GREEK SCULPTURE.
The Greeks in the early development of their art stood in close con nection with the Orient. From Egypt and Assyria the Pluenicians had carried all over the Mediterranean a knowledge of the methods and orna mental types of the great civi:izations of the East. In the working in metal, in ceramics, and in sculpture this influence is manifest; but even in these early works the moving- genius of the Greek people is seen struggling for mastery over the material and for greater freedom of expression. When once the development began, scarcely more than a single century was re quired to break the bonds of Oriental tradition and reach a perfection of form which has never been surpassed.
The Statue .ipollo Mica (pi. 4, fig. 1), which dates from the middle of the sixth century n.c. and is now in the Glyptothek at Munich, shows touches of Egyptian art in its slender proportions, its sharp outlines, its attitude of repose, and its woolly hair arranged like a wig; but the legs are freer than in Egyptian figures and the countenance has individual features distinguishing it from the Egyptian type. Owing to the oblique position of the eves and to the elevation of the extremities of the mouth, it exhibits to a degree not evident in our illustration what was known to the ancients as the archaic, or .4_;:ginetan, smile. The peculiar treatment of the hair, as if made with the file instead of with the chisel, the flat ness of the surfaces, and the sharpness of the lines betray the technical methods of the wood-carver rather than those of the sculptor of marble.
Soldier of 2 gives us an example of an Attic has relief of the latter half of the sixth century B.C. representing a soldier of Marathon; in spirit it is not unlike the Persian warriors in enamelled brick found recently at Susa. The background was originally painted red, the breastplate blue, and the decorations red. As in Oriental sculp ture, greater attention is given to ornamental detail than to,the correct portrayal of the nude form. We have already noticed in the bas-reliefs of ria an exaggeration of the muscles of the leg; here, also, we see these muscles indicated, notwithstanding the fact that the legs are pro tected with greases.
Archaic Figures 3 and 4 we have specimens of the archaic coinage of Attica and Central Greece. In the one we see the head of
Athena with her symbols, the owl and the olive-twig; in the other, the terror-inspiring heads of the gorgon and of a lion.
Harpy Tomb i!/* the same period the Ionian Greeks show a feeling for grace and elegance which culminated in the great tem ples of Samos and Ephesos, of Sardes and i\liletos. Characteristic and interesting are the tombs of Lykia, from one of which, the Harpy Tomb at Nanthos, our illustration (fr,. 5) is taken. The tomb was a high rect angular tower surmounted by the burial-chamber; outside of this was the sculptured frieze, on which are represented the deified occupants of the tomb. Here three female figures present to the enthroned woman an egg, a blossom, and a pomegranate, symbols of life or immortality; the drapery falls in loose folds and permits the principal outlines of the body to be seen. The varied treatment of the drapery shows an evident desire to break the monotony which heretofore had frequently characterized pro cessional scenes.
Fifth-Centwy Sculpture: rEgina was an important factor for the development of sculpture amongst the Greeks that they possessed a past full of heroic legends. When, then, the inhabitants of Egina, after their brilliant achievement in the battle of Salamis, wish to express public thanks in adorning their temple, they turn to their heroic past for subjects for their pedimental sculptures. In the example before us (pt. 4, fig. 6) we see the fallen Patroklos and the battle raging between Greeks and Trojans. In the centre stands the goddess Athena, as calm as a temple statue; to the left is Ajax, and for convenience we may call those who fol low him Ajax (Neils, Teucer, and the fallen Greek; to the right is Hector, followed by -Eneas, Paris, and a fallen Trojan. Our attention is at once claimed by the unity of the composition, in which there is not only a symmetrical balance of individual figures, but also a convergence of the principal lines toward the centre of interest. These lines on either side do not betray a rude parallelism, but show an alternation of strong and weak lines like the measures of Greek verse.