Page:History of Art in Phrygia, Lydia, Caria and Lycia.djvu/188

 172 HISTORY OF ART IN ANTIQUITY. ascribe to the heroes of Homer. These consist of a breast-plate, or thorax ; a circular shield ; a sword stuck in the belt, with short slender hilt protruding from a large sheath ; a heavily crested helmet with neck, nose, and cheek pieces, which latter could be raised or lowered at will. 1 The crest was a very striking item, formed of two parts : a bird's head and a ridge or narrow band of metal, crescent-shaped, the <ao? of the poets. I know of no Hellenic monument better calculated than this to help one to grasp the meaning of the lines describing the phalanx led by Patroclus against the Trojan Sarpedon : "Men against men, shield against shield, helmet against helmet, with shining crest, over which waved wisps of hair. The men in the second row, as they lowered their heads, touched the helmets falling on the shoulders of the men in front, so close against one another were the combatants." 2 The crest de- picted here has a deeper projection on the brow and on the nape of the neck than is to be found on Greek vases, on which the figures are black (Fig. 1 19). Then, too, in paintings the topmost part FIG. 119. Helmet, from Greek r vase with black figures. HF.L- is fixed throughout to the metal ridge, BIG, Das Hovierische Epos,. . . . i /- P. 298. whereas here the only mode of attach- ment between crest and helmet-cap is a hook-like projection, which cannot have offered the same solidity (Fig. 117). There are points in the treatment of the face which should not pass unnoticed. Thus, no doubt to save trouble, the eyeball is not indicated ; nose and lips approach the negro type. 3 There is no moustache ; the upper lip is shaved, but a small pointed 1 HELBIG, Das Homerische Epos, etc., 1887, pp. 298-300. With regard to "Homeric armour," consult Leaf, Hell. Studies, iv. pp. 281-304; Dennis, iv. pp. n, 12. TRS. 2 Iliad, xvi. pp. 215-218. The above lines would appear to be a paraphrase, inasmuch as they contain more than I could find in the text. TRS. 3 If these characteristics are non-apparent in the illustration, writes M. Ramsay (Journal, ix. p. 366), that is because neither his travelling companion nor himself was able to reproduce faithfully what he saw. He straightened the nose, thinned the lips, and refined the contour beyond reality.