Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 17.djvu/640

* SARCOPHAGUS. 574 SARDICA. It 18 clearly the work of nn artist who was fa- miliar witii the great Athenian grave-reliefs. Lastly, near the end of the fourth century, was ].riuluced the wonderful 'Alexander Sarcopha- gus,' with its vigorous scenes of the battle and the chase, reproduced in a striking combination of relief and color. The Etruscans early cmplo.ved sarcophagi of stone or clay, with the sides decorated in relief, while on the lid recline the full-length figures of the dead, singly or not infrequently in pairs. The work is that of the Etruscan artist, but he evidently drew his inspiration from Greek sources.' Owing to the Romon custom of burning the dead, sarcopliagi are very rare during the Republic and early Empire. The finest and earli- est example is the peperino sarcoph.agus of L. Cornelius Scipio Barbatus, consul B.C. 298, in the Vatican. The house form has here passed over into a style much more nearly resemljling an altar. In the second century of our era, however, burial liecame much more common, and ■with this period begins the long series of sculp- tured sarcophagi so common in museums. In general the achitectural forms are entirely ne- glected, nor is the Etruscan imitation of the bed retained, even when there is a reclining figure on the lid. Moreover, while the Greek sarcophagi seem in general to have stood in the open air as grave monuments, and hence were sculptured on all sides, the Roman, like the Etruscan, were placed against the walls of tomb chambers, so that the back is usually plain. Along with the usual rectangular oblong box we find an oval usually decorated with vertical waving lines, while on the front is a medallion containing a mythological scene or a portrait. In the Roman sarcophagi the decoration of the front with an elaliorate composition in relief plays an impor- tant part. The choice of scenes is varied. Some- times the theme is drawn from daily life, but more often the mythology of Greece has been used. The custom was continued in Christian times, with the substitution of biblical scenes for those of pagan myths. Consult : Hamdi Bey and Reinach, Vne necropole royale a Sidon (Paris, 1892 et seq.) ; Robert, Die aniiken Sarko- phaijrcUefs (Berlin, 1890-97). SARD (Lat. sarda, sardiufi, from Gk. aipSios, sardios, Sardian. from 2dp5cis, Snrdeis. Sardis, capital city of Lydia ). A translucent red variety of chalcedony that differs from carnelian by the deepness of its color. It was highly prized by the ancients, who used it as a gem. It was credited by early writers with numerous virtues, and, ac- cording to Epiphanius, it conferred upon its wearer a "cheerful heart, courage and presence, and protected him from witchcraft and noxious humors." SAR'DANAPA'LUS (Lat., from Gk. ZapSa- viiroKos, corrupted from Assyrian Asshnr-bani- pnl, Asshur begets a son) (b.c. 668-624). The last great Assyrian monarch. The son of Esar- haddon (q.v.), he found himself possessed of the empire in its greatest extent, but also the heir of the difficulties which were pressing on the east and north from the hordes of Cimmerians, Scy- thians, and Medes. The father died at the be- ginning of his third campaign in Egypt, and the duty of continuing the war devolved upon the son. Wcmphis was occupied and the land re- turned to its nominal allegiance, but upon the withdrawal of the army revolt broke out, which resulted in another invasion and the ruthless destruction of Thebes, the southern capital. But the Assyrian hold was so weak that Psamme- tichus declared his independence within a few years, and Egj'pt was irrevocably lost to Assyria ( about B.C. 603 ). A long siege of Tyre begun by Esarliaddon resulted in capitulation. Tire- some wars in Elam, on the north, and in Arabia, disturbed much of the reign. The most serious blow to the safety of the empire came with the bold insurrection of Shamash-shum-ukin, a younger son of Esarhaddon, who had been made Regent of Babylonia by his father as a sop to the pride of that land. After a bitter and protracted struggle, in which Elam helped the rebel, the latter was defeated and perished, and his ad- herents were cruelly punished. To this punish- ment of Babylonia belongs the colonization of Samaria attributed by Ezra iv. 10 to 'Asnapper,' which is a corruption of Asshurbanipal's name. Asshurbanipal's policy as a warrior seems to have been purely defensive. He soon felt the im- possibility of holding Egypt, refused assistance to Gyges of Lydia in his struggle with the Cim- merians, and was content with maintaining the old lines of his empire as intact as possible against the barbarian swarms which broke into the kingdom upon his death. His greatest fame as a monarch rests in his works of peace. He built magnificently, both in Jsineveh and in the sacred cities of Babylonia, neglecting his political du- ties for those of a religious devotee and a littera- teur. In his palace at Nineveh he gathered a great library, in which were deposited copies of the ancient literature of the south, and to which his scholars added their own contributions. (See Nineveh.) It is to this wonderful collection, discovered again by Layard and Rassam, that modern science owes much of its knowledge of Babylonian literature and religion. The King's magnificence left its impression upon later tra- dition, and he is one of the few Assyrian kings distinctly mentioned by the Greeks, although his memory is distorted bj- legends and errors which make of him a mere Sybarite. The classical story of his self-destruetion in a great funeral pyre is probably based on the fate of the last King, Sin-shar-ishkun. For the history, consult : George Smith, History of Asstti-banipal (London, 1871), and the histories of Assyria; for the in- scriptions, Jensen, in Keilinschriftliche Bihlio- thck, ii. (Leipzig, 1889) ; Bezold, Kurzyefasster Vehcrblick iiher die babi/lonisch-assi/rische Lif- tcrdtiir (Boston, 1886) ; for the buildings and library, Layard, Kitiei^eh and Its Remains (Lon- don, 1848), and Monuments of 'Nineveh (ib., 1840) ; Hilprecht, Explorations in Bible Lands (Philadelphia, 1903). SAR'DES. An ancient city of Asia Minor. Sff Saudis. SAR'DICA, Council of. A council held, probably in the year 343, at Sardica, in Illyria, the present Sofia. It was summoned by the emperors Constantius and Constans, in concert with Pope .Tulius I., for the purpose of discuss- ing the difficulties arising from the deposition of Saint Athanasius and other bishops, and gen- erally testifying against innovations in doctrine in regard to the person of Christ. It also went into questions of discipline, and passed a number of canons which have been famous and important in the subsequent history of the Church. By