Page:History of Art in Primitive Greece - Mycenian Art Vol 2.djvu/239

 196 Primitive Greece : Mycenian Art. Despite great precision of drawing, the meaning of the gesture made by the figure in question remains obscure. The upper part of the body is slightly bent forward ; the left hand is laid on the shoulder, and the other hand, which is open, is used to screen the eyes. The sign must body forth a religious ceremony whose import we fail to grasp, for want of literary information. Fig. 346. — The same sl.aluette seen siileways. The movement of the right hand is that which everybody makes when suddenly confronted by too dazzling a light ; the eyes are shaded to protect the retina against a splendour which hurts and is painful to it. Was this automatic movement adopted in that period as a conventional expression of the respect felt by the faithful as he entered a sacred place, and found himself in the presence of a simulacrum of the deity, when he would make a screen of his hand and shield himself against the awful im-