Norwich bulletin., 1916-10-10
THE. WAR. PRIMER By National Geographic Society

CIty--Aga1nSt q background Of cruInD- ling but magnificent marble temples, of massive aqueducts. of extensive amphitheaters, it is easy to project the ties of sentiment which bind the life of the Greek of today to that of the classic worthies from whom he claims direct descent, according to a com munication adressed to the National Geographic Society, by George F1ig- gins Moses, formerly United States ambassador to Greece, a part of which is issued as bulletin by the society. MT. Moses in his graphic picture of the Athens of today and of the mod ern citizens of the city which reach ed the pinnacle of it's greatness in the days of Pericles, says:
 Tt was with only slight shock that I learned that the man who brought me my morning coffee at the legation bore the tremendous name of Themistocles. And yet it is difficult to visualize the modern Athenian with those who once walked his streets.
 Thinking of Homer, of Praxiteles, and of Phidas. one looks for Helen, for Hermes and for Athene: but the only Helen I ever saw in Athens was an American girl, married to a mem Der of the Cabinet, and whose golden hair, blue eyes and classic features made her at once the reigning hostess in the city. And it is only in the is- lands or deep in the country where the fAIpdIlldn uOOu WutCl swept dCTO5S lT0 Attic plain has never reached, that one finds the facial Iineaments and the bodily grace which the ancient sculptor has taught the modern world as being common to all Greeks of classic time And this survival per Sist chiefly among the children, be- cause incessant toll and scanty nour- ishment soon deprive both boys and girls of their native grace and stamp them with the ineradicable marks of a life of labor.
 "gFhe Attic year is sharply divided climatically into two seasons, the rainy and the dry, the latter beginning late in May and extending to early October. and during which there is no rainfall except a single thunder shower, which comes with great regu- larity during the second week in Au- gust Outside of Attica climatic con- ditions are somewhat better. In the islands along the Gulf of Corinth, and in the Morea there is constant green ery-grass, vines, and many trees. summers on and in Athens it is not easy to learn that hills may have a beauty aside from forests, and that colors, contour, and form can lend en- chantment to the naked rock. It was long before my New England eyes ap- the Athenian sunset throws upon Lycabettus and Hynettu and that I learned that Athens now, as ever, should be hailed as the 'violet-croWn- ed city,
 Personally l found the Athenian climate agreeable and I cannot now recall a single day of my stay there when. even in the rainy season, the sun did not shine at least part Of the time. Cold winds there were. to be sure, in winter, blowing down from the snow-capped hills above the town or blowing up from the sea at Pl1aler- on; but there were no frosts; the roses bloomed during every month of the year in the legation gardens; or anges ripened in the open air, and we picked our breakfast fruit from the trees outside of the window, while the palm fourishes there as I have seen it nowhere else, not even in the Rivi- era. The summer heat is easily en- durable despite a well-nigh constant temperature of nearly 100, the absence of rain removing the humidity which makes American midsumer so intol- erable.
 Socially, too. the Athenian year di- vides itself with the climate. At the end of the rainy season the court, the diplomatic body. and the rich flee away, the latter going, as they say, to Europe: and to take their places there flock to Athens and to the sea- side hotels at Phaleron and to villas and resorts at Kephisia-in- -the-hills iloAl1DC4S O1 11Sll NI6CkS rom AS1d Minor and from Egypt, and the whole city reverses the order of it's winter life turning night into day and spend-- ing most of the hours between sun set and sunrise out of doors
 'Athenian houses are built to resist heat. The exterior and interior walls are all of thick stone, and, with tight ly closed windows. one stays in until the afternoon tea, when the level rays of the setting sun permit adventure Then one strolls or drives dimes wher- ever the dinner hour may find him, and invariably out of doors, jouneys by tram to Phaleron for the bathing and the music or seeks the cool garden of the Zappeion to see the movies, or goes to Alyssida for dinner and the vaudeville, and never loses caste by returning home as late as o'clock in the morning.
 Everywhere about the town, on the roofs of clubs or hotels, in the gardens or one the terraces of restaurants. beneath the pepper trees of the parks, and even in the streets tables are spread and I venture to say that more than 100000 people dine in the open air each night of an Athenian sum- mer. Greek cooking is more oriental than indigenous. Lamb or kid, with chicken-which has always seemed to