DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.49928#0123
PLATE XXXVII.
Figs. 1-3.—Siege of a City.
Reliefs in coarse Limestone from the Inner Walls
of a Tomb (Heroon) at Gjolbaschi, Lycia. Discovered
IN 1841 BY SCHONBORN, AND IN l88l BROUGHT TO VIENNA,
WHERE THEY NOW ARE. LYCIAN WORK OF THE FOURTH
Century b.c.
Zeitschrtftfilr bildende Kunst, xviii., p. 337.
Benndorf, Das Heroon von Gjolbaschi.
Friederichs-Wolters, Gipsabgilsse, Nos. 996, 997.
Murray, Hist. Gk. Sculpt., ii., p. 218.
Mitchell, Hist. Anc. Sculpt., p. 415.
Engelmann (Anderson), Atlas to Homer, II., fig. 5.
The scenes on the Gjolbaschi reliefs are nearly all mytholo-
gical ; the hunting of the Calydonian Boar, Bellerophon slay-
ing the Chimaera, the rape of the Leucippidae, the war with the
Amazons, the battle of the Lapiths and Centaurs being among
them. This makes it probable that figs. 1-3 are a rendering
of the Siege of Troy.
In fig. 3 are shown the poops and long steering paddles {cf.
Pls. 46, 47) of the Greek ships drawn up on the beach, much
in the same way as in the Tabula Iliaca (Pl. 93). The war-
riors have landed and the only person visible is a solitary
steersman. On shore the fighting has already begun. The
artist has arranged the combatants in two tiers. In the upper
a trumpeter is calling his men, while below an old man tries
to hold back a youthful warrior, who is rushing to join two
comrades in the battle, only part of which is shown here. The
centre of the fight is the town shown in fig. 1. The picture is
in two tiers, the city walls forming the dividing line, so that we
can see both the attack and the defence. The walls are high,
crowned with battlements, and strengthened by four towers.
The attack is directed against two gates, which the heavy-
armed soldiers are endeavouring to force, while the lighter-
armed, on mounds outside the city, engage the defenders.
Inside the city, on the left, the soldiers are showering stones
and other missiles on the enemy, while on the right a captain
leads a detachment of men down the fortress ramp, to make a
sally and relieve the gate. It is interesting to note that three
of these soldiers are armed with sickle-shaped swords, the
peculiar weapon of the Lycians (gf. Pl. 38, fig. 3).
The central slab shows the king of the city, on his throne,
leaning on a sceptre. A page holds an umbrella (originally
painted, now lost) over the throne, and at his feet lies a tame
panther (?), beside which sits a youth to guard it. A little
on the right the queen appears, also on a throne, with an um-
brella held above her by a maid. On the left of the king’s
throne stands a warrior. He raises his hand in prayer, while a
priest at his right sacrifices a ram, it may be to the god whose
temple front stands on the left. The scene recalls Iliad, vi.
256, where Hector gets Hecuba to sacrifice to Athena. If this
is so, the queen on the right is probably not Hecuba, but
Helen, who joins Priam in viewing the fighting from the walls
(the Γ€ΐ^οσκο7τία of II. iii.).
Lastly fig. 2, which gives a continuation of fig. 1, shows the
inhabitants escaping from the city in despair. The fighting
has not ceased, for the battlements are lined with warriors, but
we see a man driving an ass laden with provisions down the
ramp, followed by a woman bearing a bundle on her head.
Below, outside the walls, a woman riding side-saddle escapes,
accompanied by a man.
The armour of the warriors is not unlike that in Pl. 36, fig. 1.
The Phrygian caps (mitrae) and long sleeves (cf. Pl. 38, fig. 2)
of the defenders on the left, the conical helmets (Pl. 38, fig. 1)
of those near the queen, the light armed spearmen (ττελτασταί?)
below, with small round shield and a dagger stuck in a belt on
the left thigh, are all noticeable.
Fig. 4.—Bronze Sword-hilt from Corcyra.
Fig. 5.—Iron barbed Arrow-head from Megalopolis.
Baumeister, Denkmdler, fig. 2189.
Iwan MiiLLER, Handbuch Kriegsalt., Pl. 1, fig. 9.
Fig. 6.—Relief from the Balustrade of the Colonnade
on the Acropolis at Pergamus.
2 FT. IO IN HIGH. DISCOVERED BY THE GERMAN EXPE-
DITION, now in the Berlin Antiquarium.
Conze, Ergebnisse d. Ausgr. zu Pergamon, 1880-81. Pl. 4·
73
Baumeister, pp. 1220, 1280; fig. 1432.
Iwan Muller, Handbuch, Kriegsaltertilmer, Pl. xii.
The colonnade was part of a temple of Athena, and was of
two stories. Between the pillars in the upper story, slabs were
inserted, forming a balustrade. These qre decorated with
reliefs of trophies of arms, &c. The slab shown in fig. 6 is one
of the best preserved. On the left above hangs a conical
helmet. Below it is a cuirass, with shoulder straps fastened
to the breast with rings and thongs, and ending in a border of
flaps (τττερυγες). It has an unusual addition of a stiff piece of
leather (?) intended to protect the back of the neck. Near
the cuirass is a horse’s mask, crowned with a fan-like semi-
circle of feathers and a long crest of horsehair. At its side is
a helmet in the form of a mask which closely imitates a man’s
face. Behind the horse’s mask is a chariot wheel, to the right
of which lies the body of the chariot, which seems to be built
of thin strips of wood, overlapping like the clinkers of a strake-
built boat. Across the chariot hangs a sword (the end of the
sword is wrongly drawn in the figure) to which a sash is
fastened. On the ground below, at the side of the sword, is
its sheath, and behind this a lance, whose point- projects near
the tip of the sword (this is not shown in the figure). On the
right below the chariot a pair of objects lie crossed one over
the other. Droysen has identified these with the padded
χεΐρες, by which the right arm was protected while wielding the
spear (of. Iwan Muller’s Handbuch, Kriegsaltertilmer (Bauer)
2nd ed., p. 353, fig. 54, and Baumeister, Denkmdler, pp.
1280, 2028). They are very similar to the arm-guards worn
by Roman gladiators (cf. Pl. 30, fig. 10 ; Pl. 32, fig. 5).
Fig. 7.—Sword from Attica.
Fig. 8.—Bronze Sword from the Upper Strata at My-
cenae.
2 FEET LONG. WlTH 8 RlVET HOLES IN THE HANDLE.
Figs. 4-5 and 7-8. = Helbig, Hom. Epos., 92, 94, 91, 90.
Fig. 8. = Iwan Muller, Handbuch, Kriegsaltertilmer, 2nd
ed., Pl. 1, fig. 7.
L
Figs. 1-3.—Siege of a City.
Reliefs in coarse Limestone from the Inner Walls
of a Tomb (Heroon) at Gjolbaschi, Lycia. Discovered
IN 1841 BY SCHONBORN, AND IN l88l BROUGHT TO VIENNA,
WHERE THEY NOW ARE. LYCIAN WORK OF THE FOURTH
Century b.c.
Zeitschrtftfilr bildende Kunst, xviii., p. 337.
Benndorf, Das Heroon von Gjolbaschi.
Friederichs-Wolters, Gipsabgilsse, Nos. 996, 997.
Murray, Hist. Gk. Sculpt., ii., p. 218.
Mitchell, Hist. Anc. Sculpt., p. 415.
Engelmann (Anderson), Atlas to Homer, II., fig. 5.
The scenes on the Gjolbaschi reliefs are nearly all mytholo-
gical ; the hunting of the Calydonian Boar, Bellerophon slay-
ing the Chimaera, the rape of the Leucippidae, the war with the
Amazons, the battle of the Lapiths and Centaurs being among
them. This makes it probable that figs. 1-3 are a rendering
of the Siege of Troy.
In fig. 3 are shown the poops and long steering paddles {cf.
Pls. 46, 47) of the Greek ships drawn up on the beach, much
in the same way as in the Tabula Iliaca (Pl. 93). The war-
riors have landed and the only person visible is a solitary
steersman. On shore the fighting has already begun. The
artist has arranged the combatants in two tiers. In the upper
a trumpeter is calling his men, while below an old man tries
to hold back a youthful warrior, who is rushing to join two
comrades in the battle, only part of which is shown here. The
centre of the fight is the town shown in fig. 1. The picture is
in two tiers, the city walls forming the dividing line, so that we
can see both the attack and the defence. The walls are high,
crowned with battlements, and strengthened by four towers.
The attack is directed against two gates, which the heavy-
armed soldiers are endeavouring to force, while the lighter-
armed, on mounds outside the city, engage the defenders.
Inside the city, on the left, the soldiers are showering stones
and other missiles on the enemy, while on the right a captain
leads a detachment of men down the fortress ramp, to make a
sally and relieve the gate. It is interesting to note that three
of these soldiers are armed with sickle-shaped swords, the
peculiar weapon of the Lycians (gf. Pl. 38, fig. 3).
The central slab shows the king of the city, on his throne,
leaning on a sceptre. A page holds an umbrella (originally
painted, now lost) over the throne, and at his feet lies a tame
panther (?), beside which sits a youth to guard it. A little
on the right the queen appears, also on a throne, with an um-
brella held above her by a maid. On the left of the king’s
throne stands a warrior. He raises his hand in prayer, while a
priest at his right sacrifices a ram, it may be to the god whose
temple front stands on the left. The scene recalls Iliad, vi.
256, where Hector gets Hecuba to sacrifice to Athena. If this
is so, the queen on the right is probably not Hecuba, but
Helen, who joins Priam in viewing the fighting from the walls
(the Γ€ΐ^οσκο7τία of II. iii.).
Lastly fig. 2, which gives a continuation of fig. 1, shows the
inhabitants escaping from the city in despair. The fighting
has not ceased, for the battlements are lined with warriors, but
we see a man driving an ass laden with provisions down the
ramp, followed by a woman bearing a bundle on her head.
Below, outside the walls, a woman riding side-saddle escapes,
accompanied by a man.
The armour of the warriors is not unlike that in Pl. 36, fig. 1.
The Phrygian caps (mitrae) and long sleeves (cf. Pl. 38, fig. 2)
of the defenders on the left, the conical helmets (Pl. 38, fig. 1)
of those near the queen, the light armed spearmen (ττελτασταί?)
below, with small round shield and a dagger stuck in a belt on
the left thigh, are all noticeable.
Fig. 4.—Bronze Sword-hilt from Corcyra.
Fig. 5.—Iron barbed Arrow-head from Megalopolis.
Baumeister, Denkmdler, fig. 2189.
Iwan MiiLLER, Handbuch Kriegsalt., Pl. 1, fig. 9.
Fig. 6.—Relief from the Balustrade of the Colonnade
on the Acropolis at Pergamus.
2 FT. IO IN HIGH. DISCOVERED BY THE GERMAN EXPE-
DITION, now in the Berlin Antiquarium.
Conze, Ergebnisse d. Ausgr. zu Pergamon, 1880-81. Pl. 4·
73
Baumeister, pp. 1220, 1280; fig. 1432.
Iwan Muller, Handbuch, Kriegsaltertilmer, Pl. xii.
The colonnade was part of a temple of Athena, and was of
two stories. Between the pillars in the upper story, slabs were
inserted, forming a balustrade. These qre decorated with
reliefs of trophies of arms, &c. The slab shown in fig. 6 is one
of the best preserved. On the left above hangs a conical
helmet. Below it is a cuirass, with shoulder straps fastened
to the breast with rings and thongs, and ending in a border of
flaps (τττερυγες). It has an unusual addition of a stiff piece of
leather (?) intended to protect the back of the neck. Near
the cuirass is a horse’s mask, crowned with a fan-like semi-
circle of feathers and a long crest of horsehair. At its side is
a helmet in the form of a mask which closely imitates a man’s
face. Behind the horse’s mask is a chariot wheel, to the right
of which lies the body of the chariot, which seems to be built
of thin strips of wood, overlapping like the clinkers of a strake-
built boat. Across the chariot hangs a sword (the end of the
sword is wrongly drawn in the figure) to which a sash is
fastened. On the ground below, at the side of the sword, is
its sheath, and behind this a lance, whose point- projects near
the tip of the sword (this is not shown in the figure). On the
right below the chariot a pair of objects lie crossed one over
the other. Droysen has identified these with the padded
χεΐρες, by which the right arm was protected while wielding the
spear (of. Iwan Muller’s Handbuch, Kriegsaltertilmer (Bauer)
2nd ed., p. 353, fig. 54, and Baumeister, Denkmdler, pp.
1280, 2028). They are very similar to the arm-guards worn
by Roman gladiators (cf. Pl. 30, fig. 10 ; Pl. 32, fig. 5).
Fig. 7.—Sword from Attica.
Fig. 8.—Bronze Sword from the Upper Strata at My-
cenae.
2 FEET LONG. WlTH 8 RlVET HOLES IN THE HANDLE.
Figs. 4-5 and 7-8. = Helbig, Hom. Epos., 92, 94, 91, 90.
Fig. 8. = Iwan Muller, Handbuch, Kriegsaltertilmer, 2nd
ed., Pl. 1, fig. 7.
L