Delaware City press. (Delaware City, Del.) 1913-19??, 1913-04-11

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 old
Greek legend Was that the giant Athos hurled
this mountain at the gods upon ,OlygRpllss 5Nat
sthat Il dropped back aid feif at tls sSAs
sea
The entire peninsula Of which Moa A'bos
forms the southernmost point, Is about faity
miles long and from four to seven miles 1l4h
cut by numerous ravines and by long alHf Of
the sea- The narrow isthmus which CONNECTS lie
mountain with the main peninsula was cut by "a
canal built by Xerxes when he came 70 invade
Greece and traces of the canal are sill VISIBLE
though it has long since become dry land
The slopes of Mount Athos have tor many cen
turtles been the home of monks and hermts OF
the Greek church. Most OF the monasteries
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 1858 There are still several
thousand monks living upon the mountain, sup
porting themselves by tilling hillside farms and
living very much Va their predecessors did
thousand years ago.
In 1900 years woman has been allowed to
set foot on Athos. Few travellers ever 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 1853, Athos has been nomi-
naly under Turkish rule. The Turks, however,
Catholic monks, and have permitted them prac-
ticaly to govern themselves council com
posed of representatives of the several monas
teres has maintained law and order in the col
ony.
The comparatively few English and European
travellers who have 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 a
touch of deeper color. The roads wind in and
out along the mountain side, frequently affording
glimpses 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 was
preserved to the world. The monks must have
spent a world of time patiently copying the
works of the old masters, and the libraries OF
Athos even today contain much that is fascinat
ing to the antiquarian and the booklover But
the monks themselves have fallen into sad igno-
rance; the libraries of the monasteres 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 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, It is said that the only excep
ton ever made to this rule in the last five hun
bred years was in favor of Lady Stratford de
Radcliffe, and 1t is kept strictly that not only
must the whole population be masculine, but
hens even may not live 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 are also many Rus
slams few Roumanians, and some Bulgarians
Serviaus and Georgians The Turks respected