ATHENS, _December 7, 1841_.
I have just returned from my tour, after an absence of seven days,
during which time we were favored with delightful weather, but
our journey was attended with all the fatigue and want of comfort
appertaining to travelling on horseback in the interior of Greece. But
we were more than fully compensated with the incidents of travel and
the remarkable objects of antiquity and curiosity presented to our
view. I must first inform you that there are only six or eight carriage
roads in Greece, and those only for a short distance. All travel is
performed on mules or horses, and all manner of burdens carried in the
same manner. In the interior hotels are almost unknown, there being but
few guests to encourage them, as during the desolating wars with the
Turks almost all the towns and cities were laid waste, and the Greeks
sought refuge in the mountains.
The first object of my missionary companion and myself was to procure
a Greek servant, a supply of provisions, with bed and bedding, when
we started for the Piræus, a distance of five miles, in search of a
boat to carry us to Epidaurus, upon the Gulf of Salamis, where our
land travel commenced. On arriving, at five o’clock in the afternoon,
we were fortunate in finding a caique ready for departure. There is
an immense number of these vessels employed along the coast; they are
from twenty to thirty feet in length, the only shelter being in the
hold, the flooring of which is pebble-stones. The passengers numbered
about twenty, who were stretched upon the deck, or on the gravelly
floor, with nothing but a Greek coat, or a blanket under them, my
companion among the group. By special favor I had the cabin to myself,
for the reason that there was only room for one person. It was a
small partition astern, with a board floor, say three feet broad,
and scarcely long enough to lie at full length. Here I spread my bed
and passed a tolerable night. The next morning we passed the island
of Egina, and at noon arrived at Epidaurus, a place which formerly
sent eight hundred fighting men to battle, now a miserable village of
eighty inhabitants. But the town has recently acquired a celebrity
from having given its name to the Greek constitution, adopted by the
Greek Congress of Deputies from all parts of the nation, on the 15th of
January, 1832.
We procured horses and a guide for Nauplia, making a _detour_ of
two hours to visit the ruins of the ancient city of Yero. Part of the
road was through a fertile plain, producing tobacco and corn; then
passing through a romantic defile by the side of a rocky hill, with a
mountain torrent tumbling beneath. The path in some places is a mere
shelf, only broad enough for one to pass, with a steep precipice above
and below; while in others it winds through beautiful shrubbery where
the myrtle and arbutus joined over our heads in festoons, and scarcely
permitted the horse and rider to pass. The most remarkable remains
of antiquity in this sequestered region are the ruins of a theatre.
It was of white marble, and thirty-two rows of seats still appear
above ground. The orchestra was ninety feet long, and the theatre,
when entire, three hundred and seventy feet in diameter, and capable
of containing twelve thousand spectators. There are also remains of
several temples.
Night overtook us at Lygouno, where we found a Khan to spread our beds,
and fire to cook our provisions. The next morning we made Nauplia, a
distance of five hours (which is the only mode of reckoning in Greece,
not being able to calculate by miles, as the roads are mostly paths
winding in different directions). The city, with a population of nine
thousand, was once the seat of government, and is a commercial place,
with a magnificent harbor. It is strongly fortified. The fortress of
the Palamedi, on the summit of a lofty and precipitous rock, seven
hundred and twenty feet above the sea, is almost inaccessible, and has
been called the Gibraltar of Greece. The view of the country and the
Gulf of Nauplia from the summit is beautiful. I noticed many brass
cannons of 1650, 1662, with the Venetian stamp, the lion of St. Mark.
There are cisterns hewn in the top of the rock, large enough to hold
rain water to supply the garrison three years. In visiting one of
the Greek churches here, we were shown the spot where Capo d’Istria,
the governor of Greece, was assassinated when leaving the church.
We remained here one day, and proceeded for Argos, seven miles from
Nauplia, an ancient city, which contains some antiquities--a ruined
Acropolis upon the summit of a rocky hill. In 1825 the modern town was
entirely destroyed by the Turks, but is partly rebuilt. The plains are
productive with good cultivation, but the manner of cultivation in this
country is quite primitive.
On our way to Argos we turned aside to visit the ancient city of
Tiryns, built thirteen hundred and seventy-nine years before Christ.
The Cyclopean walls of the fortress, which was one-third of a mile
in circumference, are immense, and in remarkable preservation; some
are twenty-five feet thick. The city was destroyed four hundred and
sixty-six years before Christ, and it is most remarkable that some
of the galleries, in the form of a Gothic arch, still exist, almost
perfect. It was the birthplace and frequently the residence of
Hercules. The Lernean lake, not far distant, is the spot celebrated for
being the place where Hercules destroyed the Lernean hydra.
At Argos, there were no accommodations to be had, and we were thrown
upon the hospitality of an English gentleman, a friend of my compagnon
de voyage. We were informed here that it would not be safe to travel
without a guard across the country, as two travellers had recently
been robbed. We accordingly applied to the authorities, and procured a
mounted horseman, armed to the teeth with musket, sword, and pistols.
Altogether, our party presented a novel appearance. Our guard in full
regimentals, our guide in Greek costume, running or walking beside
the horses, making a distance of thirty or forty miles a day without
fatigue, but singing gaily even till night approached; our servant,
with the Hydriote costume, which differs from the Albanian--the
pantaloons being not unlike a great sack secured to the waist, and
below the knees of a blue color--with his red sash and cap, mounted on
a pack-horse carrying supplies and bedding, with our horses in advance;
altogether we formed a novel and formidable appearance. There is a law
in Greece prohibiting the carrying of fire-arms without license. We met
several suspicious characters with pistols and muskets, in the mountain
passes, who were interrogated by our guide, and compelled to produce
their permits; but it is not difficult to obtain a permit, under
pretence of protecting the flocks of sheep and goats. On the route to
Corinth, we passed through a wild and mountainous country, sometimes
winding along a narrow path on the brink of a precipice, and then
again following the course of a ravine. We visited the ancient city
of Mycenæ, built by Perseus one thousand three hundred years before
Christ. It was built on a rugged height, situated in a recess between
two commanding mountains, of the range which bounds the Argolic plain.
The entire circuit of the citadel still exists, and is very large. The
gate of the lions is quite perfect; upon it are represented two lions,
standing upon their hind legs, on either side of a pillar, or altar,
on which they rest their fore paws. The tomb of Agamemnon is still
perfect, as it was, perhaps, when the city was destroyed, four hundred
and sixty-six years before Christ. The entrance is twenty feet broad;
the diameter of the dome is forty-seven feet, and the height fifty
feet. In the middle of the great doorway the holes for the bolts and
hinges of the door are observed. We visited, also, the ancient city of
Nemæa, which has only three columns standing of the temple of Jupiter,
some remains of the Nemæan theatre, and in the vicinity, several caves,
supposed to be those of the Nemæan lion. It was situated on a beautiful
plain; and where once existed a large population, now nothing is heard
but the cry of the shepherd, or the barking of his dog.
In some sections of the country, we would travel many miles without
discovering a habitation of any kind, occasionally meeting a solitary
Greek, with his heavily laden mule or donkey, going to market; or,
perhaps, upon the mountain’s ridge, would find a regular encampment
of itinerant shepherds, with their flocks of goats and sheep. It was
an amusing and novel sight, to see these people emigrating to another
section of the country, or taking up their winter quarters in the
valleys. I observed several of these parties, composed of three or
four families together. They not only have considerable flocks, but
raise horses for sale. On making a move, their tents are lashed on
pack-saddles, with all their supplies of clothing, cooking utensils,
&c. The small children are lashed upon the backs of the horses in the
same manner, while the girls and boys, in their picturesque costumes,
are leading and driving the horses and colts, sometimes to the number
of seventy or eighty. The men are employed in driving the flocks of
sheep and goats, while the women are driving the horses which carry
different kinds of poultry on their backs, and, at the same time, are
engaged in spinning cotton with a portable distaff, which they carry in
one hand, and twist the thread upon a spool with the other, with great
dexterity.
On arriving at Corinth, situated on the gulf of Lepanto, we visited
the remaining antiquities of that city, which once ranked first among
the states of Greece. During the last revolution it was reduced to
ashes. It is now being rebuilt, but in a very different manner. Seven
Doric columns of a temple still exist, amidst modern desolation. There
are also the remains of an amphitheatre, and excavated in the rock,
at one end, is seen a subterranean entrance for the wild beasts and
gladiators. In this city St. Paul resided and wrote his Epistles to
the Corinthians. Back of the city rises a mountain, upon the summit
of which, one thousand eight hundred feet high, stands an immense
fortress, considered the strongest in Greece, next to Nauplia. A steep
ascent, winding through rocks, leads up to the gate, which requires an
hour’s walk, and where one of the most magnificent views imaginable is
to be seen, comprising six of the most celebrated states of ancient
Greece.
On leaving Corinth, we crossed the Isthmus and struck Cenchrea,
mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles as the spot whence St. Paul
departed for Syria. We arrived at Megara the same night, and our guide
conducted us to the only house of entertainment in the town, which
contains a population of one thousand persons. But this modern village
is in a ruinous state. We found the landlord had only one room, and
that was occupied. Accordingly, our gend’arme conducted us to the house
of the Demarch, or mayor of the town, where we had an opportunity of
partaking of Greek hospitalities, which is not unusual for strangers
to accept in the interior. Suffice it to say, we were made very
comfortable, and felt ourselves under many obligations for comforts
that money could not procure.
Soon after leaving Megara we dispensed with the services of our
gend’arme, as we struck upon the road to Eleusis, which is considerably
frequented. In passing along the coast of the Saronic Gulf we had
the island of Salamis in full view, half a mile distant, where three
hundred and eighty Greek ships defeated two thousand ships of Xerxes.
At Eleusis are many antiquities about the modern town, and the piece
of ground is here pointed out where, according to tradition, the first
corn was sown.
On the way to Athens may be seen the old causeway, called Via Sacra,
along which the ancient processions moved to that city. During our
last day’s march we found the sun’s rays rather oppressive, and I
was rejoiced when we entered the olive groves of the academy, which
afforded a fine shade in our approach to Athens.