The New York herald., 1876-12-13
ions IN tent and asht The people itself dwct scat
tered the neds or herdcd together IN open ham,

ions tent and asht The people itself dwcls scat
tered over the elds herdcd together IN open ham
let's.
cYcLoPEAx PALACES ANCIENT GREECE
The walls enclosing The castle must not be called
rude notion which least Of all in the minds oi
the later Hclcnes when they ascribed themi the Cy
clops. For the maine OF these dsrmcnc workmen IS
an expression inteudcd to designate the giganuc,
miraculous and incomprehensbie character Of these
early monuments Just The German people calls works
OF the Romans devils dkes, because those erections
have no connection OF any Kind with the world as
known 10 the existing generation Common 10 All
these Cyciopcsn castle walls tho mighty OF The
single blocks, which extraordinary and reckless cx-
penditure OF human strength brckc out oil the rock and
dragged away and piled another so that their
massive weight forced them 10 remain where they
we're nrst placed and 10 form liked structure without
the adoption OF any method OF combination But
within this general style OF Wall architecture may be
recognized . great varety-a whole series OF steps
Originally mere barricades Of blocks OF rock were
thrown up at particularly accessible points OF the
height which the castle Stood while the precipito1s
sides OF The rocky hill were lcn 10 tho defence or
their natural strenrth Ancient tendal castles on
Crete may be fortified this way, the enclosure
OF which was never completed. But as rule tho
SUBMITS OF the rock are completely walled round, the
line OF wall following the most preclptous deciivities
along the entire circuit OF the summit, The most
ancient forms OF the work OF the wall itself are rec
ognzablc on the rock OF rryns Here the gigantic
blocks are fudcly hcapcd upon one anoiher here Tie
law OF weight alonc keeps them together. The gaps
which everywhere remain between The single blocks
are hcd out with smaller stones showed In between
them In Myccna similar fragments OF wall occur, but
by tar tho greater portion o the circular wall is built
So as 10 show each block 10 DC IN shape for its par
ticular place and united w;ih group Of contiguous
blocks in manner enabling all mutually 10 hold over
lie and bear up another. The poygon shape ot tho
particular blocks and tho multiplicity Of their rune
uons form net like structure OF indesructblc hrm-
ness such as u has proved itself TO be by It's cndur
ance through thousands Of years The ART o! mural
architecture here developed has been surpassed
nay, u manfestly demands higher technical skill
and bears more artistic character than the common
style Of square blocks for which stone alter the
other mechanically cut into shape Bet these edice
walls we're IN yetAnoiher manner endowed with lndt-
cations OF higher kind OF art In Tiryns the walls,
vaded by inner passages, which were CONNECTED b.
series OF windows like gates. with the outer court
yard they were very probably spaces destined ior
keeping IN them provisions. arms and live cattle
Aad again tho castle gates serve especially 10 dstin-
guish Cycopcan city. AS an example the chief gate
OF NycenH Is preserved to us with It's passage within
the gate nifty iect in length Its mighty sdo posts lean
ing over toward one another aud the drip stonc lying
fftecn icet in length which, in the trAan
guar aperture OF the wall remains imnoyaby xcd 10
this day the sculptured slab which once in solemn
hour the lords OF this castle placed over tho gate IN
order TO unite tho expression OF divine power with that
OF their earthly royal dominion In Hat rcie these
remarkable outlines o! the earliest sculpture existing
In Europe stand forthin tho centre the pillar thc
symbol Of Apollo tho guardian Of gate and castle;
the sides the two lions resting ther front paws on the
ness OF supreme royal power. Symmctrically stin,
after the fashion Of hcraldc beasts they are yet de-
signed with the sruthiuness Of nature and their ai
tudr correct and expressive and executed by chisel
perfectly sure Of ite work.
suBrERRASEous CASTLE or MY-ESK
Palace walls the warlke princes could not miss; but
outside the castle group Of buildings proving stiil
more clearly how the architectural works OF tho heroic
ago far exceed tho demands OF mere necessity Ono OF
these is preserved in sufficient completeness enable
the spectator to derive from clear view OF the gen.
era style OF architecture This Is subterrancous
NycenG. The hill had been followed out Tor the pur
pose, and on the bottom Of tho space dug out ring of
ON second, third &c, each upper ring OF stones
reaching the lower toward tho inside that the
vault resembling in shape . beehive This vault IS
approached from without BY gate, the opening Of
which Is spanned by block twenty-seven feet in
length at the posts Of this cato stood semicircular
columns OF coored marble, their shaft aud base deco
rated with stripes in zigzag aud spiral lines BY this
gate the great concal sruct cutercd, OF which
the blocks to this day adhere another in proper
order Its inner walls covered from top to bot
tom with metal plates attached to them, the smooth
given an extraordinary spendor 10 the large space
circumstance accurately agreeing with the Homcric
descriptions IN which tho spendOr OF the bronze ON
the walls OF tho royal palaces Is celebrated. The
grandeur and glorious mognitcence OF tho whole de-
sign leave no doubt TO ts object Art was not only
70 protect and adorn The living prince, but also TO found
nn mpcrishable monument Tor the departed monarch.
cbamnep 70 or ,ho pd
ing The nnsrmost part OF the whole building contained
the sacred remains Of ths prince whc the wide crcu
lar building WAS usod for tho purpose OF preserving his
arms, charicts, treasures and precious stones. The
whole building was afterward covered with earth
that while glancing round tho country outside none
could divine the royal hicdcn deep beneath
the heritage OF the h the sacred OF the land
Tho historical sgnihcanca OF these monume nts is un-
deniable. Thcy could only arise among a population
long settled on this soil aud In the full possession OF
civilization perfectly conscious Of its and ends
Here exists complete command stone and metal
here xcd styles OF ART have been developed which
executed with proud splendor and thoroughncss
calculated for mperishabc pcrmanence Royal houses
which perpotuated their memory in works OF this kind
necessarily possessed in addition TO their hereditary
wealth, fur extending connections, since they were
able 10 procure foreign bronze and foreign kinds OF
stone. Nowhere is thcrc question OF mere begin
u!ngA Who in tho Wow OF such monuments Of castle
and sepulchra architecture will deny that what
Us and ancient inQuIrers like Thucyddes, az the ear-
est point from which to start under tho guidance OF
Crock tradMion, as the rst beginning of authcn;
Gated history in point OF fact the delnitivo pcrfec
ti0n OF civilization vhich arose and maturcd itself
beyond the limits Of Hellas and with ripe
results reaches over into the beginnings Of Greek his
tory IN Europe.