ing forward of the body, and consequently its weight being supported by the advanced leg.

The whole passage, freely translated, reads as follows:

"A small stand of earth is thrown up big enough to support one man who stands on it with both feet, of which the left is in the rear. This base is made sloping to the front, and by this device enables the left leg to get free of much of the weight of the body; for this left leg must accompany the violent forward movement of the right side.

"The discus-thrower himself ought to stand as follows: with his head turned to the right he ought to stoop enough to be able to glance along his ribs. When he is making the throw he must, as it were, straighten up with a jump and throw in the additional weight of his entire right side."

The first part of the passage contains the description of the Baλßis and the first position of the athlete on it; the second part describes his second position, when he is ready to hurl the discus, and has stooped and twisted himself like the discusthrower after Myron. The athlete has not changed the position of his legs (Myron's statue has the right leg in advance), because a change of legs is useless unless it is accompanied by a forward movement of the body to add weight to the throw; and on a small Baλßis, just "big enough to support one man," this is obviously impossible, for the left foot cannot advance beyond the spot held by the right foot, and in a change of legs, therefore, would compel the right foot actually to make a move backward, thereby retarding the throw, rather than accelerating it.

Modern athletes, and Mr. Habich with them, do not agree. with Philostratus; they do not use a base from which to hurl the discus, nor do they make a "stationary" throw, but one "on the jump"; they even say that it would be impossible for them to throw the discus far, if they were to follow the instructions of Philostratus. This, however, does not invalidate the testimony of Philostratus for the interpretation of ancient representations of discus-throwers. Philostratus found in the description of a painting the immediate cause for his discussion of the discus-throw, and his descriptions of the positions of the athlete were probably based upon his personal knowledge of famous statues. His second position, therefore, agrees with the discus-thrower after Myron, while his indicated first position is a fairly accurate description of the Vatican figure. It is, therefore, clear that Philostratus at least saw in this figure, or the type which it preserves, an actual athlete. To use him as authority against such an interpretation of the statue is obviously inadmissible.

Both arguments of Mr. Habich are, therefore, invalid; and his assertion as to how a discus-thrower ought to take his stand cannot prove his case. If Mr. Habich, on the other hand, is right, and if really the discus cannot, or could not, be thrown

by a man who has taken his stand with his right leg in advance, then he has simply added one more instance to the many already known that prove that the ancients took liberties in representing subjects from life. They sought to represent the "idea," and were little concerned with the detailed fidelity of their representations.

EDMUND VON MACH.

1903 January-June

ARCHAEOLOGICAL DISCUSSIONS1

SUMMARIES OF ORIGINAL ARTICLES CHIEFLY IN CURRENT PERIODICALS

GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS

Early Bronze Implements. In Archaeologia, LVIII, 1902, pp. 1-16 (16 figs.), W. GREENWELL describes a number of bronze daggers, knives, and axe-heads in his collection, which deserve record by reason of peculiarities of form, manufacture, and ornamentation. The specimens are from widely separated localities, including England, France, Ionia, Naxos, Greece, Egypt, Armenia, and Syria, nor do they belong to the same period. Deposits of Sacred Axes. - In B. Soc. Ant. Fr. 1903, pp. 137-141, BLAUCHET calls attention to the discovery in France and Sweden of deposits of stone or bronze axes or celts. These are usually arranged in a circle or semicircle with the edges inward or upward, and are frequently covered by a slab of stone. The circular arrangement of cromlechs and dolmens may be compared. The axe is considered by many as the symbol of the solar deity or of the god of thunder, and is frequently found engraved on monuments of Brittany. With this cult are to be connected these deposits. A similar signification of the axe is probably found in the Mycenaean cult.

Early Writing in the Mediterranean Basin. — In R. Arch. I, 1903, pp. 213-232, R. WEILL discusses the question of early systems of linear writing in Mediterranean lands. He gives a brief history of the discoveries and theories of Evans and Petrie, and states the chronological difficulties caused by the identification of the linear signs found at Abydos with those of Crete. He then considers this identification, and concludes that the similarity is only accidental. The basis of the comparison is wrong. The Egyptian linear signs are derived directly from native hieroglyphics. The Cretan signs are derived also from the earlier hieroglyphics of the island.

1 The departments of Archaeological News and Discussions and of Bibliography of Archaeological Books are conducted by Professor FOWLER, Editor-in-charge, assisted by Miss MARY H. BUCKINGHAM, Professor HARRY E. BURTON, Professor JAMES C. EGBERT, JR., Professor ELMER T. MERRILL, Dr. GEORGE N. OLCOTT, Professor JAMES M. PATON, and the Editors, especially Professor MARQUAND. In Professor FOWLER's absence, these departments are conducted by Professor PATON.

No attempt is made to include in the present number of the JOURNAL material published after June 30, 1903.

For an explanation of the abbreviations, see pp. 145, 146.