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As already mentioned, the earliest temple of Athena was connected
with
the palace of Erechtheus. A little south of the present Erechtheum
the
foundations of a temple have been discovered, made of Acropolis
rock,
and corresponding in their length to the name
_Hecatompedon_
(“Hundred-Foot”), which was afterwards applied to a portion of
the
Parthenon. Traces have also been found of a peristyle,
which
Peisistratus is supposed to have erected, consisting of six columns
at
each end and ten at each side, made of Kara stone taken from the foot
of
Hymettus. Various fragments have been unearthed, and in the
north-west
wall of the Acropolis pieces of the architrave and cornice, with
metopes
of white Parian marble, are still to be seen, having been built into
it
by Cimon as a reminder of the destruction wrought by the
Persians.
Whether the ancient temple of Athena _Polias_ (guardian of the
_City_),
which is mentioned in inscriptions and elsewhere, is to be
identified
[Illustration: THE WESTERN PORTICO OF THE PARTHENON FROM THE
SOUTH
The timber scaffolding, here shown, has been erected for the
purpose of
examining the condition of the architrave supporting the western
frieze.
The columns to the right are those of the inner row. The marvellous
way
in which the marble of the Parthenon takes colour is in no
way
exaggerated in this drawing. The second column of the northern
peristyle
(the column across which one of the beams of the scaffolding
passes
transversely) should be specially noticed. The time of day is
towards
noon.]
with this recently discovered building, or with the
Erechtheum, which
(in the form in which it was restored after the Persian
invasion) still
forms one of the chief ornaments of the Acropolis, is a
question on
which there is a considerable difference of opinion; but the
weight of
probability seems to be in favour of the latter
supposition.
The age of Peisistratus was distinguished by wonderful
advances both in
art and literature, largely owing to the encouragement which
he gave to
sculptors, painters, architects, poets and dramatists, many of
whom he
brought from other parts of Greece and from Asia Minor. The capitals
and
drums of columns and the specimens of decorative sculpture which
have
come to light on the Acropolis, show what progress had been made in
this
direction since the beginning of the sixth century, when Athenian
art
was still in its infancy. One of the most interesting discoveries
in
this connection was that of a number of female figures in marble
(in
1886) which were found buried in a grave on the Acropolis, the
Athenians
having, apparently, felt that this was the most reverent way to
dispose
of them, seeing they were so mutilated as to be no longer suitable
as
votive offerings. They bore the name of “Maidens,” and were probably
the
images of priestesses or other officials connected with the worship
of
Athena. Most of them are represented as wearing the Ionic
_chiton_
without brooches, the old Doric garment having been forbidden some
time
previously on account of the tragic use which had been made of
their
pins by the Athenian women on the occasion referred to at p. 82.
There
are fourteen of these figures, called by the Germans “die Tanten,”
and
their importance in connection with the study of sixth-century art
can
hardly be overestimated. The effect of their varied colouring
is
particularly interesting.
It was part of the policy of Peisistratus
to harmonise the different
religious cults of the state, and for this purpose
he erected temples to
Zeus, Apollo, Dionysus and other deities. The temple of
Zeus, in
particular, seems to have been designed on a grand scale (though
never
completed), for some of the drums of its columns, discovered among
the
foundations of the temple afterwards erected by Hadrian on the same
site
beside the Ilissus, have a diameter of seven feet ten inches,
which
exceeds anything of the same period to be found in Greece.
Peisistratus’
chief care, however, was bestowed upon the Acropolis, where he
sought to
invest the worship of Athena with such splendour and beauty as
to
maintain her ascendency. For this purpose he added greatly to
the
magnificence of the Pan-Athenaic games, which he almost raised to
a
Pan-Hellenic rank, and the celebration of which was chosen as
the
occasion for the opening of the Parthenon. The beautifully
embroidered
_peplos_, which was annually prepared as a covering for the
wooden image
of the goddess, formed the chief ornament in the great
procession to the
Acropolis, and the interest of the proceedings culminated
in the solemn
dedication of the gift. It is also significant that it was
under
Peisistratus
[Illustration: THE ACROPOLIS AND THE TEMPLE OF
OLYMPIAN ZEUS, FROM THE
HILL ARDETTOS
The boundary wall of the
enclosure (_temenos_) of the Temple is very
clearly marked. The clustered
group of lofty columns is the remains of
the south-east corner of the Temple
itself. North-west of them is the
Arch of Hadrian. The walls of the Acropolis
make a splendid contrast to
the rugged bosses of the rocks which support
them. The Parthenon above
is seen almost down to the stylobate, and masses
finely from this point
of view. The mountains are those of
Daphni.]
that coins were first struck with the head of Athena on one
side, and on
the other the likeness of an owl--an emblem which is still worn
in their
caps by the schoolboys of Greece, and in which there may be a
reference
to the supposed power of the owl to see in the dark, a power
associated,
in an intellectual sense, with _glaukopis_ Athena. It was to the
goddess
that Peisistratus seems to have attributed his success in
regaining
power on his return to Athens after his temporary exile. In order
to
give the Athenians the impression that their guardian deity favoured
his
return, he is said to have got a tall and stately woman to assume
the
guise of Athena and sit by his side in the chariot which drew him up
to
the Acropolis, his partisans at the same time crying out that
Athena
bade the city welcome her _protege_ to the seat of authority.
The
supposed goddess was said to have been only a flower-seller, Phya
by
name, who afterwards married one of Peisistratus’ sons.
Before the
Persians quitted Athens they reduced to ruins or to ashes the
temples and
most of the other buildings of any value, and many years
were required for
the work of restoration. Fully a generation passed
before any of the three
temples on the Acropolis which excite so much
admiration--the Parthenon, the
Erechtheum, and the Nike--were ready for
dedication. This delay was partly
owing to the more pressing need for
attending to the renewal of the city
walls and other fortifications,
partly to the alteration which was made on
Cimon’s plan for the erection
of the Parthenon. His name is associated not
only with the massive wall
on the southern side of the Acropolis but also
with an enormous
substructure intended to level up the sloping rock of the
Acropolis and
fill up the vacant space within the wall. This substructure
was
evidently intended to be the basis for a longer and narrower temple
than
the existing Parthenon, as it projects about fifteen feet at the
east
end, and bears traces of having had an addition of a few feet made
to
its breadth.
It was not till 447 B.C., when Pericles was at the
height of his power,
that the building of the temple was actually commenced;
and it took
about ten years to finish. Pericles had previously made an appeal
to
other Greek cities to unite with Athens in some such commemoration
of
their victory over the Persians, but the response was
disappointing.
Fortunately, however, other means were available, owing to
many of the
states allied with Athens in the Delian League commuting
into
money-payments the obligations they were under to contribute ships
to
the defensive navy of which Athens was the head. It was this Delian
fund
mainly which enabled Pericles to carry out his great project
for
glorifying the Acropolis as the throne of Athena and the
rallying-point
of Hellenic patriotism. Of all the architectural monuments of
the
Periclean age the Parthenon is by far the grandest, producing
a
wonderful impression of strength and dignity and grace. There is a
charm
in the subtle harmony of its proportions quite apart from the
rich
decoration of frieze and pediment. The perfect unity of plan which
it
[Illustration: THE PARTHENON FROM THE NORTH END OF THE EASTERN
PORTICO
OF THE PROPYLÆA (EVENING LIGHT)
The local colour of the rocky
surface of the Acropolis intensifies the
long blue shadows. The effect of the
golden-brown weathering of the
surface of the marble on the west front of the
Parthenon is faithfully
given.]
exhibits was no doubt due to the
genius of Pheidias, assisted by the
architectural skill of Ictinus and
Callicrates, while the mechanical
precision and careful finish in the
execution prove the competency of
the sculptors and masons who were employed
under their supervision. It
is surprising how much attention was paid to nice
optical
considerations, which must have been very difficult to calculate,
though
they enhance greatly the general effect. For example, there is
scarcely
a straight line in the whole edifice, quadrangular as it is. There
is a
slight convex curve on the line of the steps and of the
substructure,
and the same is the case with the architrave. There is a gentle
swelling
of the columns towards their centre, and the axes of the columns
incline
slightly inwards.
Nowhere, perhaps, is the fineness of the
workmanship more apparent than
in the joining of the drums composing each
column, generally twelve in
number, and rising to a height of thirty-four
feet. They fit so closely
and exactly that they almost look as if they had
grown together. In this
respect there is a marked difference between the
columns which have
never been disturbed and those which have been restored by
the
collection of fallen drums. The smoothing of the flat surfaces of
the
drum was mainly done in the quarry, the part near the centre being
left
rough and slightly hollow. There was a hole in the centre for a
wooden
plug, into which a cylindrical peg was inserted for the purpose
of
securing an exact correspondence in the position of the drums.
The
fluting--each column has twenty flutes--was done after the drums
were
in position, with the exception of a beginning that was previously
made
on the stones intended for the top and bottom of the column.
Of
the outer colonnade, comprising eight columns at each end, and
fifteen others
at each side, with an inner row of columns at each end,
the greater number
are still in position, though in some cases in a
fragmentary form; the chief
gaps are about the middle of the sides.
There is hardly any trace of the
sculptures on the pediments. Part of
those which stood at the east end,
representing the birth of Athena, are
to be found in the British Museum.
Those of the west gable, representing
the contest between Athena and
Poseidon, have entirely disappeared.
Great part of the outer Doric frieze
still remains, including forty-one
of the original ninety-two metopes, on
which were depicted various
mythical battle scenes. The best remaining, both
as regards workmanship
and condition, are those on the south side,
representing the struggles
of the Lapiths and Centaurs. The inner frieze,
running round the top of
the temple walls, and surmounting the inner columns,
represented the
great Pan-Athenaic festival, including figures, in low
relief, of
knights and chariots, magistrates and maidens, priests and
victims, and
terminating in an assembly of the gods at the east end. The most
of this
frieze and fifteen of the metopes are preserved in the British
Museum.
They had been carried off by Lord Elgin at the beginning of
the
nineteenth century, with the consent of the
[Illustration: MOUNT
PENTELIKON AND LYCABETTOS FROM THE NORTH-EASTERN
ANGLE OF THE PARTHENON
(EARLY MORNING LIGHT)
The drums of columns, and other fragments of the
Parthenon lying in the
foreground, make of themselves a very fine subject,
irrespective of the
delicate beauty of the distant outline of Pentelikon,
which shows itself
here with special appropriateness as the mountain from the
sides of
which the marble of the Parthenon was quarried.]
Turkish
government, and were purchased from him at a cost of ￡35,000.
The almost
total disappearance of the bright and varied colouring which
enhanced the
beauty of certain parts of the building, and the loss of so
many of the
wonderful sculptures, as well as the gaps in the walls and
colonnade, detract
greatly from the ancient glory of the building. But
time has added a golden
tinge to the Pentelic marble of which it is
composed, and the whole exterior
wears a rich and mellow
aspect,--especially when seen under the light of the
rising or the
setting sun,--which affords some compensation for the damage
sustained
in other respects. Very beautiful, too, the temple seems in the
light of
a full moon, when the soft radiance lends an etherial look to
it,
standing as it does between heaven and earth, and harmonises well
with
the virgin purity which the very name _Parthenon_ denotes.
The
full length of the temple is about 230 feet, and its breadth about
100 feet.
It consisted of a _pronaos_ or foretemple, for the reception
of votive
offerings; the _cella_ proper, forming the new _hecatompedon_,
and divided
into three long aisles by two rows of Doric columns; the
_parthenon_, a name
afterwards extended to the whole building, but
originally applied to a
chamber towards the west; and the
_opisthodomos_, enclosed (like the
_pronaos_) with high railings between
the columns. The two last-mentioned
chambers were used as treasuries,
but in the middle aisle of the
_hecatompedon_ stood the most precious
thing of all, namely the
chryselephantine image of the virgin-goddess,
facing the doorway in the east,
so as to catch the rays of the rising
sun. The face, hands and feet were
covered with ivory, the pupils of the
eyes were of precious stone, while the
rest of the image was embossed or
inlaid with gold--amounting to upwards of
forty talents (about
￡150,000)--which could be taken off when required. The
statue was about
thirty feet in height and stood on a pedestal about eight
feet high, the
position of which can easily be recognised from the setting of
dark
stone in the marble pavement. The line of the parapet in front is
also
quite distinct. Several descriptions of the statue have come down to
us,
and also some copies of it in miniature (especially the _Varvakeion_
and
_Lenormant_ models, both found in Athens), which, however, give us
a
very inadequate conception of its beauty and grandeur. It was
intended
to be an embodiment of the energy, freedom and dignity
characteristic of
Athena as the representative of the genius of the young
Athenian empire.
She stood upright, resting her weight upon her right foot,
having on her
head a helmet with a triple crest, supported by a sphinx, and
wearing on
her shoulders and breast her scaly ægis with the Gorgon’s head in
the
centre. Her left hand held a spear, which she rested on the rim of
her
embossed shield. On the inner side of the shield appeared the
sacred
serpent, the symbol of Erichthonius, her adopted ward. In her
extended
right hand she held a beautiful winged Victory. So lavish was the
artist
of his skill and labour in the construction of the statue that even
the
soles of Athena’s
[Illustration: THE PROPYLÆA FROM THE NORTHERN
EDGE OF THE PLATFORM
(STYLOBATE) OF THE PARTHENON
The steps of the
stylobate below run in perspective along the left-hand
side of the drawing.
Over the drums of the fallen columns of the
Parthenon, which strew the ground
to the right, we see the whole east
side of the Propylæa; above it are the
olive groves of the Kephissus and
the mountains of Daphni, with a glimpse of
the Bay of Salamis.]
sandals were embellished with carving. On the front
of the pedestal also
there was a picture of the mythical creation of Pandora
in the presence
of twenty divinities. The statue expressed the Hellenic
aspirations of
Pheidias as an artist and of Pericles as a statesman; and, as
if to
commemorate their harmonious influence, the great sculptor
covertly
introduced into the relief on the outside of Athena’s shield his
own
portrait and that of his friend--the former in the guise of
a
bald-headed old man lifting up a stone with both hands, the latter as
a
warrior fighting with an Amazon, his face partially concealed by
his
raised hand holding a spear. On this account some of Pheidias’
enemies
brought against him a charge of impiety, founded upon an old law
which
forbade the setting up in sacred places of the images of living
men.
They had previously tried to ruin him by accusing him of embezzling
part
of the gold entrusted to him, but the charge had been
triumphantly
refuted by the actual weighing of the gold on the image, which
was found
to correspond exactly to the amount assigned for this
object.
Unfortunately the charge of impiety could not be so easily refuted,
and,
in spite of Pericles’ advocacy, Pheidias was compelled to pay a
heavy
fine and was thrown into prison, from which he does not appear to
have
been ever set free.
No monument seems ever to have been erected
in honour of Pheidias, but
for more than 2000 years the Parthenon, which will
always be associated
with his memory, retained the beauty of its exterior
unimpaired. On the
official abolition of the Greek religion by the Emperor
Justinian in
the end of the sixth century A.D. it was converted into the
church of
the “Virgin Mother of God,” which necessitated considerable changes
on
its interior to fit it for Christian worship. At a later time it
was
turned into a Turkish mosque, a minaret being added to it. In 1687
it
was used as a powder magazine by the Turks, in their endeavours to
hold
the Acropolis against the Venetians under Morosini, who had
already
taken the city. This use of it became known to the besiegers, and by
a
well-directed shot a bomb was thrown into the magazine, causing
a
terrific explosion which blew out the roof and the two sides of
the
building--the combatants little realising what an irreparable loss
had
thus been inflicted on the interests of civilisation and art.
Morosini
would fain have carried off to Venice the chief figures on the
west
pediment, but, owing to the awkwardness of the workers employed,
the
precious sculptures fell to the ground and were broken to
pieces.
There was on the Acropolis another colossal image of
Athena--referred to
by Demosthenes as “the great bronze Athena”--which had
been set up as a
memorial of Athenian valour in the Persian war from funds
contributed by
the rest of the Greeks. The base of its pedestal is still
shown on the
Acropolis between the Propylæa and the Erechtheum. Pausanias
tells us
that the gleaming crest of the helmet and tip of the spear could be
seen
by ships sailing from Cape Sunium to Athens. There is good reason
for
identifying this Athena _Promachos_ (“Champion”), as it came to
be
called
[Illustration: THE SOUTHERN SIDE OF THE ERECHTHEUM, WITH THE
FOUNDATIONS
OF THE EARLIER TEMPLE OF ATHENA POLIAS
The Caryatid
portico and south wall of the Erechtheum show very delicate
opalescent
colours, due chiefly to reflected light from the large slabs
and drums of
marble lying on the ground north of the Parthenon. The dark
Caryatid is a
terra-cotta substitute for the original, one of the
greatest treasures of the
British Museum. The sub-structures in the
foreground are the foundations of
the archaic Temple; to the right, in
the background, Pentelikon, and, in
front of it, Lycabettos brilliantly
illuminated by the setting
sun.]
in later times, with an image of Athena which was destroyed in a
riot at
Constantinople in 1203 A.D., and about which the Byzantine
historian
Nicetas gives us the following particulars: “It was of bronze,
thirty
feet high. The goddess was portrayed standing upright, clad in a
tunic
which reached to her feet, and was drawn in by a girdle at the waist.
On
her breast was a tight-fitting ægis with the Gorgon’s head. On her
head
she wore a helmet with a nodding plume of horse-hair. Her tresses
were
plaited and fastened at the back of her head, but some locks
strayed
over her brow from beneath the rim of the helmet. With her left hand
she
lifted the folds of her garment; her right hand was stretched out
in
front of her, and her face was turned in the same direction, as if
she
were beckoning to some one. There was a sweet look, as of love
and
longing, in the eyes, and the lips seemed as if about to part in
honeyed
speech. The ignorant and superstitious mob smashed the statue
because,
after the first siege and capture of Constantinople by the
Crusaders,
they fancied that the outstretched hand of the statue had summoned
the
host of the invaders from out of the West.”[5]
There was on the
Acropolis a third image of the goddess by the great
artist--known as the
“Lemnian Athena”--in which she was represented in a
mild and peaceful aspect.
Pausanias speaks of it as the best worth
seeing of the works of Pheidias; and
with this harmonises a reference to
it in one of the Dialogues of Lucian, who
is the only other ancient
writer that mentions it. Referring to a proposal
that a perfect type of
feminine beauty should be formed by combining the best
features of the
most famous statues, the Lemnian statue is mentioned as one
that might
supply the outline of the face with soft cheeks and shapely
nose.
Unfortunately no authentic copies of it have yet been
discovered.
Pausanias also mentions a statue dedicated to Athena
_Hygieia_
(“Health”) on the Acropolis, and Plutarch tells a story of its
having
been set up by Pericles in gratitude for a revelation made to him by
the
goddess in a dream regarding a medicinal herb which would cure
a
favourite slave of his, who had been injured by a fall while engaged
in
building operations. According to Pliny, the herb was known
ever
afterwards by the name of _parthenium_, but he connects the story with
a
statue of a slave. Another aspect in which Athena was worshipped was
as
_Ergane_ the goddess of arts and industries; and no less than
five
inscriptions have been found on the Acropolis in honour of Athena
under
this title. Homer represents her as weaving her own robe, and
according
to Pindar the ship _Argo_ was built under her direction. Close to
the
Lemnian image there stood a statue of Pericles, the chief maker
of
imperial Athens. It faced the Propylæa and was much admired,
being
regarded as a proof how “art can add to the nobility of noble
men.”
The two other temples which still adorn the Acropolis are of the
Ionic
order. They are much smaller and less imposing than the Parthenon,
but
[Illustration: THE CARYATID PORTICO OF THE ERECHTHEUM FROM THE
WEST
On the extreme right show two columns of the north-east angle of
the
Parthenon; in the distance is Mount Hymettos.]
in some respects
they may be regarded as even more beautiful. With
regard to the Erechtheum,
whatever may have been the case before the
destruction of the sacred
buildings by the Persians, it was the temple
which now bears this name that
was subsequently recognised by the state
as the official place of worship, in
which were preserved the ancient
wooden image of Athena _Polias_ (carefully
removed to Salamis on the
approach of the Persians) and the golden lamp which
was never allowed to
go out. Its erection a few years after the dedication of
the Parthenon
was probably due to the conservative tendencies in the state,
of which
Nicias was the exponent, in opposition to the bolder and
more
progressive policy of Pericles. There seems to have been
considerable
delay in the process of building, owing to the Peloponnesian
war, and it
was not till 408 B.C. that the work was complete. Nothing could
be more
exquisitely beautiful than the Ionic columns of the porch at the
eastern
end, and the _Caryatidæ_, or “Maidens,” supporting the architrave of
the
portico on the southern side. Originally there were six of the
former,
but one of them was removed by Lord Elgin, and is now in the
British
Museum. The same fate befell one of the Caryatidæ, which has
been
replaced with a terra-cotta cast, while another bears the marks
of
modern reconstruction. On the northern side of the temple, projecting
a
little beyond the west end, and at a considerably lower level than
the
parts already mentioned (the difference of height amounting to
nine
feet), there is a beautiful entrance, with four columns in front
and
one on either side. The doorway is regarded as the finest thing of
the
kind in existence. It leads into the Erechtheum proper. As
already
indicated, Erechtheus is one of the oldest names in Attic
mythology.
According to Hesiod, his daughter Creusa married Xuthus, son of
Hellen
and brother of Æolus and Dorus, the heads of the Æolian and
Dorian
branches of the Hellenic race; and, through his grandsons, Achæus
and
Ion, Erechtheus became the progenitor of the Achæans and Ionians.
Homer
again tells us that Erechtheus was worshipped in the temple of
Athena
(_Il._ ii. 549-551), and we learn from Pausanias that sacrifices
were
offered to him on the altar of Poseidon, by command of the oracle.
The
peculiar construction of the temple was doubtless due to the fact
that
it was intended for the accommodation of more than one deity. Under
the
lower chambers were shown (as they still are!) the marks of
Poseidon’s
trident and the sea-spring (now a great covered cistern) through
which
the noise of the waves could be heard when the wind was blowing from
the
south.
Immediately to the west of the temple was the _Pandroseum_,
a precinct
sacred to Pandrosus, one of the daughters of Cecrops, who obeyed
the
injunction of Athena when her two sisters gratified their curiosity
by
opening the box entrusted to them, the result being that they went
mad
when they saw disclosed the serpent-like Erichthonius whom Athena
had
taken under her charge. Somewhere in this neighbourhood was
the
Cecropium, probably a shrine over the tomb of Cecrops,
and
[Illustration: THE NORTHERN PORTICO OF THE ERECHTHEUM
Four out
of the six pillars of the portico appear in this drawing, which
includes not
only the great doorway so famous for its beauty and for the
interesting
problems it has given rise to, but also the small doorway
leading to the
Pandroseion. The rough masonry behind the two right-hand
columns is the great
wall below the site of the archaic temple of Athena
Polias. To the right of
the drawing we have the east portico and part of
the north wing of the
Propylæa.]
here also may have been the den of the serpent which appears
coiled
beside Athena’s shield. Within the Pandroseum there grew the
sacred
olive-tree, of which we are told by Herodotus that, having been
burnt
down when the Persians devastated the Acropolis, it put forth a
fresh
shoot of a cubit’s length within two days--a presage of the
speedy
recovery of Athens from her crushing adversity. Under the olive-tree
was
the altar of Zeus _Herkeus_, which was, perhaps, originally included
in
the court of the palace of Erechtheus. At no great distance may also
be
seen the rocky elevation (a few feet in height) which is supposed
to
have been the primitive altar on which sacrifices were first offered
to
Athena. Like the Parthenon, the Erechtheum has passed through
strange
vicissitudes, having been at one time used as a Christian church and
at
another time as the residence for the wives of a Turkish governor
of
Athens--considerable alterations being made upon it in both
cases.
The temple of _Nike Apteros_ (“wingless victory”) stands on the
edge of
the Acropolis to the south of the Propylæa. The term “wingless”
has
reference to the fact that Victory was generally represented as a
winged
woman, and Pausanias explains the want of wings on the statue of
the
goddess in this temple as expressing the faith of the Athenians
that
Victory would never desert their city. A more natural explanation is
to
be found in the fact that Victory is here represented under the guise
of
Athena, who was never depicted as having wings. The temple seems
to
have been erected some years before the Erechtheum, and about the
same
time as the Propylæa and the Parthenon. Its history is in some
respects
even more remarkable than that of either of the other temples. It
was
demolished by the Turks in 1687 in order to afford materials for
the
construction of a bastion. In 1835, after the Greeks had regained
their
independence, the bastion was taken down, the result being that
nearly
all the fragments of marble were recovered and the temple restored
very
much in its original form. When it is closely examined the joints
and
patches betray its second-hand character (as do also some
terra-cotta
figures in the frieze, the originals having been removed some
time
before the restoration to the British Museum), but when it is seen
from
a little distance it presents a charming appearance. It is a very
small
temple, consisting of a _cella_ sixteen feet long, with four
Ionic
columns in front and rear. Each of the column-shafts is made out of
a
single block of Pentelic marble, and has twenty-four flutes. There is
a
beautiful frieze with sculptures in high relief. On the eastern front
is
a representation of various divinities, while the subjects depicted
on
the three other sides are appropriate to the views seen in the
several
directions. The northern side looks towards Marathon, the
southern
towards Salamis, and on both these sides we see a representation
of
battles between Greeks and Persians; but on the western side,
which
looks towards Cithæron, there is a picture of a conflict between
Greeks
and Greeks, the Thebans having allied themselves with
the
[Illustration: THE EASTERN PORTICO OF THE ERECHTHEUM, VIEWED FROM
THE
NORTHERN PERISTYLE OF THE PARTHENON
The column to the right, with
its strong golden-brown local colour,
warmed by the full morning summer sun,
is the third column counting from
the north-east corner of the Parthenon. The
blocks of marble which
conceal the lower part of the column form part of the
_pronaos_ wall.
The east portico of the Erechtheum is seen below to the left;
behind are
the mountains of Daphni.]
Persians at the battle of Platæa.
Round three sides of the temple there
was a parapet, breast-high, made of
upright marble slabs, some of which
have been recovered from the _debris_.
They are adorned with female
figures representing Winged Victories, which
display wonderful freedom
and ease in execution, especially as regards the
drapery. There is a
beautiful view from the _Nike_, looking west and south,
which has been
finely described by Byron in “The Corsair”:--
Slow
sinks, more lovely ere his race be run,
Along Morea’s hills the setting
sun:
Not, as in Northern climes, obscurely bright,
But one
unclouded blaze of living light!
O’er the hush’d deep the yellow beam he
throws
Gilds the green wave, that trembles as it glows.
On old
Ægina’s rock and Idra’s isle,
The god of gladness sheds his parting
smile;
O’er his own regions lingering, loves to shine,
Though
there his altars are no more divine.
Descending fast the mountain shadows
kiss
Thy glorious gulf, unconquer’d Salamis!
Their azure arches
through the long expanse
More deeply purpled meet his mellowing
glance,
And tenderest tints, along their summits driven,
Mark his
gay course, and own the hues of heaven;
Till, darkly shaded from the land
and deep,
Behind his Delphian cliff he sinks to sleep.
In keeping
with the splendour of the temples on the summit of the
Acropolis was the
Propylæa, or great entrance, already mentioned. The
magnificent marble
staircase, 72 feet wide, which now leads up to it,
was of later construction,
under the Romans. But the porticoes of
Pentelic marble at the top, with their
rows of Doric and Ionic columns,
supporting a marble roof, adorned with
golden stars, and the adjoining
chambers, one of which was used as a
picture-gallery (_pinacotheca_),
were built in the time of Pericles at a cost
of more than ￡400,000, and
were justly regarded as one of the chief glories
of Athens, as their
ruins still are of the modern city.
Within a few
hundred yards of the Acropolis lies the small rocky hill
called Areopagus.
Although associated with the God of War in name and
story, it was also the
traditional scene of one of Athena’s greatest
triumphs, when she held the
scales of justice so wisely between the
grief-stricken matricide Orestes and
the avenging _Erinyes_ or Furies
who had dogged his steps all the way from
Argos to Delphi and from
Delphi to Athens. In the rocky cleft at the side of
the hill was the
awful shrine in which the relentless pursuers, otherwise
called the
_Eumenides_ (“Gracious Ones”), found their quietus--the
Areopagus
becoming thenceforward the authorised tribunal for the trial of
all
cases of homicide, and superseding the savage law of blood-feud. It
was
on this same Mars’ Hill that the apostle of a higher faith pled with
the
Athenians for the recognition of the risen Christ, whom he proclaimed
as
the appointed representative of the “Unknown God,” whose altar he
had
observed in the adjacent market-place.
CHAPTER
X
ATHENS AND ELEUSIS
From Athens to Eleusis is a journey of
about twelve miles by a road
which follows very much the line of the Sacred
Way, along which the
great procession went for the celebration of the
Mysteries. The
starting-point was close to the Dipylon Gate, of which there
are still
sufficient remains to enable us to understand its structure. It was
the
most strongly fortified point in the city wall, being the part
most
exposed to attack; and it was there that the city was taken by the
Roman
general Sulla, who had recourse to the erection of a mound in
the
neighbourhood. The gate was a double one, as its name implies,
not
merely in the sense of being a divided gate with a pillar in the
centre,
but as a combination of two separate gates with a walled court
between
them, so that an enemy who forced his way through the outer gate
would
find himself (as Philip V. of Macedonia once did) exposed to attack
not
only in front but also from the sides, and would be glad to make
good
his retreat from such an untenable position.
For miles from this
point the Sacred Way was lined with tombs,
especially in the immediate
neighbourhood of the gate. A number of the
ancient tombstones are still
standing in their original place, but many
have sunk out of sight, and not a
few were used as materials for
fortification after the Persian war, and again
after the battle of
Chæronea. Indeed, some of them are still to be seen built
into portions
of the wall. It was outside the Dipylon that the bones of those
who had
died in battle were interred. One of the most sacred obligations of
a
Greek army after an engagement was to recover the bodies of its
dead,
and whenever a truce for this purpose was asked by the defeated side
it
could not be refused without a breach both of honour and of religion.
At
the interment it was customary for a funeral oration to be delivered
in
praise of those who had given their lives for their country. On one
of
these occasions, as Thucydides tells us, when Pericles was the
speaker,
he gave such a noble address that the women mourners in their
gratitude
and enthusiasm crowned him with wreaths, as if he had been
a
conqueror.[6] Funeral honours paid to the brave dead were not a
mere
expression of sentiment, for provision was at the same time made out
of
the public funds for the support of their children till they came
of
age.
The existing tombstones, as a rule, depict scenes illustrative
of the
life of the departed, or else they
[Illustration: THE DIPYLON
(GATE) AT ATHENS
The central block of the outer side of the gate is in
the foreground; in
front of it the marble base of a statue with a low bench,
also in
marble. In the distance is seen the Acropolis, with the Propylæa at
the
right hand.]
represent in a simple and impressive way the last
farewell, by the
mutual clasp of the hands, or by figuring the deceased as in
the act of
going on a journey. It was different, however, with the
earthenware
vases, called _lecythi_, which were placed within the tomb, for
they had
usually depicted on them a funeral scene of some kind, either
borrowed
from real life or having reference to the unseen world, Charon and
his
boat being frequently introduced in this connection. In some few
cases
the dead man is represented as partaking of a banquet, suggesting
the
idea that he still survived to claim the ministrations of his friends
as
a hero or demi-god. There was one form of large, two-handled vase
in
particular, generally of marble, which when deposited on a
tomb
indicated that the person interred there had died unmarried. As
its
name, _loutrophoros_, signifies, it was the jar used for carrying
water
from the spring Callirhoe for the bridal bath, and its presence on
the
tomb symbolised the belief that a marriage with _Hades_ (Pluto)
awaited
those who had died in their virginity.
The ground, both inside
and outside of the Dipylon Gate, was called
_Cerameicus_ (“Inner” and
“Outer”), its name being derived from the fine
red clay which for two or
three thousand years has yielded material for
one of the chief branches of
industrial art in Athens. The Dipylon vase
was well-known as early as the
eighth or seventh century B.C. Its style
of decoration was geometrical, with
varieties of the “key pattern.” The
men and horses depicted on it are
conventional and angular; and from an
artistic point of view it is inferior
to the earlier style. Towards the
end of the seventh century it gave way to
the “Phalerum” vase, which was
smaller and more delicate, with some oriental
features, borrowed
apparently from the woven fabrics of the east. In the
sixth century
Attic pottery underwent great improvements, both as regards
the
preparation of the clay and the decoration of its surface. It
became
famous all over the western world, and thousands of specimens have
been
found in the cemeteries of Etruria, as well as in the Cerameicus
and
elsewhere. Instead of the figuring being in black on the red ground,
the
terra-cotta began to be reserved for the figures, which were
thus
rendered much more attractive. Though so largely used for
funeral
purposes the fact that so many vases have been found on the
Acropolis
among the ruins left by the Persian invasion shows that that was
not
their only use--otherwise they would not have been suitable
for
dedication to the gods. Many of them seem to have been placed on
the
grave-mound, or near it, as useful and ornamental articles, which
might
supply the wants of the departed. The _lecythi_, which, as
already
mentioned, were specially intended for funeral purposes, were
generally
decorated with black silhouette figures on a fine white ground.
Some of
the vases placed on tombs had no bottom, so that when a libation
was
poured into them it sank into the grave.
From an early period
there was a tendency to extravagance in connection
with funerals. In Solon’s
time it seems to have been excessive
demonstrations of grief that needed to
be restrained; but before long a
law was passed that “no tomb should be built
with more elaboration than
could be effected by ten men in three days.” In
the beginning of the
fourth century Demetrius of Phalerum, who was then in
power at Athens,
forbade the erection of anything more than a mound of earth
with a
column not exceeding three cubits high, or a simple slab, or
a
water-vessel. We can judge of the extravagance which occasioned
such
regulations from the fact that Harpalus, to whose care Alexander
the
Great confided his treasures before invading India, had recently
erected
a tomb on the Eleusinian way in memory of his wife Pythionice, who
was
originally a slave, at an expense of more than ￡6000, which,
Pausanias
tells us, was the tomb best worth seeing in Greece. The same man
built a
still grander memorial to his wife at Babylon, at a cost of
about
￡36,000. Even this was a trifle, however, compared with the two or
three
millions of pounds expended by Alexander himself on the
funeral
obsequies of his friend Hephæstion, shortly before his own
death--which
was brought on by the fierce intemperance in which he sought to
drown
his grief. A more precious tribute of affection was paid to the
remains
of the statesman Phocion by his widow. As the Athenians in a frenzy
of
excitement had found him guilty of treason, he could not be buried
in
his own country, and his body was therefore carried into the
adjoining
territory of Megara and burned there. His wife brought back the
bones in
her bosom by night, and laid them near her own hearth, with the
prayer:
“Beloved Hestia” (the Goddess of the Hearth), “I confide to thee
these
relics of a good man. Restore them to his own family vault, as soon
as
the Athenians shall come to their senses.” Before long the prayer
was
fulfilled, for the Athenians ordained a public funeral in honour of
the
condemned man, and erected a statue to his memory.
Besides the
road westward to Eleusis, there were two other ways from the
Dipylon Gate,
the one leading in a north-westerly direction to the
Academy, the other
south-west to the Piræus. On the latter road were the
tombs of some famous
men, including Socrates, Euripides, and Menander,
but the way to the Academy
was the favourite place for monuments in
honour of those who had fallen in
war or had otherwise distinguished
themselves in the service of their
country. Cicero, who, like so many of
his countrymen, studied at Athens,
speaks with admiration of these
monuments; and we can imagine that a walk in
the neighbourhood must have
been as interesting and inspiring to an Athenian
as a visit to
Westminster or St. Paul’s is to a modern Briton. Many of the
monuments
were in honour of large bodies of men who had lost their lives
in
battle; but, as Pausanias tells, there were also to be seen the tombs
of
great statesmen like Solon, Cleisthenes, and Pericles; great
warriors
like Chabrias, Phormio, and Conon; great benefactors like
Thrasybulus
and Lycurgus; and great philosophers like Zeno and
Plato.
[Illustration: THE STREET OF TOMBS OUTSIDE THE DIPYLON (GATE) AT
ATHENS
One of the most remarkable tombs is that surmounted by a colossal
bull
in the act of charging. This statue has undergone a good deal
of
restoration, but it is a singularly effective piece of work when
seen
relieved against the sky in such a climate as that of Athens.
Between
this tomb and the tall shaft (stele) surmounted by an acroterion we
get
a view of the Parthenon, with a storm approaching from the
East.]
The Academy was about three-quarters of a mile from the gate. No
remains
of the ancient buildings have been found, but there are still trees
to
remind us of--
the olive grove of
Academe
Plato’s retirement, where the Attic bird
Trills her
thick-warbl’d notes the summer long.
Its name had originally no flavour
of learning, being derived from an
early owner, Academus, whose greatness was
of a vague and mythical
character. The place was of considerable extent. It
was first enclosed
by Hipparchus, the son of Peisistratus, and was afterwards
planted and
laid out by Cimon. It was famous for its great plane-trees,
and
Aristophanes speaks of “the plane-tree whispering to the elm.” But
there
were twelve ancient olive-trees which were still more highly
prized.
They were called _Moriai_, in allusion to some legend connected
with
them, and were believed to be offshoots from the sacred olive in
the
Acropolis. It was at one time a capital offence to injure
these
olive-trees in any way; and the oil derived from them was preserved
in
the Acropolis, and jars of it given to the victors in the
Pan-Athenaic
games. In the neighbourhood there was an altar of
Prometheus--that
much-enduring Titan, who suffered for his sin in stealing
fire from
heaven for the material welfare of the human race. This altar, with
its
sacred fire, was the starting-point for one of the most famous
contests
in the Athenian games, namely, the torch race. It was a race that
was
sometimes run by individual competitors, sometimes by companies. In
the
former case the prize was won by the man who first reached the goal
with
his torch still burning. When it was a contest of parties, the
object
was to pass the lighted torch from one member of the party to
another,
till at length it reached the man stationed farthest ahead, who
carried
it forward to the goal, the prize being awarded not to the
individual
who came in first but to the company to which he belonged. No
doubt it
is this form of the game that has given rise to the popular
metaphor
about handing on the torch of truth. Funeral games were also held in
the
Academy in honour of the soldiers buried in the neighbourhood, and
there
was a sacrificial pit, at which worship was offered to them as
heroes.
There was also a gymnasium, and so much open ground that a
cavalry
parade was occasionally held in it. Plato dedicated a shrine to
the
Muses in it, and it was his favourite haunt for about forty
years,
though he was advised to quit it on account of its low and
unhealthy
situation; it also continued to be the headquarters of his school
for
several generations. He was buried in it, or very near it, by
the
Athenians with great pomp, and the following was said to be his
epitaph:
“Apollo created the two--Asclepios and Plato: Asclepios, that he
might
save the body; Plato, that he might save the soul.”
A few
hundred yards off, rather more to the east, lies Colonus, a knoll
some fifty
feet high. There is little about it to remind one of the
description of
it
[Illustration: ATHENS FROM THE ROAD TO ELEUSIS
The hills
running across the middle distance are a portion of the chain
which divides
the Attic plain into its two main parts. To the left we
have the picturesque
outline of Lycabettos, then the rolling hills above
the Ilissus, next the
rectangular form of the Acropolis, and to the
right the Museion or
Philopappus Hill. Behind this chain of hills and
rocky eminences arises the
great mass of Mount Hymettos.]
given by Sophocles, which has been thus
translated by Prof. Lewis
Campbell--
Gleaming Colonus, where the
nightingale
In cool, green covert warbleth ever clear,
True to the
deep-flushed ivy and the dear
Divine, impenetrable shade,
From
wildered boughs and myriad fruitage made,
Sunless at noon, stormless in
every gale.
But you have only to go a short distance to the west and you
will find
the olive woods, rich in all their ancient charms. For the Greek
scholar
Colonus will always have a strong attraction as the birthplace
of
Sophocles, and as the scene of his _Œdipus Coloneus_; but the
ordinary
traveller will perhaps find his best reward for the excursion
in the very
beautiful view which it affords of Athens and the Acropolis.
Soon after
leaving the Dipylon Gate, on the way to Eleusis, the road
passes through the
olive grove already mentioned, which borders the
course of the Cephisus for
several miles, though the bed of the river is
often dry owing to the water
being diverted from its course for purposes
of irrigation. It was at this
point that a strange play of abusive wit
usually took place between the
returning celebrants of the Mysteries as
they crossed the bridge, and the
crowd of spectators. A little farther
on the spot is passed where Demeter is
said to have presented Phytalus
with the first fig-tree. About midway between
Athens and Eleusis, at the
top of the pass over Mt. Ægaleos, from which you
have a charming view of
the city as you look back, there is a deserted
monastery dating from
the thirteenth century, the work of one of the
Burgundian Dukes of
Athens. It is built on the site of an ancient temple of
Apollo, and has
inherited the name of Daphni, Apollo’s favourite, while its
walls are
also enriched with marbles from the ancient edifice, though it
was
deprived of three fine Ionic columns, which were transferred by
Lord
Elgin to the British Museum. About a mile farther, where a stone
has
been discovered bearing the letters Ζ _ex asteos_ (_i.e._ Seven
miles
from the City), there are some scanty remains of a temple of
Aphrodite,
and behind it a rocky wall with niches for votive offerings, some
of
which have been recovered, especially doves in marble and bronze. It
is
about this point that the bay of Eleusis comes into view, looking like
a
lake, with Salamis, of glorious memory, enclosing it on the
south-west.
A mile or two farther on there are salt springs quite close to
the road,
called Rhiti, whose waters have been dammed up so as to form pools
in
which there is said to be good fishing, once the exclusive property
of
the priests of Demeter. The Thriasian plain is now seen on the
right,
and by and by Eleusis itself is reached, an unattractive and
unhealthy
village with about 1200 (Albanian) inhabitants, which would have
no
interest for the visitor except as the birthplace of Æschylus, if
it
were not for the sacred and venerable ruins on the adjoining hill.
It
is a remark of Pausanias that “there is nothing on which the blessing of God
rests in so full a measure |
|
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