FOOTNOTES:
[637] Cremation may have a common origin in the two cases; but this practice appears to have been introduced into the North at least fifteen centuries before the Heroic Age. It has been suggested that the origin of the practice may be found in the late neolithic settlements in the district of the Dniestr and Dniepr—dating probably from the latter part of the third millennium (cf. Meyer, Geschichte des Altertums2, I § 537). Evidence however is now accumulating to the effect that cremation was practised in Crete in Early Minoan times.
[638] The Early Age of Greece, Vol. I, Ch. IV and passim, together with a number of articles which have appeared in various publications.
[639] I mention this point only because Prof. Ridgeway lays stress upon it. I do not myself regard the use of iron weapons as an essential characteristic of the Heroic Age. The evidence seems to me to indicate that such weapons came into use only towards the close of the period (cf. p. [199] ff.).
[640] By this term I mean 'belonging to communities which spoke Celtic languages.' It is only fair to add that Prof. Ridgeway appears to have racial (physical), rather than linguistic, characteristics in view. But I am not clear whether he means to include among his 'Celts' peoples who used other than Celtic languages.
[641] What I mean by the term 'Homeric civilisation' will probably be clear from Chapters X and XI. I cannot admit that a satisfactory case has been made out for believing the civilisation of the Heroic Age to have differed widely from that of the poets' own times. The excavations at Cnossos have brought to light the existence (in 'Late Minoan' times) of a highly organised bureaucratic system, for which analogies enough are to be found in Egyptian records of the same period. But the poems themselves do not give the slightest hint of acquaintance with such a system. The absence of striking inconsistencies which has been remarked above (p. [241]) is unintelligible unless the civilisation with which the poets themselves were acquainted—presumably in Aeolis—was a more or less direct continuation of that of the Heroic Age. Such changes as had taken place were in general probably of a retrograde character, in spite of the growing use of iron and possibly also of riding. But there is no ground, so far as I can see, for supposing that the Homeric poems are records of the people and events of a highly civilised age preserved by the traditions of a semi-barbaric society.
[642] Both in Ionia and Cyprus there were of course cities which, according to tradition, had been founded by Achaean colonists. But the Greek population as a whole made no such claim in either case. For Cyprus cf. Herodotus VII 90.
[643] Aristotle (Meteorolog. I 14. 21 f.) applies the term Ἑλλὰς ἡ ἀρχαία to the country round Dodona and the Acheloos; but it is commonly held that in this he was following a late Molossian story relating to Dodona, rather than a genuine tradition. Yet the part played by the Acheron in Greek religion and poetry (cf. p. [422]) suggests that this region was at one time traditionally regarded by a portion of the Greek race as its homeland.
[644] A different view is taken by Prof. Meyer (Gesch. d. Alt.2, I § 473, note) who accepts the statement of the Lydian historian Xanthos (quoted by Strabo, XIV 5. 29; cf. XII 8. 3) that the Phrygian invasion took place μετὰ τὰ Τρωικά. He holds that this statement is confirmed by a passage in Proclus' epitome of the Telegony (cf. Kinkel, Epic. Gr. Fragm., p. 57), where the Thesprotoi are represented as being at war with the Brygoi. But the latter are clearly the Brygoi of Albania; and there is nothing in the context to suggest that the Phrygians (of Asia) were believed to be still with their kinsfolk in the west. It seems to me that the statement of a fifth century writer, who is known only from fragments, requires stronger confirmation than this before it can be accepted as evidence for the chronological relationship of events which took place some seven centuries before his time. Especially is this the case when such a statement is directly opposed to several passages in the Iliad, which clearly recognise the presence of the Phrygians in Asia. In view of the fact that the queen (Hecabe) is said to be a Phrygian it is scarcely safe to assume that these elements are unessential or late additions to the story. But, more than this, Xanthos' account itself does not appear to be free from Homeric influence. The names Βερεκύντων and Ἀσκανίας may possibly be derived from Phrygian tradition—perhaps ultimately from the same source as Il. II 862 f.—but the leader's name (Σκαμάνδριος) is not only Homeric but obviously a derivative of Σκαμάνδρος, the name of a river in the Troad. It may be observed that a hero of the same name (Hector's son) figures in a somewhat similar story recorded by Strabo elsewhere (XIII 1. 52); and for my part I see no reason for attaching more importance to Xanthos' account than to this. The expression ἐκ ... τῶν ἀριστερῶν τοῦ Πόντου clearly suggests that he had confused the tradition of the Phrygian invasion with certain much later movements (of the Bithynians, Thynoi, etc.), some of which do seem to have proceeded from the quarter indicated. On the other hand all the evidence which we have (cf. Herodotus, VII 73 and VIII 138, and the position of the Brygoi in historical times) points to the western part of the Balkan peninsula as the original home of the Phrygians.
As to the nationality of the Trojans themselves—the Homeric Trojans—Prof. Meyer does not appear to have expressed an opinion. The question will doubtless be discussed in the next volume of his work. His theory however would seem to involve that any historical events which may underlie the story of the Iliad must be referred at least to the thirteenth century; for the date which he gives for the Phrygian invasion is about, or shortly after, 1200. Here again however I cannot help thinking that the evidence is far from conclusive. There may very well be a connection between the fall of the Hittite kingdom, which apparently did take place about this time, and the invasion encountered by Rameses III (cf. p. [188]). But I am by no means clear why it is necessary to conclude that the Phrygian invasion immediately preceded these events. If the Masa and Dardenui of the Poem of Pentaur are rightly identified with the Mysians and Dardanoi we shall probably have to date the earliest settlements at least a century before this time. As for the Dardanoi—who apparently were regarded as the parent stock of the Homeric Trojans (cf. Il. XX 215 ff.)—I see no reason for doubting their European origin any more than that of the Phrygians (Brygoi) and the Mysians (Moisoi), whose neighbours they were both in Asia and in the Balkans. But at the same time there seems to me to be equally little reason for referring the events on which the Iliad is based to times anterior to the eleventh century.
[645] Under such conditions the nearest approach to the heroic spirit is afforded by athletic contests. Such contests have at times produced what we may call 'heroic' poetry of Stage I (cf. p. [94]). But the motive for further elaboration of the stories is wanting.
[646] In the folk-tale—at least in some forms of it—the hero's arrival in the cave is involuntary.
[647] In this chapter I am using the word 'Roman' in a very wide sense, viz. for the civilisation of the Empire as a whole. Both the material objects and the influence of which I am speaking came doubtless rather from the provinces than from Italy itself. In many cases it would probably be more correct to use the term 'Romanised Celtic'; cf. The Origin of the English Nation, p. 189 ff., though I think now that I was mistaken here in doubting the importance of (strictly) Roman influence upon the Angli—especially in military matters.
[648] It appears from the Notitia Dignitatum that troops of Attacotti were largely employed by the Romans on the Continent at the beginning of the fifth century. According to St Jerome (Adv. Iouinianum, II 7) the Attacotti were a British people; and they are mentioned by Ammianus Marcellinus (XXVI 4. 5; XXVII 8. 5) as ravaging the province of Britain, together with the Picts and Scots, in the reign of Valentinian I. It is commonly held that they belonged to the south of Scotland, though opinions differ as to whether they were Britons (properly speaking) or Picts of Galloway.
[649] This appears to be the view taken by Prof. Meyer (Gesch. d. Alt.2, I pp. 701, 719 f.). The problem will no doubt be discussed more fully in his next volume. Here I need only mention that the recent discoveries of wall-paintings at Tiryns and elsewhere seem to me to weigh rather heavily against the view that the inhabitants of these buildings were of a totally different nationality from the 'Minoan' Cretans. It is gradually becoming clear also that—contrary to what had been supposed at first—the use of writing was not unknown on the mainland; cf. Evans, Scripta Minoa, I p. 56 ff.
[650] Cf. especially Dörpfeld, Ath. Mitteilungen, XXXII 600 ff.
[651] Cf. Dörpfeld, Ath. Mitt., XXXII vi ff. Dr Dörpfeld however holds (ib., p. 595 ff.) that 'Late Minoan II' and 'Late Minoan III' were contemporaneous and assigns both styles to a period (B.C. 1400-1100) considerably later than English archaeologists will allow for the former.
[652] One of the chief arguments for this view is that the tombs show traces of cremation. But account must be taken of the possibility that they may have belonged to an earlier (Arcadian?) stratum of Greek population.
[653] Cf. Dawkins, Journ. Hell. St., XXVII 296, where it is suggested that the tomb first explored may have belonged possibly to the ancestors of Nestor.
[654] The great majority of the sherds found in the ruins of the citadel were of that monochrome type which has been met with elsewhere on the west coast of Greece (Leucas, Olympia, etc.) and which Dr Dörpfeld regards as the native pottery of the Achaeans; cf. Ath. Mitt., XXXII xv f. Some sherds of the same type were found in the tombs together with the remains of Mycenean vases. Only six fragments of Mycenean pottery were found in the citadel.
[655] This explanation is rejected by Dr Dörpfeld (Ath. Mitt., XXXIII 316); but there does not appear to be any definite evidence that the citadel was destroyed soon after the construction of the tombs.
[656] The general effect of recent discoveries has been to bring out a closer resemblance between the Cretan and mainland deposits than had hitherto been suspected (cf. Evans, Scripta Minoa, I p. 55 f.). The affinities too are by no means confined to portable objects. In particular note should be taken of the wall-paintings at Thebes and elsewhere—more especially those recently discovered at Tiryns, which belong to two distinct periods (cf. Rodenwaldt, Ath. Mitt., XXXVI 198 ff.). The resemblance of these to similar paintings from Crete is very marked, yet perhaps scarcely sufficient as yet to prove that the possessors of Tiryns were of Cretan origin.
[657] For the Aegean connections of the sea-peoples see p. [190] f. Account is also to be taken of the deposits found in the foreign settlements at Gurob and elsewhere in the Fayum, to which belonged the tomb of An-Tursha ('Pillar of the Tursha or Thuirsha'). These deposits cover a period of about two centuries, from the reign of Amenhotep III to that of Sety II or slightly later—a period corresponding practically to that in which we find historical references to the sea-peoples. They contained many stirrup-vases and other objects of Aegean origin. A peculiar custom which prevailed here was that of burning a man's personal effects—presumably at death—in a hole cut in the floor of the house. No human remains were found in these holes, the bodies being buried in cemeteries according to Egyptian fashion; but it has been suggested that the practice may have been due to a former custom of cremation (cf. Petrie, Illahun, Kahun and Gurob, p. 16 ff.).
[658] When Shardina alone are mentioned account must of course be taken of the possibility that this name is representative of a class. The Egyptian mercenaries, like those of the Hittites and Libyans, may really have been drawn from a number of similar peoples who were collectively known under the name which had first become familiar in Egypt.
[659] Cf. the quotation given above, p. [247], note 6.
[660] I am not aware that representations of Shardina have yet been found in Crete. Note must be taken however of the porcelain fragment found in the third shaft-grave at Mycenae (cf. p. [191], note 4). The date of these shaft-graves can scarcely be much later than that of the destruction of the palace at Cnossos. Indeed it appears to be the prevalent view at present that they date from 'Late Minoan I,' i.e. before the palace-period; cf. Forsdyke, Journ. Hell. St., XXXI 116, Hall, ib., 119. If this is correct the porcelain fragment must of course be much older than the earliest Egyptian references to the Shardina.
[661] The use of the word ḳrn·t in the great Karnak inscription of Merenptah has given rise to much disagreement among Egyptologists. Prof. Breasted (Ancient Records, Egypt, III p. 247 note) understands from it that the Shardina and their confederates were circumcised. But the allusion is clearly to something which differentiated these peoples from the Libyans. The Libyans themselves however are believed to have practised circumcision (cf. Meyer, Gesch. d. Alt.2, I § 167).
[662] Cf. pp. 190 (note 2), 247. For further references see Hall, Journ. Hell. St., XXXI 119 ff. In particular note should be taken of the fact that the feather head-dress is worn by Ionian or Carian mercenaries on a monument of Sennacherib (ib., p. 122 f.). Sir A. J. Evans (op. cit., pp. 24 ff., 285 ff.) attributes the Phaistos disk—on which this type of head-dress first occurs—to the south-west of Asia Minor. In this connection however it is perhaps worth calling to mind that according to Thucydides (I 4, 8; cf. Herodotus, I 171) the Cyclades also were originally inhabited by Carians. The reference is perhaps properly to the Leleges, a people who may have been nearly related to the Lycians.
[663] The Pulesatha are represented as beardless, whereas many of the Shardina wear beards. More important however is the difference in physiognomy between the two types. It has been observed that the Pulesatha approximate very closely to the Greek type of classical times.
[664] Attempts have been made to find traces of the Shardina in the 'nuraghi' of Sardinia and the burial-places adjacent to them; but, so far as I am aware, no definite evidence in favour of this connection has yet been obtained beyond the fact that a number of statuettes with horned helmets have been found in the island. The chief argument against the western origin of the Shardina is the absence of evidence, either in history or tradition, for movements of population or even for cultural influence from this quarter—at least until Roman times—whereas evidence is abundant not only for cultural influence in the reverse direction but also for settlements both of 'Illyrians' and Greeks in Italy. On the other hand it is perhaps worth noting that a helmet somewhat similar to that of the Shardina survived in historical times among the Thracians (cf. Herodotus VII 76). Further, from Il. XIII 576 f. we may probably infer that the Thracian peoples had early become famous for the manufacture of weapons. Influence from this quarter may have made its way into Greece by more than one channel. But it should be observed that Homeric poetry shows some acquaintance with the districts to the north of Epeiros and Thessaly. In particular note should be taken of certain personal names derived from names of peoples in this region, e.g. Πελάγων, Ὀρέστης, Θυέστης. It is perhaps not without significance that the two latter of these occur in the most important of the Achaean families, while the antiquity of the last is guaranteed by the aspirate (as against Δυέσται).
[665] The extent of these movements may be estimated by the number of names which occur both in the Balkan peninsula and on the east side of the Aegean, e.g. Brygoi (Phryges), Dardanoi, Moisoi (Mysoi), Mygdones, Sintoi (Sinties), Pelasgoi; and it is not to be overlooked that on the European side most of these names occur in the basins of the Axios and Strymon or the region between them. Attention should be paid also to the common element in place-names, more especially to those (e.g. Πέργαμος) which occur in the islands (Crete, etc.) as well as in the two areas under discussion; for they seem to indicate that the movements from the Balkan peninsula were not confined to the Asiatic mainland. Even in Asia Minor itself however the Thraco-Phrygian movements may at first have affected a much larger area than that in which languages of this type survived in historical times. Herodotus (I 171) states that on the ground of common ancestry the Carians allowed Lydians and Mysians to use the temple at Mylasa—a privilege which they did not concede to other peoples, even to those who spoke the same language as themselves. This passage is usually interpreted as pointing to a traditional religious federation of the indigenous peoples. But it is a serious objection to this view that the Mysians were clearly of European origin. If the Lydian and Carian languages were non-Indo-European, as is commonly believed, they may have been taken over from indigenous peoples such as the Caunioi, whose language was similar to that of the Carians and who seem to have been among the peoples excluded from the temple at Mylasa. The possibility that the Carian language belonged originally to the Caunioi is suggested by Herodotus himself.
[666] In particular note may be taken of the absence of national names for the populations of several of the most important kingdoms; cf. p. [389], note.
[667] It may be observed also that some seven centuries elapsed between the settlement of the Servians on the lower Danube and the beginning of their (first) Heroic Age. This latter period was of course accompanied by an extension of the area occupied by the Servians, though the newly won territories were subsequently lost through the Turkish conquest.
[668] Vand. II 6: ἐθνῶν γὰρ ἁπάντων ὧν ἴσμεν ἡμεῖς ἁβρότατον μὲν τὸ τῶν Βανδίλων.... βαλανείοις τε οἱ ξύμπαντες ἐπεχρῶντο ἐς ἡμέραν ἑκάστην καὶ τραπέζῃ ἅπασιν εὐθηνούσῃ, ὅσα δὴ γῆ τε καὶ θάλασσα ἥδιστά τε καὶ ἄριστα φέρει. ἐχρυσοφόρουν δὲ ὡς ἐπὶ πλεῖστον, καὶ Μηδικὴν ἐσθῆτα, ἣν νῦν Σηρικὴν καλοῦσιν, ἀμπεχόμενοι.... καὶ ᾤκηντο μὲν αὐτῶν οἱ πολλοὶ ἐν παραδείσοις, ὑδάτων καὶ δένδρων εὖ ἔχουσι, κ.τ.λ.
[669] We may compare the force led by Agamemnon against Troy and the great mixed host encountered by Rameses III (cf. p. [188]).