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

ioo The Attitude of the Greek

tracing such devices. As a matter of fact the
composition of the body armor does not appear
to have admitted of any sort of decoration except
that painted on, and the plies and joints did not
furnish an adequate surface for even this manner
of ornamentation1. There comes, lastly, the
brief mention of the spear on which were
prancing horses followed by a cloud of dust.
One may think of these figures as inlaid either
with other metal or precious stone. Although
remains of such spears have not reached us out
of classical times, the famous dagger-point2 from
the fourth ' Shaft-grave' at Mykenai, with its
lion hunt of numerous inlaid metals, is a fine
example of what this sort of art once was in
Greece, and of what it no doubt continued to be
in the later centuries.

In handling the attack of the Seven against

1 Cf. a red figured vase of the late severe style, published in
Millingen, Peintures de vases, 49. Two human figures and the
forequarters of a horse are given a prominent place on the
breastplate. On an archaic bronze cuirass, said to have been
found in the bed of the Alpheus river (published in B. C.H. 1883,
pi. 1, 2, 3), are extensive engravings. Apollo, Artemis, and Leto on
the right, facing whom on the left are three mortals. The upper
part of the armor is covered with oxen, lions, and sphinxes.

1 Published in B. C. H. x. pi. 2; Baumeister's Denkmd'ler, ii.
fig. 1190. Six similar blades were discovered in the fourth and
fifth graves. Cf. Schuchhardt's Schliemann's Ausgrabungen,
p. 300.