XIV.
THE EXCAVATIONS OF DR. SCHLIEMANN, AT MYCENÆ (GREECE).
HIS EARLY LIFE AND IDEAL.—THE TREASURES OF PRIAMUS.—DESCRIPTION OF THE SPOT.—EARLY HISTORY OF MYCENÆ.—PAUSANIAS, THE ANCIENT ARCHÆOLOGIST.—WHERE THE EXCAVATIONS WERE COMMENCED.—THE TOMB OF AGAMEMNON AND HIS FAITHFUL WARRIORS.—DESCRIPTION OF THE TREASURES FOUND.—PROOFS OF THE IMMENSE ANTIQUITY OF THE TOMBS.—RECENT PORTRAITS TAKEN OF HEROES OF ANCIENT GREECE.—HOW IT WAS DONE.—THE VALUE OF THE DISCOVERIES REGARDING ART MATTERS.—HERACLES STRUGGLING WITH THE LION.—DR. SCHLIEMANN’S HEROIC WIFE.—DISCOVERY OF THE TEMPLE OF ÆSCULAPIUS.—A BYZANTINE CAVE UNDER THE ROCK.—A DISCOVERY WHICH FILLS ATHENS WITH JOY.—THE STATUE OF VICTORY FOUND IN ALMOST PERFECT CONDITION.
DR. AND MRS. SCHLIEMANN, THE EXCAVATORS, AT MYCENÆ (GREECE).
DR. AND MRS. SCHLIEMANN, THE EXCAVATORS, AT MYCENÆ (GREECE).
Dr. Heinrich Schliemann, the great excavator, of whom so much has been said of late, is a German by birth, and a man of an idealistic character. In his youth, he dreamed of the heroes of antiquity; he was a passionate student of the Trojan war, and the adventures of Odessus and Agamemnon. He loved to hear, in school, Homer recited, and afterwards, when he went through his variegated life, as ship’s boy, ship’s broker, clerk, commercial correspondent, and, at last, as an independent and rich merchant, one ideal pursued him, that of seeing, for himself, the seat of Homer, and the fatherland of the heroes of whom that great poet of antiquity sings; he wanted to find the traces of the past dead. After he had occupied himself, for many years, with his plan, after having surmounted innumerable obstacles, of which he gives a touching description in his autobiography, he succeeded, in 1867, in undertaking his first trip to Ithaca, the Peloponnesus, and Troja. The searches then made led to the discovery of the treasures of Priamus, which astounded the world; and scarcely has the astonishment of such remarkablediscoveries cooled off, when Dr. Schliemann surprises us by a new miracle. He believed in the divinity, and found its trace; the treasures showed that Priamus had existed; the tomb identified Agamemnon.
But before entering upon a description of the excavations, and the treasures found therein, we deem it highly necessary to give a description, in outline, of the spot where the gems of antiquity are being unearthed.
DESCRIPTION OF THE SPOT.
We cannot do better than give the extract from the notes of an excursion, made on the very spot, under which Dr. Schliemann is now digging for treasures and historical facts, which undoubtedly are of the greatest importance for the knowledge of antiquity and the land of Homer. This excursion was made in 1871, some five years before the persistent doctor commenced his researches.
It reads substantially as follows:
“From Tiryns we proceeded, Feb. 7th, by carriage to Argos, the city of Inachus, where we found horses saddled, waiting for us, to enable us to go to Mycenæ. We crossed, on our way, the river Inachus, and found, on the Argolic plain, for the first time, the red poppies which we afterwards noticed as so abundant in Palestine. After having gone up the crumbling steps of the amphitheater, the most important monument at Argos, (where, beset by the importunate solicitations of some boys, we bought two or three old coins, wherecoin is said to have been first invented. The invention of coin is ascribed to the Lydians, yet it is certain that it was used at Argos.) We mounted our horses and rode over the plain, finding in many places only a difficult bridle-path, to the treasury of Atreus, or the tomb of Agamemnon. This structure, for it may be either treasury or tomb, or both, (we commend to Dr. Schliemann the solution of the problem,) consists of a building cut out of the side of a hill, entrance to which is through a gateway, down an inclined plane, with walls on both sides, into two vaulted apartments—one larger than the other, and both now empty. The most remarkable feature is the gateway, and especially the huge soffit which spans it, notmore from its immense size, than from the apparent impossibility of removing it from the place which it occupies, held in its position by its own weight, and supporting the pressure of the mass above it. (A similar contrivance we noticed in the gateway of the temple of Jupiter at Baalbek.) ‘The remains of copper nails in the walls of the larger apartment, indicated that it had been sheathed with copper plates, while the inner chamber may have been coated with marble.’
“Here, after having examined the ruin, we lunched and again mounting our horses, proceeded to view the celebrated ‘Lions’ of Mycenæ, once the site of the royal palace of Agamemnon—itself aruin in the time of Homer—its foundation going back to an almost dateless antiquity. The ruins of Mycenæ are, in many respects, unequaled in interest by any object in Greece. Their position is fortunate; there is no habitation near them. The traveler ascends from the open plain to the deserted hill on which they stand. The walls of the citadel may still be traced in their entire circuit, and on the western side they rise to a considerable height. Only a few foundations of ancient buildings remain, and one or two cisterns hewn in the rocky soil, and lined with cement. Such is the present state of the Acropolis of Mycenæ. Two gates, one on the northeast, the other on the northwest, both guarded by a tower, gave entrance into the city. The two gates and tower seem to have been connected, and illustrate the military architecture presented to our notice in the Iliad. The ‘Lions’ are represented in high relief, rampant, headless, their feet resting on a pedestal which is a Doric column reversed, carved out of a block of gray limestone. By whom erected, or for what purpose, must ever remain a mystery. Perhaps the simplest explanation is the best, that they denote the ‘courage leonine,’ and were heraldic badges upon the national escutcheon of Mycenæ. We clambered over the walls of the ruined palace of Agamemnon, on the hill-side we came across several pieces of antique pottery, which we have preserved. To make the illusion more complete, while we were exploring the ruins, a fierce, wolfish, shepherd-dog, the only guardian of the place, in a field below,kept up a loud, persistent barking, which ceased not till we had left the spot.”
It is perhaps too soon, in the present imperfect state of the excavations at Mycenæ, to form a true estimate of their value, as related to the authenticity of the heroes of Homer. However, we will give, as far as that is possible, from the reports of Dr. Schliemann himself, a review of the wonderful things which this great sapper and miner has brought to light:
THE CITY OF MYCENÆ.
The city of Mycenæ must have been wonderfully beautiful. Homer calls it “the city rich in gold and broad of streets,” at the time when the ruler of Mycenæ, Agamemnon, assisted the Greeks against Troja, with one hundred ships, and a great number of men, for which service he was elected their commander-in-chief. He fell, at his return, by the faithlessness of his wife, and with him the glory of the city was gone. Only rarely we find, in history, traces of her unimportant existence. About the middle of the fifth century B. C., she was destroyed by the Argivi, and her inhabitants dispersed.
THE EXPLORATIONS AT MYCENÆ. THE TREASURY OF ATREUS (ENTRANCE.)
THE EXPLORATIONS AT MYCENÆ. THE TREASURY OF ATREUS (ENTRANCE.)
The ruins were never taken away, and they were only for archæologists of antiquity and of the modern times, an object of interest.
The “gate of lions” of Mycenæ, which has been built in over-old Grecian style, has been known long ago; it gave entrance to the bourg; Pausanias, who, while traveling in Greece, two centuries after Christ, visited the old city of Atreus, probably found the gate in a far better condition than it is at the present date; it was, for him, an object of the highest interest, and he was of opinion that the Cyclops themselves had builded the gate and walls. Further, he relates: “Under the ruins of Mycenæ, is a well, and the under-earthly apartments of Atreus and his descendants, which served them as treasuries. There are also tombs; in the first place, that of Atreus, and then all the graves of those who returned with Agamemnon from Troja, and who, like he, were murdered by Aegisthus. Only Clytemnestra and Aegisthus have not been deemed worthy of being buried there; their graves are outside of the wall.”
Dr. Schliemann, reading this account of the archæologist of antiquity, had not the slightest doubt but that the history of Greece was more than a mere tradition, and how wonderfully have his presentiments been fulfilled!
When we enter the bourg by means of the “gate of lions,” we are soon enabled to continue on our way through a corridor, which is formed by a well-preserved stone wall which surrounds a circular plain of about fifty feet in diameter; the wall reaches nearly to the height of a person’s breast. On this plain, Dr. Schliemann commenced his excavations; already at a small depth they found the first traces; several slabs of a yellowish lime, adorned with ancient reliefs, and showing that they once had served as slabs on graves. On taking them away, they saw a broad shaft in the earth, twenty feet long, and ten feet deep; a second, parallel to the first, followed, and afterwards, three others were found behind the smaller sides of the first two. Of course, Dr. Schliemann was bound to penetrate to the extreme depth of these shafts, and while digging, he found earthenware, and small objects manufactured of gold.
At last, they came to the extreme depth on a hard floor, and here three skeletons were lying, at a little distance from each other, surrounded by innumerable weapons and objects of luxury, partly of gold, and partly of silver; one of these corpses was distinguished by exceedingly well-preserved teeth.
THE TOMB OF AGAMEMNON.
This was the tomb of Agamemnon and his faithful warriors.
Dr. Schliemann, in his correspondence to the LondonTimes, describes the treasures which he found lying around the bodies, in the following manner:
DR. SCHLIEMANN’S ACCOUNT.
“Among the most interesting objects of this sepulchre I reckon the magnificently ornamented golden buttons. Twelve are in form of a cross, and one of them is two and one-fifth inches large, and three inches long; three are somewhat smaller, and the remaining eight are of a still less size. Of splendidly ornamented round gold buttons were found, in all, two hundred and sixteen, two of which are two inches in diameter, seven are of the size of a five franc piece, and twohundred and seven are still smaller. All these buttons, the lower part of which consists of a bone button in form of our shirt buttons, must have served on the clothes of the deceased, whereas all which show only a flat piece of bone or wood, have evidently served to decorate the sheaths of swords, lances, etc., to which they had been soldered with tin, or otherwise fastened. There were in all found in the tomb, twenty-five two-edged bronze swords, sixteen of which are in a perfect state of conservation; four of them had handles plated with gold and richly ornamented. There were also found with the swords, five large handle-buttons, four of which are of alabaster, and one of wood; all of them are ornamented with golden nails. Further, two golden shoulder belts, which were worn on the shoulder across the breast; both are four feet long, and one and three-fifths inches broad. There were further found two large girdle-belts ornamented with circles and flowers; one of them is composed of two pieces. There was also found a part of a similar belt, and a child’s golden girdle-belt, only one foot four inches long, and two and one-fifth inches broad. Further, a splendidly ornamented golden handle, probably of a scepter. It terminates in a dragon’s head, whose scales seem to have been imitated by square pieces of rock crystal, which are inlaid like mosaic. This is an object of marvelous beauty, of which Homer would have said, ‘A wonder to look upon.’ There were also found seven large and one small golden diadems—one of the former is ornamented with golden leaves. All of them show splendid ornaments of circles and spiral lines. Further, four golden ornaments of the greaves, almost in form of a bracelet: one comb of bone, in a large handle, or casing of gold, of the usual form, as ladies wear it; one enormous, most magnificently-ornamented, massive, gold bracelet, weighing three hundred and sixty grammes. In the center of the ornamentation of this bracelet is soldered a separate piece of gold, representing the sun with his rays. The size of this bracelet is so enormous that the person who has worn it must have had gigantic arms. Quite in opposition to the size of the bracelet are two massive golden sealrings, the opening of which is so small that they would only fit a child of ten years. I, therefore, suppose that they may have been used as seals only. One of the seals represents two warriors on a two-wheeled chariot with two horses, which seem to run at full gallop; one of the warriors is holding a bow in his hand, and has just shot an arrow at a stag. The stag is wounded, and in anguish turns his head. The other seal ring represents a warrior who has just vanquished his three enemies, and is in the act of giving, with his uplifted sword, a last blow to one of them, wounded, and kneeling before him on one knee; the latter tries to parry the blow with his uplifted hands and with a lance, which he holds in his right, and seems to throw at his opponent. Another seems to be mortally wounded, for he lies on the ground, leaning on both his hands. The third, who alone of all the four warriors has a helmet with a crest on his head, is flying under the cover of an enormous shield which reaches from his neck to his heels; but still he turns his head towards his victorious enemy, and is in the act of throwing a lance at him. The anatomy of all the men is so well observed, their posture is so faithful to nature, and everything is executed with so much art, that when I brought to light these rings, I involuntarily exclaimed: ‘The author of the ‘Iliad’ and the ‘Odyssey’ can only have been born and educated in a civilization which could produce such wonders. Only a poet who had master-pieces of art like these continually before his eyes could compose those divine poems.’
WONDERFUL GEMS.
“At the head of one of the bodies was found a large and heavy golden helmet, but it had been much crushed, and had become nearly flat under the ponderous weight which pressed upon it. In its present state, it is difficult to describe it. On its forepart, the openings for the eyes and mouth, as also a protuberance ornamented with small stars, are distinctly visible, as also on the top of the helmet, the tube for the crest. The back part is beautifully ornamented with an imitation of the hair. The face of the same body was covered with one of the golden masks which we frequently met with. It seems tohave been the custom with the ancient Greeks, to cover the faces of their beloved dead, with masks of gold which exactly represent the outline of the features; probably they did so to preserve the face. We find this custom back in the wooden masks of the Egyptian mummies. The breast and sides were covered by a one-foot eight-inch long, and one-foot broad, thick plate of gold, which was no doubt intended to represent the coat of mail. There were further found one hundred leaves of gold, either of circular or of cross-like form, with impressed ornamentation, consisting either of spiral lines, or of circles. Further, three very heavy golden breast-pins, of which the one is five and one-half, the other five, and the third four and one-half inches long. The last is crowned with a ram, the two others with an ornament in shape of a helmet, and the heads of all the three breast-pins are perforated, probably to put in a flower. There were further found two masterly ornamental objects of massive gold in the form of crosses; also a large golden vase weighing one and seven-eighths kilogrammes: it has two handles, a large foot, and ornamented with three upper and two lower parallel lines, between which is a row of fourteen stars; further, a large golden vase with one handle, and an ornamentation representing seven beautiful flowers; another golden vase with two handles; further, a splendid little goldenœhœ, or wine can, with an ornamentation of spiral lines. Further, six golden drinking cups, one of which is a drinking cup with two handles, on each of which is a pigeon, each of the two handles being joined to the foot by two separate golden blades. This goblet reminds us of Nestor’s goblet, which was also ornamented with pigeons (see ‘Iliad,’ XI, 632, 635). One of the other goblets is ornamented with parallel flutings. There were further found two small golden vessels; also, eight silver vases, three of which are admirably conserved; one of the other has its bottom and the mouth of bronze; below its bottom were found one hundred of the aforesaid golden buttons. I further found, in this tomb, thirteen large bronze vessels. This kind of vessel was in high esteem in the heroic age, and we see them continually mentionedby Homer as prizes in the games. I suppose that to each hero were given in the grave the goblets and other objects which were dear to him in his lifetime, having been won by him in the games, or having been given to him by his host as a pledge of hospitality and friendship. There was also found a large quantity of small perforated amber balls of necklaces, and a bronze or copper fork with three teeth, which had probably served on the funeral pyres. There were further found thirty-five arrow heads of obsidian. Nothing could give a better idea of the great antiquity of these tombs than these stone arrow-heads, for the ‘Iliad’ seems to know only arrow-heads of bronze (e.g., ‘Iliad,’ XIII, 650 and 662). Probably there had also been deposited bows and quivers in the tomb, but they would have been of wood, and would have rotted away. To my greatest regret, among thousands of gold ornaments, there is not even a single sign resembling writing, and it therefore appears certain that the sepulchres belong to an epoch which preceded the introduction of the Phœnician alphabet. Had the latter been known, the Mycenæan goldsmiths, whose continual efforts appear to have been directed to the invention of a new ornamentation, would have been very ambitious to show the novelty of the alphabet. A second proof of the immense antiquity of these tombs, is the entire absence of any vestige of either iron or glass, or of any pottery made on the potter’s wheel. But the hand-made pottery had reached a high degree of perfection, such as has never been attained here in later times by the pottery made on the wheel.”
The doctor, enthusiastic as he is with his new discoveries, had the mortal remains of the immortal heroes taken from their graves, and the great departed ones received the unprecedented honor to have their portraits painted by an artist of our day. Of course, the golden mask was used for that purpose.
The greatest scientific importance of the discoveries at Mycenæ, lies in the fact that we now make acquaintance with a kind of art which very nearly approaches oriental representationand oriental technique. It can easily be seen, from the works of art found by the excavations, that the artists of that remote time did not care so much to give true representations of real existing things, but to procure to dead things, as much as possible, a living, graceful form.
GRECIAN ART IN MYCENÆ.
Among the treasures, a golden plate was found, upon which Heracles is engraved, struggling with a lion. This last engraving, above all others, may serve as a scientific guide, through the labyrinth of the treasures of Mycenæ. The struggles of Heracles with the monsters of the earth, are the property of Grecian tradition; hence, we have not to deal with Asiatic or India-European art, but with real, purely Grecian art.
The most precious objects found at Mycenæ, are collected at Athens, with those formerly found by the doctor among the treasures of Priamus, and are preserved in the vaults of an Ionian bank.
It is proper that we should allude to Dr. Schliemann’s heroic wife, of whom, as his most valuable and sympathetic assistant in his labors, he speaks, as is most fitting, in words which constitute her highest eulogy. The story of their union reads like a romance. “Mrs. Schliemann is the only woman in Greece who knows the Odyssey by heart.” The Dr. once said, before a party of Athenians, that he would marry the first lady who could recite the Odyssey. A fair Greek girl appeared one day, unintroduced, and asking if the promise was genuine, recited Homer, and secured her home. She also secured a wife’s share of $1,000,000. The two have been faithfully burrowing among its ruins themselves, and as will be seen from the portrait, she is proud of the accomplishments of her husband, and wears one of the trophies of his glory, the head apparel of queen Helena, whose elopement with Paris, the son of Priamus, caused the Trojan war.
STATUARY AND ARCHITECTURE.
It is known that the archæological society of Athens, under whose direction Dr. Schliemann is now excavating at Mycenæ, and from whom he has met with no little opposition, besides the difficulties arising from the nature of the ground, whichwould seem, to a less resolute spirit, almost insurmountable, have of late made some valuable discoveries at Athens. They have cleared away the debris on the south side of the Acropolis, and have discovered the temple of Æsculapius, where they have found many bas-reliefs representing the goddess of health, and two very beautiful marble heads, nearly perfect; also, some inscriptions of great historical value. They have also found a Byzantine cave under the rock. This circumstance reminds me of some exquisite specimens of sculpture seen by me, while in Athens, in my visit to the Acropolis. From these we return to the recent excavations at Olympia. These are carried on by a commission from the German and Greek governments. The latest discoveries announced are those made on the site of the celebrated temple of Jupiter, consisting, among others, of a Doric capital, with its abacus in excellent preservation, considered as belonging to one of the columns supporting the eastern pediment of the temple, fragments of bronze, and terra-cotta objects, also, of the marble tiles described by Pausanias as composing the roof; and a magnificent torso, supposed to be the statue of Jupiter, one of the group of figures adorning the pediment of the temple. On the last day of the year, however, a telegram was received by the king from Dr. Demetriades, announcing a discovery which has filled Athens with joy. The statue of Niké (Victory), one of the group in the pediment, has been found imbedded in the soft, alluvial soil, in an almost perfect condition—as if it had only yesterday been taken down from its lofty pedestal. It is said to be a figure of unmatched beauty and grandeur, and what gives it a higher value is that the name of Praxitiles himself is engraved on it. Thus much is as yet known, but details are eagerly waited. Archæological discovery is eagerly pursued in every part of the land, of which it may be said that not a spadeful can be turned, without revealing some new treasure of its most glorious epoch.
The objects found by Dr. Schliemann have been forwarded to England, and placed in charge of the National Bank. They have been placed under the care of that institution forsafety, and will remain there in the strong room, until a suitable museum can be provided, when they will all be labeled, and will be exposed, in proper cases, for the public to see them.
It is a fact not generally known, that Dr. Schliemann is not assisted by any fellow-enthusiast in the cause of archæology, nor is he in the employ of any society. He defrays the expenses all himself, and we may be assured that they are very heavy.
It is but proper that we should allude here to the fact that Mrs. Schliemann is most ably and energetically assisting her husband in the discovery of the treasures of the ancients.
THE SECOND TREASURY.
The dome of the Second Treasury was broken in, a long time ago, and therefore it is better known to antiquarians; but Mrs. Schliemann has now thoroughly excavated, and explored the whole building. While her husband was excavating within the walls of the Acropolis, she undertook the excavation of this relic of the past, and the approach to it, which was formerly completely concealed, is now laid bare. Its position is close to the Gate of Lions, and it is found to differ only in slight details from the other one, known as the Treasury of Athens. The lintel over the doorway is the largest stone in the building. It is twenty feet long, seven feet wide, and eighteen inches deep, and a course of large stones of the same depth is carried all around the walls, on the same level. The diameter of the dome is a little less than that of the Treasury of Athens, but as there is an opening in the top, by which the light enters, the view is not so impressive. The inhabitants of Mycenæ did not seem to be acquainted with the principle of the arch, as the dome is constructed with courses placed horizontally. Dr. Schliemann, pretending that Agamemnon was buried here, calls it the Tomb of Agamemnon; others have named it the Tomb of Cassandra.
The Treasury of Athens shows the most perfect condition of building of the ancients. The second, third, and fourth treasuries (there are four in all), gradually decrease in architectural skill, and we might almost say of the fourth, that itis nothing but an excavation made in the soil, speedily covered with rough stones. It is covered in such a way that a person entering it has to creep on all fours.
For what purpose these buildings were created, remains a mystery. In the Homeric age, tombs are always described as “piled,” or “heaped up;” they are always mounds, and the fact of the earth covering these so-called “treasuries,” is a strong evidence of their sepulchral character; but the magnificently built accessories would lead to the conclusion that it belongs to a period posterior to the Iliad and the Odyssey.
HECTOR’S TOMB.
Hector’s tomb is described as the “hollow grave.” This was the primitive cell, which became developed into an unarched dome. Of this, many examples are found in the tumuli near Kertch, some of them of a very large size, and, though different in construction, they afford a good illustrative parallel. In the structures just described, we find a developed architecture which seems to have been rich with metallic decoration. Here all resemblance to the simple cell of the hollow grave has been lost, and now the foot or two feet of earth, heaped on the top, is nearly all that is left to remind us of the original mound, from which this style of tomb had its origin.