MELOPLASTE, n0'161)414' (from Gk.
11) loss, song + 1-ri(if777/f, plastic, molder. from 77iircriv, plassein. to form). A peculiar method of teaching children the rudiments of music, orig inated by Pierre Galin at the beginning of the nineteenth century. in order not to confuse the beginner with the various musical characters. used a slate with only the five lines of the stall' drawn upon it. Ile then sang familiar airs to his pupils; but instead of singing words he used the syllables do, rc. 111i. etc., at the same time pointing out the place of each note upon the staff. Ilbythin he taught by means of a double metronome which marked the beginning of a measure as well as each beat within that measure. ME'LOS (T.at., from C.k. or "%Imo. The island of the Cyclades in f:rceinn Archipelago. or Sea, about miles northeast of Crete. and (T miles east of the Peloponnesus. It is 11 miles long and R broad, and on its northern roast one of the best and safest natural harbors in the Levant. The island is crescent-shaped and seems to be part of the rim of the crater of an old volcano. The highest eminence is Mount Saint Elias (2,539 feet) , in the southwestern part. The island shows many traces of its volcanic character, and contains hot mineral springs and considerahle deposits of sulphur. The soil is fertile, and produces good crops of grain, as well as wine :11111 oil. The chief town is Plaka, in the northern part of"the island near the site of the ancient capital, of which extensive remains arc to be seen. Near the sea the ground is marshy, and the air is unwholesome in summer. In pre historic• times the island seems to have been of some importance, on account of the obsidian. used in the Stone Age for knives and arrow heads. The chief settlement was on the northeast coast near the modern Phylakopi, where are re mains of three successive towns, extending from the Stone Age to the end of the Nyeemean pe riod. There are traditions of Phamieian occupa
tion at a later time, but during the classical period was inhabited by Dorians. and dur ing the Peloponnesian War was one of the few islands not in the Athenian League. Though the inhabitants were willing to remain neutral, the Athenians in B.C. 41G seized the island, killed the men and sold the women and children into slavery. With the fall of Athens, however, the Athenian colonists were expelled and the former inhabitants brought hack so far as possible. Melos fell under the dominion of the Pomans, the Byzantine emperors, Venice, and the Turks; it is now a part of Greece. Dur ing the later classical period the island evidently enjoyed considerable prosperity and was ,mrielied with litany works of art, sonic of whirl! have been recovered from time to time. Notable among these are the fine "Poseidon" in the National seum at Athens, and especially the of 3,1i1o," discovered in 1S30 by a peasant, and now one of the chief treasures of the Louvre. From 1890 to 1899 excavations were conducted on the island by the British School at Athens, which led to the discovery of the hall of the 'Myst;e' or 'Initiated.' and some foundations at the site of the ancient capital, near the modern vil lage of Klima on the great bay. The chief re sult, however, was the recovery of the prehistoric settlements at Phylakopi, with a wealth of early pottery and some very interesting frescoes. The preliminary reports may be found in the .1 town/ of the British! School at Athens, vols. ii.-v. (Lon don, 189;.19(10) and The dont-nal of Studieg, cols. xvi.-xix. (London, 1S91;-99). A complete publication is promised shortly.