Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1853-11-29
ATHENS.
CoNCLUDED.l

me Stadium Of Aitlests Was on llle kssiilli siS
Of the Tissues, not Ear from TIE Acyopois sio-
ping bank runs parallel wifli hefiEef, and in this
slope a semicircular hollow, facing the North, has
been scooped out OF the Soil, alright angles to the
river The shelving margins were once cased with
seats of White rnarbe-it is now long and grass
grownliollow retiring into the hill side. - -
> Between this and the town we passed under me
Arch Of Hadrian, which stood between the two Oh
iavisionsof Tie ancentcity. On the n ", SIDE q
the arch Is the inscription 'This is Athens the an
Gent city Of Theseus, and on the S. Z. side This
is (the Athens Of Hadrians, and not the city OF
Tbeceus.n That is to say, hat Indianapolis was
on the E. side of the gate, and Theseian city on
the N. W. side Between this arch which Is quite
perfect and the .Ilssus stands the columns Of the
Oli,,apeaaua. or Temple of Jupiter Olympus the
LARGEST temple Of Athens. 1t was commenced by
Pisistratus $50 years B. c., and completed by Ha-
drian AID. l45. All that now remains of this
wonderful temple are sixteen Corinthian columns
six and half feetin diameter, above sixty feet
high, on an artificial platform supported by wall
the remains Of which show that the entire CIR
cult must have been twepty-three hundred feet
The temple consists of cell surrounded by aperis-
tvle which, had two columns in front and twenty
at the sides. 1..t.,.fT...,s II
The Lantern of Demosthenes, now surrounueu
by the houses Of the modern city, IS the only re-
naming relic of series Of temples called the street
of Trinods from the circumstance of these temples
being slrmounted by tripods gained by the Chora-
pi in the neig1boring theatre of Bacchus. 1t IS
considered one of the most beautiful monuments OF
antiquity and the capitals are most elegant spee-
mems of the Corinthian order, refined by Attic
taste.
The temple of Theseus is the last OF the great
monuments now remaining, but the first which at
traoted our attention when first entered the CT
ty. ut was built thirty years before the Parthe-
non, 4O5 B. c., few years after the battle OF Sal
amiis, by Cynon, son of Niltiades." 1t is small
but exquisite specimen of the Dorc ORDER built of
Penteican marble, centuries Of exposureto the ar
giving it yeIlovish tint which softes the brian-
cy of the white. The roof of the cell of Theseum
is modern. 1t is now used for the Museum of
Athens and is filed with statues fragments and in
s,riptions Three Englishmen were buried within
the temple while the Turks had possession of the
country. 'a,
Not far from the temple is the sloping stone,
down which the Grecian danes used to slide on
their backs as an antidote against sterility. The
rock is perfectly sleek from constant use, and
number of little girls were following the example of
their ancestors Near thisis the PRsz, rhiltwhere
the meetings of the people were held, and where
the most important questions Of peace or war were
decided The remains are upon platform on
rocky height, to the west of the Museum Hill and
tothe S. w of the Areopagus. 1t is fronted with
blocks of stone of great size. The stone pulpit,
called the Bema, is an elevation like an altar,
where the orators harrangued the people. This.
with the steps leading to it. and the seats beneath
it. are hewn out Of the solid rock aud are in perfect
preservation Its area is more than Il, 900 square
yards Between the Pnyz and the Museum Hill is
place hewn out of the solid rock, called the tomb
of Socrates-now filed with filth AT the base Of
the Museum Hill are four small dungeons called
the prisons of Socrates That in which Socrates Is
said to have been confined and to have drank the
poisonous cup, had its entrance from above. A
few steps were cut in the rock, whence ladder
let down. s.s ra.. -
The Hill of the Museum, where Musaeus is said
to have sung, and, dying of old aga to have been
buried is nearly high the Acropolis. 1t stands
southwest of the city On the summit are the
ruins of the monument Of the Philopappus- 1t is
of the Roman architecture, and much defaced.
From the Hi of the Museum we assembled the
Areopagus or Hill of Mars, 50 called from the fact
that Mars was the first who sat in judgment upon
it. ''Here the Areopagites, distinguished alike for
their character rank and official dignity, sat as
Judges on a rocky hill in the open air, and in the
dark, that the judges might not be influenced by
seeing and knowing the aecuser and the accused.
Here Orestes was tried for matrcidc, and Socrate
for theism. Here, too, the Apostle Paul delivered
his magnificent address to the Athenean people"
From the Areopagus we walked out to the olive
grove of Academia, close below the hin of Colonos,
and about one half of a mile from the city 1t is
still known by the same name as twas in Plato's
time, and is now garden of roses-a fit place even
for the modern student to repair for repose Asmall
monument stands on the summit of Colonos to the
memoir of a German who died in Athens From
this classic retreat we returned to our hotel and
enjoyed the sweet strains of martial mnsic in the
public grounds King Ohio and thel Queen were
present and we had the pleasure of seeing them on
horseback, their favorite amusement
The following day, Messrs DelanO, Sharp, Lynde, |
tombstone, and myself started for the Fields of Mar
athon--an excursion of ten hours. We went in a
carriage as far as the village of KegiSid, where we
had horses to meet us. The road to Marathon |
passes through billy, barren, and uninteresting |
country. We approached the broad plain from
T1ana where we had an excellent view Of Negro
pont the sea, and the entire plain of Marathon |
While gazing on this renowned spot, Twas strong
" reminded of my Greek Professor in the Nash
vile University who endeavored to impress upon
the class the dates of the two great battles of Mar
athon and Salamis Every day the question was
asked, and we invariably missed. tlast we wrote
them on the wall of the recitation room, where
they can be seen, probably, to this day.
little thought at that time that it would ever be
my privilege to rove over country hallowedby
50 many early associations But here I am, and
if Mr. c. should ever ask me again about the field of
Marathon win take as much pleasure in describing
it to him, as he did in impressing the dates. The
mounds where the Persians, Athenians and Mltadcs
were buried are still plainly visible. SHARP and
-, H. l. Al.