{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_47496/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_47496","id":"gutenberg_47496","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/47496","summary":null,"tags":["Athens (Greece)","Category: History - Ancient","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Category: Travel Writing","Greece -- Antiquities","Greece -- Description and travel"],"text":"GREECE\n\n COMPANION VOLUMES ILLUSTRATED BY THE SAME ARTIST\n\n\n THE HOLY LAND\n\n CONTAINING =92= FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS,\n MOSTLY IN COLOUR\n\n PRICE =20s.= NET\n\n OXFORD\n\n CONTAINING =60= FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS\n IN COLOUR\n\n PRICE =20s=. NET\n\n EDINBURGH\n\n CONTAINING =60= FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS\n IN COLOUR\n\n PRICE =7s. 6d.= NET\n\n PUBLISHED BY\n A. & C. BLACK, SOHO SQUARE, LONDON, W.\n\n\n AGENTS\n\n AMERICA THE MACMILLAN COMPANY\n 64 & 66 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK\n\n CANADA THE MACMILLAN COMPANY OF CANADA, LTD.\n 27 RICHMOND STREET WEST, TORONTO\n\n INDIA MACMILLAN & COMPANY, LTD.\n MACMILLAN BUILDING, BOMBAY\n 309 BOW BAZAAR STREET, CALCUTTA\n\n[Illustration: THE PARTHENON FROM THE PROPYL\u00c6A (EARLY MORNING)\n\nThe pale golden light on the architraves within the Posticum is\nreflected from the east side of the west front of the Temple. The\nscarped rock to the right is the boundary of the precinct of Artemis\nBrauronia. The drum of a column in the right-hand corner of the drawing\nrepresents the southernmost column of the eastern portico of the\nPropyl\u00e6a. For obvious artistic reasons the whole column could not be\nincluded in the drawing. The pedestal before the column is that of the\nstatue of Athene Hygieia by the sculptor Pyrrhos. Two or three paces in\nfront of it are the remains of a large free-standing altar.]\n\n\n\n\n GREECE \u00b7 PAINTED BY\n JOHN FULLEYLOVE, R.I.\n DESCRIBED BY THE REV.\n J. A. M\u2018CLYMONT, M.A., D.D.\n PUBLISHED BY A. AND C.\n BLACK \u00b7 LONDON \u00b7MCMVI\n\n [Illustration: colophon]\n\n\n\n\nAuthor\u2019s Note\n\n\nAmong the authorities consulted by the writer of the Text (who has had\nthe advantage of a recent visit to Greece) special acknowledgments are\ndue to Grote\u2019s monumental _History of Greece_, and to J. G. Frazer\u2019s\nlucid and searching Commentary on _Pausanias\u2019s Description of Greece_.\n\nABERDEEN, _April 1906_.\n\n\n\n\nContents\n\n\n PAGE\n\nINTRODUCTORY 1\n\nCHAPTER I\n\nTHE IONIAN ISLANDS AND THE \u201cODYSSEY\u201d 7\n\nCHAPTER II\n\nDELPHI AND ITS ORACLE 18\n\nCHAPTER III\n\nOLYMPIA AND ITS GAMES 34\n\nCHAPTER IV\n\nARCADIA AND ITS ABORIGINES 51\n\nCHAPTER V\n\nSPARTA AND ITS DISCIPLINE 71\n\nCHAPTER VI\n\nARGOLIS AND ITS ANTIQUITIES 94\n\nCHAPTER VII\n\nCORINTH AND ITS CANAL 111\n\nCHAPTER VIII\n\nATHENS AND ITS ACROPOLIS 124\n\nCHAPTER IX\n\nATHENS AND ITS GODDESS 146\n\nCHAPTER X\n\nATHENS AND ELEUSIS 167\n\nCHAPTER XI\n\nATHENS AND ITS DEMOCRACY 183\n\nCHAPTER XII\n\nATHENS--ITS DECAY AND ITS REVIVAL 206\n\nINDEX 229\n\n\n\n\nList of Illustrations\n\n\n1. The Parthenon from the Propyl\u00e6a _Frontispiece_\n\n FACING PAGE\n\n2. The Acropolis from the Site of the Temple of Olympian Zeus 2\n\n3. Corfu. The Old Fort from the West 8\n\n4. Corfu. The Old Fort from the South 10\n\n5. The Temple of Athena at Sunium 14\n\n6. Sunset from the North-Eastern Corner of the Acropolis 16\n\n7. Delphi from Itea 20\n\n8. Delphi. The Castalian Gorge and Spring 24\n\n9. Delphi. The Portico of the Athenians 28\n\n10. The Ancient Quarries on Mount Pentelikon 32\n\n11. Olympia. The base of the Kronos Hill with the remains\nof the Temple of Hera and the Philippeion 36\n\n12. Olympia. The Pal\u00e6stra and remains of the Temple of Zeus 40\n\n13. The Temple of Hera at Olympia 44\n\n14. The Bastion and Temple of Wingless Victory viewed\nfrom the ascent to the Propyl\u00e6a 48\n\n15. Colossal Head of Despoina 52\n\n16. The Temple of Apollo at Bass\u00e6 in Arcadia, with distant\nview of Mount Ithome 54\n\n17. Site of Megalopolis in Arcadia 58\n\n18. Megalopolis in Arcadia 62\n\n19. Andrits\u00e6na. The resting-place for the Temple of Apollo\nat Bass\u00e6 66\n\n20. The Castle of Karyt\u00e6na in Arcadia 70\n\n21. Interior of the Temple of Apollo at Bass\u00e6 in Arcadia 72\n\n22. The Laconian Gate of Messene 74\n\n23. Kalamata on the Gulf of Messene 76\n\n24. Mount Ithome from the Stadion of Messene 80\n\n25. Triple Bridge over the Mavrozoumenos River 84\n\n26. Sparta and Mount Ta\u00ffgetus 86\n\n27. Mistra, near Sparta 90\n\n28. Mistra and the Valley of the Eurotas 92\n\n29. Argos and Larissa 96\n\n30. The Acropolis of Mycen\u00e6 from South-West, with Mount Elias 100\n\n31. Mycen\u00e6, showing the site of the famous discoveries\nof Schliemann 104\n\n32. Tiryns. The Gate of the Upper Castle 106\n\n33. Nauplia and Tiryns from the Road to Argos 108\n\n34. The Theatre of Epidaurus 110\n\n35. The Temple at Corinth 114\n\n36. The Temple of Athena at Sunium from the North 118\n\n37. Off Cape Matapan 122\n\n38. The Western End of the Acropolis seen from below the Pnyx 124\n\n39. The Temple of Theseus from the South-West 128\n\n40. The Temple of Theseus from the North-West 130\n\n41. The Areopagus and the Theseum 132\n\n42. The Battle-Field of Marathon from Mount Pentelikon 136\n\n43. The Seaward End of the Plain of Attica looking towards Salamis 140\n\n44. The Temple of Athena on the Island of \u00c6gina 144\n\n45. Vista of the Northern Peristyle of the Parthenon looking\nwestward 146\n\n46. The Western Portico of the Parthenon from the South 148\n\n47. The Acropolis and the Temple of Olympian Zeus from\nthe Hill Ardettos 150\n\n48. The Parthenon from the Northern End of the Eastern\nPortico of the Propyl\u00e6a 152\n\n49. Mount Pentelikon and Lycabettos from the North-Eastern\nAngle of the Parthenon 154\n\n50. The Propyl\u00e6a from the Northern Edge of the Platform\nof the Parthenon 156\n\n51. The Southern side of the Erechtheum, with the foundations\nof the earlier Temple of Athena Polias 158\n\n52. The Caryatid Portico of the Erechtheum from the West 160\n\n53. The Northern Portico of the Erechtheum 162\n\n54. The Eastern Portico of the Erechtheum viewed from\nthe Northern Peristyle of the Parthenon 164\n\n55. The Dipylon at Athens 168\n\n56. The Street of Tombs outside the Dipylon at Athens 172\n\n57. Athens from the Road to Eleusis 174\n\n58. Convent of Daphni 176\n\n59. Sacred Way from Athens to Eleusis, looking towards Salamis 178\n\n60. The Great Temple of the Mysteries, Eleusis 180\n\n61. The Hall of the Great Temple of the Mysteries, Eleusis 182\n\n62. The Acropolis from the base of the Philopappus Hill 184\n\n63. The lower part of the Auditorium of the Theatre of\nDionysos at Athens 188\n\n64. The Cavern Chapel on the South Side of the Acropolis 190\n\n65. The Choragic Monument of Lysicrates 194\n\n66. The Pnyx; or Place of Assembly of the People 198\n\n67. The Acropolis with Kallirrho\u00e8 in the Foreground 202\n\n68. Athens. The Monument of Agrippa and the Pinacotheca 206\n\n69. The Tower of the Winds 208\n\n70. The Portico of Athena Archegetis 210\n\n71. The Stoa of Hadrian 212\n\n72. The Arch of Hadrian 216\n\n73. Columns of the Temple of Olympian Zeus from the North-West 220\n\n74. The Square in front of the King\u2019s Palace at Athens 222\n\n75. The Stadion at Athens 226\n\n_Sketch Map at end of Volume._\n\n _The Illustrations in this Volume have been engraved and printed in\n England by The Hentschel Colourtype, Limited._\n\n\n\n\nGREECE\n\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTORY\n\n\nMore perhaps than any other country in Europe, Greece owes its charm to\nthe traditions of a remote past. It has no lack of fine scenery, and\nthere is much that is interesting in its modern life; but what chiefly\ndistinguishes it from other countries is the rich and beautiful\nmythology which is reflected in its poetry, its art, and its philosophy,\nand was to a large extent the inspiration of its glorious history.\n\nIt will not be expected that any attempt should be made in these pages\nto give an adequate account of the artistic and architectural creations\nwhich, even in their ruins, form the chief attraction of the country.\nFor detailed information on these matters, the reader must be left to\nconsult such guide-books as Baedeker and Murray, or works specially\ndevoted to arch\u00e6ology or art. The object of the present writer will be\nattained if he succeed in providing a congenial intellectual atmosphere\nfor the scenes and objects to be presented by the artist. For this\npurpose it will be necessary, among other things, to recall many of the\nancient legends, as well as the historical events associated with the\nplaces referred to. The history cannot be understood apart from the\nmythology, for the latter is a key to the religious faith as well as to\nthe patriotic sentiment of the nation.\n\nOpinions may differ as to the right interpretation of many of the myths,\nbut whatever explanation we may be disposed to give of them, whether we\nregard them as allegorical, semi-historical, or purely poetical, they\nare generally full of human interest, and they were very dear to the\nGreeks as the embodiment of their earliest thoughts and cherished\nmemories. Embalmed in their poetry, consecrated by their temples, and\nsignalised by many other monuments, the Greek mythology formed for\ncenturies the chief intellectual wealth of the nation. Even when history\nand philosophy had begun to make their influence felt, the old stories,\ndramatised by the tragic poets, still continued to fill the imagination\nand to occupy the attention of all classes of the people. Though Plato\nhad a good deal to say against some of them from an ethical point of\nview, he did not propose in his ideal Republic to do away with them\naltogether, he only wished them to be so corrected and purified as to\npromote the interests of a sound morality and a reasonable theology.\n\nAn important feature of Greek mythology was its close connection with\nthe received genealogies. These nearly always terminated, at the upper\nend, in a god or a hero, after whom a family or a group of families was\nnamed, with the curious result, to our modern\n\n[Illustration: THE ACROPOLIS FROM THE SITE OF THE TEMPLE OF OLYMPIAN\nZEUS\n\nThe two detached colossal columns belong to the west end of the southern\nperistyle of the Temple. To the right is the Arch of Hadrian. The\nstriking form of the masses of rock, which constitute the natural\ndefence of the Acropolis on its eastern side, shows with great effect in\nthis drawing.]\n\nmind, that the shorter the pedigree the more honour it conferred upon\nits living representative. The public genealogies were thus an incentive\nboth to the piety and the pride of the more influential classes, and\nthey help to account for the reverence in which the ancient mythology\nwas so long held by such an enlightened nation as the Greeks.\n\nWith the exception of Palestine, there is probably no country that can\ncompare with Greece for the influence it has exerted on the life and\nthought of the world, in proportion to its size and population. In area\nit was never so large as Scotland, and its population, which is now\nunder two millions and a half, was probably never much greater.\n\nHow far the influence of ancient Greece was due to the racial\ncharacteristics of its inhabitants, which they brought with them from\nother parts of the world, and how far to the peculiarities of the\ncountry itself, is a question which it is not easy to determine. To some\nextent, no doubt, both causes operated. The inhabitants belonged to a\ngood stock, the Indo-Germanic, while their geographical position and\nsurroundings were well fitted to develop a high type of manhood. The\nbeauty of the scenery, the purity of the atmosphere, the geniality of\nthe climate, the fertility of the plains and valleys, the grandeur of\nthe mountains,--more numerous and widespread than in any other part of\nEurope of similar extent except Montenegro,--the bracing influence of\nthe sea, and the commercial advantages afforded by its coasts, which are\nmore extensive than those of any other country in proportion to its\nsize, looking in the direction of Europe, Asia, and Africa--all these\nthings no doubt helped to make the ancient Greeks the great nation that\nthey were, though their comparative obscurity in modern times shows that\nsomething more is needed to produce a similar effect.\n\nIf we would form an adequate conception of the nation\u2019s influence, we\nmust take into account the numerous Greek colonies which were planted in\nAsia Minor and on the southern shore of the Black Sea, on the coast of\nMacedonia, along the Hellespont and Bosporus, and also in Sicily and\nItaly, where a new Greek world sprang up, which received the name of\n_Magna Gr\u00e6cia_. Hundreds of years before Athens reached the height of\nits glory, there was a Greek city in Italy, Cum\u00e6 (founded by colonists\nfrom Chalcis and Cym\u00e6 in Asia Minor), which held the first place in the\npeninsula for wealth and civilisation; while another Greek settlement\nwas to be found as far west as Marseilles, which had been colonised from\nPhoc\u00e6a in Asia Minor about 600 B.C.\n\nThe inhabitants of Greece in this wider sense not only spoke the same\nlanguage (whose preservation was largely due to the influence of Homer),\nbut were also bound together by fellowship in blood, in religion, and in\nmanners. They were hardly more distinguishable from the rude and\nignorant tribes of Europe than from the more civilised Orientals who\npractised human sacrifice, polygamy, and the mutilation of enemies. But\nperhaps the most marked characteristic of the Greeks was their love of\nlocal autonomy, and their rooted aversion to anything like imperial\nrule, such as prevailed so widely in Asia. Their attachment to an\nindividual city, as the capital of a small district, was doubtless due\nin great measure to the divided nature of the country, which is broken\nup by mountains and rivers and arms of the sea into numberless plains\nand valleys only a few miles in extent. While this had the effect of\nfostering a spirit of independence, combined with a sense of civic\nobligation, which helped to develop the energies and capacities of the\nindividual, the proximity to each other of so many rival states bred a\ngreat amount of jealousy and strife, which frequently led to bloody and\ndestructive wars. Such disintegrating tendencies were too much even for\nthe consolidating force of a common language and literature, or of\nvoluntary confederations for the purpose of worship or amusement.\nOccasionally a great national emergency, such as the Persian invasion,\nmight force the Greeks to join together for the resistance of a common\nfoe, but it was almost inevitable that sooner or later they should fall\ninto the hands of a great military power, such as Macedonia, and lose\nthe civic liberties of which they were so proud. The political decay of\nGreece, however, only widened the scope of its influence. As the\ndissolution of the Jewish polity was followed by the rapid spread of a\nreligion which had its roots in the Jewish Scriptures, so the national\ndegradation of the Greeks led to a still wider diffusion of their\nlanguage, their literature, and their civilisation.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I\n\nTHE IONIAN ISLANDS AND THE \u201cODYSSEY\u201d\n\n\nThe first place in Greece on which a traveller from the West usually\nsets foot is Corfu, one of the Ionian Islands, which were given up by\nGreat Britain in 1864 to gratify the patriotic aspirations of the\nGreeks. The sacrifice was not without its compensations, as it relieved\nBritain from an annual outlay of \u00a3100,000, which had been the cost of\nadministration.\n\nThe principal Ionian Islands are five in number, namely, Corfu\n(Corcyra), Santa Mauro (Leucas), Ithaca, Cephalonia (Cephallenia), and\nZant\u00e9 (Zacynthus). They represent a territory of more than 1000 square\nmiles, with a population of about a quarter of a million, who are mainly\ndependent on shipping and on the trade in oil, wine, and currants.\n\nA romantic interest attaches to the promontory of Leucas, which\nterminates in what is still known as Sappho\u2019s Leap, in allusion to an\nold tradition which tells how the famous poetess, who shares with Alc\u00e6us\nthe chief honours in \u00c6olian lyric poetry, here put an end to her life to\nescape from the pangs of unrequited affection. In Zacynthus we have an\nillustration of the historical accuracy of Herodotus in the existence of\nsome curious springs on the south-west, from which the water comes out\nmingled with pitch.\n\nFrom an antiquarian point of view, however, still greater interest\nattaches to Corcyra, Ithaca, and Cephallenia, as they have Homeric\nassociations which carry us back to a still earlier period.\n\nCorfu or Corcyra, although not the largest, is the most populous of the\nwhole group. It is a beautiful island, with a beautiful situation,\nlooking out on the blue waters of the Southern Adriatic, with the snowy\nmountains of Epirus in the distance. It has two commodious harbours, in\nwhich the shipping of many nations may be seen. The streets of the city\nare narrow and old-fashioned, but it has an interesting old fortress\nwith a handsome esplanade. Near the harbour is the former residence of\nthe British High Commissioner (an office once held by Mr. Gladstone),\nwith beautiful public gardens in front of it. The environs of the city\nare charming, with orange-groves here and there glowing in the brilliant\nsunshine, amid a profusion of roses, geraniums, and other blooms almost\ngrowing wild, with miles on miles of olive-trees in the background.\n\nFrom the earliest times the island was a place of importance to the\nshipping world, as the ancients, in sailing, liked to keep near to land,\nand generally put in to shore at night, unless they wished to take\nadvantage of some favourable breeze which did not\n\n[Illustration: CORFU. THE OLD FORT FROM THE WEST\n\nTo the left the Albanian Mountains.]\n\nrise till after sunset. In this way the island afforded convenient\nshelter for those who were sailing from the Peloponnesus to Italy, and\nfacilitated Greek traffic with Epirus. It became the seat of a\nCorinthian colony in 734 B.C., when Syracuse was also founded, but it\nnever showed much sympathy or affection for the mother-city. Indeed, the\nfirst sea-battle we read of in authentic history took place between the\nships of Corinth and Corcyra (_c._ 665 B.C.), when the latter came off\nvictorious. Before the Peloponnesian war broke out there were great\ncomplaints on the part of Corinth on account of due respect not being\nshown to her representatives at the public festivals in the\ndaughter-city; and the subsequent action of the latter in putting\nherself under the protection of Athens, when she became involved in\ndifficulties with Corinth and Epidamnus, was largely the cause of the\ngreat war which proved so injurious to the prosperity and power of\nAthens. In the course of its early history Corcyra was the scene of some\nterrible conflicts and cruel slaughters, almost without a parallel in\nany other part of Greece. Since that time it has passed through many\nvicissitudes under Roman, Byzantine, Crusading, Venetian, French, and\nBritish rule.\n\nBut the greatest interest of the place arises from the tradition which\nidentifies it with the Ph\u00e6acian island _Scheria_, on which Odysseus was\ncast after his stormy voyage from the island of Calypso. No remains have\nbeen found of the palace of Alcinous, where Odysseus met with such\ngenerous hospitality, but about two miles from the esplanade at\n_Canone_ (One-Gun Battery), near the end of a promontory, we get a view\nof the secluded bay or gulf (Lake of Kalikiopoulo) on which the weary\nvoyager is said to have been cast ashore, at the mouth of a brook\n(Cressida), which falls into the lake, and where Nausicaa and her\nmaidens were amusing themselves after their great washing was over. At a\nlittle distance from the shore lies the rocky islet of Ponticonisi\n(\u201cMouse-Island\u201d), which tradition identifies with the Ph\u00e6acian ship that\nwas turned into stone by the wrath of Poseidon, as it was beginning its\nhomeward voyage to Ithaca with Odysseus on board.\n\nAll this local tradition, however, is rejected by a recent explorer, M.\nVictor B\u00e9rard, who has taken enormous pains to investigate the matter.\nHe is convinced that the palace of Alcinous and the whole scene\ndescribed by Homer in connection with the visit of Odysseus lay on the\nwestern side of the island, near the Convent of Pal\u00e6ocastrizza, and he\nconcludes from indications in the poem that the Ph\u00e6acians had come from\nthe ancient city of Cum\u00e6 (Hypereia), driven out by the \u0152notrians\n(Cyclopes). But whatever view we may take on these points there can be\nlittle doubt that Corfu, which lay as it were on the outskirts of the\nancient Greek world, and not far from Ithaca (to which Odysseus sailed\nfrom it in a night), is the island which Homer had in view when he\ndescribed the home of the Ph\u00e6acians.\n\nStill more interesting, from a Homeric point of\n\n[Illustration: CORFU. THE OLD FORT FROM THE SOUTH]\n\nview, is the small island of Ithaca (about 37 square miles in extent),\nwhere the poet locates the home of his wandering hero and his wife\nPenelope, the one the early Greek ideal of practical sagacity, as\nAchilles is of martial impetuosity, and the other the model of conjugal\ndevotion, as Nausicaa is of maidenly grace. The identity of the island\nhas recently been called in question by an eminent arch\u00e6ologist\n(D\u00f6rpfeld), who regards Leucas as the island referred to in the\n_Odyssey_. But it would require strong evidence to overcome the\npresumption in favour of the island which now bears the name of Ithaca,\nand which corresponds to the poet\u2019s description as well as we have any\nright to expect, considering the want of maps and guide-books at the\ntime that he wrote. Perhaps its claim may yet receive fuller\nconfirmation as the result of excavations; but in the meantime it is\ninteresting to know that a terrace wall built of rough-hewn blocks has\nbeen discovered on the west coast, in the neighbourhood of a port to\nwhich the name Polis (City) is still applied, though there is no modern\ntown to justify the name.\n\nIn this connection some interest also attaches to Cephallenia, the\nlargest island of the group. There is a little village on its east\ncoast, called Samos, from which the boat sails to Ithaca, and as an\nisland called Sam\u00e9 is often mentioned in the _Odyssey_ in connection\nwith Ithaca, and the subjects of Odysseus are sometimes called\nCephallenians, we are evidently not far from the scenes depicted by the\ngreat poet.\n\nIt would scarcely be possible to exaggerate the influence which the\nHomeric poetry has exercised on the intellect and imagination of the\nGreeks, and it is impossible for any one to enter into the spirit of\nGreek history and literature without some acquaintance with it. Homer\nhas often been called the \u201cBible of the Greeks,\u201d and there is truth in\nthe saying both from a religious and a literary point of view. Herodotus\nwas mistaken when he said that Homer and Hesiod had created the religion\nof the Greeks, but they certainly did much to systematise it, and, by\ngiving Jupiter a place of supremacy among the gods, they paved the way\nfor the triumph of monotheism.\n\nIn course of time Homer came to be regarded by his countrymen as their\nchief authority, not only on religious subjects but in almost all\nmatters of interest to a thoughtful and inquiring mind. The reading and\nhearing of his poetry was the chief means of education. It was no\nuncommon thing for a boy to be able to recite both the _Iliad_ and the\n_Odyssey_ from memory. Classical writers speak of Homer in terms not\nonly of admiration but of reverence. \u00c6schylus said that he had gathered\nup the crumbs from Homer\u2019s table; and Sophocles was so much in sympathy\nwith the _Odyssey_ that he was spoken of as \u201cthe tragic Homer.\u201d There\nwas, therefore, nothing strange in the sentiment which led Alexander the\nGreat to carry about with him in his eastern campaigns a copy of Homer,\nsaid to have been edited for him by his old tutor Aristotle, and kept in\na precious Persian casket. About a third of the recently discovered\nEgyptian papyri are inscribed with passages from the _Iliad_ and the\n_Odyssey_.\n\nWhile the oldest poetry of Greece, as of other countries, was probably\nof a lyric character, called forth by the joys and sorrows of common\nlife or by the festive celebration of the seasons, the more stately\nepic, dealing with grander themes, and chanted rather than sung, with\noccasional accompaniment on the harp, found more favour with princes and\ntheir nobles, and attracted the most gifted authors to its service, till\nit reached the high stage of development which we find in the writings\nof Homer. These poems may be described as the oldest literature in\nexistence, but they were doubtless the result of many previous efforts\nof a more archaic character, traces of which may be found in the older\nbards and legendary themes that are mentioned by Homer himself.\n\nThe _Iliad_ and _Odyssey_ show to what a high degree of civilisation and\nculture the Hellenic race had attained not much later than 1000 B.C. In\nthe freeness of their spirit, combined with reverence for law, and in\ntheir vivid portraiture of the different members of the Pantheon, seen\nthrough the medium of a rich and sympathetic humanity, the poems present\na pleasing contrast to all other heathen pictures of things human and\ndivine. Their language is as admirable as the thought,--so rich and\nflexible, entirely free from the crudities that might have been expected\nin such primitive literature. Matthew Arnold sums up Homer\u2019s\ncharacteristics from a literary point of view, as rapidity, plainness\nof thought, plainness of style, and nobleness. These qualities give the\npoet as strong a hold on the sympathies of his readers as he assigns to\nthe minstrel in the _Odyssey_, when he makes Eum\u00e6us say of his old\nmaster, now returned, but still in disguise: \u201cEven as when a man gazes\non a minstrel whom the gods have taught to sing words of yearning joy to\nmortals, and they have a ceaseless desire to hear him as long as he will\nsing, even so he charmed me, sitting by me in the halls.\u201d\n\nThe controversy which has been going on for more than a hundred years\nregarding the authorship of the poems does not much affect their\ninterest for the general reader. Similar questions were raised more than\ntwo thousand years ago. Even before Plato\u2019s time there had been a\nsifting process by which a number of hymns and minor poems formerly\nattributed to Homer (as the whole book of Psalms used to be to David)\nwere found to be the work of unknown authors of a later date. A century\nor two later there were Alexandrian critics who denied that the _Iliad_\nand the _Odyssey_ could have come from the same author. But modern\ncritics have assailed the integrity of the two great poems themselves.\nThey have based their theories partly on the improbability of such long\npoems being composed and transmitted before writing had come into\ngeneral use (an argument which has lost its force owing to recent\ndiscoveries of early writing), and partly on the apparent repetitions,\ninterpolations, and discrepancies, which are supposed to have been\n\n[Illustration: THE TEMPLE OF ATHENA AT SUNIUM (CAPE COLONNA)\n\nDistant view over the hills.]\n\ndue either to the accidents of compilation or to the need for adaptation\nto suit the varying tastes of readers in different parts of the Greek\nworld. Perhaps the strongest proof of composite authorship is to be\nfound in the different stages of civilisation and religion which are\ndiscernible in different parts of the poetry, and the marked\ninconsistencies in certain of the leading characters. It is also very\nsignificant that Mount Olympus, the dwelling of the gods, is at one time\nthe snow-clad mountain in the north which still bears that name, and in\nother and later passages is a bright and gladsome region, free from rain\nor snow or stormy wind. It is now generally agreed that the nucleus of\nthe _Iliad_ was a series of ancient lays concerning Achilles, derived\nfrom Northern Greece, and moulded by \u00c6olic art, while the remainder of\nthe poem and the bulk of the _Odyssey_ were of a considerably later\ndate, and came from an Ionic source. The poems as a whole were probably\ntouched up and put into their present form by some one living on the\ncoast of Asia Minor (perhaps at Smyrna, the meeting-place of \u00c6olic and\nIonic traditions), who sang of the glories of a by-gone age with the\npatriotic pride of a colonial. Whether his name was Homer is a different\nquestion, for it is quite possible the word may have been, as some\nmaintain, a common term, meaning \u201ccompiler.\u201d It is well to remember that\nthe \u201cblind bard who dwelt in rocky Chios,\u201d so often identified with\nHomer since Thucydides set the example, is merely the description\napplied to himself by the writer of the Hymn to the Delian Apollo, whom\nno one now believes to have been the author of the _Iliad_ or the\n_Odyssey_. We know that the Great Unknown, whoever he may have been, was\nsucceeded by the Homerid\u00e6 of Chios, and these again, by the Rhapsodes or\nprofessional reciters, whom we come across in the pages of Plato and\nXenophon.\n\nAnother subject of controversy has been as to whether the Homeric\nnarratives have a historic basis to rest upon. Some have gone so far as\nto doubt whether the Trojan War ever took place; and it has been\nsuggested that many of the stories in the _Iliad_ are due to solar\nmyths. But the excavations of Schliemann at Ilium and Mycen\u00e6 have rather\ndiscredited such scepticism; and the recent explorer already mentioned\n(B\u00e9rard), who has sailed over the course which appears to have been\ntaken by Odysseus,--extending from Troy to Gibraltar,--has found the\ntopographical and maritime allusions so accurate as to come to the\nconclusion that the poet must have had the benefit of some ancient book\nof reference, corresponding to the _Pilot\u2019s Guide_, and drawn up in all\nprobability by the Ph\u0153nicians, who were masters of the Mediterranean\nbefore the Greeks. But while the main thread of the narrative in the\n_Odyssey_ may be historical, the poet has worked into it many fanciful\nlegends, like those to be found in the literature of many nations.\nIndeed the story of Odysseus\u2019 adventures as a whole is perhaps no more\nhistorical than the tale of Robinson Crusoe, created by Defoe out of the\nexperience of Alexander Selkirk on the island of Juan Fernandez.\n\n[Illustration: SUNSET FROM THE NORTH-EAST CORNER OF THE ACROPOLIS\n\nTo the left, a bit of the east front of the Parthenon; to the right, the\nprecipitous north side of the Acropolis; in the middle distance the\nErechtheum, showing all three of its porticoes; in shadow, between the\nParthenon and the Erechtheum, the upper part of the Propyl\u00e6a].\n\nNo criticism, however, can alter the fact that we have in the _Odyssey_\nsome of the most charming pictures of social and domestic life that are\nto be found in any literature, touched up with a colouring of the\nstrangest old-world romance, and deriving lustre from a religion which,\nhowever defective from an ethical point of view, was wedded to an\nimagination so rich and powerful as almost to efface in the mind of the\nreader the distinction between the natural and the supernatural.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II\n\nDELPHI AND ITS ORACLE\n\n\nAfter entering the Gulf of Corinth the first port at which the steamers\ntouch is Patras, the largest city in the Peloponnesus, with about 40,000\ninhabitants,--looking across to Missolonghi on the northern shore, where\nByron died and where his heart is buried. The only notable thing about\nPatras in pre-Christian times was its inclusion in the Ach\u00e6an League,\nthat last outburst of the Hellenic love of independence. In modern times\nit has had the distinction to be the first city to raise the national\nflag in the War of Liberation (1821). Its patron saint is St. Andrew,\nwho has a cathedral dedicated to him, with a crypt in which his bones\nare said to have their resting-place. It is a prosperous and well-built\ncity, with a picturesque country behind it, rich in vines and olives,\nand in front of it the inland sea which is the great highway of Greek\ncommerce. But its chief interest for the traveller is the fact that it\nis the place at which arrangements can best be made for visiting Delphi\nand Olympia, two of the most attractive spots in Greece.\n\nDelphi is situated on the mainland. To reach it the traveller has to\nsail across from Patras to Itea, a small port at the head of the famous\nCris\u00e6an Gulf. The drive from Itea to Delphi on a fine April day is one\nof the finest in the world. For a few miles you hold northward along the\nplain, passing through a long forest of olive trees, with gnarled and\ntwisted trunks, the fresh leaves glistening in the sun and changing\ncolour in the breeze, shafts of glowing light shooting through the\nbranches. In the distance rise hills on hills, crowned by the snowy\nsummit of Parnassus. But it is not till you leave the plain and turn to\nthe right, slowly ascending by a zigzag route to the village of Chryso,\nthe ancient Crisa, that you begin to realise the sublimity of the\nsurroundings. The solemn grandeur of the mountains is above you. Below\nlies the fertile plain, which was dedicated to Apollo and became the\nscene of the Pythian Games when they reached their full development. As\nyou look down, the olive wood presents a new appearance and seems to\nwind, like a great river of oil, towards the sea, whose rock-bound\ncoast, in the opening made by the bay at which you landed, shows the\npink, white, and blue houses of Itea sparkling in the sun. The Gulf of\nCorinth, of which you can only catch glimpses now and then, might pass\nfor a great lake, bordered by the hills of Achaia in the south, and\nsurmounted in the far distance by the glittering summits of Erymanthus\nand Cyllene, which rise to a height of 7000 or 8000 feet. In the course\nof the journey you may often come upon a mass of flowers, sometimes\ncovering the slope on the roadside, sometimes running into the field and\nmingling with the ripe corn, which the rustics are reaping with the\nold-fashioned hook. The most conspicuous and abundant of all the flowers\nis the large scarlet poppy, which might be counted by the thousand, and\noften spreads over a great extent of ground. After passing Crisa, almost\nthe only signs of life we saw on the way were flocks of black goats with\ntheir tinkling bells, and a long string of heavy-laden camels, with\ntheir young ones running by their side, moving along in solemn\nprocession from the east.\n\nAs we approached Delphi, the view presented sterner outlines and a wider\nrange, embracing the dales and gorges of the Pleistus valley, and the\nrugged hills of Cirphis on the south, as well as the mighty range of\nParnassus, with its outlying spurs and precipices. Of these the most\nremarkable and the most celebrated are the Ph\u00e6driad\u00e6 or shining peaks,\novershadowing the ancient sanctuary of Apollo, which was for centuries\nthe religious centre of the Greek world, as the Vatican was to medi\u00e6val\nChristendom. The world-wide influence exerted by the Delphian oracle is\none of the most interesting facts in all history. It was characteristic\nof the Hellenic as compared with the Hebrew mind that the oracle should\nhold such a prominent place in the national religion: for it was a\nreligion dominated by the imagination rather than the conscience. At the\nsame time it should not be forgotten that, until its decadence, the\noracle was more frequently consulted\n\n[Illustration: DELPHI FROM ITEA\n\nThis drawing indicates in a general way the position of Delphi with\nregard to the plain of Cirrha below and the snowclad summit of Parnassos\nabove. On the left is the opening of the gorge of the Pleistos. Just\nabove where it disappears from view, to the right, the new village\ncalled Delphi is visible on the slope of the mountain in front of the\ngreat precipices of the Castalian Gorge. Ancient Delphi lies out of\nsight in the hollow immediately behind the new village, and between it\nand the Castalian cliffs.]\n\nfor guidance in the practical affairs of life than merely to gratify\ncuriosity as to future events. The Delphian oracle originated, no doubt,\nin the superstitious awe which the place inspired as the supposed centre\nof the earth, possessed of mysterious cavities by which it was believed\npossible to hold communication with the dead. In the earliest times it\nwas connected with the worship of the earth-goddess G\u00e6a or G\u0113, who\nsheltered the dead in her bosom. Later, the presiding deity was Themis,\nthe goddess of law and order in the natural world. But during the whole\nhistorical period Apollo was the source of inspiration, the god of light\nand the highest interpreter of the divine will. During the three winter\nmonths Dionysus reigned, in the absence of Apollo.\n\nThe reverence in which the oracle was held, even in the most enlightened\ntimes, was largely due to the wisdom and prudence of the priests--five\nin number--who belonged to the noblest Delphian families and held office\nfor life. They were brought into contact with leading men who came to\nconsult the oracle from all parts of the Greek-speaking world,--men like\nLycurgus and Solon and Socrates and Xenophon and Alexander the\nGreat,--and they appear to have been on terms of intimacy with such\nnational poets as Hesiod and Pindar and \u00c6schylus. Pindar\u2019s iron chair\nwas carefully preserved in the sacred precincts, and the priest of\nApollo cried nightly as he closed the temple, \u201cLet Pindar the poet go in\nunto the supper of the gods.\u201d\n\nThe priests put their own interpretations on the ecstatic utterances of\nthe prophetess, which she delivered in their hearing and in the presence\nof the inquirer after she had drunk the holy water, chewed the\nlaurel-leaf, and mounted the tripod to inhale the narcotic vapour which\narose from the chasm beneath. These interpretations they embodied in\nhexameter verses, generally disappointing from a poetical point of view,\nconsidering the auspices under which they were delivered, and frequently\nambiguous in their terms, when it did not seem advisable for the oracle\nto commit itself to a definite opinion. One of the best known and most\ninteresting cases of this sort was the answer given to Cr\u0153sus, King\nof Sardis, when he was deliberating whether he ought to go to war with\nPersia. Before inquiring on so important a point he resolved to test all\nthe chief oracles, six in number, by asking each of them through a\nspecial messenger to say what he was doing on a specified day, on which\nthe question was to be put. The oracle that best stood the test was\nDelphi, and Cr\u0153sus proceeded to ask advice on the momentous question\nabout which he was so anxious, bestowing on the temple of Apollo at the\nsame time magnificent gifts of solid gold and silver, and immense\nofferings for sacrifice. The answer was that if he went to war with\nPersia he would destroy a great empire, which he at once took in a\nfavourable sense. He was defeated, however, and Cyrus became master of\nhis city and kingdom, thus fulfilling the oracle in an unexpected sense.\nHe would have been put to death by his conqueror had it not been that\nwhen he lay bound upon a funeral pile, which had been already kindled,\nhis exclamations led Cyrus to inquire what he was speaking of, and on\nhearing of Solon\u2019s warning as to the instability of human greatness,\nwhich the fallen monarch had been calling to mind, Cyrus gave orders\nthat Cr\u0153sus should be at once released. The flames had taken such\nhold of the wood, however, that he would still have perished if Apollo\nhad not heard his prayers and sent a heavy shower of rain, which\nextinguished the fire. The disappointment of his hopes gave such a shock\nto Cr\u0153sus\u2019 faith that, by the leave of Cyrus, he sent to Delphi the\nchains in which he had been bound to the pile, with a message asking if\nthat was the way in which Apollo treated his faithful votaries. In the\nreply he was reminded that Apollo had saved his life, and was told that\nhe had not been careful enough in his interpretation of the oracle, and\nthat it had been impossible any longer to avert the doom which rested on\nhim as the fifth in descent from an ancestor who had incurred the divine\nwrath by the murder of his master and the usurpation of his throne.\n\nWith one exception--the encouragement which it gave on certain rare\noccasions to human sacrifice--the general influence of the oracle was\nsalutary, from a social and political as well as an ethical point of\nview. On the walls of the temple were inscribed some of the sayings of\nthe wise men of Greece, such as \u201cKnow thyself,\u201d \u201cNothing to excess.\u201d The\noracle did much for the protection of rights where no legal sanction was\navailable. It checked blood-feuds, and gave its sanction to the\npurification and pardon of those who had committed homicide under\nextenuating circumstances. It could even dispense with ritual observance\naltogether where there was no real guilt. For example, to a good man who\nhad slain his friend in defending him against robbers, and had fled to\nthe sanctuary in great distress of mind, its answer was: \u201cThou didst\nslay thy friend striving to save his life; go hence, thou art purer than\nthou wert before.\u201d It confirmed the sanctity of oaths. Herodotus gives a\nstriking instance of its high standard of morality when, in answer to an\ninquirer who asked whether by repudiating his oath he might claim a\nlarge sum of money which had been deposited with him, the prophetess\ndeclared that to tempt the god as he had done and to commit the crime\nwas the same thing, and that the divine judgment would descend on him\nand on his house. For \u201cthere is a nameless son of Perjury, who has\nneither hands nor feet; he pursues swiftly, until he seizes and destroys\nthe whole race and all the house.\u201d It also rendered good service, as\nmany inscriptions show, in connection with the emancipation of slaves,\nwhose deposits it took care of, until a sufficient sum was available for\nthe purchase of their freedom from their masters, who were interdicted\nfrom making any further claim upon their services. Besides the light and\nleading which the oracle afforded to some of the early lawgivers of\nGreece, and the wise counsels which it gave on questions of peace or\nwar, it was specially useful in advising cities on all projects of\ncolonisation.\n\n[Illustration: DELPHI, THE CASTALIAN GORGE AND SPRING\n\nThe scarped vertical face of rock, which may be seen above the figure of\nthe shepherd, shows the recently excavated site of the Place for the\nLustration of Pilgrims, to which the water of the Castalian spring was\ncarried by an artificial channel in the rock. The masonry to the left of\nthe drawing is part of a modern reservoir.]\n\nIt seems to have been almost the invariable practice for Greeks to\nconsult the oracle before resolving to plant a colony, so much so that\nDelphi is declared to have been \u201cthe best-informed agency for emigration\nthat any State has ever possessed.\u201d\n\nIts prestige declined owing to several causes. The priests were not\nalways proof against bribery; and when it became known at any time that\nthey had thus abused their office, it produced a deep feeling of\nindignation and distrust. There are several well-attested cases of\ncorruption, chiefly on the part of Spartans. One of their kings,\nCleomenes, procured the deposition of his brother-king Demaratus by\nbringing private influence to bear at Delphi. When the facts of the case\ncame to light, the prophetess was deposed from her office, and her chief\nadviser at Delphi had to take to flight. Another Spartan king,\nPleistoanax, who had been exiled for accepting bribes from Pericles,\nsucceeded, after eighteen years\u2019 residence in Arcadia (where, for\nsafety, half of his dwelling-house was within the enclosure of a\ntemple), in obtaining his recall to Sparta with great honour, owing to\nthe injunctions to this effect, which were repeatedly given by the\noracle as the result of bribes. Lysander, the great Spartan general,\nafter he was deprived of his command, concerted a scheme with the\nauthorities at Delphi for getting himself recognised as king through the\npublication of fabricated records, alleged to be of great antiquity, and\nonly to be opened by a genuine son of Apollo. Such a pretender they\nsecured, but the scheme broke down owing to the timidity of one of the\nconspirators.\n\nAnother drawback was that the growing power of rival states rendered it\nincreasingly difficult for the oracle to hold the balance with any\nfairness between them, and at the same time maintain its old and\nintimate relations with Sparta. Its dignity was also lowered when,\ninstead of being open for consultation for a month once a year, more\nfrequent opportunities were afforded and trivial questions entertained.\nBut perhaps the most serious difficulty they had to contend with was the\ngrowing intercourse and correspondence of the different cities of\nGreece, both with one another and with foreign cities, and the general\nspread of knowledge, which tended to impair the reverence in which the\noracle had been held, and deprived its priests of the monopoly of\ngeneral information which they seem to have at one time virtually\nenjoyed. By the time the Christian era began, the Greek oracles had been\npractically superseded by the Chald\u00e6an astrologers; and when Julian the\nApostate in the fourth century tried to revive the glory of Delphi, he\nreceived the answer, \u201cTell the king the earth has fallen, the beautiful\nmansion; no longer has Ph\u0153bus a home, nor a prophetic laurel, nor a\nfont that speaks: gone dry is the talking water.\u201d It was finally\nsuppressed by the Emperor Theodosius towards the end of the fourth\ncentury.\n\nLike the still older sanctuary of Dodona (where revelations were\nsupposed to be given through the rustling of a sacred oak), Delphi was,\nalternately with Thermopyl\u00e6, the seat in historic times of an\nAmphictyony or union of states, which existed for the worship of the\ndeity whose shrine they were pledged to defend, as well as for mutual\nfriendship and protection. Unfortunately the history of the oracle,\nalthough a national institution, was marked at various times by deadly\nstrife among the different Hellenic tribes whose interests were\ninvolved. At first the management of the oracle seems to have been in\nthe hands of the people of Crisa, who were Phocians, but after the\nprotracted war waged by the Amphictyony against the natives of Cirrha,\nthe adjacent sea-port, on account of the extortions they practised on\nthe pilgrims to the shrine and the outrages they sometimes perpetrated\non them, the trust was committed by the federation to the inhabitants of\nDelphi, who were of Dorian extraction. Cirrha was laid waste, the whole\nCris\u00e6an plain was dedicated to Apollo, and the spoils of Cirrha were\nused to establish the Pythian games on a more ambitious footing than had\nbeen possible when they were held in the limited space available at\nDelphi.\n\nA second Sacred War, as it was called, broke out in 357 B.C., when the\nAmphictyonic Council, after imposing a fine on the Phocians at the\ninstigation of their enemies the Thebans, which remained unpaid,\nproceeded to confiscate their territory. The Phocians offered a long and\ndesperate resistance, asserting their old right to administer the\naffairs of the sanctuary. In the course of the war their leaders had\nrecourse to the treasures of the temple again and again, melting and\ncoining the precious metals, and turning the brass and iron into arms.\nAltogether they are said to have appropriated no less than \u00a32,300,000,\nwhich was required to keep up their large mercenary army.\n\nThe fabulous wealth of the place had often tempted the cupidity of\nforeign foes, but on every occasion the god had been found able to\nprotect himself. When Xerxes sent a detachment of his huge army to\ndespoil the shrine, his soldiers were thrown into a panic and put\nutterly to flight by great rocks tumbling down upon them from the cliffs\nof Parnassus in the midst of a terrible thunderstorm. The rocks were\nshown to Herodotus in the precincts of the temple of Athena,--perhaps\nthe same as are still to be seen in the low ground to the south of the\npublic road. A similar experience is said to have befallen the Gauls\nunder Brennus about two hundred years afterwards. At an intermediate\ndate (370 B.C.), when Jason of Pher\u00e6, the powerful ruler of Thessaly,\nset out for Delphi with, as it was believed, a hostile intent, under\ncolour of sacrificing to the god a thousand bulls and ten thousand\nsheep, goats, and swine, he was suddenly cut off in the prime of life by\na treacherous band of assassins.\n\nThere was yet a third Sacred War, a few years afterwards. The objects of\nAmphictyonic wrath on this occasion were not the Phocians but the\nLocrians of Amphissa (now Salona), who had taken possession of Cirrha\nand repeated the old offence of using part of the consecrated ground for\ntheir own secular purposes.\n\n[Illustration: DELPHI. THE PORTICO (STOA) OF THE ATHENIANS\n\nThe wall of polygonal masonry to the right is part of the _Heleniko_, or\nterrace wall, of the Great Temple of Apollo. Three marble steps at the\nback of the Athenian portico, with two Ionic columns in place, stand in\nfront of the wall. The \u201csacred way,\u201d terminating at the east end of the\nGreat Temple above, passes in front of this portico, and the row of\nmarble seats along its farther side marks out its course. To the left of\nthe drawing is seen the mountain slope of Kirphis leading down to the\ngorge of the river Pleistos.]\n\nThe sympathies of Greece were divided in this war, and the final outcome\nof the struggle was that Philip of Macedonia, who had been called in to\nfinish the previous war, and had been admitted a member of the\nAmphictyony in place of the dispossessed Phocian tribe, now became\nmaster of Greece by reason of his victory over the combined forces of\nAthens and Thebes at the fateful battle of Ch\u00e6ronea in 338 B.C.\n\nWithin the past few years French arch\u00e6ologists have done wonderful work\nat Delphi. By the removal of the modern village of Castri, the\nfoundations of the temple and the remains of many of the surrounding\nbuildings and monuments have been brought to light. As you pass along\nthe \u201cSacred Way\u201d you can identify many of the sites mentioned by\nPausanias, in the very order in which he describes them. In most places\nthe old pavement still remains, with grooves to keep the feet from\nslipping. Some of the most precious relics have been removed to the\nMuseum, where there are also models of many of the most beautiful works\nof art that have perished. Among the former is the famous _Omphalos_ or\n\u201cNavel-stone,\u201d on which Apollo is often represented as sitting. It\nmarked the spot at which two eagles met, which had been sent out by\nJupiter from extreme east and west, of equal speed in flight, to\ndetermine the exact centre of the earth. The marble stone which is now\nshown, although apparently identical with that seen by Pausanias,--for\nit was discovered on the same spot,--may be only an imitation of the\noriginal, like another which has also been recently discovered; and the\ngolden eagles which stood beside the _Omphalos_ have also disappeared.\nThe chasm in the temple floor, from which the vapour ascended that was\nsupposed to inspire the prophetess, cannot now be found, having probably\nbeen filled up somehow; but a little way off there is a rock with a rift\nin it, on which the first Sibyl (mentioned by Plutarch) is supposed to\nhave sat and prophesied. The rift may have been the lurking-place of the\ndragon which Apollo shot with his darts, when he came from Delos, the\nland of his birth, to inaugurate the ministry of the Cretan travellers,\nwhom he had enlisted in the service of his new sanctuary. According to\nthe legend the skin of the dragon was left to rot, giving rise to the\nancient name Pytho, by which Delphi was known in the days of Homer. In\nthe hymn to the Delphian Apollo the scene of the combat is laid in the\ngorge of the Ph\u00e6driad\u00e6, but the other conjecture is supported by the\nproximity to the Sibyl\u2019s rock of an enclosure like a threshing-floor,\nwhich is supposed to be the place where the drama was enacted every\nfourth year.\n\nA little way above the temple is an open-air theatre--one of the best\npreserved in Greece. It is in the usual horse-shoe form, with its\nsloping back, enclosing the sitting accommodation for the spectators,\nresting on a rising ground. The stadium is still higher, right under the\ncliffs of Parnassus on the north, and shut in by rising grounds on\neither side, but commanding a magnificent view to the south over valley\nand mountain. It was the ancient scene of the Pythian games, and is\nstill recognisable as such in almost every feature. Apollo was regarded\nas the leader of the Muses, and the Pythian festival was originally a\nmusical, not an athletic contest. The prize of laurel wreath was given\nfor the best song in honour of Apollo to the accompaniment of the lyre.\nAt the conclusion of the first Sacred War, nearly 600 B.C., the chariot\nraces (which are deprecated in the Homeric hymn) were inaugurated in the\nplain beneath. But the higher form of competition still continued,\nincluding even poetry and painting--a distinction of which no other\npagan cult can boast. Deeply interesting as the ruins are from an\narch\u00e6ological point of view, they bring home a sense of the\ntransitoriness of early glory when one thinks how little remains of the\nthousand statues and trophies and votive offerings which once filled the\nspot with \u201cthe glory that was Greece.\u201d Time has robbed it of the\ntreasures of art which were to be seen in the days of Pliny, even after\nthe ravages of Sulla and of Nero. Happily, one of the most interesting\nand beautiful of all the monuments has just been restored, namely the\nTreasury of the Athenians, which was built of Parian marble in the form\nof a small Doric temple, from the spoils taken on the field of Marathon.\nIt seems to have been overthrown by an earthquake, but almost all the\nblocks of which it was constructed have been discovered among the ruins,\nand have been fitted together with such skill and success as to\nreproduce the old inscriptions engraved upon the walls, including\nseveral hymns to Apollo, with their musical notation. The expense of\nthe restoration has been mainly borne by the city of Athens.\n\nA few hundred yards to the east is the Castalian spring, in the cleft\nbetween the lofty Ph\u00e6driad\u00e6. At one time it was believed to confer the\ngift of prophecy on those who drank of it; but its rock-hewn basin is\nnow used by the village women for washing clothes. In ancient times its\nwater was used for sacred purposes by the prophetess and her attendants\nand all who came to consult the oracle. That the purification sought was\nnot merely that of the body may be inferred from a prophetic utterance\nwhich has been rendered as follows:--\n\n To the pure precincts of Apollo\u2019s portal,\n Come, pure in heart, and touch the lustral wave:\n One drop sufficeth for the sinless mortal;\n All else e\u2019en ocean\u2019s billows cannot lave.\n\nIf the traveller pursue his journey a few hours farther to the east,\npassing the picturesque little town of Arachova, about 2000 feet above\nthe sea, he will reach the ancient Cleft or Triple Way, in a scene of\ndesolate grandeur at the end of a long, deep, narrow valley. It was\nthere that \u0152dipus, seeking to escape the destiny which had just been\nannounced to him by the oracle, and unaware of his true parentage, met\nhis father Laius, King of Thebes, on his way to Delphi, and in a fit of\nanger at the unceremonious way in which he was jostled aside by the\nroyal charioteer, slew the aged king and all his attendants save one,--a\ncrime which was the beginning of those many sorrows in his\n\n[Illustration: THE ANCIENT QUARRIES ON MOUNT PENTELIKON\n\nOf extraordinary interest as the material source of the finest\narchitecture and sculpture of Ancient Greece.]\n\nfamily history which were to be the theme of some of the greatest of the\nGreek tragedies. Pausanias mentions that the tomb of the murdered men,\nwith unhewn stones heaped upon it, was to be seen at the middle of the\nplace where the three roads met: the modern traveller finds a monument\nwith an inscription which tells how Johannes Megas was killed on the\nsame spot in 1856, in an encounter with a band of brigands, which he was\nseeking to extirpate.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III\n\nOLYMPIA AND ITS GAMES\n\n\nOlympia has been described by an ancient writer as the fairest spot in\nGreece. In so describing it, he must have had in view not only the\nnatural scenery but also the beautiful buildings and statuary with which\nit was so richly adorned as the time-honoured seat of the Olympian\ngames. The scenery is pleasing without being grand, presenting in this\nrespect a striking contrast to the stern majesty of Delphi. It may be\ndescribed as a peaceful and fertile plain, traversed by the river\nAlpheus, whose waters Heracles is said to have diverted from their\ncourse to cleanse the Augean stables. On either side, and also at its\nwestern end, the plain is shut in by hills, while far away to the east\nthe mountains of Arcadia, where the Alpheus has its rise, can be dimly\nseen. In the immediate foreground, standing by itself, as if detached\nfrom the low range behind, there is a small conical hill, about 400 feet\nhigh, covered with pines and brushwood, and bearing a name (Cronius)\nwhich calls to mind the primeval deity who was dethroned by his son\nZeus, the presiding god of Olympia. Close to this hill, on the south,\nlies the Altis or sacred enclosure, originally a consecrated grove,\nwhich, in course of time, was overspread with altars and temples and\nother public buildings.\n\nThirty years ago there was scarcely any trace of this ancient glory to\nbe seen. But within the last generation a great work of excavation and\ndiscovery has been carried on by German arch\u00e6ologists, at an expense of\n\u00a340,000, generously defrayed by the German Government, on the\nunderstanding that all objects of interest brought to light should be\nallowed to remain in Greece. One can form some idea of the labour\ninvolved in the undertaking from the fact that the average depth of the\n_d\u00e9bris_, composed of the clay washed down from the Cronius hill and the\nalluvial deposits of the river Cladeus (which joins the Alpheus close to\nthe Altis on the west), was fully sixteen feet.\n\nAlthough associated, more than any other spot in Greece, with the\nworship of the \u201cfather of gods and men,\u201d Olympia seems originally to\nhave been devoted to the honour of his consort Hera, or possibly of\nboth. The oldest architectural remains within the enclosure are those of\na temple of Hera, to which Pausanias assigned an earlier date than we\ncan give to any other sacred ruin in Greece, namely, about 1096 B.C. Its\ngreat antiquity is proved by the resemblance which it bears in some\nrespects to the architecture of Mycen\u00e6, and also by the fact that the\nexisting columns (of which thirty-four out of the original forty have\nbeen more or less preserved) were evidently preceded by columns of\nwood, one of which, made of oak, was still standing when Pausanias\nvisited the place in the second century A.D. Wood seems to have been the\nmaterial in which the Doric architecture was originally executed; and in\nthis instance it was only as the wood of each column decayed that it was\nreplaced with stone, the natural result being that the columns differ\ngreatly from one another in thickness and style and the nature of their\nstone. Some of them must have been substituted for the wooden ones as\nearly as the seventh century B.C., for their capitals are among the\noldest specimens of Doric architecture that are anywhere to be found.\nPausanias tells us that this temple contained rude images of both Zeus\nand Hera; and not far from the spot a head has been discovered, twice as\nlarge as life, which is supposed with great probability to belong to the\nlatter. It is believed to date from the seventh or sixth century B.C.,\nand is made of the same soft stone as the base still remaining, which\ncould not have lasted so long unless it had been under cover. The eyes\nare large, the head is crowned, and the face wears a look of\ncomplacency, without much dignity or refinement. Hera seems to have had\nmuch the same prominence in Olympia as she had in Argolis, where the\nfamily of Pelops was also in the ascendant.\n\nIt was only gradually that Zeus obtained general recognition as the\nchief deity in the court of Olympus, becoming the centre of the\nPan-Hellenic religion reflected in Homer, which was as powerful a bond\nof union among the ancient Greeks as Christianity has\n\n[Illustration: OLYMPIA. THE BASE OF THE KRONOS HILL, WITH THE REMAINS OF\nTHE TEMPLE OF HERA AND THE PHILIPPEION\n\nAt the foot of the hill, the columns of the north, south, and west sides\nof the Her\u00e6on still _in situ_ are clearly shown, and also the cella wall\non the west and south. The remains of the Philippeion, a circular\nbuilding erected by Philip II. of Macedon (_circ._ 336 B.C.), are in the\nforeground, to the west of the Her\u00e6on. The base of one of the Ionic\ncolumns is in its place, and the marble steps which supported the\ncolonnade are connected by a slab of marble with the circular\nsub-structure of the central mass of the building.]\n\nproved to be in modern times in preserving the Greek nationality under\nthe Turkish Empire. The supremacy which was given to Zeus in theory in\nother parts of the country was visibly realised at Olympia, where the\nchief sanctuary was a temple dedicated to his worship, more than 200\nfeet long and about 90 feet wide, surrounded by 134 columns, each of\nthem about 34 feet high, dating probably from the fifth century B.C. It\nwas a magnificent edifice, as we may still judge from the appearance of\nthe columns and the decorations of the pediments and the\nfrieze--although built of native conglomerate. On the east pediment of\nthe gable there were twenty-one colossal and imposing figures,\nrepresenting those interested in the chariot-race from Pisa to the\nisthmus of Corinth, by which Pelops gained the kingdom and the hand of\nthe king\u2019s daughter; while on the west there was a representation, in a\nsimilar style, of the legendary battle of the Lapiths and the Centaurs.\nOn the metopes of the frieze the Twelve Labours of Heracles were\ndepicted, and along the sides of the roof gargoyles projected in the\nform of lions\u2019 mouths. Many of these figures have been recovered, mostly\nin fragments, and are exhibited in the local museum. In the same place\nthere is an exquisite statue of Hermes by Praxiteles, which was found\nunder a covering of clay in front of the very pedestal in the temple of\nHera where Pausanias mentions that he had seen it standing, and also a\nNik\u00e9 of P\u00e6onius, representing the goddess of Victory flying through the\nair to execute the behest of Zeus.\n\nBut the crowning glory of Olympia, the masterpiece of Pheidias and of\nGreek art, is gone beyond recall. It was a colossal image of Jupiter,\nmade of gold and ivory and ebony, about 40 feet high, and standing on a\npedestal of bluish-black stone in the innermost part of the temple.\nCicero expressed his admiration of it by saying that Pheidias had\ndesigned it not after a living model but after that ideal beauty which\nhe saw with the inward eye alone. D\u012bo Chrysostom bore still more\nimpressive testimony to its entrancing beauty when he said: \u201cMethinks\nthat if one who is heavy-laden in mind, who has drained the cup of\nmisfortune and sorrow in life, and whom sweet sleep visits no more, were\nto stand before this image, he would forget all the griefs and troubles\nthat are incident to the life of man.\u201d It is uncertain whether the image\nperished in the fire which destroyed the temple in the beginning of the\nfifth century A.D., or was carried to Constantinople and consumed in a\nconflagration which took place there in 475 A.D.\n\nNear the centre of the Altis has been found the foundation of the great\naltar of Zeus (which was made of ashes and rose to a height of 22 feet),\nand not far off an ancient altar of Hera, where an immense quantity of\nsmall bronzes and terra-cotta figures has been found. In the same\nneighbourhood has been traced the _Pelopium_, a precinct sacred to the\nmemory of Pelops, where he was worshipped as a hero with a ritual of a\nsad and gloomy nature, directed to a pit as an emblem of the grave, and\nmore akin to the primitive worship of the Chthonian or infernal gods\nthan to that of the deities who were enthroned on lofty Olympus.\n\nThe fame of Olympia may be said to have rested even more on its games\nthan on its religious associations, though the secular and sacred were\nso bound up with one another, in ancient Greece, that it is scarcely\npossible to form a true conception of the one without the other. The\nOlympian games held the foremost place among those competitive\nexhibitions, which were so illustrative of the spirit of emulation\ncharacteristic of the Greeks, as well as of their ideal of a harmonious\ndevelopment of body and soul. There were three other foundations of the\nsame kind: the Pythian, in honour of Apollo, likewise held every four\nyears; the Nemean (under the care of Argos), every second year, in\nhonour of Zeus; and the Isthmian (under Corinth), also held every second\nyear, in honour of Poseidon. The prizes were respectively a wreath of\nbay, of pine, and of parsley, a palm-branch being also placed in the\nhand of the victor. The prize at Olympia was a wreath of olive, cut with\na golden sickle by a boy, both of whose parents had to be alive--as\namong the Gauls the priest had to cut the sacred mistletoe with the same\nprecious metal. At the three other places just mentioned the games dated\npractically from the first quarter of the sixth century B.C. But the\nregister of victors in the Olympian games went back to 776 B.C., which\nis the first definite and reliable date (called the First Olympiad) in\nGreek chronology.\n\nThe origin of all these gatherings may probably be traced to the\nfuneral games mentioned in Homer and Hesiod, which were celebrated by a\nchief in honour of a departed friend or relative. According to one\naccount the Olympian games were instituted by Heracles in honour of\nPelops, grandfather of Agamemnon and brother of the ill-fated Niobe, who\nhad come to Pisa from the Lydian kingdom of his father Tantalus--that\npresumptuous guest at the table of the gods whose name is immortalised\nfor us in the English word which describes the nature of his penal\nsufferings. The traditional connection of Olympia with Asia Minor is\nborne out by the resemblance of the bronzes above mentioned to early\nPhrygian art, as well as by other circumstances; and there is no reason\nto doubt that Olympia was at one time in the hands of the Ach\u00e6ans.\n\nThe Dorian invasion of the Peloponnesus about 1100 B.C., eighty years\nafter the fall of Troy, marked a new era in the history of Olympia. The\nHeracleids (whose shipbuilding for the voyage across the narrow straits\nof the Gulf is still commemorated in the name of the port _Naupactus_,\non the northern side of the Gulf) are said to have rewarded the \u00c6tolian\nexile Oxylus, who acted as their guide (answering to the oracular\ndescription of \u201ca man with three eyes,\u201d whom they were to find--being\none-eyed and riding on a horse with two eyes), by confirming him in the\npossession of Elis, which in older times was known as Epeia, and is so\nreferred to by Homer. For a long time the Eleans and the Pisatans seem\nto have superintended the games\n\n[Illustration: OLYMPIA. THE PAL\u00c6STRA AND REMAINS OF THE TEMPLE OF ZEUS\n\nThis view is taken from the western side of the Pal\u00e6stra, and the\nstanding columns in the foreground are part of the southern colonnade of\nthat building. The platform (Krepidoma) of the great Temple (which was\nraised upon a mound and occupied the highest point of the _Altis_ or\nsacred enclosure) is in the centre of the drawing. Many of the colossal\ndrums and other architectural members of the Temple lie scattered about\non the platform. Across the valley of the Alpheios are seen the Phellon\nMountains, topped by splendid masses of cloud. This drawing is a record\nof a lovely spring day in the Western Peloponnesus.]\n\njointly, with the support of the Dorian settlement at Sparta, whose\ngreat lawgiver, Lycurgus, was said to have put the institution on a new\nfooting in concert with Iphitus, the king of Pisatis, the names of both\nbeing inscribed on a famous quoit of which Aristotle speaks. Pausanias\ntells us that the towns of Elis and Pisatis appointed sixteen\nwomen--eight from each state--to weave the festal robe (_peplos_) for\nthe image of the Olympian Hera. The Pisatans, however, were afterwards\ndisplaced, and in 570 B.C. their city was destroyed, and Elis obtained\nthe whole right of administration.\n\nThe first historic game was a foot-race, and it was only by degrees that\nother contests were at various times added. The _pentathlon_, during\nwhich the Pythian air was played on the flutes in honour of Apollo,\nconsisted of running, jumping, throwing the disc or quoit, throwing the\njavelin, and wrestling. Finally came chariot-racing (in a hippodrome\nadjoining the Altis), which, though necessarily confined to men of\nwealth, added much to the spectacular attractions of the games.\n\nThe competitors had to strip naked for the athletic contests, this being\na characteristic feature of the Greek games, obligatory on all without\ndistinction of rank. There were games for boys as well as for men, and\nthe celebrations, which at first were confined to a single day, extended\nultimately to five days. The women had a festival of their own, with\ngames for girls; but at the ordinary games married women were not\nallowed to be present. At the same time there was very little\ncoarseness or cruelty about them, compared with a Roman gladiatorial\nexhibition or a Spanish bull-fight--except in the _pancratium_, a\ncombination of wrestling and boxing, in which the combatants were\nallowed to get the better of one another by any means in their power,\nprovided they did not make use of any weapon, which was forbidden in all\nthe contests. The conflict was sometimes attended with a fatal result.\nPausanias mentions a case of this kind in which a dead man was\nproclaimed victor, and crowned with the olive wreath.\n\nThe stadium or race-course can be distinctly traced north-east of the\nAltis. The two parallel grooves in the stone pavement at the\nstarting-point, the one a few inches in front of the other, were\nevidently intended to give the runner a secure footing. The course was\n600 feet long, which became a recognised measure of distance, as the\nEnglish furlong was derived from the length of a furrow. But the double\nrace was soon introduced, which accounts for there being similar grooves\nat the other end, where the seats for the judges were, as the start\nwould then have to be made from that end. In the same place you can also\ntrace the sockets, about four feet apart, in which were fixed the wooden\nposts that marked off the space for each of the runners, who could be\naccommodated to the number of twenty.\n\nThere is a vaulted entrance to the stadium about a hundred feet high\n(one of the oldest examples of such work in cut stone, 350-300 B.C.),\nthrough which none could pass but the judges and heralds, and the\ncompetitors, who must have gone through ten months\u2019 training, and were\nlodged during the games at the public expense. Close to this entrance\nare still to be seen a large number of pedestals, on which stood at one\ntime certain brazen images, well fitted to warn competitors against any\ninfringement of the rules. They were called Zan\u0113s in honour of Zeus, and\nthey had all been placed there at the expense of persons who had been\nconvicted of some violation of the rules. Giving or receiving bribes was\nthe most common offence at Olympia, as it was indeed with the Greeks\ngenerally, even in the more serious game of politics. But there were\nothers of a different nature. For example, Pausanias tells of a man of\nAlexandria who had come too late for the boxing match, and, finding that\nanother had been adjudged the prize without a contest and was already\nwearing the olive wreath, put on the gloves as though for a fight and\nrushed at the victor, for which he was sentenced to pay a fine. In\ncontrast to the penal erection of a statue to Zeus, the winner of a\nprize was allowed to put up a statue in commemoration of his victory,\nand the third time he thus distinguished himself he was at liberty to\nerect an image of himself. In this way Olympia became in course of time\na great school of art as well as a gymnastic arena. In Homer there is no\nmention of statues of the gods, not even of wood, and the development of\nart in this line during the seventh and sixth centuries was very\nremarkable.\n\nXerxes or one of his princes is said to have expressed his astonishment\nthat the Greeks should contend so earnestly for the sake of an olive\nwreath. But in reality the wreath was only an emblem of the honour\nconferred upon the victor. In the days of Solon, before the games had\nreached the height of their popularity, a grant of 500 drachms was made\nto an Athenian when he was successful at Olympia, and 100 drachms if he\ncarried off a prize at the Isthmian games. The reward offered by the\nSpartans to any of their sons who thus distinguished themselves was the\nprivilege of fighting near their king. Success in the competitions was\nattended with many other advantages. The victor in the foot-race gave\nhis name to the Olympiad which was then beginning; the name, parentage,\nand country of every successful competitor was publicly proclaimed\nbefore the whole assembly, which comprised deputies from the most\nimportant cities of Greece, frequently very distinguished men, who had\nbeen sent not only to do honour to Zeus but also to maintain the dignity\nof the community which they represented. For example, Alcibiades headed\nthe deputation which Athens sent, after an interval of twelve years,\nduring the Peloponnesian war. On that occasion there was a remarkable\ndisplay of Athenian wealth and magnificence in connection with the\npublic processions and sacrifices. Alcibiades himself entered as a\ncompetitor with seven chariots--each drawn by four horses--one of which\ngained a first prize and another a second. He gave a splendid banquet to\nsignalise his triumph; and such was the impression made on the assembled\nvisitors by what they had seen of Athenian greatness that Alcibiades\n\n[Illustration: THE TEMPLE OF HERA AT OLYMPIA\n\nA portion of the west front of the Temple, which stood upon a platform\nwith two steps, is shown. Two columns on the east side and six on the\nnorth are seen _in situ_. These columns vary in size to a surprising\nextent. One of the enormous capitals, tilted up and standing upon the\nhead of its abacus, should be noticed, behind the tall column in the\ncentre of the drawing. The hill at the back of the Temple is the one to\nthe west of the river Kladeos. In this Temple, said to be the most\nancient in Greece, was found the Hermes of Praxiteles, the only extant\nwork of sculpture of the finest period known to be from the chisel of a\ngreat master.]\n\nclaimed, some years afterwards, to have done much on this occasion to\nrestore the prestige of the city. A man in the position of Alcibiades\ncould afford to give a banquet to celebrate his victory. But, in\ngeneral, the feasts and processions were provided for the winners by\ntheir friends and admirers, and, on returning home, they received a\ngreat ovation and frequently had substantial benefits conferred upon\nthem. We have an illustration of the interest taken in the contests even\nby distant colonies in the fact that when (408 B.C.) a native of\nAgrigentum in Sicily came off victorious, he was met, when he returned\nhome, by three hundred of his richest countrymen, each driving a chariot\ndrawn by two milk-white steeds. Sometimes a poem was written to\ncommemorate victory, and the odes of Pindar, written for this purpose,\nhave proved more imperishable than brass.[1]\n\nFrom a physical point of view there can be no doubt that the games at\nOlympia and elsewhere had a salutary influence on the nation, and helped\nto develop that aptitude for military life which enabled them to repel\nthe Persian invaders and to distinguish themselves so often in the field\nof war. But higher interests were also promoted. Although no prizes were\noffered for intellectual distinction, the opportunity was often afforded\nfor the publication of literary works. Herodotus is said to have read\naloud his history at Olympia, and to have thereby stirred the ambition\nof Thucydides. Dramatic performances were also sometimes given. It was\nthe great ambition of Dionysius, the Tyrant of Syracuse, who had risen\nfrom a comparatively humble position to be the greatest potentate in the\nGrecian world, to distinguish himself as a dramatic poet. With this view\nhe once sent to Olympia, along with a splendid embassy, a fully equipped\ncompany of the best actors of the day, to represent some plays which he\nhad written. They met with a very bad reception, which was no doubt\npartly owing to the personal unpopularity of their author; and it is\nsaid that when Dionysius heard that his verses had been laughed at, and\nthat his representatives had been treated with contumely, he was so\nchagrined that he almost went out of his mind. A still worse effect was\nproduced on him, however, some time afterwards by his success at the\nLen\u00e6an festival in Athens, for the rejoicing and conviviality to which\nhe abandoned himself when he heard that he had gained the first prize\nwere largely the cause of his death.\n\nLiterature was not the only interest which was promoted side by side\nwith gymnastic accomplishments. Such a gathering of Greeks from all\nparts of the world could not fail to have an educative influence from\nmany points of view. Intellectually it afforded the most cultured men an\nopportunity for discussing subjects of common interest and for an\nexchange of views, while politically it tended to counteract the\ntendency to isolation on the part of the several states, and to foster\nunity of sentiment among the members of the great Hellenic race from\nTrebizond to Marseilles, and from Amphipolis to Cyrene. Occasionally\ngreat orations were heard at critical periods in the history of the\nnation, as when Lysias and Isocrates strove to rouse their countrymen to\na sense of the dangers impending over them from the tyranny of Persia on\nthe east and that of Syracuse on the west. Even commerce shared in the\nbenefit, for it was a meeting-place of merchants from far and near. As\nalready indicated, the games had also a religious aspect. Many\nsacrifices were offered during the celebrations, and solemn oaths were\ntaken. Near the entrance to the stadium there was an image of the god of\nOaths holding a thunderbolt in each hand, before which competitors had\nto swear that they would conform to the rules laid down for them. For a\nfortnight before and after the celebrations (which took place at the\nfirst full moon after the summer solstice) a truce was proclaimed\nthroughout the whole of Greece, to enable competitors from all parts to\nattend. So strictly was this enforced that the Spartans were excluded\nfrom the games on the same occasion on which Alcibiades was present,\nbecause they had despatched a thousand soldiers to the town of Lepreum\nafter the truce had been proclaimed, to help the inhabitants to maintain\ntheir independence against the claims of the Eleans. In consequence of\nthis exclusion Lychas, a wealthy Laced\u00e6monian, had to enter for the\nchariot-race in the name of the B\u0153otian federation. But he was so\nelated by the success of his chariot that he stepped into the lists and\nput a chaplet on the head of his driver, to show that the chariot was\nhis, whereupon the attendants, regardless of his rank, made use of their\nstaffs and drove him back to his proper place. On another occasion a\nSpartan king, Agis, was refused permission to sacrifice to or consult\nthe oracle because he wished to pray for success in the war against\nAthens.\n\nAt the 104th Olympiad the peaceful solemnity of\n\n[Illustration: THE BASTION AND TEMPLE OF WINGLESS VICTORY VIEWED FROM\nTHE ASCENT TO THE PROPYL\u00c6A (EARLY MORNING)\n\nThe northern face of the great Bastion or outwork of squared masonry,\nwhich guards the ascent to the Acropolis at its south-western point,\noccupies the left-hand half of the drawing. This Bastion is capped by a\ncornice of Pentelic marble, upon which formerly stood the famous parapet\nadorned with figures of winged Victories sculptured in low relief. The\nthree steps of the exquisite little Temple would, therefore, originally\nhave been hidden from view. Just below are the steps, still _in situ_,\nbelonging to the stairs which ascended to the platform of the Temple.\nThe pedestal, above the _anta_ beside these stairs, supported a statue\nof one of the leaders of the Athenian Cavalry. The long flight of the\nsteps, passing transversely across the drawing, is the modern ascent to\nthe Propyl\u00e6a. Far below, near the foot of the Acropolis, some of the\nupper arches of the massive fa\u00e7ade of the theatre of Herodes Atticus\nrise into view; and, to the right, the scathed surface of the Museion\nHill, with the monument of Philopappus on its top, slopes away from the\neye in subtle curves. Farther to the right is the Bay of Phaleron and\n(closing the landscape above) the clearly seen ranges of the mountains\nof Argolis.]\n\nOlympia was rudely broken by a sanguinary struggle in the sacred\nenclosure between the Eleans on the one hand and the Arcadians and their\nallies from Argos, who had taken possession of the Altis and planted a\ngarrison on the adjoining hill. The Eleans fought bravely but were\noverpowered, and had the mortification of seeing the games carried out\nunder the direction of the Pisatans, the original presidents of the\nfestival. The outrage was aggravated by the fact that the Arcadians were\nnot content with enriching themselves with the wealth of the Eleans, but\nwent so far as to rob the temples and the treasuries of their precious\ncontents. The ruins of some of these \u201ctreasuries,\u201d as they were called,\nbuilt against the side of the hill, are still to be seen. They bore the\nnames of different Greek cities, chiefly colonies, and contained the\nvarious utensils and votive offerings that would be needed by their\nrepresentatives in connection with the celebration of the games.\n\nEven before this time (364 B.C.) the social standing of competitors in\nthe games had begun to deteriorate, and a class of professionals had\narisen who made it their sole object to develop their muscles so as to\nsucceed in athletic contests. But even after the glory of Greece began\nto wane the Olympian games still held their ground. When Philip of\nMacedonia became supreme he sought to conciliate Hellenic sentiment and\nto prove himself a genuine Greek by dedicating a building in the Altis,\nto which his name was given. And when his son, Alexander the Great,\nissued a rescript, for political reasons of his own, ordaining that all\nGreek cities should recall their exiled sons, it was at Olympia that the\nproclamation was made by the herald who had gained the prize for the\nloudest voice, in the hearing of 20,000 exiles who had gathered there\nknowing what they had to expect, and of hundreds of the leading men of\nGreece, among them the great Athenian orator, who had striven in vain to\npreserve the liberties of his country.\n\nNearly four centuries later we find Nero contending successfully in the\ngames, and building a palace on the border of the Altis, the remains of\nwhich have been recently discovered. The institution was finally\nabolished by the Emperor Theodosius in 394 A.D., the last recorded\nvictor being an Armenian knight, who carried off the prize in the\nprevious year.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV\n\nARCADIA AND ITS ABORIGINES\n\n\nArcadia held a unique place in the Peloponnesus, both as regards its\nphysical features and the character of its inhabitants. It occupied the\nvery centre of the peninsula, and was the only province that had no\ndirect access to the sea. Its area was greater than that of any other,\nbeing about equal in extent to the county of Cumberland. The rural\ncharms with which it was credited by the Latin poets, and by Sir Philip\nSydney among ourselves, were largely the product of imagination, as the\nscenery is generally of a bleak and stern character, and the people, in\nconsequence, are disposed to take life seriously. There are some smiling\nplains in the south and west, but the most of the country consists of\nrugged mountains and marshy valleys. A remarkable feature is the number\nof basins enclosed on all sides by the hills, where the streams can find\nno visible outlet, and either form a lake or take a subterranean course\nthrough some chasm or crevices in the porous limestone, in many cases\nnever to reappear. The only river which forces its way through all\nobstacles till it reaches the sea, and has a perennial supply of water,\nis the Alpheus, which we have already met at Olympia. It was believed by\nthe ancient Greeks to hold on its course after it reached the sea, and\nto mingle its waters with the fountain of Arethusa at Syracuse. In proof\nof this it was said that a cup which had been thrown into the river had\nafterwards been discovered in the fountain!\n\nIn classical times the Arcadians had been so long settled in the land\nthat they were generally believed to be indigenous, and their chief\ncity, Lycosoura, was regarded as the oldest city in Greece. On its site\nsome colossal heads have recently been discovered that are supposed to\nrepresent Despoina (that is, Persephone), who had a temple here,\nDemeter, Artemis, and Anytus the Titan. The city was close to Mount\nLyc\u00e6us, the fabled birthplace of the Arcadian Zeus; and perhaps this\nfact and the similarity of the names may account for the belief in its\nantiquity. Here, as on Mount Ithome, Zeus seems to have been worshipped\nin primitive fashion without temple or image. On Mount Lyc\u00e6us Pelasgus\nwas also believed to have been born, the reputed ancestor of the\nprimitive race which was in possession of the country before the Ach\u00e6ans\nor the Dorians made their appearance. A story is told of his son, King\nLycaon, which seems to reflect the memory of a time when human\nsacrifices were sometimes offered. It was said that Zeus had come to\ndetect the royal family in their wickedness, and was received with\nreverence by the rest of the community,\n\n[Illustration: This illustration is from the colossal head of Despoina\nfrom Lyk\u00f3soura in Arcadia, now in the Central Museum, Athens.\n\nThe small figure is a Pan, also in the Museum.]\n\nbut Lycaon, being sceptical of his guest\u2019s divinity and wishing to put\nit to the test, caused his grandson Arcas to be cut up and served at his\ntable, whereupon the indignant deity at once destroyed him, his sons,\nand his palace with a flash of lightning, and restored Arcas to life, to\ntake possession of the throne and give his name to the country. There\nwere other versions of the same story. According to Pausanias \u201cLycaon\nbrought a human babe to the altar of Lyc\u00e6an Zeus and sacrificed it, and\npoured out the blood on the altar; and they say that immediately after\nthe sacrifice he was turned into a wolf.\u201d Pausanias\u2019 comments on it are\ninteresting, as an illustration of the religious views of a\nwell-informed Greek in the second century of the Christian era. \u201cFor my\nown part I believe the tale: it has been handed down among the Arcadians\nfrom antiquity, and probability is in its favour. For the men of that\ntime, by reason of their righteousness and piety, were guests of the\ngods, and sat with them at table; the gods openly visited the good with\nhonour and the bad with their displeasure. Indeed, men were raised to\nthe rank of gods in those days, and are worshipped down to the present\ntime.... So we may well believe that Lycaon was turned into a wild\nbeast, and Niobe, daughter of Tantalus, into a stone. But in the present\nage, when wickedness is growing to such a height, and spreading over\nevery land and every city, men are changed into gods no more, save in\nthe hollow rhetoric which flattery addresses to power; and the wrath of\nthe gods at the wicked is reserved for a distant future, when they\nshall have gone hence.\u201d By far the greater part of the observations made\nby this writer on Arcadia relate to its religious customs and\ntraditions; and from the vague nature of the information he obtained\nregarding many of its deities and the peculiar rites with which they\nwere worshipped, it is evident that Arcadia contained more distinct\ntraces of the old Pelasgic religion, anterior to the theogony recognised\nby Homer and Hesiod, than almost any other part of Greece. It was\ndifficult for a votary of the Hellenic religion like Pausanias to arrive\nat a definite conception of the names, the functions, and the outward\nsymbols of not a few of the objects of Arcadian worship.\n\nAccording to tradition Arcas had three sons, of whom the second,\nApheidas, was the founder of Tegea, an aggregate of nine villages, and\nfor a long time the most famous city in the district. He was the\nancestor of Atalanta, immortalised by Euripides in connection with the\nCalydonian Hunt, which ranks with the Voyage of the Argonauts, the Siege\nof Thebes, and the Trojan War, as one of the heroic legends of Greece.\nIt is the same Atalanta who is known to us by the story of her conquest\nin the foot-race by one of her suitors, Melanion, through the seductive\ninfluence of the golden apples of the Hesperides, which she stooped to\npick up when he threw them in her path. After the hunt she was said to\nhave brought home with her to Tegea the head and skin of the wild boar\nwhich Artemis had sent to ravage the Calydonian kingdom\n\n[Illustration: THE TEMPLE OF APOLLO AT BASS\u00c6 IN ARCADIA, WITH DISTANT\nVIEW OF MOUNT ITHOME\n\nThe front of the Temple faces the spectator, and looks to the north. The\nreason for the unusual orientation is evident from the conformation of\nthe ground. The Temple is, in fact, built upon a ridge, and very\nextensive sub-structures would have been necessary if the usual\norientation had been followed.]\n\non account of a slight offered to her in sacrifice. Whether genuine or\nnot, the relics of the boar, in the form of a great hide, and tusks\nthree feet long, were exhibited for centuries in the temple of Athena\nAlea, and a sculptured head of the boar has recently been found among\nthe ruins, from the size of which it is calculated that the animal was\nsix and a half feet long. The tusks were carried off to Rome by the\nEmperor Augustus, along with an ivory image of the goddess, but the\nwell-worn skin was shown to Pausanias when he visited Tegea. He also saw\na relief executed by the great sculptor Scopas, representing the famous\nhunt, on the pediment of the temple, which was rebuilt of marble after a\nfire, in 394 B.C., and was considered the most beautiful building of the\nkind in the Peloponnesus.\n\nEchemus was another illustrious Tegean of prehistoric times, married,\naccording to Hesiod, to a sister of Clytemnestra. He commanded the\ncontingent of troops raised by the city to join the allied forces,\nArcadian, Ach\u00e6an, and Ionian, which came forth to repel the Heracleids\nwhen they were crossing the Isthmus for the purpose of invading the\ncountry. Instead of a general engagement it was agreed to settle the\nquestion by a single combat between Echemus and Hyllus, the eldest son\nof Heracles, from whom the challenge had come. In the encounter Hyllus\nwas overcome and put to death, whereupon the Dorian invaders retraced\ntheir steps, and, in accordance with an agreement come to, did not again\nattempt the conquest of the Peloponnesus for three generations. Even\nwhen victorious they left Arcadia alone, and it continued to retain its\nindependence for many centuries afterwards.\n\nThe Arcadians, as known to us in history, have generally been\ndistinguished by the rude simplicity of their manners and the sturdy\nvigour of their physique. Intensely conservative in their ways, they\nwere always ready to do their duty bravely when called upon to defend\ntheir country; and, like the Swiss, whom they resembled in some other\npoints, they supplied many neighbouring states with mercenary soldiers,\nwho were always looked upon as a valuable force. It was one of the\nambitions of the Spartans to reduce them to subjection. With this view\nthey are said to have once consulted the Delphian oracle, which gave\nthem an unfavourable answer as regards Arcadia generally, telling them\nthat there were many acorn-eating men there, but appeared to encourage\nthem to try their strength against Tegea, foretelling that they would\ndance there and measure out the plain with a rope. Taking this in a\nfavourable sense they advanced against Tegea, but were utterly defeated,\nand many of them were taken prisoners and compelled to work in the\nfields, wearing the very chains which, with undue confidence, they had\ncarried with them from Sparta for the purpose of securing their expected\ncaptives. Both Herodotus and Pausanias mention having seen these chains\nin the temple of Athena. In the same sanctuary there was also deposited\nthe horse\u2019s manger, made of brass, which was found in the tent of the\nPersian general Mardonius by the Tegean troops who took part in the\nbattle of Plat\u00e6a, and who on that occasion claimed the place of honour\nnext to the Laced\u00e6monians, on account of the signal services which had\nbeen rendered by their ancestor Echemus.\n\nIn his history (i. 67-8) Herodotus tells a curious story of the way in\nwhich the Spartans succeeded at a later time in getting the better of\nthe Tegeans, with the help of the friendly oracle at Delphi. They were\ndirected to bring back to Sparta the bones of Orestes, the son of\nAgamemnon, whose resting-place was enigmatically described. By the\ncombined sagacity and good luck of a Spartan, named Lichas, the body,\ncontained in a coffin measuring about seven cubits in length, was\ndiscovered in a blacksmith\u2019s premises at Tegea, and was brought back to\nSparta and buried there. The consequence was that the Spartans soon\nproved the stronger, compelling the Tegeans to become their allies for\nnearly two centuries, to which they were less averse than the rest of\nthe Arcadians, owing to their liking for an oligarchic form of\ngovernment. They still remained faithful to the general cause of Greek\nindependence and sent 500 men to fight at Thermopyl\u00e6. For centuries\nafter the loss of Greek liberty Tegea continued to be a place of\nimportance. Strabo, writing in the first century A.D., speaks of it as\nthe only city in Arcadia worth mentioning, and when Pausanias visited it\nhe found it in a flourishing condition. There is now little to mark its\nsite, save the scanty ruins of its famous temple and its theatre. The\nfoundations of the temple were discovered in 1879, buried deep\nunderground, to the west of the Church of St. Nicholas, where many\nfragments of Doric columns of marble had long been lying exposed to\nview. The inner columns were Ionic and Corinthian. The workmanship, so\nfar as any specimens of it exist, fully justifies the admiration\nexpressed by Pausanias.\n\nThirteen or fourteen miles north of Tegea, on a somewhat lower level of\nthe same great central plain, stood the city of Mantinea, long a rival\nto Tegea, and possessing more of a commercial character, with a\nconsequent leaning to the democratic form of government. Originally\nbuilt on the top of a low conical hill (Gourtsouli, or Ptolis), rather\nless than a mile to the north, it was constituted on its later site by\nthe union of five villages, which were amalgamated by the Argives (who\ndwelt only a day\u2019s journey to the east) for the purpose of counteracting\nthe Spartan sympathies of Tegea. It was the scene of two great\nbattles--the one fought and gained by the Spartans under King Agis, with\nthe help of B\u0153otian and Corinthian troops, the other by Epaminondas\nat the head of the Theban confederacy. On the former occasion a striking\nproof was given of the value of Spartan discipline. Though taken by\nsurprise when he found the enemy drawn up and ready for the conflict,\nAgis succeeded in gaining such a victory as went far to restore the\nprestige of his country, which had been tarnished by recent events in\nthe Peloponnesian war. About thirty years later\n\n[Illustration: SITE OF MEGAL\u00d3POLIS IN ARCADIA\n\nThe west arm of the Theatre shows to the left, and the foreground is\noccupied by the remains of the Thersilion or Town Hall. The river\nHelisson sparkles in the distance, which is closed by the mountains of\nArcadia. Sunset.]\n\n(386 B.C.) Mantinea again incurred the hostility of Sparta and\nexperienced its military skill. The river Ophis (so called from its\ncircuitous windings farther north), which at that time ran through the\ncity, was diverted from its course by the Spartan general Agesipolis,\nand so dammed up that its waters overflowed the brick-built walls, which\nsoon gave way, compelling the inhabitants to surrender. The community\nwas then dissolved into the five villages of which it had been composed,\na high-handed act on the part of Sparta, which was characteristic of its\npolicy when it thought its ascendency to be in danger. One of the first\nresults of the great Theban victory achieved by Epaminondas at Leuctra\n(371 B.C.) was the reunion of the scattered population. But though the\nMantineans were at first in sympathy with the policy of that great\nsoldier and statesman in seeking to create an Arcadian federation for\nthe defence of the country against Spartan aggression, the rise of a new\ncapital at Megalopolis excited their jealousy, and it was partly owing\nto their defection that Epaminondas had to undertake his last campaign\nin the Peloponnesus. It was in a great battle fought in the immediate\nvicinity of Mantinea that he met his death. Never was there a more\nstriking proof of the influence that may be exerted by a master-mind\nupon an army, than when Epaminondas was suddenly struck down while\nfighting with heroic energy at the head of his men. As soon as they knew\nthat he had fallen, their victorious advance ceased, and the enemy were\nallowed to retire without suffering the usual penalties of defeat. He\nwas carried out of the field with a lance sticking in his breast; and a\nrising-ground is still pointed out (Scopas) from which he is said to\nhave watched the close of the battle. He named two men to succeed him in\nthe command of the forces; but, on learning that they had both fallen,\nhe advised that peace should be concluded with the enemy. Having\nascertained that his shield was safe, he ordered the javelin to be\nextracted, and as the blood rushed out he breathed his last. He was\nburied on the spot, and a monument was erected over his grave, of which\nno trace has yet been found.\n\nEven if there were no such names in Greek history as Hesiod, Pindar,\nPelopidas, and Plutarch, the memory of Epaminondas would be sufficient\nto redeem B\u0153otia from the reproach so often cast upon it as a land of\ndullards. He was not only a consummate general, whose name will always\nbe associated with the irresistible phalanx which anticipated that of\nMacedonia,[2] but was in every respect a great man--the greatest of the\nGreeks, according to Cicero. Distinguished in music and philosophy, he\nwas also a good speaker, and if he had had more opportunities for the\npractice of eloquence, he would probably have been found a match for the\ngreatest orators of his day. We may judge of his readiness in debate\nfrom the answer he gave to Callistratus, the renowned Athenian orator,\nwhen the latter, pleading with the Arcadians to form an alliance with\nAthens rather than with Thebes and Argos, sought to excite prejudice\nagainst these states by asking, \u201cWere not Orestes and Alcm\u00e6on, who were\nboth murderers of their mothers, natives of Argos? Was not \u0152dipus,\nwho slew his father and married his mother, a native of Thebes?\u201d \u201cYes,\nthey were,\u201d said Epaminondas, in his reply, \u201cbut Callistratus has\nforgotten to tell you that these men, while they lived at home, were\ninnocent or were reputed to be so. As soon as their crimes became known\nthey were banished; and then it was that Athens received them, stained\nwith blood.\u201d On another occasion, when he was accused by a demagogue of\ntrying to emulate the glories of Agamemnon at the risk of his country,\nby sailing from Aulis to the Hellespont at the head of a great fleet, he\nreplied, \u201cBy the help of Thebes I have already done more than Agamemnon.\nHe with the forces of Sparta and all Greece besides, was ten years in\ntaking a single city; while I, with the single force of Thebes and on\nthe single day of Leuctra, have crushed the power of the Agamemnonian\nSparta.\u201d This was answering a fool according to his folly; but, in\ngeneral, he was as remarkable for his modesty as for his great powers.\nIt was said of him by one who had been in early life a companion of\nSocrates that he had never known any one who understood so much and\nspoke so little; and when he was reduced in rank, even after the great\nbattle which deprived Sparta of its military supremacy, he did not\ndisdain to serve his country for a time in a comparatively humble\nposition. That the Spartans knew how formidable he was as an adversary\nis evident from the honours which, as Plutarch tells us, they heaped on\nthe man who slew him, even ordaining that his descendants in all time\ncoming should be exempted from the payment of taxes. Like Aristides the\n\u201cJust\u201d and Delyannis, the recently-assassinated Premier of Greece,\nEpaminondas was so free from the love of money that he did not leave\nenough even to pay his funeral expenses.\n\nVery few remains of the ancient city of Mantinea are to be seen, but the\nlower courses of the encircling walls, measuring more than two and a\nhalf miles in circumference, are plainly visible, with eight different\ngates and more than 120 towers, separated by intervals of fully 80 feet,\nwhile the course of the Ophis can also be traced, which served\napparently as a moat, with its two arms running round the city. In 1887\nthree marble slabs were discovered in the floor of a Byzantine church\nwithin the walls, with reliefs representing the musical contest between\nMarsyas and Apollo, which have been identified with those mentioned by\nPausanias as adorning a pedestal supporting images of Latona and her\nchildren, by Praxiteles. In the present aspect of the place, which is\nvery much of the nature of a swamp, there is little to justify its\nancient reputation as the \u201clovely city\u201d mentioned in Homer.\n\nTegea and Mantinea and another ancient city in the neighbourhood\n(Pallantion) are commemorated in the city of Tripoliza (or Tripolis, the\nthreefold city), which was founded by the Turks about two hundred years\nago.\n\n[Illustration: MEGAL\u00d3POLIS IN ARCADIA\n\nThe east ramp of the Theatre is in the foreground to the left, from\nwhich we see remains of the proscenium and colonnade. Beyond are a few\ndrums of columns, probably belonging to the Thersilion or Town Hall. The\nriver Helisson shows in the distance. Sunset.]\n\nTripoliza is the only large town in Arcadia, having a population of more\nthan 10,000, with a thriving trade. It is also the seat of a bishopric,\nand contains one of the handsomest modern churches in Greece, built of\nmarble, with a lofty tower recently added. The elevation of the city,\nlike that of the plain generally, is fully 2000 feet above the sea.\n\nIn the western plain of Arcadia, separated from that of Tegea and\nMantinea by the M\u00e6nalus range, stood the \u201cgreat city,\u201d Megalopolis,\nwhich owed its existence to the genius and the determination of\nEpaminondas. He saw that Arcadia would never be secure against Spartan\ninvasion until means could be found to unite its forces. The jealousy\nbetween Tegea and Mantinea rendered it impossible for either of these\ncities to be chosen as the capital, and another site was found by the\nbanks of the Helisson, a tributary of the Alpheus. No fewer than forty\nsmall townships were merged in the new city, which was founded\nimmediately after the battle of Leuctra. Several refused to join, and\nthe inhabitants of one of them, called Trapezus, a very old settlement,\nrather than give up their independence, preferred to be put to the\nsword, those who escaped emigrating to their daughter-city of the same\nname, on the southern shore of the Black Sea. The name Megalopolis was\nnot unsuitable, considering that the walls of the city were more than\nfive and a half miles in circumference, and that the territory attached\nto it extended twenty-four miles on the north. Its stability was at\nvarious times endangered by internal discord, and nothing but the\nwatchful eye and strong arm of Thebes could have saved the union from a\nspeedy dissolution.\n\nLike most of the Greek cities, Megalopolis did not realise till too late\nwhat the gradual advance of the Macedonian power was to mean for Greece.\nIn 347 B.C. the Athenian orator \u00c6schines paid it a visit and spoke in\nits national assembly, the \u201cTen Thousand,\u201d urging them to combine with\nother Powers against Philip; but without much effect, as might have been\nexpected, considering that \u00c6schines himself was soon to prove a traitor.\nSeventeen years later the city was delivered out of the hands of its\nPeloponnesian enemies by Antipater, the lieutenant of Alexander the\nGreat; but it had to submit, like Argos and Athens, to the remodelling\nof its constitution, in order that its new master might put some of his\nown partisans into power to form an oligarchy. A hundred years later it\nfell into the hands of the Spartans under Cleomenes, who took it by a\nstratagem and levelled it to the ground. Most of the citizens escaped to\nMessene under the leadership of the brave Philop\u0153men, and the city\nwas afterwards rebuilt, taking a leading part in the Ach\u00e6an League,\nuntil the supremacy of Roman arms could no longer be disputed. Among its\ncitizens at the beginning of the second century B.C., Megalopolis could\nboast of two of the greatest Greeks of their time, the gallant soldier\njust mentioned, who humbled the pride of Sparta and extorted the\nadmiration of his Roman adversaries, and his young friend Polybius, the\nfamous historian. The latter carried the urn containing the ashes of\nthe mighty dead in the imposing funeral procession described by\nPlutarch--the precursor of still higher honours, amounting to divine\nworship, that were afterwards to be paid to Philop\u0153men, whom\nPausanias describes as the last benefactor of the Greeks.\n\nTo the modern traveller Megalopolis still presents features of interest.\nIts wide and open landscape embraces fertile plains and wooded hills and\nrefreshing streams, which present a pleasing contrast to the dreary\nstretch of country on the eastern side of Arcadia. There are also some\ninteresting ruins (excavated by the British School of Arch\u00e6ology in\n1890-93), the best preserved of which is the theatre, described by\nPausanias as the largest in Greece, and supposed to have been capable of\naccommodating nearly 20,000 persons. There is a distance of about 500\nfeet between the stage and the top of the hill, in the hollow of which\nthe semicircular banks of stone benches are fixed; but such is the\nclearness of the atmosphere and the form of the enclosure that words\nspoken from the actor\u2019s place can be distinctly heard by any one\nlistening above. Another ruin of great interest is the _Thersilium_, a\nhall covering an area of 35,000 square yards, in which the Arcadian\nassembly held their meetings and carried on their fierce debates. It is\nconnected with the theatre by a portico, which was at one time mistaken\nfor a stage, but is now regarded as of an earlier date and built for a\ndifferent purpose. If Dr. D\u00f6rpfeld\u2019s theory be correct that until a\ncomparatively late period the Greek actors spoke from the floor of the\norchestra, the only purpose which the portico could have served, so far\nas the theatre was concerned, was to form a background. Many old coins\nand vases have been picked up on the site of the ancient city by the\ninhabitants of the modern village of Sinanou, a little way to the\nsouth-east, and are preserved in their houses. Large fragments of marble\nare also to be seen scattered about.\n\nThe road from Megalopolis to Bass\u00e6, by way of Andrits\u00e6na, takes the\ntraveller through some of the finest hill-scenery in Arcadia, along one\nof those modern carriage-roads which are felt to be luxurious, compared\nwith the mule-tracks by which many journeys have still to be taken in\nthe Peloponnesus, as in the days of old, when there was comparatively\nlittle communication between the different parts of Greece except by\nsea. One of the most striking objects to be seen on the way is the\nvillage of Karyt\u00e6na, with its medi\u00e6val fortress on the top of a hill\nnearly 2000 feet high. The castle is only approachable by a narrow\npassage, and even the town, now reduced to a population of about 1400,\ncan only be reached from one side of the mountain, standing as it does\nin a corner between the summit crowned with the fortress and the\nneighbouring hill of St. Elias,[3] on which may be seen two Greek\nchurches of Byzantine-Frankish architecture. Karyt\u00e6na was the home of\nKolokotronis, the highland chieftain who carried on guerilla operations\nwith so much success during the War of Liberation. His\n\n[Illustration: ANDRITS\u00c6NA: THE RESTING-PLACE FOR THE TEMPLE OF APOLLO AT\nBASS\u00c6.\n\nA giant plane-tree stands in the space opposite the church door, and\nsupports the bells of the church.]\n\ngreat achievement was the capture of Tripoliza in 1821, but his cruelty\nin putting to death nearly the whole Turkish population, and his\nself-seeking spirit generally, detracted greatly from his reputation.\nAfter the independence of Greece had been secured he was found guilty of\nconspiracy against the Government, and was sentenced to death; but the\npenalty was remitted and he was allowed to end his days in his castle at\nKaryt\u00e6na. A prominent object in the neighbourhood, as the traveller\u2019s\ncarriage winds round the hill, is a handsome bridge with six arches,\nwhich recalls the wealth and importance of the place in former times.\n\nStill more attractive, although less interesting from a historical point\nof view, is the little town of Andrits\u00e6na, with upwards of 2000\ninhabitants, which is reached after crossing Mount Lyc\u00e6us. It is built\non the two sides of a mountain stream embroidered with trees; and in the\nmain street, beside the village fountain, there is a wide-spreading\nplane-tree, under which the people gather for a friendly talk, giving\nthe place a most genial aspect. From the top of an adjoining hill a\nmagnificent view can be obtained, extending to Erymanthus on the north\nand even including a glimpse of some of the Ionian Islands, under a\nfavourable evening light.\n\nFrom Andrits\u00e6na to Olympia is a long day\u2019s ride over a very bad road,\nand is not a journey to be undertaken by any one who is deficient either\nin nerve or physical endurance. But the rich and varied scenery through\nwhich you pass, as you traverse mountain sides bordering on precipitous\ngorges, and thread your way through umbrageous forests and flowery\nthough often thorny thickets, and ford rivers, and skirt vineyards and\ncornfields, with an occasional view of far-away summits white with snow\nglistening in the sun--makes the experience an interesting and vivid\nrecollection.\n\nThe journey to Bass\u00e6 from Andrits\u00e6na is very similar, though too short\nto be laborious. It conducts to a scene of the most impressive solitude,\nat an elevation of nearly 4000 feet, commanding a magnificent view both\nof land and sea, including Mt. Ithome and the great Messenian plain. In\nthe Temple of Bass\u00e6, dedicated to Apollo in this secluded spot by the\npeople of Phigalia, which was six miles distant, the beauty of art seems\nto vie with the grandeur of nature. The ruin is acknowledged by general\nconsent to be the finest in the Peloponnesus, though for centuries it\nwas known only to the shepherds in the neighbourhood. Designed by\nIctinus, one of the architects of the Parthenon, the structure has\nweathered the storms of more than twenty-three centuries. Of the\nthirty-eight Doric columns which surrounded the temple only three are\nnow wanting, and their architraves are almost intact. The frieze of the\n_cella_ or inner chamber was discovered in 1812, and was purchased two\nyears afterwards by the British Government for \u00a319,000--to be preserved\nin the British Museum. On it are represented the battle between the\nGreeks and the Amazons, and the fight between the Lapiths and the\nCentaurs. The design is admirable, but the execution is so poor as to\nsuggest that the work was done by local sculptors. Though the frieze is\nof marble, the temple generally was built of grey limestone quarried in\nthe neighbourhood. Unlike other Greek temples, which look to the east to\ngreet the rising sun, that of Bass\u00e6 faces the north. This is accounted\nfor by the fact that it was built over an older shrine, which, from the\nnature of the rocky ledge on which it stood, could not be extended any\nfarther east and west. The old entrance, however, was still preserved,\nand the image of the god still faced to the east. Pausanias tells us of\na bronze statue of Apollo, twelve feet high, which was removed from the\ntemple to Megalopolis and set up in the market-place, but it has long\nsince disappeared. The same writer conjectures that the temple was\nerected in honour of Apollo Epicourios for having averted from Phigalia\nthe plague with which Athens was visited during the Peloponnesian War.\nBut it is considered more likely to have been a general tribute to the\ngod on account of the health-giving breezes which play over the spot,\nand which no doubt made it a favourite resort for the invalids of the\ndistrict.\n\nAccording to the ancient traveller just mentioned, the civilisation of\nArcadia dates from the time of Arcas, who introduced cereal crops and\ntaught his subjects to spin wool and weave cloth. Here, as elsewhere in\nGreece, it is no uncommon thing to see women spinning thread and herding\nsheep or goats at the same time, while indoors you may find them busy at\nthe loom weaving cloth for family use, following the good example set of\nold both by Helen and Penelope. Unfortunately, women are also much in\nevidence in the fields and on the country roads, doing work which in\nthis country would be left to men--even such heavy work as breaking\nstones. The men seem to be much fonder of taking their ease than the\nother sex, and show more vanity in their dress. The Albanian costume,\nwhich is the uniform worn by the eight battalions of Riflemen, called\nEvzoni, who guard the frontier, is much affected by those who can afford\nit in the country towns. Its most conspicuous features are the\nfustanella kilt, made of a white linen of incredible length when\nstretched out to its full extent, the embroidered vest, and the red\nshoes with turned-up toes. The shepherds wear a sheepskin cloak without\nany pretensions to elegance, but they trim their hair with great care,\nringlets frequently hanging over their brow. They wear a broad leathern\nbelt with innumerable receptacles, and one of the first things they will\nshow to a stranger who is curious to know what they carry about with\nthem is a small hand-mirror. They often amuse themselves and their\nflocks by playing on the pipe, which they can make in a few minutes from\na bamboo cut in the field or plucked out of the roofing of their hut.\n\n[Illustration: THE CASTLE OF KARYT\u00c6NA, IN ARCADIA\n\nThis is one of the most romantic scenes in the Peloponnesus, and is\naptly quoted by Curtius as no less characteristic of medi\u00e6val Greece\nthan Tiryns and Mycen\u00e6 are of the prehistoric age. The Castle covers the\nsummit of a free-standing mass of rock, rising up into the air (almost\nlike the central tower of a great English Cathedral) above a gorge with\nprecipitous red cliffs. To the right of the Castle lies the modern\ntown.]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V\n\nSPARTA AND ITS DISCIPLINE\n\n\nFor centuries Sparta was the first military power in Greece. This\nposition it owed partly to the Dorian vigour of its inhabitants, and\npartly to the strict discipline introduced by Lycurgus at a time when\nthe other Greek states had not yet awakened to the importance of that\nmilitary drill which was to contribute so largely to their influence. Of\nthese two sources of Spartan greatness we seem to have a recognition in\nthe fact mentioned by Pausanias that at the two bridges, on either side\nof the place where the youths were in the habit of engaging in their\nathletic contests, there was an image of Heracles and a statue of\nLycurgus, the one being the emblem of bodily strength, the other of\nauthority and rule.\n\nBesides Sparta there were two other states whose ruling families could\nclaim to be descended from Heracles, namely Argos and Messenia. For a\nlong time Argos would admit no superiority on the part of any other\nGreek state, and at no time was it reduced to subjection to any; but\nwithin two hundred years after the Lycurgean _r\u00e9gime_ had been\nestablished at Sparta, Messenia had been virtually annexed to\nLaced\u00e6monian territory, and the bulk of its inhabitants reduced to a\nstate of serfdom scarcely distinguishable from that of the helots who\nhad been subjugated at the time of the Dorian invasion. From the first\nthe Dorian conquerors of Messenia seem to have been on more friendly\nterms with their subjects than was the case with their kindred who\nsettled in Argos and Laconia. Their racial characteristics were thus\nimpaired, while their moral fibre was relaxed by the wealth of the\ncountry which fell to their lot; but it was not till after a number of\nsevere struggles that Sparta obtained the mastery.\n\nThe condition of the Messenians after the first war (743-724) is thus\ndescribed by Tyrt\u00e6us the poet, who took part in the second war\n(645-628):--\n\n Like asses galled with heavy loads\n To their masters bringing, by doleful necessity,\n Half of all the fruit that the tilled land yields,\n Themselves and their wives alike bewailing their masters\n Whene\u2019er death\u2019s baneful lot has fallen on any.\n\nThe reference in the last two lines is to the fact that when Spartan\nkings or nobles died, men and women had to come from Messenia to attend\ntheir funeral, dressed in black. Their greatest warrior was Aristomenes,\nwho is said to have twice offered to Zeus Ithomates the sacrifice called\n_hekatomphonia_, which could only be offered by any one after slaying a\nhundred of his enemies in battle. Rather than submit to the loss of\ntheir liberty many of the Messenians abandoned\n\n[Illustration: INTERIOR OF THE TEMPLE OF APOLLO AT BASS\u00c6 IN ARCADIA\n\nOn the left of the picture are shown some of the columns of the eastern\nside of the Temple, together with the attached columns of the _cella_, a\npeculiar architectural feature of this Temple. The front (north) part of\nthe _cella_ was hyp\u00e6thral, so the floor below the opening in the roof\nwas slightly hollowed out--as shown in the drawing--to collect the\nrain-water. Mount Ithome appears between the columns of the southern end\nof the Temple.]\n\ntheir native land and settled at Naupactus, Cephallenia, and elsewhere,\nwith the sympathy and help of the Athenians. But even from these places\nof refuge they were driven by the Spartans long afterwards, when the\nlatter had recovered their ascendency, and were forced to seek new homes\nin Sicily and Italy (where they founded Messene and Rhegium) and in\nNorth Africa. In 464 B.C. a general rising of the subject population\ntook place not only in Messenia but in the greater part of Laconia,\npartly occasioned by a destructive earthquake, which was regarded as a\njudgment of heaven on the Spartans for their sacrilegious cruelty to\nsome slaves who had taken refuge in a temple of Poseidon on the coast.\nIn this struggle, as at the close of the first war, the chief stronghold\nand rallying-point of the oppressed nationality was Mount Ithome, which\nrises to a height of 2600 feet, and was described at a later time as one\nof the horns of the Peloponnesus, Acro-Corinthus being the other. Nearly\na hundred years afterwards the Messenians found a deliverer in\nEpaminondas. The great Theban not only invited the exiles to return, but\nalso restored their enslaved countrymen at home to the enjoyment of\ntheir political rights and liberties. In order to secure their unity and\nindependence he resolved to build a great city in the immediate vicinity\nof Ithome, with the summit for an acropolis. After elaborate sacrifices\nand solemn prayers, invoking the presence and protection of their\nancient heroes, especially the valiant Aristomenes, the city was laid\nout and built with the help of some of the best architects and masons of\nthe day, the labourers being cheered in their work by the rival strains\nof the B\u0153otian and Argive flutes. Fortifications were erected, so\nstrong, and planned on such scientific principles, that the remains of\nthem, in the form of walls and towers and gates, are still the\nadmiration and astonishment of military men. The territory which\nEpaminondas annexed to the city was by far the most fertile part of\nGreece, including the plain of Stenyclerus on the north and the still\nricher and more extensive plain watered by the river Pamisus on the\nsouth, to which the name of Macaria (\u201cBlessed\u201d) was given.\n\nNotwithstanding these advantages, and although the returned exiles had\npreserved unimpaired their Dorian speech and sentiment, the new city was\nnot destined to play any great part in the annals of Greece. The fear of\nits old enemy made it too ready to submit to the subtle encroachments of\nPhilip, in spite of the warnings which Demosthenes, the great Athenian\norator, on one occasion addressed in person to its assembly. A few years\nlater the city fell into the hands of Alexander the Great and his\nsubordinates, who robbed it of its liberties and paved the way for the\ndominion of Rome. The site is now almost uninhabited, and overgrown with\nvineyards and corn-fields. Excavations have brought to light the\nfoundations of a theatre, a stadium, a market-place, and a fountain;\nbut, apart from the fortifications, there are few remains of any great\ninterest. The view from the top of the mountain is one of the finest in\nthe Peloponnesus, commanding the Taygetus range of mountains on the east\nand the sea on the south\n\n[Illustration: THE LACONIAN GATE OF MESSENE\n\nThe roadway coming up from the monastery of Vourkano to the village of\nMavromati divides the foreground of the scene. In the middle distance we\nhave before us the luxuriant valley of the Pamisus, and, in the far\ndistance, the lofty upper ranges of Ta\u00ffgetus covered with snow. Under\nthe boughs of the graceful olive, which flanks the finely squared\nmasonry of the ruined gateway, we catch a glimpse of the gulf of\nMessene. The freshness and purity of colour of an April day in Southern\nPeloponnesus has here been happily caught.]\n\nand west. Standing on the summit one has a sense of elevation and\naloofness; and one can understand how it should have been chosen as a\nretreat by a wealthy citizen of Athens, who devoted himself to a life of\nprayer and meditation, only descending once a fortnight for a supply of\nnecessary food--an illustration, in a new form, as Prof. Mahaffy\nremarks, of the tendency to human sacrifice which was early associated\nwith the altar of Zeus Ithomates. There is a ruined chapel on the top,\nalso traces of very ancient foundations, some of them probably connected\nwith the defence of the fortress, others with the worship of Zeus.\nNearly half-way up the mountain the traveller passes a Greek convent\n(Vourkano)--a quadrangle with an interesting little church in the\ncentre, where he will meet with a kind reception if he pay a visit to\nthe monks and partake of their simple hospitality.\n\nThe ascent of Mount Ithome is in some places rather difficult, and\nrequires careful riding. Before he start, perhaps the traveller may\nwitness a controversy between his dragoman and the natives who have been\nengaged to bring horses or mules for the journey. An excited crowd will\ngather, which will not be complete without the presence and peace-making\ncounsels of the parish priest--usually a very sociable person, in close\ntouch with the interests of his parishioners, and conspicuous for his\nlong black beard, his tall rimless hat, and his long loose coat, lined\nwith fur. Perhaps the traveller may have a servant told off to guide his\nbeast, who rejoices in the illustrious name of Leonidas, and is\nentrusted with a big leather bottle containing the copious supply of\nresinated wine intended not only for himself but for his\nfellow-servants. To refresh himself in his long climb under the rays of\nthe sun pouring down upon him from a cloudless sky, Leonidas may help\nhimself so liberally as to get excited and break out into song and\nstory, imperilling the rider\u2019s life, perhaps, by going off the main\ntrack and having to turn where the horse has difficulty in keeping its\nhind feet from slipping down the side of a precipice; or, perhaps, in\ndescending the mountain he may pull the rope attached to the animal\u2019s\nhead with such force as to compel it to take a leap downwards, which\nmight easily project the rider down the hill if he were not on the watch\nand determined to keep his seat under all circumstances. But Leonidas is\nan exceptional man, and the animals are so sure-footed that accidents\nvery seldom occur.\n\nAbout fifteen miles south-east of Messene, at the head of the gulf, is\nthe thriving little town of Kalamata, with some silk manufactories and a\nlarge trade in currants and figs and other fruits. To the south-west, on\nthe coast, about twenty-five miles from Messene, lies the traditional\ncapital of Nestor\u2019s kingdom, still retaining its old Homeric name of\n(sandy) Pylos. Kalamata is supposed to be the ancient Pher\u00e6 at which\nTelemachus and Nestor\u2019s son, Peisistratus, halted for the night on their\nway to Sparta to visit Menelaus. The distances suit well enough for a\ntwo-days\u2019 ride, but it has been pointed out by V. B\u00e9rard that there is\nno road\n\n[Illustration: KALAMATA, ON THE GULF OF MESSENE A well in the\nmarket-place.]\n\nacross the Taygetus mountains by which travellers could have driven in a\nchariot to Sparta, as Homer represents the two young men to have done;\nand he concludes (as Strabo did) that the Pylos referred to must have\nbeen the place of the same name much farther north, from which a journey\non wheels could be made all the way to Sparta. Even apart from the\ninterest attaching to it as the supposed city of Nestor, Pylos, with the\nadjacent island of Sphacteria, has had an important place in Greek\nhistory, both in ancient and in modern times. In the seventh year of the\nPelopennesian war it was the scene of one of the most memorable defeats\never sustained by the Spartans at the hands of the Athenians. Twenty-two\ncenturies afterwards (1770 A.D.) its garrison of Greek insurgents was\nmassacred by the Turks, who, in turn, suffered a similar calamity in\n1821 at the outbreak of the War of Liberation, as the Greeks again did\nat the hands of the Egyptians in 1825; while in 1827 the naval battle of\nNavarino took place in its bay, resulting in the destruction of the\nTurkish fleet, with a loss of 6000 lives, in less than two hours, by the\ncombined British, French, and Russian forces.\n\nSparta was the only Greek state that retained the regal form of\ngovernment all through the period of Hellenic glory. Its government was\nnot, strictly speaking, a monarchy, however, as there were two royal\ndynasties, descended from the twin sons of the Heracleid Aristodemus,\nwhich had continued unbroken in the male line for 500 years, forming a\ndirect connection with the heroic age. The two kings served as a check\non one another\u2019s ambition, preventing the growth of such tyranny as had\nbeen found intolerable in other states, and had there led to the\nadoption of an oligarchic or democratic form of government. The rights\nof the community were further conserved by the modification of two\npublic bodies, dating from the heroic age, of which we often hear in\nHomer, namely, the _Boul\u00e9_ or Senate and the _Ecclesia_ or General\nAssembly. In Sparta the former received the name of _Gerousia_, and\nconsisted of twenty-eight members above sixty years of age, presided\nover by the two kings; the latter was called _Apella_, and was\nperiodically convened to consider any proposals submitted to it, and had\nthe right to fill up vacancies in the Gerousia. But the most effectual\nsafeguard against tyranny was found in the annual election, by the\nApella, of five officials, named ephors, who came into existence about\n750 B.C. and gradually acquired such control of public affairs both at\nhome and abroad that the royal prerogative was virtually reduced to the\ncommand of the army in the field, the offering of public sacrifices, the\ncharge of communications with the Delphian oracle, and some other\nmatters of a ceremonial kind. Even in their capacity as\ncommanders-in-chief the kings became subject to the decision of the\nAssembly as to the making of peace or war, and ultimately had even to\ntake their directions from the ephors in the conduct of a campaign.\nEvery month the kings and the ephors took an oath of fidelity, the\nformer promising to rule in accordance with the constitution, the\nlatter to be loyal in their obedience, on the condition just mentioned.\nAs in our own country, there was a continual tendency to make royalty a\nposition of honour rather than of power, which was the more remarkable\nin Sparta, as the office was universally regarded as held by divine\nright, and as lying at the foundation of the nation\u2019s tide to its\nterritorial inheritance derived from Heracles.\n\nThe social system introduced by Lycurgus about the beginning of the\neighth century B.C., under the direction, as was believed, of the\nDelphian oracle, was founded upon a species of communism to which only\nthose were admitted who were full citizens of Sparta, and had sufficient\nproperty to contribute their appointed quota to the expenses of the\ncommon mess. All the citizens without exception had to conform with the\nutmost regularity to a rigorous code of discipline, which was fitted to\nproduce habits of courage, strength, endurance, self-denial, and\nsimplicity of life. The training of the boys for military service, to\nwhich citizens were liable from their twentieth to their sixtieth year,\nbegan when they were seven years old. They were not only trained to\nathletic exercises and feats of strength, but they had also to content\nthemselves with the plainest food and the scantiest clothing. As they\napproached manhood it was considered to be in the interests of religion,\nand pleasing to the goddess Artemis Orthia in particular, that they\nshould be severely scourged, and it was no uncommon thing for young lads\nto die under the operation without betraying any sign of suffering. To\nbe able to bear pain without flinching, and to become inured to the\nseverest hardships and privations, was looked on as the chief end of a\nmanly education.\n\nThe young women were also trained in gymnastic exercises, and enjoyed\nmore freedom than in any other part of Greece. They boxed and wrestled,\nand ran races, sometimes even with the young men. The object of their\neducation was to train them to be mothers of brave men, and their\nmartial spirit comes out in some of the sayings addressed by Spartan\nmothers to their sons--\u201cReturn with your shield or upon it,\u201d \u201cIf your\nsword is too short add a pace to it.\u201d As a rule the women held a\nposition of honour in the community and were frequently possessed of\nproperty, so much so that in the fourth century B.C. more than half the\nland in Laconia belonged to them. They were trained to suppress all\nemotions of tenderness and compassion, and to reserve their admiration\nand affection for the brave and strong. Nothing could have been more\nhumiliating than the reception given to defeated soldiers who survived\ntheir comrades and returned home. No one would speak to them or\nassociate with them in any way, and if they did not bear themselves with\nthe greatest humility they were liable to be struck and insulted by any\none who met them. Cowardice was the one sin for which there was no\nforgiveness. It is told of one of the men serving under Leonidas, who\nhad allowed some complaint in his eyes to prevent him from joining his\ncomrades at Thermopyl\u00e6, that when he went home to Sparta he was treated\nwith the utmost scorn; no\n\n[Illustration: MOUNT ITHOME FROM THE STADION OF MESSENE\n\nAt the base of the mountain, part of the village of Mavromati may be\nseen. The architectural fragments in the foreground lie near the\nentrance to the Stadion. Only the western side of the Stadion appears.\nIts site is indicated by two figures seated under a tree.]\n\none would give him even a light for his fire. A year afterwards the same\nman was foremost in the fight at the battle of Plat\u00e6a, which completed\nthe discomfiture of Persia. He thought by his heroic defiance of danger\nto wipe out the reproach which rested on him, and he perished nobly on\nthe field. But for all that he was not considered worthy of the funeral\nhonours that were bestowed upon his fallen comrades, who had been less\nreckless in the fight but had always done their duty.\n\nIn harmony with this contempt for cowardice was the deportment of\nsoldiers\u2019 relatives when news of battle reached them. The friends of\nthose who had fallen, instead of being cast down with grief, went about\nwith a proud and glad mien, as if they knew they were entitled to honour\nand respect, while the relatives of those who had allowed themselves to\nbe taken prisoners or had made their escape were depressed and sad, as\nif they had reason to be ashamed in the presence of their neighbours.\nWhen tidings of the terrible disaster at Leuctra arrived at Sparta the\nwhole community were engaged in the celebration of the festival of\n_gymnop\u00e6dia_, and the chorus of grown men was at the moment performing\nin the theatre. But no suspension or interruption of the proceedings\ntook place. The only thing done was to send information of their\nbereavement to those whose friends were reported as killed, and to\nenjoin the women to make no noise. Historians have contrasted this\nself-control of the Spartans with the weeping and wailing of the\nAthenians on the night on which the news arrived of the destruction of\ntheir fleet at \u00c6gospotami, which put an end for ever to their naval\nempire. But they also relate an incident which shows that Athenian women\ncould be as fierce in their indignation as their Spartan sisters. In an\nexpedition against \u00c6gina the whole of the Athenian citizens engaged in\nit, except one, lost their lives. On his return the survivor was beset\nby the widows of his slain comrades, each demanding to know what had\nbecome of her husband; and before he could make his escape from the\ninfuriate crowd he was pricked to death with their brooch-pins.\n\nIn contrast to the wonderful calmness shown by the Spartans in time of\ncalamity was the demonstration of feeling which took place on one\noccasion when they received unexpected news of a great victory over the\ncombined Arcadian and Argive forces, without the loss of a single\nLaced\u00e6monian. For some time they had been so accustomed to defeat that\nall who heard the news burst into tears, Agesilaus and the Ephors\nsetting the example--so much more difficult is it to repress violent\nfeelings of joy than of sorrow.\n\nIt was another peculiarity of Spartan training that to take advantage of\npeople in the matter of property was regarded as a merit, if the\ndishonesty was not detected, and if it was not a breach of some special\nlaw or custom. In Xenophon\u2019s _Anabasis_ (iv. 6) there is a curious\nallusion to this trait of the Spartan character. The Greek army had come\nto a pass occupied by a hostile force. Instead of trying to carry it by\ndirect assault Xenophon suggested that soldiers should be sent up the\nshoulder of the hill to turn the position. \u201cBut,\u201d he said, addressing\nhis Spartan colleague Cheirisophus, \u201cstealing a march upon the enemy is\nmore in your line than mine. For I understand that you, the full\ncitizens and peers of Sparta, practise stealing from your boyhood\nupwards, and that it is held no way base, but even honourable, to steal\nsuch things as the law does not distinctly forbid. And in order that you\nmay steal with the greatest effect and take pains to do it in secret,\nthe custom is to flog you if you are found out. Here, then, you have an\nexcellent opportunity of displaying your skill. Take good care that we\nbe not found out in stealing possession of the mountain now before us,\nfor if we are found out we shall be well beaten.\u201d To this pleasantry\nCheirisophus rejoined: \u201cWhy, as for that, you Athenians also, as I\nlearn, are capital hands at stealing the public money, and that, too, in\nspite of prodigious peril to the thief. Nay, your most powerful men\nsteal most of all--at least if it be the most powerful men among you\nthat are raised to official command. So that this is a time for you to\nexhibit your training as well as for me to exhibit mine.\u201d\n\nThere was no place where the love of money was more prevalent than in\nSparta, and that in spite of the fact that till a comparatively late\nperiod the possession of gold and silver by private individuals was\nforbidden. For a long time the only metal in circulation was iron, in\nsuch heavy pieces that it was impossible for any one to carry much money\nwith him, or even to store it in his house. When Lysander brought home\nwhat was left of the large amount of gold and silver he had received\nfrom Cyrus for the prosecution of his schemes, strong objection was\ntaken to its admission by some of the Ephors, as being at variance with\nthe principles laid down by Lycurgus. It was only on the understanding\nthat the treasure was to be the property of the state, and not of any\nprivate individual, that their objections were overruled, though their\nscruples about accepting the money did not prevent them from withholding\nfrom their allies any share of the spoil. The Lycurgean system was\ndoomed, owing to the change which had come over the views of the leading\nmen, as the result of foreign travel, and the bribery to which they had\nbecome habituated, especially in their relations with Persia. The wealth\nand magnificence of their famous general, Lysander, who was the first\nGreek to receive divine honours in historic times, and who is the most\ntypical representative of imperial Sparta, present a striking contrast\nto the severe simplicity of his forefathers. Even a greater evil than\nthe personal self-seeking which began to prevail was the collective\nselfishness by which the Spartans had long been distinguished. As a\nrule, they were comparatively indifferent to the general interests of\nthe Hellenic race, and on more than one occasion they showed that they\nwere ready to sacrifice these interests for their own immediate\nadvantage, currying favour with the Persians at the cost of the\nliberties of the Asiatic Greeks, and envying and grieving at the naval\nempire of Athens, while they failed to take advantage of their own\nopportunities\n\n[Illustration: TRIPLE BRIDGE OVER THE MAVRO-ZOUMENOS RIVER\n\nNear the village of Neochori, on the road from Ithome to Meligula.]\n\nfor building up an empire on land, in which they could have retained\ntheir supremacy without trampling on the rights and liberties of other\nGreek states. If Sparta had possessed a few more men of the type of\nBrasidas--men of a generous and catholic spirit as well as of consummate\nability in war--its own life and the life of ancient Greece might have\nbeen indefinitely prolonged.\n\nIt was one of the penalties of the narrow discipline of Sparta that it\nproduced so few really great men. The body was cultivated at the expense\nof the mind, and little or no importance was attached to intellectual\npursuits. Music was almost the only form of art generally cultivated,\nand that chiefly because of its connection with military drill. The\nvictory of Agis at Mantinea in 418 B.C., when he was taken by surprise,\nwas largely due to the inspiring and regulative influence of the fifes\nand war-songs (which were as cheering and not so exciting as the\nspeeches delivered on the other side), as well as to the superior mode\nof transmitting orders from the general, through the various gradations\nof rank (down to the _enomotarch_ in charge of some twenty-five men), as\ncompared with the public proclamation by a herald, which was customary\nelsewhere. Even for their music they are said to have been indebted to\nforeign teachers--to Tyrt\u00e6us, whose stirring strains raised their\nspirits at a most trying crisis in their history; to Terpander, who\nadded three strings to the lyre, completing the octave; and to Alcman,\nthe last to train a popular and voluntary chorus. Not only in their\nmilitary drill, but also in their public processions and choral dances,\nmusic played a great part in their civilisation. People of all ranks and\nclasses (not excepting even the kings) and of all ages, were expected to\nundergo training at the hands of the chorus-master and take their\nallotted place in the public celebrations. To this day you may sometimes\nsee on festive occasions well-dressed men and women joining with the\nchildren in a choral dance on the public road.\n\nOne great defect in the Spartan discipline was the want of a natural\nhome-life for the growth of family affection and social culture. Their\ncity was more like an armed camp in the midst of a hostile population\nthan the capital of a civilised state. The military distinction to which\nthey sacrificed everything else fostered a spirit of imperious pride,\nwhich became their ruling passion, as it was indeed their chief reward\nfor their unsparing self-denial. For a long time they were regarded as\npractically invincible, so much so that when nearly 300 of them\nsurrendered at Sphacteria to an immensely superior force of Athenians,\nit created quite a sensation throughout Greece. The description of them\ngiven by Demaratus to Xerxes, that Spartans must either conquer or die,\nexpressed the character which they not only claimed for themselves but\nwhich was popularly attributed to them by the whole Hellenic race, and\nit procured for them an honourable reception wherever they appeared in\ntime of peace. In war they had the support of the peri\u0153ci, as they\nwere called, the inhabitants of the country towns and more mountainous\nparts of Laconia, to whom they conceded\n\n[Illustration: SPARTA AND MOUNT TA\u0178GETUS\n\nThe lower ranges of Ta\u00ffgetus above Sparta, strangely suggesting both in\nform and colour the front view of a line of gigantic elephants, afford a\nfine contrast to the sharp angles of the snowy heights above. The point\nof view is immediately in front of the new museum; and the houses at the\nfoot of the mountain belong to the east end of new Sparta. A Gr\u00e6co-Roman\nsarcophagus of marble and architectural fragments are lying in the\nforeground.]\n\nfreedom but no political rights. In general, their relations with these\npeople were friendly enough. It was owing to the need of providing an\noutlet for the surplus rural population and meeting their aspirations\nthat the colony of Tarentum was founded in 707 B.C. The colonising of\nThera (Santorin--which became in turn the mother of the Greek colony of\nCyrene in North Africa), and the Dorian settlements in the south-west of\nAsia Minor, took place much earlier.\n\nThe number of fully qualified Spartan citizens was never very great,\nsome 8000 or 9000, with a tendency to decrease owing to the subdivision\nof family property rendering them unable to contribute their quota to\nthe public mess, debarred as they were from engaging in agriculture or\nother industry. They had constantly to guard against a revolt on the\npart of the helots or slave population, who were bound to the soil and\ncultivated the lands of their Spartan masters. They availed themselves\nof their services as light-armed troops, but so suspicious were they of\nthem that they never hung up their shields without detaching their\nholding-rings from them, for fear they might be snatched up and used\nagainst them. Their treatment of the helots was frequently cruel and\noppressive. They had a system of secret police, under which three\nhundred of their strongest young men were charged with the duty of\ndetecting any signs of disloyalty among the serfs, and putting the\nsuspected to death without a trial. At the time of the Peloponnesian war\nthey were believed to have been guilty of an atrocity of this kind of a\npeculiarly revolting character, when they were in great dread of a\nnative insurrection. They announced that liberty was to be conferred on\nthose who had distinguished themselves in the recent war, and invited\nall such to apply for their reward. A great many did so, and about two\nthousand of them were formally emancipated, and led in procession to the\ntemples with wreaths upon their heads. But immediately afterwards they\nall disappeared, put to death in some mysterious way, which was never\nmade public. This we have from Thucydides, a contemporary historian.\n\nSuch things were little fitted to make Sparta a \u201cLiberator of the\nGreeks,\u201d as she professed to be when seeking to crush the imperial power\nof Athens; and, as soon as her military power began to decline, she\ngradually lost her influence. Yet it should not be forgotten that after\nthe battle of \u00c6gospotami (404 B.C.), when the Athenian empire was\nshattered and its capital lay at the mercy of the Peloponnesian allies,\nthe Spartans refused to assent to the proposal of Corinth and Thebes\nthat Athens should be destroyed and its inhabitants sold into\nslavery--declaring that they could never be a party to such treatment of\na city which had laid all Greece under obligations by its conduct at the\ntime of the Persian invasion. It is also to the credit of Sparta that as\nlate as 338 B.C. she, alone of all the Greek states, refused to submit\nto Philip, who ravaged her territory, but failed to take the city, as\nEpaminondas had also failed to do, when he occupied the country a\ngeneration before. A hundred years later an earnest attempt was made by\ntwo Spartan kings, Agis IV. and Cleomenes III., to revive the ancient\ndiscipline and government; and some measure of immediate success was\nattained. But it was only the last flicker of the expiring flame. The\nbattle of Sellasia in 221 B.C. put an end for ever to the Heracleid\nkingdom, and in the next generation Philop\u0153men abolished what was\nstill left of the Lycurgean constitution. Thenceforth the greatness of\nSparta was a thing of the past.\n\n\u201cThese are the walls of Laced\u00e6mon,\u201d said Agesilaus on one occasion, as\nhe pointed to the citizens in arms. The truth of his words was proved\nmore than once, as we have just seen. But he might also have pointed to\nthe mountain barriers by which the country was hemmed in on every side\nexcept towards the sea, where invaders were confronted by a dangerous\nand inhospitable coast. The city described by Thucydides lay on the\nwestern side of the river Eurotas, in a plain four or five miles in\nbreadth and about eighteen miles in length. It presented the appearance\nof a number of adjoining villages, built on low hills; and in this\nrespect it has been compared to ancient Rome. The situation is\nbeautiful, especially as one looks west upon the grand range of\nTa\u00ffgetus, its lower slopes and valleys clothed with the richest\nvegetation, while its serried peaks, extending for miles towards Cape\nMatapan on the south, rise into the region of perpetual snow. The site\nof the ancient city is for the most part covered over with olive-groves\nand corn-fields and other vegetation. Traces of a large theatre have\nbeen found, and there is a massive stone structure which goes by the\nname of Leonidas\u2019 tomb. There are a few other remains, but none of any\ngreat interest.\n\nA short distance to the south-east of Sparta, where the river Magoula\njoins the Eurotas, on the top of steep cliffs, reaching in some places a\nheight of more than 700 feet, and approaching close to the east bank of\nthe Eurotas, lies the site of the ancient Therapne, which is now\ngenerally identified with the Homeric Sparta. If the supposition be\ncorrect, these heights were once the scene of palatial state and\nsplendour, with which the historic Sparta even in its best days had\nnothing to compare. The foundations of a temple sacred to Menelaus and\nHelen have been traced, and a great many little figures of lead have\nbeen discovered, which served no doubt as votive offerings, while\nfragments of unglazed Mycen\u00e6an pottery have also been found in the\nimmediate neighbourhood. According to tradition, there was here also a\ntemple to the Dioscuri--Castor and Pollux, half-brother and brother of\nHelen; and here they were said to lie buried every alternate day, Pollux\nhaving declined the offer of immortality from his father Zeus, unless it\nwere shared by his brother.\n\nTwo or three miles south of Sparta, on the west side of the river, in\nthe midst of a country abounding in fine fruit trees and rich cereal\ncrops, lay the ancient city of Amycl\u00e6, which remained in the hands of\nthe Ach\u00e6ans for centuries after the Dorian invasion. On the top of an\nadjoining hill the foundations of the\n\n[Illustration: MISTRA, NEAR SPARTA\n\nThe eastern portico of the Pantanassa Church, with view over the valley\nof the Eurotas.]\n\nfamous precinct of Apollo have been excavated, where the Hyacinthian\nfestival was celebrated from an early period in memory of a beautiful\nyouth whom Apollo was said to have accidentally killed in a game of\nquoits. His tomb is under the altar of Apollo, a fact to be explained\nperhaps by the worship of the Dorian Apollo having superseded the\nearlier rites, though the name of Hyacinthus still survived. This\nfestival (connected with the vegetation of spring) and the Carnean\ncelebration of Apollo, as the horned cattle god, are often mentioned in\nhistory as the cause of delay in military expeditions, no people being\nmore punctilious than the Spartans in attending to religious ordinances,\nand paying heed to natural omens, such as earthquakes. On one occasion\nthe attendance at the Hyacinthia of a few soldiers on service at Corinth\ncost the Spartan army the loss of a battalion which had been sent to\nconvoy them part of the way home, and in returning was cut to pieces by\nthe Athenian Iphicrates and his famous peltasts or slingers. The\nimportance of the sanctuary at Amycl\u00e6 is seen in the fact that the\ntreaty between Athens and Sparta in 421 B.C. was to be inscribed on a\ncolumn there, and also in the temple of Athena on the Acropolis of\nAthens.\n\nA walk or ride of a few miles to the west, through an exuberant country,\nbrings you to the foot of a mountain called Mistra, which springs like\nan offshoot from the roots of Ta\u00ffgetus. It looks small compared with the\ngiant range behind, but it is 2000 feet high, and commands one of the\nmost charming views in Greece, across the valley of the Eurotas and\ndown towards the gorge opening on the sea. The medi\u00e6val buildings\nscattered over the mountain-side, and the well-cultivated fields and\ngardens and terraces all around and beneath it, present a pleasing\ncontrast to the wild passes above, which include the famous Langada\npass, leading into the plains of Messenia. On the top of the hill there\nis a citadel in a wonderfully good state of preservation, erected by the\nFrankish knight, William de Ville-hardouin, in the middle of the\nthirteenth century. Beneath it are the remains of a palace, once the\nresidence of the Governor of the Morea (who ranked next to the Byzantine\nemperor), surrounded by a city which deprived Sparta of its importance\nuntil the present century. The city is now greatly decayed, and the\nbuildings still in use are chiefly chapels and monasteries belonging to\nthe Greek Church, which, here as elsewhere, has had to surrender to the\nGovernment much of its wealth to meet the educational needs of the\ncountry.\n\nOn the way between Sparta and Mistra you pass the mouth of a cave\nopening downwards into the side of the mountain, which is pointed out as\nthe place called C\u00e6adas into which the Spartans were in the habit of\ncasting criminals and weak or deformed children. It was here that\nAristomenes, the Messenian hero, was believed to have made a miraculous\nescape from death. Along with fifty other Messenians he had been hurled\ninto the yawning recess, but by good luck, or the favour of the gods as\nhis friends asserted,\n\n[Illustration: MISTRA AND THE VALLEY OF THE EUROTAS\n\nThis drawing was sketched at the residence of the Papa of the ancient\nmetropolis church. On the higher slope of the mountain to the right is\nthe Pantanassa Church; below, to the left, part of the medi\u00e6val defences\nof the town.]\n\nhe reached the bottom unhurt. Seeing no outlet he had resigned himself\nto his fate, when his attention was attracted by a fox crawling among\nthe dead. He succeeded in getting hold of its tail, and, defending\nhimself from its bites as he best could with his cloak, he found himself\nat the opening by which the fox had entered, and, by enlarging it a\nlittle, contrived to make an exit for himself, reappearing safe and\nsound, to the amazement both of friends and foes.\n\nModern Sparta, which is now the recognised capital of Laconia under the\nGreek monarchy, lies a little to the south of the ancient site. It is a\nwell-built town, embosomed in gardens and orchards, with wide and\nregular streets. There is a museum in it containing some venerable\nrelics, though, as yet, Laconia has not received from the excavator the\nattention it deserves. The scenery is so beautiful, and there are so\nmany historic and prehistoric associations connected with the district,\nthat a few days may be spent in Sparta with great satisfaction, provided\ncomfortable quarters can be secured.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI\n\nARGOLIS AND ITS ANTIQUITIES\n\n\nA peculiar interest attaches to Argolis, whether we regard it from a\nhistorical or an arch\u00e6ological point of view. Its legendary history\ncarries us back to a period long anterior to the Siege of\nTroy--according to some chronologists to the year 1860 B.C.--while the\nexcavations at Mycen\u00e6 and Tiryns have brought to light innumerable\nrelics of the Homeric or, rather, of a pre-Homeric age, and have\nconfirmed the tradition of a pre-historic connection between Argolis and\nEgypt.\n\nIn the Argolic peninsula, which was at one time the chief seat of\ncivilisation in Greece, there were a number of cities of great\nantiquity. The oldest of these was Argos, which lay (like the modern\ntown of 10,000 inhabitants) in the south-west of the plain, about four\nand a half miles from the coast. In its immediate neighbourhood is the\nLarissa, or acropolis, a conical hill nearly 1000 feet high, which is\nnow crowned with a medi\u00e6val citadel.\n\nThe oldest name associated with the place is Inachus. It is still borne\nby the chief river, and its application to a mythical personage is\nprobably due to the agency of the river in the formation of the land by\nits alluvial deposits. A later tradition tells of the arrival of a\nfamily of immigrants from Egypt, the daughters of one Danaus, who\nexerted such an influence on the life of the community that their\ndescendants share with the Argives the honour of being frequently\nmentioned in the pages of Homer as the chief representatives of Greece.\nThe story of the enforced marriage of the Danaids with their fifty\ncousins, the sons of \u00c6gyptus, whose heads they cut off on the bridal\nnight, seems to have had its origin in some new system of irrigation at\nthe expense of the mountain springs and torrents which flow into the\nplain. For their crime the Danaids are said to have been condemned to\npour water, in Hades, into leaky vessels--to which we may see something\nanalogous at the present day in the labours of the women employed to\nwater the fields of \u201cthirsty Argos.\u201d The next great name that meets us\nis that of Perseus, who gained immortal fame by bringing home the head\nof Medusa, which turned all who looked upon it into stone. With the help\nof the Lycian Cyclopes Perseus was believed to have built the\nfortifications of Tiryns and Mycen\u00e6, and his son of the same name was\ncredited by Herodotus with being the founder of the royal dynasty of\nPersia.\n\nAs we approach the historic age, the figure of Adrastus comes\nprominently into view. His fame was chiefly derived from the famous\nSiege of Thebes, which he undertook for the purpose of restoring his\nson-in-law Polyneices to the throne of his father \u0152dipus. After his\ndeath Adrastus became an object of worship in Argos and the cities which\nowned its suzerainty. We have an illustration of the close connection\nwhich then subsisted between religion and politics in the fact that when\nCleisthenes, the \u201cTyrant\u201d of Sicyon, wished to assert his independence\nof Argos, he applied to Thebes for an image of Melanippus, the ancient\nand powerful foe of Adrastus, so that, being introduced into the citadel\nof Sicyon, he might put the other hero-god to flight. The same ruler\nalso paid a tribute to the influence of poetry when he forbade Homer to\nbe recited in Sicyon, because the great bard said too much about the\nglory of Argos.\n\nThe most noted ruler of Argos in historic times was Pheidon (_c._ 750\nB.C.), whose dominion extended over Sicyon, Phlius, Tr\u0153zen,\nEpidaurus, and \u00c6gina. He left his mark on the Peloponnesus by\nintroducing coinage in electrum and silver, and a new system of weights\nand measures, apparently borrowed from the Ph\u0153nicians, which received\nthe name of _\u00c6ginetan_ from its chief commercial centre, in the same way\nas the system in vogue among the Ionian Greeks received the name of\n_Eub\u0153ic_. According to Herodotus the Argolic territory at one time\nincluded all the eastern coast, down to Cape Malea. But the Spartans\ngradually encroached upon it, till their country became the premier\nstate of Greece, of which we have one of the earliest indications in the\nfact that it was to Sparta Cr\u0153sus made his appeal for support in 547\nB.C.\n\n[Illustration: ARGOS AND LARISSA\n\nTo the left the principal church of the modern town of Argos. Behind the\ntown rises the splendid mass of Larissa, the Acropolis of the ancient\ncity, with medi\u00e6val fortifications on its summit. Half-way up lies the\nromantically situated convent of the Panagia.]\n\nArgos played an ignoble part at the time of the Persian invasion. It\nrefused to make common cause with Sparta, unless a thirty years\u2019 truce\nwere concluded between the two states, and the honour of commanding the\nallied forces were shared equally between them--a demand to which Sparta\ncould not accede, though willing to admit the king of Argos to an\nequality with her own two kings. In spite of the abstention of Argos the\ntwo neighbouring cities of Mycen\u00e6 and Tiryns each sent a contingent to\nThermopyl\u00e6 and Plat\u00e6a, and it was partly in revenge for this that Argos\nin 468 B.C. took possession of these cities and deprived them of their\nliberties. The comparative insignificance of Mycen\u00e6 from this time\nforward accounts for Argos being so often substituted for it by the\nfriendly dramatists of Athens, as the scene of the great tragedies in\nthe family of Agamemnon. With all its pride in its mythical glory, Argos\nnever produced any great man after Pheidon--unless we give it credit for\nits remote connection with Alexander the Great, who claimed to be\ndescended from an Argive exile who settled in Macedonia. Argos had the\nopportunity more than once of becoming the head of a league against\nSparta, and at one time it had a strong military force in its\n\u201cThousand,\u201d a highly trained and well-equipped regiment composed of\nyoung men belonging to its best families; but it was weakened by\ninternal dissensions between the oligarchic and democratic parties, and\nnever enjoyed more than a very brief ascendency. At one time its\ncitizens made an attempt, with the help of Alcibiades and the\nAthenians, to connect the city with the sea by means of long walls like\nthose of Athens, but the Spartans interfered and soon put a stop to the\nwork.\n\nIn its wars with Sparta Argos sought more than once to take advantage of\nthe religious scruples of the enemy. This happened especially in\nconnection with the festival of Carnean Apollo (a deity worshipped by\nthem both), the date of which the Argives varied to suit their own\nconvenience, alleging the celebration of it as a reason why military\noperations should be suspended. To guard against such strategy,\nAgesipolis, the Spartan king, on one occasion obtained authority from\nthe oracles of Delphi and Olympia to disregard such a fictitious claim.\nHaving crossed the border he was challenged by two heralds wearing the\ninsignia of their office, on the ground that it was a time of holy\ntruce; to which Agesipolis replied that he had the warrant of the gods\nto disobey their commands. The same evening there was a shock of\nearthquake, whereupon the Spartans sang the p\u00e6an to Apollo and expected\nan order to retreat; but the king declared that as the earthquake had\nnot happened till after he had crossed the frontier he regarded it as a\nfavourable omen. He proceeded to ravage the country, and had reached the\ngates of Argos when a flash of lightning killed several of his men,\nwhereupon he at once beat a retreat.\n\nIn the previous century a great outrage upon religion had been committed\nby a Spartan king, Cleomenes, who afterwards went mad and committed\nsuicide. Having driven 6000 Argive troops into the sacred grove of\nApollo, close to the city, he set fire to the grove and put the 6000 men\nto death, inducing many of them to quit their place of refuge on the\nunderstanding that their lives would be spared. He then went with a\nthousand men to the temple of Hera, a few miles distant, and insisted on\nsacrificing to the goddess in spite of the rule of the sanctuary, by\nwhich it was forbidden to strangers; and when admission was refused he\ncaused the priest to be dragged from the altar and scourged. To the\ngreat displeasure of his countrymen, however, he carried the war against\nArgos no farther, alleging as his reason that the light on the altar had\nflashed upon him from the bosom of the statue of the goddess, not from\nher head.\n\nAlthough the chief Dorian temple in the district was that on the summit\nof Larissa in honour of Apollo, the Her\u00e6um, just referred to, was a much\nmore ancient sanctuary, and was probably the original seat of the\nworship of Hera in Greece. Of this we have a token in the discovery\namong its ruins of an Egyptian scarab with cartouche, supposed to be of\nThothmes III. (fifteenth century B.C.). Thucydides reckoned the date of\nthe Peloponnesian war by the priestly registers in this temple, which\nseem to have been even older than the Olympian lists. The earliest\npriestess is said to have been Io, identified with the moon, whom Zeus\ntransformed into a cow, and whose wanderings, imposed upon her by the\njealous goddess, extended to the crossing of the Thracian straits,\nthence called Bosporus (Ox-ford or Cow-ford).\n\nDuring the priesthood of Chryso, about a thousand years later (423\nB.C.), the temple was destroyed by fire owing to the upsetting of a lamp\nby the aged priestess while she was asleep. A splendid new temple was\nsoon erected on an adjacent site, but only the foundations of it can now\nbe traced, with some remains also of the older building at a still lower\nlevel. Another priestess was Cydippe, whose two sons, Cleobis and\nBeiton, in the absence of oxen, drew her in a cart all the way from\nArgos to the Her\u00e6um, a distance of seven miles. In the joy and pride of\nher heart the mother prayed the goddess to give her sons the best gift\nthat could fall to the lot of man. The consequence was that the young\nmen, having fallen asleep in the sanctuary after sacrificing and\nfeasting, awoke no more, the goddess thus signifying that death was\nbetter than life. Pausanias tells us that the temple contained a wooden\nimage of Hera, which had been removed from the conquered city of Tiryns,\nand also an image of the goddess in gold and ivory, the work of\nPolycleitus. A good many fragments of the ancient sculpture have been\nbrought to light, and not a few of them are built into Christian\nchurches and other edifices in the neighbourhood, especially a church\ndedicated to the Virgin, which is worth a visit on this account.\n\nThe Her\u00e6um will always have a charm for the classical scholar as the\nspot where Agamemnon was solemnly acknowledged as their leader by the\nassembled Greeks before setting out for Troy. It is significant that\nHera is represented as devoted to the Greeks all\n\n[Illustration: THE ACROPOLIS OF MYCEN\u00c6 FROM THE SOUTH-WEST, BACKED BY\nTHE IMPOSING FORM OF MOUNT ELIAS\n\nThe gorge to the right is the valley which served as a defence for the\nAcropolis on the south side. The piece of road to the left is within a\nfew paces of the famous bee-hive tomb known as the Treasury of\nAtreus.]\n\nthrough the Trojan war, and even before it; and perhaps the proximity of\nher shrine to Mycen\u00e6, which was only a few miles distant, may help to\naccount for the prominence of that city and its prince in the story of\nthe war.\n\nAfter being depopulated by the Argives, Mycen\u00e6 seems to have been for a\nlong time comparatively deserted, and even now it presents very much the\nsame appearance as it did when seen by Pausanias nearly eighteen hundred\nyears ago. Nowhere has the spade achieved greater triumphs than in this\nvenerated spot. The story of Schliemann\u2019s excavations, both here and at\nTroy, is one of the romances of the nineteenth century. From his\nchildhood everything mysterious had a fascination for him, and he was\npossessed with a passionate admiration for the heroes of the _Iliad_.\nThough he was early thrown upon his own resources to earn a livelihood,\nand had a hard struggle for many years, he found time for the study of\nGreek and other languages, which he mastered chiefly by committing whole\nbooks to memory. Having succeeded in amassing wealth he devoted the\nremainder of his life to the interests of Greek arch\u00e6ology, cherishing\nhis faith in the Homeric legends in spite of much ridicule, poured upon\nhim sometimes by men of the greatest learning, until at length he was\nrewarded by discoveries which surpassed his fondest expectations. His\nconclusions may not all be sound. For example, it is the opinion of\nZountas, the eminent Greek arch\u00e6ologist, in view of all the facts which\nhave come to light, that the bodies found in the shaft-graves within\nthe citadel were not, as Schliemann supposed, the remains of Agamemnon\nand other members of the house of Pelops, to whose graves Pausanias\nalludes, but those of an earlier Perseid dynasty, and that the beehive\ntombs found outside the citadel are those of Agamemnon and other\nAtreidan kings, being similar to a considerable number of other tombs\nfound on the eastern side of Greece as far north as Thessaly. With this\nagrees the fact that the famous lion-gate and the adjoining part of the\nwall are not built in the same Cyclopean style as the rest of the wall,\nthe latter being composed of rough blocks piled one upon another without\norder, and kept in position by means of small stones and clay inserted\nbetween them, while the portions above referred to are composed of\ncarefully-hewn stones of a polygonal shape, fitting into one another.\n\nA prodigious quantity of pottery and other productions of art in gold,\nbronze, stone, and other materials, has been discovered in the graves\nand elsewhere at Mycen\u00e6. Such variety do the treasures now stored in the\nMuseum at Athens display that they are supposed to represent a period of\nartistic development extending from about 1600 to 1100 B.C. Among other\nthings found were an ostrich egg, articles made of ivory, and a great\nnumber of amber beads, proving a connection both with Africa and the\nBaltic. Some of the artistic designs, too, such as those in which the\npapyrus and the lotus appear, show traces of intercourse with Egypt,\nwhich might also be inferred from the discovery of Mycen\u00e6an pottery at\nThebes in that country. It is at Hissarlik (Troy), however, and in\ncertain islands in the \u00c6gean Sea, especially Crete, that the chief\nevidence of a civilisation like that of Mycen\u00e6 has been discovered. It\nis the opinion of experts that its origin may go as far back as 2500\nB.C., and that its development in Crete may have been contemporaneous\nwith the maritime empire which was associated with the name of Minos,\nwhose influence extended as far as Sicily on the west, and which could\nhardly fail to be in touch with Asia Minor, Ph\u0153nicia, and Egypt.\nWhether the Mycen\u00e6an civilisation was due to the Ach\u00e6an race of warriors\ndescribed in Homer, or to Pelasgians, or to the Ph\u0153nicians, has not\nyet been fully determined. In some respects it does not tally with the\nconditions of the heroic age, of which Homer sings. For example, very\nfew traces of iron have been found compared with what we might have\nexpected from the number of allusions to it in Homer. The same is the\ncase as regards the safety-pins for fastening the seamless garments\nwhich the Ach\u00e6ans wore. Moreover, Homer represents burning, not burial,\nas the usual mode of disposing of the dead. But it is possible that\nthese differences may have belonged to different stages in the history\nof the Ach\u00e6an civilisation, which was probably in a state of decadence\nwhen Homer wrote. In any case the places to which he gives prominence\nare generally found to have been centres of the civilisation in\nquestion. With regard to Mycen\u00e6 in particular, the epithets applied to\nit by the poet--\u201cabounding in gold\u201d and a \u201cwell-built city\u201d--are\nsingularly appropriate. Apart from its legendary dignity as the capital\ncity of the \u201cking of men,\u201d there can be no doubt that Mycen\u00e6 was a place\nof great wealth and importance, partly owing to its trade in pottery and\nother works of art, but chiefly, perhaps, to its commanding position on\nthe highway of commerce between Nauplia and Corinth--in other words,\nbetween the Argolic Gulf on the south and the Corinthian and Saronic\nGulfs on the north. The latter point is emphasised by a recent writer in\nthe _Edinburgh Review_, who says: \u201cMycen\u00e6 is on the flank of the hills,\nand possesses good springs, that great treasure in the thirsty plains of\nArgolis. Its fine military position is guarded by rocky defiles. Its\nwatch-towers command every vale from which a land force could attack,\nand every space of sea-coast that might reveal a pirate\u2019s raid. It is\nthe very gate of the pass that leads from the plain of Argos to the\nbeach of Corinth, and to this day the train takes travellers past its\nportals from Nauplia to the north-western gulf. Such land passages as\nthis, from one sea to another, were of the highest importance to\nmerchant-shipping in the old days of small light vessels, and continued\nto be so until comparatively recent times. The riches of the barons of\nMycen\u00e6 were solely due to the fact that they could levy toll on passing\ncaravans of merchandise without fear of an overlord. It was to guard the\nfortune thus amassed that the ramparts were constructed, which the\nastonished\n\n[Illustration: MYCEN\u00c6, SHOWING THE SITE OF THE FAMOUS DISCOVERIES OF\nSCHLIEMANN\n\nThe mass of so-called cyciopean masonry, on the right, buttresses the\nupper part of the Acropolis of Mycen\u00e6. The wall at right angles to it\ncontains the Lion Gate, and the large triangular stone above the lintel\nis the back of the well-known relief of lions or lionesses _regardant_,\nprobably the most ancient piece of sculpture in Greece. In the\nforeground is shown the singular double wall and gateway of the\nenclosure, called by Schliemann the Agora, within which he found the\ntreasures of Mycen\u00e6an art now in the Central Museum in Athens.]\n\nantiquarian (who could not see over them) describes as \u2018built for the\nlove of building.\u2019\u201d\n\nThe modern traveller can hardly fail to be struck, as Thucydides was,\nwith the limited dimensions of a city which is said to have sent a\nhundred ships to Troy, besides providing sixty for the Arcadians, while\nAthens only sent fifty. But it is evident from the ruins that the city\nwas not confined within the walls; and, after all, the size of a city,\nlike that of a country, is not always a safe criterion of its wealth and\ninfluence. According to Pausanias, the only genuine work of Heph\u00e6stus\nthat was to be seen in his day was the sceptre which that divine\nartificer presented to Zeus, and which Zeus gave to Hermes, and Hermes\nto Pelops, and Pelops to Atreus, and Atreus to his brother Thyestes, and\nThyestes to Agamemnon, that he might \u201chave dominion over many islands\nand over all Argos.\u201d\n\nA still older and better preserved specimen of the Homeric citadel and\npalace is to be seen at Tiryns, the fabled residence of Heracles, which\nlies about a mile from the sea, near the marshy land in which the famous\nsteeds of Argos probably found pasture. It is situated on a long rocky\nhillock, less than 100 feet above the level of the sea, which was no\ndoubt once an island, before the alluvial deposits from the mountain\nsides had encroached so far on the domain of Poseidon. Its walls, to\nwhich Homer alludes, form one of the most striking monuments of the\nheroic age. They are in some places considerably over fifty feet thick,\nand the stones of which they are composed are of great size, from six\nto ten feet long, and about three feet in height and in thickness. But\nthough the stones are larger than those of Mycen\u00e6 they show more signs\nof hewing, and were originally held together by clay mortar. In the\npalace at the southern end, of which the ground plan can be distinctly\ntraced, one can recognise a general similarity to the Homeric palace. In\nthe chief entrance, which is evidently the archetype of the propyl\u00e6a at\nAthens, one can see the hole in the door-post and the adjoining wall,\ninto which the great wooden bar was shot when the door was open. After\npassing through a spacious circular court with an altar of Zeus in the\ncentre, you enter through a portico into the chief apartment or hall.\nRound the hearth in the centre stood the four pillars which supported\nthe roof. It was against one of these pillars that Odysseus was told he\nwould find the queen Aret\u00e9 sitting in the palace of Alcinous, spinning\npurple wool in the light of the fire. You can also identify the\nbathroom, with its solid limestone floor, and can even see a terra-cotta\nfragment of the well-polished tubs referred to by the great minstrel,\nwith receptacles in the wall, probably intended for the oil which was\nconsidered indispensable after the bath. Wall-paintings have also been\ndiscovered and specimens of a frieze of a bluish colour, supposed to be\nthe _kuanos_ referred to in Homer as adorning the walls of the Ph\u00e6acian\npalace. With the exception of the lower parts, a few feet high, the\nwalls were evidently built of wood or clay, and appear to have been\ndestroyed\n\n[Illustration: TIRYNS. THE GATE OF THE UPPER CASTLE\n\nThe gate post to the left (west) 10\u00bd feet high, is complete, with the\nrebate and the hole for the insertion of the strong bar to secure the\ngate. Only half of the right (eastern) post remains. Over it we see the\nmassive outer rampart between the main gate and the gate of the Upper\nCastle.]\n\nby fire, of which the stone shows traces. At a lower level the\nfoundations of a still older building can be seen. Among other things\nfound among the ruins were many little figures of cows in terra-cotta,\nsupposed to have been connected with the worship of Hera, who is often\nstyled Cow-faced (_Bo-opis_) in Homer.\n\nAbout two and a half miles from Tiryns, on a small peninsula which juts\nout into the sea, there is now a thriving little town of 6000\ninhabitants, called Nauplia. According to Pausanias its original\ninhabitants came from Egypt, and its name would lead one to suppose that\nthey were known as seafaring people. In historic times they were driven\nout by the Argives and took refuge in Mothone, which was granted to them\nby the Spartans. Nauplia then became the general harbour for the people\nof Argolis. Its military importance was recognised in later times by the\nByzantines, the Venetians, and the Turks, who have successively left\ntheir mark upon its fortifications. The capture of Nauplia from the\nTurks in 1822 was a great encouragement to the insurgent Greeks. It\nbecame the capital of the country under the first Greek government, and\nwas also the scene of the assassination of its first president,\nCapodistrias. It was at Nauplia that Otho made his entry into Greece in\n1833 as the sovereign-elect, and it was among the soldiers of its\ngarrison that the revolt began which compelled him to resign his crown,\nabout thirty years later. The modern name of the city, Napoli de Romania\n(Naples of Greece), betokens the beauty of its situation. There are few\nmore pleasing views in Greece than is seen in fine weather from the top\nof the rocky hill which rises in the neighbourhood to a height of 700\nfeet, and which is supposed to owe its name (Palamidi) to the heroic\nPalamedes, son of Nauplius, who is credited in the _Iliad_ with being\nthe author of so many inventions.\n\nTo the north-east of Nauplia lies one of the most attractive spots in\nthe Argolid, namely Epidaurus. The town of that name was close to the\ncoast, opposite to \u00c6gina, which was once tributary to it. But the ruins\nof the greatest interest are some five miles inland, in the precinct\nsacred to Asclepios, the god of healing, who was said to have been born\nin this neighbourhood as the child of Apollo and a nymph, and to have\nbeen suckled by a goat on Mount Titthion. Epidaurus thus became the\nheadquarters of the healing art for all the votaries of Asclepios, both\nin Greece and Asia Minor. The sacred precinct or _Hieron_ was of great\nextent. Besides the temple, it contained almost everything that could be\ndesired in a health resort, such as a music-hall, a theatre (which is\nstill in a wonderful state of preservation and is the finest in Greece),\na hospital and baths, a gymnasium and a race-course. Part of the\nsanctuary was set apart for the patients seeking the aid of the god, who\nwas generally supposed to communicate with them in their sleep. There\nwere many votive offerings and inscriptions telling of wonderful cures,\nand when we take into account the influence of religious faith in such a\ncase, and the salutary air of a fine hill-country, we can\n\n[Illustration: NAUPLIA AND TIRYNS FROM THE ROAD TO ARGOS\n\nThe great headland to the right, crowned by the fortress of Palamidi,\noverlooks the town of Nauplia. The golden-brown hill to the left is the\nancient acropolis or fortress of Tiryns, the exploration of which by Dr.\nSchliemann was an event of hardly less importance than his famous\ndiscoveries at Mycen\u00e6.]\n\nhardly wonder at the great hygienic reputation of the place. The dog and\nthe serpent are almost always associated with Asclepios in pictorial\nrepresentations, the serpent entwined around his staff, and both animals\nfigure prominently in the stories of miraculous cure, the dog sometimes\nlicking the sores of the patient. How the serpent was so highly esteemed\nis not very clear. But it became the great emblem of the healing art,\nperhaps owing to the silence and subtlety of its movements and its\nconnection with the underground world. The Epidaurians always took it\nwith them when they went to found a colony; and on one occasion, when\nambassadors, in obedience to an oracle, came from Rome in a time of\npestilence, seeking the help of the god, the serpent was sent back with\nthem as his representative.\n\nOne of the most interesting ruins of the place is the _Tholos_, a kind\nof rotunda, more than 100 feet in diameter, of which only the ground\nparts are standing. These consist of six concentric walls, the three\ninnermost of which supported a circular floor or platform, paved with\nblack and white marble, with a hole in the centre, the purpose of which\nis not very clear, whether for offering sacrifice, which is suggested by\nthe name of _Thumela_ applied to the building, or for drawing water from\nbeneath. The fourth of the circular walls just mentioned, counting from\nthe centre, supported fourteen Corinthian pillars of marble, the fifth a\nwall above the ground, the sixth an exterior colonnade with twenty-six\ncolumns. The three underground walls nearest the centre, forming a\nvault, have doors in them by which you can pass from one to the other,\nbut so arranged as to form a labyrinth. An inscription shows that the\nbuilding was erected by contract and took twenty-one years to finish.\nThe contract was in the hands of two sets of commissioners, the one\nhaving charge of giving it out, the other being entrusted with the duty\nof seeing that the work was properly done. The list of contractors shows\nthat many different cities had an interest in the undertaking.\n\n[Illustration: THE THEATRE OF EPIDAURUS\n\nPresumably the work of the younger Polykleitos; the auditorium\n(_koilon_) hollowed out of the side of the hill, as is usual in Greek\ntheatres. In the _diazoma_, or horizontal gangway, half-way up the side\nof the auditorium, are thrones or seats of honour. The orchestra, marked\nby a circle of white marble, is clearly shown, and also the foundations\nof the stage buildings. By an act of barbarism, which has sadly ruined\nthe artistic interest of this, the most beautiful ancient Greek theatre,\nthe marble proscenium decorated with engaged Ionic columns has been\nremoved, as not being part of the original design of the building. One\nof the great gateways opening into the passage (parados) leading to the\norchestra occupies the lower middle part of the drawing.]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII\n\nCORINTH AND ITS CANAL\n\n\nBy its geographical position Corinth seems to have been predestined to\ncommercial greatness. While it commanded the land route from the\nPeloponnesus to continental Greece, its two harbours on either side of\nthe isthmus, opening, the one on the Corinthian, and the other on the\nSaronic Gulf, made it a natural emporium for East and West. There was no\nreason indeed why its military power should not have been as\ndistinguished as its opulence. Its great acropolis (Acro-Corinthus, as\nit was called), a precipitous mountain nearly 1900 feet high, rising\nabruptly out of the plain and commanding a view of nearly the half of\nGreece, with a plateau on its summit large enough to accommodate\nthousands of men, was marked out by nature as an impregnable fortress.\nBut, whether owing to the Ph\u0153nician element in the population or to\nthe peace-making tendencies of its commercial pursuits, Corinth was\nnever of very much account in war, though it was the first city in\nGreece to build a navy.\n\nOne of the most famous of its early kings was Sisyphus, whose name is\nsupposed to have been a reduplication of the Greek word _sophos_. His\nwisdom, however, seems to have been of a mean and sinister kind, better\ndescribed as cunning, if we may judge from some of the illustrations of\nit which have come down to us. According to a well-known tradition he\nwas condemned by Zeus to the hopeless and never-ending task, in Hades,\nof pushing a stone up the side of a mountain, from which it always\nrolled back before he could place it securely on the summit--an\nappropriate enough punishment for a man who had been guilty of murdering\ntravellers as they crossed the isthmus by rolling down great stones upon\nthem from the mountains.\n\nHis beautiful grandson, Bellerophon, was a man of a different type. His\nincorruptible virtue, when tempted by the queen of Argos, and the divine\nprotection granted to him in all the perils to which, like Joseph in\nEgypt, he was exposed--culminating in his marriage to the King of\nLycia\u2019s daughter with half the kingdom for a dowry--formed a pleasing\ntheme for ancient poets and moralists. According to one tradition, it\nwas the hoof of his winged horse Pegasus that struck the first water\nfrom the fountain Peirene, on the top of Acro-Corinthus. According to\nanother account the spring was a gift to Sisyphus from the river Asopus,\nfor having given information against Zeus in a matter affecting his\nfamily welfare.\n\nAnother famous name was that of Creon, King of Corinth, whose daughter\nGlauk\u00e9 came to such a tragic end. According to the common version of\nthe story, Jason had come to Corinth with his wife Medea, by whose aid\nhe had succeeded in bringing back the Golden Fleece from Colchis.\nForgetful of his vows, he fell in love with Glauk\u00e9 and was about to\nmarry her, when the enraged Medea, who was skilled in the magical arts\nof the East, sent the bride a beautiful undergarment, which, as soon as\nit was put on, set fire to the wearer. Pausanias mentions a fountain\ninto which Glauk\u00e9 threw herself in her agony, and within the last few\nyears the enclosed well referred to has been brought to light.\n\nAfter a long line of kings the Bacchiad\u00e6 are said to have come into\npower, ruling jointly, with one of their number as president, until the\ngovernment was usurped by Cypselus, one of those \u201ctyrants\u201d who figure so\nprominently in Greek history during the seventh and sixth centuries B.C.\nAmong the finest votive offerings at Olympia was an elaborately-carved\nchest dedicated by his descendants, the Cypselids, to commemorate the\npreservation of his life while he was an infant. His birth had been\nheralded by oracles which portended destruction to the ruling clan, from\nwhich his mother was sprung, and messengers were sent to Petra, where\nhis parents lived, to take the child\u2019s life. They had arranged that the\nfirst of them who should receive the child in his arms should dash it to\nthe ground. But when the unsuspecting mother put it into the hands of\none of them, he was so touched by a smile on the face of the infant that\nhe passed it on to the second, and so on, till they had all failed to\ncarry out their cruel design. On leaving the house they began to\nreproach one another for their weakness of purpose, and agreed to go in\nagain and all take a share in the deed. But the mother had overheard the\nconversation, and succeeded in saving the child\u2019s life by concealing it\nin a chest, for which reason it was called Cypselus.\n\nCypselus was succeeded by his son Periander, who ruled with a rod of\niron, but brought the country to a still higher degree of prosperity\nthan it had ever attained before. According to Herodotus, his cruel\npolicy of destroying men of light and leading among his subjects had\nbeen learned from Thrasybulus of Miletus, to whom he sent a deputy for\nadvice as to the best means of securing his position. Thrasybulus said\nnothing, but took his visitor into a corn-field, and as they passed\nalong cut down all the high and heavy stalks which attracted his\nattention. According to Aristotle, however, Periander was the teacher of\nthis lesson, not the learner. He was succeeded by a son, who was soon\ndriven from the throne. A democratic government was then established,\nwhich continued, with the occasional rise of an oligarchy, for several\ncenturies. So deep was the impression made on the Corinthians by the\ncruelty of their despots, that when a conference was held at Sparta some\ntime afterwards for the purpose of considering a proposal to restore the\nPeisistratid dynasty to Athens, the Corinthian deputy made a strong and\neloquent protest against it, and the design had to be abandoned.\n\n[Illustration: THE TEMPLE AT CORINTH\n\nThe five columns to the right belong to the Western Peristyle, and the\ntwo columns in front of us to the Southern Peristyle. These columns are\nall monolithic. The remains of the Temple at Corinth are amongst the\nmost ancient existing monuments of Doric architecture. Above the Temple\nto the right is the lofty Acropolis of Corinth (the Acro-Corinthus),\nwith the medi\u00e6val fortifications on its summit. Careful observers will\nnotice that the capital of the near column has been turned round on its\nshaft, no doubt owing to the action of earthquakes.]\n\nThe unhappy relations of Corinth to her colony Corcyra have already been\nalluded to (p. 9). On the other hand, there are few brighter pages in\nthe annals of Greece than the story of the deliverance of Syracuse,\nanother of her colonies, from the tyranny of Dionysius by Timoleon, one\nof the best and greatest of her sons. Timoleon had lived in retirement\nfor twenty years, owing to a crushing sorrow which had befallen him in\nconnection with the death of his brother Timophanes, who had sought to\nmake himself master of the city. Timoleon went up to the citadel with\none or two other patriotic men to remonstrate with the new despot, who\nwas bringing in a reign of terror. Timophanes was obdurate, and from\nangry words the parties came to blows, with the result that the usurper\nwas slain. Timoleon himself took no part in the affray, his heart being\ntorn with conflicting emotions, owing to his love for his brother, whose\nlife he had once heroically saved in battle. His position excited\ngeneral sympathy, but in some quarters he was blamed for his brother\u2019s\ndeath, and his mother was inexorable in her bitter grief, refusing ever\nto look upon his face again. After his long and sad seclusion he was now\ncalled by the voice of the assembled people to take command of the\nexpedition to Sicily, the task having been declined by many of the\nleading men. He accepted the commission; and with such signal success\ndid he execute it, with very limited means at his command, that his\nachievements were universally attributed to the favour of the gods. He\nwas equally eminent for courage and sagacity. On one occasion, when he\nwas about to encounter a Carthaginian army many times greater than his\nown, he met some mules carrying burdens of parsley, which was generally\nused for putting on tombstones. The evil omen struck the imagination of\nhis soldiers and their hearts were beginning to sink, when Timoleon,\nseizing some of the parsley, made a wreath of it and put it on his head,\nexclaiming that it was their Corinthian emblem of victory which fortune\nwas now putting in their way. His officers followed his example, the\nresult being that the spirits of the army rose, and they went forward to\na glorious victory. As soon as he had restored freedom and order\nthroughout the island he invited the citizens of Syracuse to join with\nhim in pulling down the tyrant\u2019s stronghold, setting up courts of\njustice in its place. He then resigned his commission, refusing to\naccept any official position in the state, of which he had been\nvirtually the restorer. But so deep was the impression made on the\ncommunity by his great and disinterested services that whenever there\nwas a serious difference of opinion on any public question he was called\nin as umpire. He lost his eyesight towards the end of his life, and\nCornelius Nepos gives a touching picture of the acclamation with which\nhe would be greeted by the assembly when he was led into the hall seated\non his car, from which the mules had been unyoked, to hear some question\nreferred to him, and of the profound respect with which his judgment\nwould be received. One of the results of Timoleon\u2019s mission to Sicily\nwas that the dethroned Dionysius was brought over to Corinth, and spent\nthe remainder of his life there in very humble circumstances. He made a\nlivelihood by teaching reading and singing, and for a while he was as\ngreat an object of interest in the city as Napoleon the Great would have\nbeen if he had been sent to London instead of St. Helena.\n\nOwing to its geographical position Corinth was frequently the scene of\nconference between different Greek states. In 337 B.C. a general\ncongress was summoned by Philip for the purpose of obtaining approval of\nhis scheme for the invasion of Persia in his new r\u00f4le as the head of\nGreece. The desired assent was given (Sparta alone withholding it), but\nthe scheme was never carried out, owing to the assassination of Philip\nby an aggrieved member of his bodyguard. In the midst of splendid\nfestivities to celebrate his daughter\u2019s marriage to the King of Epirus\nand the birth of a son to himself by his new wife, the exultant king,\nclothed in white, was about to enter the crowded theatre at the end of a\nsolemn procession, in which statues of the twelve great divinities of\nOlympus were followed by an image of himself--when, suddenly, the fatal\nblow was struck that put an end for ever to his hope of further\nconquest. Within two months after the death of his father, Alexander was\nmarching with an army through Greece, and at another congress held in\nCorinth he had the same honours voted to him as his father had received.\nThe following year (335 B.C.) Alexander was again at Corinth, seeing\nGreece for the last time, although he was only twenty-one years old. It\nwas on this occasion that he was so taken with the amazing\nself-sufficiency of the cynical philosopher who had nothing better to\nask of the young potentate, when he was honoured with a visit, than to\nrequest him to stand out of his sunshine. \u201cIf I were not Alexander,\u201d\nexclaimed the monarch, \u201cI would be Diogenes.\u201d\n\nAt a later time Corinth played a prominent part in connection with the\nAch\u00e6an League. The story of the capture of Acro-Corinthus from the\nMacedonians by Aratus on a moonlit night, so graphically told by\nPlutarch, is one of the most interesting passages in any of his\nbiographies. A hundred years afterwards (146 B.C.) the forwardness of\nCorinth in an attempt to throw off the Roman yoke led to its complete\ndestruction and depopulation by the Roman consul, L. Mummius. In the\nnext century, however, Julius C\u00e6sar saw the vast capabilities of the\nsite, and planted on it a Roman colony, which led to such a development\nof trade that in the first century of the Christian era it was again one\nof the most flourishing cities of Greece.\n\nOf its wealth and magnificence very slight traces now remain. The most\nimposing ruin is that of a Dorian temple of Apollo, dating from the\nsixth or seventh century B.C. Seven of its columns, with a portion of\nthe architrave, have braved the storm for 2600 years and escaped the\nhand of the destroyer. These monoliths, about 23\u00bd feet high and fully 5\u00bd\nfeet thick, tapering upwards, form a most impressive monument. Two other\ncolumns have recently been discovered\n\n[Illustration: THE TEMPLE OF ATHENA AT SUNIUM (CAPE COLONNA) FROM THE\nNORTH\n\nAn encampment on the site of the _cella_ of the Temple.]\n\nbelow ground by the American School of Arch\u00e6ology, to which we are also\nindebted for the identification of the fountain of Glauk\u00e9, already\nmentioned, and that of the lower Peirene, with the masonry surrounding\nthem. Marble propyl\u00e6a, leading to the market-place, and a theatre have\nalso been uncovered. On the top of Acro-Corinthus there was a temple of\nAphrodit\u00e9, with a ritual borrowed from that of the Ph\u0153nician Astart\u00e9,\nbut scarcely any trace of it has been discovered, the remains being\nprincipally those of fortifications, including some of such a primitive\nand massive construction that the name of Cyclopean may be applied to\nthem.\n\nScarcely anywhere do we find any sign of the \u201cCorinthian\u201d column, though\nthe _acanthus_ or thistle, which is said to have suggested that style of\ndecoration to Callimachus, may frequently be seen in the bare and arid\nplain which forms the southern part of the isthmus. According to\nVitruvius, the Latin writer on architecture, the idea occurred to\nCallimachus on seeing the acanthus growing over a basket which had been\nplaced by her old nurse on the grave of a young lady who had died on the\neve of her marriage. In the basket were deposited a number of little\nthings which had been dear to the lady in her childhood, and on the top\nthe nurse had placed a square flat tile to keep out the rain. When the\nspring came round, a hidden acanthus root put forth its leaves, which\ncrept up the sides of the basket and coiled round the corners of the\ntile like volutes; and it was in imitation of the beautiful appearance\nthus presented that Callimachus designed the style of capital which\nafterwards became famous as the Corinthian order.\n\nNorthward from the propyl\u00e6a the road leads to the harbour of Lech\u00e6um,\nabout a mile and a half distant, and alongside of it traces of the two\nlong walls can still be seen. The harbour is now a lagoon, and that on\nthe eastern side of the isthmus at Cenchre\u00e6 is also desolate--a state of\nthings which contrasts sadly with what might have been seen as early as\n700 B.C., when Corinth was famous for its shipping, and had just built\nfour triremes (full-deckers, with triple banks of oars) for the people\nof Samos, who had never possessed such ships before. To many minds,\nhowever, Cenchre\u00e6 suggests other thoughts, for it was there that\nPh\u0153be, the prototype of Christian deaconesses, dwelt, whom St. Paul\ncommended to the Christians at Rome as \u201cour sister, which is a servant\nof the church which is at Cenchre\u00e6.\u201d Another thing that reminds us of\nSt. Paul is a fragment of marble in the local museum bearing the letters\n... \u03b1\u03b3\u03c9\u03b3\u03b7 \u03b5\u03b2 ..., the original having evidently been \u03c3\u03c5\u03bd\u03b1\u03b3\u03c9\u03b3\u03b7 \u03b5\u03b2\u03c1\u03b1\u03b9\u03c9\u03bd,\nrecalling the fact mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles that Paul spent\na year and a half in Corinth with Aquila and Priscilla, in a house\nadjoining the synagogue. At the little railway station of New Corinth we\nhad a proof how much more lasting may be the influence of the pen than\nof the sword when we were offered a copy of the New Testament in Greek,\nissued by the British and Foreign Bible Society. New Corinth lies to the\nnorth-west of the ancient city, not very far from the Lech\u00e6an harbour.\nIt is a well-built little town of about 4000 inhabitants, and was\nfounded fifty years ago, when the old town was destroyed by an\nearthquake--the third time that such a calamity had happened to it\nduring the Christian era. At no great distance are the traces of the\nwalls by which the Peloponnesian states at various periods attempted to\nsecure themselves against invasion from the north. Some remains have\nalso been found of the _diolkos_ or tramway, running across the\nnarrowest and lowest part of the isthmus, by which it was customary to\ntransport not only the freight of vessels but the vessels themselves,\nwhile the passengers frequently walked across to the port on the other\nside.\n\nThe idea of cutting a canal is said to date as far back as the reign of\nPeriander, already mentioned, who was accounted one of the Seven Wise\nMen of Greece. It was entertained by Demetrius Poliorcetes and Julius\nC\u00e6sar, but Nero was the first to make any serious attempt to carry it\nout. \u201cA great multitude of soldiers and prisoners, including apparently\n6000 Jews sent by Vespasian from Jud\u00e6a, were assembled at the isthmus,\nand operations were begun with much solemnity, apparently about the end\nof 67 A.D. The emperor himself, after chanting hymns in honour of the\nmarine deities, set the example by giving a few strokes with a golden\npickaxe, which the governor of Greece formally handed to him. Then the\nmultitude fell to work in earnest, the soldiers turning up the earth,\nand the prisoners hewing at the rocks. A beginning was made on the\nwestern side of the isthmus, but excavations had been carried for a\ndistance of only about four furlongs when they were suddenly suspended\nin consequence of evil tidings which Nero received of conspiracies at\nRome and disaffection among the armies of the West.\u201d[4]\n\nThe modern canal, which was undertaken by a French Company in 1881, was\ncompleted by a Greek Company in 1893. To one sailing through it has a\nmuch more striking appearance than the Suez Canal, owing to the height\nof its banks on either side, for the most part cut out of sandy or\nalluvial soil, and rising like walls to a height of more than 100 feet.\nAt one point the railway passes over it at a height of about 170 feet\nabove the water. The canal is about three and a half miles long. It\nreduces the voyage from the Ionian Islands to Athens to about half the\ndistance involved in sailing round Cape Matapan, but unfortunately it is\ntoo narrow (only about 75 feet wide) to be of much use for the larger\nships. As a rule it is only the Greek coasting vessels that take\nadvantage of it, and there is little or no prospect of its ever becoming\none of the great highways to the East.\n\nNot far from the eastern end of the canal is the precinct that was\nsacred to Poseidon, where the Isthmian Games were held every second\nyear. The stadium can still be traced, memorable, among other things, as\nthe scene of the inauguration of Alexander the Great as the acknowledged\nprince of Greece, and of the proclamation of liberty to the Greeks, one\nhundred and forty years\n\n[Illustration: OFF CAPE MATAPAN, SOUTHERN GREECE\n\nSketch from the Messageries steamer _Nerthe_.]\n\nafterwards, by the Roman Consul Flamininus. A little way south, on a\nplateau about 300 feet high, are extensive remains of a city built out\nof the rock, which may have been the prehistoric city of the isthmus,\nreferred to by Homer as \u201cwealthy Ephyra.\u201d Some twenty miles to the\nsouth-west, on the way to Mycen\u00e6, lies the secluded vale of Nemea, where\ngames were also celebrated every second year, consecrated by the\nerection of a temple of Zeus, of which a number of beautiful columns are\nstill standing, while others lie prostrate on the ground. It was in this\nwoody district that the lion which Heracles slew, as the first of the\nTwelve Labours imposed upon him by Eurysthenes, was supposed to have had\nhis lair.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII\n\nATHENS AND ITS ACROPOLIS\n\n\nNowhere in Greece, nowhere perhaps in the ancient world, were the\ngeographical conditions more favourable to the growth of a genial,\nintelligent, and energetic community than in Athens. The sky was bright,\nthe air pure, and the climate temperate. The soil, while not so rich as\nto demoralise the inhabitants or to offer much inducement to an invader,\nyielded its cultivators the means of subsistence in the form of figs,\nolives, corn, and wine. At the same time the city enjoyed the advantage\nof easy communication with other countries both by land and sea, being\nsituated on a plain which formed part of the continent of Europe, and\nhaving on its projecting coast three safe and commodious harbours, which\ngave it facilities for traffic in many different directions. For the\npurpose of defence, its Acropolis, facing the sea a few miles off, and\nbacked at a considerable distance by a well-defined mountain frontier,\nprovided it with a natural stronghold in case of attack.\n\nThe Acropolis is only one of a number of heights\n\n[Illustration: THE WESTERN END OF THE ACROPOLIS SEEN FROM BELOW THE PNYX\n\nThe position of the Propyl\u00e6a, the magnificent gatehouse of Pentelic\nmarble designed by the architect Mnesicles, is admirably shown in this\ndrawing. All the five doorways, which were closed by doors of bronze,\nare seen against the sky. Immediately to the left is the north wing (the\nPinacotheca); to the right the bastion surmounted by the little Nik\u00e9\nTemple. High above all rises the Parthenon. Coming down to the\nforeground, we may note, on the right, the great supporting wall of the\nTheatre of Herodes Atticus with the blue Hymettos behind it; and, to the\nleft, the pinkish coloured rock of the Areopagus, with Lycabettos\nabove.]\n\nrising out of the plain in the neighbourhood of Athens, including\nLycabettus, Areopagus, Pnyx, and Museum Hill. Though not nearly so high\nas Lycabettus, the Acropolis was better fitted for defence, as it was\nalmost inaccessible from all sides except the west, and had a flat\nsummit of considerable extent. In itself it is not equal to the Castle\nRock of \u201cmodern Athens,\u201d being only 150 feet high, 1150 long, and about\n500 in breadth. But it is a far more striking object from many points of\nview, partly owing to its position on a rising ground, partly because it\nis crowned with the noble ruins of the Parthenon. Many traces still\nremain of its original fortifications, which were of a Cyclopean\ncharacter, and were attributed to the Pelasgian race. This name, indeed,\nsurvives in the Pelasgicon (otherwise called Pelargicon), an elaborate\noutwork consisting of a series of terraced battlements with nine gates\n(Enneapylon), of which some remains can still be made out. On the\neastern side there can also be seen the lower courses of a wall which\nhad been built to fill up a depression in the hill.\n\nAlthough Attica is not much more than half the size of Cornwall, there\nwas a time when its inhabitants were divided into many different\ncommunities, practically independent of each other. The city of Athens\nwas then confined to the Acropolis and a small extent of ground in its\nimmediate neighbourhood on the south-east. According to tradition it was\nTheseus who welded together the various demes or townships into one\norganised community under his single rule; and in commemoration of this\nrare achievement in Greek history the festival of Syn\u0153cia long\ncontinued to be celebrated. Theseus is mentioned both in the _Iliad_ and\nthe _Odyssey_, and his two sons fought in the Trojan war, yet it was not\nhe but his successor Menestheus who commanded the Athenian forces in the\nwar, owing to certain impieties committed by him which entailed upon him\nthe loss of his crown. No hero was credited with more wonderful\nperformances than Theseus both by land and sea, and even in the\nunderground world, though his efforts there were not so successful. His\nmost memorable exploit in the eyes of the Athenians was the destruction\nof the Minotaur, a monster with the body of a man and the head of a\nbull, which was kept at Knossus, the capital of the Cretan empire of\nMinos, and to which Athens had to devote a sacrifice of seven youths and\nseven maidens every nine years. When the time came round Theseus\nvolunteered to accompany the victims, in order to deliver them; and with\nthe help of Ariadne, the king\u2019s daughter, who furnished him with a clue\nto the labyrinth in which the monster was confined and a sword, he\nsucceeded in his perilous mission, and brought back his young companions\nsafe and sound. He had arranged with his father \u00c6geus that in that event\nhe would hoist a white sail instead of the usual black one; but\nunfortunately he omitted to give the sign, and the aged king, who was\nlooking out from the Acropolis, where the temple of Nik\u00e9 now stands,\nbeing overcome with grief at the apparent failure of his son\u2019s heroic\nundertaking, threw himself down among the rocks and perished. According\nto another version of the story, he was waiting on the shore and threw\nhimself into the sea. To commemorate the event embodied in this\ntradition the Athenians were in the habit of sending a ship to Delos\nevery year to offer to Apollo a sacrifice of a less distressing nature.\nDuring the month in which this took place, no public act was permitted\nthat was considered to be out of keeping with it, such as the execution\nof a criminal; and it was owing to this that Socrates was so long\nconfined in prison after sentence of death had been passed upon him.\n\nTheseus was believed to have given the Athenians his countenance and aid\nat the battle of Marathon, and a few years afterwards they were\ncommanded by the Delphian oracle to bring back his bones from the island\nof Scyros, where he had met a violent death. The injunction was obeyed\nin 469 B.C. by Cimon, the son of Miltiades, who discovered a gigantic\nskeleton, and brought it to Athens amid great rejoicing. It was then\nreinterred in a sanctuary devoted to Theseus\u2019 memory, which is often\nmentioned by subsequent Greek writers, and afforded a refuge within its\nspacious precincts to the poor and oppressed, whether bond or free, who\nfelt themselves to be in danger. Unfortunately the historical references\nto this sanctuary, as well as the fact that it was in honour of a hero,\nnot of a god, forbid us to identify it with the noble Doric temple\nstanding between the Areopagus and the Agora or Market-place, which is\nnow commonly known as the Theseum. The probability is that the latter\nbuilding was a temple in honour of Heph\u00e6stus or of Heph\u00e6stus and\nAthena. It is built of white Pentelic marble, with thirty-four columns\nin all, the sculptures on it being of Parian marble, and is second only\nto the Parthenon in majestic beauty. Traces of the bright red and blue\ncolouring, which was used even in the decoration of marble, can be\ndistinctly seen; and part of the coffered roof is still in position,\nadorned with painted stars. During the Middle Ages it was turned into a\nchurch dedicated to St. George, and it is doubtless owing to this cause\nthat it still survives in such an excellent state of preservation.\n\nFor centuries before the time of Theseus the Acropolis had been the seat\nof a civilisation not much inferior to that of Mycen\u00e6. Homer speaks of a\n\u201cwell-built house of Erectheus\u201d to which Athena used to repair; and on\nthe Acropolis, under what is believed to have been the earliest temple\nof Athena, part of the foundations of a palace, apparently similar in\nplan to those of Mycen\u00e6 and Tiryns, has been discovered. The\nfortifications, too, are very similar, and there is a long inner\nstaircase leading to a postern in the northern wall that corresponds to\nthose found in the ancient structures referred to. There is another\nprehistoric name with which tradition connects the primitive history of\nAthens, and on account of which it was sometimes called Cecropia.\nAccording to some, Cecrops came from Egypt; according to others he was\nautochthonous (as the Athenians claimed to be), and had the appearance\nof being half man and half serpent.\n\n[Illustration: THE TEMPLE OF THESEUS FROM THE SOUTH-WEST\n\nThe mountain dominating the Temple, to the right (east), is Lycabettos;\nthe distant mountain to the left is Pentelikon.]\n\nAmid these conflicting mythical traditions it was generally agreed that\nthe last king of Athens was Codrus, who was said to be a descendant of\nIon, the head of the Ionic branch of the Hellenic race, the latter name\nbeing derived from Hellen, the grandfather of Ion. When the Dorians\ninvaded Attica, after taking possession of the Peloponnesus, they were\ninformed by a Pythian oracle that if the life of Codrus were spared they\nwould gain possession of the country. Codrus became aware of this, and\nin order to save his country he went out one day in disguise and\nprovoked a quarrel with some of the enemy, who put him to death. As soon\nas this became known to the Dorians they abandoned the hope of conquest,\nand contented themselves with annexing Megara. By a strange process of\nreasoning the grateful subjects of the self-sacrificing king straightway\nabolished the monarchy, on the ground that it would be impossible to\nfind any one worthy to sit on the throne of so noble a sovereign! The\nname of Codrus was not the only name in the early history of Athens that\nwas associated with patriotic self-devotion. Long before, one of the\nthree daughters of Cecrops, Agraulos, was said to have leapt from the\nAcropolis as a voluntary sacrifice, when it was declared by the oracle\nthat there was no other means of bringing a war which had been long\ngoing on to a successful issue. Her name was given to a grotto on the\nnorth, near the spot on which she met her death; and it was there that\nthe Athenian youth, when they reached manhood, offered sacrifice and\nswore to be faithful to their country even unto death.\n\nAfter the death of Codrus the office of archon was instituted as an\noffice for life, tenable by the leading member of the royal family. The\nlate king\u2019s two sons, Medon and Neileus, quarrelled about the\nsuccession, and the latter emigrated with a large portion of the\npopulation to Asia Minor, where he founded the Ionic Amphictyony of\ntwelve cities, extending from Miletus to Phoc\u00e6a. For about 300 years the\narchonship continued to be held for life; but after that the tenure of\noffice was changed to ten years, and at a still later period it became\nan annual appointment, and was thrown open to the eupatrids or nobles.\nUltimately it became a collegiate charge, being held by nine men\nsimultaneously, who divided the functions of government among them.\n\nTowards the end of the seventh century B.C. a legislator came upon the\nscene in the person of Draco, whose name has become a synonym for\nseverity, though it would seem that what he did was to codify existing\nlaws and customs rather than to introduce new regulations. Even at an\nearlier period laws had been reduced to writing among the Epizephyrian\nLocrians of Italy by Zaleucus at the bidding of the Delphian oracle, for\nthe purpose of restoring order in the state. The system adopted was of\nthe nature of the _lex talionis_. Severe measures were doubtless needed,\nfor it was these Locrians who got the better of the natives by taking a\nmutual oath with them to the effect that the two peoples should be\nallowed to enjoy the land in common, so long as they stood upon this\nearth (such were the terms of the oath) and had heads on their\n\n[Illustration: THE TEMPLE OF THESEUS FROM THE NORTH-WEST (MORNING LIGHT)\n\nThis drawing shows very well the seating of the Temple on its site,\nKolonos Agoraios--the Market Hill.]\n\nshoulders. In order that they might be able to destroy the validity of\nthe covenant, they had put earth into their shoes and concealed heads of\ngarlic on their shoulders, believing that as soon as these things were\nremoved the oath would lose its binding force. In order to discourage\nrash attempts at legislation the same people enacted that any one\nproposing a new law should appear before the assembly with a rope round\nhis neck, which was to be immediately tightened if he failed to get his\nproposal adopted!\n\nAbout this time an attempt was made by Cylon, a wealthy and\ndistinguished citizen of Athens, to obtain supreme power, with the help\nof his father-in-law, the ruler of Megara. He succeeded in taking\npossession of the Acropolis, but the citizens rose against him and\ncompelled him to flee the country. His followers, who were left in the\ncitadel, took refuge in the temple of Athena, but they were induced to\nquit the sanctuary by a promise that their lives would be spared. As an\nadditional security, however, they fastened a cord to the image of the\ngoddess and kept hold of it as they withdrew from the Acropolis.\nUnfortunately the cord broke before they had gained a place of safety;\nand the citizens, regarding this as a token that Athena had deserted the\nfugitives, attacked and slew them. The outrage was aggravated by the\nfact that some of them were put to death in the sanctuary of the\nEumenides at the side of the Areopagus. The archon who was chiefly\nresponsible for the perfidious and profane slaughter was Megacles, the\nhead of the Alcm\u00e6onid family, which was in consequence regarded as\npolluted. A pestilence from which the city afterwards suffered was\npopularly attributed to the displeasure of the gods on this account. In\norder to remove the curse the members of the family who were still alive\nwere banished, and the bones of those who had since died were dug up and\ntransported beyond the frontier. Epimenides, the diviner, was also sent\nfor from Crete, and under his direction new sanctuaries were erected,\nand new rites of purification introduced.\n\nThere was now a general feeling that means should be taken to put the\ncivil and political affairs of the country on a better footing.\nFortunately a man appeared who was eminently fitted to do the work of a\nreformer. Although belonging to an illustrious house, Solon was at the\nsame time possessed of broad sympathies and democratic views, which he\nis supposed to have derived from his experience as a traveller and his\ninterest in commercial pursuits. His patriotism was equal to his wisdom,\nand the first thing that won for him the admiration and affection of his\nfellow-citizens was the fearless enthusiasm with which he appealed to\nthem to make a fresh attempt to regain Salamis from the Megarians. The\nisland had been so completely abandoned by the Athenians that they had\ndecreed the penalty of death against any one who should attempt to\nrekindle the war, which had proved disastrous. The success which\nattended Solon in this movement doubtless added to his reputation, and\ndisposed the citizens to give a favourable reception to his\nlegislative\n\n[Illustration: THE AREOPAGUS AND THE THESEUM\n\nThe craggy mass to the left is the Areopagus (Mars Hill), with the cleft\nof the Eumenides. Behind the Temple of Theseus stretch the famous olive\ngroves of Athens, nourished by the water of the subterranean Kephissus.\nThe mountain range is that of \u00c6galeos, with the Pass of Daphni.]\n\nproposals. Among other changes which he introduced was the abolition of\na cruel law by which insolvent debtors were liable to be enslaved along\nwith their families; and in the political sphere he laid the foundations\nof the democratic constitution which was destined to contribute so\nlargely to the greatness of Athens. He resisted all temptations to take\npower into his own hands--to the surprise of some, who thought he\n\u201cshould have hauled up the net when he had the fish enmeshed in it.\u201d\nUnfortunately his self-denying spirit was not shared by all his\ncountrymen, and he had the mortification of seeing his work to a great\nextent frustrated by one of his own friends, Peisistratus by name, whose\nsuccess as a usurper was as much due to guile as to force. Posing as a\nfriend of the people he presented himself one day in the market-place\nbleeding from self-inflicted wounds, which he pretended he had received\nat the hands of his political enemies, whereupon one of his partisans\nappealed for a bodyguard of fifty men to protect him, which was granted.\nWith their assistance he soon made himself master of the Acropolis, and,\nby a stratagem, deprived the citizens of their arms. Although his rule\nwas comparatively mild, and was signalised by some useful public\nenterprises, he was twice driven from the country. After his second\nrestoration he held his position for about fourteen years. On his death\nhis three sons carried on the government for some years, but at length a\nplot was formed for their assassination by two young men, partly on\npublic and partly on private grounds. The plot was not altogether\nsuccessful, two of the despots being untouched. One of the assassins,\nHarmodius, was at once overpowered and put to death, and the other,\nAristogeiton, also forfeited his life after being subjected to torture\nin the hope that he would betray the names of their accomplices. The\ndynasty became more unpopular than ever, owing to its increasing\nseverity, and in a few years the surviving members of it were driven\ninto exile. So highly was the conduct of the two tyrannicides, Harmodius\nand Aristogeiton, appreciated that their statues in bronze were erected\nin a prominent place between the Agora and the Acropolis, and for a long\ntime it was forbidden to erect any others in the same place. The statues\nwere carried off by Xerxes in the next century, but they were soon\nreplaced by others of a similar kind; and after the earlier ones were\nrecovered, the two groups stood side by side. Another monument of the\nconspiracy was to be seen in the Acropolis in the form of a tongueless\nlioness, representing a woman named _Le\u00e6na_, who had been suspected of\nbeing in the plot, and was put to the torture, without divulging any\nname.\n\nWithin a generation afterwards the Athenians\u2019 love of liberty and their\nreadiness to die for it was demonstrated on a much grander scale, in\ntheir resistance of the Persian invader. It is said that the first time\nDarius heard of the Athenians was after the burning of Sardis, in which\nthey rendered assistance to the Asiatic Ionians. On their name being\nmentioned to him Darius asked who they were, and, being told, he shot\nan arrow to the sky, and exclaimed, \u201cO Zeus, grant me to revenge myself\non these Athenians,\u201d at the same time bidding an attendant to repeat in\nhis hearing every day at dinner the words, \u201cRemember the Athenians.\u201d His\ngenerals, Datis and Artaphernes, now landed on the Attic shore with\nabout 100,000 men, under the guidance of Hippias, who had accompanied\nhis father Peisistratus by the same route to Athens nearly fifty years\nbefore, when he was returning from exile the second time to take\npossession of the city. But Athens was a very different community now\nfrom what it was then. It had enjoyed more than twenty years of\nself-government, and its citizens were now united as one man in the\ndetermination to resist the eastern despot to the uttermost. Seldom has\na more heroic stand been taken by any nation in defence of its\nliberties. The Persians had hitherto been regarded as invincible, and\ntheir numerical superiority was overwhelming. But the Athenians did not\nfor a moment hesitate. They at once despatched a swift messenger to\nSparta appealing for assistance, who is said to have accomplished the\njourney of 150 miles in forty-eight hours. But the Spartans were slow to\nmove, owing to their superstitious dependence on the full moon, for\nwhich they had to wait five days. No other Greeks shared in the glory of\nthe occasion, except 1000 soldiers from Plat\u00e6a, whose generous and\ntimely succour won the undying gratitude of the Athenians, and was\nannually mentioned at the anniversary services which were regularly\nheld to celebrate the victory. Of the ten Athenian generals who were in\ncommand of the forces it fell to Miltiades to act as chief. If his\nadvice had been taken by the Ionians who were left in charge of the\nbridge which they had built over the Danube for Darius shortly before,\nthe invasion of Greece would have been averted. The sixty days during\nwhich Darius had ordered them to preserve the bridge for his return had\nexpired, and Darius was beset with difficulties in Scythia, which would\nsoon have overwhelmed him; but the Ionian leaders refused to destroy the\nbridge, as Miltiades advised--for the selfish reason that their tenure\nof power in their respective cities depended on Persian support. Darius\nwas thus saved, and his cruel conquest of Eretria was the result--the\nprelude, as it seemed, of a like fate for Athens and for all Greece.\n\nThe distance from Athens to Marathon is about 25 miles, by the road\ntaken by the troops, which was the same as is followed by the modern\ntraveller. The length of the plain is about six miles and its breadth a\nmile and a half, with a marsh at each end. The Persians had disembarked\nand were drawn up in the plain at a considerable distance from the\nshore. The Greeks appear to have taken up a position a little in front\nof the amphitheatre of rocky hills which encloses the plain on the north\nand west. It was the first time the Athenians had ever met the dreaded\nMedes in battle array; but throwing aside all fear they raised the\nwar-cry and set off at a run, which was facilitated by the slight\ndeclivity of the ground, bearing down upon\n\n[Illustration: THE BATTLE-FIELD OF MARATHON, FROM MOUNT PENTELIKON\n\nThe plain of Marathon and the long spit of Kynosura are well shown; but\nthe sickle shape of the famous bay is obscured by the intervening summit\nof Mount Agrieliki. Across the blue gulf of Petali we see the splendid\nchain of the Eub\u0153an Mountains.]\n\nthe enemy with such force as to compel them to give way at both wings,\nwhere their ranks were weakest and those of the Greeks strongest.\nInstead of pursuing the fugitives the victorious wings supported their\nown centre by attacking the enemy from the flanks and rear, putting them\ninto confusion and causing a panic. The whole Persian host was soon in\nfull flight to their ships, but in their ignorance of the country many\nof them were caught in the marshes and never reached the shore.\nAccording to Herodotus more than 6000 of them lost their lives.\nComparatively few prisoners were taken, as the attempts of the Greeks to\ncapture or burn the ships were attended with little success; but rich\nspoils, in the form of tents and other equipments, fell into their\nhands. As the fleet was sailing away towards Cape Sunium a flashing\nshield was seen on a height above the plain, which was supposed to be a\ntraitorous signal given to the Persians to sail round to Athens and take\npossession of the city in the absence of its defenders. Miltiades was\nequal to the occasion. By dint of the most strenuous exertions he and\nhis troops reached Athens before the enemy could carry out his plan, and\nthe fleet soon set sail for the Cyclades. Next day the Athenians went\nout again, to bury their dead comrades--192 in number--and erected a\ntumulus over them, which may still be seen, along with a separate mound\nfor the Plat\u00e6ans, and one for the slaves who had served as unarmed or\nhalf-armed attendants. Ten columns were afterwards set up, bearing the\nnames of the dead, according to their several tribes, with a special\nmonument to Miltiades; and Pausanias, who lived 600 years later,\nmentions having read the names. It would scarcely be possible to\nover-estimate the importance of the battle of Marathon in Greek history.\nIt virtually saved the country from being overrun by oriental barbarism,\nand gave the world a signal proof for all time that the military\nstrength of a people depends more on their animating spirit than on\ntheir numbers, and that it is possible for a comparatively small nation\nto preserve its independence if its citizens be united and resolute in\ndevotion to the common cause. The event must have made an enormous\nimpression, when even such an illustrious poet as \u00c6schylus regarded it\nas the greatest honour of his life that he had fought at Marathon, and\nleft directions that that fact, and no other, should be recorded on his\ntomb.\n\nTen years later the same peril reappeared in a still more threatening\nform, and again the men of Athens covered themselves with glory. It\nmight have been expected that when Xerxes and his immense host\napproached the city they would have prepared for a siege. But the\nnumbers of the enemy were so immense that, if they had remained within\nthe walls, it would only have been a question of time when they would\nhave had to surrender. In their distress they appealed to the Delphian\noracle for advice, but the first response was of a most depressing\nnature. They were told to quit their \u201cwheel-shaped city\u201d and flee to the\nends of the earth. A second appeal, which they made in the form of\nsuppliants, elicited the assurance that when everything else in the land\nof Cecrops was taken, Zeus would grant to Athena the preservation of a\nwooden wall to be a sure defence to the Athenians and their children.\nUnder the astute guidance of Themistocles they came to the conclusion\nthat it was their ships that were referred to. A few of them, however,\nmostly too old or too poor to have much prospect of a welcome elsewhere,\nput a different construction on the oracle, and took refuge in the\nAcropolis, strengthening its defences by the erection of wooden\npalisades. They succeeded in holding the fortress for a time, in spite\nof the arrows with burning tow attached which the Persians poured in\nupon them from their position on the Areopagus. The assailants found it\nimpossible to force their way up against the great stones which were\nrolled down upon them from the western entrance, and it was not till\nthey discovered a secret ascent on the north side of the rock that they\ngot the better of the defenders by taking them unawares, and became\nmasters of the fortress. A remorseless work of destruction then ensued,\ninvolving the temples and other buildings on the Acropolis in the same\nfate as had befallen, or was soon to befall, the best of the houses in\nthe city, and its walls. It seemed to the Athenians a terrible calamity\nat the time, but it proved to be a blessing in disguise, for it led to\nthe restoration of the city on a scale of grandeur unknown before, and\nmade the Acropolis one of the wonders of the world. The naval\noperations, also, to which they were obliged to have recourse, crowned\nas these were by the glorious victory at Salamis, opened their eyes to\nthe possibility of a great naval empire, and led them to turn to account\nthe advantages to be derived from their harbours at the Pir\u00e6us, by not\nonly equipping them with docks but also fortifying them and connecting\nthem with Athens by means of the long walls, completed in the next\ngeneration by Pericles.\n\nMost of the Athenians had taken refuge in the adjoining island of\nSalamis (the ancient home of Ajax), partly owing to an allusion to it in\nthe second Delphian oracle. \u201cDivine Salamis,\u201d it was said, \u201cwould\ndestroy many sons of women\u201d; and this, Themistocles held, could only\nrefer to a slaughter of the enemy. Although almost all the powers in\nsouthern Greece were acting in concert with Athens in resisting Xerxes,\nthe Peloponnesians were disposed to fall back on their line of defence\nat the isthmus of Corinth; and it was with the greatest difficulty that\nThemistocles prevailed on them to take part in the engagement at\nSalamis. When it seemed that nothing else would serve his purpose he\nsent a secret message to Xerxes, as if he were turning traitor to his\ncountry, urging him to prevent the escape of the Greeks when he had them\nat his mercy. The ruse succeeded. During the night the Persians\nstationed ships at the two ends of the straits to prevent the egress of\nthe Greeks, and also landed a body of men on the small island of\nPsyttaleia, at the south-eastern outlet, in case the enemy should\n\n[Illustration: THE SEAWARD END OF THE PLAIN OF ATTICA LOOKING TOWARDS\nSALAMIS\n\nThe view is bounded to the left by the foot of the Acropolis, with part\nof Beul\u00e9\u2019s gate; below, to the right of this, we overlook the whole of\nthe ancient Assembly Place of the Athenian people (the Pnyx), with its\nretaining wall of colossal masonry below, and its scarped-rock boundary\nand _b\u0113ma_ above. Farther away the famous olive groves, following the\ncourse of the Kephissus, stretch along the plain.]\n\nseek a refuge in what proved to be their own tomb. In the morning the\ntwo fleets confronted each other, the Greek vessels lying under the\ncrescent-shaped coast of the island of Salamis, to the number of more\nthan 300, while the Persian ships, about three times as numerous, took\nup their position along the Attic coast. Behind the latter their army\nwas drawn up near the shore to enjoy a sight of the expected victory,\nwhile Xerxes himself, for the same purpose, occupied a rising ground,\nwhich is still known as Xerxes\u2019 Seat, sitting on a silver-footed throne,\nwhich was captured by the enemy and afterwards exhibited on the\nAcropolis. On this occasion the courage was not all on the part of the\nGreeks, for they were very cautious for a while, and many of the\nPersians and their Ph\u0153nician and Ionic allies fought bravely. But\npartly owing to the want of concert among the invaders, and the\nunwieldiness of their immense fleet in the narrow waters, which soon led\nto confusion, and partly to the superior naval skill of the Greeks, the\ngreat king had the mortification of beholding the destruction of about\n200 of his ships of war and the capture or flight of many more, while\nthe Greeks escaped with the loss of forty ships. Xerxes was so\ncompletely unmanned by the unexpected defeat, and so afraid that the\nbridge over the Hellespont might be destroyed before he got across, that\nhe immediately took his departure. But in quitting Europe he sent back\nhis general Mardonius with 300,000 men to effect the conquest of Greece.\nAttica was again ravaged, and the destruction of Athens was rendered\nstill more complete. Tempting overtures were made to the Athenians by\nthe Persian general for their submission, and great alarm was felt in\nSparta and elsewhere lest these overtures should be accepted. But the\nAthenians did not for a moment entertain them. \u201cTell Mardonius,\u201d was\ntheir memorable answer, \u201cthat as long as the sun shall continue in his\npresent path, we will never contract alliance with Xerxes: we will\nencounter him in our own defence, putting our trust in the aid of those\ngods and heroes to whom he has shown no reverence, and whose houses and\nstatues he has burned.\u201d Their faith was soon justified by the victory of\nthe allied forces at Plat\u00e6a and the naval success which was achieved the\nsame day at Mycale. All fears of Persian conquest were dispelled; and\nthe Athenians returned from their temporary exile, to devote themselves\nto the restoration of their city with a spirit and an energy which\nbetokened the great future in store for them.\n\nBeyond Salamis, about twenty miles south from Pir\u00e6us, lies the island of\n\u00c6gina, one of the many interesting features in the view from the\nAcropolis. It was revered as the ancient seat of \u00c6acus, the grandfather\nof Achilles and Ajax, who was accounted in his day to be the most pious\nof mankind. In historical times it was inhabited chiefly by a Dorian\ncolony from Epidaurus. Up to the time of the Persian invasion Corinth\nwas its only rival in Greece as a naval and commercial centre; but it\nplayed an ignoble part in complying with Darius\u2019 demands for earth and\nwater when Athens and Sparta received the insulting message with such\nindignation as to put the Persian envoys to death. On the approach of\nXerxes the \u00c6ginetans had endeavoured to redeem their character by\njoining in the preparations for resistance; and in the battle of Salamis\nthey had taken such a distinguished part as to be awarded the first\nprize for valour, the second prize going to the Athenians. On that\noccasion two prizes were also given for the greatest skill and wisdom;\nand it illustrates the self-esteem and love of honour of which the\nGreeks seem to have had more than an ordinary share, that when the votes\nwere examined it was found that each of the leaders had put down his own\nname for the first prize, and that of Themistocles for the second!\n\nPericles described \u00c6gina as the \u201ceyesore of the Pir\u00e6us,\u201d and the history\nof the relations between the two powers for many years after the battle\nof Salamis, as well as for a few years before it, amply justifies the\nobservation. After many fierce struggles \u00c6gina was reduced to\nsubjection, its fleets confiscated, and its fortifications destroyed. On\nthe outbreak of the Peloponnesian war the Athenians, in order to guard\nagainst the possibility of the island being used by the enemy, expelled\nits inhabitants, who found a refuge in Thyrea, which was placed at their\ndisposal by the Spartans. Even there, however, they were not left in\npeace. For in the eighth year of the war the place was attacked and\ncaptured by the Athenians, and the inhabitants were taken to Athens,\nwhere they were put to death as prisoners of war. According to\nHerodotus the sad reverses which thus befell the \u00c6ginetans were due to\nan impiety of which they had been guilty many years before. The solitary\nsurvivor of a band of conspirators had fled for refuge to the temple of\nDemeter and succeeded in laying hold of the handle of the door before he\nwas overtaken. His pursuers did not dare to slay him while he was thus\nin contact with the sanctuary, but in order to sever his connection with\nit and deprive him of the protection of the goddess, they cut off his\narm at the wrist and then killed him, leaving the hand still grasping\nthe handle, where it long remained. With this we may compare the conduct\nof the Spartans when Pausanias, the commander at Plat\u00e6a, was called to\naccount for the treasonable designs into which, in his overweening\npride, he had entered with Persia. He took refuge in the temple of\nAthena _Chalci\u0153cus_, on learning that a confidential slave had\nbetrayed him. The ephors immediately built up the doors and took off the\nroof, keeping watch over the refugee, and carrying him out at the last\nmoment, that the sacred precinct might not be polluted by his death.\nBoth cases are curious illustrations of the way in which men will try at\ntimes to evade their religious obligations without giving up their form\nof godliness. The divine anger in the case of the Spartans was only\nappeased by the dedication of two bronze statues to Athena in obedience\nto the Delphian oracle.\n\nOn the break-up of the Athenian empire, after the battle of \u00c6gospotami,\na remnant of the former Dorian\n\n[Illustration: THE TEMPLE OF ATHENA ON THE ISLAND OF \u00c6GINA\n\nThe Temple, which is magnificently situated on the top of one of the\nhills near Mount Elias, in the southern part of the island, looks\neastward towards Cape Colonna, over the blue waters of the Saronic Gulf.\nThe coast seen above the sea is part of the west coast of Attica running\ndown to Sunium. The drawing includes five out of the six columns of the\neast front of the Temple, and five out of the twelve columns of the\nnorth side, also two columns of the _pronaos_, together with the\narchitraves. These columns are of limestone, still partly covered with\ntheir marble stucco.]\n\ninhabitants of \u00c6gina was brought back by the Spartans, and the Athenian\nsettlers were expelled. But in spite of the occasional success of their\nnaval strategy, by which they took the Pir\u00e6us once or twice completely\nby surprise, the \u00c6ginetans never recovered any considerable degree of\ntheir former prosperity.\n\nAt the present day the chief attraction which \u00c6gina has to offer to the\ntraveller, over and above the pleasant sail from the Pir\u00e6us, with its\ninteresting points of view, is a Doric temple of the sixth century or\neven earlier, standing in solitary grandeur, on the summit of a hill\nwhich commands a beautiful view of the plain of Attica on the north and\nthe Argolic peninsula on the west. It was once thought to be the temple\nof Zeus described by Pausanias, but latterly it has been identified as\nthe temple of Athena mentioned by Herodotus. Within the last few years,\nhowever, a new theory has been put forth by Professor F\u00fcrtwangler, who\nholds it to be the temple of Aph\u00e6a mentioned by Pausanias, a goddess\nnearly related to Artemis as a protector of women. In any case the\ntwenty columns still standing form an imposing monument, and are well\nworthy of a visit, though the sculptures on the pediments are no longer\nto be seen, having been purchased by the King of Bavaria and deposited\nin the museum at Munich.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX\n\nATHENS AND ITS GODDESS\n\n\nAmong the influences which contributed to the greatness and glory of\nAthens the worship of the goddess Athena must be assigned a principal\nplace. In her fully developed character she represented the highest\nideal of the Greek mind, and formed the noblest figure in the Greek\npantheon. She may be described as the impersonation of wisdom, courage,\nand energy--equally powerful as the patron goddess of the arts of peace\nand of the exploits of war. The mythical account of her birth, which\nrepresented her as sprung from the head of Zeus after he had swallowed\nher mother _Metis_ (\u201cCounsel\u201d), betokened her affinity with the highest\nfaculties of the supreme Ruler; and in harmony with this is the etherial\nnature which was commonly ascribed to her by Homer and other early\nwriters. Her home was supposed to be in the upper regions, the ether\nbeing regarded as her proper element. Hence the clearness and brightness\nwhich were commonly attributed to her, as well as the keen, rapid,\nenergetic character by which she was also distinguished.\n\n[Illustration: VISTA OF THE NORTHERN PERISTYLE OF THE PARTHENON, LOOKING\nWESTWARD\n\nOut of the seventeen columns of the northern peristyle the remains of\nfourteen, more or less perfect, may be counted on the right. Six of\nthem, which have stood unmoved for more than twenty-two centuries, are\ndistinguished by their splendid colour, almost matching in this respect\nthe second column of the west front, which is also visible. The remains\nof the north _cella_ wall are seen to the left. The two drums of columns\nin shadow in the foreground reflect the pure blue of the early morning\nsky. Over their tops may be seen part of the Propyl\u00e6a, and the mountains\nof Daphni and Megara.]\n\nAthena appears to have been worshipped as a powerful and beneficent\ndeity in many places, but it was at Athens that the more intellectual\naspects of her nature were brought into the greatest prominence. How she\ncame to be so closely associated with Athens as to give her name to the\ncity (previously known as \u201cCecropia\u201d) is a question that is not easily\nanswered. According to the Attic mythology it was the result of a\ncontest between her and Poseidon for local supremacy. In support of his\nclaim Poseidon is said to have struck with his trident the rocky summit\nof the Acropolis, the result being that a salt-water spring appeared,\nfrom which there emerged a horse (supposed to be sacred to Poseidon from\nits resemblance to a rushing wave); and this gift the lord of the ocean\nset before the assembled jury of the gods as a token of the benefits\nwhich he had to confer. Athena then caused an olive-tree to spring up as\nthe symbol of her beneficence, which secured from Zeus _Polieus_ a\njudgment in her favour. Perhaps the story may have had its origin in the\ngradual retreat of the sea from the Attic plains; but there is evidently\na reference in it to the comparative value of land and water interests,\nthe former being represented by Athena, and the latter by Poseidon. In\ntheir early days the Athenians had no idea of the importance of the sea\nas the destined scene of their naval supremacy; and of all the products\nof their country the olive was no doubt the most indispensable to them.\nFor its cultivation some knowledge was required, and perhaps also the\nnature of its oil, with which the lamps were fed, may have helped to\nmake the olive an appropriate emblem of the brilliant goddess. The whole\nhistory of Athens, from the rude beginnings of her civilisation till the\nage of her imperial glory, may be seen reflected, after a symbolic\nfashion, in the gradual transition of her worship from the wooden image\nof Athena _Polias_, which was said to have fallen from heaven, to the\nmagnificent statue of gold and ivory which Pheidias made for the\nParthenon; and one of the most interesting studies in art is to be found\nin tracing the successive stages through which the majestic\nvirgin-goddess was evolved.\n\nAs already mentioned, the earliest temple of Athena was connected with\nthe palace of Erechtheus. A little south of the present Erechtheum the\nfoundations of a temple have been discovered, made of Acropolis rock,\nand corresponding in their length to the name _Hecatompedon_\n(\u201cHundred-Foot\u201d), which was afterwards applied to a portion of the\nParthenon. Traces have also been found of a peristyle, which\nPeisistratus is supposed to have erected, consisting of six columns at\neach end and ten at each side, made of Kara stone taken from the foot of\nHymettus. Various fragments have been unearthed, and in the north-west\nwall of the Acropolis pieces of the architrave and cornice, with metopes\nof white Parian marble, are still to be seen, having been built into it\nby Cimon as a reminder of the destruction wrought by the Persians.\nWhether the ancient temple of Athena _Polias_ (guardian of the _City_),\nwhich is mentioned in inscriptions and elsewhere, is to be identified\n\n[Illustration: THE WESTERN PORTICO OF THE PARTHENON FROM THE SOUTH\n\nThe timber scaffolding, here shown, has been erected for the purpose of\nexamining the condition of the architrave supporting the western frieze.\nThe columns to the right are those of the inner row. The marvellous way\nin which the marble of the Parthenon takes colour is in no way\nexaggerated in this drawing. The second column of the northern peristyle\n(the column across which one of the beams of the scaffolding passes\ntransversely) should be specially noticed. The time of day is towards\nnoon.]\n\nwith this recently discovered building, or with the Erechtheum, which\n(in the form in which it was restored after the Persian invasion) still\nforms one of the chief ornaments of the Acropolis, is a question on\nwhich there is a considerable difference of opinion; but the weight of\nprobability seems to be in favour of the latter supposition.\n\nThe age of Peisistratus was distinguished by wonderful advances both in\nart and literature, largely owing to the encouragement which he gave to\nsculptors, painters, architects, poets and dramatists, many of whom he\nbrought from other parts of Greece and from Asia Minor. The capitals and\ndrums of columns and the specimens of decorative sculpture which have\ncome to light on the Acropolis, show what progress had been made in this\ndirection since the beginning of the sixth century, when Athenian art\nwas still in its infancy. One of the most interesting discoveries in\nthis connection was that of a number of female figures in marble (in\n1886) which were found buried in a grave on the Acropolis, the Athenians\nhaving, apparently, felt that this was the most reverent way to dispose\nof them, seeing they were so mutilated as to be no longer suitable as\nvotive offerings. They bore the name of \u201cMaidens,\u201d and were probably the\nimages of priestesses or other officials connected with the worship of\nAthena. Most of them are represented as wearing the Ionic _chiton_\nwithout brooches, the old Doric garment having been forbidden some time\npreviously on account of the tragic use which had been made of their\npins by the Athenian women on the occasion referred to at p. 82. There\nare fourteen of these figures, called by the Germans \u201cdie Tanten,\u201d and\ntheir importance in connection with the study of sixth-century art can\nhardly be overestimated. The effect of their varied colouring is\nparticularly interesting.\n\nIt was part of the policy of Peisistratus to harmonise the different\nreligious cults of the state, and for this purpose he erected temples to\nZeus, Apollo, Dionysus and other deities. The temple of Zeus, in\nparticular, seems to have been designed on a grand scale (though never\ncompleted), for some of the drums of its columns, discovered among the\nfoundations of the temple afterwards erected by Hadrian on the same site\nbeside the Ilissus, have a diameter of seven feet ten inches, which\nexceeds anything of the same period to be found in Greece. Peisistratus\u2019\nchief care, however, was bestowed upon the Acropolis, where he sought to\ninvest the worship of Athena with such splendour and beauty as to\nmaintain her ascendency. For this purpose he added greatly to the\nmagnificence of the Pan-Athenaic games, which he almost raised to a\nPan-Hellenic rank, and the celebration of which was chosen as the\noccasion for the opening of the Parthenon. The beautifully embroidered\n_peplos_, which was annually prepared as a covering for the wooden image\nof the goddess, formed the chief ornament in the great procession to the\nAcropolis, and the interest of the proceedings culminated in the solemn\ndedication of the gift. It is also significant that it was under\nPeisistratus\n\n[Illustration: THE ACROPOLIS AND THE TEMPLE OF OLYMPIAN ZEUS, FROM THE\nHILL ARDETTOS\n\nThe boundary wall of the enclosure (_temenos_) of the Temple is very\nclearly marked. The clustered group of lofty columns is the remains of\nthe south-east corner of the Temple itself. North-west of them is the\nArch of Hadrian. The walls of the Acropolis make a splendid contrast to\nthe rugged bosses of the rocks which support them. The Parthenon above\nis seen almost down to the stylobate, and masses finely from this point\nof view. The mountains are those of Daphni.]\n\nthat coins were first struck with the head of Athena on one side, and on\nthe other the likeness of an owl--an emblem which is still worn in their\ncaps by the schoolboys of Greece, and in which there may be a reference\nto the supposed power of the owl to see in the dark, a power associated,\nin an intellectual sense, with _glaukopis_ Athena. It was to the goddess\nthat Peisistratus seems to have attributed his success in regaining\npower on his return to Athens after his temporary exile. In order to\ngive the Athenians the impression that their guardian deity favoured his\nreturn, he is said to have got a tall and stately woman to assume the\nguise of Athena and sit by his side in the chariot which drew him up to\nthe Acropolis, his partisans at the same time crying out that Athena\nbade the city welcome her _prot\u00e9g\u00e9_ to the seat of authority. The\nsupposed goddess was said to have been only a flower-seller, Phya by\nname, who afterwards married one of Peisistratus\u2019 sons.\n\nBefore the Persians quitted Athens they reduced to ruins or to ashes the\ntemples and most of the other buildings of any value, and many years\nwere required for the work of restoration. Fully a generation passed\nbefore any of the three temples on the Acropolis which excite so much\nadmiration--the Parthenon, the Erechtheum, and the Nik\u00e9--were ready for\ndedication. This delay was partly owing to the more pressing need for\nattending to the renewal of the city walls and other fortifications,\npartly to the alteration which was made on Cimon\u2019s plan for the erection\nof the Parthenon. His name is associated not only with the massive wall\non the southern side of the Acropolis but also with an enormous\nsubstructure intended to level up the sloping rock of the Acropolis and\nfill up the vacant space within the wall. This substructure was\nevidently intended to be the basis for a longer and narrower temple than\nthe existing Parthenon, as it projects about fifteen feet at the east\nend, and bears traces of having had an addition of a few feet made to\nits breadth.\n\nIt was not till 447 B.C., when Pericles was at the height of his power,\nthat the building of the temple was actually commenced; and it took\nabout ten years to finish. Pericles had previously made an appeal to\nother Greek cities to unite with Athens in some such commemoration of\ntheir victory over the Persians, but the response was disappointing.\nFortunately, however, other means were available, owing to many of the\nstates allied with Athens in the Delian League commuting into\nmoney-payments the obligations they were under to contribute ships to\nthe defensive navy of which Athens was the head. It was this Delian fund\nmainly which enabled Pericles to carry out his great project for\nglorifying the Acropolis as the throne of Athena and the rallying-point\nof Hellenic patriotism. Of all the architectural monuments of the\nPericlean age the Parthenon is by far the grandest, producing a\nwonderful impression of strength and dignity and grace. There is a charm\nin the subtle harmony of its proportions quite apart from the rich\ndecoration of frieze and pediment. The perfect unity of plan which it\n\n[Illustration: THE PARTHENON FROM THE NORTH END OF THE EASTERN PORTICO\nOF THE PROPYL\u00c6A (EVENING LIGHT)\n\nThe local colour of the rocky surface of the Acropolis intensifies the\nlong blue shadows. The effect of the golden-brown weathering of the\nsurface of the marble on the west front of the Parthenon is faithfully\ngiven.]\n\nexhibits was no doubt due to the genius of Pheidias, assisted by the\narchitectural skill of Ictinus and Callicrates, while the mechanical\nprecision and careful finish in the execution prove the competency of\nthe sculptors and masons who were employed under their supervision. It\nis surprising how much attention was paid to nice optical\nconsiderations, which must have been very difficult to calculate, though\nthey enhance greatly the general effect. For example, there is scarcely\na straight line in the whole edifice, quadrangular as it is. There is a\nslight convex curve on the line of the steps and of the substructure,\nand the same is the case with the architrave. There is a gentle swelling\nof the columns towards their centre, and the axes of the columns incline\nslightly inwards.\n\nNowhere, perhaps, is the fineness of the workmanship more apparent than\nin the joining of the drums composing each column, generally twelve in\nnumber, and rising to a height of thirty-four feet. They fit so closely\nand exactly that they almost look as if they had grown together. In this\nrespect there is a marked difference between the columns which have\nnever been disturbed and those which have been restored by the\ncollection of fallen drums. The smoothing of the flat surfaces of the\ndrum was mainly done in the quarry, the part near the centre being left\nrough and slightly hollow. There was a hole in the centre for a wooden\nplug, into which a cylindrical peg was inserted for the purpose of\nsecuring an exact correspondence in the position of the drums. The\nfluting--each column has twenty flutes--was done after the drums were\nin position, with the exception of a beginning that was previously made\non the stones intended for the top and bottom of the column.\n\nOf the outer colonnade, comprising eight columns at each end, and\nfifteen others at each side, with an inner row of columns at each end,\nthe greater number are still in position, though in some cases in a\nfragmentary form; the chief gaps are about the middle of the sides.\nThere is hardly any trace of the sculptures on the pediments. Part of\nthose which stood at the east end, representing the birth of Athena, are\nto be found in the British Museum. Those of the west gable, representing\nthe contest between Athena and Poseidon, have entirely disappeared.\nGreat part of the outer Doric frieze still remains, including forty-one\nof the original ninety-two metopes, on which were depicted various\nmythical battle scenes. The best remaining, both as regards workmanship\nand condition, are those on the south side, representing the struggles\nof the Lapiths and Centaurs. The inner frieze, running round the top of\nthe temple walls, and surmounting the inner columns, represented the\ngreat Pan-Athenaic festival, including figures, in low relief, of\nknights and chariots, magistrates and maidens, priests and victims, and\nterminating in an assembly of the gods at the east end. The most of this\nfrieze and fifteen of the metopes are preserved in the British Museum.\nThey had been carried off by Lord Elgin at the beginning of the\nnineteenth century, with the consent of the\n\n[Illustration: MOUNT PENTELIKON AND LYCABETTOS FROM THE NORTH-EASTERN\nANGLE OF THE PARTHENON (EARLY MORNING LIGHT)\n\nThe drums of columns, and other fragments of the Parthenon lying in the\nforeground, make of themselves a very fine subject, irrespective of the\ndelicate beauty of the distant outline of Pentelikon, which shows itself\nhere with special appropriateness as the mountain from the sides of\nwhich the marble of the Parthenon was quarried.]\n\nTurkish government, and were purchased from him at a cost of \u00a335,000.\n\nThe almost total disappearance of the bright and varied colouring which\nenhanced the beauty of certain parts of the building, and the loss of so\nmany of the wonderful sculptures, as well as the gaps in the walls and\ncolonnade, detract greatly from the ancient glory of the building. But\ntime has added a golden tinge to the Pentelic marble of which it is\ncomposed, and the whole exterior wears a rich and mellow\naspect,--especially when seen under the light of the rising or the\nsetting sun,--which affords some compensation for the damage sustained\nin other respects. Very beautiful, too, the temple seems in the light of\na full moon, when the soft radiance lends an etherial look to it,\nstanding as it does between heaven and earth, and harmonises well with\nthe virgin purity which the very name _Parthenon_ denotes.\n\nThe full length of the temple is about 230 feet, and its breadth about\n100 feet. It consisted of a _pronaos_ or foretemple, for the reception\nof votive offerings; the _cella_ proper, forming the new _hecatompedon_,\nand divided into three long aisles by two rows of Doric columns; the\n_parthenon_, a name afterwards extended to the whole building, but\noriginally applied to a chamber towards the west; and the\n_opisthodomos_, enclosed (like the _pronaos_) with high railings between\nthe columns. The two last-mentioned chambers were used as treasuries,\nbut in the middle aisle of the _hecatompedon_ stood the most precious\nthing of all, namely the chryselephantine image of the virgin-goddess,\nfacing the doorway in the east, so as to catch the rays of the rising\nsun. The face, hands and feet were covered with ivory, the pupils of the\neyes were of precious stone, while the rest of the image was embossed or\ninlaid with gold--amounting to upwards of forty talents (about\n\u00a3150,000)--which could be taken off when required. The statue was about\nthirty feet in height and stood on a pedestal about eight feet high, the\nposition of which can easily be recognised from the setting of dark\nstone in the marble pavement. The line of the parapet in front is also\nquite distinct. Several descriptions of the statue have come down to us,\nand also some copies of it in miniature (especially the _Varvakeion_ and\n_Lenormant_ models, both found in Athens), which, however, give us a\nvery inadequate conception of its beauty and grandeur. It was intended\nto be an embodiment of the energy, freedom and dignity characteristic of\nAthena as the representative of the genius of the young Athenian empire.\nShe stood upright, resting her weight upon her right foot, having on her\nhead a helmet with a triple crest, supported by a sphinx, and wearing on\nher shoulders and breast her scaly \u00e6gis with the Gorgon\u2019s head in the\ncentre. Her left hand held a spear, which she rested on the rim of her\nembossed shield. On the inner side of the shield appeared the sacred\nserpent, the symbol of Erichthonius, her adopted ward. In her extended\nright hand she held a beautiful winged Victory. So lavish was the artist\nof his skill and labour in the construction of the statue that even the\nsoles of Athena\u2019s\n\n[Illustration: THE PROPYL\u00c6A FROM THE NORTHERN EDGE OF THE PLATFORM\n(STYLOBATE) OF THE PARTHENON\n\nThe steps of the stylobate below run in perspective along the left-hand\nside of the drawing. Over the drums of the fallen columns of the\nParthenon, which strew the ground to the right, we see the whole east\nside of the Propyl\u00e6a; above it are the olive groves of the Kephissus and\nthe mountains of Daphni, with a glimpse of the Bay of Salamis.]\n\nsandals were embellished with carving. On the front of the pedestal also\nthere was a picture of the mythical creation of Pandora in the presence\nof twenty divinities. The statue expressed the Hellenic aspirations of\nPheidias as an artist and of Pericles as a statesman; and, as if to\ncommemorate their harmonious influence, the great sculptor covertly\nintroduced into the relief on the outside of Athena\u2019s shield his own\nportrait and that of his friend--the former in the guise of a\nbald-headed old man lifting up a stone with both hands, the latter as a\nwarrior fighting with an Amazon, his face partially concealed by his\nraised hand holding a spear. On this account some of Pheidias\u2019 enemies\nbrought against him a charge of impiety, founded upon an old law which\nforbade the setting up in sacred places of the images of living men.\nThey had previously tried to ruin him by accusing him of embezzling part\nof the gold entrusted to him, but the charge had been triumphantly\nrefuted by the actual weighing of the gold on the image, which was found\nto correspond exactly to the amount assigned for this object.\nUnfortunately the charge of impiety could not be so easily refuted, and,\nin spite of Pericles\u2019 advocacy, Pheidias was compelled to pay a heavy\nfine and was thrown into prison, from which he does not appear to have\nbeen ever set free.\n\nNo monument seems ever to have been erected in honour of Pheidias, but\nfor more than 2000 years the Parthenon, which will always be associated\nwith his memory, retained the beauty of its exterior unimpaired. On the\nofficial abolition of the Greek religion by the Emperor Justinian in\nthe end of the sixth century A.D. it was converted into the church of\nthe \u201cVirgin Mother of God,\u201d which necessitated considerable changes on\nits interior to fit it for Christian worship. At a later time it was\nturned into a Turkish mosque, a minaret being added to it. In 1687 it\nwas used as a powder magazine by the Turks, in their endeavours to hold\nthe Acropolis against the Venetians under Morosini, who had already\ntaken the city. This use of it became known to the besiegers, and by a\nwell-directed shot a bomb was thrown into the magazine, causing a\nterrific explosion which blew out the roof and the two sides of the\nbuilding--the combatants little realising what an irreparable loss had\nthus been inflicted on the interests of civilisation and art. Morosini\nwould fain have carried off to Venice the chief figures on the west\npediment, but, owing to the awkwardness of the workers employed, the\nprecious sculptures fell to the ground and were broken to pieces.\n\nThere was on the Acropolis another colossal image of Athena--referred to\nby Demosthenes as \u201cthe great bronze Athena\u201d--which had been set up as a\nmemorial of Athenian valour in the Persian war from funds contributed by\nthe rest of the Greeks. The base of its pedestal is still shown on the\nAcropolis between the Propyl\u00e6a and the Erechtheum. Pausanias tells us\nthat the gleaming crest of the helmet and tip of the spear could be seen\nby ships sailing from Cape Sunium to Athens. There is good reason for\nidentifying this Athena _Promachos_ (\u201cChampion\u201d), as it came to be\ncalled\n\n[Illustration: THE SOUTHERN SIDE OF THE ERECHTHEUM, WITH THE FOUNDATIONS\nOF THE EARLIER TEMPLE OF ATHENA POLIAS\n\nThe Caryatid portico and south wall of the Erechtheum show very delicate\nopalescent colours, due chiefly to reflected light from the large slabs\nand drums of marble lying on the ground north of the Parthenon. The dark\nCaryatid is a terra-cotta substitute for the original, one of the\ngreatest treasures of the British Museum. The sub-structures in the\nforeground are the foundations of the archaic Temple; to the right, in\nthe background, Pentelikon, and, in front of it, Lycabettos brilliantly\nilluminated by the setting sun.]\n\nin later times, with an image of Athena which was destroyed in a riot at\nConstantinople in 1203 A.D., and about which the Byzantine historian\nNicetas gives us the following particulars: \u201cIt was of bronze, thirty\nfeet high. The goddess was portrayed standing upright, clad in a tunic\nwhich reached to her feet, and was drawn in by a girdle at the waist. On\nher breast was a tight-fitting \u00e6gis with the Gorgon\u2019s head. On her head\nshe wore a helmet with a nodding plume of horse-hair. Her tresses were\nplaited and fastened at the back of her head, but some locks strayed\nover her brow from beneath the rim of the helmet. With her left hand she\nlifted the folds of her garment; her right hand was stretched out in\nfront of her, and her face was turned in the same direction, as if she\nwere beckoning to some one. There was a sweet look, as of love and\nlonging, in the eyes, and the lips seemed as if about to part in honeyed\nspeech. The ignorant and superstitious mob smashed the statue because,\nafter the first siege and capture of Constantinople by the Crusaders,\nthey fancied that the outstretched hand of the statue had summoned the\nhost of the invaders from out of the West.\u201d[5]\n\nThere was on the Acropolis a third image of the goddess by the great\nartist--known as the \u201cLemnian Athena\u201d--in which she was represented in a\nmild and peaceful aspect. Pausanias speaks of it as the best worth\nseeing of the works of Pheidias; and with this harmonises a reference to\nit in one of the Dialogues of Lucian, who is the only other ancient\nwriter that mentions it. Referring to a proposal that a perfect type of\nfeminine beauty should be formed by combining the best features of the\nmost famous statues, the Lemnian statue is mentioned as one that might\nsupply the outline of the face with soft cheeks and shapely nose.\nUnfortunately no authentic copies of it have yet been discovered.\nPausanias also mentions a statue dedicated to Athena _Hygieia_\n(\u201cHealth\u201d) on the Acropolis, and Plutarch tells a story of its having\nbeen set up by Pericles in gratitude for a revelation made to him by the\ngoddess in a dream regarding a medicinal herb which would cure a\nfavourite slave of his, who had been injured by a fall while engaged in\nbuilding operations. According to Pliny, the herb was known ever\nafterwards by the name of _parthenium_, but he connects the story with a\nstatue of a slave. Another aspect in which Athena was worshipped was as\n_Ergan\u00e9_ the goddess of arts and industries; and no less than five\ninscriptions have been found on the Acropolis in honour of Athena under\nthis title. Homer represents her as weaving her own robe, and according\nto Pindar the ship _Argo_ was built under her direction. Close to the\nLemnian image there stood a statue of Pericles, the chief maker of\nimperial Athens. It faced the Propyl\u00e6a and was much admired, being\nregarded as a proof how \u201cart can add to the nobility of noble men.\u201d\n\nThe two other temples which still adorn the Acropolis are of the Ionic\norder. They are much smaller and less imposing than the Parthenon, but\n\n[Illustration: THE CARYATID PORTICO OF THE ERECHTHEUM FROM THE WEST\n\nOn the extreme right show two columns of the north-east angle of the\nParthenon; in the distance is Mount Hymettos.]\n\nin some respects they may be regarded as even more beautiful. With\nregard to the Erechtheum, whatever may have been the case before the\ndestruction of the sacred buildings by the Persians, it was the temple\nwhich now bears this name that was subsequently recognised by the state\nas the official place of worship, in which were preserved the ancient\nwooden image of Athena _Polias_ (carefully removed to Salamis on the\napproach of the Persians) and the golden lamp which was never allowed to\ngo out. Its erection a few years after the dedication of the Parthenon\nwas probably due to the conservative tendencies in the state, of which\nNicias was the exponent, in opposition to the bolder and more\nprogressive policy of Pericles. There seems to have been considerable\ndelay in the process of building, owing to the Peloponnesian war, and it\nwas not till 408 B.C. that the work was complete. Nothing could be more\nexquisitely beautiful than the Ionic columns of the porch at the eastern\nend, and the _Caryatid\u00e6_, or \u201cMaidens,\u201d supporting the architrave of the\nportico on the southern side. Originally there were six of the former,\nbut one of them was removed by Lord Elgin, and is now in the British\nMuseum. The same fate befell one of the Caryatid\u00e6, which has been\nreplaced with a terra-cotta cast, while another bears the marks of\nmodern reconstruction. On the northern side of the temple, projecting a\nlittle beyond the west end, and at a considerably lower level than the\nparts already mentioned (the difference of height amounting to nine\nfeet), there is a beautiful entrance, with four columns in front and\none on either side. The doorway is regarded as the finest thing of the\nkind in existence. It leads into the Erechtheum proper. As already\nindicated, Erechtheus is one of the oldest names in Attic mythology.\nAccording to Hesiod, his daughter Cre\u00fcsa married Xuthus, son of Hellen\nand brother of \u00c6olus and Dorus, the heads of the \u00c6olian and Dorian\nbranches of the Hellenic race; and, through his grandsons, Ach\u00e6us and\nIon, Erechtheus became the progenitor of the Ach\u00e6ans and Ionians. Homer\nagain tells us that Erechtheus was worshipped in the temple of Athena\n(_Il._ ii. 549-551), and we learn from Pausanias that sacrifices were\noffered to him on the altar of Poseidon, by command of the oracle. The\npeculiar construction of the temple was doubtless due to the fact that\nit was intended for the accommodation of more than one deity. Under the\nlower chambers were shown (as they still are!) the marks of Poseidon\u2019s\ntrident and the sea-spring (now a great covered cistern) through which\nthe noise of the waves could be heard when the wind was blowing from the\nsouth.\n\nImmediately to the west of the temple was the _Pandroseum_, a precinct\nsacred to Pandrosus, one of the daughters of Cecrops, who obeyed the\ninjunction of Athena when her two sisters gratified their curiosity by\nopening the box entrusted to them, the result being that they went mad\nwhen they saw disclosed the serpent-like Erichthonius whom Athena had\ntaken under her charge. Somewhere in this neighbourhood was the\nCecropium, probably a shrine over the tomb of Cecrops, and\n\n[Illustration: THE NORTHERN PORTICO OF THE ERECHTHEUM\n\nFour out of the six pillars of the portico appear in this drawing, which\nincludes not only the great doorway so famous for its beauty and for the\ninteresting problems it has given rise to, but also the small doorway\nleading to the Pandroseion. The rough masonry behind the two right-hand\ncolumns is the great wall below the site of the archaic temple of Athena\nPolias. To the right of the drawing we have the east portico and part of\nthe north wing of the Propyl\u00e6a.]\n\nhere also may have been the den of the serpent which appears coiled\nbeside Athena\u2019s shield. Within the Pandroseum there grew the sacred\nolive-tree, of which we are told by Herodotus that, having been burnt\ndown when the Persians devastated the Acropolis, it put forth a fresh\nshoot of a cubit\u2019s length within two days--a presage of the speedy\nrecovery of Athens from her crushing adversity. Under the olive-tree was\nthe altar of Zeus _Herk\u00ebus_, which was, perhaps, originally included in\nthe court of the palace of Erechtheus. At no great distance may also be\nseen the rocky elevation (a few feet in height) which is supposed to\nhave been the primitive altar on which sacrifices were first offered to\nAthena. Like the Parthenon, the Erechtheum has passed through strange\nvicissitudes, having been at one time used as a Christian church and at\nanother time as the residence for the wives of a Turkish governor of\nAthens--considerable alterations being made upon it in both cases.\n\nThe temple of _Nik\u00e9 Apteros_ (\u201cwingless victory\u201d) stands on the edge of\nthe Acropolis to the south of the Propyl\u00e6a. The term \u201cwingless\u201d has\nreference to the fact that Victory was generally represented as a winged\nwoman, and Pausanias explains the want of wings on the statue of the\ngoddess in this temple as expressing the faith of the Athenians that\nVictory would never desert their city. A more natural explanation is to\nbe found in the fact that Victory is here represented under the guise of\nAthena, who was never depicted as having wings. The temple seems to\nhave been erected some years before the Erechtheum, and about the same\ntime as the Propyl\u00e6a and the Parthenon. Its history is in some respects\neven more remarkable than that of either of the other temples. It was\ndemolished by the Turks in 1687 in order to afford materials for the\nconstruction of a bastion. In 1835, after the Greeks had regained their\nindependence, the bastion was taken down, the result being that nearly\nall the fragments of marble were recovered and the temple restored very\nmuch in its original form. When it is closely examined the joints and\npatches betray its second-hand character (as do also some terra-cotta\nfigures in the frieze, the originals having been removed some time\nbefore the restoration to the British Museum), but when it is seen from\na little distance it presents a charming appearance. It is a very small\ntemple, consisting of a _cella_ sixteen feet long, with four Ionic\ncolumns in front and rear. Each of the column-shafts is made out of a\nsingle block of Pentelic marble, and has twenty-four flutes. There is a\nbeautiful frieze with sculptures in high relief. On the eastern front is\na representation of various divinities, while the subjects depicted on\nthe three other sides are appropriate to the views seen in the several\ndirections. The northern side looks towards Marathon, the southern\ntowards Salamis, and on both these sides we see a representation of\nbattles between Greeks and Persians; but on the western side, which\nlooks towards Cith\u00e6ron, there is a picture of a conflict between Greeks\nand Greeks, the Thebans having allied themselves with the\n\n[Illustration: THE EASTERN PORTICO OF THE ERECHTHEUM, VIEWED FROM THE\nNORTHERN PERISTYLE OF THE PARTHENON\n\nThe column to the right, with its strong golden-brown local colour,\nwarmed by the full morning summer sun, is the third column counting from\nthe north-east corner of the Parthenon. The blocks of marble which\nconceal the lower part of the column form part of the _pronaos_ wall.\nThe east portico of the Erechtheum is seen below to the left; behind are\nthe mountains of Daphni.]\n\nPersians at the battle of Plat\u00e6a. Round three sides of the temple there\nwas a parapet, breast-high, made of upright marble slabs, some of which\nhave been recovered from the _d\u00e9bris_. They are adorned with female\nfigures representing Winged Victories, which display wonderful freedom\nand ease in execution, especially as regards the drapery. There is a\nbeautiful view from the _Nik\u00e9_, looking west and south, which has been\nfinely described by Byron in \u201cThe Corsair\u201d:--\n\n Slow sinks, more lovely ere his race be run,\n Along Morea\u2019s hills the setting sun:\n Not, as in Northern climes, obscurely bright,\n But one unclouded blaze of living light!\n O\u2019er the hush\u2019d deep the yellow beam he throws\n Gilds the green wave, that trembles as it glows.\n On old \u00c6gina\u2019s rock and Idra\u2019s isle,\n The god of gladness sheds his parting smile;\n O\u2019er his own regions lingering, loves to shine,\n Though there his altars are no more divine.\n Descending fast the mountain shadows kiss\n Thy glorious gulf, unconquer\u2019d Salamis!\n Their azure arches through the long expanse\n More deeply purpled meet his mellowing glance,\n And tenderest tints, along their summits driven,\n Mark his gay course, and own the hues of heaven;\n Till, darkly shaded from the land and deep,\n Behind his Delphian cliff he sinks to sleep.\n\nIn keeping with the splendour of the temples on the summit of the\nAcropolis was the Propyl\u00e6a, or great entrance, already mentioned. The\nmagnificent marble staircase, 72 feet wide, which now leads up to it,\nwas of later construction, under the Romans. But the porticoes of\nPentelic marble at the top, with their rows of Doric and Ionic columns,\nsupporting a marble roof, adorned with golden stars, and the adjoining\nchambers, one of which was used as a picture-gallery (_pinacotheca_),\nwere built in the time of Pericles at a cost of more than \u00a3400,000, and\nwere justly regarded as one of the chief glories of Athens, as their\nruins still are of the modern city.\n\nWithin a few hundred yards of the Acropolis lies the small rocky hill\ncalled Areopagus. Although associated with the God of War in name and\nstory, it was also the traditional scene of one of Athena\u2019s greatest\ntriumphs, when she held the scales of justice so wisely between the\ngrief-stricken matricide Orestes and the avenging _Erinyes_ or Furies\nwho had dogged his steps all the way from Argos to Delphi and from\nDelphi to Athens. In the rocky cleft at the side of the hill was the\nawful shrine in which the relentless pursuers, otherwise called the\n_Eumenides_ (\u201cGracious Ones\u201d), found their quietus--the Areopagus\nbecoming thenceforward the authorised tribunal for the trial of all\ncases of homicide, and superseding the savage law of blood-feud. It was\non this same Mars\u2019 Hill that the apostle of a higher faith pled with the\nAthenians for the recognition of the risen Christ, whom he proclaimed as\nthe appointed representative of the \u201cUnknown God,\u201d whose altar he had\nobserved in the adjacent market-place.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER X\n\nATHENS AND ELEUSIS\n\n\nFrom Athens to Eleusis is a journey of about twelve miles by a road\nwhich follows very much the line of the Sacred Way, along which the\ngreat procession went for the celebration of the Mysteries. The\nstarting-point was close to the Dipylon Gate, of which there are still\nsufficient remains to enable us to understand its structure. It was the\nmost strongly fortified point in the city wall, being the part most\nexposed to attack; and it was there that the city was taken by the Roman\ngeneral Sulla, who had recourse to the erection of a mound in the\nneighbourhood. The gate was a double one, as its name implies, not\nmerely in the sense of being a divided gate with a pillar in the centre,\nbut as a combination of two separate gates with a walled court between\nthem, so that an enemy who forced his way through the outer gate would\nfind himself (as Philip V. of Macedonia once did) exposed to attack not\nonly in front but also from the sides, and would be glad to make good\nhis retreat from such an untenable position.\n\nFor miles from this point the Sacred Way was lined with tombs,\nespecially in the immediate neighbourhood of the gate. A number of the\nancient tombstones are still standing in their original place, but many\nhave sunk out of sight, and not a few were used as materials for\nfortification after the Persian war, and again after the battle of\nCh\u00e6ronea. Indeed, some of them are still to be seen built into portions\nof the wall. It was outside the Dipylon that the bones of those who had\ndied in battle were interred. One of the most sacred obligations of a\nGreek army after an engagement was to recover the bodies of its dead,\nand whenever a truce for this purpose was asked by the defeated side it\ncould not be refused without a breach both of honour and of religion. At\nthe interment it was customary for a funeral oration to be delivered in\npraise of those who had given their lives for their country. On one of\nthese occasions, as Thucydides tells us, when Pericles was the speaker,\nhe gave such a noble address that the women mourners in their gratitude\nand enthusiasm crowned him with wreaths, as if he had been a\nconqueror.[6] Funeral honours paid to the brave dead were not a mere\nexpression of sentiment, for provision was at the same time made out of\nthe public funds for the support of their children till they came of\nage.\n\nThe existing tombstones, as a rule, depict scenes illustrative of the\nlife of the departed, or else they\n\n[Illustration: THE DIPYLON (GATE) AT ATHENS\n\nThe central block of the outer side of the gate is in the foreground; in\nfront of it the marble base of a statue with a low bench, also in\nmarble. In the distance is seen the Acropolis, with the Propyl\u00e6a at the\nright hand.]\n\nrepresent in a simple and impressive way the last farewell, by the\nmutual clasp of the hands, or by figuring the deceased as in the act of\ngoing on a journey. It was different, however, with the earthenware\nvases, called _lecythi_, which were placed within the tomb, for they had\nusually depicted on them a funeral scene of some kind, either borrowed\nfrom real life or having reference to the unseen world, Charon and his\nboat being frequently introduced in this connection. In some few cases\nthe dead man is represented as partaking of a banquet, suggesting the\nidea that he still survived to claim the ministrations of his friends as\na hero or demi-god. There was one form of large, two-handled vase in\nparticular, generally of marble, which when deposited on a tomb\nindicated that the person interred there had died unmarried. As its\nname, _loutrophoros_, signifies, it was the jar used for carrying water\nfrom the spring Callirhoe for the bridal bath, and its presence on the\ntomb symbolised the belief that a marriage with _Hades_ (Pluto) awaited\nthose who had died in their virginity.\n\nThe ground, both inside and outside of the Dipylon Gate, was called\n_Cerameicus_ (\u201cInner\u201d and \u201cOuter\u201d), its name being derived from the fine\nred clay which for two or three thousand years has yielded material for\none of the chief branches of industrial art in Athens. The Dipylon vase\nwas well-known as early as the eighth or seventh century B.C. Its style\nof decoration was geometrical, with varieties of the \u201ckey pattern.\u201d The\nmen and horses depicted on it are conventional and angular; and from an\nartistic point of view it is inferior to the earlier style. Towards the\nend of the seventh century it gave way to the \u201cPhalerum\u201d vase, which was\nsmaller and more delicate, with some oriental features, borrowed\napparently from the woven fabrics of the east. In the sixth century\nAttic pottery underwent great improvements, both as regards the\npreparation of the clay and the decoration of its surface. It became\nfamous all over the western world, and thousands of specimens have been\nfound in the cemeteries of Etruria, as well as in the Cerameicus and\nelsewhere. Instead of the figuring being in black on the red ground, the\nterra-cotta began to be reserved for the figures, which were thus\nrendered much more attractive. Though so largely used for funeral\npurposes the fact that so many vases have been found on the Acropolis\namong the ruins left by the Persian invasion shows that that was not\ntheir only use--otherwise they would not have been suitable for\ndedication to the gods. Many of them seem to have been placed on the\ngrave-mound, or near it, as useful and ornamental articles, which might\nsupply the wants of the departed. The _lecythi_, which, as already\nmentioned, were specially intended for funeral purposes, were generally\ndecorated with black silhouette figures on a fine white ground. Some of\nthe vases placed on tombs had no bottom, so that when a libation was\npoured into them it sank into the grave.\n\nFrom an early period there was a tendency to extravagance in connection\nwith funerals. In Solon\u2019s time it seems to have been excessive\ndemonstrations of grief that needed to be restrained; but before long a\nlaw was passed that \u201cno tomb should be built with more elaboration than\ncould be effected by ten men in three days.\u201d In the beginning of the\nfourth century Demetrius of Phalerum, who was then in power at Athens,\nforbade the erection of anything more than a mound of earth with a\ncolumn not exceeding three cubits high, or a simple slab, or a\nwater-vessel. We can judge of the extravagance which occasioned such\nregulations from the fact that Harpalus, to whose care Alexander the\nGreat confided his treasures before invading India, had recently erected\na tomb on the Eleusinian way in memory of his wife Pythionice, who was\noriginally a slave, at an expense of more than \u00a36000, which, Pausanias\ntells us, was the tomb best worth seeing in Greece. The same man built a\nstill grander memorial to his wife at Babylon, at a cost of about\n\u00a336,000. Even this was a trifle, however, compared with the two or three\nmillions of pounds expended by Alexander himself on the funeral\nobsequies of his friend Heph\u00e6stion, shortly before his own death--which\nwas brought on by the fierce intemperance in which he sought to drown\nhis grief. A more precious tribute of affection was paid to the remains\nof the statesman Phocion by his widow. As the Athenians in a frenzy of\nexcitement had found him guilty of treason, he could not be buried in\nhis own country, and his body was therefore carried into the adjoining\nterritory of Megara and burned there. His wife brought back the bones in\nher bosom by night, and laid them near her own hearth, with the prayer:\n\u201cBeloved Hestia\u201d (the Goddess of the Hearth), \u201cI confide to thee these\nrelics of a good man. Restore them to his own family vault, as soon as\nthe Athenians shall come to their senses.\u201d Before long the prayer was\nfulfilled, for the Athenians ordained a public funeral in honour of the\ncondemned man, and erected a statue to his memory.\n\nBesides the road westward to Eleusis, there were two other ways from the\nDipylon Gate, the one leading in a north-westerly direction to the\nAcademy, the other south-west to the Pir\u00e6us. On the latter road were the\ntombs of some famous men, including Socrates, Euripides, and Menander,\nbut the way to the Academy was the favourite place for monuments in\nhonour of those who had fallen in war or had otherwise distinguished\nthemselves in the service of their country. Cicero, who, like so many of\nhis countrymen, studied at Athens, speaks with admiration of these\nmonuments; and we can imagine that a walk in the neighbourhood must have\nbeen as interesting and inspiring to an Athenian as a visit to\nWestminster or St. Paul\u2019s is to a modern Briton. Many of the monuments\nwere in honour of large bodies of men who had lost their lives in\nbattle; but, as Pausanias tells, there were also to be seen the tombs of\ngreat statesmen like Solon, Cleisthenes, and Pericles; great warriors\nlike Chabrias, Phormio, and Conon; great benefactors like Thrasybulus\nand Lycurgus; and great philosophers like Zeno and Plato.\n\n[Illustration: THE STREET OF TOMBS OUTSIDE THE DIPYLON (GATE) AT ATHENS\n\nOne of the most remarkable tombs is that surmounted by a colossal bull\nin the act of charging. This statue has undergone a good deal of\nrestoration, but it is a singularly effective piece of work when seen\nrelieved against the sky in such a climate as that of Athens. Between\nthis tomb and the tall shaft (stel\u00e9) surmounted by an acroterion we get\na view of the Parthenon, with a storm approaching from the East.]\n\nThe Academy was about three-quarters of a mile from the gate. No remains\nof the ancient buildings have been found, but there are still trees to\nremind us of--\n\n the olive grove of Academe\n Plato\u2019s retirement, where the Attic bird\n Trills her thick-warbl\u2019d notes the summer long.\n\nIts name had originally no flavour of learning, being derived from an\nearly owner, Academus, whose greatness was of a vague and mythical\ncharacter. The place was of considerable extent. It was first enclosed\nby Hipparchus, the son of Peisistratus, and was afterwards planted and\nlaid out by Cimon. It was famous for its great plane-trees, and\nAristophanes speaks of \u201cthe plane-tree whispering to the elm.\u201d But there\nwere twelve ancient olive-trees which were still more highly prized.\nThey were called _Moriai_, in allusion to some legend connected with\nthem, and were believed to be offshoots from the sacred olive in the\nAcropolis. It was at one time a capital offence to injure these\nolive-trees in any way; and the oil derived from them was preserved in\nthe Acropolis, and jars of it given to the victors in the Pan-Athenaic\ngames. In the neighbourhood there was an altar of Prometheus--that\nmuch-enduring Titan, who suffered for his sin in stealing fire from\nheaven for the material welfare of the human race. This altar, with its\nsacred fire, was the starting-point for one of the most famous contests\nin the Athenian games, namely, the torch race. It was a race that was\nsometimes run by individual competitors, sometimes by companies. In the\nformer case the prize was won by the man who first reached the goal with\nhis torch still burning. When it was a contest of parties, the object\nwas to pass the lighted torch from one member of the party to another,\ntill at length it reached the man stationed farthest ahead, who carried\nit forward to the goal, the prize being awarded not to the individual\nwho came in first but to the company to which he belonged. No doubt it\nis this form of the game that has given rise to the popular metaphor\nabout handing on the torch of truth. Funeral games were also held in the\nAcademy in honour of the soldiers buried in the neighbourhood, and there\nwas a sacrificial pit, at which worship was offered to them as heroes.\nThere was also a gymnasium, and so much open ground that a cavalry\nparade was occasionally held in it. Plato dedicated a shrine to the\nMuses in it, and it was his favourite haunt for about forty years,\nthough he was advised to quit it on account of its low and unhealthy\nsituation; it also continued to be the headquarters of his school for\nseveral generations. He was buried in it, or very near it, by the\nAthenians with great pomp, and the following was said to be his epitaph:\n\u201cApollo created the two--Asclepios and Plato: Asclepios, that he might\nsave the body; Plato, that he might save the soul.\u201d\n\nA few hundred yards off, rather more to the east, lies Colonus, a knoll\nsome fifty feet high. There is little about it to remind one of the\ndescription of it\n\n[Illustration: ATHENS FROM THE ROAD TO ELEUSIS\n\nThe hills running across the middle distance are a portion of the chain\nwhich divides the Attic plain into its two main parts. To the left we\nhave the picturesque outline of Lycabettos, then the rolling hills above\nthe Ilissus, next the rectangular form of the Acropolis, and to the\nright the Museion or Philopappus Hill. Behind this chain of hills and\nrocky eminences arises the great mass of Mount Hymettos.]\n\ngiven by Sophocles, which has been thus translated by Prof. Lewis\nCampbell--\n\n Gleaming Colonus, where the nightingale\n In cool, green covert warbleth ever clear,\n True to the deep-flushed ivy and the dear\n Divine, impenetrable shade,\n From wildered boughs and myriad fruitage made,\n Sunless at noon, stormless in every gale.\n\nBut you have only to go a short distance to the west and you will find\nthe olive woods, rich in all their ancient charms. For the Greek scholar\nColonus will always have a strong attraction as the birthplace of\nSophocles, and as the scene of his _\u0152dipus Coloneus_; but the\nordinary traveller will perhaps find his best reward for the excursion\nin the very beautiful view which it affords of Athens and the Acropolis.\n\nSoon after leaving the Dipylon Gate, on the way to Eleusis, the road\npasses through the olive grove already mentioned, which borders the\ncourse of the Cephisus for several miles, though the bed of the river is\noften dry owing to the water being diverted from its course for purposes\nof irrigation. It was at this point that a strange play of abusive wit\nusually took place between the returning celebrants of the Mysteries as\nthey crossed the bridge, and the crowd of spectators. A little farther\non the spot is passed where Demeter is said to have presented Phytalus\nwith the first fig-tree. About midway between Athens and Eleusis, at the\ntop of the pass over Mt. \u00c6galeos, from which you have a charming view of\nthe city as you look back, there is a deserted monastery dating from\nthe thirteenth century, the work of one of the Burgundian Dukes of\nAthens. It is built on the site of an ancient temple of Apollo, and has\ninherited the name of Daphni, Apollo\u2019s favourite, while its walls are\nalso enriched with marbles from the ancient edifice, though it was\ndeprived of three fine Ionic columns, which were transferred by Lord\nElgin to the British Museum. About a mile farther, where a stone has\nbeen discovered bearing the letters \u0396 _ex asteos_ (_i.e._ Seven miles\nfrom the City), there are some scanty remains of a temple of Aphrodit\u00e9,\nand behind it a rocky wall with niches for votive offerings, some of\nwhich have been recovered, especially doves in marble and bronze. It is\nabout this point that the bay of Eleusis comes into view, looking like a\nlake, with Salamis, of glorious memory, enclosing it on the south-west.\nA mile or two farther on there are salt springs quite close to the road,\ncalled Rhiti, whose waters have been dammed up so as to form pools in\nwhich there is said to be good fishing, once the exclusive property of\nthe priests of Demeter. The Thriasian plain is now seen on the right,\nand by and by Eleusis itself is reached, an unattractive and unhealthy\nvillage with about 1200 (Albanian) inhabitants, which would have no\ninterest for the visitor except as the birthplace of \u00c6schylus, if it\nwere not for the sacred and venerable ruins on the adjoining hill.\n\nIt is a remark of Pausanias that \u201cthere is nothing on which the blessing\nof God rests in so full a measure\n\n[Illustration: CONVENT OF DAPHNI\n\nFirst mentioned in 1263, the site anciently occupied by a temple of\nApollo.]\n\nas the rites of Eleusis and the Olympian games.\u201d These two institutions\nmay be said to have been in some respects the counterpart of one\nanother, the one being the celebration of what is commonly called life,\nthe other of what is known as death; the one sacred to the god who rules\nin heaven, the other to the infernal or Chthonian deities.\n\nOf the myth on which the Eleusinian rites were based the earliest\naccount is to be found in what is called the Homeric hymn to Demeter,\nthough it is known to be the work of a later writer. According to this\ntale, Cora, the daughter of Zeus and Demeter (\u201cEarth-Mother\u201d)--otherwise\ncalled Persephone or Proserpine--was carried off by Hades while she was\nplaying with her companions in a flowery meadow. Her mother sought her\nfor nine days and nights with the aid of torches, but without success.\nOvercome with grief and deeply offended that Zeus should have permitted\nsuch an outrage, she withdrew from the society of the gods of Olympus.\nIn her wanderings she came, in the guise of an old woman, to Eleusis,\nwhere she was kindly received by the ruler Celeus and his family. For a\ntime she acted as nurse to his infant son Demophoon, and would have\nconferred upon him immortality, had not his mother, Metaneira, been\nterrified one night to see her plunging him in fire, as she was in the\nhabit of doing to purify him from the elements of corruption. The\ngoddess, incensed at the mother\u2019s interference, revealed her divine\nrank, and commanded the family to build a temple for her on the hill,\nwhich they did; and there she dwelt for a year, during which the earth\nwas visited with barrenness. At length Zeus consented to restore Cora to\nher mother, on condition that she should return to Hades every year and\nremain with her husband in the underworld for four months while the seed\nwas in the ground. Before leaving Eleusis, Demeter revealed to Celeus\nand three others, in whose families they were to remain, the secret\nrites which she wished to be celebrated every year in her temple.\n\nAccording to a later addition to the tale, the goddess also taught\nTriptolemus how to grow corn, an art which had hitherto been unknown\namong men, and was first practised in the Thriasian plain. This version\nwas current among the Athenians, who, although not mentioned in the\nhymn, ultimately assumed the chief responsibility for the celebration of\nthe rites, and introduced various modifications, in which Dionysus and\nIacchus had a prominent place. For hundreds of years before, the\n\u201cMysteries\u201d were entirely in the hands of the people of Eleusis, which\nwas then as independent of Athens on the east as it was of Megara on the\nwest.\n\nThe rites were of a mystical nature, and consisted largely of a dramatic\nrepresentation of the myth above referred to. They grew in popularity\nand importance as faith in the traditional theology declined; and even\nthe philosopher found in them an aid to natural religion. So great,\nindeed, was the importance attached to them that, at a later time, the\nChristian apologists (to whom we are chiefly indebted for information\n\n[Illustration: SACRED WAY FROM ATHENS TO ELEUSIS LOOKING TOWARDS SALAMIS\n\nOn the right are the remains of a temple of Aphrodit\u00e9. The Island of\nSalamis is on the left--middle distance--looking over the Bay of\nEleusis.]\n\nregarding them) felt it necessary to combat the idea that they embodied\nthe essential truths of Christianity.\n\nAfter Eleusis was incorporated with Attica the Mysteries were celebrated\nwith a pomp and splendour unknown in any other religious service in the\nHellenic world--music, painting, sculpture, architecture, and dancing\nbeing all laid under tribute for the purpose of rendering them\nattractive and imposing. To heighten the expectations and deepen the\nimpressions of the worshippers there was a preliminary initiation into\nthe Lesser Mysteries in February at Agr\u00e6, a suburb of Athens, before the\nchief celebration in autumn at Eleusis; and a year had to elapse after\nparticipation in the latter before one could be admitted to full\ncommunion. On the first day there was a great assembly at Athens; next\nday they bathed in the sea; the third day they offered sacrifice; the\nfourth day they marched in procession along the Sacred Way to Eleusis,\nwhich they reached at sunset. During the night they wandered about the\nshore with torches, looking for the lost Persephone. At length they were\nadmitted in a state of excitement, intensified by their long fast, into\na brilliantly lighted hall called the Telesterium, which has been\nrecently excavated. In this hall the strange events which had for some\ndays absorbed their attention were dramatically exhibited before them on\ntwo nights, amid profound silence, the divinities concerned being\npersonally represented in appropriate costume. Certain sacred relics\nwhich Demeter had shown to the daughters of Celeus were produced, to be\nhandled and kissed by the worshippers, who repeated the solemn formula\nof initiation. Everything was fitted to awaken feelings of reverence and\nawe, and the whole celebration seems to have held a similar place in the\nreligion of the Greeks to what the Mass has among Roman Catholics, the\nCommunion among Protestants, and the Easter Eve ceremonial among the\nmembers of the Greek Church. While the sorrows of bereavement, the pangs\nof inevitable death, and the mysterious gloom of the underworld could\nhardly fail to be impressed on the minds of the celebrants, the return\nof Persephone to her mother in spring seems to have inspired a hope of\nimmortality, for we are told that the culminating point in the service\nin the Telesterium was the mowing down of a ripe ear of corn. It\nrequires no stretch of imagination to believe that it conveyed to the\ndevout worshipper something of the thought which Jesus Christ expressed\non the eve of His death to certain Greeks who came desiring to see Him,\nwhen He said, \u201cExcept a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it\nabideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.\u201d The same\nthought is echoed by St. Paul in writing to the Corinthians on the\nsubject of the Resurrection, when he says, \u201cThou fool, that which thou\nsowest is not quickened, except it die.\u201d This view of the Mysteries is\nconfirmed by the statement made by Cicero, who had himself been\ninitiated, that they taught men \u201cnot only to live happily but also to\ndie with a fairer hope.\u201d\n\nLike all symbolic rites, however, they depended for\n\n[Illustration: THE GREAT TEMPLE OF THE MYSTERIES, ELEUSIS. LOOKING\nNORTH-EAST\n\nOn the left, in the immediate foreground, is part of the early girdle\nwall of the sacred precincts, above which is the edge of the Acropolis\nrock, with a chapel of the Panagia, and belfry above. To the right are\nbases of votive offerings. In the distance are the mountains of\nAttica.]\n\ntheir efficacy on the susceptibilities of the worshipper. Plutarch says\nthat it required a philosophical training and a religious frame of mind\nto comprehend them, and Galen maintained that \u201cthe study of Nature, if\nprosecuted with the concentrated attention given to the Mysteries, is\neven more fitted than they are to reveal the power and wisdom of God, as\nthese truths are less clearly expressed in the Mysteries than in\nNature.\u201d\n\nThere is no evidence that metempsychosis or transmigration of souls had\nany place in the rites, and they appear to have been free from the\ngrossness of the Orphic and Phrygian Mysteries, as well as from the\nsuperstition associated with Pythagoreanism. It has been suggested that\nthey may have been of Egyptian origin, and recently this theory has\nderived some support from the discovery of three Egyptian scarabs in the\ngrave of a woman, who appears to have been a priestess, as more than\nsixty vases of various kinds were found buried with her, besides a great\nquantity of female jewellery, in gold and silver and bronze and iron.\n\nThe Eleusinian rites breathed quite a different spirit from the ordinary\nreligion of the Greek, and as soon as they were over he resumed his\nenjoyment of the present world. There were games and theatrical\nperformances on the last day before leaving Eleusis, and on the way back\nto Athens there were many ebullitions of mirth and wit, owing to the\nreaction from the unwonted solemnity and gloom.\n\nWe have a token of the sacredness attaching to the rites in the fact\nthat one of the most solemn oaths which could be taken was in the name\nof Demeter and her daughter. It was regarded as an extreme aggravation\nof the guilt of Calippus, the Syracusan, who compassed the death of\nDion, Plato\u2019s friend, that, when he was suspected of a hostile design\nand challenged by Aret\u00e9, Dion\u2019s wife, he denied with an oath and went\ninto the sacred grove, touching the purple robe of the goddess, and\ntaking a lighted torch in his hand. To make the crime still worse, it\nwas perpetrated on the very day sacred to these goddesses when the\nCoreia were celebrated, and it was through their initiation into the\nEleusinian Mysteries that the two men had become acquainted--showing how\nlittle impression may be made on some minds by the most solemn rites of\nreligion. The Mysteries were open to women as well as to men, but not to\nslaves or Persians, or infamous persons such as murderers whose guilt\nhad not been expiated.\n\n[Illustration: THE HALL OF THE GREAT TEMPLE OF THE MYSTERIES, ELEUSIS\n\nIn the distance is the island of Salamis, looking on the Bay of Eleusis.\nIn the foreground are remains of shafts of columns which supported an\nupper story over the Great Hall.]\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XI\n\nATHENS AND ITS DEMOCRACY\n\n\nTHE history of Athens is scarcely less interesting from a political than\nfrom an artistic and architectural point of view. It affords the first\nexample of a thoroughly organised democracy, and as such it has much to\nteach the nations of modern Europe, both in the way of encouragement and\nwarning.\n\nReference has already been made to what was done by Solon in the\nbeginning of the sixth century B.C. to establish a constitutional form\nof government, in which all classes of the population, slaves only\nexcepted, should have some degree of representation. The form of\ngovernment which Solon introduced has been called a\n_timocracy_--property, not birth or rank, being the standard of\npolitical power. He divided the population into four classes, the\nhighest consisting of citizens who possessed 500 medimni of corn. It was\nfrom this last class alone that the nine archons--Ministers of State in\na restricted sense--and the _strategoi_ or generals had to be chosen.\nAll other offices were open to the whole population--the lowest class or\n_Thetes_ alone excepted, whose eligibility was confined to serving as\n_dicasts_ or jurymen, and who were exempted from the graduated\nincome-tax imposed on the three higher classes. All citizens had a right\nof membership in the _Ecclesia_ or popular assembly, to which the\n_Boul\u00e9_ or Council of 400, selected by lot, had to submit any proposals\nof a legislative character. A special benefit was at the same time\nconferred upon the distressed agriculturists by a measure called\n_Seisachtheia_, for relieving them more or less from the burdens which\ntheir costly mortgages had entailed upon them.\n\nStill more democratic measures were introduced, nearly a century later,\nby Cleisthenes, a member of the Alcm\u00e6onid family. He abolished all class\ndistinctions, with the single exception that the office of archon was\nstill confined to the highest of the four classes recognised by Solon.\nHe also divided the community into ten tribes; increased the number of\nthe _Boul\u00e9_ to 500, 50 being chosen from each tribe; and gave to the\ngeneral Assembly, of which all citizens above eighteen years of age were\nmembers, a more definite and secure place in the constitution. No one\nwas eligible for public office till he was thirty years of age. From\neach of the ten tribes 600 _dicasts_ were annually appointed by lot,\n5000 of the total number being required for service in the law courts,\nand the remaining 1000 for revision of the laws. It was also with\nCleisthenes that the measure known as _Ostracism_ originated. It gave\nthe assembly power in any political emergency to banish from the country\nfor ten years (later the period was changed to five years)\n\n[Illustration: THE ACROPOLIS FROM THE BASE OF THE PHILOPAPPUS HILL\n\nOver the talus of the d\u00e9bris from the excavations on the south side of\nthe Acropolis we see the front of the Theatre of Herodes Atticus, with\nthe long portico connecting it with the Theatre of Dionysos. On the\nAcropolis itself, if we proceed from left to right, are Beul\u00e9\u2019s gate,\nthe Propyl\u00e6a and neighbouring remains, the Erechtheum and the Parthenon.\nTowering above the east end of the Acropolis is Lycabettos, with the\nchapel on its summit catching the sunlight. This drawing is intended to\nconvey some idea of the glitter of sunlight upon the splendid series of\nmarble temples and monuments of the Athenian Acropolis.]\n\nany one whose presence seemed to endanger the safety of the state. When\na vote of this nature was taken, each of the citizens could nominate for\nbanishment any one he chose; but unless 6000 votes were recorded the\nwhole proceedings fell to the ground. The measure seems a strange one,\nbut it provided a safety-valve for political feeling on critical\noccasions before the institutions of the country had become firmly\nestablished. In the course of the fifth century ten politicians were\nostracised, the first being Cleisthenes himself, and the last (417 B.C.)\nHyperbolus, who was made a scape-goat for Alcibiades and Nicias, the two\nrival leaders of the day. By another singular enactment, directed\nagainst movements of a factious or seditious character, it was\nobligatory on every citizen, when civil commotions arose, to range\nhimself either on one side or the other--neutrality in such\ncircumstances being regarded as treason to the state.\n\nThe constitution established by Cleisthenes remained in force as long as\nAthens continued to be a free state, with a few additional reforms,\nwhich gave it a still more democratic character. The restriction of the\narchonship to men of wealth was abolished, and the power of the\nAreopagus, the oldest and most venerable body in Athens, embracing in\nits membership all who had previously held the office of archon, was\nreduced to little more than the right of adjudicating in cases of\nalleged homicide. In the days of Pericles provision was made for the\npayment of citizens officiating as _dicasts_ or jurymen, and a \u201cTheoric\nFund\u201d was also created for the purpose of defraying the expenses of\npublic festivals, and bestowing on each citizen the price of admission\nto the theatre on such occasions. In course of time this was followed by\nthe payment of citizens for attendance at the meetings of the general\nassembly.\n\nIn the age of Pericles the greatness of Athens reached its culminating\npoint, and never before had democracy been so justified by its results.\nIn the funeral oration delivered by Pericles on one occasion (p. 168) we\nhave an attractive picture of the state whose fortunes he was guiding:--\n\n \u201cFrom the magnitude of our city, the products of the whole earth\n are brought to us, so that our enjoyment of foreign luxuries is as\n much our own and assured as those which we grow at home.... We\n combine elegance of taste with simplicity of life, and we pursue\n knowledge without being enervated: we employ wealth not for talking\n and ostentation, but as a real help in the proper season. The\n magistrates who discharge public trusts fulfil their domestic\n duties also--the private citizen, while engaged in professional\n business, has competent knowledge on public affairs: for we stand\n alone in regarding the man who keeps aloof from these latter not as\n harmless but as useless. In fine, I affirm that our city,\n considered as a whole, is the schoolmistress of Greece.\u201d--Thuc. ii.\n 40.\n\nThe continuity of the Athenian democracy was rudely broken by the\nSpartans the year after the fateful battle of \u00c6gospotami. Having\ndemolished the walls of the city (which was starved into surrender) amid\nthe flute-playing and dancing of women crowned with wreaths, the\nSpartans set up the tyranny of the \u201cThirty,\u201d which gave the Athenians a\nmore bitter experience of injustice, oppression and cruelty than they\nhad experienced even in the closing years of the Peisistratid dynasty. A\nremarkable proof of the intense hatred of political tyranny which\nprevailed at Athens nearly half a century later was afforded by the\nreception given to two young Thracian Greeks, who had at one time\nstudied under Plato, when they repaired to Athens after assassinating\nCotys, the tyrant of their country. Partly on general grounds, partly\nbecause Cotys had been a dangerous enemy of Athens, they were received\nwith the greatest honour, being admitted to the freedom of the city and\npresented with golden wreaths. So glowing were the eulogies passed upon\nthem in the Assembly that one of the two felt constrained to declare,\n\u201cIt was a god who did the deed; we only lent our hands.\u201d The feeling\nagainst despotic power was scarcely less strong in Magna Gr\u00e6cia, where\nthe iron entered into the soul of many communities under the usurpation\nof Dionysius of Syracuse, about the beginning of the fourth century B.C.\nHis request for a wife from the city of Rhegium, which was accompanied\nwith a promise of benefactions to the city, was rejected; and in the\npublic discussion of the subject one of the speakers remarked that the\ndaughter of the public executioner would be the only suitable wife for\nhim. Dionysius fared better at Locri, where he obtained the hand of a\nlady named Doris, the daughter of an eminent citizen, but not till after\nanother citizen, a friend of Plato, had refused his daughter, saying\nthat he would rather see her dead than wedded to a despot. Doris, it is\ninteresting to learn, made her voyage to Syracuse in a magnificent new\nship with five banks of oars, and on landing was conveyed to the\ntyrant\u2019s house in a beautiful chariot drawn by four white horses. The\nsame day Dionysius also married one of his own subjects, and, strange to\nsay, the two ladies were treated with equal respect, and sat with\ndignity at the same table.\n\nAt Athens the drama was one of the most powerful educative influences in\nthe community. The remains of what was no doubt in its time the chief\nDionysiac theatre may be seen in the neighbourhood of the\nAcropolis--part of the southern face of the rock having been scarped to\nform the back of the theatre. Plato speaks of it as accommodating 30,000\npeople, but this is probably an exaggeration, 20,000 being nearer the\nmark. The front seats running round part of the orchestra are in the\nform of marble thrones, adorned with reliefs on their fronts and sides,\nand bearing the names of priests and other dignitaries for whom they\nwere intended. These seats probably formed part of the original stone\ntheatre, but the latest inscriptions date from the time of Hadrian. The\nEmperor\u2019s throne seems to have stood on an elevation (still to be seen)\nin a central position behind the front row of seats, and images of him\nwere set up in various parts of the theatre--a departure from the\nexample of Lycurgus, who set up statues of the great dramatists, the\nbases of some of which are still in\n\n[Illustration: THE LOWER PART OF THE AUDITORIUM OF THE THEATRE OF\nDIONYSOS AT ATHENS\n\nBeginning at the left hand below, we notice first the breast-wall\ndividing the orchestra from the auditorium, and below it again the\npartially covered channel for rain-water. In the foremost row of marble\nseats or thrones, the third seat to the right is that of the Priest of\nDionysos, distinguished by the exquisite relief, on the arm of the\nthrone, of Eros engaged in cock-fighting. Higher up in the auditorium\nare pedestals for honorary statues.]\n\nexistence. Immediately in front of the seats is a circular wall, which\nappears to have been erected as a protection from wild beasts in the\ntime of the Roman gladiatorial exhibitions. On the other side of the\norchestra, facing the auditorium, are the remains of a stage with\nfigures in relief, representing the birth of Dionysus and other cognate\nsubjects, and a crouching Silenus supporting the stage. These were\nprobably not set up in their present form before the third century A.D.,\nthough the marbles themselves may date from the time of Nero. Farther\nback there are the foundations of other stages of an earlier date, with\na _stoa_ or colonnade, intended as a shelter for the people in case of\nrain. Traces have also been found, partly beneath the present orchestra,\nof the primitive enclosure which served as an orchestra before the\nconstruction of the theatre. It was probably here that the most famous\nGreek tragedies were exhibited, though it appears to have been at a\ndifferent spot, in the _Agora_, that the first play of \u00c6schylus was\nenacted, when the scaffolding on which the people sat gave way,\nrendering it necessary that some new arrangement should be provided. At\nfirst a cart or table is said to have served as a stage for the actor, a\nbooth being provided at a later time as a background and dressing-room,\nwith some kind of platform for a stage, in the neighbourhood of a spot\nsuitable for dancing and overlooked by a rising ground from which the\nspectators might be able to hear and see what was going on. It was\nprobably not till about 330 B.C., in the days of Lycurgus, that the\nelaborately constructed theatre was erected, whose ruins still excite\nso much interest and admiration. Immediately to the west of the theatre\nare the remains of a colonnade--the _Stoa_ of Eumenes--which led from\nthe theatre to the Odeum of Herodes Atticus, one of the most munificent\nof the Roman benefactors of Athens in the second century _A.D._ The\nOdeum was built in memory of his wife Regilla, and though the\nmarble-covered seats and cedar roof are gone, its arches form an\nimposing ruin.\n\nHistorically speaking, Greek tragedy, the flower and crown of Greek\npoetry, had a very humble origin. It was developed from the dithyramb, a\nlyric hymn in honour of Dionysus (Bacchus), which seems to have been\nderived from Thrace, and was of a wild, impassioned, semi-oriental\ncharacter. Hence the theatre stood within the precincts sacred to\nDionysus: and the foundations of a shrine, as well as of a larger temple\nin which the image of the god in gold and ivory was preserved, have been\ndiscovered in the immediate neighbourhood of the theatre. About 600 B.C.\nthe dithyramb entered on a new phase in the hands of Arion of Methymna\nin Lesbos, who found Corinth a congenial scene for such revelry. He\norganised a chorus of fifty members in the form of satyrs[7] (whence the\nname of\n\n[Illustration: THE CAVERN CHAPEL (PANAGIA SPELIOTISSA) ON THE SOUTH SIDE\nOF THE ACROPOLIS\n\nThis is the site of the Choragic monument of Thrasyllus. The square\nopening is cut in the scarped face of the Acropolis rock at the top of\nthe Theatre of Dionysos. Above stand two columns, which supported\ntripods dedicated to the god.]\n\ntragedy or \u201cgoat song\u201d), who danced around the altar or image of the\nwine-god. Half a century later this performance was introduced at\nAthens, and became a feature of the greater Dionysia which were\ninstituted by the \u201cTyrant\u201d Peisistratus. By and by, at one of these\ncelebrations, Thespis, in order to give a rest to the chorus, came\nforward as a reciter of poetry, which he seems to have addressed not to\nthe chorus, but to a person who was described as _hypocrit\u0113s_\n(\u201canswerer\u201d), which became the name for an actor. The dramatic element\nthus introduced was strengthened a few years later by \u00c6schylus, who\nprovided employment for two actors and gave dialogue a more important\nplace, though the entertainment was still largely of a lyrical\ncharacter. A farther step was taken by Sophocles (who gained a victory\nover the great founder of Greek tragedy in 468 B.C.) by the addition of\na third actor and the adoption of scene-painting. Sophocles arranged his\nplays in trilogies or sets of three, frequently choosing subjects that\nhad no connection with each other, instead of the tetralogy (set of\nfour), which had formerly been the fashion. As a result of this change\nthe number of the chorus was increased to fifteen instead of twelve,\nwhich had been approximately the fourth part of Arion\u2019s chorus of fifty.\n\nWhat strikes a western mind as the most remarkable thing about Greek\ntragedy is its high moral and religious character, notwithstanding its\nassociation with the worship of Bacchus and the prominence assigned to\ndancing. Its subjects were almost always of a heroic nature, drawn from\nthe national mythology, and the problems of human sin and suffering were\ntreated from a deeply religious point of view. As Prof. J. S. Blackie\nsays in his translation of \u00c6schylus (vol. i. pp. xxxviii-xxxix):--\n\n \u201cOur modern Puritans, who look upon the door of a theatre\n (according to the phrase of a famous Edinburgh preacher) as the\n gate of hell, might take any one of these seven plays which are\n here presented in an English dress, and, with the simple\n substitution of a few Bible designations for heathen ones, find, so\n far as moral and religious doctrine is concerned, that, with the\n smallest possible exercise of the pruning-knife, they might be\n exhibited in a Christian church, and be made to subserve the\n purposes of practical piety as usefully as many a sermon. The\n following passage from the _Agamemnon_ is not a solitary gem from a\n heap of rubbish, but the very soul and significance of the\n \u00c6schylean drama:--\n\n For Jove doth teach men wisdom, sternly wins\n To virtue by the tutoring of their sins;\n Yea! drops of torturing recollection chill\n The sleeper\u2019s heart; \u2019gainst man\u2019s rebellious will\n Jove works the wise remorse:\n Dread Powers, on awful seats enthroned, compel\n Our hearts with gracious force.\u201d\n\n\n\nAnd again (p. xlviii):--\n\n \u201cThe lyrical tragedy of the Greeks presents, in a combination\n elsewhere unexampled, the best elements of our serious drama, our\n opera, our oratorio, our public worship, and our festal\n recreations. The people who prepared and enjoyed such an\n intellectual banquet were not base-minded. Had their stability been\n equal to their susceptibility, the world had never seen their\n equal.\u201d\n\nThe religious element is not so prominent in the poetry of Sophocles,\nwho brought his compositions to the highest perfection of art; and the\nrationalising element is still more apparent in Euripides, with whom\nphilosophy may be said to have gained the ascendency. In his hands the\nAthenian drama lost to a large extent its ideal and heroic character,\nbecoming realistic in its mode of thought, and showing the same\nspeculative tendencies as the Sophists had begun to indulge in.\nEuripides represents a period of decline; but for intellectual keenness\nand subtlety, for humane sentiment and tender pathos, he is generally\nregarded as the greatest of the three. It gives us some idea of the\nmarvellous intellectual wealth of Athens at this period in her history\nwhen we remember that the great poets we have mentioned were sometimes\ndefeated by competitors, whose writings have unfortunately perished.\n\nSide by side with the later developments of Greek tragedy, Attic comedy\nreached its culminating point in the writings of Aristophanes, whose\nplays, eleven in number (dating from 427 B.C. onwards), are all that\nexist of the comic literature of this period. It originated in the droll\nprocession, with merry song and rude comments on public affairs, which\nformed one of the features of the \u201cGreater Dionysia\u201d--borrowed no doubt\nfrom the rustic celebrations at vintage and harvest which are usually\nattributed to the Dorian genius. At first voluntary, the procession\nafterwards became a recognised part of the Athenian festival, and was\nsubsidised by the state, the result being that it assumed a dramatic\ncharacter in the hands of the poet Cratinus. While fun and laughter were\nthe primary objects it was intended to serve, it found room for an\ninfusion of beautiful lyric poetry; and the chorus became the\nmouth-piece of the poet for expressing his mind on the questions of the\nday, and satirising the vices and follies of politicians and other\npublic men. Unfortunately Aristophanes did not spare even such a\nsalutary teacher as Socrates, whom we find caricatured in the _Clouds_.\nThough the comic poets were generally conservative in their instincts\nand bitterly opposed to philosophic radicalism, they owed their right of\ncriticism very largely to the free spirit of the Athenian democracy; and\nthey soon gave up their scathing personalities when power passed out of\nthe hands of the people. Moreover the revelry associated with the\nworship of Dionysus seemed to justify the licence which they claimed;\nand when the old religion lost its hold on the mind of the nation they\nlost their courage and independence as public censors. In Menander and\nothers the \u201cNew Comedy\u201d became little more than an amusing reflection of\nthe social life of the day.\n\nThe plays in the theatre were only part of the Dionysiac festival, which\nwas celebrated with great magnificence by a public procession and\nsacrifices. During the fifth and fourth centuries B.C., when the Greek\ndrama was at its best, the responsibility of\n\n[Illustration: THE CHORAGIC MONUMENT OF LYSICRATES\n\nBehind it rises the grand mass of the eastern end of the Acropolis rock;\nalong the southern front of the Acropolis walls are seen the two votive\ncolumns which bore votive tripods, similar to the one for which the\n\u201cMonument of Lysicrates\u201d served as a support.]\n\nproducing a play was generally undertaken by some rich man who was\ncalled the _choregus_, it being his duty to provide the chorus and\nfurnish its members with suitable dresses. In the event of the play\nbeing successful in the competition, the _choregus_ received a prize in\nthe form of a tripod, which it was customary for him to set up in the\nprecincts of Dionysus\u2019 temple, or in an adjoining street. Fortunately\none such monument has been preserved, which had been erected (as the\ninscription tells) by Lysicrates in 335 B.C.--surmounted by a bronze\ntripod, which has disappeared. Apart from its historical interest the\nmonument has considerable value from an architectural point of view, as\nit is one of the earliest and finest specimens of the Corinthian order.\nIt is in the form of a small circular temple of Pentelic marble, fully\n20 feet high, standing on a high square pediment of Pir\u00e6ic limestone 13\nfeet high, with a cornice of Hymettus marble. It is beautifully\ndecorated in a chaste and delicate style, the roof consisting of a\nsingle leaf-shaped block of marble, and the frieze being ornamented with\nscenes in the mythological history of Dionysus. For many years it served\nas the library of a Capuchin convent which was built round it. The\nconvent was a favourite residence for Englishmen at Athens, and Lord\nByron is said to have used the interior of the monument for a study.\n\nThe theatre was often used for public meetings. It was there that it was\nproposed to honour Demosthenes with a golden wreath in acknowledgment of\nthe signal service he had rendered to his countrymen in reviving their\ncourage and persuading the Thebans to join with them in resisting the\nvictorious advance of Philip. It was a great contrast to the treatment\nhe had experienced in the same place many years before, when a wealthy\nHipparch named Meidias attacked him with his fists at the very time he\nwas acting as _choregus_ for his tribe Pandionis. In general, great\ndecorum was observed in the theatre. It was not even permitted to the\nofficials who were responsible for maintaining order to inflict a blow\non any disorderly person, though it might be their duty to remove him by\nforce. That same year Demosthenes and some other leading Athenians paid\na visit to the court of Philip at Pella. Among other entertainments\nwhich the king provided for them, his son Alexander, then a boy of ten\nyears of age, recited a dialogue, along with a companion, from one of\nthe great tragic poets of Athens. The taste for this kind of literature\nnever left the great prince, though his interest in natural science was\nalso shown by a grant of 800 talents to his former tutor, Aristotle, for\nthe purpose of carrying on zoological researches. When he asked Harpalus\nto send him something to read during his stay in Upper Asia, the works\nof \u00c6schylus, Sophocles, and Euripides were among the few books selected.\nAgain, when he returned from the conquest of Egypt to Ph\u0153nicia, after\nhe had been saluted as the son of Zeus by the priest of Jupiter-Ammon in\nthe Libyan desert, dramatic representations formed an important part of\nthe festivals which were got up in his honour; and the princes of Cyprus\nwere conspicuous for the zeal and liberality with which they acted the\npart of _choregi_ in competitions modelled on those of Athens. Of the\npopularity of the tragic poets with Greek soldiers we have a remarkable\nevidence in the fact that when, a century before, the Athenian army\nwhich had been sent for the invasion of Sicily was utterly destroyed, a\nnumber of men who escaped capture and wandered about the country, and\nalso some of those who had been reduced to slavery, won the hearts of\ntheir conquerors by reciting passages of Euripides which they happened\nto know by heart. In this connection it may be mentioned that all\nfree-born children in Athens were taught to read and write, while the\nrecitation of selected passages from great authors, and the practice of\nmusic on the lyre or flute, along with gymnastics for the training of\nthe body, were always included in a liberal education.\n\nAnother great educative influence in democratic Athens was the practice\nand the love of oratory. In the beginning of the sixth century B.C. we\nfind Solon employing verses on political subjects for the persuasion of\nhis countrymen, while at the same time condemning the incipient drama of\nThespis, when he saw him acting, as tending to falsehood--emphasising\nhis opinion, we are told, by striking his stick on the ground. It was\nnot till nearly a century later that the cultivation of prose rhetoric\nbecame common in Greece. The Ionic philosophers of Asia Minor, and their\nsuccessors in Magna Gr\u00e6cia, who had tried to grapple with the problems\nof the universe, gave place to the sophists who abandoned the quest for\nabstract truth and devoted themselves to studies which had a direct\nbearing on the practical interests of life. They naturally gravitated to\nAthens as the intellectual capital of Greece, and found many young men\nwho were eager to acquire the arts and accomplishments they professed to\nimpart. Socrates has been called the greatest of the sophists, but,\napart from deeper points of difference, he was distinguished from them\nby the facts that he gave no instruction in public speaking (for which\nhe had no taste), and that he accepted no fee from his disciples. On the\nlatter point, however, the sophists do not seem to have been so\nmercenary as is sometimes alleged, if we may judge from the example of\nProtagoras, who is represented by Plato as stating that he made no\nbargain with his pupils beforehand, and that if they thought on leaving\nthat he was asking too much he allowed them to name a smaller figure, on\ncondition that they went into a temple and declared on oath that they\nconsidered it a more just remuneration.\n\nThe fact that every citizen who had a case in the law courts of Athens\nwas obliged to plead his cause in person before a court consisting of\nabout 500 jurors, gave a great impetus to the cultivation of oratory.\nNot only was the preparation of the speeches often entrusted to\nprofessional rhetoricians, but their services as teachers of elocution\nwere also called into requisition by those who were anxious to do\njustice to their cause by means of an effective delivery. The general\nAssembly offered a still larger field for the practice of\n\n[Illustration: THE PNYX; OR, PLACE OF ASSEMBLY OF THE ATHENIAN PEOPLE\n\nAt the junction of the converging lines of scarped rock is the _b\u0113ma_,\nor altar, of the Pnyx, with a platform in front, from which, it is\nbelieved, the orators addressed the people. It will be seen that the\nsteps, at the side of the cubical mass of rock, which has been called an\naltar, ascend right up to the top of it; and it seems probable that we\nhave here rather the basis of the altar than the altar itself. The\nlatter may very well have been movable. Above the _b\u0113ma_ will be seen\nthe remains of a semicircular row of seats, apparently the seats of the\nPrytanes, facing the people. In the middle distance of the drawing the\nAcropolis rises majestically, and is finely opposed by the long line of\nMount Hymettos.]\n\neloquence, on the part of those who were ambitious of a political\ncareer, and it was open to all citizens who chose to attend. The result\nwas that the Athenians became as pre-eminent in their power of\nexpression in language as in the visible forms of art. One of the most\ninteresting spots in Athens is the Pnyx, where the Assembly usually\nmet--\u201cthat angry, waspish, intractable, little old man, Demos of\nPnyx\u201d--to quote the words of Aristophanes. The place of meeting was a\nsemicircular space on the face of a low rocky hill, a quarter of a mile\nwest of the Acropolis. Where the diameter of the circle would be, but\nforming an obtuse angle, is a wall of hewn rock, fifteen feet high at\nits central part, but getting lower towards the sides. In front of this\nwall, about where the centre of the circle would be, there is a block of\nstone eleven feet long and as many broad, resting on a platform of three\nsteps about thirty feet wide at its front base, cut out of the natural\nrock. This is believed to have been the _b\u0113ma_ (\u201cstone in the Pnyx\u201d)\nfrom which the speakers in the Assembly sometimes addressed 6000 or 7000\ncitizens chiefly resident in Athens or the immediate neighbourhood and\nbelonging to the middle or lower classes. Round part of the semicircle,\nretaining-walls can still be traced, which appear to have been\noriginally much higher, so that the enclosure would slope down towards\nthe _bema_ or platform, and thus bring the speaker within sight and\nhearing of the whole Assembly.\n\nIt was in the Pnyx that the great debates took place which determined\nthe policy of Athens and influenced the destiny of all Greece. Here\nmight be heard the demagogue Cleon, who knew how to play on the passions\nand prejudices of the mob. By the strange working of the Athenian\nconstitution, he found himself on two important occasions at the head of\nthe army, first at Sphacteria, when the forces under his command\ninflicted on Sparta one of the greatest humiliations which it ever\nsuffered at the hands of Athens, and again at Amphipolis, when the\nSpartan general Brasidas gained the victory, though at the cost of his\nown life, Cleon also being slain by a spear-wound in the back when he\nwas fleeing from the field. Here too Phocion delivered his opinions, the\nplain, blunt, warm-hearted soldier who studied brevity and candour in\nall his utterances, never condescending to flatter or even to please his\naudience. On one occasion, when some remark he had made was loudly\napplauded, he turned round to a neighbour and inquired whether he had\nsaid anything very much amiss! His wisdom was not always equal to his\nhonesty and courage, but his career was long and honourable, as he was\nforty-five times elected general for a year, and on many occasions\nrendered signal service to his country. The conduct of the citizens,\nassembled in the theatre, in refusing him a hearing (an old man of\neighty-four years) before condemning him to death as a traitor, will\nalways be a blot on the history of the Athenian democracy.\n\nIn the Pnyx, as well as in the law courts, might be heard the consummate\norator, whose extant speeches are pronounced by general consent to be\nthe finest specimens of parliamentary and forensic eloquence in ancient\nor in modern times. The power of Demosthenes in delivery seems to have\nbeen equal to his skill in argument and his clearness and felicity of\nexpression--the result of marvellous patience and perseverance in the\nface of difficulties which would have seemed to most men to be\ninsuperable, arising from defective articulation, a weak voice, short\nbreath and an awkward manner. His devotion to his country was equal to\nhis enthusiasm as an orator; and if it had been still possible to teach\nthe democracy wisdom and preserve the liberties of Athens, Demosthenes\nwould have been the man to do so. But his lot fell in evil times, and\nfate was against him. His end, like that of many of the great men of\nantiquity, was a very sad one. In 324 B.C., six years after delivering\nhis great speech _De Corona_, which has been fitly called \u201cthe funeral\noration of Greek liberty,\u201d he was thrown into prison on a charge of\nconspiring against the Macedonian authority. He made his escape and took\nrefuge in the Peloponnesus, where he was living at the time of the death\nof Alexander the Great--an event which kindled in the breasts of\npatriotic Greeks a fresh hope of regaining their liberties. Demosthenes\ntook the lead in the movement for liberation and secured for his\ncountrymen the help of Peloponnesian allies in a last effort to throw\noff the Macedonian yoke. On landing at Pir\u00e6us he received a magnificent\nwelcome from all classes of his fellow-citizens. But the rising was soon\nsuppressed. Antipater compelled the city to surrender at discretion;\nand within a year Demosthenes was again a fugitive under sentence of\ndeath, passed against him by the remnant of citizens who were still\npermitted to abide at Athens. In his extremity he took refuge in a\ntemple of Poseidon at Calauria, which had been an inviolable asylum from\ntime immemorial. The Athenian who was at the head of the Thracian force\nsent by Antipater to take him was afraid to desecrate the sanctuary, and\ntried to entice him beyond its precincts by promising that his life\nwould be spared. But Demosthenes knew how little faith was to be put in\nsuch a promise. He knew that even if his life were spared he might have\nhis tongue cut out, like other orators who had done what they could to\nwarn their countrymen against Macedonian aggression. Despairing of being\nable to render any further service to his country he resolved to put an\nend to his life by swallowing the poison which he had secreted about his\nperson to meet such an emergency. As soon as he felt the poison begin to\nwork he arose and walked slowly out of the sanctuary, calling for\nsupport to his tottering steps, in order to save the temple from being\ndesecrated by his death.\n\nA few words may be added regarding another aspect of Athenian greatness\nduring the period of the democracy, which has already been incidentally\nmentioned. The latter half of the fifth century B.C., which was the\ngolden age of the sophists, also saw the rise of a new intellectual\nmovement, which was destined to secure for Athens a position of\nsupremacy in the department\n\n[Illustration: THE ACROPOLIS, WITH KALLIRRHO\u00c8 IN THE FOREGROUND\n\nThe worn and polished bed of the Ilissus, down which trickles the water\nof the fountain of Kallirrho\u00e8, is richly coloured with blue and purple,\nowing to reflected light from the blue sky of a brilliant early morning\nin summer. The Acropolis, with the Parthenon (divided into two masses\nfrom this point of view), is relieved against the sky. To the right are\nsome of the lofty columns of the Temple of Olympian Zeus, the little\ncaf\u00e9 or refreshment house giving scale to them.]\n\nof philosophy for hundreds of years after it had sunk into political\ninsignificance, and even after the sceptre in the realm of literature\nhad passed to Alexandria. The man to whom this new departure was chiefly\ndue was Socrates, a brave soldier, a genial friend, and an incorruptible\ncitizen, as well as an original thinker. Greatly to his own\nastonishment, he was declared by the Delphian oracle to be the wisest of\nmen--a statement which he could only credit in the sense that he was\nwiser than others inasmuch as he was aware of his own ignorance. He not\nonly imparted a higher moral tone to the teaching of Greek philosophy\nthan it ever had before, but also laid the foundation of the Logic of\nDefinition, and anticipated in the sphere of ethics the principle of\nInduction on which Aristotle acted in the next century in various\ndepartments of his encyclop\u00e6dic studies, and which was to be fully\napplied by Lord Bacon in the natural world nearly 2000 years afterwards.\nBefore the days of Socrates the greatest, or at least the most\nambitious, thinkers had made vain attempts to unveil the secrets of the\nphysical universe, and in doing so had either ignored the traditional\ntheology, or else explained it away, like Xenophanes, who held that the\ngods were the creation of human imagination, and that if oxen or lions\nwere to become religious they would likewise make for themselves gods in\ntheir own image. With such impiety Socrates could have no sympathy, as\nwe may judge from the fact that he even condemned the presumption of\nAnaxagoras in treating _Helios_ and _Selen\u00e9_ (sun and moon) as if they\nwere material bodies, whose motions and magnitudes could be ascertained\nby the intellect of man.\n\nIn Plato, the disciple and exponent of Socrates, Greek speculation may\nbe said to have reached its culminating point. How greatly his thoughts\nhave influenced the course of philosophy in subsequent times, even to\nour own day, may be judged from the following words of the late\nProfessor Jowett in his introduction to the _Republic_, which is\ngenerally acknowledged to be the greatest and most suggestive of the\nnumerous works of Plato:--\n\n \u201cHe (Plato) was the greatest metaphysical genius whom the world has\n seen; and in him, more than in any other ancient thinker, the germs\n of future knowledge are contained. The sciences of logic and\n psychology, which have supplied so many instruments of thought to\n after-ages, are based on the analyses of Socrates and Plato. The\n principles of definition, the law of contradiction, the fallacy of\n arguing in a circle, the distinction between the essence and\n accidents of a thing or notion, between means and ends, between\n causes and conditions; also the division of the mind into the\n rational, concupiscent and irascible elements, or of pleasures and\n desires into necessary and unnecessary--these and other great forms\n of thought are all of them to be found in the _Republic_, and were\n probably first invented by Plato. The greatest of all logical\n truths, and the one of which writers on philosophy are most apt to\n lose sight, the difference between words and things, has been most\n strenuously insisted on by him.... In the _Republic_ is to be found\n the original of Cicero\u2019s _De Republica_, of St. Augustine\u2019s _City\n of God_, of the _Utopia_ of Sir Thomas More, and of the numerous\n other States which are framed upon the same model.... The\n _Republic_ of Plato is also the first treatise upon education, of\n which the writings of Milton and Locke, Rousseau, Jean Paul, and\n Goethe are the legitimate descendants. Like Dante or Bunyan, he has\n a revelation of another life; like Bacon, he is profoundly\n impressed with the unity of knowledge; in the early Church he\n exercised a real influence on theology, and at the revival of\n literature on politics.... He is the father of idealism in\n philosophy, in politics, in literature; and many of the latest\n conceptions of modern thinkers and statesmen, such as the unity of\n knowledge, the reign of law, and the equality of the sexes, have\n been anticipated in a dream by him.\u201d\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XII\n\nATHENS--ITS DECAY AND ITS REVIVAL\n\n\nWithin a few years after the death of Demosthenes a striking evidence\nwas afforded of the sad change which had come over the city of Athens.\nThe restoration of its political freedom for a brief period by Demetrius\nPoliorcetes (307 B.C.) in the name of his father Antigonus, one of the\nsuccessors (_diadochoi_) of Alexander the Great, was the occasion for an\nexhibition of servility and impiety which showed that the manly spirit\nof those who fought at Marathon and Salamis had utterly forsaken their\ndescendants. Not only were Demetrius and his father acknowledged as\nkings, but they were also exalted to the rank of divinities, orders\nbeing given by the authorities that their pictures and achievements\nshould be wrought into the sacred robe which figured so prominently at\nthe Pan-Athenaic festival, along with those of Zeus and Athena. A few\nyears afterwards the shameful profanation was carried still further by\nthe admission of Demetrius to the Parthenon as the guest of the goddess,\nand by the issue of a licentious decree that whatever he commanded was\nto be regarded as holy and just. How\n\n[Illustration: ATHENS. THE MONUMENT OF AGRIPPA AND THE PINACOTHECA\n\nBehind the lofty pedestal of the monument of Agrippa is the temple of\nTheseus; to the right the sub-structures and part of the north wing of\nthe Propyl\u00e6a (the Pinacotheca). To the left we have the wall of the\nterrace or bastion of the Temple of Wingless Victory. The distant view\ngives the plain of the Kephissus and the mountains of Daphni.]\n\nlittle sincerity there was in all this obsequious homage became evident\nthe following year, when fortune turned against Demetrius at the battle\nof Ipsus. He set sail from Ephesus for Athens, but was refused\nadmission.\n\nVarious causes may be assigned for the decline and fall of the Athenian\nstate. From a political point of view the more immediate cause was its\noverweening pride and unbridled ambition--typified by the character of\nAlcibiades, who has been well described as the evil genius of his\ncountry at a most critical period of its history. Hence arose the\nterrible disasters which befell it in Sicily, and the subsequent\ndissolution of its naval empire. If the imperial capital had paid more\nrespect to the claims of other Greek states associated with it in the\nDelian confederacy, its fate might have been very different. But while\nincurring the jealousy of Sparta and other rival powers it failed to\ngain the confidence of the minor states allied to it. Its imperial\npolicy when at the height of its power may be contrasted with that of\nGreat Britain, regarding which it has been recently said by Sir Wilfred\nLaurier, the Prime Minister of Canada: \u201cThe British Empire means\nfreedom, decentralisation, and autonomy. It will live and live for\never.\u201d\n\nBut Athens suffered from other causes besides its own imperial pride and\nthe enmity of other Greek states. As \u00c6schylus is said to have foreseen,\nthe virtual abolition in a political sense of the court of Areopagus,\nthe great representative of traditional authority, and the failure to\nprovide any other adequate safeguards against democratic excesses,\ncould not fail sooner or later to be attended with evil consequences.\nThat the appointment to public offices should have been made by lot, as\na general rule, and that no one, however eminent for ability and\nexperience, should have been eligible as a member of the Council more\nthan twice, shows how the public interests of the state were sacrificed\nto the theory of personal equality among the citizens. Even the high\nlevel of culture at Athens could not justify such a disregard for the\ninevitable diversity of natural gifts and acquired habits in every\ncommunity. Moreover, the love of wealth and the taste for luxury, which\nresulted from the increasing prosperity of the city, tended to the\ndeterioration of character both among the leading men, who were too open\nto bribes from foreign powers, even those at war with their country, and\namong the citizens at large, who were apt to become demoralised by their\nwholesale payment as dicasts, and were not content with largess at the\nDionysiac festivals only. The self-denial which led the citizens in the\ntime of Themistocles to forgo their claim on the proceeds of the silver\nmines of Laurium, amounting to ten drachms per head, in order that an\naddition might be made to their naval armament, would not have been so\nreadily found at the close of the fourth century, when the \u201cTheoric\nFund\u201d had come to be spoken of as \u201cthe cement of the democracy.\u201d\n\nWhile there are scarcely any monuments of the Macedonian period now to\nbe seen in Athens, it is different as regards the age of Roman\nsupremacy.\n\n[Illustration: THE TOWER OF THE WINDS\n\nTo the left, part of the aqueduct which supplied the water-clock; in the\nbackground, the north side of the Acropolis, surmounted by the wall of\nThemistocles.]\n\nOne of the oldest of the tributes of respect then paid by foreigners to\nthe famous but decaying city, is the _stoa_ of Attalus, erected by the\nsecond king of Pergamus of that name (159-138 B.C.). The Stoa, which\nformed part of the eastern boundary of the Market-place (by that time\ncommonly called the Cerameicus), consisted of two stories, the lower\nfa\u00e7ade having a row of forty-five Doric columns in front, with an inner\nrow of twenty-two Ionic columns. The latter divided the enclosed space\ninto two aisles, where buying and selling went on, while farther in,\nbehind the inner aisle, there were rooms for storing goods. The upper\nstory did not extend so far back, and had only one row of Doric columns,\nconnected by a lattice balustrade of Pentelic marble--the material of\nwhich the columns were also made.\n\nIn the same neighbourhood may be seen one of the best preserved\nmonuments in Athens. It is an octagonal marble building, called the\nTower of the Winds, standing fully 40 feet high, with a diameter of 26\nfeet. On each of its eight sides there is an emblematic figure,\nrepresenting the wind which blows in that direction. On the top of the\ntower there was once a bronze Triton, which pointed to the picture of\nthe wind that was blowing at the time. Under each figure is a sun-dial,\nand there was also an ingenious system of waterworks within the tower,\nto show the time in any weather, by night or by day. The tower was\nerected in the first century B.C. by a Syrian named Andronicus.\n\nA little farther east stands a great gate or portico, consisting of four\nDoric columns, 26 feet high, with a massive architrave and pediment. An\ninscription on the architrave tells that it was erected in honour of\nAthena _Archegetis_ (\u201cFoundress Athena\u201d) by the people of Athens, from\nfunds bestowed on them by Julius C\u00e6sar and the Emperor Augustus. It was\nonce supposed to be part of a temple, but excavations have proved that\nit led into a great market-place, which was surrounded by an Ionic\ncolonnade, and was chiefly used (judging from an inscription found in\nthe neighbourhood) for the sale of olive-oil, the great gift of Athena.\nIn the pediment of the gate there was originally a statue of Lucius, the\nadopted son of Augustus. His son-in-law Agrippa was also held in honour\nin Athens; and on the Acropolis a pedestal can still be seen, close to\nthe Propyl\u00e6a, on which his statue rested, with an inscription in which\nhe is styled a benefactor of the city.\n\nOn the Museum or Observatory Hill there is a marble structure called the\nMonument of Philopappus, erected in the beginning of the second century\nA.D., in honour of a generous Athenian citizen of that name, who was the\nlast hereditary king of Commagene, in Asia Minor. Above the frieze are\nthree niches, two of which contain statues of Philopappus and his\ngrandfather Antiochus Epiphanes, while in the third, on the right, there\nonce stood the figure of Seleucus Nicator, the founder of the dynasty.\nOn the north-east side of the hill there are three rock-hewn chambers,\nno doubt originally tombs, though they are now called (apparently\nwithout any justification) the Prison of Socrates.\n\nAmong all the Roman emperors Hadrian was the\n\n[Illustration: THE PORTICO OF ATHENA ARCHEGETIS AT ATHENS\n\nThe entrance to the market-place, built in the time of Augustus. On the\nside of the cliff of the Acropolis we see the caves of Pan and Apollo\nbeneath the north wing of the Propyl\u00e6a.]\n\ngreatest admirer of Athens, and conferred most benefits on the city,\nboth in the way of architectural adornment and otherwise. He erected a\nnumber of magnificent buildings in the heart of the city, one of which\n(as Pausanias tells us) had a hundred columns of Phrygian marble,\nanother a hundred columns of Libyan marble, while a third, which was\nused as a library, was adorned with a gilded roof and alabaster. Part of\na rich colonnade has been preserved, and is known as the Stoa of\nHadrian. But the emperor\u2019s greatest monument was the Olympieum, or\ntemple of Olympian Zeus, situated to the south-east of the Acropolis, on\nthe right bank of the Ilissus. The foundation of the temple had been\nlaid by Peisistratus nearly 700 years before, and the work had been\nconsiderably advanced by Antiochus Epiphanes nearly 400 years later; but\nit was reserved to Hadrian to complete the great undertaking, which he\ndid in a munificent style. Unfortunately only fifteen of the hundred or\nmore Corinthian columns of Pentelic marble are now standing, occupying\nbut a small part of the vast platform (about 2200 feet in circumference)\non which the temple stood. But such is the grandeur of the columns,\nrising to a height of nearly 57 feet and fully 5\u00bd feet in diameter, that\nthey form one of the most imposing ruins in the world. Even before the\ncommencement of the temple of Peisistratus, the place was regarded with\npeculiar veneration as the traditional site of a temple erected by\nDeucalion, the survivor of the Flood; and in the days of Pausanias a\ncleft was to be seen in the ground, into which the subsiding waters\nwere said to have sunk, and where, every year, the people cast in\nwheaten meal kneaded with honey, probably in memory of those who\nperished in the Deluge.\n\nSomewhere in this neighbourhood--though the exact locality has not been\ndetermined--was the Lyceum, a gymnasium named after an old temple of\nLycean Apollo, in the midst of spacious grounds, where military reviews\nwere sometimes held, but chiefly famous as the place where Aristotle and\nhis followers had their daily walk and conversation, on account of which\nthey received the name of _Peripatetics_.\n\nBetween the Acropolis and the Olympieum, probably in the line of the old\ncity wall, stands the Arch of Hadrian, a handsome structure of Pentelic\nmarble, almost 60 feet high, with an archway 20 feet wide. On one side\nof the entablature, facing the city, are inscribed the words, \u201cThis is\nTheseus\u2019 Athens, the old city,\u201d and on the other side, \u201cThis is the city\nof Hadrian and not of Theseus.\u201d The emperor\u2019s hope of a new city of\nAthens has been fulfilled in modern times, but the extension has not\ntaken place in the direction of Hadrianopolis, but rather to the north.\n\nFew cities in the Old World have made such rapid progress as Athens has\ndone since the liberation of Greece three-quarters of a century ago. In\n1834, when it became the capital of the new kingdom, it had only a\npopulation of a few hundreds, while Pir\u00e6us was scarcely inhabited at\nall. The population of Athens is now approaching 150,000, and that of\nPir\u00e6us is about 50,000. The wealth of both has kept pace with the\npopulation.\n\n[Illustration: THE STOA OF HADRIAN AT ATHENS\n\nThe remains visible are part of the western side of the Stoa (exterior),\nincluding the one remaining pillar of the entrance porch. Above we have\npart of the north side of the Acropolis.]\n\nPir\u00e6us is a prosperous and well-built town, whose trade has outstripped\nthat of every other port in Greece, while Athens is incomparably the\nfinest city in the kingdom, containing many beautiful modern buildings,\nboth public and private, and some handsome streets, with shops that\nwould do credit to London or Paris.\n\nThe growth of Athens is chiefly due to its political importance as the\ncapital of the country and the residence of the king. Politics is the\nchief occupation of its educated citizens--dust and politics, indeed,\nare said to be its two plagues. The whole of Greece is remarkable for\nits consuming interest in politics; and, next to the daily newspapers,\nof which some thirteen are published in Athens, history is the favourite\nreading of the people. Unfortunately for the welfare of the country, the\ninterest in politics does not arise so much from zeal for rival\nprinciples as from party struggles for place and power. In these\nstruggles it is not merely the professional politicians whose personal\ninterests are affected, but also the public officials of the country,\nmost of whom are liable to dismissal or translation every time there is\na change of Government--an event of much more frequent occurrence in\nGreece than in Great Britain. There is only one legislative chamber, the\n_Boul\u00e9_ or Council, the number of whose members varies, but can never be\nless than 150. They are elected on a basis of manhood suffrage, and\nreceive a salary of from \u00a350 to \u00a3100 a year, according to the length of\nthe session. The Government consists of seven members, who receive each\n\u00a3300 a year, with an additional \u00a3150 for the Prime Minister.[8]\n\nClosely associated with the politicians are the barristers, of whom\nthere are about 800 in Athens, besides a great many others scattered\nthrough the country. The highest court of appeal, both for civil and\ncriminal cases, bears the time-honoured name of _Areopagus_, and\nconsists of eighteen judges. Of inferior judges there are nearly 600 in\nthe whole country, most of whom are removable on a change of\nGovernment--an evil in some degree mitigated by the fact that all\ncandidates for judicial posts must have passed a series of examinations\nin law. The medical profession is said to be also overstocked, though\nthe legal fees chargeable for medical attendance would not be thought\ntempting in this country. With regard to the clergy, comparatively few\nof them receive their education in Athens or pass through the\nUniversity. Their average culture is very low--but not lower than their\nremuneration--and the consequence is that any influence the Church\nexerts on the life of the nation is of a superficial kind, and finds its\nchief support in the festive celebration of the numerous Saints\u2019 Days.\nThe services in the churches are of a ritualistic order, and sermons are\nseldom heard except in Lent. The kissing of an _eikon_ or the lighting\nof a taper appears to be with many worshippers a mere formality, while,\nat the same time, there is a large amount of ignorance and superstition\nin the country districts.\n\nOf late there has been a considerable diminution in the number of\nstudents at the University, notwithstanding the liberal subsidies which\nhave been granted to it by Government; and pursuits of an industrial\nnature are attracting more attention. The opinion is gaining ground that\neducation of a literary character has been overdone, with the result\nthat a large proportion of those who have received an academic training\nfail to find suitable employment and become idlers and hangers-on,\nspending their time largely in talking politics in the neighbourhood of\nthe _Boul\u00e9_ or the caf\u00e9s of Constitution Square. In a political sense\ngreat importance is attached by many to the fact that about a third of\nthe students at the University (say 200 freshmen every year) come from\n\u201cOuter Greece,\u201d and are expected on their return home to do much in the\nway of fostering enthusiasm for the great hope of a reunited Greece, to\nembrace Macedonia, Epirus, Crete, and the Levant. This hope has been\nsomewhat damped by the favour recently shown by Russia to Bulgaria, the\nother likely claimant to Macedonia when the Turkish Empire is dissolved;\nand it is to Great Britain and France that the Greeks now chiefly look\nfor countenance and support in their national aspirations. Their debt of\ngratitude to this country finds visible acknowledgment in the fine\nmonument to Byron near the Arch of Hadrian, and in the statue of\nGladstone in front of the University.\n\nThere is abundance of patriotic sentiment in Greece, which shows itself\nnot only in eloquent speech but in voluntary contributions made in\nschool and through national lotteries for the purpose of providing a\nmore adequate navy. But what is most needed for the wellbeing of the\ncountry is a more steady and efficient administration of its own\naffairs, and greater energy and perseverance in developing its\ncommercial and agricultural resources. For many years emigration to the\nUnited States of America has been going on at an alarming rate,\nespecially from the Peloponnesus, including some of its most fertile\nprovinces. The home-affection of the emigrants is shown by their\ngenerous remittances to their friends in the old country; and one of the\nmost hopeful features in the life of modern Greece is to be found in the\nfrequency with which her sons who have succeeded abroad devote their\nwealth to the founding of educational and philanthropic institutions at\nAthens or elsewhere. They are rewarded with the proud name of \u201cnational\nbenefactors,\u201d which is as much prized in democratic Greece as titles of\nnobility in Great Britain. One of the most recent of such benefactions\nis that of M. Averof (of Alexandria), who has restored the Stadium at a\ncost of a million and a half of francs, fitting it up with seats of\nmarble from the quarries of Pentelicus (as Herodes Atticus did in the\nsecond century A.D.), to accommodate upwards of 50,000 people.\n\nIn the Arch\u00e6ological Congress held at Athens in 1905, which was attended\nby visitors and delegates from all parts of Europe, one of the most\ninteresting\n\n[Illustration: THE ARCH OF HADRIAN\n\nThe side towards the town (north-western aspect). This arch divided the\nancient \u201cCity of Theseus\u201d from the new quarter founded by Hadrian.]\n\nevents was a public representation of Sophocles\u2019 _Antigon\u00e9_ in the\nStadium. It may be questioned how far its language would be understood\neven in Athens by the less educated classes. Probably the proportion of\ncitizens who understood it thoroughly was not much greater than in\nOxford when similar plays were put on the stage in that city some years\nago. In the days of Sophocles the whole community virtually spoke the\nsame language, so that his plays would be understood by the masses as\nwell as the classes. It would seem that even the peculiarities of his\nIonic dialect did not prevent Herodotus from being understood by the\nGreeks assembled at Olympia when he recited his History to them before\nit was published as a book. Nowadays the style and vocabulary of the\nancient classical authors are foreign to a large section of the Greek\nnation. Hence it has been found that when the plays of Aristophanes are\nturned into the colloquial speech and so presented on the stage at\nAthens, they are attended with far greater success than in their\noriginal form.\n\nIn closing, a few words may be said on what may be described as one of\nthe burning questions of the day. For more than a century there has been\na tendency in high quarters to approximate as much as possible to\nclassical Greek. Especially during the last quarter of the nineteenth\ncentury, there has been a strenuous attempt on the part of the educated\nclasses, backed by the authorities in Church and State, to mould the\nwritten language according to classical forms, by restoring the old\northography and grammatical inflexions and by expressing new ideas and\ninventions in ancient terms, frequently compounded in a curious fashion.\nThe ideal cherished by many educated Greeks was expressed by the\nMetropolitan Archbishop of Athens when he said that he hoped the time\nwas not far distant when they would be using the language of Xenophon,\nand that if the newspapers would introduce but one new classical word a\nday, they would add 70,000 words to the language in the course of twenty\nyears. The archaic style has been adopted by the Government in all\npublic documents and in the system of education; it dominates the\nspeeches delivered in Parliament, except when passion gets the better of\nthe speakers; it is approved by the Church, and is cultivated by the\nnewspapers and journals, and the vast majority of authors. Hence the\nmost of the Greek which one reads in current literature bears a strong\nresemblance to that of the classical authors studied at school and\ncollege, and a good Greek scholar has no great difficulty in reading an\nAthenian newspaper, if he make himself acquainted with a few modern\nparticles of frequent occurrence, and have patience to make out the\nmeaning of the new combinations that have been devised to meet the\nrequirements of modern civilisation.\n\nBut side by side with this artificial language, which, though classical\nupon the surface, is generally modern in style and construction, bearing\nthe stamp, especially, of French and English idioms--there is what may\nbe called the vernacular Greek, spoken more or less by all classes when\nthey are not on ceremony, and understood in all parts of Greece, and in\nthe Levant. The difference between the two does not lie merely in\npronunciation, or grammatical forms, or the occasional use of peculiar\nwords, such as are found in the local dialects of almost all languages;\nit shows itself in the employment of different words to express the\ncommonest things in daily life, such as water, bread, wine. You may see\nsuch things called by their classical names on the merchant\u2019s signboard,\nand yet if you wish to be understood when you go into the shop you must\nuse the popular equivalents.\n\nThe relation between the spoken and the written Greek is often compared\nto that of Italian and medi\u00e6val Latin. Italian had to struggle for a\nliterary existence before it gained a secure position as the national\ntongue in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. But unfortunately for\nGreek as a living language, ever since the days of Dionysius of\nHalicarnassus it has had to contend repeatedly against a persistent\neffort to go back, as far as possible, to the golden age of Athenian\nliterature in the fifth century B.C. Its capacity for literary purposes\nhas never been properly recognised, although it has preserved more of\nthe original language than the Italian has of Latin. This fact is now\nforcing itself on the attention of the nation; and just as the\ndescendants of the ancient Romans have practically given up the use of\nLatin, so there is an increasing party in Greece, supported by\ndistinguished grammarians in other lands, who hold that the intellectual\nand moral life of the nation will never get fair-play and have full\nscope for its energies until the Atticising pedantry which has so long\nbeen the fashion both in Athens and in Constantinople shall be given up,\nand the popular speech be recognised as a suitable instrument for\nliterary purposes as well as for the intercourse of common life. But\nthose who are of this opinion will have a great battle to fight before\nthey can hope to see their views prevail. A few years ago (in 1901) the\nworld was startled by serious disturbances in Athens over a translation\nof the New Testament into the vulgar tongue, which showed what strong\npassions lie at the bottom of this linguistic controversy. A scholarly\nGreek merchant resident in Liverpool (Mr. Alexander Pallis), who has\nbrought Homer within the reach of all classes of his countrymen by a\ntranslation into the language of the common people, set about rendering\nto them a similar service in the case of the New Testament. His version\nof the Gospel according to Matthew appeared in the _Acropolis_, one of\nthe Athenian newspapers. It called forth a letter from the Patriarch of\nConstantinople to the Holy Synod of Greece, lamenting the degradation to\nwhich the sacred book was being subjected. Then followed a great\noutburst of indignation on the part of the educated classes, especially\nthe \u201cnoble student youth\u201d of the University. A demand was made for the\nexcommunication of the translator and the banning of his work. But the\necclesiastical authorities were not in a position to proceed to this\nextremity. For the question was complicated by the fact that a popular\nversion of\n\n[Illustration: COLUMNS OF THE TEMPLE OF OLYMPIAN ZEUS FROM THE\nNORTH-WEST\n\nThe delicate, rosy tint is characteristic of Hymettos at sunset. The\nhill in front of Hymettos is Ardettos, above the Stadion. The time of\nyear is late in June.]\n\nthe New Testament, not quite so familiar perhaps in its style as that of\nMr. Pallis, had been prepared shortly before by a learned lady at the\ninstance of the Queen of Greece, who had found that many of the inmates\nof the gaols and hospitals which she visited were almost destitute of\nChristian knowledge, and were incapable of understanding the Greek of\nthe New Testament. This translation had been revised by a learned\nCommission, and had been commended by the Metropolitan, Procopius. The\nexcitement rose to such a height that nothing but a general\nexcommunication of all modern Greek translations of the New Testament\nwould satisfy the public. This demand not being granted, an indignation\nmeeting, attended by more than 30,000 people, was held around the\ncolumns of Olympian Jupiter, and the feeling of the crowd was voiced by\na student, who declared that during the centuries of Turkish oppression\nno such deadly injury had been inflicted on the nation with the sword as\nthat which had now been perpetrated with the pen. The meeting was\nfollowed by riots in the streets, in which a collision took place\nbetween the crowd and the military, attended with serious and in some\ncases fatal results. Before the night was over, the Chief of the Police\nand the Commander of the Garrison had resigned their posts; a similar\nstep had to be taken even by the Archbishop, who was conducted to the\nKing\u2019s palace in the middle of the night by the Prime Minister and the\nMinister of Public Instruction; and within a few days the Ministry\nitself had to relinquish office.\n\nThe whole occurrence was a striking proof of the passionate pride that\nis latent in the Greek character in any matter that affects its\nreputation and self-esteem. Although the question came to assume a\nsemi-religious, semi-political aspect, the real offence lay in the fact\nthat the language used in the translation was the vulgar tongue, which\nthe University authorities desired to suppress, so far as its use for\nliterary purposes was concerned. If the translation had been allowed to\nget a footing at home or in school it would have acquired a place in the\naffections of the people. To avoid this danger the ecclesiastical\nauthorities issued an edict forbidding the use of all translations or\nany departure from the original text--and this notwithstanding the fact\nthat there were thousands of the members of their Church who could\nderive little or no benefit from the New Testament without the help of a\ntranslation. It is easy to understand, from the feelings with which many\ndevout people in this country received the changes made on the English\nRevised Version about thirty years ago, that the Greeks would be very\nsensitive to any alteration on the New Testament, which had been the\ncherished symbol of their nationality under the dominion of the Turk.\nBut in this case there was no alteration of the sense; and no one was\ncompelled to use the translation unless he pleased, nor was there any\nattempt to supersede the reading of the original text in church. No\ndoubt the language of Mr. Pallis\u2019 translation was sometimes of a very\nhomely character. But to talk of its being a \u201cprofanation of the\nGospel\u201d\n\n[Illustration: THE SQUARE IN FRONT OF THE KING\u2019S PALACE AT ATHENS\n\nMount Hymettos behind and the dust-laden cypress trees in front of the\nPalace, ruddy in the last rays of a June sunset.]\n\nwas quite a misrepresentation, and seems almost ridiculous in view of\nthe fact--which the discovery of Egyptian _papyri_ has been bringing\nhome to us of late--that the language of the New Testament was, at the\ntime it was written, the language in every-day use among the masses of\nthe people for whom it was intended, which the learned men of the day\nwould have disdained to employ for literary purposes. No such outcry was\nraised in this country when a Scots translation of the Psalms was issued\nby the late Dr. P. H. Waddell, though it might have been more reasonably\nobjected to as serving no practical purpose. But there was no jealousy\nof the Scots dialect on the part of the Church or the educated\nclasses--hence it was simply regarded as a literary curiosity.\n\nEqually groundless was the notion that the issue of translations was\npart of a scheme to which the Queen (a Russian princess) was supposed to\nbe accessory, for the purpose of playing into the hands of the Russians\nin Macedonia, by leading the Greek population to surrender their\nbirthright as the lawful heirs of the New Testament. To understand this\nsuspicion we must remember that the Greeks had long prided themselves on\nthe fact that they and they alone could read the very words of the New\nTestament in their own tongue, and they were afraid that they would\nforfeit this distinction and be reduced to a level with their Slavonic\nneighbours, if the need for a translation were admitted.[9]\n\nHowever inconsistent it may seem, this attachment to the Greek of the\nNew Testament is only another phase of the same pride of ancestry that\nis seen in the straining after classical Greek.[10] The desire to pose\nbefore the world as the descendants of the nation which produced Homer\nand \u00c6schylus and Pericles and Plato and Demosthenes has led them to\nsacrifice in some measure the real interests of the nation to the\nglamour of a remote and glorious past. Just as they have been ashamed of\nsome medi\u00e6val monuments which reminded them of humiliating epochs in\ntheir history, so they have tried to get rid of words and forms which\nbore the stamp of foreign ascendency. But such affectation cannot alter\nfacts, and is bad for the _morale_ of a nation. The pride of birth, when\ncarried to excess, may hurt the character of a people no less than of an\nindividual, and foster a theatrical and pretentious spirit. It is easy\nto see that in the education of the young it cannot be favourable to\nvigour or spontaneity of thought if the pupil is denied the use of the\nwords to which he has been accustomed from his earliest years. With such\na discord between experience and expression, it is no wonder that the\nGreek people have produced so little native literature during the last\ntwo thousand years, and that they are so largely dependent at the\npresent time on foreign authorship, especially Russian, English, and\nFrench. The loss sustained in almost all the practical departments of\nthe national life, both sacred and secular, is alleged to be scarcely\nless serious. It can hardly be otherwise, indeed, if the language\nemployed in public documents is only partially or with difficulty\nunderstood by a large proportion of the people for whom it is intended.\nMoreover, it cannot be good for the nation to be divided, intellectually\nspeaking, into two more or less antagonistic camps, corresponding\nroughly to the educated and the uneducated.\n\nOf recent years there have been signs of a strong reaction. Largely\nowing to the ability and zeal of Professor Psichari, a son-in-law of the\nlate M. Renan, the Atticising tendency is not nearly so prevalent as it\nwas twenty years ago, and a considerable native literature is now making\nits appearance not only in poetry (in which it has always been strong)\nbut also in novels, dramas, journals, newspapers, and even in the\npublication of grammars. This literature is no longer confined, as it\nused to be, with few exceptions, to the Ionian Islands (where Salomos of\nZant\u00e9 and Valaoritis of Leucas sang) and Crete (where Cornaro, of\nVenetian extraction, produced his great epic _Erotokritos_, which\nprocured for him the title of the \u201cHomer of the People\u201d). Even\nConstantinople is beginning to breathe the new spirit; and there is\nreason to hope that a compromise between the two extremes may yet be\neffected, by which the nation may realise its essential unity amid\ndiversity, remaining true to its illustrious ancestry, without ignoring\nor suppressing the other elements--Roman, Byzantine, Turkish--which have\ncontributed to its development. Its scholars are beginning to see that\nthe idea of classical Greek ever becoming a universal language for men\nof culture is a vain dream, and that a nation\u2019s speech, like its life,\nmust undergo continual modification. Such modification, though it may\nappear to the pedant to be corruption, is evolution to the philosopher\nand man of sense. The history of the Russian and Czech languages, which\nhave adapted themselves to literary purposes with such success during\nthe last two hundred years, encourages the hope that the language now\nspoken by the common people of Greece may go through a similar process\nof development, borrowing from the ancient Greek what it requires in\norder to meet the needs of science and philosophy, while holding its\nground as the essential basis of the national speech.[11]\n\nAkin to this controversy is the question as to the proper pronunciation\nof Greek. So different is the pronunciation now current among the Greeks\nfrom that which is in vogue in this country that, even without any\ndifference in vocabulary or grammar, a Western scholar trained in the\nErasmian system would find the greatest difficulty in understanding or\nmaking himself\n\n[Illustration: THE STADION AT ATHENS\n\nThe line of sight is in the direction of the axis of the Stadion. The\nhills sloping right and left show the line of the seats for spectators.\nThe stones projecting from the side of the hill to the left are part of\nthe masonry which faced the eastern limb of the Stadion on its southern\nside. In the foreground is the modern bridge over the Ilissus leading to\nthe Stadion.]\n\nunderstood by a modern Greek, who allows the accentuation to supersede\nthe vowel-quantity and reduces the diphthong to a simple sound. How\ndifferent, for example, Peloponn\u0113sos sounds when it is pronounced\nPelop\u00f3nn\u012dssos, or ta-neph\u0113 (\u03c4\u1f01 \u03bd\u1f11\u03c6\u03b7) when pronounced ta-n\u00e9ph\u012b. The\ndifference is still more marked when you hear a modern Greek read Homer,\nfor he seems to do away with the metre altogether. Till lately the\nGreeks were inclined to smile at our rendering of the quantities. But\nrecently they have been learning from one who is perhaps their highest\nauthority on such questions (G. Chatzidakis) that ancient inscriptions\nand transcriptions show that their living language has not stood still\nin the matter of pronunciation any more than in other respects. It does\nnot follow from this, however, that the Erasmian pronunciation, though\nolder and more correct as to quantity than is now current among the\nGreeks, is in all respects the same as would have been heard in the\nstreets of Athens in the days of Socrates.\n\n\n\n\nIndex\n\n\nAcademy, 172\n\nAcanthus, 119\n\nAch\u00e6an League, 18, 118\n\nAch\u00e6ans, 40, 52, 55, 103, 162\n\nAchilles, 11, 142\n\nAcro-Corinthus, 73, 111 _f._, 118\n\nAcropolis, 124 _seq._, 152, 166, 170, 173, 188, 199\n\nAdrastus, 95 _f._\n\n\u00c6galeus (Mt.), 175\n\n\u00c6geus, 126\n\n\u00c6gina, 82, 96, 108, 142 _seq._\n\n\u00c6ginetans, 143 _ff._\n\n\u00c6gospotami, 82, 88, 144, 186\n\n\u00c6olian, 7, 15, 162\n\n\u00c6schines, 64\n\n\u00c6schylus, 21, 138, 176, 189, 191 _f._, 196, 207, 224\n\nAfrica, 73, 87, 102\n\nAgamemnon, 40, 58, 61, 97, 100, 102, 105, 192\n\nAgesilaus, 82, 89\n\nAgesipolis, 59, 98\n\nAgis, 58, 85, 89\n\nAgraulos, 129\n\nAgrippa, 210\n\nAjax, 140, 142\n\nAlc\u00e6us, 7\n\nAlcibiades, 48, 97, 185, 207\n\nAlcinous, 9, 106\n\nAlcm\u00e6on, 61\n\nAlcm\u00e6onid, 131\n\nAleman, 85\n\nAlexander the Great, 12, 21, 49, 64, 74, 97, 117, 122, 171, 196, 201\n\nAlpheus, 34, 52, 63\n\nAmazons, 68, 157\n\nAmphictyony, 27, 130\n\nAmycl\u00e6, 90, 91\n\nAnaxagoras, 203\n\nAndrits\u00e6na, 67\n\nAntipater, 64, 201 _f._\n\nAph\u00e6a, 145\n\nAphrodit\u00e9, 119, 176\n\nApollo, 16, 20 _seq._, 41, 62, 68 _f._, 91, 98, 108, 118, 127, 174, 176\n\nAratus, 118\n\nArcadia, 51 _seq._, 82, 105\n\nArch\u00e6ology (schools of), 29, 35, 65, 119\n\nAreopagus, 125, 127, 139, 166, 185, 207, 214\n\nAret\u00e9, 106, 182\n\nArethusa, 52\n\nArgive, 74, 82, 97\n\nArgives, 58, 95, 98, 101, 107\n\nArgolic, 104\n\nArgolid, 108\n\nArgolis, 36, 94 _seq._\n\nArgonauts, 54\n\nArgos, 49, 61, 64, 71, 94, 112\n\nAriadne, 125\n\nArion, 190 _f._\n\nAristides, 62\n\nAristodemus, 77\n\nAristogeiton, 134 _f._\n\nAristomenes, 72 _f._, 92\n\nAristophanes, 173, 193 _f._, 199, 217\n\nAristotle, 12, 41, 196, 203, 212\n\nArt (development of), 43, 148 _f._\n\nArtemis, 52, 54, 79, 145\n\nAsclepios, 108 _f._, 174\n\nAsia Minor, 40, 87, 103, 130, 134, 149, 197\n\nAtalanta, 54\n\nAthena, 28, 55, 91, 128, 131, 139, 144 _f._, 146 _seq._, 210\n\nAthens, 9, 29, 32, 60, 61, 64, 75, 84, 88, 97,\n 102, 105, 114, 122, 124 _seq._\n\nAthens (modern), 212 _seq._\n\nAttalus (stoa of), 209\n\nAttica, 125\n\nAtreus, 105\n\nAutonomy (love of), 5. _Vide_ Tyranny\n\n\nBacchiad\u00e6, 113\n\nBacchus (Dionysus), 192\n\nBaltic, 102\n\nBass\u00e6, 66, 68 _f._\n\nBellerophon, 112\n\nB\u00e9rard (Victor), 10, 16, 76\n\nBlackie (Prof. J. S.), 192\n\nB\u0153otia, 48, 58, 60, 74\n\nBosporus, 99\n\nBoul\u00e9 (Council), 78, 184, 208\n\nBrasidas, 85, 200\n\nBrennus, 28\n\nBribery, 25, 43, 84\n\nBritish and Foreign Bible Society, 120\n\nBritish Museum, 68, 154, 161, 176\n\nBurial, 102 _f._, 137, 168, 172\n\nByron, 18, 165, 195, 215\n\nByzantine, 62, 66, 68, 92, 107, 159, 226\n\n\nCallicrates, 153\n\nCallimachus, 119\n\nCallirhoe, 169\n\nCallistratus, 60 _f._\n\nCalydonian Hunt, 54 _f._\n\nCalypso, 9\n\nCanal (Corinth), 121 _f._\n\nCapodistrias, 107\n\nCaryatid\u00e6, 149, 161\n\nCastalian Spring, 32\n\nCecropia, 128, 147\n\nCecrops, 128 _f._, 139, 162\n\nCeleus, 177-179\n\nCenchre\u00e6, 120\n\nCentaur, 37, 68, 154, 190\n\nCephallenia (Cephalonia), 7, 73\n\nCephisus, 175\n\nCerameicus, 169 _f._, 209\n\nCh\u00e6ronea, 29, 168\n\nCharon, 169\n\nChatzidakis (G.), 227\n\nChoregus, 195 _ff._\n\nChrysostom (Dio), 38\n\nChthonian, 39, 177\n\nCicero, 38, 60, 172, 180\n\nCimon, 127, 145, 173\n\nCirphis, 20\n\nCirrha, 27\n\nCladeus, 35\n\nCleisthenes, 96, 172, 184 _f._\n\nCleomenes, 25, 64, 89, 98\n\nClergy (Greek), 75, 214\n\nClimate, 3, 124\n\nClytemnestra, 55\n\nCodrus, 129\n\nColchis, 113\n\nColonies (Greek), 4, 24 _f._, 47, 49\n\nColonus, 174 _f._\n\nComedy. _Vide_ Drama\n\nConon, 172\n\nConstantinople, 38, 158, 220, 225\n\nCora, 177\n\nCoreia, 182\n\nCorfu (Corcyra), 7 _ff._, 114\n\nCorinth, 9, 88, 104, 111 _seq._, 140, 142, 190\n\nCornaro, 225\n\nCornelius Nepos, 116\n\nCotys, 187\n\nCowardice (contempt for), 80 _ff._\n\nCratinus, 194\n\nCreon, 112\n\nCrete, 30, 103, 126, 132\n\nCre\u00fcsa, 162\n\nCrisa, 19\n\nCr\u0153sus, 22, 96\n\nCronius, 34\n\nCrusaders, 86\n\nCum\u00e6 (Hypereia), 10\n\nCyclopean, 102, 119, 125\n\nCyclopes, 85\n\nCyllene, 19\n\nCylon, 131\n\nCypselus, 113\n\nCyrene, 87\n\nCyrus, 22, 84\n\n\nDanaids, 95\n\nDanaus, 95\n\nDaphni, 176\n\nDarius, 134 _ff._, 142\n\nDelian League, 152, 207\n\nDelos, 30, 127\n\nDelphi, 18 _seq._\n\nDelphian Oracle, 20 _seq._, 56 _f._, 78 _f._, 98, 127-130, 138, 140, 144\n\nDelyannis, 62\n\nDemaratus, 25, 86\n\nDemeter, 52, 144, 175 _ff._\n\nDemetrius of Phalerum, 117\n\nDemetrius Poliorcetes, 121, 206 _f._\n\nDemocracy, 183 _seq._, 206 _ff._\n\nDemosthenes, 74, 158, 195, 201 _ff._, 224\n\nDespoina, 52\n\nDeucalion, 211\n\nDiogenes, 118\n\nDion, 182\n\nDionysia, 191, 193\n\nDionysius, 21, 46, 115, 117, 187 _f._\n\nDionysus (Bacchus), 189 _f._, 194, _f._\n\nDioscuri, 90\n\nDipylon, 168 _f._, 175\n\nDodona, 26\n\nDorian or Doric, 31, 40 _f._, 55, 68, 71, 74,\n 87, 90, 99, 129, 142, 144, 193\n\nDraco, 130\n\nDrama, 46 _f._, 92, 188 _seq._, 217\n\nDress, 70, 103, 149\n\n\nEcclesia, 78, 184\n\nEducation, 197, 218\n\nEgypt, 94, 102 _f._, 107, 128, 196\n\nEgyptian, 99, 181\n\nEleusis, 167 _seq._\n\nElgin, Lord, 154, 161, 176\n\nElis, 40, 41\n\nEmigration, 216\n\nEmpire (Athenian), 88, 207\n\nEnneapylon, 125\n\nEpaminondas, 58 _f._, 62, 73 _f._, 88\n\nEpeia, 40\n\nEphors, 78, 82\n\nEphyra, 123\n\nEpidamnus, 9\n\nEpidaurus, 96, 108, 142\n\nEpimenides, 132\n\nEpizephyrian, 130\n\nErechtheum, 145, 160 _seq._\n\nErechtheus, 128, 145, 162\n\nErichthonius, 156\n\nErinyes, 166\n\nErymanthus, 19, 67\n\nEum\u00e6us, 14\n\nEumenes, 190\n\nEumenides, 131, 166\n\nEuripides, 54, 172, 193, 196 _f._\n\nEurotas, 89 _f._, 92\n\nEvzoni, 70\n\n\nFlamininus, 123\n\nFuries, 165\n\nF\u00fcrtwangler, Prof., 145\n\n\nG\u00e6a or G\u0113, 21\n\nGalen, 181\n\nGeography, 3, 124\n\nGerousia, 78\n\nGladstone, 8, 215\n\nGlauk\u00e9, 112 _f._\n\nGorgon, 156, 159\n\nGreece (characteristics of), 3 _ff._\n\nGymnop\u00e6dia, 81\n\n\nHades, 95, 112, 169\n\nHadrian, 188, 211 _f._, 215\n\nHarmodius, 134 _f._\n\nHarpalus, 171, 196\n\nHelen, 69, 90\n\nHelisson, 63\n\nHellen, 129, 162\n\nHellenic, 20, 36, 47, 84, 86, 129, 152, 157, 162, 179\n\nHellespont, 61, 141\n\nHelots, 87 _f._\n\nHeph\u00e6stion, 171\n\nHeph\u00e6stus, 105, 128\n\nHera, 35, 41, 99 _f._, 107\n\nHeracleids, 40, 55, 77, 89\n\nHeracles, 34, 37, 40, 55, 71, 79, 105, 123\n\nHer\u00e6um, 99 _f._\n\nHermes, 37, 105\n\nHerodes-Atticus, 190, 216\n\nHerodotus, 24, 46, 56, 95 _f._, 113 _f._, 144, 163, 217\n\nHesiod, 21, 40, 54, 60, 162\n\nHesperides, 54\n\nHipparchus, 173\n\nHippias, 135\n\nHissarlik, 103\n\nHomer, 4, 10 _seq._, 40, 43, 54, 62, 77 _f._,\n 95 _f._, 103, 105 _f._, 123, 128, 148, 224, 227\n\nHomerid\u00e6 of Chios, 16\n\nHomicide, 24\n\nHonour (love of), 143\n\nHuman sacrifice, 23, 75\n\nHyacinthia, 91\n\nHyllus, 55\n\nHymettus, 148\n\nHyperbolus, 185\n\n\nIctinus, 68, 153\n\n_Iliad_, 12 _seq._, 101, 108, 126\n\nIlissus, 150\n\nIlium, 16\n\nIo, 99\n\nIon, 129\n\nIonian Islands, 7 _seq._, 122\n\nIonian and Ionic, 58, 129, 134, 136, 176, 197\n\nIphicrates, 91\n\nIphitus, 41\n\nIsocrates, 47\n\nIsthmian games, 39, 122\n\nItea, 19\n\nIthaca, 7\n\nIthome (Mt.), 68, 73, 75\n\n\nJason of Pher\u00e6, 28\n\nJesus Christ, 166, 180\n\nJulian the Apostate, 26\n\nJulius C\u00e6sar, 118, 121, 210\n\nJupiter (_vide_ Zeus), 29, 38, 221\n\nJustinian, 157\n\n\nKalamata, 76\n\nKaryt\u00e6na, 66\n\nKnossus, 126\n\nKolokotronis, 66\n\n\nLaconia, 72, 80, 86, 93\n\nLaius, 32\n\nLangada, 92\n\nLanguage question, 217 _seq._\n\nLapiths, 37, 68, 154\n\nLarissa, 94, 99\n\nLatona, 62\n\nLaurium, 208\n\nLawyers (modern Gr.), 214\n\nLe\u00e6na, 134\n\nLech\u00e6um, 120\n\nLen\u00e6an festival, 47\n\nLenormant statue, 157\n\nLeonidas, 75, 80, 90\n\nLepreum, 48\n\nLeucas, 11\n\nLeuctra, 59, 61, 81\n\nLiberation (of Greece), 18, 66, 77, 212\n\nLocrians, 28, 130\n\nLucian, 160\n\nLycabettus, 125\n\nLyc\u00e6us, 52, 67\n\nLycaon, 52\n\nLyceum, 212\n\nLycia, 112\n\nLycosura, 52\n\nLycurgus, 21, 41, 71, 79, 84\n\nLycurgus (of Athens), 172, 188\n\nLysander, 25, 83 _f._\n\nLysias, 47\n\nLysicrates, 195\n\n\nMacedonia, 64, 97, 118, 201, 205, 223\n\nM\u00e6nalus (range), 63\n\nMagna Gr\u00e6cia, 4, 187, 197\n\nMahaffy (Prof.), 75\n\nMalea (Cape), 96\n\nMantinea, 58, 62, 85\n\nMarathon, 31, 127, 136 _ff._, 164\n\nMardonius, 56, 141 _f._\n\nMarsyas, 62\n\nMatapan (Cape), 89, 122\n\nMedea, 113\n\nMedes, 136\n\nMedical profession, 108 _f._, 214\n\nMediterranean, 16\n\nMedusa, 95\n\nMegacles, 131\n\nMegalopolis, 59, 63 _ff._, 69\n\nMegara, 129, 131 _f._, 171, 178\n\nMelanippus, 96\n\nMenander, 172, 194\n\nMenelaus, 76, 90\n\nMenestheus, 126\n\nMessene, 64, 73 _ff._\n\nMessenia, 71 _ff._, 92\n\nMetaneira, 177\n\nMiletus, 114, 130\n\nMiltiades, 127, 136 _ff._\n\nMinos, 103, 126\n\nMinotaur, 126\n\nMistra, 91 _f._\n\nMorea, 92\n\nMorosini, 158\n\nMummius, 118\n\nMusic, 31, 46, 74, 85 _f._\n\nMycale, 142\n\nMycen\u00e6, 16, 35, 94, 97, 101 _ff._, 105, 123, 128\n\nMysteries, 175, 177 _seq._\n\nMythology, 1 _ff._\n\n\nNaupactus, 40, 53, 73\n\nNauplia, 103, 107\n\nNausicaa, 11\n\nNavarino, 77\n\nNavel-stone, 29\n\nNemea, 39, 123\n\nNero, 31, 50, 121, 189\n\nNestor, 76\n\nNew Testament, 120, 220 _seq._\n\nNicetas, 159\n\nNicias, 161, 185\n\nNik\u00e9, 37, 126, 164\n\nNiobe, 40\n\n\nOaths, 48, 130 _f._\n\nOdysseus, 9 _f._, 14, 106\n\n_Odyssey_, 12 _seq._, 126\n\n\u0152dipus, 32, 61, 96\n\nOlympia, 18, 34 _seq._, 98, 217\n\nOlympiad, 39\n\nOlympian Games, 34 _seq._, 177\n\nOlympieum, 211, 221, _cf._ 150\n\nOlympus (Mt.), 15, 39, 117, 177\n\nOmens, 28, 98 _f._, 116\n\nOmphalos, 29\n\nOphis (river), 59, 62\n\nOracle. _Vide_ Delphian\n\nOratory, 197 _seq._\n\nOrestes, 57, 61, 166\n\nOtho, 107\n\nOxylus, 40\n\n\nP\u00e6onius, 37\n\nPalace (Homeric), 105\n\nPal\u00e6ocastrizza, 10\n\nPalamidi, 108\n\nPallis (Alexander), 220 _seq._\n\nPan, 190\n\nPan-Athenaic (games), 150, 154, 173, 206\n\nPancratium, 42\n\nPandora, 157\n\nPandroseum, 162 _f._\n\nParnassus, 19 _seq._\n\nParthenon, 151 _seq._, 206\n\nPatras, 18\n\nPaul (St.), 120, 180\n\nPausanias, 53, _passim_\n\nPegasus, 112\n\nPeirene, 112, 119\n\nPeisistratus, 76, 133 _ff._, 149 _ff._, 173, 191, 211\n\nPelasgian, 54, 103, 125\n\nPelasgicon, 125\n\nPelasgus, 52\n\nPelopides, 60\n\nPelopium, 38\n\nPeloponnesian war, 9, 58, 69, 77, 87, 99, 143\n\nPeloponnesus (Heracleid invasion of), 40, 55\n\nPelops, 36, 38, 102, 105\n\nPenelope, 11, 69\n\nPentathlon, 41\n\nPentelicus, 126, 216\n\nPeriander, 114, 121\n\nPericles, 25, 140, 143, 152, 157, 160, 166, 168, 172, 185 _f._, 224\n\nPeri\u0153ci, 86\n\nPersephone, 52, 177, 179\n\nPerseus, 95, 102\n\nPersia, 22, 47, 81, 84, 95, 117\n\nPh\u00e6acian Island, 9, 106\n\nPh\u00e6driad\u00e6, 20, 32\n\nPhalerum, 170 _f._\n\nPheidias, 38, 145, 153, 157\n\nPheidon, 96, 97\n\nPher\u00e6, 76\n\nPhigalia, 68\n\nPhilip (of Macedonia), 27, 49, 60, 74, 88, 117, 167, 196\n\nPhilopappus, 210\n\nPhilop\u0153men, 65, 89\n\nPhilosophy, 197, 203 _ff._\n\nPhlius, 96\n\nPhoc\u00e6a, 130\n\nPhocians, 27\n\nPhocion, 171, 200\n\nPh\u0153be, 120\n\nPh\u0153nicia, 16, 52, 96, 103, 111, 141, 196\n\nPhormio, 172\n\nPhrygian art, 40\n\nPhytalus, 175\n\nPindar, 41, 45, 60\n\nPir\u00e6us, 140, 142 _f._, 145, 172, 201\n\nPisa (Pisatis), 37, 40 _f._\n\nPlat\u00e6a, 57, 81, 97, 135, 137, 142, 144, 164\n\nPlato, 174, 187 _f._, 198, 203, 224\n\nPleistoanax, 25\n\nPleistus, 20\n\nPliny, 31, 160\n\nPlutarch, 30, 60, 62, 118, 181\n\nPluto, 2, 16, 169, 174\n\nPnyx, 125, 199 _f._\n\nPoetry (ancient), 13\n\nPolis, 11\n\nPolitics (modern), 213 _ff._\n\nPolycleitus, 100\n\nPonticonisi, 10\n\nPoseidon, 10, 73, 105, 122, 145, 162, 202\n\nPottery, 103 _f._, 169 _f._\n\nPraxiteles, 37, 62\n\nPriscilla, 120\n\nPrometheus, 173\n\nPronunciation (Greek), 226 _f._\n\nPropyl\u00e6a, 158, 160, 163, 165 _f._\n\nProserpine, 52, 177\n\nProtagoras, 198\n\nPsichari, 225\n\nPsyttaleia, 140\n\nPylos, 76 _f._\n\nPythian (air), 41\n\nPythian games, 19, 27, 39\n\nPythian oracle. _Vide_ Delphi\n\nPytho, 30\n\n\nQueen (of Greece), 221, 223\n\n\nRamsay (Prof. W. M.), 190 _f._\n\nReformers (political), 130, 132, 183 _seq._\n\nRhegium, 73\n\nRoman (period), 55, 118, 121 _ff._, 208 _seq._\n\n\nSacred Wars, 27 _ff._\n\nSacred Ways, 29, 179\n\nSt. Elias, 66\n\nSt. George, 128\n\nSalamis, 132, 140, 164, 176\n\nSalomos, 225\n\nSamos, 120\n\nSanctuary (desecration of), 49, 99, 131 _f._, 144\n\nSanta Mauro, 7\n\nSappho\u2019s Leap, 7\n\nSatyr, 190\n\nScheria, 9\n\nSchliemann, 16, 101 _f._\n\nScopas, 55\n\nSellasia, 89\n\nSibyl, 30\n\nSicily, 73, 115 _f._, 197\n\nSicyon, 96\n\nSilenus, 189\n\nSisyphus, 112\n\nSlaves, 24, 72, 73, 87 _f._\n\nSocrates, 21, 61, 127, 172, 194, 198, 203, 210, 227\n\nSolon, 21, 132 _f._, 172, 183 _f._, 196\n\nSophists, 193, 197 _f._, 202\n\nSophocles, 175, 191, 193, 196, 217\n\nSparta, 25, 56 _f._, 61, 71 _seq._, 97 _f._, 107, 114,\n 117, 135, 142 _ff._, 186 _f._, 200\n\nSphacteria, 77, 86, 200\n\nStadium of Athens, 216 _f._\n\nStenyclerus, 74\n\nStrabo, 77\n\nSulla, 31, 167\n\nSunium, 137, 158\n\nSydney (Sir Philip), 51\n\nSyn\u0153cia, 125\n\nSyracuse, 9, 46 _f._, 115 _f._, 188\n\n\nTantalus, 40\n\nTarentum, 87\n\nTaygetus, 74, 77, 89, 91\n\nTegea, 54 _seq._, 62\n\nTelemachus, 76\n\nTerpander, 85\n\nThebes, 29, 54, 61, 64, 88, 95 _f._, 103\n\nThemis, 21\n\nThemistocles, 139 _seq._, 208\n\nTheodosius, 26, 50\n\nTheoric Fund, 185 _f._, 208\n\nThera, 89\n\nTherapne, 90\n\nThermopyl\u00e6, 27, 57, 80, 97\n\nThersilium, 65\n\nTheseum, 127 _f._\n\nTheseus, 125 _seq._, 212\n\nThespis, 197\n\nThetes, 183\n\nThrasybulus, 114, 172\n\nThriasian (plain), 176, 178\n\nThothmes III., 99\n\nThucydides, 15, 46, 88 _f._, 99, 105, 168\n\nThyestes, 105\n\nThyrea, 142\n\nTimoleon, 115 _f._\n\nTiryns, 94, 97, 100, 105 _ff._, 128\n\nTitthion (Mt.), 108\n\nTorch races, 173 _f._\n\nTower of the Winds, 209\n\nTragedy. _Vide_ Drama\n\nTrapezus, 63\n\nTreasuries, 49, 155\n\nTreasury of the Athenians, 31\n\nTripoliza, 62, 66\n\nTriptolemus, 177\n\nTr\u0153zen, 96\n\nTroy, 16, 40, 94, 100 _f._, 105\n\nTurks, 62, 77, 107\n\nTyranny (hatred of), 115, 133 _f._, 187 _f._\n\nTyrt\u00e6us, 72, 85\n\n\nUniversity (of Athens), 215, 220 _f._\n\n\nValaoritis, 225\n\nVarvakeion, 156\n\nVases, 169 _f._\n\nVenetians, 107, 158\n\nVespasian, 121\n\nVille-hardouin, 92\n\nVitruvius, 119\n\nVourkano, 75\n\n\nWomen, 11, 41, 69 _f._, 80 _f._, 149 _f._\n\n\nXenophanes, 203\n\nXenophon, 16, 21, 82\n\nXerxes, 43, 86, 134, 138 _seq._\n\n\nZaleucus, 130\n\nZanes, 43\n\nZant\u00e9 (Zacynthus), 7\n\nZeno, 172\n\nZeus, 34, 38 _seq._, 52, 72, 75, 90, 99,\n 105 _f._, 112, 123, 139, 146 _f._, 150, 163, 177, 196\n\nZountas, 101\n\n THE END\n\n _Printed by_ R. & R. CLARK, LIMITED, _Edinburgh_.\n\n[Illustration:\n\nSketch Map\nof\nGREECE\n\nMAP ACCOMPANYING \u201cGREECE,\u201d BY JOHN FULLEYLOVE, R.I., AND REV. J. A.\nM\u2018CLYMONT, D.D. (A. AND C. BLACK, LONDON)]\n\n * * * * *\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[1] It may interest the reader to have a specimen of these famous odes.\nThe translation is that of Ernest Myers.\n\n FOR ASOPICHOS OF ORCHOMENOS, WINNER IN THE BOYS\u2019 SHORT FOOT-RACE\n\n [This ode was to be sung, probably by a chorus of boys, at the\n winner\u2019s city, Orchomenos, and most likely in the temple of the\n three _Charites_ or Graces--Aglaia, Euphrosyne, and Thalia--though\n sometimes the odes were sung at a banquet or at the door of the\n victor\u2019s house. The date of the victory is 476 B.C.]\n\n O Ye who haunt the land of goodly steeds that drinketh of Kephisos\u2019\n waters, lusty Orchomenos\u2019 queens renowned in song; O Graces,\n guardians of the Minyai\u2019s ancient race, hearken, for unto you I\n pray. For by your gift come unto men all pleasant things and sweet,\n and the wisdom of a man and his beauty, and the splendour of his\n fame. Yea even gods without the Graces\u2019 aid rule never at feast or\n dance; but these have charge of all things done in heaven, and\n beside Pythian\n\n Apollo of the golden bow they have set their thrones, and worship\n the eternal majesty of the Olympian Father.\n\n O Lady Aglaia, and thou Euphrosyne, lover of song, children of the\n mightiest of the gods, listen and hear, and thou Thalia, delighting\n in sweet sounds, and look down upon this triumphal company, moving\n with high light step under happy fate. In Lydian{*} mood of melody,\n concerning Asopichos am I come hither to sing, for that through\n thee, Aglaia, in the Olympic games the Minyai\u2019s home is winner.\n\n {* The Lydian \u201cmood\u201d was sung to the accompaniment of the flute,\n and was tender, sometimes even plaintive. The Dorian mode was\n stronger, the \u00c6olian more bright and animated, generally\n accompanied with the lyre or the flute, sometimes both. The metres\n of the different odes exhibit great variety.}\n\n Fly, Echo, to Persephone\u2019s dark-walled home, and to his father bear\n the noble tidings, that seeing him thou mayest speak to him of his\n son, saying that for his father\u2019s honour in Pisa\u2019s famous valley he\n hath crowned his boyish hair with garlands from the glorious games.\n\n\n[2] Philip of Macedonia probably owed much of his success to the\neducation he received at Thebes from his fifteenth till his eighteenth\nyear.\n\n[3] A name borne by many other hills in Greece owing to their\nresemblance to _Helios_, \u201cthe sun.\u201d\n\n[4] Frazer\u2019s _Pausanias_, vol. iii. p. 7.\n\n[5] Frazer\u2019s _Pausanias_, vol. ii. p. 350.\n\n[6] To this day speeches are often delivered in the cemetery, especially\nat the funeral of a person of note. Before being taken to the place of\nburial, the body, fully dressed, is carried in an open coffin to the\nchurch, where a religious service is held, of which an address sometimes\nforms part.\n\n[7] \u201cThe conception of the _Satyr_, a half-human, half-bestial form,\nbelongs originally to Asia Minor, and was developed, first in Ionian,\nand then in general Greek art. The more strictly Greek conceptions of\nThessalian Centaur and Arcadian Pan are fundamentally the same in\ncharacter. The Satyr-type varies between human mixed with horse and\nhuman mixed with goat, while the Centaur is only of the first kind and\nPan only of the second. Silenus is a similar idea, of Anatolian origin\nprobably, but developed in art more on the human side. The idea in all\nthese figures is that of rude, free, natural life, untrained, unfettered\nby conventions and ideas of merely human origin.\u201d--Prof. W. M. Ramsay\u2019s\n\u201cReligion of Greece\u201d in Hastings\u2019 _D. B._ (extra volume).\n\n[8] A great amount of detailed information regarding the affairs of\nmodern Greece will be found in W. Miller\u2019s _Greek Life in Town and\nCountry_ (Newnes, 1905).\n\n[9] The following is Mr. Pallis\u2019 translation of the Lord\u2019s Prayer (Matt.\nvi. 9-13):--\u03a0\u03b1\u03c4\u03ad\u03c1\u03b1 \u03bc\u03b1\u03c2 \u1f10\u03c3\u1f7a \u03bc\u03b5\u03c3' \u03c3\u03c4\u1f70 \u03bf\u1f50\u03c1\u03ac\u03bd\u03b9\u03b1, \u1f05\u03b3\u03b9\u03bf \u1f04\u03c2 \u03b5\u1f36\u03bd\u03b1\u03b9 \u03c4' \u1f44\u03bd\u03bf\u03bc\u03ac \u03c3\u03bf\u03c5,\n\u1f04\u03c2 \u1f14\u03c1\u03b8\u03b5\u03b9 \u1f21 \u03b2\u03b1\u03c3\u03b9\u03bb\u03b5\u03af\u03b1 \u03c3\u03bf\u03c5, \u1f03\u03c2 \u03b3\u03af\u03bd\u03b5\u03b9 \u03c4\u1f78 \u03b8\u03ad\u03bb\u03b7\u03bc\u03ac \u03c3\u03bf\u03c5, \u1f44\u03c0\u03c9\u03c2 \u03c3\u03c4\u1f78\u03bd \u03bf\u1f50\u03c1\u03b1\u03bd\u1f78 (\u1f14\u03c4\u03c3\u03b9)\n\u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u03c3\u03c4\u1f74 \u03b3\u1fc6\u00b7 \u03c4\u1f78 \u03c8\u03c9\u03bc\u03af \u03bc\u03b1\u03c2 \u1f45\u03c3\u03bf \u03bc\u1fb6\u03c2 \u03c0\u03ad\u03c6\u03c4\u03b5\u03b9 \u03b4\u1ff6\u03c3\u03b5 \u03bc\u03b1\u03c2 \u03c3\u03ae\u03bc\u03b5\u03c1\u03b1, \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u03c7\u03ac\u03c1\u03b9\u03c3\u03ad \u03bc\u03b1\u03c2\n\u03c4\u1f70 \u03c7\u03c1\u03ad\u03b7 \u03bc\u03b1\u03c2 \u1f45\u03c0\u03c9\u03c2 \u03ba\u03b9' \u1f10\u03bc\u03b5\u1fd6\u03c2 \u03c7\u03b1\u03c1\u03af\u03c3\u03b1\u03bc\u03b5 \u03c3' \u1f45\u03c3\u03bf\u03c5\u03c2 \u03bc\u1fb6\u03c2 \u03c7\u03c1\u03c9\u03c3\u03c4\u03bf\u1fe6\u03bd\u00b7 \u03ba\u03b1\u1f76 \u03bc\u1f74 \u03bc\u1fb6\u03c2\n\u03b2\u03ac\u03bb\u03b5\u03b9\u03c2 \u03c3\u1f72 \u03c0\u03b5\u03b9\u03c1\u03b1\u03c3\u03bc\u1f78, \u03bc\u03cc\u03bd\u03b5 \u03b3\u03bb\u03cd\u03c4\u03c9\u03c3\u03ad \u03bc\u03b1\u03c2 \u1f00\u03c0\u1f78 \u03c4\u1f78\u03bd \u03ba\u03b1\u03ba\u03cc.\n\n[10] We have a proof of this in the fact that a students\u2019 riot took\nplace in 1903 when a modern Greek version of the _Oresteia_ of \u00c6schylus\nwas put upon the stage, but had to be vetoed by the Government.\n\n[11] The reader who wishes to go more fully into this subject will find\nit ably treated by K. Krumbacher in his _Festrede_ on \u201cDas Problem der\nneugriechischen Schriftsprache\u201d (M\u00fcnchen, 1903).\n\n * * * * *\n\nTypographical errors corrected by the etext transcriber:\n\nsource of the the finest =>source of the finest {pg 32}\n\nhe sought to concilate=> he sought to conciliate {pg 49}\n\nrange of Taygetu=> range of Ta\u00ffgetu {pg 89, 91}\n\ngood state of perservation=> good state of preservation {pg 92}\n\nknown ever aferwards=> known ever afterwards {pg 160}\n\nover the the tomb=> over the tomb {pg 162}","title":"Greece: Painted by John Fulleylove; described by J.A. McClymont","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":67479}