DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.4855#0007
ANCIENT MONUMENTS OF LYDIA AND PHRYGIA.
Pausanias,
lib. i. cap. 21.
See also Sopho-
cles (Antigona
and Electro) ;
Seneca {Aga-
memnon).
probably the oldest in existence. Niobe appears to be seated on a chair, or throne, of which little
more than the indication is now perceptible : the figure is placed in a recess, or niche ; and to this
protection we probably owe its preservation such as we now see it.
The style and character of the work correspond with the description given of statues previous
to the time of Daedalus, who, from having been the first artist who gave a free action to the limbs, is
said to have imparted to his statues the power of motion. Although the limbs are not disengaged, the
figure of Niobe is designed in a sufficiently easy and natural attitude: the hands appear to have been
clasped together upon the breast; and the head is slightly inclined on one side, with a pensive air,
expressive of grief. The whole figure bears a strong impress' of Archaic style ; nevertheless, so little
now remains of the original sculpture, that it requires to be studied carefully in order to understand
exactly the design. The exterior surface, too, is so much corroded, that the whole mass exhibits not
a single trace of the chisel, saving on some remains of the volutes or curls of Niobe's hair, which, from
their position, have been better protected from the weather.
Pausanias, who is supposed to have been a native of Magnesia, expressly states, that he ascended
Sipylus in order to see Niobe, from which we may conclude, that, in his day at least, the statue was
considered to be the identical one into which she was transformed. If, therefore, as is most probable,
the legend of the metamorphose arose from the existence of this statue, we must assign it to a period
prior to that in which Homer flourished, since he expressly mentions her statue on Mount Sipylus ;
and with this part of Asia Minor he must have been well acquainted from his long residence in
the neighbourhood.
It is very remarkable that the winds generally rage here with great violence, which may account
for the tradition of Niobe having been transported hither by their ministry. Be this as it may, I
could not behold without admiration the tears still trickling down the furrows of her grief-worn
cheeks, realising what would appear to have been but the fancy of the poet:
" Flet tamen, et validi circumdata turbine venti
In patriam rapta est: ubi flxa eacumine montis
Liquitur, et lacrimas etiamnum marmora man ant."
Ovidii Met. vi. 310-12.
' Yet still she weeps, and, whirl'd by stormy winds,
Borne through the air, her native country finds;
There fix'd she stands upon a bleaky hill;
There yet her marble cheeks eternal tears distil."
Or as described by Homer (II. Ct. 615):
'Ev £nrv\a>, '681 ^>aal dedaiv e/jb/jLevat evvas
Nu/u,<pdo)v, aiT dfi<p' 'A^eXcoiov eppwaavro,
"Evda, \ido<; Trep iovaa, 6eS)V i/c, KijSea irkaaei.
" There high, on Sipylus' shaggy brow,
She sits, her own sad monument of woe ;
The rock for ever lasts, the tears for ever flow.
Singular mono-
lithic sepulchre.
By the proximity of some springs with which this part of the mountain abounds, this singular effect
is still produced after the lapse of thousands of years ! These springs are collected in a good-
sized tank, at the foot of the hill, on the other side of the road.
In the same road, about two and a half miles further on, coursing the skirts of the mountain,
we came upon a very singular monolithic sepulchre, excavated in the marble rock, which here juts
out naturally in a spherical form : this projection has been smoothed and scarped all around, so
as not to afford the smallest harbour for vegetation or moisture. In the centre of this rounded
mass, an oblong cube has been detached by means of a parallel trench or channel corresponding with
the three inner sides of the cube ; the roof is flat and shelving, so as to allow of the rain running
off; the outer side, forming the front, has a small entrance or doorway, which is approached by an
ascent of three steps, also fashioned out of the rock. The interior consists of two chambers, the further
one being the smaller; it is vaulted, and is entered by a very narrow square aperture in the division
Pausanias,
lib. i. cap. 21.
See also Sopho-
cles (Antigona
and Electro) ;
Seneca {Aga-
memnon).
probably the oldest in existence. Niobe appears to be seated on a chair, or throne, of which little
more than the indication is now perceptible : the figure is placed in a recess, or niche ; and to this
protection we probably owe its preservation such as we now see it.
The style and character of the work correspond with the description given of statues previous
to the time of Daedalus, who, from having been the first artist who gave a free action to the limbs, is
said to have imparted to his statues the power of motion. Although the limbs are not disengaged, the
figure of Niobe is designed in a sufficiently easy and natural attitude: the hands appear to have been
clasped together upon the breast; and the head is slightly inclined on one side, with a pensive air,
expressive of grief. The whole figure bears a strong impress' of Archaic style ; nevertheless, so little
now remains of the original sculpture, that it requires to be studied carefully in order to understand
exactly the design. The exterior surface, too, is so much corroded, that the whole mass exhibits not
a single trace of the chisel, saving on some remains of the volutes or curls of Niobe's hair, which, from
their position, have been better protected from the weather.
Pausanias, who is supposed to have been a native of Magnesia, expressly states, that he ascended
Sipylus in order to see Niobe, from which we may conclude, that, in his day at least, the statue was
considered to be the identical one into which she was transformed. If, therefore, as is most probable,
the legend of the metamorphose arose from the existence of this statue, we must assign it to a period
prior to that in which Homer flourished, since he expressly mentions her statue on Mount Sipylus ;
and with this part of Asia Minor he must have been well acquainted from his long residence in
the neighbourhood.
It is very remarkable that the winds generally rage here with great violence, which may account
for the tradition of Niobe having been transported hither by their ministry. Be this as it may, I
could not behold without admiration the tears still trickling down the furrows of her grief-worn
cheeks, realising what would appear to have been but the fancy of the poet:
" Flet tamen, et validi circumdata turbine venti
In patriam rapta est: ubi flxa eacumine montis
Liquitur, et lacrimas etiamnum marmora man ant."
Ovidii Met. vi. 310-12.
' Yet still she weeps, and, whirl'd by stormy winds,
Borne through the air, her native country finds;
There fix'd she stands upon a bleaky hill;
There yet her marble cheeks eternal tears distil."
Or as described by Homer (II. Ct. 615):
'Ev £nrv\a>, '681 ^>aal dedaiv e/jb/jLevat evvas
Nu/u,<pdo)v, aiT dfi<p' 'A^eXcoiov eppwaavro,
"Evda, \ido<; Trep iovaa, 6eS)V i/c, KijSea irkaaei.
" There high, on Sipylus' shaggy brow,
She sits, her own sad monument of woe ;
The rock for ever lasts, the tears for ever flow.
Singular mono-
lithic sepulchre.
By the proximity of some springs with which this part of the mountain abounds, this singular effect
is still produced after the lapse of thousands of years ! These springs are collected in a good-
sized tank, at the foot of the hill, on the other side of the road.
In the same road, about two and a half miles further on, coursing the skirts of the mountain,
we came upon a very singular monolithic sepulchre, excavated in the marble rock, which here juts
out naturally in a spherical form : this projection has been smoothed and scarped all around, so
as not to afford the smallest harbour for vegetation or moisture. In the centre of this rounded
mass, an oblong cube has been detached by means of a parallel trench or channel corresponding with
the three inner sides of the cube ; the roof is flat and shelving, so as to allow of the rain running
off; the outer side, forming the front, has a small entrance or doorway, which is approached by an
ascent of three steps, also fashioned out of the rock. The interior consists of two chambers, the further
one being the smaller; it is vaulted, and is entered by a very narrow square aperture in the division