DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4719#0496
468
IONIC TEOPHT MONUMENT.
borne up by an emblem beneath its feet; and these emblems
Mr. Gibson detects as being the same as those seen on the
coins of the maritime cities of Ionia,-—the crab of Cos, the
dove of Cnidus, the snake of Miletus, the dolphin of Myrina,
the phoca of Phocaea, and the shell of Pyrnus. The other
statues are too much mutilated for us to determine their
emblems. The four lions at the angles are supposed to re-
present the whole country of the Milesians. We thus have
registered, as it were, the arms of the different cities engaged
in this conquest, surmounted by the tutelary deity of the
country.
On the sculptured architrave of one end is seen a proces-
sion carrying offerings usually made by the Greeks, while
at the other end is a procession of figures in the loose
trowsers worn by the Persians, and carrying the offerings
peculiar to that nation. On one side is a hunting-scene,
upon the other a battle of equestrians. We have only half
the tympanum of the west end, containing beautifully
sculptured figures on foot, who have contended with others
on horseback: the fore-leg of the horse is seen crossing the
shield of the foremost figure. On the tympanum at the
east end we have a male and female deity seated opposite to
each other, with their attendants, and in the angle a crouch-
ing dog. Surmounting the apex of this pediment is a group
of three boys, which Mr. Gibson suggests may represent
Cares, Lydus, and Mysus, the legendary founders of the
provinces of Caria, Lydia, and Mysia,—thus giving nation-
ality to the whole Monument. The frieze of the cella re-
presents the usual sacrifices and funereal feasts of the
Greeks, but none of those ceremonies sculptured on so
many of the Lycian tombs.
Had Herodotus of Halicarnassus sought the most na-
tural and legitimate source for this part of his history, he
could not have done better than visit and describe the scene
represented upon this Monument; and I do not think it
B.C.).
■■
IONIC TEOPHT MONUMENT.
borne up by an emblem beneath its feet; and these emblems
Mr. Gibson detects as being the same as those seen on the
coins of the maritime cities of Ionia,-—the crab of Cos, the
dove of Cnidus, the snake of Miletus, the dolphin of Myrina,
the phoca of Phocaea, and the shell of Pyrnus. The other
statues are too much mutilated for us to determine their
emblems. The four lions at the angles are supposed to re-
present the whole country of the Milesians. We thus have
registered, as it were, the arms of the different cities engaged
in this conquest, surmounted by the tutelary deity of the
country.
On the sculptured architrave of one end is seen a proces-
sion carrying offerings usually made by the Greeks, while
at the other end is a procession of figures in the loose
trowsers worn by the Persians, and carrying the offerings
peculiar to that nation. On one side is a hunting-scene,
upon the other a battle of equestrians. We have only half
the tympanum of the west end, containing beautifully
sculptured figures on foot, who have contended with others
on horseback: the fore-leg of the horse is seen crossing the
shield of the foremost figure. On the tympanum at the
east end we have a male and female deity seated opposite to
each other, with their attendants, and in the angle a crouch-
ing dog. Surmounting the apex of this pediment is a group
of three boys, which Mr. Gibson suggests may represent
Cares, Lydus, and Mysus, the legendary founders of the
provinces of Caria, Lydia, and Mysia,—thus giving nation-
ality to the whole Monument. The frieze of the cella re-
presents the usual sacrifices and funereal feasts of the
Greeks, but none of those ceremonies sculptured on so
many of the Lycian tombs.
Had Herodotus of Halicarnassus sought the most na-
tural and legitimate source for this part of his history, he
could not have done better than visit and describe the scene
represented upon this Monument; and I do not think it
B.C.).
■■