Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1895-05-14

1
| necessarily NIL. ] must say that the fell
lows who occupied the back ssats. away
up there on the hill, could not have got
| much fer their money.
IMPRESSIVE BEAUTY.
After dailying here and In the Odeion Of
| Herodcs Atticus. which was connected
with the theatre by a covered walk or
| arcade, and which was dedicated to the
sacred mysteries, we made an abrupt
break for the Acropolis. ] was not pra-
pared FOR the impressive beauty and no.
| hility OF the Propylaca, although / had
| read somewhere that this was the bril-
1 liant Jewel on the front OF the cCnspicu-
Gus rocky coronet of the Athenisn Aero
polls" Rear IN mind that the Acropolis
/ is a vast ledge Of rock nearly 200 feet
| high, whose oblong upper surface II about
! ! 100 feet long and 40 feet wide in its
! anpIest dimensions. Where the rock was
uneven Il was lcvelled by cutting away
It's higher parts and filling mp the lower
portions. The rock was nearly perpen-
eicular on oil sides but one. and its outer
walls have been here and there been re-
inforccd by masonary. At l,s south
western end the rock slopes downward.
! and AT that point are the approaches
which pass through the famous gate
ways--;he Propylaea. II Is needless 10
describe this magnificent work Of the in
! tcllieent reader. Let IL suffice to say
! that here ~ built a series of vast square
! towers, their general effect being that
Of soldity and lightness). 10 feet long
and Of varying height Five entrances
pierced this noble structure. built In the
! Doric style Of Architecture, and Impress
ing one, even now in its ruin. with It's
simple grandeur. Emerging from marble
columns and towers. the visitor is al
once confronted by the Parthenon whose
base Is about on a level with the rage
Of the Propyiaea. We have climbed long
flights OF marble steps. and now We WAX
up a sloping terrace Of the living rock,
cut IN horizontal grooves TO make easier
the advancing tread OF the generations OF
men who have come and gone since TINS
work was done, more than ZOO years
ago. we get as the Greeks did. the hrst
view OF the Parthenon at the most I'M
pressfve point-the northwest angle. mere
one now sees the best-preserved oil the t"o
pediments and the least ruined or us TWO
sides. The creamy marble grows carRef
with age. and some OF the columns are
red Thrown, as with iron-rust, In Spots
Nevertheless. the ruin impresses one win
it's still perfect beauty and symmetry
end one has a feeling Of sorrowini mag
nation as he gaZes on the destruction
which man and time have wrought. IL
a a.
beaten and insulted. The Turks were
besieged here by the Venetians In los''
and the commander OF the besiegers
Norosini. directed his fire against the
parthenon. where the Turks had stored
a magazine with gunpowder. Wheh tnls
finally blew up, the Parthenon was wreck
ed. Incidentally 300 wretchet Turks were
Killed. The next act Of vandalism was
committed by that titled rObber. Lord
Elein. who under false pretences mace
20 the Sultan Of Turkey. stole ana car
rled OF TO England loads OF sculptures
from the pediments and architraves Oh
the Parthenon, one OF the caryatiues
from the Porch of the Madens OF the
Erechtheion, near by. and much other
spoil. The Venetians and Turks were IN
tho prosecution of the variety or war
which was entirely regular in those days
Elgins barbarism was sordid. lie dIoNe
a thrifty bargain with the BRUSH Gov
eminent. and his plumber may be seen III
the British Museum. London, bearing the
name OF the Elgin marbles.
THE PARTHENON.
The Parthenon has been successiVeiy
OCCUPIED by Mosems and Turks as Il
place OF worship. and on port'oh Oh ~
interior restored" wall we see the ruue
mural paintings of saints done In the
byzantine manner The marble pave
rnents are worn smooth by the sandalled
feet of millions OF worshippers; over the
rooness walls bends the pure blue SKY
of Greece. and as we walk slowly along
the grand outer corridor, where nuled
Corinthian columns bear their foiiaten
capitals thirty-five feet above our heaus'
we can readily recall the scene In tine
age of Pericles. when the multitudinous
M
thenian festival wound its way M these
heights into this sacred Enclosure ana
OVERLOOKED this glorious hill, then COW
cred with a forest OF statues. youVe al
tars, and marble monuments. Inc throhss
have vanished. and the Acropolis Is
melancholy mass Of ruins. contused
litter of broken columns. shattered me
topes, and disjointed stones covers the
ground Yet. In their ruin. these re-
mains are eloquent with praise OF the
conscientious thoroughness. the religious
care with which the work was done.
Even in the obscurest details nothing was
slighted Masonry that was covered from
sight with enormous slabs OF Pentenc
marble was as accurately Joined and
finished as II IL were to be scruunlzeo
by the MONDAY sun. Where steps ar"
aneled inward. the angle is finished IN
a single block and not with a joining
on this world-famous plateau bears
striking testimony 10 the honesty and
fidelity, as well as the artistic skill, or
the men who built these splendid piles
Phldias designed and executed most OF
these immortal monuments. But the sin
cerity with which all the minor details
were wrought out has now no parallel
In the world.
Sadder than the Parthenon or any or
the numerous temples that crown the
Acropolis is the ruin OF the temple OF
Jupiter Olympus, which stands lonely IN
the midst OF modern Athens. Si%teen Oh
its enormous and beautiful cotinthiah
columns rise in detached groups; Sc
venteenth. broken into sections, lies prone
on the ground. We wander In ana out
among these lonely monuments, which
sustain only a fragment of an entablature,
and we muse on the departed story or
temple whose very floor has vanished, and
at the base of one of these majestic ana
towering pillars we come upon a thrifty
Greek who serves coffee ana biscuits IN
the open air At the gate of Hadridn,
hard by this ruin, is a peanut-stand, ana
we find the choragic monument or Lysi-
crates. lonely work Of art. In the MIDST
Of one OF the few squalid quarters or
Athens The temple OF Eolus. as the
archaic tower that once contained
Water-clock and carried a Weather-vane
is miscalled. is similarly environed. nut
the Temple of Theseus. the most perfect
art, loses nothing by the sordidness of
its surroundings. The temple, built Of
Pentelic marble. and l04 feet long by 10
feet wide, has thirteen Doric columns on
each side. and six on each end, every one
of them In place. One wonders why Elgin
did not tear out and carry off one of these
iuted monuments of Doric art. The wea-
ther has stained the work to a deep
golden, brown tint. and the moorways
are defaced by being walled in with brick
and wood, but there Is space enough
about the majestic pile for one to observe
IL i'm silence and from "A distance. 1t is
a mute but eloquent witness of the past
glory Of Greece.
PLACE OF HARANGUE.
on the Hill of the Pnyx. where the popu
lar assemblies Of the Athenians were
wont 10 be harangued by Demosthenes
and other orators, from the time of The
mistocles onward. We see the bema. or
platform. on which the speaker stood
facing the sea-" Part OF the surround
ing space is cut from the living rock.
and part is built of enormous blocks OF
stone brought hither at great cost. "A
retaining wall. semicrcular and massive.
incloses the mound on the side opposite
the speakers platform. Mars Hill, which.
like the Hin OF the Pnyx. lies near the
base OF the Acropolis and on it's western
side. IS sometimes called the Areopagus.
Yet we accept the thory that this Is