Page:History of Art in Primitive Greece - Mycenian Art Vol 2.djvu/299

 246 Primitive Greece : Mvcenian Art. represented by a. simple raised stone. Early explorers missed the meaning, and failed to grasp the true character of the monument, from a too hasty and superficial inspection. The capital is like all Mycenian capitals ; above it are clearly in- dicated the members composing an entablature, analogous to that which we have placed in our restoration of the palace on the authority of other buildings of that period.' We therein recognize the architrave, and below it the ends of the round joists which form the ceiling, along with the upper floor, which bears aloft the terraced roof. The column, then, is an abridged support of that of the palace crowning the rock of the acropolis, where it carries the loft. The two objects seen under the slab which serves as base to the column have been recognized as altars, because of the close resemblance they bear to that painted on a well-preserved stucco fragment from Mycens {tail-piece, end of Chap. VI.).' Then, too, the altars correspond to those that stood near to the hearth, on which the head of the family was wont to offer propitiatory sacrifices ; and with the entablature, they help us to define the palace wherein the city was reflected and summed up.* A number of engraved stones help us to understand how familiar was the symbol we are considering to the men of that age. A gem recently picked up in a Mycenx grave repro- duces, albeit with curious modifications, all the essentials of our group ; it is obvious, therefore, that it was not copied from work of statuary proper,* Here the shape of the altar support- ing the pillar is precisely similar to that of the bas-relief (Fig. 367) ; but the shaft of the column, instead of being smooth, is furrowed with wavy flutes. The capital is that of the Mycenian ^ See ante. Vol. I. p. 522, II. 131-132. ^ 'E^itftpk- {Griechischt Kunstgeschkhlt).
 * We are happy to be in agreement with Adler in this particular and H. Brunn
 * TSOUNDAS, MvKqfOi.