Читать книгу Greek Sculpture - Edmund von Mach - Страница 11

Lion’s Gate, Mycenae, 14th century B. C. In situ.

The middle of the seventh century before Christ, now generally taken as the beginning of historic Greek sculpture, is not marked by any outstanding historical event. Gradually the mist obscuring the preceding centuries clears before the investigator’s eyes. One century beyond this period he feels on sure ground. No existing Greek statue, however fragmentary, can be dated earlier than between 650 or 625 B. C.; beyond that lie the dark middle ages of Greece. The Greeks themselves possessed at best a hazy notion of this period. Some specific details were remembered across the ages, others were invented to explain existing conditions; all this was centred about a few popular heroes, whose characters, if they really existed, were so boldly altered that they could no longer be distinguished from the creations of fiction. Such legends are interesting, but may be readily dismissed in the discussion of facts. Of greater importance are the discoveries of archaeologists and anthropologists, because they are probably as accurate as they unfortunately are scant.

The inhabitants of Greece, of the islands of the Aegean, and of the coast of Asia Minor belonged to the Aryan race, which at an early time, coming perhaps from Asia, perhaps from somewhere in northern Europe, divided into five prominent families. Each of these families and their branches branched off. The important branches of the Greeks were the Aiolians, the Ionians, and the Dorians. The Dorians were perhaps the late comers and apparently the least civilised. It is believed that long before their arrival in approximately 1100 B. C., the other families had already established a flourishing civilisation in Greece. The first finds of this early civilisation commanding general attention were made in Mycenae in 1876 by Dr. Schliemann; and because it was at the time believed that the Mycenaeans were the only ones who had thus far advanced on the road of human progress, this civilisation was called the Mycenaean Age. Very soon, however, it was found that other people had shared the blessings of this age. For want of a better name, however, and because of its familiarity the term “Mycenaean civilisation” has been retained, despite the fact that scholars today are looking for the centre and the origin of the flourishing conditions in Crete.

The date of the Mycenaean Age is fixed chiefly by means of contemporaneous Egyptian events, from about 1600 to 1100 B. C. The earlier date remains uncertain, and recent discoveries seem to show that it should to be set further back, perhaps even in the third millennium before Christ. Earlier than this nothing is known of the Greeks. How long they had been in the country, whether they had brought civilisation with them, whether the Mycenaean civilisation was their first attempt or only the revival of an older one that had crumbled away – all this eludes our most painstaking investigation.

Thanks to the unflagging effort of archaeologists from many nations, Mycenaean Age art has become well known today. Judging from remains, sculpture was little practised, for the lionesses over the citadel gate of Mycenae, are the only existing works of consequence. Painting, more especially wall painting, was much in favour, and the fragmentary figures of an extended fresco in the great palace of King Minos in Crete, exhibit daring composition and fine, delicate lines. The minor arts, however, notably the goldsmith’s, flourished. Hundreds of magnificent works of this kind remain. Taken together with the many thousands of small, ornamented trinkets from the opened graves (Illustration 1, 2), they give a good idea of these early artists’ aims and achievements. The artists did not work for show, as is often the case with unrefined people possessing accumulated wealth.

Though in gold, it is not the splendour of the costly material that impresses the spectator, but the delicate shape into which it has been wrought and the refined taste shown in the selection of ornament. Despite this, human figures and animals rarely occur. The majority of the patterns are fanciful inventions of the artist’s mind, never grotesque or complex or overdone; they are simple spirals, circles, curves, or other unpretentious figures. The artists who did this work and the people for whom they were made, were apparently blessed with an intense love for the beautiful and a temperament of great simplicity.

Some time around 1100 B. C. this flourishing civilisation suddenly failed, long before it had reached a decline. An important historical event must have occurred, probably the Dorian invasion. Not occuring at once, but extending over a period of at least a century. The country was well settled, and when the Dorians kept pushing from the north, many of the old inhabitants had to yield and leave their homes. Most of the people of the Peloponnesos probably emigrated to Asia Minor, while those that remained, like the Messenians, were doomed to eternal slavery. In the turmoil of readjustment no time was left for artistic expressions. Ruskin once said, “Art is possible only, when after satisfying the needs of daily life, there is enough mental and physical energy left for ‘play’ “; and during these times of struggle, when some were defending their old homes and others were fighting for their new country, neither time nor energy could be spared for “play”. By 1000 B. C. the Dorians were in place, yet centuries had to pass before conditions became settled. These three hundred and fifty years to the beginning of historic Greece carry well the name “Greece dark middle ages”. They are indeed dark, with but one ray of light – the Homeric poems. It matters little whether the Iliad and the Odyssey were written by one man, or whether they were the compilation of many poets; whether they were first sung in the ninth century or only shortly before 650 B. C. The important fact is that subsequent to the downfall of the Mycenaean civilisation, and before the dawn of historic times, there were people who could sing such songs and others who could enjoy them.

Scene with Bull and Acrobats, Knossos Palace, Crete, 1700–1400 B. C. Fresco, 62.3 cm. Archaeological Museum, Heraklion.

Pendant with Bees, Royal Necropolis, Malia, 1700–1600 B. C. Gold. Archaeological Museum, Heraklion.

The “Agamemnon” Mask, tomb V, Mycenae, c. 1600–1500 B. C. Gold, h: 31.5 cm. National Archaeological Museum, Athens.

Mortuary Mask, Mycenae, c. 1600–1500 B. C. Gold, h: 20.5 cm. National Archaeological Museum, Athens.