American Lancaster gazette. [volume] (Lancaster, Ohio) 1855-1860, 1858-07-15
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t' SPARTA AS IT ISs
Leonda:i, where we passed the night, is
on the frontier Of Sparta, but still in Ar.
csGia. Here Alpheus. from bis glacier"
on Taygetus. rusbes down the hills IN pur-
suit Of his Dorain .Arethusa. Here.is still
the rural paradise OF an6Senl Greece, with
its pure air, its ancient waters, its seclu.
sion and peace-but alas! the people. We
overlooked long tracts Of forests-nothing
but osk--some ancient trunks. gnarled and
hoary with thousand years, and younger
woods covering the gentle-rounded knolls.
The morning was divinely clear and bril-
Iiaat, but cold, with thin sheet Of ice on
standing water. In an hour and half,
after threading scattering groves Of oak
and lex, we passed low bar connecting
Taygetrs with Manalus on the north, and
this. as [ rightly guessed, was the water
shed between the AL pbeus and Eurotas-
the boundary of Sparta. In the splendor
OF the day, every feature OF the landscape
had its clearest form and its richest color.
ing, and from the beds of daisy and cro-
Gus at our feet to the snowy pyramids of
Taygetus, high above, every thing spoke
Of life and OF Spring. Thera is a village
called Longnike, in a very wild position,
high up under the very crest of the noun
tain, Which supplies the Morca with physi-
claas. The boys are even sent to France
and Germany TO complete heir studies.-
During the day we met with numbers Of
peasants, driving asse laden with bundles
of young mulberry and olive trees, from
the nurseries of Sparta. There was re.
freshiDg evidence Of improvement. in the
amount Of new ground brought under cul-
tIvalion.
AS we approached Sparta, the road de-
scended TO the Banks Of the Eurotas. Ira
oes of the ancient walls which restrained
tho river still remain 10 places, but in his
shifting course he has swept the most of
them away and spread his gravely depos-
its freel y over the bottoms inclosed between
the spurs Of the hill The clumps of pop
lar, willow and sycamore which Incl the
stream, and the thickets of blackberry,
mIstic, lex and arbutus through which
our road wound, gave the scenery charm
ing. wild and rural aspect. The hillside.
posits Of alluvium left by the pre- Ada
ite Woodstock the most remarkable forms,
showing regular terraces, cones, pyramids,
and bastlons. as they fall off toward the
river. Toward evening we saw at dis
tance the white houses Of ancient Sparta,
and presently some indications OF the an
cient city. AT first the remains of terra
ces and ramparts. then the unmistakable
Hellenic walls, and as the superb plain Of
the Eurotas burst upon us, stretching in
garden7like beauty to the foot OF the abrupt
hilsi over which toward the sun touched
SHOWS Of raygetus, we saw, CLOSE on OUR
right, almost the only relic Of the lost ages
the theater. Riding across field ol
wheat which extended all over the scene
OF the Spartan gymnastic exhibitions, we
stood on the proscenium and contemplated !
these silent ruins, and the broad, beautiful
landcape. 1t is one of TIE finest views in
Greece-not so crowded with striking
points, not so splendid in associations, as
that Of Athens, but larger, grsnder, richer
in coloring. The plain, watered by the
unfaiing Eurotas, is covered with luxurl
ant vegetation, and opens its fruitful lay
to the MONDAY sun. In warm countries
water is the great fertilizer, aud no part o
Greece is so we'll supplied in this respec
as Sparta.
Beside the theater, the only remains are
some masses of Roman brickwork, and the
massive substructions of a small temple
which the natives call the tomb of Leoni
das. walked over the shapeless rubbish
which covers the FIVE hills. without sin
gle feeling o regret. There were greaI
fighters before Agamenon. and there are
as brave men as LeoDidas to-day. AS fol
the race Of military savages whom Lycur
gus-the man of ice and iron-educated
here, who would wish to restore them?-
The one virtue Of the Spartans--brayeIy-.
is always exaggerated, because it is theil
only noble trait. They were coarse, cruel
treecherousand dishonest, and while they
acted in two or three instanter as a shield
to Greece, they dealt the peri 1eous stab;
through which she perished at last. L.
art, literature, science and PHILOSOPHY. we
owe nothing to Sparta. She has bequeNth
ed to us only few personal examples o
splendid patriotism, and a co 1e which, Goo
be thanked, can never be put in practice
again.
PASSING MOMENTS. -Reader---does thu
r. a... - 49,, 49, E,Io