PALMYRA.

71 it was from these that the Greeks drew their half-fabulous creatures called centaurs, griffins, et cetera.

But when the art of embroidery received the attention of the more refined people of Greece, and was fostered with the same care that advanced the other fine arts toward perfection, its character changed, and the improved taste of Athens could not tolerate those grotesque compositions which formerly covered their tapestries. These subjects were driven to the borders, and the centres were filled up with representations of objects, drawn with truth according to the symmetrical proportions of nature. Nor were tapestries for their temples and other public places, the only kind of embroidery employed by the Greeks, but the robes of their divinities (when they were dressed) were beautifully embroidered, as were also the mantles of those who were eminent for learning or prowess, or were victors in the games. Minerva at Athens (not in the Pantheon) was covered with a kind of white linen stuff, on which was embroidered in gold, a representation of the memorable actions of that goddess. The robe of Jupiter, though sculptured, had representations of embroidered work upon it; and we read that as early as the time of Priam, fourteen hundred years B. C., Helen and Andromache embroidered tapestries. Ezekiel mentions the "broidered work," with which the Tyrians were clothed.

PALMYRA.

It is surprising that one of the most interesting relics of ancient grandeur and magnificence, is to be found in the midst of a vast desert of sand, devoid of vegetation, and traversed only by wandering tribes of Arabs. But such, nevertheless, is the fact. The city of Tadmor or Palmyra, so long celebrated for its extensive ruins, the wonderful remains of its former splendor, was situated near the centre of the great Syrian desert, and according to the best authority, in latitude thirty-four degrees and twenty-four minutes north, and longitude thirty-eight degrees and twenty minutes east. It was built upon a small oasis or fertile spot, spread out like a green island in the midst of the ocean, and covered in the days of its glory with stately palms, from which it received its name.

This city which is still known in the East by its ancient name, Tadmor, appears to have first risen to importance in the days of Solomon. The wise and powerful king of Israel, having connected himself in commercial enterprise with Hiram, king of Tyre, at that time the most opulent and commercial monarch in the world, carried on an extensive trade with the tropical regions of Asia and Africa, whence, according to the Scripture account, he imported gold and silver, ivory and apes and peacocks." This trade was carried on at great hazard and expense, the ships employed in it

being absent for three years, and the merchandise brought through the eastern arm of the Red sea, by the ports of Elath and EzionGeber, and thence over land through a steril and desert region of several hundred miles to the Jewish capital. The mind of such a man as Solomon, who seems to have been endowed with faculties to master the most gigantic enterprise with the greatest ease, readily discovered the advantages of opening a communication to the East, through the Euphrates and Persian gulf. But in order to this, it was necessary to secure a convenient resting-place for his caravans in crossing the Assyrian desert, and hence it was, undoubtedly, that this great and enterprising king, in the language of Scripture, "built Tadmor in the wilderness."

Palmyra, thus begun, soon became the channel of the entire trade passing from the East to Judea, Tyre and the shores of the Mediterranean, and grew at once to importance. It would seem, that, from being the mere resting-place of the caravans, it soon became a general depôt where these caravans met, deposited, and exchanged goods, and where were consequently assembled the wealthiest and most enterprising of the sons of traffic who sent from it, as from a common centre, merchandise to all parts of the world.

An exuberance of wealth invariably manifests itself in luxuriance and splendor: and Tadmor, though in the midst of a barren desert, devoid alike of agricultural productions and maritime advantages, became one of the most opulent and magnificent cities in the world. Indeed, the inhabitants seem to have vied with each other in the splendor and costliness of their dwellings, which were uniformly built of stone as white as the new fallen snow, and wrought with the greatest labor into all the beautiful moulds of Greek and Roman architecture.

Even at this day, though the tooth of time has been preying for ages upon this wreck of former grandeur, and vast masses of its gorgeous sculpture are entirely buried in the earth, may still be seen, according to the accounts of travellers, forests of Corinthian columns erect and fallen-broken triumphal arches-dilapidated temples-decayed palaces-half buried porticoes and heaps of sculpture and statuary strewed over an area of miles, and presenting to the beholder a faint picture of what it must have been in the days of its greatness and its glory.

"In the space covered by these ruins," says Volney, "we sometimes find a palace, of which nothing remains but its court and walls; sometimes a temple whose peristyle is half thrown down; and now a portico, a gallery, or triumphal arch. Here stand groups of columns, whose symmetry is destroyed by the fall of many of them; there we see them ranged in rows of such length, that similar to rows of trees, they deceive the sight, and assume the appearance of continued walls. If from this striking scene we cast our eyes upon the ground, another, almost as varied, presents itself; on all sides we behold nothing but subverted shafts, some whole, others shattered to pieces or dislocated in

their joints: and on which side soever we look, the earth is strewed with vast stones, half buried, with broken entablatures, mutilated friezes, disfigured relics, effaced sculptures, violated tombs, and altars defiled by dust."

It does not appear that this, the "petrified city," as it is sometimes called, was long retained by the Hebrews, who, after the time of Solomon, were engaged in intestine broils, which quenched their commercial spirit, and gave their distant cities into the hands of their more fortunate or powerful neighbors. Still its importance continued for many years.

It was among the conquests of the great Alexander; and afterward, during the visit of Marc Antony to Syria, its great wealth excited his cupidity, and he led against it the Roman cohorts; but the inhabitants eluded his power by transferring their substance beyond the Euphrates. In the time of Pliny, it continued to be the emporium of the eastern trade, and is mentioned as absorbing the wealth of the Romans and Parthians, who, though hostile to each other, agreed in coveting the luxuries of India, which still came almost exclusively through this channel.

Palmyra seems to have been greatly favored by the surrounding nations, and especially the different emperors of the great Roman empire, under whose protection it arose to the zenith of its glory about the second century, and one thousand two hundred years after it was founded by Solomon; soon after which, in an attempt to shake off its dependance on the empire under Zenobia, it was, after a brief period of great splendor as an independent city, laid waste by Aurelian, and from that time its importance has dwindled, until it has become a widespread ruin, remarkable only for its broken remains of its former opulence and grandeur.

Our engraving represents a view of the GENERAL RUINS OF PALMYRA, with the ground beneath strewed with broken shafts, carved capitals, and massive stones. In the distance are seen other portions of the ruin which still rise into view, as far as the eye can reach, giving a faint idea of the extent and magnificence of this city of merchants. From the time of Solomon, it retained its ancient name of Tadmor, until it was captured by Alexander, when it received the name of Palmyra, by which it was known for several ages, but on falling into the hands of the Saracens, its ancient name was restored, and it is still known at the East as the city of "Tadmor in the wilderness."

In consequence of the scarcity of water in the East, travellers are careful to stop as often as possible near some river, fountain, or well; this will account for Jacob's halting with his family at the ford Jabbok (Gen. xxxii. 22); for the Israelites assembling their forces near the fountains of Jezreel (1 Sam. xxix. 1); and for David's men, that were unable to march with him, waiting for him by the brook Besor (1 Sam. xxx. 21).