Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1867-05-10
MODERN ATHENS.

II tULiCcDpuublL VI LAlE NAllCatEu II tDtFtts
writing from Athens, describes it as pleas
ant town of 10000 inhabitants, support
ing twenty three papers, of which eight are
dailies, which circulate not only in Greece,
but among the Greeks in Turkey. After
aliuding to the general resemblance of the
place to Edinburgh, he adds:
''The chief attraction to travellers Is, Of
course, the display Of ancient art in the ru-
ins which tell of what Greece once was. 1t
has been a great pleasure, not unmiXed
with sadness, to wander amid those won
drous architectural remains which point out
the site of classic Athens The modern city
lies on an inclined plain, with the high,
sharp peaked hill Lyabetties to the north
Mars Hill, the Acropolis and some undula-
ting ground at the base of Mount Hymettus
to the east; the range of Pentehcus, IA
nous for its marble, and now tipped with
snow, at the remote west, and the fiat, low
ground, covered with olive trees and vine
yards, running down to the Pir9sus, on the
south.
The PartIenon shows from afar on the
top of the Acropolis, riveting the gaze of
the beholder by its beauty A close inspec-
ton adds to ones admiration, by revealing,
in addition to the perfection of its proper
ton and materials. the exquisite statuary
and carving, whose fractured relics make
one almost weep over the vandalism that
destroyed the most precious works of an
cient art. Great care is now taken to pre-
serve all that survives, as also to gather up
and displaythe beautiful fragments OF sculp-
ture that are found in excavations. A guard
followed at our heels everywhere, to see
that we mutilated no delicate work, neither
carried off column Of the Parthenon under
our arm, and We did neither, though we
saw where a Frenchman had wontonly bro
ken off the fine profile of face to secure a
memento, and where Lord Elgin, years ago,
had plundered the PaIthenon Of the most
elaborate of its sculptured marble, sending
back plaster casts Of part instead.
At the southern base of the Acropolis are
two ancient theaters, with their seats rising
steeply tier above tier in the open air, show
ing how audiences of twenty or thirty thou
sand were accommodated, One, the Thea
ter Of Bacchus wac chiefly ezeeveted only
two or three years since, and displays many
beautiful specimens Of art, though but few
Of them are unmUtilated. The lowest row
Of seats consisted ofwhite marble arm chairs
cut out in pairs, with the name Of the arIs-
tocratic proprietor cut upon each. They
seem to have been the private boxes Of the
theater.
1t was with a thrill Of emotion that after
reading anew the XVII chapter Of the Acts
of the Apostles, | ascended the stone steps
cut in the rocks Of Mars Hill and stood
where Paul stood when he uttered his un-
answerable argument, and made his bold
and sublime protest against idOlatTy, in full
view of the Parthenon, the Erecthenon, the
Temple Of Victory, the Temple Of Theseus,
the Temple Of Jupiter, Olympus, and the
othermagnifcent erections Of @ .lelHn super
stition No one can understand the gran
duer and power Of that discourse till he
stands where it was delivered. The Temple
Of Jupiter presents only fifteen erect col
umns Of what once was a colonade, on ITS
T0ur SIDES, or one hundred ana twenty -iour
rich Corinthian pillars The Temple Of
Theseus is the most ancient and complete OF
the structures which remain, much resent
bling the Parthenonin general effect, though
standing on comparatively low ground The
interior is used as a museum Of ancient
GTecian art, and contains many most adml-
rable specimens, principally taken from
tombs And this reminds me, that the
outer Ceramicus, or burial ground, which
has been covered with twelve or fifteen feet
of rubbish, haslately been partially explored
and has yielded several valuable sculptures,
which will lead to further search. An anti
auarian society exists here under the pat
ronage of the government, which conducts
these excavations as the limited funds will
allow