A. H. Smith

“ A mantle is wrapped round his body, and he wears sandals. On the left are three mortals, clad in Roman military armour, who appear to be approaching as if to consult the Oracle of Apollo, and who, from the difference of stature, are probably a father and two sons. Between them and the god are two female figures, of colossal proportions, who stand to the front, their heads turned towards Apollo. Each wears a diadem, and the figure on the left holds a box containing incense in her left hand. These two figures are thought to be Leto and Artemis, whose worship was associated with that of Apollo. ”

“ The Goddess wears a helmet, ægis, chiton with diploïdion girt round the waist, bracelets and sandals; her left hand rests on her shield, which stands on its edge 98 at her side. In the centre of the outside of the shield is a mask of Medusa, and inside a serpent; the right hand of Athenè is extended in front and rests on a column with the palm open upwards, holding a figure of Victory, in whose hands are remains of what is thought to be a garland. The head of the Victory is wanting. On the centre of the helmet of Athenè is a Sphinx, and at each side has been a Pegasos. ”

“ And the horse itself seemed conscious of the exceeding beauty of its master, as it arched its neck, and pricked up its ears, and frowned its brows, and advanced proudly, giving ready obedience to the rein, balancing on alternate shoulders, lightly striking the tips of its hoofs on the ground, and attuning its pace to a gentle motion. ”

“ The statues of Branchidae are of interest because they exhibit the process by which the grotesque coarseness of primitive work tends towards the stiff and formal refinement that marks the later stage of archaic art. The series in the British Museum breaks off before the second stage has been completely attained, but it can be well supplemented by a seated female figure from Miletus, now in the Louvre (Rayet et Thomas, Milet et le Golfe Latmique, pl. 21) . ”

“ The nude warrior on the left, armed with shield and helmet, presses forward to the attack; he probably held a sword in the right hand. His adversary, whose back is turned towards us, appears to be in retreat, but to be stopping to deliver a thrust, probably with a spear held in the right hand. His left arm must have held out a shield, of the rim of which a fragment remains, attached to the left thigh. His dress is a chiton heteromaschalos. On the right of the slab is seen the right foot of a warrior, belonging to the succeeding group, of which the British Museum possesses no cast. ”

“ The figure is majestic, but the drapery is rather heavy. The influence of the younger Attic school hardly makes itself felt.
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The statue is that of a colossal seated figure, the head, arms, and right foot to the instep wanting. The body is clad in a talaric chiton, over which is a panther's skin, passing like a scarf from the left shoulder to the right side, and bound round the waist by a broad girdle, under which is seen the panther's face and teeth; an ample mantle passes from the back of the figure over the lower limbs, falling in rich folds across the lap. ”

“ The middle of the central slab is occupied by a single combat between Heracles and an Amazon. They are represented drawing back for a blow. The Amazon seems to be making a spear thrust while Heracles raises his club. The Amazon extends her shield; Heracles carries the lion skin on his left arm. The pose of these two combatants who have the most important position in the whole frieze, is very similar to that of the Poseidon and Athenè of the west pediment of the Parthenon. ”

“ These remains show that the body of this boy faced the right side of the female figure, pressing against her. If we assume that she is a marine goddess, the name Leucothea seems the best attribution, and the youth at her side would then be Palaemon. A mantle is thrown over the thighs, falling down between the knees over the chiton. The folds are deeply undercut, as if to express the gentle agitation of the drapery by the movement of a light breeze. In Brunn's topographical scheme, P Q are the coast of Attica from Munychia to the Piraeus. ”

“ Maidens make offerings to female deities, and men to male deities. On the east side a boy makes an offering, on the north side a young warrior gives up his armour, and on the south side a man offers a bird. Kindly winged beings bear away the souls of the dead, and the crouching figure on the north side suggests the grief of the survivors. ”

“ Many of the types of combat are familiar in Attic sculpture. Compare the group of Kaineus with the same subject on the frieze of the Theseion, and the Centaur groups with the metopes of the Parthenon. At the same time the style of the work, with its high relief, somewhat florid and coarsely executed, is un-Attic, and it seems probable that the actual production of the reliefs was in the hands of local workmen. ”

“ A battle scene, in which the combatants, four in number, are hurling rocks; a fifth, overcome in the fray, lies prostrate on the ground. In this combat one warrior appears to be fighting against three. On the left an heroic figure, which may well be Theseus, is seen advancing. In 229 the confusion his mantle has fallen off, and only hangs over the left arm. With outstretched left hand he repels a huge stone hurled against him by his adversary; the right hand appears to have been stretched out behind the body, and may have held a sword. ”

“ A Greek who has been killed in the battle, and perhaps stripped, is being borne off the field on a companion's back. Another Greek who has been badly wounded in the right leg, leaves the field, leaning with his right hand on a spear, now wanting. He puts his left arm round the neck of a companion, who supports him round the body. In the centre of the slab an Amazon draws away a shield which belonged to one of the Greeks. ”