XXXIX
Homer extols the skill of the Trojan architects: a sufficient
proof of the superior advances made by the Asiatics in the
art; and yet it is remarkable, that neither in the palace of
Priam, nor in that of Paris, said to be raised by the most
able workmen, is there any thing which indicates the
appearance of ornament, excepting the mention of polished
stone'. This, indeed, seems to have composed the main
beauty of the Homeric buildings. In imaginary edifices the
materials are sometimes changed, and we find a profusion of
the precious metals employed in their construction; but this,
as I have before observed, is an additional proof of the
poverty of the architectural decoration. From the frequent
mention of hewn and polished stone in the most costly and
magnificent mansions, it would appear that the general
practice in the time of Homer himself was confined to the
employment of those irregular masses still to be seen in the
walls of Tiryns. In the Odyssey, however, amongst the
details of the palace of Ulysses,the marks of an age somewhat
later are discoverable.
It is not certain that the author of the Iliad had any
knowledge of houses formed in regular divisions of stories.
Two passages evidently alluding to such buildings are of
doubtful antiquity? ; and the true meaning of a third has, I
think, been forcibly bent to this interpretation'. In the
Odyssey, mention of the upper chambers, especially as the
residence of women, frequently occurs.
The use of columns was not unknown to the author of
Il. vi. 248.
Il. ii. 514. xvi. 184.
Il. vi. 315.