Phenix gazette. [volume] (Alexandria [D.C.]) 1825-1833, 1827-09-26
From the New Monthly Magazine.1
THE EXILE OF SClO.

The sun was slowly SINKING oeh'hu '"e a"Se
Of Hymet,us and the hills OF A'uea, as we
weighed anchor from Cape Colonno, and Steer
ed for the narrow strait between Lea and Cyth-
nos The morning we had passed IN WANDER
inn through the groves Of laurel and masnc,
which cover the promon'ory o, onnin"' anu !"
lingering among the fast decaying ruins OF me
,eu,,,e Of Minerva. Around its base the deo'is
of rs fallen fragments have almost obhterated
the on,Ine of the platform on which II was e.
rerted on tie very verge Of the clih, and the
o,er,hrow ola number IF its columns snort
time pre,5 to our visit, net only addca 10
the beap oisdecay, but must soon weaken the
,ot,erinp foundation Of the remainder. he de-
structive effects Of the Sirocco wind were here
most sinsularly Displayed: the sides OF the cot
urnn fronting the south east were eaten away
corrodrd, from base 10 capital, Tor the dePih oil
two or three inches, whilst on the other por-
lions of the shat, the fiutng was as sharp and
perfect as at the first hour of It's erection.
The town and temple Of Sunlum were built
during the brightest days Of Grerce-the age
ofPericies; Of the one not res'ige is irl'' ana
all ,ha, remains Of the other are d few SCATTER
&C columns supporting tritze which fronts
the "island- gemm'd Egean.
uatl seen nearly all the temples now remain
imp in Greece, but none, not even Athens hsei'
is calculated to produce such vivid emotions as
,ha, of Sunium. The greater number OF them
are seated in freouen,ed spots, aud surrounded
by the bush OF the crowd; Suninm stands a.
lone, its heavy columns lock but on the b'ne
hills of A,,iea, or the azure pillows OF the II
eeap all is solitude around IL, save the wh.ri
NJ The sea bird round us summit, or the waV-
ing OF the olive groves al its base, and the oh'r
sound that awak, 5 It's sirnce IS the sigh OF The
SPINNER wind, or the murmnr OF the waves tha'
roll into the Iime-worn caves beneath II. Ear
removed from every human ha5ratiot,lt IS SCI
dom visited, except BY The caiqae OF The Mai
note corsair, the passing traveller, or the lower
in search oflhe Wild doves which frequent II.
Its prospecisare the most extensive and inter
es,ing in CIR, Gee; from ils brow the eve VAN
ders over The mountains Of Argohs, and the
hills that circle Athens; 10 the east, the purple
plsins Of Helena and Euhora; and to The south
the endless mazes OF the Cy ladies', separated by
narrow channels, whose glittsring and intricate
passages form the laby,in,hs of The Archipeia
go, the navigation Il which is known almost cx'
clusivelv TO the pilots of Milo and Ar5rntiers.
I, i. seldom The view Of the E.eean presents
any thing bu, picture Of calm repose, is blue
urrufflcd waters sleeping undisturbsd beneath
the equally uuvariCd sky, Urgently curling their
ripping surface TO catch the daUciug sunb, ans,
aud fash them back in mimic splendour. Some
times a group Of he white sails Of the Levant
arc seen gliding from isle 10 isle, "liks wild
sw ans in their flight" or hpeirg !aziiy On the
brea,hless tie TO await the breezt Of evening;
earth, air, add sky are all in unison, and their
CAIN still repose belongs alone to the cline OF
the East.
We descended The cliff, and reeained our YES
sci as the line Of the ruined temple was thrown
into 6ne relief against skv now crimsonsd
with the dyes of sunset There was no fimy
cloud to break the softness OF the west. where
the sunk like globe Of molten gold, nj,
RAYS spreading gently over the heavens, not
dashed and caught from cloud to cloud, but
blending i'm one massy sheet over the vast and
glowing concase.
The dawn OF morning at sea is perhaps the
most sublime sight IN nature; sunset on land is
more reposing and lovely, but sunrise on the
ocean is grandeur itself. AT evening he Silks
languishing behind the distant hills, blusbing
in rosy ints at his declining weakness;st morn,
he rises all fresh and glowing from the deep,
no, in softened beauty, but in dazzling splen-
dour. With the weary pare of age, he glides,
al eve, from peak to peak and sinks from hill
TO hill, at morn, he bursts al once across the
threshold Of the ocean with the firm and con
scions step of a warrior. His decline conveys
the idea Of fading brightness, his rise the swell
lug tuaiSenCe OF mounting anu reSlStieSSs
light.
The succeeding day was calm, and we lay al
most motionless in the narrow strait which Sc
parated the islands Of Zea and Cythnos. The
former contains now no objects Of attraction a
midst its sun burnt hills and barren alleys, ex-
cept the snowy walls of its villages, and the
ves,igcs Of temple once dedicated TO Miner
va, and built, as our pilot said, by Nrslor, on
his return from Troy. Cythnos is hilly, fer
tile mound, rising gently from the sea, and re-
markable for nothing but warm springs, from
which il takes the modern name of Thermis:
We slowly passed the strait, borne along solely
by The current, and about midday lay totally |
becalmed in 4 little bay formed by the islands
we had left, and those of Gyarus and SYRIA.
1t was Sunday, and if that day be possessed
Of peculiar stiffness aud repose on land, II must
be doably more so at sea, and among the Cy-
clades. The day was an oriental one; not
wandering vapor 20 stain the deep blue heaven,
and not a breath to warp the mirror of the sea;