The evening leader. (Tarpon Springs, Fla.) 191?-19??, 1918-05-25


| cannot adequately describe the
emotions with which 1 approached
the sacred classic soil of Greece.
From my student days / loved deply
the Greek literature. My pastime has
been to browse in the field of Greek
history. | am an enthusiastic admir-
er of the Greek people. To see Greece
was cherished dream of my life.
My desire was about to be realized.
The steamer bore US smoothly over
the water. Toward sunset Cephalonia
and Zante came into clear view. By
midnight we had anchored in the har-
Dor of Pratras, where we remained all
night. / was up at daybreak, peep
ing out of the port hole. 1t was a
glorious sight. The rising sun was
bathing the mountain peaks with
golden glory. The quaint village nes-
tied asleep at the foot of the noun
tains. There were the two voices
that of the mountains and sea. What
a flood of memories swept over me.
Our civilization began in Greece. To
the Greeks we are indebted for liter
AZURE, art, politics. There East and
West struggled for mastery and Mar
athon gave the ascendancy to the
Western ideals of individual liberty
and progress. Wonderful the history
of the Greek people. What shrewd
politicians she produced Miltiades,
Cimon, Themistocles, Pericles. How
very human they are. How intimate
'ly they resemble men of today. Graft
was quite as we'll known then as now
and Spartan twitted Athenian upon
the facility with which the statesmen
of Athens looted the public treasury.
The literature of Greece has never
been surpassed and the Periclean age
stands for height of culture and de-
velopment that has been unparalleled
in the worlds life. So powerful was
the influence of Greek thought and
philosophy that when Hellas fell be-
fore the advance of Roman arms it
was truly said that captive Greece
took captive her conqueror
To the Christian student Greece has
a sacred interest. Here European
Christianity began. This was the
scene of st. Pauls abors. The
Christian church was pre-eminently
Greek in language, ideals and thought
The New Testament was written in
Greek and addressed largely to Greek
speaking peoples. | entered the mag
nifcent churches of the Greeks and
realized the unbroken continuity of
Orthodox Christianity from the day
when st. Paul visited Phillippi or
preached at Athens.
But Patras has other memories.
Here in 1921 Germanos raised the
banner of Greek freedom. The tour
list must not fail to visit the old mon
astery high up in the mountains, a
two hours journey from the town
where the sacred banner is still pre-
served and the struggle for Greek in
dependence was inaugurated. The
spot sacred in the history of ancient
Greece gained even greater splendor
in the annals of the modern kingdom.
A friend of mine visited Eleusis
last year and came upon Greek who
had lived several years in Massachu-
sets. Imagine my delight to run into
a Greek on the narrow streets of Pat
ras who had been in Florida, where
l so often visit.
If my chief memory of Naples is as
ISOLATED with macaroni, Patras will
ever suggest plum pudding. 1t is the
center of the currant and raisin ex-
porting, whence come the big rich
"plums" from which our Christmas
pudding takes its name. My time in