Durango semi-weekly herald., 1902-04-28
FINEST OF ALL HILLS.
Columns of the Psrthenon Have
Never Been Equaied by Modern
Artists.

Never Been Equaied by Modern
Artists.
ATHENS, April 24.-The Acropolis
of Athens is the most famous hill in
the universe. The columns OF the
Parthenon are familiar to all the
world. Every child in school knows
about them They are the remains
of the most majestic monument ever
erected by human hands, and did 1t
ever occur to you that It was Intended
for the honor and the worship of a
woman? You can moralize on that
proposition as long as you like. The
lord mayor of an Irish city in accept,
ing the honor of an election declar-
ed that if had not been for his mother
he would not have stood before his
constituents that day We might all
pay a similar tribute to Eve. yet no
monument has ever been erected to
her memory. and the place of her
burial has been forgotten. If anybody
ever knew where it was. Three
graves of Adam are pointed out to
tourists in the east, but Eve hasn't
even one.
We estimate the Greeks of the age
of Pericles as having reached the
highest degree in intellect philosophy
and wisdom. We teach our children
their precepts. Our students for the
bar for medicine, art, science and
theology must study them in prepavs
alton for their life work. 1t is a
popular belief that the summit of hu-
man culture was reached at the per
iod of the Parthenon, Yet the an
cient Greeks believed that the source
of their learning, wisdom and strength
was woman and to her they raised
this matchless tribute, the admira-
tion of all ages, the most perfect ex-
ample of architecture ever conceived.
and in it they not only worshiped a
woman, but made sacrifices to one
whom they deifed. Its ruined col
umns stand today as a testimonial to
womanhood.
An old friend used to say that the
best rule he ever found in life was
when in debt, do as Your wife tells
vou', and for particulars he might
have referred to the ancient Greeks
The Acropols is mighty rock
which rises 200 feet in what was the
center of Athens, when that city had
500. 600 or 100000 population. On all
sides but one the walls are penpendi
cular but toward the west there is a
slope by which the summit is now
reached by a winding roadway. In
ancient times there was a series of
/ eto it1rf ,tfI,i oh I,I
as the temples at the top There
was also a road for chariots. and we
can see the ruts made by the wheels
in the pavement. Acropolis is Wis.
ible from a long distance. It looms
up in majesty as the city is ap-
preached from all directions, and
the columns of the Parthenon are
] awarfed hy its height. The first eff
feet therefore as seen by strangers
is disappointing. The ruins are not
as grand as they expected. and they
feel a little sorry that they came,
but familiarity breds respect in this
instance They grow larger and
grander and more beautiful every
time you look at them, and those who
have the privilege of visiting the Ac-
ropolis by moonlight have received
an impression that cannot be effaced
from their memory by anything else
that may remain for their enjoyment
Age and the salt air from the sea have
given the marble a rusty color, which
detracts from its beauty, but gives 1t
a tone of richness and ripeness en-
tirely appropriate to a ruin. You
would not like to see a pure white
marble ruin. 1t would look incon.
gruous. although you can imagine how
beautiful the Parthenon and the sur
rounding buildings must have been
when they were fresh and new.
The temple to Minerva and the sur
rounding buildings were destroyed
when the Venetans bombarded Ath
ems to drive out the Turks The
latter. who held the city, intrenched
themselves on the Acropolis and con
cealed their store of powder In the
Parthenon. The Acropolis there
fore became the target for the Vene
tian artillerymen and on Friday, Sept
26. 1857, German lieutenant fired
a. bomb which fell into the magazine
aHu was IOllOWeu Dy an explosion
which destroyed forever the most
glorious architectural triumph of men
Three hundred Turkish soldiers lost
their lives in the explosion and their
commander, having no ammunition
was compelled to surrender three days
later.
No attempt was ever made to re
store the building, On the contrary
the Acropolis was plundered century
after century for building material
and for works of art Some Of the
finest of the marbles were burned to
make lime to be used in building
modern Athens, and Lord Elgin, the
British minister TO Greece, in the
earlier part of the last century, re-
moved the most beautiful and valu-
able of the sculptures, which are now
exhibited In the British Museum un-
der the name of The Elgin Marbles"
Within late years much care has been
taken in protecting and preserving
the treasures that remain. and the
Grecian government is exceedingly
anxious to recover the works of art
which have been taken from the
Aeropolis to foreign lands. On sew