Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1896-04-11
o. 36. WOODSTOCK VT" SATURDAY. April. H. 1896
WORK OF RESTORATION.
StupendOus Task OF Restoring the
Stallion at Athens.


For several months an unwonted activity
has prevailed in one quarter OF Athens.
Harodes Atticus street behind the royal gar
den. one of the most retired streets OF the
city. has resoundrd all day long with the
rattle Of heavy wagons bringing blocks OF
marble from Pentelikon. At sunrise and
sunset crowds Of workingmen were seen
moving through this street, the lower end OF
which opens upon a bridge across the
Ilissos. and on the opposite bank lies the
Panathenaic stadion.
When the International athletic committee.
ut Il session in Paris last year, decided to
have q series OF athletic contests once in
four years in various countries. II is not sur
prisns that they selected Greece for the
first contest
Although Greece now has as little of the
athletic habit as any nation of the civilized
world, its past IL interviewer with athletics.
Ancient Greece witnessed Il very apotheosis
Of athletics. Olympia is Il magic word, and
the committee were doubtless swayed partly
by sentimental reasons in the choice of name
and place.
The stadion at Olympia. although exca-
waited at each end by the Germans, still lies
in most Of its course under fifteen or twenty
feet of earth. but the stadion at Athens has
always in modern times been fit place for
q monster meeting, provided people would
be contented to sit on its slOping sides with
out seats. Whom local Athenian commit
tee was formed, composed of most Of the
citizens conspicuous for wealth or position,
and some resident foreigners. under the
presidency OF Constantine. crown prince OF
Greece, one Of the first questions before it
was this question of seating; and its atten-
tion was naturally directed to the stadion.
A wealthy and generous Greek of Alex
andria. George Averotf. who. like many
other Greeks living in partibus inlldeium,
was known as man always on the watch to
do something for Athens, readily took upon
himself the expense OF restoring 1t to some
thing like its former splendor. when it was
lined with marble and seated 10000 specta-
tors. Ho has already given over nine hun
dred thousand drachmas. which If the
drachma were at par, would be $50 0OO, but
which now amounts to only about 100000.
The arena was about $50 feet long and l25
feet broad. The regular length Of II stadion
race-course was 600 Greek feet, which was
trife shorter than. English feet. There
was then plenty of room to lay out in this
arena, between starting-point and goal,
both somewhat removed from the ends, the
traditional course. The passageway be-
tween the seats and the arena was foot
lower than the arena itself, and as the face
wall Of the seats was about five feet high,
people might pass to and fro during the
games without cutting off the view Of those
in the seats. The most singular feature Of
this passage, and great surprise when dis
covered. is its varying width, caused bya
continuous curve of the bounding wall OF
the seats, while the long sides of the arena
are straight lines. The whole cavea thus
takes the form Of an elongated horseshoe.
The practical purpose of this curve Is easily
seen. 1t did for the spectators at the ends
Just what they would otherwise be tempted
to do for themselves, by getting up and
leaning forward to see the finish, which
took place ut the sphendone.
For the distribution Of the spectators, be-
sides The two horizontal passages already
referred to. there was n third at the top Of
the cavea and thirty-One flights of steps
running from top to bottom, besides two
broad staircases running up the face OF the
end walls as far as the diazoma. On the east
side, just where the curve of the sphendone
begins, the seats are broken by q rock-cut
passage running clear through the hill. This
was probably made for the entrance of wild
beasts into the arena.
In the rest Of the cavea four lower rows
were completed in marble. 1t had been