Chapter 32

Ὦ Πάν, Ἀρκαδίας μέδων κλεεννᾶς,ὀρχηστὰ βρομίαις ὀπαδὲ νύμφαις,γελάσειας, ὦ Πὰν, ἐπ’ ἐμαῖςεὐφροσύναις, ἀοιδαῖς κεχαρημένος[292].O Pan, Arcadia’s sovereign lord,Dancing and singing with the nymphs;Smile, Pan, responsive to my joys,O shout, delighted with my songs.[289]Paus. l. x. 32. 5. Strabo, l. ix. cap. 3. § 1. p. 488. ed. Siebenkees Raikes’s Journal in Memoirs edited by Walpole, p. 311-315.[290]Paus. l. v. c. 15. § 4.[291]Pyth. iii. 137-139.[292]Athenæus, l. xv. 50. 1547. ed. Dindorf. Pindari Op. a Böckh. ii. 2. p. 592. Brunck, Analecta, vol. i. p. 156; and vol. iii. Lect. et Emend. p. 27.On a vase of Greek marble in the Royal Museum at Naples (This vase was first described in [Italian 275] Bayardi, Catalogo degli antichi monumenti dissottarretti da Ercolano. Napoli, 1754, p. 290. No. 914.), we see Pan dancing with the nymphs exactly as he is represented in the preceding song. The sculpture is in that very ancient style, which is calledEtruscan. Pan is here exhibited with goats’ feet and horns (Hom. Hymn. in Pana, 1. 2.). He wears the skin of an animal, and employs his right hand in drawing it up towards his left shoulder. In his left hand he holds the crook or pastoral staff, which is one of his usual emblems. Pan and the three females, with whom he is dancing, form a distinct group by themselves. They are moving round a large stone, and the artist probably imagined them to be moving first in one direction, and then in the opposite, as if performing the Strophe and Antistrophe around an altar. We learn from Mr. Dodwell, that the modern Greeks in their circular dances hold each other with a handkerchief, and not by the hand[293].[293]Dodwell’s Tour, vol. ii. p. 21, 22.That the Romans considered Pān and Faun to be the same, using the two names indiscriminately, the one as the Greek, the other as the Latin form, is evident from such passages as the following:Pan from Arcadia’s hills descendsTo visit oft my Sabine seat,And here my tender goats defendsFrom rainy winds and summer’s heat.For when the vales, wide-spreading round,The sloping hills, and polish’d rocks,With his harmonious pipe resound,In fearless safety graze my flocks.Hor. Od. l. i. c. 17. v. 1-12.The names Pan and Faun, scarcely differ except in this, that the one begins with P, thelenis, and the other with F, which is itsaspirate: in the second place, both were conceived to have not only the same form and appearance, but the same habits, dispositions, and employments: thirdly, the goat was sacrificed to Pan in Greece[294]and to Faunus in Italy[295], because the Arcadian and Roman deity was conceived to be the guardian of goats as well as sheep, but this animal was not sacrificed to the Egyptian Mendes, becauseIn safety through the woody brakeThe latent shrubs and thyme explore,Nor longer dread the speckled snake,And tremble at the wolf no more.Francis’s Translation, abridged.in Egypt the goat itself was supposed to be Mendes, an incarnation of the god; and lastly, it is recorded as an historical fact, that the worship of Faunus was brought to Rome from Arcadia, whereas the supposition of the introduction of the same worship into Arcadia from Egypt, though found in the pages of an historian, is not given by him as a matter of history, but only as a matter of opinion. The account of the origin of the worship of Faunus at Rome, is as follows:Evander, the Arcadian, introduced a colony of his countrymen into Italy, and established there the rights of Mercury and of the Lycean Pan on the hill, which was afterwards called the Palatine Mount and became part of the city of Rome. A caveat the base of the hill was dedicated to Pan, as we have seen was the case some centuries afterwards at Athens[296].[294]Longi Pastor. l. ii. c. 17. In an epigram by Leonidas of Tarentum (No. xxx. Brunckii Analecta, tom. i. p. 228.) Bito, an aged Arcadian, dedicates offerings to Pan, to Bacchus, and to the Nymphs. To Pan he devotes a kid.[295]Ovid. Fasti, ii. See also Hor. Od. l. i. 4. v. ii.[296]Dionys. Halicarn. Hist. Rom. l. i. p. 20, 21, ed. R. Steph. Paris 1546. Strabon l. v. cap. iii. § 3. Aur. Victor, Origo Gentis Romanæ. Livii l. i. c. 5. Pausanias, viii. 43. 2. Virg. Æn. viii. 51-54. 342-344. Heyne’s Excursus ad loc. Ovidii Fasti, ii. 268-452. v. 88, &c.In the preceding observations we have endeavored to give a correct representation of the real sentiments and practices of the Arcadians in regard to the proper divinity of their country; and from this account we are naturally led to inquire what influence this peculiar belief and worship had upon their manners and their social life. Whilst the elegant simplicity and innocence of the Arcadian shepherds, their graceful chorusses, their dance and song, their love for their fleecy charge, which they delighted and soothed with the melody of the pipe, have been the theme and ornament of poetry and romance from the earliest times, the question is highly important and interesting, whether these ideal visions are realised by historical testimony? whether the shepherds of the ancient Arcadia were so entirely and so favorably distinguished from men of the same class and employment in almost all other times and countries? One modern writer denies this fact. He says, “The refined and almost spiritualized state of innocence, which we call the pastoral life of Arcadia, was entirely unknown to the ancients:” and he quotes in support of this assertion several expressions, used by Philostratus and other writers, and denoting contempt for the Arcadians as a rude, ignorant, stupid race of people[297]. Polybius, who was an Arcadian, confidently asserts, that they had throughout Greece a high and honorable reputation, not only on account of their hospitality to strangers and their benevolence towards all men, but especially on account of theirpiety towards the divine being! It is true they make no figure in Grecian history, because they were too wise to take part in the irrational contests, which continually embroiled the surrounding states. Their division into small independent communities, each presenting a purelydemocraticconstitution,rendered it impossible for them to acquire celebrity in legislation;and yet we are informed of some of the citizens of Arcadia, who were reputed excellent lawgivers for the sphere in which they acted[298]. It appears to be no inconsiderable evidence of their progress in the art of government upon republican principles,that in the choice of magistrates at Mantinea they proceeded upon the plan of a double election[299]. We have the most decisive proofs of their public spirit in the splendid cities, which they erected, and which were adorned with theatres, temples, and numerous other edifices. We are informed by Pausanias[300], that of all the temples in Peloponnesus the most beautiful and admirable were those of Minerva at Tegea and of Apollo at Phigalia; and these were both cities of Arcadia. Now it should be observed, that the taste and splendor of their public edifices are the more decisive proofs of their national enthusiasm, when it is considered,that among them property was exceedingly subdivided; that they had no overpowering aristocracy, no princes or great landed gentry, who might seek for renown or court popularity by bestowing their wealth upon public institutions; but that the noble temples, the sculptures, and other works of art, which ornamented their cities and were subservient to purposes of common interest, could have been produced only by the united deliberations and contributions of the mass of the inhabitants. They seem therefore toprovetheuniversalprevalence both of a liberal patriotic feeling, and of a cultivated taste for the beautiful and the sublime.[297]J. H. Voss, Virgil’s Ländliche Gedichte, tom. ii. p. 353.[298]Wachsmuth, Hellen. Alterthumskunde, i. 1. p. 180; i. 2. p. 305.[299]Aristot. Polit. l. vi. 2. 2.[300]L. viii. c. 41. 5. p. 429, ed. Siebel.Virgil bears his testimony to their superior skill in vocal and instrumental music.Arcadian swains,Ye best artificers of soothing strains.Bucol.x. 32.—Warton’s Translation.This must of course be understood as referring only to music and poetry of the pastoral kind. To the composition of the higher species of poetry, by which the Greeks of other countries laid a foundation for the instruction and delight of all succeedingages, the Arcadians never aspired. At the same time there can be no doubt that they bestowed great care upon the exhibition of dramatic compositions, though they did not attempt to write them: of this fact we have sufficient proof in the remains of the theatres found upon the sites of their principal cities, and especially of the theatre of Megalopolis, which was the greatest in all Greece[301].[301]Pausanias, l. viii. 32. 1. Leake’s Travels in the Morea, vol. ii. p. 32. 39, 40.But with respect to their cultivation of music and its influence on their national character, we have upon record the full and explicit testimony of one of their most distinguished citizens, the historian Polybius, whose remarks will appear especially deserving of the reader’s attention, when it is considered, that he must himself have gone through the whole course of discipline and instruction which he describes. Having had occasion to mention the turbulent character as well as the cruel and perfidious conduct of the Cynætheans, who occupied a city and district in the north of Arcadia, he proposes to inquire why it was that, although they were indeed Arcadians, they had acted in a manner so entirely at variance with the usual habits and manners of the Greeks, and he then proceeds with earnestness and solemnity to explain upon the following principles the cause of this extraordinary contrast. It was, as he states, that the Cynætheans were the only inhabitants of Arcadia who had neglected to exercise themselves in music; and he then gives the following account of the established practice of the rest of the Arcadians in devoting themselves to the study ofrealmusic, by which he means the united arts of music, poetry, and dancing, of all those elegant and graceful performances, over which the Muses were supposed to preside. He informs us that the Arcadians, whose general habits were very severe, were required by law to go on improving themselves in music, so understood, until their thirtieth year. “In childhood,” says he, “they are taught to sing in tune hymns and pæans in honor of the domestic heroes and divinities. They afterwards learn the music of Philoxenus and Timotheus. They dance to the pipe in the theatres at the annual festival of Bacchus; andthey do this with great emulation, the boys performing mock-fights adapted to their age, and the young men the so-called manly fights. In like manner throughout the whole of life their pleasure at feasts and entertainments consists, not in listening to singers hired for the purpose, but in singing themselves in their turns when called upon. For, although a man may decline any other performance on the ground of inability and may thereby bring no imputation on himself, no one can refuse to sing, because all have been obliged to learn it, and to refuse to take a part, when able, is deemed disgraceful. The young men also unite together to perform in order all the military steps and motions to the sound of the pipe, and at the public expense they exhibit them every year before their fellow-citizens. Besides these ballets, marches, and mock-fights, the men and women unite in great public assemblies and in numerous sacrifices, to which are to be added the circular or choral dances by the boys and virgins.” Polybius adds, that these musical exercises had been ordained as the means of communicating softness and refinement to the otherwise rough and laborious life of the Arcadians, and he warns them by the example of the half-savages of Cynæthæ never to abandon such wholesome institutions[302]. With how great benefit to our own social character might we adopt this counsel! How greatly might we contribute both to the innocent enjoyment and to the more improved and elevated tastes of our rustics and artisans, if well-regulated plans were devised, by which graceful recreations, providing at the same time exercise for the body, amusement for the imagination, and employment for the finer and more amiable feelings, were made to relieve the degrading and benumbing monotony of their protracted labors, whether in the factory or in the field![302]Polyb. l. iv. c. 20, 21.It will be readily perceived, that the education here described, and the tastes and habits which it produced, were immediately associated with the popular religion, and especially with the notions and rites entertained towards the peculiar god of the shepherds. Other deities indeed, such as Apollo, Diana, andMinerva, who were also worshipped in Arcadia, may have contributed to the same effect; and especially this may have been the case with Mercury, perhaps the only one of the higher Greek divinities, who was conceived to have a benevolent character, who was the father of Pan, and was himself reported to have been born in a cave of the same mountain in Arcadia, on which he was worshipped. He was a lover of instrumental music, having invented the lyre, and he was frequently represented on coins and gems, riding upon a ram, or with his emblems so connected with the figures of sheep, and more rarely of goats and of dogs, as to prove that in his character as the god of gain the shepherds looked up to him together with his offspring to bless the flocks and to increase their produce[303]. Hence Homer, in order to convey the idea that Phorbas was remarkably successful in the breeding of sheep, says that he was beloved by Mercury above all the other Trojans[304]. The inhabitants of one territory even in Arcadia, viz. the city of Phineos, honored Mercury more than all the other gods, and expressed this sentiment by procuring a statue of him made by a celebratedsculptor in Ægina, in which he was represented carrying a ram under his arm, and which they placed in the great temple of Jupiter at Olympia[305]. At Corinth there was a brazen statue of Mercury in a sitting posture with a ram standing beside him. According to Pausanias (ii. 3, 4.) the reason of this representation was, that of all the gods Mercury was thought most to take care of flocks and to promote their increase. But, as the Corinthians had little or nothing to do with the tending of sheep and were devoted to commerce, we may ask what interest had they in this attribute of Mercury? It is very evident that it could only be an interest arising from the part which Corinth took in the wool-trade. That the Arcadians did not themselves consume their wool is manifest. How could they have built cities, which were so large, numerous, and handsome in proportion to the extent of their country, and have lived even in that degree of elegance and luxury, to which they attained,unless they had been able to dispose of the chief produce of their soil in a profitable manner? It is probable therefore, that the representation of Mercury or of his emblems in conjunction with the figure of the sheep on the coins of Corinth and Patræ may be regarded as an intimation, that the Arcadians disposed of their wool in those cities for exportation to foreign countries.[303]Buonaroti (Osservazioni sopra alcuni Medaglioni Antichi, p. 41.) has exhibited brass coins, in one of which Mercury is riding on a sheep; in a second the sheep is seen with Mercury’s bag of money on its back; and in a third the caduceus is over the sheep, and two spikes of corn, emblems of agricultural prosperity, spring out of the ground before it. Among the gems of the Baron de Stosch, now belonging to the Royal Cabinet at Berlin, No. 381. Class II. represents Mercury sitting upon a rock with a dog by his side: Winckelmann observes, that “the dog is the symbol of Mercury as the protector of shepherds.” Nos. 392, 393, 396-402, in the same collection, represent him with sheep, and one of them (399.) exhibits him standing erect in a chariot drawn by four rams, and holding the bag or purse in his right hand and the caduceus in his left.Some of the coins of Sicily appear to refer in like manner to the character of Mercury as the promoter of the trade in wool.The Honorable Keppel Craven (Excursions in the Abruzzi, London, 1838, vol. i. ch. 4. p. 109.) mentions a temple at Arpinum, a city of Latium, which was dedicated, as appears from an inscription found on its site, to MERCURIUS LANARIUS. This title evidently represented Mercury as presiding over the growth of wool and the trade in it.Perhaps the very ancient idea of Mercury making the fleece of Phryxus golden by his touch may have originated in the same view. See Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica, l. 11. 1144, and Scholion ad locum.[304]Il. xiv. 490. See also Hom. Hymn to Mercury, 569. Hesiod, Theog. 444.[305]Paus. l. v. 27. 5. and l. viii. 14. 7.But, notwithstanding the important share, which Mercury had in the religious sentiments and observances of the Arcadians, the proper god of the shepherds of Arcadia was Pan, and we have already had abundant evidence to suggest the conviction, that their songs and dances were performed principally in honor of him, and were supposed to be taught, guided, and animated by him.Arcadia has for many centuries exhibited a most melancholy contrast to that condition of hardy and yet peaceful independence, of rustic simplicity united with tasteful elegance, of social kindness and domestic enjoyment undisturbed by the projects of ambition, which has supplied many of the most beautiful pictures to the writers of poetry and romance. The greatnatural features of the country are unalterable. The pine-forests of Lycæus, its deep glens continually refreshed with sparkling streams and cataracts, its savage precipices where scarce even a goat can climb, remain in their original beauty and grandeur. This region also affords pasture to flocks of sheep more numerous than those which feed in any other part of Greece[306]. But whatever depends on the moral nature of man is changed. The valleys, once richly cultivated and tenanted by an overflowing population, are scarcely kept in tillage. The noble cities are traced only by their scattered ruins. The few descendants of the ancient Arcades have crouched beneath a degrading tyranny. The thick forests and awful caverns but a few years ago served to shelter fierce banditti; and the traveller startled at the sound of their fire-arms instead of being charmed with the sweet melody of the syrinx[307]. But a new dynasty has been established under the sanction of the most powerful and enlightened nations of Europe. It remains to be seen whether this or any other part of Greece will again become wise, virtuous, and renowned. The philanthropist, who amidst the gloom and desolation of the moral world depends with confidence upon an all-wise and all-disposing Providence, may console himself with the hope, that that great Being who bestowed such inestimable blessings upon Arcadian shepherds in their ignorance, will not abandon those of their descendants, who with superior means of knowledge, aim at corresponding attainments in the excellencies of political, social, and private life.[306][German 283] Bartholdy, Bruchstücke zur Kenntniss des heut. Griechenlands, p. 238.[307]Dodwell’s Tour, vol. ii. p. 388-393. Leake’s Travels in the Morea, vol. i. p. 486-490. The latter author gives the following account of a visit which he paid to the family of a shepherd, consisting of twelve or fifteen individuals, who lived together in a tent on Mount Lycæus:—“Milk and misithra (a preparation made by boiling milk and whey together) is their usual food. ‘We have milk in plenty,’ they tell me, ‘but no bread.’ Such is the life of a modern Arcadian shepherd, who has almost reverted to the balanephagous state of his primitive ancestors (Orac. Pyth. ap. Pausan. Arcad. c. 42.). The children, however, all look healthy and are handsome, having large black eyes and regular features with very dark complexion.”According to the representation in the Odyssey (xiv. 100.)Ulysses had twelve flocks of sheep, and as many of goats on the continent opposite to Ithaca. At a much later period Neoptolemus, a king of Molossis, in possession of flocks and herds, which were superintended by a distinct officer appointed for the purpose[308]. In Macedonia also the king, though living in a state of so little refinement that his queenbaked the bread for the whole household, was possessed at an early period of flocks of sheep and goats together with horses and herds of oxen, which were entrusted to the care of separate officers. We are informed that three Argive brothers, having taken refuge in the upper part of Macedonia bordering upon Illyria, became hired servants to the king, one of them having the custody of the horses, another of the oxen, and a third of the sheep and goats[309]. Here then we find in Europe a state of societyanalogous to that which, as we have seen,existed in Palestine under David. Indeed we may observe, that all the countries bordering on Macedonia were contrasted with Attica and Arcadia in this respect, that, while the Athenians and Arcadians were in general small landed proprietors, each shepherd tending his flock upon his own ground, Phrygia[310], Thrace, Macedonia, Epirus, and even Bœotia belonged probably to an aristocracy, the richest and most powerful individuals of which became shepherd kings, their landed possessions giving them a superiority over the rest of their countrymen, and leading to the employment of numerous persons as their servants engaged in tending their cattle and in other rural occupations.[308]Plutarchi Pyrrhus, p. 705. ed. Steph.[309]Herod. viii. 137.[310]Theopompus, as quoted by Servius on Virgil, Buc. vi. 13, makes mention of the shepherds, who kept the flocks of Midas, king of Phrygia.Respecting the attention paid to sheep-breeding in Epirus we have the testimony of Varro in his treatise De Re Rustica. He informs us (ii. 2.) that it was usual there to have one man to take care of 100 coarse-wooled sheep (oves hirtæ), and two men for the same number of “oves pellitæ,” or sheep which wore skins. The attention bestowed upon dogs is an indirect evidence of the care which was devoted to flocks. It is worthyof remark, that the dogs used to guard the flocks in the modern Albania, appear to be the genuine descendants of the ancient “canes Molossici,” being distinguished by their size as well as by their strength and ferocity[311]. Further notices respecting them may be found in Virgil’s Georgics, l. iii. 404-413, and in the Notes of his editors and translators, Heyne, Martyn, and J. H. Voss. See also Ælian de Nat. An. iii. 2. and Plautus, Capt. l. i. 18.[311]Holland’s Travels, p. 443. Hughes’s Travels, vol. i. p. 483, 484, 496.There is another important circumstance, in which probably the habits of the modern shepherds of Albania are similar to those of the ancient occupants of the same region, viz. the annual practice of resorting to the high grounds in summer and returning to the plains in winter, which prevails both here and in most mountainous countries devoted to sheep-breeding. The following extract from Dr. Holland’s Travels in the Ionian Isles, Albania, &c. (p.91-93.), gives a lively representation of this proceeding:“When advanced eight or nine miles on our journey (from Cinque Pozzi to Joannina; October 31st, 1813,) and crossing another ridge of high and broken land, we were highly interested in a spectacle, which by a fortunate incident occurred to our notice. We met on the road a community of migrating shepherds, a wandering people of the mountains of Albania, who in the summer feed their flocks in these hilly regions, and in the winter spread them over the plains in the vicinity of the Gulph of Arta and along other parts of the coast. The many large flocks of sheep we had met the day before belonged to these people, and were preceding them to the plains. The cavalcade we now passed through was nearly two miles in length with few interruptions. The number of horses with the emigrants might exceed a thousand; they were chiefly employed in carrying the moveable habitations and the various goods of the community, which were packed with remarkable neatness and uniformity[312]. The infants and smaller children were variously attached to the luggage, while the men, women, and elder children travelled for the most part on foot; a healthy and masculine race of people, but strongly marked by the wild and uncouth exterior connected with their manner of life. The greater part of the men were clad in coarse white woollen garments; the females in the same material, but more curiously colored, and generally with some ornamented lacing about the breast.” He then adds, “These migratory tribes of shepherds generally come down from the mountains about the latter end of October, and return thither from the plains in April,after disposing of a certain proportion of their sheep and horses. In travelling, they pass the night on the plains or open lands. Arrived at the place of their destination, they construct their little huts or tents of the materials they carry with them, assisted by the stones, straw, or earth, which they find on the spot.”[312]No one has described this pastoral migration more minutely or more beautifully, than Mr. Charles Fellows, in hisDiscoveries in Lycia.According to Dr. Sibthorp (in Walpole’s Memoirs,p.141.), “a wandering tribe of Nomads” on the other side of Greece drive their flocks from the mountains of Thessaly into the plains of Attica and Bœotia to pass the winter. “They give some pecuniary consideration to the Pasha of Negropont and Vaivode of Athens. These people are much famed for their woollen manufactures, particularly the coats or cloaks worn by the Greek sailors.”

Ὦ Πάν, Ἀρκαδίας μέδων κλεεννᾶς,ὀρχηστὰ βρομίαις ὀπαδὲ νύμφαις,γελάσειας, ὦ Πὰν, ἐπ’ ἐμαῖςεὐφροσύναις, ἀοιδαῖς κεχαρημένος[292].

Ὦ Πάν, Ἀρκαδίας μέδων κλεεννᾶς,

ὀρχηστὰ βρομίαις ὀπαδὲ νύμφαις,

γελάσειας, ὦ Πὰν, ἐπ’ ἐμαῖς

εὐφροσύναις, ἀοιδαῖς κεχαρημένος[292].

O Pan, Arcadia’s sovereign lord,Dancing and singing with the nymphs;Smile, Pan, responsive to my joys,O shout, delighted with my songs.

O Pan, Arcadia’s sovereign lord,

Dancing and singing with the nymphs;

Smile, Pan, responsive to my joys,

O shout, delighted with my songs.

[289]Paus. l. x. 32. 5. Strabo, l. ix. cap. 3. § 1. p. 488. ed. Siebenkees Raikes’s Journal in Memoirs edited by Walpole, p. 311-315.[290]Paus. l. v. c. 15. § 4.[291]Pyth. iii. 137-139.[292]Athenæus, l. xv. 50. 1547. ed. Dindorf. Pindari Op. a Böckh. ii. 2. p. 592. Brunck, Analecta, vol. i. p. 156; and vol. iii. Lect. et Emend. p. 27.

[289]Paus. l. x. 32. 5. Strabo, l. ix. cap. 3. § 1. p. 488. ed. Siebenkees Raikes’s Journal in Memoirs edited by Walpole, p. 311-315.

[290]Paus. l. v. c. 15. § 4.

[291]Pyth. iii. 137-139.

[292]Athenæus, l. xv. 50. 1547. ed. Dindorf. Pindari Op. a Böckh. ii. 2. p. 592. Brunck, Analecta, vol. i. p. 156; and vol. iii. Lect. et Emend. p. 27.

On a vase of Greek marble in the Royal Museum at Naples (This vase was first described in [Italian 275] Bayardi, Catalogo degli antichi monumenti dissottarretti da Ercolano. Napoli, 1754, p. 290. No. 914.), we see Pan dancing with the nymphs exactly as he is represented in the preceding song. The sculpture is in that very ancient style, which is calledEtruscan. Pan is here exhibited with goats’ feet and horns (Hom. Hymn. in Pana, 1. 2.). He wears the skin of an animal, and employs his right hand in drawing it up towards his left shoulder. In his left hand he holds the crook or pastoral staff, which is one of his usual emblems. Pan and the three females, with whom he is dancing, form a distinct group by themselves. They are moving round a large stone, and the artist probably imagined them to be moving first in one direction, and then in the opposite, as if performing the Strophe and Antistrophe around an altar. We learn from Mr. Dodwell, that the modern Greeks in their circular dances hold each other with a handkerchief, and not by the hand[293].

[293]Dodwell’s Tour, vol. ii. p. 21, 22.

That the Romans considered Pān and Faun to be the same, using the two names indiscriminately, the one as the Greek, the other as the Latin form, is evident from such passages as the following:

Pan from Arcadia’s hills descendsTo visit oft my Sabine seat,And here my tender goats defendsFrom rainy winds and summer’s heat.For when the vales, wide-spreading round,The sloping hills, and polish’d rocks,With his harmonious pipe resound,In fearless safety graze my flocks.Hor. Od. l. i. c. 17. v. 1-12.

Pan from Arcadia’s hills descendsTo visit oft my Sabine seat,And here my tender goats defendsFrom rainy winds and summer’s heat.

Pan from Arcadia’s hills descends

To visit oft my Sabine seat,

And here my tender goats defends

From rainy winds and summer’s heat.

For when the vales, wide-spreading round,The sloping hills, and polish’d rocks,With his harmonious pipe resound,In fearless safety graze my flocks.

For when the vales, wide-spreading round,

The sloping hills, and polish’d rocks,

With his harmonious pipe resound,

In fearless safety graze my flocks.

Hor. Od. l. i. c. 17. v. 1-12.

The names Pan and Faun, scarcely differ except in this, that the one begins with P, thelenis, and the other with F, which is itsaspirate: in the second place, both were conceived to have not only the same form and appearance, but the same habits, dispositions, and employments: thirdly, the goat was sacrificed to Pan in Greece[294]and to Faunus in Italy[295], because the Arcadian and Roman deity was conceived to be the guardian of goats as well as sheep, but this animal was not sacrificed to the Egyptian Mendes, because

In safety through the woody brakeThe latent shrubs and thyme explore,Nor longer dread the speckled snake,And tremble at the wolf no more.Francis’s Translation, abridged.

In safety through the woody brakeThe latent shrubs and thyme explore,Nor longer dread the speckled snake,And tremble at the wolf no more.

In safety through the woody brake

The latent shrubs and thyme explore,

Nor longer dread the speckled snake,

And tremble at the wolf no more.

Francis’s Translation, abridged.

in Egypt the goat itself was supposed to be Mendes, an incarnation of the god; and lastly, it is recorded as an historical fact, that the worship of Faunus was brought to Rome from Arcadia, whereas the supposition of the introduction of the same worship into Arcadia from Egypt, though found in the pages of an historian, is not given by him as a matter of history, but only as a matter of opinion. The account of the origin of the worship of Faunus at Rome, is as follows:Evander, the Arcadian, introduced a colony of his countrymen into Italy, and established there the rights of Mercury and of the Lycean Pan on the hill, which was afterwards called the Palatine Mount and became part of the city of Rome. A caveat the base of the hill was dedicated to Pan, as we have seen was the case some centuries afterwards at Athens[296].

[294]Longi Pastor. l. ii. c. 17. In an epigram by Leonidas of Tarentum (No. xxx. Brunckii Analecta, tom. i. p. 228.) Bito, an aged Arcadian, dedicates offerings to Pan, to Bacchus, and to the Nymphs. To Pan he devotes a kid.[295]Ovid. Fasti, ii. See also Hor. Od. l. i. 4. v. ii.[296]Dionys. Halicarn. Hist. Rom. l. i. p. 20, 21, ed. R. Steph. Paris 1546. Strabon l. v. cap. iii. § 3. Aur. Victor, Origo Gentis Romanæ. Livii l. i. c. 5. Pausanias, viii. 43. 2. Virg. Æn. viii. 51-54. 342-344. Heyne’s Excursus ad loc. Ovidii Fasti, ii. 268-452. v. 88, &c.

[295]Ovid. Fasti, ii. See also Hor. Od. l. i. 4. v. ii.

[296]Dionys. Halicarn. Hist. Rom. l. i. p. 20, 21, ed. R. Steph. Paris 1546. Strabon l. v. cap. iii. § 3. Aur. Victor, Origo Gentis Romanæ. Livii l. i. c. 5. Pausanias, viii. 43. 2. Virg. Æn. viii. 51-54. 342-344. Heyne’s Excursus ad loc. Ovidii Fasti, ii. 268-452. v. 88, &c.

In the preceding observations we have endeavored to give a correct representation of the real sentiments and practices of the Arcadians in regard to the proper divinity of their country; and from this account we are naturally led to inquire what influence this peculiar belief and worship had upon their manners and their social life. Whilst the elegant simplicity and innocence of the Arcadian shepherds, their graceful chorusses, their dance and song, their love for their fleecy charge, which they delighted and soothed with the melody of the pipe, have been the theme and ornament of poetry and romance from the earliest times, the question is highly important and interesting, whether these ideal visions are realised by historical testimony? whether the shepherds of the ancient Arcadia were so entirely and so favorably distinguished from men of the same class and employment in almost all other times and countries? One modern writer denies this fact. He says, “The refined and almost spiritualized state of innocence, which we call the pastoral life of Arcadia, was entirely unknown to the ancients:” and he quotes in support of this assertion several expressions, used by Philostratus and other writers, and denoting contempt for the Arcadians as a rude, ignorant, stupid race of people[297]. Polybius, who was an Arcadian, confidently asserts, that they had throughout Greece a high and honorable reputation, not only on account of their hospitality to strangers and their benevolence towards all men, but especially on account of theirpiety towards the divine being! It is true they make no figure in Grecian history, because they were too wise to take part in the irrational contests, which continually embroiled the surrounding states. Their division into small independent communities, each presenting a purelydemocraticconstitution,rendered it impossible for them to acquire celebrity in legislation;and yet we are informed of some of the citizens of Arcadia, who were reputed excellent lawgivers for the sphere in which they acted[298]. It appears to be no inconsiderable evidence of their progress in the art of government upon republican principles,that in the choice of magistrates at Mantinea they proceeded upon the plan of a double election[299]. We have the most decisive proofs of their public spirit in the splendid cities, which they erected, and which were adorned with theatres, temples, and numerous other edifices. We are informed by Pausanias[300], that of all the temples in Peloponnesus the most beautiful and admirable were those of Minerva at Tegea and of Apollo at Phigalia; and these were both cities of Arcadia. Now it should be observed, that the taste and splendor of their public edifices are the more decisive proofs of their national enthusiasm, when it is considered,that among them property was exceedingly subdivided; that they had no overpowering aristocracy, no princes or great landed gentry, who might seek for renown or court popularity by bestowing their wealth upon public institutions; but that the noble temples, the sculptures, and other works of art, which ornamented their cities and were subservient to purposes of common interest, could have been produced only by the united deliberations and contributions of the mass of the inhabitants. They seem therefore toprovetheuniversalprevalence both of a liberal patriotic feeling, and of a cultivated taste for the beautiful and the sublime.

[297]J. H. Voss, Virgil’s Ländliche Gedichte, tom. ii. p. 353.[298]Wachsmuth, Hellen. Alterthumskunde, i. 1. p. 180; i. 2. p. 305.[299]Aristot. Polit. l. vi. 2. 2.[300]L. viii. c. 41. 5. p. 429, ed. Siebel.

[297]J. H. Voss, Virgil’s Ländliche Gedichte, tom. ii. p. 353.

[298]Wachsmuth, Hellen. Alterthumskunde, i. 1. p. 180; i. 2. p. 305.

[299]Aristot. Polit. l. vi. 2. 2.

[300]L. viii. c. 41. 5. p. 429, ed. Siebel.

Virgil bears his testimony to their superior skill in vocal and instrumental music.

Arcadian swains,Ye best artificers of soothing strains.Bucol.x. 32.—Warton’s Translation.

Arcadian swains,

Ye best artificers of soothing strains.

Bucol.x. 32.—Warton’s Translation.

This must of course be understood as referring only to music and poetry of the pastoral kind. To the composition of the higher species of poetry, by which the Greeks of other countries laid a foundation for the instruction and delight of all succeedingages, the Arcadians never aspired. At the same time there can be no doubt that they bestowed great care upon the exhibition of dramatic compositions, though they did not attempt to write them: of this fact we have sufficient proof in the remains of the theatres found upon the sites of their principal cities, and especially of the theatre of Megalopolis, which was the greatest in all Greece[301].

[301]Pausanias, l. viii. 32. 1. Leake’s Travels in the Morea, vol. ii. p. 32. 39, 40.

But with respect to their cultivation of music and its influence on their national character, we have upon record the full and explicit testimony of one of their most distinguished citizens, the historian Polybius, whose remarks will appear especially deserving of the reader’s attention, when it is considered, that he must himself have gone through the whole course of discipline and instruction which he describes. Having had occasion to mention the turbulent character as well as the cruel and perfidious conduct of the Cynætheans, who occupied a city and district in the north of Arcadia, he proposes to inquire why it was that, although they were indeed Arcadians, they had acted in a manner so entirely at variance with the usual habits and manners of the Greeks, and he then proceeds with earnestness and solemnity to explain upon the following principles the cause of this extraordinary contrast. It was, as he states, that the Cynætheans were the only inhabitants of Arcadia who had neglected to exercise themselves in music; and he then gives the following account of the established practice of the rest of the Arcadians in devoting themselves to the study ofrealmusic, by which he means the united arts of music, poetry, and dancing, of all those elegant and graceful performances, over which the Muses were supposed to preside. He informs us that the Arcadians, whose general habits were very severe, were required by law to go on improving themselves in music, so understood, until their thirtieth year. “In childhood,” says he, “they are taught to sing in tune hymns and pæans in honor of the domestic heroes and divinities. They afterwards learn the music of Philoxenus and Timotheus. They dance to the pipe in the theatres at the annual festival of Bacchus; andthey do this with great emulation, the boys performing mock-fights adapted to their age, and the young men the so-called manly fights. In like manner throughout the whole of life their pleasure at feasts and entertainments consists, not in listening to singers hired for the purpose, but in singing themselves in their turns when called upon. For, although a man may decline any other performance on the ground of inability and may thereby bring no imputation on himself, no one can refuse to sing, because all have been obliged to learn it, and to refuse to take a part, when able, is deemed disgraceful. The young men also unite together to perform in order all the military steps and motions to the sound of the pipe, and at the public expense they exhibit them every year before their fellow-citizens. Besides these ballets, marches, and mock-fights, the men and women unite in great public assemblies and in numerous sacrifices, to which are to be added the circular or choral dances by the boys and virgins.” Polybius adds, that these musical exercises had been ordained as the means of communicating softness and refinement to the otherwise rough and laborious life of the Arcadians, and he warns them by the example of the half-savages of Cynæthæ never to abandon such wholesome institutions[302]. With how great benefit to our own social character might we adopt this counsel! How greatly might we contribute both to the innocent enjoyment and to the more improved and elevated tastes of our rustics and artisans, if well-regulated plans were devised, by which graceful recreations, providing at the same time exercise for the body, amusement for the imagination, and employment for the finer and more amiable feelings, were made to relieve the degrading and benumbing monotony of their protracted labors, whether in the factory or in the field!

[302]Polyb. l. iv. c. 20, 21.

It will be readily perceived, that the education here described, and the tastes and habits which it produced, were immediately associated with the popular religion, and especially with the notions and rites entertained towards the peculiar god of the shepherds. Other deities indeed, such as Apollo, Diana, andMinerva, who were also worshipped in Arcadia, may have contributed to the same effect; and especially this may have been the case with Mercury, perhaps the only one of the higher Greek divinities, who was conceived to have a benevolent character, who was the father of Pan, and was himself reported to have been born in a cave of the same mountain in Arcadia, on which he was worshipped. He was a lover of instrumental music, having invented the lyre, and he was frequently represented on coins and gems, riding upon a ram, or with his emblems so connected with the figures of sheep, and more rarely of goats and of dogs, as to prove that in his character as the god of gain the shepherds looked up to him together with his offspring to bless the flocks and to increase their produce[303]. Hence Homer, in order to convey the idea that Phorbas was remarkably successful in the breeding of sheep, says that he was beloved by Mercury above all the other Trojans[304]. The inhabitants of one territory even in Arcadia, viz. the city of Phineos, honored Mercury more than all the other gods, and expressed this sentiment by procuring a statue of him made by a celebratedsculptor in Ægina, in which he was represented carrying a ram under his arm, and which they placed in the great temple of Jupiter at Olympia[305]. At Corinth there was a brazen statue of Mercury in a sitting posture with a ram standing beside him. According to Pausanias (ii. 3, 4.) the reason of this representation was, that of all the gods Mercury was thought most to take care of flocks and to promote their increase. But, as the Corinthians had little or nothing to do with the tending of sheep and were devoted to commerce, we may ask what interest had they in this attribute of Mercury? It is very evident that it could only be an interest arising from the part which Corinth took in the wool-trade. That the Arcadians did not themselves consume their wool is manifest. How could they have built cities, which were so large, numerous, and handsome in proportion to the extent of their country, and have lived even in that degree of elegance and luxury, to which they attained,unless they had been able to dispose of the chief produce of their soil in a profitable manner? It is probable therefore, that the representation of Mercury or of his emblems in conjunction with the figure of the sheep on the coins of Corinth and Patræ may be regarded as an intimation, that the Arcadians disposed of their wool in those cities for exportation to foreign countries.

[303]Buonaroti (Osservazioni sopra alcuni Medaglioni Antichi, p. 41.) has exhibited brass coins, in one of which Mercury is riding on a sheep; in a second the sheep is seen with Mercury’s bag of money on its back; and in a third the caduceus is over the sheep, and two spikes of corn, emblems of agricultural prosperity, spring out of the ground before it. Among the gems of the Baron de Stosch, now belonging to the Royal Cabinet at Berlin, No. 381. Class II. represents Mercury sitting upon a rock with a dog by his side: Winckelmann observes, that “the dog is the symbol of Mercury as the protector of shepherds.” Nos. 392, 393, 396-402, in the same collection, represent him with sheep, and one of them (399.) exhibits him standing erect in a chariot drawn by four rams, and holding the bag or purse in his right hand and the caduceus in his left.Some of the coins of Sicily appear to refer in like manner to the character of Mercury as the promoter of the trade in wool.The Honorable Keppel Craven (Excursions in the Abruzzi, London, 1838, vol. i. ch. 4. p. 109.) mentions a temple at Arpinum, a city of Latium, which was dedicated, as appears from an inscription found on its site, to MERCURIUS LANARIUS. This title evidently represented Mercury as presiding over the growth of wool and the trade in it.Perhaps the very ancient idea of Mercury making the fleece of Phryxus golden by his touch may have originated in the same view. See Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica, l. 11. 1144, and Scholion ad locum.[304]Il. xiv. 490. See also Hom. Hymn to Mercury, 569. Hesiod, Theog. 444.[305]Paus. l. v. 27. 5. and l. viii. 14. 7.

Some of the coins of Sicily appear to refer in like manner to the character of Mercury as the promoter of the trade in wool.

The Honorable Keppel Craven (Excursions in the Abruzzi, London, 1838, vol. i. ch. 4. p. 109.) mentions a temple at Arpinum, a city of Latium, which was dedicated, as appears from an inscription found on its site, to MERCURIUS LANARIUS. This title evidently represented Mercury as presiding over the growth of wool and the trade in it.

Perhaps the very ancient idea of Mercury making the fleece of Phryxus golden by his touch may have originated in the same view. See Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautica, l. 11. 1144, and Scholion ad locum.

[304]Il. xiv. 490. See also Hom. Hymn to Mercury, 569. Hesiod, Theog. 444.

[305]Paus. l. v. 27. 5. and l. viii. 14. 7.

But, notwithstanding the important share, which Mercury had in the religious sentiments and observances of the Arcadians, the proper god of the shepherds of Arcadia was Pan, and we have already had abundant evidence to suggest the conviction, that their songs and dances were performed principally in honor of him, and were supposed to be taught, guided, and animated by him.

Arcadia has for many centuries exhibited a most melancholy contrast to that condition of hardy and yet peaceful independence, of rustic simplicity united with tasteful elegance, of social kindness and domestic enjoyment undisturbed by the projects of ambition, which has supplied many of the most beautiful pictures to the writers of poetry and romance. The greatnatural features of the country are unalterable. The pine-forests of Lycæus, its deep glens continually refreshed with sparkling streams and cataracts, its savage precipices where scarce even a goat can climb, remain in their original beauty and grandeur. This region also affords pasture to flocks of sheep more numerous than those which feed in any other part of Greece[306]. But whatever depends on the moral nature of man is changed. The valleys, once richly cultivated and tenanted by an overflowing population, are scarcely kept in tillage. The noble cities are traced only by their scattered ruins. The few descendants of the ancient Arcades have crouched beneath a degrading tyranny. The thick forests and awful caverns but a few years ago served to shelter fierce banditti; and the traveller startled at the sound of their fire-arms instead of being charmed with the sweet melody of the syrinx[307]. But a new dynasty has been established under the sanction of the most powerful and enlightened nations of Europe. It remains to be seen whether this or any other part of Greece will again become wise, virtuous, and renowned. The philanthropist, who amidst the gloom and desolation of the moral world depends with confidence upon an all-wise and all-disposing Providence, may console himself with the hope, that that great Being who bestowed such inestimable blessings upon Arcadian shepherds in their ignorance, will not abandon those of their descendants, who with superior means of knowledge, aim at corresponding attainments in the excellencies of political, social, and private life.

[306][German 283] Bartholdy, Bruchstücke zur Kenntniss des heut. Griechenlands, p. 238.[307]Dodwell’s Tour, vol. ii. p. 388-393. Leake’s Travels in the Morea, vol. i. p. 486-490. The latter author gives the following account of a visit which he paid to the family of a shepherd, consisting of twelve or fifteen individuals, who lived together in a tent on Mount Lycæus:—“Milk and misithra (a preparation made by boiling milk and whey together) is their usual food. ‘We have milk in plenty,’ they tell me, ‘but no bread.’ Such is the life of a modern Arcadian shepherd, who has almost reverted to the balanephagous state of his primitive ancestors (Orac. Pyth. ap. Pausan. Arcad. c. 42.). The children, however, all look healthy and are handsome, having large black eyes and regular features with very dark complexion.”

[306][German 283] Bartholdy, Bruchstücke zur Kenntniss des heut. Griechenlands, p. 238.

[307]Dodwell’s Tour, vol. ii. p. 388-393. Leake’s Travels in the Morea, vol. i. p. 486-490. The latter author gives the following account of a visit which he paid to the family of a shepherd, consisting of twelve or fifteen individuals, who lived together in a tent on Mount Lycæus:—“Milk and misithra (a preparation made by boiling milk and whey together) is their usual food. ‘We have milk in plenty,’ they tell me, ‘but no bread.’ Such is the life of a modern Arcadian shepherd, who has almost reverted to the balanephagous state of his primitive ancestors (Orac. Pyth. ap. Pausan. Arcad. c. 42.). The children, however, all look healthy and are handsome, having large black eyes and regular features with very dark complexion.”

According to the representation in the Odyssey (xiv. 100.)Ulysses had twelve flocks of sheep, and as many of goats on the continent opposite to Ithaca. At a much later period Neoptolemus, a king of Molossis, in possession of flocks and herds, which were superintended by a distinct officer appointed for the purpose[308]. In Macedonia also the king, though living in a state of so little refinement that his queenbaked the bread for the whole household, was possessed at an early period of flocks of sheep and goats together with horses and herds of oxen, which were entrusted to the care of separate officers. We are informed that three Argive brothers, having taken refuge in the upper part of Macedonia bordering upon Illyria, became hired servants to the king, one of them having the custody of the horses, another of the oxen, and a third of the sheep and goats[309]. Here then we find in Europe a state of societyanalogous to that which, as we have seen,existed in Palestine under David. Indeed we may observe, that all the countries bordering on Macedonia were contrasted with Attica and Arcadia in this respect, that, while the Athenians and Arcadians were in general small landed proprietors, each shepherd tending his flock upon his own ground, Phrygia[310], Thrace, Macedonia, Epirus, and even Bœotia belonged probably to an aristocracy, the richest and most powerful individuals of which became shepherd kings, their landed possessions giving them a superiority over the rest of their countrymen, and leading to the employment of numerous persons as their servants engaged in tending their cattle and in other rural occupations.

[308]Plutarchi Pyrrhus, p. 705. ed. Steph.[309]Herod. viii. 137.[310]Theopompus, as quoted by Servius on Virgil, Buc. vi. 13, makes mention of the shepherds, who kept the flocks of Midas, king of Phrygia.

[308]Plutarchi Pyrrhus, p. 705. ed. Steph.

[309]Herod. viii. 137.

[310]Theopompus, as quoted by Servius on Virgil, Buc. vi. 13, makes mention of the shepherds, who kept the flocks of Midas, king of Phrygia.

Respecting the attention paid to sheep-breeding in Epirus we have the testimony of Varro in his treatise De Re Rustica. He informs us (ii. 2.) that it was usual there to have one man to take care of 100 coarse-wooled sheep (oves hirtæ), and two men for the same number of “oves pellitæ,” or sheep which wore skins. The attention bestowed upon dogs is an indirect evidence of the care which was devoted to flocks. It is worthyof remark, that the dogs used to guard the flocks in the modern Albania, appear to be the genuine descendants of the ancient “canes Molossici,” being distinguished by their size as well as by their strength and ferocity[311]. Further notices respecting them may be found in Virgil’s Georgics, l. iii. 404-413, and in the Notes of his editors and translators, Heyne, Martyn, and J. H. Voss. See also Ælian de Nat. An. iii. 2. and Plautus, Capt. l. i. 18.

[311]Holland’s Travels, p. 443. Hughes’s Travels, vol. i. p. 483, 484, 496.

There is another important circumstance, in which probably the habits of the modern shepherds of Albania are similar to those of the ancient occupants of the same region, viz. the annual practice of resorting to the high grounds in summer and returning to the plains in winter, which prevails both here and in most mountainous countries devoted to sheep-breeding. The following extract from Dr. Holland’s Travels in the Ionian Isles, Albania, &c. (p.91-93.), gives a lively representation of this proceeding:

“When advanced eight or nine miles on our journey (from Cinque Pozzi to Joannina; October 31st, 1813,) and crossing another ridge of high and broken land, we were highly interested in a spectacle, which by a fortunate incident occurred to our notice. We met on the road a community of migrating shepherds, a wandering people of the mountains of Albania, who in the summer feed their flocks in these hilly regions, and in the winter spread them over the plains in the vicinity of the Gulph of Arta and along other parts of the coast. The many large flocks of sheep we had met the day before belonged to these people, and were preceding them to the plains. The cavalcade we now passed through was nearly two miles in length with few interruptions. The number of horses with the emigrants might exceed a thousand; they were chiefly employed in carrying the moveable habitations and the various goods of the community, which were packed with remarkable neatness and uniformity[312]. The infants and smaller children were variously attached to the luggage, while the men, women, and elder children travelled for the most part on foot; a healthy and masculine race of people, but strongly marked by the wild and uncouth exterior connected with their manner of life. The greater part of the men were clad in coarse white woollen garments; the females in the same material, but more curiously colored, and generally with some ornamented lacing about the breast.” He then adds, “These migratory tribes of shepherds generally come down from the mountains about the latter end of October, and return thither from the plains in April,after disposing of a certain proportion of their sheep and horses. In travelling, they pass the night on the plains or open lands. Arrived at the place of their destination, they construct their little huts or tents of the materials they carry with them, assisted by the stones, straw, or earth, which they find on the spot.”

[312]No one has described this pastoral migration more minutely or more beautifully, than Mr. Charles Fellows, in hisDiscoveries in Lycia.

According to Dr. Sibthorp (in Walpole’s Memoirs,p.141.), “a wandering tribe of Nomads” on the other side of Greece drive their flocks from the mountains of Thessaly into the plains of Attica and Bœotia to pass the winter. “They give some pecuniary consideration to the Pasha of Negropont and Vaivode of Athens. These people are much famed for their woollen manufactures, particularly the coats or cloaks worn by the Greek sailors.”

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