The Portland daily press., 1901-01-26

Sons Of the Greeks advanoel
Your country free, your children and
your wives,
me affairs of your native gods deliver
And your ancestral tombs."
Inc Persians had In the beginning set
fire to Athens and the inhabitants had
hesn removed from the city to salamis.
Aristides had collected band OF armed
citizens, and with the women had been
watching the battle from the shore. AL
though xerxes seated in his silver-footed
chair, on a spot now known as the
"Throne OF Xerxes, promontory over
looking the bay, had witnessed the de-
struction Of his troops, he ha1 not had
time to save the six hundred Persians
posted on the little island Of Psyttaleia
for the purpose OF QUITTING to pieces any
escaping Greeks whom they thought
would try to land: and Aristldss now
under the eyes of the Persian monarch
destroyed,
1.-The bloom OF all the Persian youth,
In spirit
The bravest, and in birth the noblest
prinoas."
Eleusis lie one of the Oldest places in
Greece, and the former home of Eschylus,
now inhabited by Albanians. It is c,Ie-
brated chiefly for the Elsusinian Myster
les. The old Temple Of the Mysteries was
destroyed by the Pefsians and the later
structure hegun by fktinos under Pericles
was completed in 51i u. q. and was not
destroyed until 396 A. ID. by the 9oths.
=, m ~ uvhtoh etr,nasfha Mvatarfaa oon4t n, All
to be celebrated, The ruins are very ex-
tensive, covering several miles, but are
now entirely deserted except by an cccas-
ionai visit OF the tourist, and by bevies of
children, who play hide-and-go-seek be-
hind the immense bases, long since crum-
bling, and the game of "tester," at the
same time sliding down the fallen Ebeams
and old splendid architraves.
The mother Of Proserpine in her de-
spairing search for her daughter, who had
been carried of by Pluto. came to Eieusis
in the guise Of an old woman. and as
axreward for her entertainment she gave
the seed corn which taught the art OF hus-
bandry, thus raising men from
nomadic existence and rendering them
capable Of supporting we'll ordered life
In communities.
All this was celebrated at ths Greater
and Lesser Elsusinian Mysteries, twice
year, when the torohllght procession left
Athens the evening of the fifth day of the
Greater Eleusina in which none but the
Initiated took part. No one knows the
details of the Mysteries, beyond tho fact
that It taught men a hopeful faith In
higher LIE. Cicero was one OF the ini-
tiated. and he said they taught men &c
live happily and die with glorious hope
Of Immortality.
After being shown around by a charac-
teristic old janitor, among the temples
and affairs, and over the Acropois, as
well as examining some excavated objects
in the Museum, on returning, we took
the road leading directly to the Dipylon
Gate, where another street to the Acad-
emy branches oil. fianked with memen-
toss Of Perieles and other eminent states
men and warriors.
Tie Academy was named after
Academies. its early owner lt was sur
rounded with walls by Hipparchus, son
or Peisistratus, In the 9TH century, b. y.
Kimon laid 10 cut with walks and en-
bellished 1t with trees and fountains
The Academy was dedicated to Athena.
and twelve suecial olive trees, said to
have hesn shoots taken from the "saored
tree Of Athena" tiourished here and
were under the special protection of that
goddess. The olive groves of the "Acad-
emy'' were the favorite resorts of Plato,
who founded here the first great Dhilo-
sopical school through whom it became
go celebrated that the word academy
has ever since bsen chosen to designate
the modern seats OF science and art.
A large. square, white house stands in
the garden formerly surrounding the
Academy, the grounds of which have
fallen into considerable disorder. a
old janitor showed US the sur
and allowed us to pick leaves
from the olive tree said to bs descend
ant OF one of the twelve formerly dedicat-
cd to Athena.
Northeast OF the Academy is "Kolonos,"
the storied olive surrounded home OF
and the scene OF his "Gdipus
Coloneus.i' We ascendei this classic hill
one OF the centres of Ancient Athens.
Here at present a tine view OF the city
and the Acropolis are obtained. Sopho-
cles describes the surrounding district in
his celebrated verse.
"Gloomy kolonos wher, the nightingale
In cool green covert warbleth ever clear
True to the deep flushed ivy and the dear
Divine. impenetrable shade
A. III. q.