has white walls with yellow dado. The central picture facing Atrium
represents Venus fishing; she holds the rod in the right hand, and, as
usual, leans with the other hand on the seat, having the arm quite
straight. A similar subject has already been described in cubiculum 2.
Here the figures are larger and close together. Instead of Cupid, is a
Genius,[59] with broad-spreading green wings. He holds a green branch
in his right hand; his drapery purple. Venus is crowned with a diadem,
white drapery hangs behind her left arm, and the lower part of her
figure is covered by crimson folds with blue lining. The arrangement of
sloping shields on each side is the same as in chamber 3. Above the
chief painting is a landscape, with buildings, water and a boat. Over
this little picture again is a Victory in a _biga_ or chariot, with the
horses painted entirely in yellow. The figure of Victory holds the palm
branch in her left, and extends the right arm, grasping a wreath. Her
wings are wide spread, but very much distorted. When Cupid was banished
from Olympus for his impertinence, it is said that his wings were taken
from him and transferred to Victory. In early art many of the divinities
were winged. Diana on the chest of Cypselus (Pausanias, book v., ch.
19,) and so also is she represented upon the celebrated Clitias vase, at
Florence. Many of the large figures of the Assyrian palaces, evidently
acting as priests or attendants, are provided with wings, but they are
never seen using them. Hebe is represented winged upon the famous cup of
Sosias at Berlin, but these all belong to the undeveloped period of art.
Among the Athenians Victory was represented unwinged--_Apteros_. After
the battle of Marathon, Minerva is fabled to have confined Victory to
her favourite spot, the Acropolis, by depriving her of her wings. A
celebrated wooden statue of Wingless Victory, _Niké Apteros_, was at
Athens, and a copy of it made by Calamis was sent to Olympia by the
Mantineans. At Athens was the celebrated little temple of Wingless
Victory, some of the sculptures from which are described in No. 57 of
Greek Court catalogue. The right hand of the great ivory statue by
Phidias, in the Parthenon, held a figure of Victory, Greek Court
catalogue, pp. 29 and 30. To return to the painted Victory in this
apartment. The highly decorated bar which seems attached to the collars
of the horses is very peculiar. The gathering of the mane into a knot on
the heads of the horses, and their breast collars are exactly like those
on the carved lid of the Chimæra tomb from Xanthus, now in the British
Museum. The top knot of the horses may be seen in several antique
sculptures from Naples and Florence, Nos. 69 and 71 of Greek Catalogue,
and seems to have been originally an eastern custom. The body of the
chariot is quite plain. The horses viewed in front are very clumsily
foreshortened. This group has been engraved in Mus. Bor., vol. xiv.,
tav. 45. On the light hand wall is a little compartment of a winged
Cupid, with pedum and basket, running from a sitting lion. These
paintings are all from the House of the Girl playing the Double-flute,
called della Sonatrice, discovered in 1847 (H.B. p. 353).
[59] Called in Mr. Falkener’s book, p. 49, Victory.