Neither of them visited Greece, which later historians generally regard as essential 24 Ernst Curtius and Victor Duruy 25 The value of autopsy in verifying old authors 25 Example in the theatre of Athens 25 Its real size 26 No landscape for its background 26 Greek scenery and art now accessible to all 27 CHAPTER II. Recent Treatment of the Greek Myths. The newer histories 28 Not justifiable without particular reasons 28 Max Duncker 28 Not suited to English readers 29 Busolt and Holm 29 Return to Grote 30 Holm's postulate 30 The modern attitude 31 Pure invention a rare occurrence 31 Plausible fiction therefore not an adequate cause 32 Cases of deliberate invention, at Pergamum, which breed general suspicion of marvellous stories 32 Example of a trustworthy legend from Roman history 33 Niebuhr, Arnold, Mommsen 34 The _rex sacrorum_ at Rome 34 The king-archon at Athens 35 Legends of foreign immigrants 35 Corroborative evidence of art, but not of language 35 Corroboration of legends in architecture 37 Explanation of myths by the solar theory 37 The analogy of Indian and Persian mythology, expounded by Professor Max Müller, founded on very wide learning 38 long since shown inadequate, because it implies sentimental savages, which is contrary to our experience 39 K. O. Müller's contribution 40 The transference of myths 41 Old anecdotes doing fresh duty 41 Example from the Trojan legend 41 but not therefore false 42 The contribution of Dr. Schliemann 42 History not an exact science 43 Historical value of the Homeric poems 44