A T H 



Acropolis and the hill of the Areopagus. Near to the 

 grove of Aglaunis was the Prytaiieum, north of the Acro- 

 polis, and this was the fecond ftation of Paufanias. The 

 tii-ft route from this ilation is explained as dcfcending from 

 the Prytaneum to tlie lower parts of Athens ; and it in- 

 cludes the temple of Serapi--, of the goddcfs Lucina, of the 

 Olympian Jupiter, and tiic Delphi:iian Apollo, the Gardens, 

 thp Lyceum, the river IlyfFus, the ttinple of Diana the 

 huntrels, and the Stadium. Without defcrihing- any objcfts 

 in his return from the Stadium to the Prytaneum, Paufa- 

 nias commences his fecond route from that ilation bv the 

 way called Tripodes, in which, he fays, there are temples, 

 tripods, and other works deferviyg notice ; and, in the 

 following order he mentions the temple of Dionyfius, the 

 temple of Bacchus, the imitation of the tent of Xerxes, 

 the theatre of Bacchus, the wall called Southern, the tomb 

 of Calus, the temples of /^fculapius, of Ti.emis, of Earth, 

 and of Virid Ceres; and then enters thj Propyk-a of the 

 Acropolis. Within the Acropolis, he dtfcribe"!, among 

 other objefts, the Parthenon, the temples of Ercclheus, 

 Polias, and Pandrofus ; and his dcfcriptions agree fo exactly 

 with the remains found there, that this part of his topo- 

 jrraphy affords an evidence of his precihon in other refpects. 

 He then paffes from the Acropolis over the Areopagus, 

 thence to the tombs, and to tlie Academy ; and this route 

 is in the order of their lituation ; for he had before pafied 

 under the, north-eaft fide of the Areopagus, in his route 

 from the temple of Theleus to the Pr^-taneum. The tombs, 

 which are in the neighbourhood of the Mufcum, according 

 to Dr. Chandler, were evidently in the fituation to which 

 Paufanias alludes ; and the academy is known to have been 

 to the weft of the walls of the city. It has been the uni- 

 form opinion of antiquaries, that the old city of Athens 

 was built on the northern fide of the Acropolis ; and the 

 infcription of Adrian's arch is a confirmation that the addi- 

 tion to the city, built by that emperor, and called after him 

 Adrianople, was on the fouthern fide. Mr. Stewart, hov.-- 

 ever, in his " Antiquities of Athens" (vol.iii.), conjefture?, 

 that the ancient city was on the fouth fide of the Acro- 

 polis ; but it has been alleged, that there arc no remains 

 which countenance this fuppofition ; and, befides it fhould 

 be recollected, that the Pclafgi, who fortified the Acropolis, 

 were permitted to dwell beneath the walls ; they were after- 

 wards aecufed by the Athenians of way-laying their daugh- 

 ters, as they went from the city to fetch water from the 

 Ilyffus : this could not poiTibly have happened, without fup- 

 pofing that the ancient city was on tlie north fide of the 

 Acropolis, and that the part inhabited by the Pelafgi was 

 on the fouth fide : for no other part would correfpond to 

 the account of the Pelafgi being in a fituation betu'een 

 the city and the river. The Pelafgi were afterwards 

 driven out of Attica ; the fpot on which they dwelt was 

 execrated ; and the Delphic oracle advifed, that it (liould be 

 kept rough and uncultivated. It is, however, well known, 

 that this fpot, in after times, was inhabited ; but it is fome- 

 what fingular, that, except the theatre and fome few monu- 

 ments, immediately under the walls of the Acropolis, the 

 whole of the plain between the Acropolis and the IlyfTus, 

 contains no remains of ancient works, befides one fohtary 

 column. This funiifhes a Ilrong argument againft the fup- 

 pofition of the ancient city being erefted in this fituation ; 

 for undoubtedly the chief monuments of their grandeur 

 would be contained within the city. This circumftance 

 alfo accounts for Paufanias pafling by, without defcribing 

 any thing as fituatcd there : it was ftcrile in antiquities, and 

 therefore fuinifhed no objcft deferving his notice. For 

 thefe obfervations, we are indebted to an anonymous writer. 

 8 



A T H 



Sec Monthly Rc\'iew enlarged, vol. xvii. p. 56. For the 

 plans of Athens, annexed to the travels of Anacharfis, fee 

 the Maps of this work. 



Athess, and the Athenians, H'ljlory of. It has been al- 

 ready obfcrved, that the city of Athena was founded by Ce- 

 crops about 1556 years B.C. This prince reigned fifty 

 years. Under the reignsof his fucceftors, various circumftance* 

 combined to determine the character and fituation of the 

 nation. The fucccfilon of princes appears, with few excep- 

 tions, the fucceffion of improvement. Under the reign of 

 Erichthonius, the colony of C'ecrops accuftomcd horfts, al- 

 ready docile to the bit, to draw wlieel carriages; and pro- 

 fited by the labour of bees, whjch ufcful race of iniedtj 

 they carefully preferved on mount Hym.ettus. Under Pan- 

 dion, they made new progrefs in agriculture ; but a long 

 drought having deftroyed the hopes of the hufbandm.an, tlie 

 harv^lls of Egypt fupplied the wants of the colony, which 

 thence contracted a taile for commerce. Erichtheus, his 

 fucceflor, rendered his reign illuftrious hy ufcful inftitutions, 

 and the Athenians dedicated a temple to him after his death. 

 A confiderable portion of barbarifm lliU remained ; the coun- 

 try, veiy imperfectly cultivated, m.aintained great numbers 

 of favage animals, and ilill more favage men. The Greciaa 

 woods and mountains abounded in lions, boars, and other 

 fierce animals, that often roamed from their haunts, and 

 fpread terror and defolation among the adjoining vallies. 

 The vallies themfelves teemed with men of brutal ftrength 

 and courage, who availed themfelves of the weaknefs of 

 government, to perpetrate horrid deeds of violence and 

 cruelty. About the year 1300. B. C. the fiift worthies of 

 Greece, animated rather wiih the daring and ufeful, than 

 with the romantic fpirit of chivalry (Plutarch's Thefeus), 

 fet themfelves with one accord to remedy evils which 

 threatened the exiftence of fociety. Thefe travelled over 

 Greece, and freed it from the violence both of kings and 

 individuals : they appeared to the Greeks as beings 

 of a fuperior order ; and that infant people, no lefs extra- 

 vagant in their gratitude than fears, rewarded the exploits 

 with fo much glory, that the honour of proteding them 

 became tlie firft ambition of noble minds. Of thefe, one of 

 the moll eminent was Thefeus, the fon of Egeus king of 

 Athens, who was ardently defirous of rivalling the exploits 

 of Hercules. The Pallantides, a powerful family of Athens, 

 having attempted to wreft the fceptre from the aged hands 

 of Egeus, young Thefeus, now approaching to man's eftate, 

 overwhelmed the projefls of the confpirators. (Plutarch's 

 Thefeus.) Marathon, the fecond city in Attica, had its 

 environs infefted by a ferocious bull ; the heroic prince fub- 

 dued this terrible animal (Plutarch's Thefeus) ; and the 

 Athenians regarded his fuccefs with aftonifhment and admi- 

 ration. But his countrymen had foon after a call for their 

 wonder and gratitude in a much more fignal atchievcment, 

 and more momentous benefit. Minos, king of Crete, ae- 

 cufed them of having put to death his fon Androgens, and 

 compelled them by force to deliver him, at itatcd iHter- 

 vals, a certain number of youths and maidens. Thefe 

 were to be chofen by lot, and their deftiny was death or 

 flavery. (Plutarch's Thefeuf.) It was now the third time 

 that the pledges of their aft'eftions were to be torn from 

 their unhappy parents. All Athens was in tears, but 

 Theleus revived her hopes. He undertook to free the city 

 from this odious tribute ; and, to aceomplilh the noble pro- 

 je£l, voluntarily enrolled himfelf in the number of the vic- 

 tims, and embarked for Crete. The adventures of 

 Thefeus in Crete, exhibited by the intcntive and often 

 fanciful poetry of the Greeks, contain a great portion of the 

 marvellous, through which a ikilful and difceming reader 



may 



