Page:History of Art in Primitive Greece - Mycenian Art Vol 1.djvu/69

 48 Primitive Greece: Mycenian Art. resemblance more complete, acroteria, in the shape of strongly- marked swellings of the ground, occur at either extremity of the base. The proportions are identical ; difference only is found in the dimensions : this broad and noble tympanum rears its summit 1,126 metres above the sea. On the sides of the space fenced in by Pentelicus and the coast-line of Piraeus and Phalarus, with its sinuous curves, the long rocky wall of Anchesimus, twice broken through, faces the more imposing mass of Hymettus ; whilst loftier and more compact Parnes rises in the north-west corner, its rounded head overstepping all its fellows ; unlike these, however, it is precipitous, and deep gorges scar its sides. In this grand architectonic arrangement, Parnes supplies the picturesque ele- ment, and thus opportunely corrects what might appear as too distinct and regular in the other divisions of the picture. I know of no panoramic view whose characteristics so readily sink and dwell in the memory with such abiding force as these. As was remarked somewhat earlier, until the other day I had not revisited Attica, where formerly I spent three years, which number among the dearest recollections of my life ; yet after over twenty- five years I could, with eyes shut, more easily call up its image and picture it to myself than the Roman Campagna, to which during this lapse of time I journeyed more than once. I would not be understood to say that Greek architects turned to their mountains and rocks with the notion of taking them as models — Pentelicus assuredly did not suggest the thought of placing a frontel over the entablatures of their fa9ades ; but may we not assume that the natural shapes of their landscapes, and the distinct physiognomy of their hilly and broken ground, had something to do in biassing their mind and forming their taste ? Again, in their decorative scheme of colour, one guesses subtle and occult counsels, mysterious exigencies of light, so as to admit differentiation of the several members of the edifice and bring out the details of ornament. Under that almost perennial clear sky, there is an abundance of light which is diffused and re- flected everywhere, even in the parts that remain in shadow ; in outline these are by no means as firm as those parts which are but indifferently lighted ; by themselves therefore they would be inadequate to model and accentuate a profile. Vast and light-toned surfaces, upon which the sun's rays fall directly, send them back to the eye in so great an abundance as to dazzle