The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1877-02-07

ed @ grave: but this Is not the case.
There are no real tombs either between
the two parallel rows or on either side
Of them, except on the north side, where
we see above ground, and on ~ level
with the double circle. quadrangular
recesses Of irregular size, composed oil
large slabs and resembling sepulchers.
| It 10 by no means certain, however, chat
they have ever served as such. They
were filled with household remains and
bones of animals. At all events tho
great double circle of parallel slabs
can only have been erected In honor or
those who were buried In the five
sepulchers. but evidently at q much
later period. though undoubtedly long be-
fore the capture of Mycense by the Ar
gives. / conclude this from the irregu-
lar and careless architecture OF the
| Clyclopean wall which supports the
| double parallel row In the lower part OF
| the Acropolis and from the number OF
slabs Of more ancient monuments it
contains. As u further proof may
| mention that between the stones OF this
wall, ns we'll as between the two double
| circular rows Of slabs and in the tomb
shaped recesses. / find only fragments
| of the usual Mycenaan pottery. and no
| trace Of that ancient handmade pottery
which Ia found In the tombs. / think
| It, therefore, highly probable that the
erection OF the circular double row OF
slabs comedies with the renewal of the
| tombstones on four tombs aud the ere0-
ton Of tho saorllcial altar on the fifth
| tomb, and that this renewal was oCcts-
| stoned by the immense enthusiasm
| which the RhapsOdists, who went from
| house to house chanting the Homerl0
hymns, reused among the people for
| the heroes Of the Had and the Odys-
gey. Very likely the whole space
within the circular double row was
converted into " garden, whore the
glorious acts Of tho king Of kings,
Agamemnon. and his companions were
| chauted on those sepalohres. At oil
| events, while the whole Acropolis Is
| covered with remnants Of Cyclopean
| house walls. found no trace whatever
| Of any pre-. historic building within the
sacred precincts Of the great circle
| But. nevertheless the accumulation Of
| rubbish continued, and in the course of
| time the new tombstones, gs well rs the
| double circular row OF slabs, were
| buried and Disappeared. while the sight
| Of the tombs remained always fresh In
the memory OF the inhabitants When,
In 465 y. g., Mycsnm was captured by
the Argiyes, and the people were forced
to emigrate the city remained far more
|
| was built on itsIruiDs,. about 400 B. g.,
| when all the tombstones. the sacriiicial
| altar and the circular double row Of
slabs had for ages been buried in the
rubbish. Nevertheless, the precise site
of each tomb was perfectly remem-
| bered by the inhabitants OF the
Argolid. After III existence or about
| two hundred years. the new
| city was. for some cause or other, again
abandoned. It's site remained deserted !;
but still the tradition remained 80 fresh
| that nearly four hundred years after the
destruction of the new town, the exact
place of each tomb was shown to Pau
sanias. Nay, the interest the inhabi-
tants Of the Peloponnesus felt in the
sepulchres was still SO great sixteen or
eighteen centuries after the tragic event
that, as Pausanias states, the LacedB-
monians OF AmyClas disputed with
Mycenp the honor OF possessing Cas-
sandra g tomb. which they thought they
possessed in their own city. At all
events, Pausanias iii, 10, g. says that
the AmyclRans had in their village the
sanctuary and the statue OF Alexandra,
whom they identified with Oassandra.
1.-The five tombs Of MycepB, or at
least three Of them, contained such
enormous treasures that they can but
belong to members Of the royal family.
But the period of the King OF MycenB
belongs to a very remote antiquity.
Royalty ceased there at the Dorian in
vasion, the chronology of which has
always been fixed at 1104 B. @. Thucy-
ddes SAYS it was eighty years after the
war of Troy, which was hitherto sup
posed to have ended In 1174 i. @. But
in agreement with all archnologists, I
hold to the conclusion that, on the evil
dence Of the monuments OF Troy, the
capture and destruction Of that city,
and consequently also the Dorian inva-
sion, must have occurred at much
earlier date.