Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1913-04-10

of peninsula jutting into the
! Aegean sea- the mountain shoots up more than
! 5000 feet and it's peak of white limestone is
| landmark for many miles out to sea. The cid
| Greek legend was that the giant Athos hurled
| this mountain at the gods upon Olympus, but
! that it dropped back and fell at the edge OF the
| sea.
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 monasterles
! which cling to the steep slopes Of the mountain
were 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 tiIling hillside farms and
| living very much their predecessors did a
| thousand years ago.
! In 1900 years woman has been allowed to
| get foot On Athos Few travellers ever come to
! Athos; it lies out of the beaten track of travel,
and the monks would not welcome intruders
! Since the fall Of the Byzantine empire and
ConstantfnopIe in 1853, Athos has been nom-
! naIIy under Turkish rule. The Turks, however,
have been liberal in their treatment Of the Greek
| Catholic monks and have permitted them prac-
! ticalIy to govern themselves. 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-
! lily 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 afording
! glmpses OF the deep blue sea 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
! 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 ieno-
rance; the libraries of the monasteries are little
! used and some of them have been permitted to
! go completely to rack
| At Mount Athos, according to legend. the Vir-
| gin Mary and st. Thomas wrecked and then
| miraculousIy 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-
ton ever made to this rule in the last five hun
| dred years was in favor Of Lady Stratford de
Radcliffe and it is kept strictly that not only
| must the whole population be masculine but
! hens even may not live on the rock, hence all
the eggs of which a 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
| or four thousand lay brothers. Most OF the
monks are Greeks, but there also many Rus
SLAMS few Roumanians, and some Bulgarians.
Servfans and Georgians. The Turks respected