Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1890-03-13
An American Impression of the Land
Where Burning SapphO Lived
and Sung.
A. Land of FlOcks and Shepherds. and
Traders That Only Jew
Can Beat.

is a country of unequaled interest, and a
volume would not suffice to treat Gifts past,
but of modern Greece there is much less to
say At the island of Corfu, l first set
foot ON Greek soil and began to feel that
was again getting among an oriental peo-
pie. The men are darker than the Ital-
ians, and the eastern mode of dress is seen
on every side-the red cap with tassel, the
bright-colored waist, the sash, the white
highland kilt, with its many pleats and
folds. the white leggings and the long
pointed shoes. turned up at the end like
an Indian canoe, with little rosette as a
finish. The money changers are seated at
their desks on the sidewalk, the
public writers are ready to write for you a
business note or love letter, shoe-makers
are plying their trade along the
shady side of wall, sedate old
fellows are seated at little tables
with pipes that look like a chemi
cal resort, drawing the smoke through
water, and the whole business and social
life is in the street. Greece is an island
kingdom, with quiet varying dialects and
customs in different parts, but coming to
the mainland the first impression is that
Of the rude, semi-baroarOus character OF
people. This is more noticeable than
even in Spain or the most remote parts of
Italy. The country is mountainous, very
generally treeless, and with scanty sup
ply of water; the land is poor except in
few valleys, there are no manufactures,
but a very primitive agriculture, and
Greece is now, as Of old, mostly land of
f1ocks and shepherds, with some olive
orchards, vineyards and currant fields. 1t
is hard for such a land to become rich,
and the marks of extreme poverty are
everywhere visible Formerly the Greeks
were poor but distinguished for their Spar
tan virtue. They are still poor, but their
virtue is questionable No one denies
their ability, and in matter of trade no
one but Greek dares to meet a Greek, ex-
cept possibly Jew. Any one who expects
to keep even with them in a purchase will
need to sit up the night before arranging
his plans and studying the ground. The
finances are in a desperate state Even
the deprecated Italian currency commands
premium of 20 per cent, and good silver
is unknown in circulation. The ragged
paper money of one and two drachma
pieces reminds one of the souvenir pieces
of our war times. The Greeks with all
their coast line and islands have ever been
famous as sailors, and they have now a
large number of small coasting steamers
and quite respectable showing of foreign
trading vessels. Were it not for their
poverty they would soon take high rank
as maritime power. There are many
excellent features In the character of the
people. They are not only quick-witted
and enterprising, bit self-reliant, hos
pitable, exceedingly patriotic, and with an
intense desire for knowledge. A much
poorer nation than Italy, they have no
beggars, and they almost equal the New
Englanders in their desire for schools and
colleges.
ATHENS
is as yet the most of Greece, so far as
culture and civilization are concerned,
and the city is splendid testimonial Of
the national love of learning and the lib
eral arts. Wealthy Greeks found schools.
build art galleries and use their money for
the public good. One art museum has been
filled and another fine building is now
ready. The academy of Science was built
by Baron Sina at cost of S2,000,000, the
Polytechnic Institute was founded by liber-
al citizens, and the young ladies school is
a fine building occupying nearly a block
The University of Athens has an attend
ance of over 800 students, and the British,
American, French and German schools of
art here afford excellent opportunities for
the study of art In its different forms, es-
pecially, of course, soul pture and architect
ure. There are but few railways as vet.
and travel in the interior must be largely
by horseback, it requires much time and is
expensive, d courier being necessary for
most journeys. Almost every one, though,
will wish to make the excursions to Eleusis,
Salamis and Marathon from Athens, see
Pentelicus and the Attic plain, glance at
Parnassas and visit Nauplia, Argos, Ny
cene, Corinth and Olympia. At the latter
place, where so many fruitful excavations
have been made of late years, may be seen
the Mercury of Praxiteles, the most SPLEEN
did relic of the golden days of sculpture yet
found in Greece, and fit companion for
the Venus of Milo.
1t is difficult always to bring magma
ton down from its youthful flights and
make it adapt itselfto the prosaic facts re
vealed by the experience of later years. The
age when one reads Homer, Sophocles and
Hschylus IS an impresssionable one. The
mind is in full sympathy with the exuber-
ant fancy of the wonder-loving old Creeks
the fountains, groves and hills are so peo-
pied with gods and goddesses; the deeds of
Jupiter, Apollo and Minerva are so ming
led with the acts of Themissoctes, Alcibi-
AIDES and Epaminondas; the wars seem so
mighty and the philosophers, poets and
statesmen so numerous and great, that the
reason refuses to recognize one small land
as the theater of all these great events
But, once ON the ground, heights and dis
tances shrink; Mt Olympus becomes an
ordinary hill the plain of Marathon lit
tie field, and the Styx and Ilissus tiny
brooks that run dry each summer.
THE GREEK LANGUAGE
has been for so many centuries called a
dead language that it would be difficult to
convince people generally that it is still
alive and healthy but modern Greece bears
Just about the same relation to ancient
Greek that our English of to-day bears to
that of Chau 3er. The letters and type
are the same, the general construction I'M
changed, and one who is reasonably famil-
lar with ancient Greek can, after little
parctlce, read the Athenian papers of to-
day. The pronunciation is quite different
from our fashion of pronounclng Greek,
but the chances are that the modern
Greeks are at least as near the ancient
method as English or Americans, and as
learned this method In college days, find
it much less confusing than most do on
arrival here A visit to Athens is not COM
plete without
A CALL ON DIR. sCHLIEMANN,
the modern hero of Troy, who has large
and elegant mansion and is very hospitable |
to strangers. The doctor is short, rath- |
er stout. with marked German features, |!
and while an enthusiast In Greek and |
most successful discoverer of buried cities. |
is not bY any means q saYant or a man of |