DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.794#0007
No. III.
VIEW OF THE WALLS OF TIRYNS.
Hesiod" and Homer f mention the " well-built walls of Tiryns." ApoHodorus£ andStrabo§ assert that it belonged
to Prcetos, for whom it was fortified by tlie Cyclopians. Prretos is supposed to have reigned over the kingdom of Tirynthia
about one thousand three hundred and seventy-nine years before our era. This computation would give an antiquity of
nearly thirty-two centuries to the walls of Tiryns; and even this long series of revolving years does not appear too vast a
period to assign to their duration, when we consider the gigantic masses of which they are composed, and the impenetrable
strength which they display. Though the work of human hands, they seem formed to vie in existence with the rocks on
which they are erected; and unless they should experience the concussion of an earthquake, or be shattered by the force
of artillery, they may last to the end of time.
The account given by Pausanias j| of the walls of Tiryns accurately represents the earliest style of Cyclopian masonry.
He says that " they were constructed by the Cyclopians, and composed of rough stones, the smallest of which was so large
thatit could not be drawn by a pair of mules. The spaces formed in the walls by the irregularities of these masses were
formerly filled up with smaller stones, which added more harmony to the structure."
The walls of Tiryns are probably at the present clay nearly in the same slate in which they were seen bj' Pausanias in
the second century, for the town does not appear to have been rebuilt or repcopled after its destruction by the Argiaus,
about four hundred and sixty-eight years before Christ. The surprising strength and the extraordinary bulk of these walls
induced Pausanias to compare them to the Treasury of Minyas at Orchomcnos, and to the pyramids of Egypt.
The View here given represents the eastern side of the acropolis, and nearly in the middle are observed the remains of
the great gate. Every stone has been drawn with scrupulous exactness—and indeed all the Views contained in the
present work were delineated in the camera obscura, without which, perfect accuracy would have been almost impossible
where the sides and angles were so numerous, so diversified, and intricate.
The narrow limits to which a simple description of each View is necessarily confined would not afford room for
particular details with respect to the polygonal system of construction.—2d Vol. 6th Chap.
* The Shield of Hercules, v. 81. f Iliad, v. 569. J B.2. S B. 8, p. 373. II B.2, c.25.
NO. IV.
POINTED GATE IN THE WEST WALL OF TIRYNS.
All the exterior walls of Tiryns are composed of rough blocks, that seem to have been fitted together nearly in the
same state in which they were taken from the quarry. The vacuities left by their irregularities have been filled up with
VIEW OF THE WALLS OF TIRYNS.
Hesiod" and Homer f mention the " well-built walls of Tiryns." ApoHodorus£ andStrabo§ assert that it belonged
to Prcetos, for whom it was fortified by tlie Cyclopians. Prretos is supposed to have reigned over the kingdom of Tirynthia
about one thousand three hundred and seventy-nine years before our era. This computation would give an antiquity of
nearly thirty-two centuries to the walls of Tiryns; and even this long series of revolving years does not appear too vast a
period to assign to their duration, when we consider the gigantic masses of which they are composed, and the impenetrable
strength which they display. Though the work of human hands, they seem formed to vie in existence with the rocks on
which they are erected; and unless they should experience the concussion of an earthquake, or be shattered by the force
of artillery, they may last to the end of time.
The account given by Pausanias j| of the walls of Tiryns accurately represents the earliest style of Cyclopian masonry.
He says that " they were constructed by the Cyclopians, and composed of rough stones, the smallest of which was so large
thatit could not be drawn by a pair of mules. The spaces formed in the walls by the irregularities of these masses were
formerly filled up with smaller stones, which added more harmony to the structure."
The walls of Tiryns are probably at the present clay nearly in the same slate in which they were seen bj' Pausanias in
the second century, for the town does not appear to have been rebuilt or repcopled after its destruction by the Argiaus,
about four hundred and sixty-eight years before Christ. The surprising strength and the extraordinary bulk of these walls
induced Pausanias to compare them to the Treasury of Minyas at Orchomcnos, and to the pyramids of Egypt.
The View here given represents the eastern side of the acropolis, and nearly in the middle are observed the remains of
the great gate. Every stone has been drawn with scrupulous exactness—and indeed all the Views contained in the
present work were delineated in the camera obscura, without which, perfect accuracy would have been almost impossible
where the sides and angles were so numerous, so diversified, and intricate.
The narrow limits to which a simple description of each View is necessarily confined would not afford room for
particular details with respect to the polygonal system of construction.—2d Vol. 6th Chap.
* The Shield of Hercules, v. 81. f Iliad, v. 569. J B.2. S B. 8, p. 373. II B.2, c.25.
NO. IV.
POINTED GATE IN THE WEST WALL OF TIRYNS.
All the exterior walls of Tiryns are composed of rough blocks, that seem to have been fitted together nearly in the
same state in which they were taken from the quarry. The vacuities left by their irregularities have been filled up with