The Age of the Nobles afid the Tyrants in Greece I 59 maxim, " Overdo nothing." There came to be collections of such sayings, and the most famous of the men of the age were grouped together as the " Seven Wise Men." ^ Section 27. Civilization in the Age of the Tyrants The Age of the Tyrants was a period of unprecedented prog- Architecture ress among the Hellenes, in industries, in commerce, and in the higher life which we call civilization. The old sun-baked brick and wooden temples were replaced by structures of limestone, and the front of the temple of Apollo at Delphi was even clothed with marble, but the building was painted in colors as before. Sculpture adorned the temple front, the statues of the gods being in human form and showing strong influences from the Orient, especially Eg}^pt. Not only religion but patriotism also found its voice in art, as shown by a noble group repre- senting the two youths who endeavored to free Athens from the tyranny of the sons of Pisistratus (see p. 157 and Fig. 79). The tyrants loved music and it was much cultivated. A Music system of writing musical notes, meaning for music what the alphabet means for literature, now arose. The flute was a favor- ite instrument, and one musician even wrote a composition for the flute which was intended to tell the story of Apollo's fight with the dragon of Delphi. In literature the old heroic Literature meter of the Homeric poems, with its six feet, was abandoned for less stately and monotonous forms of verse. From serious discussions in verse like those of Solon (p. 155), the poets passed The new to the expression of momentary moods, longings, dreams, hopes, and fiery storms of passion. Each in his way found a wondrous world within himself Yjch. he thus pictured in short songs. The Homeric songs were the impersonal voice of an age as a whole ; but now these new songs reveal inner experiences of the 1 The list of the Seven Wise Men is as follows : Solon of Athens, Periander of Corinth, Chilon of Sparta, Thales of Miletus, Pittacus of Mitylene, Bias of Priene, and Cleobulus of Lindus. poets
