The Elbert County tribune., 1913-04-11

Aegean sea- the mountain shoots up more than
5000 feet and its peak of white limestone is
landmark for many miles out to sea. The old
Greek legend was that the giant Athos hurled
this mountain at the gods upon Olympus, but
that 1t dropped back and fell at the edge Of the
The entire peninsula, of which Mount Athos
forms the southernmost point, is about forty
miles long and from four to seven miles in width
cut by numerous ravnes and by long arms OF
the sea- The narrow isthmus which connects the
mountain with the main peninsula was cut by
canal built by Xerxes when he came to invade
Greece. and traces of the canal are still visible,
though It has long since become dry land
The slopes OF Mount Athos have for many CEN
turtles been the home of monks and hermits of
the Greek church. Most of the monasteries
which cling to the steep slopes of the mountain
founded by Byzantine emperors; one OF
the Oldest the monastery of st. Laura, has been
in existence since 96S. There are still several
thousand monks living upon the mountain. sup
porting themselves by tilling hillside farms and
living very much their predecessors did a
thousand years ago.
In 1900 years no woman has been allowed to
set foot on Athos Few travellers come to
Athos; 1t lies out of the beaten track of travel,
and the monks would not welcome intruders
Since the fall of the Byzantine empire and
Constantinope, In 1883. Athos has been nomi-
naIly under Turkish rule The Turks, however,
have been liberal in their treatment of the Greek
Catholic monks and have permitted them prac-
ticay to govern themselves A council COM
posed OF representatives of the several monas-
teries has maintained law and order in the col
ony.
The comparatively few English and European
travellers who have ever been to Athos unite in
enthusiastic praise of the natural beauties OF the
place The steep sides of the mountains are heav-
fly wooded with huge oak and chestnut trees.
while here and there pine and cypress give
touch of deeper color The roads wind In and
out along the mountain side. frequently afordng
glimpses of the deep blue which frets at
Athos' feet.
Through the Middle Ages the Athos monas-
teries were the treasure houses In which much
of the learning and culture of the Greeks was
preserved to the world The monks must have
spent world of time patiently copying the
works Of the old masters and the libraries of
Athos even today, contain much that is fascnat-
ing to the antiquarian and the booklover, But
the monks themselves have fallen into sad igno-
rance the libraries of the monosteries( are little
used and Of them have been permitted to
go completely to rack.
At Mount Athos, according to legend. the vir-
gin Mary and ST. Thomas were wrecked and then
mraculously saved, and since that day of grace
no female foot has been allowed to tread the
peninsula of Athos; indeed. since the eleventh
century no female animals whatever have been
permitted there 1t is said that the only excep-
tion ever made to this rule in the last five hun
dred years In favor of Lady Stratford de
Radcliffe, and 1t is kept strictly that not only
must the whole population be masculine. but
hens may not live the rock. hence all
the eggs of which great number are consumed,
are imported. The population of the Holy Noun
tain, called generally The Garden of the Moth
er of God" is between six and seven thousand.
made up of some three thousand monks and three
four thousand lay brothers. Most OF the
monks are Greeks, but there also many Rus
slams few Roumanians and some Bulgarians.
Servians and Georgians. The Turks respected