The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1877-12-21
Grccian Antiquities.

About year ago, at point short
distance south of Sparta, the ground gave
way and showed All opening about
twenty feet deep, terminating square
chamber cut in the solid rock. This
chamber communicated on the east side
with another smaller one, which again
led to third lying to the south of 1t. 1t
seems quite probable that the country
people who first entered these chambers
carried away many valuable things,
which will probably never again sec the
light. On hearing of this discovery the
Greek archaeological society Immediate
ly set about excay ating the tombs, for
such undoubtedly they were, and found
the articles now upon exhibition. The
tombs bear very close resemblance to
those of MyccnR, and both their form
and the objects found In them show that
they must belong to pretty nearly the
same period aud the same race. There
can be little doubt that their contents
were once as rich as those of MyccnG:
but everything shows that they were
opened, robbed and subsequently closed
in ancient times, SO that all that now
remains Is what the Macedonian or Ro-
man plundcrcrs did not think worth
carrying off. Nevertheless, the objects
are most interesting in themselves, and
will no doubt prove of great value in
helping us to reconstruct the history of
Greek art, and to determine its relations
to the art of the East. Ono thing is per-
fectly plain. twill henceforth no long
or be possible to regard Greek art as O
result due entirely to the native genius
of the Greeks, and springing Athena
like from their inspired brains. 1t will
be found TO have its origin in a very re-
mote past and among people who played
a great part oil the theatre of the world
long before the Greeks had name or
fame. Indeed, no one can look at these
articles from Sparta without seeing that
they belong to Assyria far more than
they do to Greece. There is the same
stiff head with the tiara, the same wing
ed lions with human heads, the same
style OF ornamentation, the same pain
ful workmanship. There are articles in
gold and in bronze, in ivory and glass /;
there are articles in stone, all showing
the same skill, and testifying to the high
development of taste and art In the DAYS
when they were produced. Nearly the
whole of the objects are small, consist
ing of images, toilet articles, female or
naments and the like. Those in ivory
are the most curious. Among them is
a comb which in its day must have been
regarded as treasure. Most of the
teeth are broken, but the upper part,
which is still uninjured, is carved with
skill worthy of the most patient Chi
nese or Japanese workman. It's diyid-
ed into two horizontal bands, on the up
per part of which are two winged lions,
with human heads and Outstretched
wings, looking at rosoce, intended ap-
parently to represent the sun or the d.
vinity, and placed between them. On
the lower band are three similar figures
whose eyes likewise are directed toward
the rosace. have little doubt that, in
the hands of competent Orientalists,
this comb will be made to tell very
important story. There are many OBJ
jects of equally fine workmanship,
whose use it would be very hard to de-
tcrmine. Some of them look more like
papcr-weights than anything else. The
number of small ornaments in ivory
and giass is very great. There are even
fragments of glass images, worked with
astonishing skill and minuteness. The
gold is less plentiful, but shows the
same careful work. Altogether the ar
ticlcs from Sparta are extremely inter-
esting, and will afford material for
much study, and, fear, much differ
cnce of opinion, especially since most
scholars have committed themselves to
one or another theory respecting the Or
igin OF Greek art and mythology.