Durango semi-weekly herald., 1902-04-24

cords that this monument was erected
to Menekrates, son of Tlaslas. who
lost his life by drowning Near by
are two or three monuments erected
In honor OF the officials OF the British
government who distinguished them.
selves here
Sailing toward Patras the steamer
from Corfu soon passes the Ambras-
clan Gulf. where octavius laid the
foundation OF his dynasty In Rome by
the victory over the feet of his ar
rival. Mark Anthony, and little far.
ther down is the island of Levkas,
where according to the ancient story
tellers, Ssppho plunged into the sea
because Phaon did not return his love.
A little farther on is Ithaca. whose
connection with the Odyssey has made
it familiar to every student of Creek.
for the wonderings and msfortunes.
| the sufferings and the fortitude of
| Ulysses, the king Of this island, have
been handed down to us In one of the
most immortal stories Of adventure.
His descendants in Ithaca today are
distinguished by their bold seaman
ship, their love of home, their hos
| pitality and their courage. and their
mercantile instincts have made them
rich. The most important product of
the island today is still the strong
| aromatic wine which Homer tells us
was then exported to connoisseurs in
Italy and Greece. They show you
where Homer lived in the town of
O
in the rock leads past Greek church
to rectangular forum hewn in the
side of the mountain. II is surround
ed by seats and appears to have beeh
an ancient place of worship. but is
claimed to be the place where Homer
had a school.
Nearly every natural phenomenon
upon the island is described In the
Odyssey. even to stalactte cave to
which any boy in town will lead you
through a vineyard and over stony
goat pastures. The entrance is mar
row, and 1t is hard work for fat men
to squeeze through, but with little
effort you can enter damp chamber
about fifty feet in diameter and thirty
| feet in height, from the roof of which
hang numerous stalacttes like those
to be seen in Mammoth Cave. Ken.
| lucky. If you want to know how it
| looks read book 13 of the Odyssey.
| where Homer tells of the grotto of
| the nymphs.
The suitors of Penelope waited for
the return of Telemachus upon lit
| tie island upon the east side of Ithaca
which stands out with wonderful dis
| tinctness, and on the Island of Zante
from which we get so many currants
ard raisins. the fishermen still collect
pitch to calls the boats from the hot
spring mentioned by Herodotus.
Patras is one of the most enterpris-
ing commercial towns of Greece and
one of the Oldest. 1t is second to
Athens in population and has one
third of all the commerce of the
country In some respects it is the
most modern of Grecian towns, but
| its history can be traced back at least
| seven centuries before Christ. Patras
was also one of the first centers of
Christian teaching, and according to
the traditions, the Apostle Andrew
was crucified and buried here. He
is the patron saint of the town and
the cathedral is dedicated in his
honor.
Near by is a curious spring to which
is attached superstition that has
kept its hold upon the people since
the age of mythology, when, as now,
sick people looked upon their reaec-
ion in the water and by its appear
ance judged as the probability OF their
| recovery The effect appears to be
a matter of light. If the sun is OBJ
scured by clouds or happens to be
in certain part of the heavens every
face that is reflected in the water
shows deathlike pallor. With
a clear sky and at high noon the re-
lection is always full and ruddy with
olor