and Sundays of two consecutive weeks. The Greeks were very full of it,
for they told us, that they might for those four days wear masks, and
what they valued much more, dress as Turks, or as Franks, which seems
the summit of Greek ambition; and we expected yesterday to see the
streets full of such exhibitions. We however rambled about the town, and
through the bazar, without meeting anything of the sort, and almost
without seeing any body. The most remarkable occurrence was that two
young dervises were exercising their lungs in the temple of Theseus.
They had very good voices; it is a pity the style of singing was not
better. At dinner our young attendant, the son of our landlord, who is
named Themistocles, told us that some Greeks had been bastinadoed for
wearing masks, their Turkish masters telling them, that if they were
inclined to wear masks, or dress as Franks, they might do it at home.
This seemed to reduce the liberty of the carnival within very narrow
limits, and to those who have no other liberty than that of making fools
of themselves once a year, even this is a matter of importance. In the
evening we went to a ball given by the English consul; the invitation
was for two (that is, two hours after sunset): we got there about half
past; several people were already assembled, but others continued to
arrive for I suppose two hours more, the men were squatting on the divân
on one side of the room, and the ladies on the other. The dresses were
not cast just in a mould for either sex, yet the differences were not
great, and I shall endeavour to give you a general idea of it. Of the
under garment of the men, nothing appeared but a little bit at the
wrist. In some, this part had the form of an open sleeve of white,
figured silk; in others, a close sleeve of striped silk: in one or two a
thin edge of white appeared at the neck, but whether it was part of the
same vesture, I cannot tell. Over this is a long robe, generally of
striped silk, reaching to the feet, only frequently one may just see
beneath it, the bottom of their large loose pantaloons; these appear in
some to be tied round the ancle, but are so large that the folds hang
over the foot; in others they are shorter, and not tied; under these is
a pair of stockings of yellow leather, and the slippers are usually of
the same colour. The sleeves of this robe are very large and open; it is
tied round the waist by a sash, or sometimes by a shawl, and the folds
above this ligature serve for pockets. It is considered a mark of
dignity to have these very full, but the appearance produced is far from
graceful. Over this robe is a short cloak, trimmed with fur, with
sleeves coming down a little below the elbows; and over this another
cloak, also trimmed or lined with fur, with sleeves a little longer, and
which reaches nearly to the ankles. This load of cloathing seems to be
considered necessary to an appearance of respectability. On the head
they wear a _kaloupi_, or _kaloupáki_, or as it is more commonly called,
a _kalpáki_, which is a high, obconical cap, of a dark brown colour,
very large and very ugly; but I am told they are nothing in size to the
kalpáki worn at Constantinople, which are a yard high. The priests wear
a smaller head-dress called _kamilaski_, and this, and wearing the
beard, seem the only marks of distinction. All wear under these a little
red skull-cap, called _fesí_, the reason they assign for which is, that
being obliged to shave all the fore part of the head, they would
otherwise be very cold in the churches when the outer covering is taken
off. This shaving the head is a badge of servitude required of them by
the Turks. The difference of dress between Turks and Greeks is rather
marked by several little particulars, and the degree of richness, in
proportion to the circumstances of the owner, than by any one article.
In the streets the common people wear on their heads the _fesí_ and a
_shervétta_, that is, a coloured turban, going twice round the head. The
Turks wear it white, when it is called a _kuflí_, or with a greater
number of revolutions, and then it is an _achmendié_, but at Athens many
Greeks may wear the white turban, and to some three turns are permitted,
but if you see these on a poor man, he is a Turk. The richer Turks wear
the _kabouki_, which is a good deal like the _kalpáki_, but generally
fluted, and with a white turban round the bottom of it. This combination
is never seen among the Greeks. The common Greeks wear loose breeches, a
close jacket bound round the waist with a sash, and having loose
sleeves; a pair of close drawers, reaching to the ankles, sometimes
appears from under the loose breeches. Among the Turks, this is
embroidered, as are the jackets and cloak. Those among the latter who
can afford it, have the embroidery of gold, and a richly worked sash,
with a pair of great pistols; the stocks thickly studded with gold or
silver, and a large knife also ornamented with the precious metals. Some
of the Greeks have the privilege of wearing gold embroidery in small
quantity, but in general this is prohibited, and they endeavour to shew
their dignity by the quantity of clothing. The Turks do not load
themselves so much, and are therefore much better dressed. The use of
red slippers is entirely confined to the Turks.
The dress of the ladies is composed nearly of the same parts as that of
the men. The hair is usually disposed in a number of little plaits, each
surrounded by a band of pearls, and diamonds hang down among them;
sometimes the plaits are fewer, and sometimes it is left in a natural
state; in all it appears to be dyed nearly of one colour, a dark brown,
inclining when seen by daylight to purple. On the top of the head there
is a sort of small cap, made of pearls, and frequently with an ornament
of diamonds in front; this is generally bordered by one, two, or three
rows of gold coins. A white handkerchief conceals the neck, and the
opening which this leaves below the throat, is occupied by a pearl
necklace, forming a sort of web, and this also is sometimes bordered by
gold coins. The under garment appears only at the wrist, sometimes of
white, embroidered silk, hanging loose; sometimes confined by a
succession of pearl bracelets. The gown has loose sleeves; over this is
a cloak, of which the upper part is usually of fur, the lower has pieces
of satin, or rather, I believe of a web of gold and silk of various
patterns let into it, which is no improvement. The ladies present at the
ball were not in general handsome, but there were pretty women amongst
them, or rather some who had been pretty, for no unmarried woman appears
on these occasions. As for the dress of the Turkish women, I can tell
you of nothing but quite the outside. When we meet them in the streets,
they are enveloped in a long cloak, over which a white shawl is worn,
covering the upper part of the body, and the head; and passing close
under the nose. Under this white shawl appears a black veil, which
covers the front part of the head, and the upper part of the face; the
projection of the nose at its junction with the white shawl, just gives
them a hole to peep and breathe through, but nothing is seen. In spite
however, of all these precautions, they generally turn to the wall when
they meet me. Nothing can be more ugly than this head-dress. The Greek
women are prohibited from wearing it, but I have no doubt that if
permitted they would put it on, for the ambition of the Greeks is to
dress like the Turks. My Greek master, whom I thought the quietest,
dullest, and meekest animal that ever existed, put on the dress of a
Turk, and with it seemed to have put on his confidence and presumption.
Somebody told him he looked well in that dress; and his answer was, that
they ought not to admire his assumed character, which was little
deserving of esteem, but that which he really possessed, and was natural
to him, and which merited all their admiration. In the morning he
borrowed my coat to act the Frank, and I heard he had chosen to
represent himself as a consul, “because he was a lover of glory, and a
paltry character did not please him.” I find since that he is a poet,
and he has given me some verses in praise of the vizir, or pashaw of
Negropont, which he assures me are perfect, and that I shall acknowledge
their excellence when I am better acquainted with Romaic.
To return to the consul’s ball. Company continued to arrive, till we
were three deep round the upper part of the room; the first row
squatting at the back of the divân; then a row at the edge, among whom
were the few Europeans present, and before these, another row on the
ground, the lower part of the room was occupied by the musicians, by the
servants, and by a mixed crowd, consisting I believe of any body who
might choose to come. To clear the room a little, the consul caused a
drum to beat time to a dance in the court, and then the dance began
within. The space however left for the dancers was only about 10 feet
wide, and 16 or 18 feet long. At first they were few in number, and the
figure was regular and graceful, but as the number increased, all became
confusion. I excused myself in the first dance, but all I could do I was
dragged into a second. I did not fret much about it. They knew me of
course entirely ignorant of the movement, and when twenty people are
dancing together, where they have hardly room to stand, it is impossible
to observe well, time, tune, or figure. Afterwards they invited me to
waltz, that I escaped, but I did not succeed so well in the English
country dances; however half the guests were as ignorant of this as
myself; another night it was ten times worse, for nothing would do but I
must lead the dance with the consul’s lady. You may suppose, that one
who had never before in his life attempted to dance, did not cut a very
capital figure, but I got through it as well as I could. The music was
merely a _twang too_ without the least variety, produced by a fiddle,
and a tambourine. I doubt if the instruments would compass an octave.
The refreshments were first coffee, and then a little spoonful of
sweetmeat, afterwards lemonade, and at last punch.
The company had begun to separate the first night when I came away,
about two o’clock. (English time.) The next night, and the following
week, they kept it up much later, but I did not stay.
The leader of the revels on these occasions was a priest, the consul’s
brother, whose mad high spirits put everybody in motion; nor did this
seem to be considered as at all indecorous to the priestly character,
only the ladies observed it was a pity he could not marry. The patriarch
at Constantinople appoints some one who will pay him well, archbishop of
Athens. The archbishop makes anybody a priest for money. All their duty
consists in the performance of certain ceremonies in the church, and on
various occasions in the houses of individuals. They read a service
which few of them understand; no pastoral attention to their flock is
expected, and the people have no religious instruction, either public or
private. You may think that Christianity is not very pure amongst an
illiterate people under such circumstances. Let me add, that among the
schools at Athens, there is no instruction in arithmetic, and that the
eldest son of our host, a boy near thirteen, is just beginning to unite
the alphabet. A celebrated performer on the violin, who is also a poet,
attended on one evening of the carnival at the consul’s ball; he was
pointed out to me as a modern Pindar, and certainly fiddled much better
than the others; but the music, both of Turks and Greeks, is exceedingly
heavy and monotonous: he sung too, and his voice was not bad, but he
sung through the nose. One evening a lady of the party also sung, but in
the same manner. The most popular Greek songs are those which lament the
lost glory of the nation, and call upon their countrymen to remember and
imitate the deeds of their ancestors. It was Swift, was it not, who said
that if they would let him write the ballads of a nation, who would
might write its laws? He would have done it in vain in Greece.[34]
Sir F. A. spoke to me about establishing Lancasterian schools at Corfu,
and in the other Ionian islands. It would be very desirable, because
these islands would form a point, from which education might be extended
over the adjacent continent, and it would probably much forward it in
Italy, where superstition and bad governments will oppose it. I should
not despair of making the Turks adopt it in time, if it were introduced
without any attempts at proselytism, and the lessons consequently
adapted to their religion. I have so much confidence in Christianity,
that I think, that where the mind is informed, and the passions
regulated, it follows almost of course; and this indirect mode, in which
there is nothing paltry or dishonest, because it proceeds by opening the
mind to the perception of truth, and only supposes that men will become
Christians in proportion as Christianity is true, appears to me much
preferable to the more direct one which calls forth old habits and
prejudices in opposition. I do not however mean to condemn the
individual who exposes himself to danger and death, in teaching his
religion. A warm and generous enthusiasm will sometimes succeed by
neglecting general rules. Such enthusiasm may be just in itself, and may
be accompanied by a certain prudence suited to such feelings; but a
society must regulate itself more by the maxims of human wisdom, and
this would require that, whatever is done for the diffusion of
instruction among the Turks, the Greeks and the Romans, should be
entirely detached from all views of proselytism, either present or
future. There must be no jesuitical pretence of impartiality, and an
after creeping in of religious maxims. To communicate the means of
judging impartially is the object, the only prudent, perhaps the only
allowable object; for the exciting religious dissensions is an evil not
heedlessly to be encountered.
LETTER L.
EXCURSION ROUND ATTICA.
_Athens, May, 1817._
CAPT. MURRAY, of the Satellite, was at Athens for a short time in
February, and returned on the 15th of April, when he invited Mr. B., Mr.
Sharp, and myself to accompany him round Attica. We accepted the
invitation with great pleasure, and went on board the vessel on the
20th. Capt. M. relinquished his own cabin to his guests; we were close
stowed, but we did very well, and fared capitally. On the 21st we landed
at Egina, and walked up to the temple, supposed to be that of Jupiter
Panhellenius, over a rough soil of volcanic substances, imbedded, in
most places, in a limestone cement, containing shells. The hills are
covered with bushes of different kinds of cistus, and other flowering
shrubs, and the usual pine-tree abounded in some parts. The temple is at
the top of a hill, but with higher eminences about it, about two miles
from the sea-shore. It is a peripteral temple, like that of Theseus, but
the architrave of the pronaos was not carried across the peristyle, as
in that temple. There are six columns in front, and twelve on the
flanks: the intercolumniation is more than one and a half diameter, and
the columns appear in consequence rather straggling. The capitals seemed
to me too large. The plan published in the Ionian antiquities gives
twenty-three external columns, and five smaller ones of the internal
peristyle, (it was an hypæthral temple;) but only sixteen of these
columns are now standing. We may trace the whole disposition, and there
are vestiges of the inclined plane which ascended to the platform; for
the steps, or rather plinths on which a Greek temple was placed, were
frequently so high as to render the ascent difficult. The pieces of the
frieze, and some of those of the architrave, exhibit at their ends
horse-shoe grooves, to admit the ropes by which the stones were hoisted
into their places, and also to leave it disengaged when the stones were
fixed.
The view from hence is exceedingly fine; whatever beauties other
countries may boast, Greece is unrivalled in her coast scenery. The
foreground is rich with rock, bushes, and sometimes with trees; beyond
these is a fine cultivated plain, and a succession of mountain distances
follows, with the sea occasionally intervening. After all, I doubt if an
Englishman immediately transported here from his own country, would
enjoy the full effect of this scenery. The eye gets accustomed to a
certain style of beauty, and when we observe a deficiency in some
particular to which we have been habituated, even though the want should
be compensated by equal or superior excellences, yet the first feeling
is that of disappointment. The gentleman’s seat embosomed in tufted
trees, the neat cottage and comfortable farmhouse, the scattered
village, “with taper spire that points to heaven;” every thing in short
which constitutes what may be called the moral beauty of the English
landscape, is wanting in Greece. Instead of these, our associations are
all of a melancholy cast, connected as they are with the history of a
people once so glorious, now so fallen! And is it the Turks who have
effected this? Why then did a country so extensive, so populous as it
once was, so rich in natural productions, fall a contemptible sacrifice
to barbarian power? The evil was already inflicted; Greece, no longer
free, lost under a despotic government every noble sentiment, and then
fell an easy prey. The Turkish yoke is more galling because it is
imposed by foreigners, of a different language, and of a different
religion; and oppression exercised thus by a stranger nation, increases
from year to year; for power necessarily encroaches where it meets no
effectual resistance. Yet if the Greek empire had continued to the
present day, it may be doubted if the condition of the subject would
have been essentially better than it is at present. We have fine
extensive plains, covered with corn or vines, possessing a beauty quite
their own, and contrasting in the most pleasing manner with the rugged
mountains; groves of olive-trees, and the dark blue sea, and a sky of
almost as deep a colour; yet reflecting a strong clear light. Nor do
there want clouds to vary the effect of the landscape; but rarely, and
then but for a short period, the continued gray covering so common in
England. Change all your dull, cloudy days, and your fogs, into a clear
sunshine, and you may imagine the climate of Greece, except that seldom
or never will you see in England the bright, but intense colour of the
sky. Sharp and myself would have been very glad to stay longer at this
temple, but we were drawn away by our companions, and sailed in the
night towards Sunium, which was in view when we rose in the morning. The
situation is perhaps even finer than that of Egina, but I can give you
no idea of the beauty of these scenes, so unlike in character to any
thing you have about you. In our climate a mountain is generally an
object of gloomy magnificence. Rocks, mountains and storms, go much
together in imagination, but here such an association is completely
broken, and the barren mountain, and the naked rock, seem only objects
for the sun to shine on. All nature looks cheerful and happy, and our
melancholy recollections are almost driven away by the brilliancy of the
prospect.
At Sunium eleven columns remain in their places, and the marble is kept
rather of a raw, and overbearing whiteness by the action of the sea air.
This stone seems to belong to the neighbourhood; it is white, with
somewhat of a conchoidal fracture, less beautiful than the Pentelic,
from being less translucent, yet it is a handsome material, and the
building is a noble object. The order as you know is Doric, and as it is
one of the examples cited by Vitruvius at the end of the fourth book, it
may possibly explain his expression of columns being added “_dextra ac
sinistra ad humeros pronai_,” but the arrangement here is like that at
the temple of Theseus, and not resembling any thing we know in the
Acropolis, to which Vitruvius also refers. The minuter parts are too
much corroded by the action of the sea air, to furnish good materials
for drawing the mouldings. Some barbarians of the English and French
tribes have been daubing on the ruins in great letters the names of
their respective vessels. Terrace walls and other fragments add to the
apparent importance of the edifice. Among them are the foundations of a
Propylæum, but we could not stay long enough to enter into the details
of the neighbourhood. The hills are covered with bushes, (shrubs you
would call them in England) among which is a great quantity of the
_Quercus coccifera_, but I did not observe any of the _Quercus Esculus_,
or Vallonia oak, which Dr. Clarke noticed here.
After spending some hours among these objects, we redescended to the
ship, and turning round the extreme point of Attica, arrived in the
evening at Porto Mandril, which is sheltered by Macroneesi, or Long
Island. The ancient Thoricus was situated in this bay, and we find the
remains of a temple, or, according to the Dilettanti society, of an open
portico, with fourteen columns on each side, and seven at each end. They
also state, that on the longest sides, the middle intercolumniation was
larger than the others, which is I dare say correct, though in my hasty
view of the place I did not notice this peculiarity; and they imagine a
row of columns along the centre. I have nothing to add to their account,
except that the building never was completely finished, and does not
appear to have been very well executed. There is also an ancient theatre
at Thoricus, of very rude workmanship and irregular form; and two square
towers, likewise of very rustic execution. On the opposite side of the
valley, there are many foundations, and at a little distance, great
heaps of slag and scoriæ from the ore of the ancient silver mines, still
untouched by vegetation. I could learn nothing of the mines themselves,
nor did I see any traces which would lead me towards them, but they are
probably not far from the shore, for as the mountains are covered with
wood, the advantage of smelting the ore near the spot where it was dug
is very obvious. The whole country here seems to belong to a formation
of mica slate abounding in marble, (should not this composition have a
name of its own?) and the superincumbent beds are very partial and
trifling, both in thickness and extent. At Sunium, on the contrary, and
along the whole western coast, the rock belongs to later formations.
We staid at Porto Mandril all the 23rd, and on the 24th beat up against
the wind to Marathon. On the 25th we landed, and after a long ramble
over the plain, returned to breakfast in a tent prepared for us on the
shore. Here we took leave of Capt. M. and his officers, to whose
attentions we were so much indebted, and proceeded to a little village
called Vraunon, where we procured a large room in a convent.
It is very disagreeable to doubt about the locality of such a victory as
that of Marathon, and fortunately, as far as the plain is concerned,
there is no room for hesitation, but the appropriations of particular
objects do not probably deserve much confidence. Near the shore, a reedy
slip of land, with small pools of water, extends along the southern half
of the bay; behind this, the ground is apparently flat for near a mile,
after which it rises gradually towards the hills. Quite at the southern
extremity of the plain, there is a marsh formed by a little stream of
water. On the rest of the coast a sandy tract follows the shore, the
southern part of which is partially covered with bushes, but as we
proceed along it towards the north-east, we meet with a wood of the
_Pinus maritima_, containing also a few trees of _Pinus Pinea_,
intermixed: behind this sandy tract there is a dead flat, which seemed
to have been recently covered with water; and at the extremity of this,
directing our steps northwards, and immediately under the hills, are two
little lakes, and not far from them a pool, supplied by a spring of
water, beautiful to the eye, but as we were assured, of a bad quality.
[Illustration:
A.B. Clayton del. from Sketches by J. Woods. Edwards. Sculp.
PLAIN OF MARATHON.
_London. Published by J & A Arch. Cornhill, March 1^{st}. 1828._ ]
Vraunon is seated at the edge of the plain, on the roots of Pentelicus.
The village of Marathon is at a little distance up a valley which opens
into the plain. Near Vraunon we are shewn two tumuli, which have been
imagined to contain the bones of the Athenians and Platæans who fell in
the conflict, but they are so nearly obliterated, that I should have
passed them without notice, had they not been particularly pointed out
to me. At some distance to the south, a much larger, and very
conspicuous tumulus is assigned to the Persians, but Pausanias does not
seem to have been aware of its existence. In our next day’s excursion,
we thought we could distinguish traces of other tumuli, considerably
more to the eastward, as well as some foundations of buildings, which
might merit investigation.