DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.9187#0309
GREEK SARCOPHAGI
253
pedimental scenes of the sarcophagus the best clue to its
attribution : with them therefore we will begin. In examining
all the scenes, we must discriminate with the utmost care
between the dress of Macedonians and Greeks on one side
and that of the Persians, Phoenicians, and other Asiatic peoples
on the other. Greeks appear here, as in all works of art,
usually with body either bare or covered with a cuirass, at
the bottom of which is a leather flap. Sometimes a chlamys
floats from their shoulders. They carry sword and shield,
or a lance, and wear helmets: the Macedonian helmet rises
in a peak at the top and has cheek-pieces. The dress of
the Asiatics is less varied : they wear a loose chiton, sleeves
cover their arms to the wrist, and trousers reach to the ankle ;
on their heads is the Phrygian cap, the flaps of which often cover
the mouth ; a loose coat with sleeves, almost like the jacket
of a hussar, is often attached to them at the neck and hangs
behind. This is the candys, often mentioned by ancient writers.
Xenophon1 says that soldiers put their arms through the
sleeves when on parade.
In the first pediment we have a fighting scene. The fighting
is between Macedonians on one side and Persians on the other.
The most prominent figure, who occupies the midmost place,
is an Asiatic cavalier, who strikes down at a Greek soldier.
His Persian companions overthrow the Macedonians opposed to
them. We have, in fact, a victory of Asiatics over Europeans.
In the opposite pediment (Fig. 83) is a scene less easy to
interpret. Here the combatants are all Greek or Macedonian.
The most prominent figure is that of a fully armed foot-soldier,
who drives his sword into the throat of a youth who kneels
at his feet.
In the frieze below the pediment last mentioned (Fig. 83),
we again see an Asiatic horseman, apparently the hero of the
1 Cyropacdeia, viii. 3, 10.
253
pedimental scenes of the sarcophagus the best clue to its
attribution : with them therefore we will begin. In examining
all the scenes, we must discriminate with the utmost care
between the dress of Macedonians and Greeks on one side
and that of the Persians, Phoenicians, and other Asiatic peoples
on the other. Greeks appear here, as in all works of art,
usually with body either bare or covered with a cuirass, at
the bottom of which is a leather flap. Sometimes a chlamys
floats from their shoulders. They carry sword and shield,
or a lance, and wear helmets: the Macedonian helmet rises
in a peak at the top and has cheek-pieces. The dress of
the Asiatics is less varied : they wear a loose chiton, sleeves
cover their arms to the wrist, and trousers reach to the ankle ;
on their heads is the Phrygian cap, the flaps of which often cover
the mouth ; a loose coat with sleeves, almost like the jacket
of a hussar, is often attached to them at the neck and hangs
behind. This is the candys, often mentioned by ancient writers.
Xenophon1 says that soldiers put their arms through the
sleeves when on parade.
In the first pediment we have a fighting scene. The fighting
is between Macedonians on one side and Persians on the other.
The most prominent figure, who occupies the midmost place,
is an Asiatic cavalier, who strikes down at a Greek soldier.
His Persian companions overthrow the Macedonians opposed to
them. We have, in fact, a victory of Asiatics over Europeans.
In the opposite pediment (Fig. 83) is a scene less easy to
interpret. Here the combatants are all Greek or Macedonian.
The most prominent figure is that of a fully armed foot-soldier,
who drives his sword into the throat of a youth who kneels
at his feet.
In the frieze below the pediment last mentioned (Fig. 83),
we again see an Asiatic horseman, apparently the hero of the
1 Cyropacdeia, viii. 3, 10.