The Oskaloosa herald., 1903-08-13


the base of the acropolis are the ru-
ings Of the theatre of Bacchus, built
like the coliseum, without a roof, and
its marble seats made in concentric
tiers. Some of the marble chairs
look almost like new and We could
make out the names of the owners
of some Of them. And near by s
the Temple of Aeseulapius, the. abode
Of the sacred serpents and the re-
mains of large Roman theatre,
called the Odeon OF Herod Atticus.
Two little churches are hewn in its
sides.
Near the steps leading to the top
Of the acropolis and on the side is
the Areopagus or Hill of Mars, where
the ancient courts were held and
where Paul is said to have preached.
The Parthenon, or Temple of Miner
va, on the summit of the Acropolis,
is the best work of ancient art and
will long continue to be its GROWING
glory. This magnificent work Is
partly fallen and in ruins caused by
the firing Of bomb by the Veneti-
ans into Turkish powder magazine
that was constructed in the building.
The famous Erechtheum stands at
it's side.
Most of the ancient city is not oc-
cupied and the present city is built
largely to the north of the AcrOpolis.
A wall is built round the sides Of the
Acropolis at its top and one walking
around it gets fine view of the city
and the surrounding country. One
here looks across at the monument
of Philopapus; at the platform where
the public meetings are held; the
Temple of Theseus, the best pre-
served of the ancient structures,
and at the Stadium, where the Pana-
thenaea games we're held. This
structure has been almost wholly re-
stored with the famous Pentelic mar
BILE, making it wonderful piece OF
work. Many other points of inter
est catch the eye in this wonderful
landscape.
We read of Athens being situated
in the broad plain of Attic, but it
seems to me that it is a mighty sman
plain with mountains surrounding it
and looking very much like some of
our western towns in the mountains.
From what we saw of Greece it is a
very mountainous country. This is
the dry season, there being no rains,
which makes the country look bar
rem and desolate, outside of the olive
and fruit orchards and the small
patches that are irrigated.
The museums are fairly good, but
many of their best works of art are
to be found in the other museums or
Europe. The theatre, library and
university buildings are handsome
structures. The kings palace does
not look very palatial, although
some nice gardens surround it.
The sun, shining almost straight
down at midday on the white build
ings and the white roads, is almost
binding. The evenings are cool and
very pleasant. The supper, or din
ner hour, more properly speaking,
is at eight o'clock and / do not like
it at all. l have sent home branch
of the laurel like that with which
they crown the winners at the games.
The shops here are open Sunday
mornings as in Rome. The Greek
calendar, as you know is a few days
behind ours. l asked for blotter
one day while writing and was
brought a vessel containing fine sand.
To blot the ink the sand is shaken
over the written sheet.
Got a shave, hair cut and tonic Tor
a. "drachma." When the barber gets
shaving you he brings in
brass wash pan with niche in the
side that fits the neck. He then pro-
ceeds to wash your face, which is not
a bad idea after all.
Instead of hanging they use the
guillotine for capital punishment.
Athens is about five miles from the
sea and we went yesterday to the Pr
raeus to embark for Constantinople.
Mr. Brown, one of the Baltimore boys,
had a little fever and they refused
him passage by reason OF it and so
we came back here and will try II
again tomorrow on the Russian boat.
The main reason they did it was to
make room for the German ambassa-
dor and party who had come on the
boat Unexpectedly, and when the cap
tain told one Of the boys that the
German ambassador had come
aboard he told him he did not care
II the German ambassador was on
board; that we were Americans, but
made it a little more emphatic, and
you should have heard him read that
captain the 'riot act" -Four per-
sons made a nice sized party and we
save something by it. We take turns
each day in having charge of the
party. One handles the money for II
and looks after everything.
We have enjoyed our visit here
very much. The street vendors
don't bother us here as in Italy.
There they hang on and follow per-
SON to an extent that is often quite
We would Josh" them
and had lots Of fun with them. how