Travelling in Greece--Hieron--Mysterious companion--Dangers of
the glen--Speculations--Inclination to brigandage--Alarm--A
virtuoso--Epidaurus--Greek servant--Fresh arrivals--On the
look-out--Mosaics--A sail--Ruins--Arcadian scene--Pastoral
happiness--Diorama--Household operations--Banquet hall--Domestic
industry--Benevolence--Marriage preparations--Scene at the cisterns.
♦ TRAVELLING IN GREECE ♦
Travelling in Greece I soon found to be a very different affair from
travelling in Turkey. A small jog-trot, or rather a walk at a snail’s
pace, is the usual rate of journeying throughout the Morea, at all
events. Indeed, the bridle tracks, which are called roads, are so
rough, that it would be impossible for any body, except a Tartar, to
think of getting on at a much higher estimate of space than about three
English miles an hour. The same horses are often engaged for journies
of three or four days successively--no great hardship either, seeing
that they seldom steal over more than twenty miles of ground in a day.
The guide usually walks behind, driving the luggage horse on before
him; or if he be a lazy rascal, as he most commonly is, he perches
himself on the unfortunate animal’s neck, between the portmanteaus
and carpet bags, as well as he can; falls asleep, sings or whistles
at intervals, as his fancy suggests, neither he nor his companion in
idleness appearing to have any one object in this world at heart,
except the diffusion of the smallest possible quantum of exertion over
the most ample measure of time.
We left Napoli at noon, and at three o’clock stopped at a fountain,
where extricating from my _sac de cuisine_ a fowl, I dined. Near
Ligurio I turned off from the main path to the right to visit the
celebrated ruins of Hieron--ruins indeed, for, with the exception of a
few remnants of the benches of the theatre, scarcely any thing remains
to be seen. I have no doubt that excavation would disclose abundant
memorials of antiquity in that quarter. The sacred grove itself,
however, fully repays the trouble of finding it out. It is called
sacred, because it was dedicated to Æsculapius, and being throughout
situated in a glen, must indeed have afforded a most delightful retreat
from the summer and autumnal suns, to the voluptuous inhabitants of
Argos, Hermione, Epidaurus, and even of Athens, when those cities were
in their “high and palmy state.”
♦ HIERON ♦
The ravine runs to a considerable distance between two lofty ranges
of mountains, the declivities on each side being thickly planted by
nature with every variety of tree and shrub, that could afford not only
shade but beauty to the scene. These trees and shrubs descend along the
shelving sides of the mountains, from the summits on either side to
the very edges of a torrent which rushes through the deep vale below.
The murmurs of tributary streams falling into the torrent from the
neighbouring rocks--the songs of birds--the waving of branches, when
the salubrious breeze awoke them from repose--the incessant sound of
mineral fountains, celebrated for their efficacy in cooling the fever,
or recalling the failing energies of the human frame--the proximity
of magnificent temples, where the votaries seldom prayed for health
in vain--and of a most splendid theatre in which the dramatic muse of
Greece exhibited all her charms, were well calculated to bestow that
character of sanctity upon the grove, which its appearance justifies
even to this day.
♦ MYSTERIOUS COMPANION ♦
As we rode along through this glen by winding tracks which sometimes
led us close by the bed of the torrent, where we seemed lost in
darkness, sometimes to the higher declivities, whence we could scarcely
discern the foam gleaming in the partial lights that here and there
found their way to the profound abysses, we were suddenly joined by
another traveller, wrapped in a cloak, whose cunning face and reserved
manner by no means attracted my confidence. I must frankly confess,
that I looked at first upon this apparently-accidental junction as an
affair arranged between my guide and the captain of a band of brigands.
As we were passing under the outer gate of Napoli I had noticed, as I
thought, a mysterious communication pass between my friend and a person
of somewhat military aspect, who was riding in the same direction with
ourselves; but as he soon after turned away to a small inn in a field
off the road, where he dismounted, I had forgotten the circumstance,
until after examining the countenance of this stranger, I convinced
myself that he was the same man.
Beyond the usual words of salutation, no signs of recognition escaped
either of my companions. We rode on in silence. The track through this
mountain forest being so narrow that we were obliged to proceed one
after the other, the guide in front, I next in succession, and in the
rear he whom I took to be a decided bandit. Happening to look behind
me, as my horse stopped to drink from a stream that crossed our path,
I detected the gentleman in the act of replacing a pistol in his belt,
where the handle of an ataghan also presented a formidable state of
preparation if any thing were meditated against myself, who had no arms
at all--not even my umbrella, for I had lost it.
♦ DANGERS OF THE GLEN ♦
Before my animal had sated his thirst, my guide returned to the stream,
where we three now met face to face, the horses being, as I believed,
the only members of the party who rejoiced in the circumstance. I
thought they never would have done drinking the crystal element, that
bounded from the rocks above us with a mirthful unconsciousness, which
at the moment was to me peculiarly enviable. I wondered within myself
in what way the man at arms had resolved to attempt the accomplishment
of his object; whether he meant to begin operations with his ataghan,
or reserve it as his last resort; or whether he intended preluding
with his pistols, and if so, in what part of my anatomical system he
expected to deposit their contents. I made no doubt at all that I
was in serious peril of my life; but I was also equally resolved on
two things: first, not to be taken unawares, and in the next place,
to become myself the assailant, the instant I perceived any movement
unequivocally meant as an act of hostility. At all events, there must
be a battle for it, thought I, and it was not impossible that I might
succeed in pushing my antagonist, horse and rider, to the edge of a
precipice, whence he might most probably find his way to the regions
below.
♦ SPECULATIONS ♦
My quadruped, having sufficiently refreshed himself with the cool
spring, went on. I had no objection to this change, as, if the
guide immediately followed, which happened to be the case, he would
interpose to some extent as a shield against any sudden attack, and
possibly might receive the first bullet intended for me. Our course
lay over rocks, which nevertheless were so thickly wooded that we
were frequently obliged to stoop our heads in order to escape from
the impending branches. At length we were compelled by the frequent
recurrence of such impediments to dismount, and allow the animals
to take their own way. Here then was a moral certainty that this
particular route, impassable for equestrians, was selected by my guide
for the special purpose of executing the conspiracy that had been
planned against my person and purse! Once or twice it occurred to me
that my best mode of proceeding would be to turn brigand myself, to
begin by calling on the party last mentioned to produce his said purse,
and to divide the spoil amongst us, according to the laws of regular
highway honour; but, on second thoughts, I was contented with giving
myself notice of a motion to that effect, to be discussed on a future
day.
♦ INCLINATION TO BRIGANDAGE ♦
No more sunshine gilding the rocks that stood out from the bosom of the
glen, it assumed every moment frowns of deeper horror, which almost
made my blood run cold. We had hitherto been riding or walking on the
southern side; but our horses, still without their riders, turning
suddenly down to the bottom of the dark ravine, my companions ran on
rapidly before me, and disappeared through the shade. Had they faltered
in their purpose, or left me to warn their associates of my approach?
♦ ALARM ♦
Every body knows that the glen which we were then traversing abounds
in green marble of the most beautiful description. I consequently
became a virtuoso, and a collector of specimens, with which I loaded
my pockets and hands, not knowing how soon I might have occasion to
turn the said specimens to purposes appertaining more to the useful
than the ornamental. My path was so distinctly marked over the polished
marble that I could not mistake it, the more especially when I heard
voices shouting below, towards which, labouring though I was under the
strongest suspicions, I instinctively directed my steps. Judge of my
surprise when I found four or five other equestrians drawn up at the
other side of the torrent, while my guide, who was calling out to me
with all his force, held my Rozinante, and bade me mount immediately.
The moon, which had just risen, placed the whole party in her light,
disclosing three figures fully accoutred, a woman on a mule with a
baby in her arms, and an elderly-looking person wrapped in a cloak.
That little pledge of peace, sleeping on her mother’s bosom, restored
my feelings at once to their natural channel. I crossed the torrent
joined the party, who gave me to understand that they also were bound
for Epidaurus; and as my late companion was nowhere to be found, I
concluded that he had deemed it imprudent to track his intended prey
any farther.
♦ EPIDAURUS ♦
The clacking of several mills turned by the mountain streams,
announced to me the agreeable intelligence that we were not far from
our destination for the night. The tidings were soon confirmed by the
barking of many dogs. A few scattered houses, with lights gleaming from
them, left the matter no longer doubtful, when my guide trotting on
towards the seaside, delivered me and my luggage at a house, where the
only symptoms of hostelry I beheld was a fire, near which stood an old
coffee-pot, and a wooden platform hard by a stone wall, by way of a
divan. Alas! thought I, can this be Epidaurus?
I went out to see whether there was any vessel in the harbour bound
for Ægina or the Piræus, but I could discover nothing of the kind. The
water was so unruffled, that if I could have ferreted out a small boat,
and prevailed on its owner to row me across the Saronic Gulf, I should
have very much preferred spending the night at sea, rather than in the
abominable hut to which my guide had consigned me. But there was not so
much as a cock-boat to be met with any where.
♦ GREEK SERVANT ♦
My late companions had gone to take up their abode with some of their
friends in the village, being also, as I afterwards found, like myself,
on their way to Athens. They could offer me no hospitality: but they
very kindly sent a Greek servant, who spoke French, to attend me--and I
must do him the justice to say, that a more obliging fellow, or a more
persevering candidate for what he conceived to be a vacant place in my
travelling establishment, I have rarely encountered. He made capital
coffee for me mixed up with eggs--bought or stole a pullet which he
got boiled for me in a few minutes--brushed my clothes--cleaned my
boots--and saw me safely deposited on the divan upon a clean mat, and
under the cover of a very decent counterpane of his own which he had
placed at my service--and then removing the lamp to the fire-place,
recommending me to go forthwith to sleep, and bidding me good night,
went away, assuring me that he would return early in the morning.
Mine host, who had hitherto been absent, made his appearance soon
afterwards, followed by two or three other guests who had just arrived
from Napoli. After a slight supper upon cold fried fish and a little
garlick, these persons, who appeared to be merchants, disposed of
themselves on another divan, which was prepared for their use, and I
resigned myself, after the toils and apprehensions of the evening, to
sleep, with a feeling of confidence which was not broken even by a
dream until about seven o’clock, when I rose and bathed in the sea.
♦ ON THE LOOK-OUT ♦
The sun was already risen over Ægina, but not a sail was any where to
be descried. It appeared that all the vessels belonging to Epidaurus
had been detained by calms on the Athenian side of the gulf for the
last three or four days, and might be kept there for another week,
unless some friendly zephyrs should awake and waft them back to
our shore. And then there was no small chance of the said zephyrs
continuing to blow on in the same direction, so as to prevent our
stirring, perhaps, for another week from the bay. Here was a delightful
prospect for a man in a hurry! Oh, how I wished for one of our
steamers, when looking over that tranquil sea, unruffled by a breath
of air, shining like a lake of molten gold in the morning sun; the
splendid highlands of the promontory of Methana on my right; Ægina,
like a cloud in front; on the left, Salamis, scarcely visible even as a
cloud; the Parthenon just below my horizon; I was nevertheless chained
as it were to the rock on which I stood, incapable of leaving it behind
me!
♦ MOSAICS ♦
I pored on the waters at my feet until I could count the very pebbles
at the bottom of the sea, and even distinguish all their various
colours. It was, in fact, a Mosaic ground of the most beautiful
description, strewed with pieces of marble, red, blue, green, purple,
yellow, snow-white, black as Indian ink, the shades of each being
brought out with peculiar brightness through the crystal waves in which
they were set. I have no doubt that we owe to such a picture as I then
beheld, the original idea of those inlays which the pure taste of
antiquity multiplied every where on the floors, the walls, the roofs,
not only of the temple and the forum, the courts of justice and the
theatres, but also of the most ordinary private habitations. Here was
indeed,--
“A sapphire throne, inlaid with pure
Amber, and the colour of the showery arch.”
The marbles were countless which shone through the transparent element.
Nature, who never ceases to attract the human eye to her operations,
even when decorating the most solitary recesses of her domain, seemed
to have felt a delight in scattering around her those “patens” worthy
of the “floor of heaven;” as if she especially wished to present a
model for those works of art which have been carried by the genius of
Greece and Italy to so high a degree of perfection.
♦ A SAIL ♦
Ascending the mountain on my left, I discerned a single sail stealing
closely round Ægina in order to profit of the land breezes, there
being not a breath of air on the sea; but just as it grew larger on
my eye, and I could perceive the canvass fluttering, the head of the
vessel being, as I thought, turned towards Epidaurus, it gradually
faded away again, and disappeared towards Cape Colonna! Another speck
soon became apparent in the direction of Salamis, which I watched with
unaverted gaze until it assumed magnitude and form as it approached the
small island of Cecryphalos, where it lay for some time motionless. At
length, the form became more distinct, but it was nearer to Ægina, and
steering, as I apprehended, in the same course as the vessel which had
just gone to the open sea. But I was happily wrong--I could perceive
the waters sparkling round the boat, which indicated that the oars
were at work. There would have been no necessity for such labour if
this vessel were bound in the same direction as the one that had just
passed, and I therefore concluded that our harbour was her destination.
I was satisfied on this point by an old sailor whom I met on the beach
as I returned to my _hotel_ for breakfast; and as my Greek, who was in
attendance, added that the vessel would be in about noon, but could not
expect a land-wind to bear her out again until night, my business was
to kill the remainder of the long day in the best manner I could.
♦ RUINS ♦
Having already made acquaintance with the northern part of the shore,
I bent my steps through some osier-marshes, and ascended a bold hill
on the south, overlooking the sea, where I found myself in the midst
of a vast pile of ruins, the greater part of which, however, was
buried beneath masses of wall thrown down, long rank grass, weeds, and
brambles. This must have been the site of the magnificent temple of
Æsculapius, to which Epidaurus owes its celebrity in ancient history.
The stones used in the foundations appeared to me to be nearly as large
as those which form the walls of Tiryntha, with this difference, that
the former are cut in regular squares, and are connected with each
other by means of cement. They are much corroded by the winds and rains
of many winters, but their artificial forms are manifest.
♦ ARCADIAN SCENE ♦
From these ruins I wandered along the rough rocks, until, climbing
higher and higher, I reached the summit of a mountain, to the south of
which the shore is suddenly withdrawn to a considerable distance in a
western direction, and in a horse-shoe form, but no longer rocky--the
entire theatre rising gently from the water’s edge to a considerable
height, which shut out all the world behind, being clothed with
the richest verdure. It was an Arcadian scene. Sheep were browsing
on the green declivities, attended by shepherdesses. Two or three
remarkably neat cottages were in the valley, and near them groves of
the olive-tree. The hill-sides exhibited clusters of flowers, from
which a fragrance came on the undulations of the atmosphere. Two or
three brooks rambled down towards the sea, shining like veins of
liquid silver; and by one of these a group of maidens was actively
engaged in washing linen, which they spread on the shrubs or the
grass to dry. The shepherdesses, as usual, were occupied with their
distaff and spindle; a boy tending some goats was playing on a reed
a wild song which I could not hear sufficiently to give any idea of;
and some of the maidens at the stream, while their linen was drying,
sang, or ran about, or bathed their feet, or combed their hair, which
they afterwards tied up carefully, little thinking all the time that
an Englishman was noting down their “simple annals,” haply for the
amusement of his own country-women.
♦ PASTORAL HAPPINESS ♦
Here was a secluded, pastoral little world in itself, inhabited by a
few fishermen, who, with all the male members of their families, were
probably pursuing their labours higher up the gulf, while the females,
in their own way equally industrious, presented a picture of perfect
happiness--to them the more perfect, because they were unconscious of
being observed. I flattered myself that this fair scene had witnessed
none of the horrors of the late revolution--that it was even exempted
from the common lot of Turkish oppression, and that, like the rescued
Pompeii, it appeared exactly the same to me as it might have appeared
to Homer in those days of his early inspirations, when he gathered from
nature herself, and from actual acquaintance with the men and manners
of his time, those inexhaustible materials which he afterwards embodied
in his divine poetry.
♦ DIORAMA ♦
Around and beneath me were some of the very promontories and islands
which Nestor, and Agamemnon, and Menelaus, are supposed to have visited
or observed--the seas upon which they sailed, and above me the same
cloudless skies which they admired. The veil of ancient years seemed
drawn back from this spot; it was a diorama through which I beheld the
age of Ulysses, when the occupations of the prince or the princess
scarcely differed from those of the goatherd or shepherdess as now
pictured before me. Throughout Argolis, where I then stood, as well as
Laconia, Messenia, Arcadia, Elis, and Achaia, and as far as Ithaca,
which lay behind me, the manners of the princes and the people of those
early days were marked by a beautiful simplicity, of which I was at
that moment strongly reminded.
♦ HOUSEHOLD OCCUPATIONS ♦
When the morning came, the chieftain vested himself, girded on his
tunic, flung his mantle over his shoulders, braced on his sandals, and
after a substantial repast on cold roast meat and wine, he walked forth
to the council. By his side hung his falchion, to the sheath of which
was attached also his knife, or dirk. In his hand he grasped a lance,
and his steps were sometimes attended by one or two favourite hounds.
If he were unmarried, a discreet woman, selected for her diligence and
virtue, his own nurse perhaps, or a female reared from her childhood
in the family, at the same early hour set in motion all the household
operations for the day. Where there was a princess, though she was
aided by some such confidential woman, as the economist of her family,
she generally directed these proceedings herself; the wives of the age
being of a remarkably domestic turn of character, their whole care
being to render their homes decent, to increase their husband’s store,
and to provide well for all their children. Their menial establishments
seldom consisted of less than fifty females. But as almost every
article of apparel was prepared, from the rough material to the finest
woof, at home, and as every royal mansion was thrown wide open to all
strangers, and was the scene of perpetual festivities for the nobles
of the realm, it can scarcely be supposed that this number of female
servants was at all excessive.
The oldest of these had the care of the bed-chambers, and upon them
also devolved the labour (and no slight labour it was) of grinding
wheat in a hand-mill, and baking cakes for the consumption of the day.
Some of the more active damsels were dispatched with pitchers in their
hands to the public fountain, to fetch water for various culinary
purposes, but more especially for warm baths, which were in general
used every day. Meantime the others were not idle: some, sprinkling
the palace floor swept it; some arranged the purple covers of the
couches in the banquet hall; some cleansed the tables with sponges, and
polished them, while others rinsed and brightened the silver tankards
and drinking cups. Such were their morning labours, according to the
ordinary routine.
When these occupations were over they proceeded to a large apartment in
the interior of the mansion, and in the upper part of it, where they
received from the princess herself, or her housekeeper, their tasks
for the remainder of the day. These were portions of fine wool, dyed
purple, to be spun, or woven into garments for the prince and his sons;
of coarse plain wool for the clothing of the swine-herds, shepherds,
goat-herds, wood-men, and other male servants belonging to the family,
and of flax to be converted into linen for the females. Here they plied
their several labours.
♦ DOMESTIC INDUSTRY ♦
The princess usually sat with them, and occupied herself with some
light piece of fancy work--a veil of lace--a purple mantle which she
embroidered with gold, and decorated with golden clasps; or a frame of
tapestry, on which she wrought the representation of a battle-scene, or
boar-hunt, in which some of her ancestors had won renown. If she had
a daughter she kept her by her side, forming her delicate fingers to
the loom and spindle, and imbuing her mind the while with the notions
of a pure morality wholly independent of the religion of the times.
The royal mother and daughter were scarcely distinguished from the
busy crowd around them, save that their garments were a little finer,
their gowns more costly, and their hair gathered in brighter folds.
The wool also which they used, was of a superior tint, was kept in a
silver work-basket, or wound on a golden distaff. Near them, when the
season required it, burned a fire of cypress and cedar, which diffused
a grateful fragrance and warmth over the whole chamber.
♦ MARRIAGE PREPARATIONS ♦
Sometimes these employments were exchanged by the princesses for works
of benevolence. If the mother were a virtuous and sensible woman,
she was often applied to by her neighbours, to compose disputes and
domestic differences. The virgin was most probably famous, as the
daughters of kings at that time generally were, for her knowledge of
simples, and felt delight in administering to all that came to her from
near and distant places, such medicinal relief as her skill and stock
afforded.
To the young princess also belonged the care of the garments, not only
those which she herself and her mother wore, but also those which were
stored up for her brothers and royal father, and for presents to the
friends of her future bridegroom, as well as for the outfit of her own
future household. Upon her diligent attention in this department of her
duties, depended much of her reputation at home and abroad.
As often, too, as it was necessary, she rose from her fragrant couch
as soon as the morning dawned, and, assisted by her hand-maids,
she collected all the soiled garments together. Then came a scene
not unlike that which I had just witnessed. Cisterns for washing
were at the river side, at some distance from the public roads; a
sumpter-carriage was got ready, to which a pair of mules was yoked, and
in it was deposited the parcel of clothes. The royal mother meanwhile,
not unmindful of her duties, stored the box of the vehicle with cold
viands, to which she added a goat-skin full of delicious wine, for the
princess and her maids. She gave her also a golden cruet of oil, with
which they were to anoint themselves after bathing in the limpid stream.
♦ SCENE AT THE CISTERNS ♦
All things being prepared, the princess mounted the car, took the
whip and reins in her hands, and drove off to the cisterns. Her maids
followed immediately on foot, and a joyous clamour rose amongst them,
as they considered this a day of recreation. When they arrived at the
cisterns (which, in their most improved form, were constructed of
marble, in that part of the bank of a river where the water was deep
enough, without partaking of the flowing course of the current) they
stopped, and releasing the mules from the car, turned them away to
browze. The maids then untied the parcel, and each taking an equal
quantity of the clothes, they went into the water, scoured them well
with their hands, and footed them on large stones or flags polished
by use. When the process of purification was completed, they spread
the humid vestments on the cleanest part of the pebbly shore to dry.
They then all plunged into the stream and bathed, after which they
anointed their fair limbs with oil, and having resumed their light
attire, sat down in a circle on the green margin of the flood, and
enjoyed the viands and wine with which they were provided. The repast
being finished, they rose, loosed the fillets that bound their moist
hair, and permitting it to float in the breeze, they dispersed over
the glade, and exercised themselves by throwing a ball from one to the
other. The princess cheered the scene with the melody of her voice, and
as they bounded on the grass, and laughed, and sung, and shouted in
their innocent mirth; they, like those now before me, might be taken
for so many nymphs of the neighbouring stream, who loved to animate
the sweet solitude of the place by their gay and immortal presence.
Thus they wantoned till the sun restored the garments to their usual
lustre, when they folded them neatly, and arranged them in the car.
The princess resumed her office of muleteer, returned to the palace,
and resigned her charge to her brothers, who courteously met her and
relieved her from further trouble.