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 THE USES OF SYMBOLISM 
 IN GREEK ART 
 
 A DISSERTATION 
 
 PRESENTED TO THE FACULTY OF BRYN MAWR COLLEGE IN PARTIAL 
 
 FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE DEGREE 
 
 OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY 
 
 BY 
 
 JANET M. MACDONALD 
 
 CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 
 1922
 
 THE USES OF SYMBOLISM 
 IN GREEK ART 
 
 A DISSERTATION 
 
 PRESENTED TO THE FACULTY OF BRYN MAWR COLLEGE IN PARTIAL 
 
 FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE DEGREE 
 
 OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY 
 
 BY 
 
 JANET M. MACDONALD 
 
 - 
 
 . 
 
 CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 
 1922
 
 Copyright ig22 By 
 Beyn Mawr College 
 
 All Rights Reserved 
 
 Published January 1923 
 
 . • •• 
 
 • < » „ * • « 
 
 Composed and Printed By 
 
 The University of Chicago Press 
 
 Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.
 
 Art 
 
 Library 
 
 ft 
 
 OUTLINE 
 
 CHAPTER PACE 
 
 I. Introduction i 
 
 II. Various Classes of Symbols 3 
 
 Group I: (i) Attributive; (2) Representative; (3) Canting; (4) Com- 
 mercial; (5) Agonistic; (6) Personification: (a) Concrete objects. 
 
 Group II: (6) Personification: (b) Pure abstractions, (c) .Allegory; 
 (7) Analogy; (8) Physical terms for spiritual ideas; (9) Cause for 
 effect; (10) Effect for cause. 
 Group III: (11) Apotropaic; (12) Necrological; (13) Astronomical. 
 
 III. The Uses of Symbolism 16 
 
 I. Identification: (1) Of deities; (2) Of demi-gods and heroes; 
 (3) Of occupations; (4) Of race; (5) Of time; (6) Of place; 
 (7) Of mint ; (8) Of monetary value. 
 
 II. System of Shorthand: (1) To indicate landscape; (2) To sug- 
 gest a narrative. 
 
 III. Expression of Abstract Ideas and Emotions 
 
 IV. Allusion to Historical Events 
 I 
 
 V. Protection against Evil 
 
 a 
 
 IV. Relation of Symbols to the Medium 32 
 
 x 
 
 W (a) Sculpture in the round; (b) Relief sculpture; (c) Vase-painting; 
 
 (d) Major art of painting; (e) Coins; (/) Gems; (g) Terra cottas; 
 (h) Architecture. 
 
 V. Comparison of Greek Symbolism with the Symbolism of Other 
 
 Countries 39 
 
 I. Obvious Similarities 
 
 II. Differences 
 
 III. Reasons for Differences 
 
 Conclusion 49 
 
 Bibliography 51 
 
 Abbreviations 55 
 
 Vita 56 
 
 in 
 
 216395
 
 CHAPTER I 
 
 INTRODUCTION 
 
 Greek art has been discussed in general and in detail by 
 archaeologists; but whether the investigation has been from the 
 categorical or aesthetic point of view, no one element of that art 
 has been so generally taken for granted and so little analyzed as 
 symbolism. Everyone accepts as unquestioned the assumption 
 that personification occurs in Greek art and that gods were known 
 by their attributes (e.g., Zeus by his thunderbolt), but up to the 
 present time little has been done in classifying the various kinds of 
 symbolism or in indicating what use was made of symbols by the 
 Greek artist and artisan. 
 
 The purpose of this dissertation is fourfold. First, to note 
 the various genera of symbols found in Greek art from the sixth 
 century before Christ to the Graeco-Roman age; 1 second, to 
 ascertain to what uses these symbols were put; third, to discover 
 the relation of the medium to the types of symbols used; fourth, 
 to suggest possible relationships between the Greek treatment of 
 symbolism and that of other nations. 
 
 As a preliminary step, it will be necessary to understand clearly 
 what is meant by a symbol. " Symbol " is used, not in the restricted 
 sense of the numismatists, 2 but in a broader sense. The use of a 
 symbol implies that the object depicted does not carry merely its 
 own material signification, but represents some idea broader and 
 more comprehensive than itself. 3 For example, the rose of Rhodian 
 
 1 1 have set the fall of Corinth in 146 B.C. as the practical limit of Greek work, but 
 I shall not hesitate to include works which may belong to a slightly later date, if they 
 seem to corroborate any given point. 
 
 J Cf. Macdonald, Coin Types, p. 3, "The mark whose presence constitutes a coin 
 is spoken of by numismatists as a 'type,' while the word 'symbol' is used to denote 
 any secondary device which may appear side by side with the main type without 
 being linked to it by any organic connection." 
 
 3 Goblet D'Alviella, The Migration of Symbols, Preface, p. 2, affirms that a " Symbol 
 only requires that it shall have certain features in common with the object represented, 
 so that by its presence alone it may evoke the conception of the latter."
 
 2 THE USES OF SYMBOLISM IN GREEK ART 
 
 coins is not a mere botanical specimen, but is the intellectual 
 concept of a city which, because its name was similar in sound to 
 the name of the flower, adopted that particular flower as the 
 symbol to indicate the city. In another instance, the thunderbolt 
 of Zeus on coins of Elis is not a phenomenon of nature realistically 
 depicted, but is, rather, a means of representing the dread power 
 and awe-inspiring authority of a deity who ruled the sky and whose 
 wrath could take vengeance with the swift thunderbolt. 
 
 An exhaustive catalogue of all the symbols found in Greek art 
 is not possible within the limits of this dissertation. Since the 
 attributes of the gods alone would fill several volumes if every 
 known instance were cited, only suggestive examples have been 
 listed. No attempt has been made to discuss the psychological 
 basis for any symbols, the libido theory of Freud and Jung has not 
 been treated here. 
 
 Many of the genera of symbols, such as personification, have 
 already been popularly recognized, but to others purely arbitrary 
 terms have been applied in this dissertation. In any such classifica- 
 tion groups may overlap and one symbol can perhaps be interpreted 
 in several ways. Furthermore, a single work of art, such as a 
 vase painting, may contain a very large variety of symbols from the 
 different classes. 
 
 Finally, it seems advisable to call attention to the fact that 
 symbols appear more frequently on vases, coins, and gems than in 
 the major arts. The reason for this phenomenon will be discussed 
 in chapter iv.
 
 CHAPTER II 
 
 VARIOUS CLASSES OF SYMBOLS 
 
 A preliminary distinction must be drawn between symbolism 
 as an artistic device and symbolism as an accidental part of the 
 pictorial content. For instance, a vase painting representing some 
 ritual scene may include the representation of various ritual objects 
 of a symbolic nature; but the symbolism here is not artistic symbol- 
 ism, because it has no artistic function to perform, it is merely a 
 casual part of the pictorial content. So stated, this distinction 
 should be clear and obvious. There will, however, be cases where 
 the distinction may prove somewhat difficult to apply. In a vase 
 painting of Athena an owl may occur. In so far as the owl is there 
 in order to identify Athena for the spectator, it is clearly an artistic 
 symbol; but in so far as the owl is due merely to some ritualistic 
 association, its occurrence will be none of our concern. In particu- 
 lar, we shall not consider the implications of symbolic objects that 
 have to do with the study of Greek magic, or ritual, or folk-lore, 
 except in so far as these objects have some artistic function to 
 perform. Our test will always be, "Does the represented object 
 stand for any object or idea, other than itself, which is necessary 
 to the artist's intention ? " If the answer to this question is in the 
 affirmative, we shall conclude that the symbolism is in the art 
 and not merely in the idea represented. 
 
 The symbols found in Greek art may be divided into three 
 groups according to the kinds of ideas which are involved. The 
 various classes of symbols under each of these main groups exhibit 
 the different methods employed to express these ideas. 
 
 The first group 1 comprises symbols which stand for literal and 
 concrete objects, such as the sea, the land, a city or state, a river, 
 a deity. The symbols belonging to this group are classed as 
 
 1 The lack of corresponsion in the form of various terms is due to the fact that, 
 wherever terms have already been adopted, I have used them, to avoid the pedantry 
 of coining new names. For instance, canting and personification are well known, 
 therefore I have kept both terms, although one is an adjective and the other a noun.
 
 4 THE USES OF SYMBOLISM IN GREEK ART 
 
 attributive, representative, canting, commercial, and agonistic. 
 Personification, owing to its twofold nature, forms the link between 
 the first group and the next. 
 
 The second group comprises symbols which deal with abstract 
 ideas or with emotions — fertility, power, purification, fear, pain, 
 and the like. These ideas and emotions are generally expressed 
 by substituting some object which has sufficient features in common 
 with the original to awaken by association the conception of that 
 larger idea or emotion. For instance, the idea of fertility was so 
 closely interwoven in the primitive mind with the phallus that the 
 mere appearance of the phallus served to recall immediately the 
 more abstract conception. The symbols belonging to this group 
 are classed under the headings of analogy, physical for spiritual, 
 cause for effect and effect for cause, and include the second form of 
 personification mentioned in the preceding paragraph. 
 
 The third group includes symbols which give expression to some 
 idea of magic. The symbols in this group are classed as apotropaic, 
 necrological, and astronomical. 
 Group i Attributive symbols consist of various accessory objects worn 
 
 or held by given figures, or displayed in conjunction with them, 
 for the purpose of distinguishing or differentiating some being, 
 human or divine. This genus of symbols has long been recognized 
 in Greek art, even though no specific name may have been applied 
 to it. By aegis, armor, snake, or owl, Athena can be easily identified, 
 whether on the Varvakeion statuette (B.B., Pis. 39, 40), or on the 
 cylix by Euphronios representing Theseus at the court of Amphitrite 
 (F.R., I, PI. 5). By thunderbolt, scepter, and eagle, Zeus is 
 recognized on the Pergamene frieze (Baumeister, II, 1252 f., PL 
 XXXVII), or in the bronze statuettes from Olympia (Olymp. 
 Pub., IV, PL VIII, 44, and VII, 45). The Aphrodite Genetrix of 
 the Louvre is known by the pomegranate or apple (B.B., PL 473); 
 on the Meidian group of vases the same goddess is identified by a 
 poppy or an accompanying Eros. The accoutrements of war 
 prove the identification of the god Ares in the famous Ludovisi 
 statue (ibid., PL 388). Hermes' petasos, kerykeion, and sandals 
 are too well known to require any references to illustrations. 
 Poseidon's ordinary attribute is the trident, but sometimes a fish 
 
 Attributive
 
 VARIOUS CLASSES OF SYMBOLS 5 
 
 is added or even a horse: on the famous Kertch vase showing the 
 contest of Athena and Poseidon (C.R., Atlas [1872], PI. I = Reinach, 
 Vases, I, 37) all of his attributes appear. Apollo is usually known 
 by the bow, lyre, or tripod, according as the artist is representing 
 the "Far-Darter," the god of music, or the god of prophecy. But 
 on the Vatican hydria, commonly attributed to Brygos, all three 
 attributes are used: Apollo is seated on a winged tripod which 
 travels over the sea, he has a quiver on his back, and he carries a 
 lyre (Mon. d. Inst., I, PI. XLVI = Reinach, Vases, I, 79). l Nor do 
 gods alone possess such attributes, but demigods, heroes, and 
 mortals are likewise distinguished by some peculiar accessory. 
 Among demigods we need only cite the well-known figure of Heracles 
 with his lion skin and club, e.g., on the Geryon cup of Euphronios 
 (F.R., I, PI. 22). The Palladion which Diomedes stole from Troy 
 furnishes a clue to the identity of that hero on a vase from Ruvo 
 {Mon. d. Inst., II, PI. XXXV = Reinach, Vases, I, 102). A house- 
 wife is known on Greek grave-reliefs by the basket of wool at her 
 side (stele of Mynno, Gardner, Sculp. Tombs, p. 157, Fig. 62); 
 the Discobolos of Myron (B.B., PI. 256), the Apoxyomenos of 
 Lysippos {ibid., PI. 281), and the Oil-Pourer in Munich {ibid., PI. 
 132) are examples of athletes known by the attributes of discus, 
 strigil, or oil flask. 
 
 This type of symbolism developed early in the repertoire of 
 primitive Greek art, because there were so few anthropomorphic 
 types available, in fact only two — the nude male and the draped 
 female. Apparently, drapery was among the earliest means of 
 classification by attribute. With sex thus indicated by drapery 
 or the lack of it, the artist was confronted by the problem of creating 
 from these two types a series of stock characters identified by vary- 
 ing attributes. In the representation of a myth or a scene from 
 daily life these distinctive attributes would preclude the possibility 
 of mistake or uncertainty in the identification of the participants 
 in the scene. 
 
 On the one hand, Greek art dealt with definite and concrete 
 figures of gods and men and not, like much modern art, with vague 
 
 1 For more complete lists of the attributes of these and other gods, compare 
 Roscher's Lexikon under the name of each deity.
 
 tive 
 
 6 THE USES OF SYMBOLISM IN GREEK ART 
 
 illusory ideas whose creators find fault with that bold critic who asks 
 for "subject" when he should be content with "line" or "color." 
 Yet on the other hand, Greek artists of the earlier periods, since 
 they were not realists nor portrait painters, had to identify their 
 characters not by some individual quirk of eyebrow, droop of 
 mouth, or set of ear, but by accessories. Thus, from the limitations 
 of primitive art, there grew up naturally this method of granting 
 to the actors, either in heroic myth or in daily life, some attributes 
 peculiar to themselves which for all practical purposes constituted 
 a pictographic inscription labeling the character, 
 i. Represent*- Representative symbols are those which emphasize some detail, 
 
 small in itself but distinctive of the whole, for the purpose of 
 suggesting some larger object or idea. Owing to the nature of the 
 thought, comprehensive ideas could not be translated directly into 
 artistic terms because of limitations in craftmanship or in the 
 medium. In later art convention demanded the retention of the 
 same symbols. Since the small space of a vase or coin and the 
 exigencies of Greek artistic canons made difficult the drawing of a 
 whole landscape, some method of suggesting land or water had to 
 be found which could conform to the area available. Thus, by a 
 very natural association of ideas a fish, octopus, sea-serpent, or fish- 
 tailed monster suggested the sea. 1 On the cylix by Exekias showing 
 Dionysos sailing, the sea is inferred from the presence of dolphins 
 (F.R., PI. 42) ; on Syracusan coins the Arethusa head is surrounded 
 by dolphins to indicate salt water (Hill, Coins of Sicily, Nos. 1-3, 
 frontispiece) ; and on the reliefs of the Heroon at Trysa a fish and 
 a turtle mark the sea into which Theseus hurls Sciron (Reinach, 
 Reliefs, I, 459). In the same way, land is represented by a tree, 
 a shrub, or an animal: on the Francois vase (F.R., I, PI. 13), in the 
 register showing the Dance of Theseus, two plants indicate land; 
 in a scene on a Caeretan hydria [Mon. d. Inst., VI-VII, PI. 
 LXXVII = Reinach, Vases, I, 162) a fish represents water, while 
 land is indicated by means of trees and a rabbit. Because of a 
 similar association of ideas, air can be represented by a winged 
 
 1 Goblet D'Alviella, Migration of Symbols, p. 12, mentions this as "symbolism so 
 natural that it does not belong to any definite region or place, but constitutes a char- 
 acteristic feature of humanity in a certain phase of development."
 
 VARIOUS CLASSES OF SYMBOLS 7 
 
 creature, such as the eagle under the feet of the Nike of Paeonios 
 (B.B., Pis. 444, 445). 
 
 Another sort of representative symbol is seen in the drawing of 
 houses and temples. The limited knowledge of perspective made 
 the drawing of buildings a difficult task, and consequently the 
 Greeks often used one or two columns to represent the whole 
 building. Many instances of this may be seen on vase paintings. 
 In other cases a column served to indicate a race-course: on a vase 
 from Ruvo in the Hermitage (C.R., Atlas (1862), PL IV = Reinach, 
 Vases, I, 12) men on horseback race between two columns which 
 flank the scene. By the same sort of symbolism a ship or part of a 
 ship might suggest a naval battle: the Nike of Samothrace, because 
 she is standing on the prow of a ship, represents not merely a victory, 
 but specifically a naval victory (B.B., PI. 85). 
 
 A third type of symbol, 1 which usually has been termed canting, 3. canting 
 is quite frequent upon coins, and indeed is largely limited to that 
 field of art. 2 This type involves a pun or play upon words. Such 
 a play upon the name of their city was adopted by many Greek 
 states to distinguish their mint. Characteristic examples of this 
 group are the use of the rose (podov) at Rhodes (Head, H.N., pp. 
 637 f.); the seal (<f>6)Kr)) at Phocaea (ibid., pp. 587 f.); the bee 
 (jue'Xirra) at Melitaea (ibid., pp. 301 f.); the pomegranate (alSri) 
 at Side (ibid., p. 703); and Aeneas carrying Anchises, at Aeneia 
 (ibid., p. 214). 3 
 
 Closely akin to this type is one which not only identifies the 4 . commercial 
 mint, but advertises the city's trade. This type of symbol may be 
 termed commercial, because it represents some object suggestive 
 of trade and commerce — perhaps an article or export peculiar to a 
 given city. In this group may be included the silphium of Cyrene 
 (ibid., pp. 865 f.) which formed a staple article of trade in the 
 
 1 The following three classes of symbols are chiefly confined to coins. 
 
 2 It is possible that the Aphrodite of Melos may contain a canting element — if one 
 concedes that the hand with an apple found beside the statue belongs to it. In that 
 case, the apple (fxfjXov) in the hand of the goddess might be a play on the name of the 
 island as well as an allusion to the functional attributes of Aphrodite. For other 
 instances in sculpture, cf. Gardner, Tombs of Hellas, p. 130. 
 
 3 The representation of Aeneas may be a hint at the legend that the city was 
 founded by the Trojan hero, but it can also bear canting significance.
 
 8 THE USES OF SYMBOLISM IN GREEK ART 
 
 commerce of that city, and the ear of corn of Metapontum {ibid., 
 p. 75). The latter symbol has been claimed as an attribute of 
 Demeter or Apollo; yet, granting this, there seems no adequate 
 reason why it could not simultaneously refer to trade in that article ; 
 it is an open question which would be the earlier significance — 
 religious or commercial. The wine cup and grapes of Naxos 
 (ibid., p. 488) may likewise belong here, though referring at the 
 same time to the worship of Dionysus who was especially revered 
 in that city. Probably the Bacchic types on the coins of Mende 
 (ibid., p. 211) carry a similar suggestion of the famous wine of that 
 city. Certainly the tunny fish of Cyzicus (ibid., pp. 522 f.) must 
 be an example of the commercial type, and the wine jar for Chios 
 (ibid., pp. 599 f.) probably refers to the far-famed Chian wine. 
 Concerning the mussel shell of Cumae, Head notes (ibid., p. 37), 
 "The mussel shell is a remarkable example of the irapda-rjfxov of a 
 city, borrowed from among the natural products of the locality. 
 The shallow salt lakes of Avernus and Lucrinus are particularly 
 adapted to the cultivation of shellfish." 1 
 s. Agonistic Other cities chose to advertise themselves by putting upon 
 
 their coins the suggestion of various agonistic victories which had 
 fallen to their lot. This type of symbol is commonly called agonistic 
 and it is employed for the glorification, not only of cities, but of 
 individual rulers. Coins of Rhegium have a mule car driven by 
 a bearded charioteer (ibid., p. 108) which on the authority of 
 Aristotle (ap. J. Pollux, V, 75) connects the coin with the Olympic 
 victory won by Anaxilas of Rhegium. The victorious quadriga on 
 the coins of Agrigentum (Head, H.N., pp. 121 f.) is certainly 
 indicative of victory in the games and may have been adopted in 
 honor of Exainetos of Agrigentum who, having won a victory in 
 the Olympic games in 412 B.C., was brought into his native city 
 escorted by 300 bigae drawn by white horses (Diod. xiii. 82). The 
 chariot and Nike on Syracusan coins (Head, H.N., pp. 171 f.) 
 must refer to the agonistic victories of Syracuse, whether or not 
 it can be proved that they definitely commemorate any particular 
 victory of Gelon or Hieron. 
 
 ' Even at the present day the oysters from this region are prized throughout 
 Italy.
 
 VARIOUS CLASSES OF SYMBOLS o 
 
 This agonistic type is, for the most part, confined to coins and 
 is particularly frequent on those of Sicily. I suggest, however, 
 that the athletic subjects on pan-Athenaic amphorae may be a 
 further example of this type of symbol, and the fighting cocks on 
 the arm of the throne of the priest of Dionysos in the great theater 
 at Athens must also be classed here, since the cocks are symbolic 
 of the contests over which the priest's god was supposed to preside. 
 
 Two forms of personification occur in Greek art. In the first °- Personifica- 
 an actual and concrete object, such as a river or spring, is given ./"concrete 
 animal or human form since its own nature cannot be represented objects 
 literally on vase or coin or statue in the round. This type belongs 
 to the first main group of symbols. The second type of personifica- 
 tion is composed of pure abstractions, such as Victory, Madness, 
 or Love, which must be reduced to some tangible form in order to 
 receive artistic representation. This type belongs to the second 
 main group of symbols. 
 
 As an example of the first type, the river Gelas is represented 
 as a man-headed bull on the coins of Gela {ibid., p. 140, Fig. 73), 
 in connection with which it is interesting to note the literary evidence 
 for a statue of the river Gelas as a bull {Schol. Pind. Pyth., I, 185). 
 On the coins of Catana (Head, H.N., p. 130, Fig. 69) the embodi- 
 ment of the river as a man-headed bull is made more obvious by 
 the accessory fish and water-bird. But all personifications of 
 nature are not rendered by animal forms. There are human figures 
 such as the nymph Arethusa on coins of Syracuse (Hill, Coins of 
 Sicily, Nos. 1-3, frontispiece) representing the fountain of that 
 name, or the nude male figure of the river Alpheus in the pediment 
 of the Zeus temple at Olympia (Oly mpia Pub. ,111, Pis. XVIII-XXI), 
 or the Ilissus and Cephisus on the pediments of the Parthenon. 
 
 The symbols in the second main group are more subjective and Group 11 
 sophisticated, since they endeavor to represent, not a fact nor an ' ' f i0 n 0nifica " 
 object, but either an idea in itself complicated and abstract, or an b) Pure 
 emotion. That type of personification which deals with pure uons 
 abstractions belongs to this main group. Of these pure abstractions 
 possibly the most familiar are the Nike by Paeonios (B.B., Pis. 
 444, 445) and the Victory of Samothrace (ibid., PI. 85). Sleep 
 and Death tending the body of Sarpedon (Klein, Euphronios,
 
 io THE USES OF SYMBOLISM IN GREEK ART 
 
 p. 272) are familiar to all lovers of Greek vases. The innumerable 
 representations of Eros in all the fields of art testify to the popularity 
 of this personification. On a vase in Munich appears the figure of 
 Oistros or Madness (F.R., II, PI. 90) riding in the snake-chariot 
 of Medea, while the sorceress slays her hapless son. The kindred 
 figure of Mania is seen at a window in the background on a late 
 Italian vase by Assteas which shows the madness of Heracles 
 {Man. d. Inst., VIII, PL X = Reinach, Vases, I, 168). 1 On the group 
 of vases associated with the name of Meidias there are many 
 figures such as Peitho, Paidia, Eudaimonia, Eunomia, Himeros, 
 Pothos, Eris, Eros and others (Nicole, Meidias et le style fleuri 
 dans la ceramique attique). Dike and Adikia appear on a vase in 
 Vienna attributed to Pamphaios (Memorie, II, PL 4 = Reinach, 
 Vases, I, 353). It is difficult to determine how far these personifica- 
 tions are due to the artists and to the exigencies of their means of 
 pictorial expression, and how far they are merely the artist's 
 inheritance from poetry and from the anthropomorphising tendency 
 for which the Greek mind is so notorious. Clearly we cannot ascribe 
 to the artists such personifications as Sleep and Death, Victory, 
 Iris, Eros, Charon, and other similar poetically well-authenticated 
 figures (though, of course, the artists are largely responsible for 
 their eventual look and appearance). But there is much justifica- 
 tion for holding that the dramatists and the artists between them 
 are responsible for giving a concrete and physical embodiment to 
 many literary metaphors in which such abstractions as Madness, 
 Longing, Delight, and so on, were spoken of as persons. It should 
 be noted in this connection that the linguistic accident of gender 
 for all nouns is always a powerful incentive toward personification 
 just because all masculine nouns have to be spoken of as "he" 
 and all feminine as "she." 
 o Allegory After the climax of Greek art, in the period of decadence, a 
 
 further development of personification arose, which might be termed 
 allegory. This might be cited as a separate genus of symbols were 
 not the line of demarcation between the two too hazy and uncertain 
 to permit of making a distinct group. The distinction between 
 
 1 It seems possible that such figures as these may be borrowed from the drama; 
 for instance, Thanatos appears as an actor on the stage in the Alcestis of Euripides.
 
 VARIOUS CLASSES OF SYMBOLS n 
 
 allegory and symbolism is, after all, largely arbitrary. I should 
 like to suggest the following definition as practical and useful: 
 a symbol is always an accessory needed to complete our under- 
 standing of the main object which is concretely represented ; while 
 an allegory is a grouping of symbols such that the true meaning 
 is not represented at all, but must be inferred from the collocation 
 of symbols. In allegory, therefore, the symbolism is no longer 
 concerned with a simple figure, but manifests itself in a multiplicity 
 of accessory ideas likewise expressed by symbols. In the frieze of the 
 great altar of Zeus at Pergamon we see elaboration of detail which 
 would be foreign to art of the fifth century, in the Tyche of Antioch 
 (B.B., PI. 154) and Father Nile (ibid., PL 196) we find a more 
 complex symbolism than is in accord with the simpler ideals of the 
 best period. The central theme of the Tyche is the personification 
 of the genius of the city, but accessories combine to give a sophisti- 
 cated picture of the location of the city: thus the turreted crown 
 suggests the battlements of the wall, a boy beneath the feet of 
 Tyche suggests the river Orontes, even the turn of the body hints 
 that "the city was set upon the slope of a hill, bending forward 
 upon itself in the turn of a valley" (Gardner, Handbook, p. 486). 
 Similarly, personification is the dominant symbolism in the statue 
 of Father Nile; but the artist was not content with a simple 
 representation of the subject, but, to make unmistakable the 
 aquatic character, added waves on the base. The sphinx, croco- 
 diles, and reeds make certain the localization in Egypt, while the 
 cornucopia suggests the fertility resulting from the yearly overflow; 
 the sixteen little figures, certainly symbolic, have been interpreted 
 as the number of cubits of the maximum inundation of the Nile. 
 
 Another and quite distinct group of symbols developed out of 7 . Analogy 
 this same difficulty of giving artistic form to abstract ideas. Here 
 the solution of the problem was the representation, not of the 
 abstract idea personified, but of some concrete object closely allied 
 in significance; for instance, the idea of fertility cannot be literally 
 expressed, but the phallic sign commonly served to suggest it. 
 Accordingly, symbols by analogy are those which substitute a 
 simple and concrete object for a kindred abstract or complicated 
 idea. Thus a pig could indicate purification since that animal was
 
 12 THE USES OF SYMBOLISM IN GREEK ART 
 
 sacrificed in cathartic ceremonials. 1 But this would be an instance 
 of artistic symbolism only in so far as the artist desired to express 
 this idea of purification and was unable to picture it fully. The 
 pig would accordingly become a sort of attributive symbol, identify- 
 ing the character of the scene in the same way as a trident might 
 identify a person as Poseidon. So, on a vase illustrative of the 
 myth of Orestes (Mon. d. Inst., IV, PI. XLVIII = Reinach, Vases, 
 I, 132) purification from blood-guilt is indicated by the pig which 
 Apollo holds over the head of the matricide. 2 But in addition to 
 identifying the scene, such a symbol may have been intended to 
 suggest the whole Stimmung so that its artistic value would be much 
 more than a mere badge or label. So, the pomegranate or apple 
 may be a mere attributive symbol of Persephone, or Aphrodite, 
 or Hera, and yet at the same time be a symbol of fertility calling 
 up a much more abstract notion by analogy. Whether connected 
 with Hera, Aphrodite, or Persephone, the pomegranate or apple 
 seems to be indicative of fertility (cf. Hehn, Kulturpflanzen, pp. 
 237 f.). On a vase in Arezzo (F.R., II, PI. 67) the marriage of 
 Pelops and Hippodameia is symbolized in the mating of the birds 
 in the tree. 
 
 It seems possible that the Greeks also made use of color with a 
 symbolic connotation. We know from literary references that 
 colors did have some significance; for example, Apollo changed 
 from white to black the unlucky raven which bore to him the 
 message of the faithlessness of Koronis; the ship of Theseus which 
 returned from the expedition against the Minotaur was to carry 
 white or black sails according to the success or failure of the enter- 
 prise. It has long been recognized that the use of color on early 
 Greek sculpture is not realistic but decorative, and it may have had 
 a symbolic significance, the key of which is lost to us. Color 
 symbolism has been used in the art of other peoples, such as the 
 Mayas, North American Indians, and Chinese (Haddon, Evolution 
 in Art, p. 124), as well as in Christian art. In Mesopotamia the 
 seven stages of a ziggurat were each painted a different color, 
 
 1 Aeschylus, Eumenides 282 f., iroTalvtov yap 6v irpos karla deov, <t>oi/3ou KaOapp.ois 
 rjXadr) x oi Pokt6i>ois. 
 
 3 For further discussion of the connection of pig with purification, compare Harri- 
 son, Prolegomena, pp. 152 f.
 
 VARIOUS CLASSES OF SYMBOLS 13 
 
 "the colors being emblematic of the seven planets" (Handcock, 
 Mesopotamian Archaeology, p. 273). 
 
 An apparently subtle, but really very simple, type of symbolism 8. Physical 
 consists in the assumption of physical terms for ideas which are iJJUfJJ' 
 actually in the realm of spiritual affairs. Primitive man in his ideas 
 uncertainty as to future life invested the dead with supernatural 
 power and depicted this superiority by physical magnitude. As 
 evidence of this I may cite grave-reliefs where the heroized dead 
 seated on thrones receive the homage of diminutive survivors, as 
 on the Spartan Relief (B.B., PI. 227) and the Harpy Monument 
 {ibid., Pis. 146, 147). On the same principle, deities were 
 represented as of more than mortal stature, to correspond to their 
 superhuman power and strength. Behind this lies the concept 
 that colossal size is to human size as divine power is to mortal 
 power. Probably the same idea determines relative size of deities 
 and mortals on friezes like that of the Parthenon {Parth. Pub., 
 Pis. 7,7, and 34) and the sculptured architrave at Assos (B.B., Pis. 
 411 and 412) where the gods, being seated, are made relatively 
 larger, while the law of isocephalism is still observed. Possibly 
 this same idea was a factor in determining the proportions of the 
 gods in the pediments of the Aphaea temple at Aegina {ibid., Pis. 
 23-25, 26-28), of the Zeus temple at Olympia {Olymp. Pub., Ill, 
 Pis. XVIII-XXI), and of the Parthenon {Parth. Pub., Pis. 1 f. and 
 text, Figs. 9 and 27). The relation of gods to mortals is very 
 artistically adjusted to the mechanical restrictions of the shape 
 of the field by placing the gods in the middle of the pediment 
 where colossal size and central position combine to make the gods 
 the focus of attention. 
 
 The fact that ancient literature mentions the colossal size of so 
 li.any statues of gods, whether cult-images or not, gives further 
 proof that physical mass and size were used to indicate spiritual 
 force and power. Only a few of these many colossal statues need 
 be cited: a colossal wooden image by Endoios at Erythrae (Paus. 
 vii. 5, 9); the colossal Heracles by Onatas of Aegina {ibid., v. 
 25, 12); three colossal figures by Myron (Strabo xiv. 637); the 
 Athena Parthenos of Phidias (Plin. N.H. xxxvi. 18); Zeus at Elis 
 (Strabo viii. 353); Hera at Argos (Paus. ii. 17, 4); the Colossus at
 
 14 
 
 TEE USES OF SYMBOLISM IN GREEK ART 
 
 g. Cause for 
 effect 
 
 10. Effect for 
 cause 
 
 Group III 
 
 ii. Apotropaic 
 
 Rhodes (Plin. N.H. xxxiv. 41); Hera by Praxiteles (Paus. ix. 
 2, 7); Valour and Hellas by Euphranor (Plin. N.H. xxxiv. 77); 
 Zeus of Tarentum by Lysippos {ibid., xxxiv. 40); and the bronze 
 Heracles by Lysippos (Strabo vi. 278). 
 
 Two groups of symbols, in direct antithesis each to the other, 
 are ingenious and yet in keeping with the trend of primitive thought. 
 These two groups in which the symbols may indicate sensations 
 and emotions are not so frequent as the previously mentioned 
 types. The first of these groups comprises symbols which represent 
 the cause instead of the effect; in the second the symbol represents 
 the effect instead of the cause. 
 
 Under the first group come representations of an object which 
 could be the cause of a sensation or emotion: to suggest fear, a 
 bear is represented on terra-cotta lamps in Athens {Ath. Mitth., 
 XXVII [1902], p. 258); on the interior of the Sosias cylix (F.R., 
 III, PI. 123), the arrow at the left is a symbol of the pain from the 
 wound that is being bound up by the faithful friend. One would 
 expect this to be very common, but I have been unable to find many 
 instances of this type of symbol. 
 
 Under the second group we might put the Nereid figures (B.B., 
 Pis. 211-13) whose drapery connotes by suggestion the blowing of 
 the wind or the driving of the sea — ideas which could not be 
 represented sculpturally. The strong S-shaped sweep of the 
 drapery of Iris on the Parthenon pediment {Parth. Pub., PI. 3) 
 suggests that swiftness of movement which alone could create such 
 curves. The idea of speed and celerity of motion is proverbially 
 well expressed by the drapery of the Nike of Samothrace (B.B., 
 PI. 85) so that this statue must be included in the group of symbols 
 which represent the effect instead of the cause. By a similar use 
 of the reaction to suggest the stimulus, gestures may indicate 
 various emotions; for example, on the front of the Boston Counter- 
 part to the Ludovisi Throne the gestures of one figure indicate 
 joy, while the gestures of the companion figure denote sorrow 
 {Handbook of Museum of Fine Arts, p. 80). 
 
 The third and last main group of symbols gives expression to 
 ideas of magic. The class called apotropaic will include the pro- 
 phylactic eye which, whether on Ionic " Eye-cylices " or on shields,
 
 VARIOUS CLASSES OF SYMBOLS 15 
 
 serves as a magic sign to ward off evil spells. In all probability 
 the Gorgoneion, especially on armor, served a similar purpose, 
 and it is possible that both the prophylactic eye and the Gorgoneion 
 may have had their origin in primitive magic masks used in ritual 
 ceremonies to ward off evil spirits. 1 
 
 The snakes which appear so frequently on early Greek stelae 
 belong to a second class of magical symbols which we may term 
 necrological. It seems probable that the presence of the snake l2 - Nosological 
 suggests superhuman power on the part of the dead, whether 
 that power consists merely of immortality or of the actual ability 
 to work weal or woe to the survivors (cf. Harrison, Themis, p. 271). 
 
 Among magical symbols we must also include astronomical 13- Astronomical 
 symbols. Among the Greeks, as among other peoples of the ancient 
 world, there was a belief that some connection existed between the 
 heavenly bodies and mankind. This connection was supposed 
 to be particularly close in the case of the planets and the signs of 
 the zodiac. Euripides, in a fragment, mentions Hippo, the daughter 
 of Chiron, foretelling the future from the stars. The astronomical 
 symbols most frequently occur on Greek coins and when so used 
 are supposed to indicate critical periods or festival seasons. On 
 coins of Sinope a dolphin and an eagle appear, and here the dolphin 
 has been interpreted as the constellation adjacent to Aquila 
 (Thompson, Glossary of Greek Birds, p. 4); on coins of Mende a 
 crow and an ass are found, and Thompson connects this with "the 
 constellation Corvus which sets shortly after Cancer with which 
 the ass is associated" (Thompson, op. cit., p. 91); the coins of 
 Agrigentum with eagle and hare on the obverse and eagle and serpent 
 as accessories on the reverse are supposed to have similar reference 
 to the respective constellations (Thompson, op. cit., p. 8). On a 
 cameo in St. Petersburg we find Taurus and the Pleiades grouped 
 together (Harrison, Themis, pp. 205-6, Fig. 53). It is not within 
 the scope of this thesis to do more than call attention to the existence 
 of this group of magical symbols in Greek art, since for the most 
 part they are not artistic symbols but mere pictures of objects in a 
 symbolic context (cf. p. 3). 
 
 1 Cf. Roscher, Lexikon, under "Phobos" for the theory of an early personification 
 of fear, and its relation to the Gorgoneion.
 
 CHAPTER III 
 THE USES OF SYMBOLISM 
 
 In the preceding chapter we have taken cognizance of the 
 various classes of symbols; we must now carry the investigation 
 further in order to discover the uses to which these symbols were 
 put and the purpose which they served. 1 
 
 i. identification One of the most frequent and important functions of symbolism 
 
 is identification. This is to be found employed in connection with 
 (i) gods, (2) heroes, (3) various occupations of daily life, and (4) 
 indications of time and place of action. 
 
 1. of deities The symbols which serve to identify deities are the most easily 
 
 recognized and the most frequent in occurrence. As we stated 
 above (p. 5), there were practically only two anthropomorphic 
 types available for the primitive Greek artist — the nude male and 
 the draped female. The artist was therefore compelled to resort 
 to symbolism in order to differentiate his divine figures. That 
 attributes do actually serve to identify the gods may be readily 
 proved by the consideration of one or two instances. The bronze 
 figurines of Zeus found at Olympia (Olymp. Pub., IV, PI. VIII, 44, 
 and VII, 45) are merely variants on the ordinary nude male type, 
 common throughout Greek art of the sixth and fifth centuries. 
 That these statuettes represent the Father of Gods and Men is 
 indicated, not by supernatural beauty of form or visage, nor by 
 supernal dignity, but by the presence of the thunderbolt which 
 once and for all settles the question of identity. At a much more 
 advanced period of art, the Pergamene frieze (B.B., PI. 483) shows 
 Zeus identified by the same symbol. True, art by this period had 
 established an artistic conception for the representation of Zeus 
 (Gardner, Principles, p. 92), yet religious conservatism often caused 
 the retention of symbols when artistic procedure had outgrown the 
 
 1 The material of this chapter will be largely a repetition or re-citation of the 
 evidence used in the previous chapter, but in a different context. The investigation 
 was concerned in chap, ii with type or kind, in the present chapter with function. 
 
 16
 
 THE USES OF SYMBOLISM 17 
 
 need of them. Other deities are distinguished in the same manner. 
 On the Kertch vase with the contest of Athena and Poseidon 
 (C.R., Alias [1872], PI. I = Reinach, Vases, I, 37) the two deities are 
 recognizable by their attributes: Athena by shield, spear, aegis, 
 snake, and olive tree; 1 Poseidon by trident, fish, and horse. On 
 various cyclices showing the judgment of Paris (Gardner, Prin- 
 ciples, chap. XVIII, pp. 296 f.), the three contesting goddesses are 
 distinguished by their attributes, and without such characteristic 
 features it would be impossible to tell Aphrodite from Hera or 
 Athena. 
 
 Sometimes a deity might be identified by attributes character- 
 istic of one function and sometimes by those of another. Thus, 
 Artemis may be depicted in any one of three aspects: as irbrvio. 
 drjpuv she is accompanied by a stag or other wild animal; as a 
 chthonian goddess she carries a torch; and at Ephesus as a goddess 
 of fertility she is shown with many breasts. Similarly, the varied 
 activities of Zeus are indicated by varying attributes: on the coins 
 of Elis the sky-god is identified by thunderbolt and eagle; but on 
 the coins of Epirus the wreath of oak leaves indicates his mantic 
 nature at Dodona; while the addition of the eagle on one side 
 and Cerberus on the other, on a statuette in the British Museum 
 (Farnell, Cults of the Greek States, I, p. 105), marks the figure as Zeus 
 Hades. The three attributes of Apollo are familiar to all — the bow 
 and arrows, the lyre, and the tripod, but each serves to indicate a 
 quite distinct function of the god. The bow and arrow mark him 
 as the "Far-Darter," the lyre indicates the patron of music, and 
 the tripod is the distinguishing mark of the god of prophecy. 
 These functional attributes would in themselves make an inter- 
 esting study for determining the origin and growth of the Greek 
 pantheon. 2 
 
 The demigods and heroes of Grecian mythology furnish further 2. of demigods 
 evidence of the use of symbols for identification, since various 
 
 1 Another use of symbolism is also present in the olive tree, namely, as a method 
 of narration ; cf . the discussion of the metope of Selinus, p. 34. 
 
 3 The origin of the divine attributes involves ethnological and psychological 
 questions, so that probably the explanation of some of them will never be complete: 
 to mention only one instance, the double axe of Zeus Labrandeus is a mystery still 
 unsolved. 
 
 and heroes
 
 18 THE USES OF SYMBOLISM IN GREEK ART 
 
 attributes and accessory objects serve to distinguish these lesser 
 orders of beings. The best known in this group is Heracles. On 
 the Antaeus crater of Euphronios (F.R., II, Pis. 92-93 = Reinach, 
 Vases, I, 242) is the representation of two nude figures in a violent 
 struggle. So far as the two combatants are concerned, it would be 
 impossible to identify either; but on one side the lion skin and 
 club, laid aside for the moment, prove conclusively that the scene 
 depicted is some contest in the life of Heracles. Since there was 
 no specific characteristic peculiar to Antaeus, the artist makes his 
 identity known by inscription. There are almost countless instances 
 of this use of attributes in connection with other Greek heroes. 
 Argos is distinguished from ordinary men by the presence of eyes 
 scattered over his body. (For a list of vases connected with this 
 myth, cf. Englemann, "Die Io-Sage," Jahrbuch [1903], pp. 37 f.) 
 In the various representations of Medea the sorceress is recognized 
 by her foreign type of dress and Phrygian cap (F.R., I, PL 9). 
 In similar fashion the Dioscuri are recognizable by the presence of 
 stars, piloi, oil cruses, and strigils (Huddilston, Greek Tragedy, 
 p. 149). 
 
 This method served not only to distinguish gods and heroes, 
 but to mark the occupations of everyday life by some characteristic 
 feature. Thus, athletes were indicated by various objects used in 
 public games or in the palaestra: the discobolos is known by his 
 discus (cf. the early Attic Relief [B.B., PI. 457, b], the famous 
 Myronian statue [ibid., PI. 256], and the so-called "standing 
 discobolus" [ibid., PI. 131]); the apoxyomenos ascribed to Lysippos 
 is known as an athlete by the strigil {ibid., PI. 281) ; the girl runner 
 (Von Mach, Handbook of Greek and Roman Sculpture, PI. 73) is de- 
 noted as such by the shortness of her garment and by the laurel 
 branch upon the stump. In this figure, as in the discolobos of 
 Myron, the pose also helps in identification. In the latter statue the 
 peculiar position of the arms and legs is not the normal one of a 
 body at rest but a distinctive feature of the particular sport of 
 discus-hurling. On many palaestra scenes on vases, the various 
 games and contests are indicated by objects in the hands of the 
 athletes or in the foreground or background, such as sponges, 
 strigils, or double picks. Similarly, the housewife was known by 
 
 tions
 
 THE USES OF SYMBOLISM 19 
 
 her basket of wool (cf. stele of Mynno, Gardner, Tombs of Hellas, 
 p. 157, Fig. 62), and in later times a literary man was identified by 
 his scroll (cf. the so-called " Demosthenes," B.B., PI. 429). A 
 priestess could be recognized by the key which was the badge of 
 her office (for vase paintings illustrative of this point cf . Huddilston, 
 Greek Tragedy, pp. 57, 84, etc.; and J. C. Hoppin, "Argos, Io and 
 the Prometheus of Aeschylus," Harvard Studies, XII, 337, note 1). 
 
 Indication of race is likewise possible by means of attributes; 4 . otrace 
 accordingly, foreigners were marked in art by certain peculiarities 
 of dress and equipment. Thus the Amazons on many vases are 
 easily recognized by the long close-fitting spotted or striped gar- 
 ments and Phrygian headdress, as well as by the bow with the 
 double curve, the crescent-shaped shield and the battle ax (F.R., II, 
 PI. 81). The Scythians and Persians are distinguished from the 
 nude Greeks by similar long close garments and Phrygian caps 
 (for example, Mon. d. Inst., VI- VII, PL LXVI = Reinach, Vases, I, 
 158; Arch. Zeit. [1880], PL i5 = Reinach, Vases, I, 428; Mon. d. 
 Inst., I, PL L [B] = Reinach, Vases, I, 81). 
 
 To some scenes the Greeks desired to lend vividness by adding 5. of time 
 concrete features of time and place, and since the indication of 
 time is not at all within the range of art and the indication of place 
 is only possible to an art with perspective, these concepts of time 
 and place had to be translated through the medium of symbols. 
 The best-known suggestion of time is the representation of Helios 
 and Selene on the east pediment of the Parthenon (Parth. Pub., 
 Pis. 1 and 6), though many similiar indications may be found on 
 vases (cf. F.R., III, PL 126). 
 
 Sometimes the localization of scenes is indicated by the presence 6. of place 
 of characteristic features of landscape or by other details. Thus 
 Egypt is denoted by reeds and a panther (or cat) with a bird in 
 its mouth (C.R., Atlas [1862], PL IV, 2=Reinach, Vases, I, 12), 
 and in the statue of the Nile (B.B., PL 196) the location in Egypt 
 is made certain by the presence of the crocodile, ichneumon, 
 sphinx, and bundle of reeds. Delphi is denoted by the omphalos 
 and tripod sacred to the oracle of Apollo at that shrine (C.R., 
 Atlas [1861] PL IV = Reinach, Vases, I, 8). The coins of Catana 
 in Sicily (Head, H.N., p. 131) are given a local touch by the appear-
 
 20 
 
 THE USES OF SYMBOLISM IN GREEK ART 
 
 7. Of mint 
 
 8. Of monetary 
 value 
 
 ance of the large beetle peculiar to Mt. Aetna. Perhaps the tiny 
 representation of a temple facade on the Kertch vase of the contest 
 of Athena and Poseidon (C.R., Atlas [1872], PI. I = Reinach, Vases, 
 I, 37) may represent the Parthenon and thus localize the scene as 
 occurring on the Acropolis of Athens. In a vase from Ruvo 
 showing Orestes in Tauris {Mon. d. Inst., II, PL XLIII = Reinach, 
 Vases, I, 105) the temple and altar indicate a sacred precinct and 
 the figure of Artemis above suggests that this is her precinct. 
 
 Many of the symbols which have been noted as appearing on 
 coins were stamped there for the express purpose of identifying 
 the issuing authority. This applies particularly to the canting, 
 commercial, and agonistic types. Identification of mintage is 
 the intent and purpose of the seal (<j>6inri) at Phocaea, the rose 
 {pbbov) at Rhodes, the lion's head at Leontini, the table (rpairet a) 
 at Trapezus, the fox (dXco7rr/^) at Alopeconnesus, etc. (for lists of 
 canting symbols cf. Hill, Handbook, pp. 176 f. ; Macdonald, Coin 
 Types, pp. 18 f., and Head, H.N., under "canting" in Index Rerum). 
 Similarly, the wine jar of Chios, the wine cup and grapes of Naxos, 
 the silphium of Cyrene, and the mussel of Cumae indicating the 
 chief industry of these cities came to have the significance of a 
 trade-mark. The agonistic types on the coins of Sicily and else- 
 where identify the various cities by reference to athletic victories 
 which had brought glory and fame. Still other symbols may be 
 found on coins which though neither canting, commercial, nor 
 agonistic quite plainly indicate the cities which used these symbols 
 as badges. For instance the owl on the coins of Athens (Head, 
 H.N., pp. 366 f.) was in reality merely an attributive symbol of 
 Athena, the patron goddess of the city; but the owl of Athens 
 became well established as the monetary sign of that city in all 
 parts of the Greek world and in barbarian trading stations. 1 So the 
 winged horse {ibid., pp. 398 f.), connected with Bellerophon and the 
 spring of Peirene, served to identify the great trading city of Corinth. 
 
 In a few instances the symbol on a coin bore a definite relation 
 to the monetary value. Thus Gardner {Types of Greek Coins, 
 p. 66) says, 
 
 1 As an interesting sidelight on this point compare the proverb, yXavK e£s 'Adrivas, 
 At. Av. 301, and Athenian coins as yKavKes Aaypiwri/cAi, Ar. Av. 1106.
 
 THE USES OF SYMBOLISM 
 
 21 
 
 To indicate 
 landscape 
 
 At Athens all the divisions of the drachm are marked by varying treat- 
 ment of the invariable types, the head of Pallas and the owl. On the tetrobol 
 there are two owls; on the diobol the owl has only one head but two bodies; 
 
 on the triobol one owl is facing the spectators, etc So in some of the 
 
 Sicilian cities the four-horse chariot appears only on the tetradrachms, di- 
 drachms bear a rider who leads a second horse, drachms a single horseman. 
 Again in Thessaly a horseman marks the diobol, a horse the obol. At Corinth 
 the diobol bears a Pegasus on both obverse and reverse, the trihemiobol a 
 Pegasus on the obverse and a Medusa head on the reverse. At a number 
 of cities on the coins of which an animal is used for the type of the drachm, 
 the forepart of that animal is impressed on the hemidrachm. 
 
 The second important use of symbols is as a sort of shorthand n System of 
 
 shorthand 
 
 system, whereby certain suggestive details serve to indicate some 
 comprehensive concept or idea. There are two ways in which 
 symbols are so used: first, to indicate landscape, and second, to 
 suggest a myth or narrative. 
 
 The indication of landscape is by no means so rare as traditional 
 ideas would lead one to believe. It is quite true that the Greek 
 artist of the best period had little interest in landscape for its own 
 sake; trees, mountains, lakes, and seas had little appeal in them- 
 selves. Nor did the lower animals have great vogue as artistic 
 subjects, though we know that such sculptors as Kalamis and 
 Myron made animal figures, treated realistically, according to 
 tradition. But the primary interest of the Greek was in human 
 beings, anthropomorphic deities, and their activities; and therefore 
 lanscape served principally as setting or background for the drama 
 depicted. 1 As a natural result of this attitude of mind as well as 
 of limitations of space and medium, the artists of the best period 
 avoided scenic detail. But often it was necessary to include 
 sufficient indication of place to make clear the proper identification 
 of a given scene. When such was the case, only those suggestive 
 features were inserted which furnished a vital clue to the setting, 
 and others were ruthlessly omitted. On the Niobid crater in the 
 Louvre (Mon. d. Inst., XI, PI. XL = Reinach, Vases, I, 227) one 
 tree indicates the forest of Mt. Sipylos. 2 On a calpis showing the 
 
 1 The so-called Erechtheion pediment in the Acropolis Museum has some sugges- 
 tions of landscape, but emphasis was not laid on details of this type until the period 
 of the Hellenistic reliefs (Dickens, Catalogue of the Acropolis Museum, pp. 12, 70). 
 
 3 In the same way, in Polygnotos' representation of Hades, a single tree stood for 
 the grove of Persephone (Paus. x. 30. 6).
 
 22 THE USES OF SYMBOLISM IN GREEK ART 
 
 death of Argos (J. C. Hoppin, Haroard Studies, XII, 339) a few 
 bushes indicate the grove of Hera at Mycenae. Similarly, the 
 sea so hard to indicate is, on vase or coin, denoted in shorthand by 
 a dolphin or a sea-serpent or a Triton. Notable illustrations on 
 vases are: Apollo with his lyre sailing over the sea, indicated only 
 by dolphins and an octopus (Mon. d. Inst., I, PI. XLVI = Reinach, 
 Vases, I, 79) ; Heracles sailing in the bowl of the sun over a fish 
 and an octopus (Gerhard 109 = Reinach, Vases, II, 59, 6); and 
 Dionysos traveling over a sea which is denoted by six dolphins 
 (Exekias' cylix, Gerhard, 49 = Reinach, Vases, II, 36, 1). On 
 many Sicilian coins a fish in the field indicates the aquatic character 
 of the chief type, for instance, the dolphins around the head of 
 Arethusa on coins of Syracuse (cf. Head, H.N., under Gela, Catana, 
 Syracuse, etc.). On the frieze of the wedding of Poseidon and 
 Amphitrite (Collignon, Sculpture Grecque, II, 482, Fig. 251) fishy 
 monsters give the marine setting for the scene. Gem-cutters 
 use the same method of shorthand to indicate the sea in the myth 
 of Europa (Furtwangler, A.G., PL VI, 63) and in the story of 
 Heracles and the "Old Man of the Sea" {ibid., PL V, 30; PL V, 32). 
 Land is denoted by vegetation: on the Talos vase from Ruvo 
 (F.R., I, Pis. 38, 39) plants represent the land and dolphins the sea; 
 on the Phineos vase {Mon. d. Inst., X, PL VIII = Reinach, Vases, 
 I, 201) fish indicate water, and trees land. Mention has already 
 been made of the eagle as representative of air under the feet of 
 the Nike of Paeonios, and of a pillar or column as a distinctive 
 feature of architectural structures (p. 7). Similarly the prow 
 on which the Nike of Samothrace stands, serves as a sign that the 
 victory represented was a naval achievement. 1 
 2. To suggest The second use of the shorthand symbol, that is for the purpose 
 
 of suggesting a narrative, is a peculiarly Greek convention. The 
 method of narration in art practiced by the Egyptians in their 
 tombs and palaces was that of a series of pictures showing successive 
 
 1 Huddilston, Greek Tragedy, pp. 45 f., gives an illustration of a vase painting of 
 Electra at the stele of Agamemnon (Reinach-Millingen, Peintures, PI. 14 — Huddilston, 
 Fig. 1). Near Electra stands her sister or attendant and Pylades. Seated in the 
 comer is a youth upon whom Huddilston comments as follows, "He serves to round 
 out the picture and indicates at the same time the attendants of Orestes." Thus he 
 interprets this figure as an instance of one man as a shorthand representation of several 
 
 a narrative
 
 THE USES OF SYMBOLISM 23 
 
 events. The same method was used by the Romans in portraying 
 on triumphal arch or column the campaigns and victories of an 
 emperor. Similar treatment is seen in pre-Raphaelite paintings 
 in the Middle Ages. The stations of the Holy Cross found in 
 cathedrals today illustrate the same mode of narration by a series 
 of pictures. In Greek art we sometimes find on one vase three 
 events from the same cycle, for example, the three scenes from the 
 contest over the arms of Achilles (Mon. d. Inst., VIII, PL XLI = 
 Reinach, Vases, I, 174) ; or three scenes from the exploits of Theseus 
 (Gerhard, PI. 234 = Reinach, Vases, II, 118). But in addition the 
 Greeks had a method peculiar to their own genius, whereby in one 
 picture are included significant details from various stages in the 
 story, thus suggesting the entire myth. This, of course, presupposes 
 that the story in question was well known. Some of the most 
 interesting examples of this method are those afforded by various 
 vase paintings illustrating the contest between Peleus and Thetis. 
 According to this well-known tale, Thetis during the violent 
 struggle changed herself from human shape to that of one animal 
 after another, assuming in turn the form of a lion, a panther, and 
 a snake. But the vase-painter shows not a series of events, in one 
 Peleus wrestling with a woman, in another with a lion, in another 
 with a snake, but one painting of two human figures interlocked 
 in deadly conflict while Peleus is attacked simultaneously by two 
 panthers or by a lion and a snake. 1 An equally interesting story 
 similarly told in shorthand is the myth of Pegasus and Medusa, 
 according to which Pegasus sprang full grown from the headless 
 corpse of Medusa (Hesiod Theog. 281 f.). On one of the metopes 
 from temple C at Selinus (B.B., PI. 286, B) Perseus is just ready 
 to kill Medusa, who, however, already holds in her lap a miniature 
 
 men. There are other instances which may be of this type but they are open to other 
 interpretations. Unless the Greeks did use this method of representing a crowd, 
 there is nothing in Greek art which in any way corresponds to the Cretan miniature 
 fresco from Knossos (J.H.S., XXI, PI. Y), where a crowd of people is indicated. This 
 is quite apart from the fact that in the latter case the crowd is suggested by heads in 
 outline without bodies attached and with sex differences shown by the use of outline 
 on red ground for men and on white ground for women. 
 
 1 A long list of vases dealing with, this myth noting the animal transformations, 
 may be found in Botho Graef's article on "Peleus and Thetis," Jahrbuch (18S6), 
 pp. 192 f.
 
 24 THE USES OF SYMBOLISM IN GREEK ART 
 
 Pegasus. Similarly, in the gable of the temple at Corfu, the living 
 Medusa moves to the right while on either side of her are Pegasus 
 and Chrysaor. (Cf. the restoration in Art and Arch., I, 153 f., 
 Fig. 1). The metope of Heracles and the golden apples from the 
 temple of Zeus at Olympia is also an example of a narrative told in 
 shorthand. According to the myth, Atlas secured the apples from 
 the garden of the Hesperides while Heracles held the world on his 
 shoulders. When Atlas was unwilling to resume his old task, 
 Heracles suggested that Atlas hold the world for a short time until 
 he, Heracles, secured a cushion to ease the load; but as soon as 
 Atlas again bore the world, Heracles hastened away with the apples. 
 In the metope, however, Heracles already has a cushion on his 
 shoulder as he supports the world. Thus the conclusion of the 
 story is suggested in a representation of an earlier episode. We 
 should also include here the tale of Eriphyle who sold her husband's 
 life for the necklace offered her by Adrastus. On the Amphiaraos 
 crater {Mon. d. Inst., X, Pis. 4, 5 = Reinach, Vases, I, 199) the 
 necklace is ostentatiously held in the hand of Eriphyle as her 
 husband departs to the certain death to which she had betrayed 
 him. Surely the price of her husband's life would not be held in 
 full view at such a time and must be placed there by the vase- 
 painter for the double purpose of identifying Eriphyle and indicating 
 a previous scene in the same story. The Palladion carried by 
 Diomedes is a shorthand reference which immediately served to 
 recall the story of his theft of the image from Troy {Mon. d. Inst., 
 II, PL XXXV = Reinach, Vases, I, 102; Mon. d. Inst., VI-VII, 
 PL XXII = Reinach, Vases, I, 150; Annali [1858], PL M = Reinach, 
 Vases, I, 299; Arch. Zeit. [1848], PL 17, 2 = Reinach, Vases, I, 
 368, 2). Similarly, the appearance of Sciron with rock and tortoise 
 {Mon. d. Inst., Ill, PL XLVII = Reinach, Vases, I, 119), of Philoc- 
 tetes with a snake, of Circe with a loom, and men with the heads 
 of animals all serve, not merely to identify a character, but also 
 to tell a narrative. On a carnelian in Vienna (Furtwangler, A.G., 
 PL XIX, 4) is represented a bull with a human head, on his back 
 lies a nymph, in front is the club of Heracles. By this device of 
 shorthand is suggested the contest of Achelous and Heracles for 
 the hand of Deianeira. The same story is illustrated on a sard in
 
 emotions 
 
 THE USES OF SYMBOLISM 25 
 
 Berlin {ibid., PI. XXVI, 18) where Achelous is represented by a 
 human head with animal horns, and where club and cornucopia 
 stand for the mighty Heracles. Successive stages of the conflict 
 are suggested on another gem in Berlin {ibid., PI. VIII, 3) where 
 the various transformations of Achelous are indicated by a snake 
 and fish, 1 side by side with the human-headed bull. 
 
 The third use of symbols is as a means of giving expression to m. Expression 
 abstract ideas and emotions. The problem of representing in artistic ideas ^ 
 form such ideas and emotions is a real test of the ingenuity, the 
 technical skill, and the quality of artistic feeling existent in a given 
 nation. Since these abstractions are really outside the realm of 
 ideas which can be pictorially depicted, the Greek artist had to have 
 recourse to symbols in order to achieve artistic representation. 
 
 The most familiar type of symbol employed for this purpose 
 is personification. This is one of the simplest forms of symbolism 
 and probably developed very early in the history of art. It is a 
 well-known fact that the primitive conception of deity, among the 
 Greeks as among other peoples, was aniconic, and that the represen- 
 tation of gods at that period took the form of conical stones and of 
 trees. 2 Therefore, when the period of anthropomorphic conception 
 of deity begins, there is, in that very idea, a personification of those 
 vegetative and fructifying forces of nature which constituted the 
 early gods and goddesses of Greek religion. It is natural that 
 from this beginning very frequent instances of personification 
 should be found in Greek art. 
 
 The ideas and emotions expressed by personification are many 
 and varied — Sleep, Death, Childhood, Love, Desire, Madness, etc. 
 The spirit of a city or state is variously personified: sometimes as 
 a woman, like the Tyche of Antioch (B.B., PI. 134); sometimes 
 as a male figure, Demos (Reinach, Reliefs, Vol. II, No. 5, pp. 252, 
 333-36) ; at other times the patron goddess of a city becomes the 
 personification of that city, for instance, on the stele commemorating 
 the Samian treaty Athena represents Athens. Akin to the phase 
 just mentioned is the female figure of Olympias, as the embodiment 
 
 1 This is quite apart from the significance of fish discussed on p. 6. 
 
 2 For instance, the connection of Zeus at Dodona with the oak tree probably 
 means that the god was originally worshiped under the form of a tree.
 
 26 THE USES OF SYMBOLISM IN GREEK ART 
 
 of the Olympic games, on a pan-Athenaic amphora in Boston 
 (A. J. A. [1906], p. 392, Fig. 4). Among the personifications of 
 abstractions one of the most interesting is the attempt to depict 
 the soul. Roscher notes the use of a helmeted bird on a Corinthian 
 aryballos to denote the so-called "bird-soul" (Roscher, Lexikon, 
 III, 2, 3216, Fig. 4; Weicker, Seelenvogel, Fig. 68). On an amphora 
 by Exekias in the Louvre (Gerhard, PI. io7 = Reinach, Vases, 
 II, 59; Annali [1883], PI. 2 = Reinach, Vases, I, 347) a "bird-soul" 
 flies over Eos who carries the body of Memnon. This may be 
 merely a tradition handed down to the Greeks by the Egyptians. 
 The most frequent representation of the soul is as an eldoAov. For 
 instance, on an amphora showing Hector's body dragged along the 
 ground by Achilles (Gerhard, PI. i99 = Reinach, Vases, II, 100) 
 there is in the upper right-hand corner a tiny winged and armed 
 figure, representing the soul of the dead Trojan warrior. Like- 
 wise, there are on vases a number of representations of Hermes 
 weighing the eidola of Achilles and Memnon in the presence of Eos 
 and Thetis (Mon. d. Inst., VI-VII, PL V = Reinach, Vases, I, 
 144). x Still another representation of the soul is a butterfly 
 (Roscher, Lexikon, III, 2, 3234-36). The idea in the butterfly 
 later develops into a woman with a butterfly's wings, as in the group 
 of Eros and Psyche (cf. ibid., pp. 3243 f.). 
 
 Furthermore, certain complex ideas and elaborations of thought 
 receive expression through personification. The figure of Father 
 Nile and the Tyche of Antioch are notable instances. Others 
 belonging to the same group are the Apotheosis of Homer (B.B., 
 PL 50), the bust of Africa in the Boscoreale Treasure {Mon. Piot., 
 V, PL I), and the Tazza Farnese cameo (Furtwangler, A.G., PL 
 LV). Two famous instances of such complex ideas are noted in 
 literary references, namely, the statue of Opportunity by Lysippos 
 and the picture of Calumny painted by the great Apelles (cf. the 
 idea of Calumny painted by Botticelli from Lucian's description of 
 Apelles' picture). 
 
 Thus personification afforded a satisfactory means of expressing 
 certain abstract ideas like Death, Sleep, Victory, and the like, 
 the spirit or genius of a city, the intangible concept of a soul, and 
 
 1 Perhaps the central portion of the Boston Counterpart to the Ludovisi throne 
 should be mentioned here.
 
 THE USES OF SYMBOLISM 27 
 
 various complex ideas. Yet the very nature of personification 
 limits the ideas which can be expressed by this means. For instance, 
 it is almost impossible to conceive of any idea of motion, of growth, 
 or of development being expressed by personification. It is natural, 
 therefore, that other methods grew up side by side with personifica- 
 tion for the expression of abstract ideas and emotions. 
 
 One of these methods is the use of analogy, whereby an object 
 which suggests some characteristic feature of an abstract idea 
 serves as a substitute for that idea. When the Greeks desired to 
 express the idea of the thunderbolt as something which sped quickly 
 through the air, no way seemed more simple and adequate than to 
 add wings to the bolt (cf. coins of Elis, Head, H.N., pp. 419 f.). 
 Similarly, strings of tow wound together into the shape of a spindle 
 seemed the easiest method of hinting at possibilities of destructive 
 fire, for, as a torch thus wound could blaze brightly and bring 
 injury, so could the fateful bolt of Zeus bring destruction (ibid). 
 Similarly, the wings of the sandals and cap of Hermes suggested 
 swift progress through the air on the part of the messenger god. 
 It is probable that attributes of other deities are to be referred to a 
 similar origin. The pomegranate which Aphrodite often holds 
 seems to be a reference to fertility and productivity, and the 
 cornucopia which accompanies Demeter is by analogy a symbol 
 of plenty and abundance. The various deities connected more or 
 less closely with the underworld are denoted as chthonian by the 
 presence of torches needed to lighten the darkness and gloom of the 
 lower world. I have already mentioned the representation of the 
 pig of purification and of the birds mating as a reference to human 
 marriage and the significance of the phallic signs as emblems of 
 fertility. The abstract ideas which can be represented by analogy 
 are obviously varied in character. It is quite probable that on 
 certain coins of Syracuse which show on the obverse the head of 
 Zeus Eleutherios and on the reverse a free horse (ibid., p. 179) the 
 coin types are to be taken as emblems of freedom and democracy. 
 Possibly the head of Vulcan on the coins of Aesernia in Samnium 
 may be a hint at the prevalence of earthquakes. 1 On a red figured 
 
 •Head, H.N., p. 27, "The head of Vulcan is appropriate in a country where 
 earthquakes are of frequent occurrence, supposing that the connection between seismic 
 and volcanic phenomena was recognized in the third century B.C."
 
 28 THE USES OF SYMBOLISM IN GREEK ART 
 
 vase in Petrograd {Mon. d. Inst., II, PI. XXIV = Reinach, Vases, 
 I, 96, 6) a bearded man, an ephebe, and a child watch a swallow 
 and cry out that spring has come. Evidently in this painting the 
 coming of spring, which could not by its very nature be literally 
 represented in art, is suggested by a bird whose coming is almost 
 synchronous with that of spring. It is interesting to note that from 
 early times the swallow has thus been esteemed a harbinger of 
 spring. 
 
 A third method of expressing abstractions is by the use of 
 physical terms for ideas which are really in the realm of the spiritual. 
 It is particularly hard to express artistically the ideas of the spiritual 
 and the supernatural. One realizes this fully in Christian art, 
 since most of the pictures of the Madonna and Child are simply 
 more or less faithful portraits of humble mortals known to the 
 artist and completely lack even the semblance of divinity. This 
 problem, too, the Greeks solved by symbols used according to 
 conventional formulas. As noted in the previous chapter, 
 apparently the inferiority of mortal to deity or heroized dead was 
 expressed by smaller dimensions. Thus physical size became a 
 symbol for spiritual superiority, as on the Spartan Relief (B.B., 
 PI. 227), the Harpy Monument {ibid., Pis. 146, 147), and the Relief 
 of Hermes and the Nymphs {ibid., PL 61). We have already called 
 attention to the fact of the smaller size of mortals in relief sculpture 
 on temples, and to the probability that the large number of colossal 
 statues known to have existed proves that the Greeks translated 
 the superhuman power of their deities in terms of physical size. 
 
 In other cases, where an emotion or sensation was to be 
 represented, the cause of the reaction was substituted for the effect, 
 or vice versa, the effect was represented instead of the cause. 
 Fear could be indicated by personification ; indeed, it was so treated 
 on the vases where a figure inscribed Phobos serves as charioteer 
 for Heracles {Mon. d. Inst., XI, PI. XXIV - Reinach, Vases, I, 
 223; Gerhard, 122-23= Reinach, Vases, II, 66). On the other 
 hand, the representation of some wild animal, such as a bear, 
 which is a possible material cause for terror could suggest the 
 emotion which is so difficult to express. An instance of cause for 
 effect may be found on the interior of the Sosias cylix (F.R., II,
 
 historical events 
 
 THE USES OF SYMBOLISM 29 
 
 PI. 123), where the arrow at the left serves to suggest the pain 
 which the wounded hero suffers. Likewise, the snake which 
 accompanies Philoctetes indicates the suffering which he endured 
 so long (Mon. d. Inst., VI-VII, PI. VIII = Reinach, Vases, I, 145; 
 Arch. Zeit. [1845], Pis- 35> 36 = Reinach, Vases, I, 358, 5). 
 
 The myth of Philoctetes also exemplifies the representation of 
 effect for cause, in that this hero is generally shown limping. This 
 may be a touch of realism, but it seems likely that it is also a method 
 of suggesting pain by depicting the effect, since the pain itself cannot 
 be directly indicated. An instance of the use of effect for cause 
 to indicate an abstract idea may be found in the statues from the 
 Nereid Monument (B.B., Pis. 211-12). The drapery of these 
 figures has the appearance of being driven against the body by a 
 gale or by the surge of billows, and thereby represents sculpturally 
 the force of wind or wave. Other instances of abstract ideas 
 expressed by this means have already been mentioned on page 14. 
 
 A fourth use of symbolism is to allude to historical events, rv. Allusion to 
 It is natural to find instances of this use of symbolism among coin 
 types, since coins, more than any other artistic medium, bear a 
 definite relation to contemporaneous events. The Demarateia of 
 Syracuse, generally accepted as an issue made after the successful 
 termination of the war with Carthage, show in the exergue a lion 
 running. Hill (Coins of Sicily, PI. II, 6, 7, pp. 55 f.) interprets this 
 as an " emblem of the subdued and fleeing forces of Africa," while 
 Head notes in the same connection that the lion is a symbol of 
 conquered Libya (Head, H.N., p. 173). Thus we have good grounds 
 for considering the Demarateia as an example of the use of symbols 
 to allude to historical events. Probably the pistrix on the exergue 
 of a Syracusan coin of the same period (Hill, Coins of Sicily, PI. II, 
 8, p. 57) is a reference to the great naval victory of Hiero over the 
 Etruscans in 474 B.C. 
 
 At a later period, some of the Syracusan coins bearing Cimon's 
 signature show in the exergue a panoply with the word "athla." 
 Head (H.N., pp. 176 f.) and Hill (Coins of Sicily, pp. 100 f.) agree 
 that this must be a reference to arms taken from the defeated 
 Athenians after the battle of the Assinarus and offered as prizes 
 in the games which celebrated that victory. Still later in the
 
 30 THE USES OF SYMBOLISM IN GREEK ART 
 
 history of Syracuse, in the reign of the tyrant Agathocles, a triskeles 
 appears in the field above the usual quadriga. There has been much 
 doubt as to the meaning of this symbol. Some assume it to be a 
 sign representing the whole island, and others assert that it is the 
 badge of Agathocles; but according to either interpretation it 
 refers to the period of Agathocles and his conquest of all Sicily. 1 
 Demetrius Poliorcetes used the same theme as the Nike of Samo- 
 thrace for his coin type in order to commemorate the naval victory 
 of his fleet over Ptolemy in 306 B.C. (Head, H.N., p. 229). Again, 
 one of the coins of Macedon inscribed with the name of Antigonos 
 shows the prow of a boat upon which is seated a nude Apollo 
 holding a bow {ibid., p. 231). This is certainly a reference to a naval 
 victory, whether it applies to the success of Antigonos Gonatas 
 over the Egyptian fleet in 253 B.C. or to the fortunate expedition 
 against Caria in 228 B.C. by Antigonos Doson. 2 
 
 In some instances an important event is indicated not by a 
 special symbol but rather by a combination of previously known 
 symbols. This is the case with certain coins of Sybaris and 
 Poseidonia: on the obverse is Poseidon and his trident, the badge 
 of Poseidonia, and on the reverse, the standing bull of Sybaris 
 {ibid., p. 85). The union of the types of these two cities on a single 
 coin must indicate some close bond such as an alliance between 
 them. 
 
 1 Hill, Coins of Sicily, pp. 152 f., "Coins issued from this time until the date of 
 his invasion of Africa do not bear his name; but they are distinguished from all earlier 
 Syracusan issues by the appearance of the three-legged symbol, popularly called 
 triquetra, but more correctly triskeles. This symbol, whatever may be its meaning 
 in other parts of the world, is generally supposed to be the emblem of the three-cornered 
 island Trinacria. Yet we must hesitate somewhat to admit that, several years before 
 the conquests of Agathocles gave them the right to make such a claim, the Syracusans 
 placed upon their coins an emblem which implied domination over the whole island. 
 It is not impossible that the triskeles was originally the private signet of Agathocles, 
 and that its adoption as the emblem of all Sicily belongs to a later date. Were it 
 otherwise, we should expect to find it used prominently in the time of kings Pyrrhus 
 and Hiera, who were recognized as kings of the Siceliotes. As a matter of fact, except 
 on the coins of Agathocles, it is never or rarely found in Sicily save on coins of Roman 
 date; and to the Romans, therefore, we may perhaps attribute the extension of its 
 significance." 
 
 2 On the coins of Croton (Head, H.N., p. 97) is the type of Heracles strangling 
 two serpents. Head says apropos of these coins, "About 390 B.C. the Greek cities of 
 South Italy were threatened on one hand by the Lucanians and on the other by 
 Dionysus of Syracuse. The idea of the infant Heracles strangling the two serpents 
 is symbolical of free and unified Hellas over Barbarism and Tyranny."
 
 THE USES OF SYMBOLISM 31 
 
 A fifth use of symbolism (which the Greeks shared in common with v Pr °tection 
 
 against evil 
 
 other peoples) was to ward off dangers, such as the evil eye and 
 other forms of magic spells, to secure blessings instead of curses from 
 the demonic forces with which their imagination peopled the world. 
 Just as the ankh of the Egyptians served as a protective sign, so 
 did the apotropaic eye and the gorgoneion for the Greeks. There 
 is no evidence in Greek art that charms and amulets were used for 
 curative purposes or to bring down evil upon one's enemies, although 
 the existence of both of these ideas can be traced in Greek literature. 
 In reviewing the contents of this chapter it should be very 
 apparent that all these uses of symbolism (except the last) grew 
 out of the artist's incapacity to picture directly what he wished to 
 show. He could not show Athena except by giving her an identify- 
 ing attribute ; he could not show a victor as a victor except by adding 
 some object of the palaestra or games; he could not show foreign 
 people except by the simplest distinction of garb or weapon; he 
 could not picture place and circumstance fully and so had to hint 
 at them by some tell-tale accessory; he could not narrate a long 
 adventure circumstantially and by repetition, and so had to 
 condense it into an impossible single scene with symbolic allusions 
 to antecedent and consequent events. Since ideas and conditions 
 could not be pictured directly, recourse had to be taken to symbols 
 which should suggest or arouse those same ideas or emotions for 
 the spectator. It is important to observe that where the artist 
 could picture what he wished to show he did not use symbols 
 because symbols would have added nothing. It follows that we 
 may assert as conclusions to this part of our dissertation : 
 
 1. That symbols are an indication of impotence on the part 
 of the artist to show his intention pictorially. 
 
 2. That as technical proficiency increases many of these 
 symbols slough off as unnecessary. 1 
 
 3. That Greek art had very little use for symbols except as an 
 aid to the artist for purely representational purposes. 
 
 • It is worthy of note, however, that religious conservatism preserved symbols 
 even when they were no longer artistically necessary (Gardner, Principles of Greek 
 Art, p. 92). Furthermore, one group of symbols increases rather than decreases in 
 the Hellenistic period, namely, allegory.
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 
 RELATION OF SYMBOLS TO THE MEDIUM 
 
 As we have just noted, the use of symbols is an indication of the 
 inability of the artist to express his ideas pictorially. This impo- 
 tence often arises out of the restrictions placed upon the artist by 
 the medium in which he is working. Waldstein recognizes the 
 importance of the medium when he says, "Each new material 
 requires, and consequently finds or evolves, a new technical treat- 
 ment, new drawing, new design, and new modelling" (Waldstein, 
 Greek Sculpture and Modern Art, p. 2). It is obvious that an idea 
 could be expressed by one method in a certain medium, but that 
 the same method might prove utterly inadequate in another 
 medium. For instance, in painting, the sun could be represented 
 by the conventional disk, rayed or unrayed, which has come to be 
 the pictorial symbol for the sun; the moon could be represented 
 by a similarly stylized disk or crescent. But for sculpture in the 
 round, such treatment would be entirely out of harmony and would 
 produce an almost grotesque effect; therefore, in the pediment of 
 the Parthenon the sun is personified as a male figure driving his 
 horses and the moon as a female figure similarly occupied. Rivers 
 could be represented in a landscape, but it would be no easy task 
 to depict a river with proper perspective in sculpture or on vase 
 or coin. Yet one must not fancy the Greek artist consciously 
 choosing from a recognized repertoire of symbols and saying to 
 himself, "This fits my medium, but that does not." Rather, the 
 medium itself gave no scope for the use of those symbols which 
 were not suitable. In other words, the medium governed the 
 artist and not vice versa. 
 
 An examination of the characteristics of each medium and of the 
 ideas expressed therein by Greek artists will strengthen the conclu- 
 sions of the last chapter that the Greeks only used symbols when 
 they were unable to express their ideas pictorially. 
 
 Sculpture in the round, as work in three dimensions, calls for 
 single subjects simply treated rather than for complexity of subject, 
 
 32
 
 RELATION OF SYMBOLS TO THE MEDIUM 33 
 
 and for broadness of treatment rather than for wealth of detail. 
 In connection with Greek figures, Pater says, 
 
 For such youth in its very essence is a matter properly within the limits 
 of the visible, the empirical, world; and in the presentment of it there will be 
 no place for symbolic hint, none of that reliance on the helpful imagination 
 of the spectator, the legitimate scope of which is a large one, when art is dealing 
 with religious objects, with what in the fulness of its own nature is not really 
 
 expressible at all It is an age clearly of faithful observation, of what 
 
 we call realism, alike in its iconic and heroic work; and in the presentment of 
 divine or abstract types. And if art was still to minister to the religious sense, 
 it could only be by clothing celestial spirits also as nearly as possible in the 
 bodily semblance of the various athletic combatants, whose patrons respectively 
 they were supposed to be [Pater, Greek Studies, pp. 300 f.]. 
 
 The subjects, therefore, of Greek sculpture were human beings and 
 deities so anthropomorphic in character that they were conceived 
 of as actual visible beings. By way of contrast to Greek sculpture, 
 let us note the ideas expressed by Hindu sculpture. The chief 
 characteristic of that art is the desire to express cosmic forces, 
 mystical ideas quite beyond the realm of the physical world. For 
 example, the three aspects of the Essence of Matter is not an idea 
 within the possibility of representation and must therefore be 
 suggested symbolically by a three-headed deity, the Trimurti; 
 spiritual insight or vision cannot be literally represented, therefore 
 a third eye was added to the two eyes of physical vision; the 
 omnipotence of deity is impossible to express, except through 
 symbolic means, e.g., by representing many arms. Thus the nature 
 of the ideas, not the limits of technique, force Hindu art to use 
 symbolism; while Greek art, as we have seen, strove to express 
 ideas within the realm of the physical world. In early Greek 
 sculpture such types of symbols as the "attributive" and the 
 "physical for spiritual" appear because lack of technical skill 
 prevented the artist from distinguishing and characterizing his 
 personages. But as Greek art developed and attained technical 
 perfection these symbols gradually disappear: 
 
 As Greek art grew towards maturity, it discarded this inartistic and con- 
 ventional symbolism It is true that deities to the last, especially in 
 
 their formal cultus images, retained attributes indicating their special provinces 
 or functions But these attributes were little more than survivals; in
 
 34 TEE USES OF SYMBOLISM IN GREEK ART 
 
 the meantime the Greek artists had discovered a more excellent way for indicat- 
 ing the character and the functions of the deities A mere external 
 
 symbolism gave place to an incorporation in the figure itself of its divine 
 attributes [Gardner, Principles of Greek Art, p. 92]. 
 
 For example, the earlier figures of Hermes are always distinguished 
 by kerykeion, petasos, or winged sandals, but the Hermes of 
 Praxiteles possesses no such symbols. Greek art, we may conclude, 
 recognized as the true aim of sculpture, the representation of objects 
 in the physical world, particularly the human figure. The necessity, 
 therefore, of symbols as a result of technical immaturity, disappears 
 during the period of technical perfection and of clearer recognition 
 of this ideal of sculpture. 
 
 Owing to the similarity of material and to the tendency of relief 
 to approach work in three dimensions instead of pure line work 
 on the level of one plane, the technical problems of relief are akin 
 to those of sculpture in the round rather than to those of drawing, 
 although relief is probably closer in origin to the latter. Relief 
 also had aims and ideals close to those of sculpture in the round; 
 and here again the chief interest was in the representation of objects 
 and ideas within the realm of the physical world, particularly 
 human beings and anthropomorphic deities. On the architectural 
 reliefs, such as those of the treasury of the Sicyonians at Delphi, 
 the so-called Theseum at Athens, and of the temple of Zeus at 
 Olympia, the human achievements of various deities or demigods 
 serve as subject-matter, while on the frieze of the Parthenon the 
 human worshipers are the focus of attention. On smaller reliefs 
 such as the Spartan Relief the heroized dead receive homage from 
 their survivors; on the Eleusinian Relief is represented the human 
 theophany of Demeter and Persephone; on grave stelae human 
 beings are depicted in the attitudes of daily life. Thus in relief 
 the ideas represented do not by their content force the artists to 
 use symbolism, and the symbols, such as the "attributive" and the 
 "physical for spiritual," which occur, particularly in the earlier 
 period, are due to incomplete mastery of technical processes. In 
 relief, as in sculpture in the round, Hindu art offers a striking 
 contrast to Greek art. For instance, one of the most striking of 
 the Hindu reliefs is the representation "of the churning of the
 
 RELATION OF SYMBOLS TO THE MEDIUM 35 
 
 waters of chaos, a cosmic struggle between good and evil" (Havell, 
 Ideals of Indian Art, p. 64, PI. IV). Such ideas as this demand 
 the use of symbolism because they are incapable of literal repre- 
 sentation. 
 
 In vase-painting a larger number of symbols exist than in either 
 form of sculpture. This is due largely to the additional limitations 
 imposed by this medium. In the first place, the small space imposes 
 certain restrictions — true, miniature work like that of the Renais- 
 sance reproduces faithfully large objects on a minute scale, but 
 miniatures are the product of a fully developed, even sophisticated 
 art, and such a description is not applicable to Greek vases of the 
 sixth to fourth centuries before Christ. Furthermore, the medium 
 again imposes a limitation, for the fabric of pottery does not lend 
 itself to the elaborate detail and superfine work of miniatures. 
 (Such works of the Renaissance were in harder material such as 
 ivory or stone.) In the second place, in vases there is that problem 
 so difficult for a primitive draughtsman to solve, namely, the 
 depicting of three dimensional objects in two dimensional space. 
 In the third place, there is a problem akin to the last, the repre- 
 sentation of vista and perspective. Where the early Greek artisan 
 could not solve these problems, he resorted to symbolism as a way 
 out of the difficulty. One element of the content of the ideas 
 represented affects symbols on vases, and that is the narrative 
 element. Although the scenes on Greek vases represent beings 
 who are visually and physically conceived, yet the problem of 
 indicating successive events in the same story caused suggestive de- 
 tails to be included in one picture. 
 
 Although no examples of Greek wall painting or easel painting 
 have survived, yet references in classical authors and the evidence 
 from Pompeian wall paintings permit us to conjecture that the 
 symbolism existing in that medium may have been of the same 
 varieties which existed on vases; for example, Pausanias states 
 that a single tree stood for the grove of Persephone (Paus. x. 30. 6). 
 Presumably similar problems had to be solved in this, as in the 
 kindred medium, because of the difficulty of representing three 
 dimensional objects in two dimensional space and the difficulty of 
 representing vista or perspective.
 
 36 THE USES OF SYMBOLISM IN GREEK ART 
 
 In dealing with the problem of the medium so far as it affects 
 the symbols on coins, it is necessary to remember that the important 
 feature of a coin is that it must bear upon it the sign and seal of 
 the monetary authority responsible for the issue. In coins the 
 ideas represented had a larger share in deciding what use should 
 be made of symbols than in any other medium mentioned. Up to 
 the time of Alexander it was not customary for the heads of indi- 
 vidual rulers to be represented on coins. Nor were written labels 
 frequent in the early issues as a means of stating authority and 
 value. In most cases the issuing authority was a city-state, and 
 it is by no means an easy task to represent a city on a coin. One 
 solution was to represent the name of the city as a physical object — 
 the so-called "canting type" of symbol; another solution was to 
 represent some article of commerce peculiar to that city; another 
 was to represent some geographical peculiarity of the site; another 
 was the representation of a renowned athletic victory; finally, 
 a patron deity or eponymous hero might be represented. Thus 
 symbols have a very important role upon coins, owing to the peculiar 
 demands in this medium. Technical difficulties such as the restric- 
 tions of space and the representation of three dimensional objects 
 also had their influence upon the symbols which appear upon coins. 
 
 With regard to gems the limitations of the medium again affect 
 the use of symbols. The very small size precludes the use of more 
 than one or two figures. These figures were usually mythological; 
 and as the small size prevented artistic delineation of characters 
 through individualization of features, attributes were necessary for 
 the recognition of the personages. Scenic features such as the sea 
 had also to be suggested by symbols, because of the restricted area. 
 In the fine period of gem-cutting when the adaptability of a head 
 to the space was recognized, symbols became less frequent. Thus, 
 as in sculpture, a truer realization of the ideals to be represented in 
 the medium and a fuller mastery of technical execution led to a 
 decrease of symbols. 
 
 Terra cottas display very little that is peculiar to the fabric. 
 The artisans who worked in this medium dealt with everyday life 
 and were inclined toward realism and genre rather than toward 
 that idealism which compels the use of symbols through inability
 
 RELATION OF SYMBOLS TO THE MEDIUM 37 
 
 to express ideas. In so far as terra cottas represented divine 
 beings, they borrowed their ideas of deity from sculpture, and, 
 therefore, their symbols. 
 
 In architecture symbols are not as prevalent as in the other 
 arts which we have discussed. This medium has a twofold nature — 
 structural and decorative. On the structural side, many of the 
 features of architecture are not the result of free will or fancy on the 
 part of man, the architect, but are the result of conditions inherent 
 in the character of the medium itself, since in many respects 
 architecture is akin to engineering and therefore approaches 
 mechanical rather than aesthetic art. Yet certain features in its 
 structural form appear to have symbolic significance. Whether 
 or not one accepts the theory that the Mycenean megaron is the 
 prototype of the Greek temple, it is an accepted fact that the 
 temple was conceived of as the abode of the deity, and that the 
 nucleus of the plan of a temple is a primitive house. This idea of 
 the temple as a home of the god carries out the same anthropo- 
 morphic conception of deity seen in other phases of Greek art. 
 Symbolism is seen in the large size and the durability of Greek 
 temples. Since the God was greater, more powerful, and of longer 
 life than mortal man, his house must be larger and of greater 
 durability than human habitations. Thus we have spiritual ideas 
 expressed by physical terms. 
 
 The orientation of Greek temples may have had symbolic 
 import. The fixed rule was that the main entrance to the temple 
 should be on the east (at Bassae where the exigencies of space 
 forced a north and south orientation, a door was cut in the long 
 eastern side). Probably this was symbolism by analogy: since 
 gods of the upper air were those chiefly honored by temples, their 
 abodes should face in the direction of the first rays of that light 
 which distinguished the upper air from the darkness of the lower 
 world. The theory that this temple to Apollo (at Bassae) might 
 have been hypaethral, as was the temple at Didyma, may supply 
 a further instance of analogy, since the temple to a health-god 
 might well be left open to air and sun. 
 
 On the decorative side also certain indications of symbolism 
 should be noted. The acroteria were important architectural 
 
 216395
 
 38 THE USES OF SYMBOLISM IN GREEK ART 
 
 features from a very early period; according to one interpretation 
 they were prophylactic representations of the solar disk (Cook, 
 Zeus, p. 292; Benndorf, " Uber den Ursprung der Giebelakroterien," 
 Jahresh. d. oest. arch. Inst., II [1899], pp. 1-51). 1 There is also a possi- 
 bility that the whole idea of sculptural decoration of the pediments 
 is due to an early representation of a prophylactic serpent in the 
 gable. This theory is strengthened by the instances of early poros 
 pediments in which serpentine forms predominate. The Medusa 
 in the gable of the temple at Corfu increases the possibility that 
 there was sometimes a magic purpose in pedimental sculpture. 
 In the coffer blocks of the ceiling of the peristyle bronze rosettes 
 were fastened; and perhaps we may see in them a symbolic 
 representation of stars and a suggestion of the vault of heaven. 
 We know that a symbolic suggestion of the sky existed in Egyptian 
 decoration, at Deir-el-Bahri in a temple of the Eighteenth Dynasty 
 (Maspero, Manual of Egyptian Archaeology, pp. 1 10-12). It is 
 doubtful, however, if there is any symbolic suggestion in the Greek 
 use of bronze rosettes. Often when symbols are borrowed from 
 another country, they lose their symbolic significance and become 
 merely decorative features. 
 
 Thus in each medium in Greek art the ideas which are 
 represented govern the symbols used in that medium. In so far 
 as these ideas are purely representational, and are concerned with 
 the reproduction of real features of the physical world, symbols 
 tend to disappear in proportion as the technical side of the art 
 comes to perfection. 
 
 1 Note also the theory that the acroterion was derived from the horns of con- 
 secration, Lethaby, Architecture, p. 101.
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 COMPARISON OF GREEK SYMBOLISM WITH THE 
 SYMBOLISM OF OTHER COUNTRIES 
 
 Even after so detailed an examination of the types and uses 
 of symbols in Greek art, our understanding of Greek artistic 
 symbolism will not be complete or adequate without a comparison 
 with the artistic symbolism of other countries. 
 
 Certain obvious similarities in the types of symbols used else- 
 where than in Greek art may be briefly noted. Attributive symbols 
 are widely employed for identifying characters, whether human or 
 divine. The whip and scepter of Osiris and the girdle tie of Isis 
 are familiar examples from Egyptian art. In Assyrian art the 
 winged disk is an attribute of Ashur, while the lion is an attribute 
 of the Babylonian deity Marduk. The dragon with five claws is 
 a symbol peculiar to the emperor of China (Tredwell, Chinese Art 
 Motives, pp. 31-36). In Japan, Ebisu (Yebisu), the Shintoist god 
 of daily food (Allen, Japanese Art Motives, p. 120), carries a fishing- 
 rod and basket of fish as his attributes; while Kashin, the god of 
 roads, is accompanied by the three mystic monkeys (Allen, op. cit., 
 p. 136). In Hindu art the swan, the eagle, and the bull serve as 
 attributes as well as vehicles {vahan) to Brahma, Vishnu, and Siva 
 respectively. The cobra is also an attribute of Siva (Havell, 
 Ideals of Indian Art, pp. 71 f.). Coatlicue, an earth-goddess of 
 Mexico, wears a skirt woven of snakes as her attribute (Spinden, 
 Civilizations of Mexico, p. 195, PI. XL); Xochipilli, god of flowers, 
 dance, and song, wears the high crest of a coxcoxtli bird on his head 
 and a white butterfly painted on his mouth (Joyce, Mcx. Arch., 
 p. 42, PI. V, 1). Christian art distinguished a multitude of per- 
 sonages by their attributes: the winged lion of St. Mark and the 
 keys of St. Peter are characteristic examples. 
 
 Personification is another type of symbol which appears in the 
 arts of many countries. A familiar example from Egypt is the 
 representation of the sky by the outstretched figure of the goddess 
 
 39
 
 4 o THE USES OF SYMBOLISM IN GREEK ART 
 
 Nut, supported by the god Shu who, in turn, personifies the air 
 (Delia Seta, Religion and Art, p. 80, Fig. 15). From Mesopotamia 
 we have a quasi-human representation of the southwest wind 
 (Perrot and Chipiez, Chaldaea and Assyria, II, p. 80, Fig. 32) as 
 well as several anthropomorphic representations of various solar, 
 stellar, and lunar forces: Shamash, Sin, and Ishtar are examples 
 among Babylonian deities. In Assyrian art the winged disk, an 
 aniconic symbol of Ashur, gradually becomes anthropomorphic 
 (Jastrow, Religious Belief in Babylonia and Assyria, PL 18, Fig. 1). 
 In Hindu art personification is frequent in its appearance and 
 varied in its forms. Two well-known examples may serve as 
 illustrations: the three-headed deity symbolizing the Essence of 
 Matter (Havell, Ideals of Indian Art, p. 67), and worldly wisdom, 
 personified by the god Ganesha who has an elephant's head on 
 an infant's body (Havell, op. cit., p. 84, PI. X). In Chinese art 
 certain fabulous animals are the personifications of ideas which 
 are not capable of literal artistic interpretation: the dragon 
 represents the thunder-clouds of summer (Ferguson, Outlines of 
 Chinese Art, Introduction, p. 15); and the unicorn is the 
 incarnation of the five primordial elements (Paleologue, VArt 
 Chinois, p. 24). In Mexican art a monster with gaping jaws 
 represents the earth (Joyce, Mexican Archaeology, p. 233). In 
 Japanese art various animals serve as personifications of abstract 
 ideas or natural phenomena: the lion is the personification of divine 
 protection, the dragon symbolizes power, and the tiger is the 
 incarnation of thunder (Allen, Japanese Art Motives, pp. 52-53). 
 In Christian art the serpent appears as the personification of evil 
 and the dove as the incarnation of the Holy Ghost. 
 
 Representative symbols are found in the art of various countries. 
 On the Egyptian wall paintings from the tombs of Beni-Hasan 
 there are many instances of a river suggested by fish, hippopotamos, 
 or crocodile (cf. Newberry, Beni Hasan, Part I, PI. XXIX; Part II, 
 PI. IV). The reliefs from the palace of Sargon at Khorsabad 
 furnish an Assyrian example of the representative type of symbol: 
 many small boats, with three or four men each, are transporting 
 wood across a stream, the water is indicated by numerous fish, 
 turtles, crabs, water-serpents, shells, etc. (Jastrow, Civilization of
 
 COMPARISON OF GREEK WITH OTHER SYMBOLISM 41 
 
 Babylonia and Assyria, p. 403, PI. LVI, Fig. 2). On a page from the 
 Codex Nuttall from Mexico, the sea is indicated by a crocodile, a 
 flying fish, a sea-serpent, and a bivalve shell (Spinden, Civilizations 
 of Mexico, p. 219, PI. XLIII, a). In many early Christian paint- 
 ings of the Fall of Man the scenic setting in the Garden of Eden is 
 suggested only by the presence of the one tree encircled by the 
 serpent. 
 
 Physical symbols for spiritual ideas are not limited to Greek 
 art any more than the types we have already mentioned. In 
 Egyptian art the king is of much larger size than his subjects, the 
 dead are larger than the living, and the god is larger than his 
 devotees (Maspero, Manual of Egyptian Archaeology, p. 206). 
 Instances of this are familiar both in relief and painting; even in 
 the archaic palette of Narmer the king is much larger than his 
 subjects or his foes (Maspero, op. cil., p. 232, Figs. 197, 198). 
 The same rule held true in Mesopotamia. For example, on the 
 placque of Ur-Nina of Lagash that king is much larger than the 
 rest of his family (Jastrow, Civilization of Babylonia and Assyria, 
 p. 386, PI. XL VI, Fig. 1). In Chinese art, Ferguson comments 
 on " the adaptation of the size of the figure to the relative importance 
 of the person represented" (Ferguson, Outlines of Chinese Art, 
 p. 94). 
 
 A play upon words seems a natural method of artistic symbolism, 
 if one may judge by the appearance of canting symbols in the arts 
 of widely separated countries. Maspero explains the canting 
 significance of the Egyptian scarab in the following words, "This 
 insect was called kheper and it is supposed that its name was derived 
 from the root khepra, 'to become.' By an obvious play on the 
 words the beetle was made the emblem of terrestrial existence" 
 (Maspero, Manual of Egyptian Archaeology, p. 278). In China, 
 a lion represented a teacher, because the word shih is the same for 
 both (Ferguson, Outlines of Chinese Art, p. 197); a bat represents 
 happiness by a similar play on words (Tredwell, Chinese Art Motives, 
 p. 22). In Japan, similarly, the bean is a symbol of bodily health, 
 because a word which is pronounced the same as bean, but written 
 with a different character, means " robust" (Allen, Japanese Art 
 Motives, p. 35); seaweed signifies joy or gladness by a pun on the
 
 42 THE USES OF SYMBOLISM IN GREEK ART 
 
 verb "to rejoice" (Allen, op. cit., p. 37). The Mexican deity, 
 Uitzilopochtli, usually appears in the dress of a humming bird 
 (Uitzitzilin) "in punning allusion to his name" (Joyce, Mexican 
 Archaeology, p. 32). In Christian art, there is a punning relation 
 between the names of several saints and the attributes which 
 appear with them, for instance, the lamb of St. Agnes, the horn of 
 St. Cornelius, and the scythe of St. Sidwell (Geldart, Manual of 
 Church Decoration and Symbolism, p. 76). 
 
 The type of symbol which represents an analogous idea instead 
 of the original concept is also found among other nations than the 
 Greeks. On the slate palette of Nar-Mer from Egypt, a bull is 
 shown breaking into an inclosure and trampling on a human body. 
 There seems no doubt that this represents the king overcoming 
 his foes (Quibell, Hierakonpolis, Pt. I, p. 10, PL XXIX). On the 
 Stele of the Vultures from Mesopotamia, the net with human 
 figures undoubtedly indicates the capture of enemies (Jastrow, 
 Civilization of Babylonia and Assyria, p. 387, PI. XLVII, Fig. 2). 
 Hindu art represents the reincarnation of the soul under the guise 
 of a snake, in allusion to its habit of shedding the old skin (Ha veil, 
 Ideals of Indian Art, p. 59). In all Buddhist art the white flowers 
 of the lotus are emblematic of purity. Among the Chinese the 
 moon is often represented with its base half covered by waves in 
 acknowledgment of lunar influence on the tides (Tredwell, Chinese 
 Art Motives, p. 20). The Mexican maize-god, Cinteotl, is repre- 
 sented "with a vertical line leading down his cheek, probably 
 representing tears, and symbolizing the fertilizing rain" (Joyce, 
 Mexican Archaeology, p. 38). In Maya art the frequent represen- 
 tation of a human head in the snake's mouth indicates "innate 
 human intelligence" (Spinden, A Study of Maya Art, p. 239). 
 In Christian art various flowers represented qualities which the 
 appearance of the flower suggested. Thus the lily typified purity, 
 the rose, charity or the blood of martyrs, the violet, humility, etc. 
 (Haig, Floral Symbolism, p. 28) . Various animals typified qualities : 
 the ox was an example of patience and strength and the lion of 
 strength (Jenner, Christian Symbolism, p. 146). 
 
 Magic symbols are common to all primitive peoples in the 
 animistic stage of religion and survive into the theistic stage. Delia
 
 COMPARISON OF GREEK WITH OTHER SYMBOLISM 43 
 
 Seta comments that not only the needs of life but of death were 
 related to the use of magic in plastic art (Delia Seta, Religion and 
 Art, p. 41). In Egypt and in early China we find the apotropaic 
 eye (Maspero, Manual of Egyptian Archaeology, p. 278; Fenellosa, 
 Epochs of Chinese and Japanese Art, I, p. 8). Egypt possessed 
 many other magic symbols such as the scarab, the girdle tie of 
 Isis and the crux ansata (Maspero, Manual of Egyptian Archaeology, 
 p. 278). In Mesopotamia an image of the demon of the southwest 
 wind was hung up at door or window to scare away evil spirits 
 (Handcock, Mesopotamian Archaeology, p. 262). The winged 
 monsters which were at the portals of a palace were also intended 
 to ward off attacks of evil spirits (Handcock, op. cit., p. 238). The 
 Hindus used jewels and gems as a protection against evil; upon 
 some charms the "five weapons of Vishnu" were engraved (Cooma- 
 raswamy , A rts and Crafts of India and Ceylon, p. 1 54) . The Japanese 
 wear the swastika as a guard against evil (Otto and Holbrook, 
 Mythological Japan, p. 50). Chinese art uses one of twelve animals 
 of the Zodiac as protection during the period when that animal is 
 in the ascendancy (Paleologue, VArt Chinois, p. 68). 
 
 In addition to these similarities in the general types, we may 
 note some interesting parallels in specific symbols. The sphinx 
 appears in Egyptian and Mycenean art as well as in Greek art. 
 The thunderbolt appears as the attribute of the Mesopotamian 
 deity Adad. Phallic emblems appear in many widely scattered 
 countries, for instance, as the lingam of Siva in India. The prophy- 
 lactic eye appears in Egypt and in primitive Chinese art. The Greek 
 idea of the soul as a butterfly appears also in Japan (Allen, Japanese 
 Art Motives, p. 81); and the Mexican idea of souls as humming 
 birds and moths is also noteworthy (Joyce, Mexican Archaeology, 
 pp. 102-3). 
 
 Some of these similarities obviously can be explained as inherit- 
 ances or as migration of symbols. Yet even D'Alviella, the ardent 
 apostle of the migration theory, classes many of the common and 
 familiar types of symbols as spontaneous inventions: 
 
 There exists a symbolism so natural that, after the manner of certain 
 implements peculiar to the stone ages, it does not belong to any definite region 
 or race, but constitutes a characteristic feature of humanity in a certain phase
 
 44 THE USES OF SYMBOLISM IN GREEK ART 
 
 of development. To this category belong, for example, the representation of 
 the sun by a disk or radiating face, of the moon by a crescent, of the air by 
 birds, of the water by fishes, also by a wavy line, and so forth. Perhaps certain 
 more complicated analogies should be added to these, such as the symbolizing 
 of the different phases of human existence by the life of the tree, the generative 
 forces of nature by the phallic emblems, the divine triads and generally every 
 triple combination whose members are equal, by the equilateral triangle, and 
 lastly, the four main directions of space by the cross [D'Alviella, Migration of 
 Symbols, p. 12]. 
 
 We have arrived, therefore, at a twofold conclusion: first, the 
 majority of symbols in Greek art are of types common to many 
 lands and nations; second, a large share of these symbols owe their 
 origin to an early stage of artistic development in which technical 
 perfection had not yet been reached. 
 
 In spite of these obvious similarities to the symbolism of other 
 countries, one instinctively feels that there is a peculiarly Hellenic 
 character to Greek symbolism. We shall therefore examine the 
 differences from the symbolism of other countries in order to see 
 whether this impression is correct. 
 
 Two types of symbols are found in Greek art which are not 
 found elsewhere, namely, commercial and agonistic types. In 
 addition, two other types appear in Greek art which rarely occur 
 in other countries: cause for effect and effect for cause. 
 
 Yet the real and vital difference lies, not in the existence or 
 non-existence of certain types of symbols, but in the attitude toward 
 symbols and the application of them to the problems in hand. 
 
 One important difference from other countries is that Greek 
 symbols are simple, easy to read, and almost self-interpretive. 
 Perhaps that is the reason why we have not had more discussions 
 and treatises on symbolism, for few, indeed, are the Greek symbols 
 whose significance we fail to understand. Greek symbolism had 
 none of that conscious veiling of meaning from the eyes of the 
 uninitiate, none of that deliberate striving toward the esoteric, 
 which characterizes the art of other countries. Early Christian 
 symbolism was "constructed so that it should be understood fully 
 by the initiated only" (Jenner, Christian Symbolism, Introduction, 
 p. xiv). In Buddhist art it is a well-recognized fact that the 
 symbols were esoteric. Anesaki says regarding Buddhist symbol-
 
 COMPARISON OF GREEK WITH OTHER SYMBOLISM 45 
 
 ism: "To know all these signs and their symbolic meanings is a 
 hard task, and we, the uninitiated, must remain satisfied with being 
 told that the possible deities and symbols are as many as the atoms 
 of the Universe" (Anesaki, Buddhist Art and Its Relation to Buddhist 
 Ideals, p. 35). Hartmann calls Buddhist symbolism in Japan 
 "an inextricable network" (Hartman, Japanese Art, p. 34), and 
 describes the impression on one as a "sensation of bewilderment 
 and vertigo" (Hartman, op. cit., p. 31). The esoteric tendencies 
 complicate the interpretation of Mexican artistic remains (Joyce, 
 Mexican Archaeology, p. 226). 
 
 Coupled with this characteristic of simplicity is the fact that 
 the number of Greek symbols in common use was not very large. 
 In Greek art we do not find that the symbols are "as many as the 
 atoms of the Universe," as in Buddhist art (Anesaki, Buddhist 
 Art and Its Relation to Buddhist Ideals, p. 35), nor yet do we find 
 it necessary in Greek art to have classified lists of beings and their 
 emblems as one must for Christian art, where not only members of 
 the earthly hierarchy must be identified, but also various orders of 
 supernatural beings, such as archangels, cherubim, seraphim, etc. 
 (cf. Clement, Handbook of Christian Symbols, p. 14 f.). 
 
 It is a third characteristic of Greek symbols that they are always 
 subordinate and do not exist for their own sake, but are merely 
 explicative or explanatory of the main idea which is being presented. 
 Ferrero discusses a group of symbols which he calls mystical, in 
 which "the symbol often ends by replacing entirely the thing which 
 it ought to represent, it absorbs the reality and acquires an exagger- 
 ated importance" (Ferrero, Les Lois Psychologiques du Symbolisme, 
 p. 93). This description does not apply to Greek art where, for 
 example, the thunderbolt never assumes a personality of its own, 
 superseding the figure of Zeus, nor do aegis and spear assume that 
 importance which belongs to Athena. There is no parallel in Greek 
 art to the position of intrinsic importance assigned to the cross in 
 Christian art, or to the serpent in Maya art (Spinden, Civilizations 
 of Mexico, p. 84). Furthermore, isolated symbols do not appear 
 as decorative motives in Greek art, except in the case of magic 
 symbols like the apotropaic eye. A contrast with this may be 
 observed in Japanese art where certain symbols do appear alone
 
 46 THE USES OF SYMBOLISM IN GREEK ART 
 
 as a decorative scheme; for example, the fan which is the emblem 
 of command, the keys of the " go-down," specifying wealth, the 
 crow as a sign of filial devotion, and so forth. (For extended lists 
 of such symbols compare Allen, Japanese Art Motives and Otto, 
 Mythological Japan.) 
 
 The same taste which prompted the Greeks to make their 
 symbols few and simple, and to subordinate symbols to the main 
 idea, led them to keep these symbols congruous. There are no 
 "mixed metaphors" in Greek symbolism. Contrast with this the 
 confusion on a Babylonian seal cylinder where in the same scene 
 the sun is represented as an anthropomorphic being and as the gate 
 of sunrise (Jastrow, Civilization of Babylonia and Assyria, p. 423). 
 Nor did Greek art indulge in the riotous confusion of symbols 
 which forms such a characteristic feature of Hindu art (cf. the 
 bronze statue of Siva Nataraja, Smith, History of Fine Arts in India 
 and Ceylon, pp. 250 f.). 
 
 It is another striking difference in the application of symbolism 
 that Greek symbols nearly always conform to some sort of aesthetic 
 canon. There is little suggestion of the absurd, the grotesque, or 
 the horrible in Greek symbolism. 1 Contrast with this the un- 
 pleasant beast-human combinations of Egyptian and Babylonian 
 art, or the fantastic forms of Maya deities which almost seem the 
 wild fancies of an opium dream. But, as in other instances, the 
 most decided contrast to Greek art in this respect is Hindu art. 
 Smith voices the conservative sentiment of most observers when he 
 comments that Hindu art has "little regard to aesthetic consider- 
 ations, no form is regarded as too monstrous for plastic representa- 
 tion. The result too often is merely grotesque and absurd, but 
 occasionally is horrible. Additional limbs and heads are put on, 
 whether or not they disturb the balance of the composition or excite 
 a feeling of disgust" (Smith, op. cit., p. 182). Delia Seta says that 
 in Greek art considerations of form were a vital consideration 
 because the art was decorative in type (Delia Seta, Religion and 
 Art, p. 212). We may sum up this difference by saying that Greek 
 symbolism was that of the artist, and therefore his symbols had to 
 
 1 Such instances as the "horse-headed" Demeter, known through literary refer- 
 ences, are very rare in Greek art.
 
 COMPARISON -OF GREEK WITH OTHER SYMBOLISM 47 
 
 conform to aesthetic considerations, while the symbolism of these 
 other countries was not primarily that of the artist, but of the 
 religionist. In my opinion, this is the most important and character- 
 istic feature of Greek symbolism. 
 
 With these differences noted between Greek symbolism and that 
 of other countries, let us finally make inquiry into the reasons for 
 such differences. 
 
 The first reason is the vital one of the purpose which art served 
 in each country. In Egypt art served a protective purpose; its 
 chief aim was the benefit of the dead. In Babylonia and Assyria 
 the chief purpose of art was the glorification of the ruling dynasty 
 (Delia Seta, op. cit., pp. 140 f.). The reliefs were for the most 
 part realistic scenes of war and hunting; and symbols were used 
 to convey the necessary setting of forest or sea. Early Christian 
 symbolism was didactic in its purpose: Jenner says, " Beauty was 
 not so much its object as instruction and reminding" (Jenner, 
 Christian Symbolism, Introduction, p. xvii) . Similarly, the main pur- 
 pose of Hindu art was "to make the central idea of Hindu religion and 
 philosophy intelligible" (Havell, Ideals of Indian Art, Introduction, 
 p. xviii). Smith agrees that "the main object of the artist was to 
 illustrate his Bible" (Smith, History of Fine Arts in India and 
 Ceylon, p. 78). The same author's comment in another passage 
 is even more illuminating, "Art for its own sake did not, and does 
 not now, interest the Hindu" (Smith, op. cit., p. 8). The purpose 
 of Greek art was lupqais tcov kclX&v, or, as Delia Seta well expresses 
 it, "The constant aim of Greek art was ideal perfection of form. 
 A decorative form of art that would have its subjects valued for 
 the appearance they assumed must give the greatest weight to 
 considerations of form, for only by perfection of form could the 
 expressiveness of the scene be increased" (Delia Seta, Religion and 
 Art, p. 212). The purpose of Greek art, therefore, was neither 
 magical nor dynastic, neither didactic nor esoteric; it was aesthetic. 
 The artist made a statue or coin with the twofold aim of satisfying 
 his own instinct to create something beautiful and of giving to his 
 patrons the pleasure of gazing upon something beautiful. Art, 
 whose purpose is magical, didactic or esoteric, must call upon 
 symbolism very extensively since many of the ideas engendered
 
 48 THE USES OF SYMBOLISM IN GREEK ART 
 
 by such purposes are "in the fulness of their own nature not expres- 
 sible at all" (Pater, Greek Studies, p. 300) . But an art whose purpose 
 is nifj.7)<ns tu)i> KaXoov excludes symbolism except in so far as realistic 
 technique is deficient. 
 
 The second important reason for differences in symbolism lies 
 in the attitude of the Greeks toward religion and philosophy. 
 There never existed in the Greek religion that objection to the 
 anthropomorphic representation of deity which existed in various 
 other nations, notably among the Babylonians and Assyrians, the 
 Jews, the early Christians, and during the early stages of Buddhism. 
 Such objections to anthropomorphism forced artists to suggest 
 the deities under various symbols, more or less appropriate to their 
 character and functions; or else, as among the Jews, it entirely 
 prevented the creation of art. Nor was there, among the Greeks, 
 an overwhelming interest in the protective aspect of deity as in 
 Egyptian religion; nor in the spiritual or moral nature of the deity 
 as in Hebrew or Christian religion; nor yet in the philosophical or 
 metaphysical aspect of deity as was the case among the Hindus. 
 The chief religious interest of the Greeks was in the human or 
 physical aspect of deity. From the viewpoint of religion, therefore, 
 the Greek did not need to adopt symbolism for the expression of 
 his ideas. 1 
 
 The last reason for the differences in symbols lies in the attitude 
 of the Greeks toward the physical world. The Greek had a very 
 real love for and sympathy with the physical world and material 
 existence. He did not hold the pessimistic doctrine of the Hindu 
 that life is present pain and that the chief necessity was to annihilate 
 the love of life. He did not strive "to subdue the flesh, to repress 
 the passion for enjoyment, to trample upon one's own existence" 
 (Delia Seta, Religion and Art, pp. 295-96). On the contrary, the 
 Greek rejoiced keenly in the pleasures which his senses afforded to 
 
 1 Cf. Delia Seta, Religion and Art, p. 303, "Greek art, the art of a nation which 
 produced the greatest of philosophies, had never attempted to clothe philosophic 
 conceptions in artistic form. On the contrary one of its best features, the one which 
 enabled it to preserve eternal youth, was its unwillingness to philosophize with forms." 
 
 Delia Seta, op. cit., p. 142, "Greek art frees itself from the oppression of religious 
 bonds and while taking its figure subjects from religion and myth, made from them 
 pure ideals of material and moral beauty."
 
 COMPARISON OF GREEK WITH OTHER SYMBOLISM 49 
 
 him and revelled deeply in the physical beauties of the world around 
 him. As a result of this sensitive appreciation, he expressed his 
 own ideas of beauty and aesthetics in terms of physical objects 
 from the real world. One might almost say that he did his thinking 
 through the medium of material and concrete objects. For example, 
 when the Greek thought such an idea as Victory, he did not retain 
 that idea as an abstract concept but immediately translated it 
 into terms of the physical world wherein lay his chief interest: he 
 had the rare gift of concrete visualization. Another important 
 feature of this relation to the physical world was the Greek concep- 
 tion of man's place in the Universe. Many of the Chinese ideas 
 and symbols are comprehensible only from their viewpoint of the 
 "inferior position of man to the powers of Heaven and Earth'' 
 (Ferguson, Outlines of Chinese Art, p. 197); the Jewish view is the 
 same, "What is man that Thou art mindful of him?" To the 
 Greek, however, man was the equal of any being in the Universe; 
 his gods were but larger men, and he had no visions of celestial 
 beauty like those of a Fra Angelico. Thus the chief object of 
 interest to the Greek was the human body and for his loving 
 depiction of this form of beauty he needed no symbols. 1 
 
 From our review of the artistic practice of various lands it 
 appears that a recourse to symbolism is an indication of the artist's 
 sense of the inadequacy of his art to picture fully his ideas and 
 intentions. This inadequacy may be due merely to the artist's own 
 lack of skill (in that he does not know how to picture something 
 which is perfectly susceptible of being so pictured or represented) ; 
 or it may be due to the artist's desire to express something incapable 
 of direct pictorial representation. In Greek art we have found 
 very few instances belonging to this second category. The clearest 
 examples occurred (1) on coins, where they were due to the attempt 
 to eliminate or to subordinate written legends (such as the name of 
 the town minting the coin, the value of the coin), and (2) in the 
 attempt to express abstractions in visual form. A recourse to 
 symbolism because of the artist's lack of skill is naturally frequent 
 
 1 Rodin, Art, p. 57, "Among no other people has the beauty of the human body 
 excited a more sensuous tenderness."
 
 50 THE USES OF SYMBOLISM IN GREEK ART 
 
 in the earlier periods of Greek art. Thus, as long as there were no 
 adequate means for individualizing persons, attributive symbols 
 were inevi table; before the mastery of the means for showing 
 facial expression properly, a symbolic language of gesture was 
 necessary (e.g., Boston Counterpart). But as the growing technical 
 proficiency eliminated these difficulties, the attendant symbolism 
 tended to disappear pari passu. From our study there emerges 
 this very important and very significant thesis, viz., that tlie Ireek 
 artistic mind {to a degree known to no other nation) had the power of 
 concrete visualisation and of self-expression in physically real terms 
 capable of direct pictorial representation. The Greek mind thought 
 in terms of what actually was in order to suggest vividly and immedi- 
 ately what actually might be. This is one of the chief reasons why 
 Greek art does not feel exotic nor become antiquated. It constitutes 
 one of its chief claims to be a salutary influence and a great teacher 
 for artists today. 
 
 Wherever the ultimate intention lies beyond the physically 
 concrete and real (as so often happens when art is in the service of 
 religion) the artist must help himself out with symbols. There is 
 no more extraordinary comment upon the character of Greek 
 religion than the apparent adequacy of Greek art to serve the 
 demands of Greek religion without having to abandon any of its 
 own concreteness, without having to take refuge in symbolic 
 suggestion, nor is there any more illuminating comment on Indian 
 art than its subordinance to symbolism in the interest of Indian 
 religious ideas. 
 
 It may be that the greatest art is symbolic : such a conclusion 
 might flow from one's definition of artistic greatness, and with 
 such a thesis we here have no concern. But it would appear to 
 follow from our discussion that part of the greatness of Greek art 
 lies in its avoidance of symbolism and that Greek art is the great 
 example of non-symbolic art.
 
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 ABBREVIATIONS 
 
 A.G.— Furtwangler, A., Antike Gemmen. 
 
 A J .A . — A merican Journal of Archaeology. 
 
 Ann. d. Inst. — Anatoli dell' Instituto di Correspondenza Archaeologica. 
 
 Ant. Denk. — Antike Denkmaler. 
 
 Arch. Anz. — Archaeologischer Anzeiger. 
 
 Art and Arch. — Art and Archaeology. 
 
 Ath. Milt. — Athenische Mittheilungen. 
 
 A .Z. — Archaeologische Zeitung. 
 
 B.B. — Brunn, H., and Arndt, P., Denkmaler griechischer und romischer Skulplur. 
 
 B.C.H.— Bulletin de Correspondance Hellenique. 
 
 Bull. d. Inst.— Bulletin dell' Instituto. 
 
 C.R.— Comptes-Rendus de la Commission Imperiale Archeologique, Atlas. 
 
 Ephem. Arch. — Ephemeris Archaeologike. 
 
 F.R. — Furtwangler, A., and Reichold, K., Griechische Vasenmalerei. 
 
 H.N. — Head, B. V., Historia Numorum. 
 
 Jhb. — Jahrbuch des Kaiserlich Deutschen Archaeologischen Instituls. 
 
 J.H.S. — Journal of Hellenic Studies. 
 
 Memorie — Memorie de Vlnstitut de Rome. 
 
 Mon. Ant. Line. — •Monumenti Antichi della Reale Accademia dei Lincei. 
 
 Mem. d. Inst. — Monumenti Inediti dell' Instituto. 
 
 Mon. Piot — Monuments et Memoir es: Fondation Eugene Piot. 
 
 Rev. Arch. — Revue Archeologique. 
 
 Rhein. Mus. — Rheinisches Museum. 
 
 Rom. Mitt. — Romische Mittheilungen. 
 
 55
 
 VITA 
 
 I, Janet Malcolm Macdonald, was born in Hubbard, Iowa, March 6, 1891, 
 daughter of W. T. Macdonald, D.D., and Margaret Janet Macdonald. I was 
 prepared for college during the years 1904 to 1907 by the Morningside Academy, 
 Sioux City, Iowa. From 1907 to 1910 I was a student at Morningside College, 
 Sioux City, Iowa, from which I was graduated in 1910 with the degree of A.B. 
 During 1911-12 I was assistant principal in the high school at Aurelia, Iowa. 
 From 191 2 to 1913 I was graduate scholar in classics at the University of 
 Illinois, from which I received the degree of A.M. in 1913; during this year, 
 the greater part of my work was done with Professor A. S. Pease and Professor 
 W. A. Oldfather, to whose scholarship and inspiration I am deeply indebted. 
 During the years 1913-15 I was instructor in Latin in Morningside College, 
 Sioux City, Iowa. From 191 5 to 191 7 I was graduate scholar in archaeology 
 at Bryn Mawr College, and 191 7-1 8 fellow in archaeology at the same institu- 
 tion. 
 
 In 191 7 I was awarded upon competitive examination the Fellowship of the 
 School, in the American School of Classical Studies at Athens. My sincere 
 thanks are due to Professor Rhys Carpenter for his kindly suggestions and 
 generous assistance during the preparation for these examinations. 
 
 I acknowledge with pleasure my indebtedness to my various instructors, 
 particularly to Professor Arthur Leslie Wheeler, Professor George Amos 
 Barton, and Dr. Mary Hamilton Swindler. 
 
 I wish to express my thanks to Professor Rhys Carpenter for his suggestion 
 of the subject, and for his interest and inspiration in the development of the 
 thesis; and to Professor Joseph Clark Hoppin for his unfailing generosity of 
 time and for his criticism and supervision of the dissertation during Professor 
 Carpenter's absence in military service. I desire also to thank Dr. Mary 
 Hamilton Swindler for many valuable suggestions; and Dr. Eleanor Ferguson 
 Rambo for helpful criticism. 
 
 56
 
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