Page:History of Art in Sardinia, Judæa, Syria and Asia Minor Vol 2.djvu/72

 56 A History of Art in Sardinia and Jud^a. albeit no one could read its inscription — perhaps on that very account invested with greater mysterious awe — was religiously preserved throughout the Greek period. Its place, as of yore, was in the sacred area surrounded by the great poliote deities ; its image was precisely similar to that sculptured on the rocky sides of Cappadocia, accompanied by mysterious Hittite hieroglyphs. From Alexander to the beginning of our era the sanctuary was doubtless often repaired and modified, in order to keep pace with the fashion of the day. To this period must be assigned the marble facing — a mode of enrichment unknown in primitive days. Then, too, the archaic statue of Tars- Baal was in all probability replaced by one of white marble (which the huge finger found in the court seems to suggest) ; whilst preserving the traditional posture, character, and attributes of the former, attested by count- less contemporary medals, whether of the Seleucidse or the Anto- nines. We incline to think that the wall is older than this restoration. Its four angles faced the cardinal points, a certain indication of its having been erected before the Greek conquest ; for such an arrangement is never found in Grecian temples, whether in Hellas proper or in her colonies, whereas it is a characteristic of the palaces and storied towers of Chaldaea and Assyria. Had the monument been due to Greek hands, the wall and the cubes would have been built of stone in large square blocks almost unhewn, as at Tirynthus, or in regular courses remarkable for their beauty of joint. On the other hand, we know that the Phoenicians, notably in Africa, made frequent use of these artificial rocks.^ Deunuk-tach, with its unsymmetric opening, its absence of cella or colonnade, has nothing to remind us of a Greek building ; if it had a porch, it was a mere shelter, placed along the inner enclosure, as in the ma abed at Amrit.^ For the reasons adduced, therefore, we must place this sanctuary before the action of Hellenic genius was felt in Cilicia. The remains of this monu- ment deserve to receive the attention of a specialist able to note and take advantage of the slightest indication ; for, if we can fix no certain date to it, we know that it was accounted very old when the Macedonians entered Tarsus, and that it formed its chief attraction in the time of Strabo and Dion Chrysostom. This was due, no doubt, to its essentially Asiatic character, which was that ^ Hist, of Art, torn. iii. pp. 363-365- ^ ^t>id., p. 245, Figs. 39, 40.