Durango semi-weekly herald., 1902-05-12

! aN tsittiia. at oht tltut all inPoi thhl
city. which was destroyed by the Per
SLAMS before the battle of Marathon.
Here they uncovered a theater, a tenn
Pile to Bacchus. a fine lot of baths, and
the most perfect gymnasium that has
ever been found.
Near Argus. where Agamemnon
brought the Greek leaders before
starting for the Trojan war and made
them swear allegiance to him, the
American students discovered and
excavated the ruins of magnificent
'emple of Hera. which was destroyed
in the year 423 B. C. One of the
priestesses went to sleep without
blowing out her candle, the decora-
tions caught fire and the temple was
burned. This was a rich find, for in
addition to the temple they uncovered
several other buildings of interest,
and brought to the National Museum
at Athens number, of valuable satues
and large quantity of bronze and
terra-cotta work
| Their excavations at Corinth have
already referred to. The work began
there in 1896, and will be continued
!
"ity is entirely uncovered and opened
to the public. as Pompeii is today.
Old Corinth was very populous city,
larger than Athens, and at the height
of its glory, in 525 B. c., had a popu-
lation of nearly 100000. with many
magnificent structures. which suffered
from earthquakes and were plundered
and destroyed by the Romans and
other invaders. julius Caesar rebuilt
portion of the old city, but it was
again destroyed by his successors,
and finally disappeared and was coy
cred from the sight of men by the
drifting sands The American col
lege has purchased the site, and.
with the encouragement of the Greek
government. is working as rapidly as
the funds will permit. but is entirely
| dependent, as | have said, upon the
generosity of private supporters. The
German Institute receives 5000 a
year from it's government for excava-
tfons; the French are spending large
sums. The Americans explorers
alone lack funds, yet from them the
most important results are expected.
| Foreigners are always shocked at
the sight of Greek funeral. 1t is II
spectacle which most people desire to
avoid, because the body of the dead
is exposed in an open hearse. The
coffin is shallow, so that not only the
face and head but the hands and much
of the body can be distinctly seen from
the sidewalk as the procession passes
through the streets. The lid of the
coffin, richly upholstered and often
decorated with garlands and wreaths,
is carried on the hearse by the under
taker. The priest. the relatives and
other mourners follow, and as the
ghastly spectacle passes it is custo-
mary for bystanders to remove their
hats and cross themselves. Men sit
ting around the cafes always rise out
of respect for the dead and stand bare
headed until the procession has pass
ed. In case of an officer of the army
a horse with an empty saddle, heavily
draped with crepe. is led by an order
ly in advance of the hearse.
When the body is lowered to the
grave the coffin lid is placed upon it,
but does not close down. and the earth
is allowed to come in direct contact to
hasten decay. The superstition in
the popular mind is that the soul of
the departed is in a state of suspense
until the temple it formerly inhabited
has turned to dust Graves are rent
ed in the Athens cemeteries for term
of years, just like the habitations of
the living. None but the rich own
burial lots. 1t is evidence of wealth
and aristocracy The poor never
think of buying a lot or a tomb. 1t
would be considered an unnecessary
luxury. At the end of the term for
which a grave is labeled with the
name and dates deposited in a general
receptacle.
The custom of carrying the body to
the grave in the full sight of the peo-
pie is said to have originated during
the Turkish occupation of Greece.
The country was in a state of chronic
revolution, The Importation of arms
and ammunition was forbidden, ana
the revoltionists were in the habit of
importing them in collins. Frequent
ly people who were wanted" by .the
police were assisted to escape in a
similar manner, and revolutionary
leaders who had been banished were
brought back in collins. Therefore
as precaution the Turks required
that dead bodies should be exposed.
For several months, some years ago,
hermit made his home upon the top
of the columns of the temple of Jupi-
ter at Athens, and lived there, ex-
posed to the sun and the wind and the
storms, until the police compelled him
to come down. He had an arrange
ment with woman in the neighbor-
hood to provide him food, and she
used to appear every morning with n
basket of supplies, which he was ac-
customed to haul up to his eyrie with
clothes line.
In the Odion of Herodus Atticus,
one of the loftiest and most conspic-
uous of the ruins at the base of the
Acropolis, which was formerly the
ater accommodating 5000 spectators,
erected by an Athenian millionaire in
memory of his wife, Appia Annia Re-
gilla. noble Roman lady there is an
enormous earthen wine jar called a
''pithos." For several years half