A General History for Colleges and High Schools

P >> P. V. N. Myers >> A General History for Colleges and High Schools

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35

Altogether the Ptolemies reigned in Egypt almost exactly three centuries
(323-30 B.C.). Those rulers who held the throne for the last two hundred
years were, with few exceptions, a succession of monsters, such as even
Rome in her worst days could scarcely equal. The usage of intermarriage
among the members of the royal family,--a usage in which the Ptolemies
followed what was a custom of the ancient Pharaohs,--led to endless family
quarrels, which resulted in fratricide, matricide, and all the dark deeds
included in the calendar of royal crime. The story of the renowned
Cleopatra, the last of the house of the Ptolemies, will be told in
connection with Roman history, to which it properly belongs.

MACEDONIA AND GREECE.--From the time of the subjection of Greece by Philip
and Alexander to the absorption of Macedonia into the growing dominions of
Rome, the Greek cities of the peninsula were very much under the control
or influence of the Macedonian kings. But the Greeks were never made for
royal subjects, and consequently they were in a state of chronic revolt
against this foreign authority.

Thus, no sooner had they heard of the death of Alexander than several of
the Grecian states rose against the Macedonian general Antipater, and
carried on with him what is known as the Lamian War (323-321 B.C.). The
struggle ended disastrously for the Greeks, and Demosthenes, who had been
the soul of the movement, was forced to flee from Athens. He took refuge
upon an island just off the coast of the Peloponnesus; but being still
hunted by Antipater, he put an end to his own life by means of poison.

[Illustration: THE DYING GAUL.]

The next matter of moment in the history of Macedonia, was an invasion of
the Gauls (279 B.C.), kinsmen of the Celtic tribes that about a century
before this time had sacked the city of Rome. These savage marauders
inflicted terrible suffering upon both Macedonia and Greece. But they were
at last expelled from Europe, and settling in Asia Minor, they there gave
name to the province of Galatia. The celebrated Greek sculpture, The Dying
Gaul, popularly but erroneously called The Dying Gladiator, is a most
interesting memorial of this episode in Greek history.

Macedonia finally came in contact with a new enemy--the great military
republic of the West. For lending aid to Carthage in the Second Punic War,
she incurred the anger of Rome, and the result was that, after much
intrigue and hard fighting, the country was brought into subjection to the
Italian power. In the year 146 B.C. it was erected into a Roman province.

The political affairs of Greece proper during the period we are
considering were chiefly comprehended in the fortunes of two
confederacies, or leagues, one of which was called the Achaean, and the
other the AEtolian League. United, these two confederacies might have
maintained the political independence of Greece; but that spirit of
dissension which we have seen to be the bane of the Hellenic peoples
caused them to become, in the hands of intriguing Rome, weapons first for
crushing Macedonia, and then for grinding each other to pieces. Finally,
in the year 146 B.C., the splendid city of Corinth was taken by the Roman
army and laid in ashes. This was the last act in the long and varied drama
of the political life of ancient Greece. Henceforth it constituted simply
a portion of the Roman Empire.

CONCLUSION.--We have now traced the political fortunes of the Hellenic
race through about seven centuries of authentic history. In succeeding
chapters it will be our pleasanter task to trace the more brilliant and
worthy fortunes of the artistic and intellectual life of Hellas,--to
portray, though necessarily in scanty outline, the achievements of that
wonderful genius which enabled her, "captured, to lead captive her
captor."

CHAPTER XVIII.

GREEK ARCHITECTURE, SCULPTURE, AND PAINTING.

THE GREEK SENSE OF BEAUTY.--The Greeks were artists by nature. "Ugliness
gave them pain like a blow." Everything they made was beautiful. Beauty
they placed next to holiness; indeed, they almost or quite made beauty and
right the same thing. They are said to have thought it strange that
Socrates was good, seeing he was so unprepossessing in appearance.

[Illustration: PELASGIAN MASONRY.]

1. ARCHITECTURE.

PELASGIAN ARCHITECTURE.--The term Pelasgian is applied to various
structures of massive masonry found in different parts of Greece, Italy,
and Asia Minor. The origin of these works was a mystery to the earliest
Hellenes, who ascribed them to a race of giants called Cyclops; hence the
name Cyclopean that also attaches to them.

These works exhibit three well-defined stages of development. In the
earliest and rudest structures the stones are gigantic in size and
untouched by the chisel; in the next oldest the stones are worked into
irregular polygonal blocks; while in the latest the blocks are cut into
rectangular shapes and laid in regular courses. The walls of the old
citadels or castles of several Grecian cities exhibit specimens of this
primitive architecture (see p. 90).

ORDERS OF ARCHITECTURE.--There are three styles, or orders, of Grecian
architecture--the Doric, the Ionic, and the Corinthian. They are
distinguished from one another chiefly by differences in the proportions
and ornamentation of the column.

[Illustration: DORIC CAPITAL.]

[Illustration: IONIC CAPITAL.]

The Doric column is without a base, and has a simple and massive capital.
At first the Doric temples of the Greeks were almost as massive as the
Egyptian temples, but later they became more refined.

The Ionic column is characterized by the spiral volutes of the capital.
This form was borrowed from the Assyrians, and was principally employed by
the Greeks of Ionia, whence its name.

The Corinthian order is distinguished by its rich capital, formed of
acanthus leaves. This type is made up of Egyptian, Assyrian, and Grecian
elements. The addition of the acanthus leaves is said to have been
suggested to the artist Callimachus by the pretty effect of a basket
surrounded by the leaves of an acanthus plant, upon which it had
accidentally fallen.

The entire structure was made to harmonize with its supporting columns.
The general characteristics of the several orders are well portrayed by
the terms we use when we speak of the "stern" Doric, the "graceful" Ionic,
and the "ornate" Corinthian.

[Illustration: CORINTHIAN CAPITAL.]

TEMPLE OF DIANA AT EPHESUS.--The temple of Diana at Ephesus was regarded
as one of the wonders of the world. The original structure was commenced
about the beginning of the sixth century B.C., and, according to Pliny,
was one hundred and twenty years in process of building. Croesus gave
liberally of his wealth to ornament the shrine.

In the year 356 B.C., on the same night, it is said, that Alexander was
born, an ambitious youth, named Herostratus, fired the building, simply to
immortalize his name. Alexander offered to rebuild the temple, provided
that he be allowed to inscribe his name upon it. The Ephesians gracefully
declined the proposal by replying that it was not right for one deity to
erect a temple to another. Alexander was obliged to content himself with
placing within the shrine his own portrait by Apelles--a piece of work
which cost $30,000. The value of the gifts to the temple was beyond all
calculation: kings and states vied with one another in splendid donations.
Painters and sculptors were eager to have their masterpieces assigned a
place within its walls, so that it became a great national gallery of
paintings and statuary.

So inviolable was the sanctity of the temple that at all times, and
especially in times of tumult and danger, property and treasures were
carried to it as a safe repository. [Footnote: The Grecian temples were,
in a certain sense, banks of deposit. They contained special chambers or
vaults for the safe-keeping of valuables. The heaps of gold and silver
relics discovered by Di Cesnola at Sunium, in the island of Cyprus, were
found in the secret subterranean vaults of a great temple. The priests
often loaned out on interest the money deposited with them, the revenue
from this source being added to that from the leased lands of the temple
and from the tithes of war booty, to meet the expenses of the services of
the shrine. Usually the temple property in Greece was managed solely by
the priests; but the treasure of the Parthenon at Athens formed an
exception to this rule. The treasure here belonged to the state, and was
controlled and disposed of by the vote of the people. Even the personal
property of the goddess, the gold drapery of the statue (see p. 185),
which was worth about $600,000, could be used in case of great need, but
it must be replaced in due time, with a fair interest.] But the riches of
the sanctuary proved too great a temptation to the Roman emperor Nero. He
risked incurring the anger of the great Diana, and robbed the temple of
many statues and a vast amount of gold. Later (in 262 A.D.), the barbarian
Goths enriched themselves with the spoils of the shrine, and left it a
ruin.

THE DELPHIAN TEMPLE.--The first temple erected at Delphi over the spot
whence issued the mysterious vapors (see p. 105) was a rude wooden
structure. In the year 548 B.C., the temple then standing was destroyed by
fire. All the cities and states of Hellas contributed to its rebuilding.
Even the king of Egypt, Amasis, sent a munificent gift. More than half a
million of dollars was collected; for the temple was to exceed in
magnificence anything the world had yet seen. It will be recalled that the
Athenian Alcmaeonidae were the contractors who undertook the rebuilding of
the shrine (see p. 122).

The temple was crowded with the spoils of many battle-fields, with the
rich gifts of kings, and with rare works of art. Like the temple at
Ephesus, the Delphian shrine, after remaining for many years secure,
through the awe and reverence which its oracle inspired, suffered frequent
spoliation. The greed of conquerors overcame all religious scruples. The
Phocians robbed the temple of a treasure equivalent, it is estimated, to
more than $10,000,000 with us (see p. 160); and Nero plundered it of five
hundred bronze images. But Constantine (emperor of Rome 306-337 A.D., and
founder of Constantinople) was the Nebuchadnezzar who bore off the sacred
vessels and many statues as trophies to his new capital then rising on the
Hellespont.

THE ATHENIAN ACROPOLIS AND THE PARTHENON.--In the history of art there is
no other spot in the world possessed of such interest as the flat-topped
rock, already described, which constituted the Athenian Acropolis. We
have seen that in early times the eminence was used as a stronghold. But
by the fifth century B.C. the city had slipped down upon the plain, and
the summit of the rock was consecrated to the temples and the worship of
the deities, and came to be called "the city of the gods." During the
period of Athenian supremacy, especially in the Periclean Age, Hellenic
genius and piety adorned this spot with temples and statues that all the
world has pronounced to be faultless specimens of beauty and taste.

[Illustration: ATHENIAN YOUTH IN PROCESSION. (From the Frieze of the
Parthenon.)]

The most celebrated of the buildings upon the Acropolis was the Parthenon,
the "Residence of the virgin-goddess Athena." This is considered the
finest specimen of Greek architecture. It was designed by the architect
Ictinus, but the sculptures that adorned it were the work of the
celebrated Phidias. [Footnote: The subject of the wonderful frieze running
round the temple was the procession which formed the most important
feature of the Athenian festival known as the Great Panathenaea, which was
celebrated every four years in honor of the patron-goddess of Athens. The
larger part of the frieze is now in the British Museum, the Parthenon
having been despoiled of its coronal of sculptures by Lord Elgin. Read
Lord Byron's _The Curse of Minerva_. To the poet, Lord Elgin's act
appeared worse than vandalism.] It was built in the Doric order, of marble
from the neighboring Pentelicus. After standing for more than two thousand
years, and having served successively as a Pagan temple, a Christian
church, and a Mohammedan mosque, it finally was made to serve as a Turkish
powder-magazine, in a war with the Venetians, in 1687. During the progress
of this contest a bomb fired the magazine, and more than half of this
masterpiece of ancient art was shivered into fragments. The front is
nearly perfect, and is the most prominent feature of the Acropolis at the
present time.

[Illustration: RESTORATION OF THE ACROPOLIS OF ATHENS.]

THE MAUSOLEUM AT HALICARNASSUS.--This structure was another of the Seven
Wonders of the World. It was a monumental tomb designed to preserve the
memory of Mausolus, king of Caria, who died 353 B.C. Its erection was
prompted by the love and grief of his wife Artemisia. The combined genius
of the most noted artists of the age executed the wish of the queen. It is
the traditions of this beautiful structure that have given the world a
name for all magnificent monuments raised to perpetuate the memory of the
dead.

THEATRES.--The most noted of Greek theatres was the Theatre of Dionysus at
Athens, which was the model of all the others. It was semi-circular in
form, and was partly cut in the rock on the southeastern slope of the
Acropolis, the Greeks in the construction of their theatres generally
taking advantage of a hillside. There were about one hundred rows of
seats, the lowest one, bordering the orchestra, consisting of sixty-seven
marble arm-chairs. The structure would hold thirty thousand spectators.

[Illustration: THE THEATRE OF DIONYSUS AT ATHENS. (Restored by G.
Rehlender.)]

2. SCULPTURE AND PAINTING.

PROGRESS IN SCULPTURE: INFLUENCE OF THE GYMNASTIC ART.--Wood was the
material first employed by the Greek artists. About the eighth century
B.C. bronze and marble were generally substituted for the less durable
material. With this change sculpture began to make rapid progress.

[Illustration: PITCHING THE DISCUS, OR QUOIT (Discobolus.)]

But what exerted the most positive influence upon Greek sculpture was the
gymnastic art. The exercises of the gymnasium and the contests of the
sacred games afforded the artist unrivalled opportunities for the study of
the human form. "The whole race," as Symonds says, "lived out its
sculpture and its painting, rehearsed, as it were, the great works of
Phidias and Polygnotus, in physical exercises, before it learned to
express itself in marble or in color."

As the sacred buildings increased in number and costliness, the services
of the artist were called into requisition for their adornment. At first
the temple held only the statue of the god; but after a time it became, as
we have already seen, a sort of national museum. The entablature, the
pediments, and every niche of the interior of the shrine, as well as the
surrounding grounds and groves, were peopled with statues and groups of
figures, executed by the most renowned artists, and representing the
national deities, the legendary heroes, victors at the public games, or
incidents in the life of the state in which piety saw the special
interposition of the god in whose honor the shrine had been reared.

PHIDIAS.--Among all the great sculptors of antiquity, Phidias stands pre-
eminent. He was an Athenian, and was born about 488 B.C. He delighted in
the beautiful myths and legends of the Heroic Age, and from these he drew
subjects for his art. It was his genius that created the wonderful figures
of the pediments and the frieze of the Parthenon.

[Illustration: ATHENA PARTHENOS. After a statue found at Athens in 1880,
which is supposed to be a copy of the colossal statue of Athena by
Phidias, described in the text.]

The most celebrated of his colossal sculptures were the statue of Athena
within the Parthenon, and that of Olympian Zeus in the temple at Olympia.
The statue of Athena was of gigantic size, being about forty feet in
height, and was constructed of ivory and gold, the hair, weapons, and
drapery being of the latter material.

The statue of Olympian Zeus was also of ivory and gold. It was sixty feet
high, and represented the god seated on his throne. The hair, beard, and
drapery were of gold. The eyes were brilliant stones. Gems of great value
decked the throne, and figures of exquisite design were sculptured on the
golden robe. The colossal proportions of this wonderful work, as well as
the lofty yet benign aspect of the countenance, harmonized well with the
popular conception of the majesty and grace of the "father of gods and
men." It was thought a great misfortune to die without having seen the
Olympian Zeus. [Footnote: Phidias avowed that he took his idea from the
representation which Homer gives in the first book of the _Iliad_ in
the passage thus translated by Pope:--
"He spake, and awful bends his sable brow,
Shakes his ambrosial curls, and gives the nod,
The stamp of fate, and sanction of the god.
High heaven with reverence the dread signal took,
And all Olympus to the centre shook." BULFINCH'S _Age of Fable_.]

The statue was in existence for eight hundred years, being finally
destroyed by fire in the fifth century A.D.

[Illustration: HEAD OF THE OLYMPIAN ZEUS BY PHIDIAS.]

Phidias also executed other works in both bronze and marble. He met an
unworthy fate. Upon the famous shield at the feet of the statue of Athena
in the Parthenon, among the figures in the representation of a battle
between the Athenians and the Amazons, Phidias introduced a portrait of
himself and also one of his patron Pericles. The enemies of the artist
caused him to be prosecuted for this, which was considered an act of
sacrilege. He died in prison (432 B.C.).

POLYCLETUS.--At the same time that Phidias was executing his ideal
representations of the gods, Polycletus the elder, whose home was at
Argos, was producing his renowned bronze statues of athletes. Among his
pieces was one representing a spear-bearer, which was so perfect as to be
known as "the Rule."

PRAXITELES.--This artist, after Polycletus, stands next to Phidias as one
of the most eminent of Greek sculptors. His works were executed during the
fourth century B.C. Among his chief pieces may be mentioned the "Cnidian
Aphrodite." This stood in the Temple of Aphrodite at Cnidus, and was
regarded by the ancients as the most perfect embodiment of the goddess of
beauty. Pilgrimages were made from distant countries to Cnidus for the
sake of looking upon the matchless statue.

LYSIPPUS.--This artist is renowned for his works in bronze. He flourished
about the middle of the fourth century B.C. His statues were in great
demand. Many of these were of colossal size. Alexander gave the artist
many orders for statues of himself, and also of the heroes that fell in
his campaigns.

[Illustration: THE LAOCOON GROUP.]

THE RHODIAN COLOSSUS AND SCHOOLS OF ART.--The most noted pupil of Lysippus
was Chares, who gave to the world the celebrated Colossus at Rhodes (about
280 B.C.). This was another of the wonders of the world. Its height was
about one hundred and seven feet, and a man could barely encircle with his
arms the thumb of the statue. [Footnote: The statue was not as large as
the Statue of Liberty in New York harbor. The height of the latter is 151
feet.] After standing little more than half a century, it was overthrown
by an earthquake. For nine hundred years the Colossus then lay, like a
Homeric god, prone upon the ground. Finally, the Arabs, having overrun
this part of the Orient (A.D. 672), appropriated the statue, and thriftily
sold it to a Jewish merchant. It is said that it required a train of nine
hundred camels to bear away the bronze.

This gigantic piece of statuary was not a solitary one at Rhodes; for that
city, next after Athens, was the great art centre of the Grecian world.
Its streets and gardens and public edifices were literally crowded with
statues. The island became the favorite resort of artists, and the various
schools there founded acquired a wide renown. Many of the most prized
works of Grecian art in our modern museums were executed by members of
these Rhodian schools. The "Laocooen Group," found at Rome in 1506, and now
in the Museum of the Vatican, is generally thought to be the work of three
Rhodian sculptors.

GREEK PAINTING.--Although the Greek artists attained a high degree of
excellence in painting, still they probably never brought the art to the
perfection which they reached in sculpture. One reason for this was that
paintings were never, like statues, objects of adoration; hence less
attention was directed to them.

With the exception of antique vases and a few patches of mural decoration,
all specimens of Greek painting have perished. Consequently our knowledge
of Greek painting is derived chiefly from the descriptions of renowned
works, by the ancient writers, and their anecdotes of great painters.

POLYGNOTUS.--Polygnotus (flourished 475-455 B.C.) has been called the
Prometheus of painting, because he was the first to give fire and
animation to the expression of the countenance. "In his hand," it is
affirmed, "the human features became for the first time the mirror of the
soul." Of a Polyxena [Footnote: Polyxena was a daughter of the Trojan
Priam, famous for her beauty and her sufferings.] painted by this great
master, it was said that "she carried in her eyelids the whole history of
the Trojan War."

ZEUXIS AND PARRHASIUS.--These great artists lived and painted about 400
B.C. A favorite and familiar story preserves their names as companions,
and commemorates their rival genius. Zeuxis, such is the story, painted a
cluster of grapes which so closely imitated the real fruit that the birds
pecked at them. His rival, for his piece, painted a curtain. Zeuxis asked
Parrhasius to draw aside the veil and exhibit his picture. "I confess I am
surpassed," generously admitted Zeuxis to his rival; "I deceived birds,
but you have deceived the eyes of an experienced artist."

APELLES.--Apelles, who has been called the "Raphael of antiquity," was the
court painter of Alexander the Great. He was such a consummate master of
the art of painting, and carried it to such a state of perfection, that
the ancient writers spoke of it as the "art of Apelles."

That Apelles, like Zeuxis and Parrhasius, painted life-like pictures is
shown by the following story. In a contest between him and some rival
artists, horses were the objects represented. Perceiving that the judges
were unfriendly to him, and partial, Apelles insisted that less prejudiced
judges should pronounce upon the merit of the respective pieces,
demanding, at the same time, that the paintings should be shown to some
horses that were near. When brought before the pictures of his rival, the
horses exhibited no concern; but upon being shown the painting of Apelles,
they manifested by neighing and other intelligent signs their instant
recognition of the companions the great master had created.

NOTE.--Recent excavations (1878-1886) on the site of ancient Pergamus, in
Asia Minor, have brought to light a great Altar, dating seemingly from the
second century B.C., whose sides were decorated with gigantic sculptures
representing the Battle of the Giants against the Gods. The sculptures,
which by some are placed next to those of the Parthenon, are now in the
Berlin Museum.

CHAPTER XIX.

GREEK LITERATURE.

1. EPIC AND LYRIC POETRY.

THE GREEKS AS LITERARY ARTISTS.--It was that same exquisite sense of
fitness and proportion and beauty which made the Greeks artists in marble
that also made them artists in language. "Of all the beautiful things
which they created," says Professor Jebb, "their own language was the most
beautiful." This language they wrought into epics, lyrics, dramas,
histories, and orations as incomparable in form and beauty as their
temples and statues.

THE HOMERIC POEMS,--The earliest specimens of Greek poetry are the so-
called "Homeric poems," consisting of the _Iliad_ and the _Odyssey_. The
subject of the _Iliad_ (from Ilios, Troy) is the "Wrath of Achilles." The
_Odyssey_ tells of the long wanderings of the hero Odysseus (Ulysses) up
and down over many seas while seeking his native Ithaca, after the
downfall of Ilios. These poems exerted an incalculable influence upon the
literary and religious life of the Hellenic race.

The _Iliad_ must be pronounced the world's greatest epic. It has been
translated into all languages, and has been read with an ever fresh
interest by generation after generation for nearly 3000 years. Alexander,
it is told, slept with a copy beneath his pillow,--a copy prepared
especially for him by his preceptor Aristotle, and called the "casket
edition," from the jewelled box in which Alexander is said to have kept
it. We preserve it quite as sacredly in all our courses of classical
study. The poem has made warriors as well as poets. It incited the
military ambition of Alexander, of Hannibal, and of Caesar; it inspired
Virgil, Dante, and Milton. All epic writers have taken it as their model.

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35