210 



THE CIVIL ENGINEER ANi> ARCHITECT'S JOURNAL. 



LJlLY, 



liend of the state being a magistrate, chosen annually, under tlie 

 name of archori. 



From this time Athenian pOHcr steadily increased. Solon and 

 I'isistratus flourished at tlie same period (between 500 and (iOO 

 B.C.) ; and tho'igli differing widely in other respects, they botli 

 agreed in honimriiig the arts and sciences. Solon, by his laws, 

 encouraged the fine arts, wliilst Lyeurgus, on the contrary, for- 

 bade tlieir cultivation: thus it was (as an ancient writer observes) 

 that Laceiisemon has left no sign of its greatness, while Athens, 

 from tlie aspect of its ruined city, would appear to have had moro 

 power than it in reality possessed. 



Pisistratus founded a public librarj-, and adorned the city with 

 other buildings. Before the time of the Persian invasion under 

 Xerxes, the yearly revenue of Attica did not exceed i;{0 talents, 

 or 300,000/.; but the event which threatened its destruction was,, 

 in reality, a source of wealth and greatness. Attica, by its treo- 

 gi-aphical position, was peculiarly adapted for a maritime coun"trv; 

 its statesmen therefore turned their chief attention to the organ'i- 

 sation of a fleet; and it was principally by the Athenian navy tliat 

 the battle of Salamis was won, Xer.\es driven from the coiintrv, 

 and the supremacy gained over the other states of Greece. 



Athens had been laid waste by the Persians, but rose, like a 

 j>hoeni.Y, from its ashes. Riches poured into the treasury from tlie 

 spoils of enemies and the contributions of allies, a tithe was set 

 apart for the restoration of the city, and the excitement of tlie 

 people, so lately engaged in a struggle for existence, found a vent 

 in the rapid progress of the public works. 



Itwas during this period of fifty years, from the defeat of the 

 Persians to tlie commencement of the Peloponnesian war, tlmt the 

 most splendid edifices were erected, under the several adminis- 

 trations of Themistocles, Cimon, and Pericles, and that the arts 

 arrived at their highest point of perfection. 



The first of these great men, after the devastations of war, 

 naturally turned liis attention to works of utility, commencing the 

 long walls between Athens and the Pirseeus, and fortifying the 

 ports. The magnificence and liberality of Cimon rendered him 

 desirous of adorning as well as strengthening the city; and 

 though at this time {i65 b.c.) tlie common treasury was transferred 

 from Delos to .\thens, such was the munificence of Cimon, that 

 many of the works were carried on at his own private expense. 

 Under his administration the Temple of Theseus and the portico, 

 called Poecile, were erected, the Academy and public gardens laid 

 out and planted, and the great Dionysaic theatre commenced. 

 The brightest era of Athens had now arrived, and at the same time 

 a statesman arose, fitted above all others, by his cultivation of 

 mind, taste, and eloquence, for the advancement of his great 

 object, the prosperity and splendour of his native city. 



It was the good fortune of Pericles, that in his time, artists 

 existed capable of carrying out his ideas; and it was also the good 

 fortune of Phidias, Ictinus, -Myron, and Polvcletus, to have lieen 

 employed by one so fully able to appreciate 'their genius. Thus, 

 in tlie course of a few years, were accomplished works which have 

 been the wonder of age's; works not only magnificent in design and 

 exquisite in execution, but erected with such attention to durability, 

 that after the expiration of a thousand years, they were ruined by 

 the wantonness of man rather than by the finger of time. 



Plutarch observes, speaking of the buildings of this period, "A 

 bloom is diffused over them, which preserves their aspect untar- 

 nished by time, as if they were animated with a spirit of perpetual 

 youth and unfading eleg'ance." 'I'he enemies of Pericles accused 

 him of lavishing the money of the allies in gilding the city of 

 Athens, and ornamenting it with statues and temples, as a vain 

 woman decks herself with jewels. To this Pericles replied, that, 

 " as the state was pro\ ided with all the necessaries of war, its 

 superfluous wealtli should be expended upon such works as, when 

 executed, would be eternal monuments of its glory, and which, 

 during its execution, would diffuse universal plenty:' for as it was 

 requisite to ajipropriate so many kinds of labour, and such a variety 

 of instruments and materials to these undertakings, to exert every 

 art, and enqiloy every liand, almost the whole city would be in 

 pay, and be at tlie same time adorned and supported by itself." 

 Pericles demanded of the people, " whether or not they thought 

 that he had expended too much.'' " They answered in tlie iiffirma- 

 tive. "Then be it," said he, "charged to my account, not yours; 

 only let the new edifices be inscribed w ith my name, not with that 

 of the peo]ile of Athens." The Atlienians however would not agree 

 to this, and answered, "that he niiglit spend as much as he 

 pleased of the public treasure, without sparing it in the least." 



Pericles might probably have embellished the city to a still 



greater extent had peace continued, but in i3l b.c. the Pelopon- 

 nesian war broke out, whicli, lasting twenty-seven years, demanded 

 all the resources and energies of the Atlienians. In the time of 

 Conon (400 b.c.) Athens for a time recovered her supremacy; the 

 Dionysaic theatre was now completed, a gymnasium constructed in 

 the Lyceiuni, and a stadium for the celebration of the Panathenaic 

 games. 



But a power was soon to arise before which all others had to 

 bow. Alexander the Great was born 355 b.c, and from his time 

 may be dated the loss of the freedom of Greece. With the loss of 

 liberty, the love of glory that animated her people declined; that 

 sublimity of spirit which had distinguished her artists was gone, 

 and the arts languished in decay. Athens nominally preserved her 

 independence by an alliance with Macedonia, but her archon was 

 sup))orted by a Macedonian garrison. From this time, sometimes 

 in alliance with Macedonia, sometimes with Rome, she was plun- 

 dered by both. But though her naval and military power was 

 broken, and the brilliance of her schools of art and philosophy 

 dimmed, slie was still regarded with a kind of reverential awe; 

 and the education of a young Roman patrician was thought iucom- 

 plete unless he had studied in the schools of Athens. 



Though Greece did not become a Roman province till the time 

 of the Emperor Vespasian (69 a.d.) she had long been beholden to 

 foreign powers for any public works that were carried on, and 

 Greek art may at this time be said to be lost in that of Rome. 



I will now endeavour to trace the position of the principal build- 

 ings of ancient Athens, that some idea may be formed of the 

 appearance and arrangement of this once beautiful city. Nearly 

 in the centre of the town rises the Acropolis, a craggy, abrupt, 

 limestone rock, seemingly formed by nature for a citadel. It is 

 oblong in form, lying from east to west, about 150 feet in height, 

 rather more than 900 feet in length, and 480 feet in breadth. 

 High up the sloping road to the west stands the great Propylea, 

 which, with its wings, occupies the whole natural entrance to the 

 Acropolis. Before the southern wing stands the small Ionic 

 Temple of \'ictory, without wings, on which JEgeus stood to 

 watch for the return of his son Theseus from Crete, and whence 

 he cast himself in despair when the black sail appeared in sight. 

 The Acropolis was holy ground; no dog or goat was allowed t» 

 enter its sacied precincts. Here were found the works of Phidias 

 and Praxiteles, of Polycletus and -Vlcamenes, representing the 

 gods and heroes of Athens, ^^'herever the eye turned, some sacred 

 object presented itself— some form of beauty caused the footstep 

 to linger. So numerous were the decorations of the Acropolis, 

 that Pliny mentions no less than 3000 statues as standing there ia 

 his time. 



On the highest point of ground is the Parthenon, the great 

 temple of the tutelary goddess; and on the northern side the 

 Erechtheion invites the devout to offer sacrifices to Minerva Po- 

 lias, and the nymph Pandrossus. On the other side rose the 

 colossal brazen statue of Miner^'O, the glittering point of whose 

 spear was visible as far off as Sunium. Below, on the southern 

 side of the rock, are the long ranges of seats belonging to the 

 great Theatre of Bacchus and the Odeion of Regilise. These were 

 connected by the Eumenic Stoa. Next, towards the east, was the 

 Odeion of Pericles, still within the Temenos of Bacchus. The 

 street of Tripods extends from here to the Prytaneiuni, under the 

 north-east angle of the rock. 



Standing at the entrance of the Propylea, and looking towards 

 the west, the first object only separated by a narrow gorge, is the 

 hill of the ancient court of .\reopagus. In the eastern corner, over- 

 shadowed by dark trees, stands the Temple of the Furies, those 

 fearful goddesses whom no Greek could mention w ithout a shudder, 

 and who caused even tlie spoiler Nero to turn trembling away from 

 .\thens, as the place of their abode. Yonder is the Pnyx, with its 

 rough hewn walls, and bcnia, or pulpit, from whicIi Demosthenes 

 used to address his excited audience; and beyond again stretched 

 the Long Walls, onwards to the bustling port Pirceeus, crowded 

 with shipping and merchandise. Afar off to the north-west, is 

 visible the sacred city of Eleusis, with its temples and propylea; 

 the holy gate Dipylum standing between the outer and inner C'ein- 

 micus, leads to the Eleusinian road. The Ceramicus was planted 

 with groves, and adorned with porticoes and statues. The old 

 -Vgora occupied part of the inner suburb; and in tliis were streets, 

 taking their name from the different trades carried on there, as 

 the street of the makers of -Mercuries, the street of cabinet-makers, 

 &c. Beyond the gate Dipylum, at the extremity of the outer 

 Ceramicus, was the -\cademy, celebrated for its grove of tall plane 

 trees, beneath the shade of which Plato taught. Within the 

 suburb, a little to the north, stands the Temple of Theseus; and 



