Martinsburg gazette. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1833-1855, 1841-02-04

Athens The Parihenon Ruins of The
AcropoHs- The Areopagas-- Preaching
Of Paal-The Pnyr Eloqaence Of De-
mosthenes.
The GROWING glory of the Acropolis
was the Parthenon. This magnificent
building, which, even in its present ruin
ed condition, commands the admiration Of
every beholder, was in its perfect state
esteemed the finest piece of architecture in
the ancient world. With peristyle Of
] thlrty-four columns, and two fronts OF
eight columns, each column over SIX feet
in diameter, and thirty four in height,
standing upon an elevated pavement, and
rising TO the height OF sixty five feet. the
temple Of Minerva lowered subimely UP
before the gaze of the traveller from what.
ever point, by land or sea, he might sp.
proach the city. 1t was built Of the pur.
est Pentelicnn marble, which TO this day,
though discolored by the dews and rains Of
more than ten centuries, yet retains most
of its original purity. 1t contained some OF
the greatest triumphs of Grecian sculpture,
and il we are TO believe Pausanias, il was
enriched with all that Athens then could
boast of genius in this art--and this was
the age of Pericles The masterpiece of
Phidias was there--the Minerva, OF gold
and ivory, the beauty Of which was as ex.
quisite conception as the poets ever in
VENTED; and then the colossal statues Of
bronze, the internal decorations, and the
frieze, the work of Phidias himself must.
have made the Parthenon an objec, ofwon.
der for its grandeur and beauty.
Shattered and broken as il now is, yet
its severe simplicity, its august and com.
handing position on the topmost point OF
the Arcropolis, surviving the fair city OF
which it was the boast and glory, make it
monument of art with which know OF
nothing that can DO compared in the
wrecks of antiquity. can say that after
having seen the temples of Rome, Of Egypt,
and the works of art at Petra, and 10 other
parts of the East, the impression Of the ma.
jesty and beauty of the Parthenon yet re-
mains fresh upon the memory, as the chef
d'Gupre Of antiquity. That it should
have remained to this day, alter the many
changes Of fortune which Athens has I'M
dergone--the invasions and pilagings OF
the Xerxes', Syla's, Philips, Goths and
Turks, is indeed surprising. It's preserva-
ton is owing TO that respect and awe
which works Of art inspire in The rudest
and most savage breasts. Erected as a
shrine 10 Athens protecting deity, it has
been consecrated to the worship of the
living. God, desecrated TO MahommeGan
superstition and fanaticism, and has BEEN
shrine at which all religions have wor.
shipped.
"Abode Of gods. whose shrines no longer burn"
We owe the Parthenon to Pericles, who
| decorated Athens with most Of the works
whose ruins attest their former beauty
| The sensbility of the A,herians to the
glory reflected on their city by these splen
did edifices, is well illustrated in the fol-
lowing extract from Plutarch "The ora.
tors of Thucydides' party raised clamor
against Pericles, asserting that he had
wasted the public treasure, and brought
the revenue to nothing. Percles, in his
defence, asked the people in full assembly,
Whether they thought he had expended
too muchP Upon their answering in the
affirmative, Then be it, said he, 'charg-
ed to my account not yours only let
the new edifces be inscribed with my
name, not that Of the people of Athens. ."
Whether it was that they admired the
greatness Of his spirit, or were ambitious
to share the glory of such magnificent
works, they cried out, " That he might
spend as much as he pleased of the public
treasure, without sparing it in the least. }"
Byron, speaking Of the Parthenon, calls
it " tho finest temple on the finest site in
the world" The position of the Grecian
temples added much to the effect OF their
architecture. Placed upon the tops of
hills or their declivties, or on the summit
of mountains, as the temple at Phigalea,
or in the midst OF vallies, as the temple Of
Delphi, they always appeared distinctly
prominent among surrounding objects,
and whatever of beauty they possessed
made its due impression. With US it is too
common to destroy the effect of fine
building, by thrusting it in mass Of other
buildings, or by placing it on level with
the public ways, which degrades the ap.
pearance of any edifce. The United
States Bank, which is probably the best
piece Of architecture in the country, owes
much Of its effect to the high platform on
which it stands. It's want Of a perysiyle,
however, has forced it into an enclosed
area. 1t 70 not worth the while to erect
costly edifices, ifthey are curtoiled Of the
space which is necessary 10 exhibit them
in their full effect.
There are remains of other temples
upon the Acropols, the principal Of which
is the Ereciheion, an edifice of the Ionic
order. Indeed the whole area is covered
with fragments of columns and statues.
A museum has been formed of the relics
recently excavated. They consist for
the most part of vases. The excavations