The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1876-12-15
MISCELLANY.
ALONG-BuRIED PALACE.
Evidence That Homer Only Describ.
ed What He Saw-Ancient War.
riOrs.

ENlueuee nat HOMeT Unly DescFln.
ed What He Saw-Ancient War
riOrs.
DR.. Schliemann writes from May
cenae: "To the south of the circular par
allel double row of .epulchres my ex-
cyclopean house. which, so far as it has
been uncovered, contains five chambers
intersected by four corridors of four feet
breadth. The walls contain here and
there their clay coating, which, however,
shows nowhere a trace of painting. The
walls are from two to four and one-half
in some places six to eight inches thick.
er than in others. The largest room is
eighteen and one half feet long by thir-
teen and one-half broad, and its east /
side is cnt ont in the rock to depth of
sixteen inches. AS we'll below this as
below the adjoining room, deep cis-
tern is cut out in the rock; the water is
conducted into it by cyclopean water
conduit, which leads down frsm the
hill. Although there are no windows
in the house, and although the scanty
daylight through the doors must have
been still diminished by the cyclopean
circuit wall, which is only separated
from the west side of the house by four
feet broad corridor, yet this seems to
have been the royal palace; because no
building in better style of architec-
ture has been found yet in the acropolis.
Certainly his Royal Majesty was not
comfortably lodged in such house,
but, com fort being unknown, it was un-
missed. On the other hand, the objects
discovered in this house prove that the
family which occupied it had preten-
sions to luxury.
In one Of the chambers, at depth of
twenty-three feet below the surface, was
found a fnger-ring cui.out of a splendid
white onyx, with seal, on which are
incised two animals without horns. In
seeing the incision and thinking that it
belongs to an antiquity by centuries
preceding Homer, we are ready to be-
lieve that all the works Of art mentioned
by Homer-the wonderful shield of
Achilles, the dog and the hare in Ulys-
ses' mantle clasp, Nestor's goblet, etc.
, all existed at his time; and that he
- | Ia h is
own eyes. There are further found in
the cyclopean house perforated convex
pieces of agate or serpentine, deriving
/ from ecklaces-some with an incised
spiral ornamentation of horses or deers
e There was also found a formstene OF
i jasper, showing on all six sides most fan
D tastic types for casting gold or silver or
: naments: it had also type for casting
those frequently found curious conical
$ objects of black CLASSY substance, with
= spiral lines and perforation on eacf
: side for suspension with string. Furth
d er on some beautiful axes of green stone
o many whorls of blue stone, and grea
h many splendid terra -cottas, of which
e the large vases with two or three hand
II les, the ends of which have been mod
e eled into the shape of crocodiles, deserv
d particular attention.
IT The vases are covered with represen
N tations of warriors of a dark red colo
to on light-yellow dead ground, wearin
TO coats of mail, girdle belts, sandals an
h either shaggy helmets, with strings Q
q. pricks like the sting of porcupine, Q
nj helmets with long crests. From tn
front side of helmet always protude
an object in form of horn. The wal
riors are invariably armed with lare
round shields, the lower part of whic
10 is always cut out in form of crescen
10 also with lances, all of which we see IL
10 object described in one of my previol
u letters One of the men, who is unarn
re- ed, lifts up his hand and seems to con
lis mand: another is in the act of thrown
~ lance. The men have always the san
MI perfectly archaic type, very long Asiat
.y faces, particularly long noses, and lol
lie Assyrian boards. The inside of the
Ia vases is painted red.-[ London Time
lin