The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1916-01-25
NO FEMALES FOOT
TREADS MOUNT ATHOS
CHRISTIAN STRONGHOLD THIRTY
ING FOR YEARS WITHIN BOUN-
DIARIES OTTOMAN EMPIRE.
A HOLY SPOT TO CHRISTIANS

Legend Says the Blessed Virgin Who
Rescued Son of Emperor TheOdo-
sius Commanded let No Other
Woman's Foot TrOd This Soil AZ
ter Me-"
Across the peninsula from the al
lies fortified Balkan port, at Salon
caica, lies tabled Mount Athos, today
holy mount to the Christians, the
dominant physical feature of the
Chalcidian region; and here, where
the ancient gods are nodding down
upon the mushroom growth of a
wonderful military camp in the old
port city, is situated a sanity mon
astic community peaceful, reflective,
religious republic through the dark
ages of tie Balkans, says bulletin
just issued by the National Geo.
graphic Society, which tells of the
Christian stronghold on Mount Athos
that persisted in thriving for years
within the boundaries of the Otto
man empire.
Legend makes the rugged mount
ain holy in the eyes of all near-East-
ern Christians, and, moreover, the
same legend has to do with some of
the present-day discomforts of life
there high above the blue Aegean.
1t is recorded that the Blessed Virgin
rescued the son of the Emperor Theo-
dosius from shipwreck, and brought
him safely through the violent seas
to the mountain foot. AS they touch
ed upon the shore the sacred com :
panion of the prince commanded:
Let no other woman's foot tread this
soil after me- And so it comes that
no female beings are allowed upon
the holy mount.
All Females Excluded.
"The strict exclusion of all female
creatures from the mount, howe yer,
has certain disadvantages. Thus, no
fresh eggs may be had on Mount Ath-
os, and no milk, for the COW and the
hen, under the ban of the legend, are
kept from its area.
9TH eascenJ of the holy mount, to
it's realm of religious and masculine
seclusion, is a toilsome one. Above
the monasteries and the hermit cells
the eliminating colossal, conical peak
of the mount breaks into the clouds.
This peak is so majestic that it is
said to throw its evening shadow
across distant Lemnos. Karyes, a
city of quaint domes, set in groves
of hazel, is the capital of the com
munity, and in Turkish times before
the war of 1912, it was practically
the capital of a monastic republic.
"On the lower slopes the olive, the
cypress, the lemon and the orange
form an outlying fringe of vegeta-
ton. The higher slopes are climbed
by the oak, the beech, the chestnut
and mantled by the fir. All manner
of vegetables and fruits are grown in
the monastery gardens; and the low,
rambling buildings, accretive rather
than planned are picturesque, honey
surroundings, within which to pass
away calm, reflective life.
"The monks and hermits of Mount
Athos have been named the Lostos
eaters. Nature around them is beau
tiful and impressive, and their ways
are sheltered and through plenty.
On the other hand, some writer's find
the lot of life upon the holy mount
anything but enviable. The monks
of Mount Athos, however, have de-
served we'll of the world by preserv-
ing much of the wealth of old Greek
culture to modern times.
"Athos swells the tip of the east
ernmost of the three Chalcidian pc
ninsulas. The mountain reaches a
crest of $3.50 feet above the sea, and
plunges precipitously into the water.
Monasteries were founded upon the
mount in the early middle ages, some
say as early as the time of Constan-
tine. They preserved their independ-
ence under Moslem rule, even after
assisting in a struggle for Greek in
dependence, and, for centuries, they
were the center of Greek learning.
"The peninsula, on which Athos is
situated, is 40 miles long, and it is
connected with the mainland by a
neck hardly a mile and half wide.
The way around the peninsula was a
dangerous one for sailors, and Xer-
xes, as part of his plan for invading
Greece ran a canal through the mar
row neck, which can still be traced.
In classic times there were several
smaller cities here. Now 5000
monks. housed in 20 monasteries,
constitute the life of Athos and its
causeway to the mainland.
PEANUT OH Is TO BE