Mycenæ: a narrative of researches and discoveries at Mycenæ and Tiryns

It is also my pleasant duty to thank publicly the celebrated printers, Messrs. William Clowes and Sons, of London, who printed this book, as well as the most excellent engravers, Messrs. J. W. Whymper and J. D. Cooper, who made all the engravings, for the superior skill and the unremitting zeal and scrupulous attention with which they have executed their part in the work.

Lastly, I here express my warmest gratitude to the learned publisher of this work, my most esteemed friend, Mr. John Murray, as well as to my most excellent learned friend Mr. Philip Smith, for all the kind services they have rendered me and all the valuable assistance they have lent me in carrying out the present work.

APPENDIX A.

(See page 126.)

In a careful re-reading of Pausanias and Herodotus, I have found a considerable number of passages proving that the Agora often served as a burial-place for persons of very great distinction. For example, the tomb of Orestes was in the Agora of Sparta, near the temple of the Fates; and near this, in the same Agora, were the tombs of Epimenides of Crete and Aphareus, son of Perieres. The tomb of Talthybios, Agamemnon's herald, was pointed out to Pausanias in the Agora of Ægium, in Achaia; and that of Oxylos in the Agora of Elis. In the Agora of Phigalia was the vast common burial-place (πολυάνδριον) of the chosen Oresthasians, to whom funeral sacrifices were offered. The tomb of Podares was in the Agora of Mantinæa. In that of Tegea Pausanias was shown the graves of Lycaon and his wife Mæra, and in that of Elæa, the tomb of Thersandros. It is very interesting to notice that the same honor was conferred upon Herodotus, for he was buried in the Agora of Thyrium (Θουρία), where his tomb was preserved for ages. The Agora of Sikyon contained the heroön of Adrastus; and that of Thebes the Mausoleum of Euphron.

APPENDIX B.

(See pages 133 and 134.)

My lamented friend Dr. Moss, of Arctic celebrity, when serving as staff-surgeon on board H. M. S. Research, which for some months in the fall of 1878 lay in the Gulf of Besika, visited me daily in my excavations at Troy. He afterward served as staff-surgeon on board the Atalanta, and with that unfortunate vessel came to an untimely end. Under date of November 5, 1879, he wrote to me from the Atalanta, "My dear Friend: I cannot leave England without asking you—with reference to the most curious object attached to the spears of the warriors depicted on the vase No. 213, p. 133, in your Mycenæ—whether the ancient warriors carried their water-flasks slung on their spears, for the strange object can mean nothing else, I think. If so, we can understand why David took Saul's spear and water-bottle (I. Samuel, xxvi. 11 and 16). I fear I may be suggesting what is perfectly well known."

APPENDIX C.

(See page 243.)

Mycenæ must have had commercial relations with Egypt, especially as, according to Pausanias (IV. xxxv. 2), Nauplia was an Egyptian colony.

M. Hubert, professor in the gymnasium at Posen, Prussia, writes to me on this subject: "I find in the Deutsche Revue, edited by R. Fleischer (Berlin, Jaake publisher, second year, number for April 7, 1878, p. 42), the following passage at the end of an essay by Brugsch-Bey on the religious mysteries of the ancient Egyptians:—'It was customary for the Egyptians who had been initiated into the mysteries to carry a token or badge, which consisted of a ribbon tied in a running noose (as represented in the accompanying engraving). In visiting Egyptian museums, it will be noticed that a great many of the statues representing kings, priests, and other prominent personages, carry this mystic ribbon in the hand, to signify by this outward sign that they have been initiated into the mysteries.' The idea at once occurred to me that I had lately seen a similar ribbon elsewhere; and a search confirmed my recollection. It was in your work on Mycenæ (figs. 351 and 352, objects of Egyptian porcelain). In your engraving, it is true, the upper part of the noose is more curved, it being represented in the hieroglyph as entirely upright; still the forms of the two objects seem to present a close analogy. The three holes in figure 352 may have served to fasten the noose with nails to the hand of a statue; but no hand was found in the fourth tomb.

"It seems to me doubtful, but not impossible, that some connection may be established between these knots and the alabaster object in figure 325, which comes from the third tomb, and represents two hands placed side by side, leaving a hollow between them. This hollow may have held two of these alabaster nooses, and it might be important to see if there are any traces of nails.

"You, in your book, and Mr. Gladstone in his preface, show that your discoveries establish in many directions numerous relations between Mycenæ and Egypt. You will have determined a decisive point, if you can prove that your alabaster nooses are really the mystic Egyptian badges."

APPENDIX D.

(See figure 446, page 282.)

The sword represented in figure 446, having been carefully cleaned by my friend the assistant keeper, Mr. Athanasios Koumanoudes, it was found to be plated with gold on both sides, and to be ornamented on one side with an incised representation of a lions' hunt, on the other with the representation of a lion devouring an animal, probably a roe or stag, and chasing four others. I represent here both sides. Hardly anything more interesting can be imagined than the lions' hunt, which occupies five men armed with the same sort of shields as we have seen on the gem No. 313, or with quadrangular ones such as we saw on page 223, No. 335, and with long lances. There are three lions; two are running away. The third has become furious by the wound it received in the haunch, has turned against its aggressors, one of whom it has already killed; curiously enough the dead man is represented as having both his feet against the falling shield. The following man is holding his shield before him so that only his head is visible above it. The third man's shield is represented as hanging on his back, and so is the shield of the fifth man. The second, the third, and the fifth men are in the act of throwing their lances against the furious lions. Not so the fourth man, who seems to have no lance, and who is represented as kneeling with one foot and shooting an arrow from the drawn bow which he holds in his hand. I call particular attention to the short breeches of the men, and to their curious decoration; also to the curious signs on one of the shields, as well as to the crosses with which the bodies of the roes or stags are ornamented.

ANALYSIS OF MYCENEAN METALS.

Mr. P. Eustratiades, the Director of the Antiquities of Greece, having kindly given me some specimens of the Mycenean metals, I thought I could not do better than submit them for analysis to the celebrated chemist and metallurgist, Dr. PERCY, in London, to whom I cannot adequately express my gratitude for his invaluable Report. I would especially direct the reader's attention to the evidence, which is suggested by the analysis, of the extensive use at Mycenæ of what is probably native gold,—to that use of gold largely alloyed with silver which, when carried somewhat further, produced the well-known electrum, of which I found several goblets in the ruins of prehistoric Troy,—and to the new light thrown on the question of the Homeric χαλκός (so largely discussed by Mr. Gladstone) by the proof that both copper and bronze were in use in the heroic age of Mycenæ, but that the weapons (and some of the vases) were of bronze, while the domestic utensils, such as kettles, were of copper. Thus the metal of a sword from one of the royal sepulchres contains a little more than 86 per cent. of copper and above 13 per cent. of tin, and that of a vase-handle contains nearly 90 per cent. of copper and above 10 of tin; whereas that of a kettle contains 98·47 per cent. of copper, and a mere trace of tin. I would remind the reader that of the Trojan bronze battle-axes the one contained only 4 per cent., the second 8 per cent., and the third about 9 per cent. of tin.[410]

The course taken by Dr. Percy to effect the analysis is described in the following letter with which he has favoured me:—

DEAR DR. SCHLIEMANN, London, August 10, 1877.

I have now the pleasure of communicating to you the results of the examination of the various specimens of metal which you placed in my hands for that purpose. A considerable time and very great care have been required to complete this work; and I must ask you to be so good as to state that the analytical investigation, with two exceptions, has been wholly conducted by my able assistant, Mr. Richard Smith, in the Metallurgical Laboratory of the Royal School of Mines, London. Mr. Smith, I can assure you, has laboured most earnestly and heartily in this investigation; and whatever credit there may be is due to him. Some of the results are, I think, both novel and important, in a metallurgical as well as archæological point of view.

I remain, yours very truly,
JOHN PERCY, M.D., F.R.S.
Lecturer on Metallurgy at the Royal
School of Mines, London, &c.

Dr. SCHLIEMANN.

I.—ARGENTIFEROUS GOLD FOIL. (No. 542.)

The whole of the specimen weighed 2·177 grains, and its thickness varied from 1-500th to 1-600th of an inch. It was one of those gold leaves which were found strewn in vast numbers about the bodies. It was much crumpled, of a reddish yellow colour, and both surfaces appeared as if they had been varnished or lacquered. A sketch of the specimen is annexed of the actual size. By heating, the metal becomes much paler in colour and assumes a greenish yellow tinge, a volatile substance, probably organic, being given off at the same time. The colour of the metal is not affected by digestion in warm alcohol, ether, or benzole; but by boiling it in a strong aqueous solution of caustic potash, it loses its red tinge, and becomes paler, though not so pale as when heated. 1·168 grain of the metal, by cleaning with warm water, dilute hydrochloric acid, and finally gentle rubbing, lost 0·015 grain, which is equal to a loss of 1·28 per cent. The 1·153 grain of cleaned metal was submitted to analysis, with the following results:—

ARGENTIFEROUS GOLD FOIL COMPOSITION PER CENT.

From the composition of the specimen it may be inferred that it was an artificial alloy, as the amount of copper and lead present is, so far as we know, much larger than has ever been found in "native gold" from any locality. The presence of the lead is probably owing to the fact of the silver used in preparing the alloy having been refined, though imperfectly, by means of lead. The large proportion of silver present may have been used to economise the gold. An alloy composed of 75 per cent. of gold and 25 per cent. of silver has a distinct gold-yellow colour; but when the silver amounts to 33·33 per cent. the alloy is much paler in colour, and alloys containing more than about that proportion of silver would cease to be designated as gold; the presence of copper would tend to counteract the paleness imparted by silver to gold.

The alteration in colour produced by heating the metal may possibly be due not only to the removal of a coating of organic matter from its surface, but also to the following action. It is well known that an alloy of silver and gold, which contains so much of the former metal as to resemble it in colour, may be made to acquire the colour of gold by superficially removing the silver. This may be effected by various processes, some of which, there is reason to believe, were known to the ancients. When such alloys of silver and gold as those above mentioned are heated to redness for a certain time, after having acquired superficially the colour of gold by any of the processes in question, they resume their original silvery colour. The large oval medal-like coins of the Japanese furnish an excellent illustration of this fact. Such a coin has been found in the Laboratory of the Royal School of Mines to consist of about two parts by weight of silver, and one part of gold. On heating such an alloy sufficiently, it becomes almost silver-white; and on subsequently treating it with hot sulphuric acid the original golden colour is restored.

II.—SHEET GOLD. (No. 543.)

The total weight of the specimen was 1·702 grain, and its thickness was about 1-100th of an inch. Its specific gravity at 60° Fahr. was 18·867. Annexed is a sketch of the specimen, of the actual size. It was yellow, soft, ductile, and marked or indented on the surface, which appeared as though slightly tarnished. After cleaning with warm water, dilute hydrochloric acid, and gentle rubbing, the metal weighed 1·698 grain, which is equal to a loss of 0·235 per cent. 1·4 grain of the cleaned metal was analysed with the following results:—

COMPOSITION PER CENT.

The absence of lead suggests that possibly the metal may have been native gold, or prepared with native gold, of which silver is always a constituent in varying proportions.

III.—PART OF A SILVER VASE.

A sketch of this, of the same size as the original, is annexed; it was distinctly curved, having formed part of a hollow thin vessel.

The total weight of the specimen was 44·36 grains. The metal was much corroded on both surfaces. The convex or outer surface was completely covered with a somewhat irregular crust while the concave or inner surface was only partly covered with a similar crust, and partly with a yellowish tarnishlike film. When broken across, the fractured surface of the crust on both sides of the metal was found to be in two distinct layers; that next the metal was black, dull, somewhat sectile, and easily broken; while the other, or outer layer, was light-grey, soft, sectile, and wax-like. In some places the metal was corroded completely through. The crust was removed by warm dilute ammonia-water and gentle rubbing; the residual metal was found to be very brittle, much pitted on the surface, dull white in fracture, granular, and containing minute irregular cavities; no appearance of fibre or crystalline structure was observed, even with the aid of the microscope. By annealing, the softness and malleability of the metal were restored in a marked degree. The thickness of the specimen, inclusive of the crust on one surface only, was 1-25th of an inch; and where the crust was thickest it was 1-20th of an inch. The thickness of the metal, after the removal of the crust by dilute ammonia-water and rubbing, was 1-40th of an inch.

A portion of the specimen was selected for analysis to which the crust was attached on the convex or outer surface only, and which was comparatively free from crust on the opposite surface; the quantity operated on was 15·786 grains. By repeated treatment with warm moderately strong ammonia-water, gentle rubbing, and washing with warm water, the crust was easily removed; most of it being dissolved by the ammonia-water, which became pale blue, while the insoluble part was left as a brownish black powder, intermixed with some particles of metallic silver. The metal, after this treatment and drying, weighed 11·823 grains. The metal itself (a), the portion of the crust soluble in ammonia-water (b), and the residue insoluble in ammonia-water (c) were separately analysed, with the following results:—

COMPOSITION PER CENT.

The composition per cent. of the metal, exclusive of the crust, as calculated from the above analysis, is given underneath; but it certainly cannot be inferred that the original metal had the exact composition shown in that analysis, because some of the ingredients may not have been carried away during corrosion in the same relative proportions in which they were present in the original alloy.

COMPOSITION PER CENT.

A portion of the crust when heated in a glass tube gave off water, and the glass was stained yellow.

A portion of the crust treated with dilute hydrochloric acid effervesced, the acid became pale blue, and was found to contain copper and lime.

The crust was examined under the microscope, but no trace of crystalline structure could be detected. A qualitative examination was made of a portion of the inner crust, from which it appeared that its composition was similar to that of the outer crust.

IV.—PORTION OF A BRONZE SWORD. (No. 546.)

The weight of the specimen, inclusive of the incrustation, was 585 grains; it was about 1½ inch in length, and varied from about 5-8ths to 7-8ths of an inch in thickness. A sketch of a section of the specimen is annexed.

The whole of the specimen was coated with an irregular layer or layers of matter, varying in chemical and physical characters and in thickness. In the centre, where the crust was removed, the solid metal varied from about 4-8ths to 5-8ths of an inch in thickness.

One side was chiefly incrusted with irregular patches of dull earthy non-crystalline matter, of varying shades of green and brown, which were found to consist of green carbonate and oxychloride of copper in different proportions; a few minute pale green needle-like crystals were noticed on the other surface; there were also observed irregular thin layers or patches of green (found to be green carbonate of copper, in some places containing more or less of oxychloride of copper) and blue crystals (found to be blue carbonate of copper) of varying tints and lustre. One end of the specimen was covered with a dark green crust with a velvety lustre, which was found to consist of minute transparent crystals of oxychloride of copper; the opposite end, which was flat, and had the appearance of having been cut or rubbed, was chiefly coated with deep red non-crystalline red oxide of copper; and a depression on the surface was lined with the dark green velvety crust; on the edges, where the outer part of the crust had been broken off, was a dull white opaque layer of peroxide of tin, and on either side of it were layers of dark red compact red oxide of copper, having cavities here and there filled with ruby-red brilliant transparent crystals of the same substance. When the outer incrustation had been subsequently removed, these substances were found to extend more or less over the surface underneath.

The specimen was cut across in the centre when portions of the incrustation were detached; by this means the structure of the specimen, and the nature of the substances forming the incrustation, could be well observed. The substances were generally found to occur in the following order, from within outwards.

I.—Solid metal.

II.—Particles of metal resembling filings, tarnished on the surface, and intermixed more or less with a dull greenish-grey substance, which was found to contain chlorine, copper, and tin.

III.—A pale green dull soft compact layer, which was found to consist chiefly of carbonate of copper, containing chlorine, probably in combination as oxychloride of copper, and a little peroxide of tin.

IV.—Red oxide of copper, varying in colour from brick-red to dark red, compact, dull and opaque, and in part crystalline.

V.—Peroxide of tin: examined under the microscope it was found to be veined with minute thin layers of red oxide of copper.

VI.—Red oxide of copper similar in character to No. IV.

VII.—Irregular patches of amorphous and crystalline substances of various shades of green, blue, and brown, as before described.

The above order of superposition was not always observed; thus, in some places there was a layer of red oxide of copper in No. III.

When the incrustation had been removed by sawing the specimen across the middle, and filing, the metal was found to be very sound and free from cavities. The fracture was yellowish copper red, and finely granular.

Portions of the solid metal perfectly free from incrustation were selected for analysis.

COMPOSITION PER CENT.

The specific gravity of the metal was 8·858 at 60° Fahr.

A portion of clean solid metal weighing 24·811 grains was employed for the experiment.

The substances forming the incrustation could not possibly be separated from each other with sufficient accuracy to allow of their being separately analysed.

V.—FRAGMENT OF A BRONZE VASE-HANDLE.

Sketches of this, of the actual size, are annexed (Nos. 547-549). It is curved, and on the convex side there are three parallel indented lines, which doubtless were connected with ornamentation. It was everywhere incrusted with the products of weathering action. On the convex surface the prevailing colour was green, with here and there patches of grey and dark blue; on the concave surface the incrustation was much thinner and more uniformly green. It is quite impossible to describe accurately in words these appearances. The portion analysed was freed by filing from incrusting matter. This analysis was made in the laboratory of the Royal School of Mines by Mr. W. F. Ward.

COMPOSITION PER CENT.

This is the most usual composition of ancient bronze. The metal seems to have been exceptionally pure.

VI.—FRAGMENT OF A COPPER KETTLE.

FROM THE FOURTH SEPULCHRE.

This specimen was in a single piece, much crumpled, irregular in shape, and ragged at the edges; it weighed about 800 grains, and varied from 1-25th to 1-30th of an inch in thickness. There were three rivets in the metal, the ends of which protruded on one side to the extent of about 1-8th of an inch; and there was one rivet-hole without its rivet. After filing, the colour of the metal forming the rivet appeared to be the same as that of the sheet metal. There was no trace of the article which had been attached by means of those rivets. On one surface the specimen seems originally to have been pretty generally encrusted with blue and green matter, between which and the metal was, as usual, a thin coating of red oxide of copper; on the other surface, or that showing the protruding ends of the rivets, the metal was coated first with the red oxide of copper and then with dark greenish brown matter, with here and there patches varying from light green to dark blue and dark green, especially round the ends of the rivets.

Portions of the sheet metal were heated to redness in a current of hydrogen, whereby they acquired a coppery colour and lustre. The water evolved in this process was found to contain both copper and chlorine, thus indicating the existence of oxychloride of copper in the incrusting matter, a portion of the subchloride of copper (cuprous chloride) having escaped decomposition by the hydrogen. A piece of the metal, free from incrustation, was boiled in a flask containing hydrochloric acid and perchloride of iron, and the vapour evolved was passed into a refrigerating vessel, when a liquid was obtained in which arsenic was found in considerable quantity. This process was used for the quantitative determination of the arsenic as ammoniacal arseniate of magnesia, and the result was confirmed by several repetitions. The metal taken for analysis was that which had been heated in hydrogen as stated above. The analysis was made in the laboratory of the Royal School of Mines by Mr. W. F. Ward.

COMPOSITION PER CENT.

INDEX.

• A.
• Achilles and Hector, intaglio on gold, 175.
• Acropolis;
• citadel of Tiryns, 6;
• of Mycenæ, 28, 29.
• Ægisthus, murder of Atreus by, 54;
• murder of Agamemnon by, 54;
• death of, 55;
• buried without the wall, 60.
• Aëropé, wife of Atreus, legend of, 53.
• Agamemnon, son of Atreus, 48;
• sepulchre of, 48;
• murdered by Ægisthus and Clytemnestra, 54;
• his expedition to Troy, 58;
• his supremacy in the Argolid and Peloponnesus, 58.
• ——and his companions, tombs of, 334-337;
• their ignominious burial, 345-347.
• (Comp. SEPULCHRES.)
• Agora of Mycenæ, 39, 338-341;
• slabs forming its enclosure and bench, 124, 125;
• circular form of the Greek Agora, 125, 126;
• Royal Tombs in the Agora at Megara and Cyrene, 126-7;
• Homer's description of the heroic Agora, 338;
• of that of Troy, 339;
• and of the Phæacians, 339;
• age of the Agora at Mycenæ, later than the Five Sepulchres within it, 340;
• no building within its sacred enclosure, 341.
• Alabaster:
• button of, 144;
• hand, 209;
• model of a scarf, 242;
• three-handled vase of, 246;
• sword-knobs of, 219, 281, 282;
• fragments of vases, 257, 308;
• goblet of, 317.
• Amber, beads of, 203, 245.
• ——, found in Italy and Sicily, 204;
• mention of, by Homer, ibid.
• Amethyst, lentoid gem of, 202.
• ᾽Αμφικύπελλον (see Δέπας).
• Analysis of Mycenean metals, 367-376;
• argentiferous gold foil, 368;
• sheet gold, 369;
• silver vase, 370;
• bronze sword and vase-handle, 372, 375;
• copper kettle, 375.
• Archers, niches in walls of Tiryns for, 5.
• Argion: first name of the mount of the Citadel at Mycenæ, 36.
• Argolis, map of, 1.
• Argos: road from, to Mycenæ, 24;
• plain of, described, 25 f.;
• Achæan states of Argos and Mycenæ, 28;
• Homer's use of the name, 37.
• Arm-bone, with gold ribbon, 302.
• Arrow-heads;
• of bronze, only in the upper strata, 76, 123;
• of obsidian, 4th Sepulchre, 272.
• Ashes, of burnt animal matter, 88;
• at the foot of tombstones, 92, 93.
• Asterion, the plant, 25.
• Atreus, son of Pelops, 53;
• legend of Atreus and Thyestes, 53;
• killed by Ægisthus, 54. (Comp. TREASURY.)
• Axes, of diorite, 40, 132;
• double, as a symbol, 219, 252-254, 357.
• B.
• Battle-axes of gold plate, 252.
• Battle scene on a ring, 224, 225.
• Beads;
• of glass, 111, 120;
• of fluor-spar, 120;
• of agate, 201, 202;
• of amber, 308;
• of gold, 361.
• Belt of gold, apparently for a child, 248.
• Boars' teeth, 272;
• used on helmets and horse-trappings, in Homer, 272, 273.
• Bodies found, all partially burnt where they lay;
• three in the 2nd Sepulchre, 155;
• three, probably of women, in the 3rd Sepulchre, 164;
• five in the 4th Sepulchre, 228;
• one in the 5th Sepulchre, 291;
• three in the 1st Sepulchre, 294, 295;
• one of them wonderfully preserved, 296, 297;
• its removal, 298;
• in all 15 bodies in the five sepulchres, 337;
• other skeletons of bodies not burnt, 162.
• Bone, objects of, 153, 255.
• Bones: of animals, 88, 362;
• human, in all the five Sepulchres, 284;
• thigh-bone, with greave-ornament, in the 4th Sepulchre, 230;
• jawbone, 285;
• small bone, with gold ribbon, 302.
• Bonitza: modern name of the Inachus, 24.
• Boöpis: title of Hera, its significance, 12, 19 f.
• Borax, used for soldering gold, 231.
• Boxes;
• of gold, 204, 205;
• of copper plate, filled with wood, 207, 208;
• of wood, carved, 332.
• Bracelets of gold, 196, 223, 227.
• Breast-plates of gold, found on bodies in the 4th Sepulchre, 228;
• in the 1st Sepulchre, 300, 301.
• Bronze:
• male figure of, at Tiryns, 14;
• objects of, 111, 112;
• weapons of, 279-283, 299, 303, 306;
• of Mycenæ and Troy compared, 369.
• (See ANALYSIS.)
• Brooch of gold, 193.
• Buildings, Cyclopean, at Mycenæ, 40.
• Burial with treasures, 344-349.
• Butterflies of gold, 165, 176;
• perhaps a symbol of immortality, 166.
• Buttons;
• of gold, 152;
• of wood, plated with gold, 4th Sepulchre, 258-262;
• of gold, 1st Sepulchre, 305, 321-327;
• of bone, 1st Sepulchre, 329.
• C.
• Caldrons of copper, 215.
• Cans of copper, 274.
• Cassandra, tomb of, and her twin-sons, Teledamus and Pelops, 59.
• Cephisus, the river, 25.
• Chariots, sculptured, on tombstones, 80-85;
• true form of the Homeric, 84.
• Charvati, village of, with the ancient quarry of Mycenæ, 117.
• Children:
• objects found in the 3rd and 4th Sepulchres, indicating the burial of two or three, 198, 247, 248, 337;
• in accordance with the tradition, 59.
• Cicadæ (crickets or tree-hoppers) of gold, 176;
• their significance, ibid.
• Cisterns at Mycenæ, 141.
• Clay, baked and glazed, ornaments of, 110, 111.
• ----, white, the bodies in the Royal Sepulchres covered with a layer of, 214, 295, 337.
• Clytemnestra, seduced by Ægisthus, murders Agamemnon, 54;
• is killed by Orestes, 55;
• buried with Ægisthus outside the wall of Mycenæ, 60.
• Cobalt glass, tubes of, like the Egyptian, 157.
• Coins, copper, of Macedonian age, found at Tiryns, 15;
• of Argos, found at Mycenæ, 63, 64;
• none of Roman or Byzantine times, 64;
• none of Mycenæ itself, ibid.
• Column of porphyry, 96, 97.
• Comb;
• of clay, 78;
• of gold, 203.
• Copper:
• a fork and another object of, 255;
• vessels of, 273-274, 331;
• their use as ornaments of houses, 284;
• medium for plating gold on silver, 158.
• (Comp. ANALYSIS.)
• Cork, pieces of, 332.
• Cow-heads:
• of terra-cotta, on handles of vases, 104, 105;
• the great one of silver, with golden horns, 215;
• of gold plate, with double axes, 218.
• Cows, of terra-cotta, found at Tiryns, 10;
• idols, in the form of, at Mycenæ, 73, 74.
• (Comp. HERA BOÖPIS.)
• Cremation, partial, of all the bodies in the royal sepulchres, 155;
• officially authenticated, 214.
• Crosses of golden leaves, 156, 189-192.
• Crowns of gold, found with the bodies in the 3rd Sepulchre, 184;
• in the 4th Sepulchre, 228.
• Cups;
• of gold, 241, 313, 354;
• of alabaster, 317.
• (Comp. GOBLETS.)
• Cuttle-fish of gold, 165, 268.
• Cyclopean Walls:
• their name and nature, 3, 4;
• three forms, 29, 30;
• of the citadel of Tiryns, the most ancient monument in Greece, 2, 9;
• house-walls at Tiryns, 9;
• of the citadel of Mycenæ, 4, 29;
• substructions and house-walls at Mycenæ, 31, 42, 79, 80, 99, 123, 130;
• destruction of portion of, 116;
• water-conduit, 141;
• tower, 147.
• Cylinders of gold, 251, 286, 287, 320, 321.
• D.
• Daggers of bronze, 163;
• ivory handle of one, 329.
• Débris:
• at Tiryns, 19;
• at Mycenæ, 42;
• in the Acropolis of Mycenæ, 62;
• over dromos of Treasury near Lions' Gate, 103;
• in the same Treasury, 141.
• Δέπας ἀμφικύπελλον (two-handled goblet):
• several of terra-cotta, 115, 116;
• several of gold, 231, 235, 237, 350, 352;
• the true form, not that supposed by Aristotle, 116, 237;
• none such found either at Troy or Mycenæ, 238.
• Diadems of gold, found with the bodies:
• in the 2nd Sepulchre, 155, 156;
• in the 3rd Sepulchre, 186-189;
• in the 4th Sepulchre, 246, 247;
• two of these small, as if for children, ibid.;
• in the 5th Sepulchre, 291.
• Diomedes, King of Argos, under Agamemnon, 58.
• Disks of gold, 319.
• (Comp. PLATES.)
• Dorians, invasion of the, 55;
• early date of, 344.
• Dragon of gold, with scales of rock-crystal, 287.
• Dromos, or approach to the Treasury of Atreus, 43;
• to the Treasury near the Lions' Gate, 103-107.
• E.
• Earring of gold, 142.
• Egyptian glass, 157;
• porcelain, objects of, 242, 330.
• Eïones, the port of Mycenæ, 58.
• Eleutherion, the river, 25.
• Elias, chapel of, at Tiryns, 4;
• chapel of, on Mt. Eubœa, above Mycenæ, 26, 145-147.
• Emperor of Brazil's visit to Mycenæ, 144, 145.
• Eubœa, Mount, above Mycenæ, 25, 26;
• ascent of, 145;
• Cyclopean remains on, probably a sanctuary of the Sun-god, 146-7.
• Euripides visited Mycenæ, 38;
• his knowledge of the Acropolis, the Agora, and Royal Palace, 341, 342.
• Excavations:
• at Tiryns, beginning of, 9;
• of the Treasury of Atreus, by Veli Pasha, 49, 50;
• at Mycenæ, in 1874, 61;
• at Mycenæ, in 1876, 62;
• panoramic view of, before the discovery of the Tombs, 148-9.
• F.
• Fish of wood, 129.
• Flagons (οἰνοχόαι);
• of gold, 233;
• of silver, 243.
• Flowers, golden, 165-167, 172, 173, 262.
• Flute, found at Mycenæ, 77, 78, 79.
• Fork of copper, for stirring the funeral fires, 255.
• Fountain of Perseia at Mycenæ, 59.
• Frieze of marble, 141.
• G.
• Galleries in the Walls of Tiryns, 51.
• Gate, the eastern, of Tiryns, 5;
• of the Lions at Mycenæ (see LIONS' GATE);
• the postern, at Mycenæ, 35, 36.
• Gell, Sir William, cited, 44.
• Glass, fabrication of, only in its beginning at the age of the tombs, 158.
• Goblets, of terra-cotta, at Tiryns, 16;
• at Mycenæ, 70;
• two-handled, 115, 116;
• black, 154;
• of gold, 204, 231-240, 314, 352-353;
• of silver, 314.
• Gold. The objects are described under their several heads. The quantity found in the sepulchres amounts to about 100 lbs. troy.
• Gordon, Gen., his fragments of bronze nails and plates from the Treasury of Atreus, 45 n.
• Grasshoppers, golden. (See CICADÆ.)
• Greaves of warriors on a painted vase, 134;
• gold ornament of, 230, 328.
• Greco-Phœnician Period of Art, after about B.C. 800, 98;
• the sculptures of Mycenæ anterior to, ibid.
• Griffins, of gold, 177;
• legend of the griffin of Indian origin, 177, 178.
• H.
• Hatchets;
• of stone, 76;
• of bronze, 111, 112.
• Hellenic House, foundations of, 121.
• Hera Boöpis, note on, 19-22.
• Heræum, the great temple of Hera, near Mycenæ, 20, 59, 362, 364.
• Hercules and the Nemean Lion, gold ornament, with intaglio of, 173.
• Highway from Mycenæ to Tiryns, 42.
• Horse-trappings, ornaments of, 153, 273;
• described by Homer, 273.
• Hunters in a chariot, on a signet-ring, 223 f.
• I.
• Ialysus, in Rhodes; objects found in a tomb there, resembling those at Mycenæ:
• terra-cotta vases, 65;
• cow-idols, 73;
• whorls, 77;
• painted pottery, 138;
• terra-cotta goblets, of same pattern as Mycenean gold goblets, 234.
• Idols, terra-cotta, at Tiryns, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14;
• similar to those at Mycenæ, 12;
• at Mycenæ, 13, 71, 72, 73;
• in "dromos" before Treasury near Lions' Gate, 103-107.
• Inachus, the river, 24, 25.
• Inscriptions, signs resembling, 114;
• Greek, 115.
• Iron keys and knives, probably of the later age of Mycenæ, 75.
• Ivory, objects of, 152, 153, 161, 162, 329;
• stained, for horse-trappings, 273.
• J.
• Jar of crystal, 299, 300.
• Jasper weight, 100.
• K.
• Kettles. (See COPPER.)
• Keys of bronze, lead, and iron, 74, 75.
• Knives of obsidian at Tiryns, 18;
• of bronze and iron at Mycenæ, 74, 75, 76, 111, 112, 158;
• of obsidian, 158.
• L.
• Lamps, unknown to Homer, and never found at Troy, Tiryns, or Mycenæ, 50.
• Lances of bronze, 278;
• mode of fastening to the handle, ibid.
• Lead, found at Tiryns, 14;
• a large quantity at Mycenæ, 77.
• Leake, Col., quoted, 5 n.
• Leaves of Gold, strewn all about the 4th Sepulchre, and even below the bodies, 266.
• Legend, of the crimes of the Pelopids, 53, 54;
• of the Trojan War and the fate of Agamemnon, the author's faith in it led to the discovery of Troy and Mycenæ, 334 f.;
• confirmations of its veracity, 337.
• Lentoid gems, 112, 113, 114, 202, 252;
• bought of peasants in Chonika, 362, 364.
• Lids of boxes and vases of gold, fastened on by gold wires, 206, 207;
• of bone for jars, 256.
• Lion of gold, 361.
• Lion cub of gold, 251.
• Lions' Gate at Mycenæ, 4, 32, 33, 34, 35;
• plan of, 34;
• excavations at, 121, 122, 123.
• Lower City of Mycenæ, 39, 40;
• Cyclopean bridge at, 39;
• Treasuries, 39.
• Lyre of bone, 77, 78, 79.
• M.
• Masks of gold:
• a child's, in the 3rd Sepulchre, 198;
• on the faces of three bodies in the 4th Sepulchre, 219-221;
• a fourth like a lion's head, beside another of the bodies, 222 (Cut, p. 211);
• discussion of burial with masks, 222, 223;
• on two of the bodies in the 1st Sepulchre, 311, 312 (Cuts, pp. 289, 333).
• Medals. (See COINS.)
• Megapenthes, son of Prœtus, Tiryns, ceded to Perseus by, 6.
• Metals, found at Tiryns, only lead and one bronze figure, 14;
• found at Mycenæ, 74, 75, 77.
• Moulds, for casting ornaments, 108, 109.
• Mure, Col., cited, 45 n.
• Mycenæ, arrival at, 24;
• importance of excavations at the capital of Agamemnon, 28;
• topography of, 24 f.;
• Acropolis, 28 f.;
• the lower city, 39;
• the suburb, 40;
• confused with Argos, 36-38;
• history, 53 f.;
• decline, 56;
• besieged by the Argives and Cleoneans, 56;
• its surrender and destruction (B.C. 468), 56, 57;
• Homeric epithets of Mycenæ, 57;
• remains described by Pausanias, and true interpretation of the passage, 59, 60, 335;
• shafts sunk in 1874, 61;
• excavations begun in 1876, ibid.;
• its re-occupation unknown to the ancients, 63.
• N.
• Nails, bronze, in the walls of the Treasury at Atreus, for holding the lining plates, 44.
• Needle of ivory, 153.
• Nestor's goblet, in Homer, compared with one found in the 4th Sepulchre, 235-237.
• O.
• Orestes kills Ægisthus and Clytemnestra; probably the last of the Pelopid dynasty at Mycenæ; reigned in Arcadia and Sparta, 55.
• Oyster shells, found in 1st Sepulchre, 332.
• P.
• Painted vases. (See POTTERY; VASES.)
• Palace:
• Cyclopean house-walls, supposed to be the Royal Palace of Mycenæ, 130 f.;
• the substructions probably supported a wooden building, 288.
• Palæocastron, the modern name of Tiryns, 2.
• Pausanias, his description of the tombs of Agamemnon and his companions, 59;
• general misunderstanding, and true meaning, of the passage, 60, 61, et passim.
• Pebbles, layers of, below and above the bodies, to aid in ventilating the funeral pyres, and bearing marks of fire, in all the Sepulchres, 155, 164, 213, 214, 291, 294, 337.
• Pelopids, dynasty of the, at Mycenæ, 54, 55;
• its probable end under Orestes, ibid.
• Perseus, builder of Mycenæ, 6, 53;
• Tiryns given to Electryon by, 6;
• his dynasty, 53.
• Pigeons of gold, on the heads and arms of female figures, 180;
• on the handles of a goblet, 236;
• on a model of a temple, 267.
• Pins of gold, 4th Sepulchre, 249, 250.
• Plates, large, thick, round, of gold, with patterns in repoussé work, below, above, and round the bodies in the 3rd Sepulchre, 165 f.;
• in the 1st Sepulchre, 318, 319;
• smaller round plates of sword-sheaths, 219, 302-303;
• quadrangular plates with intaglio work, 302, 303, 308-311.
• Plundered body in 1st Sepulchre, 295.
• Porter's lodge at Mycenæ, 62.
• Pottery, Tirynthian archaic, 14, 15, 16, 17;
• Mycenean painted, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 120;
• geometrical, 103 f., 120, 141;
• hand-made and wheel-made, 137, 158, 159, 160, 210, 340, &c.
• (Comp. TERRA-COTTAS.)
• Prœtus, the founder of Tiryns, 6.
• Q.
• Quarry, of Tiryns, 4;
• of Mycenæ, at Charvati, 41, 117.
• R.
• Rapier-like swords, 4th Sepulchre, 283.
• Rema, modern name of the river Charadrus, 24.
• Reservoirs, twelve in the Acropolis of Mycenæ, 80, 99, 100, 117 n.
• Ribbons of gold, 249, 327.
• Rings, of bronze, plain and engraved, 142;
• of gold, plain and ornamented, 250, 353, 354;
• of silver, ibid.
• (See SIGNET-RINGS.)
• Rock crystal, objects of, 200, 210;
• polished segment of a sphere, 213.
• Royal tombs. (See SEPULCHRES.)
• S.
• Sardonyx, lentoid gem of, 202.
• Scales of gold, 197.
• Sceptres, of silver plated with gold, 201;
• rock-crystal knob of a sceptre-handle, 200;
• handles, 251;
• splendid handle of a sceptre, 286, 287.
• Sculpture on tombstones at Mycenæ. (See TOMBSTONES.)
• Seal-rings;
• of bronze, 142;
• of silver, 203.
• (See SIGNET-RINGS.)
• Sepulchral Slabs, or Stêlæ. (See TOMBSTONES.)
• Sepulchres, the Royal, at Mycenæ;
• described by Pausanias from tradition only, 59, 102;
• their position in the Acropolis unique, 101;
• traditional reverence for them, 337, 343;
• their site indicated by tombstones renewed from time to time, as they got covered with débris, 101 f., 337, 341;
• the sacred Agora, erected as an enclosure round them, in honour of the deceased heroes, probably when the monuments were renewed, 128, 129, 340:
• —discovery of the First Sepulchre, 151;
• work interrupted, 154;
• resumed, 293;
• the sepulchre described, 294 (comp. BODIES):
• —discovery and description of the Second Sepulchre, 154;
• —of the Third, 161;
• —of the Fourth, 212;
• —of the Fifth, 290.
• Evidence of the simultaneous burial of the bodies in each sepulchre, and probably in all, 336;
• agreement of the sepulchres with the tradition of the burial of Agamemnon and his companions, Chap. X. passim.
• Shoulder belts, of gold, in the 4th Sepulchre, 243, 244;
• one with a piece of a bronze sword attached,
• 1st Sepulchre, 298, 299;
• too slender to have been ever used, 300.
• Signet-rings:
• one of white onyx, engraved in intaglio, in the supposed Royal Palace, 131, 132;
• two of gold, with intaglios of a stag-hunt and a combat, 4th Sepulchre, 223-227;
• too small for any but female fingers, 227;
• two of gold, with wonderful symbolic intaglios, from the tomb south of the Agora, 354-360;
• correspondence of the first to a scene in Homer's "Shield of Achilles," 359, 360.
• Skeleton of a man, found at Tiryns, 18;
• skeletons above the 3rd Sepulchre, 164.
• Slabs, double parallel circle of, 87, 88.
• (See AGORA.)
• Spiral ornamentation, characteristic of Mycenean art, 82, 99, et passim.
• Stag, of silver and lead, 257.
• Stêlæ, sepulchral. (See TOMBSTONES.)
• Sthenelus, son of Perseus, 53.
• Stilettos of opal, for needlework, 143.
• Stone bench round the Agora. (See AGORA.)
• Stone implements, none at Tiryns, 14;
• at Mycenæ, 76;
• knives and arrow-heads of obsidian, 158, 272.
• Streets of Mycenæ, 57.
• Suastika, the sign 卍, 77, 165.
• Suspension, vases with tubular holes for, found at Mycenæ as well as Troy, 158.
• Swords of bronze:
• two-edged, from the (supposed) Royal Palace, 144;
• a heap of, in 4th Sepulchre, with the gold ornaments of their handles and sheaths, 219;
• 46 more in 4th Sepulchre, 278;
• 10 of these short one-edged, 279;
• two-edged, with a ridge on each side, gilt, studded, and otherwise ornamented, 280-283, 302-304, 306, 307;
• their extreme narrowness, and the enormous length of some, 283, 304.
• Sword-handles, wooden, gilt, and ornamented with gold-plates, studs, and nails, 219;
• covers of gold-plate belonging to, 269-271, 305;
• knobs of alabaster, 219, 281, 282;
• one plated with gold, richly ornamented, and containing a piece of the bronze sword, 307, 308.
• Sword-sheaths, wooden, remains of, and the golden plates that ornamented them, 219, 303, 305 (comp. PLATES OF GOLD);
• pieces still on swords, 281;
• of linen, traces of, adhering to swords, 283.
• Sword-tassel of gold, 304.
• T.
• Telegram to the King of the Hellenes and His Majesty's reply, 365.
• Temple of gold, model of, 267.
• Terra-cottas:
• vases, Tirynthian archaic, 17;
• archaic at Mycenæ, 51, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68;
• compared with those at Ialysus, 65;
• figure of a woman, 73;
• tripods, 69, 143, 158;
• vessels, 209;
• cows and a cow-horn, 143 (comp. COWS; IDOLS);
• objects found in 2nd Sepulchre, 159;
• vases in 3rd Sepulchre, 210;
• in 4th Sepulchre, 241;
• goblets, 285, 286.
• Thyestes, brother of Atreus, legend of, 53.
• Tiryns:
• excavations at, 1;
• site of, 2;
• Pausanias on, 2;
• Cyclopean walls of, 2, 4, 5;
• rock of, 4;
• founded by Prœtus, 6;
• conquered and inhabited by Hercules, 6;
• destroyed by the Argives, 7;
• plain south of, 8.
• Tombs. (See SEPULCHRES.)
• Tombstones, or sepulchral stêlæ, sculptured and plain, in the Acropolis of Mycenæ, above the Royal Sepulchres:
• the 1st sculptured, 80 (Cut, p. 52);
• the 2nd sculptured, 82;
• the 3rd sculptured, 88;
• the 4th sculptured, 90;
• 5 plain, 92;
• several fragments of sculptured, 92-96;
• they all mark the site of tombs, 100 (comp. SEPULCHRES);
• plan of, in the 1st Sepulchre, 151;
• plan of, above the 3rd Sepulchre, 161;
• two plain above the 5th Sepulchre, 291.
• Tongs of iron, 144;
• of silver, 308.
• Treasures:
• of the Pelopids, 48;
• enor-mous
• in the Royal Sepulchres, 337;
• custom of burial with, 344-349.
• Treasuries, in the suburb of Mycenæ, underground and dome-shaped, called "ovens" (φοῦρνοι), 41;
• one near the Lions' Gate, ibid., excavated by Mrs. Schliemann, 102, 118, 140 f.;
• two smaller ones, 41;
• of Atreus, 42;
• commonly called the "Tomb of Agamemnon," 49;
• compared with that of Minyas at Orchomenus, 45;
• arguments for their being treasuries, 47, 48;
• a sixth, close to the great Heræum, 59 (comp. Plan D).
• Tripods;
• of copper, 137, 277;
• of terra-cotta (see TERRA-COTTAS).
• Trojan War, the Author's faith in the, led to his discoveries, 334, 335.
• Tubes;
• of gold plate, 203;
• of gold, 1st Sepulchre, 305;
• of bone, 1st Sepulchre, 329.
• V.
• Vases, of terra-cotta: one with female breasts, 259;
• of crystal, 78;
• of silver, 158, 160, 210, 308, 316;
• of gold, 206; of alabaster, 245;
• of Egyptian porcelain, 292.
• (Comp. TERRA-COTTAS.)
• Vessels:
• household, at Tiryns, 15;
• of gold, 207;
• of copper, 274-276;
• of terra-cotta. (See TERRA-COTTAS.)
• W.
• Wages of workmen at the excavations, 87.
• Walls, Cyclopean, 3, 4, 5, 29 f.;
• of Tiryns, 2, 9;
• of Mycenæ, 4, 29, 30, 31, 40, 87, 88;
• of Treasuries lined with bronze plates, 44, 45;
• inner, of the Royal Sepulchres, bearing marks of fire, 155, 213, 294;
• none in the 5th Sepulchre, 291.
• Warriors, armed, on a painted vase, 132-134.
• Water-conduits, Cyclopean, at Tiryns, 9;
• Cyclopean, at Mycenæ, 80, 141.
• Wealth of Mycenæ, 57.
• Weapons of bronze, 278-280, 291, 307.
• Weight, of jasper, 100.
• Wells of Mycenæ, 41.
• Wheels of chariots on sculptures, with four spokes, 84;
• small bronze wheels, 111 (Cut, p. 74);
• of gold, 203.
• Whetstones, 286, 332.
• Whorls:
• of stone, at Tiryns, 18;
• of stone and terra-cotta at Mycenæ, 77;
• whorl-shaped object of gold plate, 268.
• Wire, gold, 142, 354;
• used for fastening on lids of boxes and vases, 206, 207.
• Wood:
• objects of, 1st Sepulchre, 332;
• quantity of, in a copper box, 207, 208;
• piece of cypress, 332;
• half-burnt pieces in 4th Sepulchre, ibid.;
• various objects of wood, ibid.
• (Comp. BOXES, BUTTONS, SWORD-HANDLES, SWORD-SHEATHS.)
• Writing unknown at Mycenæ, so far as the excavations shew, 336.