The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1902-03-08
The FINEST oE HILLS


nous hill in the universe. writes Y. f.
Curtis. from Athens. TO the Chicago Rec
ord-E3eEald. The columns OF the ParIhe-
non are familiar TO al the world. Every
child IN school knows about them. They
are the remains % the most majestic
monument ever erected by human hands.
and did II ever occur TO you that i was
intended for the honor and the worship
OF q woman You can moralize or that
proposition S long as you Ike. The lord
mayor Of an Irish city. in scce pting the
honor OF an election. declared that II it
had not been for his mother he would
lot hsve stood before his constituents
that day. We might all pay q similar
trlb1te 70 Eve. yer no monument has ever
been erected 10 her memory. and rne
place Of her burial has been foTgosiea.
If anybody ever knew where i was
Three graves OF Adam are pointed on %
tourists IN the East, but I've hasn't eTen
one.
We estimate the Cysess OF the age or
Pericies as having reached the hignesr
philosophy and wisdom oar students Tor
the bar. Tor medicine. arr. science and
theology mast study them ia preparation
for their lie work. Il IS popular be-
lief that the summit Of human cUltGre
was reached az the period Of tke Parlhe-
non Yet the ancient Greeks belize Ell
that the source Of their learning. wisdom
they raised this uaJchless tribute, the ad-
niration Of all ages. the most perfect
example of architecture ever conceived,
and in il they not only worshiped a wo-
man, but made sacrifices 10 one whom
they deihed. It's ruined columns stand
today as a testimonial TO womanhooc-
An Old friend used 10 say that the best
rule he ever found IN life was, Nv hen il
doubt, do as your wife tells you" and
for particulars he might have referred 20
the ancient Greeks.
The Acropolis is mighty rock which
rises $50 feet in what was the center OF
Athens. when that city had 50o01o or
$4,000 population. on all sides but one
the walls are perpendicular. 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 stairweys which were as re-
Tnarkable IS the temples ar the top.
There was also road for ehariots and
We can see the ruts made by the wheels
IN the pavements. The Acropolis is Vis-
IDLE from a long distance. il looms up in
majesty as the city is approached from
all directions, and the columns Of the
Parthenon are dwarfed by its height
The first effect. 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 breeds respect in this IN
stance. They grow larger and grandsr
and more beautiful every time YOU look
al them. and those who have had the
privilege Of visiting the Acropohs hy
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 q
rusty color, which detracts from it's
beauty, but gives It a tone OF richness
and ripeness entirely appropriate 70
ruin. You would not Ike 70 see pure
hite marble ruin. II 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 10 Minerva and the sur
rounding buildings were destroyed when
the Venetans bombarded Athens TO drive
out the Turks. The latter. who held the
city, intrenched themselves on the Acrop-
oils and concealed their store OF powder
in the Parthenon. The Acropolis there
fore became the target for the Venetian
artillerymen, and on Friday. September
- 1857. a German lieutenant fired a
bomb which fell into the magazine and
was followed by an explosion which de-
stToyed forever the most glorious archi-
tectural triumph OF men Three hun
dIed Turkish soldiers lost their lives in
the explosion and their commander, hay
Ing no ammunition. was compelled 10
surrender three days later.
No attempt was ever made 10 restore
the building. On the contrary. the Acrop-
oils was plundered century after century
fol building material ard for works Of
art. Some of the finest OF the marbles
were burned TO make lime 20 be used in
building modern Athens. and Lord Elgin.
re, Die fr-ra In, IL
earlier part CT the last century. removed
the most beautiful and valuable Of the
sculptures. which are now ebhiXircd iu
the British Museum under the name Of
THE Ffgin Marbles" Within late years
much care has been taken IN protecting
and preserving the treasures that re-
main. and the Grecl8n government Is eN-
ceedingIy anxious TO recover the works
of art which have been taken from the
Acropolis 10 foreign lands on several
occasions during the last half century
overtures have been made 70 the British
government to restore the Elgin marbles,
but they have met with no response. Mr.
Gladstone gave the I0nian Island back 20
Greece when he was prime minister and
received the gratitude Of nation. The
Athenians would De equally grateful II
King Edward would return to them the
sculptures which once decorated the TEN
pie Of Minerva, and were taken away
with the authority cf the Turkish gov
eminent, and not with the consent OF
Greece.
It IS difficult 70 avoid moraiziag about
the AcropOlis. ] do not know Of any
other place on earth, unless u be Jeru-
salem, or St. Peters az Rome. or West
minister Abbey fin London. which suggests
such food for thought. The columns %
the Partbepon are older than anything
in Rome except the obeiisk which stands
II. the Piazza del popolo. and older than
anything tn London except similar OBJ
eiisk that stances on the Thames embank-
ment- Both OF those We're transplantcG
from the soil On which the Pharoahs orig
inalIv erected them u show how Chris
tan nations sometimes despol rhe hea-
then. Il e "a old trick. Rome y Allied
with objects Of ART Of which her EN-
perors robbed the Athenisns.
The Parthenon has had "a varied expert
erce. II was FIRST q temple 20 the Cod
dfss OF Vision for several hundred
years Il was q church for the worship
or a Jewish peasant woman. "a ~ the
time 81 its destruction q had been Tor
centuries a mosque dedicated % 2 camel
driver.
The most important nodsrn event that
has occurred upon the Acrop9iis RI mod
ern times. aud Il has a personal Interest
for us. was the discovery two years ago
uT Eugene p andrews. ~ DsTeEt, n r.
then g student "a ere American Scho0i
- Classical Studles and row an iustr1c-
Tor az Correll University, - Sra insrrip-
ticn 20 Nero upon the ar-hitraVe - tre
Parthenon. which had been grknbwn al
The ceutu-ies. - ves @ great achieve
rclt, one ~ ths rarEt notable events .1
modern orchaeoloEy Pie thought that
lhe holes in ths marble -nIsr have cerstd
some usef1l puTrose Ehea the Temple
IL