The herald., 1896-06-14
GREEK SUPERSTITION
ATHENS Nov IS

ATHENS. May S.-St. Paul's words,
"Ye men Of Athens, perceive that in
all things ye are too superstitious,"
would apply very literally today, not
only to Athens, but to all Greece. The
whole life Of the country people is con-
trolled by Superstitious observances.
The evil eye possesses peculiar power,
and 1t Is believed that children are es-
pecially subject to its influence. For
this reason charms are often hung
around their necks. and nurses are
warned not to allow child's beauty to
be praised. Mothers often carry a
Glove or a bit of garlic to ward off the
pernicious influence which may be cast
by design or by accident. Even young
animals have amulets hung round their
necks; blue glass and coral are the COM
mon safeguards. Priests are especially
apt to possess this fascinating eye, and
to meet one Just after leaving the house
BODIES some Ill.
All peasants have an uncanny feel
ing about offending nature. No wood
man will defile his axe by cutting into
the lex tree, from whose wood. 1t is
supposed, the cross was made. No one
would use profane language while he
had bread in his hand. All who are ia
miliar with Athens will remember the
tall pillar just above the old theater.
Here come patients that they may get
rid Of disease. Each person ties to the
shaft a silken thread, and the disease
is supposed to enter the column. Each
ailment demands a thread of some par
ticular color. The tradition has been
traced in Kamporaglou's History Of
Athens in which 1t is said that st. John
bound all diseases to this column, say
ing, when amy one Is i'll let him come
here, and tying three knots Of a silken
thread say, Dear st. John, bind my
sickness to this column, and do by thy
grace loose me from. 1t.
But the supernatural has far wider
influence than is indicated in these be-
liefs. In the country places 1t is strong
est. The popular mind still fosters the
legends Of dryads, nymphs, and fauns.
Nor Is this remarkable in regions where
education has not penetrated, and where
the powers of nature fill the beholders
with sensations of awe. The peasants
believe that the Nereids are especially
harmful at noon. There is one spot on
Mount Hymettus which all shepherds
avoid at this hour. When caught in a
whirlwind, the peasant whispers, Milk
and honey be in thy path" The
shepherds on Mount Parnassus tell Of a
strange monster who Is more terrible
than Pan and Vulcan combined. The
woodman, with fear and trembling,
cuts down a great tree, and while the
ground that the stroicheion, or guardian
spirit which emanates from the tree.
may pass over his head. These are some
of the traditions current among the
country people, who have not as yet been
brought in contact with modern truths.
The orthodox Greek church is the es-
tablished religion. yet the whole fabric
of ritual and beliefs is intricately tan
gled with the pagan mythology of old
Greece, though the Greek of today
would no doubt be grossly insulted If
it were but suggested to him that
among his religious beliefs are many rel
les of barbarism. No doubt much Is due
to the ignorance of the priests, many Of
whom can neither read nor write. and
who in consequence preserve every su-
perstition, often unconsciously weaving
the material of the myths into the lives
of their saints.
1t seems to me that there is decided
tendency toward the old anthropomor-
phic views of their ancestors. The idea
of Zeus still survives. and finds express
sion in the words God rains" On
Mount Ida this petition is still in use.
''Zeus. hear my prayer" The idea of