The Indiana State sentinel., 1889-03-13
ANTIQUITIES OF ATHENS.
THE eLoRlEs OF THE AcRoPoLls.
The Renowned Parthenon-St. Paul on the
Areopagus-DemOsthsne the Pnyx
Excursion to COrinth-Megara
Eleusis-For Africa.

eminenee above the seat has been de-
clared to be ''the pride of Greece and
envy OF the world" 1t comprised within
It's original limits the citadel, the treasury,
the holy temples, the best collection of
art, and all that was most sacred and
precious TO the ancient Athenian. Pass
ing along the avenue OF pepper Trees that
leads from the royal palace 20 the
AcropoIs, the theater of Bacchus is
reached at the base of the hill.
The early Greek theatrical perform
ances were held in the open air inside en-
closures that were not rooted over and the
tiers of stone seats were built one
above the other something after the
manner of the modern circus. They are
still in excellent condition, all being hewn
out of the natural rock in the side of the
hill. except those OF the first row from
the stage. which, being reserved for the
priests, were made of marble. Here the
gay Athenians, TO the number OF thirty
thousand, were wont TO assemble, and
here they laughed, cried, jOyed and sor-
rowed in the usual way as the dramas of
''Aristophanes,' '"SOphOcles, "Eschylus. :"
"Esohylus," ''Euripides. ETC., were re-
presented before them. Above the the
ater, underneath the wall of Cymon, is
the ''Grotto OF Our Lady" once the Tenn
pie OF Thrasyllus, and the Temple of
Esculapius stood on the terrace west OF
the theater. On a lower terrace the
''Stoa" of Eumenes was situated, and
next that another theater, the
"Odeum of Herodes Atticus," capa-
ble of seating six thousand spec
tstors. Continuing on up the marble
staircase the renowned "Propylaea' or
grand gate OF the Acropolis is entered. It's
FIVE portals still remain intact but only
one OF its wings is left, the "PinacOtheca
or picture gallery which is now used for
the exhibition of the numerous antiQui-
ties that have been eXcavated about the
AcropUlis. To the right of the PrOpylaea
stands the temple of "Nyke Apteros" or
"Wingless Victory. 1t Is believed to
have been built bv Cymon and was de-
stroyed by the Turks in 1857, but the
fragments were again collected and the
structure rebuilt on the original site.
From this point there Is an excellent view
Of the Peloponnesean coast, and 1t was
from here that Egeus was said TO have
thrown himself when 1heseus, returning
from Crete, neglected to replace his black
sails with the white ones that were
TO signal good tidings. On the
left from the entrance are the remains of
the "Erectheum," finished under Alcibi-
AIDES as a temple to Minerva or 'Pallas
Athene." 1t was constructed OF the finest
Pentelcus marble, and was regarded as
one OF the most perfect of the ancient
public buildings. The portico was origin
ally supported by the FIVE 'Caryatides,
or ''maiders," but Only three of these
statues now remain. 1t was here, accord
ing to mythology, that Cecrops and Free
theus were buried, and here Minerva and
Neptune contested for the possession of
Attica, and the place where her sacred
olive tree sprung into existence, and where
the sea god struck the ground with his
trident and caused the salt water to burst
forth. are duly pointed ont.
The chief attraction and the crowning
wonder of the acropolis is, of course, the
world-famed "Parthenon," the most
marvellous of the buildings of antiquity,
the perfection OF architectural skill and
the pride and glory of ancient Athens. 1t
owes its existence to the artistic, public
spirit of Pericles, who caused il to be built
about four hundred and thirty years be-
fore Christ 1t was originally 80 feet
grand temple to the goddess Minerva, the
protectress and tuteiary deity of Athens,
and was adorned with the most mag
nifcent sculptures at the hands of Phidias
and his cO-wOTkers It's greatest posses
sion was the celebrated statue OF
Minerva BY Phidias, which was forty
seven feet high, and OF fabulous value.
The portions OF the body thai were un-
clothed were made OF ivory, while the
rest was OF pure gold, including a remov-
able mantle of the same precious material
said 10 have been valued at n talents,
or about $4,000 Most OF the splendid
frieze ana bas reliefs that ornamented the
walls OF the ParthenOn were removed TO
London by that arch despoiler, Lord FL
gin. and are now among the principal at
fractions Of the British museums De
scending from the acrOpolis about half
way down, and little to the right Is the
"AreOpagus." or "Hill Of Mars" where
the highest court Of Athens held its sit
tings They seem to have heard their
causes at night and in the open air, and it
was here that Socrates was tried for bis
belief in Theism. The hill takes It's name
from the tradition that Mars himself was
arraigned here for the murder of the son
of Neptune. It was at this place that st.
Paul delivered his famous sermon TO
the ALUeUldUS, dUU among MS
converts was numbered one of these
same high judges. for we are told that
certain men clave unto him and believed,
among which was Dionysius, the Areo-
paaite" The Bible account of this event
clearly establishes the accuracy Of the
location, being directly referred TO under
both It's different names. 1t says ''rhey
took him and brought unto Areopagus,
saving, may we know what this new 1Oc-
trine, whereof thou speakest, is? For
thou bringeth certain strange things to
our ears; we would know, therefore, what
these things mean" (For all the Athenians
and strangers which were there spent
their time in nothing else, but either to
tell or TO hear some new thingl Then
Paul stood in the midst of Mars Hill and
said. we men OF Athens" etc. Acts xvii J
The dark ravine at the foot OF the Areo-
pagus was the location OF the shrine of the
Fumenides and the scene of Eschylus
tragedy of the same name, and the first
hill beyond is the "Pnyx," where the
Athenians held all their public meetings.
Some short steps cut in the solid rock lead
up to a stone platform similarly made,
known as the "Bema" or Orators Stone"
from which Demosthenes, Pericles, Alci-
blades and the other Greek "spell-binders"
were wont 10 harangue the enthusiastic
populace. I mounted the rOstrum here
myself. and tried the effects of few soul
stirring sentences IN the place where De-
bad IeIsvaraH his hur