Page:History of Art in Primitive Greece - Mycenian Art Vol 2.djvu/186

The House and the Palace. Setting aside the younger type, which we divine — get an inkling of rather than a distinct perception — we ascertain that the distinctive characteristics of the house lately exhumed at Troy, Mycense, and above all at Tiryns, are in perfect agreement with the notion which we gain from the poet relating to the most luxurious abodes that came within the range of his vision. Here and there we recognize the expression of feelings common to both, the influence of the like surroundings, the impress of the same manners and customs, and very similar needs are satisfied by the architect and decorator with identical means. Our survey of the ground-plan must have convinced the reader that, in despite of minor differences bearing on detail, correspondence between the main lines is real and distinct. The remembrance of our oft- repeated observations in regard to the work of the ornamentist, the designs and materials he employed in decking out the princely abode, will deepen the impression which he has obtained. We are thus brought to acknowledge — as the sequel will show — that the Epos has preserved more than one vivid reminiscence of the Mycenian age, which reminiscence lived on without a break or notable modification in the period overshadowed by the great name of Homer. sons-in-law. They all open into the same court and face each other, jnivf>a(iii' ff Iri- pvficv Eratr/ui ttiodtv ovA^c {Iliad, vi. 242-350). No such princely house, we may be sure, with sixty-two apartments distributed around a court, existed in Homer's day. The number is purely fanciful, suggested by the tradition which represented Priam as the happy father of fifty sons and twelve daughters. But the abode which he describes to his audience was not imaginary, but taken from actual buildings. Some such habitation is in his mind's eye when he tells of Telemachus going to rest in his "high chamber which overlooks the stately court" ifidyssey, i. ^2$, 4^6)'