[1] A. Lang, _Hist. of Scotland_, iii. 407.
ATHOLL, or ATHOLE, a district in the north of Perthshire, Scotland,
covering an area of about 450 sq. m. It is bounded on the N. by
Badenoch, on the N.E. by Braemar, on the E. by Forfarshire, on the S. by
Breadalbane, on the W. and N.W. by Lochaber. The Highland railway
bisects it diagonally from Dunkeld to the borders of Inverness-shire. It
is traversed by the Grampian mountains and watered by the Tay, Tummel,
Garry, Tilt, Bruar and other streams. Glen Garry and Glen Tilt are the
chief glens, and Loch Rannoch and Loch Tummel the principal lakes. The
population mainly centres around Dunkeld, Pitlochry and Blair Atholl.
The only cultivable soil occurs in the valleys of the large rivers, but
the deer-forest and the shootings on moor and mountain are among the
most extensive in Scotland. It is said to have been named Athfotla
(Atholl) after Fotla, son of the Pictish king Cruithne, and was under
the rule of a Celtic _mormaer_ (thane or earl) until the union of the
Picts and Scots under Kenneth Macalpine in 843. The duke of Atholl's
seats are Blair Castle and Dunkeld House. What is called Atholl brose is
a compound, in equal parts, of whisky and honey (or oatmeal), which was
first commonly used in the district for hoarseness and sore throat.
ATHOS (Gr. [Greek: Agion Oros]; Turk. _Aineros_; Ital. _Monte Santo_),
the most eastern of the three peninsular promontories which extend, like
the prongs of a trident, southwards from the coast of Macedonia
(European Turkey) into the Aegean Sea. Before the 19th century the name
Athos was usually confined to the terminal peak of the promontory, which
was itself known by its ancient name, _Acte_. The peak rises like a
pyramid, with a steep summit of white marble, to a height of 6350 ft.,
and can be seen at sunset from the plain of Troy on the east, and the
slopes of Olympus on the west. On the isthmus are distinct traces of the
canal cut by Xerxes before his invasion of Greece in 480 B.C. The
peninsula is remarkable for the beauty of its scenery, and derives a
peculiar interest from its unique group of monastic communities with
their medieval customs and institutions, their treasures of Byzantine
art and rich collections of documents. It is about 40 m. in length, with
a breadth varying from 4 to 7 m.; its whole area belongs to the various
monasteries. It was inhabited in the earliest times by a mixed Greek and
Thracian population; of its five cities mentioned by Herodotus few
traces remain; some inscriptions discovered on the sites were published
by W.M. Leake (_Travels in N. Greece_, 1835, iii. 140) and Kinch. The
legends of the monks attribute the first religious settlements to the
age of Constantine (274-337), but the hermitages are first mentioned in
historical documents of the 9th century. It is conjectured that the
mountain was at an earlier period the abode of anchorites, whose numbers
were increased by fugitives from the iconoclastic persecutions
(726-842). The "coenobian" rule to which many of the monasteries still
adhere was established by St Athanasius, the founder of the great
monastery of Laura, in 969. Under a constitution approved by the emperor
Constantine Monomachos in 1045, women and female animals were excluded
from the holy mountain. In 1060 the community was withdrawn from the
authority of the patriarch of Constantinople, and a monastic republic
was practically constituted. The taking of Constantinople by the Latins
in 1204 brought persecution and pillage on the monks; this reminded them
of earlier Saracenic invasions, and led them to appeal for protection to
Pope Innocent III., who gave them a favourable reply. Under the
Palaeologi (1260-1453) they recovered their prosperity, and were
enriched by gifts from various sources. In the 14th century the
peninsula became the chosen retreat of several of the emperors, and the
monasteries were thrown into commotion by the famous dispute over the
mystical Hesychasts.
Owing to the timely submission of the monks to the Turks after the
capture of Salonica (1430), their privileges were respected by
successive sultans: a tribute is paid to the Turkish government, which
is represented by a resident _kaimakam_, and the community is allowed to
maintain a small police force. Under the present constitution, which
dates from 1783, the general affairs of the commonwealth are entrusted
to an assembly ([Greek: oynaxis]) of twenty members, one from each
monastery; a committee of four members, chosen in turn, styled
_epistatae_ ([Greek: epistatai]), forms the executive. The president of
the committee ([Greek: ho protos]) is also the president of the
assembly, which holds its sittings in the village of Karyes, the seat of
government since the 10th century. The twenty monasteries, which all
belong to the order of St Basil, are: Laura ([Greek: ae Laura]), founded
in 963; Vatopedi ([Greek: Batopedios]), said to have been founded by the
emperor Theodosius; Rossikon ([Greek: 'Rossikon]), the Russian monastery
of St Panteleimon; Chiliandari ([Greek: Chiliantarios]: supposed to be
derived from [Greek: chilioi andres] or [Greek: chilia leontaria]),
founded by the Servian prince Stephen Nemanya (1159-1195); Iveron
([Greek: ae monae ton Ibaeron]), founded by Iberians, or Georgians;
Esphigmenu ([Greek: tou Esphigmenou]: the name is derived from the
confined situation of the monastery); Kutlumush ([Greek:
Koutloumousae]); Pandocratoros ([Greek: tou Pantokratoros]); Philotheu
([Greek: Philotheou]); Caracallu ([Greek: tou Karakallou]); St Paul
([Greek: tou agiou Paulou]); St Denis ([Greek: tou agiou Dionusiou]); St
Gregory ([Greek: tou agiou Graegoriou]); Simopetra ([Greek: Simopetra]);
Xeropotamu ([Greek: tou Xaeropotamou]); St Xenophon ([Greek: tou agiou
Xenophontos]); Dochiariu ([Greek: Docheiareiou]); Constamonitu ([Greek:
Konstamonitou]); Zographu ([Greek: tou Zographou]); and Stavronikitu
([Greek: tou Stavronikitou], the last built, founded in 1545). The
"coenobian" monasteries ([Greek: koinobia]), each under the rule of an
abbot ([Greek: aegoumenos]), are subjected to severe discipline; the
brethren are clothed alike, take their meals (usually limited to bread
and vegetables) in the refectory, and possess no private property. In
the "idiorrhythmic" monasteries ([Greek: idiorrythma]), which are
governed by two or three annually elected wardens ([Greek: epitropoi]),
a less stringent rule prevails, and the monks are allowed to supplement
the fare of the monastery from their private incomes. Dependent on the
several monasteries are twelve _sketae_ ([Greek: skaetai]) or monastic
settlements, some of considerable size, in which a still more ascetic
mode of life prevails: there are, in addition, several farms ([Greek:
metochia]), and many hundred sanctuaries with adjoining habitations
([Greek: kellia]) and hermitages ([Greek: askaetaeria]). The
monasteries, with the exception of Rossikon (St Panteleimon) and the
Serbo-Bulgarian Chiliandari and Zographu, are occupied exclusively by
Greek monks. The large _skete_ of St Andrew and some others belong to
the Russians; there are also Rumanian and Georgian _sketae_. The great
monastery of Rossikon, which is said to number about 3000 inmates, has
been under a Russian abbot since 1875; it is regarded as one of the
principal centres of the Russian politico-religious propaganda in the
Levant. The tasteless style of its modern buildings is out of harmony
with the quaint beauty of the other monasteries. Furnished with ample
means, the Russian monks neglect no opportunity of adding to their
possessions on the holy mountain; their encroachments are resisted by
the Greek monks, whose wealth, however, was much diminished by the
secularization of their estates in Rumania (1864). The population of the
holy mountain numbers from 6000 to 7000; about 3000 are monks ([Greek:
kalogeroi]), the remainder being lay brothers ([Greek: kosmikoi]). The
monasteries, which are all fortified, generally consist of large
quadrangles enclosing churches; standing amid rich foliage, they present
a wonderfully picturesque appearance, especially when viewed from the
sea. Their inmates, when not engaged in religious services, occupy
themselves with husbandry, fishing and various handicrafts; the standard
of intellectual culture is not high. A large academy, founded by the
monks of Vatopedi in 1749, for a time attracted students from all parts
of the East, but eventually proved a failure, and is now in ruins. The
muniment rooms of the monasteries contain a marvellous series of
documents, including chrysobulls of various emperors and princes,
_sigilla_ of the patriarchs, _typica_, irades and other documents, the
study of which will throw an important light on the political and
ecclesiastical history and social life of the East from the middle of
the 10th century. Up to comparatively recent times a priceless
collection of classical manuscripts was preserved in the libraries; many
of them were destroyed during the War of Greek Independence (1821-1829)
by the Turks, who employed the parchments for the manufacture of
cartridges; others fell a prey to the neglect or vandalism of the monks,
who, it is said, used the material as bait in fishing; others have been
sold to visitors, and a considerable number have been removed to Moscow
and Paris. The library of Simopetra was destroyed by fire in 1891, and
that of St Paul in 1905. There is now little hope of any important
discovery of classical manuscripts. The codices remaining in the
libraries are for the most part theological and ecclesiastical works. Of
the Greek manuscripts, numbering about 11,000, 6618 have been catalogued
by Professor Spyridion Lambros of Athens; his work, however, does not
include the MSS. in some of the _sketae_, or those in the libraries of
Laura and Vatopedi, of which catalogues (hitherto unpublished) have been
prepared by resident monks. The canonic MSS. only of Vatopedi and Laura
have been catalogued by Benessevich in the supplement to vol. ix. of the
_Bizantiyskiy Vremennik_ (St Petersburg, 1904). The Slavonic and
Georgian MSS. have not been catalogued. Apart from the illuminated MSS.,
the mural paintings, the mosaics, and the goldsmith's work of Mount
Athos are of infinite interest to the student of Byzantine art. The
frescoes in general date from the 15th or 16th century: some are
attributed by the monks to Panselinos, "the Raphael of Byzantine
painting," who apparently flourished in the time of the Palaeologi. Most
of them have been indifferently restored by local artists, who follow
mechanically a kind of hieratic tradition, the principles of which are
embodied in a work of iconography by the monk Dionysius, said to have
been a pupil of Panselinos. The same spirit of conservatism is manifest
in the architecture of the churches, which are all of the medieval
Byzantine type. Some of the monasteries were seriously damaged by an
earthquake in 1905.
AUTHORITIES.--R.N.C. Curzon, _Visits to Monasteries in the Levant_
(London, 1849); J.P. Fallmerayer, _Fragmenta aus dem Orient_
(Stuttgart and Tubingen, 1845); V. Langlois, _Le Mont Athos et ses
monasteres_, with a complete bibliography (Paris, 1867); Duchesne and
Bayet, _Memoirs sur une mission en Macedoine et au Mont Athos_ (Paris,
1876); Texier and Pullan, _Byzantine Architecture_ (London, 1864); H.
Brockhaus, _Die Kunst in den Athosklostern_ (Leipzig, 1891); A. Riley,
_Athos, or the Mountain of the Monks_ (London, 1887); S. Lambros,
_Catalogue of the Greek Manuscripts on Mount Athos_ (2 vols.,
Cambridge, 1895 and 1900); M.I. Gedeon, [Greek: o Athos]
(Constantinople, 1885); P. Meyer, "Beitrage zur Kenntniss der neueren
Geschichte und des gegenwartigen Zustandes der Athoskloster," in
_Zeitschrift fur Kirchengeschichte_, 1890; _Die Haupturkunden fur die
Geschichte der Athoskloster_ (Leipzig, 1894); G. Millet, J. Pargoire
and L. Petit, _Recueil des inscriptions chretiennes de l'Athos_
(Paris, 1904); H. Gelzer, _Vom Heiligen Berge und aus Makedonien_
(Leipzig, 1904); K. Vlachu (Blachos), [Greek: Ae Chersonaesos tou
Hagiou Orous] (Athens, 1903); G. Smurnakes, [Greek: To Hagiou
Archaiologia Orous Atho], (Athens, 1904). (J. D. B.)
ATHY (pronounced Athy), a market-town of Co. Kildare, Ireland, in the
south parliamentary division, 45 m. S.W. of Dublin on a branch of the
Great Southern & Western railway. Pop. of urban district (1901) 3599. It
is intersected by the river Barrow, which is here crossed by a bridge of
five arches. The crossing of the river here was guarded and disputed
from the earliest times, and the name of the town is derived from a king
of Munster killed here in the 2nd century. There are picturesque remains
of Woodstock Castle of the 12th or 13th century, and White Castle built
in 1506, and rebuilt in 1575 by a member of the family whose name it
bears, and still occupied. Both were erected to defend the ford of the
Barrow. There are also an old town gate, and an ancient cemetery with
slight monastic remains. Previous to the Union Athy returned two members
to the Irish parliament. The trade, chiefly in grain, is aided by
excellent water communication, by a branch of the Grand Canal to Dublin,
and by the river Barrow, navigable from here to Waterford harbour.
ATINA, the name of three ancient towns of Italy.
1. A town (mod. _Atena_) of Lucania, upon the Via Popillia, 7 m. N. of
Tegianum, towards which an ancient road leads, in the valley of the
river now known as Diano. Its ancient importance is vouched for by its
walls of rough cyclopean work, which may have had a total extent of some
2 m. (see G. Patroni in _Notizie degli scavi_, 1897, 112; 1901, 498).
The date of these walls has not as yet been ascertained, recent
excavations, which led to the discovery of a few tombs in which the
earliest objects showing Greek influence may go back to the 7th century
B.C., not having produced any decisive evidence on the point. To the
Roman period belong the remains of an amphitheatre and numerous
inscriptions.
2. A town (mod. _Atina_) of the Volsci, 12 m. N. of Casinum, and about
14 m. E. of Arpinum, on a hill 1607 ft. above sea-level. The walls, of
carefully worked polygonal blocks of stone, are still preserved in
parts, and the modern town does not fill the whole area which they
enclose. Cicero speaks of it as a prosperous country town, which had not
as yet fallen into the hands of large proprietors; and inscriptions show
that under the empire it was still flourishing. One of these last is a
boundary stone relating to the assignation of lands in the time of the
Gracchi, of which six other examples have been found in Campania and
Lucania.