Evening star., 1916-01-02
HOLY MT. ATHOS LOOKS
DOWN ON ALLIES FORT
Armies Camp Where Legend Says
Virgin Mary Rescued Son of
Emperor Theodosius.

Across the peninsula from the allies
fortified Balkan port al Saloniki lies
tabled Mount Athos today 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 mush
room growth of wonderful military
camp in the old port city, is situated
sanity monastic community, peaceful.
reflective, religious republic through
the dark ages of the Balkans" begins
"A bulletin just issued by the National
Geographic Society, which tells of the
Christian stronghold on Mount Athos
that persisted in thriving for Yeas
within the boundaries of the Ottoman
empire.
Legend makes the rugged mountain
holy in the eyes of all near eastern
Christians. and, moreover. the same
legend has to do with some of the
present-day dscomforts of life the, e
high above the blue AEGEAN. 1t is re-
corded that the blessed virgin rescued
the son of the Emperor Theodosius
from shipwreck and brought him safe
ly through the violent seas to the
mountain foot. AS they touched upon
the shore. the sacred companion of the
prince commanded: Let no other
woman's foot tread this soil after me
And SO il comes that no female beings
are allowed upon the holy mount
All Females Are Excluded.
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 suprem-
acy; a 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
its realm OF religious and masculine
seclusion, is 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 il is said
TO throw its evening shadow across
distant Lemnos. karyes. city of
quaint domes set in groves of hazel. is
the capital of the community, and in
Turkish times before the war in iai2,
it was practically the capital OF a
morastic republic.
''On the lower slopes the olive. the
cypress. the lemon and the orange
form outlying fringe of vegetation
The higher slopes are climbed by the
oak. the beech, the chestnut. and man.
tied by the fir. All manner of veg
tables and fruits are grown in tie
monastery gardens; and the low,
rambling buildings. accretive rather
than planned, are picturesque, honey
surroundings within which to pass
away Il calm, reflective life.
The Crest of Athos.
"Athos swells the tip of the eastern.
most of the three Chalcidian peninsu-
las. The mountain reaches crest
$3.50 feet above the sea and plunges
precipitously into the water. Monas-
teries were founded upon the mount
in the early middle ages. some say
early as the time of Constantine. They
preserved their independence under
Moslem rule, even after assisting in a
struggle for Greek independence. and,
for centuries, they were the center Of
Greek learning.
1.-The peninsula on which Athos is
is forty miles long. and il Is
connected with the mainland by a neck
hardly a mile and half broad. The
way around the peninsula was a dam
gerous one for sailors. and Xerxes.
part of his plan for invading Greece.
ran a canal through the narrow neck,
which can still be traced. In classic
times there were several smaller cities
here. Now 5000 monks. housed in
twenty monasteries, constitute the life
of Athos and it's causeway to the maih-
laadp