The New York herald., 1874-11-01
EOMER AND THE H0MERIO PERIOD.
Eayard Taylor and DR.. SchIei-
mann's Evidences.
DIGGING AT RANDOM IN THE TROAD.
The Land of Ajax and
Hector.


Schleimann's evidences that he has found Troy"
and II the restrpG which Bayard Taylor sent TO
the tribune contains the substance OF his book, as
there can be no doubt IL does, it does not require
great archaeological knowledge TO perceive that
the Doctor is IN the extreme OF error IN his con-
cIusions. lie has found ancient city, it Is true;
but there is, IN remains recovered by him, not
n single article which goes in the least to prove
ms assumption that it was Troy or even that his
ruins nave an earlier date than the Median En-
pire. They may be older than any existing Greek
or Phenician remains, but they NAV be again
merely the work OF one OF the waves or barbarlsm
winch rom time 20 time buried temporarily all
rne work OF Hellenic civilization. NV own impress
IS that the latter is the truth. although
q certain resemblance is found between some
OF the articles exhumec and the early work found
At cyprus and other places in the Leyant; but, as
the whole collection Il speak from the examina-
nlon OF the photographs which Schlelmann pub
lshed) OF so rude and barbara type and so much
resembling styles OF work found even now among
the native workmen OF Asia Minor, 1t may be tnat
al that Is there should be the work only OF a
sion IN which some tradition-and, may be- some
fmpiemenrs-oi an early art epoch has survived
with ruder ways arts. II is very difficult TO
distinguish in art work the barbarsm OF decay
from tnat OF beginning, and, without some indica-
non OF language or recognized standards OF style,
II il almost impossible TO judge with certainty or
even Win confidence Bur IN all the articles
recovered there is not ancient inscription tthe
single disk in which Max Muller has said word
might possibly be made out being solitary coinci-
dence among thousands OF a similarity OF certain
angular and rude marks and symbols, most OF
which unnistakaoly are figures OF animals and
men, with word OF Eve letters; but even this, IL a
word at all, written in way utterly unprece-
dented and only by very liberal conjecture TO be
accepted one), is there any article OF style
oT work so far advanced in art be allied to
any known art epoch even BY accident. and to
make the evidence offered bv the Doctor still more
unsatisfactory the photographs he sends out were
made from drawings, In which, as all the scientific
world knows the slightest alteration Of line may
change the whole character OF symbol.
The examination OF what Schleimaun has done
Shows that he possesses not single qualification
for scientific research, ana thar MS only claim to
consideration in his having, with bind enthu-
siasm and belief IN his quest worked away until
he found a treasure which s certainly extraordi-
nary and interesting, but no more entitled 10 be
called the treasure Of Prian than OF Xerxes. He
went 10 the rroad believing he should find Troy
He found the ruins OF an ancient city, he cries.
''Troy town" It's a pity that In his photogr apis
he mad not gwen something which would show the
Character OF the architecture uncovered; but they
are ali OF the worst conceivable grade OF
bal Photography ana most OF them from wretched
drawings az tnat, aad net one gives any KIND OF
notion OF fragment even OF sto0e wall. He has
made a great point ofhis owl-headed Minerva, but
the e1gies he so characteriZes are no more owl.
headed and no more Minerva than they are man
heaaed and punpkin-ocdied. They are simply
very rude vases, with very rude resemblance to
the human face on the upper part, in the form In
which it is very commonly represented by barbar-
Crs people. IL L. pure exercise OF fancy to nnd
an ow's head in II, and any connection with
Athma Is equally forced, while the
golden ornaments absolutely unlike any
natural object whatever and the dry description
OF them as erngies OF Minerva destroys all con-
ndence In his Characterization any object he mas
found one can only say that he is mad. His in
depreciation Of 1iauk-opts or ow-faced, again
suggests grave doubts Of his knowledge OF the
Greek language which his collation. OF the topo-
graphical Indications in the Homerc text confirms
1nty. bis classical and scientific education have
evidently been too rudime tary to permit him to put
proper Interpretation on facts or text, and his
cTedulous acceptance OF the historical character OF
the 'iiadn led him az once into difficulties which
his powers OF conf arison and valuation OF arcnao
logical data gave him no power Of extricating him.
sell from. In fact the story OF the rape OF Helen
which is the base OF Homer's version OF the
sege Of Troy is wei known TO myth. students az
m old Aryan myth, and has been differently
mythologzed by the Greeks themselves, Theseus
beng, In one story, the ravsher This alone is
enough TO prove that the stcry is older than the
formation OF the oces. purely Greek myths SO
that there can be no other authority than poetic
license for bringing the siege Troy down into the
period OF what may be called NEUROLOGICAL history.
and whether we understand 'Romer'i to be an In.
dIvidual or school OF Dards, there can be no
doubt that the "liad,n like the ''Niebeuppen-
he'd" or the story OF Arthur and the
rounc table was the work o: pceac development
oi myth localized and possibly even connected
by certain similarity Of events with the locality
where II Is embodied anew More than this the
consideration OF the poem as a whole shows that
1t has been either edited recon posed by one
person and brought into serial accord win the
demands OF the poetic writer's with regard TO
which Greek taste was so exactng. in the pursu.
ance OF TINS work the editor or composer. whom
we nave right TO call "Homer.u evidently con
suited the locality where Troy was said to have
existed (and where, according to geographical and
political prtorT Indications. a great strue.
gle between the Hellenic and Asiatic races
might have taken place. and studied the ground
strategcay. This has been so conclusiyey
shown by Sicolaides In his work the Jopogra-
ply OF the Troad In relation TO the strategy OF the
"Ihad,n that / cannot imagine any scholar
aisputlnV that the 'Tliadr took It's pres
snt shape In conformity with careful
study OF the PLAIN In which the events
are supposed TO have taken place. How much OF
tnis narrative is due to real events we have no
means whatever OF Judging, and according To all
internal evidence and poetic analogy It Is not
hkeiy 10 De more historical than the story OF King
Arthur as told by Tennyson in the "Idyls OF the
Eing.p
DR.. schieimann's attempt to prove from Homer
the historical identity 81 the Antiquities he has ex
cavated is therefore, a simply ludicrous en-.
deavor to demonstrate a pure assumption by a
work OF pure Imagination. There is not an article
in his nnd that suggests Troy rather than any
other ancient city with name unknown. and
there Is not the slightest reason FOR giving the
Statements oftne "lllad 10 details IN proofof any