The natives use comparatively little butter. The Greek butter must
be used promptly, because it has a coarse grain and will not keep.
It looks like “smear-kase” and tastes more like whipped cream than
anything else. Cow’s milk cannot be obtained outside of the large
cities, and even there it is scarce and expensive. Nearly all Greeks
use goat’s milk. Both goats and cows are driven into town every morning
and milked at the doors of the customers. This is not a new fashion,
but, like nearly all the customs of the people, can be traced back
through many centuries. The herdsman, shuffling through the streets
with milk-measure in his hand, behind a herd of seven or eight
solemn-looking goats, was probably as familiar to the ancients as he is
to the Athenians of to-day, and, viewed in all its aspects, it is an
excellent proposition, because all the customers along his route are
sure to get their milk fresh and pure, and the goat-herd’s honesty is
not tempted by the convenience of the pump. When he reaches the house
of a customer he milks one of the goats into his measure and pours the
contents into a bucket or the bowl that is brought for him. Some of the
milkmen come in with a pair of cans strapped over the back of a donkey.
As in South America, you can buy turkeys and geese “on the hoof.”
They are driven in from the country in flocks, so that customers may
make selections as they pass through the streets. Everything else is
peddled, not only food in the form of fruits, meats, cakes, bread,
vegetables, fish, butter and cheese, but all sorts of dry goods and
notions, shoes, stockings and even hats, tinware, hardware, stationery;
sometimes on a tray suspended from the neck of a man, sometimes on a
cart, but oftener upon the back of a donkey. You can frequently see
in the streets show-cases with glass fronts containing all kinds of
dry goods suspended from pack-saddles of donkeys and transported from
house to house, while the owner or attendant bellows an inventory of
his merchandise and describes its merits in a brazen voice. There are,
however, several fine shops in Athens. Those in the new quarter of the
city will compare with the best in our towns of the same size.
Other relics of ancient times are public cook-shops, found in the
oldest quarter of the city, similar to those of Naples, where a variety
of viands are prepared at the regular meal-hours and sold already
cooked at the most extraordinarily low prices. Housewives go there for
their supplies instead of to the market. It saves fuel and labor and
nothing is wasted. This custom is said to have come down from the
classic period before the Christian era, and then, as now, professional
cooks used to go about the town with stoves on wheels, filled with
bright fires of charcoal, over which persons who had no stoves or
ranges in their houses could cook their meats or vegetables for a small
fee. It is common to see a peripatetic cook standing in front of a
prosperous-looking residence, while the soft and genial atmosphere is
filled with the odor of frying fish or roasted rabbit.
Foreigners are always shocked at the sight of a Greek funeral. It is
a spectacle which most people desire to avoid, because the body of
the dead is exposed in an open hearse. The coffin is shallow, so that
not only the face and head but the hands and much of the body can be
distinctly seen from the sidewalk as the procession passes through the
streets. The lid of the coffin, richly upholstered and often decorated
with garlands and wreaths, is carried on the hearse by the undertaker.
The priest, the relatives and other mourners follow, and as the ghastly
spectacle passes it is customary for bystanders to remove their hats
and cross themselves. Men sitting around the cafés always rise out
of respect for the dead and stand bareheaded until the procession
has passed. In case of an officer of the army, a horse with an empty
saddle, heavily draped with crape, is led by an orderly in advance of
the hearse.
When the body is lowered to the grave the coffin-lid is placed upon it,
but does not close down, and the earth is allowed to come in direct
contact, to hasten decay. The superstition in the popular mind is that
the soul of the departed is in a state of suspense until the temple it
formerly inhabited has turned to dust. Graves are rented in the Athens
cemeteries for terms of years, just like the habitations of the living.
None but the rich own burial lots. It is an evidence of wealth and
aristocracy. The poor never think of buying a lot or a tomb. It would
be considered an unnecessary luxury. At the end of the term for which a
grave is rented the bones are dug up, put into a bag, labeled with the
name and dates, and deposited in a general receptacle.
The custom of carrying the body to the grave in the full sight of
the people is said to have originated during the Turkish occupation
of Greece. The country was in a state of chronic revolution.
The importation of arms and ammunition was forbidden, and the
revolutionists were in the habit of importing them in coffins.
Frequently people who were “wanted” by the police were assisted to
escape in a similar manner, and revolutionary leaders who had been
banished were brought back in coffins. Therefore, as a precaution, the
Turks required that dead bodies should be exposed.
XVII SHRINES AND TEMPLES
The Acropolis of Athens is the most famous hill in the universe. The
columns of the Parthenon are familiar to all the world. They are the
remains of the most majestic monument ever erected by human hands, and
did it ever occur to you that it was intended for the honor and the
worship of a woman? The lord mayor of an Irish city, in accepting the
honor of an election, declared that if it had not been for his mother
he would not have stood before his constituents that day. We might all
pay a similar tribute to Eve, yet no monument has ever been erected
to her memory, and the place of her burial has been forgotten, if
anybody ever knew where it was. Three graves of Adam are pointed out to
tourists in the East, but not even one of Eve.
We estimate the Greeks of the age of Pericles as having reached the
highest degree of development in intellect, philosophy and wisdom.
We teach our children their precepts. Our students of medicine,
art, science and theology must study them in preparation for their
life-work. It is a popular belief that the summit of human culture
was reached at the period of the building of the Parthenon. Yet the
ancient Greeks believed that the source of their learning, wisdom and
strength was a woman, and to her they raised that matchless tribute,
the admiration of all ages, the most perfect example of architecture
ever conceived, and in it they not only worshiped a woman, Athena, but
made sacrifices to one whom they had deified. Its ruined columns stand
to-day as a testimonial to womanhood. An old friend used to say that
the best rule he ever found in life was, “When in doubt, do as your
wife tells you,” and for his authority he might have referred to the
ancient Greeks.
The Acropolis is a mighty rock which rises five hundred feet in
what was the center of ancient Athens, when that city had 200,000
population. On all sides but one the walls are perpendicular. Toward
the west there is a slope by which the summit is reached by a winding
roadway. In ancient times there was a series of stairways, and the
Propylaea, or gateway, was as remarkable as the temples at the top.
There was also a road for chariots, and we can see the ruts made by the
wheels in the pavements. The Acropolis is visible from a long distance.
It looms up in majesty as the city is approached from all directions,
and the columns of the Parthenon are dwarfed by its height. The first
effect, therefore, upon strangers is disappointing. The ruins are not
as grand as they expected, and they feel a little sorry that they came,
but familiarity breeds respect in this instance. The columns grow
larger and grander and more beautiful every time you look at them, and
those who have had the privilege of visiting the Acropolis by moonlight
will retain an impression that cannot be effaced from their memory by
anything else that may remain for their enjoyment. Age and the salt
air from the sea have given the marble a rusty color, which detracts
from its purity, but gives it a tone of richness and ripeness entirely
appropriate to a ruin. You would not like to see a ruin of pure white
marble. It would look incongruous, although you can imagine how
beautiful the Parthenon and the surrounding buildings must have been
when they were fresh and new.
The temple to Athena (Minerva) and the surrounding buildings were
destroyed when the Venetians bombarded Athens to drive out the
Turks. The latter, who held the city, intrenched themselves on the
Acropolis and concealed their store of powder in the Parthenon. The
Acropolis, therefore, became the target for the Venetian artillerymen,
and on Friday, September 26, 1687, a German lieutenant fired a bomb
which fell into the magazine and was followed by an explosion which
destroyed forever the most glorious architectural triumph of men. Three
hundred Turkish soldiers lost their lives in the explosion and their
commander, having no ammunition, was compelled to surrender three
days later. No attempt was ever made to restore the building. On the
contrary, the Acropolis has been plundered century after century for
building-material, and for works of art. Some of the finest of the
marbles were burned to make lime for the masonry in building modern
Athens, and Lord Elgin, the British minister to Greece, in the earlier
part of the last century, removed the most beautiful and valuable of
the sculptures, which are now exhibited in the British Museum, under
the name of “The Elgin Marbles.” Within late years much care has been
taken in protecting and preserving the treasures that remain, and the
Grecian government is exceedingly anxious to recover the works of art
which have been taken from the Acropolis to foreign lands. On several
occasions during the last half-century overtures have been made to the
British government to restore the Elgin marbles, but they have met
with no favorable response. Mr. Gladstone gave the Ionian Islands
back to Greece when he was prime minister and received the gratitude
of a nation. The Athenians would be equally grateful if King Edward
would return to them the sculptures which once decorated the temple
of Minerva, and were taken away with the authority of the Turkish
government, and not with the consent of Greece.
It is difficult to avoid moralizing about the Acropolis. I do not know
of any other place on earth, unless it be Bethlehem, Jerusalem, or St.
Peter’s at Rome, or Westminster Abbey in London, which furnishes such
food for thought. The columns of the Parthenon are older than anything
in Rome except the obelisk in the center of the Piazza del Popolo, and
older than anything in London except a similar obelisk that stands on
the Thames embankment. Both of those were transplanted from the soil
in which the Pharaohs originally erected them, to show how Christian
nations sometimes despoil the heathen. It is an old trick. Rome is
filled with objects of art of which her emperors robbed the Athenians.
The Parthenon has had a varied experience. It was first a temple to the
Goddess of Wisdom; for several hundred years it was a church for the
worship of a Jewish peasant; and at the time of its destruction it had
been for centuries a mosque dedicated to a camel-driver.
The most important incident that has occurred upon the Acropolis in
recent times, and it has a personal interest for us, was the discovery
in 1900 by Mr. Eugene P. Andrews of Oswego, New York, then a student
at the American School of Classical Studies and now an instructor at
Cornell University, of an inscription to Nero upon the architrave of
the Parthenon, which had been unknown for a dozen centuries. It was a
great achievement, one of the most notable events in modern archeology.
He thought that certain small holes in the marble must have served
some useful purpose, and so he let himself down from the top by a rope
ladder similar to those that sailors use, and discovered that they had
once been occupied by nails which supported brass letters. By taking a
series of impressions with damp wrapping-paper, he secured a diagram,
from which he was able to trace the Greek letters, and the inscription,
which had never been suspected, was announced to the scholars of the
world by Professor Richardson, the director of the American school.
The American Archeological Institute has a school in Athens similar
to that in Rome, which was founded several years later. The object is
to furnish American scholars an opportunity to study art, archeology,
ancient history, literature and the classic languages upon the ground
and in the atmosphere in which they were developed.
He who would the poet understand
Most read him in the poet’s land.
I may not have the quotation exact, but that is the idea. In addition
to the branches of study I have named, the students hear lectures on
Greek law, religion, philosophy and upon all subjects dealing with
the institutions, the social life and the industrial activity of the
ancients. They are conducted about the country to various points of
historic and archeological interest, such as Thebes, Delphi, Olympia,
Mycenae, Sparta and Thessaly, and are allowed to tread in the footsteps
of the old philosophers. They hear lectures in the museums, which are
illustrated by object-lessons. The museums of Athens are particularly
rich in relics of the archaic period of Greece--before the Persian war,
480 B.C.--and the director gives that branch his special attention.
Other members of the faculty lecture on history, poetry, politics and
kindred subjects. The students also have the advantage of similar
institutions founded by the English, French, German and Austrian
governments. All the national schools of archeology are affiliated,
and each has its special line of investigation, selected after a
consultation, in order that they may not interfere with or duplicate
the work of each other. The American school is the strongest of all,
the French next, then the German, and last the English. The German
school, however, is particularly fortunate in having for its director
Dr. Doerpfeld, who succeeded Dr. Schliemann in the archeological work
at Troy. The students of one school are admitted to the lectures of
the others and also have the use of their libraries. Most of them are
fitting themselves for instructors in Greek and archeology, and nearly
all of the graduates since the school was founded in 1882 now occupy
chairs in the faculties of American colleges and universities.
The present director is Professor Richardson, who was graduated
from Yale in the class of ’69, and was for a long time professor of
Greek language and literature at Dartmouth College. He has been at
Athens since 1893. Each year an assistant is selected from one of the
contributing colleges. Professor Thomas Day Seymour, of Yale, was
chairman of the Managing Committee of the school for fourteen years,
but recently has been succeeded by Professor Wheeler, of Columbia.
Part of its income is precarious, consisting of contributions from
various colleges and private individuals, and if they should withdraw
it would leave the institution without funds. There ought to be a
larger endowment, so as to secure permanency. At present the endowment
amounts to about $65,000. The society owns a fine building, well
adapted to its purposes, and a considerable area of ground which may
be found available in the future. Among the most generous donors for
excavations is Colonel Hay, secretary of state, who has recently
placed a considerable sum of money in the hands of the trustees, to be
used as a foundation for the library in memory of his son, the late
Adelbert Stone Hay. There is no limit to the number of students. Anyone
is received who has had a thorough classical training at an American
college. It is important that applicants should gain as great command
as possible of the German, French and modern Greek languages before
entering the school in order that they may enjoy the full benefit of
their opportunities. The tuition fee is nominal, and the cost of living
at Athens is anything that one may choose to make it. At the large
hotels board and lodging can be obtained for $14 a week and upward,
and at the smaller hotels and in private families, from $5 and upward.
Six fellowships with stipends of $600 each, and one with a stipend of
$1,000, will be awarded annually, upon competitive examination, to
bachelors of art of the universities and colleges of the United States,
and may be extended for two years, upon the recommendation of the
faculty, to students in the Schools of Classical Studies at Athens and
in Rome, and in the School of Oriental Study in Palestine--all under
the general care of the Archeological Institute of America.
The fellows are required to pursue original investigations and twice a
year to report the results.
Everyone can appreciate the advantages offered by the American school
to those who are seeking a career as scholars or instructors. It
gives a vitality to their learning which they cannot get in books,
and the same books read in Greece are much more luminous than in the
class-rooms at home. The original work done by the students is also
of great importance to them, and it is gratifying to know that this
institution has taken the lead and is recognized as the most important
among the several national colleges at Athens. The Greek government is
liberal in its encouragement and the king feels a deep interest in all
its concerns.
Original work has been going on since 1886, and the results of the
excavations may be seen in the National Museum, at the Argive Heraeum,
at Athens, and in a volume recently published by Professor Waldstein,
now lecturer at King’s College, Cambridge, who was the director for
some years. Some of the most interesting of the explorations have been
at Icaria, the first seat of the worship of Bacchus, and the home of
Thespis, the inventor of the theater. He was the first man to present
a play to the public. There had been recitations and declamations upon
the platform before his time, but he introduced dialogues and plots,
and invented the mask so that one man-actor could take two parts. Women
never appeared on the stage in those days. The feminine parts were
always taken by men. The director of the American school discovered
the original home of Thespis and it was excavated under his direction.
The Americans were not allowed, however, to take anything away. Under
the laws of Greece the finder is protected in publishing reports of
his discoveries, and may receive the honor and the credit, but the
tangible results are the property of the government or of the owner of
the land, who, however, to retain them, must erect a museum upon the
ground for their public exhibition.
The American School has done a good deal of work at Plataea, the scene
of a great battle between the Greeks and the Persians in 479 B.C., but
found little of value. The excavations were more successful at Eretria,
at one time an important city, which was destroyed by the Persians
before the battle of Marathon. Here they uncovered a theater, a temple
to Bacchus, a fine lot of baths, and the most perfect gymnasium that
has ever been found.
Near Argos the American School, under Dr. Waldstein, discovered
and excavated the ruins of a magnificent temple of Hera, which was
destroyed in the year 423 B.C., when one of the priestesses went to
sleep without blowing out her candle; the decorations caught fire and
the temple was burned. This was a rich find, for, in addition to the
temple, they uncovered several other buildings of interest, and brought
to the National Museum at Athens a number of valuable statues and a
large quantity of bronze and terra-cotta work.
The excavations of the American students at Corinth I have referred to
in a previous chapter. They began work there in 1896, and will continue
in a systematic manner until the old city is entirely uncovered and
opened to the public, as Pompeii is to-day. Old Corinth was a very
populous city, larger than Athens, and, at the height of its glory in
325 B.C., had a population of nearly 200,000, with many magnificent
structures, which suffered from earthquakes, and were plundered and
destroyed by the Romans and other invaders. Julius Caesar rebuilt a
portion of the old city, but it was again destroyed by his successors,
and finally disappeared and was covered from the sight of men by the
drifting sands. The American School has purchased part of the site,
and, with the encouragement of the Greek government, is working as
rapidly as its funds will permit; but is entirely dependent, as I have
said, upon the generosity of private supporters. The German Institute
receives $5,000 a year from its government for excavations; the French
have an even larger allowance, and the English are spending large
sums. The American explorers alone lack funds, yet from them the most
important results are expected.
Mars Hill, from which Paul delivered the eloquent address of which
we have an account in Chapter xvii of the Acts of the Apostles,
beginning, “Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are very
religious”--not “too superstitious,” as the old version has it--stands
across a little gully from the Acropolis at Athens. It was then
occupied by the Athenian courts, called the Areopagus, and the learned
men, lawyers, philosophers, teachers and orators of the city met there
every day to exchange ideas and talk politics. The ancient court of
the Areopagus, composed of the most venerable and eminent Athenians,
and exercising supreme jurisdiction in certain cases involving life,
sat there regularly to hear arguments and announce their decisions.
The hill is said to have derived its name from the fact that Ares, or
Mars, was the first person tried there for murder. It was there also
that Orestes was arraigned and acquitted of criminal responsibility for
the murder of his mother, Clytemnestra. Many other famous trials took
place upon the hill. Lawyers were never allowed to appear before an
Athenian court, still less the Areopagus. Every man had to plead his
own case.
[Illustration: MARS HILL, ATHENS]
St. Paul appeared upon the Areopagus five hundred and twenty years
after the birth of Socrates and three hundred and seventy years after
the death of Demosthenes, but Greece was still filled with learned men.
Upon its stage the masterpieces of Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides and
Aristophanes were first presented to the public.
Phaleron, the summer-resort of the Athenians upon the bay, where there
are several hotels and bathing establishments and a little villa for
the pleasure of the royal family, is the place where Demosthenes used
to go to practice speaking. It was there, according to the legend, that
he picked up pebbles and put them under his tongue to prevent him from
stammering.
Near by are two tombs hewn in the living rock, accessible at low tide
but often submerged by the sea. One of them is popularly believed to be
the tomb of Themistocles, one of the greatest men of ancient Greece,
who persuaded his fellow citizens to devote the proceeds of the silver
mine of Laurion to the construction of a naval fleet, which made Athens
for a time preëminent upon the sea. But this fleet did not last very
long, and Athens absolutely had her ships taken from her at the close
of the fifth century B.C.
Across the bay is the island of Salamis, the scene of one of the
most famous sea battles in all history, when Xerxes, King of Persia,
witnessed the destruction of his fleet of one thousand vessels from
a rocky promontory which projects into the bay. The point is called
“the throne of Xerxes.” The poet Aeschylus was on one of the ships and
distinguished himself in the battle. Eight years later, in March, 472,
his tragedy, based upon it, was performed in the theater of Dionysus at
Athens.
Socrates was born in Athens in the year 469 B.C. He was originally a
sculptor, but abandoned art and became an astrologer. He afterwards
taught in the market-place, surrounded by his students and disciples,
and it was to them that he delivered the opinions which brought him
into collision with the authorities, and particularly the priests. The
trial of Socrates was similar to that of Christ. Both were accused
of sedition, of denying the gods, of introducing a new religion, of
corrupting the minds of the youth and disturbing the tranquillity of
the people. Socrates was arraigned for this crime before the courts,
as Christ was before the Sanhedrin. Both admitted the truth of the
charge, while they denied the criminality. The answer of Socrates to
his accusers was almost the same as that of Jesus before Pilate, four
hundred years later. He was convicted, however, and condemned to die.
Owing to a superstition about putting men to death during a festival,
the execution of his sentence was postponed, and in the meantime he
drank his cup of hemlock juice. Near the Areopagus are two chambers
about sixteen feet square, hewn in the side of a rocky cliff. They are
divided by a partition with a narrow door and are protected by gratings
of iron bars, like the cage of a wild beast. The guide-book calls them
“the prison of Socrates,” and it is generally understood among the
people that he was imprisoned and died there, but there is no evidence
to sustain such a supposition.
[Illustration: TEMPLE OF THESEUS, ATHENS]
Demosthenes had a country home on the other side of Mount Hymettus,
which is as famous for its honey to-day as it was two thousand years
ago. The wild flowers that grow in the soil of that mountain contain an
unusual amount of saccharine and give a flavor to the honey which is
not found in that made elsewhere. The ancient Greeks considered it a
great luxury, and it still sustains its reputation and is sold to-day
in all the markets of Europe for high prices. Tourists buy it at the
hotels and curiosity-shops of Athens.
Demosthenes was the son of a rich furniture-dealer, and was a
statesman, lawyer, orator and patriot. He lived nearly a century after
Socrates, and in the year 322 B.C., when the Macedonians secured
control of the government, fled from Athens across the sea into the
Peloponnesus. There he was followed by an officer of the police with a
warrant for his arrest. Demosthenes was prepared for him and received
him in the temple of Poseidon in Calauria. Rather than suffer the
humiliation of trial and imprisonment, he decided to take his own
life. Suspecting such an intention, the authorities ordered the police
officials to take precautions to prevent suicide, and they watched him
very closely. After the arrest was made Demosthenes asked the officers
to allow him to write a note to his family, and sat down at his desk to
do so. It was noticed that he frequently moistened the tip of his pen
with his lips, and when the note was finished he fell lifeless from his
seat. The ink had been poisoned.
The field of Marathon, where the great battle with the Persians was
fought in 490 B.C., about twenty-five miles from Athens, is marked by a
great mound, under which the bones of the slain were buried.
Tanagra, where, in 455 B.C., the Athenians first measured strength and
valor with the Spartans, is a little further north and has been one
of the most prolific sources of satisfaction to archeologists. From
the graves around it have come those charming figurines in painted
terra-cotta that are so highly prized by collectors. The quantity of
figures discovered there during the excavations has been so great
that fine examples are now to be found in nearly every museum, and
tourists can purchase for a small sum imitations largely made up of the
fragments, which are quite as pretty as the genuine.
West from Tanagra is Thebes, a famous old town founded by Cadmus, the
home of Pindar, the poet, and Epaminondas, the soldier and statesman.
It was the rival of Athens until Alexander the Great sacked it in 336
B.C., when six thousand of the citizens were slain and thirty thousand
carried away as slaves. It is now a sleepy little town of about
twenty-five hundred inhabitants who grow fruit and do other kinds of
farming. The ruins of the ancient town are covered with rubbish and the
topography has been considerably changed by earthquakes. There is no
hotel, and very little to interest the traveler.
From Thebes one can go west to Delphi, the seat of the famous oracle
and the headquarters of the cult of Apollo, but it is a difficult and
uncomfortable journey, requiring several days on horseback. The easier
route is from Corinth by boat, twice a week, to a little town called
Itea. From there to Delphi is only a ride of two and a half hours. The
grandeur of the scenery and the magnificent view of Parnassus are full
compensation for the time and fatigue, and even in these modern times
the gorges in the mountains are filled with a mysterious atmosphere
which must have affected the imagination of the ancients. The oracle
was consulted, you remember, upon all affairs of importance, both
by the people and the state, and its influence was not diminished by
the ambiguity of its utterances. The voice of the oracle came from a
chasm in the rocks which can not be identified these days, probably
because of earthquakes. Above the chasm the prophetic virgin sat upon
a golden tripod and uttered responses which none but the priests could
understand. Altogether the oracle was a good scheme and its influence
was wholesome among the people. Solon, the great law-giver; Plato, the
philosopher; Aeschylus, Pindar, and Sophocles all spoke of it with
great respect.
Modern Delphi is called Castri, and stands on part of the ancient site,
at an altitude of twenty-one hundred and thirty feet above the gulf of
Corinth and among the cliffs of Parnassus. There has been an enormous
amount of excavating done there by the French School of Archeology
which has been rewarded by many interesting and important discoveries.
The classic mountain Parnassus, which rises eight thousand and seventy
feet, may be comfortably climbed from Delphi, the ascent being made
most of the way on horseback. Every foot of the journey is crowded with
historic and mythical associations.
The pass of Thermopylae, known to every schoolboy as the place where
Leonidas and his three hundred Spartans held the whole Persian army at
bay, is thirty miles in a straight line directly north from Delphi, on
the other side of Parnassus, but nearly three times that distance by
the circuitous route which must be traveled. There are no roads and
it takes several days to make the journey on horseback. The pass is
a narrow ravine or defile between two wooded hills and its strategic
advantages are perfectly apparent, although the guide-books say that
a rocky eminence which formerly overhung the defile has been thrown
down by earthquakes and the gorge has been considerably filled up
by alluvial deposits brought down by mountain torrents, so that the
present appearance of the pass gives very little idea of what it
must have been. It resembles hundreds of similar gorges in Colorado
and other parts of the Rocky Mountains. Here Leonidas detained the
Persian army under Xerxes until the Greeks were able to make a safe
retreat. The exact spot was afterwards marked by a monument with this
inscription:
STRANGER, TELL THE SPARTANS THAT WE ARE
LYING HERE IN OBEDIENCE TO
THEIR COMMANDS.
Due north from Thermopylae is the famous Mount Olympus, 9,754 feet
high, the home of the gods, which, unfortunately, is now on Turkish
soil, much to the sorrow and mortification of the Greeks. If they had
their territorial rights they would still include that noble peak
within their jurisdiction.
Mount Ossa, 6,398 feet high, lies immediately south of Olympus; Mount
Pelion is farther to the south, rising 5,308 feet above the sea.
Going westward from Athens, crossing the peninsula by railroad to
Corinth, and then turning southward for fifteen or sixteen miles,
we come to Mycenae, which was the scene of so much activity in
mythological times, but its importance dwindled long before the dawn
of history. It was founded by Perseus, who raised the massive walls of
the city with the aid of the Cyclops. Agamemnon, the great soldier, had
his seat there, and was not only the ruler of that district but the
chieftain of all the Greeks, of the islands as well as the mainland. He
led them against Troy and after his return was murdered by Aegisthos,
the lover of his wife, Clytemnestra. Although Orestes, his only son,
avenged his father’s death and his mother’s shame, when he grew up, the
legends do not tell us that he regained the throne.
The tomb of the great Grecian chieftain is well preserved and is one
of the most striking examples of ancient masonry. It is a sort of
underground temple in the shape of a bee-hive, fifty feet high, and
near it is another vaulted sepulcher, supposed to have been the tomb
of Clytemnestra. Extensive excavations have been made at Mycenae by
Grecian archeologists under the direction of Dr. Schliemann, who
disclosed to the world the ruins of Troy. It is one of the most
interesting places in Greece.
Near the western boundary of Peloponnesus is Olympia, the scene of the
celebrated games, which may be reached by railway from Patras, the
western port of the Gulf of Corinth, more easily than from Athens.
It was never properly a town, but was a group of temples, shrines,
palaces, amphitheaters and public buildings where the entire Hellenic
world used to assemble periodically, for more than a thousand years,
and engage in semi-sacred games founded by Hercules in the mythical
ages. The Olympic games reached their greatest importance immediately
after the Persian wars, when they were partially divested of their
religious character and became a national festival in honor of Hellenic
unity. Competitors came from all the states, the islands and the
colonies of greater Greece; the functions lasted for five days, and a
list of the victors was kept in the archives of the state. The record
begins B.C. 776 and is continued for several centuries after the Roman
occupation. The winners enjoyed life-long distinction, were entertained
annually at banquets and festivals at the public expense, and were
exempt from taxation.
During the Roman period Tiberius and Nero themselves engaged in the
games, but about the third century after Christ athletic sports were
degraded by the entrance of professionals, and became a trade. The
Olympic games were finally suppressed by the Roman Emperor Theodosius
in the year 394.
Extensive excavations have been made at Olympia by the Germans, who
have spent several hundred thousand dollars uncovering the ruins of
temples, palaces and amphitheaters which were buried from fifteen to
twenty feet deep under deposits of sand and gravel, washed down by
cloud-bursts and floods from the mountains, which also undermined
the walls of the Hippodrome, the Stadium and other of the ancient
structures. The interest in the excavations at one time was as great as
that excited at Pompeii, but very little of artistic interest was found.
Still south of Olympia, near the extreme end of the peninsula, is
the old town of Sparta, which is still the capital of the province
of Laconia, and a place of considerable importance. The remains of
ancient Sparta, however, are scanty and insignificant and, although the
modern town is beautifully located, it is said to be very unhealthy.
There is a museum there containing a large collection of antiquities,
and several of great importance. The guides show you an open plain,
surrounded with ditches, where the youthful Spartans used to wage their
mimic warfare. They show you also a rectangular enclosure of massive
stones which they claim to be the ruins of the tomb of Leonidas, and
several other fictitious scenes of interest.
For the classical scholar, the historian, the archeologist, and lovers
of the picturesque, there is no country more abundant in interest than
Greece, and although the accommodations are primitive and the means
of transportation are limited, even the shortest visit to the country
will be full of gratification. Greece is now only four days from
London and three days from Paris, and in these times, when many people
have exhausted the novelties of northern Europe, they will find the
classic grounds of the Hellenic peninsula a most satisfactory place
of resort. Excepting Japan, southern Italy and the Tyrol, no country
compares with Greece in the beauty of its landscapes. The remarkable
purity of the atmosphere at Athens enhances the effect of artificial
as well as natural objects of interest. As in Arizona, distances are
very deceptive. Far-off mountains are brought close to the eye as
with a field-glass, and as you approach them they recede in a most
provoking way. Hymettus and Pentelikos, the two famous mountains which
lie on either side of Athens, are often enveloped in a curious pink
glow at sunset, and then, as the flame fades out of the sky, they take
on a deep violet tinge. The Greek sunset is something that cannot be
represented on canvas. Artists and poets rave about it, but it is
beyond their power to reproduce.
It is not a land for luxurious people, however. The climate is more to
be recommended than the hotels, but the natural scenery has a variety,
a richness and a color that no other part of Europe affords. The
foliage and the flowers are abundant and beautiful, and in the rural
districts the people are picturesque in manners, customs and dress.
Their habits and social life have not been affected by what we call
the advances of modern civilization. In public conveniences, however,
Greece is still far behind the times. Athens is the only place where
the hotels are tolerable, and travelers who go into the interior must
take their own provisions and bedding. Even those who make little
excursions by carriage for a single day in the neighborhood of Athens
must carry a lunch-basket, because the inns are primitive and filthy.
Railway facilities are limited. With a few exceptions the roads are
bad, but they are gradually improving, and several of the centers of
great interest to tourists may now be reached by carriage. Only a few
years ago travelers had to go on horseback or on foot, as they do in
the Holy Land. Even now those who visit some of the most interesting
places have to put up with discomforts, inconveniences and a good deal
of dirt and bad smells, although they are fully repaid.
FINIS.
INDEX
Abduction, Prince Alexander of Bulgaria, 174
Abdul Aziz, 67
Abdul Hamid II, 54
Abdul Medjid, 67
Abraham, Founder of the Turkish Race, 55
Acropolis of Athens, 369
Adossides, George, 62
Adriatic Coast, 303
Agamemnon, Tomb of, 384
Agriculture in Bulgaria, 194
in Bosnia, 290
in Servia, 261
in Greece, 342, 363
Alexander the Great, 14
Alexander of Battenberg, 169, 174, 186, 196
Alexander of Servia, 248
Alexander II. of Russia, 167, 173, 207
Alexander III. of Russia, 173
Alix, Czarina, 251
Americans in Bulgaria, 209
American Board of Foreign Missions, 142, 148, 209, 224
American School at Athens, 328, 372
Anarchy in Bosnia, 274
Andrews, Eugene P., Discovery by, 372
Archaeological Institute, American, 328, 372
Architecture of Constantinople, 94
Areopagus, the, 379
Armenians in Constantinople, 103
Armenian Massacres, 161
Army, Bosnian, 280
Bulgarian, 200
Servian, 260, 269
Turkish, 84
Assassination of Stambouloff, 182
Assassinations of Sultans, 55, 67
Athens, Modern, 332
Streets of, 333
Climate of, 333
Parks of, 334
Public Buildings of, 357
the Acropolis of, 369
Riots in, 349
Athletic Sports in Greece, 360
Atrocities, Bulgarian, 14, 27, 167
Attar of Roses, 194, 207
Auctions in Constantinople, 124
Austria, Political Attitude of, 17, 34
Austrian Soldiers in Bosnia, 280
Administration in Bosnia, 273
Baird, Rev. Dr., 234
Bakhmeteff, Mr., Russian Agent, Sofia, 185, 216
Baldwin I., 190
Bazaars of Constantinople, 119
of Sarajevo, 284
Beet-Sugar in Bosnia, 290
Belgrade, City of, 257
Berlin Conference 1878, 14, 27, 273, 304
Beyler Bey Palace, 132
Bible in Turkish, 152, 212
Biography of Sultan, 62
Blackmail in Macedonia, 228
in Turkey, 46
Bosnia, Development of, 296
Population of, 276
Regeneration of, 273
Soldiers, 281
Boundaries of Bulgaria, 193
Bosphorus, the, 91, 105, 142
Bribery in Turkey, 97
Bridges, Constantinople, 40, 107
Brigandage in Macedonia, 227
Brindisi, Port of, 311
Brothers, the Sultan’s, 68
Bulgaria, Conditions in, 20
History, 165, 195
Relation to European Politics, 166, 171
Business in Turkey, 57, 96, 110, 120
Byron, Lord, 360
Castles on the Bosphorus, 143
Castle at Belgrade, 267
Cattaro, Town of, 303
Cattle in Bosnia, 290
Servian, 261
Cemeteries, Turkish, 112
Censorship in Turkey, 154
Ceremonies, Mohammedan, 82, 136
Chambers, the Sultan’s, 76
Churches, Protestant in Turkey, 149
in Bosnia, 281
Children, Sultan’s, 72, 85
Cistern of 1,001 Pillars, 161
Cities of Bulgaria, 193
Civilization, Early, in Balkans, 13
Clark, Rev. Mr., 224
Classic Spirit of Greece, 335
Clytemnestra, Tomb of, 385
Coat of Arms, Turkish, 53
Coffee-Houses, Turkish, 47
College for Girls, Scutari, 153
Commerce of Constantinople, 111
Concessions, German, in Turkey, 18
Conference, Berlin, of 1878, 14, 27, 273, 304
Consular Trials in Turkey, 156
Conspiracies in Turkey, 56
in Servia, 250
Constantinople, Picturesqueness, 91
Filth of, 40
Corfu, Island of, 312
Population of, 315
Climate of, 315
Corinth, Gulf of, 318, 325
Ancient, 322
Modern, 322
Canal of, 322
Excavations at, 328
Corruption among Turkish Officials, 97
Costumes, Servian, 263
Bulgarian, 198
Greek, 319
Cosmopolitan Population of Constantinople, 101, 107
Courts in Bosnia, 289
Turkish, 157
Cowardice of Sultan, 55
Crescent as a Symbol, 53
Crime in Bosnia, 274
in Greece, 340
Crown Prince of Greece, 351
Currant Culture in Greece, 318
Custom House, Constantinople, 97, 111
Belgrade, 257
Customs of Bosnia, 279, 287
Dalmatian Coast, 303
Damascus, Political Exiles in, 60
Danube River, the, 191
Dardanelles, the, 91
Delphi, the Oracle of, 382
Demosthenes, Home of, 380
Dickinson, Consul-General, 222, 230, 234
Diocletian, Palace of, 306
Diogenes, Home of, 328
Diplomatic Protests to Turkey, 18
Dishonesty in Turkey, 41, 97
Dogs of Constantinople, 113
Dolma-Baghtcheh Palace, 69, 131, 135
Dorys, George, Biographer of Sultan, 62
Draga, Queen of Servia, 248
Education in Bulgaria, 200, 213
in Greece, 338
Education in Servia, 265
in Turkey, 152
Editors in Turkey, 154
Electricity Forbidden in Turkey, 61
Embassies in Constantinople, 95, 158
Emigration from Greece, 355
England, Attitude of, 14, 34
Eunuchs, Turkish, 85
Excavations at Corinth, 328
Agamemnon’s Tomb, 384
Bosnia, 295
Delphi, 382
Diocletian’s Palace, 306
Mycenae, 384
Olympia, 385
the Acropolis, 369
Thebes, 382
Tanagra, 381
Exiles, Turkish, 59
Extra-Territoriality, 156
Eyub, Mosque of, 89
Fanaticism, Religious, 26
Ferdinand, Prince of Bulgaria, 178, 184, 197
Children of, 186
Firemen of Constantinople, 116
Football in Turkey, Dangers of, 58
Foreigners in Constantinople, 97
France, Political Attitude, 19
Franchises in Bosnia, 296
Fruits in Bulgaria, 207
Fuad, Pasha, 59
Funerals, Greek, 367
Galata, City of, 93
Gargiulo, Mr., 232
George, King of Greece, 313, 346, 351
Germany, Political Attitude of, 17, 34
Gladstone and Bulgaria, 167
and Greece, 314
Golden Horn, 36, 92
Government, Turkish System of, 35, 49, 97, 102
Grant, General, 64
Green Vaults of Constantine, 137
Greeks in Constantinople, 104
Greek Church in Constantinople, 352
in Bulgaria, 186
in Bosnia, 296
Greece, Climate of, 387
Costume of Natives, 319
Crime in, 340
Currant Culture, 318
Education in, 338
Hotels of, 387
Journey to, 312
Newspapers of, 338
Olive Trees in, 319
Peasants, 343, 363
Politics, 336, 346
Population, 362
Prisons, 342
Professions, 343
Railways, 311
Society, 337
Guilds in Turkey, 121
Habits, Turkish, 45, 109
Hadji, Rank of, 51
Hamlin, Dr. Cyrus, 146
Harem, The Sultan’s, 64, 70, 85
Haskell, Rev. Dr., 234
Hassan Pasha, 37
Heir to Servian Throne, 251
to Turkish Throne, 68
Helena, Queen of Italy, 252
Hellespont, the, 92
Historical Review, 13
Homer’s School at Stavros, 316
Holy Banner, Bosnian, 55, 136
Holy Mantle, 40, 55, 136
Hotel at Belgrade, 259
Hotels, Government, in Bosnia, 297
Horses, Bulgarian, 201
in Constantinople, 111
the Sultan’s, 88
House, Rev. John Henry, 211, 217, 232
Household, the Sultan’s, 79, 68, 85
Hymettus, Mount, 380
Intemperance in Turkey, 46
Ismet Bey, Sultan’s Foster-Brother, 75
Ithaca, Island of, 313
Jajce, Bosnia, 301
Janissaries, 135
Jews in Bosnia, 299
in Bulgaria, 203
in Servia, 264
in Constantinople, 104
John, St., of Ryle, 186
Justice, Turkish, 157
Kallay, Count von, Administration of, in Bosnia, 273
Kalpak, Bulgarian Headdress, 209
Karageorgeovitch Family, 244, 253
Kassuroff, Mrs. Ivan B., 214
Khans of Constantinople, 119
Kidnaping in Macedonia, 227
Kindergarten in Sofia, 212
Labor Unions in Turkey, 121
Lamsdorff, Count, 251
Land Laws in Bosnia, 289
Language, Bulgarian, 194
Modern Greek, 348
Servian, 266
Law Schools in Bosnia, 294
Law, Turkish, 157
Leishman, Minister, 232
Leonidas, Battle of, 382
Ludskanoff, Bulgarian Minister, 183
Luke, St., Tomb of, 302
Macedonia, Conditions in, 15, 30, 168
Macedonian Committee, 26, 239
Mahmoud Pasha, 69, 314
Manufacturing in Bosnia, 292
Marathon, Battle of, 381
Marco Bozzaris, 360
Mark Antony, Scene of Battle, 315
Market at Belgrade, 261
Marmora, Sea of, 91
Mars Hill, 378
Marsh, Rev. Geo. L., 211
Massacres, Armenian, 41, 103, 161
in Bosnia, 293
in Bulgaria, 15, 27, 31
in Macedonia, 15, 30, 168
Mecca, Pilgrimages to, 51, 83
Methodists in Bulgaria, 210
Metkovic, Town of, 304
Michael, King of Servia, 245, 269
Milan, King of Servia, 247
Milos, King of Servia, 245
Military Policy in Bosnia, 281
Minarets of Constantinople, 93
Mirko, Prince of Montenegro, 251
Missionaries in Constantinople, 148
Mohammedans Converted to Christianity, 151
Mohammedan Fanaticism, 26, 44, 49, 63, 188
Religion, 43, 54, 83, 112, 286
Monastery of Ryle, 186
Mosques of Constantinople, 82, 94, 111, 118, 126, 136
Mosques of Sarajevo, 286
Montenegro, Royal Family of, 251, 303
Moulahs, 43
Mountains of Bosnia, 278
Murad V., 67
Music, Sultan’s Love of, 77
Mycenae, 384
Natalie, Queen of Servia, 247
Naturalized Americans in Turkey, 100
Navy, Turkish, 36
Nephews, the Sultan’s, 71
Newspapers, the Sultan’s Ideas of, 80
in Turkey, 154
Greek, 338
Odyssey, Scenes of the, 316
Oil of Roses, 207
Olga, Queen of Greece, 348
Olive Trees in Greece, 319
Olympia, Games of, 385
Orient Express, 191
Ossa, Mount, 384
Ottoman Bank Affair, 42
Palace at Athens, 333
Belgrade, 260
Beyler-Bey, 132
Dolma-Baghtcheh, 69, 131, 135
Tcheragan, 67
Yildiz Kiosk, 55, 79, 131
Parliament, Bulgarian, 170
of Greece, 345
Parnassus, Mount, 324, 383
Parthenon, the, 369
Passports in Turkey, 100
Patras, Town of, 317
Patrick, Miss Mary M., 153
Paul, St., at Corinth, 330
Peasants in Bulgaria, 204
Greek, 325, 343
Peddlers in Constantinople, 110
Peet, W. W., 232
Pelion, Mount, 384
Pentelikos, Quarries of, 332
Pera, City of, 93
Philip of Macedon, 13, 53, 208
Philippopolis, 208
Photographs of Moslems, 50
Pigeons in Turkey, 118
Pilgrims, Moslem, 51, 83
Police, Bosnian, 282
Political Jealousies in Europe, 14, 34
Politics, Turkish, 56
in Greece, 336, 346
Popoff, Rev. Marko, 211
Population of Bosnia, 276
of Bulgaria, 193, 209
of Constantinople, 102
of Corfu, 315
of Greece, 362
of Macedonia, 32
of Servia, 264
Porter, General Horace, 362
Porte, the Sublime, 92, 135
Postal Service in Turkey, 160
Priests in Greece, 352
Mohammedan, 43, 102, 111
Prisons in Bosnia, 277
in Greece, 342
in Servia, 268
Products of Bulgaria, 203
Professions in Greece, 343
Protestants in Bulgaria, 209
in Constantinople, 149
Prunes, Servian, 261
Public Buildings in Athens, 357
Ragusa, Town of, 304
Railways in Balkans, 191
in Bosnia, 277
in Greece, 311, 325
in Turkey, 105
Ransoms paid in Macedonia, 228
Rebellion in Balkans, 15, 30
Religious Character, Sultan’s, 83
Religions in Balkans, 32, 34
Richardson, Professor, 374
Riots in Athens, 349
Robert College, 70, 142
Roman Occupation of Balkans, 14
Roman Remains in Bosnia, 295
Roman Catholics in Bosnia, 298
Roumania, Conditions in, 20
Rugs, Turkish, 112
Rumelia, Eastern, 15
Rumili Hisar, 143
Russian Interference in Balkans, 14, 34, 165
Russo-Turkish War, 14, 34
Said Pasha, 38
Salona, Town of, 306
Salamis, Island of, 379
San Stefano, Treaty of, 14, 168
Sarafoff, Boris, 28, 230
Sarajevo, Capital of Bosnia, 277
Schools, Protestant in Turkey, 150
in Bulgaria, 213
Mohammedan, 43
Scutari, City of, 93
Women’s College, 153
Schuyler, Eugene, 167, 172
Selamlik, the, 82
Seraglio, the, 55, 92, 132
Servia, Independence of, 244
Conditions in, 20
Kings of, 245, 269
Conspiracies, 250
Capital of, 257
Palace of, 260
Population of, 264
Political Situation, 243
Sheik-ul-Islam, 44, 83, 101
Shepherd, a Greek, 321
Shipka, Battle of, 207
Shopping in Constantinople, 120
Sisters, the Sultan’s, 70
Skupshtina, Servian Parliament, 259
Sobranje, the Bulgarian, 170, 176
St. Sophia, Mosque of, 126
Sofia, City of, 195
Softas, 43
Society in Greece, 336
Socrates, Prison of, 380
Spalato, Town of, 306
Stadium at Athens, 359
Stambouloff, Stepan, 175, 182, 196
Stamboul, City of, 92
Stavreff, the Assassin, 182
Stoiloff, Minister of Bulgaria, 180
Stone, Miss Ellen M., 16, 187, 217, 235
Streets of Constantinople, 95
Students in Constantinople, 147
Sublime Porte, the, 92, 135
Sultan, Family of, 54
Habits of, 35, 49, 50, 54, 61, 63, 75, 82
Jewels, 139
Policy of, 23, 63
Skill in Diplomacy, 17
Superstitions, 61, 75
Superstitions, Turkish, 118
Sultanas, the, 65, 85
Tanagra, Excavations at, 381
Taxes in Bulgaria, 202
Telephones in the Balkans, 192
in Turkey, 61
Temperance of Moslems, 46
Tesla, Nikola, 300
Thebes, 382
Themistocles, Tomb of, 379
Thermopylae, Pass of, 383
Timotheus at Corinth, 330
Tirnova, Ancient Capital, 188
Titles of the Sultan, 55
Tobacco in Bosnia, 290
Tombs of the Sultans, 89
Trajan, Emperor, 14
Travel in Greece, 312
Treasury of the Sultan, 137
Treaty of Berlin, 14, 27, 273, 304
Tsilka, Mr. and Mrs., 218
Turkish Characteristics, 45, 109, 112
Cruelties, 293
Virtues, 289
Invasion of Balkans, 14
Ulysses, Landing Place, 313
Vaciloff, Cyril, 222
Vatralsky, Stoyan, 216
Virtues of the Turks, 289
Vulkovitch, Assassination of, 182
Wealth of Greeks, 354
Wages in Bulgaria, 202
Washburn, Rev. Dr., 144
Women of Constantinople, 109
Worship in Bosnia, 296
Yachts, the Embassy, 159
Yildiz Kiosk, 55, 79, 80, 131
“Young Turkey” Party, 24, 67
* * * * *
Transcriber’s Notes:
Illustrations have been moved to paragraph breaks near where they are
mentioned, except for the frontispiece.
Punctuation has been made consistent.
Variations in spelling and hyphenation were retained as they appear in
the original publication, except that obvious typographical errors have
been corrected.