Page:History of Art in Sardinia, Judæa, Syria and Asia Minor Vol 2.djvu/290

 2 72 A History of Art in Sardinia and Jud^a. the Halys were revictualed, the walls of the strongholds were repaired, insubordinate subjects punished, boundaries enlarged, tribute and deputations received, and the autumn saw them turn back loaded with spoils, driving before them herds, flocks, and prisoners. These, recruited perhaps from the very edge of the JEge2in Sea, may have been the builders of the cyclopsean walls of Pterium. We incline to the belief that the Greek tradition, which told of conquerors from the East who swept over the land, and carried their arms as far as the Mediterranean, was an echo of the Hittite invasion. But these reminiscences have reached us in the garb and form given them by the Greeks, whose minds were deeply impressed by the recent events connected with the great empires of Assyria and Chaldaea, whose glory had filled the Eastern world, and which, like brilliant meteors, had showed themselves above the horizon, to sink without scarcely leaving a trace. Hence, whatever of old traditions was still afloat among the people was all referred to the founders of the Assyrian monarchy, Belus, Ninus, and Semiramis. We know now that the Assyrians never carried their arms westward of the Taurus range before the reign of Assur- nat-sirpal (700 B.C.). Consequently, the events which took place in Asia Minor before the advent of the Sargonides should be ascribed to the Hittites. Thus the myth recounted by Herodotus ^ as fabulous, to the effect that the lonians saw in the warriors carved on rocky walls by the roadside, representations of Memnon, son of Dawn, were doubtless Hittite creations in honour of Hittite heroes. It would coincide with another myth, which told of Memnon as having been despatched in aid of Priam with two hundred war-chariots by Tentamos, king of Assyria.^ Similarly, under the Roman empire, Hierapolis of Comagena was still popu- larly known by its ancient name — Ninus Vetus, the old Nineveh, an appellation which had been borne by the old Hittite capital, Carchemish.^ Again, a Lydian tradition derived the Heraclid dynasty from Ninus, son of Belus (Herodotus, i. 7). This family was superseded by Gyges, the Gog of the Bible, and the Gugu of the Assyrian monuments, where he is figured paying tribute to Assur-nat-sirpal, with whom the history of Lydia may be said to commence. The three epochs, under three generations of rulers, reckoned by the Lydians, were not drawn up until the reign of ^ ii. 106. ^ DiODORUS, ii. 22. ^ Amtnianus Marceilinus, xiv. 8. 7.