Huddilston, John H.: The attitude of the Greek tragedians toward art (London, 1898)

12 The Attitude of the Greek

true Aischylean manner. It all corresponds
with the great stage machinery which he in-
vented to bring his gods out of Heaven and his
ghosts out of Hades. All of the passages,
however, point to no definite work of art. It is
but the religious fervour of the poet pushing
him on to make his gods objective things which
could be touched and handled. The vagueness
of the notion is well seen in the Persai1, where
the ghost of Dareios introduces the whole
galaxy of Greek divinities under 6eS>v ^perrj.

Aischylos exhibits an interest in paintings in
various cases, and in two passages at least
affords us the earliest literary testimony of two
paintings which are known to have played a
large role in ancient art. In the Eumenidcs,
vs. 46 ff., the Pythian prophetess in relating to
the chorus what she has beheld at the 6/i<pa\6s,
says, ' a marvelous troop of women sleeps on
the seats, and yet I do not mean women but
Gorgons; nor shall I compare them indeed to
the real Gorgon type :'

etbov hot Tjbr] <t>ii»e'<oy yeypaix/xeVas
hel-nvov (j>epovo-as'
' for I once saw these represented in a painting,
carrying off the food of Phineus.' And she

1 v. 809.