The New York herald., 1922-03-19
DISTINGUISHED italian archaoI-
ogist, Gabriotto, has just an


~ ogist, Gabriotto, has just an
nounced in Rome that Helen of
Troy was thoroughly Flapper and that
the ultra-modern young woman whose
revolutionary attitude toward the conven-
ticns of few years ago is causing learned
and worldwide comment is, after all, moth
ing new or original, but instead the rein
carnation of the average young woman
who lived 1,500 years before the Christian
era and disturbed the equanimity of the
men of Crete
OF course, this translation of Prof Gabri-
otto's report of recent explorations in the
tabled haunts of Theseus and the Mino-
taur, of Agamemnon and Ariadne is not
literal The report is in ponderous phrase
ology and describes fascinating new evi-
dence found in the dust incrusted treasury
of the ages buried in Mount Juktas, the
hill that overlooks the ruins of the ancient
cities of prehistoric Greece. This new
evidence discloses that the mythological
gods and goddesses Venus, Apollo, Her
cules and their companions really lived and
enacted the romantic dramas that have
come down to us in legend and tradition.
But between the lines in the archaolo-
gist's report-5an account of the first ex-
plorations in >Crete since the war-it
stands out plainly that what Prof. Gabri-
otto learned was that the Flapper of to-
day is nothing more than copy of her
prototype, who shocked her elders of the
fourteenth century B. c. And also between
the lines is read the conclusion that in the
charming person of the beautiful Helen of
Troy the prehistoric Flapper reached her
impudence and sauciness with which the
young woman of to-day is credited as an
original trait.
BY No Means Impertinent
To Couple Her With Science
ern Flapper in such a grave and learned
report as that of the distinguished Prof
Gabriotto, pupil of the great Schlemann,
who discovered the body OF Agamemnon
buried SO many centuries ago. few years
ago, even months, it might have been
highly irreverent. But to-day learned men
are finding reason for giving weighty at
tention to the young woman with short
skirts powdered nose, rouged lips and an
impsh delight in shocking her parents
To pass e. Phillips Oppenheim, who on
these pages few weeks ago, came so nobly
to the Flapper's defence, as popular au-
thor should, in due consideration of his
royalties, there remains long list of
scholars and other celebrities who have
taken up the Flapper as modern phe-
nomenon worthy of grave discussion.
The list includes college presidents,
deans of universities, psychologists of in
ternational fame, bishops and historians,
mayors of cities and even town council
men, who have thought it wise to protect
their constituencies by passing laws about
young women. Just recently the president
of a metropolitan bank issued an edict
lengthening the skirts, unpowdering the
noses, encompassing the necks and Opaque
ing the shirt waists of his girl employees.
Hence, it is no disrespect to Prof. Gabri-
otto to see in his report of his new exca-
vations in Crete the astonishing news that
Helen of Troy, besides being otherwise not
everything a young lady should be, gave
full Endorsement to the vogue of rouge and
eye pencil, and that 700 years before her,
in Crete, the Flapper already was becom-
ing evident.
Here Is an exact translation of just one
paragraph in Prof. Gabriottps learned re-
port:
progressing further into the Knossos
labyrinths than Schliemann was able to go
in 1900, we found additional examples of
terra Gotta frescoes and vases of the same
geometric designs as those found in the
palace of Phaestos, but, undoubtedly, of
later period. Particularly in the frescoes
does the art seem to be something of a dis
integration OF that which fiourished at
the time of Phaestos, though its topics un-
doubtedy link the two periods. Mainly
the topics are the women of the time; they
are women in whose dress, posture and ad-
diction to cosmetics there is signIof for
wardness, an impertinence and emancipa-
tion from the conventions Of an earlier
age which indicates clearly that the exam
pie of Helen of the Trojan wars here found
It's inspration-an inspiration that well
might have taken centuries to mature and