DOI Page / Citation link:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.2532#0070
THE VASES
49
Now the Heraeum of Olympia, which is the oldest temple there, and, by these finds
beneath it, points to a worship of Hera on this site before the worship of Zeus was
there introduced, — this Heraeum of Olympia, we are told,1 was built by Scilluntians
eight years after Oxylus had taken possession of Elis, which would lead us bach to the
Dorian invasion (between B. c. 1100 and 1000) for the building of the temple. The
remarkable replacing' of the old wooden pillars by later stone ones has been carefully
noted by Dorpfeld.2 Dr. Penrose assigns this temple to the year 1445. The date
given by Pausanias may refer to the erection of the stone pillars in the early temple,
which retained its original orientation and was built there by Pre-Dorian people.
Be this as it may, we know that, long before the foundations of this Olympian temple
were erected, the remains of the altar and the accumulation of primitive votive offerings
in the black layers surrounding it point to many generations of Hera cult on this very
spot. The terra-cottas found in these early layers are much later in style than Class I.
and II. of our Heraeum terra-cottas. Thus the bronzes and terra-cottas of Olympia
confirm the early date which we assign to our Pre-Mycenaean terra-cottas from the
Argive Heraeum.
VASES.
The finds of early ceramic ware at the Heraeum are so numerous and complete, and
have such important bearings upon the earliest art of Greece, that, in dealing with them
here, we cannot confine ourselves to their consideration merely in the light of the strik-
ing illustration they offer to the main point which we have hitherto considered in the
history of the Heraeum. For their bearing upon the early history of ceramic art in
Greece is such that I venture to maintain they will lead to a new classification of this
important branch of archaeological evidence, or at least to a thorough reconsideration
of the classification hitherto accepted. Nay, beyond this I believe that these finds furnish
most invaluable material for the study of the origin and development of art in general.
But while this latter aspect is most important, so that we can hardly resist drawing
conclusions which the objects presented by our spades have revealed to us, we feel that
the introduction of so wide and far-reaching a topic would lead us too far and would be
out of proportion to the mam scheme of this publication. We must therefore reserve
the treatment of this aspect of our finds for some future occasion. On the other hand,
it would be impossible for us to utilize our collective material of vases for the informa-
tion they give as to the earliest history of the Heraeum without considering the new
light which these finds throw upon the whole classification of early Greek pottery.3
At the close of our first year's digging (in 1892) one fact of fundamental importance
impressed itself upon me. And though I ventured to give partial publication to these
views at the successive public meetings of the American School at Athens, I did not feel
justified in fixing them in print until the huge number of specimens which we had trans-
ported to Athens had been cleaned, and to some degree classified by the intelligent
industry of my colleague, Dr. Hoppin.4 After careful observation of the material thus
before lis and the mature application of inductive principles, I now feel confirmed in the
1 Pans. V. 10. 1.
2 Olympia, II. (Architecture), p. 35.
3 Since this was sent to the printer, among- other impor-
tant discoveries and publications, the striking discoveries
of Messrs. Evans and Hogarth in Crete and the publica-
tion of Professor Ridgeway's Early Aye of Greece mark
a new departure in such inquiry. I am happy to find
that these results in the main confirm the conclusions to
which the Heraeum discoveries led me.
' The detailed classification of all the rich finds in
vases will be given by him in the special chapter devoted
to these works.
\
49
Now the Heraeum of Olympia, which is the oldest temple there, and, by these finds
beneath it, points to a worship of Hera on this site before the worship of Zeus was
there introduced, — this Heraeum of Olympia, we are told,1 was built by Scilluntians
eight years after Oxylus had taken possession of Elis, which would lead us bach to the
Dorian invasion (between B. c. 1100 and 1000) for the building of the temple. The
remarkable replacing' of the old wooden pillars by later stone ones has been carefully
noted by Dorpfeld.2 Dr. Penrose assigns this temple to the year 1445. The date
given by Pausanias may refer to the erection of the stone pillars in the early temple,
which retained its original orientation and was built there by Pre-Dorian people.
Be this as it may, we know that, long before the foundations of this Olympian temple
were erected, the remains of the altar and the accumulation of primitive votive offerings
in the black layers surrounding it point to many generations of Hera cult on this very
spot. The terra-cottas found in these early layers are much later in style than Class I.
and II. of our Heraeum terra-cottas. Thus the bronzes and terra-cottas of Olympia
confirm the early date which we assign to our Pre-Mycenaean terra-cottas from the
Argive Heraeum.
VASES.
The finds of early ceramic ware at the Heraeum are so numerous and complete, and
have such important bearings upon the earliest art of Greece, that, in dealing with them
here, we cannot confine ourselves to their consideration merely in the light of the strik-
ing illustration they offer to the main point which we have hitherto considered in the
history of the Heraeum. For their bearing upon the early history of ceramic art in
Greece is such that I venture to maintain they will lead to a new classification of this
important branch of archaeological evidence, or at least to a thorough reconsideration
of the classification hitherto accepted. Nay, beyond this I believe that these finds furnish
most invaluable material for the study of the origin and development of art in general.
But while this latter aspect is most important, so that we can hardly resist drawing
conclusions which the objects presented by our spades have revealed to us, we feel that
the introduction of so wide and far-reaching a topic would lead us too far and would be
out of proportion to the mam scheme of this publication. We must therefore reserve
the treatment of this aspect of our finds for some future occasion. On the other hand,
it would be impossible for us to utilize our collective material of vases for the informa-
tion they give as to the earliest history of the Heraeum without considering the new
light which these finds throw upon the whole classification of early Greek pottery.3
At the close of our first year's digging (in 1892) one fact of fundamental importance
impressed itself upon me. And though I ventured to give partial publication to these
views at the successive public meetings of the American School at Athens, I did not feel
justified in fixing them in print until the huge number of specimens which we had trans-
ported to Athens had been cleaned, and to some degree classified by the intelligent
industry of my colleague, Dr. Hoppin.4 After careful observation of the material thus
before lis and the mature application of inductive principles, I now feel confirmed in the
1 Pans. V. 10. 1.
2 Olympia, II. (Architecture), p. 35.
3 Since this was sent to the printer, among- other impor-
tant discoveries and publications, the striking discoveries
of Messrs. Evans and Hogarth in Crete and the publica-
tion of Professor Ridgeway's Early Aye of Greece mark
a new departure in such inquiry. I am happy to find
that these results in the main confirm the conclusions to
which the Heraeum discoveries led me.
' The detailed classification of all the rich finds in
vases will be given by him in the special chapter devoted
to these works.
\