New Britain herald., 1919-07-24
WOMAN AND ORACLE
 GAVE EPIRUS FAME
Greece Lays Claim to Land
 Known to Mythology

Washington, D. L., July -o'- HE eastern shore line of Adrlauc sea which continues southward as the eastern shore of the Ionian Sea, ths exit of the Adriatic, has been secthing cauldron of racial strife from the time of the Persian and Roman empires to the peace confer ence of 1919," says bulletin of the National Geographic society.
 The bulletin calls attention to the fact that the subsistence of the con troversy between Italy and the new kingdom of the Serbs, Greats, and Slovenes over Plume. seems merely tc transfer the center of interest south. ward to the historic Epirus, now part of Albania, which Greece wishes restored to her domain.
 Five centuries before Christ Epi- rus was set off like a little island 9 part from Alexander's vast domains, with Macedonia and Hellas and the 1onian Sea as it's boundaries" the bulletin continues. "The name, mean ing mainland was given it to dis tinguish ii from the Grecian islands which fringe it's coast line.
 "Corinthians, Athenians and Spar tans looked upon the Epirotes aa harharians, though, Aristotle believed Eprus the original home of the Hel- l lenes. Today the major portion of 1 the ancient area is comprised in AL | bania, among the youngest and least 1 known of all the states of Europe. An oracle and a woman won for Epirus wide renown in the ancient l +, ,igtC sages of the gods were received at | Dodona through the rustlings of the 1 leaves on an oak tree where zsus l was supposed to turk: and from Epi- rus came Olympias, mother of Alex ander the Great, whose sons re- nown does not overshadow her own major part in the history of her l times.
 Ruins of the Dcdona temples were discovered within the last half century few miles southwest of Janna. According to local tradition ] the first message was delivered hg q dove speaking with q human vsipS7 from tree top. Priestessc8 were called Peleaides. or doves.
 "Rivalry between the oracle at ] Zeus at Dodona and that of ARelle at Delphi became keen. Priestessef of the former invented new ways of receiving messages, including inI l terpretations of the murmurs of 3 brook. and tho sounds of mctal-tip, ped whip as the wind drove it against a bronze tripod.
 1 "CrOeSus was supposed to haTs 1 consulted the Dodona oracle abeut his proposed campaign against Cyrus king Of tho Pcrsians. He acted upon the more fatcring prophecy at Del phi which promised he would de stroy a great kingdom Tho predic. ton was verified; the Kingdom de. stroyed was his own.
 Few biographies of women are more fascinating than that of Olym. pas, She was the daughter sf 2 King of Epirus who traced his aR, cestry 10 a son of Achilles. She mar ried Philip IT,, Of Macedon. Hsl character betrays an amazing com. pound of tho devoted mother, 'ths barbarc passion Of Cleopatra. and the astutc state5manship of Marie Theresa. PlutarCh gives a vivid de, scripton of her fantastic snake dances. EstranGed from Philip be. cause of his infdelity, she was sus- peCted of having a part in his murder
 'Pyrrhus. descended from Alex . lander $ duni, NdSCn d war Nlll Eholsl' and made Epirus a power in world politics for brief period. A century and half after his death the Romans annihilated the forces of Perseus a Pydna and the punishment meted out to Epirus for it's part in the war was the destruction of 70 of her princi- pal cities and cnslavcment of 15o,' 900 of her citizens. The kingdom never recovered from that blow es
 "Epirus is extremely mountainous From ancient times to the present day tits cattle and horses have beer noted and it was famous for a pc. culiar breed of dog, the Molossian.'
 ---------