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Although the archaeologists and mythologists constitute for the most part the number of those seriously concerned with Greek vases, there still remain many engaged in the study of Greek literature for whom the vases are bound to possess an abiding value, since they often relate the stories that Homer, Pindar, Aischylos, and Euripides tell. One may find on vases of the fourth, fifth, and sixth centuries B.C. illustrations for not a few of the famous pieces in Greek poetry. The paintings may have been an outgrowth of the common stock of legendary tales, having their origin in the folk-lore, and in such cases they are independent of the written literature and go along, so to speak, parallel with the work of the poets, who drew from the same source. These paintings are valuable as illustrations of the myths, quite apart from any literary version of the same. Another class still more interesting, perhaps, owe their origin to some particular poem or play, and are to be taken as direct products of the poets’ work. Such are of prime importance for one who would understand the poet thoroughly.

The first class of paintings of the latter sort are based on Homer and the Cyclic poets. After the epic literature, the tragic drama became the chief formative force in Greek legend and its representation in art. Yet here again, as in the case of the Cyclic poets, one is compelled to interpret paintings inspired by works that have come down to us either as mere names or in a few wretched fragments. The relation of these monuments to the lost literature is of paramount importance, but the investigation is beset with many obstacles and will continue to be largely a field for the specialist. Extant tragedy and vase paintings, however, come together at so many points, and the former is so illumined by the latter, that every student of the classics should become acquainted with at least this part of Greek ceramics.

The present work represents an attempt to bring this material together in a convenient and accessible form. The first chapter, which deals with the influence of tragedy on other classes of monuments, is meant to be suggestive, not exhaustive; if I shall have succeeded here in setting the student to think along some new lines that in the end will place him in more direct touch with antiquity, and help him to a better understanding of Greek tragic poetry and the part it played in the artistic life of the Greeks and Romans, my aim will have been achieved. The foot-notes all the way through are intended to contain somewhat full references to the literature of the different topics, and to be a sort of guide to one who desires to prosecute this study further.

In dealing with even the subject of vase paintings and extant tragedy, it was not possible to omit saying a word regarding the general question of the earliest influence of the drama upon the vase painters; this has been done, however, very briefly, and is no more than a sketch. Some may think that the subject is disposed of too quickly; many pages, indeed, might have been written to advantage on this much mooted point, but this would have required going far aside from the task which I set myself; and, further, it did not seem wise to encumber the work with a discussion necessarily of a nature to appeal to the archaeologist rather than to the student of Aischylos and Euripides. It is the latter’s needs that have been uppermost in my mind, and it will be found that I have written for him first and for the archaeologist second.

My aim has been to collect and publish all paintings that can with a high degree of probability be said to be inspired by any of the extant tragedies, and to unfold the relation of the two to each other in such a way as to throw the greatest possible light upon the interpretation of the literature. Many of the publications where one can find these paintings are so expensive and inaccessible that but a comparatively small number of classical students can make any use of the original works; the result is that this important class of monuments has been very little used by philologists. Wherever it seemed necessary, synopses of the plays have been given, and these will place the student in possession of everything required for a full appreciation of the reproductions. Reference has been made to other monuments representing scenes based on the plays, so that there is in fact a sort of archaeological commentary for those who care to go further and examine the general influence of the poet over the artist. It should be borne in mind, however, that I have not been concerned with the myths involved except in so far as they were the forms invented or followed by the tragedians. To be sure, opinions will not be unanimous regarding the interpretation of some of the paintings, but wherever I have not felt sure of the debt of the artist to a given play I have preferred not to publish the work; some such are mentioned in a separate chapter, where reference is also made to the literature. My endeavour has been to keep as far as possible aloof from conjectures and reckless theories into which one is apt to be drawn in dealing with questions in archaeology; sins of omission should be less reprehended in a work of this character than sins of commission, and although I shall no doubt be judged guilty of both, I hope to have erred rather on the side of the former.

It will be of special interest to archaeologists to have the painting on the Medeia amphora, in Munich, correctly published; fig. 23 gives for the first time the correct reading of the inscriptions, and for this reason I could have wished that space had permitted a much larger reproduction. The frontispiece, presenting a general view of the whole vase, will, it is hoped, be of some help in affording those who have not had an opportunity of seeing the originals, some notion of the size and magnificent workmanship of this class of vases, called so appropriately by the Germans Prachtamphoren. Another painting, fig. 3, is published for the first time, and fig. 6, taken from a photograph, displaces the drawing in Jahn’s Vasenbilder. Further than this, the illustrations are the same as those that have already appeared elsewhere; it has been possible for me to add new information regarding the whereabouts of some few vases.

On the spelling of Greek names it need only be said that I have nearly always preferred the Greek forms to the Latin equivalents; yet I have not gone so far as to write Hiketides for Supplices, or Hepta for Septem; neither did it seem advisable to disturb a word so common in English as is Oedipus by writing it Oidipous, or much less Oidipus.

My thanks are due to Professor Otto Kern for help and encouragement while he was still at the University of Berlin. Professor Carl Robert has lent me valuable assistance, and I scarcely know whether I am more indebted to his suggestive replies to my numerous inquiries or to his writings, which latter have been a constant inspiration to me. Professor A. Furtwängler, whose profound knowledge in the field of Greek ceramics, as well as in every department of classical archaeology, is well known, has aided me by his counsel and has spared some of his valuable time to go over all the manuscript. I wish to express my indebtedness to all these eminent scholars as well as to Mr. Charles B. Newcomer, M.A., who has been kind enough to read the proof, and has favoured me with many valuable suggestions. Mrs. Huddilston, who more than any one else has followed all the work, deserves special mention; there is scarcely a page that does not bear evidence of her sound judgement.

I indulge the hope that this little book may, with all its defects (and I am well aware they are many), present much that is helpful in a field in which there is little addressed to the student of classical literature; and this brings me to remark that I have long wondered why the editions of the Greek tragedies are not enlivened more with reproductions of works of art pertaining to the myth involved. There is no reason why the student who is set to read the Choephoroi, Eumenides, Medeia, or Iphigeneia in Tauris, not to mention other plays, should look only at the literary and philological sides of the author. Is it considered unscholarly to illustrate books of this sort, or are the scholars who edit them ignorant of the archaeological apparatus? The time is coming, I firmly believe, when these two departments of classical studies will not be so divorced as they are at present, and when the monuments based upon a myth will be included in our text-books and examined quite as closely as is the text of the poet. When Greek art is thus made to supplement the study of the poetry, the latter will be invested with a still greater charm than it now possesses. More of the spirit is required and less of the letter, and this is bound to be brought about when Greek art is introduced more extensively into the instruction in Greek studies. I trust that these pages will be considered a contribution towards this manner of studying Greek tragedy, and that the plays which come in question will be read with renewed interest by all students, and reviewed with pleasure and profit by those who are instructors in classics; and again by those who in the various walks of life still have time and inclination to turn occasionally to the masterpieces of Greek letters—works that will always remain substantial parts of the world’s literary ballast.

J. H. Huddilston.

London, March, 1898.