the coasts of the
Gulf of Adramyttion, does not repay cultivation in the interior, and
is but rarely met with along the Hellespont.
At Assos itself the field of ruins is thickly overgrown with the
velvety green of an aromatic herb, Ballota acetabulosa, which,
although common in the Peloponnesos and on the islands of the
Aegean, is not to be found in the Trojan plain. This plant gives
to the ancient site its most striking and most pleasing floral char-
1 Strabo, p. 604, following Kallinos.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS. 371
acteristic. Amidst its soft tufts rises the tall thorny stalk of a
poisonous thistle {^Echinops viscosjis), bearing a ball spiked like
a mediaeval mace, the points of which penetrate leather and tear
strips from garments of corduroy ; and in the shady corners of
the fortification walls grows the Arum dracunailus, its gigantic
flower exhaling an odor of carrion so intolerable and so over-
powering that it can only be approached with tightly closed mouth
and nostrils.
In October and November the landscape of Assos displays its
greatest beauty. The autumn rains have then cleared the air, and
cool breezes have swept away the hazy vapor which hangs over
the distant peaks of Ida during the summer months. The sharp
crests bordering the horizon are iridescent in an atmosphere of
limpid purity. The reds, the grays, the purpled steel of these vol-
canic formations, are veiled in a verdure of every hue and tone,
from the sombre shade of cypress groves to the emerald light of
fields along the river's bank. Every form and every color varies
from hour to hour as the day advances, until at last the summit of
Gargaros glows with the reflection of the sun, as it sets behind the
great plateau above Palamedeion. Lesbos, like a coquettish beauty,
arrays herself in her finest colors at evening. The ravines upon
the side of Mount Lepethymnos are marked by deep transparent
shadows, and the white houses of its villages gleam across the
strait. The island upon which the slopes of Assos continually
look is truly, as the Turks have called it, a " Golden Island," —
" the Garden of the Ottoman Empire." In antiquity its natural
loveliness must have been enhanced by well-cultivated groves of
olives, and by the quiet lines of columned stoas and temples,
standing in every town and on every picturesque height. The
spectacle brings to mind the words by which Cicero characterized
this land : " Urbs et natura, et situ, et descriptione aedificiorum
et pulchritudine, in primis nobilis ; agri jucundi et fertiles " ; ^
and we join in the admiration felt by Diodoros for Lesbos and
her sisters : " Indeed, these islands in richness of soil and plenty
of all things did not only excel »11 neighboring countries in an-
cient times, but do so even to this day. For the fertility of the
soil, the pleasantness of the situation, and the healthfulness of
' Cicero, Dc Lege Agraria, II. 16.
372 ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
the climate is such that they are not without cause called, but
are really and in truth, blessed and happy islands." ^
The effect which the seasons of the year have upon the ap-
pearance of the country is wonderful. In the heat of summer, the
traveller will fail to recognize many a spot the beauty of which he
admired but a month or two before. During July and August,
when the thermometer is known to rise to 115° Fahrenheit in the
shade, all vegetation in the plains and upon the hillsides is burnt
and leafless. At midday the hand can scarcely be borne upon the
baked and fissured earth. It is rare that the parched fields are
refreshed by a shower between the months of June and October.
In 1883, an exceptionally cool season, there were storms of thunder
and lightning during the first days of July, yet there was no appre-
ciable fall of rain. Much damage has, however, been known to
occur from hail, in midsummer.
A spectacle which frequently presents itself at this time of the
year is the mirage, which generally appears at Assos, towards the
west, above the strait between Methymna and Lecton. The phe-
nomenon has also been observed upon the western coast of the
Troad.^
When the summer gales of northern wind — the Etesians of the
ancients — were not in force, great relief from the heat was
brought by a sea-breeze from the w^est-southwest, known as the
Imbat, which springs up at about two o'clock in the afternoon and
continues until nightfall. It was without doubt owing to the in-
fluence of these winds, that the level of the tideless sea w^as varied
by an otherwise inexplicable ebb and flow, the difference in height
from one day to the other, often being more than half a meter.
In the late autumn the south wind brings heavy rains, which
filled our trenches and trial pits, and made outdoor work impos-
sible. This wind, still called by its classical name Nona (Noro?),
is figuratively known to the Greek workmen as a TraWrjKdpLov, — a
handsome youth of proud bearing. They say that he possesses
large bags of skin,® which he dips into the sea by means of the
1 Diodoros, V. 82, Booth's translation. London, 1700.
2 Fontanier (V.), Voyages en Orient, de PAmtee 1821 d. 1829. Paris, 1S29.
3 The larger size of these skins of pigs and goats, used for the transportation
of wine, oil, cheese, and even honey, was known at Assos as yvreKiov ; the
smaller size, as rovXovfjLiov.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS. 373
clouds, lifting them, full of water, high up into the air, and carrying
them to distant countries where he empties them upon the earth ;
either through a small sieve,^ through a large meshed screen,^ or
without any such medium for dividing the drops, — according as
the rain falls in a fine drizzle, in a heavy shower, or in one of
those torrents, known only in southern latitudes, in which the
water seems to descend in sheets.^ The personification of the
south wind as a graceful and wayward youth, and of the north wind,
Boreas, as a fierce and bearded man, is the same as that which
prevailed among the ancients. In the reliefs upon the Tower of
the Winds in Athens, Notos holds a sprinkler, which corresponds in
idea to the sieve of the Romaic peasant. The antique conception
of the winds as winged messengers, which was certainly retained
in the Middle Ages, seems to be wholly lost. These picturesque
myths are more and more forgotten as Occidental literature and
ideas are introduced by means of the increasing commercial inter-
course with Europe. The popular fairy tales, and even the legends
of Byzantine Christianity, are held to be outgrown, and are told
only by old women. The coming generation will have little knowl-
edge of this unwritten lore, handed down from generation to gener-
ation, the tradition of which still forms a link between the present
and the past.
On the whole, it may be said that, in the Troad, more real suf-
fering is caused by the cold of winter than by the heat of summer :
this being due to the same lack of provision for excluding chill
draughts and for warming living-rooms. At Assos the inclemency
of January is to be ascribed rather to the piercing wind, than to a
really low temperature. The rivers of the country are frozen over
for but a short time, if at all, and the sensitive rhododendrons and
pomegranates are rarely injured by frost.
The spring is variable. Calm, clear days in April are sometimes
uncomfortably warm, but the north wind may bring a sudden re-
turn of the cold. It is the old struggle of the sun and the wind, —
^ Known at Assos as arapKi, or, more commonly, by its Turkish names, Cal-
bour and Eleck.
■■^ Greek Sptix6ve, Turkish Jiusare.
^ A myth of the same character, differing only in detail, is still current in
Attica. Compare TloKlr-ns (N. F.). Ar)fxwS(is MfT(iopo\oyiKol Mvdoi. 'E7 'Adrjvois,
1880.
374 ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
always present to the mind of the Greeks. Upon the north of the
range bordering the Satnioeis the alternations of temperature are
much greater than in the immediate vicinity of Assos. On the first
day of April, 1883, the writer lost his way while riding among the
hills near the juncture of the Kebren and the Scamander, on
account of the bridle-paths being covered with snow ; ice was
formed upon standing water in the Trojan plain on the morning
of the 8th of April, 1882 ; and snow has been known to fall
heavily along the Hellespont on the 12th of May. Yet the white
caps disappear from the peaks of Ida early in June ; Schliemann
errs in speaking of these heights as covered with eternal snow.^
This fickleness of the spring is characterized by the Greek
peasant in a warning quatrain :
"OA.0 T^ MapTTj (pvXaye,
Kal t' 'ATTpiAwv ras SeKa,
Kt ''ukS/jlt] Kal ras SeKOKTa
TlfpSiKa ^'^6(t}7)(Te V rh avy6.'^
Few parts of Asia Minor are of more general interest and more
easily accessible than the Troad. The number of visitors to it will,
without doubt, increase from year to year. For those who love the
sea, who have some knowledge of modern Greek, and who are not
in haste, the best way of becoming acquainted with the country
is to hire one of the small sail-boats which abound in Mytilene,
provision it well, and with two sailors, one of whom may serve as
guide, run along the coast from Atarneus (now the port of Per-
gamon) to Troy, — making leisurely excursions into the interior,
on foot, and unimpeded by baggage. The great drawbacks of
the journey by land — the bad food and sleepless nights — may
thus be avoided. The manner of travelling through the interior
on horseback has not changed in any particular since the visit of
1 Schliemann (Heinrich), Trojanische AUerthi'nner. Bericht iibcr die Aitsgra-
bnngen in Troja, p. 15. Leipzig, 1874.
2 " Be on your watch (against the frost) the whole of March, and (until) the
loth of April (22d, new style), and even (until) the i8th (30th, new style), when
a partridge has been known to perish (by freezing to death) on her very eggs."
The early dates named in this saying seem to show it to have been framed
for a warmer latitude, a supposition confirmed by its familiar use in the vicinity
of Smyrna. Compare Mommsen (August), GriecJiische Jahreszeiten, No. 440.
Schleswig, 1S73.
INVESTIGATIONS AT ASSOS. 375
Bertrandon de la Brocquiere, in 1432.^ For such an excursion the
months of September, October, and November are by far the most
pleasant. The heat of summer has then abated, while showers of
rain are neither so frequent nor so heavy as to cause the loss of
much time. The weather is cool and bright ; and the landscape,
covered with a varied vegetation, is seen at its greatest beauty.
For a trip of but a few days, horses and a guide can be hired in
the town of the Dardanelles at the rate of about one medjid
apiece per day. But the independence desirable for a longer
journey can only be secured by buying the mounts, care being
taken to provide a European saddle. The sturdy and sure-footed
little horse of Mytilene and the Troad — so highly extolled in for-
mer centuries by Stochove ^ and Sestini ^ — may be bought for
eight or ten Turkish pounds,^ and, if well cared for, sold again at
the end of the journey with little or no loss.
A region of much interest, hitherto almost entirely unvisited, is
1 La Brocquiere, Voyage d'Oiitrcmcr. The author gives a most detailed ac-
count of all matters relating to travel.
'^ Stochove (Vincent dc), Voyage faict es Annees 1630-1633. 1st edition.
Kruxelles, 1643.
3 Sestini (Domenico), Lettere odeporiche, o sia Viaggio per la Pcnisola di
Cizico per Brussa e Nicea, fatto P Anno 1779, vol. vi. Livorno, 1785.
* The price of hor.ses in the Troad is certainly low, not only in comparison
with the sums asked for the same animals in Constantinople to-day, but also
and especially in comparison with those which are recorded to have been paid
during antiquity. It is difficult to account for the difference in the value of
horses in ancient and modern times. Isaios (De Dicaeog. Hered., ed. Schomann,
XLIII.) speaks of an animal of the poorest kind as worth three minas, — or, in
other words, the equivalent of the wages of a laborer for more than a year
and a half. That twelve minas was a not uncommon price for a good saddle
horse is evident from Aristophanes (Clouds, 1224), and especially from Lysias
(irphs Tovs (TvuovaiacTTas KaKoAoyicov, cd. Franz, X.) who tells of this amount having
been lent on a horse which had been taken in pawn. The sum last named
would not have been earned by the architect of the Erechtheion in four years I
Even restricting the parallel to the poorest paid class of day laborers, such
prices as these are from ten to twenty times as much as those now ruling in
Asia Minor.
It may be remarked, as a curiosity, that Boukephalos was sold for the enor-
mous sum of thirteen talents (AuliusGellius, V. 2, quoting Chares of Mytilene), —
the equivalent of fully $35,000 to-day, — and yet could have served only to
gratify the pride of personal display in the owner, not bringing to him any such
income in the shape of prize and entrance moneys as docs a modern racer.
376 ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.
that upon the north and northeast of Ida, around the head-waters
of the Karesos and the upper course of the Aisepos. The thor-
ough examination of this tract could scarcely fail to increase our
information concerning the remains of antiquity, as well as con-
cerning classical topography.
Could the traveller have come to Assos during the excavations
of the American expedition, he would have heard, afar off, the
chorus of the workmen, as they sang together, sailor fashion, while
rolling aside the shaft of some column ; he would have been guided
to the site of the ancient temple or theatre by the creaking of the
dusty barrow wheels, and by the blows of the heavy hammer
breaking some stone too large to be lifted entire. Now the silence
of that hillside will be broken only by the roll of the waves upon
the beach beneath the cliff, and by the tinkling bells of the goats,
as they twist their necks to browse upon the tough shoots of the
oak bushes which have again overgrown the ruins of the Greek
Bath, the Agora, and the Street of Tombs.
ANTA BARBARA «
_ o VINKOjnWD
-r rAiiroifNtA o
oLc I
University of California
SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY
305 De Neve Drive - Parking Lot 17 • Box 951388
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA 90095-1388
Return this material to the library from which it was borrowed.
_ rui
RB
^
J
M
SANTA BARB-
Series 9482
VINSOJIIV^ JO O
o AiisaaAiNfi 3Hi
/
" io ADvaan 3hi
\
° SANTA BARBARA
THE IIBRARV OF o
' ■' iV
OF CAIIFORNIA o
W
§9^
dO Asvsan 3hi <»
OF CALIFORNIA
3^
eO
<an
JO AMVtian 3H1 o
/
THE LIBRARY OF o
— r~~~i-^
UF
mf^
o THE UNIVERSITY
W^
B
■^ SANTA BARBARA °
e THE UNIVERSITY
s
c
D
o SANTA BARBARA "
vavflsva viNvs o
<
7
CI
c
O
11,
T^
<
o
Jl
?\
o AilSll3AINn 3HJI
QIC
o AllSa9AINn 3H1 o
o THE UNIVERSITY
U£
B
[ 3 1205 01918 2367
o SANTA BARBARA <>