had some thousands); vases and chests or coffers of every class; lamps; censers; small altars or braziers; pictures (πίνακες); portraits (πίνακεσ εἰκονικοί); mosaics (πίνακες ἐμβλητοὺς γραφὰς ἔχοντες); statues of gods (ἀγάλματα) or men (ἀνδιάντες); jewellery; engraved gems. When there is an inscription on the gift, it is often quoted; in the case of the precious metals, the weight is given. The minuteness of description is often remarkable: "a little cow [dedicated to Isis in the Serapeion?] without its left horn"; "a kettle which has lost its bottom and its handles"; "a golden laurel-crown with twisted leaves"; "a golden wreath with [so many] leaves, counting those that have dropped off";—for the smallest fragments, the very morsels of gold dust (θραύματα, κλάσματα, ψήγματα) were recorded. Ex-voto offerings are frequently named—beaks of ships, rudders, a herald's staff, shields, spears, greaves, bows. A fragment of one such ex-voto has been found, part of a leaden quiver, with the legend, ταῦτα γὰρ πεινῆν ἔσωσεν ἡμᾶς—"these [arrows] saved us from starving":—one thinks of Philoctetes at Lemnos. Sacred envoys (θεωροί) used to wear a sort of plaited head-dress called στλεγγίς, and among the ex-votos are mentioned στλεγγίδια θεωρικά. One article is named which the modern world would gladly purchase at the cost of much else which the Delian temple contained—θήκην τρίγωνον ἔχουσαν βιβλία Ἀλκαίου, a three-cornered case containing works of Alcaeus[1].
- ↑ Monuments grecs, No. 7, pp. 40 f.
