( 4) 



the twelve Gods to be judges of the dispute , 

 by whom, on the testimony of Cecrops, it 

 was decided in favour of Minerva. The God- 

 dess, thus become tutelar divinity of the city, 

 called it after her own name , and Neptune, 

 irritated by his defeat , inundated all Attica 

 to revenge the affront. 



The Olive has flourished chiefly on the 

 shores of the Mediterranean Sea, between 

 the thirty-sixth and the forty-fourth degrees 

 of latitude. It still abounds in Greece : in the 

 northern provinces it requires to be placed 

 on hill-sides exposed to the south, that it may 

 be warmed by the reflected heat; but in At- 

 tica the climate, as well as the soil and face 

 of the country, is peculiarly favourable to its 

 growth. Near the foot of the mountains, the 

 Olives form vast curtains of a pale green, 

 which is agreeably contrasted with the deeper 

 verdure of the meadows beneath, and with 

 the dusky grey of the rocks above. 1 The beau- 

 tiful plain of Athens, as seen towards the 

 north-west from Mount Hymeltus, appears 

 entirely covered with them. 3 The wild Olive, 



1 See Beaujour's Commerce of Greece. 

 3 See Oliyier's Travels. 



