DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.5253#0183
PHOENICIAN INFLUENCES.
151
Minor,, is in harmony with the Greek tradition which traces to Lykia such fabu-
lous monsters as Typhon, Echidna, Sphinx, and Griffin, whose prototypes must,
however, have been received from the remoter Orient.
In Mykene, direct Phoenician influence seems scarcely evident; but it is
marked in the later tombs at Menidi and Spata. In these latter places, ivory,
so much an article of Phoenician traffic, was found abundantly, but most prob-
ably had been reduced to artistic shapes in Asia Minor, the islands, and other
parts of Greece itself. An instance of this is that slab of ivory from Spata,
bearing an Oriental subject, a lion devouring a bull, rendered in a crude but
Fig. 75. Facade of the Midas Tomb. Phrygia.
lively manner (Fig. 77). The cunning displayed in piecing together these thin
slabs of ivory is so great, that even to-day the junctures are hardly visible.
This skill is also seen on a sword-handle found at Menidi, on which are carved
two lions standing on a base. Although unfortunately lacking the upper part,
these bear resemblance to the rampant lions of the Mykene gate. At Orcho-
menos foreign influence is most evident in the carving on the elegant ceiling
of the chamber adjoining the great tholos (Fig. 78). Here regularly repeated
spirals, and designs of plants very like the lotos, immediately suggest an imi-
tation of woven textures, in which the patterns are necessarily constantly
repeated, as well as hint the peculiar technique of working in metal. Around
the edge of this design a row of rosettes gives an agreeable finish. This com-
plicated design gains its greatest interest, however, from its striking resem-
151
Minor,, is in harmony with the Greek tradition which traces to Lykia such fabu-
lous monsters as Typhon, Echidna, Sphinx, and Griffin, whose prototypes must,
however, have been received from the remoter Orient.
In Mykene, direct Phoenician influence seems scarcely evident; but it is
marked in the later tombs at Menidi and Spata. In these latter places, ivory,
so much an article of Phoenician traffic, was found abundantly, but most prob-
ably had been reduced to artistic shapes in Asia Minor, the islands, and other
parts of Greece itself. An instance of this is that slab of ivory from Spata,
bearing an Oriental subject, a lion devouring a bull, rendered in a crude but
Fig. 75. Facade of the Midas Tomb. Phrygia.
lively manner (Fig. 77). The cunning displayed in piecing together these thin
slabs of ivory is so great, that even to-day the junctures are hardly visible.
This skill is also seen on a sword-handle found at Menidi, on which are carved
two lions standing on a base. Although unfortunately lacking the upper part,
these bear resemblance to the rampant lions of the Mykene gate. At Orcho-
menos foreign influence is most evident in the carving on the elegant ceiling
of the chamber adjoining the great tholos (Fig. 78). Here regularly repeated
spirals, and designs of plants very like the lotos, immediately suggest an imi-
tation of woven textures, in which the patterns are necessarily constantly
repeated, as well as hint the peculiar technique of working in metal. Around
the edge of this design a row of rosettes gives an agreeable finish. This com-
plicated design gains its greatest interest, however, from its striking resem-