Cephalonia by the narrow channel of Viscardo, thus named after Robert
Guiscard. The island is small, and all the sites referred to in the
Odyssey are still pointed out there, from the spring of Arethusa to the
acropolis of Ulysses; but the black forests which clothed the slopes of
Mount Neritus have disappeared. The inhabitants are {79} excessively
proud of their little island, rendered so famous by the poetry of
Homer, and in every family we meet with a Penelope, a Ulysses, and a
Telemachus. But the present inhabitants have no claim whatever to be
the descendants of the crafty son of Laertes, for during the Middle
Ages their ancestors were exterminated by invaders, and in 1504 the
deserted fields were given, by the Senate of Venice, to colonists drawn
from the mainland. Most of those immigrants came from the Epirus, and
the dialect spoken by the islanders is much mixed with Albanian words.
At the present time the island is well cultivated, and Vathy, its chief
port, carries on a brisk commerce in raisins, currants, oil, and wine.
Ithaca, as in the days of Homer, is the “nurse of valiant men.” The
inhabitants are tall and strong, and Dr. Schliemann is enthusiastic
about the high standard of virtue and morality prevailing amongst them.
There are neither rich nor poor, but they are great travellers, and
natives of Ithaca are met with in every populous city of the East.
[Illustration: Fig. 27.—ARGOSTOLI.
According to Wiebel.
Scale 1 : 78,000.]
“Zante, fior del Levante,” say the Italians. And, indeed, this
ancient island, Zacynthus, is richer in orchards, fields, and villas
than any other of this Archipelago. An extensive plain, bounded by
ranges of hills, occupies the centre of this “golden isle”—a vast
garden, abounding in vines, yielding currants of superior quality.
The inhabitants are industrious, and not content with cultivating
their own fields, they assist also in the cultivation of those of
Acarnania, receiving wages or a share of the produce in return. The
city of Zante, on the eastern coast of the island, facing Elis, is the
wealthiest and cleanest town in the Archipelago. {80} Unfortunately
it suffers frequently from earthquakes, to which a volcanic origin is
ascribed. Nor is this improbable, for bituminous springs rise near the
south-eastern cape of the island, and though worked since the days of
Herodotus, they still yield about a hundred barrels of pitch annually.
Oil springs discharge themselves close to the shore, and even at the
bottom of the sea; and near Cape Skinari, in the north, a kind of rank
grease floats on the surface of the waters.
The only islets dependent upon Zante are the Strivali, or the
Strophades, to which flew the hideous harpies of ancient mythology.[19]
VI.—THE PRESENT AND THE FUTURE OF GREECE.
The Greeks, although they have not altogether fulfilled the
expectations of Philhellenes, have nevertheless made great strides in
advance since they have thrown off the yoke of the Turks. The deeds
of valour performed during the war of independence recalled the days
of Marathon and Platæa; but it was wrong to expect that a short time
would suffice to raise modern Greece to the intellectual and artistic
level of the generation which gave birth to an Aristotle and a
Phidias. Nor can we expect that a nation should throw off, in a single
generation, the evil habits engendered during an age of servitude,
and digest at once the scientific conquests made in the course of
twenty centuries. We should likewise bear in mind that the population
of Greece is small, and that it is thinly scattered over a barren
mountain region. The numerous ports, no doubt, offer great facilities
for commerce, nor have their inhabitants failed to avail themselves
of them; but there is hardly a country in Europe which offers equal
obstacles to a development of its agricultural and industrial
resources. The construction of roads, owing to the mountains, meets
with difficulties everywhere, whilst the blue sea invites its beholders
to distant climes and commercial expeditions. No immigration from the
neighbouring Turkish provinces has consequently taken place, whilst
many Hellenes, and more especially natives of the Ionian Islands and
the Cyclades, annually seek their fortune in Constantinople, Cairo,
and even distant India. Men of enterprise leave the country, and there
remains behind only a horde of intriguers, who look upon politics as
a lucrative business, and an army of government officials, who depend
upon the favour of a minister for future promotion. This state of
affairs explains the singular fact that the most prosperous Greek
communities exist beyond the borders of the kingdom of Greece. These
foreign communities are better and more liberally governed than those
at home. In spite of the Pasha, who enjoys the right of supervision,
the administration of the smallest Greek {81} community in Thracia or
Macedonia might serve as a pattern to the independent and sovereign
kingdom of Greece. Every one there takes an interest in the prosperity
of the commonwealth; but in Greece a rapacious bureaucracy takes care
only of its own advancement, the electors are bribed, and the expenses
thus illegally incurred are recovered by illegal exactions and robbery,
such as have prevailed for many years.
The actual population of Greece may amount to 1,500,000 souls; that
is to say, it includes about two-fifths of all the Greeks residing
in Europe and Asia. The population is less dense than in any other
country of Europe, including Turkey. Greece, at the epoch of its
greatest prosperity, is said to have supported 6,000,000 or 7,000,000
inhabitants. Attica was ten times more populous at that time, and many
islands which now support only a few herdsmen could then boast of
populous towns. Sites of ancient cities abound on the barren plateaux,
on the banks of the smallest rivulet, and crown every promontory
throughout the ancient countries of the Hellenes, from Cyprus to Corfu,
and from Thasos to Crete.
The country, however, is being gradually repeopled. Before the war
of independence, the population, including the Ionian Islands,
amounted, perhaps, to 1,000,000; but battles and massacres diminished
it considerably, and in 1832 the number of inhabitants was 950,000
at most. Since that epoch there has been an annual increase varying
between 9,000 and 14,000 souls. This increase, however, is spread
very unequally over the country. The towns increase rapidly, but
several islands, and more especially Andros, Santorin, Hydra, Zante,
and Leucadia, lose more inhabitants by emigration than they gain
by an excess of births over deaths. The swamp fevers prevailing in
continental Greece much retard the increase of population. Naturally
the climate is exceedingly salubrious, but the water, in many
localities, has been permitted to collect into pestilential swamps,
and the draining of these and their cultivation would not only add
to the wealth of the country, but would likewise free it from a dire
plague.[20]
Unfortunately agriculture progresses but slowly in Greece, and its
produce is not even sufficient to support the population, still less
to supply articles for export. And yet the cultivable soil of Greece
is admirably suited to the growth of vines, fruits, cotton, tobacco,
and madder. Figs and oranges are delicious; the wines of Santorin and
the Cyclades are amongst the finest produced in the Mediterranean; the
oil of Attica is as superior now as when Athene planted the sacred
olive-tree; {82} but, excepting a little cotton grown in Phthiotis,
and the raisins known as currants or Corinthians, which are exported
from the Ionian Islands and Patras to the annual value of about
£1,500,000, agriculture contributes but little towards the exports. One
of the principal articles is the valonia, a species of acorn picked up
in the forests, and used by tanners.
In a country so far behindhand in agriculture manufactures cannot be
expected to flourish. All manufactured articles have consequently to
be imported from abroad, and especially from England. Greece does not
even possess tools to work its famous marble quarries, though they
are richer than those of Carrara. There is only one metallurgical
establishment in the whole of the kingdom—that of Laurion. The ancients
had been working argentiferous lead mines in that part of the country
for centuries, and vast masses of unexhausted slag had accumulated
near them. This waste is now being scientifically treated in the
smelting-works of Ergastiria, and nearly ten thousand tons of lead, and
a considerable quantity of silver, are produced there annually. Quite a
brisk little town has arisen near the works, and its harbour is one of
the busiest in all Greece. But the founders of this flourishing concern
had to struggle against jealousies, and the “Laurion question” nearly
embroiled the Governments of France and Italy with Greece.[21]
The Greeks do not support themselves by agriculture, nor can they boast
of manufactories, and they would be doomed to starvation if they did
not maintain six thousand vessels acting in the lucrative business of
ocean carriers throughout the Mediterranean. This Greek mercantile
marine is superior to that of Russia, almost equal to that of Austria,
and six times larger than that of Belgium, and we should bear in mind
that many vessels sailing under Turkish colours are actually owned by
Greeks. The ancient instinct of the race comes out strongly in this
coast navigation. The large fleets of swift ocean steamers belong to
the powerful companies of the West, and the Greeks are content to sail
in small vessels suited to the requirements of the coasting trade,
which hardly ever extend their voyages beyond the limits of the ancient
Greek world. None can compete with them as regards low freight, for
every sailor has an interest in the cargo, and all of them are anxious
to increase the profits. One may have furnished the wood, another the
rigging, a third a portion of the cargo, whilst their fellow-citizens
have advanced money for the purchase of merchandise, without requiring
any bond except their word of honour. On many of these vessels all are
partners, all work alike, and share in the proceeds of the venture.
But, whatever the sobriety and intelligence of these Greek mariners,
they cannot escape the fate which has overtaken the small trader and
the handicraftsman throughout the world. The cheap vessels of the
Greeks may be able to contend for a long time against the steamers of
powerful companies, but in the end they must succumb. The country will
lose its place amongst the commercial nations of the world unless its
agricultural and industrial resources are quickly developed, {83} and
railways are constructed to convey the products of the interior to the
sea-coast. Greece, even now, has only a few carriage roads, not so
much because the mountains offer insurmountable obstacles, but because
its heedless inhabitants are content with the facilities for transport
offered by the sea. It would be impossible in our day to travel from
the Pylos to Lacedæmon in a chariot, as was done by Telemachus; for the
road connecting these places leads along precipices and over dangerous
goat paths. Greece and Servia are the European states which remained
longest without a railway, and even now the former is content with a
short line connecting Athens with its harbour. It has certainly been
proposed to construct several lines of the utmost importance, but,
owing to the bankrupt condition of the Greek exchequer, these works
have not yet been begun. The public income is not sufficient to meet
the expenditure, the debt exceeds £15,000,000, and the interest on the
loans remains unpaid.[22]
The poverty of the majority of the inhabitants of Greece is equal to
that of the State. The peasants are impoverished by the payment of
tithes, and of a Government impost double or even treble their amount.
Though naturally very temperate, they are hardly able to sustain life;
they dwell in unwholesome dens, and are frequently unable to put by
sufficient means for the purchase of clothing and other necessaries.
The young men of the poorest districts of Greece thus find themselves
forced to emigrate in large numbers, either for a season or for an
indefinite period. Arcadia may be likened in this respect to Auvergne,
to Savoy, and to other mountain countries of Central Europe. The
Ætolians, however, exchange their fine savage valleys for foreign
cities only very reluctantly, though they, too, suffer intensely from
the weight of taxation. In ancient times, before their spirit was
broken by servitude, they would have resisted the tax-gatherer with
arms in their hands. They now content themselves with sallying forth
from their villages, in order to pile up a heap of stones by the side
of the high-road, as a testimony of the injustice with which they have
been treated. This heap of stones is _anathema_. Every peasant passing
it religiously adds a stone to this mute monument of execration, and
the earth, the common mother of all, is thus charged with the task of
vengeance.
Ignorance, the usual attendant of poverty, is great in the rural
districts of Greece, and especially in those difficult of access.
In Greece, as in Albania and Montenegro, they believe in perfidious
nymphs, who secure the affections of young men, and then drag them
down below the water; they believe in vampyres, in the evil eye
and witchcraft. But the Greeks are an inquiring race, anxious to
learn, in spite of their poverty. The peasant of Ithaca will stop
a traveller of education on the road, in order that he may read to
him the poetry of Homer. Elementary schools have been established in
nearly every village, in spite of the poverty of the Government. If
no school buildings can be secured, the classes meet in the open air.
The scholars, far from playing truant, hardly raise their eyes from
the books to notice a passing stranger or the flight of a bird. The
scholars in the superior schools and at the University of Athens are
equally {84} conscientious and assiduous. It may be that some of them
merely aspire to become orators, but they certainly do not resort to a
city on the pretence of study, whilst in reality they yield themselves
up to debauchery. Amongst the students of the University of Athens
there are many who work half the night at some handicraft, others who
hire themselves out as servants or coachmen, to enable them to pursue
their studies as lawyers or physicians.
This love of study cannot fail to secure to the Greek nation an
intellectual influence far greater than could be looked for from the
smallness of its numbers. The Greeks of the East, moreover, look upon
Athens as their intellectual centre, whither they send their sons in
pursuit of knowledge. They found scholarships in connection with the
schools of Athens, and largely contribute towards their support. And
it is not only the rich Greek merchants of Trieste, Saloniki, Smyrna,
Marseilles, and London who are thus mindful of the true interests of
their native country, but peasants of Thracia and Macedonia, too,
devote their savings to the promotion of public education. The people
themselves support their schools and museums, and pay their professors.
The Academy of Athens, the Polytechnic School, the University, and
the Arsakeion, an excellent ladies’ college—these all owe their
existence to the zeal of Greek citizens, and not to the Government. It
may readily be understood from this how carefully these institutions
are being watched by the entire nation, and how salutary must be the
influence of young men and women returning to their native provinces
after they have been educated at them.
It is thus a common language, common traditions, and a common hope
for the future that have made a nation of the Greeks in spite of
treaties. Greek patriotism is not confined to the narrow limits laid
down by diplomacy. Whether they reside in Greece proper, in European or
Asiatic Turkey, the Greeks feel as one people, and they lead a common
national life independently of the Governments of Constantinople and
Athens. Nay, amongst the Greeks dwelling in foreign lands this feeling
of nationality is, perhaps, most intense, for they are not exposed to
the corrupting influence of a bureaucracy. They have more carefully
guarded the traditions and practices of municipal government, and
are practically in the enjoyment of greater individual liberty. The
Greek nation, in its entirety, numbers close upon 4,000,000 souls. Its
power, already considerable, is growing from day to day, and is sure to
exercise a potent influence upon the destinies of Mediterranean Europe.
We are told sometimes that community of religion might induce the
Greeks to favour Russian ambition, and to open to that power the road
to Constantinople. Nothing can be further from the truth. The Hellenes
will never sacrifice their own interests to those of the foreigner. Nor
do there exist between Greece and Russia those natural ties which alone
give birth to true alliances. Climate, geographical position, history,
commerce, and, above all, a common civilisation, attach Greece to that
group of European nations known as Greco-Latin. In tripartite Europe
the Greeks will never range themselves by the side of the Slav, but
will be found amongst the Latin nations of Italy, France, and Spain.
[Illustration: TURKEY IN EUROPE and GREECE
By E. G. Ravenstein, F.R.G.S.
Scale 1 : 5,000,000.]
{85}
VII.—GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL DIVISIONS.
The protecting powers have bestowed upon Greece a parliamentary and
constitutional Government, modelled upon West European patterns.
Theoretically the King of the Greeks reigns, but does not govern, and
his ministers are responsible to the Chambers, whose majority changes
with the fluctuations of public opinion. In reality, however, the
power of the King is limited only by diplomacy. Nor do those Western
institutions respond to the traditions and the genius of the Greeks,
and although the charter has been modified three times since the
declaration of independence, it has never been strictly adhered to.
In accordance with the constitution of 1864, every Greek citizen
possessing any property whatever, or exercising a profession, has a
right to vote on attaining his twenty-fifth year, and becomes eligible
as a deputy at thirty. The deputies, one hundred and eighty-seven in
number, are elected for four years, and are paid for their services.
The civil list of the King, inclusive of a subvention granted by the
protecting powers, amounts to £46,000 a year.
The orthodox Greek Church of Hellas is independent of the Patriarch
of Constantinople. It is governed by a Holy Synod, sitting in the
capital, and presided over by an archbishop as metropolitan. A royal
commissioner is present at the meetings of the Synod, and countersigns
every proposition that is carried. Decisions not bearing this official
signature are void. The King, on the other hand, is permitted to
dethrone or remove a bishop only by consent of the Synod, and in
accordance with the canon law. The constitution guarantees religious
liberty, but this official Church nevertheless exercises considerable
powers, and frequently calls upon the civil authorities to give force
to its decrees. The Synod carefully watches over the observance of
religious dogmas; it points out to the authorities heretical or
heterodox preachers and writers, and demands their suppression;
exercises a censorship over books and religious pictures; and calls
upon the civil tribunals to punish offenders.
There are no longer any Mohammedans in Greece, except sailors or
travellers, and the last Turk has quitted Eubœa. The only Church
besides the established one which can boast a considerable number of
adherents is the Roman Catholic. It prevails amongst the middle classes
on Naxos, and on several others of the Cyclades, and is governed by two
archbishops and four bishops.
Greece is divided into thirteen nomes, or nomarchies, and these, again,
into fifty-nine eparchies. Each eparchy is subdivided into districts,
or dimes (dimarchies), and the latter into parishes, governed by
paredres, or assistant dimarchs. These officials are appointed by the
King, and are in receipt of small emoluments. The number of officials
is proportionately greater in Greece than in any other part of Europe.
They form the sixtieth part, or, including their families, the twelfth
part of the population, and although their pay is small, they swallow
up between them more than half the public income. {86}
The thirteen nomes and fifty-nine eparchies of Greece, with their
population in 1870:―
Eparchies. Population.
Mantinea 46,174
Kynuria 26,733
Gartynia 41,408
Megalopolis 17,425
───────
Arkadia 131,740
═══════
Lakedæmon 46,423
Gythion 13,957
Itylos (Œtylos) 26,540
Epidauros Limera 18,931
───────
Lakonia 105,851
═══════
Kalamæ 25,029
Messini 29,529
Pylia 20,946
Triphylia 29,041
Olympia 25,872
───────
Messenia 130,417
═══════
Nauplia 15,022
Argos 22,138
Korinthia 42,803
Spetsæ and Hermionis 19,919
Hydra and Trizinia 17,301
Kythyra 10,637
───────
Argolis and Korinthia 127,820
═══════
Syros 30,643
Koa 8,687
Andros 19,674
Tinos 11,022
Naxos 20,582
Thira (Thera, Santorin) 21,901
Milos 10,784
───────
Kyklades 123,293
═══════
Attiki 76,919
Ægina 6,103
Megaris 14,949
Thiva (Thebæ) 20,711
Livadia 18,122
───────
Attiki and Viotia (Bœotia) 136,804
═══════
Khalkis 29,013
Xerochorion 11,215
Karystia 33,936
Skopelos 8,377
───────
Euvia (Eubœa) 82,541
═══════
Phthiotis 26,747
Parnasis 20,368
Lokris 20,187
Doris 49,119
───────
Phthiotis and Phokis 106,421
═══════
Mesolongion (Missolonghi) 18,997
Valtos 14,027
Trichonia 14,453
Evrytania 33,018
Navpaktia 22,219
Vonitza and Xeromeros 18,979
───────
Akarnania and Ætolia 121,693
═══════
Patras 46,527
Ægialia 12,764
Kalavryta 39,204
Ilia (Elis) 51,066
───────
Achaia and Ilis (Elis) 149,561
═══════
Kerkyra (Corfu) 25,729
Mesi 21,754
Oros 24,983
Paxi (Paxos) 3,582
Leucas (Santa Maura) 20,892
───────
Kerkyra (Corfu) 96,940
═══════
Kranæa 33,358
Pali 17,377
Sami 16,774
Itaki 9,873
───────
Kephallinia 77,382
═══════
Zakynthos (Zante) 44,557
The modern nomenclature has been adopted in the above table.
[Illustration]
{87}
[Illustration]
TURKEY IN EUROPE.[23]
I.—GENERAL ASPECTS.
The Balkan peninsula is, perhaps, that amongst the three great
peninsulas of Southern Europe which enjoys the greatest natural
advantages, and occupies the most favourable geographical position.
In its outline it is far less unwieldy than Spain, and even surpasses
Italy in variety of contour. Its coasts are washed by four seas; they
abound in gulfs, harbours, and peninsulas, and are fringed by numerous
islands. Several of its valleys and plains vie in fertility with the
banks of the Guadalquivir and the plains of Lombardy. The floras
of two climes intermingle on its soil, and add their charms to the
landscape. The mountains of Turkey do not yield to those of the two
other peninsulas in graceful outline or grandeur, and most of them are
still covered with virgin forests. If they are less accessible than the
Apennines of Italy or the _sierras_ of Spain, that is owing simply to
the want of roads; for they are, as a rule, of moderate elevation, and
the plateaux from which they rise are narrower and more extensively
intersected by valleys than is the table-land of Castile. Both Spain
and Italy are closed in the north by mountain barriers difficult to
cross, whilst the Balkan peninsula joins the continental trunk by
almost imperceptible transitions, and nowhere is it separated from it
by well-defined natural boundaries. The Austrian Alps extend without
a break into Bosnia, and the Carpathians cross the Danube in order to
effect a junction with the system of the Balkan. To the east of the
“Iron Gate” there are no mountains at all, and Turkey is bounded there
by the broad valley of the Danube. {88}