all united around an ornament likewise of seven concentric circles, which the artist seems to have vainly tried to unite at the upper part. Each of the spirals separately very much resembles the hair-springs of our watches, at least at the first glance, but on closer examination we find that all the interior lines form separate circles. Nos. 247-250 represent beautiful leaves, all of a kindred pattern. No. 251 represents a beautiful star-flower; No. 252 shows within a border of three circles a splendid ornamentation of spirals and concentric circles, such as we have not seen yet on the Mycenean antiquities. [Illustration: No. 245. A Plate of Gold. Sepulchre III.] [Illustration: No. 246. A Plate of Gold. Sepulchre III.] [Illustration: No. 247. A leaf in Gold Plate. Sepulchre III. Actual size.] [Illustration: No. 248. A leaf-pattern in Gold Plate. Sepulchre III.] [Illustration: No. 249. A leaf-pattern in Gold Plate. Sepulchre III.] [Illustration: No. 250. A leaf-pattern in Gold Plate. Sepulchre III.] [Illustration: No. 251. A Star in Gold Plate. Sepulchre III.] [Illustration: No. 252. A Plate of Gold. Sepulchre III.] I suppose that all these golden leaves are miniature copies of shields, for though there were shields with a central boss,[280] yet the majority of them were smooth (ἐΐση)[281]: further most shields were round (εὔκυκλος),[282] and many of them, if not all, were works of art and beautifully ornamented.[283] We further find around the Homeric shields a border (ἄντυξ), which may have been sometimes single, but which certainly was usually treble,[284] and such a border we also find represented on several of these golden plates. [Sidenote: HERCULES AND THE NEMEAN LION.]