DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.1021#0401
CHAPTER XV
THE MYCENAEAN WORLD AND HOMER
Thus far we have passed in review" the more important
monuments of prehistoric Greece, from the mighty wails of
Tiryns to the exquisite Vaphio vases; and from
all we have sought to sketch, however rudely, more or less
the main features "of primitive Greek life and suits thus
culture. At best the mirror is not flawless
enough " to show the very age and body of the time his
form and pressure," but for all that the image is surpris-
ingly full and authentic. We have before our eyes the im-
pregnable strongholds which sheltered these ancient people,
as at Tiryns and Mycenae, or which long withstood their
siege, as at Troy. We have the palaces of their kings, in
ruins, to be sure, but still with their foundations as well as
their hearths and altars intact, and enough of their decora-
tions to enable us to build them up again and adorn them
anew with almost absolute precision, while other sources
have yielded us the means of refurnishing them with count-
less articles of use and luxury. We have recovered their
actual swords and sceptres; the bracelets they wore and
the signets they used; the goblets and tankards that went
round the festal company as they quaffed the honey-hearted
wine or made libation to their gods.
And, where actual objects fail, their artists come in to fill
the gap : before our eyes they bring princes in their char-
iots chasing the deer or proceeding to war; lion and bull
hunts; scenes of siege and battle, of worship and sacrifice,
THE MYCENAEAN WORLD AND HOMER
Thus far we have passed in review" the more important
monuments of prehistoric Greece, from the mighty wails of
Tiryns to the exquisite Vaphio vases; and from
all we have sought to sketch, however rudely, more or less
the main features "of primitive Greek life and suits thus
culture. At best the mirror is not flawless
enough " to show the very age and body of the time his
form and pressure," but for all that the image is surpris-
ingly full and authentic. We have before our eyes the im-
pregnable strongholds which sheltered these ancient people,
as at Tiryns and Mycenae, or which long withstood their
siege, as at Troy. We have the palaces of their kings, in
ruins, to be sure, but still with their foundations as well as
their hearths and altars intact, and enough of their decora-
tions to enable us to build them up again and adorn them
anew with almost absolute precision, while other sources
have yielded us the means of refurnishing them with count-
less articles of use and luxury. We have recovered their
actual swords and sceptres; the bracelets they wore and
the signets they used; the goblets and tankards that went
round the festal company as they quaffed the honey-hearted
wine or made libation to their gods.
And, where actual objects fail, their artists come in to fill
the gap : before our eyes they bring princes in their char-
iots chasing the deer or proceeding to war; lion and bull
hunts; scenes of siege and battle, of worship and sacrifice,