Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-06-13

HE EVENING STAR,
of Cos can produce. There is no doubt
| that Hippocrates lived and taught the
science of medicine there. for we know
the date of his birth am the date Of his
| death, and his writings on the art OF
| healing. which were lectures delivered
under this very tree, are still preserved.
He was born at Cos 400. B. c., and died
| at Larissa 80 B. c.
1t is plane tree, measuring fifty-four
| feet in circumference and is surrounded
by a scaffolding built with considerable
| ingenuity to sustain the trunks and
| the late Dean of Westminster Abbey,
| thinks that there is no doubt that ST.
Paul and probably st. Luke also sat
| under its shade and probably preached
! brought from Syria to Greece for the
salvation of men.
The Pass of Thermopylae.
The Pass of Thermopylae. immortalized
by the heroism of Leonidas and three
hundred Spartans and seven hundred
Thespians in July B. c. $50, separates the
mountains of Othrys and Lapathes. and
| may be distinctly seen from the deck of
passing steamers, being about thirty
miles from the shore.
You will remember from your child
| hood studies that the Greek army. which
had gathered to resist the Pension in
vasion, retreated from the Vale of Tempe
and took stand in the narrower pass of
Thermopylae, which was much more
easily defended. The Greeks had alto
gether about three thousand men. &erxes
led a million Modes and Persians. The
Greeks fought bravely. and Xerxes, over
looking the battle from a neighboring
eminence. his choicest troops fall by
| -
useless to attempt to force the pass by
| assault. and found a shepherd named
Ephaltes, who consented to guide the
invaders around through the mountain so
that they might fall upon the Greeks
from the rear Leonidas, commanding the
rear of the Greek army, held that pass
with his three hundred Spartans and
seven hundred Thespians until the last
man died, and to the world 1t was
proof of Grecian valor, patriotism and
sense of duty that has never been sur
passed.
A monument has been erected to mark
the spot where Leondas fell, with lion
in marble to guard it, and the inscription
reads:
Stranger
Tell the Spartans we are lying here
I'm obedience to their commands
On the other side of the monument the
following is engraved
ION this spot four thousand Peloponne-
slams fought against more than three
millions"
Monasteries Of Meteora.
About fourteen miles from Voo are
| the monasteries Of Meteora. which were
found in the early part of the fourteenth
century. and owe their name the Monas-
teries of the MeteoO to the remarka BILE
position which they occupy at the sum
NIT of a number of curious pilar-like
cliffs, which rise with almost perpendic-
ular sides from the valley. They were
constructed of material hOiSted by pull
legs and tackle sixty and eighty feet
from the ground below. There have been
twenty-three separate monaSteries in the
group within a radius of three or four
miles. All but seven have either disappear
ed or are entirely in ruins and disclose only
four are maintained. The largest is dedi-
Gated to ST. Stephen, and has now a COM
munity of about fifty monks. 1t was
founded by John kantakuZenoS, the By
zantine emperor, in 1865, and is the rich
est of all the religious institutions in
Greece. The most interesting of the
group is the monastery of Hagios Bar
laam, which has a chapel about thirty
feet square, chiseled out of the rock,
which is beautifully decorated. The walls
of the cavern are covered with mural
paintings by famous masters and al
though it is not SO large it compares
very well with the wonderful rock tenn
pies of the western coast of India near
Bo1lbay
Monks who once enter the mona steries
at Meteora never leave them. All their
food and supplies are hoisted in nets ana
baskets from the foot of the cliff and
visitors are lifted over the walls in the
same way. Many tourists go there. The
monks always give them cordial well
come and a railway train will land them
within three miles Of the place.
At the foot of the rock are the cabins
of lay members who cultivate gardens,
furnish the supplies, and perform the
outside duties for the monks.
Monks on Mount Athos.
still more famous and populous group
of Greek monasteries may be found on
Mount Athos a sacred mountain occupy
ing the tip end of a peninsula extending
from Macedonia into the Aegean sea.
These contain, without doubt, the
largest community OF monks in the pres
ent age They consist of group of
enormous buildings varying in age from
800 to 100 years, and they are said to
have a permanent population of 1000
monks of the Orthodox Greek Church.
There is a landing place for the steam
ers which touch at Mount Athos regular
ly. Man visitors are cordially welcomed,
and are furnished with meals and lodg-
ngs free of charge, although those who
contribute to the poor box as much as
they can afford. No women or female
animals are allowed to land and the rule
is very strictly enforced. There is
story, however. that the wife of an Eng
lish lord, who came in her yacht with
a party of guests some years ago, went
through the institution disguised in a
nf tar clon s1n