A T H 



iilver)' line appears to belong to the genus Atherina ; but 

 hp.ving a com;>ic!fcd body, and frnall ventral fins, approaches 

 nearer to the Cl'jpca gsnns, in \\hich he places it. This 

 kind is a native of Surinam. 



In the dorful fin are twelve rays ; fourteen in the peftoral 

 fins; eight in :he Central fins; thirty-two in the anal fin; 

 and eisihteen in the tail. 



ATHEROMA, in Surgery, is a foft, pultaceous, unin- 

 flamed tu;nor ; generally contained within a CvsT, or mem- 

 branous bag. The cure of this fweiling confilis in its re- 

 moval with a foalpel. See Tumor, and-ExTiRPATioN. 



ATHERSTON, in Geography, a market town in the 

 county of Warv/ick, fituated upon the Watli.-.g Street way, 

 confifting principr.lly of one lon;^ fhect, excepting two fmall 

 avenues or llreets on the north fide leading to the market- 

 place and the chapel, the mother church being at Mancetter, 

 now a fma'.l village about a ni'le to the fouth, on the road 

 leading to Coventiy. The liberty is bounded on the north 

 by the river Anker, which feparates it from Leicefterlhire. 

 The market is on Tnefday. The trade coni'iils principally 

 in the hat manufacture, wocl-combtrs, ribband-weavers, 

 and the cotton trade has beeniikewife lately introduced. It 

 contains about 2600 inhabitants. Diilarice from London 

 108 miles. 

 ATHESIS. See Adice. 



ATHIAS, in Biography, a Jev/, was a famous printer of 

 Amfterdam, in the feventcenth century ; and in i66i, and 

 166", he printed two editions of the Hebrew bible, in two 

 volumes Svo., for "which he obtained of the States-general 

 an honorary recompence ot a mednl, and a chain of gold. 

 He aifo printed the bible in Spanifa, German, and Englifh. 

 He died in 170c. Did;. Hiil. 



ATHIE, in Geography, a town of France, in the de- 

 partment of the Somme, and chief place of a canton in the 

 dillricl of Peronne, two leagues S. S. E. of Peronne. 



ATHINI, or Setises, the modern Athens, is not 

 inconfiderable, fays Chandler (Travels in Greece), either in 

 extent, or in the number of its inhabitants. It enjoys a 

 fine temperature, and a ferene fl<y ; the air is clear and 

 wholefome. Theto»vn (lands beneath the acropolis or cita- 

 del, and does not encompals the rock, as it formerly d;d, 

 but fpreads into the plain, chi.-3y on the well and north- 

 weft. The houK-s a:e moiUy m.ean and draggling, with 

 manv large areas or courts before them. The v.ater is con- 

 veyed to them in channels fro.Ti mount Hymettus, and in 

 the market-place is a large fouiitain. The Turks have fe- 

 veral mofqucs, and public baths. Tiie Greeks have con- 

 vents for men and women, with many churches, in which 

 fervice is regularly per.f^ormed, and onito'ies or chapels, fre- 

 quented on the anniverfarics of the faints to whom they are 

 dedicated. Bcfides the more liable antiquities, of which 

 fome notice has been taken under Athens, there are many 

 detached pieces that have been found in the town, near the 

 fountains, and aifo in the ftreets, the walls, the houfes, and 

 the churches. Among thefe are fragments of fculpture, a 

 marble chair or two, which probably belonged to the gyni- 

 nalia or theatres, a fun-dial at t'le cathi.licon or cathedral, 

 infcrihcd, as it is faid, with the name of Euclid ; and at the 

 archiepfcrpal houfe, a curious veffel of ma.-ble, ufed as a 

 cillern for receiving water, but once, probably, fervingasa 

 public fiandard or mtafure. Many columns, m?Jmed llatues, 

 and pedeltals, are fcattered about ; and aifo a fine mualated 

 Herma. The acropohs, or citadel, is now a fortrefs, with a 

 thick irregular wall, Handing on the brink of precipices, 

 and inclonng a large area, about twice as long as broad. 

 Some portions of the ancient wall remain, and it is repaired 

 with patches of pieces of columns, and with marbles taken 

 2 



A T H 



from the ruins. The garrifon confirts of a few Turks, who 

 refide there with their families, and are called by the Greeks 

 " Cadriani," or foldicrs of the callle. Their houfts over- 

 look the city, plain, and gulf; but the fituation is as airy 

 as pleafant ; tl'.e rock is lofty, abnipt, and inaccefiible, ex- 

 cept the front, which is towards the Piraus; and on that 

 qnarter is a mountainous ridge, within caiinon (hot. The 

 acropolis furniihed, fays Chandler, an ample field to the 

 antient virtuofi. It was filled with monuments of ancient 

 glory, and exhibited an amazii'g difplay of beauty, of opu- 

 lence, and of art; each contending, as it were, for the fu- 

 pcriority. Heliodorus, named Periegetts or the guide, em- 

 ployed in this place fifteen books. Polemo Pericgetes, 

 four volumes ; and Strabo, in the Augullan age, affirms, 

 that as many would be required in treating of other portions 

 of Athens and of Attica. The number of llatues, in par- 

 ticular, was prodigious. Tiberius Nero, who was fond of 

 images, plundered the acropolis, as well as Delphi and 

 Olympia ; and yet Athens, and each of thefe places, had 

 not fewer than 3000 remaining in the time of Pliny. This 

 banquet of the Icnfcs, continues this traveller, has long been 

 withdrawn ; and is now become like the tale of a vifion. 

 The fpectator views with concern the marble ruins intermixed 

 with mean flat-roofed cottages, and extant amid rubbilli ; 

 the fad memorials of a noble-- people. The antiquities of 

 this city have been aifo defcribed by Wheeler and Spon, 

 who viiited it in the time of Charles ll ; and by Mr. le Roy 

 and many others. Mr. Stuart, however, who refided there 

 between three and four years, has furpalTed others in the 

 accuracy and elegance of his plans and of his defcription. 

 Spon, in fpeaking of Attica, fays, that the road near Athens 

 was pleafing, and the veiy peafants polid'.ed. Wheeler, his 

 fellow-traveller, fpeaking of the civilization of the Athe- 

 nians, obferves, that even the (hepherds bid them w-lcome, 

 and wi'hed them a good journey ; and that their bad fortune 

 had not been able to deprive them of that lubtlety of wit 

 which they poflTeifed by nature ; and that, notwitbllanding 

 the barbarifm that hath long prevailed, they ftem to be 

 much more pclifhed in their manners and converfation than 

 any others in thole parts. Stuart confirms, with regard to 

 the prefent Athenians, the account given by Spon and 

 Wheeler of their anceftors ; as he found among them the 

 fameaddiels, and the fame natural acutenefs, though feverely 

 curb.d by their defpotic mailers. At their convivial 

 meetings, it was a frequent cullom for one of tiiem to take 

 a lyre, or a fpecies of guitar, and after a fhort prelude on 

 the inllrnm.ent, to accompany the inllrumental mufic with 

 his voice ; fuddenly cliantirig lonie extempore vcrfes, feldom 

 exceeding two or three di'.liclis: this performer delivered the 

 lyre to his neighbour ; who, atter he has done, delivers it 

 to another ; and thus the inftrument circulated, till it had 

 paiTed round the table. He adds, that, notwitliflanding 

 the various fortune of Athens as a city, Attica was lUU 

 famous for olives, and mount Hymettus for honey. Thus 

 " luiman inilitutions penih, but nature is permanent." 



The prefent Athens, Athini, or Sclir.cs, is the capital of 

 Livaelia, a province of European Turkey, the fee of an 

 aichbi:1iop ; and contains, as fome fay, lo.oco, or, accord- 

 ing to others, 15 or l6,oco inhabitants, chiefly Greeks. 

 The chief articles of trade are filk, wa>:, wool, and oil. 

 It is a fca-port, and fituated on the nortii-tall coall of the 

 gulf of Engia in the archipelago, with a fafe and large har- 

 bour, narrow at the entrance, and commanded by tfie cita- 

 del. N. hit. 38^ 5'. E. long. 23^ 57'. 



ATHIS, a town of France, in the department of the 

 Oinc, and chief place of a canton in the diilrid of Doni- 

 front J thL-tten miks foaib-wefl of Falaife. 



Athis» 



