Mycenæ: a narrative of researches and discoveries at Mycenæ and TirynsSchliemann, Heinrich
History
Mycenæ: a narrative of researches and discoveries at Mycenæ and Tiryns
Schliemann, Heinrich
Mycenae (Extinct city); Tiryns (Extinct city)
In proceeding to describe the masses of other jewels which had covered
the bodies on the pyres and which still lay partly on them and partly
around them, I begin with three perforated massive ornaments of gold,
belonging to necklaces, of which the first (No. 253) appears to
represent, in intaglio, Hercules killing the Nemean lion. The hero is
represented here with long hair (καρηκομόων) and with a long
beard; his dress appears to reach only from the waist to the middle of
the loins, and the rest of the body seems to be naked. Having stepped
forward with his left foot, he leans the whole weight of his body on
it to deal a deadly blow at the lion with a sword which he holds in his
uplifted right hand, whilst with his left he seizes the lion's throat.
The animal stands before him on his hind-legs, and has pounced with his
fore-feet on the left leg of the hero, whom he is going to bite in the
breast when he receives the deadly blow. The body of the lion appears
to me to be faithful to nature, but not the head, which resembles more
a bear's head; the mane is engraved with true art. I call particular
attention to the large round knob at the end of the handle of the
sword, because many such, all of alabaster or wood with golden nails,
and frequently plated with gold, were found in the tombs successively
discovered.
[Illustration: Nos. 253, 254, 255. Perforated Ornaments of Gold, with
engravings in intaglio. Sepulchre III. Actual size.]
[Sidenote: ACHILLES AND HECTOR?]
The intaglio on the following smaller ornament (No. 254) represents two
warriors fighting a deadly duel. The one to the left of the spectator is
a tall, powerful beardless young man with an uncovered head, whose loins
only are covered, the rest of the body being naked. He leans with all
the weight of his body on his advanced left leg, and with his uplifted
right hand he has just plunged his double-edged sword into the throat of
his antagonist, who falls mortally wounded. This latter is represented
with a long beard. His head is covered with a helmet, over which we see
a half-circle, which appears to be fastened into the fore-part of the
helmet and to represent the long curved horn which we see protruding
from the fore-part of the helmets of the five warriors (No. 213).[285]
The horn seems here to be nothing else than a λόφος, into which the
crest was sunk, for this appears also to be visible. But should this
conjecture not be correct, then we can only explain the half-circle above
the warrior's helmet by supposing that the middle part of the crest
was fastened on the top of the φάλος of the helmet, so that there
were properly two crests waving. On the wounded man's body we see a round
shield with a circle of small points, probably meant to represent the
glitter of the brass. The shield being divided into an upper and a lower
compartment, it may be that the artist intended to represent two shields,
of which the lower one belonged to the wounded man, who had just let it
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