Paris; Achilles arming before Thetis; a winged Hercules
killing the Lernean Hydra; Juno and her rivals preparing
for the judgment of Paris; Hercules bearing off a
female figure; Venus holding a dove, as a mirror handle;
the Dioscuri, Clytemnestra and Helen; Aphrodite nursing
Eros; and Dolon, Ulysses, and Diomed. Bronze figures
of Greek and Roman divinities fill the next case,
including a silver group of Saturn devouring his children;
no less than nineteen Jupiters, one in silver with
a goat at his side. These are continued in the
following case (78), including Isis; Ganymede and
the eagle; Terpsichore; Apollos; Junos; a fine Apollo
from Paramythia; a Triton, with crab’s claws,
and a face turning into sea weed; Dianas, one, in silver,
holding a crescent; and Neptune, distinguishable by
his trident. Three cases, next in order of number
(80-82), are devoted to ancient Roman horse-trappings.
Busts of Minerva occupy the most prominent positions
in the 83rd case; and in the next case (84) are no
less than twenty-one figures of Mercury, one of which,
distinguishable by the gold collar about the neck,
is reputed the most beautiful bronze in Europe.
These figures of Mercury are in various attitudes.
Here the cocks, emblematic of the athletic games,
are before him—there he is flying on Jupiter’s
eagle; and near these figures are arranged twenty-eight
figures of Venus; in one place the goddess is rising
from the sea, in another she is arranging her sandal,
or riding her swan. Playful Cupids, thirty-five
in number, and gambolling variously, occupy the position
next in order to the figures of Venus. Here the
little god is running, there he bears the anointing-box
of Venus—there he is laughing, in another
corner his laughter is turned to tears, and in another
he is ingloriously intoxicated. In another direction
he is exhibited in his amiable moods, feeding a hare
with grapes, or toying with a swan. The next
case (86) contains an assortment of ancient glazed
articles including glass studs, buttons, &c., from
the sepulchres of Etruria; bronze sandals from Armentum;
and glazed ware of various shapes. In the 87th
case are deposited four curious fragments from Perugia,
of chariot chasings, representing various warlike
emblems and doings; and an ancient scabbard engraved
with an outline of Briseis led by Achilles. Deities
fill the next case (89), including fourteen figures
of Harpocrates; a Pan; and figures of Bacchus.
Silenus, with silver eyes and a crown set with garnets,
will be found in the next case (90) where Hercules
is strangling the Nemean lion; and another Silenus
kneeling on a wine-skin. Cupid is seizing the
weapons of the strong Hercules while the latter sleeps;
in the next case (91), here also he is grappling with
the Maenalian stag, and Pan shows his goat’s
legs. The 92nd, 93rd and 94th cases are filled
with various mirrors from Athens; the anciently prized
knuckle bones of a small animal; bronze earrings from
a tomb in Cephalonia; sling bullets found at Saguntum;