"The basis of a semi-column of greenish marble with wreathed stripes in relief; further, the fragment of a half round column with a zigzag decoration; stone tables, the one of greenish, the other of lustrous red colour, a third of white marble, all with a relief ornamentation in the form of muscles, fans or spiral lines, which are distinguished by sharply and neatly chiselled outlines; finally, a red marble slab, which Gell found in a neighbouring chapel."

No. 24. The first of the Tombstones found above the Sepulchres in the Acropolis. Size 8:100.

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CHAPTER III.

HISTORY OF MYCENÆ AND THE FAMILY OF PELOPS.

THE SEPULCHRES OF AGAMEMNON AND HIS COMPANIONS.

Traditional foundation of Mycenæ by Perseus—His dynasty succeeded by the Pelopids—The legend of their crimes unknown to Homer and Hesiod—The Homeric story of Agamemnon's murder by Ægisthus and Clytemnestra, avenged by Orestes—Cycle of crimes devised by the later bards—Dominion of Agamemnon—End of the dynasty at Mycenæ with Ægisthus—Orestes and his sons—The Dorian invasion—Part taken by Mycenæ in the Persian wars—The Argives besiege and take Mycenæ—The walls of the citadel preserved from religious reverence—Homeric epithets of Mycenæ—Its "abundance of gold" confirmed by Thucydides—The Treasuries of the Pelopids mentioned by Pausanias—Treasury at the Heræum, near Mycenæ—Probable existence of another Treasury at Mycenæ.

The Royal Sepulchres described by Pausanias—General misinterpretation of the passage—Experimental shafts sunk there in February 1874—Excavations begun, August 7, 1876—Porter's lodge at the Lions' Gate—The later habitation of the city after 468 B.C.—No coins of Mycenæ known—Remains below this first stratum—Painted archaic vases, like those at Tiryns—The vases almost all made on the potter's wheel—Female idols and cows of terra-cotta—Other idols and animals—Iron knives and curious keys of a later period—Bronze knives and arrow-heads—Stone implements and other objects—A little gold and much lead found—Fragments of a lyre and flute—Plates of ornamented terra-cotta for lining walls—Cyclopean house-walls—A remarkable water-conduit—Twelve tomb-like reservoirs—Two tombstones with bas-reliefs, probably of the same epoch as that over the Lions' Gate.