ANCIENT QAUDENs.] PRACTICE OF 11 ORTI C TTLTURE. [«ahdbks of crnus. 



the desert; but wluituver llu-y wrri-, or are 

 m imagination, the vast exuberance of thtir 

 oJoriterous llower.-^, and the " thousand and 

 one" euchantin|j[ charnia with wliich the Greek 

 mind, as seen iu its poetical mythology, 

 has invested tlieiii, have been thorougld}' de- 

 molished by the ruthless hand of Ijientenant 

 ]3i.'echy. It is a sad, but, we believe, an 

 undeniable truth, as shown by this writer, 

 that these famous gardens were nothing more 

 than old stone quarries, out of which the 

 material ni'ce^sary to build the town of Be- 

 renice, now 13ougazi, had been taken. 



'THE GARDENS OF ALCINOUS AND 

 LAERTES. 



The gr.rden of the Phoenician king, Alci- 

 nous, is said to have been situated in an 

 island of tliat name, supposed to have been 

 Corfu, in the Ionian sea ; but, wherever it 

 was situated — whetlier in Corfu, or in some 

 one of the Asiatic islands, as some suppose — 

 its description, by the Homeric muse, is ex- 

 C-'i.diugly beautiful. It lay close to the gates 

 of the palace of the king ; and was carefully 

 defended from the inclemency of the weather 

 by such means as may be supposed, at that 

 time, to have been at the command of a 

 powerful sovereign. It consisted of four 

 acres, and was fenced all round with a green 

 enclosure. It was planted, here and there, 

 with fruit trees ; and contained beds of cu- 

 linary vegetables, and some borders of flowers. 

 The poet, however, describes it in much 

 warmer terms than we are attempting to do. 

 Here the reddening apple ripened into gold ; 

 and — 



" Here the blue fig with luscious juice o'eiflows,. 

 With deeper red the full pomegranate glows ; 

 The branch here bends beneath the weighty pear, 

 And verdant olives flourish round the year. 

 The balmy spirit of the western gale 

 Eternal breathes on fruits, untaught to fail ; 

 Each dropping pear a following pear supplies, 

 On apples, apples, figs on figs arise ; 

 Tiie same mild season gives the blooms to blow, 

 The buds to harden, and the fruits to grow." 



Besides its fruits and flowers, it contained 

 a couple of fountains, or wells ; the one for 

 the use of the palace, and the other for 

 watering tho garden. — The garden of Laertes 

 was similar to that of Alcinous ; and they 

 are both described in the Odyssey. 



THE (iARDENS OF CYRUS. 

 Tlie Babylonian or AHHyriaii kinga seem to 

 have ])033L'a8ed u reniarkublo predilection for 

 magnificent gardens, 'i'hoae of Cyrua, the 

 founder of the Persian empire, have fre- 

 (juently been deHcribed. According to Mr. 

 i iioudon, who condeuHcs from Dr. rulconer, 

 the form of these gardens was square, each 

 side liaving a length of about one hundred feet, 

 and the whole giving an area at the base of 

 closely upon four acres. "They were made 

 to rise with terraces, constructed in a curious 

 manner above one another, in the form of 

 steps : and were supported by stone pillars to 

 the height of more than three hundred 

 feet, gradually diminishing upwards till the 

 area of the superior surface, which was flat, 

 was reduced considerably below that of the 

 base. This building was constructed by vast 

 stone beams, placed on pillars of stone (arches 

 not having then been invented), which were 

 again covered with reeds cemented with bitu- 

 men, over which was placed a double row of 

 bricks united by cement. The bricks were 

 covered with plates of lead, which effectually 

 prevented the moisture from penetrating 

 downwards. Above all, was laid a coat of 

 earth, of depth sufficient for plants to grow in 

 it ; and the trees planted there were of various 

 kinds, and were ranged in rows en the side of 

 the ascent, as well as on the top ; so that, at 

 a distance, it appeared as an immense pyra- 

 mid covered with wood. The situation of this 

 extraordinary efibrt of human skill, aided by 

 wealth, was nearly adjoining to, or upon, the 

 river Euphrates, from which water was sup- 

 plied by machinery, for the fountains and 

 reservoirs employed for cooling the air, and 

 watering the gardens." Yet the monarch 

 whose power and wealth enabled him to con- 

 struct these wonderful monuments, was as 

 deeply impressed as the most reflective plii- 

 losopher could be, with the fast-fleeting 

 glories of all earthly materialities. Saadi, in 

 his Gulistan, copies the inscription which 

 Cyrus ordered to be put upon his crown. 

 " What avails a long life spent in the enjoy- 

 ment of worldly grandeur, since others, 

 mortal like ourselves, will, one day, trample 

 our pride under foot ! This crown, banded 

 down to me from my predecessors, must soon 



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