Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1916-04-05
FABLED MOUNT ATHOS.
No Female Allowed to Set Foot UpOn
lt--HcnS and Cows Also Barred.

ACROSS Ine peninsula from the al
lies fortified Balkan port OF Saloniki
lies tabled Mount Athos, to-day a
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 O
wonderful military camp in the old
port city, is situated a sanity monas-
tic community, peaceful, reflective, a
religious republic through the Dark
Ages Of the Balkans, begins a bulle-
tin just issued by the National Gcv
graphic Society, which tells of tho
Christian stronghold OH Mount A hos
that persisted in thriving for wears
within the boundaries Of the Ottoman
Empire.
Legend makes the rugged noun
tain holy in the eyes Of all Near-Eas-
tern 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 tho Blessed Vir-
gin rescued the son Of the Emperor
Theodosius from shipwreck, and
brought him safely through the vio..
lent seas TO the monntt n foot. AS
they touched upon the shore, tie sa-
cred companion OF the prince com
mnnded: Let no other Womau,s
foot tread this soil after me-" And
so 1t comes, that no female beings
are allowed upon the Holy Mount.
The strict exclusion Of all female
creatures from the mount, however,
has certain disadvantages. Thus, no
fresh eggs may be had on Mount
Athos, and no milk, for the COW and
the hen, under the ban of the legend,
are kept from its area. 1t is a place
of masculine independence and su-
premacy; land "where all fowls
are cocks: all sheep rams; all cats
Toms; all housemaids men, and most
men monks"
The ascent Of the Holy Mount, to
49, ANe&Aih " ACilSlouS uiu MASCULINE
seclusion, is a toilsome one. Above
the monasteries and the hermit cells,
the eliminating, colossal, conical
peak of the mount freaks into the
clouds. This peak is SO majestic that
it is said to throw it's evening shadow
across distant Lemnos. Karyes,
city OF quaint domes, set in groves Of
hazel, is the capital OF the commu-
nifty, and, it was practically the capi-
tai Of 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, accretiye ra-
ther than planned, are picturesque,
honey surroundings, within which to
pass away a calm, reflective life.
The monks and hermits OF Mount
.Athos have been named the Lotos-
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 any
thing but enviable. One says: "Na-
ture and history have combined in
making Mount Athos what 1t is---a
milkless, mirthless seat of supersti-
tious meditation, where sanctity Is
hatched in sable-folded idleness,
where the spirit slumbers rocked in
the cradle Of medieval faith. No
breath Of scepticism waited from the
outer world eyer reaches these loto-
gphagiar retreats, no aspiration of
those that agitate the purblind race
OF miserable men ever quickens the
pulse Of these melancholy anchor
ites." The monks Of Mount Athos,
however, have deserved well OF the
world by preserving much Of the
wealth OF old Greek culture to mod
ern times.
Athos swells the tip Of the eastern
most Ok the three Chalcidian penin-