STATIONS. _Peloponnesian_ (Pl. B, 1), for Patras, etc., on the N.W.
side of the town.—_Piraeus Railway_, see p. 503.—Tickets also at the
tourist-agencies, see 504.
Footnote 8:
MONEY. Greece belongs to the Latin Monetary Convention. The franc is
called a _drachmē_ (dr.; pl. drachmǽs), the centime _leptón_ (l.;
pl. leptá). The currency is chiefly paper (notes of 1, 2, and 5
dr.), and the chief banks issue also their own notes (for 10, 25,
100, 500 dr., etc.). In nickel there are coins of 5 l. (_pendára_, a
sou or soldo), 10 l. (_dekára_), and 20 l.; in copper, 1, 2, 5, and
10 lepta. The only silver coins of full value are the 5 fr. pieces.
It is safest to decline all foreign silver. The present exchange
(1911) for the English pound is about 25 paper dr., for the gold 20
fr. piece 20 dr.
[Illustration: ATHÈNES]
=Hotels.= At most of the hotels it is usual to arrange for a fixed
charge per day; at the chief English and French are spoken; charges
mostly in gold, that is, in francs instead of drachmæ; charges higher
during the Olympic games. *HÔT. DE LA GRANDE-BRETAGNE (Pl. b; F, 5),
Place de la Constitution, opposite the Palace, R. from 7½, B. 2, déj.
5, D. 6, pens. 17½–30 fr.; *GR.-HÔT. D’ANGLETERRE (Pl. a; F, 5), Place
de la Constitution, cor. of the Rue d’Hermès, pens. 17½–25 fr.;
*PALACE HOTEL (Pl. p; E, 4), Rue du Stade 18, R. 5–10, B. 1½, déj. 4,
D. 5, pens. from 12 fr.; these three are of the first class.—*TOURIST
HOTEL (Pl. t; E, 5), cor. of the Rue d’Hermès and Rue de la Boulé, R.
3–8, B. 1, déj. 4½, D. 5, pens. 10–15 fr.; GRAND-HÔTEL (Pl. d; F, 5),
Place de la Constitution, cor. of Rue du Stade, R. 3–6, B. 1¼, déj.
3½, D. 4½, pens. 8–12 fr.; HÔT. DES ETRANGERS & SPLENDID (Pl. c; F,
6), Place de la Constitution, cor. of Rue des Philhellènes, R. 5–7, B.
1½, déj. 4, D. 5, pens. 10–15 fr.; *HÔT. DE LA MINERVE (Pl. g; F, 5),
Rue du Stade 5, near Place de la Constitution, pens. from 12 fr., also
R. from 4 dr. out of the season; *HÔT. HERMÈS (Pl. s; E, 3), Boulevard
de l’Université 46, pens. from 10 fr., also R. without board from 3
fr., B. 1 fr. 20 c., déj. 3½, D. 4½ fr.; *HÔT. D’ATHÈNES (Pl. f; E,
4), cor. of Rue du Stade and Rue de Korais, R. 3–6 dr., B. 1 dr. 20
l., déj. 4, D. 5, pens. 10–14 dr., or less for some stay, R. alone,
out of season, from 3 dr.; these three are good second-class inns in
the Italian style, with restaurants; HÔT. ROYAL (Pl. r; F, 5), Rue du
Stade 9, with garden, R. 4–10, B. 1, déj. 3½, D. 4, pens. 10–12 fr.;
HÔT.-PENS. ST. GEORGES (Pl. h; E, F, 5), Rue du Stade, beside the
Parliament House, R. 3–5, B. 1, déj. 3½, D. 4, pens. 8–15 fr.; *HÔT.
IMPÉRIAL (Pl. i; F, 5), Rue Karageorgevitch, R. 2–10, pens. 8–12 fr.;
HÔT. NATIONAL (Pl. q; E, 4), Rue du Stade 30, R. (from 3 dr.) and B.
(1½ dr.) only, good.—In the warm season a mosquito-curtain (kunupiera)
should be asked for.
=Pensions=, recommended for a stay of some time. _Maison Merlin_ (Pl.
G, 5), cor. of the Rues de Kanári and de Sekéri; _Pens. MacTaggart_,
Rue du Stade 12, opposite the Parliament, pens. from 8 fr.; both
English.
=Restaurants.= At the _Hôtels de la Minerve_, _Hermès_, and _d’
Athènes_, see above; also good, in the Rue du Stade: No. 6, _Averof_,
with garden; No. 24, _Cité_, with garden; at corner of the Rue de
Patisia, _Kapsēs_; in Rue de Thémistocle, _Sintrivanēs_. French
usually understood.
=Cafés.= _Zacharátos_, Place de la Constitution, corner of the Rue du
Stade (music on summer evenings); _Zacharátos_, Place Omónia, N. side;
at the _Zappion_ (p. 508), where there is always a cool
sea-breeze.—TEA ROOMS. _Khrysákis_, Place de la Constitution.
=Wine.= _Achaia Wine Co._, Rue de Niké 1 (Pl. E, 5, 6).—BARS.
_Papagiannakis_, Rue du Stade 40; _Apotsos_, Rue du Stade 9; _Skekos_,
Rue Karageorgevitch (Greek beer 30 l. per glass).
The =Water= of the Aqueduct (p. 528) is, especially in the hot months,
not above reproach. The hotels and restaurants supply good water from
the _Marusi_ spring. The mineral waters of _Sáriza_ and _Lutraki_ cost
about 25 l. per half-bottle.
=Cabs.= To or from Peloponnesian Station 2 dr.; short drive in town 1
dr., longer 1½ dr.; to the Acropolis 2 dr.; to the Piræus with luggage
6–10 dr.; drives in town and environs 20–30 dr. per day; per hr. 3,
afternoon 4 dr. (with one horse cheaper). Agreement advisable.
=Tramways= (numbered; fare 10–15, transfer 15 l.; comp. Plan). The
chief lines are: =1.= From _Academy_ (Pl. F, 4) viâ Place de la
Constitution, Amalia St., Rue de Phalère (Pl. D, 8), Tsitsiphiés (on
the coast), and then alternately to the left to _Old Phálēron_ and to
the right to _New Phálēron_; fare 25 l.—From PLACE OMÓNIA: =2.= viâ
Rue du Stade, Place de la Constitution (Pl. F, 5, 6), and Rue des
Philhellènes to the _English Church_ (p. 504); =3.= viâ the National
Museum to _Patisia_ (comp. Pl. E, 1); =4.= viâ the Rue du Pirée,
Dipylon, Theseion Station (Pl. B, 5), Monasteraki Station, and the Rue
d’Athéna to _Place Omónia_; =5.= viâ the Rue Constantin to
_Peloponnesian Station_ (Pl. B, 1).—=12.= From _Place de la
Constitution_ (Pl. F, 5, 6) viâ the Rue des Philhellènes and Boulevard
Olga (Pl. F, G, 7, 8) to the _Stadion_ (Pl. G, H, 8).—=16.= From the
_Academy_ (Pl. F, 4) to the _Acropolis_.
=Electric Railway= to _New Phálēron_ and the _Piraeus_ every ¼ hr., in
18 min. (fare 65 or 45 l., return 1 dr. 15 or 80 l.; to Phaleron 40 or
30, return 75 or 55 l.). Three stations in Athens: _Omónia_ (Pl. D,
3), _Monastēráki_ (Pl. C, 5), and _Theseion_ (Pl. B, 5); fare between
these 5–10 l.; the ticket-clerks speak French.
=Tourist Agents.= _Thos. Cook & Son_, Place de la Constitution, corner
of Rue d’Hermès; _Ghiolman Bros._, _T. D. Ralli_, both same Place.—For
steamboat-agents at the Piræus, see p. 495.
=Banks= (9–12 and 3–5; in summer, forenoon only). _Banque Nationale_
(Pl. D, 3), Rue d’Eole; _Banque d’Orient_ (Pl. D, 3, 4), Rue de
Sophocle; _Banque d’Athènes_ (Pl. E, 4), Rue du Stade 32; _Banque
Ionienne_ (Pl. E, 4), same street, No. 14.
=Post & Telegraph Office= (Pl. D, 3), opposite Banque Nationale.
Letter under 15 grammes within Postal Union 25 l., in Greece 20, in
Athens 10 l.; registration 25 l.; deltarion or post-card, 10 or 5 l.
=Theatres= (Nov. to May). _Royal National_ (Pl. C, 2), Rue Constantin;
_Théâtre Municipal_ (Pl. D, 3). Several summer-theatres.—=Bands= play
every summer evening in the Place de la Constitution, at the Záppion
(p. 508), and at New Phaleron (p. 528). Military band, Place de la
Constitution, Sun. and Thurs. afternoons.
=Photographs.= _Barth & Eleutheroudakis_, booksellers, Place de la
Constitution (Alinari’s and Boissonnas’s photographs, etc.);
_Rhomaïdēs_ (Pinacothèque Hellénique), same square; _Simiriotēs_, Rue
des Philhellènes 2.—REQUISITES: _Tavanakēs & Georgantopulos_, Rue
d’Hermès 12; _Pestarini_, Rue du Stade 2; _Ragnio_, Rue du Stade,
opposite the Parliament.
=Legations and Consulates.= GREAT BRITAIN: Minister, _Sir Francis E.
H. Elliot_, Rue de Dragatsani 8 (Pl. E, 4). Consul, _T.
Cornish_.—UNITED STATES: Minister, _G. H. Moses_, Rue Sina 16.
Consul-General, _W. H. Gale_, Rue Regilles 6; vice-consul, _B.
Melissinos_.
=English Church= (_St. Paul’s_; Pl. F, 6, 7), Rue des Philhellènes,
corner of Palace Garden; chaplain, _W. A. Gardner_, Rue du Lycée 1.
Services at 8 and 10.30 a.m., and 6 p.m.
=Scientific Institutions=, all under supervision of the _General
Ephoros_ or director _Dr. P. Kavvadias_; office in the Ministère des
Cultes, Rue d’Hermès. The _Greek Archaeological Society_, Rue de
l’Université 20 (Pl. F, 4), is the central authority for antiquarian
research in Greece.—_British School of Athens_ (Pl. I, 4), Rue de
Speusippe; _American School of Classical Studies_, same street; also
French, German, and Austrian institutes. _National Library_ (Pl. E,
3); open 19–2, 3–5, and 8–11.
=Collections.= _Acropolis Museum_ (p. 519) and _National
Archaeological Museum_ (p. 526), on week-days from 9 (Dec. and Jan.
10) to 12, and from 3 (Oct.-March from 2, June-Aug. from 4) till
sunset. On Sun. and holidays the National Museum is open 10–12, and
the Acropolis Museum in the afternoon only. Adm. free (sticks and
umbrellas 20 l.).—_Numismatic Museum_ (p. 525), Wed. and Sat. 9 (or
10)–12 and 3–6, free.—_Historical and Ethnographical Museum_ (p. 526),
daily except on holidays, 2–5, adm. 50 l.
=Plan of Visit.= THREE DAYS: 1st. *_Acropolis_ (p. 512), *_Acropolis
Museum_ (p. 519); afternoon, _Lykabettos_ (p. 528).—2nd. *_National
Museum_ (p. 526); afternoon, _Stadion_ (p. 509), _Olympieion_ (p.
509), _Monument of Lysikrates_ (p. 510), _Theatre of Dionysos_ (p.
510), *_Odeion_ (p. 511), _Areopagus_ (p. 512), _Acropolis_ by
sunset.—3rd. _Boul. de l’Université_ (p. 525), region to the _N. of
the Acropolis_ (pp. 520 _et seq._); afternoon, *_Theseion_ (p. 521),
*_Dipylon_ (p. 522), _Hill of the Pnyx_, _Tomb of Philopappos_ (p.
524).
If 1½ DAY only be available we first drive to the _Acropolis_ (p.
512), to which we devote 2 hrs.; then visit the _Odeion_ (p. 511), the
_Theatre of Dionysos_ (p. 510), the _Monument of Lysikrates_ (p. 510),
the _Olympieion_ (p. 509) with _Hadrian’s Arch_ (p. 508), and the
_Stadion_ (p. 509); we then drive past the _Tower of the Winds_ (p.
520), the _Market Gate_ (p. 521), and _Hadrian’s Stoa_ (p. 520) to the
_Theseion_ (p. 521), and if possible also to the ancient _Cemetery
outside the Dipylon_ (p. 523). Lastly, in half-a-day, we may drive
through the _Boul. de l’Université_ (p. 525), glance at the chief
modern buildings, and visit the _National Museum_ (p. 526).
_Athens_ (130–492 ft.; pop. 167,500), modern Greek _Athénai_, lies 3¾ M.
from the _Saronic Gulf_, in the great Attic plain, which is closed on
the W. by _Ægaleos_ and _Parnes_ and on the E. by _Hymettos_ and
_Pentelikon_. The city is bounded on the S.E. by the _Ilissos_ and on
the W. by the _Kephisos_. The valleys of these streams are separated by
the _Turkovuni_ hills, whose S. spur, the _Lykabettos_, rises abruptly
above Athens on the E. A broad saddle separates the latter from the rock
of the _Acropolis_ and a group of hills farther to the W.; these include
the _Philopappos_ or _Museion_, the _Pnyx_, and the _Nymphs’_ hills, and
slope gently down to the sea.
The Athens of antiquity circled round the Acropolis and included the
hills on its S.W. and W. sides (see Plan, where traces of ancient walls
and the probable direction of the streets are indicated). The modern
city extends to the N. of the Acropolis, far towards the plain of the
Kephisos. Down to 1834 Athens was a poor village. Now, as the capital of
the kingdom of Hellas, it has developed into one of the finest cities of
the E. Mediterranean, and is quite European in character.
The main street is the _Rue du Stade_, connecting the _Syntagma Square_
(Place de la Constitution; Pl. F, 5, 6) with the _Omónia Square_ (Place
de la Concorde; Pl. D, 2, 3). This street and the broad E. end of the
Rue d’Hermès (see below) contain the principal shops. The Syntagma
Square forms the centre of traffic. Parallel with the Rue du Stade runs
the _Boul. de l’Université_ (_Panepistēmion_), in which the chief public
buildings are situated. This new E. quarter, known as _Neapolis_, is
adjoined, to the W. of the Rue du Stade, by the older business quarter,
the main arteries of which are the _Rue d’Hermès_ (Pl. B-E, 5; p. 520),
running to the W. from the Syntagma Square, and the _Rue d’Athéna_ (Pl.
D, 3–5), running from the Place de la Concorde to the S. and
intersecting the Rue d’Hermès at right angles. Parallel to the latter is
the _Rue d’Eole_ (p. 520), which leads to the N., past the National
Museum, to Patisia, and is prolonged to the S. to the Tower of the Winds
at the foot of the Acropolis. The Piræus is the chief seat of industry
and the wholesale trade.
HISTORY. The Athenians prided themselves on being the aboriginal
inhabitants of the country, whose earliest kings are said to have been
Cecrops, builder of the Acropolis, Erechtheus, Pandion, and Ægeus.
Research, however, attributes the earliest settlement on the Acropolis
to the _Pelasgians_, afterwards expelled by Ionian invaders.
_Theseus_, the fifth king, is regarded as the actual founder of
Athens. To him Thucydides assigns the Synœkismos (in 1259 B.C., it is
said) or subordination of all the Attic communities to Athens as their
capital. Originally consisting of the Acropolis only, the city
gradually extended in all directions.
After the self-sacrifice of Kodros (1068 B.C.) the kings were
succeeded by _Archons_, first of the house of Kodros and afterwards
elected from the ranks of the Eupatridæ (landed nobles). Internal
dissensions and the capricious rule of this aristocratic oligarchy led
at the end of the 7th cent. to the codification of the existing law of
Athens by _Drakon_, a measure succeeded in 594 B.C. by the democratic
reforms of _Solon_. Eligibility for the highest offices was henceforth
to depend, not on birth, but on the possession of property and the
payment of taxes (‘timocracy’). The judges were to be chosen by lot,
and a council (Boulē) of 400 members (Bouleutæ) was placed over the
archons as the supreme governing body.
In 561 B.C., however, while Solon was still alive, _Peisistratos_, an
ambitious but humane man and a patron of art, succeeded in usurping
the position of tyrant. He and his sons _Hippias_ and _Hipparchos_
brilliantly developed the city. Roads were made to the various ‘demoi’
or communities of Attica, and a copious supply of water was brought by
a subterranean conduit from Hymettos. The Olympieion was begun, the
ancient temple of Athena on the Acropolis, the ‘hekatompedon’, was
enclosed with a colonnade, and other large buildings were erected. All
this splendour, however, did not compensate for the want of a free
constitution; in 514 Hipparchos was assassinated by Harmodios and
Aristogeiton and in 510 Hippias was banished with the aid of the
Spartans. After further democratic reforms, and after various wars
with adjoining states, which led to the development of the Athenian
fleet, the little Attic state obtained the leadership of the whole
nation in the Persian wars. In order to punish Athens for supporting
the revolt of the Greek towns in Asia Minor (498), _Darius I._, king
of Persia, sent an army of over 200,000 men with a huge fleet, under
_Datis_ and _Artaphernes_, across the Ægean Sea in 490. Contrary to
all expectation the Athenians under _Miltiades_, assisted by the
Platæans only, defeated the immense Persian army on the plains of
Marathon. Even more glorious, and still further confirming the
hegemony of Athens, was the result of the campaign of _Xerxes_ against
Greece in 480. After the heroic resistance of Leonidas and his
Spartans at Thermopylæ had been overcome by the slaughter of the
devoted band the whole of the huge army and armament of the Great King
bore down upon Attica to avenge the defeat of Marathon. The Athenians
took to their ships. The city was occupied by the Persians, the
Acropolis captured, and the temples burned down. But the decisive
naval victory won at Salamis (480), and due to the unflinching courage
and pertinacity of _Themistokles_, broke the power of the Persians.
The citizens had scarcely re-entered Athens when they were again
compelled to retire before the army of _Mardonios_, but their great
victory at Platæa in 479 finally relieved them from the menace of a
Persian yoke.
Having taken the most glorious part in these terrible struggles Athens
now became the natural leader of the Greeks in the war of retaliation.
In 474 this leadership found expression in the foundation of the Attic
and Delian naval league. The zenith of the Athenian power coincided
with the rebuilding of the city, which progressed rapidly in spite of
the opposition of the Spartans. The fortification both of the city and
its harbour, which the genius of Themistokles had removed to the
Piræus, was taken in hand with special vigour, and in 460–445 the
‘Long Walls’ were erected, stretching from the Piræus and from
Phaleron to Athens itself. Next, under the rule of _Perikles_, arose
the magnificent buildings on the Acropolis. A colossal statue of
Athena Promachos in gold and ivory, by Phidias, was erected out of the
Persian booty in 438, when the cella of the great Parthenon also was
probably completed. In 437–432 were erected the stately Propylaea, and
lastly the Erechtheion, begun probably soon after the peace of Nikias
(421) but not completed till 407.
The Athenian democracy had attained its fullest development and its
widest sway when the long-standing antagonism of Sparta led to open
war between the rival states in 431. In the second year of the war
Athens was visited by a terrible plague, which carried off, among many
others, Perikles, the only man of genius powerful enough to control
the democracy, the deterioration of which may be dated from his death.
After many vicissitudes, including the disastrous campaign in Sicily
undertaken by the advice of _Alkibiades_ (comp. p. 163), the
Peloponnesian war ended in 404 with the utter humiliation of Athens.
The fortifications of the city and the Piræus had to be demolished,
the fleet to be given up, and an oligarchic government, that of the
‘Thirty Tyrants’, to be endured at the bidding of Sparta. In 403
_Thrasyboulos_ restored the democracy; in 393 _Konon_ won a naval
victory over the Spartans at Knidos, and rebuilt the Long Walls; but
all this was but a brief and feeble reflex of the ancient glory of the
state. In vain _Demosthenes_ exhorted his fellow-citizens to vigorous
resistance against _Philip of Macedon_; when they at last roused
themselves it was too late. In 338 Greek independence received its
death-blow on the battle-field of Chæronea.
Although Athens never again recovered her political importance her
material prosperity survived almost unimpaired for several centuries
more. In the year of the battle of Chæronea began the judicious
financial administration of the orator _Lykourgos_, who completed the
theatre previously begun on the S.E. slope of the Acropolis, built the
Stadion, and filled the arsenals and harbour of the Piræus with
military stores and with ships. After a fruitless revolt in 322 (the
‘Lamian War’) Athens was garrisoned with Macedonian troops. Yet Athens
continued to live and thrive on the intellectual heritage stored up
within her walls ever since the days of the Persian and Peloponnesian
wars. As the home of the greatest poets of antiquity, as the seat of
the far-famed schools of philosophy and rhetoric founded by Plato,
Aristotle, and Zeno, and as a great centre of art and architecture,
she still had many visitors and admirers. Foreign patrons lavished
gifts upon her or erected sumptuous buildings in the city. To Ptolemy
Philadelphos of Egypt (281–246) she owed a gymnasion with a library,
to the Pergamenian kings handsome colonnades, and to the Syrian king
Antiochos IV. Epiphanes (175–164) the Olympieion.
The dominion of Macedonia was followed by that of Rome, in spite of
the nominal declaration of the independence of Greece made by the
consul Flamininus in 196 B.C. After the overthrow of the Achæan
League, of which Athens was a member, and the destruction of Corinth
in 146 Greece and Macedonia were formed into a Roman province. Athens
had to pay heavily for the ill-considered help it afforded
Mithridates, King of Pontus, who chose Greece as the battle-field on
which to contest with Rome the sovereignty of Asia. The city was
stormed and sacked by _Sulla_ in 86 B.C., and the fortifications of
the Piræus were finally demolished. The city was, however, favoured by
Cæsar and the Roman emperors. The chief buildings of this period are
the Tower of the Winds, the Market Gate owing its origin to donations
made by Cæsar and Augustus, the statue of Agrippa, the round temple of
Roma and Augustus, the new marble steps of the Propylæa, and the
monument of Philopappos.
A new period in the history of art was inaugurated by _Hadrian_ (A.D.
117–38), the friend of Greece, to whom countless statues were erected
under the titles of the Olympian, the Founder, the Liberator. A whole
quarter of the city, to the S.E. of the castle, was called after him,
as may still be read on Hadrian’s Arch. In this quarter rose the
temple of Zeus completed by him. In the old town he founded a library,
a gymnasion, and a pantheon, and Athens is still supplied with water
by his aqueduct. At the same period _Herodes Atticus_ (101–77), a rich
citizen, built the odeion named after him. Lastly _Marcus Aurelius_
(161–80), from whose time dates the description of the city by
Pausanias, summoned new teachers to the Athenian school of philosophy.
From that period begins the gradual stagnation and decay of the city.
In 267 Athens was captured by the Heruli and Goths. In 395 and 396
_Alaric_ with his Visigoths appeared before its gates, but spared it
on payment of tribute. From the 5th cent. onwards numerous works of
art were removed from Athens to Constantinople, as had been partly
done by Constantine himself, to grace the buildings of New Rome. In
529 _Justinian_ gave the death-blow to the intellectual life of Athens
by closing the schools of philosophy. Athens sank to the position of a
Byzantine provincial town. In 1019 _Basil II._ held a triumphal
festival in the Parthenon, which had long been used as a church. In
1040 the Northmen under Harald Haardraade took the Piræus by storm.
After the conquest of Constantinople by the _Latin Crusaders_ in 1204
(p. 542) Athens fell into the hands of Frankish nobles known as dukes
after 1258. At length, in 1456, after a vigorous defence, Athens was
captured by the _Turks_, and thenceforth belonged to the pashalik of
Negroponte (Eubœa). But two events in the next three centuries and a
half deserve mention; it was attacked by the Venetians in 1466 and it
was captured and occupied for a short time by their general Francesco
Morosini in 1687. On the latter occasion the Parthenon, hitherto
uninjured, was blown up, while the Propylæa had already been destroyed
by an earlier explosion (comp. p. 513). Athens then fell into complete
oblivion and had to be rediscovered by the explorers and scholars of
the 19th century.
The Greeks began their war of independence in 1821, and in 1822
captured the Acropolis of Athens. The Turks, however, stormed the town
in 1826, and in 1827 took the Acropolis also after a brave resistance.
The whole of Hellas thus fell again under the Turkish yoke. But the
Great Powers now intervened. In 1833 the Acropolis was evacuated by
the Turks, and entered by the Bavarian troops of the new king, _Otho_.
In 1834 Athens was made the capital of the new kingdom, and since 1835
has been the seat of government. This distinction it owes to its
historic fame, its site being geographically and economically
unfavourable for a great modern city. It has attracted neither
wholesale trade nor industry, and Attica itself is by no means
productive.
BOOKS. Of the extensive literature on Athens the following books may
be useful to the traveller: _Stuart’s_ and _Revett’s_ ‘The Antiquities
of Athens’ (4 vols.; rev. ed., 1825–30); _Leake’s_ ‘Topography of
Athens’ (London, 1821); _Wordsworth’s_ ‘Athens and Attica’ (4th ed.,
1869); _Dyer’s_ ‘Ancient Athens’ (London, 1873); _Harrison’s_ and
_Verrall’s_ ‘Mythology and Monuments of Ancient Athens’ (London,
1890); _E. A. Gardner’s_ ‘Ancient Athens’ (London, 1902).
a. Walk from the Palace round the S. Side of the Acropolis.
The PLACE DE LA CONSTITUTION, or _Syntagma Square_ (Pl. F, 5, 6; p.
505), with its hotels and cafés, is bounded by gardens on the E., beyond
which rises the =Royal Palace= (Pl. F, G, 5, 6), built of limestone and
Pentelic marble (1834–8), with a Doric portico. The trellised walks of
the palace-garden (Pl. F, G, 6; entr. to the right, in the Rue de
Képhisia; adm. Wed. and Frid., 4–6, in winter 3–5; smoking prohibited)
afford shady promenades; from the S. part, with its fine palms, we get
picturesque glimpses of the columns of the Olympieion, the Acropolis,
and the sea.
From Syntagma Square the broad Rue des Philhellènes leads to the S.,
past the Russian Church and the _English Church_ (Pl. F, 6, 7), a
tasteful Gothic edifice, to the beautiful grounds of the =Záppion= (Pl.
F, 7), an exhibition-building opened in 1888.
The two statues adorning the flight of steps represent the brothers
Zappas, who founded the building. At the W. angle of the grounds is a
pleasing _Statue of Byron_ (Pl. E, 7). Café on the Terrace (p. 503).
To the S. we have a view of the sea; to the E. (left) rises Hymettos. In
the foreground, adjoining the Olympieion (p. 509), is *=Hadrian’s Arch=
(Pl. E, 7), erected either by himself or his successor. This gateway,
14½ yds. broad and 59 ft. high, marked, as the inscriptions record, the
boundary between the older quarters and the new town of Hadrian (p.
507). It was adorned with projecting Corinthian columns, of which
fragments of the bases and the entablature alone survive. Above the
gateway rises an attica with three window-like apertures and a pediment
in the centre.
The =Olympieion= (Pl. E, F, 7, 8), or _Temple of the Olympian Zeus_, has
been entirely destroyed with the exception of fifteen huge marble
columns. The original temple dates from the time of Peisistratos (ca.
530 B.C.; p. 506), but scarcely more than the foundations were then
built. The work was resumed, ca. 174 B.C., by Antiochos IV. Epiphanes,
to whose edifice the existing ruins belong, but it was completed only by
Hadrian. When the temple was consecrated (ca. 129 A.D.) the Athenians
showed their gratitude by erecting a statue of the emperor next to the
gold and ivory statue of Zeus. The temple rose on a basis (118 by 45
yds.) approached by three steps, and was the largest Greek temple in
existence after those of Ephesus and Selinus. The W. and E. ends were
flanked with triple rows of eight columns, and the N. and S. sides with
double rows of twenty; in all there were 104 Corinthian columns, 56½ ft.
high and 56–67 inches in diameter.
The precincts of the temple consisted of a large levelled platform,
created by Hadrian, 224 by 141 yds., which had to be backed up on the W.
side and at the S.E. corner, where it is buttressed with huge
substructions. On the N. side, in a line with the E. front of the
temple, an entrance with four columns has been unearthed.
The view stretches from Hymettos to the sea, with the islands of Ægina
and Hydra and the coast of Argolis.
The Olga Boulevard (Pl. E-G, 7, 8), on the bank of the _Ilissos_
(generally dry), leads to the E. from the Olympieion to the Stadion
bridge. Opposite the bridge is the old _Protestant Cemetery_.
The *=Stadion= (Pl. G, H, 8; adm. 20 l.), the scene of the Panathenæan
games, situated in a natural basin, was planned by Lykourgos (p. 507) in
330 B.C. The seats and balustrades in Pentelic marble were added, about
140 A.D., by Herodes Atticus (p. 507). The great size of the Stadion and
the height of its rows of seats produce a very imposing effect, and this
is enhanced by the rich marble decorations, which were renewed in
1896–1906. On its completion the building was inaugurated in 1906 with
Olympic games, which are to be held here every four years. The entrance
consists of a Corinthian propylæum. The race-course, ascending slightly,
is 224 yds. long as far as the semicircular space at the S.E. end
(sphendonē), and 36½ yds. in breadth. Exclusive of barriers and
corridor, the actual course was 600 Græco-Roman or 584 Engl. ft. (195
yds.) long, and was divided into sections by _metae_ or goals,
consisting of double hermæ, two of which have been re-erected at the
semicircular space. The course is separated by a marble parapet from a
corridor, 3 yds. wide, affording access to the lower tiers of seats.
These are 24 in number, and higher up, separated from them by a broad
passage, are 20 rows of benches, above which runs another passage
overlooking the whole and protected on the outside by a parapet. There
is accommodation for 50,000 spectators.
From Hadrian’s Arch the short Rue de Lysicrate leads to the N.W. to the
beautiful choragic *=Monument of Lysikrates= (Pl. E, 7), resembling a
small round temple. This is the oldest well-preserved monument in the
Corinthian style, and once served as the library of that French Capuchin
Convent where Lord Byron spent a night. According to the inscription
above the half-columns on the S.E. side, it was erected in 335–334 by a
certain Lysikrates who had won the victory in the Dionysian games. On a
cubic basement rises a round building in Pentelic marble, 21½ ft. high,
with six Corinthian half-columns which support a tripartite architrave
and sculptured frieze. The conical roof, consisting of a single slightly
convex block of marble, is crowned with a vigorous acanthus flower, on
which once stood the bronze tripod won by Lysikrates. The frieze, which
dates from the prime of the school of Praxiteles, represents in very low
relief, partly obliterated, the punishment of the Tyrrhenian pirates who
had robbed Dionysos; before the god converts them into dolphins, they
are being tormented in every possible way by his attendant satyrs.
We return by the Rue de Byron (to the S.) to Amalia Street, in line with
which the DIONYSIOS AREOPAGITES STREET (Pl. D, C, 7) ascends to the
Acropolis.
The *=Theatre of Dionysos= (Pl. D, 7), whose entrance we soon reach, was
once the centre of the dramatic art of Greece, the spot in which the
masterpieces of Æschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and Aristophanes first
excited delight and admiration. From the early 5th cent, this site was
occupied by a round enclosed orchestra (‘dancing place’), while for each
performance a stage had to be specially erected, the audience being
seated in a levelled hollow in the Acropolis hill-side. In the 4th
cent., mainly in the time of Lykourgos (p. 507), tiers of stone seats
and a permanent stage were erected for the first time. The present
semicircular orchestra, paved with marble, and the remains of the
stage-building belong to Roman restorations. The Roman raised stage
rested on a wall adorned with good sculptures of the time of Nero.
During the Greek age the actors and the chorus, the former wearing the
raised cothurnus, performed on the level space in the orchestra, while
the skēnē or stage served them as a kind of booth. The proskēnion, or
wooden front of the stage, formed the background of the play, and was
only superseded by a stone wall with columns at the close of the late
Hellenistic period. Between the rectangular wings of the stage
(paraskēnia) and the lowest seats for the spectators opened the
entrances for the chorus (párodoi). The auditorium was divided by narrow
flights of steps into 13 ‘wedges’ (kerkides) and by two cross passages
(diazomata) into three main sections. The seats, originally for
14–17,000 spectators, are only partly preserved. In the front row were
marble seats for the priests and state officials; that in the centre,
set apart for the priest of Dionysos, is adorned with reliefs. The
pedestal to the right, behind it, bore the throne of Hadrian.
Adjoining the theatre was the _Sacred Precinct of Dionysos Eleuthereus_,
the wine-dispensing god, with whose festivals the dramatic performances
were connected. The walls of his temple (5th or early 4th cent.) are
still partly preserved between the stage of the theatre and the modern
street. Behind the stage ran a colonnade offering shelter in rainy
weather; at its S.W. end once stood an older temple, the N.W. corner of
which has been discovered.
The ancient buildings to the W. of the theatre of Dionysos skirt the
hill-side in two terraces. The E. half of the upper terrace, on the
steep slope of the castle-hill, above the conspicuous arched wall, is
the site of the famous =Asklepieion=, or sacred precinct of Asklepios
(Æsculapius), Hygieia, and kindred deities, with which institutions for
the treatment of the sick were connected. Of the temple, founded in 420,
the foundations only are left. The perpendicular side of the Acropolis
is here faced with masonry, in which is the entrance to a round
well-house converted into a chapel. In front of it ran a colonnade
towards the W., leading to a round pit, once roofed over, which is
supposed to have been used for sacrificial purposes or as the abode of
the sacred serpents.
On the lower terrace, from the theatre to the Odeion, ran the _Stoa of
King Eumenes II._ of Pergamon (B.C. 197–159), 180 yds. long, with its
back to the masonry supporting the upper terrace.
The *=Odeion of Herodes Atticus= (Pl. C, 7; keys kept by a pensioner, in
the red hut at the W. entrance; 25–50 l.), founded by a rich citizen (p.
507; about 160 A.D.), dominates all the other ruins at the foot of the
castle-hill. Unlike the usual odeon or theatre for musical
entertainments, this building was constructed with a view to dramatic
performances. The yellowish-brown façade is constructed in the Roman
round-arched style and consisted of three stories. The usual entrance is
by the westmost of the three doors. A niche here contains the statue of
a Roman official.
The INTERIOR affords a good example of a Roman theatre (comp. p. 510).
The stage (logeion), raised 3½ ft. above the orchestra, is 38½ yds. in
breadth, but only 6 yds. deep. At the back of the stage is a massive
wall, broken by the usual three stage-doors and relieved by niches and
a row of columns. The orchestra, 20 yds. wide, was paved with
particoloured squares of marble. The auditorium, 83 yds. in diameter,
could hold 5000 spectators. The tiers of seats rise in a semicircle,
one above the other, on the rocky slope of the Acropolis. The lower 19
tiers were divided by steps into five, the upper (probably 13), above
the transverse passage (see p. 510 and above), into ten sections. The
seats, like the whole of the masonry, were coated with Pentelic
marble; the lowest tier had backs. The whole edifice was covered with
a superb roof of cedar-wood.
From the Dionysios Areopagites Street (p. 510), where it passes the
Odeion, there diverges to the W. the avenue leading to the Acropolis,
immediately to the right of which a steep path ascends on the W. side of
the Odeion to the Acropolis gate.
Halfway up we diverge to the left to visit the summit of a rocky plateau
(377 ft.) separated from the Acropolis by a depression, and descending
abruptly to the N.E., still called as in ancient times the =Areopagus=
(Pl. B, C, 6). A narrow flight of steps in the rock, partly destroyed,
ascends to the site of some ancient altars, for which platforms were
hewn in the rock. Here met the time-honoured court of justice, composed
of noble and aged citizens who wielded supreme criminal jurisdiction.
The cleft in the rock below the N.E. corner was probably connected with
the cult of the avenging _Erinyes_ (Furies), or _Eumenides_ (the
benevolent), as they were euphemistically called. This was the scene of
Æschylus’s famous tragedy of that name.
To the S.W. of the Areopagus rock, and below (to the E. of) the modern
road from the Theseion (p. 521) to the Acropolis, the OLDEST QUARTER
OF THE LOWER TOWN has been partly excavated (comp. Pl. B, 7, and p.
524). Descending at the W. point of the Areopagus rock from the modern
to the ancient road, we reach, on the left, the DIONYSION EN LIMNAIS
(Pl. B, 7), a triangular space enclosed by an antique polygonal wall
of limestone. This was the sacred precinct of Dionysos Lenæos, the
inventor of the wine-press, and once contained a temple of the 7th or
6th cent. B.C., a wine-press (in the N.W. angle), and a large hall of
the Roman period (in the N.E. half).
To the S. of the temple-precinct lay the _City Well of Kallirrhoë_.
Peisistratos connected it with his aqueduct from the upper Ilissos
valley, and provided it with nine spouts, whence it was called
_Enneákrunos_.
b. The Acropolis.
The abrupt limestone plateau (512 ft.) on which stands the
_Acropolis_, or castle of Athens, has formed from hoar antiquity the
nucleus of all the settlements in the Attic plain. The legendary
Pelasgi are said to have first levelled the top of the hill, enclosed
it with a wall, and erected the so-called _Enneápylon_, an outwork
with nine gates, to defend the sole approach on the W. side. The
Acropolis contained the residence of the kings and the chief
sanctuaries of the state. The kings afterwards transferred their seat
to the lower city, Peisistratos alone preferring to reside in the
Acropolis. The ancient buildings were destroyed by the Persians in
480–479. Themistokles and Kimon rebuilt the walls, and Perikles then
became the chief founder of those magnificent buildings which, even in
their ruins, still present the finest picture of the unrivalled art of
antiquity.
Tramway, see p. 503.
The avenue mentioned above which ascends to the W. at the Odeion of
Herodes Atticus brings us to the so-called Beulé Gate, on the plateau
below the last steep W. slope of the **=Acropolis=. Carriages stop here.
Visitors admitted till sunset.
The BEULÉ GATE, named after the French savant who discovered it, was
entirely built over by bastions down to 1852, but since 1889 has formed
the chief entrance to the Acropolis (side-entrance under the Nike
bastion). The towers flanking the gateway were built about 50 A.D.; the
gateway itself dates from 160 A.D. and is embellished with fragments
from a choragic monument erected by Nikias in 319.
From the Beulé Gate we ascend a flight of marble steps, with many gaps,
to the Propylæa. This staircase, which also was made in the first half
of the 1st cent. A.D., replaces the steep ancient track.
The tower-like pedestal on the left, below the Propylæa, once bore a
_Statue of M. Vipsanius Agrippa_, the general and son-in-law of Emp.
Augustus, erected between 27 and 12 A.D.
To the right of the Propylæa projects a bastion, 26 ft. high, from which
a small flight of marble steps descends, stopping short of our
staircase. On this bastion rises the *=Temple of Nike= (Athena Nike,
erroneously called Nike Apteros), which was reconstructed with the
ancient stones in 1835–6. Its date is uncertain (probably between 440
and 410 B.C.).
Like the Propylæa this little temple, 27 ft. long and 18 ft. wide, is
built entirely of Pentelic marble. It stands on a basement of three
steps, and is preceded at the E. and W. ends by a portico of four
Ionic columns 13 ft. high. Above the tripartite architrave runs a
sculptured frieze 85 ft. long and 18 inches high. At the E. end it
represents a council of the gods, among whom are Athena with her
shield (in the centre) and Zeus (sitting) next to her. On the sides
are battles of the Greeks with the Persians (some of them mounted). At
the W. end is a conflict between Greeks and Greeks. Only a few
fragments of the roof have been found; it ended on the E. and W. in
pediments which were unadorned. The entrance to the cella is formed by
two pillars.
On the marble cornice of the temple bastion there once rose a
_Balustrade_ adorned with reliefs outside, and bearing a bronze railing.
These admirable reliefs, remains of which are preserved in the Acropolis
Museum (p. 520), represented goddesses of victory erecting trophies and
presenting offerings in presence of Athenä.
The *VIEW from beside the Temple of Nike is justly celebrated. In the
picturesque intermingling of land and sea we descry the bay of
Phaleron (p. 528), the peninsula of Munychia, the Piræus (p. 494),
Salamis, and its adjoining islet of Psyttaleia (p. 494). A little
farther to the right, beyond the bay of Eleusis, appears the dome-like
rock of Acro-Corinth, backed by distant mountains. To the right of
this, but in the immediate foreground, rises the Pnyx Hill with its
rock-steps. The plain is overgrown with fine old olive-groves. Above
it rise Mt. Ægaleos and the hills of Megara. To the S.W., to the left
of the tower-like monument of Philopappos, stretches the Saronic Gulf,
bounded by Ægina, with Mt. St. Elias, and by the Argolic Mts. and the
island of Hydra. To the left runs the Attic coast as far as the islet
of Gaïdaronisi, off Cape Colonna.
The **=Propylæa=, the greatest secular edifice in ancient Athens,
composed entirely of Pentelic marble, were erected in 437–432 B.C. by
the architect _Mnesikles_. This highly artistic building consists of
three parts—a central gateway with wings on the N. and S.
The CENTRAL BUILDING, ruined by an explosion in 1645, consists of a wall
pierced with five openings and preceded by Doric colonnades on the E.
and W. sides. Each colonnade has six columns in front, above which ran a
frieze of triglyphs and metopes, crowned by a plain pediment. The _W.
Colonnade_, to which three huge steps ascend, is 19 yds. wide and 17
yds. deep. Its front columns belong to the Doric order and consequently
rise directly from the ground (stylobate), without bases; they are 29
ft. high, and each is fluted with twenty grooves separated by sharp
edges. Behind the two central columns, which are 12½ ft. apart, and
flanking the main passage there are on each side three slender Ionic
columns, 33 ft. high, resting on their cushion-like bases, and grooved
with twenty-four flutes separated by broad fillets. The ceiling was
divided into sunk panels adorned with painting.
On the N. and S. sides the central building was bounded by massive
walls, 17½ yds. long, ending in huge buttresses (antæ). Between these
extended the _Gateway_ proper consisting, as above remarked, of a wall
with five openings. Five marble steps ascend to the threshold, composed
of black Eleusinian stone, on which the side-gates rest. The broad
central gateway is without steps. All the gateways were once provided
with massive folding doors.
The _E. Colonnade_ is as broad as the other, but only 23 ft. deep. Of
its six Doric columns five still have their capitals, and two are
connected with their architrave.
The well-preserved NORTH WING consists of a porch or vestibule, open
towards the S., with three Doric columns between antæ, and an inner hall
connected with it by a door and two windows. This was called the
_Pinakotheka_, from its use as a receptacle for votive pictures
(‘pinakes’) on marble or terracotta. The SOUTH WING, of which two
columns and the back-wall only have been preserved, was never quite
completed.
Passing through the E. Colonnade of the Propylæa we enter the INNER WARD
of the Acropolis and ascend a gradual slope, now covered with profoundly
impressive ruins. When we picture to ourselves the mighty Parthenon, on
the right, and the exquisite Erechtheion on the left, in the full glory
of their sculptures and colouring, surrounded by smaller sanctuaries and
a forest of statues, we may well understand the enthusiastic pride of
the Athenians in their unrivalled Acropolis.
From the central gateway of the Propylæa a broad pathway ascends along
the main axis of the citadel. The rock has evidently been much cut away
to facilitate the ascent, as we see from a glance at the rocky terrace
on the right, which has a precipitous face 6½ ft. in height. Fragments
of pedestals and square hollows in the rock indicate the ancient sites
of numerous votive offerings.
The terrace of rock just mentioned, to which nine low steps ascend
farther on, once bore the temple of _Artemis Braurōnia_, but is now
strewn with beams and fragments of ceiling from the Propylæa (panels
with traces of blue colouring). The terrace is bounded on the W. by a
fragment of a broad wall belonging to the original Pelasgic
fortifications (p. 512).—Another rock-terrace, about 2½ ft. higher,
and also cut perpendicularly, to the E. of the Brauronion, is supposed
to have been the place where, without any actual temple, _Athena_ was
worshipped as _Ergánē_, the mistress and inventor of every art. To the
S. of this terrace we observe traces of walls which, together with the
S. wall itself, seem to have formed a gigantic building. It was
perhaps the _Chalkotheka_, an arsenal where not only implements of war
but also bronze votive offerings, and other objects were kept. Towards
the Parthenon the terrace had nine narrow steps on which votive
offerings were deposited.
About forty paces from the Propylæa, straight on, we come to a large
cutting in the rock, the supposed site of the bronze statue of _Athena
Promachos_, about 26 ft. high, by Phidias, erected with the booty of
Marathon. The goddess was represented in full armour, with shield and
lance. The gilded point of the lance, gleaming in the sun, was a
landmark for sailors rounding Cape Colonna. The principal roadway, once
used by the festal processions, passes between the Erechtheion and the
Parthenon to the E. front of the latter.
The **=Parthenon=, the most perfect monument of ancient art, once far
surpassing all other Athenian buildings in the brilliancy of its plastic
and polychrome decoration, and even in its ruins a marvel of majestic
beauty, stands on the highest S. margin of the Acropolis precincts. On
this site, as early as the middle of the 6th cent., a large temple was
begun, adjoining the ancient Hekatompedon (p. 518), in poros or Piræan
stone, and after the battle of Marathon down to the Persian occupation
was continued in marble. In the time of Perikles, after 447, the whole
edifice as it now stands was rebuilt in Pentelic marble. The architects
were _Iktinos_ and _Kallikrates_, but Perikles himself presided over the
works and provided the funds. The external sculptures are attributed to
_Phidias_ and his pupils. The temple was probably opened for worship in
438, on the occasion of the erection of the statue of Athena at the
Panathenæan Festival. This marvellous work must therefore have been
completed within ten years. Its decoration alone included 98 columns, 50
life-size statues for the pediments, a frieze 524 ft. long, 92 metopes,
and a gold and ivory figure of Athena 43 ft. high.
On the massive basement in three steps, whose _Stylobate_, or platform
for the colonnade, measures 75½ by 33 yds., rise 46 Doric columns
averaging 34 ft. high, eight at each end and seventeen on each side (the
corner-columns being counted twice). On the abaci of the columns rests
the undivided _Architrave_ or _Epistyle_, above which runs a _Triglyph
Frieze_, the most characteristic feature of the Doric order. This
consists of _triglyphs_ or triple grooves, alternating with _metopes_ or
flat spaces, which in this case are adorned with reliefs. Above the
frieze is the _geison_, or lowest flat moulding of the cornice, while
below each triglyph hang _regulae_ (_guttae_, or drops), corresponding
with drops above it. The triglyphs and drops were painted blue, the
ground of the metopes blue or red, and the lower surface of the geison
and the continuous moulding above the frieze and architrave red. The
smooth spaces in front were left white, as were also the columns, with
the exception of the four rings or annuli below the capitals.
The gable-roof rose at an angle of 13½°. At each end is a pediment,
framing the _tympanum_, or receding space for statuary 91½ ft. long, 3
ft. deep, and in the centre 10½ ft. high. It was painted red at the
back, so as to throw the statues into strong relief. The raised edges
(_simae_) of the external members of the pediment, 18½ inches high, are
intended to prevent the rain-water from escaping over the front; they
were adorned with wreaths of foliage. The pediment was crowned with a
boldly executed palmette, and at each corner was placed a golden
oil-jar.—The roof, resting partly on timber and partly on stone
framework, consisted of slabs of Parian marble 1¼ in. thick; it was
edged with artistic _antefixae_, or hollowed tiles, between which the
rain-water escaped. The lions’ heads at the ends of each side were
purely ornamental.
The _Cella_, or sanctuary proper, enclosed by the outer colonnades, is
raised two steps above the stylobate. At each end a portico is formed by
six Doric columns, 33 ft. high, and by the projecting sides. Above the
architrave, round the whole building ran a frieze, of which hardly any
traces remain except on the W. side (comp. p. 517).—The porticos were
closed by high bronze railings between the columns. From the E. portico
massive folding doors led into the interior, which was divided by a
partition into an eastern and a smaller western section. The former, the
inner sanctuary, was known as the _Hekatompedon_, being ‘100 ft. long’
(comp. p. 518). It was divided into three aisles by two rows of Doric
columns (9 in each). On a square of darker stone in the pavement stood
the famous gold and ivory statue of Athena Parthenos by Phidias. The
ceiling was of wood in lacunars, which were doubtless richly coloured.
Light was admitted by the door alone. The walls were painted dark-red,
but no adequate idea can now be formed of the original wealth of
colouring.—Between the partition and the W. portico, which is supposed
to have formed a kind of treasury (_opisthodomos_), lay the W. section
of the cella, 14 yds. in depth, sometimes called the _Parthenon_ in the
narrower sense.
The crowning glory of the Parthenon consisted in its plastic decoration,
executed under the direction of _Phidias_. Most of the sculptures still
preserved were taken to London by Lord Elgin in 1802–3 and are now in
the British Museum, but there are several others in the Acropolis Museum
(see p. 519).
The _E. Tympanum_ was devoted to the nativity of Athena. All that
remains of its sculptures in their original position consists of two
horses’ heads belonging to the chariot of the rising Helios, on the
left, and remains of a horse’s head of the chariot of the setting
Selene, on the right. In the _W. Tympanum_, which illustrated the
victory of Athena over Poseidon in their contest for the possession of
Attica, are still seen, near the left angle, a half-recumbent male
figure, round whose neck is the arm of a kneeling woman (Æsculapius and
Hygieia?), and in the right angle a female figure supposed to be
Kallirrhoë (p. 512).
The _Metope Reliefs_ are of inferior artistic value. Of the 92 there
still exist the 28 at each end and 12 on the N. side. They represent the
conflicts of the gods with the Giants (E.), of the Lapithæ and Athenians
with the Centaurs (S.), of the Athenians with the Amazons (W.), and
lastly the siege of Troy. The high relief in some cases assumes an
almost entirely rounded form.
The masterpiece of Attic bas-relief is the *_Frieze_ of the cella wall,
175 yds. long and 39 in. high. On the W. front the greater part of it
has been preserved, but on the S. side there are only scanty fragments.
Twenty-two slabs are now in the Acropolis Museum (see p. 519). The
reliefs represented the festal procession in which every four years, at
the close of the Panathenæa, the maidens of Athens presented the goddess
with a magnificent woven robe. Over the chief entrance is the
presentation of the robe to Athena; to the right and left of it are the
assembled gods; on the sides and at the back are Athenians. The figures
were executed in low relief of 2–2½ in. only, in order to prevent strong
shadows being thrown by the light entering the covered hall from below.
The effect was enhanced by painting and mountings in metal.
In the hollows on the S. side of the Parthenon, far below, may be traced
the line of the _Pelasgic Wall_ (p. 512), which was covered up when the
terrace of the temple was formed. Excavations here, and notably also to
the N.W. of the Erechtheion, brought to light a number of archaic
statues and architectural fragments dating from the Persian destruction.
Near the N. margin of the Acropolis precincts, but in a slight
depression, rises the **=Eréchtheion=, the temple of the tutelary
goddess _Athena Poliás_ and the other deities of the city. The building
was probably begun soon after the Peace of Nikias (421), but only
completed in 407 or after 400. It contained chambers for the cult of
Athena and Poseidon Erechtheus, while the vestibule had an entrance to
the salt-spring produced by Poseidon. But the temple is now sadly
ruined, having served in the middle ages as a church and afterwards as a
Turkish harem. Since 1902, however, the ancient fragments have been
pieced together, and they now afford a fairly complete idea of the
exterior of the building, which differed from that of the ordinary
temples.
The nucleus of the edifice (24 by 12 yds.) rises on a threefold basement
in steps, and the sanctuary was entered by three porticos (E., S., and
N.) of charmingly varied type.
The _E. Portico_ was formed by six Ionic columns in front, the northmost
of which has been broken down. Their rich capitals bear the tripartite
epistyle (p. 515); above it are dark blocks of stone to which the relief
figures of the frieze were attached.
Between the E. portico and the Acropolis Wall twelve broad steps, partly
modern, descend to the terrace of rock, about 10 ft. lower, on which
stands the _N. Portico_. Its six columns display a still greater wealth
of sculpturing than those of the E. portico. The ceiling is relieved by
lacunars. The great main doorway is specially rich and well preserved.
The three holes in the rock below the N. side of the N. colonnade were
pointed out in ancient times as the indentations made by Poseidon’s
trident during his contest with Athena for possession of Athens. Above
them the pavement and roof were left open.—The W. façade of the temple,
in front of which lay the _Pandroseion_, or shrine of Pandrosos,
daughter of Cecrops, was originally articulated by four columns, resting
upon a high parapet. The existing arrangement, of pilasters engaged in a
wall with windows, dates from the Roman period.
The *_Colonnade of the Caryatides_ at the S.W. angle is particularly
charming. Instead of columns, six statues of virgins, over life-size (7½
ft.), placed on a parapet, support the roof, the weight of which they
bear with ease and grace. The ancient Athenians called them simply the
_Korai_ (maidens). The second figure from the W. is a copy in
terracotta; the one standing back in the E. row has been restored.
To the S. of the Erechtheion are the foundations (37½ by 14½ yds.) of
the so-called =Hekatómpedon= (early 6th cent.), on the site of the
palace of Erechtheus. The name (‘100 ft. long’) is evidenced by an
inscription. Peisistratos and his sons embellished it with a colonnade.
After its destruction by the Persians it was probably restored without
the colonnade. Opinions differ as to its object and as to its history
after the completion of the Erechtheion. It had a front (E.) chamber of
three aisles and a narrow chamber at the back (W.), with two small rooms
between them.
To the _Palace of Erechtheus_, the ancient residence of the Attic kings,
belonged the foundations to the E. of the Erechtheion. So also did the
poros (Piræan stone) bases of columns, lying opposite the S.E. angle of
the colonnade of the Caryatides, 5 ft. lower; their extremely archaic
form, with the shaft of the column embedded in the base, points to the
Mycenæan period.
We now return to the Parthenon. To the E. of it once stood a small round
_Temple of the Goddess Roma and the Emp. Augustus_, round the
foundations of which lie fragments of its architrave. Opposite the N.E.
corner of the Parthenon are the remains of a sacrificial altar of
Athena.—At the S.E. angle of the precincts the huge masonry of the
_Kimonian Wall_ (p. 512) may be seen.
The =Belvedere= at the N.E. angle of the Acropolis affords the best
survey of the city. To the S.E. are the columns of the Olympieion,
with the distant Hymettos; nearer rises Hadrian’s Arch; in the
foreground is the monument of Lysikrates; then the royal Palace and
its gardens; beyond them are Lykabettos and the gable-shaped
Pentelikon; in the town, a little to the left, shine the dazzling
marble buildings of the Academy, the University, and the Library; to
the N. of these runs the Patisia road; more to the left rises the
lofty Metropolis Church, with the small Metropolis nestling beside it;
in the centre of the N. slope of the Acropolis rises the Tower of the
Winds; adjacent is the Bazaar with Hadrian’s Stoa; to the W. is the
Theseion, and beyond it the Kephisos Valley with its olive-groves, and
Mt. Parnes with its S. spur Mt. Ægaleos.
The *=Acropolis Museum=, erected in 1878, contains all the sculptures of
the Acropolis, except those previously removed, and the yield of later
excavations. Besides works of the golden age, it comprises valuable
examples of the earlier periods of art. Adm., see p. 504.
From the VESTIBULE, containing antiques of various ages, we enter
(left) Room I, where the chronological order begins.
ROOM I. Archaic sculptures in poros (6th cent.). Straight before us,
No. 3. Bull attacked by two lions; above this, and by the right wall:
1, 2. Tympana with statues of Hercules (with traces of painting). By
the window-wall: 9, 10. Deities enthroned, from a tympanum of the
pre-Peisistrateian Hekatompedon (p. 518).
ROOM II. Remains of the tympanum groups in poros from the Hekatompedon
just mentioned: 36. Hercules with the Triton; 35. Figure with three
bodies (‘Typhon’); 40. Remains of two large serpents in poros stone,
showing abundant traces of painting (comp. water-colour on the wall).
ROOM III. Figures (idols), tablets, and architectural fragments in
terracotta, some with admirably preserved painting. Specially
noteworthy, at the entrance, No. 67. A warrior (6–5th cent.).
ROOM IV. Fragments of marble sculptures; architectural ornaments in
terracotta, poros, and marble, some of them painted. On the right, the
tympanum figures from Peisistratos’s colonnade round the old
Hekatompedon (p. 518): Athena fighting with the Giants.
ROOM V. Archaic marbles (6th cent.), incl. (on the right of the
entrance) 624. _Calf-Bearer_ (youth bringing a calf to the altar).
ROOM VI. Archaic *_Draped Female Figures_, erected in the Acropolis in
the 2nd half of the 6th cent. as votive offerings, but buried in the
rubbish after its destruction (480), also with interesting traces of
painting. No. 681 is by Antenor, author of the tyrannicide group
(comp. p. 506); No. 686 is the most recent.
ROOM VII. Later archaic marbles, notably (in the centre, under glass)
No. 689. Beautiful head of a youth; also two graceful reliefs, 695.
Athena, and 702. Hermes and three women—Above, along the walls,
_Metopes from the Parthenon_ (p. 517), few of them original; the
finest, a Centaur carrying off one of the Lapithæ.
ROOM VIII. _Sculptures from the Parthenon_: Statues from the tympana
and reliefs from the frieze, those in the British Museum being
represented by casts. In the centre of the room a reconstruction of
the tympanum groups, according to Furtwängler. By the wall on the
right are remains of the E. tympanum (p. 517), two torsos only being
originals. No. 880 (in the centre). Hephæstus; on the right, 881.
Selene. Above are remains of the W. tympanum; in the centre, 885.
Poseidon.
Most interesting of all is the better-preserved **Parthenon Frieze, of
which nearly 28 yds. are almost entirely original (partly replaced by
casts). To the right of the entrance, 856. Three deities, Aphrodite
(?), Apollo, and Poseidon; below these, 857. Three youths with cows
for sacrifice. Then, on the right, 877. Four women with silver or gold
basins; 875. Three men with musical instruments. We note also several
slabs from the procession of horsemen and chariots. To the right of
the entrance, 860. Youth with sacrificial sheep.
ROOM IX. On the right, beautiful reliefs from the Nike balustrade (p.
513); in the centre of the front row, *973. _Nike loosening her
sandal_. On the left, Nos. 1071–78. Fragments of the relief-frieze of
the Erechtheion.
c. Walk from the Palace to the Theseion. Dipylon. Hill of the Nymphs.
Pnyx. Monument of Philopappos.
The upper or E. end of the RUE D’HERMÈS (Pl. E-B, 5), which leads to the
W. from the Place de la Constitution, is one of the chief business
quarters of Athens. Among the wares sold in the shops here are Oriental
silks and woollen stuffs and antiquities, the latter dear and sometimes
spurious.
A few paces to the S. of the Rue d’Hermès rises the =Metropolitan
Church= (Pl. E, 5), erected in 1840–55 with the materials of seventy
smaller churches and chapels, and sumptuously fitted up in the interior.
Adjoining it on the S. is the so-called *=Little Metropolis=, or church
of _Panagia Gorgópiko_, of the early 9th cent., the oldest extant
Byzantine edifice on Greek soil. The walls, composed of antique blocks
of stone, contain many ancient and Byzantine sculptures.
Halfway along the Rue d’Hermès is the KAPNIKARÆA CHURCH (Pl. D, 5), a
complex Byzantine building (9th cent.?). Just beyond it we cross the
busy—
RUE D’EOLE (Pl. D, 6–3), the second main street of the old town, where
men in Greek costume are often seen. Following it to the S., towards the
Acropolis, and passing the Place Panteleēmon, we come to the old
_Bazaar_ (Pl. D, 5), where tailors, shoemakers, and smiths ply their
crafts in their open workshops.
Adjoining the bazaar on the S. is =Hadrian’s Library= (Pl. D, 5), with
its back to the Rue d’Eole, a massive edifice of 134 by 90 yds.
A gate (keys at the provision-shop opposite) leads from the Rue d’Eole
into the quadrangle, once bordered with a colonnade. The columns still
standing and the building in the middle are restorations. On the wall
of the large hall on the E. side are seen the places where the
bookshelves were attached, as in the Pergamon library.
On the W. side of the library, reached from the outside, still stands
the N. half of the main façade, known as _Hadrian’s Stoa_. The marble
wall is embellished with seven monolithic columns, 28 ft. high, with
rich Corinthian capitals. An eighth column with the wall of the _anta_
belonged to the colonnade of the chief portal.—Near this is the _Stoa of
Attalos_ (p. 521).
At the S. end of the Rue d’Eole rises the so-called =Tower of the Winds=
(Pl. D, 6; custodian 20–30 l.), a well-preserved octagonal marble
edifice of the 1st cent. B.C., more accurately named the _Horológion of
Andronikos_ of Kyrrhos. On the upper spaces of the eight walls, which
are turned towards the different points of the compass, are reliefs
representing the various winds; below are seen the lines of sun-dials.
The round channels in the pavement inside, into which water flowed from
a semicircular cistern outside, belonged to a water-clock.
Lanes and steps ascend here to the S. to a path skirting the N. slope
of the Acropolis and leading to the right to its entrance (10 min.; p.
512).
A large paved quadrangle to the W. of the Tower of the Winds is supposed
to have been a _Roman Macellum_ (Agora or market). It is entered from
the W. by the =Market Gate= (_Porte de l’Agora_; Pl. C, 6). Four slender
Doric columns, 26 ft. high, support a massive architrave with a frieze
of triglyphs and metopes and a fairly well preserved pediment. According
to the inscription on the architrave the gateway was erected about the
time of the birth of Christ. In line with the N. central column is a
tablet of Hadrian’s age, inscribed with regulations about the prices of
oil, salt, etc.
From the Market Gate we follow the Poikile Street to the W. to the Stoōn
Street and descend the latter to the right. The second crooked
side-street on the right then leads to the entrance (red door on the
right; keeper 20 l.) of the =Stoa of Attalos= (Pl. C, 5, 6). This grand,
two-storied market-hall was erected, as the inscription on the
architrave, pieced together in front of the colonnade, records, by king
Attalos II. of Pergamon (B. C. 159–138). It was 123 yds. long and 22
yds. deep, and formed the E. boundary of the Kerameikos market (p. 522).
The groundfloor contained 21 closed chambers 16 ft. deep, in front of
which ran a long colonnade. The traders probably had their stalls in the
hall, while the closed rooms were used for storage.
We now descend to the N., across the railway cutting, to the Rue
d’Adrien, follow the latter to the left for a hundred paces, and turn to
the left (S.) into Eponymōn Street; here, on the left, sixty paces
farther, is the _Stoa of the Giants_ (Pl. G.; C, 5), a ruin so named
from its three great Atlantes (beam-bearers).
A little farther to the W., on the ancient _Kolonos Agoraeos_ (‘Hill of
the Market’; see p. 522), rises the **=Theseion= (Pl. B, 5), the
best-preserved of all the ancient Greek buildings. The massive
construction, the lifelike sculptures, and the dark golden hue of the
Pentelic marble are singularly impressive. The temple, commonly called
Theseion, and converted into the church of St. George in the Christian
period, is now supposed to have been dedicated to _Hephaestos and
Athena_. The style of the building and its sculptures have led different
authorities to assign its erection to a date a little before or a little
after that of the Parthenon. At all events it was completed by 421 B.
C., as an inscription records the setting up in that year of the two
sacred images.
The temple stands on a marble basement in two steps, 35 by 15 yds., and
is enclosed by 34 Doric columns, 18 ft. high, 6 at each end and 13 on
each side (the corner-columns being counted twice). They are rather more
slender than those of the Parthenon, and like them lean slightly
inwards. Above the architrave, which is undivided, runs a Doric frieze
of triglyphs and metopes, encircling the whole building. The metopes,
however, are adorned with sculpture only on the main (E.) façade and the
immediately adjoining spaces on each side. In front are depicted the
exploits of Hercules, on the sides those of Theseus. The building is
crowned with a cornice and pediments. The statuary of the tympana has
disappeared.
The nucleus of the temple consists of the cella, 13 yds. long, at each
end of which is a vestibule, formed by the antæ and two columns between
them, and opening on to the colonnade. The E. vestibule now has a modern
wall with a built-up door instead of the columns. The coffered ceiling
on this side has been preserved intact. The W. vestibule retains its
original aspect, except that a door has been broken through the wall at
the back. The upper part of the cella wall is embellished, as in the
Parthenon, with a relief-frieze (in Parian marble), which here, however,
is limited to the two façades and the eastmost part of the sides. The E.
part of the frieze represents a battle (between the Athenians and the
Pelasgians?), witnessed by the gods. The W. frieze portrays the struggle
of the Lapithæ and Athenians against the Centaurs.—The interior of the
temple contains nothing of special interest.
Many Englishmen were buried within this temple in the Turkish period.
To the E. and N. of the Theseion lay the _Kerameikos_, or potters’
quarter, to which, in the 6th cent., the =Market= was transferred from
the S.W. slope of the Acropolis. This, like the Forum at Rome, was the
centre of classical Athens.
The market was adorned with statues of great poets and orators, such
as Pindar and Demosthenes. Around it rose the chief public buildings.
Among them were the _Stoa Basileios_ (Pl. B, 5; seat of the Archon
Basileus), the foundations of which (6th cent.) are supposed to have
been discovered at No. 14 Poseidon Street.; also the Metroon, or
temple of the mother of the gods, the Buleuterion, or town-hall, etc.
To the N.W. of the Theseion a bridge crosses the Piræus railway (p. 495)
to the _Theseion Station_ (Pl. B, 5). To the W. of this we reach the
continuation of the Rue du Pirée. Following the latter for 150 paces to
the N.E. towards the town, and just before reaching the conspicuous
yellow and red chapel of _Hagia Triáda_ or _Trias_ (Pl. A, 4), we come
to a gate on the right leading into the ancient cemetery at the Dipylon
(small gratuity on leaving). Here we follow an ancient side-street,
bordered with tombs, as far as the walls (see Pl. A, 4), which we skirt
to the left. At their N.E. end we reach the outer Dipylon.
The =Dipylon= (Pl. B, 4), the only ancient ‘double gate’ of Athens (end
of 4th cent.), was the chief entrance of the city. Here converged the
roads coming from Megara in the Peloponnesus and Eleusis and from Platæa
and Thebes in Bœotia; and from this gate ran the _Dromos_, a great
colonnaded street, to the S.E., below the Theseion hill, to the
Kerameikos market-place (p. 522). The left side of the gateway has
wholly disappeared, but a few blocks, attached to their base, of the
right (S.) wall are still visible. In front of these rises a
considerable part of the S. gateway-tower. In the centre are traces of
the pier between the two passages. This outer gateway was connected with
an inner gateway, on precisely the same plan, by walls 38 yds. long,
thus forming an enclosed court. The S.E. tower was adjoined on the E. by
a well-house.
To the S.W. of the Dipylon the _City Wall_, here only 6½ ft. thick, has
been brought to light. The carefully jointed blocks of blue limestone
rest on the hastily built wall of Themistokles (479–478); the upper part
was built of sun-dried brick. Outside this wall once rose a rampart,
probably coeval with the Dipylon, 14 ft. thick, consisting of two walls
with earth between. Beside the city wall, five paces to the S.W. of the
Dipylon, is an ancient boundary-stone; seventy paces farther are remains
of another gateway, probably the _Funeral Gate_. This, like the Dipylon,
consisted of two gate-buildings, enclosing a court, though it had only a
single passage. Through it, by the roadside, flowed the little brook
_Eridanos_.
To the W. of the Dipylon, in the direction of the Hagia Triáda Chapel,
we soon reach the *=Burial Ground outside the Dipylon=, the principal
cemetery of ancient Athens. As at Rome and Pompeii the tombs bordered
the highroads outside the gates. In this case the more durable monuments
have been left by the excavators in their original positions. Some of
these are artistically executed, others seem to have been merely
rectangular walled spaces. In ancient days, as now, the ground was very
uneven; some of the tombs close to the road were raised on terraces 5–8
ft. above it.
Before reaching the Hagia Triáda Chapel, we observe, on the left side
of the road, two stelæ on Doric substructures, the tombs of
_Thersandros_ and _Simylos_ (375 B. C.) and of _Pythagoras_ (5th
cent.). Ascending to the left beyond a depression in the soil we come
to a temple-shaped tomb, with figures of _Demetria_ and _Pamphile_,
dating from the middle of the 4th century. Close to the Hagia Triáda
Chapel is a large block of marble resembling a sarcophagus, the _Tomb
of Hipparete_ (middle of the 4th cent.).—To the left, on and beyond
the stone wall of the side-street mentioned at p. 522, are rows of
tombs, arranged in order of families and phylæ or tribes and extending
down to the Roman period. At the corner is that of the family of
_Lysanias_, with a *_Relief of Dexileos on horseback_, who
distinguished himself before Corinth in 394–393; the weapons and
bridle were added in bronze. Next come the tombs of the family of
_Agathon_ (4th cent.); that of his wife _Korallion_ represents a
family group; then a temple-shaped tomb, the interior of which was
adorned with paintings now almost completely erased. Farther on is a
monument crowned with a huge bull. In front of it is another little
temple-like monument with traces of painting; then a great Molossian
hound. Beyond it, a tomb-relief with a boat.—Opposite the hound is the
*_Tomb of Hegeso_, perhaps the finest of all, a lady at her toilet
attended by a maid (4th cent.). About twenty paces short of the
keeper’s house, and thirty paces to the S. of the path, is a graceful
_Hydrophoros_ or female water-carrier (5–4th cent.).
* * * * *
The range of hills to the W. of the Acropolis and Areopagus, now
uninhabited, was a favourite residential quarter of the ancient city, as
is evidenced by countless remains of steps, cisterns, conduits, walls,
and streets. From the Theseion (223 ft.) we ascend the broad AVENUE OF
THE APOSTLE PAUL (Pl. B, 6), where, immediately on the right, rises the
_Hagia Marina Hill_, thickly strewn with relics of ancient dwellings.
Above it rises the _Hill of the Nymphs_, crowned with the _Observatory_
(Pl. A, 6; 345 ft.).
To the S. of the Observatory a road descends into a slight hollow and
then ascends the long =Pnyx Hill= (Pl. B, 7; 358 ft.), the structure on
the N.E. slope of which is distinctly visible from the Areopagus and
Acropolis. This consists of a terrace or platform, 131 yds. long and 71
yds. wide, the upper margin of which is cut out of the rock, while the
lower part is buttressed by a massive wall of huge blocks of stone,
forming a slightly flattened semicircle. In front of the abrupt
back-wall of the terrace, about 13 ft. high, rise three steps bearing a
cube of rock. This has been identified with the _Pnyx_, the place where,
before the tiers of stone benches were erected in the theatre of
Dionysos (p. 510), the Athenians held their political assemblies. The
orator’s tribune (bēma) is supposed to have been attached to sockets on
the platform in front of the cube of rock. The space occupied by the
listening throng of citizens sloped gradually up to the supporting wall,
which at that time was much higher. Above the cube once ran an upper
terrace, where there rose a similar rock-altar, now much damaged. From
this point we obtain a very striking view of the Acropolis.
To the S. of the Pnyx Hill, in a depression, is the chapel of _Hagios
Demetrios Lumpardiáris_ (Pl. B, 7), to the S. of which we now ascend the
Philopappos Hill, the ancient _Museion_. On its crest we recognize many
fragments of the ancient city-wall, which was joined by the Long Walls
(p. 506) on the heights near the Monument and near the Observatory (see
above).
The =Monument of Philopappos= (Pl. B, 8) was built in 114–16 A.D. The
upper part, in Pentelic marble, two-thirds preserved, had a frieze in
high relief, crowned with three niches separated by Corinthian
half-columns. The statue seated in the central niche is that of
Antiochos Philopappos; to the left is that of his grandfather Antiochos
IV. Epiphanes (p. 507). The relief is supposed to represent the
ceremonial progress of Philopappos in his consular capacity. The square
chamber behind was the burial-place.
Very beautiful, especially at sunset, is the *VIEW FROM THE
PHILOPAPPOS HILL. The Acropolis is visible in its full extent; at its
base are the Odeion and the Theatre of Dionysos; to the right of these
rise Hadrian’s Arch and the hills of the Stadion and Hymettos. To the
left of the Acropolis are the Theseion and the Hill of the Nymphs, and
beyond them the Athenian plain, bounded by Ægaleos, and Parnes. Above
the Acropolis rise Mt. Lykabettos and part of Pentelikon. Towards the
S. stretches the Saronic Gulf.
d. The Modern Quarters.
From the Place de la Constitution two broad streets lead to the N.W. to
the Place de la Concorde: the RUE DU STADE (Pl. F-D, 5–3) and the Boul.
de l’Université. In the former, immediately to the right, are the _Royal
Stables_; then on the left, standing a little back, the _Parliament
House_ (Pl. E, 5).
In the BOULEVARD DE L’UNIVERSITÉ the first house on the right (Pl. S.;
F, 5), is that of _Dr. Schliemann_ (1822–90), the famous discoverer of
Troy, Mycenæ, and Tiryns. Farther on on the right are also the _Roman
Catholic Church_ (Pl. F, 4) and the—
*=Academy of Science= (Pl. F, 4), built of Pentelic marble in 1859–84.
The style is classic Grecian, with Ionic porticos, tympana embellished
with sculptures, and rich colouring, thus resembling a classic edifice
in its palmy days. The tympanum group of the main building (birth of
Athena) and the statues of Plato (left) and Socrates (right), opposite
the entrance, are by Drosos.
From the vestibule a passage to the right, descending a few steps,
leads to the _Numismatic Museum_ (adm., p. 504), containing a valuable
collection of coins, chiefly from countries influenced by Grecian
civilization.
Adjacent is the =University= (Pl. F, 3, 4), founded in 1837. It also has
an Ionic portico and is enriched with colouring. The organization is
similar to that of the German universities. There are about a hundred
professors and lecturers and 2800 students. The buildings contain also
the natural history collections.
The adjacent =Library= (Pl. E, 3; _National_ and _University_, united in
1903), a handsome edifice in Pentelic marble, contains 314,000 vols, and
2530 MSS.
The Rue du Stade and the Boulevard de l’Université cross the Rue d’Eole
(p. 520) and its prolongation the Rue de Patisia (see below) and end at
the PLACE DE LA CONCORDE (_Plateia tēs Omoneias_; Pl. D, 2, 3; tramways,
p. 503), planted with trees and much frequented in the evening. From its
S. side runs the Rue d’Athéna (Pl. D, 3–5) and from its S.W. angle the
Rue du Pirée (Pl. D-A, 3, 4; fine view of the sea in the evening). To
the W. runs the Rue Constantin, with the handsome new _Constantine
Church_ (Pl. C, 2) and the new _National Theatre_ opposite (p. 504). At
the end of it the road to the Peloponnesus Station (p. 502) bends round
to the right.
In the RUE DE PATISIA (Pl. D, E, 2, 1), near the outskirts of the town,
on the right, are the Polytechnic and the _National Museum_.
The =Polytechnic Institute= (Pl. E, 1), built in 1858 of Pentelic
marble, consists of a two-storied central edifice in the Doric and Ionic
styles and two Doric wings. The upper floor of the main building
contains the _Historical and Ethnological Museum_ (adm., see p. 504), a
collection of memorials of the Greek war of independence, costumes,
etc.—Beyond the next side-street is the Museum.
e. The National Archæological Museum.
The **_National Archaeological Museum_ (Pl. E, 1), erected in 1866–89,
contains the collections of antiquities belonging to the state (other
than those of the Acropolis, Olympia, Delphi, etc.). Adm., see p. 504.
In the central rooms are exhibited the Mycenæan and Egyptian
antiquities, in the left (N.) wing the marble sculptures, in the E.
annex the bronzes, and in the S. wing the vases.
From the Vestibule we go straight into the central building.
*ROOM OF THE MYCENÆAN ANTIQUITIES (about B.C. 1500–1000; comp. p.
416). The cases Nos. 1–41 in the middle contain the objects found in
the richly furnished royal tombs in the citadel of Mycenæ, the
traditional burial-place of Agamemnon and his family. They comprise
trinkets, bronze weapons, vessels and utensils of gold, silver, and
clay, etc.; thus, in stands 20 and 24 are golden masks used to cover
the faces of the dead bodies, in stand 27 a double-handled beaker with
doves, like that of Nestor described by Homer. The five reliefs on
limestone slabs (Nos. 51–55), in the centre of the side-walls, were
found above the tombs. No. 50, a case in the centre, shows the 6th
tomb exactly as when discovered in 1878.
The other cases contain relics of the same period from Mycenæ, and
also, of rather later date, from other places in Greece, where the
tombs were more plainly fitted up. At the end of the room, on columns:
*1758, *1759. Gold goblets from Vaphio (near Sparta), with lifelike
embossed scenes of browsing cattle and a bull-hunt. In the centre, in
the detached glass-case No. 4, are chased and inlaid *Daggers.
Adjacent, straight on, is the EGYPTIAN ROOM.
We return to the Vestibule and enter the N. wing, containing the
=Marble Sculptures=.
ROOM OF ARCHAIC ART (7–6th cent.). To the left in the ante-room, No.
1. _Female Statue_ (votive offering of Nikandre, primitive), and Nos.
6, 57. _Female seated Statues_; in the chief room are the so-called
_Apollo Figures_, nude, some of them probably of deceased persons
exalted into heroes; of this series No. 10, by the right wall, and
Nos. 1904 and 9, by the left, are followed by many others, progressive
in style. Also in the chief room, in front of the column on the right,
No. 21. _Winged Nike._ By the right wall, 2687, 1959. _Tomb Stelae._
By the left pillar at the entrance, and also to the left farther on,
30, 86. Painted _Stelae_, and 29. _Stela of Aristion_, with the
painted relief of a warrior.
ROOM OF THE ATHENA (5–4th cent.). In the centre, 129. Varvakion
Statuette, a copy in marble, 39 inches high, of the ivory and gold
statue of Parthenos by Phidias (p. 516), appearing somewhat heavy in
its reduced size, as the original was intended to be viewed from a
distance.—To the left of the entrance, *126. The _Eleusinian Relief_,
Demeter and Kore presenting the young Triptolemos (father of
husbandry) with grains of corn (5th cent.). By the pillar, 177. Female
ideal head.—Left wall, 178. _Boar’s Head_, and 179, 180. _Heads of
Youths_, probably by Skopas; *181. So-called _Eubuleus_, resembling
the Hermes of Praxiteles; 182. _Head of Aphrodite_; 159–161. Three
graceful figures of _Nike_.—Wall of exit, 128. So-called Lenormant’s
statuette of Athena, another copy of Phidias’s Parthenos, more
faithful in detail (base, shield, etc.) than the Varvakion statuette;
1783. _Votive Relief_, two-sided.—By right wall, 136–174. Sculptures
and architectural fragments from the temple of Æsculapius at Epidauros
(4th cent.).
ROOM OF THE HERMES (5–4th cent.). Left wall, 218. So-called _Hermes of
Andros_, similar to that of Praxiteles; to the left of it, 221, 222.
Frieze from Lamia, a procession of Tritons, Nereids, and Cupids; to
the right, *215–217. _Marble Pedestal_ from Mantinea, with the contest
between Apollo and Marsyas, of the school of Praxiteles. Then, in
front of the pilaster, 1733. Square _Pedestal_, probably by Bryaxis
(4th cent.).—In the right half of the room are four works by Damophon
(2nd cent. B.C.), from _Lykosura_: to the left of the entrance, 1736.
Head in the style of the Zeus of Otricoli in Rome; on the right and
left of the exit, two female heads; near the former, 1737. Fragment of
drapery, with grotesque ornamentation. Also in front of the
window-wall, *1463. Triangular _Tripod Base_, with Dionysos and two
female figures, of the school of Praxiteles. By the window-wall,
1561–1583. Sculptures from the Heræon at Argos (about 400 B. C.),
incl. No. 1571, a fine female head.